The Carolinas

Everywhere We Ate in Charleston Last Weekend

TJ and I were invited to tag along with my sister and her boyfriend to Charleston this past weekend and I can never pass up a trip to that city. I’ve written a few posts about Charleston before which I’ll leave below but this past weekend was fun because we only went to places we hadn’t tried before… including the Airbnb we stayed which was a 5 minute walk away from King St. Other places we’ve stayed in the past have been: Belmond Charleston Place, Harbourview Inn, The Vendue, and the Courtyard Charleston Waterfront (Marriott) with my personal favorite being HarbourView Inn but, sometimes, downtown Charleston hotels can be a splurge, especially between April and June.

A few previous Charleston posts:

The Most Recommended Charleston Restaurants

Airbnb’s in Charleston & Savannah

A Winter Getaway to Charleston

Our Stay at Harbourview Inn

Our Wedding Day

I didn’t originally plan to write anything about our weekend… so I didn’t actually get many photos, sadly! I tried to document most places in my Instagram stories but I definitely didn’t share everywhere we went! Everywhere we did this time, from the coffee shops and restaurants to the airbnb and shops, were completely new to us and it made it feel like we were exploring the city for the first time (sorta). Below, you’ll find where we ate this weekend along with a mini guide of my personal favorites but don’t forget to check out this post for a full list of the most recommended restaurants in Charleston!

Goat Sheep Cow

The Harbinger

Last Weekend’s Itinerary

FRIDAY

9:00am: We left Raleigh, dropped our dogs off at my parent’s house and then hit the road!

1:00pm: Grabbed a bite to eat at Goat Sheep Cow (North). If you like cheese, you’ll love this place. We sat outside on their patio and ordered the best sandwiches (Italian, Pesto Grilled Cheese), a cheese board, some yogurt dip and Pinot Grigio which was the perfect way to start our weekend. By the time we had arrived, they had already sold out of their “daily sandwich” so I’ll have to go back sometime to try!

2:15pm: It started storming pretty hard around this time so we decided to stop at The Harbinger Cafe for lattes while we waited for the rain to slow down before heading to shops on King St. This is also a really cute place to get some work done. I’m definitely going to have to stop by this cafe next time we visit as my mouth is watering just thinking of the cookie I had there. It was one of the coolest coffee shops I’ve been to and they also served really delicious looking food. Order “The Best Friend” cookie if you stop by and if you like bean salads and quinoa salads, this is a must try because they have about 15 different salads like that. This place definitely makes my personal fave list too.

3:00pm: We drove down to King Street and did some shopping since we couldn’t check in until 4pm. I went into Candlefish and bought a couple of candles, which is a really unique shop to visit if you’re ever in town! They have a candle “library” with 100 different scents… you could easily spend a lot of time in here.

4:00pm: We checked into our Airbnb. We actually found this one super last minute but it had 2 bedrooms (1 bath) and was in a good location… it took us about 10 minutes to walk to The Darling Oyster if that gives you any idea of where it is! It was also really close to my new favorite cafe which I’ll share in a little! We stayed in apartment C (it’s within a 4 unit home).

6:30pm: We all had a reservation at this time for FIG and wow… everything was SO good. The menu was a little intimidating at first but the food was much more simple than the menu makes it sound. It was absolutely delicious and I would love to go again. I ordered their White Shrimp Postage Stamp Ravioli (shrimp ravioli) and Broccolini Gratin.

SATURDAY

9:30am: TJ and I had a late-ish start to the day but started off at The Rise Coffee Bar, a cute coffee shop located right beside/attached to The Restoration hotel. I ordered a lavender latte and then we walked across the street to Basic Kitchen. This restaurant has been on my list for as long as it opened (I think a few years ago) and we tried going to this restaurant last year but it was closed (they close at 3 on Sunday’s, FYI) so this time I was determined to go! Honestly, this restaurant is my dream restaurant. It is beautiful inside yet still casual. The food and the atmosphere were both right up my alley. Basic Kitchen is all about food that gives you energy and makes you feel nourished and it was my perfect start to the day.

10:30am: We decided to rent bikes through the city’s Holy Spokes bike share. We rode bikes all through some of my favorite areas and it was the most beautiful day for it!

1:30pm: We stopped in to Five Loaves Cafe for lunch which was only a 1 minute walk from where we were staying and it quickly became my new favorite spot. This place is super casual and serves sandwiches/salads/soups but wow. Everything I ordered was the best I’d ever had… a caesar salad with tortellinis, the soup sampler, pretty much everything on the menu I’d like to try one day.

6:00pm: We dropped off my Alex, my sister, and Brian to their reservation at Butcher & Bee while TJ and I drove across the bridge to Mt. Pleasant and ate at Grace and Grit, a restaurant that was highly recommended to me last year. If you like grits and seafood, go here because they have like… 20 different types.

8:30pm: We met back up with my sister at Uncork, a wine-bar on King Street where they had live music. I loved it and could have sat there for a long time but we wanted to go next door to Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits for a cinnamon biscuit dessert (I think their night hours start at 10).

