sisters weekend in charlotte

 It all started with Tia.  She had airline credit that was about to expire.  She called and asked, "Is there any chance you can travel somewhere with me by the end of May?"

Umm....I can't even say no to that kind of question.  Like, ever.

Well, before you know it, we had pulled the city of Charlotte out of a hat, called Heather and Tabby, and soon enough, we had a sisters weekend on the books.

We've never done anything like this.  Most of our lives, our kids have been to young for us to get away without them.  But oh, the freedom of teens and adult children.

 We landed in Charlotte on a Friday and stayed until Monday morning.  It was the most wonderful time.  We didn't have much of an agenda, just sleep in, eat, drink, walk and shop - which it turns out, are the very things downtown Charlotte does best.

 This outdoor alleyway was one of my personal faves.  Shops, restaurants, and bakeries lined each side, and it was the perfect day for us to enjoy all of that.

We found lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and all had the pho.  It was a first for me and it was deee-lish.  Lots of cilantro in there, which I love with almost everything.

 Another stop we made on our trip was a great little market/food court area by the train stop.  (Mom, this is where I got your candle.)  It had several artisan shops in there and good foodie places.  For lunch, I had a .....get this....grilled PB, blackberry jam, and goat cheese sandwich.  So good.  And a fantastic latte for dessert.  It looked that beautiful down to the very last drop.

 One of our evenings, we decided to opt out of restaurant eating,  and made a run to a nearby Trader Joe's and had a poolside picnic by the hotel pool.  We had all agreed by then that it wasn't as much about hitting all the spots as it was just being together with no distractions.

A few other shots from Charlotte:

(we turned up the music and took turns dancing in the sunroof.  we don't get out much.)

This trip was a wonderfully unexpected "stop and smell the flowers" moment.  It was good to connect with the sisters - we are usually pulled in so many different directions that we lose touch.  I would recommend Charlotte to anyone who wanted to enjoy a weekend away with good food and beautiful spaces!