Spreading the holiday cheer—and sweetness—this season is Bake Eat Love, an all-the-rage subscription box biz offering easy-to-follow recipes for your holiday baking binge—think chocolate peppermint whoopie pies, gingerbread cake rolls and snow globe cookies.
Founded by Kristen and Nick Baileys with a mission to “share the love of baking by making it more accessible,” Bake Eat Love serves up its sweet monthly subscription box—or one-time purchase for the noncommittal—with premeasured ingredients, a tool used in the recipe, a detailed recipe card featuring step-by-step instructions, pictures, online instruction videos and a FAQ page. Translation: making it easy as pie to nail whichever treat you decide to try your hand at, whether it’s a simple cupcake or a macaron (one of the hardest feats, according to Kristen).
The baking aficionado got the inspiration for Bake Eat Love while she was working at a cupcake shop and saw how much joy baked goods brought people—but the idea didn’t take shape until a few years later after the Baileys moved to Raleigh and Kristen was unable to find an existing baking kit that really scratched her itch. And so, she created her own.
“[I wanted] to share the love of baking by making it more accessible,” says Kristen, and “offer some warmth and happiness in the craziness of life.”
Beyond the holidays, bring the “happiness” into the new year with unique recipes for sweets like tiramisu cupcakes, and yuzu and white chocolate lava cakes. “No matter where you are in your baking experience, we try to meet you there,” says Kristen. Hey, even “Cake Boss” had to start somewhere. bakeeatlovebox.com
Raleigh’s first mobile escape room is ready to roll.
Need an escape from your day-to-day but short on time? Enter the Triangle’s first mobile escape room, Wandering Escapes LLC, which is now rolling out its 15 minutes of fam-friendly fun.
Housed in a camper, Wandering Escapes offers an experience dubbed the Legend of the Three Witches in which four to six escape artists have to determine how to dismantle the witches’ enchantment—or else be trapped inside the camper forever (Alexa, queue suspenseful music, please).
Founded by self-proclaimed “escape room enthusiast” Valerie Breder, the new “legendary” mobile jailbreak (er, puzzle) is the product of unlocking her fondness—Breder loved escape rooms so much that she wanted to start her own. So she and her husband bought the camper in May and began plotting their ultimate witching hour.
What unlatched from there was truly a group effort. Breder had everyone from neighbors to friends to church and family members testing out the mobile escape room before she was ready to roll it out to the public in October.
“We had to have test group after test group after test group run through it; then we’d change things if it was too difficult,” says Breder. “Now, we’ve finally arrived at a point where people can escape in the 13- to 16-minute range… which was our goal because we want people to feel like it’s challenging but not impossible.”
In its short run to date, the mobile escape room has already perplexed plenty o’ puzzle-solvers at multiple breweries around the Triangle (think Fortnight Brewing Company, Bombshell Beer Company, The Glass Jug Beer Lab and Steel String Brewery)—with plans to use that mobility to its advantage by unlatching at festivals, birthday parties, corporate events and even attracting attention from the wedding community (keep your eyes peeled for The Everglades Honeymoon mini-escape adventure coming soon!).
While Harry Houdini types will no doubt want to try their minds at this, escape room novices are also gonna want to get a clue. “If you haven’t done an escape room before and want to get your feet wet, we are an awesome way to do that,” says Breder. “It’s just whimsical and everyone that comes out has fun.” See you on the other side? wanderingescapesllc.com
Bean into the espresso martini rage? Here are some local spots to grab a sip.
Affectionately dubbed “the adult vodka Red Bull,” an espresso martini is all the rage again—originally gaining steam a la ’90s… and now back in an era of popularity serving nostalgic sweetness (plus a shot of energy!). And there’s no signs of the trend tanking anytime soon. This caffeinated alcoholic beverage has the power to wake you up and mess you up at the same time, making it the perf pick-me-up for a night on the town. Here, a few of our fave intoxicating—and delish—iterations at local bars and restos. Cheers!
Enjoy some winter fun at these ski resorts perfect for a long weekend escape.
Ready to hit the slopes?! There’s snow better way to sail through the frigid winter season than strapping on a pair of skis/a snowboard to shred down the slopes (or spring for a tube for a more easygoing experience!) for some solid blustery fun. And after sliding around the snow, après ski with a warm cider, cocoa or cocktail by the fire at one of the following resorts—all of which are within a six-hour drive from Raleigh. Ski ya there!
Don’t flurry, be happy! This top NC skiing destination situated about three hours from the City of Oaks has trails for all levels of skiers—from beginners on the Easy Street trail to experts on the double black diamond Northridge trail. And you can enroll your little skiers in Sugar Bear Ski School or Polar Bear Snowboard School to help them learn the basics of schussing down the slopes.
