Hey hey! Testing 1, 2, 3… I’m finally dusting off the ol’ keyboard to bring you an update on the main event of my month, Memorial Day weekend in Charleston, SC! Just a heads up this post is super photo heavy! :)

 I know I haven’t been here as much these past few months but if you’ve been following along on this little space recently, you know it’s because we’ve been working really hard to accomplish a few goals and I’m happy to report that we are making strong progress and are really enjoying the process!

With everything we’ve had going on, we weren’t even really able to stop and celebrate Andre’s birthday, which fell on the 17th of this month. We hadn’t been able to stop for much of anything to be honest but we had been anticipating this weekend of R&R (and party fun) in Charleston for a while because one of his close friends was set to marry on the 27th…which happens to be my birthday!

In an effort to really take some time for ourselves and enjoy a weekend getaway, we decided to head to Charleston a day early and celebrate both of our birthdays on Thursday night with a dinner at Magnolia’s. It was wonderful! We took one of those little bike carriers (what the heck are those things called?), had a wonderful meal with great service, then walked to a rooftop bar where we met Andre’s friends who were in the wedding party for a pre-wedding day drink. It was nice to see the groom before the big day! After he left, we hung out for a little while longer with the others, toasting to my 26th year shortly after midnight. It was a really nice moment ♥

officially 26!

Friday afternoon we met up with a few more of Andre’s friends in the lobby of the hotel after they arrived. We all took a nice stroll around Charleston to a little deli that was super cute but my vegan hotdog was super dry (which vegan food does not have to be dry or bland or boring…fyi!) so I was bummed about my food but everyone else loved theirs! The ambiance of the place was cool and the company was great so I enjoyed that time regardless. After eating we headed to the water for some quick sightseeing and photo ops.

The wedding was later that night  and the ceremony was just perfect. The weather was amazing and the genuine vibe between the bride and groom was so sweet to watch. The reception spot was a super cool indoor botanical garden right next to where the ceremony was held. It was gorgeous. We stopped in there ahead of time to use the restroom before the ceremony and I’m so glad we did because we were able to get photos with lighting that showed off how awesome that place really was!

The rest of the night was filled with white wine induced dancing and ended with me fast asleep in the hotel room while everyone else ventured out for another hour. #justkeepinitkindarealbecauseinallhonestyiwassuperdrunk

50% wine and 50% Andre didn’t want to dance with me at the moment

our guestbook entry

raw&real. The end of the night

I woke up on Saturday morning to an extremely messy room, a gigantic pizza box in the living area and a slight headache.

Advil&endless mimosas followed at this cute little place called Low Country Bistro and that was my favorite meal I think. All the food I ate this past weekend was incredible but their shrimp&grits were incredible and I loved the hushpuppy appetizer as well. Everything looked and smelled amazing! After brunch I was still pretty worn out so Andre and I headed back to the hotel for what would become a multiple hour nap. It was glorious. I took as many midday naps over this weekend as I could. Not even going to lie.

When we woke up, we threw on some comfy casual clothes and headed out to find a place to chill for a little bit and eat eventually. Unfortunatley it was raining this day and by the time we got downstairs it had started to come down pretty good but Andre still felt like a stroll would be a good time…cue massive flooding in Charleston when it rains and wet feet and no umbrella and a bordering on hangry Jlynn. We then decided to consult yelp and found our way to Poogan’s Smokehouse. It ended up being perfect timing because the wait in the dining room was until 9:30pm (it was 6:30pm) and two bar stools (first come first serve) had just opened up, right on the end. Thank you Universe! The food came out SO quick and was SO good…it definitely rivals my Low Country Bistro meal for top spot but I am just a sucker for shrimp and grits.

After dinner we walked the couple blocks to Carmella’s Dessert Bar because that was one of the places we were told we had to visit and it happened to be on our way back to the hotel. Sadly, we didn’t get to visit all of those ‘must visit’ places on our list this time but we’re glad this place worked out because it was a nice closing out to our time together. We got to sit and chat a little bit about our life together and how proud we are of each other for all our hard work and how far we’ve come. We were laughing saying this felt more like an anniversary trip than a birthday trip. The lovey dovey feelings weddings can bring about probably had a little something to do with that too though ;) We left with bellies full of drunken milkshakes&a box of cake togo.

Later that night I mustered myself out of bed for one last bar trip hoorah to this place called Mac’s Place and even though by that time I was like…Lord help me stay awake…I’m glad I went just to cap the end of the trip off with the rest of the group that stayed at our same hotel. The bar food there was top notch. I also had a grapefruit Sculpin that I had never had before and it was amazing. I wish I had another one in my hand right now. I think I’m going to try to make that happen this week…

found these in my purse

stolen from Andre’s Instagram ;)

Sunday we woke up early to make our checkout time then got some breakfast from this super cute place with great biscuits but their originization was suuuper off that day or something because they were way too confused by my call ahead order but the food was good so I was happy with that and ready to be on the road to home. With Memorial Day Monday off (with Andre! woohoo!) I knew I would have plenty of time to recover from my vacation blues and be ready for the craziness of 20th month old twins again on Tuesday! I’m sad to see another trip come to an end but I’m ready to get back into the swing of things, continue to press forward with our goals, and plan our next trip! Vegas here we come!! ….in a few months ;)

Before I go, I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has given their lives in defense of this country, our rights to be free and to protect us from all enemies, foreign and domestic! I know they’re not reading this right now but I’m sending the energy out there. If you’re reading this and directly connected to someone who I am speaking about…I’m sending you lots of love. I hope that means something. Thank you as well, for your strength. ♥