Monday, April 22, 2019

Step Into My Week

The past two weekends of fun are definitely catching up with me now, and I’m already looking forward to a more laid-back weekend come Friday. I’m hoping that this week feels productive and more routine than the past couple.


Last Monday I was in Charleston after Sophia’s bachelorette party the previous weekend. We extended our stay so that we would get to hang out, enjoy each other’s company, and explore the city a bit longer after everyone else left. Monday morning Sophia and I woke up at The Inns (more on our stay there soon) and weren’t quite ready to leave. We were able to get some blog photos done in the picturesque setting before we packed up and left for good. We grabbed coffee and a quick breakfast before heading to Mount Pleasant for an appointment to get our nails done at Mylkbar. If you want to see the prettiest salon space, you need to check out their Instagram! Beyond just the beautiful interior, Mylkbar is the first salon franchise system in the US dedicated to the pursuit of nontoxic self-care meaning that the salon is fume free! Sophia and I both got their gel manicure and mine is still going strong. They have a location opening in Nashville soon so whether you’re venturing to Charleston or Nashville for an upcoming trip be sure to stop in. 


 

 

After we finished there, we drove around Mount Pleasant and stopped in a few shops. We had plans to get lunch along Shem Creek but quickly changed our mind when we passed a Greenville favorite, Cantina 76 on our drive to lunch. I felt bad making Sophia eat there since she has access to one in Greenville, but it was just as good as I remembered! After lunch, it was still a bit early to check in to where we were staying so we shopped down King Street again and picked up the candles we had made at Candlefish the day before. I even met a blog reader in Skinny Dip Charleston (hi, Stephanie!) which was so fun. On our way back to the car we grabbed ice cream at Jeni’s to hold us over until dinner. Then it was off to Hotel Bella Grace to check in!


 

I’ll be sharing more about our stay there soon as well, but it was one of the prettiest hotels I’ve gotten to stay in. The outside is a mix of modern and classic Charleston while the rooms are bright and luxurious. It didn’t take us long to decide to hang out and soak in the beauty of the room before heading to dinner instead of walking around the surrounding area. We grabbed dinner on the rooftop of the Restoration Hotel at their restaurant called The Watch. Sophia’s big lives in Charleston and joined us which was a lot of fun. We ended up sharing a few different dishes while watching the sun go down with the most incredible view of the city. Once we got back to the hotel from dinner, we quickly put on our pajamas and robes to watch Friends while laughing at all of the pictures from the weekend before going to sleep. 



Tuesday was our last day in Charleston, and we topped off our trip with the complimentary breakfast that comes with your stay at Hotel Bella Grace. Unlike typical hotel breakfasts, this one was served in the Delaney House, a historic home that the hotel transformed into a restaurant, complete with a mimosa bar and homemade made to order omelets. We packed up our cars and went to take blog pictures and wander around the historic district before finally coming to terms with the fact that it was time to leave. I left Charleston around 10 and arrived back in Birmingham close to 4. I stopped at Publix on my way in as an attempt to prepare for the rest of the work week. After showering I unpacked, did laundry, and decided to get all of my winter clothes out of my closet so that my mom could take them to my closet at home when she came to visit later in the week. Once my room was finally put back together, I got in bed and crashed. 

 

 

Wednesday was the only normal day of my week given that it was the only day that I had a full work day due to Easter that weekend. It felt good to be back in the office to get things done and motivated me to be really productive. After work, I went to the Y to workout before heading home to shower, eat dinner, and work on editing photos from the trip. 


Thursday was a half day (since we got Friday off for Good Friday) and I spent most of it looking through our July/August binder. After coming home to eat lunch, I drove to Nell’s apartment, so we could go on a walk and catch up after not seeing each other for a while. Once we got back, I headed to my house to clean before my mom arrived. She joked that this was a business trip since the main purpose of the visit was to shop for clothes for her for my brother’s upcoming wedding in August. The last time my mom was in town we went to dinner at Gian Marco’s Wine Bar, and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go back (it’s one of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham). The weather was supposed to get bad that evening, so we went around 5:30 in hopes of staying somewhat dry. When we left later on it was storming and the power ended up being out at my house. We chatted in my living room by candlelight before ultimately deciding to call it a night. 


On Friday the weather was better but not great, so we grabbed our rain jackets and hit the ground running. My mom hates shopping, so we broke up our day a bit by sectioning off stores into different areas to focus on. Up first was the Summit where we had success at Saks and also ventured into Belk, J. McLaughlin, and Gus Mayer. At this point, we were ready for a change in scenery and went to lunch hat Olexa’s in Mountain Brook Village. I had heard great things, and their soups, salads, and sandwiches were perfect for refueling us. They also serve cake which is a Birmingham staple that everyone raves about. After that, we went to a few stores in Mountain Brook Village before stopping at the grocery store on the way home so that we could stay put that evening. We watched Julie & Julia that afternoon before turning on Mamma Mia 2 after dinner. It felt nice to relax after a day full of running around.  

On Saturday we had a few more shops to try and had some more luck at The Clothes Tree by Deborah. I drove my mom by my office before we went to Real and Rosemary for lunch. Since our clothes shopping was done, we wandered in and out of some places in Homewood before going to the Botanical Gardens to explore. By the time we got back to my house, I was pretty tired and took a nap before dinner. Nell joined us at Post Office Pies that night where we both ended up with a box full of leftovers. My mom and I watched a little bit of a show on Netflix before we both decided to go to bed.

Sunday morning we were up early so that my mom could head back to my dad and Scout and so I could get ready for church. I picked Nell up on my way and saw my roommate there. After church, I started some laundry and put chicken in the crockpot before joining my roommate, her family, and our friends at her parent’s house to celebrate Easter! It was so sweet of them to include us, and we all left full after a delicious lunch. I came home around 3 and hung out for a bit before going on a walk and catching up with friends on the phone. I sat outside for a bit on my way back from my walk before coming home to shower and cook some staples to have on hand for the week. I got in bed around 8:30 to listen to an audiobook and was asleep well before 10:00.


 

I hope that y’all had a wonderful week and Easter as well! I would include a lately section in this post, but I feel like it is already so long so I’ll bring that back next week instead! 

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