But if you’re looking to cook up a Valentine’s Day gourmet meal (or heat up an already prepared one)… then Earthfare, “The Healthy Supermarket”, may be your store. If you’re not familiar with the chain, Earthfare’s are found in the Carolinas and several other southeastern states. There’s a store right here in Raleigh near Brier Creek.

When you walk in, you immediately get the sense you’re in an upscale grocery store. There are ceiling spotlights on the food. Kinda like the lighting in jewelry stores where they put a light on certain jewelry pieces to help make them sparkle more and show better. Okay maybe not that extreme, but you get my point.

A perfect example is when you hang a right to the produce section. It’s full of colorful fruits and vegetables. They’re laid out very orderly. And they show very well. You rarely see bags of oranges and apples for sale. Instead you pick out each fruit or vegetable individually, ‘cause each one is perfect. You won’t find a bad one (or it’s rare)… so you don’t have to go diggin’ in the back and messing up the grocer boy’s orderly display. And, he’s usually standing around nearby, not as a watchdog, but to straighten up behind you if needed…and of course to answer any questions. If there’s any slight hint of bruising or imperfection on any of the produce, I think they sell them off to the regular grocery store chains.

Brier Creek Earthfare's Fresh Produce

While I like Earthfare, I can’t see myself shopping there every week. It’s expensive and there are only a few items there that I can’t get at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Lowe’s, or Kroger’s. One is their ShaSha Co. organic, trans fat and cholesterol free cookies. They are very light tasting and don’t really have any bad ingredients. Only 8 grams of sugar for 15 cookies! And for a ‘sweet tooth’ like me, they do the trick. It’s about 8 bucks for a 12 ounce container. It ain’t cheap but it’s worth every penny. They have a few flavors including lemon snaps and ginger snaps. You can get something similar at Trader Joe’s for half the price if it’s convenient for you to go to Cary. Btw, Trader Joe’s has really taken off, huh? They’ve had a Cary store for awhile and will be opening a store off Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, this year. I started going to Trader Joe’s about 10 years ago in Virginia. It was not a ‘mainstream’ grocery store yet that everyone knew about, and I could buy a big bag of nuts for $4. Prices have really gone up as word has gotten out about T.J.’s. But I think they still have ‘Two Buck Chuck’ which is Trader Joe’s brand red and white wine.

I used to buy Paul Newman no trans-fat cookies…they use better for you palm oil… But now you can buy them anywhere. And Izze soda pops and IBC root beer. Again, you can buy these anywhere. Unlike The Fresh Market (have you been?), at Earthfare, there’s not a big chocolate and candy area per se (darn it!). But there is a bulk area where you can buy nuts, chocolate covered raisins, and trail mix type foods in bulk. And unlike Whole Foods which is crowded a lot, Earthfare actually allows you some elbow room. I don’t think a lot of people know about it or they prefer to stick to what they know.

I just want to point out a few unique things about Earthfare. One is that they have a counter where you can order fresh vegetable juice made to order. It’s really quite a treat. I’ve had several and they’re all tasty without all the sugar like in V-8 and some of those other store bought juices. One was beet red, literally. It had a lotta beets in it with carrots. Definitely worth a try. For the price around a Starbucks coffee, it’s just so good for you. Oh, and they sell a selection of fresh coffee there too.

They also have an area near the vegetable juice bar where you can buy prepared lunch foods to eat like cous cous and salads. It’s really convenient if you want something quick, and on-the-go. Those foods are sold by weight. There’s also a very nice case with prepared dinner foods. If you wanna impress your friends with a gourmet, seemingly-home-cooked-meal, this is a good place. I haven’t had anything there that I didn’t like or mind trying.

Across from these prepared foods, there’s a health section where you can buy all kinds of herbs and vitamins, and stuff to help you stay and be healthy. These days, there are so many mind-body-spirit things that are sold. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what they are. I’ve talked to the attendant in that section, and she is really helpful.

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After my Bobbi Brown makeover in the new Raleigh store!

Are you familiar with Bobbi Brown cosmetics? WARNING: this is really meant for women eyes only as it’ll probably put you men to sleep. Like the Oprah show.

Okay, if you’re still with me. Here’s how I discovered Bobbi Brown makeup. I’ve been wearing eye make up since my early teens. Not uncommon. But I’ve never really had a brand that I’ve stuck with. I bought most my makeup from CVS and Target (when the chain first hit the scene).  Brands like Maybelline, Cover Girl and Almay were my picks…

…But none of them had eyeliner that: 1) stayed on all day, and 2) didn’t stop working like it should before its end. Lemme explain. For eye makeup wearers, you know that most eye liner comes in pencils or pens which often is a liquid with a brush. While pencils are more natural looking, the liquid eye liner is more precise. But I have found for my eyes, that both have to be re-applied throughout the day. Who has time for that?

