Sassy Southern Blonde

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CHARLESTON TRAVEL GUIDE

May 15, 2022

Even though our weekend getaway to Charleston started on the wrong foot, we ended up having a great time once we finally made it! Baker came home from school with the stomach virus the day before we were supposed to leave and the germs spread quick. I’ll spare the details, but it caused us to miss our flight Thursday morning! The lady at the ticket counter was kind enough to reschedule us for later that afternoon. We were not expecting any good luck after the night we had! Lol.

Once we arrived in Charleston at Midnight on Thursday, we headed straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Andrew Pinckney Inn in downtown! It’s a smaller boutique style hotel, but I was so impressed. Everything was updated, extremely clean and located near all the popular spots! They even offered breakfast and afternoon wine with cheese to all guests!

We hit the ground running on Friday with lunch at 82 Queen! They also have an amazing brunch, but it’s only offered on the weekends. Bo was in desperate need of new clothes, so we shopped along King Street afterwards! There are so many great men’s clothing stores. I had been wanting to visit Camellia’s inside Hotel Bennett, so we grabbed drinks before dinner! It is the most gorgeous bar with a dreamy pink aesthetic. We ended the night at The Darling Oyster Bar with delicious lobster rolls!

Saturday started with peach green teas at a local spot called The Rise Coffee Bar! We didn’t have it in us for coffee just yet. Haha! We ate brunch at Poogan’s Porch with the Fried Green Tomatoes and buttered biscuits! The appetizers were pretty filling, so Bo and I split the Diner Cheeseburger that was too good. We decided to take a Lyft to Folly Beach for the afternoon, and I just had to try dole whip at The Pineapple Hut!

Several recommended TheΒ Citrus Club for drinks, so we went to The Dewberry before dinner! There was an hour wait to get to the rooftop, but we decided to stick it out. They called our names right as we were leaving for our reservation, so we only stayed 10 minutes. I think it was a busy weekend but just a heads up if you’re wanting to visit! I personally think it was worth it!

Dinner was at Bourbon N’ Bubbles that Leva from Southern Charm owns. It was good, but I’m still SO sad we missed our Thursday reservation at Halls Chophouse! I wish I would have rescheduled for Saturday! It was my top recommendation from y’all. And being the Southern Charm fan that I am, I had to visit Sewing Down South! Unfortunately, I think I had just missed Craig and Paige. Lol! I’m leaving more recommendations for y’all to refer to below!

WHERE TO EAT

Halls Chophouse

82 Queen

Poogan’s Porch

The Darling Oyster Bar

Leon’s

Church & Union

Home Team (Sullivan’s Island)

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit

Stella’s

Saltwater Cowboys

Obstinate Daughter (Sullivan’s Island)

Carmella’s Dessert Bar

Husk

The Citrus Club (Drinks)

Camellia’s (Drinks)

Little Palm Bar (Drinks)

WHERE TO PLAY

King Street Shopping

Rainbow Row

Pineapple Fountain

Charleston Market

Boone Hall Plantation

Folly Beach

Sullivan’s Island

XOXO

Kels

Leave a Comment CATEGORIES // Travel

BOSTON + SALEM TRAVEL GUIDE

October 28, 2021

I had been wanting to properly plan a trip to Boston for months, but it never came together! Lucky for me, Bo has always been a huge Red Sox fan and they made the ALCS aka the American League Championship Series! After they beat Tampa Bay, we knew we had to order tickets. Plus, Gigi (my mom) had vacation days left she needed to use before the year was over! Perfect timing. Lol! We quickly ordered the ALCS tickets for Game 3 and Game 4 in Boston, booked our flights, and I started my research to throw together a bomb itinerary in less than a week! πŸ™‚

Being the Type 7 that I am (Google the Enneagram if you’re confused), it gave me anxiety that I didn’t have a lot of time to plan for Boston. When I go on a trip, I have to make the most of every minute! I want to visit the coolest (and most Instagrammable) spots and eat at the best restaurants. I tried to find travel guides from other bloggers for Boston, but I didn’t see many! So I knew I wanted to recap our trip for y’all in case some of you are heading to the city too!

Since our priority was the Red Sox, we opted to stay in Back Bay at the Hilton because it was walking distance to Fenway Park! I think this area is great even if you aren’t doing the baseball thing because it’s near a lot of hot spots and restaurants! I do believe Downtown is the most popular, though.

