Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA
If you're looking for a quiet, restful and romantic escape that's surrounded by beautiful nature views, look no further than the Lilly Valley Inn in Pearisburg, VA! Ryan and I recently had the chance to visit and experience this lovely and unique bed & breakfast, located in the heart of Virginia's New River Valley. Keep reading for my full review of Lilly Valley Inn, and information on unique activities in the New River Valley area!
My favorite little southeastern town is Edenton, North Carolina. My aunt and uncle moved there a few years ago, and I first visited their new town in 2021. From my first visit on, I've thought of Downtown Edenton as a heaven on earth. It's idyllic and charming, and you really do feel like you're walking through a real life version of a TV town! If you've ever wanted to visit Blue Bell, Alabama from Hart of Dixie, Serenity, South Carolina from Sweet Magnolias, or Stars Hollow, Connecticut from Gilmore Girls... Edenton really captures all of those vibes.
I love Edenton so much that it was actually the location of my bachelorette party (and one of my bridal showers!). I first published this blog post in 2022, but Edenton has had some great new small businesses open in the last couple of years, so I thought it was due time for an update to my Travel Guide!
This summer I got to visit the quaint and upscale mountain town of Highlands, North Carolina for the first time! I had seen other bloggers share about trips to Highlands over the years (notably Caitlin from Southern Curls and Pearls and Sydney from Summer Wind), so when my friend Emily selected it for her bachelorette trip destination, I was excited to finally get to visit. It had been several years since I'd been to the North Carolina mountains, and I had never been that far west in NC. The town of Highlands 100% exceeded my expectations, and I loved my brief time there for Emily's bachelorette. The night that I got back home to Virginia, I texted most of my Charlotte, NC girlfriends to tell them all that they had to visit! You know it's a good destination when you can't wait to recommend it to friends.
I'm excited to share a little Travel Diary for Highlands today with you!
Last weekend, I made a quick trip to Florida! It had been close to five years since I last saw my good friend from blogging, Gentry from Girl Meets Bow. Gentry is a Florida native, and I was excited to visit her home city of St. Pete, FL for the first time. 48 hours isn't nearly enough time to do everything that St. Pete has to offer, but Gentry did show me many of the local highlights!
As a travel lover and an avid travel blog reader, I've had a running hotel bucket list in my brain for years. It's always exciting when I get to actually stay at and experience a hotel on that list. And the absolute perfect scenario? When my day job in radio brings me to one of these hotels! It hasn't happened very often, but I'm thrilled that I've now gotten to stay at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN twice for work conferences. This hotel was always high on my travel bucket list, and it has been awesome to experience in person multiple times now. Since I've stayed here twice in the past year, I think it's about time I write a Hotel Guide for this iconic American hotel.
Even if you don't stay at The Peabody Memphis when visiting the area, I still think it is worth a visit for a drink or a meal! It's truly a historic gem. While there are many pros to staying here, there is one thing that I've found to be a con on both visits. As always- I'll give an honest review of the good and the bad!
Greensboro, NC is a city that I've spent a good number of weekends in over the past decade. Although I've never lived in Greensboro or the surrounding Triad area myself, I have so many friends and connections in this area. It's kind of funny honestly how many ties I've had to this city over the years (and continue to have). My college friend Michelle and another college friend live here, my friend Cara is from the area and got married here, and I also have a few friends from radio networking that live here and work for Greensboro stations. I've been to multiple weddings in the area in recent years (including one for friends that don't even live there, they just got married in Greensboro!). This summer, I found my way down there for the Wyndham Golf Championship. Basically- life just keeps bringing me back to Greensboro time and time again!
Greensboro isn't a tourist destination per say, but there are a lot of wonderful restaurants there, and some great lodging options. If you ever find yourself passing through the area or spending a weekend there, I wanted to share my recommendations that I've accumulated over the years of various Greensboro trips.
Williamsburg is one of America's most historic towns, and (without traffic) it's under an hour away from where I live! Christmastime in Williamsburg is especially charming. There's something special about a very classic and historic area being decked out for Christmas. Most of the buildings within Colonial Williamsburg participate in an annual wreath decorating contest. All of the materials and decorations for the wreaths have to be naturally sourced, and things that would've been around in the 1700s. So that means no Christmas lights, modern ornaments, or tinsel! Instead, you'll see lots of pinecones and sticks, fruit, shells, and more natural items. You can read more about the history of the wreath contest here!
