Why Knot Explore:: Charleston

Going to Charleston has been a dream of mine for quite some time. If you look back to THIS post (hello 2013), you'll see that I've always felt that Charleston was a kindred spirit kind of city. For my sister and I's graduation trips, we spent 8 days around Charleston. Our home base was with our cousin on Seabrook Island just south of Charleston and we took day trips into Charleston, around the greater Charleston area, and to Savannah. I'll do another one day guide for Savannah but for now I want to share with you my little guide to Charleston. 

I had done a LOT of research prior to our trip on where I wanted to eat, shop, drink, and walk around. So that's how I'll break this down! This is going to be a guide for the greater Charleston area since we spent a decent amount of time not specifically within the city of Charleston. :)

T I M E   T O   E A T!

 

(obstinate daughter!)

 1. Minero- delicious Mexican food!!

2. The Ordinary- best oysters of my life. Pricey but worth it for HH oysters!

3. Cru Cafe- delicious, fresh food that was a HUGE crowd pleaser

4. Obstinate Daughter- on Sullivan's Island and 100% worth it. I got the Lieutenant Dan pizza!

5. Beardcat's Sweet Shop- yummy gelato right below Obstinate Daughter!

6. Monza- amazing pizza 

7. The Daily- their breakfast tacos were unlike anything I'd had before.

(the ordinary- in an old bank!)

W H E N   Y O U   N E E D   A   D R I N K

1. The Watch- rooftop bar!

2. The Ordinary- they specialize in rum based cocktails!

3. The Living Room- at The Dewberry hotel and the people that work there are THE BEST

4. 48 Wine Bar- on Kiawah Island and they let you taste so many different wines all at your own pace! 

5. Rise Coffee Bar- so cute and they had some delicious latte flavors

6. Firefly Distillery-  on Wadmalaw island and they have a sweet tea flavored vodka and 1000 other delicious flavors.

(Rise coffee bar)

** there were so many more places I wanted to try but my sister is still underage and we didn't want the whole trip to be centered around alcohol and cool bars ya know?**

   T I M E   T O   E X P L O R E

(Boone Hall Plantation)

 1. South of Broad- the CUTEST homes. I could walk around there for hours.

2. King Street- shopping!

3. Boone Hall Plantation- loved the tours and the grounds were un.real.

4. Angel Oak- so cool

5. Sullivan's Island- the beach as well as eating at Obstinate Daughter!

6. Cannon Street- walk down Cannon St. and go inside the cute shops. I liked Cannonborough Collective (the shop owner was SO sweet), mac & murphy, and Sugar Bakeshop. 

** we also toured the Calhoun Mansion and were NOT impressed. I would not recommend paying the money to tour the house. I ADORE touring old homes and plantations but this looked like a hoarders dream and our tour guide was pretty rude. The new owners have JAM PACKED the place with old artifacts. Just an FYI.**

Overall, Charleston was a dream. As I mentioned before, we spent a decent amount of time on Seabrook Island (the beach is pictured above) but I also saw so much of Charleston and totally get why people love it! I can't wait to go back with a group of girlfriends sometime. 

 

October in Review

 Now that it is November 10th, I thought a good October recap was a good idea. ;) 

October started off in the best way with a last minute trip to Las Vegas for my sister's 21st! We all got our hair done at Dry Bar, lounged by the pool, ate amazing food & had a blast. Can't wait to see her again so soon for Thanksgiving!

The following weekend I went on a retreat with my church to the coast! It was just what the doctor ordered and I had the best time. We trekked out to this lighthouse one of the days and it was absolutely beautiful. There was fog rolling in and out sometimes making the lighthouse disappear if you were standing back far enough. I love the rugged Oregon coast.

I also celebrated my friend's birthday! I love any excuse to have a bunch of us get together and eat out somewhere delicious!

Get ready for all the fall foliage!! 

This fall in the PNW has been un-real. Seriously. Even now I find myself in awe of the trees and all their beautiful colors. NW Portland has been showing off for a while now. One of my favorite spots in the city is at Barista coffee shop. You can sit facing out the window and people watch for hours. :)

 I took this one on the way to brunch with my cousin one morning. I drive down this street multiple times a week and on this particular day, it was really showing off.

 For Halloween weekend I decided to be THE most basic and go as Eleven from Stranger Things. Everything I'm wearing are things I already owned so it wasn't too hard to dress like a child from the 80's. I don't know what that says about me...

Then I celebrated actual Halloween at a memory care unit with some friends in my cohort. We had such a blast!! I wanted to be someone the residents would know so I dressed up as June Cleaver/a housewife. Again, I owned everything already so I'm not sure what that says about me either.

