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

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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.

Pink Retreat Series: Saturday & Sunday, Days 2 & 3

Psssst! This post is part of a series - click here to catch up on all the Pink Retreat recaps!

Welcome back to my next (& final!) post about my experience in Palm Beach at the Pink Retreat! Because I hadn't signed up for any extra activities beyond the walking tour, days 2 & 3 were a little more laid back for me. On the itinerary, day 2 had the option of sunrise yoga and a couple of painting classes. I opted out of painting (no way anything else was going to fit in my carryon anyway) but I wanted to get in on the yoga action (I heard there were mimosas!). Unfortunately, by the time I has registered for the Pink Retreat, all of the yoga spots had been filled (oh well, looks like it would have to be mimosas on my own by the pool instead. Not such a bad compromise after all). That left some extra time in my day to play around with.

Going into the trip, I knew I had to squeeze in some beach/pool/relaxation time (you can't go to FL without heading to the beach at least once!), and since we had gotten all of our shopping done on day 1, we had a hefty chunk of time left, and I'm so glad it worked out that way!

Pink Retreat Series: Friday, Day 1

Hey! Did you know this is part of a series? You can check out the other Pink Retreat posts here!

Sorry not sorry for all of the Pink Retreat spam coming your way. I'm finally getting around to editing the 2.5 million photos I took while in Palm Beach so get ready for an onslaught of colorful content coming your way! (Don't know what the Pink Retreat is? Check out the official website here!)

I'm going to jump right into it here. The itinerary for the Pink Retreat in Palm Beach sounded like so much fun! Even before itineraries were released, I knew this was a weekend I had to attend & would have so much FOMO if I didn't. One thing to know about the itinerary is that several of the events require signing up for and are "extra" like the walking tour, paint nights, and sunrise yoga. All run anywhere from $15-25 give or take and you can sign up for as many or as little as you like (but spots are limited & fill up fast, so plan accordingly). I signed up for the Friday walking tour and that was it, and honestly, it worked out perfect that way.