Weekend (and Week and Life) Update

Happy Monday, friends. I'm back from a week-long trip to the Northeast where we watched friends get married and spent time with all of our family. As I may have mentioned, we are going to 6 weddings this year (invited to a 7th early in the year we couldn't attend), and it's been a whirlwind. This time, we had back-to-back weddings in New Jersey and Connecticut, so we figured we would just stay up there in between to work remotely and visit with friends and family. We have only really spent longer periods of time up there in the winter, recently, so it was nice to have summer weather to play golf, visit the beach, and eat all my favorite seasonal (sea)food that closes up shop in the winter. 

It was also nice just to take a step back. It hit me on Sunday night that I didn't have any content planned to publish on Monday. We had a 7:00am tee time to play golf with my dad, and to be honest, I valued sleep over throwing out a post. It's the first time in a long time I've done that. I've been procrastinating writing recently, to the point where I'll stay up past midnight to get a post up that I just didn't want to write. I think that should tell me that the passion just isn't there like it used to be.

Throughout last week, I kept telling myself that I would write something, but I let it fall to the back-burner. Honestly, it really felt good.  I still love the photography and curating side of blogging, though. I took so. many. photos. this week of amazing places we went, things we ate, people we visited, and I'm hoping some new inspiration will get my gears turning.

I really don't want to give up this blog, but I have had the most terrible writer's block recently. I feel like I'm out of ideas. So I guess I'll turn to you, if you made it all the way through this post that went from originally being a week recap to a vent session (I applaud you and) I would love to know what you enjoy reading. Recipes, DIYs, Charleston must-dos, Charleston restaurant favorites, travel tips, what I'm shopping for, fashion?

Well, now I leave you with a couple photos from the last week and will be back on Wednesday (promise, this time!) to start sharing a whole bunch of adventures from last week's trip.

Five Resolutions for a New Year

I swear, I had these written before New Year's, and hard to believe, but so-far-so-good for the first 3 weeks!  I love wiping the slate clean each January to reset and make the most of a new year.  A lot of these goals will look familiar from previous years (here was 2017), but after being mildly successful last year, I thought I'd take the reasons why the resolutions didn't work and try to be more specific to make it happen in 2018:

1. Eat Better: Year after year, I make a vague resolution for myself, but it's hard to follow through because I'm not specific.  So, obviously it fails.  Here are my thoughts for 2018 to eat better and improve my metabolism: drink hot water and lemon every morning, eat a protein-filled breakfast everyday (egg whites), drink a cup of tea (without sugar) each day, drink a glass of cold water a half hour before lunch and dinner, pack my lunch 4 days a week (aimlessly walking around Whole Foods everyday is my biggest problem), and don't eat after 9pm.

2. Use Untappd: Mike and a few of our friends have this beer app, and it looks like so much fun.  This one started out as a joke, but now I want to do it.  I'm megd_taylor if you use it and want to be friends!

3. 10 Miles Per Week: Here's another one (like #1) that's been rough in the past: working out.  Instead of saying I'll work out each day or every other day, how about I put a concrete number on it?  This way, I can get everything done in a couple days or spread it out throughout the week.  Let's see!

4. Answer texts when I get them: OMG my downfall.  I can't be the only one who elaborately thinks up replies in her head but never actually writes them?  I really want to do better at this in the new year!

5. Learn my new camera: Our Christmas present to each other this year was a new camera.  I can't wait to learn more about it, and simply reading the manual (who'd have thought?!) has taught me things I didn't even know my old camera could do.  I had fun with it over Christmas (a few photos here) but am still struggling with motion and dark shots (see examples below).  If anyone has a good online class or YouTube videos for a Canon 80D, I'd love to watch them!

What are your goals for 2018?

Linking up for Oh hey, Friday, Five on Friday, High Five for Friday, and two doses of Friday Favorites

My Top 5 Coffee Shops in Charleston

It took me a couple of years, but my husband has finally converted me. I’m a coffee drinker lover. Well, as he calls it, a fake coffee drinker. He drinks his “the way you’re supposed to” aka black, but I like a little milk and flavor.   Yeah, I can make an okay coffee at home (my favorite right now is Panamanian coffee), but what’s better than going out for a Saturday morning coffee and pastry? We have had a lot of fun trying different coffee shops around town, and I’ve finally narrowed it down to my five favorites here in Charleston (in no particular order). These are all located downtown, on the peninsula, but each has a vibe all its own and something different to offer:

Black Tap Coffee - This is one of the smaller coffee shops in town with a large community table and a variety of bar stools, but what it lacks in seating, it definitely makes up for in flavor.  Their WiFi is super fast, there is plenty of light, and the location is right near the College of Charleston campus, so there are always people inside working.  This was the first coffee shop I really started frequenting; their staff was very knowledgeable and helpful when I had no idea what to order.

