Vacation.

We've taken a little detour this week. This was not in the plan.

After a lovely Saturday night on the town in Savannah, we are only halfway into our vacation. I'm not talking about why we are here but I will say, this is probably the 2nd hardest thing I've ever been through. I'm a difficult soul. I can be really cagey, but this trip isn't for Hunter or I. This trip was for other people, and for our family.

As always, I love yer faces. Talk to you very soon, and safe travels!

xo,

C

Savannah.

Usually frequent travelers will have blog posts with beautiful artsy photos, and can tell you travel stories to rival a Frommer's guide but I had a 4 year old, a box of spinach dip, and narrow sidewalks to navigate last night. Also, did anyone sober make it out of the pirate pub crawl last night? I've never heard so many drunk aaaarrrggghhh's in my life!

This post however, is my love letter to my favorite city in the entire world Savannah, GA.

A little background about me, I was born in Georgia about 20 minutes northwest in a little town called Marietta. We lived in GA off and on when I was a little wee one, and I always have a soft place in my heart spaces for it. Honestly, when I come here it always feels like home!

Downtown Savannah was my NYC when I was a little girl, and in many ways I think it's sort of that kind of place in the South. First of all, the city culture is brilliant!

Bars.
Live music.
Street performers.
Art.
Diversity, (there's literally a little bit of every culture here).
Food!!!!!!!
Cool knick-knacky places that will make your inner homebody do pirouettes. (This is mostly for the Mom's and crafty people!)

I just lllllooovvvvveeee this town!

Last night we had dinner at a restaurant called Tubby's Seafood. It is on the second floor in an old cotton exchange factory about midway down River St. It's done up in the interior like the inside of a boat with dark hardwood everywhere, and a little bar. We sat inside, because it's August, and it's HOT here but they do have outdoor dining if you're feeling like a little al fresco jaunt is for you. They also had a HUGE bar outside, and they were serving to-go GA Peach flavored Sangria for the grown-ups. YUM!

I am a seafood fan, so I got a surf and turf burger with shrimp on it. It was delicious! If I wouldn't have ordered the spinach dip then it would have been a cheap meal as well, because I spent well under what I was anticipating especially for a place that's technically on the water. Their menu also had specialty things for kids in the seafood department, but also basic things like hot dogs for picky eaters. There are more expensive/fancy dining places along the river, but I try to stay away from those places right now while Hunter's still little and prone to getting up when he's done eating. Of course, I don't want to be that Mom and let him wander around everywhere, but he's 4. What can I say? Family dining for us, (sometimes to my detriment), is still the way to go!

The little stores along the river are fantastic if you just want something to take home as a souvenir, are an antiquer, or if you like homeware type things.

Some of my favorites;

River Street Market Place- (East End)
Lots of shops here, but my favorite was the monogram shop. Good gravy, let's monogram all the things!

Bob's Your Uncle/Fannie's Your Aunt- They have the cutest t-shirts in this store, and I love all the kids options. They literally had the best stock of novelty Savannah t-shirts.

Savannah's Candy Kitchen- Perfect place to take a curious kid! Watch them make saltwater taffy, candy apples, and literally walk around the Bill's Candy Shop of old town Savannah. (Bonus points if you get that reference!)

A Christmas On the River- Everything is Christmas here, and they make no apologies for it. She even had the music on! I love this store, it was by far the best maintained shop we went it and easy to navigate even with a little one. Hunter loved the little village of Southern/Savannah inspired Christmas things in the back right corner of the store!

Five and Dime General Store- This place had a little of everything, and a lot of choices. It's huge, and if you need to get out of the heat for a bit it's a great place to catch your breath or grab some water.

Ellis Square- This is off River St. Perfect place to get away when it's hot! At night you can hear live music from the bars and the park has a little mini splash pad for kids. It's not soft or anything, but Hunter loved it just be careful because it's a bit slippery! (On W Bryan St., and Barnard St. Also there's also a Savannah Visitor's bureau there where you can get city info and public restrooms with changing tables.)

Jere's Antiques- (Off of Jefferson St.) This store has the most impressive and reasonable antiques in old town Savannah. The store is meticulously curated, and they even recreate custom antique bespoke pieces! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. It's my favorite pick out of all the places I've been around town.

Don't forget to take the free DOT trolley rides up and down River St. Also remember you're in the South, ask for directions if you need them! People are super friendly here, and they give great tips if you're polite. :)

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Savannah I encourage you to go, and explore it. It's such a beautiful place, and people are truly friendly. If I had to pick a place to represent the south that I know, and what I grew up with, this would be the place! It's just perfect.

xo,

C

Where I've Been...

I know the blogs been kind of silent this week, but just know that I'm still here, things are coming, and that I've just been swamped!

