Hi September, where did you come from? I hope you’re bringing cooler weather with you.

Over the past month, I’ve been a fairly busy Raleigh explorer! I managed to check off quite a few things from my bucket list (which is also slowly having things added and removed… it probably will turn into a sidebar item instead of just a single post!).

Food

I met up with one of my good friends from JMU at Lilly’s Pizza off Glenwood. She’s also a Raleigh transplant so she was willing to try a new place with me for dinner (Thanks Hannah!). We both heard great things about Lilly’s Pizza, she got rave reviews about their normal pizza from coworkers and I had read quite a few reviews on their gluten free pizza. We both went with pepperoni and while mine was definitely good gluten free pizza, it wasn’t the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had. But I like that they use local and organic ingredients in their food! Not ruling them out as a gluten free pizza option though, that’s for sure.

I went downtown during Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week on the Friday night they were doing Dine + Shop to do some exploring. I managed to stop in Lucettegrace before they closed to get two gluten free macarons! I found out all their macarons are gluten free except for two of the flavors they had that day (I also learned from a friend that macarons are actually supposed to always be gluten free, but sometimes people add wheat to get the right texture). I decided to get Vanilla and Salted Caramel for my first ever macarons! And they were so delicious. I definitely understand what the hype is all about now and I will definitely be back for more.

The boyfriend and I also went to Chatham Hill Winery last Friday after I discovered it’s not even five minutes from my house. It was a quiet Friday night scene and not really his thing, but I’m still glad we went because they have wine slushies y’all. So Raleigh wine-loving friends, let me know when you want to go and I’m down!

Shopping

The main reason I went downtown for Dine + Shop in the first place was to check out Deco. I fell in love the moment I stepped inside the store. It reminds me of Richmond’s Mongrel with their mix of home goods and quirky gifts and cards. Whenever I go into stores like Deco I always feel like I need to spend hours in the store making sure I look at everything and that’s almost what happened the night I went. The only downside was it’s location in downtown Raleigh and lack of parking… and probably my decision to go check it out on a Friday night.

I also went to Cameron Village one day to check out all the shops and was able to pop in Moon & Lola and The Local Squirrel. The Local Squirrel was a lot smaller than I was expecting but has super adorable home decor items. I’ll probably be back during the holidays for Christmas gifts!

I also stopped at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham while I was out there one day and was floored by the size of that mall. It reminds me of Tyson’s Corner with Short Pump Town Center as an addition… crazy. I stopped in the Paper Source there and also immediately fell in love. I love love love a good paper/stationery store and had to exercise some serious self-restraint not to buy all sorts of new notebooks, pens, stickers, cards… you get the idea. But one of my best friends in RVA and I decided to be pen pals so it looks like I’ll actually be checking out the Raleigh location pretty soon.

Miscellaneous

Last weekend (Aug. 27-28) was Lazy Daze Festival in downtown Cary and even though it was disgustingly hot, the boyfriend and I managed to get out for a little bit to check it out. This year was the 40th year of the festival so they expanded it to a two day event and it was SO COOL. I’m all about finding arts and crafts at farmer’s markets so I love that this festival was all about showcasing artwork/crafts from so many different types of creators. I’m always amazed by what other people create and love just wandering the aisles to see what everyone brought. We didn’t buy anything… but definitely have a few new artists on our radar.

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Raleigh has a LOT going on in September so I’m super excited to check out all the new events happening! Raleigh folks, is there anything in particular you think I should check out? Let me know in the comments!