Sometimes an apartment really can change your life...

As a teenager, it's hard to fathom that you really will make the best friends of your life in college. Looking back, it's easy to see how that happened to me. 

There's no denying that it's absolutely required to have one last fling before the ring. In the Spring, prior to the Garrick/Ellenberg nuptials, Sara and I planned a mini road trip to IOP to celebrate our favorite Orangeburg County native. We headed down on Friday evening, ready to party with a plan in tow. We spent the evening playing plenty of fun and slightly scandalous bachelorette games and reminisced about our years of friendship. Saturday, we explored the beach and even rescued a few starfish. That night, we headed out for dinner @ The Wreck I don't know how I've missed this gem for so long, but it's on my top 10 list for Charleston visits from now on...amazing. No lie, the place really looks like this:

We entered into a thin entry hall, and the hostess quickly filled our hands with ales from local breweries. We were seated rather quickly and our waitress was nothing short of charming. If you've ever been to Mac's Drive In in Clemson or D&S Subs in Hartsville, you'll easily be able to adapt to the "vibe" @ The Wreck. The rules are something like this:

1. You can only order exactly as items are on the menu.
2. Circle what you want with a red Sharpie marker on the paper menus...that way if you screw up, it's your own fault.
3. No free refills on drinks.



Tori and her mom, Lynn @ dinner



4. No matter how many people are sitting @ your table, you're only getting 1 check. The Wreck staff isn't splitting it for you and you can only pay with one method. If someone doesn't bring check or cash, they're probably getting stuck with the bill because The Wreck is only running 1 credit card.

The food will keep you coming back (the BEST!!! and I've eaten alot of seafood) and it's so good that you'll be able to overlook "the rules". The atmosphere was fun, laid back, relaxed and fabulous. 

My side of the table. Love these ladies!

Sunday, I was sad to leave, but so excited for the upcoming wedding. Sara and I helped close up the house and were able to spend some time with Tori. We caught one final set of roomie photos before we departed. No matter what, I can never get enough of these 2. In a perfect world, they'd clearly be my neighbors. I guess at this point in our lives, moving back in to 142F University Village is a bit out of the question.

BFFs and the BEST roommates ever! These amazing women have affected my life in so many ways. 

Burgers 88 Ways

Last night I took a chance and headed out to meet up with a dear ol' friend in Lee County. I simply recieved a text that read, "Thurs. Harry and Harry 2. Lee County. 630." Clearly, I was curious.

Conveniently, I needed to be in Lee County anyway to "help a sister out" and pick up the Girl Scout cookies for my nieces. Check out the pic of my SUV. That was an adventure as well, but I digress.

I headed into town (in Lee County, there's only 1 real town) and stopped at the Subway to be sure my directions were correct. A lovely teenage girl gave me the best directions! She said, "head just in the direction you were already going. When there's a cemetery on your right, immediately turn left." I did as the young lady said. And then I found it! In front was a classy roadway sign that reads, "Burgers 88 Ways"!

Nestled in the edge of the woods, Harry and Harry Two looks more like a hunting cabin than fine dining, but as soon as I walked in, I knew that this was somewhere that Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives needed to visit. On the porch there's an aluminium patio table topped off with a red and white Coke A Cola umbrella and the special of the night was the best spaghetti you can find outside of an Italian restaurant. It definitely was like "diner spaghetti" and was covered 100% in melted cheddar cheese. I was hoping to be able to order a plain grilled chicken breast and some veggies, but that wasn't exactly on the menu. I tried to stick with the healthiest option I could come up with and asked the waitress for a grilled chicken wrap with sauteed onions, mushrooms, & peppers. I had her add lettuce, onion, green pepper, and tomatoes to help fill me up. Instead of fries, I just had a side of pickles---ya can't go wrong with pickles and they basically are 0 calories.

This meal did not conform 100% with the 17 Day Diet, but I couldn't stand the thought of eating another grilled chicken salad this week and there was no balsamic vinegar anyway. This was the best I could do. Oh, did I mention that they had fried dill pickle spears?!? I ate one of those too. The spear is definitely superior to the chip. You get more pickle than breading and that's key.

There's even a bar that serves up beer and wine. The beer's only available in cans and if you order another glass of wine, they refill you right at your own table; I'm guessing there is only a limited supply of wine glasses, but that's okay.

Clearly this is a local dive and even if the food's not your style, the atmosphere will leave you content. This is clearly a place where locals gather. Everyone greets you as you come through the door and your glass never gets empty. Did I mention that it's cheap? Another plus.

Next time you're heading through Lee County, SC you definitely need to make Harry and Harry Two part of your agenda. You won't regret it.

The Civic shall not go off road...and other lessons from a weekend in the country...

This weekend was packed with activities and Lee and I stayed SUPER busy, but had a blast as well. Death by Chocolate events were a success and we got done just in time to hope in the Civic (Thanks Sara!) to make it to Orangeburg County, SC to celebrate the pending Garrick-Ellenberg nuptuals.

We knew we were in for a good time as soon as we turned onto a dirt road and while in route tried to attend a different pig pickin along the same trail. --the guy had a HUGE Esso sign above his gate, clearly that was our idea of a good time. After getting back on course sucessfully making it to the Dangerfield frm (which was breathtaking), Sara and I did what any girl would do and scouted out the "facilities" before making our plan of attack on the wine. Pleasantly to our surprise, the Dangerfields had constructed an out house, but inside it was full of modern ammenities. Check out the cool crescent moon and star cut out along with the WARNING sign that was clearly placed there for Lee and Justin.

The food was devine and Justin and Sara tried their first hash...even though I am not brave enough to eat this. As with most evening pig pickins, we caught up with all our Orangeburg County friends, chatted it up with the fam and tried to stay warm as we huddled around the fire pit. Much to our suprise, over halfway through the evening, Mrs. Dangerfield had a little fun surprise planned for us visitors.

I felt pretty good about what was about to happen. Luckily, Lee and I started dating while he was finishing up his last year at the Citadel, so I'm fairly immune to the suprise sounds that occur during Citadel parades and have to secretly admit that I get highly amused as I watch other unprepared girls almost fall over when they're suprised by the cannon's fire. While they flounder and squeal like idiots, I stand confidently and unaffected. Even with all that Charleston training I was not prepared for the Dangerfield's surprise. I looked to my right as I sat along the fire pit and saw a small fuse burning from a tiny tabletop cannon....then 15 seconds later I heard the loudest boom I'd ever experienced. 1) Who would've thought that there would be cannons fired at a wedding pig pickin and 2) Who would've thought it could've been so loud? Such a surpise and so amusing!

I guess we were all thankful to be reminded that sometimes BIG things come in small packages? Most of all though, Sara and I had the best time catching up with Tori and getting in a little time with the besties before Tori becomes Mrs. Jordan Ellenberg!