How to Prepare for Vacation

Hi friends! Hope you're having a great Thursday so far.

Ok, so let me start out with a few things.

1. This post mainly focuses on the packing aspect of preparing.

2. This post contains some not so typical "pretty" blog photos-I wanted to portray the craziness of packing.

3. I tried to pack light for this trip (or lighter than I usually do), but now that I'm here and I've unpacked, I've realized that I brought enough clothes to last me for more than two weeks. Not even kidding. Ok now on to the actual post!

So, when I know I have a trip coming up, I usually start planning a list of things I'll need about a week in advance, and then use one of the days before I leave as an errand day. This errand day mainly consisted of returning a FitBit, spending way more money than necessary at Target (anyone else have this problem?), and visiting the library for the second time this week.

Just a few random products…oh and yes I know the background of this photo looks quite odd, but I had no natural light and had already put my normal photo backgrounds back in its normal place.

 So, after I finish all my errands, I start the packing process. Y'all, let me tell you, when I pack, it is like I am moving. No joke. Every time I go anywhere more than two days I feel like I am bringing my entire wardrobe and heading off to college. (Can you tell yet that I have a knack for exaggerating? :)

For this trip, I tried to be a little more methodical in planning my outfits. Usually, I'll have an idea of the schedule for the trip and what kind of clothes I'll need, but not for this one. We are spending the week in Destin, Florida, where my little brother has a baseball tournament. So, we're technically at the beach, but not really. Anyways, the days here typically go something like one or two games in the morning and then we'll have the afternoons free. I tried to bring an equal amount of casual clothes/ norts and "cute" outfits.

I start out my packing process by laying out a ton of outfit options on my bed.

 I usually will lay out jewelry pieces as well if I know they match an outfit.

I am so obsessed with this new coral poppy necklace!! 4th of July outfit preview :)

 See that pile of books? Yeah, for some reason I thought I should go to the library and get enough books to ready two each day….also see how many clothes I lay out?!

Speaking of books, here are the ones I plan on reading. I read Eleanor & Park on the way up (so sad!), and I'm almost halfway through Yes Please!

Let me know what your book recommendations are or if you want a post about my favorite books!

So after the very difficult process of determining which/how many clothes I'll actually wear, I start to lay everything out on the floor, along with shoes.

From left to right in this photo, I have my "cute" outfits, then swimsuits, dresses, and rompers, then swimsuit cover-ups, then pajamas, and some miscellaneous shoes.

Then, I start to put everything in my suitcase. I put all my underwear, sports bras, tank tops, etc. in the zipper pocket, and then I roll up all my workout clothes, norts, and t-shirts in the bottom of the suitcase.

On top of those, I start putting all my outfits. I roll them all up into one roll, along with matching jewelry. 

On the very top, I put some random polo shirts and my Fourth of July outfit options. 

That was all in that bag!

The other big bag I brought was my Vera Bradley duffle. In there all I had was a change of clothes, all my shoes, and my toiletries. 

Again, I apologize for the bad photo quality….it was super dark!

Here are the bags I ended up bringing, along with a backpack with books and summer school assignments, a pillow, and a blanket. 

So now that you've seen the better of the packing photos…let me show you what it's really like. 

Just a little behind the scenes blogging for y'all!!

Also, I was thinking of making one of my next posts a little more personal!! I just have so many thoughts running through my head about being a senior?!! in August, and I need to write them down!

But, be on the look-out for a 4th of July post, and a post about how I organize my planner soon!! I am really trying to create original posts rather than copy the ones that a lot of amazing bloggers have done, so please comment if there is something y'all would like to see!

Hope y'all are having a great summer!

---Abigail

Hilton Head Highlights!

Hello friends!

So, two weeks ago, my family took a trip to Hilton Head Island, SC! My mom had a work conference, so the whole fam tagged along. We have been going to the same resort since I was about six years old.

We didn't "do" a lot so to speak…we spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach and laying by the pool. I read almost four books on this trip; I was so glad to have time to finally read!

Here's a fam selfie right after we had gotten the rental car…I got three hours of sleep the night before so please excuse my appearance…

Anyway, we had flown into Savannah, GA, and the drive to Hilton Head was only about 45 minutes.

We spent a few hours by the pool, and then we went to eat dinner at one of our favorite places called Marley's Island Grill. We make a stop there every year, and they have the best food!

Here's an outfit pic for ya…

Top: Local boutique / Jeans: The Limited / Shoes: Target / Earrings: Francesca's 

This next spot is not the prime place for a photo op, but my dad and I took the same picture about seven years ago, so we decide to take it for old time's sake.

Outfit: White Shorts: Gap / Tank Top: Old Navy / Kimono: Local Boutique / Necklace: Kendra Scott / Sunglasses: RayBans

The hotel had S'mores one night, so mom suggested we take a selfie. 

As I said earlier, we didn't really "do" a lot (which was actually very relaxing), but one night we did go to Harbour Town. We took this exact same picture when I was about six years old. 

Sib Pic

Outfit: Shorts: J. Crew Factory / Top: Topshop / Necklace: Target / Sunglasses: RayBans / Bracelets: Bauble Bar / Shoes: Target

lol random mirror selfie…honestly the best part about this trip was the fact that we didn't have an agenda. We had a few hotspots we wanted to visit, but during the day I sat by either the pool or beach all day and read. After this incredibly stressful school year, it was amazing. 

Sunset at Harbour Town

This was our last night there :(. We tried to get a family pic, but both of my brothers had stomachaches and just weren't haven it. 

Just a mini rant here…I do no understand how a person's hair looks good in beach pics. Mine flies everywhere no matter how much product I put in it (ok mini rant over). 

When you try to take a selfie with an actual camera part 1

Part 2

Part 3!

One restaurant I really wanted to visit was the Salty Dog Cafe. Unfortunately, the wait was 2 hours, so we opted for its' sister restaurant, the Wreck. Rumor has it they have the exact same food!

But I still got the Salty Dog T-Shirt :)

And I'm only including this one because I thought it was the perfect depiction of what I look like when I'm #hangry. 

So, that's all folks! I didn't take a lot of pics, so these are just the highlights. I hope y'all are having a great summer so far! Please leave comments of posts you would like to see!

-Abigail