Mother Daughter Day-te

Yesterday my Mom and I spent the day walking around Charleston since she came down for the weekend! We had a blast checking out everything that Charleston had to offer and even felt like we knew our way around since it was neither of our first time there!

We got to Charleston and went to the open market by the Daughters of Confederacy Museum. After we worked up an appetite, we went to Amen Street for lunch! It came highly recommended after my parents ate there last time they were in town!

In an area chock-full (or perhaps, Chuck-full) of history, this place didn't seem to disappoint with it's own historical story. It even filled up with Gamecock fans getting ready for the game as we left!

We shopped our tails off looking for interview and business clothes for me--it was a lot harder than we thought! Other highlights included:

St. Phillip's Church 

My goal was to get the best Charleston gate shot too!

Strolling toward the water and waterfront park

We certainly had a great day and returned to Columbia full-bellied and happy campers! My wonderful visitor is here until Monday which I'm sure will come too soon as family visits ALWAYS do!

Don't you just love a quick, rather spontaneous, day trip? I sure do!

xxKatie

LulaKate Wrap Up

original via

So a little over a week ago I leaked a few photos from when I visited LulaKate in Charleston, SC for a fitting. I kept what I was doing there a secret, but it was for a friends-and-family runway show before the delightful girls at LK make their way to New York for NY Bridal Market! Local Charleston bloggers and wedding industry professionals were at the show and I had such a fun time being a part of it.

The LulaKate studio is gorgeous: lots of natural light and exposed brick right on King Street in Charleston.

Not only does LK design bridal dresses, but also bridesmaid and mother-of-the bride options. Racks of color were popping all over!

I'm sure you've heard of an LBD, but what about a L-White-D? They have a line of their own! 

I could have looked at the wedding gown racks for HOURS.

original via

I was lucky enough to wear this beautiful long dress as well as an LWD that was all-over lace. I loved being in this dress and seriously felt like a million bucks in it!

It's always fun to be a part of events like this as a blogger as well as actually being in the show! I want to thank LulaKate for such a fun opportunity to be a part of their event--kinda from both sides!

I wish the LulaKate team the best of luck in New York at bridal market and I know that it will be a smashing success!!

xxKatie

Headed to Hootie!

We're headed East this weekend to Charleston, SC!

Two friends and I are going to a Hootie and the Blowfish concert out on Daniel Island and I cannot WAIT! Hootie and the Blowfish has been on my concert bucket list since I've created it! I love Darius Rucker and am SO looking forward to this Hootie and the Blowfish concert!

"I Will Wait" is one of my favorite Hootie songs and I am keeping my fingers crossed that they perform it!

Last night they performed at the same venue and I saw on Twitter that they opened up with "Time" which everyone will be familiar with!

Last but certainly not least, I'm SURE they'll play "Only Wanna Be With You" which I think every single person who even listened to a radio in the 90's has heard:

The video for this one really cracks me up!

Reasons I also love Hootie and the Blowfish: they're CAROLINA GAMECOCKS!

SO EXCITED FOR SOME HOOTIE IN MY LIFE TONIGHT!

xxKatie

Loggerhead Apparel!

I am so excited to introduce y'all to Loggerhead Apparel! Not only is this a fabulous product from the Palmetto state, but it's fun, serves a great cause, is made in the USA, AND is geared toward Gamecocks!

Sara sent me an AWESOME package full of Loggerhead swag as well as my own polo to don at any Gamecock event!

This is the Garnet and Black Loggerhead polo that I now proudly own! It will match great with any of my garnet skirts and just screams Gamecock. (There's even a line for Clemson fans, but well...it is Clemson after all...just kidding Clemson fans! The orange and purple stuff is pretty fun!!)

Not only did I get a polo, but I have a rockin' koozie, set of croakies and enough stickers to give all my friends! (Everyone be on the lookout when I get back to school--totally being serious you can have as many as you want!)