The other thing is that the pencils seem to harden after awhile so I have to throw it out before it’s done. Trying that ‘ol trick of heating it up doesn’t work for long either. WHAT… I have to having a heating process for my eye liner every day? OMIGOSH…Forget it!

So then one day I was at the mall. This was probably about a decade ago. And I noticed this make up counter. It didn’t seem like some of the other ones. Like Mac with the dark dark blues and purples. I’m sorry I went through a phase of drag queen drama makeup… but in my late 20’s I was looking for something a ‘lil more natural for daytime wear. Something I could actually go to work with and not look like a clown. Clinique was one that I liked for some stuff but still they didn’t have any good eye liner solution…

…So anyway, back to where I was. I went up to this honey brown wood counter with a subtle sign that had white Bobbi Brown words against a black background. I was just curious and looking. I saw the gel eye liners that come in a little pot, and one of the girls at the counter came over and picked one up, opened the top, and explained its benefits to me. One being that it would last all day. C’mon! I’ve been looking for something like that for 10 years or more…so SHUT UP…there can’t be something out there. It’s just another gimmick. Next thing I knew, she sat me down and put some on me. I thought I’d give it a try, be disappointed and then go back to my old non-solutions. At the time there were only like 5 different gel eye liner colors. Today, there are about 20. Anyway, she suggested that I wear the granite ink which is like a dark gray, or off black color is probably more accurate.

I noticed she only had eye liner along her upper lid. I tend to wear eye liner on both my upper and lower lids. I think I just look more awake. When I’m not smiling hard, my eyes are naturally big…strange for an Asian chick. I’ve gotten called Bugs Bunny eyes before. I thought that was funny. I think more accurately though I look like one of those Bratz dolls. Just the face. I never dressed that slutty.

So after I went home with the gel eye liner on, I went to go see if it was still on or if the 2 minutes I spent outside in the elements… leaving the mall, and getting in my car and then into my home… would have worn away some of it. The eye liner was still intact. I was impressed but not yet convinced. Later on in the day, it was still there. I was now in love! What other colors did they have? … I want them all!

By the way, in order to apply Bobbi Brown’s gel eye liner, you use one of their natural horse hair brushes made for their eye liner. One has a short handle and the other has a longer handle. I’ve got one of each. The shorter one I bring on trips. It takes awhile to learn how to draw a steady thin line, but you get used to it. It’s about as easy as learning how to ride a bike. And they’ve got a brush for every type of make up.

I’m now a Bobbi Brown makeup addict. I own everything…well, not everything. Bobbi Brown has grown her line exponentially. No one can keep up with that! But my fav’rites I do have, are her pale pink cream blush (love it!), light sheer foundation (the best!), eye shadow creams (awesome!), and vitamin-enriched moisturizer (love the subtle citrus smell!).

Bobbi’s main thing is natural looking faces. She doesn’t believe in hiding freckles. YAY! Quick story. I’ve got light skin color although I tan easily in the sun. I guess I’m lucky that way. Well, I didn’t have freckles on my face when I was born. But I took a spring break college trip to Key West and over did it one day in the scorching Key West sun. I got sun poisoning all over my face and shoulders with blisters and everything. Yuck! I survived that incident but it left me with many light freckles on my cheeks. I hated those freckles back then and regretted that incident. I was scarred for life! But now almost 20 years later, I think they’re kinda cute, and I love ‘em! I’ve grown attached to them (…plus, I don’t have much of a choice). And, I don’t try to cover ‘em up. Thanks Bobbi!

As with all department store make up, don’t expect Bobbi Brown cosmetics to be inexpensive. If you buy a few things, you’re looking at a hundred bucks. So unless you have carte-blanche, then you might wanna prioritize what you need right now. The brushes aren’t cheap either in case you’re thinking you just wanna get a makeup brush. Some brushes cost more than the make up itself BUT it is an investment if you take care of them. I haven’t had to replace any of my brushes yet except for my eye liner brush. But that’s only ‘cause it gets daily use.

A few times a year, I get invited to Bobbi Brown’s makeup events featuring their best artists. I usually drop in about once or twice a year to see what’s new and to get a free makeover! At Crabtree Valley, they’ve now opened another location in the mall. So you have your choice. You can go inside Belk. Or the free standing Bobbi store. It’s a corner shop not far from Belk, and it’s got hot pink walls. The Crabtree Belk store location, by the way, is the #1 selling Bobbi Brown Store in the entire east coast. Go figure! Here’s me with Bobbi.

Well…okay, she couldn’t be there in person for my makeover so she’s on the TV .

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