Our Babymoon: Palmetto Bluff

This past weekend Josh and I had a little "babymoon".  Lilly went to her grandparent's house for the weekend and we got some much needed r&r.  Friday night we stayed here in Charleston and had a date night which included seeing Dracula at the Dock Street Theater.

{Photography by Julia Lynn via}

 

And then Saturday morning we headed 2 hours south to Palmetto Bluff.

Palmetto Bluff = Best Place On Earth

{via Palmetto Bluff's website}

 

I mean that.  It's my new favorite place ever.  I have wanted to visit Palmetto Bluff for about 5 years now but just haven't gotten around to doing it.  Something about spending money to go have a "lowcountry style" weekend when we already live in the lowcountry just kept us from making the trip.  But thank goodness we finally did because I. am. in. love.

If I were planning a wedding, I think this little chapel at the resort would top the list!

There's a reason why they won #1 Hotel in the US/Canada by Travel & Leisure in 2010.  Yes, number one.  They're resort - perfection, service - perfection, amenities - perfection.  Here's some pictures of the little cottage we stayed in.

And these bikes were there waiting for us!  So fun.

And a large screened in porch with a perfect view of the lagoon.

Absolutely gorgeous.  After settling in we hopped in a canoe and Josh did a little fishing while I relaxed and read some magazines.

And look!  He caught one :)

Thank goodness (you know how men can be... ha).  The rest of the afternoon we rode around on our bikes exploring the resort and then relaxed in the cottage.  We had a wonderful dinner at the River House and then finished the night outside roasting s'mores.  They have three firepits and provide all of the supplies.  BLISS.

We woke up Sunday morning like this.

And headed to the spa for massages.  It was fabulous!  As was the lunch we had after (we split a pimento cheese bacon burger & short rib sliders).  Palmetto Bluff is such an amazing place, I can't wait for the day I can go back.  I highly recommend you visit.  It was the perfect spot for our little babymoon.

A Weekend Trip

I had a nice extended weekend in Kentucky and Indiana.  We visited family, ate a lot of fabulous food, and got to go to my hometown's annual german festival, Strassenfest.  Lilly had an absolute ball the entire time.  I thought I'd share just a snippet of the weekend.

{Outside of the Beer Garden at Strassenfest. Yes, that's just a bottled water thanks to my baby bump

(19 weeks prego now!).}

While at my Dad's house Lilly made sure to check on her Papa's corn.  It looked up to snuff.

{Her adorable romper is from Little Bean Shop}

"Cruising" with her cousins.

And there was a lot of this.

Upcoming Trip - San Diego

Happy Monday, Everyone.  Did you all have a great weekend?  Mine was wonderful. Went to a Riverdogs (our local minor league) baseball game Friday night.  Got to see a lot of friends at a wedding shower on Saturday, and hung out in the pool on Sunday.  Sadly, no beach this weekend.  I win "Mom of the Year" because on Thursday night I gave Lilly a bubble bath that gave her a rash, so we didn't want to push it by going in the ocean.

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Anyway, the point of this post is to gather some information.  We're heading to San Diego this summer with my side of the family.  I've been once, but it was years ago and really was just to see Lilith Fair (Do you all remember that concert series? Was so fun!).  So this time it'll be much different.  There's about 30 of us in all going.  Thanks to my grandparents we go somewhere every year.  We've done Hawaii 4 times (Maui & Kauai = bliss), a Mediterranean cruise (major dreamy), an Alaskan cruise (beautiful, but don't need to go again til I'm 50+), and Grand Cayman (Great time but don't need to go back).  We all decided we didn't want to travel as far this time, and San Diego won out.

So tell me, what are the must do's in San Diego?  We plan to take Lilly to the zoo and to Sea World, but think we'll skip Lego Land since she's so young.  Any great restaurant suggestions?  Where do I need to go to shop?  And fyi, these places don't need to be for 30 people, everyone is free to do their own thing on these vacays.  We'll also be getting a babysitter some of the time too.  We have a few restaurants in mind, but I'd love to hear what you all have to say.  Oh, we're also going to see a Padres game while we're there.

We're staying at the Grand Del Mar.  Looks dreamy.



And any tips for traveling with a toddler would be much appreciated.  We've traveled with Lilly a lot, but not cross country.

I'm super pumped to see my family.  Living in Charleston I'm the furthest from everyone (they're all in Kentucky, Indiana, and Nashville).  One of my favorite things is when all of my cousins get together.

{Last year in Hawaii.  We may have ended up singing Karaoke later that night!}

And seeing new sights.  I'm 5 months pregnant here, Lilly's holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  We also went to the beach right after this, hence the outfit...



And of course getting a whole week with Josh.

{In Maui}

Yep, I start looking forward to these trips the day we get back from the last one.  I feel so incredibly fortunate to get to spend a week with my whole family like this.  And while San Diego may not seem as "glamorous" as some of our other destinations, I know it'll be great.  So help me out, where should we go??

Where Do America's Most Attractive People Live?

According to Travel + Leisure's recent survey, Charleston, SC. 

We're also considered to be the friendliest city in the US (also according to Travel + Leisure).  Not a bad combination.  I love my city!