Anyway, Loggerhead donates 10% of all sales to sea turtle and ocean wildlife conservation causes. Not only do I love that being from Maryland where we're all about Bay conservation, but I know sea turtle conservation is a major initiative in Charleston too! 

Once the bowl game gets a little closer, I'll be hosting a giveaway with Loggerhead Apparel too! Y'all will love it, I'm sure of it!!

xxKatie

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Necklace

Everyone knows about a week ago I was at a crazy, huge family reunion after I went to the Cape! One of the days is devoted to a Ladies' lunch at a local place each reunion. Last year, one of the cousins was nice enough to host all the ladies of the family at her lake house and we had DELISH sandwiches from a local bakery. This year we ate at a local bed and breakfast in Lovell, ME.

These are some of the wonderful ladies in the family! Three generations are represented here!

While we were at lunch, we were all admiring one of the girls necklaces! You can actually see it, front row, girl in the black tank top and with shorts RIGHT in the center. It's a clear-ish necklace with a cluster of beads and a thinner strand of beads going around to the back. We got into hearing more about the necklace and for that family of girls, there were 12 of them and they all chipped in $100 and each girl gets the necklace for a month during the year!!

The style was similar to this necklace but everything was clear!

After getting the wonderfully fun history of their necklace, I heard it was from a custom designer in Charleston so I piped up even more. Wanting to hear more to check it our for myself, Nancy told me if was from Felice Designs and so I typed it in my phone to remember it for sure! I checked a bunch more out (the necklace above is Felice Designs!) and they are all so much fun! Full of glass beads, they are such a statement piece!

I love the touches of pearls in this one!

How pretty are those beads!! Pair them with a white shirt and green shorts and you've got an automatic outfit!

Does your school have orange in it's colors? This would be ideal for Gameday!!

Have a fun story like a traveling necklace in your family? Please share!! It's such a fun idea, and one I certainly want to tuck away for my own little family!!

xxKatie

Are You Ready to Be Smitten?

Smitten Magazine!

Smitten is the new "it" magazine for all things fabulous, wedding, and southern! What a triple threat, huh?!

From the fun, whimsical design to the amazing features in this "e-glossy" you can't help but flip on through!! I was lucky enough to read it on an iPad which was an even BETTER experience if you can even have one!

Chock full of fun inspiration you're bound to find something you love in this sweet little package! There are fun additions for brides, bridesmaids, wedding lovers and just the normal magazine browser. The site was so easy to use and "flip" through, it was a breeze to read. My favorite section(s) was all the different features on the individual brides from so many areas up and down the Southeast! 

These bios and fun snapshots of all the different brides were great fun!

Another one of my Charleston favorites, LulaKate was featured! 

You MUST head over to be Smitten!

xxKatie

Dorothea Benton Frank

Y'all, I love to read. I've said this before a million times, but this summer I've been able to really get into a few books and have most recently (meaning in the last 6-ish days) found such a fun writer: Dorothea "Dot" Benton Frank! On my second to last day at the beach I finished this book, Lowcountry Summer and definitely recommend it! Sweetly southern, fun, and a quick read, this book had everything I wanted to read about during the summer...AND made me majorly crave fresh biscuits and be back at Carolina!

I connected so much with the characters, most of which hail from Charleston, and some even go to USC! Dot often writes about Columbia, Charleston, Folly Beach and a few other South Carolina hot sports! All the titles are different places in South Carolina or topics related to SC. Everytime I would read about USC I'd flat out squeal on the beach. This writing reads just like she's talking to you with funny asides and comments about characters.

Two days ago I started Bulls Island and I'm about 90 pages in. This one is far more dramatic but still has a lot of the charm and wit that Lowcountry Summer had too! Momma found it hardcover for just $7 while we were at the beach and I wasn't about to let it go! We also picked up another book, but it immediately took the backseat to Dot book #2! 

