Travel to: Amelia Island

We LOVED the pool at the Springhill Suites! More on my outfits below!

~ First, I just wanted to say a big heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who shared in the joy and excitement of our engagement this weekend! Every single kind word has meant more than you know and I can feel the love being multiplied by all of you! In case you missed it…we are ENGAGED! Of course, I can’t wait to share more about it! But…our engagement story needs and deserves it’s own post…stay tuned for our full engagement story in a few days 🙂

~ Now…onto some more fun things…I’m so excited to be sharing our trip to Amelia Island with you today! Last week, my good friend, Patricia (from @preppypublicist and @thepreppypodcast), and I took off for a little girls trip to Amelia Island. In short: we loved it! It’s in Florida and certainly has a tropical vibe, but it also reminded me at times of Kiawah with the Spanish Moss and old roads shaded with trees. It’s quiet and moves slow – which I really loved!

In order to travel to Amelia Island, you definitely will need to rent a car. We flew into Jacksonville Airport (about 40 minutes away) and ended up renting a car after our first day when we realized that no ride share companies served the island. I think having a car is really the best way to see everything anyhow 🙂

~ We stayed at the brand new Springhill Suites on Amelia Island! It was SO crisp, new, clean, and beautiful! I say it often, but it’s really true that for me, it’s the people that make the place. Certainly, my favorite part of the Springhill Suites was the incredibly friendly and welcoming staff who went above and beyond to make us feel at home. The room was so comfortable, and had a desk (*perfect for working from home) which really helped when I had to do my editing at night! The bed was so comfortable and the bathroom could not have been more amazing, modern, and comfortable. Be sure to check out my “Amelia Island” highlight section on my instagram stories, which has a video tour of my beautiful room!

We spent a lot of our free time out by the pool! We loved the cocktails and the food as well.

Lastly, having a complimentary continental breakfast was so amazing and something I haven’t had in a while on a trip. They even had gluten free bagels for me which was such a treat. It really helped us get off on the right foot each day – I’m not sure about you but I cannot function without coffee!

~ First, we started off with a dinner at the Salt Life Food Shack, which was a very casual beach bar with live music (*my favorite!). The staff there was so fun and friendly and we really enjoyed sipping our Painkiller Rum Drinks while watching the sunset over the ocean. The loaded nachos were unreal amazing and the sushi was incredibly fresh!

We had an amazing lunch a Coquina, the beach restaurant at The Ritz! I had a wonderful salad with grilled shrimp and the most amazing habañero mango margarita! The decor at Coquina was absolutely stunning…it makes you feel like…you are not in Florida….maybe in Mexico! We loved it.

For dinner on our last night, we at downtown at The Boathouse. I would recommend walking around the adorable town and then catching the sunset over the Fernandina Marina before walking over to The Boathouse. It was also casual with great cocktails and live music (*make sure to sit outside if you can!).

~ Besides getting in as much pool time as we could, we had a few favorite activities! We are both Lilly Pulitzer lovers and were excited to check out the Lilly Pulitzer store at The Ritz. It’s a smaller version of the Lilly Pulitzer stores we are used to shopping, but we loved that it had all of the necessities! Forget a swimsuit or need a new summer dress? Head on over!

We also had a really fun evening walking around the Omni, which is definitely another accomodation option if you are looking for something beach front! Their property is huge and so beautiful. They have so many awesome shops and restaurants right there!

Lastly, we went outside of our comfort zone and challenged ourselves with a kayaking adventure with Amelia Island Adventures and were glad that we did! It wasn’t as hard as I expected as we were on a creek, and afterwards, we felt we completely earned our next rum drinks (*I always love moving my body on vacation!). I love alligators and we even saw 2 gators. The KINDNESS of our guide Kerri – she could not have been more sweet and she made us feel so safe as novice kayakers.

If you have any questions about our trip, feel free to reach out to me at wearbowsandsmile@gmail.com! Now, on to some of the fun things I loved wearing while we were there!

Outfit Details: ~ Maxi Dress ~ Similar Sandals ~ Earrings ~ Sunglasses

Outfit Details: ~ White Seersucker Dress ~ Earrings ~ Sunglasses

Outfit Details: ~ Blue Patterned Swing Dress (sold out! But available in other patterns!) ~ Earrings ~ Clutch ~ Similar Sandals ~ Sunglasses

Outfit Details: ~ Amazing Maxi Dress ~ Bow Clutch ~ Earrings ~ Bracelets ~ Sunglasses

Outfit Details: ~ Terry Tunic Cover Up ~ Live Bright Straw Bag (100% of the proceeds go toward the AIM at Melanoma Foundation!) ~ Earrings ~ Sunglasses