Charleston with Tilly

We just got back from four days in Charleston, SC.  Our first family vacation!  Tilly was eight weeks old when we flew there, and two months old on our flight back!  We had the best time while we were down there.

I consider us fairly seasoned travelers...but traveling with an eight week old is a TOTALLY different ball game.  Here is a <somewhat> brief overview of our trip!

Plans:
The plan:  We had very low expectations for what we were going to "do" while we were there.  We didn't want to book every second of every day, since we didn't know what kind of a traveler Tilly would be.  We booked a walking tour for Wednesday, and planned to visit Boone Plantation on Thursday, and that was the extent of any formal planning.

The reality: Low expectations set us up for extreme success!  The walking tour started out a little rough, until we realized Tilly was overtired,  I put her in the Solly wrap and she slept the rest of the tour no problem!  The walking tour was a great way to start our trip in Charleston, because it gave us some fun history, as well as a lay of the land downtown, so we better knew how to spend the rest of our time there.

On Thursday when we went to Boone Hall Plantation we used our newfound knowledge, and put Tilly in the Ergobaby carrier from the start!  She slept through the house tour, and was content as we walked around the grounds the rest of the morning.  I nursed her during a presentation they put on 3 times a day, in a nice shaded outdoor theater.

Friday we decided to spend some time back out on Sullivan's Island, and took a long walk on the boardwalk at Shem Creek Park on our way out there.  Tilly loved the bumpy stroller ride, and the views were beautiful.  The weather was perfect, so we spent a little bit of time on the beach, but the sun got to be too much so we didn't stay long!

Otherwise, the rest of our time was spent wandering around downtown.  We especially enjoyed the waterfront parks.  The benches were perfect to relax and take breaks to nurse, and the weather was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold - with just enough breeze coming off the water!  I also think I could have wandered up and down the side streets staring at the big beautiful houses all day long.  All the brick had us trying to figure out where we could put brick accents at our house!

Lodging:
The plan: We are always huge fans of AirBNB, but especially traveling with an infant (who we hadn't met at the time we were booking!) it seemed to make the most sense.  Lodging is not cheap in Charleston, but we were able to find an apartment AirBNB for $175 a night - complete with a kitchen and a separate living room.  We figured the kitchen might come in handy - and the separate bedroom would give us options, not knowing exactly what our sleeping situation would be at that point.

The reality:  Kitchen was SUPER handy.  I brought my pump so that we could pump and have bottles on hand in case they made sense in various situations rather than nursing....and that wouldn't have been possible without a refrigerator.  Also, having an infant makes your mornings much slower - nursing and getting everyone ready before heading out - so having a coffee pot to start our day before we made it out to breakfast was a major win.  We could have saved some serious $$ by using the kitchen for more meals, but we had decided that food was going to be a big part of our trip, so we opted against that.

We packed a travel bed for Tilly to sleep in.  Up until this point she was sleeping in a pack and play next to our bed.  We could have set it up just about anywhere, but since we knew we were planning to transition her to her crib when we got back, we decided to try setting it up in the living room.  She slept great!

Added bonus: LAUNDRY!  For anyone with kids, you know how massively helpful this was.  Every outfit she blew out came home nice and clean.  It was also nice to wash all of our clothes Friday night, so we barely came home with any additional laundry.

Food:
As we've traveled more, food has become a more important part of the "experience" for us.  We did lots of research and took recommendations from people we know who have traveled to Charleston before, and came up with a pretty comprehensive list of places we wanted to try out.  I'll give you the full rundown, since we were pretty happy with all of our choices!

Wednesday 
lunch: Cru Cafe - Great start to our trip!  Place is small - we managed to sneak in without reservations because we were ahead of the rush crowd, but I would call ahead.  Lucked out extra by getting one of their four patio tables, tucked off to the side with room for our stroller.  Ordered fried brie and a shrimp BLT, and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert.  Everything was delicious!  Tilly napped through most of lunch in her stroller.

dinner: Edmonds Oast - Edmond's Oast is a win-win for food and drink.  They brew their own beer, and also have an extensive list of other local brews on tap.  This place came highly recommended, and we got their last available reservations at 8pm when we called that day.  The later reservation worked out great - we fed Tilly, swaddled her up and she slept through dinner in the stroller.  Our food, including a charcuterie plate to start was delicious, and we each tried a couple of their own brews.  I went for the PB&J beer, and the cookies & creme.  Postpartum I've been a bigger fan of stouts, so that was right up my ally!