Ever read a DBF book? I'm a new fan but can't WAIT to read more!!

xxKatie

Charleston, SC Recap

Just yesterday I got to spend all day in Charleston, SC! What a bad city to be stuck in--right? (wink-wink). I had internship training all day on Daniel Island and we wrapped up earlier than I expected so I got to entertain myself for 2 hours. Not wanting to spend any money but still wanting to shop I found myself in a bit of a bind. Unless you're like me and love weddings...I managed to take what I called in my facebook status the "Charleston bridal boutique tour". I hit up all kinds of different stores along King Street and even headed into a store on Church street when I went back to where I was parked! These were my favorites:

1. Lula Kate

First I headed into LulaKate! I saw this the first time I went to Charleston but unfortunately they were closed. This time I got to window shop for a little longer than what most people would consider "normal" but they had a stunning sleeveless, ruffled v-neck dress. I couldn't get enough! It was similar to this dress from their blog:

2. Modern Trousseau 

They're by appointment, so I browsed from the outside again. I've seen many of their dresses in different magazines but have fallen in love with this dress:

I love the playfulness of the polkadots! I would probably remove the belt because I'm not cool enough at all to pull that off but I love the shape and inlay of the polka dots. It would be so fun with the right colors!

3. Fabulous Frocks

I'd written about Fabulous Frocks during Southern Weddings Week ! I was on my way back to the car when a dress in the window caught my eye. I didn't even realize it was Fabulous Frocks so I got so lucky! 

This dress was in the window! I went in to inquire more about it (and as I told them..."It's never too early! Right?"). This Romona Keveza dress was beautiful in the window. The ruffle detail was so pretty and feminine and delicate that I had to ask! The sales team was all so friendly and nice (even though they're by appointment too I had to pop in) and they even had a Charleston Fashion Week designer in their company!

Then a friend (HEY SASS--enjoy your shoutout my lunch buddy!) and I went to lunch at Virginia's on King which was Southern deliciousness. I had the grilled chicken sandwich special and he had a fab looking tomato and grilled cheese combo! We had a great time and got to enjoy a perfect perch right by the front door which was great for CHS peoplewatching!

As you can tell I had a wonderful time playing around in Charleston! I was very lucky to get this internship as well as have enough time to dillydally around in such a beautiful city all day long!

xxKatie

State Bowties

Any local in Columbia has seen a Palmetto bowtie. It's navy (or garnet and black) with the palmetto/crescent all over it:

Ben Silver of Charleston

Just on Sunday though, I saw another flag bowtie for the OTHER state that has a special place in my heart. Good ole' Mary-land. Our flag is far more geometric than SC's, and if you aren't familiar with it, it looks like this:

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a friend's photo and her dad was wearing a Maryland flag bowtie. Naturally I popped onto google to do some investigating and found that a local herbadashery in Annapolis sells them!

Johnson's is a famous menswear store in Annapolis and has the best sign out front chronicling the change of military uniforms over the years. It is so cute and has little painted wooden figures in the different styles. They've been in Annapolis since 1926 and began as the Naval Academy's uniform suppliers. They still provide uniforms however specialize in civilian attire now. 

I love the idea of state bowties and all the pride that goes along with them!! So cute!

xxKatie 

My Next Roadtrip/Vacay: Amelia Island, FL

In the top most tippy-tip-tip of Florida is baby little Amelia Island. It looks like it could be a coast of some Caribbean island, but instead is right in our home country! It has been called one of Florida's best island vacations so you know it's gotta be good!! It just looks beautiful and I'd love to go visit:

My dad is a big lighthouse collector, so I always look for vacation destinations with a special lighthouse! Like father like daughter!

This looks like a fusion of Key West, Charleston and a little bit of Bermuda with the fun colors! What a great combo to have in a vacation destination!

Amelia Island has lots of history to it too!

