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north carolina

life,north carolina

Golf Cart Ocean Isle Beach NC

We finally got a Golf cart last weekend!!  Ever since we bought our beach house last year in Ocean Isle Beach NC I had my heart set on eventually getting a golf cart.  Ocean Isle Beach is known for his golf cart community lifestyle and everyone on the island typically has one for cruising the streets easily.  The towns hosts a 4th of July Parade every year where they decorate everyone’s golf carts and line the streets for the kids!  After researching a few companies over the last several months, we finally decided to go look at Golf Carts at Cary Cart Company’s newest location in Ocean Isle Beach!  (6855 Beach Dr. SW #3 Ocean Isle Beach NC).  The location is an easy 10 minute drive from Ocean Isle Beach on the way to Sunset Beach.  We toured all the color options they had and decided to go with this Mint green one!

The exact Golf Cart we chose and features:

  • Model: Onward PTV, street legal Club Car Manufacturer
  • Blue Tooth speakers enabled
  • Lights
  • Seat belts for the kids
  • Back Storage
  • Cup Holders front and back
  • Mint color, white seats (you can custom this)

Why we chose Cary Cart Company:

  • Local Service-(Offices in OIB, Bald Head Island, and Cary, NC) This was huge, if something happens to golf cart or the battery stops working etc, I wanted someone nearby to easily run over and fix the problem.  Their team even brought it on a trailer and dropped the cart off at our house once purchased.
  • Cost:  48 months 0% financing!  You heard that right.  When I thought about waiting another year to get a golf cart, it just made since to go ahead and finance once since we would have 4 years to pay it off.  They offer this deal for brand new golf carts.  You can buy used ones as well, but the 0% won’t be available.
  • Custom Golf Carts:  You can customize and make any type of golf cart if you don’t want a used one!  They help you pick out the colors, features, seat size etc!
  • Family Owned:  I love to support local small businesses expecially during this time and I love the fact the entire family works and operates at each location.
  • Rent or Buy:  If you are just renting a beach place for the week, they also have that option available.  Search their rentals here and the carts for sale here!
life,lifestyle,north carolina,travel

Wrightsville Beach Travel Guide

This Wrightsville Beach guide is a long time coming!  When I say a long time, I mean this was the first beach I ever went to with my family when I was a baby  and continued to vacation for 30 years :).  Being born and raised in North Carolina you come to love Wrightsville beach and Wilmington NC area because it is the closest beach right off highway 40 when you head to the coast.  Not only is it super convenient, it also has always been the most developed North Carolina Beach town with some of the best restaurants and shops to me. This post is also going to be hard for me to write because there are SO MANY good places to go, visit, and eat.  For that simple reason, I am going to do two blog posts.  This first one I am going to highlight options to stay and things to do with the kids.  The next one will showcase where to eat around town, so stay tuned for that too!!  So without further ado, below is some info on WB!

How to get there:

You can fly into ILM airport and easily be at the beach in 20 minutes depending if summer/traffic etc.  If you are driving, you head straight down 40 East till you arrive in Wilmington.  North Carolina is not complicated to figure out 🙂  The best weather in NC typically runs from April-October.  The hottest time of the year is typically July-August, with highs touching the 90s.


(pictured here is the Holiday Inn Resort at Wrightsville Beach)

Where to stay:

  • We always book all our rentals through this Wilmington and Beaches site! From hotels, B&B’s to vacation rentals, they have several options!
  • If you want to stay on the beach, any area over the bridges is an easy walk to the ocean.
  • If you want to stay near restaurants/bars, choose the streets right off of Lumina, or anywhere behind the beach bars (located by Jerry Allens, or Tower 7)
  • The Southend of Wrightsville is more quiet and secluded in my opinion.
  • The North end (shell island) has more larger house rentals/full time residents and two hotels on that end.
  • If you have a boat, look at renting docks by the north end/”lollipop area”
  • We recently stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort at Wrightsville Beach.  I loved this hotel because they have so many amenities on site for kids:  Playground, indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub, onsite kids camp/playroom, and an arcade room open 24/7.  The rooms also have a balcony over looking the pool & ocean!
  • We have also stayed at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, which is on the south-end of the island.  They recently renovated the hotel & the entire outside area is gorgeous.

