Kotor, Montenegro Photo Diary

Yesterday marked ONE YEAR since I was in this wondrous, magical land known as Kotor, Montenegro.

TANK: Borrowed from bestie // LEGGINGS: Target // SNEAKERS: Nike // AVIATORS: LOFT // BACKPACK: Target // FITBIT: Target // LIPSTICK: Marc Jacobs in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I've had this blog post ready to go for months, but hadn't found chance to post it. Now's as good a time as any.  Open the full blog post to see and read more about our visit (me and the bestie) to Kotor Bay.

A Day in Captiva and Fort Myers

Hello after another unintentional hiatus! I've been busy with work and studying for the NCMHCE, but here I am today with a blog post from a gorgeous February day in Captiva and Fort Myers. 

Beach Formal Wedding in Paradise

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! 💕

So I spent my weekend at a therapist friend's destination wedding in Captiva Island, FL. The weather could not have been any more perfect-- there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was nice and cool all weekend. All the wedding celebrations took place in the South Seas Island Resort. It was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to, and not just because it was in paradise. But paradise it was! Just look below!

This shot above was taken by the wedding photographer (@setfreebrandon on Instagram).

Anthropologist Style in Ancient Greece

Well hello! I started my new job and have fallen behind on my Mediterranean cruise sharing extravaganza. Today is all about our excursion from the port at Piraeus to Sounion and Athens. I begin with the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion and then we move on to the wonderful buildings of the Acropolis in Athens.

The beautiful Temple of Poseidon, as seen from the eastern side

For Athens and Pompeii I wanted to wear something very anthropologist-like. I was an anthro major in college, so it makes total sense. I went with this breezy blouse with an interesting print to it-- reminded me of the patterns in Ancient Greek vases. Such a nerdy thought process now that I think of it. I just really like matching my outfits to the places I'm visiting. Lol. Then I went for this white scarf with tassels from Francesca's, because it just seemed like something my archaeology professor (the amazing Dr. Geller) would have worn. The distressed jeans I did more for the modern aesthetic of Athens. I also added some dangly leaf earrings (like the leaves in the ancient Greek crowns!) which you can see in a selfie below, some aviator sunglasses (because aviators are the official explorer sunglasses in my mind), and my gray TOMS for comfort. Yeah, I take this travel dressing thing really seriously. 😂

Tour headset covering my LOFT arrow necklace!

Blouse: LOFT // Jeans: J. Crew // Shoes: Toms via Nordstrom

Scarf: Francesca's Collections // Backpack: Target // Sunglasses: LOFT
Necklace: LOFT // Earrings: LOFT // Fitbit Charge HR: Target

Bracelets: Candles & Confetti bangle, Maria Shireen hair tie bracelet,
Asos heart bangle (similar)

Click to continue reading!

Aix-En-Provence et Marseille

Aujourd'hui, je vous présente ma journée à Aix-en-Provence et Marseille. 💙

Our cruise stopped in Toulon, France but we opted to take the Aix-en-Provence and Marseille tour. There were also options for Nice or St. Tropez. I had never been to the south of France and I am a huge Francophile so I would have loved any and all of these places. But this excursion was not my favorite because it left us such little time in beautiful Marseille.

These outfit photos were taken atop the Notre Dame de la Garde. It is SO windy up there! Marseille in general is apparently infamous for its winds. I feel like I should have known that as a huge Francophile but I did not! This was in May so I went for this Maison Jules blue floral print dress which photographed well but I kept flashing everyone the whole time. There's strong breeze down below but up at the top of Marseille it is seriously gusty.

As with my previous travel posts, I begin with the outfit photos and details and then show you some of my favorite photos and moments. 

Dress: Maison Jules via Macy's // Cardigan: Jeanne Pierre, Macy's // Sandals: Steve Madden // Wedges: BC Footwear // Backpack: Target (similar now $8.98!) // Fitbit Charge HR: Target // Bracelets: Candles & Confetti bangles, Maria Shireen hair tie bracelet// Earrings: LOFT

Dress is sold out out -- below are alternative prints of the same dress.

(click view the complete post to read and see more!)

Breathtaking Dubrovnik: A Photo Diary

Today is all about my favorite port we went to: Dubrovnik, Croatia!

I had zero preconceived expectations for Dubrovnik because I didn't know much about it, other than it being the site of King's Landing on Game of Thrones. I am a HUGE GoT fan so I was pretty excited about this port. Well, it turns out I was absolutely captivated by the medieval magic of Old Town, which is everything you see inside the walls. The Middle Ages are my favorite history period, and because Old Town is perfectly preserved (or carefully reconstructed in some parts), I was having all kinds of history ogasms, as I playfully call it. I can see why it was chosen as a filming location for Game of Thrones. Now every time I watch it I'm always on the lookout for familiar views. And while I was there I was also trying to figure out which scenes were filmed where. 

