Carolinas

Our Stay at Sanderling Resort

A few weeks ago, TJ and I spent a weekend at Sanderling Resort in Duck, NC and it was our second time staying there. Our first stay was last summer but we only stayed one night so we knew we would have to plan a second trip sometime this year to fully experience it! Today’s post is all about the resort and I’ve broken the details down into the categories: accommodations, location, and food… the three priorities when it comes to resorts!

Accommodations

When we first arrived to The Sanderling, we opened up our door to find a private flight of stairs leading up to a huge, beautiful, coastal chic room complete with a spacious living area, a nice balcony overlooking the sound, and the most perfect bathroom I’d ever seen. This resort recently had some big renovations done which resulted in oceanfront luxury with some major coastal cozy vibes. I slept like a baby each night. Our room also had a s’more kit ready to be taken down to their big fire pit right near their pool area but I’ll get into the amenities in a little bit. I love how this resort is right on the ocean but still had that luxurious feel to it.

Location & Amenities

If you’re visiting Sanderling Resort in the late spring/summer, you’ll find a ton of amenities to enjoy including three separate pool areas, the beach (obviously), the Sanderling Spa, and much more. If you’re looking for some more adventurous activities, you can take surf lessons, go kayaking, kiteboarding, jet-skiing, paddle boarding, etc. With the location being oceanfront, there are plenty of water sports for every one in the family. You can even ride their bikes around town! Last year, TJ and I rented stand-up paddle boards from the resort and took them out on the sound for a relaxing afternoon. If you want to fully experience all that The Sanderling has to offer, I’d suggest visiting in May-September though. I also LOVE their fire pit. TJ and I had late dinner reservations each night so we always ate our dessert first by stopping by the fire pit for s’mores before heading out to dinner.

Food

While at the Sanderling, good food is only a short walk away. For breakfast, you’ll want to make sure to stop by their Lifesaving Station (they are also open for lunch and dinner) which is known for having the “best breakfast on The Outer Banks”. Their seasonal menu is SO good and made with the freshest ingredients. For lunch, you can stop by their Sandbar, which is on their outdoor deck near the pool area. At the Sandbar, you can order more casual foods such as sandwiches, wraps, smoothies, pizza, burgers, etc. I remember ordering some seriously delicious food last summer here and taking it out to the beach… my ideal situation in life.

For dinner you’ll want to make sure to book a reservation across the street at the resort’s restaurant, Kimball’s Kitchen, which overlooks the water and has the most GORGEOUS views of the sunset. You’ll want to dress up a little bit for this one though (resort chic attire). I ordered their shrimp and grits and it was delicious. TJ and I are also self proclaimed bread/roll basket connoisseurs and their bread was on point.

Thanks for stopping by today! If you ever find yourself planning a trip to the Outer Banks area, I’d definitely try and at least stay a couple nights at Sanderling Resort. It’s such a unique place to stay and we enjoyed every minute of it.

XO, Shelby

You can see more of our stay in our video. See more videos by subscribing to my channel!

This post was written in partnership with Sanderling Resort. As always, all opinions are 100% mine.

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The Carolinas

04.04.17

Cruisin’ the Carolinas: The Outer Banks

I’m excited to launch a new video/travel guide series, ‘Cruisin’ the Carolinas’, featuring some of our favorite cities and towns in the Carolinas, both North and South. TJ and I find ourselves taking a lot of weekend trips to local cities we love in NC and SC and we’re excited to put together some posts and videos on some of our favorites over the next year. We’re starting with a place unique to North Carolina, The Outer Banks. When I was a child, my dad took my sister and I camping here, but I hadn’t re-visited until last summer when we went on a week-long trip. We went back a few weekends ago and made sure to hit all of our favorite places. In my opinion, The Outer Banks is for someone who wants to escape the crowds, spend a lot of time near the ocean, eat some great fresh seafood, and relax to the max.

