Charleston vs. Savannah: A Southern Smackdown

"Screw the staycation! Let's go somewhere."
- my husband, exactly four days into our spring break


A month after our rock-ass trip to Savannah, we still couldn't get the craving for fried green tomatoes out of our heads. We were spoiled on our visit to a grand, lush, haunted, delicious southern city, and we wanted more.

So even though we had sworn that our spring break would be a low-key staycation, we decided to visit Charleston on the cheap for two nights. After all, it was known for being grand, lush, haunted and delicious. Also, we had been unable to accept an invitation to attend a wedding reception there later this spring, but we still wanted to check this new city out.

So Dan and I packed, drove seven hours, checked into the cheapest/scariest motel right outside town, searched the bed for bedbugs, breathed a sigh of relief, and went on our second southern adventure. How did Charleston measure up?

Here's a little Savannah vs. Charleston breakdown:

There were gorgeous fountains:

Savannah had this elaborate fountain in Forsythe Park:

While Charleston had a modern one that shrieking kids could cool off in:

and this fancy pineapple one:

Interesting architecture:

Savannah had classic homes with ivy and immaculate landscaping...



while many of Charleston's homes had faux front doors! Rather than the front door opening to a foyer, they brought you onto the side porch. I couldn't get enough of it.


Here's a side view of one. See how the black "front" door brings you to a breezy side porch? How charming!



A sunny river walk:


Savannah had lively bars lining its impressive river walk...




much like Charleston's river walk that stretched for over a mile:






And deep-fried, southern food:

Here's Savannah's version of a "salad":



and Charleston's fried green tomatoes appetizer (I guess it wasn't fattening enough, so they had to add a pimento cheese dipping sauce):




In short, we loved frolicking around another charming city, especially taking in the major sights:





Going on a carriage tour

and visiting more restaurants for our New Year's resolution:



Savannah was more lovely, with its squares and Spanish moss, while Charleston was kinda like Savannah's wild cousin, with more night-life and roof-top bars.



While I'd probably be more inclined to go back to Charleston because there's more we'd like to do there, the trip to Savannah still spanked our trip to Charleston. Why?



Mother nature, my friends.



It rained in Charleston.






Correction: it poured in Charleston.


Now you see the street...

Now you don't:


It rained so much that the low-country areas flooded with about a foot of water. Dan and I both took off our shoes, rolled up our jeans, and waded barefoot through a few of the streets with all the other soaked folks who didn't have a hotel in town.




Dan and I were in pretty pissy moods after an hour of trumping through the monsoon. That is, until we stopped under a church's alcove to rest and a family with three boys came walking up. The youngest (around three) was wailing, "NOOOO MORE RAIN!!!!" The other two boys (maybe seven and eight) were cheering, "YEAHHHHH!" and splashing in the gutters like it was the singular best event that could have happened to them. It's all about perspective, I suppose. And we realized we were like the cranky three year old, even though we're both in our thirties...

That helped us rally pretty fast.

We ended up drying off on a roof top bar and toasting Dan's squishy shoes and my atrociously bad hair day:



Somehow, I think that this moment is the one we'll remember the best out of both our trips. :)

Peep this!

If you haven't seen the Washington Post's annual Peep Diarama contest, you need to!

People take the staple Easter candy, and they turn them from gritty treats...

into masterpieces like...

"Inpeeption"

"Good Night, Peep"


"Peep Busters"

Clue!

"Mrs. Peacock with the gun in the conservatory"

And my favorite homage to Up:

There are so many other ones, from topical (Chilean mine rescue) to grisly (Dexter's lab) to fun (Where the wild peeps are). Dan and I considered joining by doing something from The Office, but were scared off by all the artistic talent.

All my pictures (except first one) are from Washington Post. Click on that link for more of the "Peep Show"!

Kickin' brass!

Don't you hate flashy, loud mouths that take over a room??

