Surprise — we spent the last five days on the road and arrived home last night after a nine-hour drive. Did we unpack immediately or curl up on the couch? Not quite. We decided to put this quick trip recap together first. I’m bursting to share the highlights, so instead of relaxing I’m writing away. We left early Thursday for Charlotte, North Carolina and stayed there until Saturday morning. From there we drove on to Loganville, Georgia and stayed until early Monday before heading home. Thankfully Clara and Burger love car rides, which made the driving much easier. Here are some of the trip highlights:
We began in Charlotte with a visit to our stylish friend Kristin, her husband Matt, and their dogs Sage and Simon. You may remember their home from a popular “house crashing” feature. One of my favorite spots in their house is this cozy kitchen nook:
And here’s that same nook now — still adorable, but with a baby in a booster seat (ours):
While in Charlotte we also got to peek inside two more gorgeous homes — each one full of personality and design details that inspired us:
We even loved this compact, brilliantly designed office space — a real lesson in making a small room sing:
I also scored some beautiful fabric at one of my favorite warehouse stores, Mary Jo’s, just outside Charlotte. If you love textiles, that place is a treasure trove:
Next we drove on to Loganville to catch up with my real-life and blogging best friend Katie B., her husband Jeremy, and their sweet little boy Will — who was born only five weeks before Clara. Seeing our babies meet and hang out was a special treat, especially since Katie and I were pregnant at the same time and it’s fun to see our kids together now:
Once the babies were asleep, we played a few rounds of Minute to Win It — yes, we’re that much fun. Katie was the only one who managed to move a cookie from her forehead to her mouth within the time limit. Between games we made a pit stop at Goodwill and came away with lots of finds that are perfect for easy DIY upgrades — a little paint, some new fabric, and they’ll be ready to love.
Katie also snapped this lovely close-up of Clara — doesn’t she look angelic? Katie has such a great eye for photography, and it motivated us to get more comfortable with our Nikon so we can keep capturing daily moments before Clara starts declaring photo bans in her teenage years.
On our way home we stopped at one of my favorite shopping spots: the Pottery Barn Outlet in Gaffney, South Carolina. It’s a great place for solid finds at outlet prices, and there’s also that famously huge peach-shaped landmark by the exit that always makes us laugh. I picked up a few outlet bargains that I’ll be sharing soon — there was at least one Pottery Barn score I couldn’t walk away from for under $30.
There are plenty more details and photos to come: full house-crashing posts from Charlotte, a closer look at the fabrics I bought at Mary Jo’s, a recap of our Goodwill hunting, and more from our time with the Bowers. We have a mountain of pictures to sort through, so expect follow-ups on projects, shopping finds, and design inspiration. The weekend was hot — often above 100 degrees — but it was worth it for the great company, creative energy, and the small moments with family and friends.
P.S. Due to several requests, we’ll also be posting a breakdown of the baby products we use for Clara — shampoos, creams, sunscreen — and how we organize them. Look for that soon on BabyCenter where we’ll share the full list and storage tips.