.Details of Longing.

G and I recently watched The King's Speech as part of one of our Friday Food & Film Adventure's.  Along with it being a fantastic movie, it made me long for several details of the past not seen as frequently now.  A time of top hats, round tortoiseshell eyeglasses, bowties, fabulous hats, gigantic doors, massive fireplaces, and phonographs.  G and I might just have to revamp aspects of our home and closets to better reflect some of these classic staples of the 1920's and 30's.

glasses: Etsy

bowtie: Southern Proper

door 1: Masterwerks
door 2: Interior Decorating-Furniture Designs

set photo Via
all other images found here

.Glorious Afternoon.

Before our departure from our babymoon, we had only a few more things to cross off our to-do list.  We hit Patriot Point on our way to Folly Beach and although we didn't have time to take the tour we were able to see the USS Yorktown, and replicas of a Cold War submarine and Vietnam Support Base.  We then headed to the expansive and very windy Folly Beach where we surveyed the pier and took the walk to the historic Morris Island Lighthouse.  In fact, it was so gusty I had to change outfits in the car in order to maintain any decency while sightseeing! 

The best part of our outing was lunch at Lost Dog Café.  We had the most enjoyable eating experience all weekend here because of the charming character.  The service made you feel like you had been a regular for years and the furnishings made you smile, especially if you're a dog person like G and I are.  There were pictures of pups everywhere surrounded by quotes like, “Happiness is being one of the gang.”  The diverse menu options was just the cherry on top of the cake.  The most interesting quote posted there said, “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know jealousy or evil or discontent. To sit with a dog on a beach on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden where doing nothing was not boring, it was peace.”  Ah dog lovers after my own heart.

Hopefully my Charleston chronicles the last several posts (1,2,3, 4, & 5) has provided a vibrant picture of the remarkable place and memories we made.  I can't wait until our next adventure.

.Make Life Sweet.

If you've been reading this blog, you know I can take or leave (usually leave) sweets.  That was... until this pregnancy.  Baby must be her father's daughter because the past seven months sweets has been the hardest craving to control.  Charleston had several dessert shoppes, which was good for baby and G but bad for me.  I heard from several people that we could not miss out on Kaminsky's Most Excellent Café and they were obviously right because every time we passed it on Market Street the line was out the door.  By the end of our first night nothing sounded better than taking their delectables to-go, and enjoying it in the comfort of our beautiful b&b.

On Saturday for G's birthday dessert I wanted to do something a little different than past years and surprised him by "stumbling" upon Cupcake while we were biking on King Street.  Of course, it was totally intentional and we ordered a dozen cupcakes consisting mostly of his favorite thing in the world: chocolate.  Chocolate, Smores, Vanilla, Black Bottom, and Red Velvet to name a few; I think even he got intimidated by the sugary goodness awaiting him.  It sure didn't stop him from having another one as his breakfast the next morning though.



* Are you out of the loop?

Catch up here, here, here, and here!

.Charleston Dinners.

Friday night we were so exhausted from the day's activities that we were craving a casual dinner as we had specific self-indulgent dessert plans in mind. All our Italian recommendations didn’t feel right for our mood and a friend suggested The Noisy Oyster, so we tried the seafood locale off Market Street. It was definitely more tourist-centered, but we had a good view of the town preparing for their evening excursions and it was walking distance to our dessert venue.

Saturday night we had set aside to celebrate G’s birthday and his only request was that we eat at a rooftop restaurant in order to be able to take in the panoramic of the town during table talk. Surprisingly there were a few to choose from, so we settled on the Pavilion Rooftop right off the coast. The sweeping views were romantic, the food was beyond, and the ambiance was laidback, yet decadent. Luckily, the service was also efficient, so we were able to take advantage of the setting sun and have a sweet walk hand-in-hand in Waterfront Park.

* Charleston posts one, two, and three here.

.Charleston Lunches.

G and I came to Charleston not only wanting to experience the historical aesthetic, but the culture behind this coastal town. We did not want to eat at any chain restaurant that was readily available to us at home, so we relied again on Olivia’s Weekend Guide to Charleston to determine our meal locations. I’ve used many of her personal recipes via her blog, so I trusted her judgment on settings that would fulfill our hunger and atmospheric requests.