What to do:

  • Rent a Boat/Car from Bluewater Transport Charters:  One of my favorite things to do in the summer is go out on a boat to some of the neighborhood islands.  The closest one is Mason’s inlet, which has small tide pools for kids to play in.  On the islands you can bring your own coolers, dogs, and tents year round & spend an entire day out there!  You can rent a boat for the day, do a sunrise tour, and even arrange luxury car transfers if a special occasion.
  • Visit the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History:  Located at 303 W. Salisbury, find this museum in the middle of the Historic Square of houses all built in the early 1900s.  The homes that make up the Historic Square are some of the last survivors of the Great Fire, which roared through
    the island in 1934 including the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History.  The Wrightsville Beach Park is right behind the Museum, so take the kids right after the blow off some energy! Wrightsville Beach Park has a new all-inclusive playground geared towards children with disabilities as well as two outdoor basketball courts, four tennis courts, three sand volleyball pits, one softball field and anopen area for soccer/flag football.
  • Explore the Shops on Wrightsville beach: My favorite local beach shops are Sweetwater Surf Shop & Hallelu!
  • Explore Airlie Gardens: “Encompasses 67 acres of beautiful Gilded Age gardens and lakes. Admire the azaleas,gaze at the camellias, stand in the shade of the 450-year-old Airlie Oak, experience nature’s most delicate and ephemeral creatures – butterflies – in the region’s first
    permanent butterfly house.”  Airlie Gardens has special events year round, including the famous “Garden Party” which is hosted Azalea festival weekend on that Friday.  They also do “Enchanted Airlie” during the holidays where you can pay for a car full to drive and see all the lights!
  • Book a Cave room with Native Salt Caves & Wellness: This was a really cool experience to take the kids to detoxify your body!  From the site, since they can explain their process better:  “Providing Himalayan salt caves for halotherapy, Native Salt Cave and Wellness offers the choice of two caves: one for a massage treatment room or children’s cave, and the other for adults to sit and relax enjoying the benefits of breathing the salt-infused air surrounded by Himalayan Salt. The salt used in the halogenerators, found in both caves, is pharmaceutical-grade 99.99% sodium chloride, the same that is used in medical saline solutions. The main Salt Cave holds tweleve. Inhaling dry salt air for a period of time has been a traditional wellness practice. Signature events: Classes, or group sessions, held in the main cave combining massage, light and sound techniques to enhance the salt cave experience.”
  • Visit the Famous Wrightsville Beach Mailbox:  Before you leave, head to the North end on the beach, known as on shell island, Beach Access 1, and walk to the beach to put a note in the mailbox!

We loved working with Wilmington and Beaches to showcase an area that means so much to us!  Stay tuned for my next guide on “Where to eat in Wrightsville Beach” coming soon!

lifestyle,north carolina,travel

North Carolina Travel Stay-Cations

I was born & raised in North Carolina.  I went to school in North Carolina (except for a semester in Hawaii), and I now live in North Carolina with my family!  When it comes to traveling around the state, I find myself doing the same things I am so use to and grew up to know.  I wanted to break out of the ordinary and start traveling my own state like I do other cities.  These next couple months I am so excited to do several “Stay-Cations” in North Carolina and see some sides of these towns I haven’t before!  We have some upcoming trips to the mountains (Blowing Rock & Asheville) over these winter months so keep an eye out for those travel guides.

In NC, fall/Winter blend together for the most part. I wanted to show you my basic travel packing list for the kids when going on short one night stays in the area!
Here’s whats in their suitcase:

  •  Jackets: These Merrimane Jackets have been a life saver, not too hot, not too cold, perfect over the clothes jacket that’s so soft.  It also has a chic look too it, so we rock these jackets to church too :). * Fun Giveaway happening on my Instagram page, head over there for a chance to win a Merrimane Jacket!
  • Basic Tees/Leggings: My go to is H&M/ Carters for basic black/white tees for layering
  • Pajamas: Babybreez– I always try to put the kids in jammies when traveling for comfort.
  • Toboggans: Loving Love your Melon kid line right now!
  • Shoes: Uggs- so easy & Warm, I think im going to get black for both of them for christmas.
  • Essentials: Babybum products, from lotion to shampoo!
  • Packing Cubes: These making packing so much easier, got them on amazon here!

