Beach Daze

After an extremely crazy second week of school, I was so grateful to be able to go to the beach and recharge for the week. However, I am just as exhausted as ever! It is so hard getting back into the swing of things school-wise. Senior year is kicking my butt!

This weekend I have been doing homework (ugh!), watching college football, and trying to simply relax. I have been debating over whether or not I want to ask anyone to my homecoming dance this year. A lot of my friends are not going to ask anyone, and I don't know if I really need to ask anyone. I guess I will just follow my gut.

I actually had a breakdown this weekend from all of the stress. I cannot wait until second semester, the time that is rumored to be so much easier! I'll knock on wood and cross my fingers, but meanwhile I have four months of crazy scheduling between school, volleyball, college applications, and yearbook! (Not to mention my other clubs!)

My goal for this semester is to be more concentrated, and I will work on that right now by finishing my homework! #seniorness

XOXOXO,

Beach Music Playlist

Whenever I am on the beach, I always have the radio or my phone by my side, playing my favorite songs for the summer. Here are my favorite picks this year for beach music (across a few different genres)

COUNTRY:

BEACHIN' | JAKE OWEN

I GOT A CAR | GEORGE STRAIT

SUNTAN CITY | LUKE BRYAN

FRIDAY NIGHT | BRAD PAISLEY

FOLLOW YOUR ARROW | KASEY MUSGRAVES

DRINK IN MY HAND | ERIC CHURCH

WHATEVER SHE'S GOT | DAVID NIALL

BOTTOMS UP | BRANTLEY GILBERT

YEAH | JOE NICHOLS

FEELIN' IT | SCOTTY McCREERY

DOIN' WHAT SHE LIKES | BLAKE SHELTON

LIVE A LITTLE | DEAN ALEXANDER

ALTERNATIVE / ROCK:

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP | BEN HOWARD

OVERJOYED | BASTILLE

FEVER | THE BLACK KEYS

AMBER | 311

FLAKE | JACK JOHNSON

HOME AGAIN | MICHAEL KIWANUKA

AWKWARD | SAN CISCO

SLEEPING WITH A FRIEND | NEON TREES

RAGING FIRE | PHILLIP PHILLIPS

POP / DANCE:

RATHER BE | CLEAN BANDIT

SUMMER | CALVIN HARRIS

SING | ED SHEERAN

DO MY THANG | MILEY CYRUS

CLASSIC | MTKO

SHOW ME | MINT ROYALE

AM I WRONG | NICO & VINZ

JEANS (GESAFFELSTEIN REMIX) | LANA DEL RAY

COLOURS | GROUPLOVE

MY LOVE | ROUTE 94

I hope all of y'all have a great summer! I am all over this place this summer, volunteering, nannying, at the beach, and traveling. I'll hope to be on this blog all the time, but in the meantime I am studying for my last few finals so wish me luck!

XOXOXO,

Kels

Nantucket Shopping

Nantucket is honestly probably my favorite place on earth. Preppy people parade down the streets, and sometimes it feels like a runway show, where you can only dream of owning their clothes. Another fave is that literally every house has the most gorgeous hydrangeas (my all time favorite flower). Here are my family's favorite stores on the island.

STORES

Sunken Ship
Quick Description: Crowded souvenir shop
More Info: My brother loves this store. Me? Not so much, its just really crowded with stuff and with people. They sell Rainbows (probably the only thing that I have bought in the store), along with a random assortment of other items that appeal to tourists, like hats, shirts, and random electronics.
What We Bought: A new Nantucket sticker for our car, and a shirt for a family friend

Jack Wills
Quick Description: British clothes
More Info: I think I mainly like this store because of what the employees do when they are not selling clothes in the store. They throw the best parties where hand out free "party pants" (neon Jack Wills underwear), and hire college age kids who know how to have a good time. The clothes are pretty cute, but anything I love does not fit me well and the clothes that do are just kind of blah. However, every teen goes here at least once during their stay.
What We Bought: This year... nothing! Last year I got a floral shirt, underwear, nail "varnish", and makeup and my dad got a swimsuit

Murray's Toggery
Quick Description: Great for Guys, Blah for Girls
More Info: Have you been craving a Nantucket Red clothing item? If so, you can find one here. They have great preppy clothes for guys. My dad and brother can always find something good here. However, I find the women's clothing section geared towards older women. The only thing that I can ever find here are Jack Rogers sandals. My mom likes their driving shoes. They sell a little bit of Vineyard Vines clothing, but there is a VV on the island that I like better!
What We Bought: This year I got Jacks, my mom got sandals, my dad got a belt, and my brother got a shirt and a belt.

