After a few months of over-festiveness and a grueling work schedule for the Chap, we decided a romantic getaway was in order. A fresh start for a fresh year. A fancy hotel in an idyllic foodie setting was just the trip in order. Charleston or bust! That is until we decided we’d bring the 50 pound puppy with us. OMG What were thinking. Revert, revert, revert! Don’t get me wrong, any trip is still fun, but now I needed another vacation from my Christmas vacation with said dog and my new years vacation with him too. I adore the Beast, but dog trips should be reserved for renting houses only. Housekeeping, Dr. Ruth (yes, she was there in the hotel!), and golden retriever puppies are a harried mix. Literally.

Nervous to leave the Beast in the room, we did anyway and headed straight to Sean Brock’s, Husk, for a late lunch reservation I procured weeks earlier. The Chap insisted on crispy pig ear lettuce wraps to start with a bottle of Chablis. Pretty good, we were off and running in the right direction. Hopefully, the dog was not.

I test drove the shrimp and (cheesy) grits. Amazing.

The Chap test drove the fried chicken. He wins lunch, it was incredible. Moist and crispy with a side of cornbread. Yes, yes, and yes.

We dined outside on a beautiful 80 degree afternoon on the porch of the pre-Civil War house that is Husk.

Back in the room this sinfully dense chocolate cake and bottle of bubbly awaited. Oh yeah, we were spontaneously celebrating that too.

The night brought the second of Sean Brock restaurants. I’m not sure how that was necessary, but we went and feasted at his finer spot. Again, delicious, but it was a much nicer establishment, so no photos from moi.

We slept in and the next day was New Year’s Eve which found us at the adorable raw bar, Raw 167.

We opted for a healthy turn of events and ate all of the shellfish in the place, including the last Jonah crab claws of the day. However, the highlight was the oysters topped with uni. They were sooooo good that we had to order a second helping.

Our platter made it to their Instagram for the day. Woot.

One more round for the people in the back.

New Year’s Eve was also exceptionally warm, so the city threw some camels in the park. Standard.

We toasted the night with a bevvy of cocktails. I stand by that the South in general does a lousy cocktail. Everything is so damn sweet including this Hemingway daiquiri.

Patio vibes.

Loved this front of restaurant.

The night ended early for us since we got to go back and take the dog out to play fetch on the roof of the hotel. Like I said, romance. And the next day brought full on room service that now looking back, seems a five year old could have ordered – chicken fingers and pizza. We lounged all day watching old movie like Mrs. Doubtfire. Not pictured, Beast lurking for scraps. #romance

We took a long stroll (to the dog park) then through the city enjoying the architecture and inquiring about prices.