A Weekend In Charleston

This weekend was originally slated to be a quiet one with me and the baby -- the husband had plans to spend a night away and catch the ECU vs. Chapel Hill game with a buddy in Greenville, NC. 

But when an opportunity arose to go down to Charleston and support a worthy cause (and of course, mix in some Charleston fun), I jumped on it and asked my mom if she would like to join us for a girls getaway.

We arrived in Charleston Friday night and got Camille in pajamas, read a book to her, and put her in the crib that I'd reserved with the hotel. She did really well in it! She is not sleeping through the night, but having her crib right by my bed was really easy. Mom and I then had dinner delivered to our hotel room, Mediterranean food from a local restaurant. We watched Dateline (and the episode happened to be taking place in Charleston, as luck would have it) and next thing I knew, Mom was waking me up to get ready for bed. I was exhausted and had fallen asleep midway through the Dateline episode.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the farmers market in Charleston. 

We found the cutest little children's clothing line called Urbane Baby. I picked out a dress for Camille (which is designed to be worn now as a dress and later as a top when baby is taller ... so smart) and was chatting with the owner when I noticed the cutest headwrap scarves. I put this one on the babe and knew immediately it had to come home with us. People were stopping in their tracks in front of the Urbane Baby tent and talking about how cute she looked in it! The sweet owner was charging $6 for the headwraps which I thought was really fair. I couldn't find them on her website but I'm sure you could contact her through the site if you wanted one.

Here is the little dress we bought. I love the sweet elephant pattern.

We had the best time just walking around the farmers market and letting Camille take in all the sights and sounds. 

I love shopping the market. I think it's one of Charleston's happiest places. For our home, I picked out a new Rewined candle in the same scent I purchased last September -- spiked cider. 

 

From the farmers market we then made our way up and down King Street, ducking in a few stores but not purchasing anything. After building up an appetite, we lunched at Jestine's. We hadn't been there for years and years. Don't be discouraged by the waiting line that often wraps around the corner of the building -- we were only in line for maybe 10 minutes. The fried chicken is worth it! Mom got the meatloaf and also raved about it.

Camille was such a ham at lunch, very happy after having her bottle and feeling a little sassy in her headwrap, I think.

So the real reason we were in Charleston was for a fundraiser for injured war veterans. Earlier that morning we'd cheered them on as dozens of them completed a 30-mile ride around Charleston. This is the tail end of the procession. Seeing the bikes that were custom engineered for each veteran was remarkable. Some were pedaled by hand, by foot, some motorized, all a work of art to meet the veteran's needs.

That evening we attended a reception and a concert and were able to meet many of the foundation's donors as well as some pretty amazing war heroes. So many parts of this weekend brought a new perspective to me. When one wife came up to me that morning and asked me if my husband was participating in the ride, I felt a lump rise in my throat.

One of the event's speakers was SC Senator Lindsey Graham, and we snagged a photo with him.

I'm so thankful that we had this opportunity. Eye-opening in so many ways. 

Before lunch on Sunday, we stopped by the outlets and I picked up the cutest cat boots for Camille to wear this winter. I mean ... I can't get enough of them.

We all lunched with Megan from Fried Green Pickles at Jim 'n Nicks and I am still dreaming of their fluffy cheddar biscuits. And the best update ever is that when I just searched for them online, I found that they have two locations near my house! I was going to buy some of their biscuit mix online, but now I can just pop into the restaurant. If you are so inclined, it is $6 here and I promise you that they are probably some of the best cheese biscuits I've ever, EVER eaten.

Megan so sweetly gave this book to Camille and Ian and I read it to her Sunday night before bed. Such a cute book and great for Charleston lovers! Megan, we absolutely love it. You are so thoughtful.

Mom and I are already planning on a Charleston girls trip to be an annual getaway. We had the greatest time together and loved introducing the baby to such a special place, my very favorite South Carolina city.

Our Airbnb Experience in Charleston, SC

When my husband and I started looking around at hotel options for our Charleston getaway, we were finding that some of our favorite places to stay were booked -- and while others were available, our stay would be costing us a pretty penny.

