Let me tell you a little bit about Folly Beach! Folly was our home base for our week in Charleston. It’s about 20-25 minutes from downtown, and definitely has a laid back, surfer vibe. There’s a very small downtown, but for the most part, it’s beaches and houses. Here’s the house we rented:

Cute, no? It was lovely, and right on the beach — about a one minute walk from our door to the ocean’s edge. We took advantage of the proximity, swimming almost every day, and some days, multiple times a day! (We even swam once at night, and once in the rain!)

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Charleston from Emily Ayer on Vimeo.

And here it is: the video John and I made from our trip! I hope you enjoy, and I hope you enjoyed this week’s Charleston picture tour!

Next week? Back to all weddings + pretties, all the time. Can’t wait to share!

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Ahhh, friends… here’s my favorite Charleston post of them all. You better believe I was excited to visit the French Quarter and the Battery! I practically made a beeline for it once we arrived. I had high expectations, and Charleston definitely didn’t disappoint — old world Southern charm was everywhere. Here are a few of my favorite sites:

Gorgeous, no? Do you love gawking at beautiful homes as much as I do? :)

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If there’s one thing Charleston has going for it, it’s delicious food. Briefly, my thoughts on the restaurants we visited during our week down South…

Caviar & Bananas

We made a quick stop at C & B, mostly for a drink and to get out of the heat. It’s an upscale grocery along the lines of Dean & Deluca. I indulged in one tiny chocolate peanut butter tart and it was delectable.

Magnolia’s

We headed to Magnolia’s on East Bay Street (downtown) for lunch after church on Sunday, and I loved it. Genteel atmosphere, and delicious food. I had a sinfully delicious buffalo fried chicken cobb salad. I also loved all the magnolia accents, including the door handle!

BLU Restaurant

BLU definitely wins the award for most unexpected hit. It’s a hotel restaurant, after all, and when the kids heard this, we were none too excited. Even the menu looks a bit cheesy. But the service was great, and BLU’s menu and commitment to fresh, local exciting food prepared in interesting ways was even better. We shared a variety of tapas-sized plates (I think we tried about 75% of the tapas options!), but the collective favorite was the “virtual egg” appetizer — not an egg at all, but a carved mozzarella “egg” filled with yellow tomato jus “yolk”! BLU is in Folly Beach.

Taco Boy

Taco Boy was another Folly Beach favorite, and it came highly recommended by the locals. The tacos were interesting, and good across the board, but the guacamole was a little lackluster (and our group has some huge guac fans). The chile con queso, however, was uncommonly good. Serious surfer vibe.

Slightly North of Broad (or S.N.O.B.)

S.N.O.B. was our big finale dinner, and it didn’t disappoint. The heirloom tomato salads several of us started with were excellent (as was my Kurios Farms Bibb Lettuce Salad). My entree was a bit heavy for my tastes, however. The atmosphere was delightful.

Bowen’s Island Restaurant

Bowen’s Island also follows under the “seriously atmospheric” category, though not so much for the restaurant itself (which is actually borderline rundown and covered in patron-inflicted graffiti). The views, however, are stunning. Super casual, fried seafood (or fried chicken if you’re me, ha!) is standard fare here, plus yummy hush puppies.

What do you think? Did we visit any of your favorite Charleston eateries?

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