STAY

One important thing to note about The Outer Banks is that although this area covers 200 miles along the coast of NC starting up from VA, there aren’t a ton of resorts unlike other big beach towns. This is actually one of my favorite parts about the OBX and, if you’re visiting with a large group, I’d definitely recommend renting a large house. There is, however, one resort up in Duck called The Sanderling which is beautiful. I’ll write a full post on this resort later this week but you can get a feel for it in our video! If you are thinking of staying closer to Nags Head or Kitty Hawk, there are a few hotels but the houses to rent are really the best option!

I’ve written a couple of other blog posts on what to do in the OBX (you can read them here and here). We’ve done almost everything there is so I am going to just share a few of my favorite things today. First of all, what you do on a trip really depends on what type of person you are and what type of vacation you’re wanting to have. You could go to The Outer Banks, stay at The Sanderling or at an oceanfront beach house, and be perfectly happy spending the days sitting out on the beach but if you want to add in some activities to your stay, I’d highly recommend a few different ones depending on which town you’re in. If you’re staying in Nags Head, you must go visit Jockey’s Ridge State Park, the largest living sand dune on the east coast. There are also so many lighthouses that are iconic to the area including Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island. If you want to do any sort of water sport, Kitty Hawk Kites has everything you could ever need adventure/sport-wise including hang gliding over Jockey’s Ridge. You could also go horseback riding on the beach and if you’re not into the actual riding part of horses, you can go on a wild horse adventure and drive down the beaches of Corolla. We took a wild horse adventure with Corolla Outback Adventures and it was so interesting seeing a side of town that I never even knew existed. There were communities with no roads and the only way to get there was by driving down a ways on the beach… it was so fun! We also had the best tour guide, Brad, who took us to see some wild horse families and let us take some great photos.

EAT

I could eat seafood every day and be fine with it. The Outer Banks is home to several amazing restaurants and these are some of the ones that have our stamp of approval. Starting with the fine dining…

Fine Dining

Kimball’s Kitchen in Duck, NC

Paper Canoe in Duck, NC

1587 in Manteo, NC

The Blue Point in Duck, NC (recommended by a local who said this was the best restaurant in the OBX)

In Between

Lone Cedar in Nags Head, NC

Trio Wine & Cheese Bar in Kitty Hawk, NC

Casual

Roadside Bar & Grill in Duck, NC (TJ recommends their seared tuna and bread)

First Light in Duck, NC (great casual breakfast place)

Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, NC (amazing breakfast, cool spot to watch the fishermen)

Red Sky in Duck, NC

I hope this helps a little bit if you happen to be planning a trip to The Outer Banks! If you have any places we missed, leave them in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

xo, Shelby

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Travel

03.22.17

Bachelorette Weekend in Charlottesville

Invitations by Ten Acre Paper Co.

A few weekends ago my friends and I all packed up in a giant suv and headed to Charlottesville, VA for a girls weekend in celebration of my bachelorette! We had a packed itinerary which I’ll share in today’s post but, overall, we had a fun, relaxing, and great time and my favorite part of it all was getting to spend one weekend with {almost} all of my best friends at once. I can’t wait for us all to reunite again for other wedding events in the coming months. Incase you’re wondering where our wine sweatshirts are from… one of my MOH’s, Sara, custom ordered them from TheDreamWedding on Etsy. Scroll down below for more photos!

Custom Wine Sweatshirts || Bachelorette Invitations || House || Gift Boxes

When we first started looking at locations for a bachelorette weekend a lot of factors came into play. We looked at the idea of beaches in Florida, Nashville, Austin, and my total dream spot would have been Napa Valley. Since our actual wedding weekend requires some travel as well, we ultimately decided on a city 3-5 hours away from everyone to save a lot of money, time, and convenience. The original itinerary/plan for the weekend was to do a little bit of everything: go out for dinner/drinks downtown one night, have a relaxing morning at the spa, visit some wineries/cideries, and go snow tubing at the closest ski resort. We ended up having to be flexible about some of our plans but I would still highly recommend planning a weekend trip to Charlottesville with a group of friends! Read more below for the details of where we went each day!

