Attitude Adjustment

I'm sick of seeing the latest post's title about bugs and puppies so I thought I'd update. This week (Week 6) marks the first week that I finally am feeling "at home" in Charleston. It probably has to do with the cooler weather beings we are used to it but hopefully by the time it starts getting really hot next year, we'll really feel like this is home and it'll be different! I decided I needed an a quick attitude adjustment. If I was going to spend all my time dwelling on what I missed in Seattle, I was never going to be truly happy about being here!

Highlights of last post until now...

Post House

Last week was Restaurant Week so we joined Blake & Erin in Old Village Mount Pleasant for a wonderful dinner at the Post House. They treated us to a lovely dinner (so nice!) and a cheers to being in Charleston...who knew that we'd be living here together after Matt & Blake were roommates in Seattle? It was so fun...thanks guys for a fantastic evening! The dinner was delicious and the restaurant is adorable. It is located in the area of Mount Pleasant that was the fictional town of Seabrook from the Notebook which is just a fun little fact for you :)

The Notebook was filmed all over Charleston but what I'm dying to see the most is Boone Hall Plantation that acted as Allie's summer home...it's literally half of a mile down the street from us, we just haven't made it there yet. You can still tour the beautiful plantation...

Boone Hall Plantation

Anyways, enough about The Notebook. Out of excitement for the PGA Championship next August, we drove out to Kiawah Island in hopes of getting a view of the course. We were unaware that this island is entirely private and hence, were not allowed to enter. Fail. We did, however, park it in this tiny little village called Freshfields just long enough to look at fishing gear and eat some ice cream. We then made our way into downtown Charleston to have coffee and start planning our Christmas vacation...more about that later...
This coffee shop we stumbled upon was so cute! It specializes in not only coffee but craft beer. Who knew such a place existed?

handsome hubby...where's his wedding ring? Guess we'll be having a chat about that later!

delicious chai

Check it out if you're ever in Charleston! Well, tomorrow we are off to St. George Island, Florida to celebrate our friends Amy & Paul as they say "I do"! We're really looking forward to our weekend with some amazing people...

Bugs & Puppies

I'm kind of a whimp when it comes to bugs...ok a big whimp. People always say that there are "big bugs" in the south but I failed to keep that in mind when making our decision to move here. Well, they weren't lying. Luckily for me, I've been able to ease into the bugs. Our corporate housing is a newer, one bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor which means that bugs can't really wander inside too easily. Although, I did meet a "Palmetto bug" in our kitchen a few weeks ago...aka a cockroach! Everyone refers to them as Palmetto bugs which doesn't sound too bad until you actually see one...

Well, this morning I'm heading out to a cute little house to hopefully sign a lease (don't want to jinx it yet) and honestly, one of my hesitations about moving into it is knowing that it is slightly older & that it's on ground level...which means more potential for insect visitors. Ridiculous right? It is pretty much necessary to perform quarterly pest control in any house you live in around here so I'm just going to rely on that! Don't worry Brenna Violett...hopefully the first frost will occur by the time you get here and they'll all be dead.

The other thing that bothers me is all the stupid toads sitting on the sidewalks. Matt and I have been waiting until it starts to get dark at night to go running. It's the coolest time of the day so it's most enjoyable then. But what I hate about that is that there are all these tiny toads laying around that blend into the sidewalk/street so I'm constantly thinking I'm going to step on one...they look like this...

Kind of cute but mostly disgusting. I better get a grip on this attitude...at least I know that I'll appreciate non-buggy areas whenever we do move again...

And now I better redeem myself with a reason to come visit us after the above comments...we're getting a puppy! We finally bit the bullet and put a deposit down on an English Goldendoodle. I think Matt is worried that his manhood might be compromised by owning a dog that has anything to do with the name "doodle" but I know he is just as excited as I am :) He/she (we haven't picked which one we want yet) was born 3 weeks ago and we can't take it home until it is 8 weeks old...that means you won't be hearing about it again for 5 more weeks but here is a photo of a puppy from their last litter so ours will look similar...