SUNDAY

9:00am: Before leaving town, we walked over to a small bakery called Brown’s Court Bakery and ordered some food for the road. They served breakfast sandwiches, pastries, bread, and coffee and had a porch area where you could bring your dog if you wanted. This place was another place I’d love to visit again!

Do you have a favorite restaurant or coffee shop in Charleston? I’ll have to update this Quick Charleston Restaurant Guide as I try more and more!

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Our Home

04.19.19

Deck/Patio FAQ’s

Our patio is pretty much ready for the spring and summer right now (minus the herbs that will be planted) and, since this will be our second spring at our house, I wanted to answer some questions about how I keep our patio looking decent. I’ll keep updating this as more questions pop up over the year too. For example, ants became a problem for us last July/August but we found a really simple solution for those. We’ve barely made it past the worst of pollen season (taking Claritin while I write this) and I know my patio often times looks very, very clean… but, to be honest, it doesn’t just instantly look like that! We sometimes have to use a leaf blower to blow off leaves and those weird squiggly things that keep falling down from the tree above, and we sometimes have to wipe down the cushions because birds will poop on them… it’s just what happens to outdoor furniture that isn’t covered (under a pergola or roof, etc).

We recently got rid of our outdoor sectional so that we could fit a really large umbrella in the corner. So, I can only speak about that furniture since we have only had our new cushions for about a week. Anyways, for the most part, we kept those cushions outside for most of the year except for late December through Feb/March. It was typically too cold to sit outside and enjoy the weather so, during those months, we moved the cushions to the garage, which brings me to the first question:

WHAT ITEMS DO YOU LEAVE OUT YEAR ROUND?
We leave out most of the actual furniture (chairs/sofa) and the rugs all year. However, our furniture was metal so I am not 100% sure how wicker would hold up. I’ll be keeping our wood furniture out all year too but will most likely buy some sort of covers for them. This past year we did bring in the hanging egg chair and put it in the garage for the winter. After it would rain heavily, we would pick up the rugs and hang them over the deck railing to dry more quickly. For cushions, if we know a heavy rain storm is coming and we remember in time, we will bring in the cushions or sit them up on their sides just so we can use them the next day without waiting for them to dry. However, we usually didn’t bring them in. Our previous cushions dried really fast and were made to stay outside. If it rained on them, we would just pick them up afterwards and lay them on their side so that they would dry fast. Any throw pillows always go inside unless guests are over. Those are more for decoration than anything. NOTE: Our cushions are not white and I think that really helps. If my cushions were white, they’d probably give me anxiety and I’d bring them in way more often. If we had a covered deck, I would maybe consider white but only if the material was really water-resistant.

DO THE CUSHIONS GET MOLDY/MILDEWED?
Ours didn’t really get mildewy at all! I think the key is setting them on their side right after they get wet so that they won’t stay wet but, in case yours do get mildew on them, I’ve heard you should mix Dawn dish soap and water in a spray bottle and spray onto the cushions (you can even use some white vinegar), and scrub with a soft brush. Then, hose them down with water (I use the high-pressure jet setting) and let them dry on their side.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR PATIO CLEAN, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWFUL POLLEN DOWN HERE? DO YOU CLEAN THE POLLEN OFF DAILY? HOW DO YOU KEEP THE RUGS POLLEN-FREE?
It doesn’t stay as clean as it looks in photos. If you think my house is always 100% ready for an Instagram pic, that is very much not the case. I wish! Before this past week, I wouldn’t sit outside on that deck. There is about a 3 week period in April that I will not do anything with our patio (last week was pretty bad before we had a lot of rain over the weekend). I won’t set up our patio and spend a lot of time on it until the worst of the pollen is gone. If you go to weather.com and click on “other forecasts” on the right side of the site, click “allergy forecasts” and it’ll show you tree pollen/ragweed pollen/grass pollen forecasts. Our pollen situation still isn’t ideal this week but it’s much better than it was last week. For the pollen on the rugs, I’ll spray them down with the hose. Since TJ and I will be going out of town this weekend, we’ll bring the cushions inside due to pollen and storms in the forecast. It all just kinda depends!

DO YOU RECOMMEND A LARGE UMBRELLA V. PERGOLA?
I’ve always wanted a pergola but with how our deck is right next to large windows, it would block a lot of light into the house. So, we just went with a large umbrella instead, which also saved a lot of money. We just got it last week though so I’ll keep you updated with how we like it. So far, I think it’s the greatest thing ever. Pergola’s are beautiful though and I would love to have one at our next house!

IS EVERYTHING WATERPROOF?
The items we keep outside year-round are water-resistant. Everything is made to be outdoors, rain included but, like with anything, the cushions will overtime be affected by the weather, so it’s important to dry them on their sides when possible and clean them every now and then.

DO YOU WATER YOUR PALM TREES OR LET THE RAIN TAKE CARE OF IT?