So because this photo diary is so massive, I've divided it into sections. I'll start with my outfit + details and then take you through my day.

*My fellow GoT nerds: Keep scrolling near the end for a whole section on GoT.*

Dress: Old Navy (now $9.99) // Jacket: Urban Outfitters // Bandana: Vintage // Shoes: Levi's // Sunglasses: Romwe // Backpack: Target // Fitbit Charge HR: Target

ATTENTION: This Old Navy gingham dress is now $9.99!

And now, open the blog post to view the complete photo diary:

My Day in Mykonos (+ $1000 ASOS Giveaway! - now closed)

Blue skies smiling at me... Nothing but blue skies do I see. 

  

Blouse: LOFT // Pants: J. Crew // Sandals: Steve Madden via Macy's // Hat: Target // Backpack: Target (check out this nearly identical one for $8.99!) // Sunglasses: LOFT // Bracelets and Necklace: Candles & Confetti (similar necklace) // Ring: Murano glass souvenir from Venice

SHOP SIMILAR:

Hi everyone!

So I'm FINALLY getting around to sharing my outfits and favorite photos from my Mediterranean cruise in May and June, which I went on with one of my lifelong best friends. I decided to start with Mykonos even though it was the 4th port we went to because my outfit was very spring/summery so I wanted to put it out there first, before I get into the more fall-appropriate posts.

This day was a memorable one to say the least-- we were dead tired from the activity of the previous few days so we woke up around 11 am, which is SUPER LATE when you're on a cruise! We had to be back on the ship by 3:30 or 4:30 (can't remember) so we didn't have much time on the island and never quite made it to Paradise Beach. But we still managed to explore the little streets and have some Greek food and take tons of pretty pictures of the beautiful blue and white surroundings!

May Recap + Sunnies and Sports Bra Giveaway! (now closed)

Hello, hello! I am back from vacation in the beautiful Mediterranean, back to work, and back to blogging now that my internet is working again. This May review is a little a lot late but I wanted to do it anyway. Who cares if it's already June 11th. 

There's a lot going on in this post so let's organize ourselves here.

1. First there's the May review of my blog posts + favorite Instagrams.
2. Then there's basically all the Instagrams I shared during my amazing Mediterranean cruise.
3. And finally there's a giveaway to reward your patience in getting through the whole post! Haha.

shots from my regular MIAMI life

May BLOG POSTS

VENICE

DUBROVNIK

aka King's Landing on Game of Thrones!

MONTENEGRO

ATHENS and MYKONOS

CINQUE TERRE

ROME

AIX-EN-PROVENCE and MARSEILLE

BARCELONA

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Ok, so this is what I'm giving away! I loved this Albion Fit sports bra so much, you guys. But it didn't fit because I ordered the wrong size. I think it does fit like a true medium, I'm just in denial about being a large so I ordered a size too small. 😂 And I'm also giving away these two sunglasses I bought from Romwe. I love them but I seriously have too many sunglasses, so why not give them away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading and entering! 😊

Fou dans la Boue at Anne's Beach

Bathing suit: Victoria's Secret // Hat: Target // Clutch: Kate Spade // Sunglasses: LOFT // Bracelets: J Crew, JustFab

This day was so fun, you guys. Marion and I had just eaten at the Morada Bay Beach Cafe and then we headed to the only beach at Islamorada, Anne's Beach. Honestly, it is crap. Miami has hands down the best beach in FL, possibly the country. But in Anne's Beach the word of the day was "fango," or "boue." That's Spanish and French for "mud," respectively. You see, Marion's English is coming along, but my spoken French is awful. But since she also knows Spanish and I couldn't translate "mud" in French, I tried the Spanish word "fango" but that didn't work so I just consulted with Google Translate and learned a new French word: boue! Seriously, so much boue. The sand is pure fango! You try to go in and you just feel yourself sinking into the sludgy earth beneath you. Not a pleasant sensation whatsoever.

So while we were there we had tons of fun taking all these pictures and then some. How cute is Marion's Kate Spade watermelon clutch?? It's the perfect little summer statement piece and inspired me to just start jumping out of nowhere. Lol. 

Looking forward to our next adventure, Marion!

You can follow Marion's picturesque Instagram feed here (@m4liami).