Florida Travels

Monday, July 18, 2016

Swimsuit Top: Thrifted (Target regashioned by me)
Colottes: Gaurage Sale
Hat: Forever 21 (last summer)
Shoes: Hiking sandals
Bag: Hobby Lobby

After 20 hours in the car making our trek back to Texas, I am finally back home. While vacations are great and I love exploring new places it always feels so good to be back in your own room and sleep in your own bed!

Well, apparently my lack of energy did indeed keep me from blogging the rest of the time I was on vacation, so now its time to share the pictures and adventures with you all from the comfort of my own home. I have to say that Florida is now one of my favorite places I have visited so far in the US (and I have been to MANY states). While I am not much of an ocean girl, I adore sitting on the beach and reading, listening to the waves, and walking along the shoreline collecting shells. Apart from the beach itself , which was wonderful as I FINALLY got to see clear blue water for the first time, I love all the details of island life. 

Our first day to the beach, we decided to drive to Fort Meyers beach. The odd thing about Florida is that every beach is different in regards to the sand and water color. Therefore, when we got to Fort Meyers beach we were slightly disappointed as we were expecting clear blue water, but even though the water wasn't as pretty as we would have liked, the sand was so sparkling and white and the darling beach houses and condo's that lined the shore were a sight to take in. 

As someone who is used to going to the beach in Galveston Texas (which isn't that great), Florida thoroughly spoiled me with its tropical island appeal and I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. From the colorful beach houses, to the palm trees framed by crisp blue sky, it was everything I needed to fill my seaside dreams! 

Like I have said before, countless times, I am not much of an ocean girl, as I prefer to sit under an umbrella and read a good book. Therefore, my beach attire usually encompasses one of my swimsuits and a coverup, or in this case (above) a lovely pair of black culotte's and my trusty "Salt Water" sandals or my water sandals (pictured above). 

While we only went to Fort Meyers beach one day, it was still a wonderful snippet of what Florida had to offer and the rest of our trip was just as GREAT and I can't wait to share more with you in the coming week! 

Have you ever been to Florida (if so which beach did you go to)?
Do you like the island charm such as palm trees and beach houses?

-Madison

French Quarter

Tuesday, July 12, 2016


Skirt: Vintage (Minnie's Menagerie)
Shirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Shoe Department
Bag: Sam Moon 
Belt: Thrifted 

(bear with the shakiness....I am still getting a hang of filming sights)

I have discovered (and decided) why you so often find bloggers in their local coffee shops……we need inspiration fueled cups of steaming coffee, chai lattes, or flavorful teas because it’s necessary to our survival and vital to our thought process in creating and writing posts (whose with me?).

I find myself severely lacking in energy right now, which does appear to be a slight oxymoron considering I am on vacation with my family. However, though we are in Florida and spending a considerable amount of time at the beach, exploring, and collecting shells, the early part of our day is spent at a baseball game. Thus, with late evenings arriving back at the hotel, early mornings rising, and hours spent in the sun ones energy becomes significantly drained after awhile. I thought it would be easy to blog while on vacation but I have realized it is a more challenging task than it first appeared. Nonetheless, I can’t help sharing some my adventures with you all (as they happen) because the sights so far have been wonderful and my camera has been quite happy!

In my lack of energy and coffee (though I might grab a mug back at the hotel?) I am tempted to let these pictures speak for themselves. However, let’s just say that the French Quarter yields lovely pictures and I FINALLY got a picture standing in a small city streetJ Since my sister is quite tired out of me asking her to take pictures ALL the time, I relied on my brother for these shots and they came out splendidly (he actually has a wonderful eye for photography)!

The architecture in the French Quarter is definitely very “French” with iron balconies, hanging plants, tiny streets, colorful walls, and old brick buildings. I loved seeing how each turn yielded new sights and buildings! It is definitely one of those places that you kind of have to put on your bucket list, so that is checked off for me.

