FINALLY a quick update on Spunky (isn’t the first child always ignored and neglected?!). [Well, Spikey was really the first!]
November 14th, 2011 – the last documented mention of Spunky on the blog ::GASP:: (Me and Lisa from her and Seth’s 36 Hours of Fun!!!)
Yesterday – July 24th, 2012
Check out those ridiculously pale tree stumps AND THEN check out Spunky (holy overly-pregnant-and-swollen monster legs — yikes!).
Hopefully you can tell that Spunky has grown quite a bit and is looking more and more like a real palm tree! We are very proud! It was quite windy when this photo was taken, so Spunky was definitely one with Willow Smith — “I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth…”
Please, for the love of the [dry] earth, check out our HORRIBLE lawn. We’ve had NO working sprinklers all year. The HOA has been working on it (something about salt water in the well), but for now – we have very burnt “grass.” Gross. This drives my poor husband to CRAZYtown on a daily basis!
Happy Dr. Appointment Day Hump Day – I’ll keep y’all posted!
xoxo
p.s. I fulfilled my fish & chips craving last night at Pearlz downtown. YUM! We headed to Bakehouse for a decaf frappe afterwards and then sat at Waterfront Park by the pineapple fountain for a while. A perfect pre-baby date night…love my hubby! ♥
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making yesterday the day with the most ever views on Charm of Charleston!
ALL OF YOU have been so incredibly supportive and positive throughout this pregnancy…it honestly warms my heart.
I, of course, appreciate all of my friends and family for following us on this journey. But I also very much appreciate my blog family (blamily? okay – maybe not) – the family of people who comment and follow religiously, even though we have never even met. THANK YOU!
Even though this blog started as a way to share my love for Charleston (which I still love to pieces), it really is a blog about my life. The focus of my life has changed, as it tends to do, and hence so has this blog. This is my life documented, folks; heck – lately, it’s been a pregnancy journal! Stick around to see what’s next – it’ll be a surprise to both of us!
But for now, just know that you’ve made my day!!!
Taking it back to this blog’s roots real quick, check out this article that was published last week on the Huffington Post website - Nine Things We Love About Charleston, SC. I’m not sure how they ever narrowed it down to nine!
We fancied our water bottles with these wedding koozies (that we never actually used)…
I’m sure that my wedding dress would fit just as well as it fits my water bottle!
No go on the zippage
Then we went to Metto for coffee, just like last year. Their Caramel Freeze (their frappe-like drink) is THE BEST! Metto (Mt. Pleasant) and Kudu (downtown) are my 2 favorite coffee shops in Charleston! Kudu serves both coffee AND beer – so naturally it’s Scott’s fav coffee spot.
Scott picked up these for me on our way home…
So purdy!
We went home for lunch and a nap for me/a workout for Scott. Poor Scott’s workout turned into worrying that trees in our backyard may end up inside of our house (apparently there was a wicked thunderstorm while I peacefully slumbered). A leaking kitchen window was NOT Scott’s favorite part of our anniversary!
My parents stopped over before we left for dinner, so luckily we got a picture of us together.
A little different than my look last year!
Man, I miss my waist!
We went to dinner at 39 Rue de Jean downtown for the first time. Another yummy restaurant checked off the list! It was delicious! We had mouthwatering mussels first, then Scott had steak while I had a scallop dish. We shared quite a bit and were extremely happy with our dinner.
In keeping with our annual tradition, we looked at our wedding album and then watched our wedding DVD. Many tissues later (I started crying while writing Scott’s card and never really stopped – hormones!), we ate some ice cream and closed the door to year number 4. The start of year number 5 is going to be cah-RAY-zee town!!!
Another great year – another great anniversary! ♥
Happy Friday (the 13th, ooooo)!
p.s. Found out at our appt yesterday that baby is in position for arrival (aka: head down). Sorry if that’s TMI – but this is VERY exciting!!!
Well – Chick-fil-A has done it again. In love, I am. All over again.
I had just completed my breastfeeding class and it was 8:30pm. [I have seen enough boobs (on video and PowerPoint) for a while, thankyouverymuch.] It’s the first class or anything really that I have gone to alone and it was just a very long day. I had to pee (shocker) and was practically across the street from Chick-fil-A. It was a no brainer…girlfriend needed an Icedream Cone.
