Travel Archives - Sassy Southern Blonde

MIAMI TRAVEL GUIDE + OUTFIT RECAP

February 24, 2020

BIG PINK OUTFIT #1

BIG PINK OUTFIT #2

SOUTH BEACH SWIMSUIT #1

SOUTH BEACH SWIMSUIT #2

WYNWOOD OUTFIT #1

WYNWOOD OUTFIT #2

DRESS (Similar HERE and HERE)

ROOFTOP SWIMSUIT #1

ROOFTOP SWIMSUIT #2

DREAMER CAFE OUTFIT #1

DREAMER CAFE OUTFIT #2

ROMPER (Similar HERE)

I had so many great recommendations for Miami, and we tried to do as much as we could! Maxie and I flew in Thursday, Karli met us Friday morning, and we left Sunday. It was definitely a quick trip, but we got some amazing content! We stayed in an up and coming area called Wynwood, which I’m sure you guys know about if you’re familiar with Miami. I highly recommend Domio for a hotel because it has all the apartment vibes with the amenities of a hotel! It’s also a block from Wynwood Walls and other popular restaurants.

Maxie and I had a late lunch at Coyo Taco near there with some bomb guacamole! Dinner was my favorite, though. The restaurant was called Beaker & Gray and it was phenomenal! Since Portland, Maxie has me on such a tapas kick! I loved every dish she talked me into splitting with her. Lol!

On Friday, we had brunch at Big Pink! I’d be lying if I said the cute pink building didn’t play a part in our decision! Hahah. Luckily, the food tasted great too! I ordered the French toast, which is always a safe bet. Next, we headed to South Beach! We stayed there for a while snapping cute photos in front of the famous lifeguard stands. I thought the beach was pretty for a gloomy day in February!

I forgot to mention that there was an adorable mini pie shop called Pink Pie by our hotel! The red velvet and key lime were both delish. Maxie and I ended up going there twice! Lol. We had dinner at Swan Friday night. I was obsessed with this place because it was so chic and had lots of pink in the decor! 🙂

On Saturday, we shot at Domio most of the morning! The rooftop pool was beautiful. I had several people recommend we go to Dreamer at some point, and I’m glad we did. It’s such an Instagram spot, and the food was good! I think I need some flamingo wallpaper in my house! Haha. And we couldn’t go to Miami without visiting the Design District! We even went as far as ordering a $14 coffee with the Dior logo on it. No regrets! Lol.

Our last spot for dinner was Michael’s Genuine! It had great reviews, and the burger was perfect. The service wasn’t anything to write home about, though. It’s also located in the Design District! Such a cool area. You’re bound to see a Rolls Royce or two! 🙂

A few other recommendations that we didn’t get to were Prime 112, Mr. Chow, Joe’s Snow Crab, Yardbird Southern, Gianni Versace Mansion, Midtown Creamery, Pura Vida, Nikki Beach, and The Salty Donut to name a few!

XOXO

Kels

CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK CITY (2 MONTHS LATER LOL)

February 6, 2020

Always, ALWAYS late to the party! Lol. After we returned from our trip to NYC in December, I hit the ground running with Christmas content. Somehow, I totally forgot to recap everything in a blog post! Most of the places we ate and things we did are available year round in New York City, so that’s why I decided to go ahead and publish this two months later! I promise I’ll do better with my Miami travel guide. Haha!

We arrived in the city at 11am on Tuesday, and flew out Friday night. I highly recommend this because we had Tuesday afternoon and essentially all of Friday but only paid for a 3 night stay! Another helpful tip is having an itinerary. I don’t think you need one for every trip/city, but NYC is a MUST in my opinion! Most restaurants require a reservation, and they fill up quickly. There’s so much to do, and you will waste a lot of time trying to create a game plan!

Our itinerary was pretty incredible, and ended up working perfectly! (Thanks Meag lol) The three of us on the trip each chose our favorite NYC spots, and then Meagan created our schedule from there!

After we checked into our hotel, we went to Pietro Nolita in Soho! I have only taken photos at this famous spot, but we decided to try out the food too. Very delicious! Next was Grand Central Station. Mainly to pretend I was Serena van der Woodsen at the top of the stairs! 🙂 We also snagged some banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery and red velvet doughnuts at Doughnut Plant! Did I eat these both within 10 minutes? Absolutely! Lol. We ended the night with reservations at Beauty & Essex! It was my first time and such a cool vibe!

