Lots of love for J.Crew this spring--I'm wearing my favorite tee, denim jacket, and twirly new pleated skirt in today's weekend look. This skirt is even prettier in person and swishes nicely when I walk (you might have seen me wearing it a couple days in a row on my Snapchat--username is helloframboise). It seems like sizes and colors are going very fast, so jump on it quickly while it's 25% off right now (code: SHOPMORE).
I've written quick reviews of my tee (read it here) and jacket (read it here) before, and these are both pieces I find myself reaching for over and over. These closet staples are 25% off as well with the current promo, so it's a great time to scoop them up to add to your spring basics wardrobe.
I've been loving all the lace-up shoes available this spring, but it's tough to find a pair that doesn't start to get uncomfortable or dig into my skin quickly. My shoes here are a Joie pair I scored at last year's Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, but they're still available at reduced prices in some other colors at Saks. If I were to choose a current-season pair that looks to be similarly comfy, well-made, and budget friendly, I'd pick this Vince Camuto pair via Nordstrom. As far as lace-up flats go, I'm still enjoying my Steve Madden Eleanorr flats, which are currently price-matched at 25% off.
Denver had lovely weather again this weekend, but I actually got to spend a little time in the mountains on Friday and Saturday doing some spring skiing. Despite a somewhat slushy conditions, Sean and I still had a great time on the mountain. We hardly missed the hour we lost switching over to daylight savings. With our jobs keeping us past 5 pretty much every day, we love having a little bit of sunlight in the evening when we finally do leave the office.
Hope Daylight Savings treats you well, too! Happy Monday!
I've teamed up with Gorjana and Rocksbox today to show you this pretty, new, exclusively-on-Rocksbox set of layered necklaces from Gorjana. I thought they went well with a simple, easy weekend outfit: a jersey jumpsuit from Topshop coupled with my latest favorites: this denim jacket and these amazing lace-up shoes.
Have you signed up for Rocksbox yet? If you haven't, my code to get your first month's subscription delivered to your door for free is helloframboisexoxo. I love subscription boxes, especially when I get to expand my accessory collection and wear some cute pieces inexpensively to change up my usual look. Those who read here regularly know I'm not much of a jewelry chameleon, but Rockbox makes my day whenever it arrives, and it encourages me to incorporate new pieces. I've had my subscription since March and have had a lot of fun with it. If you have questions about signing up, email me, and I'm always happy to answer.
Congrats to Rocksbox and Gorjana on such a fun collab--glad I got to be a part of it! Hope you have a lovely rest of your week, readers!
I'm back with more from Greece today! After our time in Crete (see Part I and Part II of this guide for more on that), Sean and I climbed aboard a Hellenic Seaways high-speed ferry and made our way to Santorini, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Dress: J.Crew | Shoes: Joie | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Watch: kate spade | Earrings: bought in Greece
Where we stayed:
After a lot of research, we rented a villa via AirBnB in Oia, the most picturesque of little towns with amazing sunsets every night. When we arrived at Villa Matilde, the stunning view pictured in these photos greeted us. We've had excellent experiences with AirBnB in Paris and New York, and we were similarly pleased with our accommodations this time around. Our host was friendly and helpful, and she had a friend who acted as a porter to help us carry our bags and get settled on the island. The house was clean and charming, and a maid came in daily to make beds, refresh towels, and do some light cleaning. We had initially wanted to book a smaller place and were disappointed when our top choice was taken. Because it was the end of the season, our host was willing to negotiate a bit on the cost of this larger apartment to make it more feasible for just two people.
Getting around:
We pre-scheduled a transfer from the seaport to our villa and from the villa to the airport on our way out. This was easy and hassle-free, especially given the crazy crowds at the seaport as hundreds of people made their way off the ferry. We worked out a price ahead of time through Maria, our AirBnB host, which was nice as the cabs and minibuses on the island don't seem to have meters or set pricing. Oia is visible from Fira, where our ferry docked, but it takes 45 minutes over winding mountain roads to get between the two.
In hindsight, I would recommend renting a car if you are up to the challenge of driving. There is a bus system around the island, but during peak times, bus queues are very lengthy and buses are crowded.
On our second evening, we had the pleasure of dining with one of my favorite bloggers, Fran of Franish, who happened to be in Santorini at the same time we were. Fran and her family were just delightful, and we loved our dinner at Floga with its upscale Mediterranean food and ocean views. (Update: see the obligatory blogger meetup photo and what I wore here!)
On our last evening in Santorini, we made our way down to Katharos Lounge, an out of the way spot which is actually on the water as opposed to on a cliffside, with a beautiful view of the sunset. They don't serve a traditional dinner, but they do small plates to share, which is one of our favorite ways to dine. If you can, snag a table on the oceanfront patio at sunset and watch Santorini work its magic while enjoying your meal. You could also go swimming at their adjacent beach during the day, with snack and drink breaks on the patio at your leisure.
