Row of Palms

So for this post I am going to share my last outfit in Myrtle Beach as well as other snap shots that I haven’t gotten to share...not even on Instagram. I mean one can only post so much on Instragram. So anyways, these photos were taken our last full day in Myrtle Beach while we were driving around on the moped. I spotted an empty parking lot and a row of palm trees lining the sidewalk and thought this was as good of a spot as any.

By the time I get to this point in a beach vacation, it is all about comfort. I have my most comfortable shoes on, my favorite new pair of cut of shorts that I DIYed, and an easy breezy tank top. #perfection My outfits are usually this anyways... I like what I like and it’s hot and humid here. Also if you ever go to Myrtle Beach you must stop inside the I LOVE SUGAR shop. It is so fun. I love candy and they have a ton of stuff! Lots of novelty stuff, gifts, candy themed stuff like headphones, pencils, bracelets. Above is a photo of the inside.

Reflecting on our trip now
Best food
Me: the cornbread at Toast in Charleston SC
Clark: Rioz duhhhhhh

Best dessert 
Me: South beach creamery in Myrtle Beach SC. They give you a lot and it’s all homemade, open til 11pm
Clark: Ben and Jerry’s in Charleston SC (Clark is a huge Ben & Jerry’s fan)

Favorite thing about Charleston SC
Me: I LOVE the architecture, the history, the charm and the ladies making roses out of palm tree leaves
Clark: Waterfront park and standing in the pineapple fountain together.

Favorite thing about Myrtle Beach SC
Me: I like riding mopeds, the shops, the food, the vibe
Clark: Being able to relax and spend time together

Worst part of trip
Me: When my sandals gave my blisters and I still had a mile to walk back to the hotel from Marion Square in Charleston.
Clark: The drive getting there and back. That’s usually the worst part.

Recommendations
Me: stay in downtown Charleston SC so you can walk everywhere, the city market, the battery, just walk around and see as much as possible. Myrtle Beach stay in a hotel on the beach most places have back buildings that are a lot cheaper so look into that (we stayed in the back building at Breakers)
Clark: Rioz in Myrtle Beach because it is great, also go to the Gay Dolphin, in Charleston go see Angel Oak

So there you have it. A few little recommendations/notes from both Clark and I about the trip. We love the beach and it is really nice to live close to the NC beaches like the Outer Banks and also Myrtle Beach for a totally different feeling. I am excited to share non vacation post with you guys the rest of this week. 
love, Carlee

Outfit:

Tank & Bag: Target

Shorts: DIY

Shoes: Belk

Swimsuit: American Eagle

Sunglasses: gift

Summer intentions 2014

Some favorite photos from summers past: 1. fireworks in Brewster, WA. 2. Lumber River, NC when we were traveling to Myrtle Beach last year. 3. Italian Ice in Columbus, GA while at the hot air ballon festival. 4. Clark swimming in the pool at our hotel when I visited Fayetteville for the first time ever. 5. Homegrown strawberries from my mom’s garden. 6. Seattle, WA in the summer and the view from Gasworks park. 

Goals for this summer. I have actually been getting into a really good habit of making goal lists and sticking to them. I think I have also been more intentional with my goals and not just writing stuff to write stuff. On my at home goal list, it is usually stuff that I need to do, stuff I want to clean or organize, special dates, dog groomed, carpets cleaned... things like that. But on this list, I made it a point to have really summer specific goals. Things that should be done in the summer. I actually wrote this list at the beginning of June so a couple of things are also crossed up but I am going to share them anyways.

1. Go to another Durham Bulls game. (7.4.14)

2. Watch fireworks. (7.4.14)

3. Make s’mores. (6.21.14)

4. Swim in a lake or river with my dog. (6.22.14)

5. Run another 10k (8.2.14)

6. Host a BBQ and pool party. (7.19.14)

7. Take anniversary photos. (7.5.14 yep view photos) 

8. Drink smoothie on the back patio of our fav coffee shop. (check on 7.5.14) (and again 8.23.14)

9. Bake mini pies. (8.25.14)

10. Take a trip to the NC mountains. (Asheville area) ((maybe camping)) | We didn’t go to the mountains but we did go camping. (9.1.14)

If I don’t get all these accomplished then it’s not a huge deal but this will keep me motivated and planning new things this summer. Trying to get a list completed while not doing everything as once is fun. I think I have plans for almost everything except the trip to the NC mountains that might happen in August. We will see. What are you plans for the summer?
love, Carlee

ps. I have one more post from Myrtle Beach that I will be posting on Monday.

Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

The boardwalk is my favorite. Okay, maybe not my favorite but I love all the shops along it and the people walking with families, alone, couples everyone is so different yet we all ended up on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk on the exact same day at the same time. Fascinating. I even like how the wood looks. The pattern, texture, design of the boardwalk. But manly I like how it feels like fun, touristy, beachy, coast, summer, it just has a great vibe.

We enjoying walking the boardwalk. We stopped in at the Gay Dolphin, which claims to be the biggest gift shop on the East Coast. Which is pretty dang cool and let me tell you it’s huge. I bought a few postcards and a Myrtle Beach Christmas ornament for my tree. Then we ate at Moe Moons. It was nice, we sat on the deck and people watched while I ate a taco salad and Clark had beef, pineapple screws. We enjoyed some fruity drinks and had a wonderful time.

