Weekend at the Beach Packing List

With a long weekend rapidly approaching, many may be heading towards the ocean! While I won't be amongst you over Memorial Day, I'm having a little beach getaway with a friend in a few weeks. I can't wait!

We're only going for three days, so I'm keeping it light on the packing list. I'm not even bothering with jeans or jackets... it's going to be 90 & sunny. Nothing about that says "pants" to me. It's really just dresses, swim wear, and a few accessories.

This will all fit in a carry on with room to SPARE! We are driving... which is tempting to overpack. However! There is no reason to bring a bunch of stuff I'll never wear! Cover ups can be worn a couple of times, swim suits can be hand washed easily and dry quickly, and sandals go from day to night. 

Think about what you'll be doing before you overpack. For this quick vaca, we'll be doing a lot of laying on the beach, relaxing by the pool, and grabbing dinners. There's no reason for me to pack my entire wardrobe or bring anything heavy or too fancy. Maxi dresses will cover a multitude of sins in a sleepy beach town, and my black sundress ALWAYS works several ways on a trip! Choose versatile pieces that make sense. 

Woo hoo! Beach time! Stay safe out there, kids. Plenty of SPF, water, and have fun!
xo

National Parks of New Zealand

If you think the National Parks in the US are gorgeous.... wait until you Google "national parks NZ". Prepare to be blown away.

We're only going to be visiting New Zealand for 12 days (on the ground), and sadly, it's not enough time to hit them all! We've been doing TONS of research and here are the parks we'll be hitting.

Tongariro National Park

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This National Park has a trail that is commonly referred to as "New Zealand's best day hike" (the Alpine Crossing). It was also NZ's first National Park and is a World Heritage site! We're really drawn to this hike with the exception of knowing it can be freezing in parts of the hike (literally below 32*) and very warm in others. We are going to see if this is practical for our time there... but with amazing photos like this... it's hard to say no!

There are also 3 inactive volcanoes in this hike and some Hobbit homes if that floats your boat! There are short (1-2hr hikes), day hikes, and several (3-4) day hikes. A little bit of something for everyone.

Abel Tasman National Park

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This is slowly becoming the park I'm most excited about. It's on the Northern part of the South Island, and is right on the water. From what I've read, it's very moderate in temperature and always enjoyable, and its claim to fame is renting sea kayaks like in this photo. I think it will be a fun alternative to exploring by foot or car :)

Fiordland National Park

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From what I can tell, Fiordland Natioinal Park (the home of Milford Sound) is one of the most sought after attractions in New Zealand. The Milford Sound trek is really famous and you can see why - unbelievable terrain from mountains to lakes. Milford Sound is also one of the most removed places in the entire country - it's 2 hours drive away from the nearest small town, and almost 4 hours drive from the nearest city! What's funny is on the map Queenstown & Milford Sound look very close in proximity, but the protected lands prohibit you from driving the short way. Buckle up, I'm sure it's worth the ride!

Westland National Park AND Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park 

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These National Parks are a 2-for-1 deal - they border each other. While I don't think we'll be in Aoraki Nat'l Park, we will admire it's crown jewel (Mt Cook, pictured above!) from Westland. Westland is also home to two of New Zealand's most famous glaciers, Fox & Franz Josef. Verdict is still out on if hiking ON these glaciers is possible at this time (they are still advancing and conditions are changing), but we will at least do some of the public hikes in this park.

4 photos via 

Even though we won't be spending significant time in these places, we're still going to be driving through a handful of the other National Parks.... which will make the long days feel a little more magical in the car! I grabbed these next three images from Google Street View... which is amazing.

Kahurangi National Park

Pure scenery between Abel Tasman & the next national park....

Paparoa National Park

If you've ever heard of the "Pancake Rocks"... this is where to find them. This beautiful Nat'l Park is right up against the coast, making for a gorgeous drive ahead!

Mount Aspiring National Park

No question of street view here.... but how can you complain about an 8hr drive when you're looking at all this eye candy? Gorgeous.

We're getting closer & closer to leaving.... so excited! If anyone has been to the National Parks in NZ, I'd love to hear any tips, tricks or suggestions! Thanks in advance! :)
xo


Bottom 3 images via Google Street View

What to Pack for the PNW (Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, etc)

I promise I'll shut up about Seattle soon.... but it was just so fun! And the clothes I packed really worked out for me on this trip, so I thought I'd share.

These outfits would work well if you're in the transitional weather we're all experiencing right now - chilly one day and warm the next. They would also work most of the year in the PNW, if that's Seattle, Portland, Vancouver or otherwise. These combos will carry you through a good 9 months of the year.

I used two main bases - a pair of jeans and a black dress. I worked the long shorts in (primarily packed for the Lake Chelan portion of the trip!) once for the wedding, but I could have used them more if needed.

Topshop black dress, $55 / MANGO long sleeve shirt, $16 / American Eagle Outfitters top / Alice Olivia white blouse / T By Alexander Wang white shirt / Flower kimono / Phase Eight print scarve, $57 / Print scarve, $19 / H M black belt, $21

To be honest, I probably could have worn this dress the entire week... and almost did. Lest we forget I also had 2 jackets to throw into the mix! I didn't wear all 15 of these outfits but the point is I could have. The goal is to give yourself PLENTY of options with a limited selection & you'll never get bored in your suitcase! This black dress has seen more wear than anything in my closet.