I’ll water it if the soil looks super dry! The soil for them should always be a little moist and the majesty palms live best in shady low-light areas (they’re a house plant but do well on shady patios in the warm weather).

WHAT RUGS DO YOU HAVE?
We have this grey rectangular rug and we layered it with this smaller round woven rug.

WHERE IS YOUR UMBRELLA FROM?
My 8 ft. offset umbrella is from At Home! I really wish you could order online from there but you can only shop in-stores, sadly. It was $129 though which is really good compared to a lot of others I’ve seen at Target!

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR RUG FROM GETTING DISGUSTING, MOSTLY FROM RAIN?

I think I was smart in choosing a darker rug with a pattern that hides a lot of the weathered effects on the rug but occasionally, we would sweep it, hose it down, and hang it on the railing to dry. If you notice any mildew on it, you can just get a deck scrubbing brush and scrub it off with a little bit of mild soap. I’m not sure if this makes a difference but maybe having it on a deck allows it to dry better than it being on a solid concrete patio. I really haven’t had many issues with our rugs at all.

Every time I share a photo of our deck/patio on Instagram stories, somebody asks about keeping it clean and the truth is, it won’t always be in pristine condition. There are so many environmental factors that can make your furniture and cushions look worse than when you brought them home from the store but they are made for the outdoors, and if you choose colors/materials carefully and do a little bit of cleaning and care throughout the year, it’ll hold up well! If any other questions pop up, please ask so I can add them to this!

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Our Home

04.13.19

Searching for the Perfect Dining Table – Article Tavola Table Review

We moved into our home almost a year and a half ago. One of the first pieces of furniture we ordered for the house was a dining table… but for the patio! Since we moved before spring, we wanted to be able to eat outside when guests would come over and there were just so many cute outdoor dining options on the internet that I thought surely I’d find an indoor dining table soon after. Well, that didn’t happen and, for some reason, finding an indoor dining table was not easy for me. I knew I wanted something with thick light wood that had a casual feel to it since our house is more cozy than anything. I wanted a table that I could see ourselves using for years and years… one that would fit our home no matter where we live in in the future and maybe even eventually transition into more of a kitchen/breakfast nook table if we ever do decide to have a more formal dining room. About a year ago, I came across the Tavola Dining Table from Article. It comes in two colors and it is described as being an outdoor OR indoor table. I loved everything about it… the Scandinavian feel, how well-made it looked, and the thickness and natural driftwood color of the wood.

Probably a year had passed and I still had not found a table I loved more than the Tavola Dining Table. I figured it was a sign that it was “the one” and I finally decided to move forward with ordering it! It comes in several sizes but I wanted one that would fit 6 people. I had never ordered anything off of Article before so I wasn’t sure what the experience would be like but we were really impressed! The table came within a couple weeks of ordering and I was able to schedule the exact day for it to come. We added the delivery and assembly option which TJ thought was the greatest thing ever since he’s typically building things late into the night in our living room. Once the table was delivered, they assembled it within the next 30 or so minutes and voila! So easy. I decided to go ahead and order some dining room chairs from Article as well. I went with the $49 Svelti Dining Chairs which actually are available in 10 different colors. I just went with white and they are simple, budget-friendly, and make the space look very clean. They also match my white beaded chandelier. 🙂 Because they’re made of polypropylene these dining chairs are also super easy to wipe down and keep clean.

The first few nights we had our dining room table, we spent every single evening just sitting there listening to music until it was past our bedtime. We were in love with it! I don’t even think we watched TV that entire week. I’ve even been working on my laptop there every day and it’s become my favorite piece of furniture in the entire house. I do feel like I still have to be careful when it comes to spills though since the wood isn’t sealed like other types of wood; however, it is topped with chemical-free naturally water-resistant teak (bonus that it’s certifiably sourced). I did a lot of research on teak and it seems to have a lot of natural properties that make it one of the most durable types of wood for furniture. So this teak dining table really should stand the test of time.

Anyways, it’s been just over a month since we’ve had our dining table and I couldn’t be more happy with it. My parents were over the other night for dinner and couldn’t stop complimenting about it. If you follow along on my Instagram Stories, there is a highlight dedicated to this beauty where I shared a little bit of the delivery process. Another great thing about Article is that basic shipping is free for orders over $999 and a they offer a 30-day ‘no questions asked’ guarantee! We absolutely love the Tavola Dining Table and can’t wait to use it for years to come.

OTHER DECOR:

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04.10.19

One of the Best Home Sales of the Year

*images above are clickable*

It’s WAY DAY! One of the best home sales of the year at Wayfair with free shipping on everything, items up to 80% off, and thousands of flash sales started at 12pm EST today at only lasts 36 hours! Before I get into my favorite picks for the sale, I wanted to share my top 5 items that I personally have ordered from Wayfair. I actually had a chance to meet the Wayfair team this past weekend and learn more about the company and the “lifestyle collection” sites they own like All Modern, Birch Lane, and Joss and Main. So, basically, all of these sites are celebrating Way Day!

