Charleston Vacay Recap { Day 3 & 4}

Y'all my love of Charleston runs deep!! We have been going here on vacation for the last 7 years. One day we hope to make this home. Charleston is the only place to make me want to leave my old Kentucky home . But back to the recap!! On Sunday we traveled to downtown Charleston to Marion Square, located in the heart of their historic district. On Saturday's (and Sunday's during the Spoleto Festival in t May and June ) this is where you can find the  Charleston Farmers Market. This farmers market is unlike any others. You can find Lowcountry farmers, growers, prepared/packaged foods, crafters, and live performers. Oh and don't forget the gelato, breakfast and lunch vendors. We were lucky that during our trip there was also an art show going on. There was some pretty amazing artist and their work featured. I would have loved to bring home a painting for our home.

Next time! After the Farmer's  market we decided it was time for lunch. The kids get Hangry lol. Nick wanted seafood and Hymans was on our way on Meeting Street. We have ate here before and knew we liked it. ( There are some newer restaurants that we plan on trying next. So if you make the trip to Charleston let me know if you try them. Here is a list: The Darling, The Ordinary, Leon's, Obstinate Daughter, and Ellis Creek Fish Camp) . One of the many things worth eating while in the South is hush puppies and grits! I think I get grits with every meal (don't plan on being on a diet while here. Between the grits and my fave key lime pie it is not the place to watch calories. Luckily you do TONS of walking!).

Next up we walked around the Charleston City Market. It is on of the nation's oldest public markets. You can find anything and everything here. We love to pick up a Christmas ornament and a sweetgrass basket. These 2 items we bring home each visit. It can be very crowded so beware. But worth it in my opinion. Max spotted the carriage horses from inside the market. We have done plenty of carriage tours before and hadn't planned on doing one this trip. But both kids really wanted to so why not lol. I can't say I was mad about it. If you have never been to Charleston this is a must do. I love learning about the history of this holy city. I learn something new each tour. Plus you can't beat riding around the city and taking in all the historical homes. For this tour we used Charleston Carriage Works. Our tour guide was the best one yet. Not only was he knowledgeable of all things Charleston but he was also funny.

It was a hot one on Sunday so we spent a few hours at our hotel pool and ended the day with another walk on the beach. Taking a walk and slowing down at the beach is the perfect way to end the day!!

Monday was our Girl's/Boy's Day. Mere and I spent a day on King's Street (another must do if you love shopping). You can read all about our day here. This was one of the highlights of our trip for Mere and I. We don't get a lot of one on one time with each kiddo so it was a nice treat for all. Nick took Max to the aquarium. They picked us up when they were finished and we went to the beach at the IOP for the rest of the day followed by dinner on Sullivan's Island at Sullivan's Restaurant. This place was a hidden gem that we just discovered this trip. It may have been my favorite spot to eat besides at Shem Creek. It is totally laid back and can come straight from the beach if you want.

I will wrap up the end of our trip on the next post. The next 2 days rained on us! But we totally made the best of it and enjoyed all that Charleston has to offer. If you missed out on Days 1 & 2 check them out here.

Life Lately

Happy Tuesday friends! Normally I do a weekend recap or life lately on Monday but since I worked on Saturday, today is my actual Monday. Lol. Today is feeling like a Monday for sure. I am dragging. My goal for the week was to get a workout in before work so I didn't have to spend my lunch break in the exercise room. Well, my alarm went off at 4:30.......I could not make myself get up. As Scarlet once said, tomorrow is another day!! I love being off because I feel like I can accomplish so much. One of those things is getting my workout in at the beginning of the day. After that I can take on the day and I don't feel as stressed. The kids have soccer camp the rest of the week so I will have 2 hours to myself in the evenings. I am so looking forward to those 2 hours!! I was able to meal prep some breakfast egg muffins. It was so easy. I used One egg per muffin and cooked on 350 for 20 minutes. Also I bought this swimsuit last year without trying it on. I loved the floral on it. Well, I get home and put it on and could not breathe... it was so tight. I put it on last week and it fit!! Yay for non scale victories. I am on day 11 of July's carb cycle!! Ya'll if you have been struggling to lose weight and have tried it all I think you should give carb cycling a try!! I LOVE it. It has truly been a God send!

Sunday I took the kids swimming. It is our favorite thing to do in the summers. Max was starting to swim on his own last summer at 3 yrs old. with no swimmies. This year he has totally impressed me. He is doing front flips and back flips in the pool and front flips off the edge. I love that both kids are such strong swimmers. During my teenage years I was a lifeguard each summer and taught swimming lessons. I knew I wanted my kids to be able to swim early and not be afraid of the water. There were so many kids afraid and would scream and cry. I think both of mine were swimming without swimmies by 2. They weren't strong swimmers and you had to be right there with them. But it was a start. They love the water and truly are little fish!!

Yesterday we decided we were going to have a laid back, relaxing day. We had no plans until the evening which was glorious. The kids played with the neighborhood kids and were in and out of the house. Max wanted to play in the sprinkler so I sat it up for him. It was a great excuse for me to get some sun and read my book , too. Monday evening was the groundbreaking at the kid's school for the new gym. It is very exciting for our school and church community. Mere and Max were happy to be a part of it!

One last thing which you may or may not know. It is Amazon prime day.....supposed to be better than Black Friday Deals (say what lol). Lots of awesome things listed. I don't really need anything. But if you have a kindle they even have deals on books. There are a few I have on my wishlist to read.

Have a great week!!

Summer Fun on A Budget { Picnic + CVG Viewing Area}

Happy Friday friends!! Did everyone have a great 4th of July? We sure did. We went swimming, cooked out, and had some fun with sparklers.

But I am having a hard time keeping up with what day it is this week. Having a holiday in the middle of a work week always throws me off. I was lucky to be off two days during the week, but will be paying for it by working Saturday. On Wednesday I was looking for something fun to do with the kids without spending a ton of money or any money for that matter. They love going to the airport and watching the planes take off and land so we packed a picnic and off we went. This area has been redone in recent years. They added a play area that is fenced in plus picnic tables and benches. It was super hot so we ate and played for about an hour. We like to talk about all the places we want to travel to. It's nice to dream! lol. I hope to take them on their first plane ride soon but in the mean time the CVG viewing area will have to do:)

Have a great weekend!!