The Best Way to Explore Downtown (or Chapel Hill or Charlotte or Durham)

Now that I work in a cool place (Downtown Raleigh), I'm obsessed with exploring the town. (Especially if I have time after work!)

Yesterday, I worked until 2pm, and I had a work meeting at 5:30. Not wanting to go home, I decided to take the time to do something I've been wanting to do for a while now... explore Downtown Raleigh!

With my phone charger, my favorite backpack (on sale here!), and phone ready to take lots of VSCO pics... I set off on an adventure! After getting lunch at a place I found on Stealz, and visiting the natural science museum, I was refreshed (food in my stomach and AC on my skin) and ready to conquer the world...

But I quickly stopped in my tracks. Where do I go? I didn't really know the area that well (only Fayetteville Street from all the DTR festivals I go to)... but I really wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been before.

Then I pulled out my handy dandy (notebook! JK...) app... Offline. I found this app through the recommendation of one of the blogs I follow. I found out that the local jewelry store Moon & Lola was only .14 miles away from where I was standing! The pictures and description sounded perfect. Ditching the coffee store I was going to visit (don't worry, I headed there later for: AC, a charger, and good coffee), I headed towards Moon & Lola with plans just to window shop.

I fell in love with Moon & Lola as soon as I walked in. The jewelry was pretty, dainty, and the store was absolutely gorgeous. I could live there, happily.

This gallery wall. I can't even. So cute!

Surprisingly (actually not really that surprising), I was so in love with the shop, I spent forever in there... and I ended up buying a bracelet (it was 60% off, okay?! Cons of getting a paycheck: feeling like you can buy the world. My motto of the day? Treat Yo' Self!).

Got this bracelet for only $16! So cute!

I also found the cutest map at the register at Moon & Lola... I had to follow the map to many more cute local shops!

Side note: I'm so bad at reading maps, it's embarrassing. Geography is not my thing... I got lost, even using this map (oh gosh, I know!). Thankfully Downtown Raleigh isn't that big (at least the area I explored wasn't that far apart), so I found my way (just took the long scenic route!).

After exploring Moon & Lola, I went into the shops nearby: Feelgoodz and Stitch. Feelgoodz is a sandal brand that has a beachy, relaxed vibe to it. Stitch is hand sewn goods made right in Raleigh, NC! I took the scenic route to find High Cotton, Nora & Nicky's and Deco Raleigh. 

I totally fell in love with Deco Raleigh as soon as I went inside. It was quirky and artsy, filled with local crafts, and lots of Raleigh items. Raleigh pride!

Deco Raleigh

After visiting all of the shops, my phone was coming close to its end (and myself, to be honest, I do not deal with heat well, and I had been walking all day!). I decided to give me and my phone a recharge as I stopped by one of my favorite coffee spots: Joule Coffee.

Accidentally added way too much cream while filming the cream mixing with the coffee...
Typical.

After reflecting on how much I had done that day (and totally wishing I had a FitBit to see how much I had walked that day!), I sipped my coffee, and made my way back to work!

I'm so glad I had my Offline app that led to my adventures around Downtown Raleigh!

I totally recommend using Offline to find out about cool restaurants, shops, and upcoming events in the area! I love checking off items, writing recommendations, and reading others'! 

Use my link for Offline if you liked this post!

(These were all my own opinions)

Let's Go On An Adventure: Houston, Texas

So over winter break, I went to Houston, Texas. This is an annual tradition for me and my family, since my dad's side of the family lives there. I love it there! There are so many good restaurants, things to do and places to go to! I'll share with you all of my favorite places while recapping my experience.

We intended to stay at my uncle and aunt's house, where my grandparents also live. But our cousin, AC, invited us to stay at her house with her and her husband, and we always have so much fun there, so we couldn't say no. It's always so much fun with AC and her husband. They recently got 2 dogs, Coco and Casper, so we love playing with them. Plus they have English television, so that's a plus.

AC and I are really similar, other than the fact that we're about 10+ years apart... We are both shopoholics. But her shopping is 10 times more than mine!

