Fashion Week(ending)

I hope everyone had a fun St. Patty's Day weekend (we celebrated St. Catty's Day at our house - haha!)!  For the second year, I had the opportunity to attend Lexus Charleston Fashion Week (here is my post from last year).  Seriously, what a blast!  It's so much fun to see emerging designers, a young model competition, and featured designers like Yigal Azrouel.  Below are my looks I shared on Instagram from Friday and Saturday nights:

I was really excited to style two new pairs of earrings from Piqued PR clients, Shiver & Duke and Brynn Hudson Jewelry.  You can shop both styles below:

ankle pants ||| boots ||| blouse (similar) ||| earrings c/o Shiver & Duke ||| wedges ||| dress ||| earrings c/o Brynn Hudson Jewelry

Since it's been a while since I did a real life update, I thought I'd share a few more photos of recent happenings... first, the aftermath of Mike's birthday party last weekend.  Thanks to all of our friends who made it over to celebrate.

You might have seen my Instagram last week (thanks, Dunkin' Donuts!) of my new favorite coffee.  Dunkin' recently introduced Girl Scout Cookie flavored coffees available in everything hot to iced.  I am obsessed with the Thin Mints variety, and they also have caramel & coconut and peanut butter cookie.  They're available until May, so make sure you check them out!

And last but not least, a few new favorites from our neighborhood brewery, Charles Towne Fermentory.  They just released cans of a delicious peach and passionfruit gose - yum!

2017 Recap

What a fantastic year it's been!  Thank you to everyone who followed along with Borrowed Heaven in 2017.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my favorite posts as well as your favorite posts this year.  Let's start with my favorites:

January: Resolutions for the New Year, DIY Super Bowl Party, and runDisney Star Wars Race Weekend

February (basically spent recapping our trip to Hawaii): Ko'Olina, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, North Shore, oh - and the Daytona 500!

March: DIY Porch Swing and Favorite Charleston Coffee Shops,

April: Trip to the Masters, Hosting a Masters Party, and Charleston in the Spring

May: Charleston Eats: Pancito and Lefty, A Look for Summer, and Charleston Breweries (Part 2)

June: Top Five in Milwaukee and Apple Pie Pops

July: Save Wilting Hydrangeas, Citrus Shrimp Scampi, and DIY Summertime Party

August: Five Adventures in Cleveland and The Great American Eclipse

September: Anniversary Reflections, Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, and The Best Chicago Weekend

October: Surprise Birthday Trip to DC and Fall in Charleston

November: Pumpkin Centerpiece and Thanksgiving

December: Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board and Christmas in Charleston

By the numbers:
Most pinned:
1. Parmesan Green Beans (1.5k)
2. DIY Rope Swing (770)
3. Super Bowl Party (135)

Most page views:
1. Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (87k)

2. Super Bowl Party (41k)

3. Strawberry Baked Brie (39k)

Most comments:
1. DIY Gold Striped Vase (21)

2. Waikiki (20)

3. Summer Bucket List (17)

Most liked on Instagram:
1. Disneyland (254)
2. Porch Swing (247)
3. Fall in Alexandria (207)

What was your favorite thing to read in 2017, and what would you like to see more of in 2018?

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.

The Southern C Summit Recap

Today I'm excited to recap my whole adventure at The Southern C Summit here in Charleston, April 27-29.  Three days of panels, networking, and sharing was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing for this little blog.  The Summit took place at two adjacent Patrick Properties: The William Aiken House and The American Theater (anyone recognize it from The Notebook?).  Presenters covered everything from blogger and brand collaborations to social media strategy and PR and marketing to creative strategy and branding.  I realized afterwards that I didn't take nearly enough photos throughout the event, so I had some fun last week going through the #tscsummit hashtag on Instagram so I could showcase a few of my favorite details of the week:

Wednesday: The stage was set at The Southern C with the marque outside and a beautifully decorated stage.  My two favorite sessions of the entire event started the conference off with a bang: Eddie Ross showed us many beautiful before and afters from Better Homes & Gardens.  After that, four fantastic bloggers (Chassity Evans, Grace Atwood, Liz Adams, and Caroline Harper Knapp) shared everything about branding, collaboration, and strategic growth.  The Vine decorated the whole William Aiken House courtyard, and all attendees enjoyed an array of drinks and snacks from local food and drink vendors like Food for the Southern Soul, King Bean Coffee Roasters, Proper Pepper Pimento Cheese, and Cathead Vodka.

@waitingonmartha ||| @chairishco

@megd_taylor /// @thesouthernc

After a few cocktails, I headed over to Zero George to meet up with some fellow bloggers for even more drinks and snacks.  Afterwards, a few of us went to Cru Cafe, and I will be sharing my whole experience there later in the week.  Thanks so much to Erin for setting it all up!

Tiffany, Allie, Paula, Erin, and me

Thursday: My favorite session of the day was definitely the first one, Mandy Rye of Waiting on Martha.  Her talk on social media strategy was great, and now she's one of my favorite people to follow on snapchat!  We enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Fish Restaurant.  More sessions followed, and day two ended just like day one with more King Bean Coffee Roasters and Cathead Vodka, plus Tree House Macarons.

@suthingirl ||| @thesouthernc

@kathrynmccrary ||| @treehousemacarons

Friday: The send-off brunch was held at Le Creuset Atelier’s state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, and their take on chicken and waffles with a quail fritter was wonderful!  As a member of the Charleston Blog Society, I also helped at our DIY table, creating origami business card holders.  Thanks to Minted for all the beautiful paper!  Last but not least - that swag bag.  Oh my gosh, there are SO many goodies.  You know everything edible is gone, and I love that hot pink Moon & Lola keychain!

@chsblogsociety ||| @hermosajewelry

@thesouthernc ||| @hermosajewelry

To finish off the week, I joined up with a few creatives at one of my favorite Charleston spots: Candlefish.  They hosted a wonderful scented candle-making class for us.  Thanks so much to Jordan and the team for having us and to Callie's Biscuits for the delicious treats!

I had a great time meeting new bloggers, companies, and spending time with my fellow Charleston Blog Society members.  I look forward to many new collaborations in the future!