October was busy, fun, and went by so quickly!! November is already speeding by and soon it will be Christmas!! This fall has been going a little too quick for my taste. Next week I'm off to Philly for a conference and then it's home for Thanksgiving! 

Happy Thursday friends! 

Go out and hug someone today

A Summer in Film

One more summer post and then I promise I'm done!

My friend Monica got me into disposable cameras back when we were in college and I loved how she would capture whole chunks of time on one camera. It was and is something so foreign to not immediately get to see what you took a photo of.  I knew I had some fun moments happening this summer so I picked one up at the beginning of July and had it last till Labor Day weekend. 

I picked the photos up yesterday and it immediately brought my back to just a little bit ago but it was something I really needed. If there's one thing I recommend, buy a disposable camera for at least one season of your life. :) You won't regret it.

Oh Lordy these make me so happy. 

If this doesn't convince you to go out and buy one of those cheap little cameras, I don't know what will. I'm so tempted to get one for this school year now. 

(also can we please acknowledge the woman in the third photo who is straight up GROWLING at the camera?? Best hilarious surprise of the pack!)

Happy Monday! 

Knock em dead this week people!

Why Knot {Explore}: Crater Lake National Park

Holy smokes you guys! Crater Lake!!!

This was my last planned trip for the summer (though, technically, I started school last week so I'm kind of counting this as a fall trip). A couple friends and I planned this trip kind of last minute but everything worked out perfectly. 

We left Portland early in the morning, stopped for some lunch items in Eugene, and got into the park by 3. (It should have been more towards 2 but there was a huge line into the park) We knew going to the park during Labor Day weekend was risky due to tourist overload but we felt it was still worth the trip. I'm so glad we made that decision because it was DEFINITELY worth it.

The lake was unreal! What is even crazier is how deep it is. Just imaging the depth of this giant volcanic spot took my breath away. I couldn't stop taking pictures of how blue the water was, the perfect clouds over the lake, the colors of the rocks and the general uniqueness to the whole lake. There's really nothing like it. 

We ended up camping at Diamond Lake right outside the park and I would definitely recommend it!! The lake was stunning, we got to camp right next to the water, the sites were well organized and clean and everything went smoothly from start to finish. I definitely didn't anticipate it getting down into the low 30's during the night though and woke up like a frozen Popsicle. But what are you gonna do but add on more layers? :) 

ALSO, this really cool company, Cotopaxi, contacted me to share some information about the National Parks and I jumped at the chance. Not only are these stats interesting, but it also gives me some ideas of where I want to go next! Pretty exciting that I crossed off Oregon's only national park this last weekend!

Cotopaxi is my kind of company and has a strong focus on their environmental impact and giving back. Check out their IMPACT page. It's seriously inspiring. 

They also carry some amazing backpacks for hiking, day use, or whatever you need it for! I have my eyes set on THIS one. :) They're the kind of backpacks that any fan of the outdoors would want. 

What is the next National Park on your list? I think mine is Glacier.

Summer Adventures:: Seattle (again)

As one of my last trips of the summer, some friends and I planned a big trip up to Canada. One of our friends has a cabin on Vancouver Island near Qualicum Bay and invited us to join her. It was my first time up in Canada and boy do I have lots of photos to share.

But first, we stopped in Seattle. 

My friend Bridget is from Seattle so we picked her up and spent the day in the city. The first day we got in we explored the University of Washington campus and ate at the amazing Hot Cakes. I definitely recommend this place for some of the most decadent molten lava cake you'll ever have. 

(the UW library!!)

On the second day I was dead set on eating a delicious doughnut at General Porpoise. I bought the chocolate marshmallow and split it with my friend as well as a sparkling chai. It was as unique as it sounds and equally as delicious. 

We continued to walk around Capital Hill and stopped in Little Oddfellows again so I could show my friends. But we were soon ready for some of the classics and headed to Pike Place Market. 

For lunch a friend and I had a Beecher's grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. It was to die for. Not kidding. We all grabbed lunch from different spots and sat on the grass facing the water right next to the market.

We spent a good amount of the day walking around this area and even went to the gum wall! It was disgusting but definitely an experience. We also stopped by Rachel's Ginger Beer and had a delicious ginger beer on tap! I recommend stopping by there for sure. 

To end the day, we were craving Mexican and a view so we went to Little Water Cantina. It was so good and the view was amazing! 

As our last stop we went to Gas Works Park to watch the sunset. The moon was unbelievable that night and totally caught my attention. I spent a long time trying to get the perfect shot. 

Overall, it was another short and successful trip to the emerald city. Next stop: Canada!! 

(as always, hover over any restaurant names for the link)