A Trip to Charleston

I recently returned from a journey to the South, with a capital "S." In five days, I ate 4 biscuits, devoured 6 pieces of fried chicken, saw a Civil War reenactment, rode on a swamp boat, almost tried to smuggle an alligator head into my carry-on, and discovered the wonder that is Crackerbarrel.

Here is the beautiful Claire, my hostess with the most-est. Notice how Charleston just suits her...

Charleston is not only one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, it's also supposed to be one of the most haunted. The porch ceiling in the picture above is painted "Haint" or haunt blue. The idea is that the spirits pass right over your house because they'll think it's part of the sky...sneaky.

We went on a great historic carriage tour of the city. So much fun.

The route you take on the tour is dictated by bingo balls- that way no one road becomes overly congested.

So, here is Claire- the perfect example of Charleston grace & class...

And here I am, looking like a pirate. "Arrrr." I don't think I got the class memo. However, in my defense, Charleston is known not only for its ghosts. It also has a long history of duels and piracy.

For our first lunch, Claire took me took to Poogan's Porch which is amazing...and you guessed it- haunted! Apparently, one of it's former inhabitants, a spinster lady named Zoe haunts the restaurant. The place has actually been voted the 3rd Most Haunted Place in the U.S. You can check out the whole story here

First biscuit!

To be on the ghost's side- I'd probably haunt this place too. It was delicious!

Time for some antiquing.

And then a ride across the river to see the view.

All was calm and carefree and then-

The mosquitoes came! Run to the car!

Claire and I have been doing "Fish Face" pictures for almost 2 decades now. We know how to rock it.

Post mosquito-attack, we decided to stay in the car, so we made a stop at Sonic. It was my first time, therefore we had to try the cheesy tots.

The next morning Claire took me to this awesome diner at the Marina. We actually first met in a diner back in California. Our moms became fast friends while working on an school art project when we were in the 3rd grade. They planned a get together for us at Bobbi's diner. Claire wore her rainbow framed glasses and I wore my "Where's Waldo" tee-shirt. Magic :)

Second biscuit!

Some more walking around Charleston. I can't even tell you how incredible this city is. This church above is being restored to its original color, pink. 

How pretty is she? Seriously- seriously!

I toned down my inner pirate for our walking tour, but only a little.

Next day, we went to Cypress Gardens. It was very cool! I don't have pictures of it, but there is also a swamparium (like an aquarium, but with swamp creatures). I kind of freaked out when we walked in there. There was some pretty creepy crawly stuff, stuff with eyeballs, and teeth. On a non-slithery side note, a scene from The Notebook was filmed here. The scene with the swans :)

Here is Claire on our boat trip. Look out for gators!

Next stop, Boone Hall Plantation. Another place where part of The Notebook was filmed. We went to see a Civil War Reenactment, which you can read more about in my post "The Time I...went to a Civil War Reenactment"

 

After the plantation and the reenactment, we were pooped. Claire asked me what I wanted and I said more biscuits. She took me to the most magical place I have ever been...

The Cracker Barrel!!! I got chicken n' dumplins' and I kid you not, I dream about them. I dream about the biscuits and the mac n' cheese and the front lobby that looks like a general store and the pecan roll that I bought and ate later that night. Claire asked me if I could ever see myself living in Charleston and I said that I didn't know, but that I could definitely see myself living in a Cracker Barrel.

On my last day, we made our way down to the outdoor market, where I saw these alligator heads. Post swamparium, I wasn't sure that I wanted to see any more alligators, particularly their teeth, but these guys don't seem too menacing. 

I bought several of these sweet grass baskets which Charleston is famous for.

I had the most incredible time in this amazing city with the fantastic Miss Claire, who I miss, almost as much as the Cracker Barrel ;)

The Cookie Workout

I do not drink. I do not do drugs. I do cookies (see previous posts: Why I Should Never Have Free Time, Last Friday Night & Year 29). I'm a big believer in cookies. They are simple, hard working, the everyman of desserts.  You've got your peanut butter, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle...(I could go all Bubba Gump on cookies, but I digress). Yes, cookies are a wonder, but people are always talking smack and saying cookies aren't healthy. LIES. How dare you say that about cookies? Well, here is my "Cookie Workout" (patent pending :) It is fun, easy, and ends with you eating a cookie.

