Justin Timberlake + Raleigh + Good Eatin’ + Awesome Friends (a.k.a. A Successful Mid-Week Trip)

There are lots of reasons my friend Bethany is awesome. She’s really, really funny. She shares my affinity for stand up comedians. She’s one of those people who is almost always on the same wavelength as I am. She loves delicious food (and loves to split entrees at restaurants — a quality I adore).

So it pretty much goes without saying that I was beyond stoked when Bethany invited me to go with her to see the Justin Timberlake concert in Raleigh this past Wednesday. We opted to make an event of it, arriving in town early enough for a late lunch pre-concert in Raleigh and then staying overnight following the show and grabbing brunch before driving back to Winston.

It was amazing. All of it. Here are a few highlights and photos to prove it:

• We started the trip off strong at Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, where we dug into a chicken biscuit, chicken and waffles, collard greens, and roasted beets with citrus vinaigrette. It. Was. All. So. Good. Here’s the before and after. We did good work.

• After checking into our hotel and changing into concert attire, we traveled over to a super swanky hotel (The Umstead) to meet up with some fellow Mullenites who were also attending the show. We enjoyed a few delish cocktails in the fancy bar (no photos — it was too posh for photos) and then discovered that it was the hotel where JT was staying in Raleigh. Way exciting. From the hotel, we headed to the concert with our pals in a van driven by a guy named — wait for it — VAN. (Yep. True story.) We were really glad we weren’t driving ourselves, because it took about an hour to get to the venue, even though it was only a couple of exits from the hotel.

• Concert time! We had incredible seats. Like, right to the side of the stage. We were stoked.

• JT put on an amazing show (for about three hours — very impressive) which included ridiculously awesome dancing, singing that sounded as good in person as it does recorded, and a moving stage (!!!). We found out the next morning that Jessica Biel had been in attendance, too, which made it extra exciting.

• Our Thursday morning brunch at Big Ed’s was delightfully Southern, and we split fried catfish and veggie omelet meals. (Pretty sure this is the first time I’ve had catfish for breakfast, and I must say I’m on board.)

JT will be touring through August of next year, so if he stops by a town near you (very possible), I’d highly recommend grabbing some tickets. You won’t be disappointed. (In fact, Bethany and I are already contemplating seeing him when he comes to Charlotte in March!)