Showing posts with label Charlotte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlotte. Show all posts

Southern Stocking Stuffers | North Carolina Made

Andy and I have never exchanged Christmas gifts so when we got married we started doing stockings.  For us, it's a fun way to exchange gifts but keeps things within reason.  Occasionally each of us throws in something fun, for me a cute coffee mug, for Andy a fancy bourbon but otherwise most of our stuffers come from the grocery store and are super simple and cheap. This year I thought it would be fun to change things a bit and keep Andy's entire stocking locally made. I found all Charlotte and North Carolina made products that I'm so excited about!

We've teamed up with a few other bloggers to bring you all Southern Stocking Stuffers made locally in a handful of Southern states.  I'm sharing details of my locally sourced stocking, plus be sure to check out more ideas from these bloggers below..

Julia of Pawleys Island Posh - Virginia
Natasha of Hello Happiness - Tennessee
Jess of The Love List - Georgia
MK & Heath of Southland Avenue - North Carolina

North Carolina Made -

ONE:  I try to include a small bottle of nice bourbon in Andy's stocking every year.  Mostly because we're frugal and don't buy nice things for ourselves but also because it's fun to try new brands, Lewis Redmond bourbon is currently on the list!  If you're a rum drinker I hear good things about Queen Charlotte and this sweet potato vodka sounds so cool!  And if you're into gin I can personally vouch for Cardinal gin.

TWO: We include an ornament in our stockings each year and this beautiful tree from Caroline's Ceramics would be so pretty! And if you're not doing a stocking her vases are gorgeous!

THREE:  We're big coffee drinkers in our household (more me but still...) so a lot stocking stuffers revolve around this. We can always count on a new brand of beans and maybe even a new mug if we're lucky!  So many different roasters in and around Charlotte but Central, Not Just Coffee and Dilworth are my favorites.

FOUR:  We've talked about White Whale before but no stocking would be complete without the perfect little cocktail mixer. Tiny Tim is the perfect holiday mixer or any of your favorites would be delicious!

FIVE:  Charlotte's beer scene has completely taken off lately!  We haven't been to every local brewery just yet but we sure love tasting our way through them all.  Our current favorite is actually nothing new but I know Andy would love opening this Jam Session on Christmas!

SIX: I love the addition of this leather key fob. Practical but pretty, anyone would be pleased to have this in their stocking and on their keychain! Colsen and Keane were a finalist in the Garden and Gun Made in the South Awards so be sure to check out their other items.

SEVEN: I just recently learned that Moravian cookies were produced in NC.  As a big sweets fan this made me so happy! I remember how fancy the thin Moravian cookies felt when I was little, I made a mental note to pick some up this holiday season after seeing that.  Is there anything more festive than a sleeve of spiced cookies?!

EIGHT: I usually include a bag of dark chocolates in Andy's stocking. It's kind of an ongoing joke because one small bag of individually wrapped dark chocolates will last him almost an entire year in his desk drawer and well that's just crazy to me! I'm thinking this peppermint bark may not last quite as long this year though!

NINE: These earrings obviously won't be in Andy's stocking but if it were reversed I'd certainly love to see them in mine! Geoflora is a local Charlotte based sister duo I just discovered and their stuff is really really cool.

TEN: I'm going to sound like a total nerd here but we have lots of honey in our pantry, like a weird amount! We have truffle honey, NC Mountain honey and so many others. We use them all the time so this local Cloister whipped honey with cinnamon sounds so good!

Any other locally made favorites I should know about and include?  Be sure to visit Julia from Virginia, Jess from Georgia, and Natasha from Tennessee to check out their local stockings and get ideas too!

- Heath

Dinner Lab Membership Giveaway!!


We're so excited to announce a really fun giveaway!  We're teaming up with fellow Charlotte bloggers Goldmine Journal and Comfy Cozy Couture to giveaway one Dinner Lab Membership since Charlotte has been selected as one of Dinner Lab's newest locations!

What is Dinner Lab?  "Dinner Lab is a social dining experiment that unites undiscovered chefs with adventurous diners who are looking for something different from the conventional restaurant experience.  Our events bring together a group of interesting strangers around a common table to share cuisine crafted by up-and-coming chefs from all of the country."  Dinner Lab puts on events in major cities across the US (yea for Charlotte now being included in their lineup!) and invites members to attend one of a kind events.  Kind of like a big, foodie, "members only" supper club!  Another fun fact, the event location is always announced just the day before the event, so there's an element of surprise to the location as well! 

Today we're giving away one Dinner Lab Membership that is good for any Dinner Lab location across the country!  With the one membership, the lucky winner will be a member for one year and can purchase tickets to any upcoming Dinner Lab events for two people.  (See additional FAQs here.)  To enter, comment below and/or on Goldmine Journal and Comfy Cozy Couture blogs.  For additional entries follow @DinnerLab and us on Twitter and regram the giveaway on Instagram.  Be sure to tag us in your Instagram post so we see it!  Winner will be drawn on Wednesday, August 20th. Giveaway open to US residents only.

A few images of Dinner Lab events below.


You can check out more about Dinner Lab here, see the cities with Dinner Lab locations here, and see a few sample events here.  Thank you to Dinner Lab for sponsoring the giveaway!  We're thrilled you're in town!

~ Mary Keller and Heath a Rafflecopter giveaway

All images by Dinner Lab, Bottom photo by Jeff Thibodeau