We Closed!

Last Wednesday we officially closed on our new home!  The whole day-of process went pretty smoothly with a walk-though in the morning followed by the actual closing.  The only hiccup was two-thirds of the way through signing the documents when the attorney went to go "check on something" and came back to tell us that they were still waiting on the Certificate of Occupancy because some piece of paper hadn't reached the water/sewer department in the county yet.  Luckily, after going to lunch to cool off with our realtor, they called us that we were all set and could pick up our keys!  It feels so nice that it's finally OURS.  The lease on our apartment doesn't end for six weeks, so this move will be a slow one.  It is definitely a welcome change from the last move when we had 24 hours to move all of our stuff into our apartment.

As some of you know, we built this home from the ground up.  In February, it was still just a piece of grassy land, and it's been so much fun to watch every stage of the process.  Here are my previous posts all about our house: the announcement, framing, and drywall & interior options.

Last weekend, we had painters come in to add some pizzazz to the boring "builders' white" in every room.  We LOVED color in our old house in Connecticut, so we knew we wanted some of the same down here in SC both inside and out.  Obviously, I've been a bit lazy and have not yet taken photos of the beautiful walls WITH color, but below is a little tour of our house after we got the keys of all the white.

The privacy door and gas lantern reminiscent of historical Charleston are a couple of my favorite features.  The door on the downstairs porch opens to the main hall and dining room.

 The hall leads to the open kitchen and living area.

Our master suite is also downstairs.

Up the stairs is a second living room and three bedrooms. 

The one room we have finished is the upstairs porch on the front of the house.  We know this will be a place we spend a lot of time, so we made it feel cozy with some outdoor furniture and lots of pillows.  The last thing it needs is a couple of hanging plants and some flowers in that vase!

crab pillow ||| 'have a seat' pillow ||| cool stripe pillow ||| medallion pillow ||| wicker conversation set

Stepping into Summer Swap Reveal

Thanks so much to the 20 fellow bloggers who joined myself and Macy for the Stepping into Summer Swap!  I hope everyone enjoyed getting to know another blogger, I know I did!  I was paired with Shawna, which was so fun because she lives just a town over from where I lived for three years in Connecticut!  I hope we can meet someday on a trip back.  She sent me the most beautiful sandals that I have been wearing all over town.

On Saturday, Mike and I ventured all over town, and they were the perfect addition to my current look of choice: a patterned romper and a string of rice beads.  Before heading to the farmer's market, sidewalk sale, and a food truck rodeo, we got energized for our day with my current favorite coffee shop: Kudu.  Their vanilla iced lattes are the best, and don't even get me started on the ham and cheese croissants - yum!

Thanks so much, Shawna, for the perfect summer sandals.  Now it's your turn; if you participated in the swap, grab a button and link up below!

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Red, White, and a Few Favorites

Y'all, I cannot believe that Fourth of July weekend will be starting this time next week!  I need to get out all my red, white, and blue, and start thinking of my most festive drink recipe - any ideas?  I decided to throw together a few favorite items that I've been loving lately as well as a bunch that I've been eyeing recently and would just so happen to be perfect colors for the Independence Day holiday!

1 /// 2 /// 3

4 /// 5 /// 6 /// 7 /// 8

9 /// 10 /// 11 (red, white, and blue) /// 12

I have been wanting one of those over-sized pool floats that are all the rage for so long!! I've always been partial to the pineapple inner tube or fruit koozie set, but that firecracker popsicle is so perfectly patriotic!  Also, these bathing suits for him and her?  I love the cut on the ladies' suit, and Mike would totally wear those pineapples since the color and pattern are fairly discrete :)

On dry land, these Chuck Taylors (oh my gosh, the elastic heels are everything for the summer!!) and a cute romper have been my go-to so far this summer.  The back of the white one I'm wishing for is so fantastic - check it out, and it would be so fun to dress it down for a picnic or dress it up for a fireworks party with those Southern Proper flats, star earrings, or bangle!

If you're look for even more summer wardrobe inspiration, check out my favorite rompers and off-the-shoulder looks as well as everything floral.

• Have you started planning your own Fourth of July celebrations?

Nautical Bachelorette On Cape Cod

Two weekends ago, myself and 9 of my closest friends headed to Cape Cod to celebrate the upcoming wedding of my sister-in-law.  I'll be a bridesmaid for her in just over a month, and it was such a pleasure to help plan this wonderful weekend for her!  We rented a beautiful and historical four bedroom home that we found on Airbnb.  It had four bedrooms, two living areas, and a huge kitchen.

