Durham Favorites Friday - Duke Gardens

If you live in Durham, you likely know all about the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on the Duke University campus. Assuming for a moment that you're unfamiliar, though, let me introduce you to another of my favorite Durham spots.

The Duke Gardens is a 55 acre nature oasis, maintained by an army of Duke employees and volunteers. Offering winding trails through wooded areas, as well as impeccably manicured areas of themed vegetation, the gardens are a place to relax, exercise, or play. Take a hike, bring a book, a picnic (or purchase snacks at the Terrace Cafe - open seasonally), a frisbee or ball to throw around, and especially your camera. You'll find the gardens an easy place to waste away a few hours.

This is one of my favorite places to take visitors, especially those visiting for the first time. It never fails to impress, and it's a short enough walk to the heart of campus, if your guests would like to see that as well. It's difficult to put the beauty of the gardens into words, so here are a few pictures from one of my trips a few years ago (really, these don't do it justice either). Follow this link to visit the Sarah P. Duke Gardens Facebook and view photos.

 

Visitor Information:

Location

Duke University
426 Anderson St
Durham, NC 27708

Hours
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday

Admission - Free

Parking
For a Fee ($1/half hour) 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 1:00-5:00 Saturday and Sunday
FREE 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Saturday, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Sunday, and 5:00-6:00 p.m Monday-Friday

Look for FREE street parking outside garden gates (unless parking restrictions have changed)

Durham Favorites Friday - Dulce Cafe

This is the first in a new series of blog posts I plan to title "Durham Favorites." These posts will highlight some of my favorite Durham spots, including places for food, shopping, and entertainment.

Durham Favorites - Dulce Cafe - 5826 Fayetteville Rd. Durham

When I moved to the Woodcroft area in South Durham, I immediately noticed the lack of a local coffee shop. If I drove a few miles down the road, I had my pick of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts locations, but there was nothing around that compared to the small, independent shops I had spent hours sitting in when I lived in Madison. This past May, Dulce Cafe opened in Sutton Station (same area as Bocci, Nantucket, and Bella Trio Salon) filling that void.

Dulce is a bakery/cafe. When it first opened this spring, its primary focus was on coffee, gelato, and baked goods (muffins, cakes, cupcakes, tarts, etc.). Since then, they have slowly built a small, but fantastic, menu of breakfast and lunch items.

Before cutting back on my spending, I seemed to be visiting Dulce 3-4 times a week, grabbing a latte and muffin. Though I've cut back some, it's still my go to coffee shop, and I think it will likely become one of my go to lunch places as well. I've already been twice this week (oops to spending)...I just can't resist their pumpkin muffins! The cafe has a relaxed, more adult atmosphere, but the owners LOVE kids and are always excited to see the baby when we walk in. One day, as I was packing up to leave after Nolan started screaming, one owner came over to tell me to stay, that we weren't being a bother. So, while Dulce may not look kid friendly, it certainly is.

The staff is welcoming and attentive, the food is yummy, and the location, next to the American Tobacco Trail, is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or a treat following a walk. Whether you live on the south side of town or a bit further away, Dulce is more than worthy of a visit!

Freebie Find - Get Out and About! (9/23-9/25)

The weekend forecast for the Durham area is looking a little rainy, but in between storms, you might be looking for something to get you off the couch and out of the house.

Here are some of my top picks for free or inexpensive happenings for the coming weekend.

Friday, September 23


Coffee Cuppings at Joe Van Gogh


Visit this local coffee shop for a free blind taste testing of their own Joe Van Gogh coffees.

4 pm
Joe Van Gogh
1104-B Broad St. Durham

Fridays on the Front Porch (one of my Friday favorites, if it doesn't rain)

Head to the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill to enjoy some bluegrass music on their large, shaded lawn. Drinks and a full southern BBQ are served for a fee, but the music is free!

Friday on the Front Porch concerts begin in late April and run each Friday evening through mid October. I
discovered this freebie gem because my former assistant principal is a member of a band that frequently plays these Friday concerts (though they won't be playing this week.) Check out The Gravy Boys - you won't be disappointed!

