'Windy Fire' destroys hunt club

It's a first for me. I'm in a deer stand! They're up in the tree 17 feet high! This is where hunters patiently await their prey, be it deer, wild pigs, whatever. I don't think I'd last in a stand any longer than 5 minutes hunting...

We weren't out there to hunt, though it could have been a fun Saturday enjoying the great outdoors with husband William. The "Windy Fire" wildfire of Mclellanville had just burned through Will's hunt club days prior. The damage was quite extensive to the property. This entire video was shot with my little handheld Canon Powershot camera, and it aired on Live 5.

A slice of pizza heaven "now showing" in Avondale

An old renovated theater is now the Mellow Mushroom in Avondale. The owners invited the media out to its "first showing."

They tossed up some salads and pizzas for us, which was awesome! From the menu, I chose the caprese salad with balsamic vinagrette, which included sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves. The cheese added a nice saltiness and the basil added a nice fresh herb flavor that was quite complimentary.

Photographer Gene had the chef salad.

Here are our pizzas! Kosmic Karma add chicken for me (top) and pepperoni (below) for Gene.

CFW Day 2 and Brooke's debut!

My title rhymes!

Day Two was as amazing as the first, and I'll get to that in a moment. First of all meet my fashionable friends!

Deja (tall, center): A small town Alabama girl who is relatively new to Charleston, but she is already a local celeb! www.twitter.com/deja_live5news. She loves going out fancy and hobnobbing with new friends and eating fabulous food with me. AND she's very special individual. She wears her clothes backward and says she likes it better that way... Who can blame her, the dress rocks Deja! Get on that runway!

Brooke (left): The beautiful Brooke has been a producer with Live 5 News probably a year and some change. She's an awesome person, awesome friend, and we'll truly miss her as she moves on in the TV news biz. She has a boyfriend Adam and a puppy Lola, all of whom we hate to say goodbye to in mid-April. It was her first time at Charleston Fashion Week and she loved it!

Here's my fast FASHION RECAP:
Tommy Bahama, a local shop, had the quite sophisticated island life summer line. Lots of navy and white, but at least the classics never die.

Noteworthy from the House of Sage (also a local shop) line was this blue-gray fringy top thingy. "I totally love that!" was all the fashion maven Deja could say!

Notice these pleated shiny pants... things? from emerging designer Stephanie Mejia of NC. Paired with the horizontal slouching of the top, it just worked! This model was perfect for the look, quite fab Steph!


and then there's this guy! Cody Sai Adler-McAllister, of NYC, NY, not-quite-ripe at 23-years-old, can create and captivate like a seasoned professional! He's an emerging designer, but he emerged as my top pick! I'm happy to say we will hear more from him later on at CFW as he was named the "People's Choice" winner and a semi-finalist! His fall line featured had the perfect mix of fabric, sparkle, and shine. Loved the colors for fall -- navy, green, browns, and black. Can't wait to see what else McAllister has in store!

*Nic's Picks of the night*
*OUR OWN PHOTOSHOOT: Who needs models and a runway, when you can have a photo shoot in the Style Lounge? Since this was Brooke's first fashion week experience, we took lots of pics, and snagged some awesome head pieces.

*Anne Hughes and her totally colorful jewelry line. She's just a super sweet, bubbly person. She also went all the way to Italy to create impeccably styled pieces. You may have seen her yesterday on Live 5 News at 7pm.

*Deja's dress, wish we got a shot of the slouchy back I mean front?!?!
*Bama girl on the big screen! #CHSFW tweets scroll on the runway screen during breaks. can we say how #AWESOME

*Running into one of Charleston's top 10 most stylish people, Mimi Apker, when a guy asked for her autograph and I asked her for a pic. Mimi, you superstar!

Until we meet beneath the tents again,

Glitz And Glamour, Live From The Red Carpet!

The kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week 2011! It was my very first time reporting from the "red carpet," and I definitely had fun with this story. My live coverage continued from 5 to 7pm on Live 5 News.

Noteworthy interviews:
Cos Bar (CFW makeup sponsor) co-manager Andrew Petersen at 5pm


Emerging designer semi-finalist Veritee Hill at 6pm


Anne Hughes of Anne Belen Designs and CFW operations director Misty Lister Johnson at 7pm


*Nic's Picks* of the night!
-Copper Penny's runway show. I'm always spending a pretty penny there, and it's where I purchased my coral ruffle dolled up dress

-Barbara Beach's Bb children's line! sooooooo cute!

-my fashionable and fabulous sidekick Deja Knight


-Melissa Loy and the students of Paul Mitchell School, loved the wax sculpting spray for the hair ladies! ;)

-my interview with Veritee Hill and her dark latex and corsetry costume line

-Andrew Petersen turning the tables on me, interviewing me!