Sassy Southern Blonde

A Fashion & Lifestyle Blog by Kelsie Bynum

PALM BEACH TRAVEL GUIDE

I have traveled to Palm Beach a handful of times since I was little, and each trip is better than the last! I spent several summers exploring Palm Beach when I was younger because I have family who lives nearby. It’s such a beautiful place, and I loved going with my friend Brenna! We ate, we shopped, and we took LOTS of photos! 🙂

We flew in Thursday afternoon and picked up our rental car! I personally think a rental car is necessary unless you Uber around the city. Our Airbnb was the perfect location in West Palm Beach! It was only a short 8 minute drive over the bridge which is exactly what we were looking for. The Airbnb itself was even better than expected, and that doesn’t always happen! Lol.

We grabbed a quick late lunch at Pura Vida, and it was arguably my favorite meal of the trip! Brenna and I both ordered the Mango Salmon Bowl (I switched out the quinoa for brown rice) and it was incredible. A meal I could eat daily! 🙂 Since it was our first night, I booked a more casual dinner spot called Avocado Grill! I had also eaten there in December and loved the avocado dishes along with the dumplings. They have great drinks too!

Our first stop on Friday was lunch at Swifty’s inside The Colony Hotel! It’s such a cute spot to grab a bite to eat not to mention how aesthetically pleasing the place is. I chose the club sandwich with truffle fries and ate my entire plate. Brenna and I almost split the fries, but we were glad we didn’t because both orders were gone! We took pictures around The Colony and then headed to Worth Avenue to do some shopping!

Buying a Chanel bag has been on my bucket list for years, and I finally found the perfect one in their spring collection! I fell in love with the pale pink bag because I knew IF I ever purchased one, it had to my favorite color. Surprisingly, I still have no buyers’ remorse, and I really believe it was a great investment! And I’m sure if anyone in the financial world is reading that last sentence, they are laughing! Lol.

We shot a few more outfits Friday afternoon and then decided to take a little break before dinner! We noticed a Cheesecake Factory while driving, and a close parking spot just happened to open nearby. I took this as a sign that I needed red velvet cheesecake, so I grabbed some for myself and Brenna went with the Oreo flavor! It was SO delicious. A chain restaurant I will always love! We ended the night at Lola41 inside the White Elephant. The sushi is amazing! I ordered the spider roll!

The turquoise door is one of the most popular photo spots in Palm Beach, but what they don’t tell you is how bad the lighting is if it’s full sunshine! Haha. We ran by Saturday morning before our lunch reservation while the sun was behind a cloud! After we finished there, we headed to Restoration Hardware because they have the BEST prime rib sandwich. I’m sure other things are just as good, but I always chose that with truffle fries! RH is such a vibe, and I’m obsessed with eating there if I’m in a city with one.

We ate at Sant Ambroeus Saturday night, and we both ordered the Linguine Cacio e Pepe which was just super buttery cheese noodles! Hahah. Brenna and I both had afternoon flights, so we grabbed breakfast at Surfside Diner Sunday morning! She got the french toast and I went with the blueberry pancakes. The side of bacon was the perfect crispy texture! Once we finished, we wandered around The Breakers before going to the airport. It was the perfect adult Spring Break with a little work and a little play! 🙂

WHERE TO EAT

-Pura Vida

-Avocado Grill

-Swifty’s at The Colony Hotel

-Lola 41

-Restoration Hardware

-Sant Ambroeus

-Surfside Diner

-Cheesecake Factory (LOL)

WHERE TO STAY

-The Colony Hotel

-The Breakers

-White Elephant

-Airbnb

WHERE TO GO

-Worth Avenue Shopping

-Norton Museum of Art (Visited as a child)

-Beach

-Visit The Breakers (Even if you aren’t staying there)

XOXO

Kels

2022 BOOK REVIEW (So Far…)

I’m really bad about being consistent with my reading because I hit a lull after I finished Daisy Jones & The Six in January! Luckily, I picked it back up in April and now I’ve knocked out quite a few books. It’s hard to even choose a favorite because they’re all so different! Let me know your thoughts on this lineup because I know we all have different opinions! 🙂

The Last Thing He Told Me

I chose this book because it was a top read of 2021, but I think it was somewhat overhyped! The storyline got better as I read, but it just wasn’t on the same level as others to me. I do occasionally have a hard time reading books that are very unrelated to my life, so maybe that played a factor too!