Thursday
breakfast: Page's Okra Grill - We were heading out to Boone Hall Plantation Thursday, so we planned our food accordingly.  Page's Okra Grill was quick, tasty and filling.  I got a standard breakfast with a biscuit - and Ant got crab cakes which we shared.  The big booths were perfect for Tilly to lay on and get her daily leg workout in ;)
lunch: The Obstinate Daughter - After the plantation we headed to the Obstinate Daughter for lunch.  This was another one on our list that came highly recommended.  We split a pizza and a shrimp roll while Tilly got her second workout of the day in next to me!  I've heard good things about their brunch and dinner as well!
dinner: Poogans Porch - There were three slightly "fancier" places that kept coming up - Poogan's Porch, Husk and Magnolias.  Knowing we were traveling with a little one, we decided to choose one of the three for dinner.  We made another later reservation at Poogan's Porch, and swaddled Tilly up for bed in her stroller.  It worked out great!  Mom & Dad got a romantic date night.....with a cute little bundle sleeping next to us :)  We had our most traditional southern meal this night - fried green tomatoes to start - and then the country friend chicken and the shrimp & grits.  YUM!  The place was nice, without being too fancy schmancy.

Friday
breakfast: Callies Hot Little Biscuits - quick, simple breakfast on the go.  We each got a set of three biscuits.  Highlight:  the cinnamon biscuit, by a landslide..although everything was tasty.  Insider tip: USE THE APP!  We ordered ahead of time for a 9am pickup, and I squeezed passed everyone waiting in line to pick up my order while Ant lived parked outside.  MAJOR WIN!  The line wasn't too bad that day, but was moving slowly...and when we drove by Saturday it was all the way down the block.  Aint got time for that!
lunch: Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ - we knew we wanted BBQ, and asked our walking tour guide for advice.  She suggested Fiery Ron's...and it did not disappoint.  BEST WINGS EVER.  Seriously, and I don't even like wings.  My husband was bummed that I wanted to eat my entire share of them.  We also ordered game changers -their signature frozen drink, and more than our share of BBQ.  We basically rolled ourselves out of there when we were done.
dinner: Kaminskys Dessert Cafe - After a huge lunch we decided to stick to dessert for dinner - my favorite kind of meal!  We split three desserts between the two of us, and I am not ashamed!  They don't have an actual menu - because their desserts sell so fast, you just order out of the case.  I wanted one of each!

Saturday
brunch: Hominy Grill - Hominy Grill was right next door to our AirBNB, and only does brunch on the weekends...so we checked out Saturday and showed up right at 9am when they opened.  Good thing!  By the time we left the place was PACKED with a super long wait.  So get there early!  I ordered a Charleston Nasty Biscuit and was a happy camper.
lunch: Carmella's Dessert Bar - This was the one other meal that wasn't a pre picked restaurant.  The waitress at Poogan's Porch raved about their desserts, so we split a meat & cheese plate and dessert at Carmella's before leaving town.  The table out on the sidewalk was ideal for people watching, and the desserts were HUGE - definitely meant for sharing!

Coffee
Black Tap:  Very small and took a VERY long time to get our drinks....however, I had a brown sugar latte that made me one VERY happy mama.  Ant got a shaken iced drink made with espresso, honey and mint.  Yum!
Welkin Coffee:  Wins MVP of the trip, hands down.  Originally found it when we were looking for a coffee shop our first day, and ended up there three of the four days.  Their patio is huge and right across from the city market, so it was the perfect place to take a break and nurse Tilly while people watching.

General Travel:
Rental Car:  We were originally not going to rent a car, but last minute decided to.  BEST decision.  We had so much extra "stuff" with us, and having the rental car in a parking garage downtown made it so much less stressful to pack up for the day.  We would just throw stuff in the truck!  (Yes, we ended up with a big beautiful truck - and now Ant's dying for a truck of his own!)  We decided to rent a car seat as well.  This wasn't my favorite thing - it would have been nicer in some ways to have her car seat with us, but we decided the amount of driving we were doing, she would survive with a rented one, and it meant we didn't have to lug our through the airport!

Packing:  We did (what I think) was a very good job packing!  We packed one big checked bag, that had my clothes, Ant's clothes, diapers, the Ergobaby and Tilly's travel bed.  We then carried on a small suitcase, a weekend bag, a backpack, a diaper bag, and my pump bag...and gate checked the umbrella stroller.  We could have had one additional bag, since my pump bag would have been considered medical equipment, but we didn't end up needing the space, and quite frankly I don't think we would've had enough hands to physically carry it all!  We could have packed way less diapers and just bought them down there, but we had the space so I figured that was one less thing to worry about when we got down there.

