long weekend ready

Like any proper Southern Belle, I received a matching set of Vera Bradley luggage & accessories upon High School graduation. The hot pink motif was my signature look & it covered all of my luggage (weekend bag, flat iron cover, make-up box, school books tote, & hang-up bag), & went with me from my dorm room, to class, to holiday trips. I still have every piece, hoping to one day pass it on to my daughter. Even after almost 10 years post High School graduation, I am impressed with the pristine condition in which it has remained.

As I enter this new chapter of my life, I am excited to have a new set of Vera luggage coming with me. I am obsessed with this black & white print (love the pop of neon yellow!), & as always Vera blows me away with her attention to details. I can't be the only one who's love language is pockets! With inside & outside pockets for EVERYTHING, each piece that this brand puts out clearly has had extreme thought & consideration. 

{ What I Wore from work to travel: J.Crew Panama Hat // J.Crew Factory chambray shirt & black pants // Vera Bradley travel bag and make-up case ℅ }

all photos | Kate Davis Photo 

My travel bag is ready to go for a long weekend trip to see my bestie in Texas this weekend, & I might be even more excited about my high level of organization than the outfits I have planned.

I also adore the new makeup case - with special pockets for brushes, make-up & larger skin care products. Check out my 3 must have travel products below:

Travel essentials: Murad spot corrector // Bigelow & Co rose salve // Living Proof "perfect hair day"

While the quilted cotton bags from Vera will always be a classic in my book, I am also enamored with their new line of leather goods. Shop my favorites here: leopard wallet, drawstring backpack, accordion clutch, shoulder satchel.   

What are you long weekend plans? Packing bags for a trip? Or staying close to home?

This post is sponsored by Vera Bradley, through a partnership with Adorn Media Group, but all thoughts & reviews are my own.

Wedding Wednesday: Honeymoon Packing + a Giveaway

Wedding Wednesday is back, this time with tips on keeping sane while packing for the honeymoon.

Tyler & I were very blessed to have a 2 week honeymoon. 1 week spent in Antigua, a night in NYC, & then another week in Oregon. Because my idea of a good time is lugging around non-rolling bags through the cobblestone streets of SoHo, I opted to take ALL THE THINGS for the 2 weeks with me… packing light was the idea, but I definitely had both successes & failures in that front...

Successes:

- Only 4 pairs of shoes for 2 weeks! And I loved all of my choices. Metallic sandals for the pool, wedges for the beach, nude heels for nice dinners, & peep toe booties for NYC/Oregon.

- Do pack things that make you feel bridal… milk that shiz while you still can! A white bathing suit, things that say WIFE, white dresses, & all the frilly things your girlfriends gifted you on the bachelorette weekend!

- Remember the little things. You just got a gel mani for the big day, keep it looking fresh with some top coat. If you are like me, embracing the bridal look with lots of white is just an accident waiting to happen, be sure to pack mini stain remover/delicate laundry soap too!

- Being very conscientious about repurposing things. A scarf can also be a belt. A beach bag transforms to a carry one. You can wear your beach towel as a wrap. And with the right shoes/accessories, only pack dresses that can transition easily from day to night.

- Sticking to a color palette. By packing lots of baby blue, white, and gray with pops of red I was able to really maximize my mixing and matching potential.

Failures:

- Too many dresses. In my defense, I really didn't know what to expect in terms of dress code at our resort, so I packed everything from super casual sundresses to more formal maxi gowns for evenings. I really could have gotten away with only packing three dresses… this, this & this.

- Too many accessories. I packed SO many options, and wore barely anything. When you have a new blingy diamond ring on your finger from your HUSBAND, not much else matters.

- Packing 2 bags. I should have gotten my act together and whittled it down to only fit in 1 checked bag + carry on. Luckily I had my big strong hubby to tote those bags around, & dang did he look good doing it!

- Not staring early. At the last minute I realized that I really, actually, probably needed to pack. So the whole process was much less intentional than I original intended. And I definitely suffered from the 12th hour, cram as much as you can into the bag-itis!

Check out all my Honeymoon Style posts (so far) on the blog here. 

And now, what I packed & actually wore (not listing all the other non-essential dresses/accessories):

1 blue sundress // 2 Panama hat // 3 scarf, I wear it on my head to blog forehead burn // 4 Jack Rogers sandals, the platinum color goes with everything! // 5 Everlane tanks (white & gray) // 6 white swim suit // 7 romper // 8 black wedges // 9 tortoise sunglasses // 10 Fujifilm Instax mini 8 polaroid camera // 11 maxi skirt // 12 Michael Kors cross body bag, hands down my most complimented item the whole time, and such an easy way to keep everything organized while traveling (it even has a padded iPad mini/Kindle pocket) // 13 Levi's denim shorts // 14 floppy hat (I stuffed this one with swimsuits and put it in my checked bag, it arrived just fine!) // 15 white dress // 16 beach tote (works great as a carry-on bag too!) // 17 MiH watermelon top // 18 white crop top // 19 beach towel, also works as a post beach wrap! // 20 snorkel (because who wants to pay to borrow a used one… ew!) // 21 nude heels

Also threw in a leather jacket & denim jacket for the cool nights in NYC and Oregon.

Not numbered/listed:

Ily Couture "wifey tee"// white bow top (as seen in this Instagram) // Palazzo pants (worn here) // Maxi wrap dress (perfect for traveling!!) // Chevron dress 

If you are looking for how I actually put everything into my bags, my friend recently posted her packing tips & it was exactly what I wanted to say, but better… check it out here.

