FRIDAY FAVORITES...BYE APRIL

And just like that, there goes April! It has been an interesting week, let me tell you, possible fodder for the blog though, so that’s good, lol! I did get some flower pots planted yesterday and plan on putting flowers in the ground this weekend as I think we are finally in the clear of a freeze/frost. I say that, but last year, I had to cover my plants nine evenings in a row due to frost, lol! Come on mother nature let’s get with it this year, lol!

 

1. Stella and At Home

It amazes me how many establishments will allow dogs and I think it is wonderful. I do not recommend taking an animal into a store if they are not well behaved. Thank goodness Stella is learning young and she can comply with store rules. Mr. Nine and I made a trip up to At Home in Kalamazoo last Sunday to get some things for the outdoors and she sat in the cart the whole time which is the store policy never made a peep.

I think it’s safe to say they love each other to pieces! She is daddy’s girl!

2. Rocking Chair Refresh

These are some of the things that we got for the front porch, I wanted a rug under my rockers and some pillows but the ones on the site where we bought the rockers four times as expensive as these and these are just as high-quality. Love this look.

Rockers HERE // Table HERE // Similar Rugs HERE & HERE // Pillows HERE

3.Week's Attire

Top HERE // Pants HERE // Shoes HERE

Top HERE // Jeans HERE // Sneakers HERE

And with the Jacket.....HERE Similar

4. More Stella 

Camper 

Stella Mae absolutely needs This Camper!!! Isn’t it just darling? Maybe she can talk Daddy into it! LOL! This Creative Seller on Etsy even has a doggie Taco Truck and Ice cream truck too!

Better Day

I was having a really bad day on Wednesday but walking through the greenhouses with Sweet Stella can ease anything that is hurting you. It’s just too bad that the whole world can’t love on each unconditionally like our pets do!

Her Hoodie HERE // Bow HERE

5. Misc. Fun 

POSTS OF THE WEEK 

Monday ~ Charleston Chronicles

Wednesday ~ Chicwish Review 2022...Sundresses

MEMES

Have a wonderful weekend, treat all of those you truly care about with kindness and only do what brings you joy!!!

Linking up with  Friday Favorites  // Metamorphosis Monday

xoxo

CHICWISH REVIEW 2022..The SUNDRESSES

Ahh sweet Dresses! What would a Chicwish review be without talking about their amazing dresses! Last year I reviewed Chicwish HERE AND HERE

Since then, my love of Chicwish has only grown! Their feminine and flirty designs, great selection and affordability keep me coming back for more.

 

For those of you that don’t know, Chicwish a wonderful online retailer based mostly out of Asia though established in the UK and US as well. They offer everything from dresses, tops, skirts, coats and now even jeans, athleisure pieces and swimsuits. I have primarily purchased dresses and sweaters in the Fall.

 

This was my first time sporting more Spring and Summer Chicwish fashions and can I just say, the dresses have me smitten.

 

Let’s talk about the pretty pretty dresses shall we. All three of these dresses are lined and made very similar with the tie taps. The Lemon Print Dress on mint green was the first one I received and I was tickled to wear it to brunch in Chicago. I got so many compliments on it and it was super comfortable. Plus, I loved the fact that you could wear a regular bra underneath.

My CUTE BAG HERE

These next two were worn on a recent trip to Charleston and they are the perfect Southern bell dresses! Again, many compliments on the Pink Print and it is even prettier in person. In fact, a girl stopped me by the pineapple fountain and said she was in a wedding looking for a dress with those colors and asked me where I got it. I showed her the Chicwish website. And Thank you Loving Tan Self-Tanner for not making me feel so pasty white.

 My RATTAN BAG HERE

Pink Dress HERE

The Yellow Print Dress was so pretty in person, I equated it to a buttercup sunshine yellow! Again, all these dresses and able me to wear a regular bra.

Dress HERE // NECKLACE SET WORN WITH ALL HERE // Sandals HERE

  

Also note, all three of these dresses look darling with a denim jacket.

Lemon print dress HERE // Jean Jacket HERE // Sneakers HERE

One thing I want to note in my review of Chicwish is that not all their clothes necessarily come at the same time, some quicker than others. Sometimes I get their fashions within a week and sometimes it takes 2 to 3, it just depends.

 

Their price points seem to be spot on! I have seen many of the same fashions for much much more. The price definitely reflects the standard of quality.

 

I stressed in my last Chicwish review that it is important that you take your measurements because not all sizing is the same. As long as you do that, you should be golden. The good news is I’ve never had to return anything but in case you do, their policy is yiu can return your items within 30 days from the date the item was shipped to you. Returns are FREE for US and UK customers. YAY! A fee of $8 will be deducted from your return credit for customers in other countries. This seems to be similar to how many other retailers conduct returns. I know, I for one and always happy when a company offers free returns.

