Archways, Historic, Inspiration

Sonoma + San Francisco, CA

Sonoma Vino Day Itinerary:

We hired Terrific Tours with Trevor as our guide and driver for the day! Since there are so many wineries to choose from we decided to let him decide the day’s itinerary. This made for a very relaxing day where we could all relax and only worry about drinking wine and bubbly.

He chose a variety of venues, small to large and with varying specialties, which we appreciated. We stopped at Oakville Grocery for lunch to-go and Pedroncelli allowed us to bring our sandwiches and eat there so we didn’t waste any time.

A nice surprise throughout our day was Trevor’s knowledge of the area, history of wine making and general wine facts! So our drives were a combination of us progressively being more ridiculous as the winery count went up and Trevor telling us all the interesting facts and answering our questions along the way.

Give Trevor a call if you’re ever in the area, you won’t regret it!

Sonoma Plaza

We spent a full day exploring Sonoma Plaza and loved exploring the boutiques and restaurants and simply enjoying the beautiful architecture and scenery!

Sonoma Plaza Recommendations:

San Francisco

We flew in and out of San Fran and only spent a few hours there but we still were able to spend some time down at the Wharf and walk through a few neighborhoods!

| Comments Off on Sonoma + San Francisco, CA
Archways, Historic, Inspiration

Charleston, S.C.

Charleston was as romantic and charming as I imagined! I’m so happy to have these photos to provide continual inspiration for both watercolor patterns and color palettes.

While we toured around downtown Charleston, it was miserably hot and humid. I had never experienced anything like it! The colors of the homes provided a surprise around every corner.

Rainbow Row is one of Charleston’s most iconic streets and is a fabulous display of Georgian style row homes. If you’re ever in Charleston, they’re located on East Bay Street! They are impeccably kept and the colors are so vibrant.

| Comments Off on Charleston, S.C.
Lattes

Why “Archways and Lattes?”

Choosing a blog and/or business name is daunting! I wanted to share the inspiration behind why I chose “Archways and Lattes.”

Archways

As you may or may not have read on my About page, I love all things historic and wandering around any neighborhood with historic architecture or frankly finding any unique architectural details puts me in THE best mood. Just ask my boyfriend, I’m obsessed.

A lot of what will be on this blog will be photos and watercolor patterns of architectural elements, so I wanted to make sure this was represented in the name of my blog and creative business.

Archways come in all shapes and sizes and to me represent intrigue and the ability to explore. What is on the other side of each archway? Where does it lead? I want to know all the things!

ArchwaySanFran-Archways and Lattes

Lattes

Iced lattes are my absolute favorite and when I’m not out exploring and taking pictures of beautiful buildings I am finding new coffee shops.

I lived in Old Town Alexandria for about 4 years and my *absolute* favorite thing to do on early Saturday mornings with Bolo before all the tourists flooded the streets was to walk down King Street and its side streets with an iced latte in hand — usually from Killer E.S.P. below.

It was my routine, my stress reliever, and treat to myself! I highly recommend it actually, wherever you live.

Including “Lattes” was a shoutout to how I first started this adventure and really without knowing what I would eventually to turn it into. Also, being a creative I wanted a name that sounded fun and energetic!

Killer ESP

Killer E.S.P.

Killer E.S.P. is located in Old Town Alexandria on King Street and happens to have a vibrantly colored facade. They allow dogs inside, typically have local artwork for sale on the walls and rotating chalk murals!

Their iced lattes are to die for and I highly recommend you stop in if you’re in town. You can also check them out on instagram @killeresp.

While they were my go to iced latte supplier during my Saturday morning walks and still are when I visit, I may have to create another post about all the coffee shops I’ve stumbled upon. Let me know if you have any recommendations in the DMV area!

So ultimately, Archways and Lattes was created to represent all the things I am passionate about and leaves room to have some fun along the way.

We can’t be too serious in life, right?

| Comments Off on Why “Archways and Lattes?”