Allergic to My Hometown

You know its time to move when you have an allergic reaction to coming home.

Let me just explain. Yesterday upon arriving back home my whole face breaks out in big red bumps all over! I have no idea what it could be, but its so weird. Except for the occasional zit, my face is usually pretty clear...and it was perfectly clear yesterday morning and all through the afternoon when my sister and I were driving home. When we got back home I ran to target to pick up some things, while I was there I noticed one big red bump on my face and by the time I got home my whole face and neck were covered!

I have no idea what it could be! I took some benadryl, because I am assuming it is some sort of allergic reaction, but I'm not sure to what. Maybe sunscreen? But why would it just now be appearing? What do you guys think?!

Moving on...

I have LOTS of informational pics from the past few days. Food, fun, fashion, etc., etc.

Lets GO!

Friday night my sister and I hit the town of Charleston for sushi, finally! We went to a restaurant called Tsunami.

I totally wanted to rock out the new shoes, so in true Jenny style, here is "what I wore"

Love the shoes, do not however enjoy the way they make my feet feel after walking in them all night!

Here we are at the sushi place, capturing the mood of the lighting:

My sister is new to the whole sushi experience, so I decided it would be best to share a plate of a few different rolls.

I started out with a salad with ginger dressing:

The came the Sushi! We got the white tuna roll, the great california roll, and the super vegetable roll:

Notice me in the background, ready to dig in with my soy sauce and chopsticks :)

After we ate we decided that since it was our last night at the beach we just HAD to get icecream. So we stopped at a frozen yogurt place called Fresh Berry.

It was so good we forgot to take a picture until we were almost finished:

The next morning I woke up and had my usual vaca brekkie:

All-Bran Flakes, Banana, Skim milk, and Coffee.

After eating a quick breakfast it was time to pack up and hit the road.

My sister and I drove the 5 hours back home. On the way we stopped for lunch at a subway (sorry forgot the pic).

When we got home I rushed to shower and get ready to go downtown for The Blue Plum Festival. It is a festival that we have every year downtown. They block off all the roads and all the bars serve drink outside and they are bands all over the place. It is sooo much fun and even though I was tired, there was NO WAY I was gonna miss it!

My friend lives really close to downtown, so we parked at her place and walked down. Which was good, because there are literally 1000's of people there and finding a parking place is like finding a needle in a haystack!

Some pics from the night:

The guy in the picture is one of my best friends, Ben. I was so proud of him, because he ran in the festivals 5K earlier that day, and clocked in at 21:50! I thought that was pretty impressive, def. better than me!

We pretty much spent the whole night talking about running and he agreed to start training to run a half marathon with me! Its in September and I am so excited. I am even more excited that I have a "running buddy" now.

Well, that is it for the pics...for now.

Tonight is wedding night with a few of my girlfriends! Should be fun.

Hope everyone is having a relaxing and fun Sunday!

Lots of Love <3 Ems.

AMAZING Run

Across THIS:

It is the Charleston Cooper Bridge. I have been wanting to try running it since we got here, and today being our last day I decided it was time to go for it! The bridge has a pedestrian walk way and a bike trial going across it. One way is 2.5 miles.

I ran across it and back, making a total of 5 miles. Oh yeah, did I mention that it also has EIGHT lanes of traffic and it 200 feet above the ocean?!

Yeah, I felt pretty darn hardcore. Talk about adrenaline rush. It was AMAZING! And such a good view!

I wanted to take my camera while I was running, but I really didnt want to drop it into the ocean or anything. So i figured that it was probably best to just leave it in my car where it would be safe and sound.

I did take a video of me driving back across after the run, just so you guys could see how crrrazzyy it was! Im not sure if it is working or not, but I'll try:

This morning before the run I had my usual breakfast while I am here:

When I got home I got ready and we went to Fort Sumter. It is an old fort off of Charleston Harbor that was used during the Civil War. We took a boat to get to the harbor and spent a few hours there.

