I've shared many times before that I am not really a baker. But, Liza loves to bake so that means more often than not, I have to make something sweet for the holidays. 

Peppermint Bark is probably the easiest thing to bake for a non-baker, and Liza can do it unsupervised now.  All you need are sheet pans, candy canes, white and dark chocolate.  I like to use European brand chocolates, but any chocolate will work.  

Easy Peppermint Bark Recipe 

2 large Lindt White Chocolate Bars
2 large Lindt Milk or Dark Chocolate  ( I mixed my chocolates for a unique twist)
25 small candy canes broken

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. I mix in a little butter to help smooth the chocolate. Scoop melted white chocolate onto parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. If you are using Epicure Sheet Pan Silicone liners then you do no need to use parchment paper. 

Melt dark chocolate in a double broiler. I add a tablespoon of butter for richness and to help the chocolate soften. Spread dark chocolate mixture on top of white chocolate. Mash candy canes. 

My kids love doing this (to get the candy canes as smashed as high-quality retail peppermint bark then they peppermint needs to be very fine, but you can do this version any way you like and my kids made chunky.  Sprinkle the peppermint on top of the chocolate and press some into the chocolate. Freeze for 30 minutes to an hour. Break into squares. Or let soften and cut squares neatly.

It is that simple. 

 

This is also great to make after the holidays as well because all candy is on sale, and it makes the new year a little more festive. 

Historic Oakwood in Raleigh, N.C. was the city's first neighborhood. It was Raleigh's first middle-class suburb and now it is in the heart of downtown Raleigh. It's within walking distance to most anything downtown. Oakwood has so much character, and is a neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places and known for the Historic Oakwood Cemetery, which was founded in 1869.  The neighborhood is beautiful during the holidays and it gets spooky in October.



If any area is haunted in the city of Raleigh then my bet would be on the Oakwood area.



I've always loved the houses in Oakwood neighborhood, and when we were house hunting in 2003, I strongly considered Oakwood because of its location to downtown, but when I toured a house on the market at the time, something felt creepy about it.  I can't explain it.  But, I looked at Will and said, "Some of these houses could be haunted."



This home is on Oakwood Avenue and is now a fall tourist attraction.


The average home price now for the Oakwood area is about $500,000. As the area becomes more desirable, prices rise.




Some houses still look a little creepy in Oakwood without doing a thing for Halloween.  It does take a lot of work and money to renovate these houses.





Pretty pumpkins are more my style in October. This is one of my favorite homes in the Oakwood neighborhood.



Rumor has it that the spooky house will give out more than 1,000 pieces of a candy in an hour on Halloween. But, knock on that door at our own risk. Plastic black snakes are known to fall from the sky.



Yikes!

I would DIE.  Honestly, I was too creeped out to walk by the house on the sidewalk so I probably could have gotten a lot more pictures, but I was scared.

Elm Street is just around the corner. Walk at your own risk.  Will Freddy Kruger pop out?



I prefer to tour the area at Christmas. The 47th annual Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour will be this year.  Tickets are on sale now for this event which usually sells out.







Updated: October 2018

Peacock Alley is an elegant store with many price points.





Night Gallery/Branching Out is a store where you can find anything on your list. Owner Pam Williams can't narrow it down to one niche so she has a little something for everyone. She has antiques, clothing, lingerie, Christmas decor. Basically, you name it. She has it in the store.



This year, soaps and socks seem to be selling like hot cakes for the holidays.



I bought Bloody Mary mix and my favorite underwear, Hanky Panky.  That's about as eclectic as it gets.



Kitchenworks is a local store that has been in business at University Place for decades. It's a small shop that is filled to the brim with anything you may need in your kitchen. I spoke to Liz Keller to see what is popular for the holidays in the kitchen this year. I loved all that she picked, and on the store's website, they list even more favorites.

Gerrie & Co is a curated gift and jewelry shop which has been in business at University Place for nine years. During a Facebook live, I interviewed Katherine Nunn and picked out a few items from her store to highlight. The jewelry sold here is wearable art.  The glass bracelets from Michael Vincent Michaud are simply stunning.

Bath balms are on many girl's holiday wish list. I have one little girl in my home that tells me she will bathe more frequently if her bath includes a bath balm. My biggest complaint about the beauty industry is all the hidden fragrances and toxic ingredients in many products.




