Savannah in the Summer 2018

Summertime is almost over and I'm finally sitting down to remember some of it! In June, Bret, Ashleigh and I set off for our annual trip to Savannah and Tybee Island — one of my most treasured traditions these days. Here's a peek at what we enjoyed for our 2018 sojourn in the Sav:

We decided our trip would be dedicated to Cocktails and Caftans and kicked off the trip accordingly: with a beach photo shoot celebrating our caftans via Amazon Prime. 

One hundred percent worth $20 to look this glamorous on the beach.

As is our tradition now, we spent our first night at Tybee Island Social Club, one of our favorite spots for cocktails and snackies. We'll always have a soft spot for their Scientist cocktail. 

The next morning, we spent a few hours completing crossword puzzles and then hit the beach with tumblers filled with cocktails concocted from Ketel One Grapefruit & Rose, St. Germain and Pamplemousse La Croix. We basic, we bougie, we cool with it.

After a day at the beach, we gussied up for a dinner/cocktail crawl with our high school friend Justin, starting with apps at Treylor Park, drinks to go from The Public Kitchen & Bar, and an absolutely fantastic dinner at a new spot called Emporium. 

Emporium was the perfect blend of old and modern decor, with a beautiful bar, gorgeous tile and soft mint ceilings.

I had the delicious Perry Lane Daiquiri — rum, maraschino liqueur, lime, pineapple, absinthe and bitters. I love a good old-fashioned daiquiri in the Hemingway tradition.

For Ashleigh and I, the main attraction was the burger served tableside with sizzling raclette melted right onto the burger. It was one of the best burgers of my life and all my raclette dreams come true.

From there, we headed to The Grove, where I enjoyed a champagne-soaked blackberry popsicle on a rooftop. I'll have to cling to that memory when I'm having a rough day and feeling sorry for myself!

The fearsome foursome conquering downtown.

We kicked off a day of shopping downtown with a stop at Collins Quarter for the iced Vietnamese Coffee we've spent a whole year dreaming about. Truly good to the last drop! The restaurant is gorgeous and this flower arrangement has me itching to pull out my watercolors and get to painting.

Iced coffee of our dreams!!!

No trip to Savannah would ever be complete for me without a stop at arguably my favorite store, Paris Market & Brocante. It's beautiful just to explore, even if you don't plan to buy a thing.

We finished with our traditional Southern supper at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room and said adieu to another beautiful trip to Savannah. Until next year!

Savannah Summer Adventures 2017

June kicked my ass, and there's no other excuse for why it took me A FULL MONTH to share a peep at the fun we had in Savannah. But, since this bloggy blog is primarily just a record for myself of where I liked to eat and what was good, it's never too late. So....fire up the time machine and travel back with me to a month ago, when we were enjoying a few days in the sweet South.

My dear friend Bret's family is sweet enough to let us join in on their summer beach rental, and this year we were basically staying in a house worthy of a Nancy Meyers movie on Tybee Island. I couldn't resist snapping pics of the gorgeous living room, wishing I'd packed my best Diane Keaton white turtleneck to match.

We started our first night at the beach at our favorite Tybee watering hole, the Tybee Island Social Club. Our all-time favorite cocktails: The Scientist and The Socialite. 

The next morning the whole fam packed off to Coco's for fresh seafood.

I fully endorse their shrimp cakes, so much so that I ate half of one before I remembered to document. Ashleigh got their beautiful jerk salmon salad with pineapple. After lunch, we hit the beach and did important things, like make our own Spice Girls videos.

That night, we trekked to Savannah to reunite with our high school buddy Justin and take the town! 

First stop: shrimp and grits tacos and delicious cocktails at Treylor Park Hitch. Try the Baby Doll: vodka, watermelon juice, lemon and simple syrup.

Next up, a round of The Vespers cocktails to go from The Public, then a stop at Collins Quarter, where Ashleigh sweet-talked the bartender to give me this beautiful peony. The night wouldn't be complete without frose for everyone at Sorry Charlie's.

The Collins Quarter folks convinced us to make a return trip on Monday morning because, Y'ALL, they do brunch on Mondays. MONDAYS. Savannah is wild.

Every corner of the interior was gorgeous. I couldn't stop marveling over the perfect decor.

The dishes were equally beautiful, including Bret's Swine Time Beni with pulled pork...

And my pulled pork sandwich with apple slices.

They have an excellent coffee bar and I've been craving their Vietnamese coffee and Iced Lavender Mochas ever since.

If you want to see truly inspiring visual merchandising, you have to make a stop into Shop SCAD, a store carrying the incredible creations of students and alumni of the Savannah College of Art and Design. The vignettes are worth the trip alone.

I mean, how great is this? From there, we stopped into Red Clover, a cute and very affordable boutique where we picked up lots of trendy jewelry for a song.

 No trip is complete without a stop to what might be my favorite store on the planet, Paris Market & Brocante.

Swoooooooooon. I picked up a galvanized planter I'm hoping to use for a pretty fern or ivy, and a vintage Spode blue and white plate.

Only at Vinnie Van Go-Go's can you experience the true joy of a Spodee Odee — red wine with Sunkist (it's shockingly delicious). Fair warning: it's cash-only.

The slices are bigger than your head and incredibly delicious.

On our last day, we walked past some of the prettiest houses in town to eat our traditional farewell brunch at Mrs. Wilkes, a family-style comfort food destination spot that has the best damned fried chicken I've ever had.

A peek at a backyard garden through the gate...so gorgeous.

And last, but very much not least, we made a stop at another favorite boutique: One Fish Two Fish.

That leather chandelier has me feeling some kind of way. 

It was another beautiful trip with my bestest boos and I can't wait for our next adventure!

Friendiversary in CLT!

View of the beautiful Hearst Tower

Did you have the most wonderful Labor Day weekend? I spent three days catching up with my childhood bestie of 22 YEARS in Charlotte, NC. Neither of us had been since 1999, when we visited to see NSYNC. It seemed like a good spot to have a friendiversary. 

We started our first full day with delicious treats at Amelie's Uptown, an adorable Francophile emporium stocked with amazing pastries and even more amazing decor, like this light fixture made of colanders. We had a great time giggling with my former coworker, Sam.  

 Just one of many adorable corners in Amelie's.

From there, we wandered through The Green, a charming park that was a literary tribute! It looked like an amazing place to spend a lunch break if you worked in one of the many office buildings nearby.

All signs point to Charlotte in the Green!

We had a great time checking out the Bechter Museum of Modern Art, a very manageable, edited collection of 20th-century jewelry, art, furniture and decor collected by one Swiss family. You can do the whole thing in an hour and feel completely refreshed.

Jamie loved this painting!

And I was pretty obsessed with the architecture. How cool is this view into the other galleries?

We also made a stop in the beautiful Romare Bearden Park, which was bustling with families and music and basically looked like a commercial for Charlotte. After a morning wandering downtown, we decided to switch gears, change outfits and head out to the burbs to visit the huge SouthPark Mall.

 But first, we stuffed our bellies with delicious Tex Mex at Paco's Tacos and Tequila, where I had the BEST margarita of my life. That's a pineapple mint marg that was so smooth, I basically drank it like it was water in the dessert.

I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy shrimp tacos and the chicken milanese tacos...every bite was delicious. But our good food adventures didn't stop there...

 I chowed down on this incredibly flavorful brisket and beef burger topped with gruyere and super amazing double-fried fries.

And before the weekend was done, we enjoyed one more round at Amelie's. I cannot recommend the roast beef and manchego croissant enough.

Until next time, Queen Charlotte! What a perfect city for a weekend visit!