Charleston by night.



If I didn't think that Charleston was charming enough during the year, it's even more magical during the holidays. Especially at night. After leaving my cousin's house, we all drove down to the Battery and parked our car by the water. We strolled around for hours and admired the architectural beauty, which was highlighted by the occasional lamp post and plenty of Christmas twinkle lights.

To top off the night, we made a pit stop at Kaminskys before walking back. We always seem to get placed at the same table, which makes me love the familiar feeling of this particular dessert bar even more.

Where did the year go? I can't believe that Christmas is over!

Christmas in Charleston.

I thought that it might be difficult to get into the holiday spirit when it reached 78* in South Carolina this weekend. The water temperature was so high that we had to cancel our oyster-roasting plans!

Surprisingly, the warm weather didn't phase me much. We happily celebrated in a world where Palmetto trees and Christmas trees seem to co-exist effortlessly. This city is so festive and I loved every minute of our 24-hour trip. (Minus the fact that it was too short).

And isn't my cousin's house adorable?!

Merry Christmas, friends!

Tea time.

Dan'l Boone Inn does Tea Time right.

I came down with a pretty high fever about 3 hours before graduation, and had to mentally prepare myself in case I fainted on stage. I was determined to walk no matter what - I waited 4 1/2 years for that moment!

Before heading home, we ate dinner at Dan'l Boone Inn. How cute is the personal tea kettle that accompanied my orange pekoe black tea (an attempt to sooth my sore throat)?! I've been sick during Christmas 3 times within the past 5 years, and I wasn't about to let it happen again. I took a long break from reality this week and unfortunately had to cancel my Christmas baking plans. Instead I watched nearly every movie we own, including all of the Christmas television classics - Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman.

Also, Jimmy Fallon has been hosting a 12 days of Christmas Sweaters giveaway and I really wish that I was an audience member so I could win one with Jingle Cats all over it. Jimmy is the best.

We're off the Charleston in the morning!! Merry Christmas!

Anticipation.

Lots of anticipation and things to be grateful for during the upcoming week:

Graduation!! Tomorrow. Ahhhhh. I feel a slight quarter-life crisis coming soon. Oh, and did I mention that I have completed enough credit hours as an undergrad to receive a masters degree as well? I'm totally serious. The perks of being a transfer student.

2 whole days dedicated to holiday baking (and card making).

A roadtrip to Charleston to see my dad's side of the family (with an oyster roast in the mix!).

A Tacky Christmas Sweater Party with my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve.

Weekend.

Everything feels more seasonal and festive in Boone - probably because the town is covered in snow 7 months out of the year, which only adds to it's charm. Stick Boy, my favorite quick-stop for hot tea and (amazing) cookies, was decorated with handmade ornaments. The only thing that has been on my mind lately is Christmas crafting.

On Saturday, Bud and I drove out to Todd NC, mainly to admire the rustic scenery and stay toasty in the car. It's always a good 10-15 degrees cooler, and I'm rarely prepared for the wind chill. I was tempted to stop at one of the many Christmas Tree farms we passed along the way and strap one to the top of the jeep.

We've spent way too much money driving back and forth from the mountains this semester, but I am hooked on the little towns that have captured my heart. I can't seem to come to terms with the fact that I've already moved back to Charlotte.

Oh - I am officially graduating next weekend!! So, it's back up highway 421 we will go.

No duh.

My parents are somewhat regulars at The Evening Muse. My dad is a talented guitar player, and has the best taste in music. John Gorka is a musician that I more than likely would never have heard of, nor have an ear for, had I not grown up with his CD playing in the background. He came to Charlotte last Wednesday, so we spent a family evening in NoDa. Before the show, we ate at a personal favorite, Cabo Fish Taco (SO good). Definitely a NoDa staple - if you've never been to Cabo, run! Go for dinner tonight. Especially if you like Southwestern-style food.

Also, if you love f.r.i.e.n.d.s. as much as Caroline and I do, you'll be pleased to know that the Smelly Cat Coffee House is real. And awesome.

