Pack This: Summer Vacation

Who has two sequined mouse ears and is ready for vacation? This girl!

It's been a while since I've had a proper vacation and I'm about ready to burst. A little tip: if you can avoid it, I'd say don't wait until the last week of August to take your summer vacation. I've been SUPER jealous as I scroll through everyone's vacation snaps on Instagram, and I'm more than ready for some summer fun. The next best thing to being on summer vacation is planning for it, so I thought I'd share my packing list for this trip. 

Here are the details:

Destination: 

I'm headed to Southern California for a week -- a few days in Disneyland and a weekend visiting friends in Orange County (reallllly wanted to add a few days in LA, but it just didn't work out. Next time!) 

Goals: 

Mix and match options that will work for sightseeing, eating corn dogs, and having fun. Don't overpack. Don't overdress. Don't overthink.

The Plan:

Neutral tops + fun bottoms

I'm taking 5 sort of neutral tops and tees that all mix and match with 3 pair of shorts and a pair of jeans. I love that I'll have the flexibility to put together outfits based on my mood, the weather, our plans, etc. I'm making sure to include some layering options as well -- this thin, lightweight Zara sweater is perfect for cool nights and aggressive air conditioning.

Easy evening options

We have some nice dinners and a few grown-up type evening activities planned, but they'll still be relatively casual. My beloved romper and this cute dress (similar) are easy options that will fool people into thinking you made an effort.

Cute but comfy shoes

I promised myself I'm only bringing comfortable shoes, but luckily I have plenty of cute ones. These slides are chic and great for hitting the parks or just floppin' down to the pool. These sneakers are sporty/preppy perfection and one of my best buys ever (this color combo isn't available anymore, but there are other cute options). 

Not too many accessories

Sunglasses are essential -- I'm bringing one sporty pair and one glam pair. Two black and white bags will go with everything. A cute and flattering one-piece bathing suit is great for a quick dip in the pool. And I'm not bringing any jewelry (except maybe a watch) -- it just feels too fussy. With ears like those, who really needs more bling?

May Budget

Dude. May went FAST. The good months always do, right? January moves like a slug but May...boom, blink and it's gone.

This month was a story of a lot of happy but unplanned purchases. Plenty of things I didn't know I needed until I saw them. I went quite over budget, which isn't super happy news. There were more than a few things (due to sales and limited release collections) that felt like they couldn't wait, and then a few things I just didn't want to say no to. Here are the numbers:

Starting Budget:

$200

Purchases:

clockwise from l to r:

Zara Multicolor Yarn Sweater ($59) -- I love this sweater so much, though my brain struggled a bit with the idea of purchasing a thick wool sweater in May. It just makes me HAPPY. It's like they made a sweater out of rainbow sprinkles! Marie Kondo gets it. I'm sure it will cheer up some of those dreary days in winter, but I'm also loving the idea of pulling it on over white jeans in the summer, or leggings and a tank for a comfy/chic travel outfit.

Banana Republic Factory Sun Hat ($20, on sale) -- I have always wanted a fabulous floppy sun hat, and now I have one.

Anthropologie Space-Dyed Jacket (n/a) -- I don't count workout clothes towards my monthly budget, but this jacket was just too cute not to share. I sale-stalked it for weeks until it finally dropped to a reasonable price. Love, love, love.

Milly x Kohl's Floral Scuba Skirt ($30, on sale) -- one of my favorite pieces in this collection.

Milly x Kohl's Dolman Maxi Dress ($41, on sale) -- this color is just so cool and inviting. I think it would flatter so many different skin tones.

Zara Leather Printed Wedge ($120) -- probably the primary reason I busted my budget. I can't even describe how much I love the shape of this shoe -- perfect heel height, perfect buckle, perfect everything. At first I'd wished it was in a more basic color like black or solid gray, but the snakeskin pattern has really grown on me -- a fun twist on what is basically a neutral.

Nike Air Pegasus '83 ($37 x2) -- proclaimed my love for these delightful sneakers in an earlier post. Loved them so much, I bought 2 pair!

Old Navy Striped Tunic ($17) -- sometimes Old Navy just surprises you with a gem. This tunic is great as a beach cover-up, but I could also see it belted over skinny jeans and maybe a pair of bright wedges.

Total: $361

Not really sure what to say, other than that it is funny to see how quickly the numbers add up even during a relatively modest shopping month. When I decided to start tracking my budget, I thought $200 sounded like more than enough on a monthly basis. Now that I'm five months into this process, I'm learning that may not be the case. And my spending habits are so unpredictable -- sometimes I want quality over quantity, sometimes I just have the urge to treat myself in the form of a fast fashion binge.

And I find that I am very quick to fall in love HARD with a beautiful dress, a perfect blouse, an exquisite pair of shoes (funny, I'm not at all like this with human relationships). I convince myself that my beloved item is so special, so perfect, and so life-changing that I need to have it...which is fine, except a few weeks later, the cycle starts all over again.

I have my eye on a few things for June's budget, but I'm going to try to hold off on buying for awhile and try to really enjoy all of the great things I've added to my wardrobe so far this year.

Linking up with Fran and the budget bloggers again this month -- pop over and see what the other ladies bought! And let me know how you did this month!

It's kind of a funny story...

Sometimes inspiration comes from odd places. After the Lilly x Target nonsense, I came across a number of articles that referenced this photo (Tweeted by an annoyed shopper who probably just wanted to buy one damn pillow):

I think I rolled my eyes the first few times I saw it, but at some point I guess I gave it a closer look and noticed something interesting: "That lady may have a hoarding problem, but her shoes are damn cute."

A quick Google search revealed them to be Nike Air Pegasus '83s that were sold by J. Crew last summer, but by now this bit of gray and orange and pink loveliness was sold out. Boo.

I did a little digging on eBay and Poshmark for a few days hoping to find a spare pair, but I knew it was unlikely because 1) I wear a hard-to-find (i.e., clown) size and 2) they're so damn cute. I wanted to just forget about them, but pink and orange is my FAVORITE color combo. Also, I have an adorable habit of really wanting things that I can't have...I like the thrill of the hunt.

So tonight I was poking around online and feeling good after scoring a cute jacket from my Anthropologie wishlist (grabbed the last one after a major price cut!), so I thought I'd try to hunt down another elusive item. I actually found a pair on eBay for about $100 with shipping and popped them on my watch list, but I felt like I could do better and figured it was worth it to keep searching...and found them in an unexpected place. 

Kohl's? Kohl's.

Right there on the Kohl's website were the adorable shoes I've been looking for. Truly the last place I would think to look. And that's not even the strangest part: they had my size (and one size up!), and they were on super sale. 

Fate? Fate.

So right now there's a pair (OK, two pair -- I really like them and they were super cheap!) on their way to my happy little feet.

Don't you just love when the sartorial gods smile on you?

PS -- If you want a pair for yourself and you too have clown feet, head to Kohl's and snag a pair; 6pm.com also has a few sizes in stock (in the perfect grey/orange/pink as well as a few other pretty combos).