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.

Back in the Summer of '08

In the immortal words of Gracie Peanut, "Lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy!" August was a long old month indeed. I drove up and back to upstate New York, then two days later I flew out to Northern CA to hang with the O'Malleys and work a trade show, then it was back to Colatown for the first Slow Food Columbia event, then KH came to visit for Labor Day weekend and then I started a full-time job last week.

A shopping/things I acquired this Summer redux:

I grabbed a bunch of furniture in NY. This china cabinet was something I believe my parents bought. Not an heirloom, but cool nonetheless.


In Northern California, I spent the entire time in awe of everything in the region - food, culture, lifestyle, etc. Here are my fave people in the BAY Area:





And here is one of my fave purchases from Los Altos. Yes, these are jelly-esque...I prefer to call them the anti-croc (or should I say, anti-croque?). These are from 151 Boutique.



Oh sweet Melissa - "plastic dreams" just sounds so magical.

By the way, my apologies for these fuzzy photos, but that's my PDA for you. Ok so onto my shopping extravaganza with KH. We rocked it out with day trips to Gaffney (outlets), G'ville (GREAT vintage clothing shop there - more on that TK) and Chucktown. Of course we hit the King Street strip in Charleston, and K had an exceptionally successful trip in Hampden Clothing, per use. My piece de resistance was this killah rubber necklace from my favorite, B'Zar.



And now it's back to the ol' 9-to-5. Feels great to be able to talk with people throughout the day!

How B'Zar

Well KH and I are unfortunately back to our separate ends of the earth after a weekend to remember! We laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats. Oh, and we also got our shop on big time.

On Friday it was off to Charleston where the shopping experience left me so relieved. Apparently I have only to get in my car and drive two hours when I need my fix. Phewf! Big relief.

So King Street/Upper King Street is where it's at. Highlights include Miostile where I got a sicko pair of kelly green jeans and Hampden Clothing where KH got a grey cashmere sweater that is truly a piece of art.

But the best by far was B'Zar. Perhaps I have a newfound fondness for this place because it's owned by a couple from New York? Or maybe it's the fact that the husband played the Shoes video while we were shopping around (hello, inspiration)? It could also be because their dog Roxy holds court in her bed tucked next to the register.

Then again, it could just be that nearly each and every piece of jewelry and clothing for sale was rad to the max. 541 King Street -- get over there the next time you're in town.