In other news - these photos helped me come to the realization that my hair was way too long, so I got a hair cut.

Deux.

It's been a full 2 years for this happy couple right here! We spent the evening in freezing downtown Charlotte, ate at Rock Bottom, then walked what seemed like 50 blocks to Crave Dessert Bar where we spent the same amount on cheesecake as we did on dinner. Banana pudding cheesecake, that is. You would have done the same.

I just love this boy lots, k?

We're making a point to spent more time downtown - especially to walk around at night. The Christmas lights are up, and the city is sparkling.

This is what happens when you're impatient:

Fact: when you cut a piece of the chocolate salted caramel tart, you should be left with a slice missing.

NAILED IT.

I'm no rookie when it comes to making caramel, but this particular caramel never turned the dark shade of amber it should have and also never thickened up, even though I left it in the fridge over night. The result? A caramel tart filling that oozed out before making it anywhere near home plate - leaving me with a slice of overdone chocolate crust topped with bittersweet ganache, all soaked in a puddle of goo.

You win some, you lose some.

Holiday Playlist.

I plan on listening to this playlist until December 26th. Maybe even until the New Year.

**I couldn't find any She and Him Christmas songs on Playlist, or else I definitely would have included them. They are my favorite.

Christmas Cheer.

I realize that November isn't quite over yet, but December is just around the corner. This weekend, we rang in the holiday season with high spirits and a background of Christmas music!

I decorated a little corner of my room, Charlie-Brown-style. The little Christmas tree is made out of newspaper, clay, a knitting needle, spray adhesive and lots of clear glass glitter. It turned out so cute and is much sparklier in person. Tutorial here. Next craft: fabric holiday wreath.

We took our annual Christmas card photo in our backyard. Outtakes pictured. 

We trimmed our tree! And danced around the living room. Ricky was relegated to the basement, because he was determined to eat the decorations. It might be a long month for that cat.

To top off the cheery day, I made a chocolate salted caramel tart which is currently chilling in the fridge. More about that to come if it turns out the way I want it to. I had to make more than one batch of caramel due to some fatal errors, and nearly gave up - but this family has much love for salted caramel so giving up wasn't an option. Luckily, the final product is looking much better than I thought it would. I have big plans to dedicate an entire day to holiday baking very soon!

The Mountain Condo.

I've never really been one to live for the weekend until lately, thanks to back-to-back stays in our friend's mountain condo. Apparently, I just can't seem to stay away from Appalachian for more than a work week.

One trip was spent in Blowing Rock with the boys. This past weekend, it was just us girls. I've missed my hallmates so much! No shame in saying that we sang along to the Glee Christmas CD all weekend, while sipping on Moscato and catching up until 3 am each morning. We made a big pot of chili and corn bread muffins, which lasted us two nights, and only ventured out of the condo to do a little shopping, visit the cupcake shop, and drive along the parkway. We watched Bridesmaids on Friday night, which was very fitting considering the four of us are part of Kelsey's bridal party!

Laughter keeps you young, so this will be an annual occurance for the rest of our lives.

November.

Our street is looking festive - the leaves are at the peak of their golden lives and they are so beautiful!

My parents have been in Asheville for the past few days, and I've had the house to myself. I have a terrifying fear of being alone at night in a big house, so I made Caroline come home for a sleepover. She just joined the same sorority as I did in college, so we had a craft night (which might have been my main motivator behind joining a sorority in the first place).

I also experimented with the culinary wonder that is a 3 minute mug cake, and it kind of worked! Except next time I'm only going to microwave it for 2 1/2 minutes and take out the egg. It was a little too cakey, and not enough fudgey.

Also, I realized that I make a trip to a craft supply store atleast once a week. Yesterday, Caroline and I found these little rose cabochons at Michael's and went nuts making a million pairs of earrings for Christmas presents!

Oreos.

