Stone Wedding

Alright, this should be my last "catch up" post. The last week of July, I headed up to Atlanta for a week long business trip but at the end of the week, I drove up to my parent's house in Chattanooga. The evening I got up there, my dad had a business dinner so my mom and I went to dinner at Public House in downtown Chatt which was a super cool place! We had a great time and then came home to hang out with my dad before bed.

The next day, my mom and I went to get a pedicure and then we met my mom's college friends for lunch. It was great catching up with them and having lunch all together. Afterwards, my mom and I headed over to the mall and I found some great deals. After shopping, we met my dad at a new rolled ice cream place that was across from the mall. We probably shouldn't have eaten ice cream butttt we couldn't pass up the rolled ice cream since New York lol That evening, my dad grilled out and then we just relaxed at the house - my favorite thing :)

Saturday morning, we got up and dropped Frisbee off at the kennel - not before trying to get a cute picture with her but she wasn't having it ;) Then we tried to get a free tube of lipstick from MAC which was an absolute fail... not a fan of the company because they should've planned better. After that fail, we got some fun donuts for breakfast and headed out to Knoxville for our childhood friend's (the one who came with us to HHI) wedding.

It was great because my sister and her boyfriend drove down from Indy for the wedding (we all missed Stephen - he stayed behind because he thought he was going to have to work) so it was great getting to see her again! My mom and I ran to the outlets while everyone else played a round of golf before the wedding. The wedding was so beautiful - the venue was so neat and the bride was so gorgeous! We had to much fun spending time together and celebrating Daniel and Charlsey - we loved seeing everyone and danced the night away.

Too bad my sister wore flats... I look like a giant!

We're just missing Stephen!

We went to bed as soon as we got home because everyone had to wake up early so my parents could drop me off at the airport. It was a great weekend with my family but I was so ready to get back home to Stephen :)

Charleston: Day 3

I'm back to share our last day in Charleston which was our friends' wedding day! If you'd like to catch up, you can see day 1 here and day 2 here - I will also include an all-inclusive list of the things we did and where we ate at the end of this post.

The wedding was an earlier wedding, at 11:30 am in Mount Pleasant which actually worked out really well! I got ready and dropped Stephen off at the venue around 9 am and then I headed over to Old Village in Mount Pleasant. I should've done a little more research as to what to do but everything was closed until 10 am so I walked around the town in my wedding attire and took in the beautiful houses. I looked so incredibly out of place because of my dress and the fact that it was freezing outside. Once I walked a few blocks, I headed back to the Old Village bakery for some tea to warm up before browsing the stores and heading to the venue.

The wedding was beautiful! The weather was perfect (a little cold) and the view of the Cooper River was fantastic! I loved that you could see the Arthur Ravenel Bridge and the USS Yorktown. The whole thing was beautiful and I'm so thankful we could celebrate with them!

All of the Coke bottles were personalized with different things

We look like giants in this picture lol!

Since the couple had to catch their honeymoon flight, the wedding ended at 4:00 pm which was perfect because we were able to return Stephen's tux and head back to the hotel to rest. After resting, we got ready and headed out to dinner downtown. We wanted to go to 167 Raw but it had a 1.5 hour wait so we went to the Bay Street Biergarten which was super delicious! It was a Southern twist on German food and had the coolest outdoor area and group tables. We wanted to get a fun dessert after dinner but it was getting late and it was super cold outside so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Sunday we drove home, I unpacked and then repacked for Louisiana the next day.

We seriously had the best time in Charleston, we would move there in a heartbeat if we got the opportunity to - there is so much to see, do and eat there! Below, I've rounded up everything we did and where we ate so you don't have to go searching through the different posts.

Where we stayed: we stayed at the Hampton Inn on Daniel Island which was about a 20 minute drive into downtown. We stayed there for a few reasons, the main one being price. Daniel Island is beautiful and fun to explore in itself and there was a straight shot to Mt. Pleasant and downtown Charleston on the highways.

