Another busy weekend in the books for me! It was so much fun though :)
Friday we celebrated Gram’s 78th Birthday. She wanted to go out for brunch so we picked her up and off we all traipsed to Cracker Barrel. Be proud! I resisted the urge to eat carbs and ordered eggs instead. We had the worst waitress..I felt bad for her. The food however was superb. Then it was off to take my sister by the university to take her summer class final. She passed! We spent the rest of the day shopping and hanging out until she had to leave to go back to Charleston. Mom, Dad and I went to Lowe’s to buy my new vanities for my bathrooms! Talk about an exciting moment! More details and pics coming this week!
Saturday morning I headed down to Charleston to see one of my dearest, best-est friends, Lilly. She recently moved back from Atlanta and I hadn’t had a chance to see her new apartment yet. It was a great drive down there until the eighteen wheeler rest area blocked me and I had to drive 30mts to get to the next non-sketchy bathroom. But I survived and there was no rain.
You might have caught my post last week about James, but if not let me fill you in! James is a friend of a mutual friend, a former Marine and a weapons specialist. Our mutual friend suggested that the two of us meet and introduced us. We’ve been talking on the phone now for about two weeks. James served a tour in Iraq before being sent home after surviving an IED blast. As a result of the blast, he is blind in his right eye. James and I had planned to meet up on Saturday morning and hangout at the beach but he had an emergency come up so we rescheduled for Sunday. Y’all this boy is precious..let me re-phrase that..this man is precious. I have been pleasantly impressed with his manners and his pursuit. He calls instead of texts which I love. We talk on the phone like we’ve known each other our whole lives instead of two weeks. He called me on my way to Charleston to make sure I hadn’t run into any rain and to request that when stopping at non-sketchy bathrooms I tell someone where I stopped (so that if I went missing they had a point of reference to begin looking). Military/Police background…you have to love it :)
I finally made it to Lilly’s and we headed downtown. Lilly had an interview at Republic Garden at 3pm. We parked only to get on the street and realize it was at the OTHER end of the street. So needless to say Lilly, Sam and I booked it to the restaurant. Sam (oh! she’s Lilly’s sister btw..) and I tooled around this awesome toy shop during Lilly’s interview. They even had a Nickelodeon Piano! The Magnifilous Toy Emporium (Magnificent + Fabulous) on upper King is a delightful shop! If they carry it at Toys-R-Us I guarantee you..it won’t be found at the Emporium. Sam and I had the best time looking at classic games from our childhood. The best part was watching the kids in the store. They were having the greatest time laughing and giggling. It was as equally catered to adults as it was for the children..because honestly, we’re all kids at heart :)Her interview went really well! She connected with the manager and bartender who were interviewing her. They were very impressed with her resume. She’s supposed to get a call back today so cross your fingers!!
After Lilly’s interview, we dropped Sam off at work. She works for a charter company as a tour guide. Lilly and I spent the rest of the afternoon tolling around downtown, the bookstore and then went to the movies to watch Tammy. I can’t say that it was one of my favorite Melissa McCarthy films. There is a lot of negative self-image in their portrayal of the female role. Derogatory comments, alcoholism and foul language gave this movie a C- rating from me.
James called to say he’d resolved the emergency and to see if I was by chance free for dinner. I said I was. We met up at Leaf, a super quaint cafe style restaurant. It was great! He’s as amazing in person as he is on the phone ;) Ladies..when I say he’s adorable..he’s adorable ;) Such a gentleman too! Our friends joined us shortly after dinner which made it all the more fun! James’ friend Bryan, a North Charleston police officer, joined us and he hit it off with Lilly immediately. We hung out and talked for about an hour and half before the guys asked us if we’d like to walk around downtown. Downtown Charleston is the best place in the summer! There are always a hundred things going on it seems. It was the best night just walking around laughing and joking with each other. The guys were polite enough to point out the puddles. I, unfortunately, took a tumble on the wet stairs…yay for Lindsay Phillips shoes that slide on really wet wooden stairs. So I’m currently sporting two massive bruises on my shin.
We split ways and I got a goodnight kiss :) (He asked first! I liked that..ever the gentleman!). James invited us to the beach on Sunday. His family has a house on Edisto Island. Lilly had plans but I was free. So Sunday morning, James and I spent the morning at the beach. I had the greatest time walking on the beach and talking with him. He shared about life in Iraq, surviving an IED blast and the difficulty he had transitioning back into life as a civilian who has combat experience. Coming from a military family, I know the struggles these soldiers go through when they come back from war. It pulled my heart-strings even more. We shared our college experiences…I must say..his stories are way funnier than mine! Their house was amazing! It sits back off the road by the marsh. The porch swing made for the perfect spot to sit and munch on snacks. James had to be back by 2pm so we left the island about noon. He gave me a personal tour as I hadn’t ever been to Edisto before. It’s so cute! I definitely want to go back and stroll around some more. I saw some thrift shops and you know they were calling my name..
After he dropped me off, Lilly, Sam and I went to lunch. We were all starving (more like STAAAARHHHHHHVING.) and between the three of us we have a plethora of coupons to be used at different places. We went to Ol’ Charley’s. I was beyond excited to see they had chicken and waffles on the menu. Two of my favorite things :) We had a fabulous waitress! Sitting at a table with two people who work in the food industry for a living tends to make dining out tricky..they’re constantly reviewing wait time, appetizer to table time and such..but she was fabulous! We splurged from healthy eating..(as indicated by my amazing chicken and waffles..) and ordered some fried pickles. Totally a southern thing and whoever invented them is an amazing person!!
After dropping Sam off, Lilly and I headed out to Isle of Palms. We have a tradition that anytime we’re in Charleston we walk from inlet #23 to the pier and back. We’ve been doing it for forever..we realized this time that it had been over 2 years since we’d done it and agreed that it was a tragedy! So we’ve resolved to make monthly time to get together a priority..schedules allowing. It was rather toasty so we headed over to see my little sister at Belgian Gelato on Vendue. I’d never been to that part of the water front before and I was in awe of the typography and architecture. We got some gelato, pineapple mango for me and salted caramel for Lilly. It was SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOD!!!! It started pouring..typical Charleston and we made a mad dash back to the car.
I was exhausted but it was a super fun weekend. Thankfully the rain cleared up on my way out of Charleston and I had smooth weather all the way home.
How was your weekend? Did you have some sunshine?
XoXo!
One Happy Lemon
PS! I didn’t get sunburned at all!!! Hurray!
Adventures with Kat 