Let’s start with my newest purchase… the dining room rug. I want to order this for every room now. It’s the perfect neutral color and has such a simple and natural feel to it. We painted our dining room a darker green recently and it makes this rug and the rest of the furniture pop but, even if the walls were white, I’d love it just as much.

DINING ROOM RUG

GREY UPHOLSTERED PANEL BED/HEADBOARD and NIGHTSTAND

WHITE DESK

I switched out my knobs and didn’t install the bookshelf that comes with the desk FYI. If you need a simple white desk with a decent amount of storage space, I love this one!

Other Wayfair items I have and love:

I’ll be editing this page throughout the day to share some of the items I’m loving from the sale so be sure to check back later this evening!

Other RUGS I’m loving:

*images above are clickable*

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Our Home

03.29.19

A Spring Bar Cart for Entertaining

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve shared some of my latest Home Centric finds! I’m always making trips here and there to find pieces for our home and, with the weather warming up, it’s had me inspired to change up my bar cart a little bit. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, we’re getting closer to finishing up our kitchen so my coffee corner I shared a while ago has moved back to the kitchen. With some family coming to visit in April, I wanted to make my bar-cart more of an entertaining station complete with some spring/summery touches. I wanted to find a faux plant to sit beside it and some drinkware. I also ended up walking out of there with a floor lamp…. But it was too good to pass up! I sneaked in some photos of it at the bottom of this post!

A bar cart or drink station may sound overwhelming to create but it’s actually pretty simple! I think every bar cart should include: some sort of greenery/plant, glasses/cups, coasters, napkins (maybe even snacks once guests arrive), wine and a few other drink options/water, and that’s about it! My bottom shelf is where I store a bunch of candles. I’m going to fill some of my other Home Centric baskets with popcorn bags and other snacks for the weekend my in-laws stay with us.

I switched out my winter decor and gave it a more boho vibe and I love it! The white planter stand is what inspired the whole look of the space and I can’t believe I found that for under $25. The plant that is inside of it is also from Home Centric and that one was just $17. It’s a combination I can see in practically any room of the house. I’m actually planning to go back and search for more of these stands.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I have a lot of work to do but also hope to spend some time getting our deck and patio ready for the season with some new plants. You can’t not spend the weekend outside when it’s 75 and sunny!

PS a few of photos of the beaded floor lamp I was telling you about! Such a unique find and would look so great in the guest room too!

Thank you Home Centric for sponsoring this post.

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03.25.19

What I’m Looking Forward To This Spring

Outfit Details:
Glam Billow Sleeve Garment Dye Blouse || Free People ‘Everywhere You Go’ Shorts || Circle Fringe Embellished Pouch

It’s the first full week of spring, we just had the sunniest weekend, and I’m definitely officially in spring mode. We spent the entire weekend outside beginning to prepare our yard for the season and it was glorious. It had me in the mood to do a little bit of spring shopping too and one of my first stops was South Moon Under – one of my go-to’s for some of my favorite brands like Free People, BB Dakota, ASTR, Levi’s, and so many more. In fact, the outfit I’m wearing in this post is all from South Moon Under and both the top and the tie-waist shorts would go well with so many different outfits! I’ll also be bringing this embellished clutch with me when I travel in a couple of weeks.

On top of sharing these cute spring casual finds with you, I wanted to write down a few things I’m really looking forward to this spring. At the beginning of winter last year, I shared a “winter bucket list” so I wanted to do the same with my most favorite season of all.

1. Weekend mornings on the front porch. Last year, we really only used our back deck and patio but in the next few weeks I’ll be working on adding furniture/decorating our porch and can’t wait to sip coffee on Saturday mornings out there.

2. Taking a trip to Charleston. I always love visiting Charleston but especially in the spring. We got married there during the late spring and, since then, we know it’ll be a must every spring. We have plans to go next month with my sister and her boyfriend and they are major foodies so we already have reservations at some of the best restaurants in the city!

3. Celebrate our 2nd year wedding anniversary! I can’t believe it will have been two years in a couple of months. We don’t currently have plans to celebrate on our actual anniversary but we’re hoping to travel somewhere really exciting in July as a late anniversary trip.

4. More walks and bike rides around town. Downtown HS has been under major construction these last several months and I’m hoping some of the newest shops and restaurants will be opening in the next few months but, either way, we are looking forward to all of the farmers’ markets. We’re lucky to live so close and I can’t wait!

5. Spend more time on our backyard landscaping. Last year, we built a patio and gave our deck a makeover but we didn’t invest as much time as we would have liked to with landscaping (minus a few azalea bushes on the side of our house). We hope to make a few structural changes to our deck and plant some new bushes and trees in the back. The nursery near us also offers fun classes so that would be a fun spring activity to do!

6. Go see an outdoor movie! The NC Art museum has these as well as our local park and I just think this would be a fun thing to do before it gets way too hot.