Airport:  I carried Tilly in the Solly wrap through the airport.  It kept my hands free for carrying stuff, and let us get through security relatively easily (nothing is actually ever easy at JFK).  They just had us go through the normal metal detector, and checked my palms.  At JFK, I didn't have to take my pumped milk out of the bag or cooler at all.  In Charleston, they made me take it out of the cooler to go through on the belt, and then did additional tests on it.  I just told them I had more than 3 oz of milk with me as I got up to the detector and asked them how they preferred I handle it!  Easy peasy.

We flew out of JFK because it allowed us to do direct flights...and I have no other good advice for traveling with an infant.  I was prepared to nurse Tilly during take off and landing to help with her ears.  On the way there, I nursed during take off and she slept until we landed....and on the way home she nursed as soon as we got on the plane, but was asleep before take off and slept the entire ride.  Needless to say, Ant and I were feeling very lucky with our little champion flier!!!

Last but not least - I thought I'd recap quickly our "Travel MVPs" when it comes to baby gear.
Summer Infant 3D Lite Convenience Stroller:  I did a lot of research into "umbrella" strollers and put this one on our registry.  My MOH's mother very generously gifted it to us at our shower, and it was SO convenient!  It reclines fully, so it can be used with infants, and has enough "extras" - cupholder, storage, sun cover that made it perfect for this trip.  Since we weren't bringing our infant car seat, this was an easier option for lugging through the airport than our full sized stroller.

LulyBoo Baby Lounge Classic: aka - travel bed!  I've heard great things about the dock a tot - but couldn't swallow the price.  This did the job at a fraction of the cost!  We specifically bought it for this trip, but its gotten a lot of use at home as well.  She slept every night in Charleston in this, set up on the couch surrounded by extra pillows, because...new parents :)  It folds right up and fit in our suitcase with everything else!
SollyBaby wrap/Ergobaby 360:  #teambabywearing...enough said.  Tilly naps so well in either carrier.  I prefer the Solly while she's still little and Ant uses the Ergo, so we took turns!
Lily Jade Diaper Bag: Backpack diaper bags are the way to go!  Usually Ant would push the stroller while I carried the diaper bag, but the ability to be hands free is so valuable.  It fit everything we needed for her throughout the day, plus some.  This was definitely one of my mom splurges - but I got it on sale at the end of last season and use it every.single.day. so, worth it!

The Blair Wife Project: Wedding Dress Pilgrimage

It’s been a while but I promise it has been for good reason.  A lot has happened since my last post. For starters, it’s been babies galore. My cousin had her baby and three of my bridesmaids are brewing little bundles. Cody and I booked our caterer.  My sister came home from Hawaii for a visit. We said goodbye to my Grandpa. Cody and I awkwardly fumbled through our engagement photo session. Season 7 of Walking Dead started.  

It’s been nuts.

Amidst all this I have also embarked on the mini-pilgrimage within Cody and I’s epic adventure known as wedding dress shopping.  A divine and critical mile-marker I have both been excitedly anticipating and dreading. You read that correctly . It is very possible to experience extremes at the same time.  Imagine sneezing. You get super relieved (‘I’ve been staring at the ceiling for 10 minutes waiting for this bad boy’) and super anxious (‘omg, my eyes are going to pop out’) for a millisecond. Same concept.

For starters, regular shopping gives me a headache. Clothing shopping, grocery shopping, even a trip to CVS; it’s just annoying. Unless it’s Target I’m not a fan. I’m especially bad at clothing shopping. What will look good? What size will fit?  Where the hell is the aisle for dress pants, again? I often gather up an armful of things to try on and end up abandoning them halfway to the dressing room in favor of leaving the store all together. Woof.

Secondly, I have awful body image. I am not able to compare my experience to others and I know it is way too common but all I can say is I am very aware the way I view myself is not normal.  After years of working on it, continuing to work at it, I still see pictures and often don’t recognize the body attached to my face. Personal scrutiny unfortunately remains my automatic setting.  I’m especially terrible when I’m stressed.

The week or so before my first dress appointment, my anxiety built up nice and slow. A potent and rather confusing mixture of angst and enthusiastic anticipation because I freaking out over an appointment that I decided to book, furthermore, a group event complete with champagne and photographer. I had done this because I thought it would be a fun and a nice way to bring all the bridesmaids together. We would go and play dress up, there would be mild tension often featured on Say Yes to The Dress, then we would laugh and cry and it would be over.  Well there was no tension – my bridesmaids are the chillest bunch of girls. My mom and MIL-to-be were calm and after the first 2-3 dresses, so was I.  The hives faded fast (yes, I broke out in hives) and we all discovered the more I looked disgusted, the more it meant I liked the dress.  I was hoping it would be a one and done scenario.  Max two. That was the dream.

