Vaca Style Round Up

Vacation 2016 ✔ For this summer's family vacation, we traveled to Ft. Myers Beach, Florida. This year, we were so happy to bring our dog, Milo. We really appreciated all of the pet-friendly hotels and restaurants. It was so awesome to bring the little guy along. I hope you enjoy a closer look at my outfit Instagram posts, along with other pictures and details from the trip! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Driving Day One

Bags packed and car loaded...and we were off! We made a few pitstops on the way, starting with Metropolis! If you know me at all, this was the best start to this vacation because of my love for Superman! We stayed over night in Atlanta, Georgia and ate at Buckhead Saloon. It had seating outside and was pet-friendly, so Milo got to join us for dinner.

Atlanta Look
Vintage

For this night out in Atlanta, I chose one of my off the shoulder tops, a pair of flared high-waisted shorts, and my go-to gold gladiator sandals. I found this adorable shop called Vintage, and I knew this had to be in the background of my first outfit post. There were a lot of really cute shops around with the cutest names!

Driving Day Two

Next morning, we were back on the road. To add to my list of loves, fate came into play this day. We decided to stop at the next rest stop and guess what? There was a DALMATIAN there! I was so excited! I can't wait until the day I have one of my own. I approached the owner and asked if I could pet him and he said yes! He said how well-behaved and lovable he is, which made me fall in love all over again. It was absolute fate, I tell you! So that made my day! So after a long day of driving, we stopped in Orlando at The Cheesecake Factory. We ate at the exact same one on vacation last year and we absolutely loved being able to eat outside and see the palm trees all around us. We all ordered our usuals, mine being the Mac n' Cheese Burger and the Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, and it was all delish. After dinner we searched for a hotel, but they were all booked, so we drove another hour and a half and stayed in Tampa.

Last Day of Driving

The following morning, we had a couple more hours to go, but the excitement kept us busy, so the ride wasn't as bad. So we finally made it to Fort Myers Beach! We stayed in an adorable little cottage right on the beach. It was amazing! The beach access was everything we could have hoped for. It definitely made the 16 hour drive (2.5 days) well worth it...well, you'd have to ask my dad, since he did all of the driving! When we finally got there, I was super stoked to unpack because I had saved up a ton of new clothes! I had a little closet to display everything I was super pumped to wear. I had things saved up from Kohl's, H&M, and a few thrift shop finds, too. I've had most of this stuff either kept in bags or in piles in my closet, so I am so excited to finally share these looks with you all!

Day/Night One
When Your Outfit Doesn't Call for Shoes...

We checked into our cottage at 4 p.m., so my first night look was perfect for our first outing/walk on the beach. I paired a butterfly/floral sweater tank top with a matching pair of palazzo pants. I love how simple this look is, but it's so beachy. If you have been following along on this blog with me, then you know I had to add a lace choker to complete this look. It's safe to say chokers are my all-time favorite accessory. As for shoes, didn't need them! Although, I had some flip flops in hand since we were going to eat. No shirt, no shoes, no service, right?! This night/outfit was the perfect official start to our vacation.

Day Two
Love Not Fear

Can we just talk about this wall first? OMG! These are the kind of walls that fashion bloggers dream of! I appreciate graffiti art and the meaning behind them. I would love for there to be walls like this where I live, but I was so happy to come across this one on the strip of our cottage. The second I saw it I knew I would have a pic in front of it.

So for this look, I threw on my H&M elephant off the shoulder top with my favorite pair of high-waisted jean shorts, and of course, a choker. You may see a theme going on here! For the most part, I threw on my black flip flops so I could easily slip off my shoes for walks on the beach. I love this look and how it pops off this amazing colorful wall!

Swim Look One
Polka Dots

After a day of checking out all around us and stocking up on groceries for the cottage, it was time to relax on the beach and catch some rays. I paired one of my strapless tops with a pair of black high-waisted bottoms. I love how high-waisted bottoms give off a vintage vibe. I'm all about that vintage style!

