We were in good company at Raleigh’s famous Angus Barn on Wednesday night which happen to be Tax Day. If you’ve never been to Angus Barn, it’s like nothing you’ve ever been in. The restaurant has a very rustic but ritzy feel (like you’re in a barn) that’s different then like say at Cracker Barrel. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cracker Barrel for its down home cooking, but Angus Barn just doesn’t have that atmosphere of screaming kids and low priced meals.

Big Raleigh Belk Sale Event on May 2nd that you might’ve heard about. Boy, do I have the shopping spree inside scoop 2 share with you!  …But before I go there, I have to pose the big question of the day:  have you finished your taxes and gotten them in the Post Office hands? If you have, are you planning to celebrate your own tax tea or other party today for getting taxes done on time?  I am, and you should.  Taxes are an annual exercise most of us don’t get very excited about.  And yeah I have some friends who are always bragging about how they finished their taxes months ago and are on their way to their refund. Okay, not to be snide or anything, but if you’re getting a refund or got your refund, it means you overpaid your taxes last year. Nothing to be excited about there… and secondly, you don’t win any brownie points for beating the rest of us! But I still love you guys!!!

Okay now that I got that off my chest, I wanted to fill you in on an upcoming Sale Event that just about anyone can participate in, whether you just got laid off from your work (…sorry), or money is no object and bless you, you’re helping our Raleigh economy by spending wisely.

Have you heard of Belk’s big charity sale event just a few weeks away on May 2nd??? Whether you have or not, I’m gonna give you the information AND the ‘INSIDE scoop’ for savvy shoppers.

B.Y.O. wine…that’s ‘bring your own wine’ which is not a new concept. But it’s one that is being embraced in Raleigh restaurants and  especially in this economy.  And just so you know us North Carolinians are special…you can’t do this in some other places like our neighboring state of Virginia.

Rather than ‘dish’ on a local Raleigh business on this Good Friday, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter! Hmmm…I never knew, is today still referred to Good Friday for non-Catholics?

Oh, and P.s.  Am I the only one who misses our News & Observer Friday “What’s Up”? insert that used to come with the paper??? It gave the happenings in restaurants and entertainment. Oh well, I guess like most smart businesses, our Raleigh paper had to make adjustments.

Something else I saw in the paper today that I found a hoot, was how our State focused energies to try and get Miley Cyrus a.k.a. Hannah Montana to shoot her movie here in North Carolina but ended up getting out bid by Georgia. I’m so disappointed! (well…no, not really, but that’s just my sarcasm coming out.)

…But really – DO have a wonderful and blessed weekend!  Here’s the world’s largest easter egg…no, it’s not in Raleigh! Geez, it’s 25 feet wide and 18 feet tall!

We spent our recent wedding anniversary dinner at Raleigh’s Saint Jacques Restaurant. It’s a very small French restaurant on Falls of Neuse in a strip mall with Michael Dean’s restaurant. I’d read all these great reviews online and was really excited to go the week before. In fact one review site had 24 five star glowing reviews on the restaurant. That’s like almost unbelievable and frankly a little ‘over the top’. That should’ve been a tip off or at least a yellow flag. I mean even Raleigh’s Angus Barn, Fins or Second Empire never get those 100% blemish free reviews… and to me they are near 5 star Raleigh restaurants. Just goes to show you that you can’t believe everything you read. …Next best thing to being in Provence someone wrote. No, I’d much rather have eaten in Provence, thank you.

Is Raleigh a great area or what? Congratulations to our Tarheels who brought home another victory! I’m also a Duke follower…I’d say I was a fan but I’m not a big sports person so that would be too strong a description. … although I know a lot of women who are (surprised?) and of course almost every man on the planet.

Maybe I like Duke because I went to school with Grant Hill so it was hard not to root for him around the town we grew up in. We were even in the same Physics class project group but he probably wouldn’t remember because that was eons ago and he was away a lot playing basketball even during highschool. I guess he was getting a jumpstart on his career. Little did we know then what he’d become in the pro-basketball arena…

Inside my computer

I spent a good part of my weekend getting my new computer setup properly with the help of my friends from Raleigh’s Tech Wizard. ‘Properly’ is the key word here. Anyone can turn on a computer and get it going. But getting it running optimally is a different story. I can honestly say I have a love/hate relationship with computers.  Is it just me?

Raleigh has really grown in eclectic and international cuisines over the past few years. A very healthy way to eat is with Greek or Middle Eastern foods. At Baba Grill at Brier Creek, they call it fresh Mediterranean food. The food there is really good! It’s a sit down and carryout place.

Baba Grill is the real deal. They make their hummus fresh every day. And, we love their beef and chicken kabob entrees. We usually add the lavash bread and Greek salad onto the platter. If you’ve never had lavash bread, it’s really soft and flat, and what you’d imagine was served at The Last Supper.