Packing for Glamping

So, the kids and I are off to another adventure.  The summer has somehow slipped away and we haven't taken our traditional summer trip.  I am changing course a little this trip and taking the youngest kids and then taking Shane and Payton (14 and 9) on a separate trip.
We have a long tradition of doing some school shopping and a little 1-2 night overnight stay.  This trip I will take three 5-year olds and a 4-year old.  Serenity now! :)

On top of a car full of youngin's, we are headed to a new spot, Westgate River Ranch.  I am guessing it's about an hour and a half drive or so and we are going to stop by the outlets in Vero Beach on the way down for some school (kindergarten) shopping.

Our accomodations are "glamping".....glamorous camping.  I am slightly nervous of what we will find when we arrive but it's only for one night so I am sure we'll be fine.  The kids have never been camping, other than sleeping in my dad's 40' RV with beds, kitchen, wi-fi and flat screen TVs.
Here is our spot (as shown on website)

 I packed just a couple outfits and I am not sure if there is a pool there but I threw in a suit in case.

GAP tunic with skinny ankle length jeans, Ralph Lauren shorts, similar striped tops here and here

Loft Tunic - similar, Tory Burch gold Miller sandals, Ralph Lauren flip-flops

I love my travel storage and organized perfectly with these accessories:

J.Crew duffle bag with monogram, Thirty-One cosmetic bag - similar here, Pottery Barn similar laundry bag.

What are your travel essentials?  

Weekend Rewind

Phew!  What a week.  Thursday and Friday I was at a conference in Orlando for work and came home exhausted.  My sis Jessica came by Thursday night for a drink at our hotel after a loooong day of meetings. I got home Friday night and Simon and I went to grab dinner.  We ended up having some friends seated next to us so it worked out perfect.

Saturday morning would have been a perfect sleep-in day since we weren't racing but I spent the day at a soccer coaching clinic.  As we elevate in competition, coaching licenses are required so my co-coach James and I spent the day at the field.  It was so dang hot.  90s for sure.  After being over-served Thursday night and up early on Friday I was in no mood to be playing soccer.  We completed the training and got our coaching license.  Success!

I was only about 10 minutes from where my family vacations at the lake so I stopped by for a few to see the kiddos.  

 

I got home a few minutes too late on Saturday.  My husband had decided to do a little housekeeping and started to fill the mop bucket.  Well, he had a buddy call him and was chatting away in his man-cave, meanwhile the sink is overflowing.  I walked in and there was about an inch of water on the floor.  A lot of the kitchen was covered in water.  Simon very calmly got the mess cleaned up with towels and we decided to just call out for a pizza and call it a night.  Poor guy, just trying to do a little housework.  

Sunday we ran some errands and my sister came over to swim.  Simon cooked on the grill and we relaxed the day away.  Ready for another busy week!  Wednesday I am doing an overnight trip with the little kids and Dad and I are racing over the weekend.  Cheers y'all!

 

My buys at the Nordstrom sale

 1.  I have a wind breaker that stays in my car for these Florida summer showers but was due for an upgrade.  My mother-in-law works for VF Corp and The North Face is one of their brands.  They can be a little pricey but this is a good on-sale deal.  {There are several colors available, see them here}

2.  I grabbed these Cole Haan heels for work.  I need closed-toe for when I am on construction sites and these are great for leg lengthening since I am lacking in the height department.  {Check 'em out}

3.  These Kate Spade earrings are a perfect neutral to wear with everything.  I am excited for them to arrive.

4.  I scooped up these {NIKE leggings} for soccer practice.  

5.  My last item turned out to be a browse instead of buy.  I really loved this scarf but I have sooo many, I decided to pass for now.  

Did you hit the big sale?  What did you buy?

5 favorite pins

Here's a quick share of some of my favorite recent pins. {Follow me on Pinterest}

Four letters to describe this....G-O-R-G!  {Shop for it here}

A quick reminder to keep it moving.  Just do a little better today than you did yesterday.

It's summertime.  Who doesn't love a great lake house?  This would be perfect.

My hair is sooooo straight.  I recently added some blonde and have been practicing this styling technique. There is a great {tutorial here} with video and product suggestions.  

{A tasty pin}.  I tried these a couple weeks ago but got my portions wrong.  I am going to try again and see if I can perfect this wrap.  My husband worked the grill at our cook-out and I halved my burger to stick in the wrap but it was too much.  It looks tasty though and a nice change-up for this summer staple.