Day Three
Bright Walls & Dark Roots

Hey look! Another off the shoulder top! This top does have straps but I decided to tuck them in for this look. I paired this top with black shorts and flips. I really love this color of top and it was perfect for this spot I found for the pic.

After mentioning my dark roots, I thought I would mention how I styled my hair for this trip. I have never been one to wake up and just have my hair be styled on its own, but on this trip that changed. I have been taking Biotin for the past month or so and let me just say it completely changed my hair, along with taking a break from coloring my roots. I couldn't be happier with it! It's thicker, healthier, and just a whole lot better. I would shower the night before and let my hair air dry. I have been parting it in the middle lately, and I'm really diggin' it. To my surprise, I was able to either wear it as is with a little bit of hair powder and hairspray, or I took the straightner to it and flipped the ends. I was so happy to find something so easy for my hair, it made getting ready each morning SO EASY and QUICK! I was thrilled! #TeamBiotin

Swim Look Two
Aquamarine & Stripes

For this swimsuit, I chose my other strapless top and black and white striped bottoms. On this day, we went to the beach first and then got ready for the day, after.

Day Four
Neon Florals

I couldn't wait to sport this look on vacation. This top is from JLo's collection from Kohl's. When I tried this on, I could just picture it as a perfect look while in Florida. For bottoms, I chose my distressed pair of white jeans. This look is crisp and fresh. I'm happy to have found a wall that complemented this look.

Swim Look Three
1950s Vintage

This is one of my all time fav swim looks. It just screams 1950s vintage. I also wanted to filter this image to look like an old photo, so it brought this whole vintage vibe together.

Day Five
Lady in Red

I don't have any bright red pieces in my wardrobe, so when I saw this dress at Kohl's I knew I had to try it on. I love dresses because they are so easy to style and so comfortable. I was lucky to find this red striped umbrella on the beach to have that perfect Instagram!

Night Look
Rompers Rule

That night I made an outfit change for dinner. I had also been saving this white romper from Kohl's. I love a romper, just like a dress, it's simple, comfortable, and stylish. I spotted this bright turquoise wall and knew it would be the perfect background for this stark white romper. I wore my gold gladiators with this look.

Day Six
Beach Flow

This dress is everything beach, ocean, and vacation! I was stoked to finally wear this beautiful dress! This dress is also from JLo's collection. The ocean was the obvious choice for the background of this dress. I love the color combination and the flowiness. It's the perfect beach dress!

Pictures from the Trip

When I ordered the Nellie's Mega Pretzel from Nervous Nellies, I figured it wouldn't be as mega as I would like, but HOLY COW was I wrong! Look at this thing! Given this is was an appetizer meant to be shared with others (I did share...some ;)), it's still enormous! I am the Pretzel Queen, deemed by my grandpa, so this was heaven with sea salt to me!

This was def a photo op! :)

Watermelon Sangria!

It also happened to be National Watermelon Day!

Shark Bite!

Yo! Taco was probably one of our favorite meals on vacation! It's the cutest little shack and it's all about tacos! We brought tacos and nachos back to the cottage and it was a fun little meal! I'm gonna miss it!

Oh, what a joy it is to see palm trees everywhere! :)

My mantra! :)

simPLEIGH you!

Had to take the opportunity to create Kitschy Doodles with sand, shells, a feather, rope, seaweed, and even a crab! I love how this turned out!
Check out Kitschy Doodles here!

Here it is pretty faint, but we saw this a beautiful double rainbow. For the first few days, it would rain at the same time in the evening, but would clear up. But when rain brings something this beautiful it's hard to be mad at Mother Nature. We had plenty of sun and great weather!

On our drive home, we stopped for a night in Nashville! I loved the vibe I got from this city! The downtown area was so lively and fun!

We ate at this burger joint called The Slider House. You had your choice of two sliders and a side. It was absolutely delicious! It was up there on our food chart!

I saw this beautiful pizza wall and knew I had to get a pic in front of it!
I LOVE PIZZA!

We had a blast on this vacation! Tons of laughs, memories, and unforgettable beach walks and talks! A folder full of 399 pictures later and a ton of memories made, we were glad to make it home safe.

Until next year...