Archive: Dec 2015

Bottle-Bells for Christmas by Amy Tankersley You’ve got your “Nature Lovers”, your “Environmentalists”, your “Recycle Freaks”, and your “Arts-n-Crafts Geeks”, (each in varying degrees).  I am all of those, especially Arts-n-Crafts, which, in my opinion, is a REASON TO LIVE.  And when Christmas rolls around, my pulse quickens and my scalp tingles, as I break out the glue and glitter.  My poor husband groans and claims that glitter shortens the life of his vacuum cleaner.  I always say, “Husband, there is no life without glitter. You can always buy a new vacuum cleaner.” And to prove my point, I wrote a poem about it. Has Christmas got boring? Is your life sad and bitter? It’s your own fault, you know. Don’t be a couch sitter. Stop watching “Three’s Company”. Say bye to John Ritter. Get off your phone and forget…

No trip to Charleston would be complete without at least one stop at the lunch and late night craft sandwich spot, Butcher & Bee.  The industrial style seating and communal tables fit right in with the aesthetic of this popular spot on upper King Street.   The menu is updated daily and is artfully presented on a large chalk board as you enter.  They serve lunch daily which includes locally sourced ingredients and many vegetarian options.  And if you are looking for a healthy alternative to fast food after a night out on the town, look no further.  Butcher & Bee is open until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights and is BYOB.  On our latest visit, we tried the Veggie Burger made with beets, which is definitely the brightest, not to mention most unique and tastiest veggie burger I have…

Charleston’s Christmas Past by Amy Tankersley Every Christmas season, we all do our usual holiday routine: shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, planning the big dinner, putting up the tree, sending out cards, the list goes on. Christmas might end up being exactly the same from year to year, if it wasn’t for one important variable- HISTORY. Every year, your life and your family’s lives have changed. Deaths, births, marriages, divorces, new jobs, lost jobs, re-locating, etc.  Big events of the previous year in your town, state, and country are also in the back of your mind.  And every Christmas, in those quiet moments between the holiday hustle and bustle, most of us do reflect back over the year that’s gone by. I often wonder what would have been on the minds of Charlestonians in the past during the yuletide seasons…

A Classic Southern Christmas Pie by Amy Tankersley If you go on my walking tour, you’ll burn up enough calories to break even at the end of the day after eating a piece (or two) of this Lowcountry holiday staple. And when you see me, don’t ask for any baking tips, because I don’t cook….

  If my other two lists of events and things to do in Charleston for Christmas were not enough, here are more! Dickens Dinner at Circa 1886 149 Wentworth St. 843-853-7828 circa1886.com “Travel back in time as storyteller Tim Lowry takes guests to Victorian England for a lively retelling of the beloved ‘A Christmas Carol’. The performance is accompanied by a four course dinner inspired by the novel.” Circa 1886 is the name of a restaurant on the grounds of The Wentworth Mansion. The house was built in 1886 in the “Second Empire” style of architecture, which was popular in the U.S. from the 1850’s to the 1890’s. The owner was Francis Silas Rogers, who made his fortune in cotton. If you go to this dinner, it will probably already be after dark.  So go back in the daylight to get…

Footlight Players Theater In my last post I mentioned that it is oyster season. In the City Paper today was an ad for a shop on King Street that sells tabletop christmas trees made from oyster shells, and they are very cute. Other oyster shell things I’ve seen in shops include christmas ornaments, picture frames,…

by Amy Tankersley In Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic tale, “A Christmas Carol”, Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by 3 spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Future Well, I’m going to write about “A Charleston Christmas” in reverse order: Charleston Christmas Future (2015) Charleston Christmas Present (2015) Charleston Christmas Past (you’ll see) “Charleston Christmas Future” is referring to your near-future Christmas Trip to Charleston , TGCITW (The Greatest City In The World), with the highlight of your trip being a walking or carriage tour with us.  If I am lucky enough to be your tour guide, I’ll tell you which well-known symbol of Christmas was introduced by a Charlestonian in the 1800’s. If you twist my arm, I’ll make a slight detour to show you his ancestor’s house from the 1700’s. (When we…

“Winter Weather- Charleston Style” by Amy Tankersley Charleston’s mild climate is classified as a “subtropical” zone, which means in between “tropical” and “temperate”. But I suppose people will go on websites and see photos of “palm trees”. They’ll think “subtropical” means “tropical” and come here dressed for a Hawaiian winter. All winter, I will see cold, cherry-red little toes in flip-flops on a chilly day. Even funnier than that is their surprised reaction to the weather. Subtropical means we will have occasional cold days. Those palms you see are not coconut palms; they cannot tolerate our winters. What we have is a slightly northern palm called a “Palmetto”. It is native to this area and can tolerate a little cold. Average daily winter highs are in the 50’sand 60’s, with occasional days in the 70’s, sometimes dipping into the 40’s. We rarely get…