I just edited over 50 photos from my weekend in Folly Beach so needless to say, it was a great time! I thought it best to divide the recap up into two parts…today I’ll share food and fun and on Wednesday I’ll share more about the house we stayed in, bringing the dogs to Folly, the beach and the general destination.
A couple of months ago I received an invitation to book a three-night stay for a destination within driving distance from Charlotte from the team at HomeAway in exchange for sharing about my stay. I eagerly accepted because a pre-baby getaway sounded perfect to me! I instantly gravitated towards beach over mountains and decided to invite some of my closest girlfriends. It was sort of like a bachelorette party but for a baby instead…and minus the booze (on my part).
We arrived at our beach home for the weekend on Thursday evening after a quick 3.5 hour drive from Charlotte…that was more like 4 because we had to stop twice so that I could go to the bathroom. Our home was so charming and I can’t wait to give you a full tour on Wednesday.
The first night it was only three of us (the other two girls joined us Friday) so as soon as we unloaded the dogs and our stuff, we headed out to the grocery to stock up for the weekend. We decided to make a simple dinner back at the house of rotisserie chicken, couscous and salad.
I also baked us a pan of brownies that were gone in under 24 hours.
I had the great idea to top the warm brownies with Ben & Jerry’s and everyone else followed suit! 🙂
On Friday morning we took the dogs out to the beach. Virginia brought little Stella too. They had SO MUCH FUN swimming and chasing after balls. It was also so much fun for us to watch.
Post-beach lunch of ham, provolone and avocado sandwich on rosemary olive oil bread.
The rest of our day looked like lounging on the beach and reading/chatting while waiting for the other girls to arrive.
Once they got in, we spent another hour of so on the beach (clothed, it got a little cold!) before getting ready to head out for a casual dinner in Folly. Let me tell you, I’ve had no problem with workout maternity clothes but “real world” maternity clothing is starting to get real. I’m going to need to pick up a few more things for going out/dressing up to get me through the next 10 weeks.
Our first stop was at Rita’s for drinks and chips. We originally planned to stay for dinner but were pretty unwowed by the drinks and dips so decided to pay our tab and head elsewhere.
We ended up at a cozy little Irish pub, St. James Gate, where we enjoyed lots of conversation and laughs.
I had a burger with pimento cheese and bacon and some crispy brussels sprouts. The burger was delicious but I’m 99% sure it’s the last one I’ll eat in pregnancy. I was in agony all night trying to digest this thing.
That brought a 6 a.m. wake up on Saturday. I decided to just get out of bed and seize the day with a sunrise walk.
The girls and I walked on the beach for about an hour and it was so quiet and relaxing.
Back at the house I went for a lighter breakfast of yogurt, fruit and granola with sunflower seed butter.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably warm on Saturday. Blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. It was mid 70s and that perfect weather where you don’t feel hot or cold. We all got down to the beach around 11 and stayed until about 5 p.m.
It was fun to get some bump beach shots although it was not super fun to have to walk back to the house every hour to go to the bathroom. Haha.
Most of us chatted, slept and read with the exception of Virginia who is getting ready to take the MCAT and was flash carding all afternoon. I was NOT envious.
I took a quick break from the sun to make a salad for lunch. I was still in the mood for lighter and non-meat fare after my burger experience the night before.
Back on the beach, I dug a hole in the sand for baby boy to rest in so that I could relax on my stomach for a bit and nap. I was also getting so burnt on my front despite multiple sunblock applications. I definitely recommend the hole in the sand technique for any other expecting mamas. It was pretty awesome!
Back at the house we had happy hour on our porch (kombucha for me). I don’t think anyone wanted the day to end, it was just so beautiful outside.
We eventually got dressed for dinner and headed into Charleston for reservations at Sorghum and Salt. I had a hard time finding a spot that could take 5 of us on a Saturday night with only a couple weeks notice. I had received a few recommendations for this spot and could get us in so decided to try it out.