Daisy Jones & The Six

I have seen mixed reviews about Daisy Jones, but I LOVED this book! A lot of people recommended the audiobook since the story is told in multiple viewpoints, but I didn’t mind it. This is the kind of book that I was sad about finishing! I’m pretty sure it’s loosely based on Fleetwood Mac. There’s also a movie (or tv show?) being filmed! I can’t wait!!!

People We Meet On Vacation

If you’re looking for a cute and easy vacation read, obviously the People We Meet On Vacation is a safe bet! The plot wasn’t too deep, and I honestly wished I would have saved it for the actual beach. It has a very obvious ending, but I still enjoyed the journey to it! Lol.

The Paris Apartment

I’m still on the fence about The Paris Apartment months later! I really had to force myself to push through to the “shocking moment” when a book starts to click for me. Even then, I struggled to like it! Without revealing any spoilers, it was pretty obvious everyone in the story was connected. I wish the author would have made it more conspicuous!

November 9

Although I enjoy Colleen Hoover books, I’m not her #1 biggest fan! I definitely liked November 9 more than It Ends With Us. It also has spoilers from Ugly Love, so you need to read it first! I do think the character’s connection in the book was less obvious than her others which I appreciated! Haha.

The Golden Couple

Thrillers that have a bizarre twist you never saw coming are just the best! Especially if you’re in the mood for that type of book. I knew I would enjoy The Golden Couple if it was half as good as The Wife Between Us. As always, Greer Hendricks and Sara Pekkanen deliver the anxiety I crave in a great read!

The Hunting Wives

Oh my gosh. This book was recommended by one of the girls on my favorite podcast, and it was SO good. I think I read it within 48 hours? That’s saying something for me. I couldn’t put it down! You really have no clue what’s going to happen because the ending shocked me! I also just enjoy reading about the mysterious lives of rich southern women! 😉

What’s Next…

Meant To Be, The Idea of You, It Happened One Summer, Lessons in Chemistry

XOXO

Kels

MY 2022 #NSALE PICKS

Happy Thursday! The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is now open to Icon and Ambassador tiers. Influencer status starts Friday night, so I will be shopping then! I’ll keep it short and sweet here, but I went through thousands of products to share my top favorites! You can click the photo to shop the item directly. Thank you SO much for using my links! Nordstrom decreased their commission rates this year, so I’m truly just sharing the sale because I love it. No one is getting rich, but I still really appreciate the support! Hahah.

SIMILAR #NSALE ITEMS I ALREADY OWN

XOXO

Kels

Morning Skincare Routine

Morning SkincareFor the 5 people who care about my morning skincare routine, I wanted to roundup what I’ve been currently using the past few months! If I don’t have anything planned, I really like wearing my skincare products with no makeup. Especially during the summer when it’s ridiculously hot! I also know everyone does the order of their skincare differently, so don’t come for me if one needs to be before the other! Lol. For example, I use the cooling eye balm in place of under eye concealer!

STEP 1: Vitamin C Serum

I love that this isn’t a typical vitamin C serum, and it has a more jelly texture! It feels so good on my skin every morning. I knew I wanted to incorporate vitamin C, and this one had lots of other amazing ingredients!

STEP 2: Depuffing Eye Serum

I add just a drop under my eyes because the caffeine helps wake them up! Or at least I like to think so. Lol! This brand is a great price point too! I want to try some other products from them since they have such great reviews!

STEP 3: Moisturizer

Drunk Elephant products have the best reputation, so I had to incorporate the moisturizer into my skincare! It is incredible and leaves my dry skin actually feeling hydrated. I also like the Elf brand moisturizer from Target if this is a bit out of budget!

STEP 4: Sunscreen

Although I love the Tula sunscreen, I had been wanting to try the Supergoop kind! Unpopular opinion but I actually don’t like it. I was really disappointed! When I applied the Supergoop sunscreen, the formula caused my face to start peeling! I tried it for a few days but ended up switching back to Tula! It looks prettier on the skin in my opinion anyways!

