HAVE YOU EVER TRAVELED ALONE?

San Clemente, California

Lighthouse Beach, Bahamas

Seaford, England

Capri, Italy

Silfra, Iceland

Salzburg, Austria

Paris, France

I don't know about you but it seems like everyone on my Facebook and Instagram feeds is on vacation. Cue the jealousy and wanderlust! I'm excited to be taking a few weekend trips this month (more on those soon!) but I'm starting to think about a couple bigger trips later this year, one of which will be visiting my brother Grayson wherever he decides to study abroad. Time to check a few goals off that 101 in 1001 list! ;)

It got me thinking: with all the budgeting and scheduling that goes into travel, would you ever take a trip by yourself? I don't mean hopping on a flight to meet up with family or friends in a different city but actually spending a few days (or more) in a completely new-to-you city or country. I can't even imagine spending a long weekend alone at the beach (or mountains if that's more your scene) but it definitely speaks to my spontaneous side! Have you ever taken a solo vacation? If you haven't, would you do it and if you have, would you recommend it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. I think my travel tally is 37 states and 13 countries. (Of the above locales, I've been to Paris and Salzburg.) What's yours?!

San Clemente, California

Lighthouse Beach, Bahamas

Seaford, England

Capri, Italy

Silfra, Iceland

Salzburg, Austria

Paris, France

I don't know about you but it seems like everyone on my Facebook and Instagram feeds is on vacation. Cue the jealousy and wanderlust! I'm excited to be taking a few weekend trips this month (more on those soon!) but I'm starting to think about a couple bigger trips later this year, one of which will be visiting my brother Grayson wherever he decides to study abroad. Time to check a few goals off that 101 in 1001 list! ;)

It got me thinking: with all the budgeting and scheduling that goes into travel, would you ever take a trip by yourself? I don't mean hopping on a flight to meet up with family or friends in a different city but actually spending a few days (or more) in a completely new-to-you city or country. I can't even imagine spending a long weekend alone at the beach (or mountains if that's more your scene) but it definitely speaks to my spontaneous side! Have you ever taken a solo vacation? If you haven't, would you do it and if you have, would you recommend it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. I think my travel tally is 37 states and 13 countries. (Of the above locales, I've been to Paris and Salzburg.) What's yours?!

JAMIE BECK IN BRAZIL

Jamie Beck takes the prettiest pictures, don't you think? Her latest trek to Brazil makes me want to pack a bag and book a flight. My wanderlust is in full swing having recently reconnected with my French host mom from my junior year spring semester in Tours, France. Knowing I'm "welcome anytime" in an adorable little townhouse in Europe is just too tempting! 

P.S. Love Jamie's pink dress? (I do!) Here's an affordable option in the perfect shade of pink.

Jamie Beck takes the prettiest pictures, don't you think? Her latest trek to Brazil makes me want to pack a bag and book a flight. My wanderlust is in full swing having recently reconnected with my French host mom from my junior year spring semester in Tours, France. Knowing I'm "welcome anytime" in an adorable little townhouse in Europe is just too tempting! 

P.S. Love Jamie's pink dress? (I do!) Here's an affordable option in the perfect shade of pink.

ITALY WANDERLUST...

Who wants to plan a trip? These pictures of the Augustus Hotel in Forte dei Marmi have me pining for an Italian getaway. Those flowers! The stripes! Someone book a flight and pack me in your suitcase ;) 

Who has an exciting trip planned? I'd love to hear!

*all photos

Who wants to plan a trip? These pictures of the Augustus Hotel in Forte dei Marmi have me pining for an Italian getaway. Those flowers! The stripes! Someone book a flight and pack me in your suitcase ;) 

Who has an exciting trip planned? I'd love to hear!

*all photos

WEEKEND IN ATLANTA!

My mom and I had so. much. fun. in Atlanta this weekend. We picked up a ton of new goodies for Design Darling (I am so excited to roll them out in the coming weeks!!!) and made a little time to take you up on some of your fabulous travel recommendations. Here are a few moments from our trip...

AmericasMart is huge. I've been to trade shows in New York before but really nothing could have prepared me for just how massive this space is: three buildings, eighteen floors, lots of ugly design, and a few really awesome hidden gems just perfect for Design Darling! :)

I was so excited to finally see Ann Mashburn's space in person! The store is beautiful, the salespeople are so stylish I wanted to snap their pictures, and I could have bought one of everything in the store. A must-see!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I'm not a crazy flavors kind of girl but the coffee ice cream at Jeni's was dee-lish.