       

Milk's favorite cookie - the homemade version. They ended up tasting a little different than their pre-packaged cousin, but are equally as addicting. I've been gawking over this recipe for the past year, and finally found the time to make them! Mom thinks I'm crazy for making things like marshmallows and homemade oreos during the fall instead of pumpkin muffins and spice cookies, but let me remind you - I'm allergic and I just don't think spice cookies would taste the same without the spice. Oreos and marshmallows will suffice! Oh, but I did make a blackberry cobbler this weekend, which was a little more traditional.

I love fall for many reasons, but especially for the excuse to turn the oven on.

Kitteh cat.

When I moved into the basement, I simultaneously inherited Gracie. Although, if I could re-name her, I'd go with something more exotic to match her look. She was my grandmother's cat and I have adopted her.

I'm convinced that she has short term memory loss, because she rarely remembers who I am and it's been atleast 3 months since I moved back home. Once she finally warms up to the idea of having a roommate, she loves: forehead kisses, sleeping on my keyboard, watching me do crafts, and making funny faces when she yawns. If I leave the room for more than 5 minutes, I turn back into a stranger. Repeat cycle. She's funny.

BalloonFest.

Balloon Gazing.

After catching an inconvenient cold this weekend, I wasn't keen on leaving my bed - much less my house; but how can you turn down witnessing the launch of 50 brilliantly colored hot air balloons?! Well, you just can't.

The majority of the crowd swarmed the field, but we chose to scramble up the hill and get a bird's eye view. It was one of the most magical events that I've ever seen. Why hasn't this festival been at the top of my Fall Bucket List in years past? It will be now. Next time, I need to remember to bring a blanket so we can lay on the grass and balloon gaze. That, and 10 bucks in cash to purchase a giant order of ribbon fries.

Marshmallows.

Marshmallows are cute and sweet, and therefore - one of my favorite treats. I've discussed my love for them many a time, including here and here.

I'll take them in any form. Roasted over a fire pit until they are flaming and burnt. Sandwiched between two grahams and a chocolate bar. On a fondue stick, dipped in warm milk chocolate. Melted into Rice Crispie Treats. Shaped like a sugar-coated chick. You name it.

I had never thought about making them myself until recently. You have to admit, everything is better homemade. I followed this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. She is coming out with a cook book next year, and I cannot wait! The process was time consuming, but very easy and worth the wait. The end products (All 96 of them...yeah) look like little fluffy clouds. I can't wait to sip some hot chocolate tonight and every night until they are gone.

Parkway.

We had to take a rain check on our original plans to go skeet shooting this weekend. That should be interesting, when it happens - and it will. 

Instead, we decided to drive up the mountain for peak leaves weekend. Unfortunately, it snowed two weeks ago (say whaaa?), so half of them had already fallen to the ground.

Early July was the last time that I laid eyes on the parkway, so it was about time we reunited. The four of us had a delayed start on Saturday, but made it up to Boone just in time to smell the smokey scent coming from Woodlands Bbq, and crave a late lunch. We opted to get our bbq trays to-go and picnic on the parkway. Definitely the right choice. The weather was perfect, and the sky was clear enough to spot the Charlotte skyline, 105 miles in the distance! Most of the stores were closed by the time we made it into town, but we happily sipped our hot beverages and walked around campus until it was time to drive back home.

One afternoon was just a tease, I'm ready to go back! I belong in the mountains.

Changes.

Now this is what I like to see.

Can I just note: the best time of year (in my opinion) is simultaneously the worst time of year to be allergic to cinnamon. I can't enjoy a pumpkin spiced anything, and I will not sugar coat my feelings about this. I'm a little bitter. Not that I have anything against the dark chocolate godivas or chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwiches that I've been enjoying, but still, I'd love to sip a chai tea AND be able to breathe at the same time. That isn't asking of too much, is it?

I still love all aspects of the Fall season. I'm finally heading back up to Boone this weekend with Bud, Cait and Michael and my heart is smiling, just thinking about it. I've started planning a parkway picnic in my head.