STAYCATION | GREENVILLE, SC

Last weekend, J and I loaded up our pups and packed a bag for a little staycation!  We partnered with Visit Greenville to plan an itinerary full of our favorite places in Greenville - from where to stay and eat to where to explore and shop.  Our little weekend away couldn't have come at a better time and we had SO much fun spending the weekend with each other and our friends.  I've grown up and Greenville and J has been here a little over 10 years now, but Greenville has changed so much in the last five years.  It's absolutely crazy to think about how much we've progressed in such a short time.  Our downtown is so quaint and cute, but full of the most amazing places to eat, tons of welcoming hotels, local boutiques + well-known stores, beautiful scenery at Falls Park, and the best coffee shops.  Greenville was actually just named one of the '52 places to go in 2017' by the New York Times and is constantly getting recognized for how cute our city is.  If you're anywhere close by or have plans to travel to or near Greenville, you MUST stop and stay a while!  

Here's a round up of our weekend with Visit Greenville:

 First, we checked into Aloft Greenville and had the warmest welcome.  Lunch from their rooftop bar - WXYZ, treats from a few of our favorite places, and of course - champagne.  I mean really, what's lunch without champagne?!

 Our favorite part about the hotel was that it's dog friendly!  We LOVE to take our pups anywhere and everywhere we possibly can, so being able to bring them with us was a dream.  Needless to say, they love hotel life as much as we do!  Our room had a large living room and kitchen, so they had plenty of room to roam the couple of times we did have to leave them throughout the weekend.  They also have a place on the 6th floor (beside the rooftop pool) that's gated where you can take your dogs to use the restroom without having to go all the way to floor level.  We had the best time loving on our sweet pups all weekend!

On Friday night, we kicked things off with dinner at one of Greenville's newest spots and one of our favorites, Jianna.  It's Modern Italian cuisine, with fresh oysters, homemade pastas, craft cocktails and authentic wines.  Not only is the food amazing, but the restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the building and has large windows that open to a full view of Main Street.  You can also dine outside on their wrap around porch!  My favorites are the Truffle Ricotta Crostini and the Spaghetti TBG!  Greenville has a group of restaurants that all fall under Table 301 and they're all to DIE for.  Jianna is one of them, a few others I'll mention below, too.  They all have the best hospitality, service, and food in Greenville!

After dinner, we headed to one of Greenville's newest rooftop bars, Up on the Roof.  The views of Greenville are unlike any other - completely STUNNING.  Just when you think Greenville is a small city, the views tell you otherwise.  You can sit by the fire, enjoy a glass of wine, and see the entire city, all in one perfect location.

 When we woke up on Saturday morning, we had two goals: grabbing a green juice from our favorite spot, Southern Pressed Juicery and hitting up the Farmers Market.  SPJ is also one of Table 301's restaurants and has everything from fresh juices and smoothies to energy bowls and plant-based meals.  Everything is 100% organic and absolutely amazing!  My favorite smoothie is the Sunrise Salutation (it's basically a healthy piña colada, so #winning) and I absolutely love the Butter Me Up bowl.  When I leave Cycle Bar each week, SPJ is my favorite treat!

Next up, we headed to our local Farmers Market.  This past Saturday was the first weekend it reopened and we were so excited!  Now through October, three blocks of Main Street will be filled with the best in-season produce, gourmet foods, and fresh cut plants and flowers.  A cup of coffee (or juice) to-go and market tote in hand, it's the perfect way to kick off a Saturday!

On Saturday afternoon, we met up with a few friends and ate at my absolute favorite lunch spot, Caviar & Bananas.  The restaurant originated in Charleston and we always loved it, so we were so excited to hear that C&B was coming to Greenville.  Side note: it's also one of Greenville's best insta-grammable spots!  The food is very 'grommet market', which we love, but there's also a cafe that serves amazing breakfast in the mornings.  My favorite is the Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad, paired with the Broccoli Salad.  They also have all of my favorites like Veuve, Whispering Angel, and Miraval Rosè.  It's definitely a spot you won't want to miss while in Greenville!  Later that afternoon, we invited our friends up to see our pretty room at Aloft and ordered drinks from the WXYZ bar.  It's so nice having such a great rooftop spot AT the actual hotel so you don't always feel like you have to go out.  Whether it's afternoon cocktails or a late night night-cap, it's so convenient and fun!

Saturday night, we met up with a few of our other friends (and soon to be neighbors!) and dined at Soby's.  It's one of Greenville's oldest and most well-known restaurants that never lets you down.  Soby's cuisine is an eclectic blend of contemporary, International and traditional cuisines.  Starting with fresh, seasonal ingredients, often from local farmers and producers, their chefs transform Old Southern favorites into something fresh and new.  The She Crab Soup is bomb, as well as the Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin!  Finally, we ended the night at our favorite OG spot, Halls Chophouse for a late night drink.  The food there is absolutely to DIE for, but the bar is just as good.  If you follow me on snapchat or insta-stories, you've probably noticed that we frequent there often.  It's also a restaurant that came to Greenville after being extremely successful in Charleston and we absolutely adore it.  My favorite is the Petite Filet, with TRUFFLE Butter on top, as well as the Cream Corn Skillet.  As far as cocktails go, the 434 will never let you down!

On Sunday, we slept in and enjoyed our dreamy bed + room at Aloft all morning before heading to brunch.  When you're home, there always seems to be something to wake up early and do, but at a hotel, life just seems simple.  That's one reason I truly believe that it's so important to get away (or have a staycation) with your spouse as often as you can!  After relaxing, we headed to brunch at one of Greenville's newest spots, The Anchorage in West Village.  It's only been open a couple of months and we hadn't made it in yet, so we were super excited to try it!  Greenville's West Village is so up and coming with tons of local artists, cute coffee shops, and amazing restaurants.  The cuisine is unlike any other in Greenville and the cocktails - oh. my. gosh.  The Tiki Mary is hands down the best cocktail I've ever had.  EVER.  Another totally insta-grammable spot in Greenville and amazing food, service, and drinks!  Also, the image below is the art on the front of the building - it's so cool!

 Here's a glimpse of what I wore to brunch, as well as the full outfit here!

John and I feel so grateful to live in such an amazing city!  Since we travel so often, we always talk about if we could live in whatever city we're visiting at the time.  Usually, the first 2-3 days we always think to ourselves 'what a fun city to live in!'  But, by the around the 5th day, we're always so thankful for our quint, cute town.  Greenville has everything we need (except Nordstrom, but TG for two day shipping!!), including our families and so many of our friends and we're so in love with it.  Especially since we'll have a new place to call home here really, really soon!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Let me know if you have any questions about Greenville in the comments below OR if you have a trip planned to come visit!  I'll be adding Greenville to my TRAVEL PAGE later this week with a round up of all the spots I mentioned + more, so stay tuned!

x.

Thanks to Visit Greenville for partnering on this post!