FRIDAY

We all left from different cities on Friday but a majority of us left together in Raleigh around 11:30am. We chose to rent a large SUV so that we would all be able to ride together once we were there (I’d also highly suggest looking into limos/wine tours that can drive you around depending on your budget!). Our first stop once we arrived to Charlottesville was a vineyard that I had always wanted to visit… Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards. We all did a wine tasting, ordered a cheese board, and sat on their patio catching up, introduced my friends to each other, etc. This winery was beautiful and I am dying to go back sometime when it is warmer! My favorite wine was their ‘Zero White’. My friend, Gena, bought a bottle of it for me and we took it back to the house!

We stayed at Pippin Hill a little past their closing time (unfortunately, most of these wineries close at 5pm every day) and headed to our house we rented through Homeaway. The inside of this house was so cute and the size was perfect for about 9-10 people. It reminded me of a house in the French countryside and I don’t know why.

After everyone unpacked and got ready for dinner, we went downtown to a restaurant actually owned by the same people that own Pippin Hill. The restaurant was called Red Pump Kitchen and might have been the best food of my life. It was so delicious and I’d add this restaurant to the ‘must-eat’ list when you’re in Charlottesville. After this, we had gelato at Splendora’s. Another place we had planned on going was the Commonwealth Skybar; however, it was abnormally freezing cold and we had to wake up early the next day so we headed back to the house to prep for Saturday!

SATURDAY

Saturday started early at 7am and we all woke up, ate breakfast, and packed in the car to drive to Wintergreen Resort. We had a big spa morning planned and did the Wintergreen Resort Spa’s ‘party package’. This allowed everyone to choose either a facial or massage and a manicure and pedicure. I LOVED this place. The people were so nice and accommodating, the facility was gorgeous, and I’d highly recommend this for a girl’s weekend or even a couple’s weekend activity.

Our plan after the spa was to go over to The Plunge, which is Wintergreen Resort’s snow tubing park. I was SO excited for this but due to the 70 degree February we had, the spa ladies told us that they had recently closed the snow tubing park for the year. This changed our plans a bit but we found a really cool brewery right outside of Wintergreen called Devils Backbone Brewing and decided to have lunch there. This place was way cooler than I anticipated and we ended up staying there longer than planned. I really want to take TJ back here in the summer… they had a really cool outdoor patio area which reminded me of Sierra Nevada in Asheville if you’ve ever been there.

After Devils Backbone Brewing, we drove literally one mile down the road to a cidery, Bold Rock. This place also had a really cool laid back atmosphere and really, really good cider. I definitely wouldn’t mind going back here sometime too! We were planning on also visiting King Family Vineyards but we were running out of time and it was getting close to dinner time. I’ll have to add that one to the list for next time I’m in the area!

Anyways, we decided to have my favorite go-to meal, Chipotle catering for 20 (thanks to TJ’s Chipotle rewards card) take-out and bring back to the house for a mexican meal and margaritas. It was the perfect dinner after a long day and, after dinner, my friends surprised me with a ‘honeymoon shower’ complete with the cutest gifts ever that I can bring on our honeymoon to St. Lucia! I guessed which girl brought which gift and it was so much fun! We ended the night with roasting marshmallows, laughing until my abs hurt, and just spending quality time with my best friends.

I’m already missing all of my friends but I cannot wait to see them in the coming months! I also can’t believe we are almost two months away from our wedding day (insert emoji with the big eyeballs). Thank you to all of my friends and sisters who made this weekend a great one! <3

We also decided to make a rap video in our Etsy sweatshirts…

Just kidding, kind of. My girl, Morgan Martin, did however get some video footage of the weekend! Be sure to follow her on Youtube!

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Uncategorized

03.06.17

The Floral Wrap Skirt

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope y’all had a great weekend. I feel like mine didn’t involve a ton of relaxing and I’m not sure I’m ready for a new work week just yet! Luckily for me, this week is a shorter week. I’m taking the day off on Friday to go on my bachelorette weekend with my fave girls and can’t wait! I’ve teamed up with some other bloggers to giveaway a Nordstrom gift-card so scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter!

