36 hours in the lowcountry {charleston, sc}

on august 1st, i left nashville around 2pm and landed in charleston at 7pm for a 36 hour adventure to see brad and amanda tie the knot! leigh and derrick were also there for the wedding, so court came down for the weekend so all of us siblings could be together. 

court fetched me at the airport and after a quick change, this handsome fellow scooped us up for a late dinner + drinks at star restaurant on upper king street. maury is a dear friend from high school who always make time to see me when i am in his town. we've been friends for over 10 years now and he still loves me anyways. 

leigh + derrick + alex + steven joined us after while and i was so happy to see those boys.

{i love my sisters}

we woke up the next morning and headed to the one and only groucho's.

{capturing his first STP dipper}

after wandering around king street for hours and hours, we finally headed back to the hotel to get ready for main event!

the wedding was held at the island house on johns island. the rain held out and made for a beautiful wedding on the stono river. the food was awesome, the drinks were strong, and the band was amazing. amanda looked stunning and it was great seeing all of my friends that were also in attendance. i'm so glad i got to be there to celebrate!

{i stole this from a stranger's facebook}

{my big sis}

11am the next morning it was wheels up and back to nashville. it was whirlwind of a weekend but just long enough to hug plenty of necks and laugh my butt off with my siblings. i'll see you in november, carolina!

currently loving...

1. kristin. not that i don't always love her (like a lot), but i have been feeling extra grateful for her lately. she is constantly encouraging me, listening to me, and checking in with me. she even helped me decorate my room via pictures & videos on tuesday. thanks for being my "dear sally."

{nothing beats snail mail}

2. bedtime tea by yogi tea. i started drinking yogi's green tea last year per kristin's advice. about a month ago, my sister told me she drinks "sleepy tea," before bed. so during my last trip to whole foods, i got a box of yogi tea's bedtime tea. not only is it absolutely delicious with the most amazing aftertaste (weird, i know), it really does help me sleep. i am an insomniac and have a terrible time getting to sleep & staying asleep. after years of various sleep meds, i decided to get off of them for good. this tea has been a wonderful ( & healthy) sleeping aid, and i look forward to having a cup every night before bed.

you can find some flavor of yogi tea in most grocery stores, but whole food definitely has the biggest selection i have seen in charlotte. you can also order online here.

3. speaking of sleeping, i got the sleep pillow app for iphone a few months ago and i love it. i have always slept with a fan on in my room, and when my fan broke sometime in late 2012, a twitter follower suggested i download this app. at first i got the free app, but it didn't have a fan sound that i liked. so i paid the $1.99 and got the full app that has over 80 different sounds. it allows you to set a timer, and you can also set your alarm through the app. i just so happen to love the fan noise with the cute little doggie in it!

4. running. after my 6 month hiatus at the end of last year, i've been back in the swing of things for the past few months. i have set some new goals for myself and can't wait to get them done. moving back into dilworth will certainly help - i'm convinced it is the best running neighborhood in charlotte. for longer runs, you can hop on the greenway. for shorter runs, you get to look at all the beautiful houses/run through parks. i'm digging it.

5. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/. moving into a new place always leaves me dreaming about home decor. i've been reading this blog/website for quite some time, but i've been stalking it in a new way the past few weeks.


we have a fun filled weekend coming up with celebrating my sister's birthday on friday night & attending the annual march forth with hope gala on saturday night. check out my post from court's birthday & the hope gala from last year - deja vu!

have a great weekend!

congrats sis!

on saturday, my sister courtney graduated from her master's program at the university of north carolina at charlotte. before i get to the (awesome) party, i'm going to tell you a little bit about my sister.

{i met courtney when i was 12 years old. we were at our cheer/gymnastics gym, and i can't quite remember the details, but for whatever reason, we decided that we wanted our parents to get married. i have no idea why, seeing as how i'd known this then 13 year old for all of 30 minutes. fast forward to a few months later when our parents actually got married. yes, we are a real life version of the parent trap. or something like it, at least.

it's been 12 years since then. we've been through a lot. she's been through a lot. she hasn't had the easiest life. our parents haven't had the prettiest relationship. her & i have shared a lot of heartache over our friendship/sistership in the past 12 years. she has felt the pain of addiction, seen the grace in recovery, and learned a lot about herself along the way. i'm probably saying more than she'd like me to on the internet, but i love her story, and i'm really proud of her.

on saturday, courtney walked across a stage, wearing a cap of a dear friend that she tragically lost this past fall, and received her master's in counseling as a clinical mental health professional. to say that i am proud of her doesn't really cover it, but i guess sometimes words fail us. so cheers, to my sister & my best friend on planet earth. god put you on this earth to love on people who don't think they deserve it, and that includes me. thanks for what you do & i can't wait to keep watching you change people's lives.}

so back to the party...

about a month ago i sent out these great invites from tiny prints.

you see, our parents love to decorate for christmas. the good news is that they have great taste, so it's a lot of really beautiful christmas decorations, but there wasn't really a way to have much of a theme other than christmas. so we pretty much decided the theme would be gold/glitter, and the only thing courtney REALLY wanted was glitter rimmed champagne glasses. easy enough.

i spent a lot of time researching and even more time crafting. i did some ordering & some cake tasting along the way as well. see below for the results and click the links below the pictures for the directions to the crafts from other various blogs!

{pom pom balls: here; congrats banner: here}

{amazing cake by wow factor cakes}

{garland: here}

{food table; menu was all of court's favorite foods!}

{dipped glasses in water & gold sprinkles from michael's. SO easy & so awesome.}

{please indulge in some of court's fave foods; frame was refinished from a thrift store}

{food/drink labels}

{love our friends!}

{i love you court!}

{special thanks to party reflections for the linens, shot glasses for shrimp shooters, and platters; to our chef from work for making court's favorite crab cakes; to wow factor cakes for the amazing cake; and lastly to my parents for providing their home, all the food and beverage, and for letting me 100% plan this one}