Charleston, SC - That's Chuckles, To You

While it's absolutely lovely to drive for just a little over an hour to Charlotte, NC, to get one's shop on (i.e., mine), Charleston, SC is where it's at because you can also get your city life on.

It's evolved into a little bit of a routine which so far hasn't gotten stale for me: EJ wakes up hella early in order to surf at Folly Beach (Editor's Note: this was before the "accident," i.e. a broken clavicle bone. Ouch!). Then I head down late-morning and cruise around the city until we meet up in the late-afternoon. The following outlines my route.

City Lights Coffee - this shop off the corner of Market and King Streets (on Market itself) is a great way to juice yourself up with well-caffeinated joe before a day of hoofing it to all the shops on King.

King Street - so then I make the rounds between the "mall stores" (Saks, Banana, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, and occasionally Nine West and Benetton) and the privately-owned boutiques (V2V, Copper Penny, Copper Penny Shooz, Hampden Clothing, Worthwhile).

Culture - every so often it's important to pepper some culture in with the shopping blitz. The other weekend we went down for Kulture Klash which is HOT and makes you feel like our neck of the woods can rival NYC, LA, etc. The Klash takes place in a big space in North Chuckles with walls covered in visual pop art. Bands, DJs and dance circles fill up the space throughout the night. Dirt bike (2009) or skateboard (2008) demos go on outside. If you've never been, it's worth checking out. I think going twice (thrice for EJ) is enough to get the point, but local art should be supported no matter what.

That same weekend I was able to check out the Daufuskie Island photography exhibition at Gibbes Museum of Art. Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe is the photographer (Arthur Ashe was proud to call her his wife) and my latest fascination. Here's a shot from the exhibition at Gibbes.

Eating - Hello! Charleston isn't known as the foodie capital of the south for no reason. There are a ton of great spots to eat -- and eating is a very important element of shopping and walking the streets -- but my current faves are La Fourchette, FIG, Monza and Taco Boy. If you're feeling super-slurgy, McCrady's is the business. When we were in town for Kulture Klash we checked out a very new place, thanks to the Harrisons, called Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar. Fresh seafood = delish.

In summary, I sincerely thank you, Charleston, for being just two hours away. And I'm sorry, Columbia, but our proximity to a city like that is indeed a bonus.

Shopping For A New Mobile Phone

The Refresh Columbia peeps informed me last week I should get a Droid Phone. In addition to the fact that I love the name, it seems comparable, if not "better" than the iPhone. So I believe it is decided that if I can find one for sale in Columbia, I will be switching providers and buying a new phone in exactly eleven days, and counting.

Check out this most helpful 'Total Cost of Ownership' table on a blog called Bill Shrink. Hello, how can you not love this resource? This is the tops.

Find the best cell phone plans and more graphics at BillShrink.com

French Bulldog Friday

It's a new tradition based on an idea I had a million years ago when two different friends emailed me photos of Frenchies in the same week: French Bulldog Friday! If you have a Frenchie, or have seen one on the street and snapped a shot, please share your photo here.

A Boston-based little pup




Two NYers getting some sun



Off leash waiting at the light with its owner = good dog.


Look at that grin!

How I Pimped My Ride

You may recall that a while ago I made a very big deal about the addition of bumper stickers to my sweet ride, Rubie (aka, Rubaroo). Well that was only in June, people. Since then, the Columbia, SC sun has BURNED THE HEART OFF MY 'I LOVE NY' BUMPER STICKER. Oh, sweet irony.

So for about a month I've been driving around like this - I BLANK NY:



Thankfully I have a very artistic friend, Larry Thacker, who I have commissioned to create a mini-mural on the bumper of my car. Hey, if they can emblazon palmetto trees all over the place, I can certainly pimp my ride. Here are the first stages of my customobile:



Now I triple-heart New York, so there!

In all seriousness, when I was in NYC last month I was really struck by how many people actually wear the I Heart NY t shirt. I guess there are plenty of New Yorkers who are crazy mad into their city as much as the folks here who emblazon their cars with flip flops and palmetto tree/crescent moon stickers. Touche, yo, touche.