I’ve been loving long skirts lately… I recently posted about this long white one but today’s look features one of the prettiest floral prints I’ve ever seen in the most perfect spring colors. I paired it with a simple white sweater and some of my favorite white pumps I own. If heels aren’t your thing, I found an almost identical flat version here! Ahhh, spring cannot get here fast enough.

xo, Shelby

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The Carolinas

01.26.17

Coffee at The Carolina Inn

Brunch is always a good idea!

TJ and I have been trying to make it to the newly renovated Crossroads restaurant in The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill for a while now. Once we realized we had a free Sunday morning this past weekend, we booked a reservation, drove down the road 30 minutes, and arrived to the hotel in true TJ fashion (super early… his timeliness balances us so perfectly). The Carolina Inn always reminds me of two of our best friends’ weddings we were in. I love the colorful decor, charm, and class of this place and highly recommend visiting sometime if you’re in the area!

Their brunch got an A+ by me. I ordered a veggie omelet with goat cheese and it was so delicious. They also had an unlimited “tasting table” with biscuits, grits, banana pudding, fruit, and a huge dessert table. Yum!

Hope y’all have a great Thursday!

xo, Shelby

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Holidays

11.21.16

2016 Holiday Magazine & Gift Guide

Happy (almost) Holidays, everyone! I’m so excited to share a project I’ve been working on for a while… a 2016 Holiday digital magazine filled with holiday outfit inspiration, gift guides galore, and other little holiday tidbits that will help kick off the season the right way! The purpose of this is to help you all simplify your gift-giving/Christmas shopping process, create a one-stop holiday shop for ideas and inspiration, maybe help you pick out what to wear this season, and hopefully get you in the holiday spirit! (PS… View on “Full Screen” mode for easiest viewing!)

Year after year, I’ve been a self-proclaimed holiday procrastinator. I have gone Christmas shopping numerous times on Christmas Eve when I could have spent that time with family and I wanted to be prepared way ahead of time this year! Hopefully, this will help you get gift ideas out of the way so that you can really enjoy what the season is all about!

There are a couple GIVEAWAYS today, too! For the first one, you’ll have to read the 2nd to last page in the magazine! You won’t want to miss it… you can win cash towards gift shopping! For the second giveaway today, scroll down to the bottom of this post!

Happy Monday! Cheers to a short work week!

XO, Shelby

PS- Thank you to Heart Stone Films for allowing me to shoot in the new studio, to Sara (bff) for assisting in the modeling dept., and to TJ for the patience, support, and photography! Special shout-out goes out to the ‘Pop Chill-out’ playlist by Spotify for the mental support.

<p style=”text-align: center;”>Now…it’s time for a fabulous giveaway! I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to give YOU a chance to win: a $1000 Nordstrom Gift Card, just in time for the holidays!</p> <p style=”text-align: center;”>Simply enter below by completing the rafflecopter. You’ll receive one entry per completion. This giveaway is open internationally and runs until 12/5. Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!</p> <img class=”aligncenter wp-image-8139″ src=”http://www.thestyledfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nordsgc.jpg” width=”800″ height=”526″ /> <a id=”rcwidget_8vrjtj17″ class=”rcptr” href=”http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/85e34c0c47/” rel=”nofollow” data-raflid=”85e34c0c47″ data-theme=”classic” data-template=””>a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src=”https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js”></script>

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Carolinas

11.14.16

Engagement Photos Part 2 in Charleston

Happy Monday!

Did you catch the first half of our engagement shoot here? Even though these were all taken on a hot summer day way back in June, I just had to share some of my favorite ones! Last week, I also shared our thoughts and experience on finding a wedding venue on Style Me Pretty so be sure to check those tips out if you’re a bride-to-be looking for a wedding venue!