I'm talking to you, fireplace doors. You're the fixture equivalent of a Jersey Housewife.

It's Day 5 of our "staycation" (AKA spring break), and I finally decided to tweak a few things around the house that have been getting on my nerves. Please excuse the terrible photo quality in these pictures. This project turned out a lot better than it is photographing... Trust me that the unbelievably shiny brass doors were an eyesore and a pain in my ass every time I looked at them.

This is not too crazy of a DIY project, but it was time consuming. Want to try it yourself? Well, let me walk you through the oh-so-easy steps:

Step 1. Take doors off:

Step 2. Cover glass part with painter's tape and pages from Anthropologie catalogue:


Step 3. When your MIL visits and asks, "What are those pictures??" when looking at scantily clad models taped to glass, explain that they are from an Anthropologie catalogue, NOT old-fashioned porn.

(Yes, this really happened. My amazing mother-in-law thought they were pin-up girls, which cracked me up.)

Which brings me to the next step...

Step 4. Make a "tape outfit" to cover scantily clad model and avoid further scandalizing visitors:

Step 5. Slack off for a few days.

Step 6: Bring doors outside and spray with thin, even layers of fire-resistant paint. Complain that fire resistant paint doesn't come in any color except white or black.

Step 7: Let dry.

Step 8: Scrub out fireplace and fill with candles. Put doors back on.

Step 9: Take pictures for blog!

The picture doesn't really show the marked difference, but I have to say that I've very happy with the results.


Alternative titles for this post:

"Brassy to classy"

"Appealing to the brasses"

(that one doesn't even make sense)

and my favorite from Dan:

"Back that brass up!"

The Monument 10K

"Veronica and I trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild." - Ron Burgandy

If anyone had asked me three years ago to go running, I would have grimaced and responded something like, "Meh..."

But I have to say that there is one event I do love to quasi "train" for and that is the annual Monument 10K in Richmond. I ran it for the first time three years ago and couldn't get enough of the energy and people watching. And I finally understood the concept of running/ jogging/ limping long distances for that runner's high.

You're right, Ron Burgandy. Yogging is kind of "wild"!

Anyhoo, in an effort to have a better experience than last year's pathetic show, I actually prepared somewhat this time around. My sister Bethany joined me (her first 10K!) and we rocked it out! Or at least we deluded ourselves into thinking we did.

Here we are letting out a victory woop when we saw a camera man at mile 6:

I thought I'd also share a few things we saw along the way...

* People dressed for the costume contest, like the girls above dressed as "toilet paper mishap."

* An Elvis impersonator singing hits

* Over 40 bands, ranging from classical to rap to hard rock.

* Yoga gurus sitting in giant lotus flowers and channeling calm to the 40,000+ runners

* A couple with a sign that read "Free high fives!" joyfully slapping outstretched hands

* People cheering from row house balconies, drinks in hand at 9:00 in the morning

* A bull dog donning VCU gear in support of the bball team being in final four

* A family giving away Krispy Kreme donuts to negate any calories burned :)

Awesome signs

Starting with my favorite...

But here are a few more...

As we began the race, this one freaked us out: Next rest stop: 6 miles.

This one made us feel like total bad asses: If it were easy, I would be running it.

One written by a Jillian Michaels on Red Bull: YOU CAN WALK WHEN YOU GET HOME!!!

And this one was just hilarious: Chafe now. Brag forever!

And inspiration:

On a serious note, we also saw many runners with signs emblazoned with messages of love and hope for loved ones with cancer. Some were running for family members that had passed, including one woman who had lost her mother only two months before. I can't even begin to imagine such a loss, and our hearts went out to everyone who carried these signs. Every time my sister and I saw one, we also looked at each other. I guess she was thinking the same thing I was, about how lucky we were to be healthy and running together on that beautiful, spring day. It's probably the most significant reason why I've enjoyed running this 10K every year, feeling that immense gratitude.