Steph Comes to Visit!

After my mom left, Steph came to visit me! I was so excited to show her my new life in NC and the best part (well besides getting to see her because it's been far too long!) was that we were going to Charleston together. I've heard such great things about Charleston and I couldn't wait to go there. Charleston is supposed to be this adorable city with beautiful old Southern homes and plantations, cobblestone streets, cute shops and boutiques.

And let me tell you... it didn't disappoint! It was absolutely adorable and the perfect girls vacation. We spent half the time just leisurely shopping in all the cute boutiques. It was such a blast. We also did a walking tour through the city which took us through the cemeteries and all th old houses. There is so much history there and so many old and beautiful homes!

I loooved all the trees in Charleston.... especially the big oaks!

Our first day there we visited Boone Hall Plantation. This place was everything I imagined a plantation would be. It was like something out of a movie... and in fact it was. They filmed parts of The Notebook here (Ali's summer home for those of you who are in love with that movie like I am). They also filmed some other movies there ("Queen" and "North and South") which I haven't seen. The driveway up there was lined with probably 50 huge oak trees. Stephanie and I both went "awww... pretty!" at the same time when we saw it. Actually this was pretty much what we said most of our trip to Charleston. There was however a variation which was "Awwww.... cute!"

So back to Boone. When we got out of the car Steph goes "Oh this heat isn't so bad, AZ is much worse." Mind you it was about 97 degrees with 200% humidity (yes this is possible, it happens when you walk out and you are instantly wet and you stay wet). So this lasted about 5 min. Steph walks to the shade thinking she could cool off there and says, "There is no escaping it!". I have to say it was pretty bad. Boy, talk about humidity. I thought North Carolina was humid.. this was about 100 times worse, at least.There were a few times I thought that if I didn't get some AC I might pass out. I contemplated going to my car and starting it and blasting the air. Honestly I have NO IDEA how those women and men did it back in the 1800s with their heavy clothes in the middle of summer and no AC. I would die.

But we managed somehow. Cooled off with some Cheerwine and lots of water!

We got a tour of the house and a carriage tour of the grounds. Everything was so beautiful! I think I'd like a plantation someday.. haha. I say that like it's an option. But idk it seems like it would be a lot of work. Oh and we learned all about Gullah culture from Gullah Joe. He taught us all about Gullah phrases and songs to sing. I learned a new favorite phrase that I will be using. "Knittin' booties" which means that you are pregnant. How cute is that?!? Adorable! All the Gullah culture stuff definitely put Steph and I in the mood for some gospel music. Which we found a gospel station on the radio on the way home and boy were we praising Jesus! So much fun, but boy we were both pooped after 1 intense long gospel song!

Steph and I wined and dined at some yummy yummy places while in Charleston. The first night we went to Steel Magnolia's. After probably about 30 minutes of walking back and forth and going in and out of restaurants we finally decided on this place because Steph just felt drawn to it because it was so girly and so "us" :). All that initial indecision was worth it because the food was so good! The next day we went to The Library/ Rooftop Terrace after a suggestion from a friend at school. So happy we went there! The bar is on the top of the building and overlooks the bay. The view was gorgeous and it was a perfect way to end the day!

Steph just being her adorable self

Mmmm... Magnolias!

Rooftop dining with a view of the Charleston Harbor

Now probably my favorite place and a place you MUST try while in Charleston is "Kaminsky's". It is basically a dessert bar and all the desserts are made fresh everyday by the pastry chef. However, my only recommendation if you go there is to share an item. Steph and I each got a dessert and holy heck I have never felt so sick in my life. BUT it was well worth it because that was the BEST dessert I've had in a LONG LONG time... perhaps even the best dessert I've ever had. I got the berry cobbler with their homemade ice cream on top and Steph got the Tollhouse Cookie Pie which is basically Tollhouse Cookie dough put in pie crust. I conquered mine and Steph got pretty close. Saying our desserts were rich would be a complete understatement. They were out of this world and jam-packed with lots of sugary goodness.


Before... so happy to dig into a bit of heaven.



And after... some of us were not such happy campers. These pictures makes me laugh so much! I'm so excited that I finished while Steph is definitely in pain. Haha. Side note: I also felt like Steph and pretty much had that same face, but not till a little after this pic.


Charleston was fabulous and I definitely will be going back again sometime soon! And I'm so so happy I got to explore the city for the first time with Steph. Going anywhere with her I know we're bound to have some great times ;) ie, when we were jammin' to the gospel music in the car on the way home (see video below).