Once we landed in Boston on Sunday, we quickly checked into our hotel, got ready, and headed to dinner at Lolita! I booked an early reservation for 4:30 because we had been awake since 1:30am. We were exhausted! Haha. But we knew we wouldn’t have another night to get dinner on Boston Harbor, so we rallied! Lolita was SO delicious, and I highly recommend eating here if you’re in Boston. From the food to the overall vibe, everything was perfect! I think my personal favorites were the Broken Heart cocktail and the Churros with a chocolate dipping sauce. YUM!

After catching up on sleep, we hit the ground running Monday! I made a reservation for Saltie Girl at 11am, so we grabbed a house latte from Blue Bottle Coffee and visited the Boston Public Library beforehand. Libraries in big cities are always so beautiful, and Boston’s was no exception! I made Bo snap a photo of me in the Reading Room with the iconic green lamps! Saltie Girl was fabulous, especially for a quick lunch. We ordered the Lobster Rolls, and they tasted super fresh! πŸ™‚

So many people recommended going to the Beacon Hill area and visiting Acorn Street! I think it’s pretty famous with the American flag. We wandered around there for a while grabbing an afternoon coffee from Tatte Bakery and looking at the pretty porch decoration for Fall! Once we found Boston Common at the edge of Beacon Hill, we decided to Uber to Harvard just to say we saw it. We had some time to kill before the baseball game, and I had to see where Elle Woods “attended” school! Hahah.

The whole reason we planned the trip to Boston was for the ALCS games, so we cheered on the Red Sox in Fenway Park Monday night! They won that game, and we had the BEST seats. We sat in section 82 if you’re curious for future reference! Before the game, we split the Hot Chicken Bites appetizer at Loretta’s Last Call near Fenway. I guess I had low expectations because they were super good! Lol.

Since we did pretty much everything we wanted to in Boston, I knew I’d regret it if we didn’t visit Salem on Tuesday! Omg. SO happy we went because it was my favorite part of the trip! We made the mistake of taking an Uber there but rode the train back, which was much better. We ate at Red’s Sandwich Shop and the breakfast was incredible! I’m convinced nothing you order there could be bad! 10/10 recommend.

I booked us a walking tour with Witch City Walking Tours, and it was wonderful! Our tour guide was super informative but made it fun. They even offer a Hocus Pocus tour, but it wasn’t available the day we went! πŸ™ Beforehand, we tried to go to the Witch Museum and it was already booked. We settled on the Witch Dungeon Museum instead! Later on, our tour guide told us the best one is actually the Peabody Essex Museum, and she’s a local so she knows the best spots! Haha.

We rode the train back to Boston after exploring Salem and attended Game 4 of the ALCS series! Unfortunately, the Red Sox lost so we were pretty sad about that. Instead of eating at a bar around Fenway, we got an early reservation at Crazy Good Kitchen, which is a more upscale burger restaurant. I think this is a better lunch spot, but we wanted to go somewhere quick! A few places that were recommended to us but we didn’t have time for were Citrus & Salt, Mike’s Pastry, Beehive, Buttermilk & Bourbon and Ocean Prime!

I’m positive I covered everything and more in this blog post, but please let me know if you have any other questions about Boston or Salem! Thanks for reading πŸ™‚

XO

Kels

Leave a Comment CATEGORIES // Travel

JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING TRAVEL GUIDE

October 14, 2020

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Travel GuideJackson Hole, Wyoming has been on my travel bucket list for YEARS! When Karli suggested we plan a fall trip out West, I was Googling flights on Expedia within 5 minutes! Lol. We decided to fly in Thursday night and leave Sunday morning! I’m so happy Karli and I were able to travel together from New Orleans with all the Covid-19 restrictions in place. Once we touched down in Jackson Hole, we picked up our rental car at the Enterprise desk and headed to our hotel!

My first travel tip would be to make sure the rental car company you use is onsite at the airport! I’m sure you’d be fine taking the shuttle they offer, but this is THE easiest way in my opinion. We were in our Charger (HA) within 10 minutes! And yes, renting a car in Jackson Hole is absolutely necessary, but the process is a breeze!

My second travel tip is a personal preference, but Karli and I both agreed that we wished we would have stayed in Jackson vs. Teton Village! (If you’re unfamiliar with the area, the entire valley is called Jackson Hole) Teton Village is 12 miles past Jackson with gorgeous views, but it wasn’t the most convenient fit for us. Although beautiful, we felt like we could have driven there one afternoon to shoot content, and it would have been enough!

