That's Rhett Butler. He's from Charleston. He Has the Most Terrible Reputation...

In less than three hours, I'll be out of the office and hightailing my way down south to the wonderful, glorious, Spanish Moss-dripped heaven that is Charleston, SC! Can't wait to check out the city from a new perspective. The last time I was in town I was a mere 18 year-old crazy on a wild bachlorette weekend that culminated in topless sunroof screaming, Citadel-boy snagging, free drink shooting, and long, long naps along the Battery. We stayed at some awesome B&Bs and gorged on shrimp and grits...so obviously, the city left me with some fantastic memories to chew on.



This time around I'll be seeing with two of my favorite ladies--the fabulous Julianne and my daring copilot Eileen--so I'm sure it'll be even better. We're older, wiser?, and can afford to go out to dinner now*! On our own! Woot!

"Walking the streets of Charleston in the late afternoons of August was like walking through gauze or inhaling damaged silk."  Awesome.

I've stocked up on Pat Conroy novels and have prepared myself for waves of seersucker and pastels. Bring it, Chucktown!

xxxx, Hannah



*Not that we'll actually pay for food, b/c obviously we've stocked up on homemade pizza dough, cajun chicken alfredo, and rosemary olive garlic bread. Duh.

It Was So Hot Outside, We Could Fry An Egg...

I had a great -- albeit super fast -- weekend. I spent all of Saturday soaking up the public library and flipping through magazines, checking out memoirs, and researching travel options for upcoming trips. I read a memoir (Crazy Love) by Leslie Morgan Steiner about her abusive relationship with her first husband. While it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was one of those I couldn't put down, not even to refill my coffee or eat yet another lemon-pepper cucumber. It was sad and descriptive and at most times bleak... but those are usually my favorite kind of books, anyway.

Also, I bought this super dorky egg cooker at Williams-Sonoma that cooks your fried eggs in the shape of daisies. Awesome, I know. Let's just say I've been getting more than my fair share of protein the last couple days. Sooo cute sooo easy.

 

Next up:

Most egg-cellent. Bahaa.

Yesterday, Eileen and Rob came up so Rob could do something important downtown for law skool/life. Eileen and I bummed around the miserably hot city, grabbed some espresso, checked out Eastern Market, and had lunch/dinner (linner) at a super cute and random cafe near the Capitol. I'm getting so stoked about our trip to Charleston that's RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! I may or may not have a countdown running at work on my whiteboard for erryone to see. I'm betting hard money that J's new pad is the sickest one in town, and I'm the first to admit that I need a little Owsley lovin' in my life.

Other than the fact that I am once again battling the dreaded poison ivy, life is b-e-a-t-i-f-u-l and busy. I'm trying not to rush through August so I can enjoy every moment, even if most moments are spent  in sweltering 90+ degree heat. With Charleston, Blacksburg, and Maine on the calendar, my goal to book a new trip every weekend is shaping up nicely. Now if only the Landlady + pooch would return, life would be perfection...

xxx, Hann

Hudson Highline

I'm a day behind, but we've been driving like crazy women up and down the mountains of Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Yesterday we said farewell to Alex and headed into Amherst to see Emily Dickinson's grave again and check out the town before heading out. The last time I was here everything was buried under snow, and it feels completely different in the summer. 

I think this is one of the 50 cemeteries we've visited on our trip. I've never met a graveyard I didn't like. 

The Emily Dickinson Museum (it was closed, but the gardens were open and beautiful).

Pretty house across the street.

Norberta's still here and kicking! We drove through one toll and the guy literally laughed at us and said, 'Hey--nice color.' Like you even know our lives.

One of the few planned events we made for the trip was to stop in Poughkeepsie, NY, and walk over the longest pedestrian bridge in the country, straight over the Hudson River. We really had no idea what to expect, which was probably a good thing. Poughkeepsie is a tad on the Chateau Ghetto side, but once we got to the actual walk it provided gorgeous views of the river/mountains. 

However, storms were brewing. We'd made it about halfway across the bridge when two boys on a golf cart came driving up and told us we had to exit ASAP or risk being electrocuted. Noooo! Granted, we were surrounded on a high-rise metal structure that's suspended over water. But seriously? I'M JUST TRYING TO WALK OVER THIS RIVER!!