Bali Style Summit Recap

Last week I attended the Bali Style Summit in NYC.  It was an experience that I'm immensely thankful for.  I've traveled a few times for my blog (to NYC in fact) and this trip was the most rewarding blog experience I've had to date.  I never got the impression that I should "just feel lucky to be there".  Rather, I felt appreciated and greatly valued.  Granted, Bali sought me out to attend the event and even paid for every single one of my expenses (thank you Bali!), so I'm sure that helped me feel special in some way.  But I also feel the need to tell you that Bali never once asked me to blog about the event.  So everything that I write today is truly coming straight from me... things that I want to share with you.

I should start by saying that my pre-conception of Bali Intimates was the same as what yours might be... affordable, plain bras and underwear for older women.  Well, we're wrong.  Yes, they have the more "mature" bras that made me suck in my breath when I saw them.  But did you know they also have some gorgeous younger styles?  Really.

See?  Really hot.  They have plenty of other patterns and styles too.  And I'm super excited for this bra (the Suresize Wirefree 3484) to come out in Spring, 2012.  I have a feeling I'll own a few of these for around the house and running errands!

Bali also brought in stylist Jennifer Rade to chat with us over lunch.



She's all sorts of fabulous.  Her celebrity list of clients is unreal (hello Angelina Jolie!), but after hanging out with her I can see why so many people love her.  Like myself and Bali (and hopefully many of you), Jen is all about empowering women and embracing bodies for what they are.  I certainly have my days when I dream of changing this or that, but those who know me well know that I love myself enough to be completely comfortable in my own skin.  I don't deprive myself of treats and sweets (in fact I'm eating french onion dip as I write this post!), nor do I spend loads of unwanted time in a gym trying to achieve that perfectly toned physique so that I can impress in a bikini.  This is just me.  And I've learned you have to accentuate your assets (and minimize what you don't love so much) and just feel good about yourself.  Which brings me to this question: Do you shapewear?

Don't be afraid of it.  It can be beautiful too.

Okay, so let's move on to some of the other fun photos I took.  Wanna see some of the other bloggers that were there with me?  Here's a shot of a few of us arriving to the summit on Tuesday morning.  {There were about 15 of us bloggers there, and about 10 people from Bali. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot with everyone to share.}

{Me, Natalie Elle, and Rachel - all fabulous ladies!}

 {Natalie, Cynthia, Marie, Vaughn, Nichelle, Me, Nicole}

{partial room shot}

{Did I mention this guy was there videotaping it all?  If I get my hands on the video I'll let you know.}

Here's another shot of Jen Rade.  She's demonstrating what she believes to be the best "red carpet pose".  I knew ya'll would like to see this.



There was also a makeup tutorial session (where we were given customized makeup from MAC - score!), and also a bra and shapewear fitting (yes, we received some pieces here too- score again!).  The night ended with a show on Broadway.  We saw Anything Goes.  It was SO FREAKING GOOD.  I was enamored by all of the costumes.  And I'm kinda girl crushing that Sutton Foster.



{With two of the Bali girls}



All this in 3 days, and I even managed to get together with a couple of NYC girl friends.  Thank you so much Bali Intimates for providing me this incredible opportunity to not only surround myself with uplifting and empowering women, but to also learn more about how your brand can help me live beautifully.

PS, I wiped out half of my container of french onion dip while writing this post.  OY!

I'm Home

Bali Style Summit = Amazingness.  I'm writing this feeling extremely lucky, blessed, happy, and spoiled.  The amazing group at Bali really know how to show you a good time.  Everything from the travel to the hotel to the food to the product to the entertainment was fan-freaking-tastic. 

So much so that I'm exhausted, and need a little breather/family time.  So please forgive me, but you'll have to wait just a tad bit longer for my recap.  There's a lot to share.  And I'm super excited to tell you all about it!  But for now, I'll leave you with a quick street shot with some of my fellow Bali lovin' gals on our way to Broadway.

Be back soon!

Bags Are Packed

So I'm off tomorrow morning to NYC for Bali's Style Summit.  Should be a great time according to our schedule!  And of course I'll be squeezing in time for other fun things too (read: shopping and friends). 



Bali's providing us with ipad's to tweet and facebook during the summit, so follow me and you'll see what's going on :)  Let me know if there's something you MUST see in intimate apparel!  I'm there to share some insights!

Oh, and I have a couple of my favorite blogland ladies stopping by to visit you (and help me out since I'll be so busy).  I think you'll likey very much.  Kisses to you all!!

PS, so sorry for the late post today.  My internet has been down for over 24 hours.  Hello, don't they know I'm a blogger??? ;)

Bali Intimate Apparel Style Summit

I'm heading back to NYC in a couple of weeks.  Why?  Because the kind folks at Bali Intimates have invited me to their Intimate Apparel Style Summit!

I'll be joined by some other style bloggers too.  The event is designed as an opportunity for us to get to share our ideas and insights on fit, style, patterns, and textures.  

So I ask you all to be thinking -- what would you like to see in your intimate apparel?

We'll also be meeting and having lunch with celebrity stylist, Jennifer Rade.  You know, Angelina Jolie's very own...  We'll get an exclusive preview of upcoming collections, have a professional makeup session, and some other fun things!  Oh and we're also going to see the Broadway show "Anything Goes"!

Did I mention that Bali is so graciously covering all the costs? Yeah, they're flying me up there and putting us all up at the Paramount Hotel!

Needless to say I'm pretty stoked about the opportunity.  Can't wait to share more details as I get them!