7. Visit Bermuda or Puerto Rico! These two destinations have been on my wishlist for some time… mainly because of how quickly you can get to them but I’d love to visit another island I haven’t seen before.

8. Spend more time working outside!

I know there are so many others I’m forgetting but hopefully this inspires you to start thinking about some things you’re looking forward to this season! If you’re in need of any spring outfits, be sure to check out South Moon Under’s newest arrivals!

Thank you to South Moon Under for sponsoring this post.

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03.03.19

Sunday Six

We arrived back home Friday morning and have spent most of this weekend cleaning up the house, unpacking, and making our usual Home Depot trips. It’s been a while since I shared a ‘Sunday 6’ – six things I’ve recently purchased, found, read, and/or watched that I’ve been loving. I haven’t purchased much new clothing lately since we’re in that weird end-of-winter time of year but I’m hoping this will be the month that it warms up! Until then, we’re trying to wrap up our “phase 1” of our kitchen projects which I’ll hopefully share next week! Lots of ‘learning experiences’ happened today…. which is also the story of my life.

Let’s get into the SIX:

1. Affordable Luggage

I mentioned that I’d give my review of my $99 suitcase from Target but, to be honest, I feel like I don’t have too much to compare it to since I’ve never owned a hard-shell suitcase before. I’ve always just used my parent’s hand-me-down suitcases but I finally just ended up buying this exact one after seeing and falling in love with it in Target back in December. Anyways, I had zero issues with it after traveling to Oregon last week. The quality seems good but, of course, it doesn’t come with any extra features such as battery chargers, etc. The wheels swivel 360 degrees and the space feels huge (and it comes with one of those TSA locks). I’ll have to update you on how it holds up after the next few trips but, overall, I’d recommend it for an under $100 large suitcase!

2. Duvet Cover Set

Another recent Target find… oops. But have you guys been inside Target lately? It’s extra cute right now. Our white comforter needed an update thanks to our dog. It was gross but still super comfy so I didn’t want to totally get rid of it. I’ve been loving this soft light pink duvet cover, especially for the price.

3. A gluten-free and dairy-free cookie brand.

I’m always trying to find ways to lower my dairy intake… I don’t think I could ever say no feta cheese or mozzarella cheese BUT I can say no to dairy-filled desserts, especially since I found out about Sweet Loren’s at my local Lowe’s Foods. LAWD it’s good. I don’t understand how but these cookies are so. good. We are putting some in the oven tonight after dinner!

4. $25 Rainboots

I promise this is my last Target find… I mentioned on my stories a while back that I was eyeing a new pair of rainboots from Everlane. That was until I stumbled upon these at Target, which I 100% know is not the same quality-wise but I was pretty impressed with them after wearing them practically every day last week. They run true to size and are the perfect color that could go well with so many outfits.

5. Athletic Short Sleeve Crop Top

I found these $24 t-shirts while I was in Portland and they’re perfect! I had been looking for some new basic athletic tops I can workout in and these are a good price, great quality, and look cute paired with high-waisted leggings!

6. A salad on repeat.

I have to give credit to Lex from Restoring Radiance (a food blogger I follow). She posted THIS salad one day about a month ago and life hasn’t been the same since. We’ve been having this at least once a week and it includes all of my favorite ingredients: pine nuts, rotisserie chicken, roasted sweet potato, greens, goat cheese, and a delicious home-made dressing! It’s so good. I literally just ate it while writing this.

That’s all! I hope you all had a great weekend. I’m excited for March! I have a bunch of projects planned and just cannot wait for a new season just around the corner. In case you are looking for a new swimsuit, South Moon Under is having a 15% off SWIM sale for a limited time and they carry some of my favorite brands!

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Travel

02.26.19

24 Hours in Cannon Beach

The Oregon Coast was never really on my list of “must-see” places until recently but I am SO glad we decided to spend a night there before staying in downtown Portland. It seriously blew me away and we definitely plan to visit again sometime. We were sad to only spend one night in this cozy cute beach town but I wanted to share all the details with you while they are fresh in my mind. If you are new here, I’m currently in Portland, OR with my husband after deciding to tag along on his work trip. He normally travels to places like NJ and NY but when he mentioned a conference being in Oregon, I knew we had to make a trip out of it! Plus, I’ve been needing a change in scenery so this trip served as a good boost of inspiration for me!

We flew into Chicago (2 hrs) and then from there, flew into Portland (4.5 hours). Once we landed, we rented a car and drove from Portland to Cannon Beach (1.5 hours). We booked a room at Surfsand Resort a few days before heading out there and I would 100% recommend staying there! It’s a full-service resort, has the coziest rooms while still providing a sense of luxury, and is SO pet friendly. There were dogs literally everywhere and we were living for it. If you look up the #CannonBeach hashtag on Instagram, you’ll see that it is a very popular hotel with the Instagram dogs. The beach was dog-friendly too and most weren’t even on a leash. This would be Colbie’s (our chocolate lab’s) heaven. Anyways, our hotel room had a view of the iconic Haystack Rock (by the way, this is where The Goonies was filmed), had a fireplace across from the bed, and I could have easily spent 3 more days there.

