Stress Management for Couples who Own a Business Together and Charleston, SC

Our first venture out this year was to Charleston, SC for the PAII (Professional Association of Innkeepers International) conference.  It wasn't a trip we had been planning to take, but the stars aligned correctly and we decided to do it.  We are vendor members of PAII and had gone to their conference a few times before.  This year, they had invited me to speak about Stress Management & Preventing Burnout.

Stress Management is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and I have presented on this topic many times to many different groups. (To read more posts about Relaxation and Similar Topics, read this blog) Since my husband and I own a business together and many of the Innkeepers are owned/operated by couples, I was pretty excited about the opportunity.  I had a small, but powerful turn-out for my session.  I got wonderful comments and reviews for the session.  I hope to be able to speak to the PAII members again and maybe branch out into some more topics. We had a good time at the conference, met some wonderful Innkeepers and hope to someday be able to visit more of their Inns.

We took a carriage ride in Charleston, with Sean as our guide and John pulling our carriage.  We got there a little late, but the Old South Carriage Company sent someone to flag down the carriage so we could get on.

A view down a cobblestone street while in the carriage

We then did some shopping at some local shops:  First Stop was Classic Charleston where I bought a couple of Christmas ornaments, one was a hand-painted porcelain and I wish I knew the artist's name, but I'm not sure of the signature.  I also bought a pair of Sterling Silver earrings from Charleston Gate Jewelry.

My next stop was The Spice and Tea Exchange.  I loved this store and could have spent my whole vacation budget in here.  I did get three different kinds of rice and a couple of spice blends.  It was a wonderful shopping experience.  Next I got some wonderful buys on a sweater and a water color print of Rainbow Row at Boutique Henrietta.  Sadly, the reason why I got wonderful buys is because they are being squeezed out of their location because of a large rent increase.  I understand they do have another location.  My last stop for shopping was Charleston Crafts.  This is a must-stop if you love local art.  It is a cooperative and the artists take turns manning the shop.  Betsey Carter was manning the shop when we stopped in.  She does wonderful ceramics, including meditation stones.  We bought a Fragrance Diffuser jar that says "Gratitude."

I also bought a glass Christmas ornament from Don & Carole Carberry.

    

Our last stop of the evening was Bocci's for Italian Food.  All I can say is wonderful.  

I hope you have enjoyed my brief tour of Charleston.  And remember to breathe......

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