#1 COOKIE WORKOUT RECIPE

Let's start with the cookie recipe and it's a super simple one: pick your favorite. Pick any kind of cookie you like. I've been making a lot of oatmeal chocolate chip lately (super secret recipe from the inside lid of Quaker Oats container). Instead of raisins, I put in chocolate chips...it works for me. I generally make my dough on Sunday. Here's a tip: scoop the dough with an ice cream scoop and place the dough balls on a small tray, then put the tray in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Take out the tray, pull off the dough balls, put them in a zip lock bag, and put them back in the freezer. Now, when friends come over, you can make 1, 2, 3 or a million homemade cookies in the blink of an eye.

#2 PREHEAT/ WARM-UP

Preheat your oven. My oven takes about 10 minutes to preheat, so during this time I do my own warm up. I start with stretches, push ups, and some light aerobics. I listen to music throughout the Cookie Workout. It's a must! My current cookie playlist I entitle "Child of the 80s." First song on the list is "Make it Big" by the Beach Boys which was used in the opening credits for that cinematic gem Troop Beverly Hills, a film about selling cookies. Yes, it all comes back to cookies :)

#3 BAKING/ DANCE PARTY

Put the cookie in the oven. These cookies take about 10-12 minutes to cook (I like my cookies crispy). During this time, I bust a move. You might want to throw in some songs that make you really want to dance, maybe some Hall & Oates to go with your oatmeal cookie? YES!

Don't forget to create a signature move. My go to move is the "Aggressive Charleston." It's just the Charleston, but with serious attitude. (Note: this move works best in a hallway, otherwise you will probably kick a wall).

Remember-if you feel ridiculous, it means the Cookie Workout is working.

#4 COOL DOWN

Once your cookie is done, let it cool down. Trust me. The optimal cookie eating time is 5-15 minutes after the cookie comes out of the oven. Be patient. Take this time to cool down. Be with your thoughts. Believe in the cookie. Plank.

#5 EATING

So, now you've worked out and you know what that means? COOKIE! But, that doesn't mean that we don't make room for health. I give you the VITAMIN COOKIE (recipe: take a cookie and take a vitamin pill). Mine is a multivitamin with D and magnesium, but make sure and check in with your physician on what type of pill you should take. I eat my cookie with a big glass of water. Trust me, it's important.

That's it the Cookie Workout (2 min of stretching + 18 min cardio + meditation + vitamin pill + hydration). Yay, COOKIES! The next time somebody talks cookie smack, just make this face.

***Note: The author of this blog is in no way a fitness experiment (just ask her high school P.E. teacher) or a nutritionist (just ask the kind people at Jack n' the Box). She just really likes cookies.

Year 29: Trip to the Antiques Faire (Irony Intended)

I can clearly remember turning 11 and thinking, "Holy crud balls, I'm old." I haven't really liked my birthday ever since. But, this year, something happened. I decided to celebrate, really celebrate, getting older (29, boo-yah!) After all, what's the POINT (you'll see the pun in a minute) of getting older if you're not going to offer up a high-five to being alive? Plus, the Alameda POINT Antiques Faire fatefully happened to coincide with my birthday this year. So, two car loads of amazing ladies made a 6 am wake up call (that's 6 am in the morning) and journeyed all the way up to Alameda for some shopping, eating, and treasure finding. Look at these awesome early risers!

 The fair is exclusively for things over twenty years old...but they still let Lo in :)

 I was so excited to get to spend the day with KD (a bestie since college days)!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of all these amazing finds...

 

 I'm still kicking myself for not buying this button

 Look what KD bought.

 This could be a piece of modern poetry:

 I was posing with this and feeling like a total dork, when a guy shouted, "You look like her!"

 And I was like, "Happy Birthday to me!"

Sponges & Silver

 Look what JKL spotted...

Confession: I have never met a hat that I didn't want on my head

I don't even know what these are, but I WANT them

 Lo and behold, Lo bought a ring!

 

 When I have a huge loft (or am living under a bridge), I am buying this Hollywood Video sign and putting it on one big white wall...

 Lunch break, where in we eat EVERYTHING! Roberta (on the right) was such a doll! Not only was she our antique show guide & driver, she also told me, "You are going to have an incredible year. 29 is the best." LOVE HER.

 Post lunch pow-wow to decide where to go next

I bought myself a necklace as a present. I lurve it.

 We'd been eying these popsicles all day. JKL treated me to a sea salted dark chocolate from Pop Nation...it was like the Audrey Hepburn of fudgsicles and I mean that in a good way!

My incredible Auntie Anne got me the best present ever...this cookie from Feel Good Bakery which was insane and wall to wall with walnuts :)

 Still, can't believe I'm 29. I'm practically an antique, but I've always liked antiques. So here's to 29, something I can definitely celebrate.