Personal: Our 1 year anniversary in Charlotte, North Carolina!

Steve and I ventured to the sweet south to celebrate our 1 year anniversary! It took months to decide where we wanted to take our  ”2nd honeymoon” and we were THIIIIIIS close to booking New York City, but I just had to go somewhere new and Charlotte was on my heart! I just HAD to see it! I’m thankful Steve is so easy going and was down for anything! So, off to Charlotte we went!
***There are a ton of photos in this post… so I apologize in advance… but this blog also serves a collection of memories for me so I couldn’t resist!

We haven’t traveled further than Nevada together, so we were excited for every ounce of this trip! But man, flying is NOT as glamourous as I remember it being. I’m sure I’m completely making up the fact that it was once glamorous in my head… It has to be made up. Has to. I see women walking around the airport and boarding planes in complicated ensembles (high heels at an airport? Insane.) and I question how they do it! Carry-ons, tight spaces, late planes, running to catch connecting flights, sleeping / not sleeping on the plane… I just don’t get it! And yes… Our first flight was delayed 50 minutes and our layover to our connecting flight was only 44 minutes, so you do the math! All in all, we made it to and fro and I really can’t think of a more beautiful sight than being INSIDE A CLOUD. C’mon.

We got a rental car and just explored the city like it was our own! My game plan while traveling is to avoid looking like a tourist… at all costs! So we drove around, found local coffee shops, admired historic mansions on adorably named streets, slept in, attended church, and ate.. a lot!
We LOVED our stay at The Hyatt House in Uptown! Not only were we walking distance from tons of entertainment and good food, but the hotel itself was phenomenal! Such a friendly staff and great decor… oh also, it ALWAYS smells good in the lobby. I’m talking like walking in and instantly going “Ahhhhh….!”

Oh and if you’re wondering, YES! The South COMPLETELY lives up to it’s reputation!
Enjoy our trip photos!
AMELIES! Oh my goodness, Amelies French Bakery was just to die for. I couldn’t have designed a more perfect coffee shop in my wildest dreams! So quirky, so cute, so french, so Marie Antoinette, so yummy. ALL THINGS I LOVE.
We absolutely positively LOVED Amelies!
Then we drove around and found some amazing historic homes off Queens Ave and snapped photos from the passenger seat!
In California this Gold Statue would have a person inside and a tip jar by his feet

We were fortunate enough to catch Pastor Steven Furtick preaching at Elevation Church in Matthews! We really loved the church and it was awesome seeing Charlotteans (<– ?) so pumped to  be at church! The photo below is their “wall of fame”. Every series they’ve taught there was placed on the wall. It was pretty cool!

We watched the storm from the 14th floor many times and completely loved it!