Christmas in Charleston, S.C.

Hello Charleston and goodbye 2014! 

     This year all the babies were spastically missing here and there with plans of their own.  On the offset of feeling lonely without them and celebrating my anniversary, I decided to book a trip to warm, sunny Charleston, S.C.  What a lovely idea it was!  We began our visit on King St.  Anyone who's anyone knows that King Street is the best place in the south to shop.  

     Headed to "Isle of the Palms", driving with the windows down, we smell all sorts of foods and the bright sun is so welcoming to my soul.  To top it off, love the local sounds on the street corners.  A true reminiscent of authentic old south.  You just can't beat it. 

     I once upon a time lived in Savannah, GA which isn't too far from Charleston.  Bridges are a big thing!  Savannah, Charleston and New Orleans have some of the coolest! 

     Pulling over to say hello the waters edge and to stretch our legs.  Such a different world from Chattanooga, TN.  I don't think there is a winter down here.  Trees still leafy and grass as green as our sweetest summer.  

     I sort of have a thing for parks.  Especially parks with huge trees sitting beside the sea.  :)

     Here we are, happy to be out of the car and more happy to be at the end of the earth!

     The view from our hotel room.  I could stay here forever.  I left the door open and the sound of the ocean rocked me like a baby to the sweetest sleep ever.  

     This is my walk to the waters edge.  The sun is beginning to set and all seems still in my world. Here are a few pics of my evening walk.

     Every beach is different.  This is the only place where I've seen the star-fish wash up on shore like this.  The beach was covered in the A.M.  A million stars danced on my beach just for me. 

     Here I am without a care and so happy to be in the bright light where I can see.  So I see inside of me.  Here I am sweet Lord...hold my hand because tomorrow is unsettled.  Today though, you are here with me... let me dream.

     Headed over to the Boone Hall Plantation. This is an amazing story and hey do these trees look familiar?  Can anyone say..."Forest Gump?" They are really a site to see.  A very peaceful area.

     Do y'all recognize this?  This was Alley's home in "The Notebook".  We participated in a home tour.  I wasn't able to get pics of inside the house but it was beautiful.  The whole top floor is off limits as the owners use it as a private dwelling a few times a yr.

     These are the slave dwellings.  Interestingly enough the guides tell the stories of these days in history.  These slaves were worth a lot of money and a very valuable asset to the plantation.  Most slaves were not beaten or mistreated and in fact were given the best medical care and food rations than  you could imagine.  They were even given freedom of worship and their children were raised within families.  It kind of brings some perspective to the whole "slave" thing eh?

Time to say goodbye  until next time.  Thank you Charleston.  There were so many other wonderful experiences here that I ran out of room to post.  Go yourself and find your own cool vibes down south. 

 Merry Christmas! 

Week in review

OK, so I am back at home in good old Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Home sweet home and I must say I am so happy to be here.  So to get you caught up for the week I've missed on my regular blogging here is the week in review from this week on the road.

As we all know Joan Rivers passed from this world into the next one.  I didn't like her voice much but loved her humor.  It just seemed to flow and be sincerely funny.  I can't help but wonder who's entertaining the good Lord more, her or Robin Williams. 

It was hard on the road to keep up with everything in my girly world but I wouldn't miss New York Fashion Week for anything!  Then to boot, here's a wonderful article on how to get great skin for Fashion Week.

I did a lot of following blogs and list to stay updated and this one in particular made it a breeze to cover the latest buzz on everything happening during the week of September 1 - 6.

I learned that Ashley Simpson got married to the son of Diana Ross.  I must have been sleeping because I had no idea she wasn't with Pete anymore!   Well this article sums it up.   I'll just ignore the ugly ones out there right now about Ashley living in Jessica's shadow.

Now, while on the road I blogged from my iPhone only and was unable to attach any links.  Below is a list of interesting links from places I blogged about all last week.