Between trying to wrap up Summer, and getting my child enrolled in Pre-K my mind is like a zoo where all the animals have been let out. What have I managed? Joined the gym (where I've been going every single day), and eating better, and I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy. sssssshhhhh I told you guys, don't tell the world about my closet inner nerd goddess!

Anyway .... what else has happened?

I can't think. It's late and I have an 8AM class at the gym in the A.M. after which time I will come home and finish a video to post to my youtube, and write about the 10 reason I love Chris Pratt. Deal?

As always, I love yer faces.

xo,

C

Health: The 10 Day Smoothie Cleanse

Today is July 1st, and I'm officially on day 2 of the 10 day smoothie cleanse that we're doing for a month solid. Of course by "we," I mean myself, and two of my aunts. One aunt has already completed 10 days, and now we're on until the 4th of July when we'll be taking a break for the day to enjoy the holiday. What can I say about the smoothie cleanse? Hmmm... it's meh. I do feel better, but it's a pain in the butt only getting smoothies all day long. The things that I like about it is that I literally have to do no actual "cooking," and I get all my fruits and veggies for the day. I'm an ok cook, but surely no professional. You have a small smoothie 3 times a day, and it's chock full of fresh fruits and veggies.

Today my smoothie was red, and tasted like strawberry/banana. It also was packed with fresh spring mixed greens, flaxseed, protein powder, and fruit. It's pretty good. I miss a lot of things like salad dressing, and bread. I didn't realize I ate a lot of bread but clearly, I do. This morning I was literally like. "FML I just want an mf'ing bagel!" Eventually a cooler headed, much calmer Caroline grabbed the frozen strawberries out of the freezer and weeped silently into her sugarless detox tea. I'm going to make it! For the record, I think they should just rename Stevia powdered Exlax, because people should know that. It tastes nothing like real sugar, or anything resembling real sugar. It wrecks my stomach. I've given up on that completely.

Just trolling the Joe Sugg tag on tumblr, and drinking this red stuff. He's adorable and makes me laugh = motivation.



Smoothie Day #1- This green stuff that tastes like apples, and stuff.

I think I'll be ok, just one more day down until the 4th. I do feel better! My skin looks better. I don't feel all foggy and sleepy mid afternoon, so I am seeing improvements but I'm nowhere near where I need to be yet although I am enjoying this. In some weird, sick, twisted way this is sort of the easiest health thing I've ever done. If you want to try it too, pick up JJ Smith's book the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse, on Amazon. If you're like me and trying to change up your lifestyle, do it. Just stop worrying, and complaining, start now! Your body will thank you for it.

xo,

Life: Family

There are lots of big words in the dictionary, but the word, family to me carries the most weight. I took a days break to celebrate! My Dad came for a short visit. It was so nice. I got to cook for him (my famous shrimp quesadilla's) , and talk, and we just visited with one another. It was the nicest visit that I've had in awhile. I live roughly 2 hrs from my hometown, and right now since I moved closer to where I'm from, (closer than I've been in the past 4 years), sometimes that distance feels like an entire ocean's length away from me! I start to miss my Dad. I miss him a lot, even now, and when he leaves it gets difficult for me emotionally. I don't know why, but it just does, fact of the matter is I love my Dad.

Here's a little background, my parents divorced right as I was becoming a teenager. Right when I was trying to figure out who I was everything around me was just crumbling! It's still the hardest thing that I've ever been through. Most of the time, I ignore my feelings about the whole situation but then my conscience likes to play the anxiety battle with me. Oh right, I forgot to mention that too ... anxiety. I've been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since I was about 5. The first time that I ever had one I was in Kindergarten, and my teacher accidentally locked me in the bathroom with the lights off. She was trying to shuffle several kids out of the bathroom that was connected to our classroom, of course I went in last decided I needed to go, and she shut the door behind me. No lights, just me in the dark. I was never a screamer or a cryer, which means that I held it all in until I just broke down. I held it until our student teacher found me in the bathroom couched down next to the toilet, and she just picked me up and hugged me. (If you know some one in the middle of a panic attack, please ask before you do this.) I cried for about 5 minutes, but quickly got over it. It was neither of their faults, but I was deathly afraid of the dark and even more afraid of being locked in a room with no windows. There's more to it, but that's enough right there to know that if you also suffer from this little demon named anxiety then you are NOT alone. I still have them, all the time!

This weekend my Dad came and helped me with some house things that I needed to get done, and also took us to do some fun stuff. We went to the Airborne Special Ops Museum, and got to see all the neat things there. They have 2 new expos, one was about the war in Somila and how the U.S. aided in that conflict. If you've ever seen the movie Black Hawk Down, it was a break down in real time of what happened with archive footage, interviews, and collected artifacts. I'm one of those freaky girls who was quietly studious and loved history. I liked History, Government, and English in school. For whatever reason, I spent a bulk of my later childhood obsessed with World War II and the 1940's because of what I learned in school. I pretty much wanted to live in my rag curls, and wear winged eyeliner, and be in an old school USO show. I just thought it was rad!

