#Raleigh Rejoice! @American_Girl Store Opens Oct 1 @shopCrabTree ~ Soft Opening Preview Recap

October 1, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

AMERICAN GIRL opens a temporary store at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, October 1 just in time for the holidays. Excited American Girl fans of all ages and their dolls should definitely make plans to attend this grand opening weekend !
Here are the details :

WHEN Saturday, October 1 10 am – 9 pm Sunday, October 2 12 pm – 7 pm

WHERE American Girl Store, Crabtree Valley Mall *closest mall entrance to American Girl is Sears and the parking Blue Deck.

WHAT During the grand opening celebration, girls will receive a free gift and craft while supplies last, and can enter to win Lea, American Girl’s 2016 Girl of the Year. Mall doors open two hours prior to regular business hours. Entrance Tickets are required and will be distributed one hour before store opening.

My daughter, fondly referred to on the blog as #OutandAboutAva, and I were excited to be invited to Friday’s soft opening and tour. Here is what we saw during our preview of the store :

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLAPdKwDB9J/
To learn more about American Girl or request a free catalogue, call 1-800-845-0005 or visit http://www.americangirl.com, http://www.facebook.com/americangirl, or www.twitter.com/american_girl.
Be sure to make your way before the holidays to this family favorite store and see why parents, educators and girls love American Girl ! Expect to see plenty of the popular American Girl dolls , books, accessories and the signature Doll Hair Salon at the new pop up store in Crabtree Valley Mall.

To see more pictures of the new store, see here.
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#SobeSavvy shares #Hopscotch16 Highlights! @HopscotchFestival #Raleigh #Music #Festival

September 11, 2016SobeSavvy 1 Comment

Hopscotch was a favorite child’s game of mine. I used to skip from one number to another number on one foot. I had the pleasure going to a fantastic music festival with all performance venues/acts concentrated in downtown Raleigh. This 3 day festival is aptly named HOPSCOTCH! http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/

Fans can literally just hop and skip to see multiple acts one after another after another just a block or two apart !

This is Hopscotch’s 7th year throwing one of the most fun and eclectic music festivals in the nation. This year over 20,000 fans can expect to see 120 regional and national artists/bands in various downtown clubs and theaters. Some acts are even performing at the CAM art museum. We spent 9 straight hours Friday taking in as much of the festival that we could! For the first time in festival history they utilized The Red Hat Ampitheatre for Friday night. The weather was warm and sultry. In other words..PERFECT!

The festival’s “wristband city” was set up inside the Raleigh Convention center. Attendees went there to pick up their wristbands and visit various sponsor booths and view some eclectic modern art pieces.

The soul blues rocker himself, Gary Clark Jr performed a great set. He is an amazing guitarist and vocalist that reminds one of past soul rock greats.

Up next was the headliner, the amazing Ms. Erykah Badu. She blessed the fans with an extended set which included her playful banter and many of her great hits. Fans delighted in her spiritual energy and unique force of her voice.

Unlike most music festivals that are centered around one genre of music, Hopscotch defies that norm. Artists here perform almost every genre one could imagine. From Bluegrass and country to New Orleans own gender bending self proclaimed “Queen Of Bounce”, Big Freedia.

Freedia performed a late night/early morning set at the famous Lincoln Theatre venue. The crowd was diverse and full of bounce energy. Big Freedia and her crew gave what can only be descibes as a “COLORFUL” performance ! See the IG video below, which clearly verifies my description of her performance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKKcTDzjytz/

Artists perform indoors at various clubs and music venues that fans must have a paid wristband to enter but some acts perform in open air city plaza downtown where anyone can just hang out and vibe to the unique welcoming atmosphere that Hopscotch is known for.

Fans can opt to purchase one day wristbands, which gives you access to all venues and Red Hat on Friday night or for a real deal, buy a 3 day band to enjoy everything and everyone the festival has to offer.

Check out this link for the official schedule: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/schedule/

They also have a fantastic App for the festival where you can build your own custom schedule of acts you want to see. Get in in the Google Play Store for Android or in Apple App Store.

You still have a few hours to enjoy the fest..See ya next year !!

Learn,Play,Celebrate! @MarblesRaleigh @ImaxRaleigh #FamilyFun #outandaboutAva

August 17, 2016SobeSavvy 1 Comment

August is a busy month for us here at SobeSavvy.com –myself and my daughter fondly known as #outandaboutAva are celebrating birthdays ..And what better way to celebrate than with a day filled with learning while playing! Marbles Kids Museum is a place to let your inner child run wild along with your little ones. That’s why I thought it would be a great idea to head to downtown Raleigh with my husband and our daughter for a family playdate!