At this point in our trip my feet were pretty banged up. Like I said in this post, my sandals rubbed my feet raw and gave me some blisters so I just opted for some basic Old Navy flip flops. Can’t go wrong with simple flip flops. I need to invest in a black pair...well I guess it’s not really an investment if they only cost $5.00 $2.50. Also, we had just swam in the ocean and my hair was crazy and I just wanted to be comfortable so yeah. After we ate dinner, we walked around the boardwalk some more and then rented a moped for 24 hours and drove it back to our hotel. Renting a moped while in Myrtle Beach is one of our favorite things to do. We did it last year and we are just keeping the tradition alive. 

love, Carlee

Shorts & Tank &Bag: Target

Flip Flops: Old Navy

Sunglasses: American Eagle

Lulu’s Cafe

After spending a couple of wonderful days in Charleston SC we headed up the coast to Myrtle Beach SC. Last year in August was actually our first time visiting Myrtle Beach and we loved it so much we knew we had to go back. I know Myrtle Beach isn’t everyones cup of tea and it is SUPER touristy. But that is part of the reason I love it. After walking a lot in Charleston and exploring all day. It was nice to just relax on the beach, in the lazy river, and cruise around on a moped for a few days in Myrtle.

We got to Myrtle Beach around 1pm and even though I tried to check in early our room wasn’t ready until 3. So we parked out car and walked over to our favorite Myrtle Beach cafe Lulu’s. It was also super close to our hotel. We stayed at the Breakers Resort, and I highly recommend it. We stopped in at Lulu’s for a snack, I think we were saving up so we could have a big dinner in the evening. Clark got a rootbeer float and I love a vanilla milkshake and we shared a basket of fries. We relaxed and people watched for a couple of hours until our hotel room was ready.

I also heard that Lulu’s has really good breakfast but I can’t confirm that since we didn’t try it. I love the big mural on the side of Lulu’s Cafe and it turns out that I took this exact photo last year. After we ate and talked and people watched for a while it was finally time to check into our hotel. The first thing we did once we got our keys was put on our swimsuits and headed down to the ocean. 
love, Carlee

Shorts & Bag: Target

Shoes: Belk

Tank: Marshalls

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

After a full day of fun in Charleston SC, we knew we wanted to just relax in the evening and I knew after I saw this photos  I wanted to head to Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to watch the sunset. While I was going a little research on this bridge I learned that there is a race over it every year. The bridge one way is 2.5 miles long and has a decent slope to it. I know that is would be a good workout and if I lived near the bridge I would totally walk, run, or bike ride it for some good exercise and a great view while working out. There were a ton of people walking across it. We opted out of the walked and just drove across it and parked at Mt. Pleasant Memorial Park so we could walk out on the pier and watch the sunset.

We had a great time out of the pier. We sat on a bench swing and watched people fish. There were a lot of people fishing. We watched one guy catch a small fish and while his wife wasn’t looking he came up behind her and put the fish over her shoulder. She freaked out and everyone watching laughed.. it was pretty funny. We saw a couple taking wedding photos because they had just gotten married, it was super sweet. 

We finally got to the end of the pier after strolling and taking our sweet time. And we took some great photos and also danced on a wooden dance floor that was at the end of the pier. Aren’t vacations just the best, where you can just spend hours walking, watching, laughing, talking, and never worrying about having a place to be. I felt all those things this night, even more so because it was the perfect temperature so I wasn’t wanting to get inside to the AC. We were just enjoying the evening. If you are in the Charleston area for the day I would definitely recommend heading to Mt. Pleasant Park and enjoying this awesome bridge.

Shirt & Bag: Target

Shorts: H&M

Shoes: Belk

Sunglasses: American Eagle

Marion Square

Marion Square was another stop on our first full day of vacation in Charleston, SC. After we enjoyed the battery, rainbow row, and waterfront park we headed back to the hotel to change clothes because we walked for over 2 miles and after we were hot and sweaty. So we changed clothes and headed down King Street, pass Marion Square and saw American Theater. The walk down King Street was great, there are so many shops and all name brands like J Crew, Urban Outfitters, Loft, Madwell, Sperry’s, etc. We stopped once we got to Marion Square and relaxed by the fountain and smelled the beautiful flowers. 

Once we were at Marion Square, I realized that we were only a half a mile from American Theater. American Theater is featured in the movie the Notebook. It is where Allie and Noah go on there first date. Since I am fan of the Notebook (like every woman) I knew I had see it. Once we saw the theater and I snapped a few pics we walked back to Marion Square were we took of our shoes and walked in the grass then sat in the shade for a while. We did this for two reasons. 1. It was hot and humid like usually. 2. My feet were killing me. My sandals decided they wanted to rub against me in a weird way and give me blisters. I was sad because I worn these shoes a lot in the past but I guess I should have known better than to wear them for a 2 mile walk. Ahhhh walking that much in sandals is no good. 

The first date scene from the Notebook with the theater in the background.

We hit up dinner a little while later. Clark got the shrimp and grits and I got fried fish and salad. Grits is not a thing up north, just so you all know. I mean sure one can make it homemade but I have never seen it on a menu until I came to the south. Clark loves it though so he is always happy to see it on a menu. We also came across this super cool mural that was in the process of being painted on the side of a restruant. I am a sucker for a good mural. 

Shirt & Bag: Target

Sandals: Macy’s

Skirt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: American Eagle