I had to share some festive photos with you from a recent day trip to Williamsburg a couple weekends ago. I feel extra lucky this season as I also got to go back to Williamsburg for another day trip this past weekend, so I got to see all of this twice!
Author's note: This post was originally written in Fall 2022. I updated this Travel Guide in Fall 2024 with more current and new Edenton recommendations. Read the newer post HERE!
This Travel Guide has been a long time coming, and I'm so excited it's finished! This might be a blog post that I revisit in years to come and update, based on continuing to visit regularly since I have extended family in the area. Welcome to what might be my favorite small town on earth: Edenton, NC!
Where do Southern small-town charm, rich local history, and a luxurious inn stay come together? At The Captain's Quarters and Granville Queen Inns in beautiful Edenton, NC! I'm excited to share my review of these two sister properties (owened by The Carolina Experience) with y'all today. Plus- stay tuned to the end of the post for a discount code for your future NC travels.
Staying at the iconic Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia has been on my bucket list since I was in college. This hotel is absolutely stunning inside and out, and steeped in rich culture and history. When I lived in Charlottesville, I was just a mere two hours away from The Greenbrier, so my desire to visit grew even stronger. The only problem? The Greenbrier is expensive, and was very out of my travel budget for a long time. In 2019, I wrote on my 101 in 1001 bucket list that I finally wanted to visit and stay at The Greenbrier. I was determined to make it happen in the first half of 2022, as my 101 in 1001 list wraps up this summer. I finally had the chance to visit and stay at The Greenbrier, and I'm excited to share all about it!
Since this post is focusing on how to enjoy The Greenbrier on a budget, I'll be highlighting the exact costs that I spent for the room, meals, and more! Hopefully that will be helpful. I will say though- my first Greenbrier experience was worth every penny, and I already can't wait to return someday.
2022 is a milestone year for me in a few different ways. June will mark 10 years since I graduated from high school, and September will mark 10 years since I started this blog! (This year will also bring some smaller 10 year milestones: like it being 10 years since I joined Instagram as @miss_alk, 10 years since I got my belly button pierced, and 10 years since I made the mistake of perming my hair for the first and only time. Ha!) But my first milestone that turns 10 this year is one that happened in January 2012- probably right around this exact week. And that would be the day that I had the epiphany that I needed to move to the South for college.
I have felt like I've been keeping the biggest secret lately. The big news: I am moving out to Virginia Beach and I have accepted a new job in radio!! Oh and I should probably add... this is all happening ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!! Moving Day is Wednesday, July 14th!
Popping in quickly today with some fun news: I was interviewed last week on a podcast! If you've ever wanted to visit Charlottesville or are curious about local attractions in the area, this episode is for you.
T-minus less than a week until the official start of summer! Think about how different this summer is going to look from last year... it's just so exciting! I sure am hoping to spend a lot more time in a bathing suit in 2021 then I did in 2020. Part of that will hopefully be enjoying my apartment pool (which is open this year!!), and I am also hoping for some quality beach weekends. Virginia and the Carolinas are home to hundreds of miles of coastline and beaches.
When I moved to Charlottesville three years ago, I was excited to learn that I'd only be about three hours away from Virginia Beach. I set a goal to visit VB later on in 2018. I wasn't able to get there my first year in Virginia... or my second year... but better later than never right?! A couple weeks ago my dad came down from Maine to visit, and we spent a long weekend off-season in Virginia Beach.
I always assumed the first time I'd visit this oceanfront destination would be in the summer during the height of tourism season and warm weather. But instead, my first visit was off-season in March! Visiting a traditionally summer destination in the off-season can have mixed results- there's both pros and cons. I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts on coming here in the off-season, and also some thoughts on Virginia Beach as a travel destination in general. I definitely haven't experienced enough of VB to do a full Travel Guide, so a mini Travel Diary it is!
Today's Travel Guide has been a long time coming! I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I believe Richmond Virginia to be one of the most underrated cities in the South, if not one of the most underrated in the US as a whole! Yes- I really do mean that. Richmond is the perfect day trip destination from where I live in Charlottesville, and for the past three years I've been steadily visiting one or twice a month (sometimes even more!). I am so thrilled to finally bring you this Travel Guide to one of my very favorite cities!