I got to meet up with two of my college roommates who are living in Atlanta. We had a super casual catch-up night over margaritas at Tacqueria del Sol — I highly recommend. I hadn't seen either of them in eighteen months but we just picked up right where we left off. I love friends like that and I loved seeing them both so happy.

My mom and I wrapped up our weekend with brunch at Sun In My Belly. I was obsessed with these colorful mason jars... And the food was out of this world. The perfect end to a perfect trip! Note to self: get back to Atlanta ASAP! 

My mom and I had so. much. fun. in Atlanta this weekend. We picked up a ton of new goodies for Design Darling (I am so excited to roll them out in the coming weeks!!!) and made a little time to take you up on some of your fabulous travel recommendations. Here are a few moments from our trip...

AmericasMart is huge. I've been to trade shows in New York before but really nothing could have prepared me for just how massive this space is: three buildings, eighteen floors, lots of ugly design, and a few really awesome hidden gems just perfect for Design Darling! :)

I was so excited to finally see Ann Mashburn's space in person! The store is beautiful, the salespeople are so stylish I wanted to snap their pictures, and I could have bought one of everything in the store. A must-see!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I'm not a crazy flavors kind of girl but the coffee ice cream at Jeni's was dee-lish.

I got to meet up with two of my college roommates who are living in Atlanta. We had a super casual catch-up night over margaritas at Tacqueria del Sol — I highly recommend. I hadn't seen either of them in eighteen months but we just picked up right where we left off. I love friends like that and I loved seeing them both so happy.

My mom and I wrapped up our weekend with brunch at Sun In My Belly. I was obsessed with these colorful mason jars... And the food was out of this world. The perfect end to a perfect trip! Note to self: get back to Atlanta ASAP! 

I HEART BOSTON

I just got back from the most picture perfect weekend in Boston with Amy, Carly, and Emily. We went up for the Head of the Charles and stayed in a gorgeous room at the Lenox Hotel (highly recommend!). There was brunch at Stephanie's, shopping on Newbury Street, an afternoon stroll through Public Garden and Beacon Hill... I can't tell you how much fun we had! It didn't hurt that the Red Sox advanced to the World Series while we were there ;) I could totally see myself living in Boston at some point. Have you been? Could you live there? I'm already excited to go back!

*Photos from my Instagram — follow along here!

I just got back from the most picture perfect weekend in Boston with Amy, Carly, and Emily. We went up for the Head of the Charles and stayed in a gorgeous room at the Lenox Hotel (highly recommend!). There was brunch at Stephanie's, shopping on Newbury Street, an afternoon stroll through Public Garden and Beacon Hill... I can't tell you how much fun we had! It didn't hurt that the Red Sox advanced to the World Series while we were there ;) I could totally see myself living in Boston at some point. Have you been? Could you live there? I'm already excited to go back!

*Photos from my Instagram — follow along here!

DENVER BOUND

I'm off to Denver for the weekend and I'm so excited for the quality girl time! My closest friends from Bucknell are spread out all around the country and we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we'd like. Bring on the chilly weather, cute boots, girl talk, sweaters with elbow patches, and probably one too many gin and tonics. Hope you have a good one!

P.S. My favorite travel bags.

*Photos 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

I'm off to Denver for the weekend and I'm so excited for the quality girl time! My closest friends from Bucknell are spread out all around the country and we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we'd like. Bring on the chilly weather, cute boots, girl talk, sweaters with elbow patches, and probably one too many gin and tonics. Hope you have a good one!

P.S. My favorite travel bags.

*Photos 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

NEW ORLEANS FASHION WEEK

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel with Amy, Julia, Liz, Molly and Sally to attend New Orleans Fashion Week. We had all met through various blogging events over the years but we don't get to see each other nearly enough since we're spread out across the country in Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco. Here are a few snapshots from our fun-filled weekend:

Liz and I hosted an in-store event at Haute, a cute boutique that carries Mara Hoffman, Mason by Michelle Mason, and Tibi among others. I was seriously smitten with these colorful chairs in the front of the store!

Liz and I with the lovely ladies of The Grove Street Press. 

We couldn't resist a trip to Jackson Square for beignets. We didn't have time to wait at Café du Monde (next time!) so we found a spot around the corner that was just as good. Fried dough and powdered sugar... You can't really go wrong.

Easily the highlight of the fashion week events was Camilyn Beth's first ever runway show. The 1960s styling, drop waist dresses, and ruffles galore? Girly girl heaven.

Sitting next to Julia at the show. How chic are her Valentino Rockstuds? I pretty much lived in these all weekend.

Cami's sister actually walked in the show! I think we all teared up when Cami came out and gave her a squeeze. Such a touching sister moment!