What we also discovered is that this was a lot harder than I wanted it to be.  The common pattern I noticed throughout almost all my dress appointments was I could usually narrow it down to two dresses that were always POLAR opposites. One that often fit what I always thought I wanted and one that was unexpectedly simple or more traditional.  I quickly spiraled deep into an existential crisis.  What did I really want to look like on my wedding day? Had it all been a lie? What did people think I would wear? Does my mom like it enough? What would Cody like best? WHO AM I?

After much soul searching, two factors emerged as critical to narrowing down my search: budget & vision.

Budget.  For me, I couldn’t see myself spending tons of money on one dress that I would wear one time. I have nothing against brides who spend $8000 on a wedding dress.  If you have the funds and most importantly, you feel amazing – go bananas.  I’ve just never been someone to spend a lot of money on clothing. I remember one of my homecoming dresses cost literally nine dollars. The dress I wore to Ant and Rachel’s wedding - $14 on clearance at T.J.Maxx. So while my first appointment at The White Dress By The Shore was a blast, not one dress was remotely CLOSE to my budget and that was a tremendous turn off. I knew my realistic selection walking into that place would be limited by my budget and it was very much intended to be a preliminarily appointment to try on different dress styles but what I learned was as the bride it was my job to keep that number in mind during the entire appointment. I needed to set the tone and I did not. I just let people pull dresses and crawled inside. Thankfully I did not find anything I NEEDED to have so from that appointment on, I made it clear I did not want to try on anything that wasn’t within the budget. I played low-ball. I came to appreciate the attendants (especially at Trinket Shoppe, Bliss Bridal, and The Wedding Embassy) who listened and would double check the price tag with me prior to pulling a dress.

Vision. The constant snag in the line. I felt so tightly wrapped up in the multiple layers of what I envisioned my dress to look like.  It was not just what I had in my head but also what I thought other people would expect. While Cody and I have taken a firm joint stance on doing what we want above the suggestions of others for our wedding day, I do admit I felt a little more pressure to ensure my dress lived up to whatever precedent my individual style has conjured up for people. There was a weird disconnect between dresses I WANTED to love and how I actually felt in them. I would often love the back of dresses but not the front or vice versa. The sleeves of sample gowns were unfitted and disappointing.  I routinely felt good in dresses I hadn’t ever imagined myself in but still harbored a longing for the phantom dream dress of my dreams. I think largely due to being sick of the process, I resigned toward the end I would let go of my vision in favor of a budget friendly, more traditional style dress that was both beautiful and comfortable.  It was, after all I told myself, was a just a dress.

I was convinced I was going to pick this comfort dress. I found it by myself, got teary eyed, and immediately made an appointment for my mom to see. Being local to the shop, I invited Rachel and Sabrina along and I was excitedly texting them leading up to the appointment. When I say I was ready to close the book, I mean it.  I even told Cody as I left for my appointment that I was going to be buying my dress that day.

I decided to try on a few dresses with the comfort dress mixed in to gauge my mom, Rachel, and Sabrina’s honest reaction to the dress.  This is key because at this point, I still cared if they liked it or not. There were definitely ones that fit into my abandoned “vision” theme but even so, I was itching to get to the dress and show them.  

Well, the dress I tried before trying on the comfort dress was one I had been casually looking for whenever I went to a shop that carried the designer. I pulled it that day to try on largely just to be able to say I had after the fact but when I put it on, something just clicked.  It was as effortless and bright as turning on a light switch. The dress had all the small pieces of other dresses I loved but more importantly, it was the only wedding dress I’d tried on that I wholeheartedly felt was 100% me.  I walked out and did not need to see my mom, Rachel, or Sabrina’s faces for approval. I literally hopped onto the little pedestal thing, found my reflection and painfully grinned in complete defeat. For giggles, they had me put the comfort one on and I could not get out of it fast enough to put my dress back on.  No tears, no stress, no drama.  Just like that I said, “Okay, cool. This is it. Yup! I’m good”.

Dress shopping with Cate was SO much fun.  She looks annoyingly amazing in everything ;) - so we got to see so many stunning different styles come to life when she would try them on.  I LOVED watching her work through her vision of her day and can not WAIT to see Cody's face when he sees her in "the dress" next September!

xoxo

Franklins World: The North Fork

When we travel, we are nothing if not organized.  That doesn't mean that EVERY minute is planned out - spontaneity has created some of my favorite travel moments ever.....but we certainly do our research beforehand when we're walking into something new.

