Valentine's/Birthday Getaway

A couple weeks ago Wyatt asked if I could take off a day before or after Valentine's weekend so we could go on a little trip for Valentine's Day and my birthday.  I cleared my vacation time with my work but Wyatt wouldn't tell me anything about what he had planned.  He did tell me that I should pack my boots and lots of layers.  I can't believe that he even actually told me to over pack!  Thursday he texted me while at work and told me to pick one and follow the directions when I got home on my lunch break.  When I arrived home, I found this waiting on me. 

  

I punched my ticket to go east.  Much to my dismay, Wyatt still didn't tell me where we were going.  We already had plans to go to breakfast with Wyatt's Pa for his birthday on Friday morning.  After breakfast, Wyatt finally told me where we would be heading for the weekend.  I had assumed we'd be going to Bloomington or somewhere close, but I found out he was taking me to Cleveland and Buffalo.  For the girl with constant wanderlust, he found the perfect gift.  He gave me a letter that outlined all of our plans including our dinner reservations in each city about 20 minutes before we hit the road.  We made our way to Cleveland and had dinner at the Greenhouse Tavern.  We ordered the crispy chicken wings confit with roasted jalapeno, lemon juice, scallion, and garlic.  They were amazing!  I got a burger and Wyatt had fish.  It was a cute little place with excellent food. 

The next day we got up and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had a blast there and could easily go back and spend several more hours there.  My favorite part of the museum was the Herb Ritts photography exhibit.  We had lunch at the cafe there and then made out way further east to Buffalo, NY that afternoon.

Artsy has a page dedicated to Herb Ritts.  If you are interested in finding more out about him or to find other similar artists go have a look.  You won't be disappointed.

For dinner in Buffalo, Wyatt made us reservations at Coco Bistro.  It was so cute and we felt like the menu was similar to our favorite place here in Lafayette (the Black Sparrow).  I got the penne arrabbiata and Wyatt the Italian pizza.  Both were delicious.  We both also got a Montmartre drink which a play on an Old Fashioned with pear.

After dinner we drove up to Niagra Falls.  I wasn't dressed appropriately to get out for any length of time, but Wyatt did venture from the parking to catch a glimpse of the Falls at night.  We spent the night in a B &B in Buffalo.  After having breakfast the next day, we drove back up to Niagra Falls.  This time I was prepared with plenty of layers to keep me warm.  After Niagra Falls, we hit the long road back to Lafayette.  It was a long day in the car with mostly good weather until we were almost back to Indiana.  Even with snow, the roads were luckily not too bad.  It was a fun and unexpected weekend trip.  Wyatt did such a good job at surprising me, planning the trip, and driving!

#ootd for a weekend getaway.  I loved all my outfits!
Ps. The outfit on the right was my layered outfit. I had on so many layers!

Family Vacation 2015

The annual trip after Christmas took on a very different look this year.  We went to Charleston, South Carolina for a week with my parents and sister instead of Destin.  Obviously, I was thrilled that we got to stay in a house on Folly Beach!  Charleston is my favorite city and even though we just visited over the summer, I was ready to go back.

Wyatt and I picked up Allison and three of us drove down to meet my parents.  Our first meal down there was Taco Boy which happened to be just a couple minutes from our house and within walking distance.  We definitely tried it more than once because it was delicious.  You could say we're taco connoisseurs (I've been known to make fish tacos and tacos al pastor at home).  The first day we were in Charleston, we ate lunch at the Tattooed Moose and walked around the historic district.  We ended the afternoon with a carriage tour of the city.

The next day we took the gang to see the Angle Oak tree and then had lunch downtown at Sticky Fingers before doing some shopping on King Street.  I got a couple of steals at the Lilly Pulitzer store, Palm Avenue!

The next day, we spent some time on the beach in the morning.  That afternoon Wyatt and I rented bikes and rode to the other end of the island to go see the Morris Island Light.  That afternoon was my favorite part of the whole trip.  Altogether we rode 7 or 8 miles but it was so relaxing and great to see the island like that.

We went downtown one day to see the Pineapple Fountain and then we went to Cypress Gardens but it was pretty chilly so we weren't out walking around them too long.  On the coldest day of the trip (it was in the 30s!), Wyatt and I went down town to have lunch at Minero.  It was so good!  I highly recommend it to any who like Mexican street food.  After that, Wyatt put up with me shopping in a couple more places (because he's the best boyfriend) and I actually found what we Lilly lovers like to refer as our 'holy grail' pieces at a consignment store.  I found Lucky Charms capris!  That night we got dressed up for a nice dinner at Husk.  Wyatt has loved watching Chef Sean Brock on season 2 of Mind of a Chef so we had to try his restaurant!

On our last day, we drove over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and drove out to Isle of Palms.  We toured and tasted at the Palmetto Brewery in Charleston and that night Wyatt and I went back for dinner at Minero and a drink at Husk.