The sole reason is because all the restaurants and things we wanted to do were in or around Jackson, so we kept driving back and forth! Interestingly enough, the main road requires you to go through Jackson to get to Teton Village. If you look at a map, you’ll see why it’s kind of weird! Haha. Now, I’m sharing my recommendations for Jackson Hole below! πŸ™‚

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Travel GuideWHERE TO EAT

-Liberty Burger (Order: Grilled Cheese + Sweet Potato Fries)

-Local Restaurant & Bar (Order: Sparkle Pony Cocktail, Filet, Truffle Mac & Cheese)

-Persephone Bakery (Order: Country Club Sandwich, Chocolate Chip Cookie)

-Hatch Taqueria (Order: La Paloma Cocktail, Queso Fundido, Smoked Pork Tacos)

-The Bunnery Bakery

-Snake River Grill

-Cowboy Coffee

-Bin22

-The Merry Piglets

Side Note: Make dinner reservations before your trip because most places require them and they book up quick!

WHERE TO PLAY

-Grand Teton National Park (Quick 20 minute drive from Jackson)

-Jenny Lake (Located inside Grand Teton National Park)

-Yellowstone National Park (Requires more planning because it’s 2 hours away)

-Million Dollar Cowboy Bar (Major tourist attraction but SO cool)

-Jackson Hole Town Square (Best dining & shopping)

WHERE TO STAY

-Continuum (Our hotel. I’d stay there again, but it is located in Teton Village)

-The Wort (I want to stay here if I travel to Jackson Hole again because it’s on Jackson Square)

-Mountain Modern Motel (Jackson)

-Four Seasons (Teton Village)

-Hotel Terra (Teton Village)

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Travel Guide

XOXO

Kels

Leave a Comment CATEGORIES // Travel

MIAMI TRAVEL GUIDE + OUTFIT RECAP

February 24, 2020

BIG PINK OUTFIT #1

BIG PINK OUTFIT #2

SOUTH BEACH SWIMSUIT #1

SOUTH BEACH SWIMSUIT #2

WYNWOOD OUTFIT #1

WYNWOOD OUTFIT #2

DRESS (Similar HERE and HERE)

ROOFTOP SWIMSUIT #1

ROOFTOP SWIMSUIT #2

DREAMER CAFE OUTFIT #1

DREAMER CAFE OUTFIT #2

ROMPER (Similar HERE)

I had so many great recommendations for Miami, and we tried to do as much as we could! Maxie and I flew in Thursday, Karli met us Friday morning, and we left Sunday. It was definitely a quick trip, but we got some amazing content! We stayed in an up and coming area called Wynwood, which I’m sure you guys know about if you’re familiar with Miami. I highly recommend Domio for a hotel because it has all the apartment vibes with the amenities of a hotel! It’s also a block from Wynwood Walls and other popular restaurants.

Maxie and I had a late lunch at Coyo Taco near there with some bomb guacamole! Dinner was my favorite, though. The restaurant was called Beaker & Gray and it was phenomenal! Since Portland, Maxie has me on such a tapas kick! I loved every dish she talked me into splitting with her. Lol!

On Friday, we had brunch at Big Pink! I’d be lying if I said the cute pink building didn’t play a part in our decision! Hahah. Luckily, the food tasted great too! I ordered the French toast, which is always a safe bet. Next, we headed to South Beach! We stayed there for a while snapping cute photos in front of the famous lifeguard stands. I thought the beach was pretty for a gloomy day in February!

I forgot to mention that there was an adorable mini pie shop called Pink Pie by our hotel! The red velvet and key lime were both delish. Maxie and I ended up going there twice! Lol. We had dinner at Swan Friday night. I was obsessed with this place because it was so chic and had lots of pink in the decor! πŸ™‚

On Saturday, we shot at Domio most of the morning! The rooftop pool was beautiful. I had several people recommend we go to Dreamer at some point, and I’m glad we did. It’s such an Instagram spot, and the food was good! I think I need some flamingo wallpaper in my house! Haha. And we couldn’t go to Miami without visiting the Design District! We even went as far as ordering a $14 coffee with the Dior logo on it. No regrets! Lol.

