Friday, June 30, 2023

Charleston: S.N.O.B., Carriage Ride, Boat Tour

Dress: Sundrenched Printed Maxi Dress by Free People (size M) via Nuuly
Sandals: Klub Nico from Anthropologie via Poshmark
All Jewelry: Vintage
Stats: 5'7" 38-32-42
This warm orangey rust cotton maxi was a dream to wear...I love a breathable cotton summer dress...even if they do tend to wrinkle. The smocked bodice gives a perfect fit...& somehow those tiny little straps always stayed on my shoulders. I wore this without a bra & I feel that anyone with a larger chest would need to size up as my C cups barely fit in there. This was an ideal maxi length for me as I was able to wear it with either flats or heels. The website calls this pink...it's not. 
Lots of fabric in the skirt made it extra swishy.
I find shoulders extremely sexy...my favorite thing about summer is being able to bare them. 
It's so funny that shoes I buy with the intension of painting end up being super useful & go with so much...like these pretties I found on Poshmark. 
While I adore color...earthy tones look best on me...
My make-up with this outfit included...Urban Decay eyeliner in Torch & Lucky, Huda Beauty eyeshadow in Nefertiti & Blood Moon, Pumpkin lipliner by NYX, Heat lipstick from UD, & OPI nail polish in Man of La Mancha. 
I first wore this dress to try out a completely new-to-us place, Baldwin Street Grille...because their offering for burger week sounded delicious (2 smashed patties with grilled scallions, jalapeño mac & cheese, coleslaw, jerk BBQ, & American cheese on a cornbread bun). It's this dive bar across the street from what used to be Smart Studios. 
The kitchen served me fries instead of the tots I asked for...so, our waiter brought us a big basket...I told him...there is no way we'll ever finish those. Ha! The food was great & they were playing classic MTV videos...is there actually a channel now that just plays music?! 
We headed over to Bartell Theatre to see Moon Over Buffalo...we were just early enough to pop next door to have a cocktail...then we ordered another & got in our seats at exactly 7:30. David's drinks: Macadamia Mai Tai (roasted pistachio oil fat washed Plantation 3 Star rum, macadamia orgeat, lemon, celery & rhubarb bitters, wheatgrass Wray & Nephew float) & Peter Pandan (Trois Rivieres Cuvee de l'Ocean rhum, sake, pandan syrup, mango, lime, pineapple, almond-mint foam, nutmeg). My cocktails: Rios Mios (Pitu cachaca, Smith & Cross rum, Finocchietto, strawberry purée, honey syrup, lime) & Doc's Orders (Death's Door gin, Saler's gentian, carrot tarragon syrup, lemon, tonic water, celery bitters, dukkah carrot rim).
Moon Over Buffalo was Carol Burnett's return to Broadway in 1995, after a 30 year absence...the director had sent her an invitation to come to their performance of it. It was funny, but could have been better acted. The second time I wore this dress was for our last full day in Charleston. It was cloudy, but not rainy...yay! We started off at Slightly North of Broad (S.N.O.B.) for brunch. 
Another beautiful old building with a great remodel...I can't recall seeing any new construction in this city...at least downtown. We were greeted by a man singing & playing guitar...which was ideal background music...as we were just the right distance away. Our server brought us warm cornbread (yum) & I ordered a mimosa.My mom had a bowl of Butternut Squash Bisque (topped with crème fraîche & pecan crumble) & I began with Grass Fed Beef Carpaccio (thinly sliced raw beef, red wine dijon, parmesan cheese, capers, grilled baguette). For our main courses...mom got Storey Farm Eggs Benedict (gf buttermilk biscuit, sautéed kale, country ham, hollandaise) & I had Sunday Morning Fish Fry (catfish, Marsh Hen Mill grits, braised collard greens, jalapeño corn tartar). Another great meal in Charleston. A fountain near the restaurant...then a walk to the Big Red Barn for our carriage ride.A tour of the city with Van, a lifelong resident of Charleston, & our horses, Yogi & Boo Boo. The churches, architecture, & houses were all splendid...so much history. It always feels to me that down south is like going to another country. So many grand houses...& you can see a bit of Rainbow Row (13 colorful houses) below.Porches everywhere.Of all the information we learned on our tour...the one that sticks with me is about the fake front doors. The real front of the house is on the side which faces the ocean for the best breeze (the houses were built when there was no a/c)...but they added a door on the front of the house where you'd expect there to be one...it later became called a hospitality door...when it was open, it meant the family was available for visitors. Next time I go to Charleston, I'd like to take a tour inside some of these grand homes.Cobblestone street; a round church; Henry's, the oldest restaurant in South Carolina; passing another carriage tour.I loved this girl's floral dress...I told my mom & she replied...the see-through one?! I hadn't even noticed. After our tour...we walked back to the pineapple fountain.My mom was recovering from knee replacement surgery...so I did a quick jaunt solo...as we had a short drive, then more walking to our boat tour. Beer & wine for sale on the boat...but no sparkling water. The flag is flying above Fort Sumter...which was where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired. Navy aircraft carrier, the Cooper River Bridge, & the aquarium. Back at our hotel...mom went up to the room & I walked across the street to Marion Square where the art fair was set up as part of the Spoleto Festival. Francis Marion Hotel, where we stayed. We decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, The Swamp Fox, because all the good restaurants were booked & my mom was sick of walking. It was the only mediocre food we had during our visit & not worth talking about. We ended the evening with a White Russian (but my mom asked for it with Bailey's Irish Creme...which I looked up & it has its own name, a Mudslide)...I think I'll try ordering that the next time I'm in a bar without a fancy cocktail menu. 


 

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