After the annual Christmas Eve dinner at my uncle and aunt's house, which was huge and fun, as per usual, filled with cheesy mussels, corn casserole, lamb chops and a competitive super hard board game we picked up at Dave & Busters the other night.

Christmas was spent at AC's house, we had bought a firepit earlier that week, so after one round of s'mores, we knew that we had to use it again. AC's husband wanted to grill some ribs, and we wanted another excuse to bring out the firepit! We decided to call up one of the cousins, AC's parents, our parents, and our grandparents, and AC's husband's brother's family (We're really close with AC's husband's family!). We spent the day cleaning the house and cooking food, then everyone came over, at times it was a bit stressful in a small house, but it was a lot of fun! The ribs were amazing!

Yay for firepits and s'mores!

For Christmas, from AC and her husband, we got tickets to the Houston Texans game. We had never been to a NFL game, much less a football game. We were excited! At first, I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I'll tell you more about it when the game comes on Sunday.

The day after Christmas, AC and I went Boxing Day shopping. The boys (my brothers and AC's husband) had plans to go fishing on a boat they rented, and it got moved up to Friday, due to high chances of rain on Saturday. AC and I did some Boxing Day shopping, as J calls it. and although, I didn't buy a ton of stuff... it was so much fun! I got a dress and top from Lucky Brand, and a tank from Anthropologie. We went to the Galleria and Highland Village- my new favorite place that I can't afford at all (Lulu, J.Crew, Kate Spade, Vineyard Vines... everything a girl could dream of!).

I saw these at the mall, and I thought they'd be perfect for prom!
I texted this pic to J right away. He agreed.

The tank I got from Anthro.
It's a little big, so size down!
I love it though!

Highland Village!
Love at first sight.

And the food in Houston is amazing. 

My favorite restaurant of all time is Pappasitto's, the best TexMex there ever was. Go on Wednesday..., half price fajita night! The only problem is you can't make reservations there, and the line is always so long there! Even when we passed there on Christmas Eve, it was super crowded! We got it catered for us this year, because there's so many of us, and my grandmother can't wait for a long time.

I also love love love Taste of Texas. Their salad bar is amazing and you can pick out which cow you want (a little strange, but cool?). The first time you go is a fun experience too! It's a bit pricey, but worth it for the experience! 

I went to Palazzo's for the first time this year, and it was really good! The bread is seriously amazing, I could eat that for the entire meal. I got the chopped salad once, and the Penne Stefano is amazing too! The pizza is also good. My cousin swears by the chicken parmesan, and I tried some of the alfredo, which was good. Everything there is good!

I ended up loving the football game. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life! I have always enjoyed football games, even though I don't understand football 100%, the atmosphere and just being there was amazing! The game was great, it was close, but we ended up winning. 

We had amazing seats!

Love this candid AC shot of me!

The next night, we went to a Rockets basketball game. Our seats were the complete opposite of ours at the football game. It was really steep, and we were really high up there! It was really fun, although I preferred the loudness of the football game. There's nothing like being at a game live... nothing beats anything live! I don't ever want to watch another game on TV again!

We were high up there! Really high.

The weather was surprisingly colder than I expected it to be. Even though it was much warmer than NC, I had brought my shorts and Tory sandals, that I didn't even wear. What a disappointment. But I love these shots I took of my uncle's backyard.

It used to be a pool, but my grandfather wanted a fish pond.
So now it's a fish pond!

So that's most of Houston! Hope y'all enjoyed it. I love it there so much.

Corning Museum of Glass

On our way to Canada, we stopped by in Corning, NY. My mom has been talking about visiting the Corning Museum of Glass for a couple of years now. We finally got the perfect opportunity to go visit during our road trip up to Canada. Since we weren't there for a long time, we didn't even get a chance to visit the museum itself. However, we did spend a long time in the museum cafe, gift shop, and walking around the outdoor museum activities. We also participated in the glass blowing experience and it was really cool! Here's my review of the museum activities we experienced:

The museum cafe: The food we had was really good! The prices weren't too bad, and the food is made fresh. They make the pasta right in front of you. The mac & cheese was insanely good. Food's prices are good for a museum cafe and the food is pretty good.

