Memorial Day is synonymous with BBQ’s and cookouts, but unfortunately, this City Girl does not own a grill.  Nonetheless, I did make my own All American meal using some of my favorite recipes which consisted of ‪fried chicken, Southern Living macaroni and cheese recipe, Piero’s Italian Cuisine creamed corn recipe and a pear-grape-pecan-blue cheese salad.  The salad was […]

This Sunday morning, I made my first batch of homemade granola.  It was crazy easy and after I tell you what it took to make it,  you will not want to buy it at the grocery store ever again. This is what you will need for cashew coconut granola: Ingredients: 2 cups of gluten-free oats 1/4 […]

Friday, December 5th from 5:30 pm to close, the Washington Duke Inn has a lovely event titled Bubbles : Sip into the Season. This event will feature a flight of four sparkling wines including a‪ ‎Brut, ‪Cava, ‪Rosé and a ‪Lambrusco. I embrace all fine wine, bubbles and cocktails so I was more than excited to participate in this event.   Prior […]

In order to cope with this weekend’s inclement weather, I had to brighten up my day with one of my  favorite non-alcoholic beverages – cantaloupe agua fresca.  You will need ½ – 1 cup sugar, 500 – 1000 ml water, 1-2 cantaloupes, a blender, a pitcher, a strainer and container or pitcher to capture the […]

‪‎Tupelo Honey Café, located on 425 Oberlin in Raleigh, is a great addition to the beautiful Cameron Village which is home to one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants and cafes.  Although, I have not had the pleasure of visiting any of the other Tupelo locations, I was quite impressed by the décor used in the restaurant which nicely […]

Fifteen years ago I was introduced to my first artisanal doughnut.  Since then, my appreciation grew and I have challenged myself to sample and compare doughnuts during my travels.  In my opinion, the gourmet donut craze has caused some shops to go overboard morphing these classics into a hot mess.  Although not all of my […]

 Rent the Runway (RTR).  I quickly googled RTR and as I had imagined, it is a service where you can rent designer dresses for either four or eight days.  Their website provides various search engines to help you find the perfect dress for your occasion.  Once I logged on to their website, the first thing I did was search   fee was 1/11th of the retail […]

Before this past week, I honestly did not know the difference between an Ashiatsu, a Swedish, a hot stone or a deep tissue massage.  Ashiatsu  comes from two words:  Ashi (foot) and atsu (pressure).  Ashiatsu is a massage therapy in which the therapist walks on the client’s back, using bars for support to vary pressure and weight.  How […]

What do Peru, Morrisville & rotisserie chicken have in common? Mami Nora’s Peruvian Restaurant located in Morrisville, North Carolina, of course! It all started with the Palma family, husband Julio of Peru, and wife Nora of El Salvador, after whom the business was named. Prior to calling The Triangle home, the couple and their family […]

I met my friend Marianela in Buenos Aires, Argentina while I was on an international assignment for my day job. We worked on the same floor and we quickly became the best of friends, because according to both of us, “We are Taruses”. Since my international assignment, I have returned to the state of North […]

The last time I walked into an Applebee’s restaurant, I was 18.  It was the favorite weekend spot for my gal pals and I.  That said… I grew up in a very small Texas town.  My girlfriends and I would often get together at Applebee’s for lunches, study breaks or dinner.  Occasionally we would sneak in […]

This past March, I continued my 24 hours series with a visit to New Bern, North Carolina. Until this visit to New Bern, I didn’t realize the rich 300 years of history behind the second oldest city and first state capital of North Carolina. The charming riverfront town is set alongside the Neuse and Trent […]

This weekend my family and I celebrated our patriarch’s 98th birthday – a true blessing.   The Mexican-themed fiesta was a collaborative effort between the children, grandchildren and family friends of Candelario Moreno.   It was a joyous occasion where friends and family traveled near and far from both the US and Mexico to come and celebrate […]

Recently, I attended the Competition Dining Series, held at 1705 Prime in Raleigh, NC where Chef Ben Adams from Piedmont Restaurant in Durham and Chef Chelsi Hogue from Ed’s Southern Food & Spirits in Goldsboro battled it out side by side in the kitchen.   Each chef created an appetizer, entrée and dessert using a secret […]