Outfit // What I Learned This Trip To Florida

LnA Asymmetrical dress | a few years old
Birkenstock Arizona Sandals

My sister and I were out by ourselves one day this trip (which is difficult to accomplish with so many people around) and drove around the neighborhood where we grew up. We moved away from there in 1986, so they are faraway memories for me, but there are those things in your childhood that you will NEVER forget. One of those things I mentioned in my post yesterday About my Dad – that he used to take us around the neighborhood for photoshoots. This gazebo was one of those locations.

We didn’t have a good camera with us, but the second we recognized the gazebo we knew we had to take some photos (it was my dad’s birthday that day and we wanted a nice “sister” photo). I posted the picture of my sister and I on Instagram, and here’s what I was wearing.

I brought this dress as an alternative to the Acne dress for the wedding. Just in case. But I also thought it would be good for wearing in Florida in general, which it turned out to be. And of course, in packing, I brought too much and not enough at the same time. But what else is new?

The first, most important thing I learned this trip is that the only thing that’s important when traveling to visit family is that you are comfortable and appropriately dressed enough so that you can focus ALL of your attention on your family and having a good time. In general, I succeeded at this, but could have been more comfortable with a few tweaks:

I always need at least one more long sleeve top than I think I do, and not a cardigan, a pullover. If I’m inside, I must have sleeves. They don’t have to be long, but I get cold in the air conditioning without something on my shoulders. I did have my cotton Inhabit cardigan with me that I wore at the wedding reception, and I did end up wearing that whenever I was inside and cold, but I always sort of long for something more “cozy” like a sweatshirt or just a long sleeve tee.

Leggings. Always pack leggings. I did a lot of sitting around at home, and I like to sit on one of my legs, which was awkward in the short dress I wore most of the time at home.

Bring manicure essentials. Maybe not everything, but a nail file, cuticle oil, and good hand cream are important. My hands/nails were so dry I kept picking at them and messing with them, until I bought a nail file and some cuticle cream to soften my cuticles up a little (this stuff is THE BOMB, btw). I took my polish off after the wedding and didn’t replace it the rest of the trip, which is fine; I don’t mind going bare-nail for some time.

If I’d had just one thing to wear at home, like a house dress or caftan (long), I probably would have been more comfortable. Except for a few short outings, our days in Florida were filled with time on the lake, by the lake, on the porch, or inside the house.

I’m pretty sure I have some deep-seated anxieties with regard to packing – as you’ve probably observed – and still have a lot to work through, so I’ll spare you more analysis. But I think I need to come up with a formula like Laurel has, or packing lists for different trips, to make it easier on me next time. I don’t want to spend so much time thinking about what I pack and what I wear; that work should be done up front – when I buy something to add to my wardrobe.

In general, it is, but I have two distinct style personalities, I’ve decided: the over-sized & slouchy, and the fitted. For traveling especially, I need to stick to one or the other of those silhouettes, I can’t try to accommodate both in a small carry-on. But more on that later 😉