If you are planning Summer travels, you won't want to miss today's giveaway for a $100 Target gift card… I was just there this week & their Summer style section is amaze!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

trippin' NYC

It is getting to the point where I can no longer contain the excitement I have for wedding dress shopping with my sister this coming weekend. The only time I have been to New York City was for less than 12 hours during an unfortunate layover.... 

so this 3 day trip is a dream come true!

I have read up on how to not dress like a tourist in NYC, but since I can't bring this fabulous Kate Spade capsule wardrobe with me, I have been plotting how to put together stylish outfits for a weekend, while only packing a small carryon. 

These key 14 pieces are either exactly or very close to what I have currently piled on my bed to come with. 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14

Besides wedding dress shopping at J.Crew, Macy's & The White Gown, we hope to eat good food, try tasty cocktails, check out a museum or two, peruse the Brooklyn Flea & try our luck at last minute Broadway ticket scouting!

My carry-on packing tips:

- Wear your bulkiest items on the plane

- Pack two shoes max (if I can do it, you can too!)

- Keep the color palette neutral

- Maintain a constant pop of color

- Plan ahead for versatile layers 

How do you travel lightly & in-style?

gobble gobble all the way to Arkansas

On the road again, this time home to Arkansas to visit the family (AKA eat, relax, and get loved on!)

Top 5 things I am looking forward to:

1. Seeing my older sister (first time since she found out she is preggers... with TWINS!)

2. Sitting in front of the fireplace with my Dad 

(looks like it is going to be a little hot for a fire, but he never can resist)

3. Catching up with my girlfriends from high school 

(one of my besties just happens to be my next door neighbor now!)

4. Eating, Eating, and more Eating... 

My Sissy is the bestest cook!!

pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing, and lots of leftover turkey sandwiches (with ranch)

5. Being surrounded by those that I love 

(and enjoying turkey induced food comas with them!)

Again, I am trying my less-is-more mentality when it comes to what I am putting in my suitcase 

(see my first packing guide for my trip to Chicago last month here)

This time around I am focusing on warm fall colors (mustard, chocolate brown, deep red), and tan neutrals to make my mixing-and-matching go farther

Pants: 

Gap mustard corduroys, Madewell jeggings, Genetic Denim skinnies, J.Crew cargos, BR plaid skirt

Tops: 

J.Crew ivory blouse, Free People ivory blouse, BR mustard blouse, StyleMint Red Abott Kinney shirt, J.Crew brown wrap sweater

Coats:

Navy blazer, Old Navy fur vest

Shoes: 

Tory Burch Reva flats, Vince Camuto derby heels, Charlotte Russe wedge booties

I always throw in a couple extra tops last minute... I seriously can't help myself!!

use it up, wear it out...

I recently heard a quote that has changed the way I look at things:

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". 

As silly as it sounds, the first place I thought to apply this, was to my closet! I always am wanting to add a piece of clothing that is the latest trend, or just because I "want" it, not because I actually "need" it. I don't actually NEED anymore clothing, nor am I going to stop buying clothing, I just want to make a conscious effort to buy quality, classic, versatile pieces that will suit my overall aesthetic, work with a lot of things in my closet and go the long haul with me as I transition from grad school to real life. My most recent purchases have been a black cable knit sweater, and a black shirt with crochet details, so when I recently traveled to Chicago for a long weekend, I wanted to see how these two pieces could fit into my wardrobe. I focused on outfits for the weekend around a black, olive, and pink color scheme. 

I narrowed down what I needed to pack to these items:

Bottoms: Pink skirt, skinny olive cargos, skinny dark jeans
Tops: black cable knit sweater, black crochet top, white tank, chambray button down, red shirt (for the Razorback game!)
Outerwear: Olive Coat, Khaki Jacket
Shoes: black ballet flats, black heels, khaki wedge booties
Accessories: Pink scarf, blue scarf, gold watch, gold cross-body bag, gold chain necklace, gold armadillo belt

On the day of departure (Thursday), I wore a comfortable outfit for the 8 hour car ride. At the base, is the black crochet shirt, and also my favorite skinny cargos (J. Crew)

When we went sight-seeing around town (Friday), I wore the black crochet top, and lots of layers (chambray shirt, pink scarf, olive coat) to protect from the downtown winds! And my comfortable khaki wedge booties (best $15 spent!) for walking all over!

 On the night (Saturday) of our 2nd Halloween celebration (after being Jessica Rabbit), I paired the black cable sweater with pink ruffled skirt,  black heels, and my panda hat!
More Chicago pictures and details to come...

mini vacation to the windy city

This weekend I am headed up to Chicago to enjoy Halloween festivities and hopefully meet up with my girlfriend Ashley who relocated there this summer. This is my first time visiting the Windy City, and I am excited, and perplexed about what to wear! I don't know how to dress "cute" for going-out in freezing weather! I am notoriously an over-packer, of the more-is-more variety, but thanks to some helpful packing guides recently posted by a couple of fabulous ladies, I am hoping that this is the beginning of my reformation.
Geneva of A Pair and a Spare Posted this list (here):

And Jessica of Flourish, recently put together this beauty (here):

I was inspired by both ladies, and picked neutral base layers/basics in the black/olive families, and added a couple of nice tops/scarves/accessories in pink/gold tones. I think I will be able to create a number of looks from what I picked out... hopefully ones that are both warm and cute! It is hard to pack "light" when heavy clothing is involved, and added to that, I had to pack a costume for Saturday night as well. Despite my excuses, I think I pared down what I "wanted" to take, to a reasonable amount of what I "need" to bring along.

P.S. I talked Ty into a couple costume this year- we are going to be Roger and Jessica Rabbit. Pictures to come!