But before we ventured into the children’s museum, we watched a 45 min documentary showing at Imax Raleigh called National Parks Adventure. It was in 3D and it gave us a visual tour of some of the most famous National Parks in the USA. We left the movie with more than a few places added to our bucket list to visit ! Savvy tip: Be sure to download Stealz app and get free popcorn to enjoy with your movie!

After the movies, we stopped for some fun in the sun outside in the courtyard between Imax and Marbles. Recess games and activities were set up for all to enjoy. In our gadget obsessed culture, it was refreshing to see that Marbles created a space for kids to get moving while enjoying fresh air !

I especially liked the different sized hula hoops, which meant I could join in on the fun and give my daughter a quick tutorial as seen here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BI-oUnGjk1B/

We headed inside for more fun and games. We discovered that Marbles had created a daily celebration of the 2016 Summer Olympics with Radical Recess: Olympic Edition. Lots of cool interactive activities to choose from !

Check out the schedule at Marbleskidsmuseum.org/calendar/

This reading corner even had Olympic themed childrens’ books !

Speaking of reading, my child is an avid reader and loves to visit the reading nook in the garden. Be sure to go out to see the unique space ..and don’t worry about the bees, Marbles reminds us how important they are in helping gardens grow!

This Saturday Aug 20, celebrate starting school at Marbles Kick-off to Kindergarten ! Practice a lunch line, get moving at recess, hop on a school bus and much more. Free for rising kindergarteners and their families. Presented by NC 529 Savings Plan See details here: marbleskidsmuseum.org/kickofftokindergarten

Our now 5 yr old had a great time at Marbles Childrens Museum and Imax. Both places are suitable for families and a great choice when looking for something to do that is budget friendly. Marbles has been nominated for 2016 Best In The Triangle Awards in the following categories : “Best Museum and Best Place to Take Kids”. Plan to go and have a truely fun day for all!

Happy #TastyThursday #TeaFreaks ! Open Now @McAlistersDeli #Raleigh #NC off Capital Blvd #McAlistersDeli

July 28, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

On Monday, July 25th , McAlister’s Deli celebrated its Grand Opening of its newest location at 5505 Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, NC ! As a North Raleigh resident, I was happy to learn McAlister’s Deli is now open and serving the community.

Known for serving “American Regional favorites” with a smile, this restaurant serves good food and great tea to wash it all down with. Did you know there was a cult following of “tea freaks” who love McAlister’s Famous Sweet Tea?! Well, I have a confession..my name is Leslie and I am a tea freak.

Yesterday I went to the new location in Raleigh with my husband and daughter. While I was familiar with their beverage menu, I had never tried their food. Their menu is not your typical deli menu because it offers so much more than just hot/cold sandwiches. For example, McAlister’s serves nachos for starters, entree salads, giant stuffed potatoes known as ‘Spuds’, desserts and they offer a variety of vegetarian options.
For our almost 5 year old foodie, we ordered from the kids menu. Her choice of mac & cheese included a drink (she loved the strawberry lemonade), a side item (fruit cup was selected) and a treat (graham crackers). The Just For Kids menu is suitable for kids 12 and under and for $3.59 it’s a great value !

My husband was in the mood for a good sandwich, and by the looks of the menu he came to the right place. Hot Sandwiches, Grilled Sandwiches,Classic Sandwiches, Club Sandwiches..OH MY ! He went with the Spicy Southwest Chicken Griller and opted to substitute the baguette with a croissant. In my opinion, (yes, he thankfully offered me to have a bite ) it was not too spicy but oh so flavorful. It was served with a pickle and a choice of side (he got chips).

Speaking of spice, variety is the spice of life and McAlister’s Deli has a ‘Choose 2’ option for those of us who loves variety! I went with a cup of potato soup and their seasonal pecan berry salad. It was so good, especially once I added gorgonzola cheese to it. And of course with me being a tea freak and all, I ordered a peach sweet tea and wildberry tea. Very refreshing!

We also enjoyed a sweet ending to our meal by trying two of their desserts: A fresh baked sugar cookie for her (she read the word cookie on the window before we even got in and thought she could have that for dinner, thanks McAlister’s Deli) and a brownie for us.

Thumbs up for the sugar cookie!

