Charleston Trip {wrap up}.

I feel like I'm still coming down off all the happiness that was my Charleston trip ... What an beautiful place with amazing friends and of course a fabulous fashion show! 

I stopped in Augusta, Georgia "on my way" to Charleston and stayed with this amazing and incredibly hospitable family! 

Kelly and I met in Charleston while in grad school at The Citadel ... she and her husband are so much fun and their baby girl {my 'niece'} is beautiful and hysterical! 

We drove down to Charleston on Tuesday morning on the backroads of the Lowcountry and it may have been one of the most beautiful, scenic drives I've ever taken! 

Tuesday there was lunch at Fleet Landing, fashion show prep and happy hour at Taco Boy! 

Then there was the amazing CFW Fashion Show! 

It was so much fun looking at everyone's outfits and sitting as close as possible to the runway! 

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Dinner after the show was at Rue de Jean! YUMMMMM! :) 

It was definitely a whirlwind trip but was unbelievable! I'm now counting down until the next time we can go back and visit! :)

charleston loves.

I decided I'd give my guest bloggers a break today and post about all things that I adore in Charleston! 

{ok, not even close to ALL of them but a few of my faves!}

First things first, let's talk food {y'all know I love it!}

Fleet Landing has GOT to be my favorite restaurant in Charleston ... And was from my very first visit! It's on the water, has incredible food, and you'll ALWAYS have great service! 

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And then there's Taco Boy ... Another one of my favs ... 

both locations - Downtown & Folly! 

From their amazing margs to the guac you can't beat this place for a low-key happy hour!!! 

{or all night!}

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And the beach ... Y'all the beaches are so beautiful 

{or maybe I'm biased because I'm SUCH  coastal gal!}

My personal FAVE is Folly ... I lived so close the entire time we were in Charleston and it was unbelievable to be able to drive 15 min and be sitting on the beach, cold drink in hand! :) 

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I know I've told y'all about Battery Park in our wedding story ... But it truly is a beautiful place! I love going to walk around {or run} the Battery! 

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Though I may sometimes complain while running over the Cooper River Bridge, it's gorgeous! And once you're at the top the view is unbelievable! You can almost always see dolphins jumping in the water, boats coming and/or going, and of course all of downtown Charleston! 

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I know I missed so many things, but those are the first things that popped into my head! 

For now, I'm LOVING the gorgeous Charleston weather and cannot wait to fill y'all in on Charleston Fashion Week! 

We have one more guest blogger tomorrow! Be sure to stop by! 

Happy Humpday Y'all! 

packing fancies.

Typically, I participate in {av}'s Friday's Fancies 

... 

But since yesterday I was a part of the Bloggers Day of Silence to honor Japan 

... 

There were no Fancies. 

Today, I'm going to do my Friday's Fancies a day late ...  

{av ... I hope you don't mind!}

I've been trying to pack to go to Charleston ... And y'all packing has ALWAYS been a daunting task for me. I try to pack in outfits, but I'm never sure if I'm going to be 'in the mood' to wear certain things ... 

it's exhausting really! 

So instead of packing yesterday, I ended up online browsing! :) 

Here's what I'm fancying ... And what {if money was no object} WOULD be in my suitcase{s}!

{1}{2}{3}{4}{5}{6}{7}{8}{9}

I'm definitely a jeans and cute top kind of girl! But I LOVE how easy dresses & rompers can be to throw on! And y'all how gorgeous is that bag?! :) 

Hope everyone has the BEST weekend! 

I'm actually leaving a day earlier than originally planned! I'm so excited to hit the road! 

And even MORE excited about the FABULOUS ladies who will be guest posting for me this week!

Happy Saturday Y'all! xo! 

he asked. she said YES!

As promised, there's another addition of "our story" ... 

And I must say these posts have been some of the most fun to post! I love reliving every moment! And feel the same amount of joy, love and thankfulness as I did in the beginning! 

{If you haven't read how Bryan and I met, go here.} 

Yesterday was officially the two year anniversary of our engagement! 

Though I still remember the day as if it actually was YESTERDAY! 

Our first couple of years in Charleston were spent doing A LOT of exploring ... We walked around downtown, went the the aquarium, tried SO MANY wonderful restaurants, visited the beach ... 

However, by far one of our favorite things to do was walk around the Battery. 

For those of you who have not been to Charleston, SC and walked around the Battery ... You are truly missing out on some beautiful scenery. The water, the houses, watching dolphins jump, seeing horse drawn carriage tours ... It is truly amazing. 

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The first time that Bryan and I ever took a stroll through Battery Park, he KNEW that this is where he would propose to me ... 

So let me give you some 'background info' ... I had ALWAYS told EVERYONE that I would know when Bryan was going to propose to me ... My family is REALLY bad at keeping secrets and I just knew that someone would accidentally let it slip. 

And I knew that Bryan was such a traditional guy that there was no way he wasn't going to ask my parents for their permission. So obviously they would know it was coming and give it away! :) 

{should I also add that I'm not big on surprises?!}

I also knew that Bryan would absolutely buy my ring from the same small town jewelry store that his grandfather, father and brother had all purchased engagement rings for his grandmother, mother and SIL. This store happens to be 5.5 hours away from Charleston ... how could I NOT know that he was traveling there! 

