Every year, my long-distance old friends and I try to get away to spend time together and catch up on our busy lives. It is always so hard to make it happen, but every year, we leave being so thankful we made the effort. Charleston has been on the list for a while, and I am happy we finally made our way there. This year's trip landed on our friend Lisa's birthday, which made it even more special and fun!
My flight into Charleston was super easy, and it was a quick 20-minute Uber ride into the city. I arrived at our hotel, Mills House, which was perfect for our girls' weekend as the hotel is PINK. It is charming on the outside, and the inside is beautiful. It felt old and charming but also new and modern.
The hotel stay and concert mentioned in this article were hosted for the purposes of a review. All thoughts and opinions are the publisher's own.
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I highly recommend staying at the Mills House. Not only is it a nice hotel, but most importantly, it is in the BEST location. Once we arrived, we could walk anywhere and everywhere we wanted to go easily. It is smack dab in the middle of it all.
Another great feature at Mills House is the pool. The weather was really hot for us, so having a pool was such a bonus. Mills House has some fun amenities as well, like yoga and champagne hour during the week. Plus, the views from the room of the city were really spectacular.
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A room with a view.
The dining situation is great on the property as well. Sunday morning, we headed to their restaurant, Iron Rose, for brunch. It is a beautiful setting. The food was delish! The waitress was even kind enough to deliver mimosas when she heard it was our friend's birthday to celebrate. I had smoked salmon avocado toast, which I highly recommend!
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Brunch at the Iron Rose.
Our itinerary for the trip was pretty simple. It included a ton of eating, drinking, shopping, and walking. What could be better than that for a girls' getaway?
A foodie's dream
For food, these would be my top recommendations from the trip:
- Slightly North of Broad (S.N.O.B.): This one I highly recommend for a real authentic Charleston food experience. The drinks and food are just perfection, with incredible flavors and an authentic local menu. They are constantly changing up the menu. We tried one of their special fish meals, which was divine. The barbeque shrimp appetizer is a must!
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- Harkens Cafe: This is located around the corner from the hotel and is perfect! It has an adorably cute atmosphere and even serves a best friend's cookie. They have some fun menu items and drinks. I had the most delicious Wholly City quiche, made with spinach, squash, and sweet potato.
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- Carmella's Dessert Bar: You MUST hit Carmella's if you love desserts and cocktails. This is the place, from insane cakes and cookies to sweet fish sorbetto. We loved it so much that we went twice. From insane cakes and cookies to sweet fish sorebetto. We tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, Honey Orange Cake, and Double Stuffed Candy Cookie, which all were YUM!
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- Bourbon & Bubbles: We had dinner here. It is a very swanky place with a cool vibe. There were great drink options and more Southern food selections. We highly recommend the blue crab fondue appetizer and the crispy chicken sandwich. We enjoyed this restaurant, but I would go with S.N.O.B. if you just have to choose one.
Shopper paradise
My friends and I love to shop. We have all been to great places for shopping, but we all agreed Charleston nails it as one of the best. There is an entire street that goes on and on, with chain stores like Anthropologie and Lulemon and incredibly unique boutiques, like Noddy, pictured below, located around the corner from Mills House.
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While we were shopping on King Street, we took a break to Savannah Bee Company to do a mead flight tasting, which we highly recommend!
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Mead tasting at Savannah Bee Co.
On Saturdays, there is a fantastic farmers market right off King Street. It is really big and features great handmade goods and fun snacks.
 Charleston City Market |  Farmers Market |
A hop and a step away was the Charleston City Market, which was fun for shopping and a must on your list. It is open daily.
We made sure to knock out Rainbow Row and spend some time by the water. My friend Lisa and I love to run on our trips, so we also took a nice run near the water early before it got too hot.
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An amazing concert, and a Debby Downer finish
Lastly, on Saturday night, we were able to go to the Idina Mentzel concert, which was the highlight of our trip. The Gaillard Center is located only a 15-minute walk from the hotel, which makes it a great destination to include concerts in your itinerary. I highly recommend looking at their calendar to see if they have a show that interests you. It is a gorgeous theater, and it was so much fun to see a show there.
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If you are in other cities where Idina Menzel is traveling this year, GO! She is not only one of the best singers I know, but as a mom, she is so relatable. She has a 14-year-old son and got really honest about middle age. It was so refreshing to hear, and as a mom, I felt a connection with her. Of course, there was also her incredible music, including songs from Rent, Frozen, and Wicked.
Unfortunately, we ended the trip on a less-than-great note. Hurricane Debby tore into Charleston and sent our travel plans home on a wacky path. My flight was canceled, and I jumped on a 10-hour train to D.C. Prayers for Charleston!
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