Some things I learned from our visit (besides how tasty everything is) :

McAlister’s Deli does catering
Online ordering is available at www.mcalistersdeli.com
There are 27 locations in North Carolina (lucky me!)
Tea by the Gallon is on the menu for $8.00 ( tea freaks rejoice! )

From the smiling greeter at the door to the delicious food we were served, our first dining experience with McAlister’s Deli Raleigh/Capital Blvd was enjoyable and filled with tasty memories ! We will definitely be back.

Cheers and Welcome to the neighborhood!

@KoolntheGngLIVE @Bootsy_Collins @TheMorrisDay strives to #KeepinTheFunkAlive in #Raleigh

July 24, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

On Saturday July 24,2016 , SobeSavvy.com joined thousands of other funk music veterans at The Walnut Creek Amphitheatre to experience Bootsy Collins, Kool & The Gang along with Morris Day & The Time.

DJ Doug E. Fresh opened up the evening with one of his classic sets familiar with the young and old{er} alike!! Former James Brown band member, world renowned bassist Bootsy Collins was up first. Bootsy was an integral part of Parlament/Funkadelic in the 70’s. He also has worked with a myriad of other artists throughout his 40 year career. He played many of his classics like “I’d Rather Be With You and “Let me ride” to name a few. He made multiple costume changes since he is also known for his colorful and outrageous stage stylings !

Next up was Morris Day and The Time. They started their set with a video tribute to their mentor and friend, Prince Rogers Nelson. Once that touching video montage ended it was time to party. They went through some of their many memorable funky tunes. From their famous balled, ” Gigalos Get Lonely too” to the dance anthem “The Bird”..The choreography was still tight and yes an assistant made sure to hold up a mirror so Morris could check out his profile.

Kool and The Gang came on next. Their history is richer than most casual fans could ever guess. Robert “Kool” Bell founded the group when he was 13 years old !
They started out as an instrumental band that had a huge hit with the now iconic song, ” Summer Madness” 1974. Their famous extensive horn section was highlighted during the show. Their hits span over 4 decades. They have had #1 hits on the pop and R&B Charts. “Hollywood Swingin” kicked off their energetic set. Crowds favorites were ” Joanna”, which many couples stood up and slow danced to. “celebrate” brought the crowd to a fever pitch.

Here a few pics from my Funk-tastic night in the Capital City !!

#Raleigh @CompDiningNC #GotToBeNC #CompDiningNC July 18 Battle “Ham & Jam” Recap

July 19, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

Battle 4 of The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, highlighting the best of the state’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, kicked off last night in Raleigh and SobeSavvy.com was there for a fabulous, foodie fun night out!
The event was held in downtown Raleigh’s City Market in the building that is now 214 Martin Street. It is a very unique event space that also serves as a Pop Up Restaurant for hire! Each table was beautifully decorated with candles and red and black linens from Alsco. Cocktails, wine and beer were available for purchase thruout the evening. Servers started us off with warm bread and butter. But not just any bread..we enjoyed artisanal breads from La Farm Bakery. The white chocolate baguette was a favorite at the table and we all tried hard not to fill up on that before the courses started!

This was my first dinner battle and as a fan of such food shows like IronChef and Chopped , I was very excited to be able to partake and ‘be the judge’ last night. Host/Director of Competition Dining, Jimmy Crippen explained to guests that we will get to to enjoy and vote on six courses without knowing which of the two teams of three Chefs created them. We were all able to cast our votes by submitting our ballots via smartphone. The whole process of voting was very cool and high tech! This was unlike any other dinner experience I have ever had!
Last night’s preliminary round was a “Ham & Jam” battle between Team Scratch Mavericks and Orange Crush and featured 2 secret ingredients: Goodnight Brothers Country Ham Thin Sliced Dry-Cured Ham and Norm’s Farms Elderberry Jams & Extracts. I did a screenshot from my phone of these ballot photos (photo credit dining staff/Heidi Bilotto/Competition Dining) of each course that we were served as follows:

The winners Team Scratch Mavericks from The Hen & The Hog and SoCo Farm and Food made quite an impression with their veal entree that I decided to do a how to clean your plate video clip as shown here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIBbVCADNO5/
Chefs Chelsea Houge, Jessica Collier Ricks and Jeremy Law move on to the Thursday night semi final against the winner of tonights preliminary battle. Cheers to to chefs Rich Carter, Sara Samuels and Anthony Calcagna from Team Orange Crush from Catering Works for their delicious part in making last night so wonderful! We even got a parting gift of ham that I plan on wrapping around some asparagus tips and broiling! Here is my photo slideshow recap of the delicious fun that was had!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIDJONqDqzz/
Be sure to follow Competition Dining for up to the minute news of this exciting NC food event!