I’m going to keep today’s post short but sweet (and very photo dense!) because I start a new job today! I’m really, really excited and this is the first full-time/permanent one since back in July when my company had a big lay-off. Since then, I’ve held a temporary position and have had a little bit more time to focus on my blog which has been nice. It’s time to get back to work though and I’m looking forward to having more structure, discipline, and be in a routine!

XO, Shelby

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Photography: Jake and Heather || Hair/Make-up: Meg Workman || Skirt/Top: Donna Morgan || Dog Floral Collar: Miele Events

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Entertaining & Recipes

11.02.16

Guest Blogger: a Low Country Boil Party

Today’s post is a little something different to kick off the new month. November is a great time to reflect on what you’re most thankful for and today’s post is all about a family tradition featuring the first guest blogger on here, MY DAD. So, take it away Dad…

“Fall is a great time to do a Low Country Boil (actually, anytime is). There’s nothing like having family and friends over on a beautiful fall afternoon having invigorating discussions (solving the world’s problems) over beverages, listening to great music, then feasting on a Low Country Boil.

Yes, the Low Country Boil is not only good eats, but is a colorful event to behold. The result is a culmination of planning, preparation, timing, layering and winging it. To pour the huge pot of colorful veggies, seafood and sausage on a tabletop for the guests to forage on, to their desire, is the climax of the event.

First you put a big pot over an outdoor burner. Put enough water in the pot to cover everything and bring it to a boil. Add the seasoning to the water, then add, in timed sequence, the potatoes, onions, corn, sausage, and shrimp. We also added littleneck clams (tasty morsels). When it is done, let it drain a bit and then dump it out on a table.

Here are the steps to prepare for a group of 16 folks:

Equipment:

You will need a pot big enough for the ingredients based on the amount of people you have. We used a 15 gallon pot with an inside strainer. The pot is put on top of a propane burner. The pot was filled with 10 gallons of water. You can purchase the pot and burner equipment at Bayou Classic.

Instructions:

As water is heating, add seasoning. We used 4 bags of Zaterain’s Crab Boil, plenty of Old Bay seasoning, salt, cayenne pepper, 8 half lemons, a stick of butter and what ever else you may want to add. Say a blessing and have a beer. Bring it to a boil.
Add potatoes, the small red ones. We used ~ 30 each. Set timer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add the onions and sausage. We used Hillshire Farms Kielbasa cut in three inch pieces (5 lbs). The onions (6 whole) cut in quartered chunks. Set timer for 15 minutes and have one more beer.
After the onions and sausage have boiled for 15 minutes, add the corn. We used full-length sweet corn on the cob. Set timer for 10 minutes. You may want to have some water, then have one more beer.
After the corn has been boiling for 10 minutes, add the shrimp. It is very important you get this right. It takes about 3 minutes for the shrimp to cook. Don’t overcook or undercook.
Lift out the internal strainer of food, hold over the water to drain, then dump on a table.
With the burner turned off, I dumped a bag of littleneck clams in the water. After about 3 minutes (after they open) pull then out and dump on the table.

While all of this is going on, you will need a support team of family members preparing French bread with garlic butter, cabbage slaw, and cocktail sauce (special mention to Grandma). We also had an assortment of cheesecake for dessert.

Serve with white or red wine, (more beer?) and let the feast begin. It is truly a team event. Fun times with great company!!”

– Mike

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Travel

09.29.16

12 Hours in Chicago – A Day Trip Itinerary

If you follow my blog or Instagram at all, you might have seen that we took a day trip to a Chicago this past weekend. It was the best birthday gift ever and TJ planned the whole thing as he tried to keep it a secret. The entire day was a blast. Surprisingly, he was able to find a Southwest sale that had insanely good flight prices at only $40 one way. Incase you are ever planning a trip to the Windy City and have never been before, I wanted to share with you what we did, the places we saw, and the food we ate! We had a pretty solid itinerary and I honestly would suggest any of these things to anyone who might be visiting Chicago for the first time.

7:30-8:15am: Travel from the airport to the city.

We flew into Midway and took an Uber into the city! Due to some traffic, the ride took about 30 minutes but it wasn’t bad at all.