I really wanted to do things in NYC that I hadn’t before, so we started day 2 at the Cartier building for photos! They turned out great with patience from all the pedestrians! Once we were done, we visited the New York Public Library before our lunch reservation at Serra Alphina in the Flatiron District. Somehow, we scored Jimmy Fallon tickets (another thanks to Meag) and it was cool even though I kept getting him and Jimmy Kimmel mixed up. Oops! Hahaha.

Once we finished with Jimmy, we headed to my #1 request. Mean Girls on Broadway! It was SO worth it. The current cast is amazing! I’d literally go watch it again! And even though we were so tired from the busy day, we ended the night with a late reservation at Tavern on the Green. All I remember is that we ordered the birthday cake dessert at like 11pm, and it was fantastic! 🙂

Day 3 started a little later to recoup from the previous day’s activities! We had brunch at Sarabeth’s, which is a restaurant I have to go to every time I’m in the city! My order was loaded in carbs but worth every bite. Truffle fries for an appetizer and French toast! So dang delicious. We shopped and wandered around Central Park until our next reservation at Blue Box Cafe aka Breakfast at Tiffany’s!

This was my second time to go, and it’s just a magical experience! Unfortunately, Tiffany’s is relocating while their flagship store is renovated, so the cafe is now closed until 2021. How sad! We ended the day at the Rosè Mansion and Top of the Rock. It was so neat to see the city at night, but I recommend going during the day if you want a good photo!

Our last day in NYC was more low key than the others since we had flights to catch that night. We were all dying to go to Rolf’s and knew we needed to go early for a better chance at getting a table! A few takeaways here. The Christmas decorations are incredible, but the food is horrible! Just being honest. If you land a table, they require you to order a meal! I do think we got better photos having a table versus just standing at the bar for a drink, but I don’t know if my $60 tab was worth it. Lol! Bottom line, just order a drink!

Before grabbing our luggage from the hotel, we wandered around Soho eating truffles at Milk Bar and visiting the Stoney Clover pop-up. This was really the only time we didn’t have solid plans, but I was very grateful for our stacked itinerary throughout the trip! We were able to do so much in a short amount of time. New York City is just so magical at Christmas, although I love visiting anytime of the year! 🙂

PS: My other New York City travel guides are HERE and HERE (NYFW)!

XOXO

Kels

PORTLAND TRAVEL GUIDE + OUTFIT RECAP

October 30, 2019

SHOP MY OUTFIT

When Maxie first suggested we travel to Portland, I had my doubts! Lol. I have never really thought about taking a trip to Oregon, but oh my gosh, I am SO glad we did! The fall leaves were beautiful and the restaurants tasted incredible! We flew in Wednesday night and left Saturday morning, so we packed a lot in the two days were were there. Portland is such a cool city and I already want to go back just to eat the food! Lol.

We woke up early on Thursday and started the day with brunch at Mother’s! I ordered the pancakes and Maxie had the Eggs Benedict. Both were delicious! Ironically, Voodoo Doughnuts was next door, and we couldn’t go to Portland without trying some! (I liked the Oreo flavor best) I also wasn’t aware how fabulous local coffee was in Portland, so we visited Stumptown Coffee and Good Coffee. Maxie talked me into trying a Matcha Latte, and now I’m hooked! (It’s basically a green tea with steamed milk I think… lol)

Dinner Thursday night at Ava Gene’s was incredible. There’s really no other way to describe it! We ordered Gnocco Fritto as our appetizer and split Bolognese and Gnocchi pasta! 20/10 recommend. I always love dessert afterwards, so we stopped by Salt & Straw for pumpkin spice ice cream before heading back. Another amazing spot!