Be Pure Beauty prides itself on natural, pure and safe ingredients for your skin. I interviewed shop owner, April Manring in a Facebook Live Video,  who gave me an inside peek at what you can find in her store, and the best part of all is that all products are safe and that is not the case with most cosmetics on the market as I've learned with my blog partnership with Beautycounter, but not everyone likes to shop online for cosmetics. It's important to have stores that you can walk into and know you are purchasing non-toxic cosmetics.  Manring has even created her own beauty line. This a store in Chapel Hill that you really need to visit.

For all items for kids, Glee Kids, and The Red Hen offer upscale clothing, toys, shoes, and gifts.  Glee Kids carries the comfy Tea Collection and fabulous pajamas by Hatley.



And if you stayed with me in this post long enough, I mentioned a gift for the unmarried uncle with no children. Surprise him with a gift certificate to  Silverspot Cinema and dinner at Trilogy. This theatre is about as lux as it gets. It's posh, intimate and the variety of movies on the big screen are Blockbusters to Independents to classic oldies. It even broadcasts live theatre. This place is impressive. And would be a special night for anyone.



I was at University Place for two hours for my live #OutaboutNC moment and there were many stores that I did not have time to visit on this trip. No doubt, University Place definitely has a lot more shopping destinations than just Southern Season, its anchor store.  My advice is to budget more than two hours here because you will want to soak up all the destination has to offer. And just so you know, University Place has the only Chic-Fil-A in Chapel Hill. There are no self-standing chic-fil-a's in this college town.

Want to Go:
University Place
201 S. Estes Street
Chapel Hill, N.C.

My thanks to my Clegg's Pest Control serving Chapel Hill, NC for sponsoring my blog and keeping me at my desk writing and OutaboutNC. 

North Carolina is gorgeous 365 days a year, but there is something about December that makes my home state magical. For today's post, I turn to my #OutaboutNC community on Instagram to share with you some of my favorite photos tagged this month. Here are some great holiday photos from the OutaboutNC community.

The Ocean Isle Flotilla by BadPuppyBlues.
 Cameron Village in Raleigh for the holidays by MegHereThere





Beautiful poinsettias at Homewood Nursery and Garden Center by tdubhokie



The State Capitol Christmas Tree by Santiago2274


A Richmond County Christmas by AbbyFreeman2


Christmas Trees for sale in downtown Durham by WickedBaking.



The N.C. Governor's Mansion at Christmas by Spcoggins


 The NC Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary, N.C by vkearns.



A coastal North Carolina Christmas by CoastalbyDesign


And finally...from my family to yours, Merry Christmas. Liza in Cary, N.C. via my account @HinessightBlog




Remember to tag your photos #OutaboutNC and be sure to sign up for special OutaboutNC news on the sidebar.

I've reserved this coming weekend to do some holiday baking. I may even attempt these great cupcakes which my son and I tried last week during a class held at Whisk, the new gourmet cooking store in Cary, N.C.


He helped make these sugar cookie cupcakes because the class was specifically for children. This delicious cupcake recipe is from Carrie Haub, the gourmet cupcake instructor for Whisk's cooking school.

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla: mix well. Ad the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Recipe makes approximately 30 cupcakes.

Sugar Cookie Icing (Christmas Glaze)

1 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons milk

Mix with fork. To make it more of a thin glaze, add more milk.  To make it a thicker icing, add more powdered sugar.



We had a fabulous time in the cupcake class, and if you have a chance I would love for you to click over to my column for Triangle Mom2Mom because you will not believe the unexpected surprise that came from this Christmas moment. I think it may become my all-time favorite holiday memory.

My little cupcake baker did a great job with his cupcakes.



And they look a lot like Carrie's beautiful cupcakes. I think the gift cupcake was the hardest one to replicate. The Christmas tree one was really easy, and the tree is an ice cream cone. It stays in place by a candy cane. I would have never thought of that.


Carrie offered some great holiday baking tips.Whisk will offer more child cooking classes in 2014, and they have a fabulous selection for adults, too. My Mother-in-law attended a soup class, and loved it. Prices for the classes vary per topic and instructor. This class was $39, and honestly, when I got to walk away without cleaning a thing, I felt the price was fair. You should have seen the mess.



Want to Go:
Whisk 
316 Colonades Way #214
Waverly Shopping Center
Cary, NC

Disclosure: We were guests of Whisk for the class so we could learn more about what Whisk offered to residents in the area. This is not a paid advertisement, and opinions about the recipe, and the class are my own. This recipe is courtesy of Carrie Haub and Whisk.