Right now a section of the lawn outside the museum is the grounds for the Field of Honor. It's a pretty moving sight to see all of those flags flying in one place, and each of them is dedicated to someone whose served, currently is serving, or whom has died in the line of duty. I come from a family where my grandfathers made the military their careers, and I thought of that as I stood there on the steps looking down on this field. Each one of those flags meant that a person out there belonged to someone else, or that someone thought enough of them to sponsor a flag for them. It's just moving! Hunter asked me about the flags as he was taxing his brand new helicopter across the steps, and we looked at them together for a few moments. The reality is, I didn't have an answer for him I was just too moved.

It seems like a heavy weekend, but really we had a blast. It's almost Independence Day too, and guess what? We're headed to the lake house! I'm so excited for Hunter to get to spend his first holiday there.  It's literally going to be magical, and of course, there will be FIREWORKS!

xo,

Vlog fail!

I did a vlog thing. It's not my best, nor do I look my best.

Things you should know;

1. I was running late.
2. I just got back from a workout and put things on my face.
3. I'm never wearing my hair up again.
4. I promise it'll get a lot better.

Anyway, here it is.

xo,

Life: Sunday Fun-day

Sunday Snaps

Sunday is probably my most favorite day of the week, because it's when we really get to hang out with our immediate family. I love the cooking, and stories, and the small talk. Since it's just Hunter and I, a majority of the time, spending Sunday's with our family members is crucial as I find it helps ground us.

This weekend we had to do some quick grocery shopping, and we had lunch at our favorite diner Highway 55. They have this frequent diners card thing, and if we're ever in NC that's usually where I stop. They make fresh burgers but they're diner style, so they're messy and delicious! I could make these at home, so I intend to perfect my version within my next month of meals at home. A specialty of NC, (especially in the area that I live in), we put chili, mustard, and coleslaw on our burgers and we refer to it as all the way. It's pretty good, but sort of an odd combination if you're not from here, and I once caught myself asking for it out of state where they looked at me like I was completely nuts! If you're ever here, try it just to say that you have because it's pretty darn delicious.

Here's monkey having a sip of Sprite with what he call's crunchy ice, or for normal people, finely ground ice.

This is where I fail at being a girl. Also I switched to these flats after church, but they totally don't match my dress whatsoever. Anyway, flats by American Eagle for Payless.

Funny story times! 

"Oh Caroline, did you just get a run in your stockings?" 

Are you kidding me? Nope. I got dressed in the dark of my walk-in closet this morning, because my puppy likes to only jump on me when I'm dressed up, and I came out looking like I just got into a fight with a rabid, wild dog all by my own accord.

"You didn't notice it getting into the car?" 

Nope. 

"Did you notice it when you got out of the car?" 

Nope. Wrong again, someone started talking to me to say good morning. So I was polite, and looked them in the eyes instead of at my gaping holes in my flibberity gibbity stockings.

 "So what your saying is, you fail at being a girl most of the time?" 

I mean, I'd say you've got it, but you've just got it!

I went through half a church service before realizing I had not one, or two, but THREE runs in them and I looked like a total moron. It's 9,000 degrees with about 90 percent humidity you're lucky I had clothes on this morning! Also, I couldn't reach the zipper on my dress which is why being a girl with ginormous boobs is a burden at times which is why I had flop sweat when I was trying to fix my frizzy hair business. Anyway we made it, and we were early, and I rocked huge runs in my stockings because LIFE. I also was wearing heels, which basically was like. "let's give this wolverine girl with runs in her hose a little more leverage to show off those sexy, holy, tummy sucking in support stockings because she's too cheap to go to Nordstrom's."

Here's an OOTD for Hunter:

Shirt: Polo by Ralph Lauren

Pants: Baker by Ted Baker @ JcPenny

Shoes: Sperry Topsiders

Belt: Dickies

For the most part, Hunter picks out his own clothes and completely dresses himself, except for his shoes. This morning I suggested this new shirt for him and I actually liked it a lot. He looks so adorable in Polo, and I love that it just matches his personality; bright, sporty, and happy! (Please ignore all the wine behind him, for some reason this is the only aisle he likes to stand still on otherwise, he might as well be in the jungle swinging from trees or trying to break open fruit with his feet.) 

What I'm trying to tell you is life with a 4 year old little boy is like living life one bated breath to the next. Just stock up on Tums now, because you'll have constant anxiety inducing spasms which make you feel like you're living on the edge of death almost every second of their life. He's so adorable, but sometimes he just scares the bejesus out of me!

That was all of our snaps from this Sunday. I'm hoping to make this a weekly thing, and so we'll see you next week for another installment. :)

xo,

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