By far, my favorite part of the whole house was the porch that wrapped around the whole thing.  There were so many cute sitting areas, and it was the perfect place to set up our breakfasts and lunch.  When the rain cancelled our Saturday beach plans, we happily sat outside, played card games, and watched the rain come down for hours.

We went with a nautical theme for the event, since we were on Cape Cod!  One of the maids of honor went above and beyond and created so many adorable banners and photo booth props for us to enjoy!  How cute is that little crab mask or the "Bridesmate" speech bubbles?!

The other MOH put together these amazing goodie bags for each of us in attendance: sunglasses with "bridesmates" written on the side, mints, ibuprofen, Swedish fish, and a first aid kit.  Everyone especially loved the leis and gold tattoos, and the bride wore her sailor hat all weekend!

On Saturday night, we headed to downtown Falmouth for our dinner out.  If you're ever on the Cape, I highly suggest Bear in Boots - the service and atmosphere were fantastic and the food - just wow!  Our table ordered everything from homemade pastas to barbecue and enchiladas to grilled pizzas.  We were all so impressed with the selection and attention to detail.  The staff even brought us out complimentary prosecco at the conclusion of our meal to celebrate the bride-to-be!

We woke up early the next morning to pack up and drive to central Massachusetts for the bride's shower.  I'll be sharing more on that fun event next Wednesday!  So excited to be back linking up for Wedding Wednesday with the lovely Macy and Nikki!

Navy and Silver Summer Weekend

This post is sponsored by Gold Creations, but, as always on Borrowed Heaven, all opinions are my own.

Happy Monday, y'all!  How was your weekend?  For me, this weekend was a nice change from the busyness and travel over the last few weeks.  With our house closing on Wednesday (aahh!!), we made a few final preparations and spent a bunch of time outside, walking around town - the weather was beautiful, and it's always my favorite way to relax and unwind!

No matter what time of year it is, parking down on the Battery (the south-most point on the Charleston peninsula) and trying to get lost while discovering new (to us!) alleyways and historical homes never gets old.  My outfits might change from other times in the year, but it's always a fun excuse to play dress up get out of the house.

This weekend was no exception, we found a parking spot right along the sea wall (parking is free down there, and there are always spots - FYI) and started walking.  I chose my current favorite super-lightweight, navy romper and a simple pair of silver sandals that I've had since collage (similar styles: 1 and 2).  Lastly, I paired it with my new favorite silver piece from Gold Creations.

Gold Creations has been creating stylish, beautiful jewelry here in Charleston for over forty years.  I first met Lizzy from Gold Creations at The Southern C Summit and enjoyed hearing about their long family history in the jewelry business.  Their story of founders Vicki and Glenn traveling west in their VW Beetle to see the country throughout the early 1970s is so adorable and heart-warming!

The Gold Creations flagship location opened in 1975 after Vicki and Glenn returned from that trip of a lifetime to sell the Native American jewelry and artifacts they collected along the way.  Still in the very same spot today, the shop is located permanently in the Charleston City Market, on the corner of Market and Church streets.  It could not be a more historical and popular spot with horse-drawn carriages constantly riding by, remarkable church steeples towering over the landscape, and natural Southern accents like palmetto, magnolia, and dogwood trees accenting every corner.

All of those scenes were the inspiration for their own jewelry lines that they began casting and creating several years after Gold Creations opened their doors.  Now, decades later, they have beautiful lines of jewelry that perfectly reflect the heritage, grace, and beauty of Charleston.  The piece that they curated for me combines a delicate Charleston rice bead strand with an intricate Gates of Charleston charm. 

To share a little bit of the beauty of Charleston, Gold Creations is giving away a $50 gift card so that one of you can experience their unique pieces and fantastic quality for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck to all of you!  Even if you're not located in the Charleston area or planning to make a future visit, you can shop the entire Gold Creations collection through their website.  Not only do they have their full Charleston Rice Beads and Gates of Charleston collections beautifully photographed and available for purchase, they also have an array of monogrammed pieces, wedding gift ideas, a children's collection, as well as tons of pieces with those ever-so-popular pineapples!

As you can probably tell, there will be a lot more weekends to come that will be spent just like this one.  There are always new Charleston streets to discover as well as hidden gardens and colorful landscaped to find!