Spring Break Adventures Part Two: Howard Park Beach

After I got back from the conference in New Orleans, I headed straight back on the road the following morning, this time to another state I'd never been to yet: Florida! Yes, even though I live in the southeast, I'd never made it all the way to Florida so you can imagine how excited I was when one of my good friends from college invited a group of us to come stay with her family near Orlando. Her family was awfully brave because by the time everybody had made up their decision on whether to come there were twelve of us, plus her family, staying at their house. Many days, however, we were out and about visiting places, which gave them some space I hope. 


On the first day I was there, we drove a few hours to a place called Howard Park Beach -- it was a fairly small and uncrowded beach, and we spent time swimming in the water (which was actually very chilly) and watching the sun set over the ocean. 

I hesitated to put up this picture of me in a swimsuit, mostly because I realize that I don't have a particularly great "swimsuit body" -- but I wanted to share this swimsuit because I think it's very cute, flattering and modest. You can find it at Modcloth or Esther Williams Swimwear. It was my first Modcloth purchase - as cute as their clothes often are, I find their prices are generally too much for my standards. I had, however, been eyeing their swimsuits for many months and needed a new one badly so I decided to make the investment and buy it. I think that I will enjoy swimming in it many times, and was very happy about how it ended up looking :) 

More Florida adventures are soon to come!

Spring Break Adventures Part One: New Orleans

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a bit of traveling during my spring break, which was exciting for me because I enjoy traveling but have not gotten to see nearly as much of the United States as I would like to yet. I was able to visit two new states, beginning with Louisiana, over the course of about twelve days. I'm going to do a couple of posts about my trip - so I hope you enjoy :)


My trip to New Orleans was with a group of English majors from my college to present at the international English honor society's annual conference. During the time when we weren't listening to students presenting or authors speaking, we were free to roam around New Orleans' French Quarter.

Saint Louis Cathedral

We ate the Cafe Du Monde, famous for their coffee and beignets

Beignets! So good we went to get them twice :) 

A store just for me 

My outfit for the formal dinner the last night --
I hadn't intended to wear the cape with the dress, but the weather was chilly.
It ended up looking cute though, I think. 

New Orleans was certainly fun to explore for a few days. I enjoyed its distinct culture that was different than anything I'd ever experienced before. The food too was so unique: I learned what a "po boy" sandwich was and sampled jambalaya and gumbo (but we stayed away from any of the alcohol). The conference was great as well, even if presenting is rather nerve-wracking!