#17 Villa Vizcaya

This week was my first week back at school with students. I work at a charter school with extended school hours, so that means I'm up at the butt crack of dawn and leaving work around 6-7pm. Don't get me wrong though-- it's such an amazing place and I'm so happy to be a part of it. It feels so good to get back to teaching, which is what I love to do. I feel like I'm really fulfilling my life's purpose when I'm teaching and interacting with kids... but as you can imagine, it doesn't leave me a lot of time to do outfit posts!

I've been looking through old photos and feeling nostalgic tonight. Two summers ago, I went on a pretty epic road trip with my boyfriend down South. We drove from Cleveland all the way to Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, and then back up to Atlanta. It was one of the best times of my life! I was thinking about this beautiful villa we saw in Miami, called Villa Vizcaya. It was a house built in the early 20th century for businessman James Deering. It's highly influenced by architecture from the Italian Renaissance and is bursting with gardens and fountains. This beautiful place even has an old outdoor swimming pool and a "harbor," so to speak, with steps going down from the house, descending right into the water. It's a magical place, to say the least.

It was a cloudy, rainy, humid day and I was eaten alive by mosquitos, but it remains in my memory as one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and it felt so wonderful to share those moments with someone so special to me. I remember my outfit specifically from that day...

Downtown Miami at night.

The outdoor fountains and the front of Villa Vizcaya.

Inside the Villa.

The outdoor pool area.

Here I am, standing by the harbor. The house is just a few feet next to this beautiful port!

DRESS Striped Mock Two-Piece, Nordstrom BP | SANDALS Black Gladiators, Urban Outfitters | GLASSES Prescription Tortoiseshell, Ray Ban | PURSE Gold metallic shoulder bag, H&M

Now that I think about it, I really love the nautical feel of my outfit-- it goes so well with the harbor/water theme! Wasn't planned at all, but I love the way it worked out. I'm still so pleased with these photos, especially the vivid colors. This was after I bought my first "real" camera (a Nikon D4o) and I remember being so amazed by the quality of the photographs. I hope you enjoyed my blast from the past and I hope that you too can visit this beautiful place someday! It really is a treasure. I can't wait to continue traveling and be able to post more of my experiences in new places.