a day at the aquarium

took a trip to the South Carolina Aquarium today. 

 

matt hanging out with his new froggie friend.  check out that bridge!

 

 

Beach House at The Music Farm

Beach House is a dream pop duo formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut, Beach House, released in 2006, was critically acclaimed. This was followed by their second release, Devotion, in 2008. The band released their third studio album, Teen Dream in January 2010, also to positive critical reviews and commercial^{[citation needed]} success.

just chillin' before the Beach House show.

outfit of the day: Beach House

getting ready for the Beach House show at the Music Farm.  a light, coral open-cardigan over a vintage-y polka dot shift dress from Asos, my favorite giraffe belt, and sparkly gold Toms.

 

day trip: Charleston, SC pt.2

love the pastels splashed all over the buildings in downtown Charleston.  we did some browsing at the Market (pick up the fried okra chips!) and the fashion district.  picked up "A Taste of Charleston, South Carolina Recipes".  i'll be sure to post any good recipes i find in this gem.  matt racked up some stuff at the Forever 21 because they have a men's section at their store!  i like Forever 21 for slouchy sweaters and the occasional printed blouse.

boats in the harbor

beauty in the details

horse-drawn carriages and bike-taxis

restored plantations from the Old South like this Inn

lunch at Hyman's Seafood, Charleston, SC

Hyman's Seafood is famous in Charleston with tourists and locals alike.  they are consistently voted "best seafood" from magazines like Southern Living.  they are a true "southern hospitality"-type joint with easy food and good service.  the menu is HUGE and a little kooky-crazy....but definitely start off with this appetizer, their most-popular "Carolina Delight".

Lightly fried grit cake topped with
your choice of shrimp, scallops,
oysters, crab cakes or salmon. Covered with a creamy, rich garlic alfredo sauce then sprinkled with a hint of cajun seasoning.

started off with some cocktails...why on earth would i EVER order a damn margarita??? they're disgusting!  but it was on special and i was feeling "crazy" so i ordered one.... *ick*  i made matt play trade-sies with me because he got a Cosmopolitan which is much tastier.  i still have visions of puking in front of a record store after my first margarita that i drank out of a styrofoam cup.

matt and i LOVE LOVE LOVE  a good she-crab soup, so when we are in a seafood-town we always order a bowl.  their's was....okay, nothing special unfortunately.  the best we've had is still from that hole-in-the-wall seafood shack called Mr. Fish in Myrtle Beach!

not happy about his adopted margarita!

but i'm happy with mine! matt tryin' to get all "artsy" with his cheesy camera angles

matt's overly fried seafood platter: fried mahi-mahi, crabcake, deviled crab, sweet potato souffle

my plate: broiled swordfish, fried catfish, broiled scallops

all together a pretty good meal....but maybe not worth the $90 we threw down for lunch????  xoxo

welcome to Charleston

back from our wonderful trip to Charleston!  we stayed at the Ansonborough Inn, located in historic downtown Charleston.  like i said before, Charleston is well-known for it's southern charm and gorgeous historic buildings, and the Ansonborough Inn is no different.  it was a warehouse in the early 1900s and converted into a hotel in 1999.  we loved it, and will be back for our next Charleston visit.

old wooden beams and natural sunlight everywhere

waiting room

interesting antiques like this owl lamp

lots of dark furnishings and oil paintings

an early 1900s-era bar

fancy chandeliers and a lemonade/ sweet tea station!

i enjoyed this wall of "dog" portraits

doggie oil paintings

our lovely room.  *love* the painted exposed brick

the comfiest bed ever and two Andes mints

a high-ceiling and chandelier reminds matt of a pirate ship he says

the little details like this ornate fish mirror

getting dressed for a walk downtown

a gathering with friends

 

a gathering with my friends always involves lots of junk food.  which is fine with me!  i always try to hang out on an empty stomach and tonight was no different.  my friend Lizzie Loo (i call her) hosted a hanging out sesh with a few girlfriends with snacks and Just Dance.

 

 the spread was awesome!  we ended up getting a lot more not pictured here.

 

UGH i told Liz about these damn number candles.  NO NUMBER CANDLES!

 

two of my favorites side by side:  corn dip and funfetti cupcakes

 

my friend Sarah is a pastry chef and i'm always excited to see what sugary creation she'll bring.  she brought cookies topped with Goji berries and mint cookies topped with almonds.  also a unique-tasting rice krispie treat.

 

gorgeous goji berries

these have a cool 'vintage' look to them

 Liz made these homemade sweet treats out of pretzels, sugared peanut butter, and chocolate

 

i got some cute presents.....this one is from Steffie!

 

lots of cool gifts.  the green scarf is from shaughn (perfect for Charleston *ahem*), bath bomb from Leanda, tealight candle from Maly, some boygirlparty gear from Liz.

 

Fifi Lapin:  a bunny fashionista.  Love this!