Below are some stays we recently did and Holiday events going on around the Triangle this month (Raleigh/Durham).  You can see my first Christmas post on events around NC here.

Winston Salem, NC
Where we stayed: The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel

  •  Proximity: We chose this hotel due to its convenience to downtown and tons of restaurants within walking distance.
  • Kid Friendly:  If you saw my stories on my Instagram, they didn’t do it justice.  This hotel comes with a complete underground basement with a basketball court, Bowling Alley, Slide, ping pong tables, and so on.  Anyone from kids to adults could spend hours in this area having a blast.
  • Pet Friendly:  This hotel allows dogs.  Its rare that I am at a nice hotel that also allows pets, so bring your fur babies!
  • Rooms:  We stayed in a large king room, the showers were amazing with kids- double sided no fights!
  • Buffet Breakfast: Starts at 8am, I would have preferred earlier because my kids are early birds but nonetheless it was delicious and easy!

    Raleigh, NC
    Where we Stayed: Hilton North Hills

  • Amenities: Their Indoor Pool & Whirlpool was the hit of our stay with the kids.  I love when a hotel has a pool indoors because you can keep the kids entertained no matter what time of year it is!  The place was huge and stocked with towels.
  • Restaurant on site:  Their new restaurant 88 Oaks was an easy choice for dinner & Breakfast.
  • Service:  Everything was perfect from check in to check out, to getting us anything we needed quickly.
  • Rooms: We had a king bed room and the bed was very comfortable, I usually toss and turn not sleeping in my own bed and didn’t wake up at all here.  The bed felt like a cloud.
  • Proximity: This location is within a mile from North Hills shopping, and we happened to stay the night of the Tree Lighting at North Hills!  A lot of fun action happening around this area for kids to be entertained.

We went to the Christmas parade in downtown Raleigh yesterday and then scooted over to the North Hills Hilton! There seemed to be a ton of events going on.  A tree lighting at North Hills Shopping center with a ton of vendors/events going on, and at the same time they had one in Lafayette Village we didn’t get a chance to check out.

The Kids are wearing their Merrimane Jackets in these pictures I mentioned above- giveaway happening on my instagram page!

Upcoming Events I am excited to check out and share with you, check them out if you’re in the area!

  •    Santa at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock NC
  •    Tweetsie Christmas- Blowing Rock, NC
  •    Umstead Tea with Santa
  •    Pullen Park Holiday Express
  •    12 days of Shristmas at Carolina Inn
  •    Polar Express
  •     Museum of Natural Science, Durham NC
lifestyle,north carolina

Carolina Holidays for the Kids

Can a Kid ever see Santa too many times or have too many cookies or wear enough Christmas jammies?? Answer still up for grabs, but we got close.

If you’re like me, the Holidays were jammed packed for the month of December and went by way too fast!  I think I might have slightly over done it this season, but I have serious FOMO (which I blame from my dad) and I didn’t want my kids to miss one bit of action going on in NC!  Most of these events I had to start planning back in the Summer, because moms are all over it when it comes to Christmas activities around here in the south apparently :).  Mark your calendars for next summer because you are going to want to get tickets for these events next year!

Events around NC that sell out in advance typically:
-Pullen Park Holiday Express
-Polar Express Train- I know there are two locations in NC.
-Tea with Santa (Umstead)
-12 days of Christmas Carolina Inn
-1870 Farm santa/animal hayrides
-MapleView farm icecream santa hayrides
-Chetola, Blowing rock NC -Santa & Carriage Rides
-Tweetsie Christmas (this was the first year they opened this!)
-Disney on Ice- PNC arena
-Feel free to let me know if i need to add any more high demand ones!

Some photos from the holidays of these events are below, and ill remind everyone when these tickets go back on sale!

Chetola Santa:

12 Days of Christmas Carolina inn (We did brunch with Santa and Sugar Plum Fairy afternoon tea):

&& that’s a wrap on the events!