And Cami herself! It was so much fun getting to meet her and spend three whole days with my blogging buds... so much so that we're already planning our next girls' trip to an equally fun city. Stay tuned and in the mean time visit their blogs here, here, here, and here :)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel with Amy, Julia, Liz, Molly and Sally to attend New Orleans Fashion Week. We had all met through various blogging events over the years but we don't get to see each other nearly enough since we're spread out across the country in Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco. Here are a few snapshots from our fun-filled weekend:

Liz and I hosted an in-store event at Haute, a cute boutique that carries Mara Hoffman, Mason by Michelle Mason, and Tibi among others. I was seriously smitten with these colorful chairs in the front of the store!

Liz and I with the lovely ladies of The Grove Street Press. 

We couldn't resist a trip to Jackson Square for beignets. We didn't have time to wait at Café du Monde (next time!) so we found a spot around the corner that was just as good. Fried dough and powdered sugar... You can't really go wrong.

Easily the highlight of the fashion week events was Camilyn Beth's first ever runway show. The 1960s styling, drop waist dresses, and ruffles galore? Girly girl heaven.

Sitting next to Julia at the show. How chic are her Valentino Rockstuds? I pretty much lived in these all weekend.

Cami's sister actually walked in the show! I think we all teared up when Cami came out and gave her a squeeze. Such a touching sister moment!

And Cami herself! It was so much fun getting to meet her and spend three whole days with my blogging buds... so much so that we're already planning our next girls' trip to an equally fun city. Stay tuned and in the mean time visit their blogs here, here, here, and here :)

5 TRAVEL BAGS I LOVE

(1) Sole Society  (2) J. McLaughlin  (3) Longchamp  (4) Tory Burch  (5) Frank Clegg

As I gear up for my month of travel, I need a travel bag that's big enough to accommodate my overpacking tendencies, small enough to tuck in an overhead compartment, and stylish enough that I'm not embarrassed to lug it around the airport. You might remember my monogrammed luggage from this post but I figured I'd do a little round-up for anyone else who might be traveling this month (or the holidays — how is it fall already?!). Seriously lusting after the Tory Burch but the $70 option is too good to resist!

(1) Sole Society  (2) J. McLaughlin  (3) Longchamp  (4) Tory Burch  (5) Frank Clegg

As I gear up for my month of travel, I need a travel bag that's big enough to accommodate my overpacking tendencies, small enough to tuck in an overhead compartment, and stylish enough that I'm not embarrassed to lug it around the airport. You might remember my monogrammed luggage from this post but I figured I'd do a little round-up for anyone else who might be traveling this month (or the holidays — how is it fall already?!). Seriously lusting after the Tory Burch but the $70 option is too good to resist!

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO TRAVEL NEXT?

In the spirit of this post, I've been planning a few exciting getaways and get-togethers for the next couple months. I was feeling pretty low at one point last week and started brainstorming things I could look forward to. Before I knew it, I'd penciled in fall trips to New Orleans, Denver, and Boston... And I couldn't be more excited! I love spending time in my apartment and New York in general but I'm really overdue for a little travel. A few of the goals on my next 101 in 1001 list (to be shared at the end of the month!) pertain to travel which got me thinking: Where are all of you dying to travel next? Here are a few destinations I'd be most excited about:

Morocco photographed by François Halard

St. Tropez photographed by Gray Malin

Tulum, Mexico, photographed by Sarah Yates

Wisteria flower tunnel in Kawachi Fuji Gardens, Japan

Rio de Janeiro

I'm dying to hear about any trips you're planning or simply daydreaming about. I'm definitely hoping to see at least one new continent and one new country as part of my next list so I'd love a little inspiration from you guys. A little Tuesday wanderlust never hurt anybody!

In the spirit of this post, I've been planning a few exciting getaways and get-togethers for the next couple months. I was feeling pretty low at one point last week and started brainstorming things I could look forward to. Before I knew it, I'd penciled in fall trips to New Orleans, Denver, and Boston... And I couldn't be more excited! I love spending time in my apartment and New York in general but I'm really overdue for a little travel. A few of the goals on my next 101 in 1001 list (to be shared at the end of the month!) pertain to travel which got me thinking: Where are all of you dying to travel next? Here are a few destinations I'd be most excited about:

Morocco photographed by François Halard

St. Tropez photographed by Gray Malin

Tulum, Mexico, photographed by Sarah Yates

Wisteria flower tunnel in Kawachi Fuji Gardens, Japan

Rio de Janeiro

I'm dying to hear about any trips you're planning or simply daydreaming about. I'm definitely hoping to see at least one new continent and one new country as part of my next list so I'd love a little inspiration from you guys. A little Tuesday wanderlust never hurt anybody!