a day trip to charleston

Ivory Silk Safari Blouse - Vintage, Flea Market

High Waist Tap Shorts, Bronze Tights - American Apparel

Leather Belt, Two Tone Satchel - Thrifted

Wood Sunset Sandals - Madewell

Charleston!! By far, one of my favorite cities in the universe. Since our ship's port was located along Charleston's coast, we had the opportunity to stay one night in the lovely city. Neil and I kept busy by shopping on King Street, drinking coffee at City Lights (Counter Culture Ethiopia!!), and exploring the Battery's 300 year old homes. Since it was Neil's first time visiting, I was really excited to show him where my mom and sisters and I stayed last year - 36 Meeting Street.

We celebrated our anniversary at a hotel called Planters Inn, located along Market Street in the heart of downtown. If you have a chance to stay there, definitely jump on it! It had a tropical courtyard and velvet sofas, all decadent and fancy. We found a fun little place called Caviar and Bananas, where we picked up duck confit sandwiches and red wine, and once we had explored the city, we retreated to our room and ate dinner in bed. It couldn't have been a better way to celebrate.

Posting these photos bring back recent memories of warmth and old stone streets. It's still freezing in our little house, since we found out today that the gas heater in the basement is pretty useless. We've been living off of space heaters, blankets, and cuddling.. we'll see how long it lasts before we pressure our landlord into fixing the furnace.

And I've been reading! This is kind of a big deal for me, since it generally takes me about two years to finish a book. Because we visited Hemingway's house in Key West, I got in the mood to read one of his stories. I found a copy of The Sun Also Rises that I had stolen from an old college boyfriend in my room at my parent's house, so I'm reading it now. I'm about 100 pages in. Hemingway was a stud.

What have you all been up to? Happy week!

PS.. everything is up in the shop now!

PPS.. the next Harry Potter film comes out tomorrow night!!

charleston, charleston!

Photos by Mom!

Gray Dress - Forever21

Plaid Hair Bow - Handmade

Plaid Tiny Fit Blazer - Thrifted

Black Crocheted Knee High Socks - Urban Outfitters

Lace Up Heels - H&M

Last weekend, my mom, sisters, and I took a trip to Charleston! I didn't know what to expect, so when we drove in, I was in awe. The beauty of it all really overwhelmed me - it was hard to find a street or alleyway that wasn't charming and manicured and well-preserved. The entire city seems to glow.

We stayed on Meeting Street, in a fantastic home built in 1740. The rooms we stayed in were originally where the servants slept, above the kitchen - which boasted a massive brick fireplace over 10 feet wide! Every room had a fireplace in it, and wonderful, creaky hardwood floors. The owner of the house told us a story about guests staying in the rooms beneath us hearing children running all over our rooms above them one night - when no one was staying there at all. That night, Rhi turned the kitchen light on when I wasn't looking and then told me it was a kid ghost that did it. I kept waiting for the ghost to turn the light back off.

We went shopping, took a haunted jail tour (TERRIFYING), listened to Dixieland jazz (banjo! wonderful), took pictures in pretty cemeteries, walked around the Battery, and ate some fantastic seafood. I even found a place that hand rolls their own cigars, so I had to take one home for Neil. Coffee was a highlight, too.. City Lights Coffee in downtown Charleston serves Counter Culture, which is the best coffee I've ever had. And all of this with my beautiful mom and sisters.

The history of the city was the best part of it all.. voodoo history, pirate history (Blackbeard and Anne Bonny!! I did a pirate presentation in 5th grade and have been in love with them since then), the Revolutionary War and the Civil War and everything before, in between, and after. And the pride of Charleston's people when talking about these events.. and their ancestor's direct involvement with them. We had the opportunity to listen to our bed and breakfast owner talk about his home's history as well as give us tips on what to see in the city. He knew the city backwards and forwards, having lived there his entire life, and he was only too happy to share his own Charleston stories. To have that much passion and enthusiasm for your hometown, a place filled with your own personal tales as well as those of history's greats, like Washington and Beauregard and Sherman - your own history crosses paths with your country's history. How wonderful to play a part.

