Fancy Travels: East Coast Adventure Part I

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What a crazy past 11 days it has been!! fancy free has been a bit slow the past week... we were determined to completely enjoy and take in our much anticipated vacay, and that we did! I am so excited to share all our vacation fun, pics, and outfits along the way! Let's get started, shall we?

The first leg of our adventure began when we flew into Fort Lauderdale, and quickly scooped up this fun upgrade on our rental car.

We drove the coast down (through South Beach) to our hotel for the night in Miami. (If I had known how much car sickness and whiplash this car would cause me during the course of our vacation, I may have not been so eager to hop on the upgrade... the hubby is a *wannabe* race car driver.)

We got to our hotel, settled in a bit, and got ready for a night out in downtown Miami.

outfit details: Banana Republic white top [new, $15], Banana Republic high waisted shorts [new, $10], Banana Republic nude heels [new, $20], Rebecca Minkoff bag [new, $60]

We started our night off by visiting the beautiful Mandarin Oriental (which is sadly where we did NOT stay...atleast this time), and enjoyed a few cocktails (an Aperol Spritz is pictured above) in their upscale MO Bar+Lounge. There were a number of large comfy chairs to choose from, and we sat around for an hour or so to enjoy an amazing duo (a trumpeter and a guitarist) playing and singing beautiful renditions of a variety of Spanish songs. What a way to dive into the culture of Miami!

After enjoying the music and a few cocktails at MO, we headed towards downtown Miami and found a Segafredo cafe turned night club. We were greeted with a loud variety of music, and and a plethora of people sunken into big red comfy chairs smoking hookah. We found a high top table, and I had one (or two..) of their delicious mojitos. The limes were squashed with a real wooden spear, which was left in the middle of the drink (pictured above)!

We got back to our hotel early morning, and slept off our cocktails for a few hours before enjoying a light breakfast at our hotel's restaurant. After that, we were off to South Beach!

outfit details: Banana Republic dress [new, $40], Tommy Hilfiger wedges [new, $25], Louis Vuitton bag [secondhand, $100] Rayban wayfarers [new, gift], Michael Kors watch [new, gift]

While sitting at the cafe pictured above, a man walking by stopped, got his sketch book out, and starting this amazing caricature! It's amazing how naturally talented some people just are. Also, his generosity on my features was incredibly appreciated...

Love the coloring and original architecture. Feels like in you are in a different time!

I'm not for knock offs, but how adorable are these Louis Vuitton and Gucci scooters?! ;)

After thoroughly enjoying the coast of Miami, we started our trek to our next destination, Tampa. My "hometown"! (In quotations because I am a military brat...just one of the many places I've lived.)

Our first day in Tampa was naturally spent at the beach. California is great and all, but the beaches in Florida are hands down so much better! You can actually get in the water because 1) the water is not freezing and 2) there are no waves trying to kill you (I've been taken out by so many waves in CA...) We went for the day to the luxurious beachfront Don Cesar hotel in St. Pete Beach. The Don Cesar was built in the 1920s, and is the ultimate fabulous pink castle!

front of the hotel

backview

Can you see those beautiful storm clouds rolling in? Luckily we left before the rain struck, but it was amazing to watch, and also cooled the temperature down a bit!

Before hitting the beach, we first tried out a restaurant within the hotel called the Sea Porch Restaurant. I started out with a delicious tropical cocktail (sadlycan't remember the name) with lots of flavor and a variety of liquors! (my fave...)

Shrimp and crab salad...skimpy on the lettuce, just the way I like it. ;)

If you can't tell, I have a thing for mojitos...

After our lunch, we headed to the water. We suntanned for a bit, and then made our way into the water. We swam out to a sandbar and enjoyed the views, that is until a mystery animal touched the hubby's leg. Then it was time to swim back...

We spent our remaining time in Florida visiting old friends and stomping grounds. Definitely a trip down memory lane! After two days in Florida, we packed up the Mustang and headed to our next destination, Savannah. A post on this location and all its Southern charm coming very soon! Make sure to follow on IG and Facebook (links on the homepage) to keep up to date on all ff posts!

xo Sydney