Well y'all ... I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING! 

Bryan spent over 3 months driving to Washington, NC for the day and back trying to get the absolute perfect ring! {sweetie!}

The weekend before we were engaged, I went on a girls trip and Bryan spent the weekend driving to both of my parents houses {in different cities!} asking for my hand in marriage! 

{so old school romantic, huh?!}

Here comes the tricky part ... I got the FLU the week he planned to propose! Bryan KNEW that he couldn't delay it any longer because he knew that the surprise would be spoiled if he did! 

Thankfully, I was feeling some better by Saturday. So Bryan enlisted the help of some freinds in Charleston; Shannon tried to convince me that B & I should meet she and Justin at the park before dinner. After mych questioning as to why they 'needed' to go to the park {and a lot of achy body complaints}, I finally agreed. As we were walking through the park, I was so busy searching for Shannon & Justin that I didn't realize Bryan was searching for something else - the PERFECT proposal spot. {The gazebo he'd originally planned to use was being occupied by a bride having her portraits done!} But Bryan did find the perfect spot ... on a park bench underneath a Live Oak tree! 

He got down on one knee and gave me the sweetest speech I've in my lifetime heard {you understand if I keep that to myself?}

I couldn't believe it! I was shocked! How could I not have had a clue?! haha! :) 

Through joyful tears I said YES! {on repeat}

{teary-eyed still!}

We made a million phone calls letting our family know the news and headed out for a celebratory dinner with Shannon & Justin who were actually in the park! :) 

{most pretty ring in the world, though I may be biased}

So next up y'all ... Wedding planning & showers! :) 

Happy Tuesday! xo!

paint, fabric, paint, fabric ....

So I'm not sure that anyone truly understands how HOT Charleston is during the month of August. I'm talking 90+ degrees with 100% humidity. Air so thick it takes your breath away to step outside.

Now I'm typically not much of a complainer (though Bryan may disagree!) but this summer has been HOT HOT HOT! Much more than usual! So I've been trying to fill my days doing mini-projects INSIDE!!!

However, lately I've been having a hard time making up my mind. I think it's due in large part because I have SO MANY things that I want to accomplish and I am having serious 'design ADD'.

I want to re-do my guest room and office. I want to re-paint almost EVERY room in the house. I want to make outdoor pillows for my patio table. As well as re-paint the table. I want to clean out and organize EVERY closet in my house. And those are just the things that I can think of right now!

So today I decided to spend the day looking at paint colors and fabric... Sounds like a good Sunday, right?

I'm LOVING the Benjamin Moore Pottery Barn collection ...

And I'm thinking a navy stripe for the cushions outside? Coral for the table?

So many decisions! Now I just have to narrow down which of these PB colors I want to use for the guest room ... I've determined that's where I'm going to start! I think! 

Far too long!

Ok y'all so I'm going to be the FIRST to say that this whole 9-5 thing does NOT allow for a lot of 'personal time' and I for one do not appreciate it! haha!

But really the job is GOOD.. Still in training which has been a relatively slow process but I've met so many nice people!

So I have TONS of updates ...

My best friend Kate had her SWEET baby girl last night! Jenna Dawson Duncan born at 10:33 p.m., 7lbs 2 oz with a FULL HEAD OF HAIR!

Then there's the job that we already discussed! ;)

And finally, there's my FABULOUS friend Barbara Beach (remember, Charleston Fashion Week?) well she's got tons of stuff going on, including the trunk show that I'll be attending tonight!

So y'all I'm making a pact with myself to update when I get home from work! I promise I'll be better! I promise! Just be patient and stick with me!

WOOOHOOO!

So as I mentioned on Tuesday, my friend Barbara was in Charleston Fashion Week's Emerging Designer competition! Well, she was one of three designers chosen to compete in the next phase of the competition! (wooohoooooo!)

Right now, Barbara is busy designing and sewing an haute couture piece made from men's white oxford shirts that is an 'ode' to Alexander McQueen. It is a Project Runway type task... They were given 30 minutes to sketch, a $100 fabric budget and 3 days to complete their piece! The three designers will debut their piece at CFW's finale on Saturday night!

I am so proud of Barbara and honored to call her my friend!

Check out this write up in Charleston's City Paper about the Emerging Designer competition.... Especially the part of Barbara!

Check out some pictures of the B.b. runway show!

Bragging...

Just had to brag a little about my fabulous friend Barbara... She is one of eight designers in Charleston's Fashion Week's 'Emerging Designers' competition!!!

Barbara and I had tea this afternoon and she filled me in on all the details! I am so, so excited for her! She designs the most adorable children's clothing and is the first ever children's designer in the Emerging Designer competition so it's a BIG DEAL! I am so proud to be her friend and to be able to head to the show to support her!

Check out her blog... http://barbarabeach.blogspot.com/

It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend in Charleston and I cannot wait to spend it all outside!

SNOW!!!

So our romantic movie was interrupted last night because it was SNOWING in Charleston! I never thought I would see snow in Charleston, much less see it STICKING to the ground! Although it is already melting, it was so fun to play in last night!

Heading out to ride around and check out snow covered Charleston before it's all gone!