Tampa Style Guide

Initially, I had wanted to do a Tampa travel guide. However, cute restaurants and Instagrammable walls didn’t take priority over batting practice and baseball stadiums this past weekend. Oh well. For all the quests to find a botanical garden I’ve dragged Matt on, he deserved a little time for himself. We did get a chance to spend a bit of time at our hotel which had a few cute spots. Even though things don’t always go as planned, I’m making lemonade out of lemons and doing a style guide instead!

I hadn’t been to Florida in forever. I think the last time I was there was for a Bachelorette circa summer 2014 and it was wildly different. Our flight was delayed 3 hours Thursday night so Matt and I grabbed a quick dinner at the airport and I wrote last Friday’s post about 5 things you need for spring break. Clearly, I’m a procrastinator. I wasn’t too bummed because I got work done! First thing Friday morning, I sat out on the deck at our hotel soaking up the sun. I had forgotten what sun felt like. Wearing sunglasses hasn’t been a requirement since the move but it definitely was in Tampa! Of course, I got burnt within 2 hours which meant I was seeking shade the rest of the weekend. I’m so mad at myself for not putting on sunscreen! I partly blame Matt who didn’t want to let me check a bag. The struggles!

We stayed at the Sailport Suites which was in between the airport and Dunedin which is where the Blue Jays play. Matt’s parents had stayed there before so they could vouch for it! We planned it really last minute and to be honest, I didn’t even look at the hotel before we got there. I was pleasantly surprised by the deck, the tiki hut, and the colorful adirondack chairs. Lots of fun backdrops for photos! Of course that meant that Matt wasn’t completely off the hook for taking photos but I think the promise of many hours of baseball made it okay!

I talked a little about spring break style last week and previewed what I packed for this trip! I couldn’t have been more spot on. Lots of comfy coverups, a really cute one piece sent to me by Mena Swimwear, and sandals – yay! My favorite pair (which I barely took off because I’m so in love) were these pink velvet flats. Seriously, they are so cute. I styled them with jean shorts, this black maxi dress, and this grey coverup. They are over $100 but so worth it. I can tell I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of them this spring and summer! If there was one splurge item for spring I’d recommend, it’d be them. This blush tote and these pink sunnies went perfectly with them so I wore this combo on repeat.

A few other fun pieces were this white midi dress and this floral print bag. The dress came in handy when I needed to cover up my sunburn! We spent a few hours sitting out on these colorful chairs just enjoying the breeze and the view. I contemplated never coming back to Chicago. However, work calls! I’ll be posting more pictures soon so stay tuned for more angles of this outfit!

This wide brimmed hat also helped shield me from the sun. I love the cute message on it. I’ve seen so many hats at all price points (including this one over $400). While I’m totally obsessed with it, that investment is just too much for something you can only wear a few months of the year! This one was a perfect compromise between quality and price. 100% approve.

Of course, I over packed and brought a few items I didn’t get the chance to wear like this palm printed maxi dress. So freaking cute. I also really love these taupe espadrille flats which so far, I’ve only worn around the house. I know I’ll get to wear them soon enough. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’ll get to wear them at some point. It’s been snowing in Chicago for the last 2 days so soon might be an overstatement!