I’m not usually a big shopper, but before we left on our honeymoon, Garrett and I agreed to pick up some things along the way that we could fill our home with to remember our great road trip. Now that we’re back home, I’m so glad that we did it. I can’t help but look around the apartment and see little memories everywhere. Here are a few of our favourite shops and finds from the various cities we stopped in.
New Orleans
It was Garrett who first spotted this shop after our tour of the Garden District and sneakily picked up a birthday surprise for me in there, but I ruined it when I spotted the store and insisted on going inside. Loomed is a beautiful shop full of handwoven textiles.
From hand towels to beach blankets, they have something in just about every size and colour. We had a really hard time narrowing it down to just a couple of things. Thankfully they have an online store. Molly, the owner, was super helpful with showing us different styles and colours.
Garrett gave me the yellow and red kitchen towels for my birthday and I can’t get over how lovely the colours are. For our little newlywed’s splurge for ourselves, we picked two white and grey turkish bath towels. 
I have to admit that we haven’t actually used the bath towels yet because I’m too afraid to ruin them! I hung them up in the bathroom to see how they’d look and don’t think our current tiny dark bathroom does them justice. They’re something we want to tuck away until we have our first house. 
Before we left the shop, I had to snap a picture of their resident mascot, Alice Tallulah who makes a regular appearance on their blog. She was just the sweetest thing! 
Back in the French Quarter, a stop into Café du Monde was absolutely necessary and as soon as we tried those beignets and café au lait – we knew it was something we wanted to take home to share. 
Before we left, we picked up a box of beignet mix, a tin of their coffee and chicory blend, as well as a mug – which has become Garrett’s favourite for his morning coffee. We’ve yet to make up the mix, but I’d like to do it when we’ve got company over so that we don’t eat them all ourselves, ha! 
We walked past a grocery store and I popped in to get some spices – Old Bay and Zatarain’s, which I realize I could get just about anywhere on our trip but I know that the next time I go to use it I’ll be able to recall buying it in New Orleans, of all places. 
The store was also selling these tin signs modeled after an old coffee can design. We’d spotted the same one at the gift shop at Laura Plantation, so when we spotted it again it seemed like a good time to grab one. 
I hung it up over the kitchen cart we have in the dining room, which holds all my cooking utensils, knives, stand mixer, etc, so I get to see it every day. 
There was one stop that Garrett really wanted to make to La Habana Hemingway Cigar Bar. 
He’s not a smoker, but occasionally he likes to have a small cigar, so we checked out some of their local rolled cigars. I don’t know anything about tobacco, but it was really interesting to smell some of the different blends.
Nashville, Tennessee
Our first stop on the trip was to spend the night in Nashville and even after a 14 hour day, we knew we had to head down to the strip. We headed to Robert’s Western World to enjoy some music and a few beers. While we were listening to the music, I noticed some really fun printed posters around the bar. 
We ended up grabbing one of these posters for $10 and are going to get it mounted on a board.
St. Augustine
While we were in St. Augustine, I knew that I wanted to splurge on one treat for my birthday – a custom pair of leather sandals made by Dan Holiday Leather. Erin recommended them (she has a pair herself) and when I heard about how great they were, I had to go for it. 
We showed up at the shop and Dan’s assistant traced the shape of my feet.
Between these and the sea glass earrings Garrett gave me for my birthday – I wear something from our visit to St. Augustine every day. They are just so comfortable and are perfectly formed to my feet.
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah definitely had some of the coolest shops we saw on our travels. It was raining on the day we were walking around, but that just meant we got to pop into lots of cool places we didn’t expect! 
We popped into the Savannah Bee Company on River Street and got talking to one of the guys there about our honey jar wedding favours. He thought it was a really great idea and said that people use their honey jars for that as well! 
There was a great sampling station set up for you to try the different honeys. I had no idea that there were so many flavours available, based on the pollen that the bees collect. 
Even though we have a ton of leftover honey from the wedding at home, we couldn’t resist picking up a couple of sample bottles. Garrett chose the Sourwood Honey which has a maple spice flavour and is said to be good for basting grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. We’ve been saving it to try on our next grill out. I went with the seasonal Winter White, a creamy and smooth honey with a slight cinnamon taste. It’s supposed to be good for spreading on warm scones or stirred in your morning tea. I also picked up a few of their beauty products as gifts. 
The guy we met when we first came in was so friendly and starting talking about his own attempts at growing a bee friendly garden, so I gave him a couple of our seed packets! 
The Paris Market in Savannah is one of the coolest stores I’ve ever been to. There was something that I loved at every corner and on every shelf. 
There was so much inspiration there, right down to the display pieces.
I ended up picking up a few gifts and getting myself one of the large glass bottles.
I also grabbed one of their canvas totes and I’ve been using it as my work bag back and forth from the office. 
Be sure to check out their blog for even more inspiration.
Charleston, South Carolina
On our last morning in Charleston, we headed out to the famous Charleston City Market to look around. 
We ended up finding this colour tin of Harry Barker Country Bacon Dog Biscuits for Whiskey. I love that it’s nice enough to leave out on top of the fridge. 
Whiskey (and Cola) are both big fans of these treats and will be sad when they’re all gone. I’m going to make some homemade ones soon to refill it!
Biltmore Estate – Asheville, North Carolina
We had such a great time visiting Biltmore Estate, that we decided to get something to remember it by. 
Then we came across their Christmas store and found some beautiful ornaments.
We thought this one would be a nice little reminder of our last stop on the road trip and our visit with Garrett’s family down there. On the rest of the trip, we mostly bought clothes, books and magazines (which I still haven’t read). We thankfully didn’t pack the car up too much and were able to make it home in one piece. And really…the greatest gift we took home were all the memories that we have of exploring together, and I know I’ll never forget those.