So we turned around and headed back...

... and waited in our car. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, we decided to risk our lives/break some rules and walk back across the bridge (look, we drove 700 miles for this. 700. Kind of.).  

Can't stop, won't stop. We made it across the bridge and back alive. It was probs a miracle from above. 

Then we got the boys on the golf cart to take our picture. Take that.

Serious electricity in the air. Nice hair, lady.

After conquering the Hudson and narrowly escaping death, we continued on to the Catskills were we found ourselves in the sweet artsy town of New Paltz and its super-fab Super 8....

One thing's for sure--road tripping is hard work.

And it begins...

...Road Trip 2011! Bright and early at 4am, my fabulous mom and I hit the road for the long drive up to Rhode Island. We've got the whole week to explore, so this first leg was a semi-straight shot to the coast, with a small excursion to the glamorous town... of Scranton, PA. My baby bro is being an awesome fitness instructor/coach at the Wellspring Academy again, and we decided to meet him and a friend for some diet-breaking, greasy spoon brunch. I haven't seen him in a few months and he's looking trim + tan + supa frat-ified.

Looking like a rock star at sunrise with her new readers in action. 

Good day sunshine, plus driving through Pennsylvania is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s and green.

...speaking of green...it's Norberta! At first, we were totally going the Thelma-and-Louisa, scarf-wearing, sunglasses-sporting, balls-to-the-wall convertible route because we had enough points earned to rent whatever our little hearts desired. But when we arrived at the rental station, our only convertible option was the choice between a shiny black or shiny red...Camaro. Um, no. Plus, it was literally 110degrees today, and we figured we'd be too miserable and sunburned and parched to even consider rollin' with the top down for too long. So, in typical cheapskate fashion, we chose this little beauty. I think it's a much better personality fit, anyway. Granny Smith Green > Candy Apple Red any day.

Scranton is a strange little town, but we definitely approved of Dunmore Diner's $.99 breakfast special! Eggs, hash browns, toast, and coffee for less than $1? You had me at Buck Town.

Our trusty stead.

Mother/Child reunion. 

Camp Coaches on their day off. 

After saying goodbye and fighting with Linda (our GPS), we crossed the border to New York!

Connecticut was lame and didn't have a state sign, so here's a pic of some of our travel necessities. I'm looking at you, CheezIts.

Rhode Island, however, did have a sign! Super excited to explore this tiny state, starting tomorrow with the Cliff Walk/Castles at Newport. 

Finally, after settling in to our gigantic hotel suite at the Providence Biltmore, we got a little fancy and headed across town for Mike and Steph's rehearsal dinner where we gorged on BBQ Salmon, yum, and Creme Brulee. Sooo stuffed. Sooo worth it (even the awkward family toasts).

It was even 1000 degrees in RI. 

Great success so far, and so very pumped for the wedding tomorrow and the rest of the week's festivities!!

Coming Attractions...

The best part is...we've only just begun.

Vintage Place. Summer 2011. Come ovah.

Babes + Sages

And the days are not full enough

And the nights are not full enough

And life slips by like a field mouse

Not shaking the grass.

-Ezra Pound

7/11. You Know What That Means...

...it's free Slurpee Monday!! With the weather clocking in at a brisk 97 degrees today, I'd say 7/11/11 couldn't arrive at a more perfect time. Walk, run, bike, swim your way to the nearest convenience store and get yourself some frozen-ice deliciousness.

Meanwhile, check out these brilliant discoveries of the weekend:

Goya Coconut Water.

If you like coconut-flavored anything, you will like this. It's weirdly refreshing and sweet--the perfect afternoon treat.



iMovie

We uncovered a digital camcorder this weekend and have started documenting everything. What's better than video footage of weekend escapades? Video footage set to the thrilling background music a la Nicki Minaj and/or Redneck Woman. Oh iMovie, how you'll revolutionize memories one editing tool at a time...

Salted Pretzel Shots

1/3 Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka

2/3 Hazelnut Schnapps

Salt

Lick wrist and apply salt. Lick salt from hand, shoot, enjoy! Chocolaty goodness for all.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I survived my 40-mile bike ride and still had enough energy for a cookout. It's a W&OD miracle...

xoxo,

Hannah