8:30-9:15am: Drybar.

TJ planned a surprise hair appointment at a blow-out bar at 8:30 and I definitely needed it after waking up at 4:30 that morning. There is something just so relaxing about getting your hair washed/styled by someone. Plus, Drybar was super chic and it was nice to speak to a local first thing in the morning before getting the day started. FYI My hair looked good for about 4 minutes but it was still so relaxing.

9:30-10:30am: We walked over to get donuts and coffee from some of the city’s best!

I had heard of how great Doughnut Vault was before arriving to Chicago so we walked over there before they even opened. We were surprised to see a line full of about 50 people waiting outside to get donuts as soon as we got there. The couple waiting in front of us, who also happened to be from Raleigh (weird!), told us about a coffee shop around the corner called 3 Greens Market who also happened to sell Doughnut Vault. We ended up leaving the long line and walked into 3 Greens which turned out to be the coolest coffee shop I ever stepped foot in. We had coffee and donuts and talked about our plan for the day!

10:30-11:15am: Hampton Social.

I noticed that a bar I’ve had my eye on for a while was sitting right across the street from the coffee shop. It was… The Hampton Social! The restaurant had a very coastal theme set right downtown and we decided it would be the perfect time to get mimosas while we were in the area. They also had a really good brunch menu and I’d highly recommend adding this to your list of places to eat if you’re ever in the city.

11:15am-12:15pm: We had our own self-guided walking tour on the way to Navy Pier and stopped by Millennium Park.

It was really fun walking along the Chicago River and walking through the central part of the city. Millennium Park was where the famous Bean is and although that area was very touristy and crowded, we felt like the bean had to be seen. We then walked from the park to Navy Pier where our next tour on the river would start.

12:30-2:00pm: Architecture Tour on the Chicago River.

I would especially recommend this if you’ve never visited Chicago before. The Architecture Tour is a tour on a boat through the river where you’ll learn a lot about the history of the city of Chicago. It was also a nice chance to rest our legs from walking and sit back to see a lot of really cool views. This is also probably the best way to see the city in the shortest amount of time.

2:00-4:00pm: Walk down The Magnificent Mile on the way to Chicago 360.

The Magnificent Mile is a street full of the best shopping. Since we were there for just a short amount of time, I didn’t do any shopping other than when I was in Zara charging my phone! Chicago 360 was another one of those things I’d highly recommend to a first time visitor. You take an elevator to the 91st floor of The John Hancock Building which is also where you’ll get the BEST 360 degree views of Chicago! Seeing the cityscape right beside a huge turquoise lake was one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen.

4:00-6:00pm: We walked to dinner and ate at Lou Malnati’s.

By this time, we were starving and ready to find a good deep dish pizza restaurant. Lou Malnati’s was recommended to us by a friend and I couldn’t have loved it more. The atmosphere was laid back and was the perfect place to rest after a long day of exploring. We ordered the ‘Malnati’ salad, garlic bread, and two personal sized deep dish pizzas. It was all delicious and we were able to sit outside in a lounge area.

6:00-7:00pm: We walked along Lake Shore Trail.

This was one of my favorite parts of the entire day. Walking along the prettiest water while the sun was setting made me fall in love with Chicago. There were still so many boats out, people running on the trails, and families sitting out on the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL and the perfect ending to the best day.

7:00-7:30pm: Headed back to the airport for the flight back home.

By this time, my legs felt broken but my heart felt so full. We made it to the airport, shockingly, after our uber driver (3rd day on the job) almost wrecked a few times. We hopped on our plane and headed back home to NC.

There were only two things that I wish we would have had time for and those were 1. go to Lincoln Park and 2. rent bikes to ride along Lake Shore Trail to North Avenue Beach. Other than that, we were able to do everything on our list of things we wanted to see and had the best time!

If you have any other favorite places to go in Chicago, please leave them in the comments! I’ll definitely need to make another trip there sometime.