Here is me being VERY annoyed with my mom for not listening to me, but playing it off as a joke :)

paparazzi pic, captured by my sister:

Back on the boat on the way back:

Hiding from the rain:

We didn't end up getting back home until almost 230! So we were all STARVED. And I don't know about you guys, but every single person in my family inherited that gene that makes you really really cranky when your hungry.

I finally got some sandwich stuff, so I was able to fix up a pretty legit sammie for lunch.

Turkey on Wheat with Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, and Mustard. All toasted up!

My sister and I had planned on going out for sushi last night, but the weather got pretty bad and I didn't really feel like driving all the way back into Charleston. So we went to eat with the parents instead. We plan on going for sushi tonight.

Here is me and Sister #1 all dressed up for dinner:

And sister's #2 and #3:

Now its off to soak up as much sun as possible on the last day! Tomorrow we go home!

Hope everyone is having a great FRIDAY!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

The Dress...and a Bit More

Hello my lovelies! I'm still here in Charleston living it up. I swear you think of vacations as being relaxing, but I was thinking about it today and they are usually quite opposite! Or at least for me, I always try to take in as much as possible in the week that I am on vacation so I am worn out by activities every single day. But I like it that way, not complaining AT ALL!

Today I was up bright and early to fix up some breakfast before anyone else! We have been having a fight over the bananas (that I bought for ME) and I knew that there was only half of one left. Hey, you snooze you lose...especially when it comes to food, right?!

1 cup Special K, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 banana. Along with a nice cup of coffee.

Here was my view while I ate:

Everyone was pretty much burnt to a crisp after three straight days of hours in the sun, so we decided that today would be an indoor shopping day.

We ventured over the bridge again into Charleston for the MALL!

When we got there everyone was ready for lunch. Luckily there was a semi-healthy option in the mall in the form of a Jason's Deli.

I had the Mediterranean Wrap under the "Real Choices" menu. It had oven roasted turkey breast, roasted red pepper hummus, cucumbers, purple onions, kalamata olives, roma tomatoes and organic field greens in an organic wheat wrap. I got the baked chips on the side as well.

The wrap was actually really really good! I needed the fuel for shopping so I ate it up!

Sooooo here is the moment you have all been waiting for. The KILLER dress that I got at Urban Outfitters. I think it just scream "PAR-TAY".

Did I mention that I am a total sucker for snake skin?! And short black dresses?!

Here is a close up of the detail:

And here is someone who is totally NOT me, wearing it. Just so you get the full effect.

I am pretty sure that I am going to rock it tomorrow night when my sister and I go out on the town for sushi and dancing!

Oh yeah...did I mention that I got some KILLER shoes to match too?

And they were buy one get one for $10 AND like I said, I am a sucker for snake skin...so I had to buy another pair in a slightly different style and different color.

Cute huh?! You girls like?!

After shopping for solid four hours, my sister and I headed back home. But not before stopping off at a little place on the way back...

Some of you might be familiar, not sure...

Thats right bloggies, I am no longer a Whole Foods virgin. It was my first time *blush*

Now the little sisters and the moms and pops are down at the pool. My other sister and I are about shopped out so we opted to chill out in the room and watch some tube-age.

Hopefully dinner is soooon! I really wanna go get some yummy seafood!

Hope everyone is doing grrreat! Im trying to catch up on blogs as we speak. Love you guys to death!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

FULL Day!

I am EXHAUSTED girls and guys! Today has been quite the active day. Fun, but major tiring.

It started out at 7 this morning with another 4 mile run on the trail from the condo. I am really gonna miss this trial when we leave! When I got back to the condo everyone was up and eating breakfast.

My breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. All Bran Flakes, Banana, blueberries, and Skim milk.

Repeat Pic!

After Breakfast we all got ready and headed across the bridge into downtown Charleston:

We hit up all the shopping for a little while. I went to American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. I got the BEST dress EVER at UO. I'll get a pic a little later to show.

