For the past few months, I have hosted the OutaboutNC Small Business Holiday Gift-Pop-Up on Facebook with TeachLearnStyle.com.  Kim and I were able to promote these NC businesses without any cost to them to give back to the state in 2020.

It's been a tough year on hospitality and retail, which those two subjects are at the core of what my social media platforms are all about. The event was sponsored by our blog affiliates, which help support bloggers, so they do not have to beat the payment finding sponsors every day, and we can continue to share editorial content with you. Your purchases from our website affiliates are a passive way to help support the blogging industry because you don't show up to work for free, and neither do we. 

As I've gotten to know these North Carolina business owners, I have put together a list of my favorite products that I think would be great holiday gifts.  These gift ideas would be great for anyone on your list, however, I've geared this holiday gift guide toward women. 

I've been known to wrap up my own Christmas gifts and place them under the tree, so no judgment from me if you place these in your holiday cart today just for you. 

100 % Natural Beeswax, hand-poured  NC-made aromatherapy candles

Cozy attire and affordable fashion from Anna Jean Boutique in Elizabeth City, NC

I think it is wonderful when you see young women pursuing their dreams.  Brie Barclift graduated from Meredith College in 2018 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing and founded Anna Jean Boutique in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  

The boutique is full-service in Eastern North Carolina, from clothing to accessories.  I love that she finds affordable fashions that can make women look great.  I love the Frosty Nights Fluffy Zip-Up Jacket and the Cozy Collection Loungewear.  Who doesn't love to lounge? Brie looks great in both. I love the Netflix and Chill outfit.  That's like the epitome of my life: blog, Cook, Netflix, and Chill in my chair.  Currently, I'm finishing the Crown and will soon start the Queen's Gambit. 

North Carolina Food can be experienced throughout the world with a customized Hometown Goodie Boxes Gift.  From holiday jam to charcuterie gift boxes, there is something for everyone's culinary tastes. 

North Carolina is a foodie state, and we have a lot to offer in culinary products from Murphy to Manteo. Hometown Goodie Box founder, Linda Seymour, combined her own love to eat with North Carolina made products. Through her goodie box business, people from all over the world can experience a taste of North Carolina. 

"Growing up in Eastern North Carolina, I was surrounded by families, farmers, and neighbors that grew vegetables and fruits, harvested nuts from their trees, and raised animals for consumption. Craftsmanship, ingenuity, and pride in every aspect of life’s work forged the lives of the women and men around me," stated Linda. "Over the years, I’ve tried to pass these "hometown" treasures and traditions on to my own family and friends, and now - through Hometown Goodie Boxes - I'm excited to pass them on to other people.  The "NC Family Breakfast" box is one of her most popular collections. 

Beautiful NC pottery designs from Curry Wilkinson Pottery 

Make better health a priority in 2021, and share clean beauty with your loved ones. Beautycounter has gorgeous holiday gifts for men and women that anyone would love. I certainly have my favorites, but the one product I'm looking the most forward to is the Luminous Lid Cream Shadows. 

The safe alternative to retinol is Beautycounter's Retinatural Countertime formula that mimics the effects of retinol with the harsh side effects making it a safe beauty health choice for anti-aging beauty products.  The Countertime Ultra-Renewal Eye Cream and Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Night Cream are my favorite skincare products.

Holidays Gifts from St. Nick's Nacks. This lighted shimmer water lantern with a snowman, Santa, and a spinning tree. Would make fabulous holiday decor for the season. 

Callahan's Holiday Gifts for Her and one of the largest patterned face-covering/mask selections from designers such as Simply Southern to Vera Bradley that I've seen anywhere locally. 

When COVID protocols forced the closure of restaurants and retail in 2020. Callahan's developed its first-ever online retail store. Because Callahan's inventory is massive, not everything is online, including its fudge. Still, you can call during store hours and have Callahan's homemade fudge shipped as well as other gifts if you are looking for something particular.  Callahan's has something for everyone or even for yourself. I think the all-weather bangles from the BuDuaGirl brand are a perfect holiday gift idea for someone special on your list.   

Because my parents owned a second home in North Myrtle Beach, I grew up going to Calabash, NC, during the holidays and over the summers. We would eat fried seafood then stop at Callahan's of Calabash to shop.  It was my favorite place to go because the Christmas shop looked like a wonderland. This family-owned business, established in 1978, takes up several blocks of the town's main street corner as you head to the waterfront. Callahan's has one of the largest Christmas shops in North Carolina called St. Nick's Nacks. My Dad loved Callahan's homemade peanut butter fudge.  

My Dad consistently claimed their fudge as the best in NC and never left a trip without a pound in a bag.  His favorite was the peanut butter, which is typically available year-round in the store.  

