Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale Hacks

It’s that time of year again: the After Party Sale is upon us! Which also means there are approximately 8.5 million blog posts about how to shop the sale & this year I’m in that bunch! Y’all have probably read most of these tips, but I’m hoping there’s a few in here that you haven’t heard of before. So let’s jump in!

Staycation, All I Ever Wanted: Westin Chattanooga Hotel Review

*Disclaimer: This post is a collaboration with Westin Chattanooga and Goldygates Photography. I received a complimentary stay, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and based on my personal experience. Majority of these photos were taken by Bridget of Goldygates Photography (contact her for shoot bookings).

There’s something so luxurious and glamorous about staying at a nice hotel. I want to feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, or Eloise at the Plaza (literally complete opposite ends of the spectrum there, but you get my point). I just want to feel like I’m a VIP for the night. I want to eat breakfast in bed, drink champagne in the bathtub, and wear one of those fancy hotel robes while doing absolutely nothing (downtime is a luxury you don't get when you have a toddler).

I love to travel, but since I work a full time office job, I don’t get infinite amounts of time off (unfortunately, we can’t all be Samantha Brown & travel the world on Travel Channel’s dime). So when I need a getaway but I can’t really get (too far) away, I opt for a staycation. Chattanooga has plenty of options for a weekend getaway, but the Westin has always been at the top of my list of hotels to experience. Recently, I was invited for a mini-getaway, and brought along some girlfriends to join in on the fun to live the suite life with me (yes, I went there).

Tampa Recap

While we were in FL, we drove over to Tampa for another daytrip because we like to pack our days with lots of activities & break up the trip with various destinations. While we enjoy laying beachside for hours on end with the soothing sounds of Brian Wilson’s voice singing Kokomo on repeat (& yes, I realize this probably some people’s personal hell. Namely, Brian Wilson), there is only so much beachin’ a near two year old can handle. Keeping her growing mind & busy hands occupied (with something other than fistfuls of sand intended for eating - see my previous post), was imperative to our survival as a vacationing family of 3. But, as Filch would say, we needed to have our wits about us, so coffee was required.

Treasure Island & Clearwater, FL: Things to See & Do

Like travel? Check out all of my travel related posts here!

Have you heard of Treasure Island, FL? Yeah, me either - until our Airbnb travels led us to a little beachfront condo right in the heart of Treasure Island. It's conveniently located between St. Pete Beach and Indian Shores, and not too much further from Clearwater, so it offered beachfront property without the pricetag of more densely populated areas. So we packed up the car and away we went for our first official weeklong beach vacation.

Our condo was actually in a converted motel and while the room itself was nothing special, those fire sunsets right in our backyard were truly spectacular. Plus there was a tiki bar & they had a mermaid cocktail, so I was all in.

St. Petersburg In A Day: What to See & Do

I've been all over Florida (& to Disney/Orlando more times than I can count!), but one city that my husband & I both fell in love with is St. Petersburg. We daytripped during our weeklong stay in Clearwater Beach, since it wasn't far from where we were. One thing that struck me when we were visiting was how eclectic the city seemed - it had a really cool vibe to it, and tons of murals and art everywhere we looked!

If you're looking for something other than the usual theme park or beach day, St. Pete is definitely worth the drive over to spend the day. We were able to see & do so much in just the several hours we spent here (& we even got a late start to our morning because we had to drive an hour back to our hotel for some important baby items we had left), so it's 100% do-able in a few hours, depending on just how much you want to see/do.

Mermaids Have More Fun: A Subculture Coffee Date in West Palm

While I was in Palm Beach, I was lucky enough to meet up with my Disney bestie, Kristen. We met over social media years ago, finally met in person back in 2018 on a Disney girls trip, and basically had a total Step Brothers moment - you know, where you meet someone & just instantly become best friends? She had a beautiful baby girl earlier this year, so she's been rockin' the #momboss label for a while now, but I was so happy she was able to carve out some time to meet up with me when I was in town for the Pink Retreat. I couldn't be that close & not see her, you know? Plus, mommin' is hard, y'all, and I know girlfriend needed a break. So good friends + brunch + iced coffee?? Um, yes please. We will never say no to that!

Kristen is from the area so naturally knows where not only all the ace brunch spots are, but where all the cute instagrammable walls are, too. It was a bonus that the place she picked had both: Subculture Coffee.

The SheIn Dress You Need In Your Closet

I love color, fun, and whimsy. It's not only part of my aesthetic, it's just who I am. I have no qualms about being that girl who's wearing Minnie Mouse ears on a coffee run, slipping into rose gold sneakers for a walk around the block, or way overdressing for the grocery store. Fashion should be fun, and for me, that equates to bright colors, flirty styles, and anything reminiscent of candy & cake. So when I found this dress on SheIn for only $17, it instantly went into my cart.

Carryon Culture: 5 tips to hack your travel like a PRO!

Me on any given day at home: yoga pants (or anything with stretch), tshirt pulled from the laundry basket, ratty flip flops, & hair up in a messy topknot. Total effort: 10 minutes.

Me on vacation: A perfectly curated colorful outfit complete with a fun bag, statement earrings, fancy shoes, an actual hairdo, and full-face makeup (with lashes). Total effort: 1 hour.. minimum, plus the other 500+ I put into to actually planning all said vacation outfits.

Who else can relate? Like I’ve said before, I’m a planner, so it shouldn’t come as (much) of a surprise to know that I curate my vacay outfits prior to a trip (usually months ahead I’ll start thinking about what I want to wear. That’s half the fun for me!) and then the day before, I’ll lay out each look and take a quick photo to actually remember what I packed & what I had paired all together. Obsessive? Maybe. Proven method? Absolutely! And guess what? Those 500+ outfits all get packed into ONE. TINY. CARRY-ON.

The Belk Denim Lab Experience

*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Belk. I received compensation, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and based on my personal experience.

It's almost August, and that means fall is on its way (I can literally smell the pumpkin spice lattes), and with fall comes back-to-school season and all the shopping that goes with it! Lilly is still a few years out from starting preschool, but that didn't stop us from doing a little pre-back-to-school shopping (ha, like we even need a reason)!

I know it's hard to think about cozy sweaters, knit scarves, and all the fall things when it's literally pushing 100 outside, but I like to get a jump on the upcoming season's fashion, and for me, that means denim (I practically live in jeans come fall & winter). In celebration of back-to-school season and all the new denim hitting stores for fall, Belk rolled out a brand new experience, the Denim Lab, to really allow customers to dial up their style. 

Beauty & the Bestie: An Evening at the Nashville Symphony

I'm so excited for you to be my guest and let me tell you all about the beast of a time I had at such a beautiful Nashville event recently! Ok, ok. I'll dispense with the cheesy wordplay (but there's nothing wrong with fanning the flames...a little) :)

So a couple of weekends ago, my bestie, Britney, surprised me for my birthday with tickets to the Nashville Symphony. But this wasn't just your average concert - this was Beauty and the Beast in Concert, meaning, a live orchestra would perform the enitre score of the classic 1991 Disney film in real time, as the movie played overhead (dialogue included). If you saw this post, you already know that any event involving music + movies is an instant win in my book. But adding Disney into the mix? That is literally the perfect evening.

So B & I had a date night, and it was magical.