This weekend I’m heading south to Florida for a girl’s weekend with some friends from high school. This marks the second time in two weeks that I am flying somewhere warm and sunny for fun and I’m feeling quite spoiled. I’m lucky to have a great husband who doesn’t mind that I take off with my friends, we’ve been talking about this for almost a year and I guess he knows how much I am looking forward to spending a carefree weekend with my girlfriends. I offered to do the research on where to go and asked everyone to give me their wish list. My friends sent the following:
1. Warm and sunny
2. Spa services
3. Evening cocktails by the sea

It took me no time to decide that the best destination for us is the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. I’ve never been to this hotel, but one look at the photos and positive reviews via TripAdvisor made it a quick and easy choice. I also came across this NY Magazine article that suggests a 5-Point Weekend Escape Plan for Sarasota, but that is way too ambitious. I did however, find their suggestions for where to have dinner immensely helpful. We have no agenda, so I’m packing very light and wanted to share my packing tips. We’ll be there for 3 days and I wanted to pack light enough so everything could fit in my straw bag. Once I get to the hotel and unpack, the straw bag will double as my handbag/beach bag. I wanted clothes that paired well together so I could mix and match them. For whatever reason, I think that Florida demands bright colors – so I channeled Lilly Pulitzer.

I plan to wear this at dinner, we are going to Indigenous one evening.

I also packed a bright pink halter-top sweater that I could wear with the Lilly pants or white jeans.

If we decide to venture from the hotel during the day, I plan to wear white cutoffs, a white lacy top and a hat and sandals.

Accessorizing is so important, and I love that these bamboo bangles go with everything.

One of my favorite and most comfortable green/white floral print tops and a light weight green sweater if the evening gets cool.

Love this navy/white striped top, a new purchase from Talbots and a tassel necklace I made.

I carefully folded and stacked all the clothes.

One last inventory check reminded me to pack my bathing suit and beach cover-up!

Everything fits nicely in the straw bag, I kept the shoe soles facing out to protect my clothes.

The addition of my cosmetic bag makes it complete. The hotel will have everything else I need (shampoo, conditioner, soap, hair dryer, etc.)