It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write about Charleston — I have, really. But you know that verse in the Bible where Mary “ponders these things in her heart?” I’ve really felt the pull to just keep the past week close. Like that last bite of an incredible piece of cake, so delicious that you want to dive right in, but you stare at & simply don’t want to eat because then you know it’s over. The trip felt like an incredible breath of fresh air out of our hectic lives, & I strongly encourage everyone who has the means to TAKE A TRIP with your husband/significant other/whatever before you pop a kid out.

Here we are, out to dinner. Check out how I’m carrying this kid IN MY FACE. (that’s a tree behind Nate, not curls & spikes. ha! like I’d let him out of the house with spikes) We made it a point to strictly eat at local restaurants, although the pull of Moe’s was strong one afternoon. Unfortunately, I have a raging seafood allergy then sends me INTO DEATH, so we have to be very, very careful where we eat in cities like Charleston. I gazed longingly at the shrimp & grits the other patrons enjoyed, but still had the greatest cheese & sundried tomato panini known to mankind at Sermet’s.

See this? Yeah, it’s a bakery. Named CUPCAKE. A store, full of cuppycakes & ONLY cuppycakes! ::swoon:: I saw this the moment we stepped onto King Street & knew I had met my destiny. It’s a shame I’m already married, because I was tempted to swap vows with the store owner that day, regardless that she was female & also married.

This, my friends, is a Black Tuxedo cuppycake. Dark chocolate with white chocolate chips, smothered in cream cheese icing & dipped in ganache. That’s right, ganache. I nearly had a foodgasm (Nate argues that one actually occurred when I took a bite of his red velvet cuppycake). Sadly, we only made it to Cupcake once before leaving town, but I’m determined to find a way to have them shipped to me.

Have no fear, though…I could have eaten a cupcake every damn day & not gained a pound with all the walking we did! My feet were killing me towards the end, but it was so worth it to stroll along the Battery & soak up the sunshine. We also experienced a haunted jail tour at 10:30 at night, where morning sickness hit with such a vengeance that 10 minutes before the tour began, I went BY MYSELF into the haunted jail to find a bathroom & puke my guts out. May I please point out that my husband, while strapping & handsome, is such a wuss that he refused to follow me in there? So yes, I threw up. Violently. By myself, in a haunted jail. & didn’t think twice about it because all I wanted was for that damn after-dinner cappuccino to get OUT OF MY SYSTEM, YE DEMONS asap.

oh, & we didn’t see any ghosts. But I definitely preferred our Bed & Breakfast to sleeping in that place. A wee bit more cozy, if I do say so myself.

How gorgeous is this place? Nate & I decided that if we every win the lottery (granted, we have to play it which we never do), we’re moving to Charleston. I knew he would love the city, but even I was amazed at how we were both so enamored with the culture, food, & things to do. Next time, we’re going back when I can drink!

So yes, an incredible, amazing trip. I know that is a lame way to describe it, but I find words to be completely lacking these days to describe something that rivaled our honeymoon. It’s so hard to believe that it’s over, and in less than 3 months, we’ll be welcoming this tiny stranger into our lives FOR ETERNITY.

& I think that’s where the “babymoon” hit me in the heart — sometimes when we go about our day-to-day, Nate & I go on autopilot. Sure, our life is full of affection, but it’s also riddled with work, house drama, the dog, family, etc. When we get away, we focus on how much we love each other. I get to stare at him across the dinner table & realize that he arches his eyebrow far better than I ever will, or how my hand fits so perfectly into his, making me feel so tiny (which is a miracle these days). When we’re in Charleston, I realize how lucky I am to have a man that sits an extra 15 minutes on the breakfast terrace, just so I can lazily sip my coffee. I realize that I want him to have the last bite of my lemon square pastry, just because I loved it so much. & in some ways, it makes me sad that our lives will be changing so drastically. We love Harrison & the excitement & anticipation of meeting him nearly drives me crazy some days. But recently, I look at Nate & wish that things would never, ever change. That 10 years from now, we can still take off & drop unmentionable amounts of money on a trip without worrying about children back home.

It’s ridiculous. I know. Things need to change, have to change, & we want this change. But for now, I’m clinging tight to my husband & soaking in the last few months of being simply “Blair & Nate.”