http://www.facebook.com/competitiondining

http://www.competitiondining.com

http://www.twitter.com/compdiningNC

http://www.Instagram.com/compdiningNC

Hashtag #CompDiningNC

#BringItLiveTour takes #Raleigh on a ride @DECRaleigh @BringItLifetime #DD4L ! #soNCsavvy RECAP #bringit

July 14, 2016SobeSavvy 1 Comment

On July 13,2016 , Coach D and her Dancing Dolls of Lifetime’s Bring It! came to Raleigh, NC to show off and show out at Duke Energy Center for The Performing Arts as part of the “Bring It! Live” tour. SobeSavvy.com joined fans to see the Dance Team Grand Champions & TV stars, known for their high-kicks and hair-flips , on their first tour!

Whether you watch the Lifetime show, where Bring It! has aired for three seasons and counting, or have seen the Dancing Dolls compete across the country, anyone who goes to see these dancers on tour would enjoy their performances! Coach D told the Raleigh audience to strap in, buckle up and prepare ourselves for a rollercoaster ride because the Dancing Dolls came ready to thrill us!

Once the DJ dropped the beat and yelled DD4L , the crowd filled with young kids, teenagers, young adults and parents stood up on their feet to see the high-octane dance and athleticism that these dancers have brought to the hip-hop majorette world. The dance routines are filled with hip-shakes that could cause an earthquake, death drops, splits, and their own brand of power and energy, which has earned them more than 100 trophies!

This tour showcased their other dance styles as well, from ballet, jazz, to a moving contemporary dance piece paying tribute to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as seen here:

We were reminded that a “Change is Gonna Come” and to not only be inspired but to be inspiring ! I believe the best is yet to come for Coach D and these women on their dance/life journey and encourage you to support and attend this tour coming to a city near you!

Details about the show can be found at bringitlivetour.com. Check out #BringItLiveTour to see what others have said about this amazing show! Here are a few photos /video of last night’s tour stop in Raleigh!

Fans Outside the beautiful Raleigh Memorial Auditorium,home to the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

A DJ inside the lobby gets the party started!

This group of family/friends show up in the Dancing Dolls team color :RED!

Fresh Empire was there providing a free and fun photo op with props with their important message to : Keep It Fresh, Live Tobacco Free

They even gave young teens the opportunity to spin to win free prizes! See more #FreshEvents @FreshEmpire

Bring It ! Live swag for sale

This little girl is warming up before the show, rocking her DD4L tee!

The DJ inside the auditorium is keeping the party going as fans are being seated before…..SHOWTIME !

Say it with me: DD4L !

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH0iLrkjcr0/

#GoodMusic & #GoodTimes @RedHatAmp ‘Cameo and The SOS Band’ #Raleigh #NC #Concert RECAP

July 10, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

“Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life” ~ George Santayana

With all the gloominess that is being felt in the world, it was nice to be unified last night by MUSIC. SobeSavvy.com joined live music lovers from Raleigh, Durham, and surrounding areas, to witness two legends of R&B and funk: Cameo and The SOS Band with special guest The Gravedigger on July 9, 2016 at The Red Hat Amphitheater !

Cameo, known for their funky musical style and in-your face, cutting-edge stage performances, took us on a stroll down memory lane. Led by their original frontman and lead singer Larry Blackmon, wearing his now iconic red cup,took us down memory lane while “Hangin’ Downtown” Raleigh, bringing us their hits like “Candy”, “Word Up!”, “Single Life” and much more. Here they are performing one of my faves, “Back and Forth” ! https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsK7H4DkC5/

Founded in 1974 as New York City Players, they had to change the name because of a conflict with the funk bank named The Ohio Players, they became Cameo. This group has stood the test of time the way few bands have. In the fickle business that music has always been, Cameo has pushed the envelope ,not only musically but visually. Their stunning music videos in 1980’s and 90’s are still examples of the best video artistry of their time. They did not dissapoint !!