GlassMarket: When we were there, there were lots of sales. Almost everything was some % off. There were some awesome products for sale and they were all gorgeous to look at!

Gorgeous glass for sale!

Outdoor activities: With an admission ticket, you get to experience all the cool outdoor activities. One of the experiences include an outdoor glass-blowing show- super cool!

Make Your Own Glass: For an awesome experience (and the reason my mom wanted to go there), try the Make Your Own Glass experience! It's an additional fee, but you get to make your own glass creation and take it home! The flower and ornaments provide the most opportunity and in our opinion, are the best experiences. I made a flower and my brother made an ornament. I got to roll the glass and make the flower's petals. My brother got to blow into the glass! It was really cool; you get to pick the colors of your item and the instructors are very knowledgeable and friendly. It's definitely worth it, if you get a chance to go!

Getting instructions about making my glass flower!

We didn't get a chance to explore the museum itself since we just stopped there for an afternoon. I would definitely be interested in checking out the museum. It's a really cool place, make sure to check it out if you get the chance!

Let's Go On an Adventure... Philadelphia, PA

On our way to Canada, we stopped in Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, (Mom's always wanted to see it with us) and try the infamous Philly cheese steak. I really liked Philadelphia, maybe it was my love for the marketplace and Philly cheese steaks, but hey! ;) It was really pretty. All around Philly was the combination of old and modern architecture, which was really cool. There were lots of bike riders, which was really cool; I'd love to ride my bike all around Philadelphia. We were only in Philly for half a day, so we didn't do much. But here's what we did and my tips for Philly:

Go see the Liberty Bell: It's a really cool experience and it's free and even if the line is long, it moves quickly! It's held inside a center full of information to read and see. At the end is the Liberty Bell! It's a quick, easy, informational attraction.

Walk around Philly: There's lot to see and do. Just walking around is an experience itself. Don't forgot to stop and try some of Philly's famous water ice. Lemon and cherry water ice is available at any of the vendors on every street corner. (Water ice is seasonal.)

One of the National Treasure movies was filmed right here!

The architecture is very different than where I'm from.
Common stores on the side of the street and not in a strip mall
is normal in Philly.

I love the combination of modern and traditional,
as shown in this photo.
The modern corner building and the traditional clock.
Oh and there are lots of bicyclers in Philly!
This photo is Philly in a nutshell.

B.Y.O. Cheesesteak! ;)

The art is out of this world!

Famous Philly water ice.
It was different than anything I've ever tried before!

The two flavors available at almost every vendor.

Hungry? Head to the Reading Terminal Market: This market is probably the coolest thing in the world. Inside holds a wide variety of restaurants and grocery stores! You could eat at a different restaurant everyday for a month and you still wouldn't have tried each restaurant! It's a foodie's dream come true, and it's my dream come true. You can buy fresh produce or order some delicious food.

Not the best photo, sorry!
But it's probably my favorite place in the world.

Best sandwich in America award (seriously) goes to... TOMMY DiNiC's: Tommy's is located in the Reading Terminal Market and Tommy's roast pork sandwich has been awarded the best sandwich in America award. We tried the roast beef sandwich (I prefer pork, but my brother choose), and it was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of roast beef in general, and I would go back to try the roast pork sandwich. Add some provolone on your sandwich because their cheese is really flavorful and delicious!

The famous roast beef sandwich!

We didn't get a chance to go... but next time we'll go to the Philly Pretzel Factory. I can't say no to soft pretzels, and we just saw their company on an episode of Undercover Boss.

We also stopped at Pat's and Geno's to complete the famous taste test between the two oh-so-popular Philly cheese steaks. They were both similar. I preferred Pat's, the rest of my family preferred Geno's.

Pat's!

Geno's!

However, we all agreed that our personal favorite Philly cheese steak was from the Reading Terminal Market's shop, by george! Also the Philly cheese steak was less the price than either Pat's or Geno's, and double the portion. I'd go here for Philly cheese steaks, or try somewhere new!

