The first place we stopped was Catbird in Brooklyn because I had a gift certificate. I picked up quite a few things with my main purchase being one of their Mermaid’s Treasure rings. The other planned stop was the Empire State Building at Midnight. He had pre-purchased tickets online so there was no waiting in line. Of all the times I’ve been in town I never visited the building. It was wonderful. Touristy but wonderful. The view was breathtaking. It was a bit chilly, dark, mood lighting, and they had a jazz player in the main hall. It wasn’t too crowded and we could just stand around until we were ready to leave on our own.

The road trip was also the first vacation I’ve had since 2013. I didn’t realize it had been so long, but it had. I didn’t get many pictures because 1) I’m out of practice, and 2) I was always just walking. Walking walking walking.

The Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel where we stayed. I stayed at the Fairmont in Quebec City and really enjoyed it. This Fairmont was even more comfortable. The breakfast and room service were never disappointing!

The view from one of the windows in our room. I love when a hotel room has large swing open windows! I left them open at night to enjoy the cool breeze.

Ottawa’s ByWard Market area. This was just a block from the hotel. Ended up sitting next to a table of Players for the Senators here.

Stopped by the Bell Centre in Montreal and was surprised there are Canadien-themed residences next door. I hadn’t heard anything about these and the marketing strategy fascinated me. I checked out the website. This is apparently phase two going up.

Decided to try baking crescent rolls over the fire after seeing it suggested online.
BRILLIANT. Seriously going to do this from now on! Great for breakfast especially with a little bit of honey. I meant to wrap a hot dog up in one for a pig in a blanket but I got too greedy and just ate them all with honey.

Sometimes it just feels really great to get outside, enjoy each others’ company, and (mostly) unplug. This time I put together a “classic campfire” playlist that included Blue Öyster Cult, Carole King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Kinks, Chicago, The Mama’s and The Papa’s, and others.

The temperatures have dropped this week so the fire served as both a stove and heater this time around. I packed sweaters and fuzzy socks as well. There’s a knitted blanket we always bring too. Its color is cream and brown and always reminds me of the outdoors.

I sometimes get asked what I wear when camping so I took this as I started packing. I brought a few more things than this but mainly this Free People Scottish Fringe jacket was most important item since it was really needed once the sun went down.

It rained a bit during our visit at night so my photos are a bit limited. But it was a beautiful place to be at night!

We left Montreal around noon and drove to Quebec City for a few nights stay. Stayed at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac which wikipedia describes as the “most photographed hotel in the world.”

The hotel pretty nice, especially the interiors for cafes and lounge areas. The rooms were more of the familiar style with rich patterns on walls and furniture. The bathrooms were small but nice enough. Only complaint would be the lackluster A/C though I know it doesn’t often reach 85F there it did while I was visiting and yeah the unit just wasn’t made for those temperatures!
(дー)// I remedied it by taking cold showers every time we came back to the room. Worked like a charm.

Heat aside, we walked all over Old Quebec, along the river, and the Petit-Champlain district including the long walkover that takes you to the Plains of Abraham where the music festival “Festival d’été de Québec” was taking place. Also visited the downtown area where more music festivities were happening. :)

We stayed overnight in Montreal at the Auberge du Vieux-Port before driving onwards.
Fantastic boutique hotel with great service especially with valet. WiFi, luxury bathrooms, good location, A++ A/C too since it was quite hot during my trip.

Clothes

• blazer (Zara)
• dotted blue striped shirt (Madewell)
• short-sleeved poplin shirt (Everlane)
• red tee (Madewell)
• chino shorts (Madewell)
• black bistro skirt (Madewell)
• black tights (S-leg)
• summer scarf (Everlane)
• cotton mayfair boxer pajama set (Victoria’s Secret)

Shoes, bags, misc.

• red sandals (Madewell)
• black flats (Payless)

• red tote (Everlane)
• eco shopper bag (Ne-Net)

• gold belt (Madewell)
• sunglasses (Anthropologie)
• maison de reefur hair tie
• emi jay hair tie
• double-sided perfume roller (Michael Kors)

Forecast claims temperatures to be between 66F and 85F hence the blazer and tights but not bringing denim. I also felt a dress would be a better choice but I really didn’t feel like wearing one. C’est la vie.

So, 12 possibilities.
– striped shirt + skirt
– striped shirt + skirt + blazer
– poplin shirt + skirt
– poplin shirt + skirt + blazer
– red tee + skirt
– red tee + skirt + blazer
– striped shirt + chinos
– striped shirt + chinos + blazer
– poplin shirt + chinos
– poplin shirt + chinos + blazer
– red tee + chinos
– red tee + chinos + blazer

Always keeping Tim Gunn in mind when packing still
:)

Hope continuing to share these is helpful too!

I feel good. Another trip where I successfully avoided buying anything new to pack. Though I wanted to something fierce. Like a new bikini and new sneakers. Neither of which I wear on a steady basis so post-trip they wouldn’t get used much.

I did single carry-on only and wanted my suitcase to be as light as possible. I did end up bringing my new Everlane tote bag for use as my “personal item” bag. I also used it for the pre/post-hotel check-in/out.

• striped knit dress
• ruffle lace tank
• striped ¾ sleeved tee
• chino shorts
• denim boyshirt
• light scarf
• bikini
• raincoat (not pictured)
• sneakers
• open-toe flats
• crossbody satchel
• baggu expanding eco bag
• woven belt
• sunglasses

I also brought fleece tights for layering while in DC. I really didn’t want to bother packing a coat just to have the few moments between the parking garage & airport concourse so I layered the tights, dress, boyshirt, scarf, etc.

The sneakers & raincoat were mostly for the day trip to the El Yunque rain forest. Also I find switching between different sets of shoes helps prevent blisters during any heavy-walking trip.

The temperatures were between low 70’s to upper 80’s so I wanted a lot of layering pieces that were made from breathable fabrics (aka no silk, god I have a closet full of silk!)

These picks turned out great. I was always comfortable, prepared, etc. I was glad I didn’t pack any flow’y skirts because the breeze would have been too much for those, and I’m extremely happy I packed the denim boyshirt as it layered great when in an air conditioned cafe.

I was in a heavy monochromatic wardrobe rotation before leaving for the trip but coming back I’m ready to add some color for spring. I need to sit down and think about which stark winter items to pack away though it’ll continue to be winter cold for a little while longer.

If you follow my twitter, instagram, or even Tumblr you’ve known I’ve been on vacation :)

Now I’m back to 25°F winter temperatures. However, today was really sunny so it has helped make returning not feel like such a loss.

Though now I don’t think I can go back to wearing all winter black. I’ll need to dust off my mint blazer or something~ :)

I’m still left with my coral-colored pedicure as a reminder that I was indeed wearing a bikini all week.

So here are a ton of photos from my iPhone. I’ll pull my Olympus Pen photos soon :)

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Balneario de Carolina

El Yunque National Rainforest

Old San Juan

Food & Etc.