Tuesday, May 01, 2007

skarpifny in charleston

Combined, the five of us girls equal skarpifny. One was married on April 29, 2007 in Charleston, SC and we all made the journey to be there. Stefanie (with husband, Anthony); Nancy and me; Emily (with fiancée, Matt); and of course, Ellie (she married Patrick):



Although we all hung out a various times over the weekend, my travel buddy was Ms. Nancy Pants. She and I actually took on a side job, painting an apartment in the weeks leading up to the wedding, in order to earn money and avoid credit card debt for the trip. Aren't we resourceful? We indulged in dark chocolate at every opportunity (our current favorite is organic Dagoba with lavender and blueberries), were ashamed of our sudden junk food habit (that does *not* include the chocolate, of course), slept in a bunk bed at the NotSo Hostel and realized that we will make fabulous witty and whiny old ladies. We also saved $160 per plane ticket by flying home on a Monday instead of a Sunday, leaving us with an extra day to mob around Charleston. Here's Nancy at the Charleston Farmers Market:

Charleston was beautiful and so lush, full of trees and sweet-smelling jasmine. I don't know that I've ever seen a city with so much contrast so close together. A shop with $500 shoes only a few blocks from a home with a fallen-in roof; a Holocaust memorial near the "old slave mart;" historic, gigantic, expensive houses next to condemned homes (for sale, of course, and probably to be replaced with even more high-income housing); a neat little mom and pop sporting goods store across the street from Pottery Barn, American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. It seems to be a place in transition, and although I expect to see contrasts like that in a bigger city, I was surprised to see it in a smallish southern town. Like a lot of previously-undesirable downtown areas, it's as if rich folk are running out of room in the suburbs and have turned around and headed back to Main Street.

That all said, we did have a great time while we were there. Ellie's wedding was just like her: simple, elegant and stunning. The atmosphere at Legare-Waring House was classic and welcoming, and the food satisfied us all, vegan to meat-lover. The rest of the weekend was marked by a supremely kick-ass vegan breakfast at Rutledge Coffee and Cream, an entire day spent lounging on the porch swings at Waterfront Park, a number of "May I have a grande chai latte with soymilk, please?" stops at Kudu Coffee, lovely walks through the neighborhoods, a vegan- and celieac-friendly dinner at Little Thai Too, meeting a very sweet couple at their basket weaving booth at the above-mentioned farmers market, and NotSo Hostel's giant front porch and divine hammock.

Dude, I owned that hammock - and the porch swing. There was definite theme to my weekend:


Rock.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

HA. HA.. Mother effing HA!

I love you!

And I love your little giblets in the hammock!!! :D :D :D

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

This looks like such a wonderful weekend! Well deserved cuz painting is hard work. The bride is georgous - as are all you ladies, & it must have been awesome spending time with friends. :o)

Judy said...

Sounds like a nice relaxing trip. Just what I need. And Charleston sounds like fun, too.

Stef with an "F" said...

There can seriously be no more awesome of a picture of the future Mr. & Mrs. Hamm!

What a fabulous weekend with friends! Ellie was the most elegant bride I have ever known...beyond beautiful.

Great pics, lady!

Emmy said...

What a nice trip. That rocks you had a yummy vegan breakfast. And that's great how resourceful you were about saving money/earning money for your trip :)

bazu said...

This post is BEEEEE-you-teeee-ful. I love Charleston (I've only been once) and every once in a while, trapped in my extreme northern lattitude, I get a distinct craving for the south. The heat, humidity, floral scents hanging in the air, spanish moss, and produce galore! I love it all.
I know what you mean about the contrasts in towns like this- I see them all the time, and there is something so bittersweet about it. Savannah gave me a similar impression.

James said...

Charleston is awesome, you can lose yourself for quite some time just wandering, its really a beautiful city.
The coast down there is also fantastic, the water isn't even blue, its almost a teal color! : )

Mikaela said...

Yay! :)

Dori said...

What a wonderful weekend! Lovely feet or are those happy feet, well rested anyways! :)

Taylor said...

Great trip! I'm from SC and used to hate Charleston because it was so conservative, but now that I'm away, I love it for it's beauty. If I were to move back to SC, Charleston would be the only city I'd live in.

MeloMeals said...

Sounds and looks like so much fun!

Wow... awesome!