Took a walking tour on Saturday of a very posh residential area in Charleston, SC. Was with my dear best of friend FF and her wonderful husband CCF, dear of dearest friend JH and her far too charming husband DH, and very sweet friend JH and her so nice husband FH. We were all in Charleston for a very warm and convivial weekend at TF and KR’s lovely wedding. In addition, it was so fabulous getting to spend lots quality time with my good friend FM and her super fun husband CM…and great seeing CF (who wore a gorgeous Valentino gown to the wedding), CF, E, RM and lots of others I hadn’t seen in awhile.
One of best parts of the whole weekend was getting to hang out with my super cute god son CGF. CGF danced with me at the wedding (standing in for TE who was back here in Los Angeles shooting some kind of commercial). When we got on the dance floor for a slow dance, my 9 year old god son CGF whispered to me, “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never done this before”. I leaned down and said, “Just look up at me and move your feet back and forth and you’ll be fine”. He was fine…more than fine.
Anyhoooo….hmmm…..I digress as usual…
Where was I…oh…Charleston. Yes. Charleston. What a stunning city. A jewel in the south. I have to admit something right off…I have not spent too much time in the south…my favorite place being New Orleans…otherwise, I haven’t had too much time exploring that region of the country…so when I was invited to this wedding and sent in my handwritten reply note, I had no idea what to expect…I really had no expectations…none.
Well I can tell you Charleston, South Carolina…is one of the most lovely cities I have ever been too…the nexus between small town charm and big city sophistication.
I caught a glimpse of myself in a car window as we were all walking from King Street downtown, over down Legare Street to see the stunning old mansions, then onto the Battery and to see the ocean view…I was so in awe of the residential architecture, the horse drawn carriages, the Palmetto trees swaying in the warm (slightly sticky) breeze, the adorable downtown filled with the most darling shops, that when I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of that car window, I saw a girl with her mouth wide open in awe, a huge happy smile on her face (in a beautiful setting with such lovely friends), looking up, moving along, feet back and forth…and like my little god son, she (me) was more than fine
So now I bring you a collection of photos I took of some of the homes and surroundings…looking through the magnificent gates of Charleston, SC.
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| The grand entrance to the historic Sword Gate House known of its ornate wrought iron gate. The mansion is currently for sale for $18.8 million dollars…see the real estate listing for this home here! (above) |
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| A divine manicured garden with trimmed boxwoods and crushed gravel (above) |
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| This stunning glossy black wood fence rivaled many of its iron counterparts in the neighborhood (above and below)) |
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| This scrolling wrought iron front gate was open just a crack to reveal an arched carved red door with checkered patterned marble path (above and below) |
After all of the snooping behind gates…sightseeing and shopping were the order of the day…
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| So fun to see Charleston’s version of a tour bus – horse drawn carriages! (above) |
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| American revolutionary war statue of a commander named Moultrie in The Battery park overlooking the Charleston Harbor. (above) |
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| Stopped into antique shop Birlant & Co and bought these vintage rock cut stemware glasses…the set of 6 was only $165 – so love these…they are being shipped to my house here in Los Angeles! (above) |
Thank you FF and CCF for inviting me along on such a lovely weekend in Charleston! Absolutely love my friends FF and JH – my dear dear friends for life!
Am back in Los Angeles, in my tiny little cottage in the Hollywood Hills, blogging, getting ready for work, to start the week…dreaming of all of the delightful things I saw this past weekend and all of the lovely people I spent time with…dreaming of my weekend in Charleston.
Happy Monday!
xo
Coco
P.S. Uh oh…just got on the scale…after several days of Charleston cooking (went to several nice restaurants)…various Southern delicacies (fried food), lots of grits and eating to my heart’s content, I am two pounds heavier this morning!!! ARGHHHHHH. Okay…fruits and veggies…here I come!
All photos in this post by Coco of COCOCOZY
As a Californian, I have travelled throughout the South. I love Charleston (especially in October when it’s cooler)! What a great city for walking. Also I adore Savannah. About 90 miles south of Charleston, it is a must see as well.
Loved meeting you while you were here in Charleston–wedding festivities were wonderful with so many friends and family…. Come back anytime—love to show you our favorite design haunts!
I agree that Charleston has the perfect balance between small city/ nature/ and culture with history.It’s one of the cities I would love to live in along with New Orleans. I am sure the antique shops there have so much treasure as well…
It is disingenuous to talk about Charleston’s architecture without talking about slavery. Shame on you.
seriously with the initials???