During early March they have a garden show which I'm sure is TDF! It sounds like such a fun destination!! Has anyone ever been here?

xxKatie

Southern Wedding Week: The Dress

A few weeks ago when I was in Charleston, Aly and I were window browsing just about every store we could see! There were so many little boutiques (90% out of our college girl budgets) that had dresses and party essentials that we couldn't really help ourselves! Among my favorites were all the wedding dresses that we'd pass from window to window. The periodic tuxedo was so precious too, I mean how can you not just swoon over a tux and bowtie combo? Gets me every time. Although we didn't see Fabulous Frocks, the idea behind it is so cute, I had to pass it on to any ladies in the area after a reader of mine told me about it!

Fabulous Frocks specializes in consigning wedding dresses that have been "wed" already! What a good idea, right? I mean my mom's never gonna wear her dress again, and isn't this a great idea for any bride who won't use her dress for anything else! There are some criteria for each dress to be consigned, but how cute is this? What a good idea for the bride on a budget or looking to get a designer gown for far way less!

Fabulous Frocks has brand name designers (including my 2 favorites!!) ranging from Badgley Micshka, to Carolina Herrera, to Modern Trousseau (one of my favorites!), to Rivini (my other favorite...remember this dress...MY dress?) to Vera Wang. There are currently over 80 dresses listed online for you to check out and have even more in store to choose from personally! Also, go visit store manager and recent Gamecock grad, Mary, to help you out, she's adorable and in the planning stages of her own Southern Wedding!!

Next time I'm in Charleston Fabulous Frocks will be a definite stop just for fun...I mean you can never start too early right? No way! No go follow Fabulous Frocks on twitter at @FabFrocksBridal to see what they've got going on!

xxKatie

Day Trip to Charleston: Major Success

So everyone knows that I was interviewing up in Charleston from when I asked for food recommendations! We had a WONDERFUL day on the coast and I absolutely cannot wait to return once it gets warmer!! This was my OOTD:

December 13 by letsbepreppy featuring microfiber tights

We left Columbia about 10:00 am and drove, rocking out to some pump-up tune-age. It took us (and I say us because my friend Aly and I went together...I needed a little moral support for the 4 hours of driving time) 2 hours to get there--such an easy drive! We found a parking spot right on King Street (how lucky were we?) right by an heirloom jewelry store. I managed to parallel park, thank you Annapolis' skinny streets built circa 1700. We walked around looking for a place to eat breakfast/lunch and finally settled on King Street Grill:

It was DELISH, but we sat right by the door and were chilly! I kept my coat on for a little while. The menu was pretty big and you could certainly satisfy most palates. 

We left lunch around 1:45, drove to Daniel Island and arrived to the interview destination around 2:20. I was a total geek and wanted to get there plenty early (my interview wasn't until 3:00) and I went inside and checked in at 2:30. Within a few minutes I was interviewed and done and I was out by 3:15!

We headed back to Charleston (King Street) after the interview and were parked and ready to get our shop on by 4:00! We shopped until about 6, when most of the stores closed and went to seek out a place to grab some DELISH dinner. We hit all kinds of stores! We popped into Palm Avenue, M Dumas, Oops!, the Finicky Filly, and a few others! (Sorry these pictures STINK, they're all from my BlackBerry!)

Palm Avenue was one of the prettiest Lilly stores I've ever been in, and I've been in my fair share. Everything was so meticulously organized and the Minnies section was massive! They had a great sale rack and the sales associates were darlings.

If only I was a boy...

(how cute are these!? Williams & Sonoma for the win!)

Aly snagged these unbelievable shoes!!!!

This coat was TOO much fun not to snap a photo of! If only I could remember where it was from...too...much...shopping...

You probably can't even see this picture because it's so grainy, but we were on the corner of King and Queen! SO CUTE!

After checking Christmas gifts off for everyone on my list, Aly and I headed to dinner right around 6. Places were EMPTY around then and the entire staff of Bocci's (an Italian restaurant) hopped-to when we walked in.

The food was great and our waiter was too sweet! I'd definitely recommend this place to grab something delish and super affordable to eat!

All in all the day was SUPER SUCCESSFUL! I can't wait to go back as soon as I possibly can!!!

xxKatie

P.S. In the words of Eloise, Merry Christmas EVE EVE!