Nevertheless, before I wrap up this post (I guess I regained some energy) I have to add that when my mom first told me we would be stopping off at the French Quarter on our way to Florida I immediately started planning an outfit. I knew that it had to be something fitting for the French Quarter and used the essence of being “French” as an inspiration J Thus, I settled on this darling black, green, and white striped skirt that was my grandmothers. This was its first outing and I am totally sold on its simplicity and pure vintage style. I paired the skirt with this embroidered cream blouse, a black belt, satchel style purse, vintage shades, and my new braided “T” strap sandals. It turned out to be the perfect combo for exploring and was actually quite cool (which is a bonus in the heat). 

-Madison

Cafe Du Monde

Sunday, July 10, 2016


Hello lovely readers, I am coming to you for the first post during our family vacation in Florida. The first stop on our journey was to the French Quarter in Louisiana. We stopped off in the French Quarter early Saturday morning and went to Cafe Du Monde, known for their Beignets and delicious coffee and already bustling with customers at 9am. It was so much fun visiting a place that everyone frequents in the French Quarter (and that both my parents had talked about). 
If you have never had Beignets, they are definitely a delectable treat. Basically, they are a smaller crispy funnel cake sprinkled with fairy dust (that was my moms description) or TONS of powedered sugar that gets ALL OVER you (even worse if you are wearing a black skirt). Oh, and the coffee, definitely to die for in the French Quarter and if you don't get a chance to stop off at one of the many coffee shops you can always pick up your own can in a shop (which I unfortunately didn't do). I absolutely loved exploring the French Quarter with my family, but you all will have to wait for another post to see more. 

Have you heard of Cafe Du Monde in Louisiana?
Have you ever heart or heard of Beignets?

-Madison

Recent Faves Pt.2

Thursday, July 7, 2016


Hello all of you lovely readers! I am back at it again with my recent faves, and let me just say that there has been a lot of FABULOUSNESS floating around the internet and blogsphere as of late. I really need to start keeling a list of everything that I come across so that I can be sure to include it in my "faves" posts (note to self). However, lets get started on the faves from the past couple of weeks: 

  1. I am completely IN LOVE with the "Introvert Girl Gang" shirt by Luella......I seriously NEED this shirt because it is spot on and fabulous :)
  2. Does anyone follow Lauren of Chic Ethique? If not you NEED to go follow here right now and check out her recent Stop Motion for her Summer Capsule Wardrobe because it is seriously the greatest thing I have ever seen (I really want to make a stop motion now).
  3. I am absolutely loving the Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleansor! It makes my skin feel so clean, fresh and tingly.
  4. Nicole of Writes Like A Girl had the most fabulous "Palm Springs" inspired ensemble this past week and I couldn't get over the simple colors and 60's vibe. 
  5. I try to get a decent amount of reading done in the summer and typically choose "back in the day" books, so Karen Whitmeyer's Tailor Made Bride was a great read (and I will definitely be reading more of her books)
  6. If you have never heard of Anthem Lights (and love music and covers to songs + some great harmonies) you have to go CHECK THEM OUT because they are soooooooooooooo amazing. Their American Medley in honor of the 4th brought tears to my eyes and filled me with such American Pride!
  7. I think I need to go to Northern Ireland and visit this Library that Rebecca of A Clothes Horse took pictures at in her "bookishly" perfect dress!
  8. Since it is summer and I am working on sewing projects or taking time to relax (binge watch TV shows) I recently discovered Elementary, which is a modern take on Sherlock Holmes and stars Jonny Lee Miller (who also plays Mr. Knightly in the BBC Emma and Edmund Bertram in the 1999 Mansfield Part) and needless to say I am hooked! Our family has also been working through Criminal Minds and finally made it 4 episodes into the 3rd season. 
  9. If any of you know Sarah of Chalkfulloflove (and her fabulous hand lettering skills + adorable mugs), she recently came out with her own book called Hand Lettering 101 and I REALLY need to get it so I can practice my hand lettering. 
  10. One of my lovely friends (who is also a VERY talented writer) started a blog and her most recent post on Honesty (which I had the pleasure of doing photography for) is so incredible, convicting, and true in our culture today. Take a minute to check it out HERE