This past April we went on a mini mid-week vacation to the North Fork with friends of ours!  Angie and Nate had been SO sweet and suggested that we bring Franklin along...which turned out to be the best idea ever.  All four of us work retail of some sort, so mid-week was just as easy to plan as any other normal person's three day long weekend.  We went Wednesday - Friday, the third week of April.  April in New England is a crapshoot to begin with, so we figured it would be the perfect off peak time to go enjoy the vineyards before the crowds got crazy!    We found an AirBNB that was dog friendly right in downtown Greenport, and off we went!

Before we left, I did a LOT of research into the different vineyards on the North Fork.  They fell into one of a few categories: dog friendly, "BYOS" (bring your own snacks) friendly, neither, or both.  While I didn't want our trip to feel overly rigid and planned out, I did want us to know going into it where Franklin would be welcomed, and when we'd need to leave him behind in the apartment!

As it turned out - we could not have gotten luckier with the weather!  We had weather that was sunny and 70 most of the time, which allowed us to bring Franklin along and enjoy many more outdoor spaces.  Since it was still only mid April, and mid week, we had the vineyards to ourselves probably 80% of the time - and when we weren't alone there were never more than a couple other groups around.  This made the entirely trip TOTALLY relaxing and enjoyable, and Franklin was the best behaved pup the entire time!

There are a couple of websites that talk about dog-friendly vineyards, but here's an overview of our personal experiences:

Bedell Cellars:
As soon as we got off the ferry we headed straight to Bedell.  Bedell Cellars states online that dogs are allowed outside, and *update* no outside food is allowed.  (When we were there in April you were allowed to bring outside food)  When we called to confirm that they were dog friendly, the woman told us that since it was so quiet, we could even bring Franklin inside, as long as no other patrons complained.  When we arrived we were the only ones inside the tasting room, so we enjoyed a full tasting to kick off our trip!  We then took a bottle outside, and enjoyed the view of the vineyard while eating our lunch.

Raphael:
Raphael does not allow outside food, but is the only place that very clearly states on their site that dogs are welcomed both inside and outside of the tasting room.  We have been to the North Fork many times, but never been to Raphael - they are often closed for private functions!  So we were thrilled to find them open when we arrived.  Raphael's building is absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed a tasting at the bar in the center of their main room.

Duck Walk:
Duck Walk was the last vineyard we visited on our first day.  They have such a large variety of wines it was a little overwhelming.  We just grabbed a bottle and brought it outside to enjoy on their patio - again we were the only ones outside so I was able to let Franklin run around off leash!

The Lenz Winery:
Based on what I read online, I believe Lenz would be dog friendly in their outdoor area, however we planned our second morning to go to all of the places we couldn't take Franklin - so we just didn't have him when we did our traditional 10AM visit to Lenz!  Most vineyards open around 11 or 12, but Lenz is famous in our world for their early hours.  We also love their wine, so we make a point to go there first thing in the morning when we're visiting - another perfect way to beat the crowds!

Sparkling Pointe:
Sparkling Pointe is not dog friendly, nor outside food friendly...but their sparkling wines are delicious and so it's a necessary stop!  They also do table service for your tasting, so you can enjoy the weather outside rather than standing at the bar.

Kontokosta Winery:
Another winery that does not allow dogs or outside food.  In this case, their views are a necessary stop so we forgave them and made the trip!  They are the first vineyard you get to coming from the ferry - and they have a sprawling lawn leading up to a cliff looking over the water.

Mattabella Vineyards:
Mattabella is another favorite of mine.  They have an extremely adorable outside seating area - so every group gets to sit at their own table with either chairs or benches - they even have blankets for the cooler temps to keep you cozy!  They offer a red or white tasting, and include some "bites" to go along with the tastings. AND!  Dog friendly :) We often take a bottle of their wine home with us.

Palmer Vineyards:
Palmer is pet friendly in their outside seating area - and ended up being another hit!  Their indoor space looked like an english style pub, and they had tons of patio and lawn seating outside.  Ant and I ended up joining their wine club, so we get 3 bottles from them 4 times a year!  It's been a really nice reminder of the trip.  It's also a really great "easy in, easy out" location with tons of parking, so I've recommended it to friends and family looking to grab good wine when in the area!

As an added bonus, we also stopped by the Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.  They have two locations - their original one in downtown Greenport, and an expanded space a little further down in Peconic.  We brought Franklin with us to the Peconic location and enjoyed a beer flight for a change in scenery!

Overall, our mini getaway was absolutely amazing!  We loved being able to get away with friends, without having to leave Franklin behind. (although there are many grandparents always happy to have him!!)

Have you been to any of the vineyards on Long Island?  Which is your favorite??  Ever since getting pregnant I have been counting down the days until my next vineyard visit!