NORTH CAROLINA

  • EATS AND DRINKS,  NORTH CAROLINA

    Durham Date Night: Mothers & Sons

    Can you believe it took me over 4+ years of living in Durham to make it Mothers & Sons? Well, I am glad that has been fixed. If you’re new to the Triangle area or unfamiliar, Mothers & Sons Trattoria is an Italian restaurant in downtown Durham. Alex and I FINALLY checked out Mothers & Sons during the Triangle Restaurant Week. During the Triangle Restaurant Week, a number of participating restaurants offer two or three-course menu options with fixed pricing. You can check out the Triangle Restaurant Week website for the list of restaurants and menus. I find it to be a great way to try a new-to-me restaurant! Mothers…

  • NORTH CAROLINA,  SHOP LOCAL

    Visiting Jordan Lake Christmas Tree Farm

    ‘Tis the season! We finally got around to getting a Christmas tree for the living room this weekend. I learned about Jordan Lake Christmas Tree Farm in Apex from a friend recently and was too excited to not check it out! I mean, I had no idea we even had any Christmas tree farm in the Triangle area. Since there aren’t that many Christmas tree farms here, Jordan Lake gets pretty popular. For Thanksgiving weekend and the following weekend, they require reservations, which are free. I made a reservation for the Sunday after Thanksgiving (first Sunday in December) and they actually ran out of trees the Saturday before and cancelled…

  • NORTH CAROLINA,  THINGS TO DO

    The Starling House in Swannanoa, North Carolina

    Over the weekend, Alex and I stayed at the cutest A-Frame cabin called The Starling House in Swannanoa, North Carolina. We have always wanted to stay at a tiny house so we booked this Airbnb when we came across it earlier this year. Because it’s absolutely adorable and close to Asheville, it’s pretty popular. In fact, Thanksgiving weekend was one of two weekends available when we made our reservation back in June. There were some things in the Airbnb listing we had overlooked and some things we just didn’t know until we got there, and I am sharing those things in this post in case it helps anyone planning to…

  • EATS AND DRINKS,  NORTH CAROLINA

    All You Can Eat Sushi in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

    Hi, friends! Sushi is one of my favorite foods, and naturally eating lots of sushi is one of my favorite activities. While I appreciate high-quality sushi, I enjoy eating sushi in large quantities too. I have tried all three All-You-Can-Eat Sushi restaurants in the Triangle area and I am excited to share my thoughts with you! I am also sharing some tips to maximize your AYCE experience at the end of the post. FYI, all of these places have recently increased their price by a dollar or two due to the high cost of seafood. Orchid Japanese Restaurant – Raleigh Price: $19.45 for lunch & $28.95 for dinner. You can…

  • EATS AND DRINKS,  NORTH CAROLINA

    Durham Date Night: Cucciolo Osteria

    If Cucciolo Osteria has been on your list forever (like it was for me), here’s a sign to move it up your list! We recently went for my belated birthday dinner and had a lovely experience. This blog post will not have a lot of photos because we went for a late dinner and the lighting wasn’t great (and you know my iPhone 11 is not equipped for poor indoor lighting lol); I will do my best to describe everything! We managed to get a Sunday evening reservation though we were looking sort of late. When you make a reservation, you can choose Standard (tables), Bar, or High Top. Proportionally,…