Well lovelies, that is it for my Recent Faves pt.2. Now I am off to go pack for our trip, which really means I will be trying on outfit combinations for an hour.......needless to say I am excited for the trip but have a bit of planning to do before I an ready to leave early Saturday morning. I will be Instagraming our trip here and there, but also keep an eye out for some fabulous post coming your way from the French Quarter and the beaches of Florida!

-Madison

Patriotic

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Shirt: Wallmart
Jumper: Made
Sandals: Marshals 
Earrings: Wallmart 

It is now two days since the Fourth of July but the Patriotic spirit is still in the air. How was your Fourth of July? Our family had had an impromptu get together with some friends and those small parties are always so much fun. I think the best part of the day was when we loaded up all of us girls into our car and drove to watch fireworks. However, since we had to wait a bit we decided to blair our High School Musical soundtrack and sing alone for everyone around us to hear and then proceeded to do line dances on the sidewalk........it was unforgettable!

I always love creating the perfect Fourth of July ensemble, so this simple look was fun to put together. Remember when I talked about wanting a Jumper in this post, well I finally got around to making it and it is the BEST thing ever! I might have worn it three days in row right after I made it, but that is the beauty of versatility and denim:) Since the denim jumper was already blue all I needed was a hint of red and white to be "all American"...........oh, and watermelon earrings (because Watermelon is the BEST). All in all I had a wonderful Fourth of July spent laughing and dancing with friends!

How was your Fourth?

-Madison



July Plans

Friday, July 1, 2016


Happy July 1st! I can't believe the summer is half over already, can you? June has been great but extremely BUSY (you can check out my June Plans post HERE)! I have been kept busy by my online summer school class, house sitting, working, and attending weddings it seems like nearly every weekend. While June was great and while I did get a number of "To Do" thing accomplished I can't help but begin to feel sad that I will have to move back up to college in 39 days. Therefore, July will be full of getting everything else done that I have wanted to this summer. 
Without further adieu:

  1. This coming Saturday (tomorrow) I am off for wedding #4 of 7 this summer. 
  2. Monday, or July 4th, our family is having an impromptu Fourth of July celebration at our house which will involve hot dogs, lots of sweets, and fireworks. 
  3. Tuesday the 5th I will be rapping up my online class with a few test and assignments. 
  4. I plan to hopefully film a hair tutorial for the blog!!! (keep an eye out for that)
  5. My best friend and I will be hitting our computers to write a book that has been in the works since last summer! Fingers crossed we will finally make a great deal of headway in July. 
  6. The second week in July my family will be traveling to Florida for my brothers baseball tournament which doubles as a family vacation. I am sooooooooo excited as this will be my first trip to Florida an I can't wait to take TONS of pictures!
  7. On our way to Florida we are stopping off at the French Quarter in New Orleans to have Beignet's so I will definitely be doing a photo shoot that day and taking a LOT of pictures.
  8. In addition to baseball games while in Florida we will be hitting the beach and a lovely spring, so here's to more picture opportunities!
  9. I am contemplating opening up an Etsy shop that specializes in handmade classic vintage style midi skirts...........we shall see if that business plan gets started in July. 
  10. Towards the end of July my mom, sister, and bestie will be taking a road trip to Magnolia Market in Waco and I can't wait to explore the grounds. 
  11. The weekend of July 23-24 is a double header weekend as one of my close childhood friends is getting married that Saturday (I am actually making cupcakes for that wedding) and then I have another acquaintance getting married that Sunday. 
  12. In July I will also be wrapping up the summer long Bible Study that I have been hosting at my house called DESTINY.
  13. Ugh.....the end of July means packing up to move back to college.......not completely looking forward to that. 
What are some of your July plans?

-Madison


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