Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

I had a friend in from out of town this week which meant I got to play my favorite game: South Carolina Tour Guide. (Spoiler: I’m really effing bad at it!) My friend Jenn (yep.) and I went to Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, which was founded in 1676. 1676.  As I said to Jenn as we were driving in, this place was a place before this country was a place. That’s absolutely mindboggling to me. Like, I get that that’s totally an North American view of the world, because other countries have things that date back so much further, but I really don’t think there’s much here that has survived since the 1600s.

According to the website, “Magnolia Plantation has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond.” They also note that besides being the oldest tourist site in the Lowcountry, it’s also the oldest public garden in America, which is pretty damn cool.

You can buy food there, and also take a train tour or a boat tour (for $8 each, on top of the $15 admission) but I suggest what Jenn and I did: we brought lunch with us, and ate in the beautiful picnic area, and then just followed the numbered signs around the gardens. We got to see everything at our own speed, and we tend to get a little silly, so we didn’t have to worry about upsetting or offending anyone this way.

Also, petting zoo.

I took a TON of pictures (obv.), so read on to see some of that. Did I mention there was a peacock?

Exploring Charleston!

My friend Chloe and I decided that we wanted to do some Charleston exploring this week, and since we both vlog we had planned to take a bunch of footage and put up a video or two. However, since I’m still learning my new camera, I also took a whole ton of pictures too, which I wanted to share.

We visited Blue Bicycle Books, Marion Square Park, Goorin Brothers Hat Shop & Robot Candy Company- which really are a few of my favorite places in Charleston. Here's my video in which we visit all of these places:

To see my faux-artsy attempt at photography, keep reading!

YALL FEST, Y’ALL.

Today was, hands down, one of the best days I’ve had since I moved to Charleston. In case you don’t know, Jenn likes books. And when it comes to books, Jenn likes her books of the Young Adult variety. So, today was YallFest, the Charleston Young Adult Book Festival, and holy crap, y’all, I was living the dream.

October Favorites!

Hey guys! So I decided that I want to start doing monthly favorite posts. I know a lot of beauty vloggers/bloggers do these, and I’m not a beauty blog by any stretch, but hey, I like stuff too! I’ll most likely have beauty stuff in here, but I also am going to include things and places and people and other noun-y things I like this month, too. So, without further ado, My October Favorites!

Tutorial: Zippered Flat Bottom Makeup Bag

So, today I’m going to teach you how to do something I’m actually GOOD AT, to redeem myself for the sub-par wreath the other day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of my wreath, but I think it could be… better? So yeah, Now I’m going to teach something I can do.

I call this a makeup bag, but it could also be a pencil case, accessory pouch, pretty much anything you could imagine. I’m also going to show you how to make the pattern, so even though mine is 8x3x3, yours doesn’t have to be! So if you’re ready to learn how to make this adorable pouch, keep going!

GLAAD Spirit Day & [Space]craft Studios: A Post in Two Parts

Part 1:
Yesterday was GLAAD's Spirit Day- the day where we all wear purple to show support against bullying in the LGBT community. I decided that since I've had such luck meeting people and being social this week (see part 2), I should go out and show my support to the LGBT community here in Charleston- let's be real, the south isn't really known for being overwhelmingly accepting of differences, and I plan to do my darnedest to keep my bleeding heart liberal leanings.

So around 5:00 I drove down to the beautiful Brittlebank Park, which is another one of those places that makes me almost think I could live here forever, and just sort of awkwardly stood there alone for a few minutes until another shy voice ask, "are you alone too?" My new friend Kayla and I spent the rest of the evening together, listening to the amazing performers and speakers at the rally.

This guy called himself "one of the few openly gay black preachers. He was amazing, and wants to open a safe space/hotline/open walk-in in Charleston for anyone who might need it, not just LGBT.

This woman spoke about trans* issues, and about transitioning on the job, and how a few of her coworkers reacted. Very moving. 

There were other speakers, and some really great musical performances, but that purpleish light? Yeah, that made photography almost impossible. Trust me though, there are some talented kids in Charleston. And then, the keynote speaker of the event was this guy- Tyler freaking Oakley. I'm not going to fangirl here- although in full disclosure, I will say that he is one of the main reasons I went, and that I brought him a handmade bow tie which he loved (oh my god he pulled out his own phone to take a picture of it/me and holy moly did I freak a bit)- so I'm leaving it there.

Tyler spoke about his experiences with coming out to his accepting mom and his not-so-accepting dad, and the experiences he faces being openly gay while also being an public person on the internet. I honestly just loved listening to him speak, because he's so freaking positive. 

After Tyler spoke, there was a beautiful candle light vigil for the many people in Charleston and everywhere else who have committed suicide due to bullying.

Just a beautiful sight- to see the candles glowing all across the park.

It wasn't a Philly Pride by any stretch of the imagination- everyone had pants on, and there were no painted poodles, but it was great to see that the sense of community still exists here.


PART 2:
There's this place down here called SpaceCraft Studios. Holy moly, it is the most wonderful place I've ever been. It's one part store (selling the work of handmade crafters around the country), one part craft class, and one part open craft space. I dropped by once this week just to hang out and sew somewhere that isn't my living room, and it's just amazing.