Getting the party started, The S.O.S Band took the stage performing classic hit after hit songs like “Take Your Time (Do It Right)”, “Just Be Good To Me” , and “Weekend Girl”. The band thanked the crowd for being apart of their musical journey for the past 37 years! That truly proves good music is timeless! Here is a video clip of them singing one of their many smash hits “Tell Me If You Still Care” ! https://www.instagram.com/p/BHqRL1Xh01r/

..and the crowd singing and dancing along to “No One’s Gonna Love You” https://www.instagram.com/p/BHqTe5YDcXk/

In my opinion Red Hat is one of the best venues we have in the Triangle! The lawn is small but it’s way close to the stage, you can see all the performers no problem! To stay in the loop of who is “Bringin’ the get down to Downtown Raleigh” be sure to follow on Twitter @RedHatAmp / Instagram @redhatamphitheater / Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RedHatAmphitheater/ 
Enjoy these photos taken last night at Red Hat Amphitheater !

#Raleigh, Win Tix to @CompDiningNC #GotToBeNC #CompDiningNC July 12 Battle

July 5, 2016SobeSavvy 1 Comment

The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, highlighting the best of the state’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, is back in Raleigh this July and SobeSavvy.com wants to send you and a guest for a foodie fun night out!

Win tickets to see a dinner battle consisting of two All-Star Dream Teams made up of regional chefs competing to move on in the single-elimination tournament. At each dinner, held at 214 Martin Street in Raleigh, guests enjoy and vote on six courses without knowing which chef team prepared them. The menu must be created around “Featured” North Carolina ingredients. The ingredients are revealed to the chefs the morning of their battle and they must be used in each of their three courses. For more information on the “Got To Be NC” Competition Dining Series, please visit CompetitionDining.com.

Sound like a foodie fun night to remember right? Enter today for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the July 12 dinner battle at 6pm by filling out the rafflecopter form below. This contest ends Wednesday, July 7 when a randomly chosen winner will be announced.

Good luck!

Enter Rafflecopter Giveaway HERE ! *Contest has ended and einner has been notified*

* Be sure to check back here for my recap of the July 18th battle as Scratch Mavericks takes on Orange Crush in Battle 4 of Raleigh’s “Got To Be NC” Competition Dining Series!

#FoodieFriday spotlight on @KamadoGrille ‘s New #HappyHour in #Raleigh ! #Cocktails #Appetizers

May 27, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

Clay vessels have been used by humans to cook food for many thousands of years. Clay cooking pots have been found in every part of the world and some of the earliest dated by Archaeologists to be over 3000 years old have been found in China. It is believed that in these circular clay cooking vessels are the origins of the modern Kamado albeit the clay finally being superseded by ceramic materials

Now that the history lesson is over, I can tell you where you can go dine by food prepared using the above ancient method. That place is Kamado Grille in North Raleigh.

They already have a devout following for their dinner scene but now they want to do the same for their new Happy Hour.

Between the hours of 4-6pm, Monday thru Thursday, you can get specially priced drinks and half-off mouth watering appetizers. My family and I went there on Tuesday to enjoy their signature Backyard Cocktails, their great food, and their lawn games that sit out front of the restaurant. Since it was a gorgeous late afternoon we opted to sit at one of their attractive patio tables.

We started with two cocktails from their backyard cocktails menu. A Spiked Blueberry Lemonade and a Dirty Shirley( think Shirley Temple but the adult version). On such a warm afternoon they both were cold and refreshing.
*complete list of backyard cocktails as seen on their electronic menu

A Sips & Selfie moment =)

The appetizers menu offers a delicious variety of tasty options. Oysters Kamadofeller were first up. 4 Oysters on the half shell topped with Andouille Sausage and Spinach cream sauce. AWESOME !!

My little one (did I mention Kamado Grille is family friendly?!) was getting restless so we played a few rounds of bean bag throw on their lawn before our second appetizer arrived.

Grilled Shrimp Scampi arrived and promptly disappeared ! The garlic foccacia bread that accompanied it was mouth watering as well.

Tip: Order the Crab Cakes and Lamb Chops(which come with cheese grits) together, both offered on the appetizers menu, and have yourself a surf & turf meal at deal. The portion size is great and the taste even greater! All for 50% off during happy hour.

It was time for another backyard game (this time table tennis ) and a cocktail break. I ordered the KG Spiked Palmer at the suggestion of our server, who advised it was his favorite out of all the cocktails. It became my personal fave as well and I think helped me win the game !

We worked up a bit of an appetite after playing these games and ordered two entrees: Ribs {Which are slow cooked for 18 hrs} & Miso Salmon.

Needless to say this duo left us full and satisfied. No room for dessert, but plenty of memories of our early evening of foodie fun!

Sip,Sip Hooray …
Cheers to Kamado Grille, their new Happy Hour and always delicious food !
https://www.instagram.com/p/BF66kZJCXJP/

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