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Postcards from Charleston

June 19, 2013 by jessica Leave a Comment

After our stay in Folly Beach and a day trip to Savannah, we ventured to Charleston for the last three days of vacation and stayed in this condo. (Ahem, “The Pool House at the Villa.”)

I fell in love with the resident cat. It was a little mangy, wonderfully sweet and desperate to come inside the house (as evidenced here). We couldn’t help but bring home a tiny brass cat spotted at an antique store. The forlorn look reminded us of him.

And the condo had a koi pond. It probably goes without saying that we’d stay here again if we made our way back. It was charming, clean and cheaper than nearby chain hotels.

This was taken during our walk along Rainbow Row. I’d love to live in a city where the pink house on the block isn’t an eyesore.

This snapshot is my latest color inspiration. However, I can’t decide if turquoise and lime is better suited for my wardrobe or home. Both? (Dave might argue for neither.)

Horse-drawn carriage rides along The Battery add to the neighborhood’s historic charm, but they come with one major drawback: horses smell. (We actually wondered if the rancid smell was a type of plant. Nope.)

I don’t know what these are, but they’re better than Wisconsin’s pine trees.

As I took a photo of the pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park, a 20-something girl interrupted me to ask if I’d take an iPhone photo of her and her entourage. Shortly after, another girl asked me to take a photo of her with her boyfriend. Apparently a DSLR fools people into thinking I’m good at this.

Postcards from Savannah

June 10, 2013 by jessica Leave a Comment

The rental car we had in South Carolina was a Fiat 500. When we realized how fuel efficient it was – and how little we’d actually drive in the Charleston area – it was evident that we made a huge mistake purchasing prepaid gas. Instead of letting that $40 go to waste, we made an impromptu trip to Savannah for the day.

I had purchased a Lilly Pulitzer tunic before vacation. It was a lifesaver in the sunny, hot weather: breezy enough to stay cool with enough coverage to fend off a sunburn. (The shorts are from J.Crew.)

The prettiest gardens are peppered throughout the historic area of Savannah.

We stopped at The Olde Pink House restaurant for lunch. They served cheese straws in silver mint julep cups, which made me want to expand my collection. I dined on the best crab cake of my life and tried fried green tomatoes for the first time.

Another one of Savannah’s many gardens.

We didn’t visit all of the squares in the historic district, but they all had lush greenery and beautiful monuments.

If only magnolia trees grew in Wisconsin…

As you’d expect, Civil War monuments are common in this part of the country.

Postcards from Folly Beach

June 4, 2013 by jessica Leave a Comment

We spent the first three nights of our vacation in Folly Beach where we had a spectacular view from our room at the beachfront Tides hotel.

Mornings were spent lazily sipping iced coffee by the pool…

…and stumbling across critters like this horseshoe crab.

Lost Dog Cafe was our daily stop for a hearty brunch and drinks served in Mason jars.

We took a private charter boat over to Morris Island, an uninhabited island and location of the Civil War battle featured in the movie Glory. On the way over, Captain Gresh pointed out Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (the first time I’ve seen them in the wild) and oyster beds.

We headed up the shoreline of Folly Beach to a more secluded area of the coast for an evening stroll. (I don’t think Dave knew I was busy snapping photos of him.)