Asheville, North Carolina has made top travel lists this year as the number one place to vacation in 2015. That's NUMBER ONE in the U.S, folks. That is huge for North Carolina tourism. We've known about the beauty of Asheville for quite awhile now, and of course, we're all about the hotels on this blog. I am so excited to announce that I have partnered with DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore to bring you an outstanding opportunity to experience Asheville, the Biltmore Estate, and Biltmore's Downton Abbey exhibit, which is on display through May 25, 2015.

You have the opportunity to win the following through this special giveaway

  An overnight stay at DoubleTree Biltmore, with breakfast for two


Some important notes about this giveaway:  The winner must be able to travel between April 7 and May 25, based on hotel package availability. One winner will be selected at random. Additional nights can be added to your vacation when booking at your own expense. 


Details about DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore 

The DoubleTree Biltmore Hotel is located in the heart of Biltmore Village and is 2 miles from Downtown Asheville. It is just a one-minute drive to the Biltmore Estate entrance.  It is a full-service hotel with newly renovated rooms.  And of course, guests will receive those delicious chocolate chip cookies at check-in. My kids love those cookies.  Breakfast is available in the Ducker's Tea Room, and at the new marketplace for breakfast on the go. This hotel is also pet-friendly and kid-friendly. That's good since I have two kids and we'll be checking this package out for ourselves in the spring. Kids will enjoy the indoor pool and there is a fitness center on site, too. 




The DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore is located at 115 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, North Carolina 28803.

Weekend rates for the Downton Abbey Package can run anywhere from $277 to $427 per night, depending on type of room booked and availability. Regular non-package room rates range from $209 to $350 depending on room type and availability. 

Visit the DoubleTree Asheville Biltmore website to plan your Asheville getaway today, and also explore the Explore Asheville website to learn more about the area. Call the hotel at 828-274-1800 if you would like more information about the Downtown Abbey package and rates for booking. 

Learn more about the Downton Abbey exhibit  at Biltmore from this previous post on the HinesSight Blog. 

Be sure to follow the #outaboutnc feed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Tag your photos to be featured on these account. 


If you have problems understanding the Rafflecopter system, please email me at hinessightblog@gmail.com and I will help you. To enter, log in with your email address or via Facebook. Do the entries that would like to do then click on the blue box on the right side under each entry option in order for your entry to be recorded.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: Biltmore Farms has a wonderful selection of hotels in the area for all budgets. See my previous post about my stay at the Hilton Biltmore Park Hotel. Biltmore Farms is sponsoring this #outaboutnc giveaway. I have not personally visited this property yet, but it is the official hotel outside the Biltmore gates to offer an official Downton Abbey package. 

I'm starting to really love Fridays, and not just because it is the end of the week. Friday is the day that my Papa Spud's Produce Order opens online up for me to customize my produce box and meal plan for the following week. My produce is delivered every Tuesday based on my address, Every Friday afternoon (sometimes on Saturday, if I'm busy) I plan my weekly meals for the following week. I've been a Papa Spud's paying customer now since early January, and I have to honestly say it has changed my way of eating. And that's a good thing!



I have always loved vegetables, but never really bought them like I should have in a grocery store weekly, or at least, not like the vegetable variety I am now buying since joining Papa Spud's. Before becoming a customer, my family meals were not balanced very well with enough fresh vegetables. I also found that we ate way too much pasta because it was easy to prepare on those busy school nights. That's all changed these since I started produce home delivery.



Now, I munch on red peppers, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, kale, cabbage and so much more during the day. I don't prepare sandwiches any longer for lunch, and instead, I may roast cabbage and toss the the cabbage with cashews. I also like to eat leftover quinoa or rice and mix it with lots of fresh veggies. For this particular lunch, I mixed in red onion, red pepper,cucumber, lentils and quinoa.



I worked hard on a weight loss plan for January. I lost weight by eating more veggies, cutting my sugar intake, consuming less gluten (pasta, breads, beer), and by watching my portions, except I allowed myself to eat HUGE portions of vegetables. Overall, I lost about eight pounds. I'm still working to keep up my healthy eating plan even though on occasion, I work in a doughnut here or a glass of wine here. That's OK. One has to live.

I'll be sharing lots of new recipes and healthy eating ideas in the coming weeks with Papa Spud's sponsoring this new recipe content. Papa Spuds sells more than just local farm-fresh produce so I've tried a few, organic meats, too. And I'll be trying more in the coming weeks.

When I signed up I chose a medium box for my family, and basically, I've been filling that box mostly with produce.  After being a customer now for close to two months, I'm seriously thinking of going to the family box so I can order more meats weekly. Meats and cheeses are more expensive than vegetables so they do eat up more of your weekly credits based on the your box cost. The medium box costs about $25 per week, and that gives me over 20 food credits for purchase.



Through my own experience with this process, I'm learning that farm-fresh produce tastes better so I' have been doubling up on some veggies in my produce order. For instance, last week I doubled my cucumber order with Papa Spud's. Here's why. I bought a big bag of cucumbers at BJs Wholesale Club because I needed them. I eat a lot cucumbers and hummus these days for snacks. I was able to taste the farm-fresh cucumbers next to the store bought cucumbers. The difference in taste was unbelievable. The BJs cucumbers were basically tasteless next to the farm-fresh ones. I can get about two or three cucumbers for 1.50 credits at Papa Spud's. It's the same things with red peppers. I love them, but they are so expensive in the stores. I can get about three red peppers for 3.50 credits. I did another taste test with a Food Lion red pepper vs. a farm-fresh pepper. Again, I found the store pepper lacking in taste over the pepper in the produce delivery.

