Goldsboro, NC.

About an hour away from Raleigh, North Carolina sits a quiet town named Goldsboro. One of my closest friends moved there a few months ago and I finally decided to take the trip down and visit her neck of the woods. Both of us grew up in congested New Jersey so, coming to North Carolina and experiencing its openness was definitely much needed. Goldsboro was a town that consisted of mostly mom-and-pop restaurants, a handful of chain restaurants (Longhorn, Applebee's), and a Wal-Mart.

This is my friends' parents home about ten miles away from Goldsboro. The closest strip mall to them is a good twenty miles! I guess I take for granted the strip mall that is less than a mile away from my house.

I was also happy to know the beaches in North Carolina are free to get onto! Why pay to get onto a public beach? Wrightsville beach looked like a mini-version of Long Beach Island. It had all the necessities a block away from the beach.

Warm, blue water! Nothing compared to the cold Jersey brown water.

The only downside to living in a town like Goldsboro would probably be how far you need to drive to get into a "city" setting. The closest city-like town and outlet mall was a half hour away. I'm surrounded by hustle and bustle living in New Jersey so I truly appreciated and took full advantage of the slow pace that North Carolina had to offer. I'll also mention this - the fruit is AMAZING! I lived off of peaches throughout my four days because they were perfectly ripe. This is where I would prefer to go on a quick getaway.

My friend was dying to take me here because she was so sure that I would fall in love with their styles - and she was right! I was sold the second I walked into the store. This is Emily's Boutique; it opened about a year ago and is run by a mother and daughter. I usually see similar versions of pieces on various websites but all the clothes here were so unique! The best part about Emily's Boutique is you can shop them on Instagram (Emilys_Boutique) and if you see something you like, you can actually call them and place an order! First time I've heard any shop do that so that is definitely a plus.

Just a couple places my friend knew I would like while visiting: