Southern Belle

There are a lot of things to love about the South: the warm hospitality, the sumptuous food (mostly of the fried variety!), the grand architecture, charming rocking chairs everywhere you look, and the exotic wildlife. And then there are the things I could do without: the oppressive heat coupled with intense humidity and the bugs that are so abundant they make an audible humming that's hard to ignore.  Last week my husband and I visited family in South Carolina and we were able to experience the good, bad and ugly of the South, as mentioned above. To the extensive community of Southern bloggers, I give you props. Taking pictures in 60% humidity and 95 degree temps? Now that takes guts and stamina!

As you can see, I am mainly fixating on the abysmal weather (oh, I forgot to mention the freak thunder storms that strike without warning!), but overall it was a wonderful trip. We were able to see everything from a kazoo factory, to historic homes, to wildlife sanctuaries. The pictures below were taken in the city of Beaufort, which is where the aforementioned kazoo factory is located, not to mention a bevy of historical homes that would make any southern belle swoon.

In addition to learning about unexpected things and soaking up the history, the outlet shopping in South Carolina is glorious! I picked up the hat above from a Saks Off 5th. It was only $24 (minus a little extra thanks to a coupon) and made in Italy. I wore it for the duration of the trip. My suitcase definitely weighed a lot more on the return trip than it did going.

Over the next week or so I will be posting some more photos of my journey to the South, including some of my outfits (I packed using a very particular color scheme of red, white, blue and lots of stripes so that everything would match), my outlet finds, and, most importantly, my highlights from the trip. For right now, sit back, enjoy a mint julep in your rocking chair and enjoy these photos of Beaufort and me!

Skirt: Boden "Florence" in Red Vintage Floral here

Tee: Kohl's

Shoes: J. Crew

Hat: Off Saks 5th Avenue here

Bag: J. Crew "Sophie" Crossbody

Sunglasses: Prada

Linking Up With: Shoe and Tell, Still Being Molly, How I Summer
 Bless Her Heart, Turning Heads 
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