Giveaway: The I Do! Soiree hosted by Weddings in Houston!

Thursday, February 23, 2017
This post was done in partnership with Weddings in Houston. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this wedding post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

Engaged and confused?

The I Do! Wedding Soiree, Hosted by Weddings in Houston

Yeah me too.

Which is why I'll be attending the I Do! Soiree next week, and I'm inviting one of you and a guest to also attend! (Well, actually, I'm inviting ALL of you, and you can buy tickets for only $25 here, but try entering my contest first!).

The I Do! Wedding Soiree, Hosted by Weddings in Houston

The I Do! Wedding Soiree is hosted by the awesome local wedding magazine, Weddings in Houston. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 28 from 6:00-9:00 pm at The Corinthian, a super iconic event venue in downtown Houston. Attendees will meet face-to-face with some phenomenal Houston wedding planners (uhhh side note to everyone newly engaged: If I could go back and do it all over again? I'D GET A WEDDING PLANNER.), event designers, and top Houston wedding vendors. You'll also get to enjoy ridiculously delicious food and drink (I mean, if that's the main reason you're going, I'm certainly not one to judge) including decadent wedding cakes and desserts by Houston’s best bakers. The season’s most popular, beautiful gowns will be on display in a Strolling Fashion Show, and you can also check out different reception table designs, floral displays, wedding photography and film, wedding invitations, and registry items, all while enjoying live music and entertainment!

The I Do! Wedding Soiree, Hosted by Weddings in Houston

I've also been informed that every engaged couple is treated as a VIP, with red carpet treatment, a gift bag filled with hand-selected beauty, home and luxury wedding products worth hundreds, and the chance to win some fantastic door prizes! I mean who doesn't love free stuff, especially free wedding stuff, because all that shiz adds up y'all. #truth

The I Do! Wedding Soiree, Hosted by Weddings in Houston

HOW TO ENTER: One (1) lucky Adventures in a New(ish) City reader will win two (2) tickets to the I Do! Soiree! Enter to win by following these two steps: 

2) Tell me in the comments section of this photo what aspect of your wedding you are most excited about (food, dancing, booze <~~me.) ! 

Easy Peasy! The winner will be picked randomly and announced on Instagram within 24 hours. Good luck!

Vacation Days: Charleston, South Carolina

Friday, February 17, 2017
"I thought Charlotte was in North Carolina...?"

Charleston, South Carolina

"It is, Mom. We are going to Charleston."

^ This conversation took place right before getting on the plane to Charleston for my bachelorette party!

(...in other news, my mother has officially disowned me.)

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year everyone, since I haven't posted since 2016! I'll be all married and stuff in, oh, A MONTH, and blog life will be back to business as usual after that.

(Well sort of, since Jon and I decided that now would also be a good time to build a house. You know, since life is so calm for us at the moment.)

Last month, some of my favorite people in the whole world got together for a super fun trip to Charleston to celebrate my final crazy (they're not crazy.) days as a single woman! I caught an early flight out of Houston with my mom, my friends Lindsey and Danielle, and Jon's mom, Rosemary.

Flight from Houston to Charleston, South Carolina
Snapchat: newishcityhou
Flight from Houston to Charleston, South Carolina

My amazing sister and woman of honor Emily booked us rooms at the Hyatt House, a hotel that's located in historic Charleston on the main strip, King Street. And fun fact, they save a buck by swapping out wall decals for actual furniture!

Hyatt Place in Charleston, South Carolina

Just kidding, that was only in the hallways. But that's my friend Heather proving that, despite what the world may tell you, you too can actually sit on large sticker benches!

When we walked into our room we were greeted with the world's MOST AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, roses, and a bottle of bubbly from my brideswoman Alice Ann and my sweet friend Sherz!

Cookies and champagne in Charleston, South Carolina

(We missed having them there with us, but this certainly eased our sadness).

Those of us who had arrived (my flight crew, plus Em and Heather) walked to lunch at a teeny, adorable restaurant called Five Loaves Cafe. I enjoyed their mediterranean garden burger and a chardonnay.

