Day Trip to Charlotte with Gabby!

Hello, hello! This past Saturday I was in the presence of a blogging goddess.

Gabby and Hannah have created a magical place on the Internet full of happiness and positivity. From their Instagram hashtag #swirlsocial to their always-on-point Twitter, they’re nothing but encouraging, hilarious, and relatable.

I’ve been wanting to meet up with Gabby for a hot minute now because she isn’t super far from where I live in South Carolina, and I wanted her to work her photography magic on me. 2018 seems to be the year of blogger meetups for me (peep that time when Caitlyn came to visit me over winter break), so I had to try my best to meet Gabby before she moves to NYC for med school.

A few weeks ago, I messaged her, and the rest is history. We set a date to meet in Charlotte, we texted back and forth about places we had to visit, and we were both stressing out about what to wear.

** Gabby is an amazing NC based (soon to be NYC based) photographer. Photos in this post were edited using Gabby’s Lightroom presets that she is planning on releasing in the near future. **

Brunch @ The Famous Toastery

They seated us right by the window, and it’s like they knew we were bloggers and needed that #natural light.

Cinnamon raisin French toast is now my new favorite thing. It was like a Christmas explosion in my mouth and it was heaven.

Gabby and I ended up getting the same thing because we could not pass up something that sounded so delicious!

I ordered a regular coffee, she ordered a latte, and during brunch, we started talking about all things blogging and life and getting to know each other far beyond the computer screen. Good talks, good food, and good pictures with one of my favorite bloggers. Could my Saturday get any better than that??

Magic Carpet Murals on the Rail Trail

This was the first thing Gabby sent me as something we had to go do when we were in Charlotte.

According to the Charlotte Rail Trail website:

Jessie and Katey, a Baltimore-based artist duo, have painted 3 awesome murals on the Rail Trail thanks to ArtPlace America grant funding. The 3 vibrant, colorful murals can be found in South End and Uptown. Each mural design is different and inspired by artwork created by the Rail Trail community. In March 2016, the artists paid a visit to Charlotte to host a series of hands-on community workshops and gather input for the final mural designs.

It was hot as hell outside during this portion of the photoshoot, and we sought shelter under this one single tree while we waited for the clouds to cover the sun. Also, the fact that we managed to not be run over by a runner, biker, or scooter-rider is pretty impressive.

Coffee @ Smelly Cat Coffeehouse

Cats and coffee. What more do I have to say?

It would’ve been better if they had cats to play with, but I can’t have everything I want, haha.

The coffee was delicious, and it was a great opportunity to just chill out and cool down because like I said earlier, it was so freaking hot.

…and some more photos

Gabby did not disappoint with the photos. I mean look at these images!! Holy heck is all I have to say.

Gabby,

It was wonderful getting to meet you, hang out with you, and explore Charlotte with you!! I cannot wait to come to visit you in NYC and go to all your favorite coffee shops, bagel places, and #asthetic photoshoot locations. Maybe we’ll get more compliments on our shoes, LOL!

Thanks for an amazing Saturday! (and you’ve totally inspired me to carry my camera around more)

~abigail gray