82nd Annual House and Garden Tour

Hey y'all! I recently went on a super fun girl's trip with my mom and maw maw to my favorite city, Charleston, SC. My friend and fellow blogger, Wendy, told us about a home and garden tour that was being held in the holy city in April. As fate would have it, I had a long three day weekend the weekend of the tour. We immediately started planning our trip! I had been looking forward to the trip for so long, so when it was time to leave I could barely contain my excitement. I couldn't wait to kick off spring in Charleston! 

We woke up early in the morning to head down south. Earlier in the week it had been almost 80 degrees here in WV, so you can imagine how surprised I was to travel through SNOW on my way to Beckley. I met my mom and maw maw there, and we traveled together the rest of the way. 

By the time we arrived in Charleston, the weather had gone from cold and snowy to breezy and sunny. We were greeted by a perfect 70 degree temperature and a very large pineapple fountain! I mean did you even go to Charleston, SC if you didn't get pictures in front of the pineapple fountain?! After a quick photoshoot and a lap around the Waterfront Park, we headed to Market Street to explore the Charleston City Market. Mom and I bought some books and cookbooks. My cookbook was published by the Charleston Junior League, and it was first published in the 1950s. They've only published it a handful of times since then, so when I found that out, I HAD to purchase it. To my disappointment, the recipes (called receipts in the cookbook to keep the language traditional) are very old, unique recipes and not really anything I would make for a weeknight dinner. Also, the recipes are for large groups of people. I guess if you and 300 other people ever want to come to my house for punch, I've got us covered! By the way, I'm not exaggerating. The cookbook has recipes that serve 300 and some even 600 people LOL Lesson of the day: Always skim a cookbook before you buy it. Despite it not being practical, I'm still happy to add it to my cookbook collection! 

After shopping at the market, we headed to a local hotspot for dinner. I've eaten at Poogan's Porch several times, but this was my mom and maw maw's first. Obviously, we ordered (two) servings of the famous mac and cheese to go with our dinner. It was amazing as usual! 

After dinner, we were absolutely exhausted, so we headed to the hotel. After resting up, we were raring to go to the tour the next morning. Our hotel had a great breakfast available, so that is where we ate. The cinnamon rolls were to die for! The tour didn't start until 1:00, so we headed to King Street to do a little shopping. Naturally, we went to the Lilly store, Palm Avenue. My sister Kelly's birthday is coming up soon, so we all got her a little something from there! I can't wait for her to open her presents. I had to get myself a little something too. I found an adorable off the shoulder top in different shades of blue. I can't wait to wear it with white pants soon! 

There was a local Farmer's Market down the street from Palm Avenue, so we headed that way to check it out. It was so fun! They had music, food trucks, fresh produce, and lots of other vendors there. It was at Marion Square which is a park area in the city. People were hanging out on the lawn, eating, and shopping. The whole area was buzzing with so many people just enjoying the event. I loved it! 

After checking out the Farmer's Market, we started the tour. The tour was self guided and at your own pace. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the sites we visited. The homes we went into were houses that people live in currently and have remodeled/renovated/restored. One of my favorite homes used to be a stable. It was so beautiful. My favorite part was the kitchen because the floors were brick. It was so unique, and I loved how she worked with the old parts of the stable. We also toured a home that was only built a few years ago but was made to look historic. That house was a real show stopper! We had a great time looking at all of their decorations as well. 

By the end of the day, we had walked over 5 miles. We were exhausted! After a few "accidents" like mom almost twisting her ankle (she caught herself by slamming into the door of a house along the street) and maw maw thinking she had lost her phone (while she was talking to pawpaw on it), we just needed to stop what we were doing and take a break. Y'all we belly laughed over these things when they happened! We ended up stopping at a chain restaurant along King Street and had some fried pickles, fried mac and cheese, and super sweet tea. Just what a gal needs to recharge! LOL We had it in our heads that after we ate and rested, we would be ready to conquer the half of a mile walk back to our car. Unfortunately, all that fried food hit us like a ton of bricks. I felt like I needed to be wheeled out of that restaurant. Our waiter was nice enough to call a bike taxi for us, which was an adventure in itself. The three of us squeezed into the seat and held on tight! 

After we got back to the car, we drove around the city checking out the sights. The next morning, we woke up early and headed back to the mountain state. I loved getting to experience yet another fantastic Charleston trip with two of my favorite ladies. I'm already planning for next year's House and Garden Tour! Until next time.. Take care y'all!