Our Girl’s Weekend in South Carolina!
Her first visit to SC
I HAVE TO START BY SAYING…
Last week was one of the toughest weeks I’ve had in a long time. In the simplest terms, my mom was in Kansas visiting my sister when an accident landed her in the ICU for a couple days, resulting in an unexpected surgery. I woke up Sunday morning to 15 texts and a few missed calls from my sister that made my gut sink. It felt like I was getting all this information from a million miles away. That was tough. But, thankfully God was looking over my Mom that day and thankfully God gave my sister the strength to stay calm through the chaos, which I honestly don’t think I could have done.
All this to say, my mom (aka Beans) is one bad-ass chick. Less than 48-hours after her surgery, she found herself in the seat of an airplane jetting off to SC. There was no way she would miss her flight to visit me for the first time, no matter what medical conditions stood in her way or what other people thought. Yeah, I am pretty proud to call her my mom.
I came home Thursday night to see my Mom lounging by the pool, a sight I really did not think I would get to see this week. After exchanging hugs and relaxing in the lounge chairs for a minute, we headed to GSP to drop Pete off for his weekend in MN. From there we made our way to downtown Greenville, where we spent some time enjoying the praline samples at the local candy shop before galavanting towards the river. The 80 degree weather drew locals and tourists alike to the outdoor venues for some beer & fried food. Naturally, we decided to partake in this fun and found ourselves at a patio with a view of the twinkling lights lining the street nearby. Unfortunately our waitress ghosted us after dropping off the menus, but it was for the best because after enjoying the warm weather for 30 minutes, we decided to cut our losses and head to Steak & Shake for some greasy goodness. Not before stopping at CVS though for some Cadbury Eggs & Jelly Beans. Did I mention I inherited my Mom’s sweet tooth?
I had decided to take Friday off of work to maximize my time with Beans, which in retrospect was the BEST idea ever.
We enjoyed a sleepy morning as the rain poured outside, which actually didn’t hinder our plans at all. We dedicated the day to exploring Spartanburg, which meant lots of boutique-hopping. There is something so special about shopping with your mom, right?! I love it!! We started in a very very small (I mean almost shoe-box like) boutique that was a gold-mine for cute sundresses and jumpers. We didn’t spend much time perusing the racks before the aroma of Chicken Lo Mein from next door lured us in. A quick yet delicious bite at Monsoon proved to be the fuel we needed for the rest of our shopping on Main St. and subsequent grocery store run to fill our pathetically empty pantry. Thank you, Mom!! The rest of the day was slow-moving in the best way, ending with some late-night pie from Rapid-Fired Pizza.
Rolling out of bed on Saturday morning to a freshly-made breakfast burrito and some HGTV took me back to my younger days (yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds coming from a 22 year old). But really, there is something so nice about having food made for you without a single worry about the dishes that need to be washed afterwards.
It seemed that Mother Nature was playing a joke on us as the previously 70 degree days shifted somewhere into the 50’s. With a complete lack of enthusiasm, we pulled thick sweaters over our heads and climbed in the car, gearing up for a full day of TJ Maxx and downtown Greenville boutique shopping. See a trend here? It couldn’t have been more than 20 steps into the brisk air before we decided that coffee seemed like a more than ideal move. The tiled floors and wallpapered ceilings of Caviar & Bananas were our first topics of conversation as we waited in line for our mochas. Warm cups in hand, we sat in their modern chairs for nearly an hour or so. As I took a sip of my liquid happiness, an overwhelming feeling of admiration came over me. It seemed that the woman across from me was more than just my mom, and actually more of a friend. We gabbed about life, relationships, and our dreams with total freedom from judgement. In that moment, I realized that this is the best part of becoming an adult… being friends with my parents.
The rest of the afternoon followed our predictable pattern; wandering, shopping, sampling and eating. But, in my shopaholic defense, the boutiques here offer pieces that you definitely could not get at your local H&M or American Eagle. Nonetheless, we spent hours wandering Main St., making pit stops in Dress Up and the Spice Store, before heading back to Nose Dive, the restaurant we tried to visit on Friday. This time we headed up the stairs to boujee couch seating, where a fru-fru mixed drink was simply a necessity. Perhaps an unconventional combination with my cocktail was our order of crispy chicken topped on a bed of fluffy waffles doused with rich syrup... a total salute to the south. With full bellies we made our way back to Spartanburg where HGTV called our names once again, as did our large bottle of white wine.
The Best Weekend ever
Sadly, Sunday came all too quickly.
We knew this day was meant for meal prepping, so I threw on an apron and played sous-chef to my Mom, who is actually an incredible cook. Our messy counter was evidence of a morning well spent. She made it look like the easiest thing in the world as she tossed spices here & there, unphased by the 4 pots that are simultaneously cooking one thing or another. I hope that I can only be as confident as her in the kitchen one day. Scratch that, in life too. Pretty quickly my fridge was packed with Penne Rosa, Puppy Chow, Keto Bagels, Sausage puff and salads all packed and ready for lunches this week. God bless this woman.
The sun peeked out just in time for us to grill by the pool and enjoy the warmth before heading back to the airport. This weekend went WAY too fast. I didn’t realize how much I needed it until she was here! One thing’s for sure, I am not waiting 4 months to see my family again. Love you forever, Mom. I can’t wait to see you again soon (and thank you for the food, Peter & I are in heaven).