STEP 5: Brightening + Cooling Eye Balm

This is hands down my #1 favorite product from Tula! I have been using it since it was released a couple of years ago. I’ve tried to find similar versions from other brands, but I never do. The best part to me is the actual cool feeling you get under your eyes! It’s super refreshing!

STEP 6: Lip Balm

Obviously this lip balm is for night time, but I’m addicted to it. I wear it all day and all night! Haha. When I first bought it, I didn’t try it for months. I finally brought the lip balm to the hospital when I had Baker, and I’ve been hooked ever since! I’m currently on my 3rd one! 🙂

XO

Kels

2021 BOOK REVIEW

Even from a young age, I have always enjoyed reading books! I actually won a few Accelerated Reader awards in elementary school, and I got to ride in a limo to the pizza party. Isn’t that every kid’s dream? Lol. As I grew older, I made less time for reading but picked it back up during quarantine like a lot of people! There have been several books I’ve read recently that I wanted to recap if y’all were interested. Some I love better than others, but we’ll dive into that below! 🙂

I thought about ranking the books, but I truly couldn’t decide because I loved most of them so much! And I enjoyed reading them for different reasons. I also wanted to add that I read the last two (Tell Me Lies and The Wife Between Us) during quarantine last year, but I never shared my thoughts!

Ugly Love

For some reason, the main character in this book whose name was Miles made me think of Matt James from The Bachelor the entire time! Hahaha. I think because someone else was named Rachel. Anyways, this was the top recommendation from y’all and it was amazing! I did think the beginning was kind of slow, but there was one chapter that sucked me in and I devoured the book after it. The ending was incredible, and I finished it sobbing!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I loved what an easy read Evelyn Hugo was! It didn’t make me want to stay up late finishing it, but I was excited to pick up where I left off the next day. If that makes sense! After Ugly Love, it was easily the next fan favorite. I also liked that the title was a bit misleading, but I don’t want to spoil anything else! The book ties up all the loose ends perfectly at the end, and there’s a connection you’ll never see coming!

Under The Influence

My friend (and fellow blogger) Hilary Bodiford wrote Under The Influence and I loved it! It involves bloggers and a mystery murder, so it really was the best recipe for a book. This is her debut novel, and she did a great job keeping me entertained until the last page with a surprising revelation! Hopefully, that ending means there will be a second book 🙂

Verity

Wow. From what I’d heard about Verity, I knew it would be a twisted book, but I never imagined it would be THAT crazy. Just when you think you know the truth, you realize you probably never will. I enjoyed the book as much as someone can enjoy that level of insanity! Haha.

The Last Flight

I’m currently in the thick of The Last Flight, and I’m intrigued but confused! Haha. I’m assuming the ending will tie the two characters, Eva and Claire, together, though. I love a good mystery, and The Last Flight is different than any book I’ve ever read before! I’ll update y’all with my final thoughts once I’m done!

Before We Were Strangers

I think I read Before We Were Strangers several months ago, but it was a beautiful story nonetheless! My favorite books are the ones that speak in both present and past tense because I love finding out the backstory. It helps me understand the characters and plot better! It’s another easy read and a good love story!

It Ends With Us

This was another popular recommendation, but I can’t get into it? I have no idea why. I’ve only read the first few chapters! I might try to push forward because I’m assuming it will eventually hook me. Lol! If you’ve read this book, I’m very interested to hear your opinion, so please DM me. I need to know what I’m missing?!

Tell Me Lies

If you’ve ever been in a complicated relationship with a manipulative person, THIS book is the one to read! I was obsessed with Tell Me Lies because it hit close to home on some levels with previous relationships. You want to shake the main character for her allowing this guy to take advantage of her, but you can also relate to her! If I had to choose a favorite book, this might be it. And I just made myself want to read it again! 🙂

The Wife Between Us

When I think of quarantine, I think of sitting on the balcony of my apartment reading The Wife Between Us! This book really revived my love of reading, and the way it was outlined with two characters’ point of views was genius. Clearly, I love when books have a twisted end and this one did not disappoint! Most people have probably already read it, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend! 

I hope y’all enjoyed my first ever in-depth book review! I had previously shared a blog post about 30+ books recommended to me that I’ll link HERE if you need more ideas!

XO

Kels