Hi! If you are new here, I’m Sharlie! Wife to my favorite guy, Benjamin, and mom to six amazing kiddos! Three boys and three girls, we have our own Brady Bunch! I’m also the face behind the Instagram account The Front Porch Farmhouse. I do lots of stories over there sharing our crazy, fun life so feel free to hang out with us over there too!

I had the idea of these day trips a long time ago, but they just sat there at the back of my thoughts (like most of my ideas do!) because I had a baby, our fifth child, Margaret, and I decided to wait until she was one before I started. Shortly before her first birthday, I found out I was expecting our sixth little blessing! Miller arrived in April, but this time I decided it was time to do it! I’m so glad I did! I have such a heart for these towns I visit. I love talking to the owners who’ve put their lives into these hopes and dreams that are in the form of a brick and mortar building.

Friday’s visit to Fountain Inn and Simpsonville is my fifth day trip. So far I’ve visited Abbeville, Laurens, Pendleton, and Easley, all small towns in Upstate South Carolina. Tagging along on this trip was my oldest, Pressley, and my youngest, Miller. I have to tell you…my mom heart was full when Pressley confided in me that these day trips have been the highlight of her summer and something she looks forward to each week.

Okay, enough rambling! I know you are here to find out more about what these two cities offer! Fountain Inn is about a five to ten minute drive from Simpsonville so we chose to put these two visits together. We first stopped at Fountain Inn. I didn’t snap a picture because other people’s kids were playing, but there’s a really cool splash pad area tucked in between stores. Really neat if you have littles! Fountain Inn was charming. As we walked down the street, I noticed a lot of the stores were closed. I’m not sure if was because it was a holiday week or because of coronavirus, but I hoped we would at least find a store or two that we could visit and share.

I smiled when I saw the Black Tulip. First, what a cool name, but then it also had that gorgeous light fixture outside! This store had clothes and candles and dishes. I love seeing boutiques like this in towns. THIS is where you need to run in to grab something cute to wear. THIS is where you need to grab a gift for your co-worker’s birthday.

The next store we stopped in was I Declare (another cute name!). They have tons of gifts ideas and do personalization there. Again, another spot you need to support to grab something as a gift for a teacher, relative, etc.

At this point it was around 11:30 and Pressley and I were trying to decide if we should grab lunch in Fountain Inn or Simpsonville. We decided to wait because we weren’t extremely hungry. We made our way back, stopping to check out this sitting area (if you are a repeat visitor to the blog, you know how much I love these sitting areas tucked in alleys!). The Farmer’s Market is also over here with a pretty fountain and swing area.

Before leaving Fountain Inn, we stopped by Steam Coffee & Cream. I grabbed an iced white mocha lavender and it was really yummy! I loved this little alley right beside Steam. A perfect place to sit and drink your coffee in the shade. Restaurants to visit in downtown Fountain Inn: Tacos and Bla Bla Bla, J Peters Grill, Cucina 100 and Sweet Catherine’s (which was closed, otherwise I think we would have stopped to eat here…definitely my kind of restaurant by the looks of it!).

We made our way over to Simpsonville. Simpsonville’s downtown is sorta separated into two different spots. One section is being totally revitalized and lots of construction is going on. There is a Sidewall pizza that has recently opened there. And a coffee place called Kaffeine. Our first stop was The Front Porch of Simpsonville. I love this store! They offer furniture pieces, home decor, and antiques. Lots of unique pieces here. I got to meet one of the owners, Molly, and she is just wonderful! So glad I was able to run into her there!

As we left The Front Porch we noticed a really cool pub. It didn’t open until later in the day, but we heard praises of the atmosphere! I’d like to go back to visit!

We went back to our car and drove over to the other side of town, which was extremely packed! It was hard to even find a parking place. The Ice Cream Station appeared to be the main reason for the crowd. Since we still hadn’t had lunch, ice cream would have to wait. We checked out the stores. There were a couple of restaurants, a bicycle store called Circle Haus, and a coffee/bakery shop that I made a mental note to come back and visit. We came upon Carolina Olive Oil and I walked in. My stomach growled at the yummy smell! I had the privilege to speak to the owner and I could tell he was passionate about his store. With pride, he spoke of the upstairs bar that had been a popular place to hang out, drink wine, and listen to live music. The upstairs portion is currently closed due to COVID-19 and so he is putting his energy into beefing up the downstairs. He sells olive oils, breads, meats, wine, and even cheesecake! His store was a treat and I urge you to stop in! His intent is to make it feel like a European market and he has succeeded! 🙂

We wandered over to Pink Owl Boutique next. This store offers boutique clothes and gifts, but she also has tables out and offers classes/events for painting signs, etc.

It was time to eat! We decided to eat at Shortfields because they served burgers and Pressley loves a good burger! You can guess what Pressley ordered! I went with an almond encrusted chicken salad. Both dishes get a thumbs up! Other places in downtown Simpsonville to eat: (I mentioned Sidewalls Pizza up above), Papa’s and Beer (Mexican cuisine), Thai Cuisine Restaurant,

We had one last stop to make! A day trip just doesn’t feel like a day trip if I don’t find an antique store! Bennett and Sons Antiques had been in a store that was currently empty and under construction. I asked around (and had some help from my friends on Instagram!) and found out they had just moved a mile or two down the road. But wait! You may be wondering if we grabbed any of that ice cream or visited the coffee/bake shop before we left this area of Simpsonville. Sadly, no. We were full from just eating lunch and the ice cream station was still packed! And the coffee shop had just closed.

Fountain Inn & Simpsonville, thank you for letting us visit your town! I’d love to hear any spots that we might have missed that you’d recommend! And if you have towns we need to visit, let me hear them! I’ve got a list going! 🙂