Quick tip: finding good restaurants is always a fun challenge when traveling--I've found that checking TripAdvisor and reading through reviews there is a great way to refine the search and make sure we'll have a good experience while dining out. As someone with food allergies (tree nuts), I also make sure to look for reviews about how a particular restaurant accommodates dietary restrictions.
What we learned:
As I said above, I think this island is truly one of the most unique and beautiful places in the world. The downside is that many, many other people feel the same way. Even at the end of the season, Oia was very crowded, and there was a nearly-constant stream of tourists marching through the narrow streets and past our villa to catch a glimpse of the lovely view. We were happy to have our own private outdoor spaces to enjoy the beauty without the crowds, but venturing out of our little bubble meant joining the masses eager to see Santorini for themselves, especially at sunset. We found that the early morning was a great time to take photos and explore the island without the hordes of tours from the cruise ships that would come in daily.
Crowds aside, I felt very sad to leave Santorini and am hoping we'll be able to make it back sometime in the not-too-distant future. Cheers to gorgeous sunsets and bubbly Greek wine!
I'm excited to share more photos from Santorini and a quick guide to Athens in upcoming posts. Hope you enjoyed this installment of my Travel Guide to Greece!
If you've been following my Instagram and Snapchat, you probably saw that Sean and I are in Greece at the moment. It is absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous here, and we have been loving every minute of our getaway. Since so many of you have expressed that you'd like to visit Greece someday, I thought I'd talk more in-depth about our planning and our stay in case that's helpful when you plan your trip to this lovely country.
It took us about 24 hours, including layovers, to leave from Denver and finally arrive on the island of Crete. We spent our first night at the Lato Boutique Hotel in Heraklion, getting a much-needed full night of sleep in a comfortable bed. We were up early to head out for a day of sightseeing and making our way to our next destination. We stayed at the Lato for a night on our way out of Crete as well, and I can definitely recommend its yummy breakfast, good location, comfy rooms, and reasonable prices.
I usually save packing until the last possible moment, but Sean and I are headed to Greece very soon, and I am too excited to delay making my packing list. Besides my long-haul flight essentials, I'm packing my trusty Longchamp Le Pliage and favorite sun hat. I snagged a couple new dresses to take with me during J.Crew's recent sale (still going on!), including pretty lace shift and this chambray shirtdress that will transition nicely into fall.
Follow along via Snapchat (username: helloframboise) and Instagram while I'm exploring Greece next week.
Top: Urban Outfitters (on sale!) | Denim: ASOS | Shoes: Joie via the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (#NSale) | Bag: Mansur Gavriel (hint: these are notoriously hard to find, but you can pre-order one at Barney's right now!) | Bracelet: Vintage | Earrings: Nadri via the #NSale
Some of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks from my previous post have finally arrived! While not everything is summer-appropriate of course, I thought I'd show you a look with couple pieces that I was able put to work right away and will transition easily into fall, my Joie lace-up sandal-booties and the Nadri Ear Jackets. Remember, the Anniversary Sale is still going on this week, but prices go up on August 3.
I've been looking at earrings in this style (with a back jacket) for a while now, and these pretty Nadri ones really caught my eye while I was browsing the Anniversary Sale. I was delighted to find that they are even prettier in person, and they are light as air on my ears.
I find it difficult to wear heavy earrings for an entire day; these are so light I even forgot to take them out before bed and had no trouble sleeping in them. The jackets have a couple different holes where you can insert the earring, so you can control how low you want them to hang below your ear. The backs are nice and sturdy, so you don't have to worry about them loosening or falling out. I think I'll be wearing these a ton this summer and fall!
One of my other favorite pieces I ordered from the #NSale? These Joie sandals (booties? a hybrid?). Getting into them takes a little effort, but once they're on, I found them to be very comfortable as long as I left myself plenty of room in the laces. The heel on them is a very walkable stiletto, and the leather is buttery-soft, so no blister issues there. I'm excited to style these in a bunch of different ways--they have so much potential!
I wore the look in this post yesterday, which was a very busy Sunday. Because of our work schedules, Sean and I don't get to run many errands during the week, so we jam as many as we can into our weekends. When we stopped to quickly take these photos, we had a car full of groceries, so I decided to grab my bunch of supermarket roses and use it as a prop here.
This location is another great Denver spot. Behind me you can see the interesting architectural features of the Denver Art Museum, and I'm standing on the promenade between the museum and the Denver Public Library. There are some fascinating pieces of public art around this park--here's a little more info on some of the big pieces if you're interested.