We ate at The Wayfarer for breakfast (highly recommend) which is located right on the resort property, Sea Level for a light lunch and coffee, and Pelican’s Brewery for dinner. All 3 are musts!

Aside from walking down the beach as many times as we could, we also drove up to Ecola State Park where we found the best views overlooking the beach.

So, to summarize:

Where We Stayed: Surfsand Resort
Where We Ate: The Wayfarer, Sea Level, Pelican’s Brewery
What We Did: Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach shops, Haystack Rock

It was so beautiful but we’ve enjoyed our time in Portland too! Some restaurants and coffee shops we’ve loved in Portland? Luc Lac Vietnamese, Por Que No?, Guero, Pine State Biscuits, Sisters Coffee, Bamboo Sushi, Upper Left Roasters. We’ve also tried Blue Star Donuts and VooDoo Doughnuts (we both prefer Blue Star).

Have you ever visited Cannon Beach?!

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02.19.19

9 Beach Hotels On My Radar

Despite what the weather looks like outside (and has looked like for what seems like weeks), my mind has been thinking about warmer places and browsing swimsuits online. Incase you missed it, I recently shared my vacation staples and while doing some research over the past few months/years, I’ve also come across some beach resorts that are on my radar for upcoming vacations whether that be this year or later down the road. I’ll hopefully visit at least a couple in the upcoming year. Last weekend while my sister and brother-in-law were in town, they were asking me and TJ about whether or not we’d recommend Sugar Beach in St. Lucia, and it had me reminiscing about our time there! By the way, we would 180% recommend it and we plan to visit again one day! It was truly the most beautiful beach destination we’ve ever visited and I don’t think any resort could ever top it. However, I’d love to visit some new countries since I’ve really only been to a few (DR, Canada, and Bahamas).

Some of these resorts are closer to home (Charleston) and some are as far as St. Barth, Puerto Rico, or Mexico. Note: this does not cover any in Europe – that would be impossible to narrow it down so I kept it to North America!

Wild Dunes Resort
Wild Dunes Resort is located on Isle of Palms right next to Charleston, SC and has been on my list to visit for years. We’ve visited downtown Charleston numerous times, especially leading up to our wedding, but haven’t spent a ton of time on the surrounding beaches. This looks like a really relaxing and laid back oceanfront resort and would make the perfect long weekend escape! They have amenities for everyone – golf, spa, bikes, and more. Plus, I’m always craving Charleston food and this resort has several dining options but also is just a quick ride down to downtown.

The Pearl
The Pearl is located in the 30A area in Rosemary Beach, FL. 30A is the highway between Panama City and Destin so that is where the area gets its name incase you are unfamiliar like I was! Over the past couple of years, this area has become more and more popular and it’s definitely on my list for 2019. The beaches look beautiful and apparently there are multiple neighborhoods within Rosemary Beach that are all connected by paths you can walk on with cars being restricted to alleys behind some of the homes. Anyways, The Pearl looks so charming, has a private beach with complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas, a spa, and has access to another large beach club where you can rent bikes, play golf, paddle-board, relax at adult only pools, and more.

Hamilton Princess
Bermuda has been on my travel list for a while now. While it’s fairly close to North Carolina (2.5 hr flight from Charlotte), flights can be pricey so I’ve been watching for flight deals to pop up! Specifically, the Hamilton Princess hotel has been on my list and you can honestly just let the photos speak for themselves. It’s a pink palace on a beautiful island with all of the amenities you can dream of and I can’t wait to see it in person.

Serafina Beach Hotel
This one is located in Puerto Rico! My sister’s boyfriend is from here and has convinced me to visit, especially with easy and direct flights from Raleigh. Old San Juan is such a colorful and vibrant downtown and I’ve heard everyone rave about the food so I’m thinking if we visit, we may split up the stay ½ downtown, ½ beach. This boutique hotel is located right on the beach and looks so chic. TJ and I prefer smaller hotels and this one looks like it’s right up my alley.

Christopher St. Barth
St. Barth is BEAUTIFUL but I rarely hear about it. It has also been on my radar for the last couple of years but the island was totally devastated by Hurricane Irma back in 2017 and a lot of the resorts closed down for a while while they rebuilt. There are so many beautiful resorts I’ve seen but this one seems the most reasonably price-wise compared to some of the others with rooms starting at around $400/night (but, hey, if it fits in your budget then you should totally check out Le Barthelemy and Le Sereno because wow. Flights here are also very steep but I have seen some deals for around $500.

The Cove
This resort is located in Eleuthera in the Bahamas. I’ve heard from several people that Eleuthera is their favorite place they’ve ever visited… it’s calming, beautiful, and gives a much more authentic Bahamian escape than other larger cities like Nassau. The Bahamas can also be very pricey but I think sometimes it can be worth it for a good trip… at least that’s how we felt about our time in St. Lucia.