One great example of using this dress to it's max -- I had been at a coffee shop earlier in the day and it was chilly, so I layered this dress with the chunky knit & flats. 

When I met Cait back at her house, I took 5 minutes to freshen my make up, throw a few extra curls in my hair, add the kimono plus belt & heels, and I was transformed. Cait complimented me & said "it's like I turned around and you were a supermodel!". While she's kind & exaggerating (i'm definitely not a model), it just proved my point - a few accessories can completely transform your look.

MANGO longsleeve shirt, $16 / Alice Olivia white sleeveless top / Abercrombie Fitch racer back tank / T By Alexander Wang white linen tank top / American Eagle Outfitters fake leather jacket / Green field jacket / Long kimono / Michael michael kors skinny jeans / Madden Girl cork wedge heel sandals / Restricted ballet pumps / Slingback wedge sandals, $115 / Phase Eight plaid shawl, $57 / Floral print scarve, $19

Once again, plenty of options for the colder days. Dark jeans are so versatile! Another key is that my accessories were so different - woolly tartan vs. bright chiffon, and longer military jacket vs. black moto jacket.... they change the entire personality of the outfit.

I could wear the striped top with the military jacket & tartan scarf with flats for day, and swap to moto & bright scarf with heels for the night. The right accessories change everything.

Little Mistress strapless maxi dress, $105 / Nicole Miller cocktail dress, $705 / Alice Olivia silk blouse / American Eagle Outfitters biker jacket / H&M chino shorts, $8.10 / Madden Girl wedges shoes / Michael Kors crossbody purse / MICHAEL Michael Kors leather tote bag / Floral scarve, $19


Now for the wedding is where I splurged in my packing a bit.
I re-wore one of the dresses from the bachelorette weekend for the rehearsal dinner. I re-wore my wine tasting in Chelan outfit while I did the bride & bridesmaid's hair. And I brought an entirely different dress to wear to the wedding. BUT! I still used my shoes, purse, scarf & jacket i'd been using all week.

It wasn't necessary for me to bring this extra dress that I'd only get one wear out of. If I was going on a longer trip, I would have subbed in one of my other dresses I wore for the bachelorette weekend.... However, this was the purpose of my entire trip (the wedding!), so I wanted to have something special. What a sacrificed was a 2nd pair of pants that would have given me even more options during the week... but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make and felt very happy with my outfit options! 

Make smart choices with your packing options and know what your limits are. Decide what's important to you and maximize everything else so you can have that thing.

Other PNW Posts You Might Enjoy
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France Travel Diary: Casey in St Tropez

If you read about Casey's experience in Paris, this is the Part II to her French adventure. The second part of her trip was in Saint Tropez! Happy Friday to all as we dream of swimming in the Mediterranean...

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As if France couldn’t get any better

My time in Paris had come to an end and we were South of France bound! After only 50 euros later you too can be on a train heading for Saint Tropez. The views during the 4-hour journey are beyond gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of Napa Valley with the rolling hills and vineyards. Truly God’s country. 

We arrive in the small village of Gassin, which is about a 15-minute car ride inland from Saint Tropez. Everything about this place is adorable. Yohan, Emily’s fiancé, has family there so we were able to stay for free which is a huge financial blessing. The town is on top of a hill so the views were incredible. I would highly recommend booking an AirBNB in Gassin (or surrounding area if possible) instead of paying the high lodge prices of Saint Tropez.

Now we all know what Saint Tropez is known for. One word: beaches! 

Beaches. Beaches. BEACHES! 

I’ve seen some gorgeous oceans in my life; Miami, Sarasota, Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos to name a few. They all pale in comparison to Saint Tropez. The Mediterranean is warm and clear and how the mountains greet the water is picture perfect. There were two beaches that became my favorite.

Plage de l’Escalet 

The color of the water, as you can see in the picture above, is striking. We took a path along the rocks, which led us to a cove. The cove was great for snorkeling!

Bastide Blanch

After a 35-minute walk through a private vineyard and two arguments with the security guards, we arrived at Le Bastide Blanch. It was worth the effort! This one was my favorite. It’s tucked away so it felt like we had this beach to ourselves. We enjoyed a picnic of cheese, bread, and beer and snorkeled for 3 hours. A day I will soon not forget.

We spent the majority of my 6 days in the South soaking up the sun (with 50 SPF, don’t worry Dr. Q!) but there were a couple times that we wandered into town to people watch, day dream about owning the gorgeous yachts in the harbor, and eat the amazing homemade ice cream from Barbarac Glacier.

I was fortunate enough to have most of my meals provided by Yohan’s gracious family. We ate almost every meal together as a family in their backyard garden. I admire how eating together is a priority for the French. I couldn’t understand 90% of what they were talking about but we were together.

The nightlife in Saint Tropez is pretty par to the United States. The clubs are crowded, the music is loud and the men are forward but this girl got to dance! We hit up the “VIP Room” and thoroughly enjoyed the kindness of strangers and their endless supply of Dom Perignon. My favorite part was the confetti. It sparkled and made me really happy.

Sooner than I would have liked, it was my last night. We grabbed some ice cream downtown and watched the sun set into the harbor.


We ended the night by walking the beach of Pampelonne reminiscing about the last 10 days. The super moon lit the beach perfectly for our stroll. I know I will never forget my time in France and will be counting the days until I return. From the cobblestone streets of Paris to the turquoise oceans of Saint Tropez, it was all a dream come true.

To read more about Casey's French escapades, click here!