• Carmel-By-The-Sea!
• San Luis Obispo
• Beverly Hills, CA
• Malibu
• Ragged Point Inn
• Flagstaff, AZ
• Big Sur, CA
• Sedona

Thanks to everyone who tagged along on this road trip.  It was so much fun being able to blog it and find such interesting beautiful things about each area.  Now you go and find the things you love most in the world.  See you back here tomorrow for the new wish list.

-xoxo  Teresa Ann

Home from Phoenix

Hello there!

Today I am headed home.  Yesterday I spent the whole day getting in some final sight seeing and rest.  Mostly rest.  

Overall I think Phoenix is a unique town with definately it's own way about it.  Coming out here I had heard so much about it.  It's nice to finally see for myself what life is like in the southwest.  

Here are a few pics I snapped last minute to give you an idea about inside Phoenix. 

This is the mission that wasn't open.  It doesn't open until October.  A little strange I thought.  Beautiful nonetheless.

These pics were taken from Scottsdale in the Old Town area.  Lots of art sculptures.

Outside of Old Town it was very hot in the mid afternoon.  I did the usual and hit the malls to stay cool.  People here tend to stay inside a good bit.  I didn't really mind because the malls here in Paradise Valley are extremely high end.  

Not an exciting afternoon but my body needed the rest.  Today my flight leaves Phoenix at 1:00pm.  I won't actually get to Atlanta until late then I have a 2 hour drive from Atlanta to North Chattanooga... "home".  I miss the kids and my puppy.  Home sounds good right now. So I will get back to my regular blogging starting tomorrow. 

Thank you for following my week and crazy vacation blog.  It was so much fun!  It is my opinion that California is still the best!!!  

Love y'all! 

Flagstaff to Sedona

As my trip is winding down what better way to say goodbye to the west then Flagstaff and Sedona.  Two of the most coolest places ever.  I learned some pretty cool things about each area and it pays to actually see a place for yourself.

You would think since Flagstaff is so close on the map to the Phoenix area that it would have the same climate but no.  Flagstaff is a ski town that gets about 99 inches a yr of snow on average.  It sits at about an estimated 7,000 feet in altitude.  While I was there the high was only 82.   Waking up in the morning was a happy 48.  We drove up the mountain to check out the ponderosa pines and the alpine forest.  Just loved this area. 

Flagstaff has a wonderful square with all kinds of coffee shopes, organic reaturants and pubs. There seems to be a young vibe really strong for a town that entertains all kinda of atheletes like snow boarders and all snow sports.  It's so laid back everyone walks and chills in their hemp and flip flops. 

While walking around the square we noticed these three young people happily painting art. I loved that they were so happy to be painting. 

We stopped for lunch at the Weatherford Hotel built in 1897.  It is said that Wyatt Earp, famous writer Zane Grey and President Theodore Rosevelt have stayed here.   There was also a famous water color artist named Thomas Moran that visited this hotel frequently and became influential in convincing congress to perserve Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon as national parks. 

Yet, with all that notoriety my main concern was the grub.  This was seriously the best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had.  It had chicken, pesto, celery, roasted walnuts and alfalfa sprouts on warmed crossant bun.  Yummmmm!

I sure hate to leave Flagstaff, it felt so much like home.  So I am off to Sedona.  The more we drive, the more beautiful the view becomes. 

Sedona was a little like I thought it would be, kinda trendy and touristy but it's definately worth the visit because it is so unusual and absolutely beautiful.  

In town I met the sweetest kindred soul who took our aura pics.  Yes I'm a "yellow" personality type.  You know the type, they never wanna grow up.  Always in pursuit of happiness and always looking at the bright side of things. 

I did get the chance to hike Bell Rock and get a close as I could to an energy vortex.  It was the most amazing feeling I have to say and the view from the top wasn't so bad either. 

The view...

After the hike it was time to head back to Phoenix area.  I am so glad we saved these places for last.  This trip has really been amazing and such a blessing to be able to see so many wonderful places and meet so many cool people.  I will wrap it up in the next few days with post on the Phoenix area.  For now, this chic is headed to the Embassy for some R&R.  Love yall.