[shirt: banana republic (similar) // sweater: banana republic (similar) // vest: jcrew factory (similar) // coat: jcrew (similar) // jeans: gap // kicks: zara // baubles: michael kors, stella and dot, jcrew // sunnies: prada // purse: tory burch]

It's a good motto to have: whether it be for a trip, a dinner party, or just a lunch outing.  I also feel this way about layers.  Over the weekend, we spent Saturday vineyard hopping around Virginia.  It was a perfect crisp fall day and even though the sun was out, layers were definitely necessary.  For the record, I'm wearing 4 including the coat.

[dress: jcrew (similar) // shirt: ann taylor (similar) // kicks: rachel roy // baubles: jcrew (here, here, and similar), michael kors // sunnies: prada // purse: brahmin]

I don't know about where you kids are located but the weather over the past week has been downright dreamy.  As in, no humidity, pure blissful fall air, and maybe even a sighting or two of a fall leaf (?!).  It's crazy I know, and I also know that mother nature is going to slap me with a whooping dose of humidity as soon as the post goes live.  C'est la vie.


I decided to take advantage of this gorgeous weather by layering some tried and trues in bright colors.  It was such a fun, bright look that illicited a lot of comments (good and bad - one guy made a comment of he wasn't sure that he could see me...hardy har har).  This dress also breaks my 'blondes should not wear yellow rule' so maybe there aren't any hard and fast rules for fashion afterall.

I have to admit, I'm not easily intimidated when it comes to fashion, but brights are an interesting area for me.  While my typical mentality is go big or go home, for this trend, I like to tone it down a little with a more calm or neutral color.  I think it's just more me.

In honor of my very big birthday, Hubs planned a little get-away.  I was told that we'd be going to Key West, a personal favorite locale of mine.  However, when my guys brought me breakfast in bed on Friday, I was gifted a tour book for Turks and Caicos.  It was a fantastic vacation and a location that I have no doubt we will return to.  I'll be highlight some vacation looks in the upcoming weeks along with tips for packing to such a location, but until then, I thought I'd kick it off with one of my go-tos for trips like this.


The dress is comfortable, the shoes are awesome and easy, and the panama hat - effortlessly chic, but really great to helping tame my hair in humidity.  Another perk of this dress is I (foolishly) bought it full price at JCrew last year; now it's on sale for $30 at JCrew's Factory site.  Seriously, go get yourself one!