Party Away

Every party needs a banner. I have fun making them for sweet showers and birthday parties, so I've added them to the Etsy shop to keep the fun going. Check them out here and party away.

Charleston Weekend Recap

The beauty of a three-day weekend. Hank and I headed down to Charleston Friday morning so we rolled into town right at lunchtime. We parked at the deck next to our hotel, Frances Marion (our favorite!). There was a room available so we got to check in early. Our room had gorgeous views of... brick walls! So we asked for a redo and got a room with this most beautiful view.

We made reservations on the drive down at Slightly North of Broad (SNOB) on East Bay. I had a cucumber margarita and a fish cake sammie with chips.

After lunch we walked to some of our favorites such as the pineapple fountain.

Gazebo (we got engaged under there!)

We happened upon a serene little path through a cemetery.

And stopped at a favorite beer shop near Rainbow Row, The Charleston Beer Exchange, to pick up brews for the weekend. Loved this freshly painted house on our walk back to the hotel.

We popped into a neat craft beer bar on King Street, Closed for Business, before getting ready for the Hootie and the Blowfish concert at nearby Daniel's Island. We went last year, and I'm pretty certain we won't miss a year if we can help it. Darius Rucker rocks it out during this homegrown concert weekend. The venue is relatively intimate, and I just love it all.

We were up early and off to the Charleston Farmers Market Saturday morning. We grabbed coffees and crepes before exploring the scene.

From candles to awesome wood tables and 110 year old barnwood frames, there was so much goodness to behold. 

We chilled at the hotel for a bit before heading to The Tattoooed Moose. I would recommend this lunch spot to everyone - yep, you. We got there at 11:20 a.m., and when it opened at 11:30 a.m., I kid you not every seat was filled by 11:31 a.m. It all happened so fast. And I left our mark.

We ordered the highly recommended duck confit BLT. 

And the lucky number one sub which was amazing and my favorite.

But let's not forget the blue cheese garlic fries. Oh my goodness! Tip: The trick to the amazing roasted garlic is to turn it upside down in a napkin and squeeze. 

Needless to say the portions are as huge as a tattooed moose, so I'd reccomend fasting or sharing. 

This place got Food Network star Guy Fieri's spray of approval from his show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. (Cabo Fish Taco has this same claim to fame in Charlotte, and I highly reccomend that place too in NODA). 

After lunch we literally rolled into Westbrook Brewery for a tour. They make a supposedly phenomenal rare beer I've never had called Mexican Cake hence the donkey piñata I had to have in my photo.

The beer I did have was their peach gose, and it was delicious. 

We went back to the hotel for a bit during an insane storm before it cleared up and we walked King Street. I told Hank it would be cool to happen upon a Furbish type store, and if we didn't walk by this cutest pop-up shop a few minutes later where they were luring us in with Westbrook brews... As if I wasn't already sold, Hank was sold too.

So many treasures were packed in the tiniest most charming space.

I walked away with a few gems, met four sweet gals and got loads of inspiration.

We grabbed a cocktail at The Bar at Husk before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner - such a neat spot.

Blurry but love this picture Hank captured before we headed inside The Ordinary for dinner. 

We had the tallest meal I've ever seen. Tall Hank had to stand to get us the goods from the top tier. This dinner was seriously phenomenal, overflowing with seafood heaven and definitely slides into my top ten favorite restaurants. 

After dinner, I just had to pop by the Carolina dive bar, Burns Alley, where they serve your beer in a Blue Cup upon request (from Chapel Hill dive He's Not Here). We walked through the secret door at the back of LaHa Mexican Restaurant to get there, and it made me feel like a double agent. Cheers!

We spent Sunday morning at Sulllivan's Island. 

On our way out of town, we had brunch at the oh so yum Butcher & Bee. 

It was a great weekend in one of my favorite cities. Per usual, we drive away making a list of all the places we still haven't got to that we must try next. 

Souvenirs from Rewined, Rewined's new candle line, Produce, The Charleston Soap Chef and an old tray, new bracelet from the pop-up shop.

Recipe: Chicken Burger

Oh! This chicken burger dinner was delicious.

Key Trader Joe's Items:

Brioche Rolls

Chile Lime Chicken Burgers

Cilantro Salad Dressing 

Zucchini Fries 

I cooked the burgers on our favorite Le Crueset skillet grill. While these were cooking, I popped the zucchini fries in the oven. The burgers and fries take about the same time to cook if you don't thaw the burgers - double helpful.

I toasted the brioche buns on the skillet once the burgers were done - love some toasty buns. Then topped the burgers with homemade guacamole (lots of it!) per this recipe, spring lettuce mix and red onion slices. I combined a bit of the cilantro salad dressing with some mayo to taste and spread that on the top bun with a dash of sriracha before smooshing it all together. Burgers... Check! I then combined some barbecue sauce with light ranch to make a dipping sauce for the zucchini fries. Fries... Check! Cheers to a delicious dinner with a Santa Fe twist.

#Chas

Found some great little gems this past weekend in Charleston. This city pretty was as colorful and tasty as ever.

Weekend recap coming later this week - stay tuned for the tallest dinner there ever was, the cutest pop-up shop and all that jazz.

Food Truck love

Our neighborhood brings in food trucks once a week, and this week was The Humble Pig. I love Kokyu Food Truck's sliders so I never thought I'd say this but Humble Pig's tacos > Kokyu's sliders. I had one smoked brisket taco and one pow chow barbecue taco. Both tacos packed a ton of smokey flavor combined with a little refreshingness whether it was from the coleslaw or the cucumber and onion salad. Try Humble Pig (or Kokyu!) if you have the chance - delicious.