Sugar Beach Viceroy
Speaking of St. Lucia, we went here on our honeymoon but it was so perfect, we really want to go again. You can read more about our stay here. The resort has a private beach located right between two giant pitons that don’t even look real and it’s so dreamy… every detail down to the best hashbrowns in the world that can be delivered to your private villa when you wake up each morning. Truly bliss.

The Palms Hotel and Spa
I’ve never visited Miami but I feel like I need to one day… it’s pretty easy to get to and the beaches look beautiful, not to mention there are SO many highly rated places to stay including this one.

Anywhere in Tulum
Okay, maybe not anywhere, but there are so many I’d love to visit in Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Coco Tulum, Hotelito Azul, Nest Tulum… They all look so unique and jungle-y. I feel like I could really get behind the lifestyle there too with all the juice, fresh & healthy food, and riding bikes down the street to go find your healthy food. 🙂

I’d love to hear if you’re heading to a beach this spring or summer or if you have any specific resorts you’ve stayed at and would 100% recommend!

xo, Shelby

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Uncategorized

02.12.19

Vacation Staples

While I personally don’t have any vacations officially booked at the moment, my mind has been wandering thinking of warmer weather and beach days! I think it was the week of 70 degree weather we were lucky to have last week and the dreary rain we’ve had these past few days. I’ve actually been wanting to plan a trip with TJ to Puerto Rico so we’ll see. Either way, I’ve had some DM’s come in asking about what to pack for your upcoming vacations (take me with you please) so I figured today would be a great day to share some of my favorite vacation staples! To make it easy, every image below can be clicked on and will take you straight to the item’s website.

*images above are clickable*

There are SO many cute finds out there, especially swim and shoes! I always stick to my favorite denim shorts (these and these) but I definitely plan to stock up on some new sandals and wedges this year. TJ had a work trip that was cancelled this week so I’ve been enjoying this week with him and am excited for a fun galentine’s event tomorrow! Incase you missed my last post, I shared my fridge organization experience here.

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Organization

02.05.19

Organizing Our Fridge

Today’s post is all about my latest project of organizing our fridge. To be honest, I had never bought a single fridge-organizing container before a few weeks ago but it was time to put in the time and energy to do some organizing projects. It always makes such a difference in so many areas of your life once your home feels clean and orderly. My long term goal is for “everything to have a home” in our house, even if it’s just a loaf of bread or hummus… it all has a designated spot. Clutter and messes weren’t always a huge problem for me until I started working from home and that’s where it all became a priority. I say this a lot but clear spaces give me a clear mind. Plus, I noticed we were throwing away so much food and wasting so much of our grocery spending when forgetting about food and covering it all with other food. Clear containers aren’t just to make your fridge look pretty… they actually have practical uses- like being able to see all your eggs at once and remembering to not let them go to waste!

My fridge organizer shopping took a few separate trips to various places like The Container Store, Walmart, and Home Depot. We hit up The Container Store first to get an idea of what all was out there and realized that this stuff isn’t cheap! To organize your fridge starting from scratch, you can expect to pay between $130-$200 at least in containers. They also have “starter kits” to make it all easier. I went the more difficult route and selected a few pieces on my own to start with and over the course of a few weeks filled in the other spaces. Walmart also has a pretty great selection but nothing like The Container Store.

To organize sauces/salsas/dips/etc, I picked up a simple lazy susan for the top shelf so that I can quickly grab what I need and see what is running low. When things get hidden towards the back is when they go to waste so I wanted to make sure everything as as close to the front as possible. I also found this snack container within a set of 3 containers from Walmart that was perfect for snacks and bars. A couple of other containers came within that set of 3 and were the perfect sizes for other snacks such as yogurt, string-cheese, apple-sauce, etc.

Who else has a bunch of cheap plastic storage containers in a cabinet and you don’t know where the tops are? I decided to go through all of those older containers that somehow came into my life over the years and invest in higher quality TrueSeal glass containers that I know will last a looooong time. This collection is my newest favorite. They seal tightly, won’t break (okay, unless you slam them on the ground), and I know they’ll keep all my food as fresh as possible. I strategically selected shapes and sizes I know I use every single week: for example, this one for my leftover roasted veggies, this one for leftover soups and chili, this one for fresh berries to snack on, this one for my leftover pasta salads, and this one for hard-boiled eggs to last the week.

For the cheese/meat drawer, I’m pretty sure I bought simple office organizers… but they get the job done! I needed something short and wide that would fit all of our cheese selections lol and our chicken sausage, deli turkey, and fish. I also added mini ones in the middle for individually wrapped cheese/snack cheese. This entire drawer should honestly be dedicated to cheese. These were the exact containers I bought for our cheese/meat drawer.

To keep our produce organized, I decided to get three of these deep skinny containers for our limes/lemons, peppers, and onions. Every single week, we stock up on these items so I wanted to make sure this drawer was as organized as possible and easy to find everything. Since our two veggie drawers filled up quickly, I found these produce containers at Walmart and LOVE THEM. It’s almost like they add another deep drawer to the fridge and I love that they are so long (they could be a tiny bit longer though). I’ll link them here but your nearest Walmart probably has them in stock too.