Philly was a lot of fun! We'll be back soon!

Exploration.

Well if I can't travel, I guess reading about traveling is as close as I'll get.

I want to make one of these! The WSJ even has some events I can get start with. And these.

Mackenzie's post on traveling alone. I love reading the comments, and the photos make me so wanderlust!

Future spot for a NYC date with friends? Love all the flowers!

Can you tell whose blog I've been reading a lot? (Mackenzie's) I also found this through her blog. I want to go to that first spot in Bolivia! So cool!

I love the way WSJ does travel guides, getting different perspectives from lots of cool people in the area. Here is WSJ's Greece one.

Thanks to Carly from College Prepster for sharing this website. I could spend forever reading all of its posts.

I was on Katie Evans' tumblr, and found her guest post on Lady & Prince. One of the links to her guest post was trying out aquacycling. Seriously, this is my dream come true. I love the water, swimming and cycling. I know the next time I'm in New York, I will try this out! I would want to move to NYC just so every Saturday morning, I could aquacycle. Best. Workout. Ever. I probably spent an hour learning about aquacycling through Aqua's website.

Also, when I'm in NYC trying aquacycling, I'll definitely be sure to check out this Beyoncé dance class. Working out and becoming Beyoncé?! Sign me up.

Then I spent the rest of my night (seriously, I read until 3am) reading Lady & Prince blog. Something got me hooked, I don't know if it was the Disney posts or her adorable kids. Seriously so glad I didn't just close the tab. Obsessed. (Whoops, off topic from the traveling part of this post! Oh well, too cute to resist.) I love this NYC guide with kids Lady & Prince posted!

Following New York Times' Twitter was one of my smartest decisions. Ever. This post is about ensuring that your visit, as a tourist/visitor/guest, is helping the place and its people, not hurting it. It relates to what we're learning in AP human geography too!

These diary posts of Paris are beautifully written. Start with the first post!

What I would do to travel to a different place each week. This NYT post of "52 Places to Go in 2014" has got me dreaming of traveling. All the time.

WSJ's 2014 Travel Summer Guide. Now if only my summer could be spent traveling the world. One day. One day.

This would be a really cool way to see Rome. I'll keep this in mind if I ever have an hour layover in Rome.

I'm 99% sure if when my family and I go out of the country, (not including to Asia to visit family) we'll go to Europe. I'm 99% sure Paris, France will be on the list. My little brother is currently taking French, and he loves the culture! He has taught us all so much about French culture. Who wouldn't want to go?! And croissants. If croissants were a vegetable, I'd be the healthiest person in the world. I'll keep this article in mind when we go to Paris.

I hope, but I don't know if I'll ever make my way to Africa. I sure hope I will be able to. If not, I'll "settle" (settle meaning be honored and so blessed) with any of these safaris.

My uncle studied in the land down under for college. How cool is that?! I actually have several friends studying abroad in Australia right now. All the photos on Facebook look amazing. I would love to go! My mom has been; she said koalas are really heavy. Lol. I'd want to check out this restaurant while there! (While there meaning one day in the future. Hopefully.)

I've always wanted to go on a food tour! My friend HD's mom was telling me how HD's brother asked for tickets for a local food tour as part of his Christmas gift one year. I looked into it, and it sounds amazing! This is the Gatsby level of food tours... or should I say food parties. As quoted from The Great Gatsby: "A little party never killed nobody!" Yes please.

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Just a few snaps from the North Carolina Zoo.

We weren't there for that long, as we were eager to make our way home.

(We stopped at the zoo on our way back home from Atlanta)

It was really hot and sunny at 4pm. We were exhausted.

Not a great combination.

We were fortunate to see some awesome animals close up in the short time we were there.

A lot of the animals were trying to beat the heat,

Like the ostrich was super close laying in the shade.

I love the zoo! What about you? What are your favorite zoo animals? I love the animals pictured above, and all bears - polar bears, black bears, panda bears. I also love the chimpanzees- they're so playful and smart!