XO, Shelby

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Wedding

09.21.16

How I Asked My Bridal Party

I’m so excited to share all the details on how I asked my bridal party last month when I hosted a surprise ‘Will You Be My Bridesmaid?’ brunch at Merrimon Wynne for all of my ‘sweetest’ girls (hence the berry theme)! You can read more about it on Style Me Pretty but I couldn’t wait to share the scoop right here too…. especially after I received the photo gallery that Megan Kerns Photography sent over.

First of all, I had thought for months about how I was going to ask my sisters and best friends to be bridesmaids in our wedding. I also knew that I wanted to ask my flower girls in a special way. I get really emotional with these sort of things and I wanted it to be really special. I had seen ideas of gifts to send or ways to ask individually, but ultimately, I hoped to find a time that worked for everyone where I could throw one big brunch party to celebrate them. Surprisingly, I found a date that worked for everyone where I invited them to a “summer brunch” and I immediately reached out to my wedding planner, Stephanie Scholl Events, to help plan, style and coordinate the day!

As soon as I settled on a promising date for everyone, I met with Stephanie Scholl Events and told her about the theme and vision I had in mind. I envisioned a berry themed brunch because, after all, it was a party thrown for all of the ‘sweetest’ ladies in my life. When I think about themes for any sort of event, I always gravitate toward my favorite colors.. blues, greys, teal, so, it wasn’t very hard to think of what the theme and look would be. Luckily, Raleigh has some pretty talented vendors for occasions like these and Stephanie Scholl Events was able to bring the vision to life so perfectly! I sent out an invitation that invited them to a “summer brunch” and made sure not to make it obvious.

At 11:00 on the morning of the brunch, each bridesmaid and flower girl arrived to the house (by this time, some of them were pretty suspicious of why they were there) and I could hardly contain my excitement! This was one of the first times where I had all of my closest women in my life in one spot and the feeling was indescribable! We sipped on delicious drinks made at a mimosa and berry bar while catching up with each other as we waited for the rest of the girls to arrive. As soon as everyone arrived to the house, we sat down at the table and I gave each girl their gift, a watercolor “Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” print by Sage Paper Co., and a handwritten note complete with all the feels! I gave a toast about why we were all there and it didn’t take long before the room was filled with tears. Some of these girls I had known since college, high school, and some my entire life, but I couldn’t get over how wonderful it felt to have them all there together.

The baskets for each bridesmaid were filled with cookies by Oak City Cookies decorated with our wedding date, a bottle of Speak Wines, and a bridesmaid emergency kit from Pinch Provisions! It also included a pair of Moon and Lola earrings, a favorite candle of mine (hello, Capri Blue Candles), and a cosmetic pouch from Paper Source! My two flower girls felt like princesses in their flower crowns and they were too cute exploring the house in their matching outfits they showed up in that morning! One of them asked why there weren’t any boys invited to this wedding, thinking that was the actual wedding, haha!

We ate the most delicious brunch by Belle’s Catering, complete with a biscuit bar, mini chicken and waffles, berry parfaits, and mini quiches. We finished off the meal with dessert by one of my all-time favorite Raleigh bakeries, The Cupcake Shoppe. I’m talking lavender French macarons, mini blackberry chocolate mousse tarts, vanilla bean cheesecake pops, and mini blackberry cupcakes. It was berry dessert heaven! The room was absolutely magical and even more beautiful than I envisioned it would be. The style had a simplistic but elegant feel with neutral and classic furniture rentals by Cottage Luxe and berry branches intertwined with gorgeous florals by Serendipity Designs. Although the décor was beautiful and just my style, the house was filled with SO much love and that made it so special. In fact, each aspect of the entire day was so special and it got me very excited for the next 10 months leading up to the wedding. Thankfully, I have a pretty amazing photographer friend and sorority sister, Megan Kerns Photography, who was there to capture the entire morning!

