Pinehurst Village

Welcome to Pinehurst Village, NC. This area of Pinehurst is small but worth a day trip to explore the shops and to take in lunch or dinner. What I love about this area is that your park car and spend the rest of the day on foot. There are boutiques, spas, restaurants, banks, realtors, a library, historic inns and the town's centerpiece, The Carolina Hotel / Pinehurst Resort. All are connected by a network of tree-lined, brick walkways. The town is nicely integrated into the neighborhood with its beautiful private residences.

For more information on the town's attractions and history, click here. 

The Village Fox Boutique

The Village Fox Boutique is located inside the Theatre Building in Pinehurst Village. It's a salon and spa that also sells women's clothing and accessories. The shop is bright and welcoming with its floor-to-ceiling windows and colorful selection of merchandise. It's a nice break from the run-of-the-mill selections found at your local mall.

I presume this is the shop's mascot. For more details and directions, click here.

The Shop On the Corner - Pinehurst, NC

The Shop On the Corner is a quaint boutique at one Market Square in the heart of Pinehurst, NC, selling home decor, floral arrangements and accent furniture. 

It has a homey feel when you walk in, but not overly "country". It has a nice mix of styles — rustic and comfortable, but at the same time sophisticated. Definitely worth a visit.

Pinehurst, NC

This week I headed out to PINEHURST, NC, about an hour southwest of Raleigh. The town/resort is all abuzz about hosting the upcoming 2014 US Open and US Women’s Open (Golf) Championships this summer. It will be the first time in history that both men's and women's tournaments are being held in the same year, on the same course, during back-to-back weeks.

The Carolina Hotel (pictured here) will be home-base, but forget about getting a room here during the tournament, they will be booked solid by media and USGA staff. Want to be one of the 6500 volunteers to help out during the event? Forget-a-bout-it! All slots have been filled. But you can certainly get tickets to the event. Click here for more information: Pinehurst US OPEN tickets.

I have to admit to being very confused once I got to town. There is Pinehurst, the town; Pinehurst, the resort and the country/golf club (which is also named the Carolina Hotel) and there is Pinehurst the village. If you can break it all down for me, I'd be especially grateful.

Inside the Carolina Hotel, memorabilia from past tournaments line the hallways. I took a quick snapshot of Arnold Palmer (below) in the Hall of Fame Corridor. 

The hotel has over 200 rooms, a spa, a restaurant and cafe/shop on the premises. Outside there's a putting green, a swimming pool and a wrap-around porch lined with rocking chairs. Every day at four o'clock they serve afternoon tea. 

The hotel grounds are beautiful in the dead of winter, but I'd like to return when the season turns.

Back In Carrboro

Back in Carrboro this Fall, I stopped in at the Carr Mill Mall. You have to search out this place since it's located behind Weaver Street Market (check out my older post) without a lot of signage directing you inside. The converted cotton mill houses several sweet boutiques including Wine and Design (below). I can only imagine the energy (and the artwork) that comes out of this studio when it's hosting private parties. There are a couple restaurants in the mall, along with a toy store, some clothing and jewelry boutiques. It's not huge, but worth a peak around. I'm a sucker for any converted factory, so I enjoyed the architecture, hard wood floors, high ceilings and general vibe. Corporate offices are housed on the second floor. For a full store directory, click here.

Raleigh Convention Center

Raleigh's Convention Center, the hub of much of the city's activity...http://www.raleighconvention.com/