5:00-8:00 pm
211 Pittsboro St Chapel Hill

Saturday, September 24

Durham Farmers Market and Craft Market

Browse local produce, baked goods, and art as you wander through Durham's Central Park. For a spending free morning, bring a cup of coffee from home and spend some time visiting different vendors and people watching. Bring a camera along and try your hand at capturing the sights of one of my favorite Durham scenes.

If you're like me, though, it will be hard to resist buying something! Bring a reusable bag, and support local farmers by purchasing your produce for the week at the market, rather than the grocery store. Be sure to bring small bills - this makes things easier when lines are long.

8:00 am - Noon

Durham Central Park - 501 Foster St.

Motorco Music Hall Anniversary Party

Motorco is a great music venue located in downtown Durham, conveniently situated near Fullsteam Brewery and the farmers market. After visiting the farmers market, you should check out this free event. Motorco is celebrating their anniversary with FREE music, ticket give-aways, and drink specials. Some of the best local food trucks will also be parked outside, in case you get hungry (unfortunately, not free).

12:00-8:00 pm
Motorco Music Hall
723 Rigsbee Ave. Durham

Read Response: Have you heard of any free or inexpensive events happening in and around Durham this weekend? Feel free to promote them here! 

Meet My Friend, VIC

Grocery stores can be some of the hardest places to save money, but when played correctly, you can certainly cut your spending significantly. Here's a little run down of things you should know when shopping my most frequented Durham grocery stores.

Kroger (sales in the Durham area run Sunday-Saturday)

• Sign up for a store rewards card!! NOW!! This card not only saves you money on your immediate store purchases, it also has some other great perks! By shopping, you accumulate rewards points. For each 100 points you accumulate, you can get $0.10 off each gallon of gas if you fill up at a Shell station. Every three months, your points are also turned into money back gift cards. Every 100 points = $1. I'm expecting a $10-$15 gift card in a few weeks!
• Coupons up to $0.50 Double, EVERY DAY! - For example a $0.30 coupon will deduct $0.60, a $0.50 coupon will deduct $1.00, etc. This can be a real money saver and can score you some free items, especially things like soap and toothpaste (Keep an eye out for the next P&G coupon insert on October 2 - lots of potential freebies at Kroger!)
• Prescription transfers earn store credit! - Kroger often runs a promo where you earn $25 in store credit for each prescription you transfer and fill at their pharmacy. I transferred two this summer and earned $50. I plan to keep watch for the next promo and transfer a few more! This is a great way to earn money on something you would have to buy anyway!

Harris Teeter (sales in the Durham area run Wednesday-Tuesday)

• Sign up for a VIC card!! This store card doesn't offer money back or gas points like Kroger, but it does save you money on in-store purchases. You can also go visit the Harris Teeter website to link e-coupons to your shopping card. The great thing about these e-coupons is that Harris Teeter will allow you to use one paper AND an e-coupon on the same item. For example, a few weeks ago, I bought body wash at HT. The body wash was $3.99. I had a $2.00 paper coupon from the newspaper, and I also linked a $2.00 coupon to my store card. The body wash was free, and the store gave me $0.01 in overage!
• Coupons up to $0.99 Double, EVERY DAY! - Be warned, Harris Teeter's prices are a bit more expensive to begin with, so even with doubling up to $0.99, you might still be paying more than you would at Kroger.
• Super Doubles Promos - Every few months, HT runs a special where they will double coupons up to a value of $1.99! This means a coupon for $1.50 will deduct $3.00. Super Doubles = lots of free or almost free products. This is the best time to use coupons with a value of over $0.99. You are allowed to super double up to 20 coupons PER DAY. You can only use 3 of the same coupon each day.
• Triple Coupon Promos - On occasion, HT also runs triple coupon promos. They will triple coupons up to $0.99 in value. Triple coupons will be happening next week, starting on Wednesday, September 14. Check Southern Savers-Harris Teeter info to find out match-ups for free or super cheap items!

Reader Response: Which grocery stores do you shop most often? Why?