After doing a little shopping my sister and I decided to break from the fam and go have lunch on our own. Like I said, my family does not like anything "different", they like your typical chain restaurants. My sister and I just weren't feelin it, so we decided to go to Five Loaves Cafe, recommended by the wonderful Erica.

I got a Grilled Tofu sandwich with zuchinni, tomato, onion, and sprouts. And a salad with roasted red peppers, spinach, tomatos, and goat cheese.

YUM!

Here is a closer look at the sandwich:

My sister and I really enjoyed our lunch. We were both really glad that we decided to go off on our own and eat here.

Here we are, happy with our decision:

After lunch we met back up with the family and went to the market place in Charleston.

This is one of my favorite things to do when we come down here. It is an old market place that goes on for what seems like miles and it is just set up with vendors and hand made goods like jewelry, decorative things, etc.

Here is a pic of the entrance:

Here is my sister and I after going through. Hot and tired. I swear we probably walked about 10 miles in the 90 degree weather!

After that we walked into Charleston place were all the upscale shops are.

Made a stop at me usual shopping place:

YEAH RIGHT! I'm a recent college grad with no full time job yet...remember?!

We also saw a pretty fountain and I HAD to have a picture of all the sissies in front of it.

Notice how different we all look from each other. Or maybe just how different I look from all of them. I swear I must be the milk man's child!

After hours of shopping, miles of walking, and TONS of sweating we came back to the condo and chilled out by the pool. Now I am in the room waiting for everyone to get in from the beach so we can get some dinner!

I just don't think I EVER wanna come home. I think I may convince my parents to just leave me here ;)

Hope you guys had a good start to your week. Again, Im sorry if I am not on top of commenting. I am trying to read blogs and comment when I get the chance. DONT think I am forgetting about you guys at all!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.

Greetings from Charleston!

Hello my dears. I am just sitting here in the condo chilling out after a VERY active day on the beach!

I woke up bright and early and walked out to the balcony to this lovely site:

I threw on my tennys and headed out for a nice run. We are staying in a gated community with a great running trial, so I couldn't wait to hit it up. The whole path is shaded with trees too, so it didn't get too hot. I ran from out condo to the end of the community and back. When I got back I hit up map my run and found out it was an even 4 miles.

When I got back to the condo I fixed up some breakfast. Here is the problem though, guys. It is REALLY hard to eat the foods that I like when I am with my family. Most of the food they like is not the healthiest, I had to get my own loaf of wheat bread for sandwiches, if that gives you any ideas. I want to just enjoy my vacation and not have to worry about it too much. I am trying to make the healthiest choices that I can, though. What would you guys do?

Anyway here is what I managed to rustle up for a healthy breakfast:

All-Bran Flakes, Skim Milk, 1/2 Banana, and Blueberries.

After breakfast we hit the beach for some wave riding, tanning, and swimming

AHHHH

We came back up around 1 to break for lunch. The best thing I could get was a turkey sandwich on wheat bread and an apple. It was sad, so I didn't take a picture.

Then back to the beach! It was sooo much fun. We stayed in the ocean and tried to ride the waves with the boogy boards. At one point I got dragged completely under and when I came back up my boob was TOTALLY out of my bathing suit. I'm not sure if anyone saw or not. OH WELL!

After that we came back up and spent wayyy too long getting ready. My sister and I got pretty and went down to Charleston for a while.

But not before watching the sunset:

Now its time for bed so it can start all over again tomorrow. Today was only day 1 peeps!

Prepare for WAY more pics! Sorry if I'm absent from commenting a lot this week. I have been living it up on the beach all day and haven't had too much time on the computer. I DO miss you guys though!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems

Beach Bound

Well Kiddos Im off to the beach!

In just a few short hours (ok maybe after a 5 hour drive) I will be sipping my coffee here:


I am bringing my laptop, but Im not sure if I will have internet connection or not so if I am absent for a week you will know why :) I am hoping that I will have internet though, because I just think that I would miss you guys too much if I had to go a whole week without you in my life! And you KNOW I will be taking 30349023489 pictures, so be ready for those!

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND!

Lots of Love, <3 Ems.