Taylor Swift said “Florida!!!” so we went to “Florida!!!” for a quick 3 days of PTO — read below on how we spent it to kick off summer!
We stayed off St. Pete Beach in the Isla del Sol, only about a mile away from the beautiful Don CeSar. The Don CeSar is a beautiful historic “Pink Palace” - built in the 1920s, lasted through the Great Depression and used as a hospital in WWll but restored in the ‘70s. The Don was beautiful to even just walk around and enjoy, you can even buy a day pass to the spa and pool. It was giving “Palm Royale” in the best way.
The whole purpose of our trip was to watch my brother’s baseball team in their tournament. My brother is a baseball coach, so I’ve watched quite a bit of baseball over the years but his job has gotten my family to visit some beautiful places such as the Cape Cod, the Dominican Republic, and now Florida— who knew baseball had its perks haha. We spent a good chunk of our Florida time watching games, but thankfully we were able to get in some sun time before heading to the stadium.
Our AirBnB had a private beach access which we used every day - it was so peaceful! Though it was Bay Side, my boyfriend Tom can attest that he saw the most sea creatures and wild life walking in the water. He saw schools of fish and brought up sea snails, clams, and urchins while I got a jump start on my summer tan.
What I wore — always the fun part of beach prep! We planned this pretty last minute with the help of a direct $90 flight that worked out perfect timing, but isn’t it criminal if you don’t buy a new swimmy before heading to the beach?
I had been checking out swimsuits for a new one to purchase the past month and settled on this knit Zimmerman bikini. I love it!! My first Zimmerman purchase, and the stripes and knit is very much my evergreen style. It’s also taken me a couple of years and multiple styles of swimsuits to realize I feel most confident in a plain triangle bikini, so I searched specifically for my preferred style. The ties on the sides and back make me feel like I will wear this for a few years at least with the more neutral pattern, too. To pair with the swimmy, I had gotten these knit coverup pants from Zara last summer + (another new purchase) a Lorna Murray hat. The Lorna Murray hats travel so nicely, which is a major plus for hats when traveling to your hat-wearing destination, as well as such an intricate but neutral statement with the woven aesthetic. I loved mine and can’t wait to wear again!
To the Don Cesar, I had to bring out all the pink. This pink Ganni cover up had been on my wishlist since it came out last year and I finally found it on Poshmark. I have been big on finding pieces on Poshmark lately, I have just been loving the older collections better than the current things out online now. I got a large and I love that it fits looser with the tie behind the neck and backless back— I think I will wear this for years and think I can even layer it to wear not as a cover up. Paired with a pink ASN hat I got from Anthropologie last summer, and ASOS sandals from two summers ago.
Some other key outfits I packed and wore were thrifted terry cloth yellow and white stripe shorts (Free People has something so similar for just $40!) with a gauzey button up + Free People sunnies and striped headband — can you tell I love a stripe?
My seashell necklace I DIY’d with a friend was a staple on this trip, totally reconciled a shell necklace for your summer wardrobe. Also, a white strapless maxi dress from a couple of summers ago Urban Outfitters. I have loved this style and material (it’s like a heavy crisp linen, almost like a tablecloth) which has been good worn differently through out the seasons. Had to bring the white dress for a sunset pic, and no not engaged I just wanted the moody sunset frolicking pic :) haha.
Happy beaching to all this summer!
