charleston, s.c. :: a mini-album

I couldn't believe it! My handsome, sexy, adoring, funny, makes-me-laugh, makes-me-cry, awesome DaDa to the kids and "Oh, so he really does listen to me" husband surprised me with a 4-day trip to Charleston, South Carolina for my 46th birthday this past March. And, he arranged for his Mom and Dad to wrangle the kids while we were gone. I know, I was impressed, too.

find these 3" binder rings to make your own journal

This was our first trip alone together since our honeymoon 12 years earlier. Can you believe it?

As I do with my December Daily albums, I pre-assembled my pages before leaving on our road trip to Charleston, S.C. I then put the mini-album into a zipper top baggie to take with us so that I could journal and play during our down times in the hotel room. I also had my hole punch, adhesive and some embellishments in another baggie, making it easy to assemble what I had collected that day. It worked out nicely that way. My husband caught up on some business e-mails and phone calls and I played on capturing thoughts while they were still fresh!

So, on to Day One. {Days 2, 3 and 4 will be posted on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday}

The inside cover has what is called a coin envelope, which was just the right size for our room key, with a "postmark" style stamp overlapping it that states, "WISH YOU WERE HERE." I also stamped the  dates we were on our trip. The library card on the right is a free download from here. I find that the Creature Comforts blog is just so inspiring, be sure to browse all the yumminess presented!

The sticker on the back of the library card and on the room key envelope are downloads from The Givers Log and the free printables are here.

I printed the e-mail my husband sent me. Silly me thought it was just another business trip for him...until I looked more closely. Of course, I screeched and called him immediately.

The hand-assembled pocket envelope below contains all the internet research, tips and suggestions I found and an e-mail from the editor {Ellen McGauley} of Charleston Home magazine. {I picked up a copy while in Charleston, but on their home page I see that they now have a digital copy. It's a beautiful magazine with decorating, recipes and stunning photography!} I found Ellen from reading her cousin Sarah's blog: Clover Lane. {Scroll down on the blog and see the tab "Family" on the sidebar...Ellen @Charleston Home}. I was so thrilled that the Editor of a magazine would personally return my e-mail and actually offer up some suggestions to me. True Southern grace. So, so impressed.

I did the journaling on the left side {below} before we even left for our trip.

We stopped at quite a few Starbucks on our road trip...inside the Starbucks bag are the receipts from each stop we make for a hot cup of delight.

My husband was very apprehensive about parking the brand new Camaro on the streets of Charleston. Thank goodness for him, the valet parking is a perk for being in the hotel's loyalty club. He babies that baby. Ugh, big boys and their toys!

The photo of the date on the Camaro's data screen {below} shows the date of 3.28.2010 {my birthdate} and the time at 3:28, which isn't shown.

On the back of the Starbucks bag, as seen above and below, I wrote some interesting town names we passed through on our ride to Charleston.

The absolute best seafood we've had in a long time was enjoyed at the restaurant Coast. We did try others, but actually went back to Coast for a second time on a 4-day trip. That's how delish the food is. We highly recommend the restaurant and I might even cry if I hear you got to go and we didn't!

Yes, I am 46 and my husband is 38...not such a biggie now, but it sounded a bit more odd when we married 12 years ago and I was 34 and he was 27.

This ends Day One in our 4-day adventure of being alone together. The hotel we stayed in was the ORIGINAL Citadel. It would have been fun for the kids to experience, too, but maybe next time...we'd love to go back to Charleston.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day Two in our adventure. If you liked that flower made out of old book pages that you saw on the front cover of this mini-album , and want to learn how to make them for yourself, then you'll want to read this post. If you aren't into making your own flowers from book pages, but still want some, visit here.

Find fun mini books and journals in the I Love It All shop.