Pretty Cute eh?

Another Fave

Our sweet friend, Melissa, came over for dinner on Tuesday night. She started using the computer and noticed our blog was up...then she asked "did you blog about me?!". I replied that I didn't think that I did and it made me realize that I was taking such a blessing for granted.

So...this post is about Melissa :) As you might know, Matt spent a year at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa as part of the National Student Exchange program back in his junior year of college. While he was there, he made many amazing friends and Melissa was one of those precious people. Well, after Matt & Melissa said goodbye in May 2007, little did they know they would be moving to the same place in the same week in August of 2011! 

I had the privilege of meeting Melissa while Jeff was living in Tuscaloosa during the spring of 2009 right before I moved to Seattle. Over the past two years, Melissa and I would text back and forth randomly, I think we might've even shared a phone conversation at one point but that was about it. For some reason though, I always felt like she was someone that I have known for a long time. I feel like we click easily and it's always fun and carefree to be around her. She has a sarcastic, yet sweet sense of humor which I love and therefore, I enjoy her :)

Well, a few months ago, she announced on facebook that she was moving to Charleston to work at the Children's Hospital here. I remember being extremely envious of her in that moment and wishing that I could also experience Charleston! It was just a few weeks later that Matt was offered an interview so I secretly texted Melissa the news (even though Matt told me not to say anything...oops, sorry Matt!) because I had to tell someone! And well, the rest is history.

Melissa's friendship has been such a blessing to me (and Matt). It is so nice to have someone experiencing the same transition in life. I felt especially grateful for her on my birthday as she treated me to lunch...who knew I would have a friend to share a birthday lunch with just two weeks after moving here!

So anyways...yes, Melissa, I now blogged about you...are you happy?! Just kidding...so grateful that you're here with me!

Southern Living

It's finally cooling off a bit here in Charleston...today's high is 84 with 66% humidity. Yes, that's still hot but much more enjoyable than the weather we've been having since we got here. People tell me it cools off towards the end of September and that we might be able to experience fall mid-October (we'll see about that!) Yesterday, I really felt like fall was approaching as I walked into Starbucks and saw that pumpkin spiced lattes were back in action!...one of my favorite parts of the season. I notice that people aren't big on coffee here...but I have to realize that I'm comparing it to Seattle where a Starbucks can be seen on every corner. I can see why though, who wants a hot latte when it's a sauna outside?!

Well, let's see...we had a really fun time with my dad last weekend. He flew into town on Friday morning so we headed downtown for some lunch at Groucho's and a walk down King Street. We enjoyed some shopping before picking Matt up after he got off work and heading to a Riverdogs game with Blake & Erin! The Charleston Riverdogs is a Minor League baseball team...they won 1-0 over the Asheville Tourists. It was a good time minus the fact that I bought a pizza only to have someone from above the bench where I was eating it spit into it...really...who does that?

Saturday, we went to Sullivan's Island beach... followed by some Home Team BBQ which was our first bbq experience since we've arrived in Charleston. It was amazing! Pulled pork, mac n' cheese, baked beans, cornbread muffin, beef brisket....mmm...

Sunday...we took a carriage ride through the historic district of Charleston...I loved this!

beautiful cobblestone road

I'm not exactly sure what was happening here but it's so southern!

This inn was an old house that was given to a daughter from a generous father as a wedding gift in 1890. It was voted by Southern Living as one of the most romantic getaway spots...complete with meals served from the Junior League Charleston Receipts cookbook :)

an old street that was used for "dueling" back in the day...many people died on this street and therefore, it's supposedly haunted.

Chief...our chauffeur...what a beauty!

Update from the Lowcountry...

I can't believe it's almost September. That means that we've been gone from Seattle for almost a month already! Doesn't seem possible. I miss it more than I thought I would. I knew I'd miss the people that we left but I didn't realize I'd miss the city so much. I know that we didn't want to live there forever...too big, too much traffic, and too much rain. But, there are many things that I do and will always miss about it that I took for granted.

