For the big three-oh (and conveniently a three weekend), I took a quick trip down to the lovely city of Durham, North Carolina for a weekend of food, fun, and great company. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Duke University’s Nasher Museum. The current special exhibit was on voices in Southern Art (which just might be one of my new favorite types of art.

But first, we started off the day at Monuts for breakfast. Hooray for iced coffee and BEC on an everything bagel. Even midmorning on a Friday, the place was busy, but luckily we beat the crowd.

Properly fueled, the next stop on my whirlwind tour of Durham was the Nasher. I think what I liked best about the exhibit is how strange and visceral the pieces were. Even though the collection spanned centuries, they were all tied together by the theme of the Southern Voice. Some were a lot weirder than others, but they all evoked a feeling of surreal.

Also on the agenda was the Scrap Exchange. A giant art supply/junk/scrap store, their mission is to reuse everything! Walking around, there was everything from stickers to stamps to old photos to buttons. Anything you might be tempted to throw away, people want to make art out of! It was really incredible to see.

After lunch, we took a quick stop at the Durham Arts Council. They have rotating exhibits of local artwork. This one was my favorite!

All of that art works up an appetite! We walked down the street to Toast for Crostini and a glass of Italian white wine. So delicious! We split a sampler of different types including avocado, mushroom, and cheese. If you are walking around Downtown Durham, I highly recommend taking a snack break in Toast! We also hit all of the cute boutique shops nearby. All of this and the birthday weekend was just getting started!

Check back soon for more fun in Durham!