Christmas in Charleston {and the longest post ever}

Be prepared, these are a lot of pictures with minimal words in sequential order. Enjoy!

Our trip started here, with a pretty sunset through the plane window...

and then we landed on Seabrook Island, 30 miles outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

The beaches are beautiful and despite being a tad bit chilly, we found some pretty shells and other interesting life. When the weather is cold, the jelly fish die off and get stuck in the tides and end up filling the beach, semi gross but also interesting.

Our Christmas was wonderful, our tree was decorated with old ornaments that belonged to my grandmother and our tree looked pretty and full.

On Christmas morning we walked the 6 mile loop around Seabrook.

{dophins = pretty}

{my parents were married here 25 years ago!}

The island is full of the most adorable little homes nestled between pines trees and palms and sit next to the ocean. I wish I could transform to a southern belle and live here year-round.

On the 26th we went to the Sanctuary, the most amazing resort on our sister island, Kiawah.

It was fun, and I ate a lot, and drank yummy wine, and I loved it.

Then, we went here...

 

pretty much the most amazing place in the whole entire universe. It is an old plantation in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, full of hunting, horseback riding, golf, spa treatments, frosty brews, delicious meals, and the most wonderful team running the show.

{pardon my camera, for some reason it wanted to place everything slightly to the right}

The rooms are ridiculously designed and puts you into this lavish world of wonderfulness.

We spent majority of our time outdoors...

and our meals were served along side dreamy decor and numerous bottles of wine.

{if you're wondering why Dave looks like a pirate in some of these pictures, he had pink eye for most of the trip}

So in love with my adorable family.

The first morning there we geared up for a quail hunt - carriage, hunting dogs, horses and all.

The Irish Setters are amazing and point out the birds for our victorious hunters to bring home dinner!

Next stop was lunch in the middle of the woods, complete with bonfire and ice cold brews.

 The entire property has these enormous Oak trees that fill the grounds...

The whole place is magical. Dinner our second night was out on the patio.

We were exhausted from our busy day that we watched some football and tucked into bed early. Each room is equipped with a full, wood burning fire place, and mine was too pretty to not capture.

I greeted every morning with a hot cup of coffee and a stroll...

followed by a HUGE breakfast {everyday}, which helped contribute to my 10 pound weight gain.

While the boys golfed, the girls went horseback riding.

The sunsets are beautiful at Cherokee.

Our last night is one of my favorites and the perfect way to send off a perfect trip - an oyster roast.

We eat, a lot while an adorable little lowcountry folk band plays us tunes on their banjo. 

Then we wake up and it's time to go, and we are all sad because it was such a wonderful trip over in the blink of an eye. I can honestly say I gained 5 to 7 pounds with the amount of food and beer I drank and it has never been so hard to whip myself back into shape and back into reality. The holidays come and go so quickly and Chicago still has 4 more months {at least} of winter gloom. Needless to say, I am planning my trip back to South Carolina as soon as possible. 

Thanks for putting up with the longest post of my life!