Charlotte fits the bill for a moms’ getaway!
As a mom, I relish rare moments of escape, and Charlotte is an easy one at less than a four-hour drive from Atlanta. I headed to the Queen City in fall, but I didn’t go alone: My college bestie of 19 years, Lauren, met me for a much needed girls’ weekend.
My first stop: the Grand Bohemian in Uptown (Charlotte’s downtown). The 254-room property exudes cool with gigantic crystal lighting fixtures, bold colors and curated art on display in every inch of the building. Our room was just as vibrant with fuchsia drapes, deep green headboards and a plush teal chaise overlooking Uptown.
When Lauren arrived, the festivities began with drinks at the hotel’s swanky rooftop lounge, Búho Bar. We toasted our trip with frothy espresso martinis as the sun set on the city’s skyline. The bar buzzed with young professionals on a Friday at twilight. It would have been fun to stick around, but we were off to Supperland in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood, a short ride away.
Supperland resides in a converted midcentury church. The restaurant serves steakhouse fare, but we headed to an adjacent building that houses The Bar at Supperland and its 10-seat, basement speakeasy. There, a small group partook in a multi-course cocktail and small plate tasting experience built around a Disney villain theme. The themes change throughout the year, but the bartenders always lean in with costumes, custom playlists and whimsical touches (one of our drinks was set aflame in a cauldron). The nearby bars looked fun, but our comfy beds called us.
The next day we eagerly covered as much ground as we could. It started with a walk to the Uptown Farmers Market where Keia Mastrianni of Milk Glass Pie sells breakfast treats such as rich quiche and scones studded with seasonal produce. She doesn’t have a shop, which made tracking down her treats all the sweeter. Later, we brunched at Coquette that sits near some of the city’s best museums. The dining room stuns with floor-to-ceiling windows and feminine Frenchinspired decor. My tarte à la tomate et oignons (caramelized tomato and onion tart) held a surprise: It was topped with a scoop of goat cheese ice cream. The savory-sweet combo delighted my palate.
While we looked forward to seeing singer-songwriter Jewel perform her hits at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre that evening, our favorite part of the day was sneaker painting with Melissa Carnegie, a sneaker head-turned-entrepreneur. She founded Kicks & Fros in 2017 as a way to connect with other female enthusiasts and hosts painting dates in her Airstream at the Camp North End mixed-use development. The three-hour experience included a pair of Nike Air Force 1s for each of us, snacks and a crash course from Carnegie. Painting sneakers felt intimidating at first (I’m not artistic!), but we relaxed as we settled into our projects, reminisced and left with sneakers that suited our personalities.
Before saying our goodbyes the next morning, we visited Roots Cafe for breakfast in Southend. Our breakfast burritos and coffee snapped us out of our end of trip funks. As I drove home, I was grateful for time spent with my friend and my new appreciation for Charlotte.
VISIT CHARLOTTE
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