Lowcountry Livin'

I had the opportunity of a lifetime this past weekend - to spend some time in the Lowcountry. My first true visit to South Carolina gave me an opportunity to connect with some incredible women.

Let me go back a bit ...

I won a chance to attend a girls' weekend getaway for me and a guest hosted by the lovely and gracious Kim Boykin. Kim is an author who you're going to want to introduce yourself to, and not just cause I say so. Her southern hospitality knew no bounds this past weekend, as she welcomed a group of us into her Isle of Palms home.

*I cannot help myself. I'm totally singing Don't Stop ... Believin' right now.*

I arrived late in the evening on Thursday night, and was truly blessed to have a fellow warrior mom pick me up from the train station. We spent some time together grabbing a quick bite and connecting. With my mind half asleep I didn't get a picture of us together, but I'll be seeing Ashley again in October for the Warrior Mom Conference and CANNOT WAIT. Warrior mamas are amazing people. They go above and beyond for you even if you've never laid eyes on one another before. Seriously. This is a sidebar I had to include. We missed having our fellow mama, Graeme, join us, but I will hug her again before long!

Now - back to this weekend. After a good night's rest (or mostly so, I kept waking up and eventually jumped up in the morning with enough time to call my husband and kiddo before they left for school and work) we were treated to a phenomenal breakfast. Kim's breakfasts need to be boxed up and sold. I *may* have jokingly requested a to-go thermos of her cheesy grits for my departure yesterday.

Ehem. Maybe.

So, on Friday we spent much of the day out at Middleton Place.

Glorious and gorgeous.

We ate lunch there and I broke my 'I don't eat cheese on salads anymore' rule with a delicious arugula salad with feta cheese. I also may have had some of the best cornbread in creation there. But I skipped the buffet - which you might not want to do - depending on how hungry you are. Cornbread was just the beginning of what was offered there. From fried chicken to collards, you'd be all set.

Some of the gorgeous pictures I took at the gardens (if I do say so myself).

*You know I took like 900 selfies out there, right?*

And then on Saturday morning a few of us went over to the water. because. BEACH.

I couldn't have found anything that would have made me happier than sticking my feet into the sand and the ocean did. I have not done so in almost two years. The last time I spent the summer with friends on Long Island. And the time before that in Atlantic City. It had been way too long.

Warning. Toes in the sand and water picture below. I don't like feet, people, so I absolutely know that this is against my own beliefs. But I'm sharing it anyway. Because my feet were in the OCEAN.

I spent the rest of Saturday on the porch at the house. I did some blogging (no, not published yet), some reading, relaxing - and I had the opportunity to have some quality chatting time with our incredible hostess. After a few hours of that our friends returned from their journeys into Charleston - which I absolutely plan to do sometime - just not on that particular Saturday. Downtime and fresh air was all I needed - and we enjoyed amazing cheese and crackers and red pepper jelly and Peach Bellinis, and THEN an absolutely delicious dinner with the best mashed potatoes of ever (sssh. Don't tell my husband I said that!). I mean, they may have been soooo good that we did actually eat leftovers for breakfast yesterday. Maybe. 

Kim gave us all signed copies of Palmetto Moon and The Wisdom of Hair, both of which will make excellent spring and summer reading - if you haven't read them yet. I foolishly left my copy of A Peach of A Pair at home. (Book links are affiliate links!) That book was such a beautiful read. I really recommend it. Honestly, it was my introduction to her writing and I'm so glad I found her. She also has a new book coming out that I'm looking forward to - so stay tuned for more on that.

All in all the weekend was delightful. One of Kim's lovely neighbors took a group picture of us up on one of the porches (two of our friends were missing from the shot, but you're going to love it anyway!). 

Picture provided by the lovely Deb of Sunny Blue Productions. She had a real camera with her and we were able to use it to have our picture taken. Don't we look relaxed?

And so, there you have it. I didn't capture everything, but I think I've done a good job at sharing some of the highlights. I certainly made some incredible friends on this lovely adventure to the Lowcountry. I can also say with certainty that I'm itching to get back there and hoping that maybe my family will find some time to visit sometime soon - and that maybe my group of college friends might consider popping down to do one of our girls' getaway summer trips one of these years. I'm really thrilled to have had this opportunity and couldn't be happier to have connected with these incredible women. 

Oh, and though I may not be southern born and bred, but I can live and breathe it as well as anyone - especially after this weekend. Catch y'all next time!

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