If you’re looking for a good painter in the Raleigh or Triangle area, Southern Boys Painting could be your solution. They do residential home painting services including interior and exterior painting, and deck staining. Daniel Zuniga is the owner and he does very good work. We also found him dependable.

We hired him to stain our deck and paint a bathroom for us. He explained to us the process beforehand and gave us some reasonable estimates. We were very impressed with his testimonials and clients. His native language isn’t English but it’s good enough to communicate.

We asked him to do some additional painting work a year or so after our first job, but on the day he arrived he brought his brothers to perform the painting work. He said they actually taught him how to paint. So I agreed and we had them do some interior painting for us. Initially, Daniel told us it would be $25 an hour but never wrote it down anywhere. I thought that was reasonable and said okay as they’re brothers afterall and they were ready to work. No paperwork to review in advance which was a bit troubling.

Zuniga Brothers and Southern Boys Painting

Where’s the best breakfast in all of Raleigh? Well…that’s still up for debate with me BUT I can tell you the best biscuits in Raleigh… handsdown are at Biscuitville. That’s the restaurant name (it’s not a town). Although that’s pretty catchy. I think I might start calling that area of Raleigh …Biscuitville.Down in our neck of the woods here, biscuits are very common. Up north you’ll find more the croissants, bagels and scones. Not down here in the south. But if you’re jone-sing for THE best biscuit…drive on down to the Biscuitville drive thru. They have a sit down area inside too. Biscuitville has a very tasty menu and it’s almost like custom ordering. Like you can get fried egg or scrambled egg. The menu is kinda in between fast food and a diner. This morning I ordered a ham and egg biscuit for breakfast off the Square Meal Deals menu. It was really good and probably the best breakfast sandwich I can remember ever having. But it was a little salty naturally as they use the real good sliced Country ham and not the package deli meat stuff you find in the grocery store…

Jumpin Jonny’s

Have you been to Raleigh’s Jumpin’ Jonny’s Steaks and Subs in Brier Creek (Super Walmart side)?  They just expanded their previously small sub shop and have a bigger sitting area with over 50 seats.

If you’re into fresh Philly Cheese Steaks or looking for some new lunch ideas, J.J.’s is a  place to try out…and you can get a whole meal for 3 bucks…(see below by clicking the ‘read more’ button in this post).   They bake their own breads every day and get their ribeye meat from Philly, so it’s the real deal!  They even slice it to order in front of you… 

Hope you having a great Memorial Day Weekend whether you’re hanging out by the pool, in Raleigh hitting a sale or the pool, or somewhere else. We were out of town in Charlotte for a family birthday celebration. Charlotte was ‘mobbed’ by Nascar-goers at Lowes Motor Speedway Coca Cola 600 mile event. Fans were wearing the red caps so they were easy to pick out. From our 19th floor hotel window, they looked like hundreds of red balls.

A-hem, but back to a topic I know about…like shopping. Well, it’s not secret I’m inspired by certain scents and fragrances. I discovered a line that is natural and really different than the normal mall stuff. Have you heard of Pacifica perfumes, creams and handmade scented soy candles from the West Coast? In the gift shop at the Charlotte Westin downtown they sell these yummy things. They’ve got perfumes in a waxy balm format which I’ve never seen.

Carafe Wine Makers Owner

Did you know in Raleigh you can buy “homemade” wine as cheap or cheaper than you can buy for retail?You’ve probably heard about home brewing, but what about home wine making? It’s been around for awhile but as you can imagine the process can take yearrrs depending on the grapes of the season. Gosh, that takes a lot of waiting and patience…more than I can say I have.
We stopped at Carafé Wine Makers, a microwinery in Raleigh that sells wine that they keep bottled (isn’t it supposed to be barreled?) …before the finishing process.

One of my favorite Mexican fast food joints in Raleigh is Moe’s Southwest Grill. There’s a few of ‘em in Raleigh. There’s also Chipotle and Qdoba that I like too. They’re all pretty much the same but they’re slightly differently and usually you end up liking one better than the other. It’s like, are you a Coke or Pepsi person (or neither)?  That’s rhetorical.  Btw, I’ve always been a Diet Coke gal but these days no soda in my diet. Little tip: when you can the soda fix, it’s that much better when you get to have one!

Jake and Lee are owners of Mobile Car Detailers of Raleigh. I called them to come detail my car. They called me the day before the detailing day to confirm and to report on the weather as they would have rescheduled if the weather report called for rain.

Tomorrow there’s a Raleigh “Pink Party” happening with free daytime massages and manicures.  Where at?  Raleigh’s Hills.  Not Beverly Hills, but Raleigh’s Hills (a.k.a. North Hills)! 

The Pink Party is happening in the Club Room of the Alexan at North Hills Apartments from 10 am to 2 pm. You can just show up if you like with or without your friends. It’s being hosted by the Alexan.  And they’re taking applications for renters. But that’s not what the event is for…the event is for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Race for the Cure charity event in its 13th year.  Even the staff at the Alexan will be participating in the race with 22,000 others. 

So, what’s the catch?  Not a whole lot.  I’m sure they’ll take donations for the charity, but Rich who works at the Alexan promises that it’s not a ploy to get you to take a tour of the apartments …although you can  (and they have like 35 floor plans!).  Hey why not see what a $900 plus apartment in Raleigh looks like?  I remember when Inman Park off Leadmine was THE chic place to live… but today it’s North Hills if you wanna muster up the dough.

Whisked away from the office stress, is a Raleigh spa haven called Synegy Spa. Inside the store, I found it was very quiet and peaceful.The reason for my visit this time, was because I was wondering what was wrong with my toenails that looked liked they’d been injured. I talked to the Owner, Anna on the phone and she suspected that my running shoes were too small and tight for my feet, which was putting pressure on my big toes when I was running. She suggested I come in and have her nail expert, Miranda, take a look.

Last night we were at Raleigh’s McCormick and Schmick’s. You’ve probably seen the new addition of the outdoor restaurants at Crabtree Valley Mall. It’s a bit confusing to drive around the parking lot and know where to park, but I gave my husband some womanly mall direction advice. Basically it went something like this…if confused at the mall, don’t follow a man in or out of the mall, he’s probably equally as confused.