A Birthday in Wrightsville

After having to have little to no celebration last year, I decided to go big or go home for this birthday by jam-packing Memorial Day weekend with all my favorite things. I kicked off the weekend here in Charlotte with Afternoon Tea at The Ballantyne Hotel. If you guys haven’t discovered this sophisticated gem, the hotel hosts themed teas every month with specialty teas and trays full of treats. For dinner the same night, I finally ventured off to Indaco, an Italian restaurant based out of Charleston and located in Atherton Mill. This food was absolutely some of the best in Charlotte and is by far my new favorite Italian spot.

No birthday weekend would be complete without brunch, so Saturday morning I grabbed my girls and headed to Restoration Hardware. Be prepared to stay for the aesthetic but leave all your dollars behind. I’d highly recommend this spot for larger groups celebrating a rehearsal dinner or shower; it would be the perfect environment! After brunch the roomie and I headed east to Wilmington, where we stayed in the cutest little AirBnB run by the sweetest hosts. While my actual birthday brought cold temps to the coast and sent us on a surprise trip to Target for sweatshirts, the morning of Memorial Day brought sunny skies and summer weather to Wrightsville Beach. After five years of living in North Carolina it was fun to finally venture out to the NC coast. Wrightsville reminded me a lot of Folly Beach down in Charleston and it was nice to be reminded of the low country. It was a weekend jam packed with good food, good company, and salty air, and that’s all this Gemini can ask for.