Photo from spacecraftstudios.com

The walls are lined with shelves of buttons and findings and string and everything you could ever need or want, and the owner, Allison, is definitely one of the flat out coolest people I've met in Charleston. There are a ton of cool classes there- Ductagami, anyone?- and I'll even be teaching one there in mid-December, so stay tuned for that ;)

And, I gotta be honest- here's the coolest part of Spacecraft:

Yup, those are mine. For sale at SpaceCraft Studios, only $14!

Anyway- if you're from the area, or are visiting, you should definitely stop by and check this place out. The class schedule is on the website linked above, and there's 100% something for everyone. I have a new favorite place in Charleston. Really, just go to this place. I can't say enough great stuff about it.

Oh- and if you aren't doing anything Tuesday night, there's a supply swap taking place, and I'll totally see you there :)

Potentially Getting My Life Started?

After being here in South Carolina for what feels like forever almost three full months, I finally got my teaching certificate! I was already certified in Pennsylvania, but the processes here for everything are, let's just say very different. So, yeah, I can officially teach here.

The thing is, I don't like teaching. BUT. I really did enjoy substitute teaching when I was doing that in Philly last school year, so I'm looking to do that again. I live literally across the street from both a high school and a middle school, so subbing there would be easy. I wouldn't mind taking a 6 am phone call for a 7 am job if it's 2 minutes away. So, I called the staffing company here and inquired about the process. They have a "temporary hold" on sub hiring, but will probably be hiring in mid-September. Well, okay. So I emailed them my resume with my teaching credentials (and also the fact that I've subbed before), and now I'm just waiting.

Also, I quit Target already. Technically, I probably shouldn't have without having another job lined up, but I just- I couldn't do it anymore. Most of the people I worked with were great. I actually got a little teary telling my ETL that I was leaving, because she's such a sweet, fantastic woman, and she invited me back to work summers while teaching, so that's cool, but the job itself is just overly taxing. It's not worth the abuse from guests, or from the few less awesome co-workers. Mainly I quit because my husband will be on leave in a few weeks and we're going to Philly for two and a half weeks, and once I get back, I knew I'd never want to be in Target again. So, once I had the cert, I just quit. If I don't hear back from the sub staffing company by the time we get back from leave or if it's going not going to work out to sub this year, I'm probably going to go to a couple temping agencies- all I know is that I'm done with retail. I have five shifts left, and then I'm NEVER going to do it again.

So yeah, I'm excited to get my life started, with a real job that I enjoy, or at least don't hate. I would honestly be so happy with a regular 9-5 desk job, which I know seems so demoralizing, but is so much better than Target. I'm ready for a change!

Learning to like Charleston

Well, I've officially been in Charleston for seven weeks, and I still don't really love it. But I'm trying to learn to like it. My family (dad & sister) came to visit me this weekend, and I took the opportunity to actually get out, see some sights and learn some history.

-The Charleston Open Air Market (not my picture)
This is the front of it, and you go in what looks like a tunnel, and it's four blocks of crafts, goods, food0- it's great local shopping. There's no shortage of palmetto weavers, plus tons of other cute things. My family is into yard sales, craft fairs, art fairs, flea markets, and that sort of thing, and this definitely fit the bill for something we enjoy. This is also where I got Jamie's birthday gift- a beer bottle turned into a candle.

Then, about a three-ish block distance from the open air mark, is the famous King Street shopping. The closest thing I can compare it to, to my Philly friends is South Street, because there's a bunch of boutiques and food places, but there are also higher end stores, too. Everything from F21 to Brook's Brothers, from Gap to Lacoste. I. Love. Shopping. So yeah, This was a good find for me.

-Folly Beach - OKay, this isn't a new find really, it's the beach my husband and I go to all the time. Up until now it's been the one place here that I don't freaking hate. It's a small beach, not really very touristy, and just a few small beach shops, but I like it. a lot. A good beach to really enjoy both the ocean and the sand. I'm not a HUGE beach person, but I'm learning to love it, and I'm glad I have a not very large, tourist filled beach to learn on.. Also, it is a FANTASTIC sand castle beach, which we learned a couple weeks ago.





-The Charleston History And Homes Tour - The website describes this as the "Definitive tour of historic Charleston" We had a fantastic guide who gave us a history of Charleston from colonization through the Civil War and then to present day, we saw some historic churches, and learned a lot about the local architecture,  walked down the Bay, learned about Fort Sumter, and then took a tour of an old Mansion, the Edmonston-Alston house,. right off the bay. He also gave some prices of the historic houses- holy crap, there are some expensive properties down here. It was a really great tour, with a really informative guide, and not too expensive, $24 a person for a 2+hr tour, plus free admission to the Edmonston-Alston house, which is usually $12, and another hour tour.

It was really just beautiful, which is something I haven't really thought about Charleston since I've been here. It was nice to see that, since I'm used to Philadelphia and it's beautiful history. Also, I'm a huge history nerd, so hearing about the Civil war from the southern side was an interesting change to my Yankee perspective.

So yeah, Philadelphia is still the place that has my heart, but I definitely got a good, fun view of the city this weekend.