First and foremost, I miss the variety of food. You could get any type of food that you could dream of...and there was always at least one restaurant per food variety that was amazing. Two...I miss having our windows open & fresh air. If we opened our windows here for even 5 minutes, our entire house would turn into a sauna. This makes me grateful for air conditioning although which is something we didn't have in Seattle. When our apartment was hot for a few weeks in the summer time, there was no escaping that! Third, I miss (call me crazy) the noise at night outside our bedroom window. This is funny because this is something that I often complained about (insatiable, I know) but it's almost too quiet here...I'll get used to it though! Fourth, good beer & wine. The south does not have good beer. Let me rephrase, they have good beer but it's not local. All good beer that we've had here comes from either Colorado, Oregon, or Washington. This observation could be premature although because we have yet to experience the breweries. My dad just sent me a link to all 5 of the breweries in the Charleston area so I'll have to report back on this! And wineries...aww...wineries...no need to expand.

This is a depressing post! Let me list my favorite things so far about Charleston to conclude:

• the ocean. omg...amazing. warm water, the beach, boogie boards, laying out, awwwwww....
• the history. there is an endless amount of history to be explored here...I have yet to even tap into it!
• the cobblestone roads & sidewalks downtown.
• the southern food.
• the nice people.
• the fact that people actually say "hi" and wave at you when they pass by...crazy concept i know.
• the SUNSHINE! Where have you been for the past two years?
• the fact that I don't have to drive on a major interstate when I want to go to Target.
• that fact that I can shop at a grocery store that's named "Piggly Wiggly"
• the southern drawl.
• palm trees.
• More to come I'm sure!

Quick detail update...Matt likes his job. I'm still job searching. Meanwhile, I'm substitute teaching. My dad is coming from DC this coming weekend. We already attended our first wedding this past weekend (congrats Chris & Court!). We are living in a corporate apartment until Sept 29th (we miss our stuff!). I saw my first cockroach this week (also known as a Palmetto bug...disgusting).

If anyone wants to come visit, you are welcome...not that you will probably want to after that last roach comment!

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene has formed just in time for a big ol' welcome to the Carolinas! I was just casually flipping through channels yesterday when I began to notice a pattern...a tiny little box in the corner of the screen with the hurricane radar being displayed. Awesome. Well, it's Tuesday and IF it hits, it will most likely hit on Friday night and early Saturday morning. The thing I like (glass half full perspective) about hurricanes is that you have time to prepare for them. As we drove through Tuscaloosa, Alabama last week, the damage from their tornado back in April took my breath away. I thought about how scary it would be to be in such a situation where you literally only have minutes of notice to protect yourself & family.

The really bad part about the possibility of Irene is that our friends Chris & Courtney have a wedding planned for Saturday evening. The Haagensons will be here visiting for that wedding as well...so let's all pray that Irene changes her course and stays away from Charleston! We'll keep you posted...or just watch the weather channel for updates :) IF we have to leave...we'll head up north to visit my padre I'm assuming so we'll be safe. Now...must go buy water and canned goods :)

Humidity

Man...did I ever underestimate the humidity. It seemed as though every time I'd tell someone that we were moving here, they had to make a comment about the heat & humidity. It felt similar to the constant comments about the rain before I had moved to Seattle. But..they.are.right! It is so humid here. It is nice when you first walk out of your house after freezing your booty off inside with the AC up so high, but if you spend any amount of time outside, be prepared to be sticky. New things I learned this week...don't go running before 9pm, drink lots of water, clinical strength deodorant is worth the money, hair straighteners are a waste of money, & no matter how good you look when you leave your house, you'll look 1/2 as good after 5 minutes outside...

In other news, I'm attending my very first Junior League meeting tomorrow evening which is super exciting...maybe I'll meet some ladies who are in the market for a new friend :)