downtown Raleigh

Somebody Told Me

May 18, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

The Killers are coming to Raleigh on August 12th (happy early birthday to me)! Y’all don’t know how excited I am about this concert. I’ll probably say this about all the concerts I’m going to this year, but I’ve been waiting for them to come to Raleigh since FOREVER! I pretty much wanted to do the “Carlton dance” once I secured my tickets, but thought it would be best if I didn’t break out in dance in the marketing department. I’ll save that dance for a rainy day or when our department needs a laugh.

Mr. Brandon Flowers, I’ll be seeing you in August!

xoxo

Around Town

Cuatro de Drink-o

May 6, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

I celebrated Cinco de Mayo on the 4th of May rather than the 5th (is it tacky that we celebrated Cinco de Mayo on the 4th?)… oh well it’s too late now! Dos Taquitos Xoco had a block party in downtown Raleigh that we couldn’t resist going to. Unfortunately the weather was not favorable for us. HELLO!! It’s May and I should be able to wear my maxi dress and not freeze my tail off like I did.

I was expecting a large crowd at the block party, but looking back on it now I’ve come up with my own conclusion. People were watching the Kentucky Derby + not celebrating Cinco de Mayo on the 4th. Maybe next year I should actually celebrate events on the actual date, not the day before. I’m going to use this blog post as a reminder.

Regardless of the crowd I had an incredible time with my friends. We wore mustaches… I opted for a temporary tattoo mustache I ordered from Fab (it was a hit). Dos Taquitos Xoco had set up cornhole, had an outside bar, live music, face painting for kids, etc. Next year I plan to celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the actual day, not the day before.

Chuck + Natalie 4Ever (oh and you too Brad)

photo(1) — Cornhole fun outside Dos Taquitos Xoco

xoxo

Around Town

Poppin’ Bottles

April 22, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

So yesterday I attended the Great Grapes Wine Festival in Cary. It was interesting… not what I expected. I learned a few things yesterday…

I don’t celebrate North Carolina wine. Nothing against it, but a majority of the wines I sampled were incredibly sweet. After about 30 minutes into the event I had enough samples because the wine was so sweet. In fact it gave me a headache. I’m not a fan of super sweet wines, I prefer a nice glass with dinner. I don’t think I’d be able to pair any of the wines I sampled with a meal.
Putting kids on leashes just isn’t for the fair, but it’s also for wine festivals. I saw a kid being monitored by their parents at the beginning, but as the wine festival progressed I noticed the kid was then put on a leash. Maybe next time the parents should find a babysitter. I should also mention that the people watching is incredible.
No big deal, just a kid on a leash.

The best part of the wine festival was the peach bellini wine slushy

I’m not sure if I’ll go back for next year’s wine festival.. I might try to hit up the Cuegrass Festival in downtown Raleigh.

Around Town

First Friday: April Edition

April 10, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

Finally! We had Spring weather for First Friday!

To kick off First Friday, we had the most delicious meal at Gravy in downtown Raleigh. This time I tried the spaghetti + meatballs (I’ve heard rave reviews about their famous meatballs, so I decided to give it a try). It was ah-mah-zing! The portion wasn’t overwhelming, yet I had enough leftovers to make another meal out of it.

Major noms!

It’s not a true First Friday event until we stop + visit the vendors outside The Raleigh Times. I’ve been wanting a North Carolina shirt from House of Swank Clothing, so what better time to buy one?! (Side note: I should really pay attention next time because I thought I bought a SMALL shirt, but instead I bought an XL!! Maybe it was the wine I had at dinner that impaired my ability to read tags on shirts, I don’t really know). So besides purchasing the wrong size shirt, I also bought an adorable Durham onesie in pink for one of my friends who is about to have a baby. I can’t wait to give it to her!

While perusing the various vendors, my eyes locked on to an oh-so-fabulous shirt. A squirrel shirt of Sir Walter Raleigh (y’all know I have a love for squirrels). Immediately I thought, I have to get this shirt. It was a whopping $25. I wasn’t up for negotiating with the vendor on the price, so I stepped away from that epic shirt. Looking back, I wish I would have bought it… but I’m confident I’ll see it again *fingers crossed*.

Until next month’s First Friday…

xoxo

Around Town

Polos + Pearls

April 7, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

The other night I attended the Modern Society’s annual event, Polos + Pearls event at
Solas to raise money for MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Despite the cold + rainy weather, I had an absolute ball!

Before I get into the highlights, I must say they had some amazing raffle prizes. Most of my tickets went towards a Tyler’s Taproom gift card + a gift card to Humble Pie. I also put a few tickets in to win $250 worth of Bobbi Brown cosmetics. Unfortunately I didn’t win, but all the money I spent on tickets went to a worthy cause.

Ok, to the highlights!

Miss Raleigh attended the event and she was super friendly. My friend Brad bet me $10 that I couldn’t get Miss Raleigh to let me wear her sash. It was a little after 8pm and he gave me until 10pm to get the sash… I had the sash on within 20 minutes. I took Brad’s money and donated it by purchasing raffle tickets for the prizes. Everybody won, including me… I was Miss Raleigh for about a hot minute!

DJ Q (who did a fabulous job) played a variety of tunes including “The Wobble” (Miss Raleigh taught me how to wobble), old school hip hop and my special request… “Problems” (confession, that’s my favorite hip-hop song of the moment). DJ Q was even gracious enough to allow me to DJ for a hot second and when I say “allow me to DJ” I mean he let me pretend I was making beats.

All I need now is a good DJ name… any suggestions?

The Modern Society put on a wonderful event + I was so glad I was able to attend to support an important cause, Multiple Sclerosis.

xoxo

Around Town

A Modern Day St. Elmo’s Bar

March 6, 2013March 9, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

I’m not going to lie most of my favorite movies were made in the 80’s…

You catch my drift.

So once Coglin’s opened in downtown Raleigh I knew I would be in heaven. Who doesn’t love 80’s/ 90’s music? Not to mention the walls are adorned with pictures from popular movies and TV shows. It’s a nice change of pace if you’re tired of hearing all the current music being played at area bars. They play everything from Billy Idol to Whitney Houston to Guns N’ Roses and the list goes on. I just wish the venue was a bit bigger. If you don’t want to have to wait in a long line to get into the bar I suggest you arrive before 10pm.

Since there’s no “Hot Tub Time Machine” to take you back into the 80’s, Coglin’s is the next best thing.

Around Town

First Friday: March Edition

March 5, 2013March 9, 2013 alittlebitsquirrely

I LOVE First Friday. If you’ve never ventured out in downtown Raleigh to attend First Friday, you’re missing out. Every first Friday of the month, downtown Raleigh showcases art, jewelry, apparel and anything else you can think of.

This past Friday was epic.

My friends and I ventured to Chuck’s for dinner (it was my first time there and it was amaze-balls). That was the first burger I’ve completely demolished. Seriously. The menu may look a little intimidating, but don’t worry they can make a burger however you’d like. I have a feeling I’ll be back there soon.

There were vendors lined up right outside of The Raleigh Times selling shirts, jewelry, koozies, art prints, and the list goes on. My best purchase of the week came from House of Swank Clothing where I picked up 2 awesomely clever koozies.

First Friday is a great opportunity to support local businesses, so y’all better mark your calendar for the next one on April 5th!