The French Quarter | Charleston

Jake and I visited Charleston for the last time this past weekend (cue crying emoji). We only stayed one night, but we managed to fit a lot in just over 24 hours. We arrived on Sunday around noon, just in time for our brunch reservations at Cannon Green. The funny thing about this place is that we randomly drove by it on our way to another restaurant last time we were in town and I fell in love with the exterior. You might remember my Instagram that I posted of the outside of the building. Anyway, I just happened to look it up and it's a really cool event space and restaurant. So, I decided to make a reservation and I am so glad we did. Add it to your list if you are ever in the area. I had a delicious mimosa (for Jake, a 'Sunday Struggle' mixed drink) and they even had a DJ playing some great R&B. Perfect for Sunday Brunch on a long weekend.

After brunch, we headed downtown to King Street to walk around and finally checked out CandleFish. I had been wanting to visit this new-ish shop for a LONG time, but it never made it into our itinerary -- until now, that is! Candlefish has 100 scents you can choose from and they are numbered instead of having names to confuse me. So, I chose number 88 after smelling probably 25 candles. So much fun! and the prices are affordable -- I could have gotten a bunch of candles, but since we are moving in a few weeks, I told myself that it would be better if I just purchased one and we could get more the next time we visit. More on that later... 

We did not have dinner reservations which is very unlike me. But we ended up having drinks and dinner at Edmund's Oast -- and it was so incredible! I made a last minute reservation via opentable (LOVE opentable! Have already gotten 2 $50 gift certificates just from making reservations) and we even managed to sit at the Chef's table. That is my new favorite thing -- so cool to see how the restaurant works -- up close and personal. 

Finally, I have been wanting to stay at the newly opened Spectator Hotel in Charleston, but we've been saving for the move, so we had to opt for a free night via our starwood points in North Charleston. Anyway, we wandered into the hotel for a night cap and ended up staying for 2+ hours, just chatting with the bartender and another couple. I even tried a drink with a raw egg white (Bee's sneeze, BTW). I mean, when in Rome, right?! 

The next morning, we grabbed coffee (my favorite lavender latte) from Black Tap and headed to the French Quarter to drive and walk around. So much fun! If you haven't been to Charleston, definitely add it to your list. I was thinking about putting together some City Guides to my favorite cities -- let me know if you guys would be interested.

Lastly, we visited Obstinate Daughter -- a great restaurant on Sullivan's Island. Amazing shrimp roll + geechie fries. Yummmm!!! 

So, back to the goodbye.  Since we've been in Charlotte, we've easily visited Charleston the most out of any other city. Asheville is a close second.  But, we really grew to love this place. It's like the Portland to our Seattle.  When we lived in Seattle, we would visit Portland at least twice a year (always Memorial Day weekend for the unofficial start of summer). So, for the past 3 years, we've visited Charleston for Memorial Day... and I'm really going to miss this place! The only thing left to figure out is... where will we go next Memorial Day?!

2014

2015

2016 

xoxo,

Weekend Wanderlust: Charleston

Since we got back from Seattle at Christmas, we haven't traveled and I was getting the itch! So we decided to visit a few friends in Charleston last weekend for President's Day Weekend. We drove up (down?) on Saturday morning -- Jake did a bit of golfing and I worked from the hotel. Then we met up with friends for dinner and drinks at Rarebit. After dinner, we stopped in Prohibition to grab a few nightcaps. I think I went to bed at midnight which is VERY late for me. #30something 

A few Sunday highlights:

Brunch at Westendorff. MUST TRY! 

Driving around all the 'hoods, mastering the house stalk. 

Grabbing a lavender latte from Black Tap Coffee. 

Browsing the boutique JAMES.

Charleston is one of my all-time favorite cities -- it's definitely my happy place. And the best part is that it's only a 3 hour drive from Charlotte.  As you can imagine, every time we drive away from Charleston, the only thing I can think about is when can we come back? 

Happy Traveling, 

Summer in the City

Remember me? I haven't posted in a long while, but I was jones-ing to blog again so I thought I would do a quick recap of our trip to Charleston.  We did just get back from my brother's wedding in Hawaii, but we'll get to that. First thing is first.

We took our 2nd annual trip down to Charleston for Memorial Day and we stayed in North Charleston so we could save a few pennies which actually wasn't too bad. We usually like to stay in the heart of things but since we were saving for our Hawaii trip, it made more sense to do it this way. We stayed at the ALOFT near the Charleston airport which wasn't my favorite hotel ever but it worked out for us.  Below are some of my favorite weekend snaps.

Finally tried the Husk Bar. Amazing!!

Of course - window boxes!

Jake introduced me to the Rooftop at the Vendue. Such a fun view and this was the best drink I've ever had in my life. No joke. It's called Rosemary's Hammock. It's made up of Rosemary Infused Flor de Cana Rum, Cherry Brandy, Velvet Falerenum, Pineapple, Lime Juice. Cheers!

A quick stop at Folly Beach before we headed home...

Travel fully,
Kim 

Second Time is a Charm

Jake and I took a quick trip to Charleston earlier this month. This was our second time visiting the Holy City and we fell even more in love with it.  I think if I were to rank a city on it's Instagramability, this city would be #1. New York City is a close #2. I just read that Charleston was ranked the Best City in the US again for the 4th time in a row by Travel and Leisure Magazine. It's also ranked #2 in the world. I can't say I'm surprised. Below are a few of my favorite pics from our most recent weekend visit:

The Battery. Love that Carolina blue sky. 

First stop: Breakfast at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit. Delicious. Highly recommend. We also ate at: Cru Cafe, Husk, Sightly North of Broad {my favorite!!!}, and Lowcountry Bistro. Our trip revolved around restaurants, as usual. 

 Second Stop: Walk around the College of Charleston. Gorgeous, as always.

Third Stop: The Battery. Love this boardwalk right by the water.

I'm pretty sure I could live here, I love everything about this city. Except for maybe the humidity's affect on my hair. But I'll just wear it in a ponytail. 

Signing off, 

Kim 

Charleston's Southern Charm

Jake and I spent Memorial Day weekend in the charming city of Charleston, SC. Can you believe it was our first time visiting and it's only a 3 hour drive from Charlotte! We planned it kind of last minute so hotels and B&B's were limited but we ended up finding a room at The Elliott House Inn which dates back to the 1800's.  

It's so incredible to see such history in a city - especially since we live in Charlotte now, which is a relatively new city.  We ate amazing food at Husk, The Macintosh and Poogan's Porch, walked around King Street until our feet were sore and finally, just relaxed a bit.  This was our first trip but I don't think it will be our last to the Holy City.  We definitely fell in love with it! 

Here are some snaps from our 3 day weekend: 

Jake and I are heading to NYC on Tuesday and I can barely contain my excitement. It will also be our first time to the Big Apple. It's been so great living on the East coast and getting to explore the other side of the country.  

Happy Travels,

Kim