She's Got Legs

Dear Caroline,

It's getting cold out, so do you have any recommendations for good tights? I'm also wondering if leggings are appropriate for a 35 year-old.

Sincerely,

Chilly in the City

My dearest Chilly,

Ma chere! You help me realize I haven't worn tights more than twice in the past two years. I am sad and grateful at the same time. We call this mixed emotions.

But my thoughtful nonsense doesn't answer your questions. In my earlier years, my two absolute favorite brands for tights were DKNY and Nine West. Always look for opaque and for me, the thicker the better. Check out these photos of fun colorful DKNY tights currently for sale on Nordstrom.com. >


Hey lovely readers -- if you have any other fave brands for our friend, Chilly, kindly share them via commenting.

And now onto the leggings question. When leggings were all the rage, they were ridiculously trendy. It is my opinion that they are now like any other clothing staple: jeans, white tank tops, black cardigans, etc. Especially now that the 80s are so hot (still). Just take a look at the Ready-to-Wear Fall Winter 2009 line from our savior, Marc Jacobs. It features leggings (not to mention tights, black tights!) on the runway. The leggings are indeed more like body stockings, but hey, a body stocking ends up looking like leggings on the legs, no?

Check out these hot little velvet leggings from Victoria's Secret (Caroline's Secret: while I hate Vickie's bras, I like her catalog/website for affordable clothing). >

My Own Private Project Runway (And The Rest Of It)

Well cutie pies, it's been quite a couple of weeks. Let me start from the most recent and move back in time.

Today I was in Publix at the deli counter and you know how they're so charming and if, for example, you order a 1/2 pound of swiss cheese they cut the first slice and bring it to you on a sheet of plastic and ask you if the thickness is ok and no matter how you respond, they ask if you want to try the slice? Well today not only did I say, "no thank you," but I also asked them to slice the slices thinner (probably the first time ever). Guess what the girl behind the counter did in response? She THREW OUT that first slice! I saw her kind of throw it down but I thought she put it on the counter or something so I said "oh but you can add that first slice to the weight, no worries" but she said she had already thrown it out. WTF? Are we not in a recession? Are there not people who could eat that cheese, namely me? Ay dios mio.

I headed over to Publix after I went to see the movie, The Time Traveler's Wife. People, I read this book twice I liked it so much, and the movie wasn't too bad except for the fact that my beloved girl-crush, Rachel McAdams, fell short in the roll. One element that I will say stayed so close to my mind's eye was the color and tone of the movie. Maybe I should be a director of photography?

Or maybe I should be a handbag designer? Either way it's a little far fetched, I know, but after my experience with Nana by Sally, I felt like I could at least try out for the next Project Runway. Here's the sitch: During a trip to NYC in March, I popped into Mood for the first time ever. It's no wonder that store has gotten so much play on TV: everyone there is really quite nice and they run a tight, knowledgeable ship.

As many of you know, Sally traditionally works in fabric only, but she and I had been talking and we agreed that if I purchased some soft leather, she'd be willing to give it a try. Well check out the two beauties Sally created with the two hides I bought at Mood -- the clutch is her signature "Sophie" design and the bag is a new design that has been named *ahem* "Cerelle."





Isn't the "Cerelle" totally mod? It's very color-blocked, yes? The bottom is a very light grey suede and the clutch is a light beige buttery-rific leather with a funky beige, gold and black fabric interior. If you don't yet have a Nana by Sally bag, I ask you the simple question, why?

The Gift of Anonymity in New York

I am now back on the freelance worker train and as such, have had the flexibility to come to New York for a week. There are, of course, a million things I miss about the city (like the way peeps pronounce the word "always." It sounds like "oh-ways"). But mostly it's the anonymity it affords its inhabitants.

I loved this article in the NYTimes called, "Reading Underground" mainly for this quotation from a woman who was interviewed for the piece: “Although you're surrounded by people, the anonymity is really forgiving." I find something sad and beautiful in that brief comment -- it perfectly explains one of the strongest qualities of New York life.