For our bottom drawer freezer, I knew I wanted to categorize it into types of meals: smoothies (frozen fruit), frozen vegetables, frozen carbs (like my weakness, vegetable fried rice), and frozen “meat” aka turkey or veggie burgers. This container was the perfect size (and price) to organize all of the frozen fruit and I used these smaller metal baskets to organize the vegetables and rice.

I used the exact same container I did for the frozen fruit to organize popsicles/ice-cream/all the desserts in the top freezer drawer.

And that’s how I organized the fridge! Since everything has a designated spot now, I know what to stock up on quickly each weekend and it helps me not overbuy food I know I won’t eat. It also helps me realize that I actually have a lot of options and don’t need to eat out as often. Hopefully this inspires you to do some organizing in your kitchen and I can’t wait for the next tidying up project!

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Carolinas

02.04.19

Exploring Beech Mountain

Have you ever been skiing? Before this past weekend, it had been years! Since I was 11, actually… but, I do remember that I got the hang of it pretty quickly so I figured I would enjoy it as an adult too! TJ and I got back from Beech Mountain, NC, a town we had never visited before, on Sunday and it was the perfect mix of cozy and adventurous.

When we arrived on Thursday night, it was snowing, and if you don’t know, Beech Mountain is considered the highest town in Eastern America, so it was pretty cold. I loved how close it is to home too! It was only a 3.5 hour drive at the most. When we arrived to Beech Alpen Inn, we checked into our cozy room and got settled. I think my favorite part about this hotel was our view outside. It was snowing and there were about 20 deer that lived behind the inn. It was beautiful and I felt like I was in Switzerland or something.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the Brick Oven Pizzeria & Pasta for dinner which was poppin’ on a Thursday night! It was a really popular casual spot to stop and fuel up after a day of skiing at Beech Mountain Resort and the food was so good. We ordered pizza, greek salad (so delicious), and baked ziti while listening to live music plus they even had a dessert bar! We headed back to our inn to try and get to bed early before a busy day the next day.

On Friday, we woke up to the prettiest snow day! Everything was covered in white and it was beautiful. We stopped by Fred’s Backside Deli, another really popular spot. We met the owner, Fred, who opened this business 40 years ago. Downstairs was where people could dine (and where you could rent ski gear), and upstairs was a general store and ski apparel shop! It was the cutest place and I loved hearing about how it all got started. We loved it so much that we went back there the next day too. After eating breakfast, it was time to head to Beech Mountain Resort for a ski lesson.

This was TJ’s first time ever skiing. After a few times falling down on the slopes though, he started to really enjoy it! We started with a one hour lesson which was a good refresher for me since it had been so long. The sun was shining and everything was covered in snow… it was the perfect day out there! After skiing for a while, we took a lunch break at the lodge and warmed up a bit before skiing some more. After turning in our ski rentals at the end of the day, we walked over to Beech Mountain Brewing Co. for a tasting and dinner. I ordered some fried green tomatoes and an avocado burger while sitting next to a huge fireplace… it was glorious. Beech Mountain has a free Winter Music Series going on and we were able to listen to a couple of talented artists/bands over the weekend (Brother Oliver and Devon Gilfillian).

On Saturday morning, we stopped by Fred’s again because we loved it so much and did a little bit of exploring on our own before heading back to Beech Mountain Resort to attempt snowboarding this time. We also tried a local mexican restaurant at 4 Seasons at Beech called Valle De Bravo. I had never been to a Mexican restaurant with such pretty views! When we eventually got back to the ski resort, we knew we wanted to try snowboarding but also knew that we would likely need a lesson. The group lessons for 1:30pm were all filled so we decided to just try and teach ourselves… that was a fail. After about an hour of falling, we gave up and decided to go tubing for a little while. Maybe next year I’ll sign up for a personal one-on-one snowboard lesson but I also have heard that people usually lean strongly towards skiing or snowboarding – not both.

We went back to change at Beech Alpen Inn, which was also where our dinner restaurant was located. We had reservations at Beech Alpen Restaurant, which was probably my favorite place we ate all weekend! The views and the food were all incredible. You could see people skiing down the slopes out of one window and a huge deer family in another window, all while sipping a glass of wine and eating the best food. TJ and I both ordered the same thing which was this scallop/shrimp/linguine special. I also ordered their white bean turkey chili which deserves all the praise hand and heart eye emojis. We ended the night with some more live music at Beech Mountain Brewing Co. and packed up our bags to leave the next day!

It was so fun getting to explore a totally new area and we were so lucky with snowy weather followed by sunshine! While it was absolutely freezing (way, way colder than it was when we traveled to Banff), it was the perfect winter weekend adventure close to home!

This post is in partnership with Beech Mountain Tourism and Development Authority.

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