Hey Triangle Bloggers!

First of all, we need to apologize for our absence from our blog lately! It’s been a BUSY BUSY spring for us and to be totally honest, we just all had a lot going on. BUT, we’ve been working hard the last few months to get things rolling again and we are SUPER excited to get the summer started with a bang!

We are PUMPED to announce that we have partnered with Apricot Lane Boutique for their GRAND OPENING celebration coming up this month at Southpoint Mall in Durham, NC.

Here’s what you need to know:

-We’ll be having a private and super exclusive shopping party and event at the new Apricot Lane store on Thursday, July 11th – please e-mail us for all the details and/or to request an invite!

-Once again, one of our main goals and priorities is to give back to our community and we are SO excited to partner with Apricot Lane to feature and highlight Transforming Hope again! On Saturday, July 13th, 2013 – the Apricot Lane Boutique store at Southpoint will be donating 15% of ALL SALES to Transforming Hope. But that’s not all! We will also be collecting items needed for Emma’s Home – a safe home for young women rescued out of the horrific human trafficking industry. For more details on Emma’s Home and Transforming Hope, click here. To see the items needed for donation, click here.

-Our own triFABB bloggers will be MODELS in a fashion show on Saturday, July 13th at 7:15pm at Southpoint Mall. The fashion show will take place outside of the movie theater area and triFABB models will be rocking the latest trends from Apricot Lane!

Needless to say, there is A LOT going on that day and we are so excited about it! Please shoot us an email if you want to be a part of ANY of it! We are still looking for models, so let us know!

Check out all the official details and official press release below: 

Apricot Lane Opens New Durham Store with July 13 Fashion Show, Giveaways and 15 Percent of all Sales Donated to Charity

Affordable Women’s Fashion Boutique Opens in The Streets at Southpoint partnering with Durham nonprofit Transforming Hope, the TriFABB blogger group, and Models for Charity

Durham, N.C. – July 1, 2013 – Apricot Lane, a popular boutique featuring celebrity-inspired affordable fashions for the everyday woman, will host a celebration for the grand opening of its third Triangle location at The Streets at Southpoint mall Saturday, July 13. The store will celebrate with festivities beginning at noon and a fashion show kicking off at 7:15 p.m. in conjunction with Southpoint’s summer band series outside at the mall’s main fountain near the movie theater.

Additionally, Apricot Lane is working with TriFABB, a local group of fashion beauty, and lifestyle bloggers, and Models for Charity, a nonprofit organization of professionals who raise money for Triangle charities through modeling. The partnerships aim to raise awareness and funds for Transforming Hope, a Durham-based nonprofit that works to transform the lives of human trafficking victims. Among other efforts, the organization offers safe houses to victims working through recovery.

As part of the grand opening, Apricot Lane in Southpoint will donate 15 percent of all sales on Saturday, July 13 back to Transforming Hope. It’s also asking community members to get involved through a personal goods and home products drive to collect toilet paper, shampoo, soaps, cleaning supplies, toothbrushes and similar products to stock the Transforming Hope safe house in Triangle, North Carolina – the location of which cannot be disclosed to protect its residents. Wish-list items can be found on the Transforming Hope website. People interested in helping can bring unopened items to Apricot Lane on Saturday, July 13.

“Apricot Lane has always been a huge supporter of the fight against human trafficking and we’re thrilled to be able to continue that tradition while also helping the local community here in North Carolina,” said Carol Toulas, who along with her husband George own all three Apricot Lane stores in the Triangle. “We’re so grateful that we can support Transforming Hope as well as for such great relationships with TriFABB, Models for Charity and the Raleigh-Durham community. This Southpoint grand opening celebration and fashion show is going to be such an impactful and fun event – we hope everyone can join us!”

The schedule of grand opening celebrations on Saturday, July 13 includes:

• All day – Personal goods and home products drive at the Apricot Lane store
• Noon to 5 p.m. – A prize wheel and other giveaways at the Apricot Lane store in Southpoint Mall, upstairs near the JCPenney entrance
• 5 p.m. – Celebrations move outside near the mall’s main fountain in front of the AMC Southpoint 17 movie theatre
  • 5 to 8 p.m. – The prize wheel will be at a table near the stage awarding prizes to all guests throughout the evening; Transforming Hope will also have a table onsite to further introduce the local community to its mission
  • 6 p.m. – The Southpoint band series kicks off with West Street Band, one of Raleigh’s top party bands playing hit rock, R&B and funk dance songs from every decade
  • 7:15 p.m. – The Apricot Lane fashion show with models from TriFABB and Models for Charity, all showing off the summer’s hottest fashions

Apricot Lane’s Southpoint store is owned by Carol and George Toulas under the venture Alpha Astra LLC. The couple opened their first location of Apricot Lane in early November, located in Raleigh’s North Hills Shopping Center and their second store in December at the Cary Towne Center Mall. They also own two locations in the Charlotte market and are rapidly expanding the footprint throughout North Carolina.

Once opened, Apricot Lane’s Southpoint store will follow the mall’s normal hours of operation. To learn more and join in the conversation, visit www.apricotlanetrianglenc.com or www.facebook.com/ApricotLaneTriangleNC.

About Apricot Lane:

Apricot Lane Boutique is a national retail franchise that specializes in unique, one-of-a-kind items and brand names known for their quality and fashionable style trends, quickly moving the store to the forefront of chic boutiques. Featuring celebrity-inspired fashions and designer labels offered in the convenience of neighborhoods across the country, Apricot Lane carries an impressive collection of branded fashion apparel, jewelry, handbags and accessories to create looks seen right off the runway and in the pages of any current fashion magazine. Apricot Lane retail boutiques are supported by the franchise company Country Visions. For more information, visit www.apricotlanetrianglenc.com or www.facebook.com/ApricotLaneTriangleNC.

About Transforming Hope:

Transforming Hope Ministries is a public nonprofit organization located in central North Carolina. The organization was founded November 20, 2010 by a group of women and men with a desire to holistically transform the lives of adolescent victims of human trafficking by offering them hope for their futures and equipping them with the skills to significantly lower their vulnerability to being re-exploited. Transforming Hope’s first safe home, called Emma’s Home, opened July 4, 2012 in central North Carolina. The homes are operated by trained staff offering residents opportunities to learn and develop life skills, building healthy relationships with staff and volunteers, weekly meetings with professional counselors and volunteer mentors, working with teaching staff for education, receiving healthcare, and participating in extracurricular activities based on each girl’s skill set and interests. To learn more, visit www.transforminghopeministries.org.

About TriFABB:

Triangle Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Bloggers is a group and community where bloggers in the Triangle region of North Carolina can come together to learn, collaborate, meet, and connect with each other, including sharing a passion for blogging. It was inspired by a similar group in Washington D.C. and created by Molly Stillman, Mia Maree and Brooke Allen  in August 2012. Members participate in various local meet-ups, networking opportunities, events, and a common community to ask questions and socialize. For more information, visit trifabb.com.

About Models for Charity:

Models for Charity is an organization of men and women in the Triangle who raise money for local charities through modeling. Models consist of local business owners and entrepreneurs who share a common goal of using their talents to benefit Triangle charities through hosting events, volunteering and attending fundraisers held by other organizations. For more information, visit www.modelsforcharityraleigh.com.

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