WEEKEND GETAWAY :: SUNNY SAN FRANCISCO

Though I will freely admit, both Emil and I could happily spend the rest of our lives traveling, most of the time, we find it quite difficult to get away for a proper vocation. After countless cancelled trips, we finally found a way to travel yet still keep up with our increasingly insane schedules. The answer was of course simple, weekend getaways! Though it may seem like 2-3 days can hardly make a difference, in our experience, being away from the madness even for a short periods of time allows for some well-needed down time!

Now, I will once again admit that up until recently I wasn't great at packing for these shorts trips! Since I find it very difficult to be away from my shoes even for short periods of time, I would  almost always overpack yet end up wearing less than 1/5 of what I brought. As a result, my poor boy would get stuck lugging around huge suitcases. Suffice to say, he was not a happy camper:) 

The good news is that I've learned my lesson. Now, I take my time to really plan my outfits, and pack only the absolute necessities, in other words, basically only what I will actually wear:) I've also made a switch from huge suitcases, to much more convenient luggage for short trips, a.k.a. the weekenders.

The one from Lo & Sons I am wearing in today's post is my current favorite! Aside from the fact that I am more than a little obsessed with the fact that it's made from a super lightweight pre-washed canvas, which is machine washable ( I am not exactly very careful with my luggage, so the fact that I can wash it and it looks new again is very much appreciated ), I just love that it's so soft and can be folded for convenient storage. But I think my favorite feature is the bottom zipper pocket! Such a smart design!!! I used to put all of my sunglasses and jewelry cases at the bottom of the bag, which of course made it ridiculously difficult to fish any of them out. Now, I just place them in the bottom pocket and they are always readily accessible! 

What about you guys? How do you pack for weekend getaways?

Lo & Sons The Catalina weekender in Dove Grey | MADEWELL cotton kimono jacket | Chloe The Marcie mini textured leather shoulder bag | Seafarer Lord Jim New capri jeans | Gucci Candy ankle strap sandals 

Lo & Sons The Pearl leather crossbody bag | The Kooples destroyed jean jacket | A.P.C. girl plaid cotton-blend shirt | Zara leather skirt | Kenneth Cole Blaire leather and calf-hair espadrilles 

Thank you for reading

& Keep On Smiling,

LOVE,

Annabelle 

Maxi Rainbow & Chloe Paraty Tote

Whenever I put this Cynthia Steffe dress on, I cannot help but feel like Summer is here.  I must confess it will look better once I get a little bit of a tan going on, I am a very bad California girl, I have the whitest skin of all my friends… But I promise, I am working on it, I actually got my first tan lines of the season this Sunday, that and a burned nose! Falling asleep on the beach with big sun glasses on equals raccoon eyes and a bright red shnobel! Thank God for make up!!!

I actually designed the wedges I am wearing back when I was still working with Elisa Ferare, who was a wonderful shoe designer. They are about 2 years old, but I don’t wear them a lot, I sort of keep them in my closet for special occasions or for whenever I feel like taking a trip down the memory lane… I love cork for summer and of course bright yellow patent was such a fun upper! I promise I will show them better next time, I was coming straight from the beach, so my feet were not camera readyJ I love designing shoes, I get ideas all the time from pretty much everything, but most of all from whenever I go the leather warehouses, Italian metallic suede or softest lamb in pastel colors make my brain go into overdrive, so I start sketching like a mad woman…  But I digress, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I wish you all a fantastic weekJ

Love,

Annabelle

Dress – Cynthia Steffe, Bag – Chloe, Wedges – My own design.

Ray of Light & Chloe Paraty Tote

One of my favorite trends this season is the color orange. So, when I saw this bag I just couldn’t resist! I am a huge fan of Chloe bags period, plus I was looking for a fun orange bag. I justify this one to myself because it works with right about everything! Makes all my monochromatic outfits so much more for fun! Emil and I went to Marina del Rey to shoot these pictures and the weather was simply amazing! A perfect balance between the warmth of the sun and coolness of the wind. A rare gem of day! Hence the stupid grin on my face, I am always cold so on a day like this I just cannot help but smileJ I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Annabelle

Bag – Chloe, Jeans – Zara, Shoes – Charles David, Blazer – Robert Rodriguez, Tank – Bar |||