Weekend Rewind - Racing + Shane turns 14

Is it possible my first-born nephew is now 14?  Seems like just yesterday he was born and next year he can get his driver's permit.  And.....his auntie (me) is still trying to figure out the perfect time to have a child.
S-i-g-h.
Anyways, happy birthday to my cutie pie, sweet nephew Shane.  The first to break thru the brown hair/brown eyes combo in our family.  We have so many great traditions (summer, winter and spring break trips), school shopping together and now we text funny pictures or jokes to each other and have fun pranking the little cousins.

Pops and I snuck out of town Friday night on a four-hour drive to Georgia for racing.  We got there and were welcomed by muddy dirt roads and country mosquitos.  Booooo.  Luckily I snagged my niece Payton's mud boots and was able to venture around and somewhat stay clean.

We woke up early Saturday morning and were able to get our racing in before the storm hit.  My dad and I don't usually race together in the same class on big races but he was certain it would rain and hopped in my class since it was one of the first out.  We ended up 4th (me) and 5th (him) but the best part was we were swapping positions back and forth several times the last laps and were nearly side by side taking the checkered flag.  I am so lucky to have these great weekends together and make so many memories.  

We headed back late Saturday night and Sunday was a lazy day watching the World Cup game, NASCAR and some house cleaning.  This week is a little travel for me at work and we are back racing this weekend.  

Happy Tuesday y'all!  Make it a great week!  

Great deals on cute camis

Hello......is every store having major summer sales or what?!  My husband and I went to dinner and strolled through the mall afterwards and I swear, every store had big sale flyers in the windows.  I wasn't too much in a shopping mood but I did get a few basics that happen to be on big discounts.

I often wear camisoles because I am somewhat self-conscious of my hips.  I tend to favor slightly longer tops and often times layer a light cami to help with average length tops.  I have several basic camis from WHBM and was pleased to discover some new styles, several of which are on sale.  

This cami would be great for women blessed with a long torso or even those ladies expecting.  $10.99, marked down from $40.00

This 3/4 sleeve seamless tee would be great under a fall sweater or jacket and is half-priced at $19.99.  They also offer a short-sleeve seamless tee for a lighter choice and just $26.25.

This basic scoop-neck cami comes in either black or white, gray, navy or bone and is a good all-around for most outfits plus, it's just $18.75, marked down from $25.00

This corset cami is marked down from $50.00 to $29.99 and would be nice under a cardi.  With so much detail, including lace on all sides, it could even double with some skinny jeans for a GNO.  Another choice with just as much detail but not so structured would be this cami, marked down to $30.00.

This lace trim compression cami helps a touch with smoothing and is in black or white and priced at $45.00.

Happy shopping my friends!

 

Setup the bar + Set the table

So, I am loving all the adorable options available for home entertaining.  We often have parties at our home and I love to splurge for the extra touches to make the events memorable.  I recently took a stroll through my local C.Wonder and there are so many great accessories, you can get nearly everything you want and need all in one spot.  Here are some of my favorites.  they also have some cute white & gold dishes, wine chiller and cocktail shaker {shown here}.  Looking for a few easy drink ideas?  {Check these out}

Setup the bar + Set the table by eporter-217 featuring C. Wonder

What I thought about what I bought: Benefit + Kerastase

Today I am talking products.  I looooovvvveeee my products.  So fun to try to new stuff, especially with such generous return-policies with most stores.
A couple of my recent buys include more gorg eyes and better hair with some new powder/texture spray.

Up first: V.I.P. (Volume in Powder) spray from Kerastase.  My hair is baby fine and I rely on volumizing, texturizing products to give me a little oomph.  I wash daily so I never get to enjoy that second-day hair my friends do.  This spray was described to me as dry shampoo and texture spray having a baby.  Too funny. The lady that cuts my hair was so excited to see me and try this out.  It's great.  I spray at the root, kind of under my hair and lift up sections to spray all throughout.  Even a sideways head tilt for some top coverage works great.  I have effectively eliminated hair powder and finishing spray.  For those lucky enough to was every other day, the ladies at the salon say it's even better the second day.  It smells great and so far, generous application hasn't created the limp-effect from product overload.  Love this!
{Read more about it here}

Next up, I snuck through Sephora at lunch time last week and it just happened it was launch-day for a new eyeliner from Benefit, "They're Real! Push-up liner"  It's a new eyeliner that has a rubber slanted-tip and the eyeliner gel is stored inside the mechanism so it doesn't dry out.  I am used to wearing dark brown eyeliner so I have to learn to love this being darker but the tip makes it easy to apply.  It goes on soooo smooth.  Go grab this, you'll love it!

Red, white & blue fashion picks

Red, white & blue fashion picks by eporter-217 featuring Paige Denim