Florida Bound!

One of my favorite parts of my day is how I start my mornings: with a cup of coffee, some sunny-sounding Cuban music, and a Florida guidebook in my hand. I am getting ready for a Florida-bound road trip with one of my best friends next month, and I cannot wait!

As you know, I love trip planning about as much as I love trip taking, so I have been savoring every minute. I've been scouring travel guides, blogs, maps, magazines, and online newspapers finding all the best things. And for a little literary context, I've been reading Hemingway's To Have and Have Not, a novel about the sobering adventures of a fishing boat captain who is forced to run contraband between Cuba and Key West to make a living for his family in the 1930s. 

[a little vintage Florida inspiration, including a photo of Hemingway]

The plans are still coming together, but here are a few of the things I'm looking forward to the most...

canoeing & camping in Everglades National Park

the Cuban food tour I've put together of Little Havana

Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe 

(and about half a dozen other pie place I've found)

shopping at L.A. Boudoir, Miami's vintage lingerie shop

watching cigars being rolled at El Credito Cigar Factory

snorkeling at Bahia Honda State Park

a tour of Hemingway House

Stone Crab claws

chickens running wild in the streets

Object of Affection: NC Pennant

I am a huge fan of kitschy travel memorabilia, but I didn't have to travel too far to find this vintage NC pennant. This little treasure came from one of my favorite Charlotte antique shops, Fifteen Ten Antiques on Central Avenue. As a NC native, this keepsake tugs at my heartstrings. I imagine someone picking it up on their vacation to Kitty Hawk or on a tour of college campuses around the state. I love it for its bright colors (that coral pink is one of my all-time favs) and its adorably retro illustrations of North Carolina landmarks and tourists. This pennant has a home on the wall by my sewing machine.