Five Loaves - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
veggie burger at Five Loaves - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

Then the rest of the gang arrived: my fabulous friend Christy, my brideswoman Courtney, and my bridesman L.J.! We set off walking down King Street (seriously, we were in such a central awesome location) and grabbed drinks at Charleston Beer Works.

drinks at Charleston Beer Works - a bar/restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

After drinks, it was time for dinner! My sister made us reservations at Indaco, a rustic Italian eatery located off of King Street.

burrata at drinks at Indaco - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
ricotta toast at Indaco - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

We ordered the burrata and ricotta toast for appetizers, and they were to die for! For my main course of food, I ordered the black pepper tagliatelle without the pork tesa. Our server seemed concerned about my vegetarian modification, but I ordered it, and it wasn't bad!

pasta at Indaco - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
Indaco - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

Then we decided to WIG OUT and hit up the bars!

Hyatt Place - a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina
Photo: Emily
Prohibition - a bar in Charleston, South Carolina

(and by bars I mean one bar, Prohibition, because I was out way past my bedtime.)

The wigs were a hit, and it was so much fun! In fact, I'm planning on walking down the aisle in mine........

The next morning my mom and I woke up hours before everyone else (are you sensing a theme here?), and we enjoyed the FREE OMELETTE BAR at our hotel, OMG.

omelette bar at Hyatt Place - a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina

Then we all hopped in Ubers and headed to GORGEOUS Sullivan's Island, where my friends appeased me and endured pretty darn cold beach yoga!

(Mad props to Lindsey for teaching the class)

(Also, we lasted about 10 minutes and were like "okay, that was nice, get me to alcohol").

yoga on Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina
Photo: Rosemary

We received a tip from one of our Uber drivers that Poe's Tavern is the place to go on Sullivan Island. Well, you don't have to tell us twice.

Poe's Tavern - a restaurant on Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina

This spontaneous, no-frills meal was easily one of my favorites of the weekend. The food was simple and delicious, and the Edgar Allan Poe decor was seriously cool.

chips and queso at Poe's Tavern - a restaurant on Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina
veggie burger at Poe's Tavern - a restaurant on Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina

We shared chips and queso to start, which was a delicious app, and I had my second yummy veggie burger of the weekend! (Fun fact, I actually had a third one the next day at home in Houston because I like to live on the wild side).

Then we went back to our hotel, freshened up (Read: NAPPED.), and took a walk down beautiful King Street! But not before stopping at the nearby Revelator for some awesome coffee. Seriously, this place revived my faith in and love for cappuccinos!

Revelator - a coffee shop in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina

After tooling around town, it was time for a bevvy at Wine & Company, a lovely wine bar that basically looks like my dream house inside.

Wine & Company - a wine bar in Charleston, South Carolina
Wine & Company - a wine bar in Charleston, South Carolina

After a few glasses of rosé, we headed back to the hotel for the actual bachelorette party! I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but know that it involved toilet paper, underwear, a Jon-themed trivia game, wine, and snacks!

(Also Heather decided to move on from sitting on fake furniture to drinking fake champagne, which I assure you is way more fun than it sounds).

Hyatt Place - a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina
Hyatt Place - a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina

After these girls and guy went wild, we went to The Grocery, where Courtney had made dinner reservations for us.

bread at The Grocery - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

Here was another meal in Charleston that I absolutely adored! The atmosphere was cozy and rustic, the service was fantastic, and the food was dynamite. We were given some complimentary, crusty fresh bread, and I ordered the roasted beet salad to start.

beet salad at The Grocery - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

This sweet, light lovely salad was wonderful! I then ordered the cabbage gratinee, which was unique and incredibly enjoyable, followed by an off-menu vegetarian platter that our server recommended.

cabbage gratinee at The Grocery - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
vegetarian platter at The Grocery - a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina

The platter contained a bunch of their vegetarian sides: roasted cauliflower, roasted carrots, brussels sprouts, the beet salad again (I wasn't mad about it), and something else that I don't remember because it's been too long, but it was all delicious!!

Then we were off to the bars (....bar), but not before hitting up Jeni's Ice Cream!

Jeni's - an ice cream shop in Charleston, South Carolina

I've heard many-a rave review about Jeni's, and their creamy, flavor-popping ice cream did not disappoint!

After the bars (...bar), we went back to the hotel to rest up before our flights back the next day!

Charleston is an AWESOME city, filled with fascinating history, beautiful scenery, a great bar scene, and killer food. It definitely gets my glowing endorsement as a fantastic bachelorette party destination!

Sullivan's Island in Charleston, South Carolina

I mean, just look at that! (and pretend it's 80 degrees and not 42...)
> Back to Top