We were already thinking about more of a bed & breakfast setup, so I decided to hop on to airbnb.com to see what I could find. Lo and behold, this beauty popped right up and I was immediately smitten with the idea! The price was so much better than we were expecting, and all of the reviews I read were just so good. With the cost savings each night, we figured we could go all out on shopping and dining!

The basic concept of airbnb.com is that you can rent out a house or a room from a private owner -- you pay them directly upfront, pay a small fee to airbnb.com, and that's it. The option I found for us enabled us to have a private room and bathroom in a beautiful home (in a very safe neighborhood) that was just a walk away from the historic downtown area.

I do have to apologize for the poor photo quality, but I snapped these on my phone as we were leaving!

The house was just adorable and our host was nothing short of lovely. Our room had a king bed and plenty of space but still with a cozy feel. Our host Cheryl is an artist, so she has such a keen eye for decor.

  

We also had access to the kitchen downstairs, and our sweet host had coffee and biscotti laid out for us each morning. She also had wine in the fridge that she keeps on hand for her guests. So nice. I brought some O'Douls Amber for myself but Ian enjoyed his glass :) 

(Sidenote: when did I become the beer drinker and he become the wine drinker? Total role reversal.)

I think the most important thing you can do when booking through a site like airbnb.com is to check the reviews, each and every single one of them. Staying in someone's home -- especially if your host is going to be there -- can be a really different experience and if you've never stayed in a B&B then the concept may be quite unfamiliar to you.

Speaking for us, our experience truly couldn't have been better -- our host was rarely around, but when she was, she was just a true Southern belle ... completely sweet and hospitable. Our room was completely clean and well-appointed with lots of fresh towels. It was very nice having paid upfront so that when we got there, we didn't have to handle any monetary transactions. 

We hope to stay at this very home again and will definitely be using airbnb.com for future trip planning!

Weekend Recap: Our Charleston Getaway

This weekend was the best. The best.

At the beginning of last week, Ian threw out the idea of a last-minute getaway. SOLD. We'd both been stressed with work, and I knew this escape was just what we needed. Charleston, SC has a very special place in both of our hearts ... if you have been there, you know it is just plain good for the soul.

We had a really fun and different adventure this time around -- we stayed at a beautiful downtown home that I rented on Airbnb.com. I will definitely be sharing more about this experience!

After getting settled into the home, we walked to King Street for our dinner reservations. We had a wonderful dinner at Prohibition (including a truly amazing fresh strawberry mocktail) and then walked down to Virginia's On King where we shared the most delicious slice of key lime pie.

We took a cab home that night just due to the chilly temps. The next morning after a bite to eat, we decided to do something that Ian has always wanted to do -- we toured Patriot's Point, where the USS Yorktown is held. Tickets are $18 for adults and it was such a fun and different way to spend the morning -- and because we learned so much, we didn't feel guilty spending the rest of the afternoon just relaxing and shopping!

For lunch we headed into Sullivan's Island and had the best sandwiches and chili at Poe's Tavern. Everyone needs to experience Poe's in their life at some point!

After lunch, we shopped all up and down King Street. Ian didn't get anything but he did treat me to the cutest tortoise cuff at C. Wonder. And when we were shopped out, we did something we NEVER do ... we napped! That's right, back to the house we went and we just crashed for about an hour. It was just what we needed.

We got ready for the evening and Ian snapped this photo of me in the house -- our host is an artist and this is one of her pieces!

That night we had late dinner reservations at Charleston Grill, but we headed downtown early and had a few pre-dinner beverages. By far, the best spot we ended up at was at The Thoroughbred Club right in Charleston Place hotel. We'd been wanting to check out that bar since our last stay at Charleston Place this past September (PS: I was newly pregnant during that wedding, but we kept it a secret, so I sipped on fake cocktails all weekend!). Since we didn't get to go then, we really wanted to make it happen this time around. The bartender made me the yummiest mocktail with cucumber and mint.

And dinner that night was nothing short of amazing! Charleston Grill had some of the best service I've experienced in a very long time. We shared an appetizer and had two entrees, two sides, and then declined dessert -- but our adorable waiter still brought out a little sweets sampler for me complete with some chocolates, a macaron, and a praline.

Although we will be taking a "real" babymoon shortly, this little mini-babymoon was the perfect getaway!