I used the restroom and then ordered my small Icedream cone. The nicer-than-nice gentlemen who took my order rang me up and then said words that are music to my ears – “That’ll be on the house tonight, ma’am.”
Say whaaaaat?
Where else? Seriously?
I LOVE YOU CHICK-FIL-A. The forever kinda love. ♥
(Not to mention homeboy hooked me up with a large!)
Ahhh. The man saved me less than two dollars, but REALLY he saved my entire day. =)
Next week we have Baby Boot Camp class – same time next week, Chick-fil-A?!
xoxo
p.s. Thanks for voting on my hospital gown. Looks like the blue one is the winner! I’ll model it for y’all when I get it!
Beach Count: 76 → The beach went well – 2 hours or less and baby & I are happy!
Two weekends ago, Scott and I unplugged from the world and had a Babymoon Staycation. Ahhh – it was amazing! We only have about 9 more weekends alone (fingers crossed) until this baby comes. It was both worth it and necessary.
Here were the rules – NO PHONE, NO COMPUTER/IPAD, NO TV (except for one show/movie at night for sleeping’s sake), and NO CHEATING!
We took like 1 picture and a couple of sad lookin’ videos, so we don’t have much to show for it. [What?! We were staycationing!] But, it really was the best! I’ve since proposed that Scott and I do this once a month…seriously.
For real, it was freeing. I absolutely recommend giving it a try!
This was our weekend…
FRIDAY
- Dinner downtown at Cypress! This place has been on our list for a long, long time (our Charleston restaurant list is long and strong). My brother gave us a gift certificate there for Christmas (ahem-in May-cough), so we were thrilled to finally get there. It was gorgeous inside, we had an amazing waiter, and the food made us do that this-food-is-so-good-I’m-going-to-dance-a-little-in-my-chair thing. We took a stroll to the upstairs bar afterwards. We’ll definitely go back there for their happy hour menu!
Yes, I have sweeeet video skills!
- Rooftop at Market Pavilion Hotel Bar. We’ve never been disappointed with the views, the breeze, or the cool atmosphere up there. They have these awesome new heaters that I was obsessed with. A couple more weeks and the plexiglass will be down for an even better view. (You can’t really see anything in the following video but some dark coolness. You’re welcome.)
- Home to freshen up and then downtown for dinner at Basil, one of our favorite Charleston restaurants. YUM!
SUNDAY
- It was Mother’s Day – so we of course broke the rules to see my Mom! Scott and my Dad cooked us breakfast. Scott gave me a new Pandora charm and a sweet card. I didn’t feel like it was my first Mother’s Day really – it felt more like my Mother’s Day half-birthday. I need to earn that title!!! Oh – and Scott got me a grande decaf mocha cookie crumble light Frappuccino. Yum! (It was my 4th of the week, due to the awesome Happy Hour deal!)
- We spent some time at the pool.
- We put together a gazillion baby items that were lined up in boxes by the front door.
- I don’t remember the rest.
Overall, we did nothing extravagant or over the top. We just enjoyed our “alone time” and realized how important and EASY it truly is to unplug. It was SO.RELAXING.
And guess what? When we plugged back in, we realized that we didn’t miss much AND no one really missed us!
I love you, Scott Michael Trottier! This weekend was one that I will hold onto for a very long time!
GET TO STARBUCKS ASAP for their Frappuccio Happy Hour!!! Get a half price Frappe between 3:00pm and 5:00pm and your taste buds will thank you. This ends on May 15th, so hurry in and take advantage.
My Frappe count? 2 so far! I have a date with a friend and her 3-week old on Friday. His fav flavor is the newest Mocha Cookie Crumble…good taste
Enjoy. You can thank me later!
What’s your favorite Frappuccio flavor?
I switch it up during Happy Hour, but it’s usually Caramel!
Bottles is a newish (6 months old, maybe?), locally owned wine, beer, and liquor store in Mount Pleasant. Read the hub’s Bottles review by clicking here.
We went to Boone Hall for St. Andrew’s Church’s Easter service. We went last year with my parents and LOVED IT. The service is outdoors under the biggest tent you’ve ever seen. They provide bottled water, coffee, muffins, bug spray, and child care. It’s free parking and free admission (it’s usually $19.50 per person just to get on the grounds!) and free warm fuzzies that last for days.
This year certainly did not disappoint. Year two solidified that this will be an annual event!