Upon arrival into Charleston Friday afternoon, we went to Five Loaves Café. When we walked in the decor was local artists’ paintings and we were seated at a community table, so I knew this was perfectly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, we were so famished that we neglected to take any pictures… but for $10 we were both satisfied and nourished with our sandwiches and the service was impeccable.

Saturday we biked to Fast & French Café {also known as the Gaulart & Maliclet French Cafe} on Broad Street and we were immediately transported into a European café complete with effortlessly chic servers and crammed for your French cuisine-eating pleasure. It was such a tight space you got to know your table neighbors very well including their entire conversations, what they were eating, and who their companions were. We loved it. To top it off there were paper-mâché birds flying on the ceiling and they even had an authentic water closet!

Sunday’s lunch gets its own post, but trust me… it was worth the drive alone.

* Charleston stories one and two.

Favorite Memories of Babymoon {Part 2}

Things to be remembered of the weekend {part two}

. Bike riding around Charleston because our feet couldn't handle another day of walking and confirming my theory that I don't really know how to actually ride a bike.  I did not have luck in that endeavor as a child {as the scar on my  knee can attest to}, so I gave it up in favor of my own dependable feet.  G was ridiculously patient though and by the day's end the only casualties were two walls and a bush.  Success.  Plus, it was actually fun when I wasn't terrified of running into things.

. Gorgeous weather- sunny, warm, breezy and not humid.  So pretty much my paradise.

.Waterfront Park- a perfect place to take a romantic stroll after dinner as the sun was setting

. East Bay St, the French Quarter, Rainbow Row- if architecture and design details are your thing, you could spend hours discovering

. King Street- the Magnificent Mile of shopping.  Charleston Fashion Week was in preparation so stores were a buzz and varied from little boutiques to traditional retail favorites like Urban Outfitters, J. Crew and Forever 21 {who had it's own deejay in-store while you shopped; talk about an experience}

. Local markets and meeting new people- we heard about the Lowcountry Artist Market going on at Music Farm and it was Etsy-like heaven!  We had a great time meeting local vendors who sold original goodies like baby clothes, vintage items, furniture and we scored on lovely stationary from the ever-so sweet Sarah of Dodeline Design.  After, we biked with our new treasures to the bustling Charleston City Market on Market St. to continue the fun.

1. New little mint earrings from Francesca's. I've been pining for similar earrings from Etsy.
2. Music Farm and Sarah's booth
3. Our new Dodeline stationary & hair accessories for baby girl from Liz of Urbane Baby
4. Resting in parks
5. Porches
6. Leaving Charleston City Market
7. Colorful leaves
8. How we felt all day exploring
9. A break in the shade
10. Picket fence
11. Secret gardens
12. Biking past colorful homes
13. Waterfront Fountain
14. Spring bloom

* Missed Charleston {Part One}?

.Favorite Memories of Babymoon {Part 1}.

We've been wanting to explore Charleston for a long time now.  We had planned to for our second anniversary, but we were so busy last fall that we simply ran out of weekends.  So when it came time to plan our babymoon, we knew exactly where to go.  Because we only had a few days there, we wanted to maximize on all Charleston had to offer and that included staying at a bed and breakfast.  G found one that was perfect for us price-wise, it was walking distance to historic downtown, had just enough privacy, and of course was beautiful in its age.  For Charleston activities we relied on recommendations from others in order to avoid the traditional tourist traps and found Olivia's Guide to Charleston very helpful in providing direction to our itinerary.  Our weekend was packed full, but by the end we felt we had a sweet taste of what Charleston held in its inviting arms.

Things to be remembered of the weekend {part one}

.Stopping in Savannah on the way, the place where we went to celebrate our first anniversary, and feeling nostalgic of those early experiences as we passed the Spanish moss trees and our hotel The Marshall House

.Getting to walk everywhere although it resulted in major aches and pains the following days {where we live... we don't walk...we have to drive}.  By walking we were able to really experience the life within the city by immersing ourselves in it.

. Spending time in the spring sun at the Battery.  The 18th century houses and architecture gave us so much inspiration for when we build our own home one day.

1.  Driving into Charleston
2. Bay Street
3. The Battery
4. The garden of our B&B
5. Our bed and breakfast on Thomas St.
6. Standing in the courtyard
7. Walking to dinner on King St.
8. Old beautiful house
9. G and cobble stone streets
10. Carriage tours
11. Anything but boring doors
12. House details
13. Marion Square