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Staycation - RDU Style

If you know me, you know that I only use my PTO for adventures outside of the state I live in. This past week, however, the stress became too much to handle and decided last minute to take Friday off for mental health. And with my day off, I visited some places I've been wanting to go for quite some time.

1) My day started with a pick me up movie known as "Mamma Mia." The good laughs started out the day on a happy note.
2) After the movie, I headed outdoors to take a walk. My apartment complex is large enough to get a good 30 - 45 minute walk in and I was even able to check my mail on the way back.
3) Some of my DVDs were due back at the library so that was my first stop. I love having a library that rents out movies. It costs me nothing and if I am proactive, they will already have the movies in the hold section for me to pick up.
4) From there, I head to True Flavors Diner & Catering. I sat at the countertop bar that overlooked the kitchen. And since you know how much I enjoy cooking, you know I enjoyed every moment of watching the chefs! The lemonade of the day was strawberry pineapple so I had one of those and I had the BBQ Grilled Chicken Hash. The flavor profile of that dish was spot on with grilled and raw red onion, roasted red peppers, topped with parmesan cheese and scrambled eggs. It was the best restaurant dish I've had in quite some time.



 5) From True Flavors, I drove in to downtown Raleigh to visit the fair trade boutique called The Flourish Market. I bought a pair of earrings and I feel good about my purchase knowing they did not come from a sweatshop in China.
6) Since it was a day to drive all over the triangle area, I headed up to Wake Forest. There is a coffee shop there that caters to all of us coffee snobs out there. It's called Back Alley Coffee Roasters and they feature primarily pour over coffee (slow brew for all of you none coffee snobs out there. I stayed there for a decent amount of time catching up on my Bible readings and journaling through some things. I only left when too many people were there and disrupted the quiet.
7) For those of you who don't enjoy spending a fortune on groceries, there is a new German grocer that has hit the US. In addition to Aldi, we now have Lidl. Currently, the only location in RDU is in Wake Forest. So I decided to check it out and see how it compares to Aldi. Let me tell you, if it was closer to where I lived, Aldi wouldn't stand a chance to earn my business. It was cleaner, larger and had a much better selection of items. So I purchased the things I need for the week of cooking and even a few extras. Total spent on groceries: $27.34 WIN!


8) After my levels of stress and anxiety, I needed some puppy cuddles. Since I can't have a dog, I went to my parents house and there lives an adorable beagle dachshund mix named Butterfly who loves to cuddle.
9) After some reading, dog cuddles, and Chick-Fil-A, I headed out to a meetup group called Relationships over Religion. I'd only been to one meetup and really enjoyed it so I decided to check out another one. We met up at Cameron Bar & Grill for a late night drink and discussion. It was a great ending to a great day of adventuring throughout the triangle.

What have you done lately to take care of yourself?


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