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Wedding

08.12.16

Engagement Photos Part 1

I am SO excited for today! First, for the obvious reasons, it is Friday. Also, I am seeing the same girls I saw for my very first concert back in ’98… Dixie Chicks! I saw them with my dad back when they opened up for Travis Tritt and Diamond Rio a long, long time ago when we lived in Richmond. They have always been high up on my list of favorite artists. Secondly, today I’m sharing Part 1 of our engagement photos shot by Jake and Heather. We took these photos back in June after meeting with our wedding venue and planner down in Charleston one night. I love how they turned out! Wait until you see Part 2 though.. 🙂

Last but not least, today I’m introducing myself over on Style Me Pretty as their newest Blogger Bride!!!!?! They reached out back in December (can’t believe it has been so long since TJ and I have been engaged!) and asked me if I would share our wedding planning journey on SMP over the course of the next year. Style Me Pretty is easily one of my top 3 blogs to follow. I just love it and am so honored to be able to share all the details of our wedding on one of my favorite blogs around. I hope y’all will follow along while I share my tips/advice/deets of planning our special day! I absolutely cannot wait to marry the love of my life!

Photography: Jake + Heather || Hair/Make-up: Meg Workman || See more on: Style Me Pretty || Earrings: Kendra Scott

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The Carolinas

05.04.16

Favorite Things To Do in Hilton Head in 48 Hours

Hilton Head Island is one of my favorite places to go for a relaxing mini vacation. It has everything you need – good food, live music, pretty beaches, shopping, outdoor sports, and much more. It doesn’t have too much which is what I need when I crave relaxation rather than a crazy weekend. We were so excited to be able to spend last weekend there with two of our friends and I wanted to share a list of my personal favorite places to eat and things to do for those of you who might be planning a trip there soon.

Restaurants:

A Lowcountry Backyard || This tiny little restaurant right off of Palmetto Bay Rd. is a hidden gem. I’ve never visited this island without going here to grab a bite to eat out in their “backyard”. They have a cute outdoor patio area with a gigantic umbrella covering the entire seating area, easy-going music playing, mini waterfalls, and the nicest staff to make for the best atmosphere. They have some of the best grits I’ve ever tasted and you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu for brunch or dinner!

Sea Shack || A hole in the wall type place known as Hilton Head’s best kept seafood secret and I couldn’t agree more! If you want a plate of the best popcorn shrimp (or any fried seafood for that matter) slaw, and hushpuppies – this is your place! TJ and I like to get it to-go when we’re staying at a nicer hotel and head back to the hotel and eat because there is very limited seating. You’ll likely find a long line though so make sure you get there early!

Frosty Frog || Your go-to spot for frozen drinks of every flavor you can imagine. I was very impressed with their food too! They have some delicious pizzas and wraps. The majority of the restaurant is outdoors and they will frequently have live music plus they have a nice bar area in the sand. I would recommend this spot for drinks after dinner or for a very casual non-seafood dinner.

Salty Dog Cafe || This is definitely one of the most popular places on the island and I mainly like it because of the area it is located. There is normally a fun event going on over the summer weekends in Sea Pines and after dinner you can watch the sunset over the water at Harbour Town.

Captain Woody’s || This is another good spot to go after dinner for drinks and music out on the patio. They have very good drink specials, great bands playing, and some amazing key lime pie!

Annie O’s || If you want some southern, lowcountry food in a very casual setting, this is your place. It is very reasonably priced and delicious!

Activities:

Biking around HHI || I always love exploring via bikes and I make an effort to add this into my beach weekends whenever possible. There are a bunch of businesses that rent out bikes but here are a couple to check out: Hilton Head Bicycle Company and The Bike Doctor. Most of the resorts have bike rentals as well.

Kayaking || Kayak Hilton Head

Nothing… Does that count? || Honestly, the best part of this place and what makes it special is how relaxing and peaceful it can be. I love sitting by the pool or beach with a frozen drink, especially from The Westin!

We also decided to use TJ’s Christmas present from last year, a Go Pro, and made a little video of the weekend. Check it out here and be on the look out for more travel videos to come! [You can subscribe here.]

If you have any other HHI favorite restaurants or things to do, leave them in the comments!

xo, Shelby

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