Classy Beach Fashion: Swimdress from Rey Swimwear

Summer is certainly coming to a close.  The calendar and the internet are in agreement that it is high time for fall, but the weather here has shifted back into the high 80s low 90s! Looking ahead at the forecast, it seems as though today will be one of the last of the hot season, and though I won't quite be pulling out the sweaters tomorrow, I did want to publish this "summery" post before the autumn weather officially sets in.

I mentioned before we were planning to do a lot of traveling this year, and we certainly have done much of it already! Knowing we would be making plans to visit Florida several times, I decided to take advantage of the Rey Swimwear sale on Black Friday and place my second order with them.  All of their swimsuits are designed to be classy and modest.  I couldn't be more pleased with my suit! 

I chose Marie in Garden Party.  I had been eyeing this one for a long time, and in the end decided it was too good and opportunity to pass up, especially knowing I would get use out of it!  This is a lovely, two-piece swimdress that is perfect for almost any swim scenario.  I've worn it swimming in the pool, the beach, walks on the seashore and even to a little beach restaurant.  The skirt gives it such a feminine touch, while also basically eliminating the need for a cover-up.

The suit is two pieces: the dress and separate high-waisted bottoms.  Both the lining and the outer fabric are excellent quality, but the skirt itself is unlined which makes it lighter. The two front straps can tie together either as a halter, or you can add the removable back straps and tie them to the front to create two separate straps (as I did.)  I had absolutely no problems with them coming untied or unhooked!  They sell individual tops as well, so you can mix and match different patterns and colors (I personally can't wait to get a pink top to pair with these!)

** Thanks to my mom for taking the pictures of me during our vacation to Siesta Key this past February!

Historical Road Trip | Photography Highlights

more to come soon!

A bit of Summer

We spent a lot of time on the road!  We went to Florida (twice), Massachusetts, Kentucky, and I took a weekend to Tennessee myself.  It made for a limited amount of time to relax the rest of the summer, but thankfully the second trip to Florida offered a surplus of time at the poolside and beach. 

Now, I have only in the past few years found that I really, truly, actually love travel!  I'm slowly (or perhaps rapidly) compiling a list of places to see and things to do.  Nonetheless, it is good to have time to take in the sunshine, celebrate with friends, and read a stack of books that barely fits in a suitcase. ;)

 

 

 

Teen History Trip 2015 ~ BOSTON

The 5th History Trip! This year we found ourselves in Boston, Massachusetts (and various surrounding areas.) The Boston Trip is probably the most taxing of the three trips due to the fact that it is the farthest away and involves an awful lot of walking. For the first time, we scheduled a trip that lasted seven days - from Sunday afternoon until Saturday evening.  I'm going to break down the trip day by day (so, yes, many pictures forthcoming) but we saw and did so much it really is hard to capture everything and put it in a single blogpost. Below, here is a picture of our crazy group (and a mold of the skull of George Whitefield.) -- as is tradition, we have a video of the highlights, and a video of our fun, both of which are at the end of the post --

Sunday

We drove.  And drove and drove and drove.  It rained.  And rained and rained and rained.  And stormed.  Oh yeah, and traffic.  We spent literally hours playing cards in our 15 passenger van.

Monday

The trip really began on Monday.  We drove into the city to see the tea party ship and museum.  It was very cool and detailed, and I might have bought an obsessive amount of tea. ;) The prospect of having the whole trip ahead of you is really a remarkable feeling as you reach your first historical stop.  Later that evening we stopped by the airport to pick up Emily from the Boston airport, as she was able to join the trip last minute! 

Tuesday

We spent Tuesday in Plymouth.  Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II, the Matrix of Liberty.  The Matrix of Liberty is the enormous monument at the end.  It was built by congress, in case we ever lose our way, to show us what this country was founded on and what morals to follow to get back there.

Wednesday

Wednesday could be considered Whitefield day. George Whitefield was an amazing man of God, People would come from all over to hear him preach.  We visited one of those sights as well as his grave.  This rock is only one of many places where he preached to hundreds. Disregarding the random snake that almost slithered right over my shoes, this place truly feels like holy ground.  Whitefield requested to be buried under the pulpit of the church. We toured the Old South Church in Newburyport and we also allowed to climb to bell tower. We finished the day by enjoying the beach for just a bit before heading back to the hotel for the night.  Plus, we also happened to drive by four penguins! In Massachusetts! Seriously, very cool.

Thursday

Ah, a whole day on the Freedom Trail.

Friday

After walking The Freedom Trail the night before, everyone was pretty tired when we woke up Friday morning. Even so, the Old North Bridge was amazing.  The site of the shot heard round the world. Also, it was very beautiful.  After exploring the bridge and surrounding areas, we also went to the site of the Midnight Riders.  These two events went hand in hand perfectly for our trip that day.

Saturday

Saturday was mostly spent driving home, but on these trips we often like to do a little something fun, to break up the monotony of the drive and give everyone a chance to breath - away from the car and without too much history.  This time, it was Hershey World, Pennsylvania. We each created our own candy bar, complete with personally designed cases and our own Hershey's hair-net and apron.  Not everyone was excited by these fashionable outfits.  Some of them might have been too excited. ;)