Where we ate:
Bull Street Market: I ate at this salad/sandwich shop for lunch the first day and it was good but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend it.
Hominy Grill: This is our favorite restaurant in Charleston. They serve amazing, traditional Southern food. Next time we go back, we need to go there for breakfast - I've heard it's amazing!
Callie's Little Hot Biscuit: The best biscuit you've ever eaten. Enough said. There was minimal seating inside so be prepared to stand and eat outside if you can't wait to find somewhere to sit.
Magnolias: This place has upscale Southern food - I've heard about it from multiple people and it did not disappoint. We ate here for lunch but I've heard dinner is a little more fancy and expensive.
Bay Street Biergarten: Super delicious and fun Southern flair to German food. The atmosphere was fantastic and so much fun.
Butcher and Bee: Although we didn't eat here this trip, it's very delicious and has a variety of fun foods. I believe they are constantly changing their menu as well which keeps things exciting.

What we did:
Rainbow Row: This iconic street did not disappoint. Right off Bay Street, Rainbow Row is filled with the most beautifully colored houses close to the water. It also has a lot of stunning feeder streets which makes this a fantastic place to walk around.
Broad Street: Just south of Broad Street (close to Rainbow Row and Bay Street), you'll find the most beautiful houses of Charleston. Filled with history and stunning architecture, you'll easily get lost in your daydreams and camera.
The Battery Park: Located at the southern tip of Charleston at the end of Bay Street, the Battery is a beautiful park overlooking the water and magnificent houses. It's a great place to have a picnic or let kids get some energy out.
The Pineapple Water Fountain: One of Charleston's most iconic land marks is their Pineapple Fountain over in Waterfront Park. The fountain is stunning along with it's surrounding trees and beautiful waterfront scenery.
King Street: Probably some of the best shopping in the South is on this street. I loved dipping in and out of stores and browsing the beautiful selections. I enjoyed doing this without Stephen because I didn't have to worry about him getting bored ;)
Charleston City Market: I've never been there before and wanted to check it out. It's basically a bunch of local vendors selling their products. It's really a large farmer's market without food - not a big deal to see.

I hope everyone enjoyed my recap of our Charleston trip! If you haven't been there before, definitely add this to your list! Linking up with Jessi

Weekending

This past weekend I drove over to Tampa for a wedding and to spend time with my family which was perfect since we're not spending Christmas with them this year. Our childhood friend was getting married Friday afternoon in Tampa so I took the whole day off and drove over early to spend some time with my friend, Susannah. She just had a baby a few months ago (along with 2 other boys) so it was great to meet him, catch up with Susannah and spend some time with her other boys! It was so much fun and I wish we lived closer to each other.

Afterwards, I met my family at the wedding. It was beautiful - they had it decorated so well! There wasn't much dancing but they had lots of fun lawn games as well as smores around a bonfire. It was fun catching up with our long-time friends.

Saturday, we enjoyed a delicious omelet breakfast at the country club we used to be members at when we lived in Tampa. Afterwards, we headed to my sister's boyfriend's parents house (that was a mouthful) to drop off their Christmas gift then head over to Top Golf. We had so much fun at Top Golf and can't wait for them to put one in Orlando! Later, we headed to the hotel for a nap while dad played golf and then we got our nails done at our old high school nail salon. We finished up the night with Smoothie King (going real big) and then a new card game that my sister taught us. 

Sunday morning, I headed over to meet my friend in Orlando and meet her new baby for the first time! Eloise was so adorable and such a good baby - I'm so glad we got to meet up and I got to hold Eloise :) Afterwards, I headed over to my SIL's mom's house for lunch and to see that side of the family before heading home. On my way home, I was able to see Stephen's rocket launch from the highway which was really neat! I'm so thankful they were able to launch so now we can focus on Christmas and enjoy the rest of our time together :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend as well! Linking up with Biana

A Nashville Wedding

Goodness, it's already Thursday and I'm just getting around to writing about our weekend in Nashville. The past 2 weeks have been completely slammed (let's be real, it's really been since September) and my evenings lately have been filled with Premium Pineapple orders which I'm so thankful for! I've been pushed out of my comfort zone with some of my orders but I've been learning so much :)

This past weekend Stephen and I traveled to Nashville, TN to meet up with my family for my cousin's wedding! We've been so excited for this trip and I'm so thankful my cousin found such a sweet wife!

