Thursday, August 23, 2018

{coffee date no. 7 | summer travel 2018}

What a whirlwind of a summer it's been! My suitcase has legit not been put back in my coat closet since I kicked off this summer of traveling over Memorial Day weekend. Trust me, I have no problem with that :) I've been able to see new places, see lots of friends, and make some awesome memories. From bachelorette parties to weddings to visiting Kyle I have had an amazing summer (I also finally got TSA pre-check because of my travels ha). The best part? I have SO much more traveling coming up!! I have one weekend scheduled in DC until mid-October haha - whoops?

I thought it would be fun to share some personal photos with y'all from my trips! Some you may recognize from my IG stories and others I haven't shared anywhere! So let's get started with the beginning of the summer...

Sonoma, CA // Bachelorette Party



One of my oldest friends, Andrea, loves wine (just as much as me - match made in heaven) and said her ideal trip was to wine country. I was practically booking my flight before she finished the sentence inviting me!! I went on a "wine train" with my family when I was little since my grandma lived in California and obviously I didn't get the full experience then haha. I have always wanted to get back out there and experience it first hand. It was AMAZING. Easily the best bach I have ever been on! We stayed in an amazing AirBNB (view of the pool pictured below), all had a king size bed, and we took a bus around to 4 different wineries. The whole trip was so great getting to know the other bridesmaids and Andrea's friends - we ate more cheese and drank more wine than I've ever had in 4 days. [side note: Andrea was my very first friend in 7th grade when I moved to Baltimore! So this trip was extra special to me.]









Seaside, FL // Bachelorette Party



Another bach party! This time for a close friend from Virginia Tech! Kaitlyn and I met because we were both "dreamgirls" for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. So we bonded a lot over late nights with the brothers and formals and date parties. We've stayed close since graduating even though we live in different states. Seaside is absolutely stunning... the water is a dream! We spent Friday on the beach and had a spa night in - which was the most memorable part of the whole trip. Imagine a bunch of girls in matching pajamas, painting their nails, doing strange face masks, drinking prosecco, and then having the cops called on them because a Disney princess sing-a-long/power hour got out of hand. Hahaha yep!! Ironically, Saturday out on the town was a lot calmer! ;) I say this every vacation but I wish I could've had one more day there. I wanted to explore Rosemary Beach and see all the adorable, cookie cutter architecture! I'll definitely be planning a trip back sometime soon.









Key West, FL // Visiting Kyle



This was the only unplanned trip of the summer :) I got a call from Kyle Saturday night, we booked my flights Monday morning, and Friday I took off! It's not easy dating someone in the military so getting this unexpected weekend together after 7 weeks apart was really something else. Don't worry - I won't get all mushy gushy hehe. Friday was spent down at Mallory Square watching the sunset and bar hopping (brought back college memories from spring break)! We went fishing and snorkeling Saturday and caught a bunch of Snapper and Lobster. We ended up staying in that night because a lot of summer storms came rolling through. The next day we took our catch to a restaurant, they cooked it for us, and then we ate it by the pool of our AirBNB. Can you say dream day? The rest of the weekend we hung out, explored, and rode bikes all over the island... take me back!








Hamptons, NYC // Girl's Weekend



This was my second trip to East Hampton with Kristyn, Allie, Dana, and Elle! The Hamptons are so gorgeous but sadly we had a monsoon all Saturday. It finally broke around dinner time and we had a beautiful sunset during a delicious dinner at Moby's. We drank tons of rose, talked about blogging (a lot, sorry Elle), and had some ridiculous dance parties! Turning blog friends into real friends has been one of the coolest parts of this little internet world. Getting to spend weekends together just solidifies how awesome these ladies are!










Chicago, IL // Wedding




The summer came full circle when I visited Chicago for Andrea's wedding! My little sister (not my twin lol), Samantha, has lived in Chicago the past 3.5 years so anytime I can make a trip up there to visit her I jump on it! I flew up early Thursday morning and we spent the whole day together - exploring Chicago more, going on the Ferris Wheel in Navy Pier, and then hitting a dive bar with 70 cent wings that night. Friday afternoon I checked into the stunningggg Langham Hotel and began my bridesmaid duties for Andrea!! I'm still nuts over the green dress I wore Friday night and our floral bridesmaid dresses - so different than any other bridesmaid dress I've seen! The wedding was picture perfect, as was the bride and groom :) Fun fact, I've been Grant and Andrea's 3rd wheel a couple times before haha so it was only fitting that I said goodbye to the two of them over brunch on Sunday morning! After brunch, I met up with Samantha at the dog beach to play with her two dogs, Rufus and Griffy. That was a sight for sore eyes! Chicago easily has a piece of my heart - it's just such a cool city!





Jenna, another friend from high school!

Samantha and Griffy playing in the water








So what's next on my crazy travel agenda?! I'm heading to visit Kyle again this weekend in Tampa, Florida!! My last trip visiting him was too short (it always is) so I'm going to be there through Monday and getting back to DC late that night! I'll see him a couple more times in September/October so that will make the goodbye easier [we all hope...]. Labor Day Weekend I'm headed to Baltimore to see my mom and best friends from high school - hello, pool time! Then I'll be in DC for a weekend and I'm excited because my college bestie who lives in NYC will be visiting for a wedding! After that my flight travel becomes comical :) I'm flying to Providence, RI 4 weekends in a row. Yes, you read that right!! Once to go to Nantucket with my Confidence Co girls (will do a post on that soon!) and then the last 3 times to visit Kyle - we're hoping to visit Block Island and Martha's Vineyard. I wrap up my travels mid-October [technically that is NOT summer I realize] with Kaitlyn's wedding in Virginia that I'm a bridesmaid in! Phew!!

I absolutely love traveling but I'm a little exhausted reading all that upcoming flight time! You can probably understand why I never put my suitcase away! My luggage has held up SO well and just proves that investing in a quality piece was worth it (I own the 28" and 21" carryon spinner)!

What's been your best trip this summer? Any fun Fall plans? Let me know below!


Love Always,

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

{light blue off the shoulder romper}



If I could live in rompers I would. They're one of my favorite things to pack - it's pretty much a whole outfit in one!



















I wore this cute lil romper in Key West and then brought it with me to the Hamptons! It's meant to be worn off the shoulder but I was playing around with styling it and let one side hang off. Because of the elastic you can't even tell that it's not intended to be only on one shoulder! I love that it can be worn multiple ways - more bang for your buck! (It's already so cheap at only $16)




I got a Medium because I'm always worried about length, but I think I could've easily gotten a Small and still had length in the shorts. They're a pretty conservative length. The fabric is cotton and the waist tie isn't attached so you don't have to tie it around the waist if you don't like it - I think the bow adds a nice little detail though :) Overall, I am really impressed with the quality of this romper and can't recommend it enough!

Love Always,
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