With Papa Spud's I try to buy and cook with what is in abundance because it is more cost-effective on the budget. They say winter is the hardest time to cook farm-to-table. I have enjoyed my selections. Papa Spud's has developed contracts with out of state farms so things do come from out of North Carolina. The red peppers are out of state at the moment. Here's just a sample of what I may order weekly using my 20 weekly credits.



If you purchased this same produce at Harris Teeter or Whole Foods, I bet it would be double the cost.

Papa Spud's is local so if you are reading this in Michigan then I can't help you sign up to experience what I do here in North Carolina. Sorry about that, but this is a growing trend in all cities. We are fortunate in North Carolina because we are a huge agricultural state.

But, I do have a few tips or recipes to help you eat more veggies on a daily basis.



5 Simple Ways to Eat More Veggies Daily

1. Roast an assortment veggies on a pan while roasting salmon. This is such and easy and healthy meal that can be cooked at one time. 

2. Roast a medley of vegetables in a casserole dish. Use any vegetables of your choice: I used broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and squash. I tossed the veggies with olives, salt, pepper, and some balsamic vinegar. This can be a side dish or you can easily have it for lunch the next day to get in several good servings. 

3. Saute kale or spinach with garlic, onions, and top with northern beans for a nice hot lunch. This could also be a main meal. Can't get my husband on board with that one, though for dinner. 

4. Snack on raw veggies during the day. I do this instead of grabbing the Triscuits.

5. Make soups that include a lot of vegetables. 

Next week, I'll be sharing some of the recipes I've been using while being a Papa Spud's customer. You can also follow my Pinterest Boards to help you with meal planning. If you are in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, and want to get produce delivery then you can use my referral link.


Disclosure: I am a paying customer of Papa Spud's. All opinions are my own. For the next four weeks during this special series, my produce boxes will be comped. I will be going back to a paying customer after those four weeks, and I'll continue to share with you great recipes. I love this service and am a happy customer. 

Linking this post up to Small Victories Sunday Link-up. 

We know the story. You couldn't secure a babysitter for the biggest romantic night of the year. Yeah, that happens. 

White Hot  Chocolate from Herons in Cary, N.C.

The other day I took my Mom on a media event to our local Dairy Queen on Walnut Street in Cary. It was a Frozen inspired event to celebrate the national chain's 75th anniversary. MiMa, as my family calls her, likes to attend my more simple and budget-friendly restaurant assignments with me.  Let's just say when she learned during our visit that Dairy Queen has an all-beef hot dog on its menu for under $2.50 (She quoted the exact price for me on three different occasions within half an hour), she was hooked. And when she got to know Andy Valkanoff, the local owner behind three Dairy Queens in Raleigh, Cary, and Morrisville, she vowed to become a loyal, local customer.

MiMa and Liza at the Dairy Queen in Cary, N.C.

While there, she ate chicken strips dipped in BBQ sauce, munched on fried onion rings, and tasted the brand new heart shaped frozen ice cream cake. Her granddaughter, my 5-year-old Liza, was really the special guest for the event. We just tagged along as her supporters. Liza was invited to decorate her own frozen heart cake with the Frozen Queen, herself and participate in a Valentine's campaign around a new, sweet little heart cake designed just for two.

Liza and Elsa

This  is a sweet, new little treat that would fit a Grandma's budget nicely for Valentine's Day. Kids love to share experiences with their grandparents more than anything. They won't remember the material things purchased by grandparents  but they'll always remember the gift of time. This is something that I think my Mom has mastered quite nicely with my two children.



MiMa enjoyed talking to Andy and his wife, Christina, about the restaurant business. My Dad owned budget-friendly restaurants for more than thirty years before he passed away in 2005 with a brain tumor, at the age of 72. We sold those restaurants during his illness. Like me, she misses my Dad terribly, and we both love it when we see young couples with good business sense following the same community-focused path that my own Dad followed during his own years in the restaurant business. Between us, she also misses sitting down and ordering a meat and two vegetables entree daily in his restaurant, too and not getting a bill. She loves it when she finds good food for a good value in her local neighborhood that works well for her on her senior citizen budget. And more importantly, the restaurant was spotless, and the food was good.

Photo from Clairemont Communications. Dairy Queen owner, Andy Valkanoff, welcoming guests to the anniverary celebration.

Even though Dairy Queen is a national chain, Andy and his team, are deeply committed to supporting their local community. They will work with local schools on fundraisers, church projects, and other events that support the community.  He and I chatted about this for awhile because in today's marketing, there is a huge push for supporting Small Business Saturday and #EatLocal. He feels he falls into those categories, too. I agree. Sometimes local chains get lost in the shuffle because people don't understand the local connection.

We're not talking farm-to-table food here. That's a whole different ballgame. This is about local businesses supporting and keeping the dollars local.  Many owners of franchises, like these Dairy Queens in Wake County, are local and support the community in so many ways.  My own father supported the community where I lived in the mountains of North Carolina.  In his 30 years in business, his in-kind and monetary donations surpassed hundred of thousands of dollars. In fact, he used to do the minimum advertising that his franchise required, and the rest he put forth to supporting the community. He didn't have to do it, but he would never have achieved success without doing it.

This particular Dairy Queen in Cary makes 200 cakes a month in-house.

No wonder MiMa found a new favorite local restaurant after this visit. Andy's own daughter is about the same age as I was when my parents ventured into the same type of business. I think MiMa felt right at home.

If you see MiMa there eating a cupid cake and a hot dog for under $2.50, say hello.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be sure to check out my date ideas for February in Greater Raleigh, too.





Disclosure: So, what did I get out of writing about Dairy Queen today? Nothing, but a good time. I got to have fun with my Mom and daughter, chat with other bloggers, and meet people in our local community. I write things on this blog when I have a story to tell whether I'm compensated or not. And in other news, get out and explore North Carolina and tag your photos #outaboutnc. I would love to see them.