My order: hot lavender latte and a mini quiche

Kudu Coffee & Craft Beer - Coffee plus beer - I'm sold. They have the best outdoor courtyard, and I love that this location is across the street from the Farmer's Market at Marion Square.  I can honestly say that we stop at Kudu every other weekend before we take our walk through the market.  The one thing different from the location above is that they proudly announce they do not have WiFi.  Head to Kudu, morning or night, and enjoy some conversation with friends!

My order: iced vanilla latte and a ham & cheese croissant (brought over each day from Saffron)

Tricera Coffee - Who doesn't love a dinosaur-themed coffee shop?  If you're shopping on Lower King Street, this is in a perfect location on George Street.  This is definitely the coziest and low-key spot for coffee in Charleston.  If you're looking to buy their beans, they sell them under a different name: Cup.

My order: hot saffron latte and a bagel with cream cheese

The Daily - This one is a little further out of the way than your normal walk around Charleston, but they do have their own parking, and they're right next door to High Wire Distillery!  The Daily is Butcher & Bee's grab-and-go location, so you know everything they bake will be fantastic.  While you're waiting for your coffee, you can shop their little marketplace for wine, beer, fresh juices, meats, cheeses, and local goods.

My order: iced homemade almond milk latte and house sausage biscuit

Revelator - The newest coffee shop in Charleston, this is actually Revelator's 7th location around the Southeast.  The whole place feels bright and open, and while it's on the very Northern end of Upper King Street right now, give it a few years, and with all the new construction, it will soon be right in the prime location.

My order: espresso & milk with honey cinnamon syrup and an asiago bagel with cream cheese

Honorable Mention: Vintage Coffee & Cafe - This one is definitely in my top favorites, but it gets honorable mention because it isn’t actually in Charleston.  It’s just over the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant, so a very reasonable drive if you want the cutest outdoor spot to drink coffee in the area.

My order: hot vanilla latte and the peanut butter-banana-chocolate acai bowl (if you’re really feeling adventurous – add toasted coconut to the bowl)

There you have it! Next time you’re in Charleston, I highly suggest that you give one of these places a try – or all 6 if you’re here for a week. And just a note, as you can see, I only shared my order for each place. While I’m ordering fancy drinks and love all of these places for different reasons, Mike is always getting the same thing: a cup of pour-over or from the freshest pot they have  – haha!

Do you have a favorite coffee spot in your city?

Linking up for Oh hey, Friday, Five on Friday, High Five for Friday, and two doses of Friday Favorites

Life Lately: Coffee Talk

It's time for some coffee talk: a little peek at what's been going on with life over the last few weeks.  The months just seem to be flying by so far this year.  How are we already close to March?  Mike's birthday is next weekend - I have to start planning!

Since Valentine's Day last week was on a Tuesday, we obviously had to play kickball.  Mike sent flowers to my office (on Monday) and we went to happy hour at one of our favorite spots on King Street: Basil.  We were never really fans of Thai food before moving to Charleston, but this place is amazing!

I love using my recipes tab when we're looking for something to cook or bake.   The only downside is that many of the recipes are on the older side 3+ years ago, and my photography skills weren't exactly the best.  Now, when I use any of those recipes, I like to go back and take a few new photos to add to the post.  Last week, Mike made orange swirl cake to bring to a neighbors' dinner, and I was glad to add in a few, less yellow, photos.

There has been so much blogger fun going on in Charleston.  Last month, I had my first attempt at sewing at Five Eighth Seams, and Liz gave a fantastic Instagram talk.  Thanks to Ashley for the great shots!  This month's event took place at Vestique (this was actually our second event there).  We learned about creating flat lays, and I worked with Cambron to create our own with items found around the store.  I also had the best time last week at a blogger kickoff party for SEWE.  Lionel the Hedgehog was there, and the Restoration Hotel had a couple of fantastic pop-ups to check out for the weekend.

Speaking of SEWE (Southeastern Wildlife Exposition), it is one of my favorite weekends all year.  We love watching the Birds of Prey show in Marion Square and all of the cooking demonstrations downtown!

Walking around town, we made sure to stop at my new favorite coffee spot - Revelator.  I'm working on a post of my favorite places for coffee in the city, and I can't wait to share more about this place soon.  Their espresso + milk is delicious and all of the pastries come from another local place, Butcher and Bee.

Last, but not least, because the weather has just been too good, here are a couple photos of the city in bloom.