We just got back from five glorious days in Florida and I am still riding high. We had such an amazing vacation and taking some time off and focusing on our family was simply the best! It’s funny. We always say we should do that more when we go away and then we don’t go away forever. I’m hoping to change that more this year. Since we’ve been so bad at planning vacations ahead – it’s hard to know what will come at work, we are so indecisive re: where to go and whether to bring James and then the planning feels overwhelming. So when Andrew had a business trip right after President’s Weekend and we both got that Monday off, we decided to tack a family vacation on to it. We had been debating whether to go to Florida, the Bahamas or Sea Island in Georgia (best place ever btw), so we decided to make it Florida since it was convenient to get to from NYC and not far from where Andrew was going for work. While I’ve been to southern Florida a bunch for weddings, bachelorettes, golf, work, family vacays etc., and really love Palm Beach and Miami when I’m looking to partay, neither of us had spent much time in northern Florida. I had covered weddings and honeymoons in Amelia Island during my days working at a bridal magazine, and the more we looked into it, it seemed to offer everything we were looking for – Beach, pool, warm weather, good food and kid friendly – so we decided to check it out and we were definitely not disappointed.
The resort we stayed at – the Omni plantation – couldn’t have been a better pick for a vacation with James. We rented a two bedroom condo/villa so we could relax and do stuff while James slept and it was great. The resort itself is the size of a college campus with shuttles everywhere and a variety of restaurants, stores and tons of activities. While we didn’t get to play golf or tennis because we had James with us, we’d love to go back when he’s older to take advantage of their many courses and courts. We did visit the on site nature center, tried mini golf for a hot second (James’ attention span is still pretty low; side note: they also have ping pong and corn hole and other fun games for older kids and big big kids, no judgement), rented bikes as they had ones with any seats and trailers (we took the trailer with a baby seat in it and it was amazing – put J right to sleep; they also rent jogging stroller which I thought was awesome); went for long walks through their many walking and biking trails, played on the beach and swam in the pool (which James absolutely loved) and ate out for basically every meal without too much stress, which was huge because James has been a lot recently and hard to handle when we go out but everywhere we went was so family friendly and he was so stimulated all day, it wasn’t a big deal and was pretty smooth.
Packing for a beach vacation is always fun Imo especially when you’ve been bundled up in sweaters all weekend but the weather forecast was for 70s and 80s so I really had to bring a mix for sunny days and for cooler days. I tried to focus on some cute coverups I could wear with shorts or alone to lunch after a morning on the beach, some cute sundresses for dinners, casual T-shirt’s and shorts for activities like biking and hikes, and then white jeans and a few cardis for cooler days and nights. I am excited to say for once I actually packed right. I had what I needed, was excited about my cute new purchases for the trip, and felt comfy even after stuffing my face on all the delicious food. I mostly focused on comfy sundresses and elastic waists, which helped with that.My trick for beach vacations is to keep it light and easy. You mostly live in your bathing suit so I like to focus on coverups and airy dresses you can toss on over your suit for lunch and walks to get ice cream etc and then breezy dresses and tops for dinners. Rather than a complicated mix of outfits, I stick to white jeans, white shorts, and breezy cotton tunics that can be worn over suits or with pants or shorts and light, airy dresses and skirts that can be worn over suits or with sandals to dinners. Then you just need a cardi or denim jacket, some cotton tees, flip-flops and a couple pairs of sandals for the evening. Easy, comfy, chic.
Right now, I’m in love with everything from Tory Burch’s new spring collection – the prints, the styles, the details, everything so I snagged a few easy pieces from there for the trip as well as some maxis from DVF. Both are great for beachwear. I also love Roberta Roller Rabbit, J.Crew and Tuckernuck for beach essentials.
All in all, it was a really amazing trip and just what our family needed. I loved getting to focus just on James and our family, getting so much quality time with my boys, and getting a break from the cold. Even after flying back alone with James, I feel rested and rejuvenated and (almost) ready to face the rest of winter. Here’s what I wore on our Amelia Island vacation.
Day 1
Beach
Tory Burch Tunic (on sale here)
Dinner
Floral Sundress (also this style for dressier occasions)
Day 2
Beach
Dinner
Sweater: Floral Skirt; Earrings
Day 3
Beach
Tunic (old J.Crew but similar here in print)
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