3rd Annual Best Friend Trip: The Fingerlakes, NY

It feels like it's been forever, friends!!!!! I am so happy as I write this post because I truly had so much fun the weekend of this trip. I have posted about the other two best friend trips Cristina and I have taken so I couldn't leave this one out :) There were an array of different places on the table to choose from for our trip this year but let's face it, the Finger Lake region was the perfect choice!

We stayed in the Watkins Glen area of Seneca Lake and it was absolutely phenomenal with the most breathtaking views. Here is a pictorial rundown of some of what we did, enjoy!

• We stayed at a quaint little bed and breakfast called Lake Valley Legends. It was located a block from the center of town and the house owners and other guests were so pleasant. I would definitely return there again. Above is a photo of our room. It was decorated with all authentic German trinkets from a trip the owners had taken :)

• Our first night we walked down to the little village by our bed and breakfast. We obviously chose to eat at the place that smelled the best from the sidewalk haha Nickels Pit BBQ, DELICIOUS! 

• Breakfast each morning at the house was scrumptious! Yogurt, fruit and granola parfaits, fresh OJ, apricot points and even a delicious Amish casserole the last day. Nothing like a home-cooked meal to start the day!

• Watkins Glen State Park was the main reason we chose this region of the finger lakes. This state park is constructed of beautiful gorges and so many stunning waterfalls! The hike up and down are approximately 2 hours with a nice place to grab a snack or in our case, guzzle down a bottle of water at the top. Come prepared with water and the earlier you get there the better, on weekends it gets packed!

• After  along hike, we needed some sustenance :) Garcia's Mexican Restaurant had recently opened so we took advantage and enjoyed every bit! (The hot salsa is the best! For someone who likes spicy things, I was pleasantly surprised with how awesomely picante the salsa was, guacamole was super fresh as well, win!) 

• Can't visit the finger lakes and not do a wine tasting at one of the dozens of wineries there! We chose Lakewood Vineyards for our tasting although there are a ton along the same road which many people follow the wine trail for. After one tasting, we were off to our next adventure, boy was the vineyard marvelous though.

• Funny moment: Cristina catches me running down the road, tripod in hand. The things we did for the perfect photo that day! hahahaha

• Taking the afternoon to explore the country side, no GPS or itinerary was such a wonderful idea. the rolling hills, rustic barns, farm animals and little stands like above are what made me really appreciate the entire trip. There are so many places here in the US that are so absolutely beautiful, nature is a beautiful thing. Above, we stopped roadside to get some homemade goats milk soaps--there were even real goats right behind the stand, talk about authentic! ha!

If you are in the metropolitan area and looking for a great weekend trip that will offer a ton in just two short days, consider the finger lakes region. There is something to do for everyone, I promise! We came with the idea that we would do some sort of activity on the lake but unfortunately I didn't take into consideration the weather difference, when we would wake up it was barely 50 degrees! It is definitely about 15 degrees colder on average there in the finger lakes region so be prepared for sweaters, even in August! Not pictured above is the trip we took to nearby Cayuga Lake where we attended the "Found in Ithaca" flea market which is a very well attended happening every Sunday. Antiquing was a ton of fun and I even picked up some vintage freshwater pearls from an antique booth for $5! What a steal! 

As Summer comes to an end, I wish you all a happy and healthy start to the Fall season,

xox

Wedding OOTD: Cobalt Blue and Lace Up Shoes

This weekend I attended my boyfriends friends wedding. It was a really nice day out so I decided to wear a more warm weather outfit. I wore this dress a couple weeks ago in Atlantic City for a birthday celebration and I just had to wear it again, I loved it so much! The fit is just perfect and I absolutely love the textured pattern.

Here are the details on everything I wore: 

1. Dress: Express 
2. Shoes: Nine West View them here! 
3. Bracelet: Henri Bendel View it here! 
4. Earrings and Necklace: Diamond cluster ball style--given as gift. 
5. Lipstick (since I know someone will ask me lol): MAC So Chaud--you guys know I LOVE blue and orange together!  
6. Nail polish: JulieG Sushi for Two---this is the most beautiful coral orange color. Makes for the perfect pedicure color too! I will be reviewing and swatching the 10 or so Julie G nail-polishes I own very soon! ;)

You can see more of the texture of my dress here, isn't it just to die for?! :)

Recycle the dresses you love ;),

xox

August Vacation Round Up!: Puerto Rico/Glamping

Who doesn't love a vacation?! Planning vacations are bittersweet for me--bitter because I can never choose where to go and sometimes planning around work etc. is so hard to do, and sweet because I love the fact that it offers me a break from my every day life! This summer I didn't do much aside from some day trips with the kids from work.  I left everything until August (which is also my birthday month if you didn't see my previous post about my birthday wishes) and I am glad I did because it allowed me to close out this Summer with a bang! :)

I planned two pretty opposite types of vacations: 1. to a tropical island with white sand beaches and crystal blue waters and palm trees and 2. Glamorous Camping otherwise known as Glamping haha

Here is a glimpse into how those went:

Camping Weekend

Camping this summer with my best friend was by far one of the most fun times I have EVER had--and that says A LOT considering I am always doing fun adventurous things like this! It was just the two of us so we really found ourselves dying of laughter as we attempted to light a campfire for the first time and as we got harassed by insects with antennae twice their body size! haha I captured a lot of video to make sure we would be able to relive our silliness whenever we wanted.  I considered this glamping because we had a glamorous croissant and fresh fruit breakfast as well as watched movies at night on the iPad as we sat in the wilderness hahah who does that?! :)

My best friend Cristina, mentioned and shown above camping with me, has an amazing tumblr page filled with the kinds of photos we all wish we could capture when we see something awesome haha--it is quite intriguing I must say ;) Check it out! http://kikiseyeview.tumblr.com/

Puerto Rico

My boyfriend has so many photos with his eyes closed---I don't get it! lol ugh

I visit Puerto Rico at least once a year being that my boyfriend and I have family there. This year I brought my friend Lauren and because it was her first time, I wanted to make sure she had a very memorable time! We had SO much fun! Puerto Rico is a great place to relax and just enjoy yourself, there is so much to do-the possibilities are endless :)

There you have it, my Summer travels in a nutshell. There are a bagillion other photos and videos but there are just way too many to share all of them here.

What did you do this summer?

If you have questions on anything that I am wearing here, hang in there, I will be doing a post on all of the OOTD's from these vacations coming up soon!

Fall is almost here,

xox

OOTD: Yet Another Graduation BBQ!

These photos were taken very last minute, literally as we were walking out the door, so they were snapped with an iPhone, next time, I will try and have my good camera around so I can get better quality photos of detail, color etc! :)

Here's the Rundown:

Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Dress- Forever 21 (came with belt)
Watch-Michael Kors (the rose gold one that has made MANY appearances in my blog posts ;)
Hair- Curled with a clip-less curling iron and they fell into simple waves :)
Ring-Although you can't really see it here, it is the hot pink crystal bow ring that was also in my other Graduation Party OOTD posted not too long ago, for more up close pics of it, take a look at that post!

This was a very impromptu OOTD, hope you enjoyed! I wanted to keep it simple yet elegant and also remaining outdoor party appropriate :)

Have a Wonderful Day,

xox