And the accents in Charleston! You don't truly know a Southern accent - and the differences between the accents depending on the area - until you live in the South. And the South Carolina accent is slow, deliberate, and effortlessly refined. I could listen to them talk for weeks.

The conclusion? Visit Charleston. Preferably with lovely family.

blogger meet up! hanging out with meaghan of left hand endeavor

I just had a near 5 hour Nashville coffee date with beautiful Meaghan of Left Hand Endeavor and her boyfriend, Mike! 

When Meaghan told me that she would be coming through Nashville and was free to meet, I was excited and nervous. Her blog is one of my favorites (her Wakefield Express post especially left a big impression on me), so of course I wanted to meet her! But this was our first blogger meet up, and the internet adds all sorts of weird dynamics to friendships. Online communication is a funny new medium.. what does communication do without nonverbals, anyway? Wasn't I taught in college that communication is 90% nonverbal? How is online communication doing so well on its meager 10%, then? Should I start using italics and caps more often to give inflection?

It ended up being wonderful. Meaghan and Mike were so much fun to talk to - we actually had plans to check out vintage stores in the area, but we talked for so long that by the time we were finished, everything was closed (including the coffee shop we were at!). And we talked about everything.. literally. From fashion (all boys should wear v necks, period) to Canada to South Park (watch out for underwear stealing gnomes) to Star Wars to glam rock (Brian Eno!) to Rasputin. It was a blast, and I'm really thankful that they took time out of their trip to make a stop!

And to continue in the Etsy Week tradition.. Meaghan has an Etsy shop that you should really look at! Check it out here..

To finish off Etsy Week, I will be posting another Etsy designer interview as well as a shop preview this weekend! I have been doing more than coffee drinking and conversing, I promise. I'll show you evidence of that tomorrow.

But it's always fun to take five hour coffee breaks from Etsying with seriously cool, well rounded, crazy interesting individuals from Montreal.

etsy week GIVEAWAY!

Starting off Etsy week today! I am so excited about this - I have been waiting to write this post for a few weeks now. My Illinois friend Jess has an amazing Etsy store, Wayside Violet, where she sells lovely knitted cozies and other handmade things. Because she is sweet, she has offered to give away one of her cozies on my blog!

The great part? Not only do you get a cozy for free, you get to choose which cozy you'd like! You can choose between the new, feminine Bow Cozy (above) made with soft merino wool, or the mocha brown Bark Button Cozy (my favorite!). 

If you'd like to win, all you have to do is comment on this post! I will select a winner at random. Let me know which cozy you would like and maybe tell me something about yourself that I don't know. Tell me your drink addictions - coffee? Tea? Moonshine? Or, tell me an embarrassing story from your youth. Or tell me what you've been into style-wise lately. Or just write 'comment'.

Let me share a random embarrassing story from my youth. My lovely, angelic older sisters Rhi and Ash used to play Legos with their dorky younger sister. We would build houses and be neighbors and talk suburban. One day, Rhiannon walked her Lego guy over to my Lego house and said that she would build a deck for me. I was so happy - a Lego deck! - and I said ok. She took my house, built the deck secretly, then gave it back to me. Brand new beautiful deck. Just a little bit later, Rhiannon walked a Lego policeman over to my Lego house and demanded to inspect it. He tore open the deck only to find body parts. Lego heads and legs and such. I was arrested.

I will announce the winner of the giveaway a week from today, so you have until then to comment! That will also be the day I begin my Etsy shop, so keep checking in. I'll be posting a store preview soon, as well as interviews with some of my favorite Etsy designers. If you love Etsy or want to learn more about it, there's no reason to stay away.

And whatever you do, check out Jess' shop!