Since Friday was our last day in Portland, we shot the rest of our outfits that morning, so we could enjoy the afternoon! It was perfect timing because it started raining 10 minutes after we finished. Haha! We went to Tasty n Alder for a late brunch, which turned into lunch because I had to get the steak frites and truffle fries. They were great, but the Oregon Orchard cocktail was the best! It’s super light and refreshing! (Especially for alcohol)

After lunch, we grabbed pop matcha lattes at Never Coffee and headed for the famous Powell’s Books! Maxie and I both love reading so we wandered around there for hours. (I wish I had time to read more than I do, but I took advantage of the lack of WiFi on the 4 hour plane ride home! Haha) I’m pretty sure we got MORE coffee after this! I didn’t realize, but Portland has SO many amazing local coffee shops. For this reason, I only got Starbucks at the airport! Very proud of myself! 🙂

The last place we ate for dinner was called Toro Bravo, and it was just as great as the others. I know I keep raving about the food, but I was blown away! Since I had never eaten tapas before, Maxie insisted I try it. I actually enjoy testing new foods, and I’m very happy I did! Toro Bravo was the perfect end to our trip!

Overall, I loved Portland and I want to go back one day! I think Fall is the perfect season to visit because the weather was great and the leaves were gorgeous. The outfits I wore + links are above. Thanks for reading! 🙂

XOXO

Kels

NYFW Outfit Roundup + Schedule

September 19, 2019

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Dress: Size 6, Needed 4. Heels: Size 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Top: XS, Skort: XS, Heels: 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Blazer: SM, Tank: XS, Shorts: SM, Booties: 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Top: XS, Pants: SM)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Vest: SM, Bodysuit: SM, Jeans: Size 25)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Bodysuit: SM, Skirt: XS, Boots: 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Dress: Size 4, Shoes: 6.5)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Blazer Dress: SM, Shoes: 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Overall Dress: SM, Top: XS)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Top: XS/SM, Skirt: US 4, Shoes: 7)

SHOP MY OUTFIT (Top: SM, Pants: XS)

THURSDAY

My day started EARLY because I had to wake up at 4am and drive to the New Orleans airport! I caught my flight at 9am and made it to NYC at 2:30pm after a short layover in Atlanta. I headed straight for our hotel, NOMO in Soho, to meet up with my friends (Tanner, Aubrey, and Kristin) and freshen up for the fun parties that night! Our first stop was the Tula event where they were celebrating the launch of their new Rose Glow and Get It Cooling & Brightening Eye Balm. The dress code was pink, so that’s when I wore my tutu dress! By far my favorite outfit of the week! The last party was thrown by Victoria’s Secret, and it was incredible! We saw Angels, Housewives, and reality tv stars aka the best combination! Lol. I won’t lie, Thursday night turned out to be the best part of NYFW! It was just a great start to the trip!

*Use KELSIE for 20% off any products at Tula*

FRIDAY

Friday’s schedule was INSANE if I’m being honest! I’m so happy we were able to meet with amazing brands, but it was a hectic day and the endless rain didn’t help! Haha. We started off the morning at Kendra Scott viewing their upcoming lines for 2020. Next, we went to the Bollare showroom! This is a PR company that reps brands like Keepsake The Label and L Space. Aubrey and I scheduled a last minute meeting with Marc Fisher that afternoon, so we caught the end of the Tula meeting with Kristin and Tanner! As much as we thought we gave ourselves enough time between meetings, we did not! Hahaha. The final stop was Alison Brod which is another PR company that carries makeup and beauty brands like Urban Decay, Bliss, and L’Oreal just to name a few. We got so many amazing goodies from there! 🙂 We also ran into Stephanie Hollman from Real Housewives of Dallas! SO cool. I didn’t watch RHOD closely before, but I just started it this week!

SATURDAY

Luckily, Saturday wasn’t nearly as crazy as Friday! We attended a brunch event with EVEREVE x 7 For All Mankind with delicious cotton candy champagne and free jeans! We had to leave early though because I was NOT missing the Rebecca Minkoff show! There were a ton of people there, so thank gosh we actually arrived on time! While we were heading out, we ran into Paige DeSorbo from Summer House on Bravo! I FREAKED. Y’all might not know who she is, but I’m obsessed with her! I legit followed her when she had 7k on Instagram, and now she’s almost to 200k! Any who, she has amazing style and was actually the #1 person I wanted to run into during fashion week! 🙂 We ended Saturday shopping around Soho and dinner with our friends!