 I’ll be back again soon with LOTS more Chicwish to review but trust me when I say I LOVE their fun and affordable fashions so much!

Which of the Three is your Fav?

Happy MID-WEEK SWEETS!!

xoxo

CHARLESTON CHRONICLES

Last year for my 50th birthday my mom told me I could have a trip to go anywhere that I wanted. She had a trip planned that included Charleston that got canceled due to the darn pandemic in 2020. I’ve been itching to go there for a girls trip so I thought that would be the perfect spot for some mother daughter time. And what a great time it was! Charleston is an absolutely beautiful city and seeing as we both love architecture and great food along with beautiful weather, it was the perfect city for us. AND this was the first flight for my mom and I since the pandemic so we did it right! 

Here are just a few of the highlights.

We arrived on Easter and thought that two of our days were going to be a rain washout but the only time the weather was a little bit sprinkling was Monday morning. Sunday was so gorgeous so we packed in lots of sightseeing. We were enamored with the beautiful homes, hotels and flowers!

The well known Pineapple Fountain by the Water

The famous Rainbow Row of houses, they are an average of $3 Million 

This trip was planned just three weeks ago so we did not have a lot of options for accommodations are where we wanted to stay but one that kept popping up to us was the Mills House because that is my mom‘s last name; my maiden name. How adorable does my mom look in these pictures.

I do want to note that the best thing about this hotel was the central location with the walking distance to everything. The lobby and courtyard was gorgeous but the rooms are extremely dated, small and the staff not very knowledgeable. My mom even asked for a little something in our room to celebrate it being a birthday trip and they said the best they could do was order champagne from the restaurant and charge it to the room, lol! However, if you do want to be century located to be able to walk everywhere you probably would want to check it out.

 

Dessert kind of came first for the evening we walked by Carmella's Dessert Bar with the most beautiful desserts in the case. Just look at this cannoli cake.

That night we had dinner at a restaurant called Eli's Table and should not have ordered the duck, lol! F-ing Duck mom called it, lol! I have never had duck and I probably will not have it again but Charleston is known for the fried green tomatoes and the fried green tomato stack was delicious!

Churches

Speaking of architecture in the homes and hotels; the churches are absolutely magnificent so I’m sharing a few of those for sure!

As we were walking around the historic district, we came upon a large camera crew, a local told us they were filing Outer Banks 3 and yes, John B was on the top porch!!

 

Our favorite spot for brunch was Millers All Day. In fact, we loved it so much from the food to the retro vibe to the fact that it was a two minute walk from our hotel that we went two days in a row. Highly recommend this place if you were in Charleston, it was our favorite meals.

Poogan's Porch is also quite delish. Funny story too, the waiter brought me  straw for the chafe of mimosas because mom only had one, so guess who drank the rest, lol

Cute mama with her one mimosa, lol

Me, with them all, lol

And another great must try restaurants is Hyman's. There are pics all over the wall of famous people who have eaten there. We were at Neal Diamond's table, lol.

A Carriage Ride! 

What a fun way to see the city and Old South Carriage does it right. Highly recommend the hour tour if you're there. The walking tours are great too.

 

After the carriage ride, we made out way to King Street for lots of shopping. This store, Spartina 449, was our favorite and I got the cutest linen jumpsuit there!

The last night we found an amazing hotel lobby to explore as well as it's rooftop bar. We love Hotel lobbies and many in Charleston are great. This one, The Venue, was all modern with lots of white and red. And how funny is this big gorilla. I teased it was Mr. Nine's competition, lol.

Look how Beautiful Mom looks.

My Dress HERE

CHECK out some of the dresses I wore HERE

(more on what was worn in Charleston 

in a dedicated post soon)

Sunset from the rooftop

Last stop was Kaminsky's Dessert Bar, voted the best desserts in Charleston for 24 years in a row. I was in heaven with the dessert martini's as you know my fav is Key Lime and of course I had to get a slice of bourbon Pecan Pie, YUMMY!

I will say this; unless you’re planning on staying on one of the nearby islands at the beach, this is not a laid-back relaxing vacation. In order to see Charleston right, there is lots and lots of walking and you will be tired in the evening, lol! It’s really somewhere where you don’t need more than four days so pack it all in. Really the only two things that we missed doing was the pink Champagne bar which we went to on Easter but it was closed and seeing a couple of the plantations and flower gardens but it was hard to plan everything when we thought the weather was going to be rainy a couple days. As you know, we also go on a trip every five years for mama‘s milestone birthdays; seeing as one is this year, we just might shoot for somewhere relaxing come this Fall. All I know, is that I am extremely lucky at my age; when many people I know have lost their parents, that I get an opportunity to enjoy sweet vacations like this with my beautiful mama!

Have you ever been to Charleston?

HUGS to you all!

LINKING-UP with Metamorphosis Monday// Love your Creativity // Hello Monday  // Inspire Me Tuesday 

xoxo