Stephen and I flew out early Thursday morning and arrived in Nashville around 8am - perfect time for our first stop at Five Daughters Bakery which was so delicious and an instagrammer's paradise with all sorts of adorable photo ops.

We each had one but afterwards I was so tempted to go back for another one!

After breakfast, we headed over to Draper James for some photos outside since the store was closed for another 30 minutes or so. We continued our walk down to a nearby park where I turned into a 5 year old and ran through all the leaves! That's one BIG thing Florida lacks in the Fall - the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. It brings me back to Thanksgivings at my grandmother's house in Chattanooga. After frolicking through the leaves while Stephen laughed from the sidewalk, we stopped into a few shops before finally hitting Draper James. Y'all, that store is every Southerner's dream - tons of adorable clothes, couches throughout the store, super neat southern books to look through and as soon as you walk in the door, you're offered some sweet tea! Even Stephen loved the store ;) Unfortunately, everything's out of my price range for what I'm willing to pay so I walked away empty handed with just my sweet tea.

I had to get some pictures for PPE with the Draper James wall

We had to prop my phone up with a timer to get this picture lol

After visiting everything I wanted to see in 12 South, we headed to the Parthenon. I've actually seen it before when I was younger but Stephen hadn't seen it yet so it was worth a quick stop :)

Afterwards, we headed over to downtown to see Broadway Street and grab some lunch. Broadway Street was cool to see but not really something for us - tons of honky tonks but we're not big country music fans. We kept laughing and saying how there could be famous singers around and we'd never know! Once lunch was over, we ran into the Goo Goo Cluster shop to cash in our free Goo Goo cluster bars and then we relaxed by the river. 

We knew we wanted to see the Opryland Gaylord before we left Nashville but we weren't sure when we'd have time to visit so we ran over there before we had to return the rental car. After the Gaylord, we headed back to the hotel to wait for my parents to arrive. Once they arrived, we headed out to my cousin's wife's parents (that's a mouthful) house for dinner. We had a great time and it was so nice meeting her family and getting to know them before the official festivities started.

Friday morning, we were up and at em' to go meet some family from my mom's side in Franklin (my cousin getting married was from my dad's side). We had a delicious breakfast at Merridee's and then we watched the Veteran's Day parade which was so amazing! So many people showed up to cheer on and thank all the Veteran's that walked in the parade - it was just the sweetest thing :) After the parade, we went to see my aunt's houses then we headed back to Nashville for the rehearsal and dinner.

Saturday was wedding day! We had to be at the church around 12:30 for family photos so there wasn't much time for any sight seeing. However, I did convince everyone to go to the Christmas Village at the fairgrounds. It was so amazing (I could've spent so much money there) but it was SOO crowded. My mom and I were busting through there to catch a glimpse of every table before having to rush out since we didn't have much time (my dad and Stephen were total troopers sitting in the car). I ended up finding some great Christmas gifts for my parents so I'd count it as a success!

We hustled over to the church, took family pictures and then the wedding started! They got married in the Cathedral downtown and it was SO beautiful. The reception was immediately after in the reception hall and they decorated it so beautifully. Everything was fantastic and Stephen and I finally got the dancing we've been waiting for since his high school reunion. We had so much fun!

The wedding ended at 7pm so we decided to run back to the Gaylord so my parents could see it and we could see it light up. It was so beautiful and we're so glad we got to see it at night! We were so exhausted that we couldn't wait to get into bed. 

Sunday, Stephen and I had an early morning flight back home so we missed out on a family breakfast at the pancake pantry. It was such a fun weekend and I'm so glad we were able to be there to see my cousin get married as well as see so much that Nashville has to offer! This weekend we're turning around to head right back up to TN to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

If you made it through the post, kudos to you! I have to admit, I probably won't be around here much until after Thanksgiving, so I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!