The music is out.of.this.world good!
Next up was some beach time on Sullivan’s Island…
Look at dat belly!
…then it was high time for High Thyme, also on SI, for brunch! (No pics…sorry!) We had reservations, but were about 30 minutes early. We figured we’d check it out and if they couldn’t take us yet, I’d wobble mosey on next door for a yummy decaf iced latte-ish drink at Cafe Medley. Shoot – they could take us! We sat by the door so we had the open air feeling, without too much wind. It was heaven. Scott and his Dad both had shrimp and grits, Scott’s Mom had the biggest omelet you’ve ever seen, and I had a fried egg BLT. It was delicious – I would DEFINITELY go back! My only complaint? No lemonade!
The second half of Easter was spent relaxing on the couch watching the Masters!
THE REST OF THE WEEK
We relaxed but fit a lot in, including painting the nursery (YAY!!!), a trip to Isle of Palms, a trip to Folly Beach, some downtown, lots of pool time (once out at Surfside where my parents were on a mini-vaca), and lots of yummy out to dinner (Poe’s, Water’s Edge – 1 of the best happy hour’s in town!, Jestine’s Kitchen, and Pearlz)!
Here are just a few pictures to prove it…
Water’s Edge
City Market
Oyster shooters at Pearlz (I was so jealous!)
The weather was wonderful and the time off was even better! 30ish days until summer break!!!
For all those on a week and a half delay (like me), I hope everyone had a great holiday!
p.s. I wonder what time Cafe Medley closes and I wonder what Scott is doing RIGHT NOW…?! hehe
Friday - Mom, Gram, and I got much-needed pedicures (much-needed for me, anyway!) at Top Nails in Mount Pleasant and then we enjoyed some time on the deck at Red’s at Shem Creek.
Saturday - Gram & Pop, Mom & Dad, and Scott & I all checked out Park Circle’s St. Patty’s Day parade and block party. It was HOT out and my sunscreen didn’t really help a sister out. Oh well! This event was BUSY! Luckily, parking [30 minutes prior to the parade's start] was not a problem. Impressive! The food and drink choices were okay, the music was great, and the people-watching was FANfriggenTASTIC! And “what about the parade,” you ask? That parade was over in about 5 minutes. Kinda lame – sorry, it’s the truth.
Park Circle’s got NOTHING on Hoosick Falls in the parade department. [Dude, Hooty has a website...who knew?!]
We stayed for a few hours, then we came home and I napped for 2. Scott and I hit up Coleman Public House for dinner. Scott got his typical fav burger. I, sadly, cannot have the best.burger.ever during pregnancy (due to the goat cheese) so I finally tried their mac & cheese. OH CHEESUS…it.was.amazing. No wonder my friend Liz gets it to turn-that-frown-upside-down (and why it won “Best Coma-Inducing Skillet of Cheesy Goodness” in Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston 2012!!!).
A skillet of pure heaven
Sunday - I sabotaged church-going due to my chronic lateness and the paving on 526 (Scott hated me for a straight hour). Instead, we took advantage of the Customer Appreciation Day (aka – FREE admission) with Charleston County Parks and finally checked out Mount Pleasant Palmetto Islands County Park. How beautiful! We held hands, said some prayers, and sang some church songs terribly out of tune. I didn’t really make it up to Scott until I persuaded him do this (along with a non-negotiable “weeeeeeeeee!”).
Mad at me, no longer – how could he be?!
I loved this place!
What’s awesome is that the normal park fee is $1 per person. I am embarrassed that it took us a $2 discount to finally get our butts there!!! We WILL be back!
Next, we hit up THE BEACH at Isle of Palms before all of the storm clouds moved in. [Minus the $7 parking fee, thankyouverymuch. Consider us - TWICE appreciated.] It was gor-geous.
I hope everyone has been soaking up this beautiful weather!
WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!!!
p.s. Question of the day: Do I allow myself to get sucked into this season’s Dancing with the Stars? We are HUGE Gavin DeGraw fans!!!
Born and raised in New York.
Transplanted to Charleston during the summer of 2010, when the obsession began.
Wife to Scott and brand new Mama to Max (the best little boy on the planet!).
Lover of the beach, special popcorn, reality TV, my husband's homemade beer, and watching my little baby grow.
I'm living to love and loving to live.
Join me for the ride!