Our last spot for dinner was Michael’s Genuine! It had great reviews, and the burger was perfect. The service wasn’t anything to write home about, though. It’s also located in the Design District! Such a cool area. You’re bound to see a Rolls Royce or two! πŸ™‚

A few other recommendations that we didn’t get to were Prime 112, Mr. Chow, Joe’s Snow Crab, Yardbird Southern, Gianni Versace Mansion, Midtown Creamery, Pura Vida, Nikki Beach, and The Salty Donut to name a few!

XOXO

Kels

Leave a Comment CATEGORIES // Travel

CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK CITY (2 MONTHS LATER LOL)

February 6, 2020

Always, ALWAYS late to the party! Lol. After we returned from our trip to NYC in December, I hit the ground running with Christmas content. Somehow, I totally forgot to recap everything in a blog post! Most of the places we ate and things we did are available year round in New York City, so that’s why I decided to go ahead and publish this two months later! I promise I’ll do better with my Miami travel guide. Haha!

We arrived in the city at 11am on Tuesday, and flew out Friday night. I highly recommend this because we had Tuesday afternoon and essentially all of Friday but only paid for a 3 night stay! Another helpful tip is having an itinerary. I don’t think you need one for every trip/city, but NYC is a MUST in my opinion! Most restaurants require a reservation, and they fill up quickly. There’s so much to do, and you will waste a lot of time trying to create a game plan!

Our itinerary was pretty incredible, and ended up working perfectly! (Thanks Meag lol) The three of us on the trip each chose our favorite NYC spots, and then Meagan created our schedule from there!

After we checked into our hotel, we went to Pietro Nolita in Soho! I have only taken photos at this famous spot, but we decided to try out the food too. Very delicious! Next was Grand Central Station. Mainly to pretend I was Serena van der Woodsen at the top of the stairs! πŸ™‚ We also snagged some banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery and red velvet doughnuts at Doughnut Plant! Did I eat these both within 10 minutes? Absolutely! Lol. We ended the night with reservations at Beauty & Essex! It was my first time and such a cool vibe!

I really wanted to do things in NYC that I hadn’t before, so we started day 2 at the Cartier building for photos! They turned out great with patience from all the pedestrians! Once we were done, we visited the New York Public Library before our lunch reservation at Serra Alphina in the Flatiron District. Somehow, we scored Jimmy Fallon tickets (another thanks to Meag) and it was cool even though I kept getting him and Jimmy Kimmel mixed up. Oops! Hahaha.

Once we finished with Jimmy, we headed to my #1 request. Mean Girls on Broadway! It was SO worth it. The current cast is amazing! I’d literally go watch it again! And even though we were so tired from the busy day, we ended the night with a late reservation at Tavern on the Green. All I remember is that we ordered the birthday cake dessert at like 11pm, and it was fantastic! πŸ™‚

Day 3 started a little later to recoup from the previous day’s activities! We had brunch at Sarabeth’s, which is a restaurant I have to go to every time I’m in the city! My order was loaded in carbs but worth every bite. Truffle fries for an appetizer and French toast! So dang delicious. We shopped and wandered around Central Park until our next reservation at Blue Box Cafe aka Breakfast at Tiffany’s!

This was my second time to go, and it’s just a magical experience! Unfortunately, Tiffany’s is relocating while their flagship store is renovated, so the cafe is now closed until 2021. How sad! We ended the day at the RosΓ¨ Mansion and Top of the Rock. It was so neat to see the city at night, but I recommend going during the day if you want a good photo!

Our last day in NYC was more low key than the others since we had flights to catch that night. We were all dying to go to Rolf’s and knew we needed to go early for a better chance at getting a table! A few takeaways here. The Christmas decorations are incredible, but the food is horrible! Just being honest. If you land a table, they require you to order a meal! I do think we got better photos having a table versus just standing at the bar for a drink, but I don’t know if my $60 tab was worth it. Lol! Bottom line, just order a drink!

Before grabbing our luggage from the hotel, we wandered around Soho eating truffles at Milk Bar and visiting the Stoney Clover pop-up. This was really the only time we didn’t have solid plans, but I was very grateful for our stacked itinerary throughout the trip! We were able to do so much in a short amount of time. New York City is just so magical at Christmas, although I love visiting anytime of the year! πŸ™‚

PS: My other New York City travel guides are HERE and HERE (NYFW)!

XOXO

Kels

Leave a Comment CATEGORIES // Holiday, Travel

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