Last year, the store sent me a Cheer ornament for Liza because I knew that it would be Callahan's if any place had one. Seriously, they have everything!!! I was thrilled to include Callahan's of Calabash in my OutaboutNC virtual pop-up store. 

 

McRae Design offers a monthly subscription box where you receive new one of a kind jewelry releases each month. 

Jen McRae is the creator behind McRae Designs in North Carolina. She embraces the colors in paintings and then formulates many earring designs and color palettes from those paintings, then she releases them as a jewelry art collection. I am one of those rare women who don't wear earrings because I've never had my ears pierced, but I was drawn to her Mad about Plaid-Holiday collection. Her latest inspiration is the Pink Champagne Celebration collection with beautiful greens, pinks, and reds.

 I love reading the McRae Design website because artist Jen McRae tells the story of why she chose the path that she did with her color choices and pattern collaborations. Jen has also branched out into designing to snap clips for your hair and mask/wallet clutches. I think Jen is most fond of plaid, and since she is located in Scotland County in the town of Laurinburg, plaid designs certainly fit her brand well. 

I basically live in Zyia Active Wear these days. I joke that I wear it to type 100 words per minute.  The first purchase I made was Zyia's Bomber bra, and now I've thrown away all of my old bras, and I only wear Zyia Active sports bras. I love them.  I also live in the Zyia Light and Tight Leggings and a half- zip pullover.  I'm wearing those three Zyia Active items from TL Style Boutique, which is also a sponsor of the OutaboutNC pop-up.  

Kim was the one who helped keep me all organized with these pop-up events. Zyia Active is a lifestyle clothing brand founded by Erin Bradley, a fellow cheer mom. No doubt, cheer moms are unstoppable. I'm so impressed with the brand. 

Raleighwood Beads Owner and Designer Carolyne Grizer never make the same jewelry design twice. She will work with you to customize your own design, and each design is unique. One of her bestselling items during the holidays is the whimsical Nutcracker necklace. Carolyne loved beads as a child, and she would be fascinated with all the beads in Michaels. Not living in Raleigh during her childhood, but close enough to make day trips, her Dad would announce, "Lets' go to Raleighwood!" hence the inspiration for the name behind her Raleighwood Beads jewelry.  Raleighwood Beads designs can be found in many local NC boutiques. 

I am thrilled to introduce the Canadian company, Epicure, as one of my latest blog affiliates. Epicure was founded by Sylvia Rochette in 1997.  Like many of us today, she was a busy mom who wanted to eat clean and healthy but needed to quickly get dinner on the table. She developed time-saving silicon cookware that can be used in both the oven and microwave.  Epicure is a household name in Canada and launched into the U.S market last fall.

 Epicure helps time-starved families get affordable and simple meal solutions on the table from raw to ready in 20 minutes or less.  All ingredients in its healthy seasoning mixes are clean, non-processed, and gluten-free.  I have fallen in love with Epicure products because it is what I needed in 2020 to make life in my kitchen easier.  The first product any person should buy is the Epicure multipurpose steamer.  It is a true workhorse in the kitchen. I used it for Thanksgiving with so many dishes, and without it, I don't think I could have made as many dishes as I did. There are tons of Epicure multipurpose steamer recipes. 

With the Epicure steamer, you can make entire meals such as steamer chicken parmesan in eight minutes and steamer buttery mashed potatoes in ten minutes.  It has truly become one of my favorite products. The best deal is to get the Epicure steamy dinners collection which includes three meals that can be cooked in the steamer.  Join my A Dash of Flavor with Leigh Powell Hines group on Facebook. 

2020 will go down in history as the year the world stopped being what we were used to living in daily.  We stopped basically everything we loved, and unfortunately, many people lost people who they loved.

In 2020, we are more attached to the internet than in any year prior. Travel stopped. Eating in restaurants stopped. Shopping in person stopped. Retail stores closed down for months, and to survive, many retail stores had to turn to online sales to survive the economy. 

Callahan's of Calabash Opened an Online Store During COVID in NC

For my OutaboutNC community on Instagram, my focus is 100 percent on North Carolina, the same place where I have called home for a lifetime. When I started my #OutaboutNC chats on IGTV in late March, getting to know the individuals behind North Carolina's businesses put a little spark in my step in 2020.  

These local businesses have had to pivot with some developing an online store for the first time ever. Even I have somewhat pivoted in a new direction during COVID as my HouseStalker YouTube Show shoots halted, and travel and leisure content became limited. 

I've put more emphasis on working with brand affiliates, which align with my lifestyle such as my passion for clean beauty education/advocacy with Beautycounter. This beauty and skincare brand is a leader in the Clean Beauty industry with a Never-List of about 1800 questionable or harmful ingredients not allowed in its products.  My Beautycounter affiliate is now a primary source of revenue to support this blog over sponsorships, enabling me to keep the majority of my OutaboutNC and blog content editorial. 