SUNDAY

With no plans on the schedule, Sunday became our shoot day! The top spots I wanted to visit were Brooklyn Bridge and the Dumbo area, so I was thrilled we had time to go and take photos there. Afterwards, we shot a few more looks in Soho and then headed to 5th Avenue to do some window shopping! Talk about perfect timing because we ran into Ashley Bell and Hilary Elrod at Saks 5th Avenue and ended up hanging out with them the rest of the day! 🙂 We went to Central Park and had the most relaxing afternoon just talking, walking, and spending time together! This was another favorite moment of the trip for me. I consider many of these girls I’ve met through blogging real friends! I love being able to catch up with them and find out what’s going on in their lives. And in true New York fashion, we did dinner at a popular pizza place in Soho that night! It was the perfect end to the trip, and I cannot wait for next year! September 2020, where you at?!

XOXO

Kels

PS: Don’t miss my first NYFW post HERE and my NYC travel guide HERE!

CHICAGO TRAVEL GUIDE

August 27, 2019

WHERE TO EAT

Lou Malnati’s: Apparently the two most popular places for deep dish pizza in Chicago are Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s, so we ate here Thursday night and it was delicious! We ordered the small pepperoni deep dish and split the Malnati salad (which was my favorite)! Read about our Giordano’s experience further down 😉

The Hampton Social: The #1 place I wanted to eat was The Hampton Social after seeing people post the hot spot for years! I’m happy to say the food is as great as the vibe. I took my photo in front of the Rosè All Day sign and devoured my lobster roll! It was my first time eating one, and I can’t imagine there are any much better than that!

Portillo’s: I had high hopes for making fancy dinner reservations, but we were so tired at the end of the day and just wanted something good and quick! My Uber driver insisted we try Portillo’s since Chicago is known for their hot dogs AND pizza. I loved it! My favorite thing was the chocolate cake, though. It’s a must if you’re going!

LondonHouse: LondonHouse is on my list twice because it’s great for brunch or just grabbing a drink during the day! I ordered the french toast, and it was very rich. I wish I would have stuck with the avocado toast!

Stan’s Donuts: Another place that was highly recommended, and I’m glad we stumbled upon it Saturday afternoon! I got the red velvet donut with Oreo cookie crumble on it. SO YUM!

Giordano’s: Again, we were tired on Saturday night and decided to try Giordano’s since it was another popular pizza place. I personally liked the deep dish here better than Lou Malnati’s. And don’t get me started on the buffalo wings! They were incredible. Top 3 best wings I’ve ever had! Haha

Fisk & Co: This restaurant was in the Kimpton Monaco where we stayed, and we got a late-night snack here! I ordered the truffle fries with garlic aioli, and they were devine! I was sad I wasn’t more hungry to try their cheeseburger because the ones I saw looked bomb!

WHERE TO PLAY

Shopping on Michigan Avenue: This is pretty self explanatory, but shopping on Michigan Avenue is amazing! I took full advantage of the Zara and Nordstrom since I live nowhere near the two! Lol

Sky Deck at Willis Tower: Another thing my Uber driver told me was to not go to the Sky Deck at Willis Tower when it was cloudy, but the sun was so bright that the photos we took in our allotted 90 second window SUCKED! Hahaha. I recommend the morning or late afternoon.. NOT 2 pm!

LondonHouse (Drinks): I wish we would have went back to LondonHouse for a drink and watched the sunset, but I am happy we made it there at least once! 🙂

Architectural Boat Tour: I saved the best for last in this section because the architectural boat tour is a MUST! No doubt about it. You learn some much about the history of Chicago and all the gorgeous skyscrapers!

WHERE TO STAY

Kimpton Monaco: Kimpton Monaco was the BEST place to stay! It’s a boutique hotel, so it was never crowded. The decor was gorgeous, and there are window seats in most rooms with a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline! My favorite part was the location, though. It was walking distance to basically everything- boat tour, Michigan Avenue, LondonHouse, etc!

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OTHERS

Beatnix (Brunch)

Flo (Brunch)

Untitled Supper Club

Cindy’s Rooftop (Drinks)

Gold Coast

Navy Pier

Millennial Park: The Bean

Chicago Theatre

Lincoln Park Zoo

Paradise Park

RPM Italian

XOXO

Kels