I can vividly remember signing up for this retreat to Charleston, South Carolina with my fellow alumni of Hope Taylor’s workshops.  I was at my first wedding of 2017 and my friend, Destinee, was Facebook messaging me about the retreat.  Before sparkler exit and very little thought into it, I had booked my spot for this 4 day getaway in early May.  I couldn’t be happier with a snap decision.  I knew going in, that I knew about 3 people who were attending, so you would think I would have been a bit nervous, but I wasn’t.  I was so excited to visit a city and bond with boss ladies in the same field.

Over the next few days, we ate, we laughed, we cried, we learned, we grew and we loved.  Our adventures started in a gorgeous house.  We went to the infamous Poogan’s Porch for dinner on our first night.  The second day we started with pastries from Wild Flour Pastry, the cutest shop across the street from where we were staying followed by some fun education from Hope.  We got ready for a day at Folly Beach and grabbed a bite to eat at the Lost Dog Cafe.  We finished the day at Poogan’s Smokehouse on King Street where think I ate my weight in mac & cheese (my fav!).  Day two started with more pastries (and yogurt), education and then free time.  I chose to do some shopping on King Street before meeting up with some of the ladies for a light libation before everyone gathered for lunch at The Oyster House.  After lunch, we took a 30-minute drive to Magnolia Plantation (be still my Southern heart) for our official headshots by Hope.  After we shut down the plantation, we retired for a surprise activity at the house, painting with local artisan Blakely Little of Blakely Made.  We enjoyed Monza pizza as we each attempted to do something outside of our creative boxes.  It was so much fun!  The final morning, we said our goodbyes and headed home.  It was a quick but wonderful trip.

I can’t express how thankful I am for an incredible group of new friends who are all amazing at what we do.  A HUGE shout out and thanks to Hope Taylor for the creation of this amazing weekend!!!  Here are some photos from our time together.  Some are from my Canon, some are from my iPhone, I took some and many were taken by many of the other ladies, Hope, and her sweetie, Drew.  Head’s up, there’s an inordinate amount of photos of me, which is not the norm, ha!

Special thanks to:

Along Came A Box | Magnolia Plantation | Poogan’s Porch | Poogan’s Smokehouse | Lost Dog Cafe | The Oyster House | Blakely Made | Wild Flour Pastry | Monza Pizza | King Street Cookies