Beautycounter wrapped up a three-month partnership with Sephora, and awareness about health over beauty is now greater than ever. More and more companies are cleaning up their act and making more products safer for consumers. My #BetterBeauty VIP group on Facebook shares all brands of Clean Beauty and helps educate consumers to make better choices at all price points. I also offer flash sales and discounts. 

For my latest #OutaboutNC project, I hand-picked vendors throughout North Carolina to work with me on a virtual holiday pop-up market for three weekends in October, November, and December. My longtime friend, Kim Prejs, of Teach Learn Style.com, is also sponsoring the event with her main affiliate, Zyia Active, a new favorite brand. 

NC Small Business Pop-Up Participants

As a child, I remember a black and white photo that was in my family photo albums that were of an era before I was born. Dad was wearing a jacket and a tie. Mom had on some green patterned skirt and white frilly collar blouse that screamed the holiday season. The shirt became popular again in the early nineties. To find that photo now would require hours of digging in a box. For some reason, that photo always fascinated me. They were celebrating the holidays at Raleigh's Angus Barn in the mid-sixties. I came along at the very end of 1968 and changed their lives. I look back now at a much older age than they were in that photo, and I laugh now because I realize their life was turned upside down upon my arrival. No doubt, they had a pretty good 14 years before my fabulous entrance. 

When I moved to Raleigh in 2000, one of the first things I wanted to do was to dine at the Angus Barn just like parents did so many years earlier. It was interesting to me to think that a restaurant was still thriving after so many years. I've written about the Southern tradition of the Angus Barn during the holidays on the blog before and how it is so wonderful for families during the holidays. 

Angus Barn exterior circa 1960. Photo credit courtesy of Angus Barn

The Angus Barn, located on Highway 70 near the very-small Raleigh-Durham International Airport, opened its door to the public on June 28, 1960. Truthfully, it was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing was out there except an airport that had about twenty flights a day. Ironically, this new cutting-edge restaurant was located just a few miles away from where my parents resided. 

In 1959, novice restauranteurs Thad Eure, Jr, and Charles Winston bought 50 acres of pastureland on a desolate section of Highway 70, halfway between Raleigh and Durham. Believed by many to be misguided due to its rural location, the young entrepreneurs were unable to receive any bank funding. 

However, Eure and Winston were determined and borrowed from every person who had a modicum of faith in them to raise the money. Based on dining preferences of the time, they decided that the restaurant would have a steak and potato-based menu; and the legendary Angus Barn concept was launched.

The Angus Barn Fire of 1964 in Raleigh, NC/Witek Marketing

Thad and Alice Eure, original owners of the Angus Barn

Current Angus Barn Owner Van Eure Serving Guests During Curbside/Witek Marketing

The Angus Barn Celebrates 60 years on June 28, 2020/Witek Marketing

Since that first night in June 1960, over 21,000 nights and 14,000,000 guests later, generations continue to make the Angus Barn a cherished part of their lives. Today this historic restaurant can seat close to 900 guests and employees over 400 team members. Although it is still famous as a "Beef Eaters Haven," serving over 22,000 steaks per month, the menu of the barn has expanded to include poultry, seafood, and pasta, as well as options for today's more nutrition-conscious guests.  

In 2008, the Pavillion, a  large open-air dining and event facility overlooking Angus Barn's scenic lake, constructed almost entirely of reclaimed materials dating back to the 18^th century was built. 

And if you dine at the Angus Barn, you will notice that this is not one of those a-la-carte type steak houses that became popular a few decades ago. All dinners come with your choice of garden salad, spinach salad, Caesar salad, wedge salad, French Onion soup, or the soup of the day. Plus, diners get their choice of baked potato, stuffed potato (my favorite), garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato, thin-cut fries, baked onion, white rice, or rice pilaf. Bread and homemade crackers are served at every table. 

If you ever visit, Raleigh, NC, experience a Southern tradition like the locals. We are so fortunate to have this outstanding restaurant in North Carolina. If only "walls could talk", I bet we would hear a lot of great stories. 

The Angus Barn is back open after weeks of closure because of COVID19 in 2020, just in time to celebrate its milestone birthday. Service looks a different right now because of the changing times.  Curbside Pick-Up/Take-Out is available with a limited menu. The restaurant's website details its current COVID safety initiatives. 

This post is made possible through the support of Beautycounter, a leader in Clean Beauty, banning 1800 questionable ingredients that are currently being used in the cosmetic and skincare industry. Any sales purchased through this link, directly benefits HinesSighBlog income. Let Leigh be your host for a virtual #BetterBeauty Education with your friends on social media. Email me at Leigh@hinessightblog.com to chat about it.  Hosts receive free rewards and products.