Here’s a sampling of some of the small plates we shared. From top left and clockwise…
- Charred SC broccoli and cauliflower with romesco, apricot mostarda and spiced almonds
- Geechie boy polenta cake with street corn, SC feta, sambal and romesco aioli
- Eggplant katsu maple yuzu with charred pickled radish
- Slow cooked lamb with smoked beet puree, apricot, horseradish and roasted beet
- The daily special which was a DELICIOUS pork pasta
- Green tea noodles with a six minute egg, ginger and crispy brussels leaves
- Biscuits and gravy with wild mushrooms, coconut milk, lemongrass and red chili
And of course we shared dessert. The one on the left was single-origin chocolate mousse with miso, pistachio, cayenne, chantilly cream and oreo crack. The one on the right was goat cheesecake with roasted strawberry, white chocolate and whey caramel.
While we all agreed that we enjoyed our dinner experience at Sorghum and Salt, I definitely wish we could have gotten into Husk or FIG or another Charleston “institution” kind of place. I have QUITE the amazing list of recommendations from Instagram for my next visit. Let me know if you’re interested in me sharing them here. It’s an awesome list that covers a little bit of everything!
Back at the house, it was a race to see who could get into PJs the fastest. Haha.
Of course I had to get the girls out for one last beach outing on Sunday morning.
We were on the road by 9:30 a.m. I was SO sad to miss Sunday brunch in Charleston but a few of the girls had things they needed to get back for and the dogs also made it logistically impossible.
Again, next time on that epic restaurant list. 😉
Stay tuned for part two of my Folly adventures on Wednesday. House tour + lots of beach shots coming for ya!
What’s your favorite kind of weekend getaway? Big city? Mountains? Beach?
When was your last girls trip? Where did you go? What did you do?
Have you ever visited the Charleston area?
Charleston is on my to visit list! We have friends who live there but have only had the opportunity to stop through for a night when traveling.
The weather looksd gorgeous and how wonderful to have such a great group of friends.
If you ever go back to Folly, you MUST eat at Jack o’ Cups. It’s a tiny little local bar with the most incredible, fresh food: curry bowls, lots of vegetarian dishes, Mac and cheese! The menu changes seasonally and it is always amazing. And Congrats on baby boy!
Ahh I totally forgot about the bump drama with suntanning!!! (and I remember googling this too!!!) I have heard about the sand hole but did not try it myself. The beaches by me are not that clean so I wasn’t feeling digging a hole. I would rotate side to side on my beach chair, but to be honest, I did not get much tan on my back that year I was preg!
I freaking LOVE folly beach but haven’t been in 5+ years! I need to change that. My last girls trip was to Pinehurst over a year ago – I’m due for another!!
Sounds like a Charleston girls weekend is in the cards for you! 🙂
Charleston is a really beautiful area with tons of things to do and nice places to eat Looks like you had a nice weekend but I bet Sullie and Zoey enjoyed it more.
Yes, they certainly did! They were wiped out for days after!
I have a low key obsession with Sean Brock, so I wish you could have gone to Husk too!
I love Folly! We were just in Kiawah, but about 2 weeks ahead of this amazing beach weather you had!
I was sooooooo sad to miss out on Husk.
I’m a beach girl for sure when it comes to getaways. This past weekend was perfect beach weather! Glad you had such a great time. I live down near Hilton Head Island so we spent some time on the beach there this weekend as well. I’ve lived in SC for the past 4.5 years (first 4 years were in Columbia) and still have yet to make it to Charleston! On the to-do list. We have a 3.5 yr old and 20 month old (and 2 dogs) so getting away is a lot harder these days.
You must visit Charleston! It’s such a special area. I lived there for a year after college and absolutely adored my time there. I can imagine that getting away is quite the task with your current crew! Are you enjoying living in the HHI area?
Absolutely! We love it here. We live right near Old Town Bluffton, so we have lots of neat restaurants, shops, historic buildings, and the scenic May River within walking distance, and it’s only 20 minutes to the beach on HHI. After 9 years of frequent military moves, it was time to slow life down and we couldn’t have picked a better place to do that than the SC Lowcountry.