Another quintessential NC ski spot, Beech Mountain is home to myriad ski trails for all skill levels—plus ice skating and tubing. You can even go night skiing! After a long day on the slopes, après ski over to Beech Mountain Brewing Co., complete with fireplaces (natch) and a bevy of brews guaranteed to warm you up—then stick around for fun events like S’mores and Pours, and live music from local bands and DJs to keep the fun going all night long.
It’s snow time at Wintergreen! Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the resort offers skiing, golfing, a spa (!), fantastic dining options and Virginia’s largest tubing hill—plus a terrain park (think a skateboard park covered in snow). With 40+ features and a constantly changing layout, there’s something for every skill level each time you visit.
It’s all uphill at West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain Resort, what with over 60 skiing trails, 40 bike trails, snowmobiling, swimming, tubing, a ski village, a world-class spa, 30 different accommodation options and so much more—so even if you’re not a big skier, you’re guaranteed to have a great time. Schuss down the trails on Snowshoe Mountain before heading to The Village for some shopping, a hot toddy and a delectable dinner; then relax and unwind at The Spa at Snowshoe. Aka the perf winter getaway.
Tennessee’s only ski resort gives powder to the people with ice skating, a mountain coaster, ice bumper cars and an alpine slide, in addition to the standard skiing, tubing and snowboarding. Post-ski, make the short 15-minute trek to Downtown Gatlinburg to check out popular local spots like Smoky Mountain Winery, Pancake Pantry, and the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum (yes, it’s a thing).
Nestled in Blowing Rock, NC’s first high-country ski area is known for teaching skiers of all ages how to shred the slopes. To boot, the resort is home to the South’s largest independent ski school, the French Swiss Ski College, and offers ice skating and three different terrain parks (!). Then après over a warm cuppa back at the lodge and give the gift shop a gander.
That’s totally tube-ular! Boasting 18 ski slopes and trails, this Maggie Valley gem offers opps to ski, tube and snowboard. And if you’re ready to put your snow skills to the test, register to compare your chops to the fastest member of the U.S. Ski team via recreational racing program NASTAR. Also be sure to check out the special events—from family days and an afterschool program to Women on Wednesdays, a six-week program by and for females (wow!).
Shred the gnar at this Norman Rockwell-esque all-seasons ski resort, boasting skiing, snowboarding and a 500-foot tubing track (!)—NTM a zip line. At the bottom of the slope you’ll find the aptly named Slopeside Tavern serving up upscale American bar food, making it easy to fuel up while you’re carving through the snow. Meanwhile, primo townhouses, villas and homes on the resort provide a cozy place to rest your head after an adventure-filled day.
Only a 30-minute commute from Asheville, this for-the-fam ski resort offers activities for adventurers of all interests—from skiing and snowboarding to caving, hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. Need to practice your pizza technique? Nosh on a slice or two of ’za from The Lodge Pizzeria (see what we did there?!).
Throw back a (coffee) shot or two to celebrate National Espresso Day Nov. 23.
More espresso, less depresso! Nov. 23 marks National Espresso Day (!)—and to celebrate, we gathered a few local sip spots with a variety of espresso drinks we like a latte. Sip, sip hooray!
This fam-owned espresso bar/cafe serves up all your fave espresso drinks (think lattes, americanos, macchiatos, cappuccinos, etc.) made with sustainable and people/quality-oriented Durham-based coffee roaster Counter Culture Coffee. Sip on a hot or cold espresso drink—and grab an order of hot minis to dunk!—inside Sola’s cozy cafe, or out on the patio if the weather’s warm.
Make a visit to one of Jubala’s three locations (Lafayette, North Hills or Hillsborough Street) for “a coffee experience worth celebrating”—and maybe throw in one of its signature scratchmade sweet biscuits while you’re at it. With friendly baristas and beans roasted by Black and White Coffee Roasters of Wake Forest, your espresso experience here is sure to fuel your daily grind. Hot tip: Jubala has #FreeEspressoFridays (!) each week… just roll up and ask for a shot for there or to-go. Bottoms up!
Stay grounded at “Raleigh’s best kept secret since 2016.” If you’re fancying a sip of something special, try the lemon zing, lavender cloud cold brew or the blueberry coffee tonic… and feel free to add an extra espresso shot or two, natch.
Craft coffee and cocktails—name a better duo, we’ll wait. Hit up this DTR coffee spot/kitchen/cocktail bar (and check out its new digs in Holly Springs!) for espresso drinks that are sure to put a pep in your step. Try anything from the classic espresso Old-Fashioned feat. Ethiopian espresso, orange bitters, simple syrup and an orange garnish to the Harry Potter-inspired Hogwarts Holiday (translation: butterbeer in a cup). … Or get in the festive spirit through gingerbread, peppermint mocha and cinnamon bun coffee drinks. What better way to espresso holiday cheer than with a festive coffee drink?!
Grab a cup of joe (see what we did there?) from this funky coffeehouse on Hillsborough Street. To boot, National Espresso Day also happens to fall on “Wired Wednesday” at Cup A Joe, meaning a handful of espresso drinks are on special. Sounds brew-tiful!