My new Jacks!

Vineyard Vines
Quick Description: Guys can get anything here
More Info: One of my favorite places to shop on the island. I recently got a "frocket" (front pocket) tee shirt from there and will soon get a hat. They have the best clothes for guys. BEST. Shorts in every color, ties in every print, and everything else a guy summering on Nantucket could possibly need, except for a sports coat! A great place to buy tunics for women, and everything is pretty cute, if not expensive.
What We Bought: I got a Tee Shirt and a hat, my mom got a cover up, and my brother got a sweater.

Lilly Pulitzer:
Quick Description: C'mon, its Lilly!
More Info: Yes, Nantucket has a Lilly! In August, they have huge sales. They have something for every amount of money you want to spend.
What We Bought: This year, we did not get any Lilly in Nantucket, because I already got some earlier in the summer, and didn't really want to dish out money for any more this time.

Blue Beetle
Quick Description: Preppy clothing and cute jewelry and monograms
More Info: Some of the stuff in this store I really liked, but some of it was that stretchy and plastic-y feeling material (I don't remember what it is called specifically)
What We Bought: My mom bought a striped sweatshirt and a Nantucket keychain and I bought a cute pair of starfish earrings!

Current Vintage
Quick Description: Wine Shop that sells clothes
More Info: I feel like I always am in here with my dad, while he is buying wine, I am looking at their rack of vintage Lilly dresses. They also sell other random vintage clothing. I think the only new clothes they sell are Genetic Denim jeans! They actually were the store that introduced me to this brand a few years back. I did not buy my Genetic Denim here though, because a pair of jeans normally costs around $170 from them, which I do not like to shell out for denim. I bought them on sale online for around $100 instead!
What We Bought: My dad bought wine.

C Wonder
Quick Description: Expensive, cute clothing not the best quality
More Info: I first heard about C Wonder about two years ago in the style section of the New York Times (my addiction!!). C Wonder opened their Nantucket location last year, but I never had a chance to stop in. This year I finally did, and it was kind of disappointing for me in the clothing department, but I absolutely loved their jewelry.
What We Bought: My mom purchased a pretty navy v-neck dress that was on sale, and I bought the most adorable neon and gold bracelet (shown below).

I am now in the process of getting ready for school. I will miss my time this summer in Nantucket every second, and I look forward to returning soon to my favorite place on Earth!

XOXOXO,
Kelsey

Nantucket Guide: Part One Beaches

Because I have been to Nantucket so many times and love it so much, I thought it would be fun to do kind of my own guide to Nantucket. Here is my quick guide to Nantucket's beaches! I did not include all of them but these are the most memorable to me! In past years I have biked to all of them, but this year my family either walked, drove (we rented a Jeep), or took the "Wave" (Nantucket's inexpensive bus).

BEACHES

Children's Beach

Quick Description: On the harbor, food and playground for kids.

More Info: They used to sell amazing donuts at the restaurant, but that was a few years back and since then it has changed hands a few times. They have a playground that I went to when I was little. The beach is not actually on the ocean but on the little harbor so there are basically no waves, so thats why it is perfect for small kids. There is also a park attached where there is a stage that occasionally has concerts. I went to one concert here last year and it was full of young families looking for some downtime.

Jetties Beach

Quick Description: Tourist friendly, everyone knows it.

More Info: I go here a few times during my stay on the island. They have a restaurant on the beach that serves food throughout the day. It's nice because its the closest beach to town, and very convenient for people staying at Brant Point. At night, its a great place for some cheap-ish food, where many teenagers, young adults, and families go. Its not too fancy and a great place to show off your new Vineyard Vines shorts/tee shirts.

Steps Beach

Quick Description: Pretty quiet beach, same strip as Jetties

More Info: This is the more quiet version of Jetties Beach, simply because it is along the same strip of sand! It is named for the steps that you have to walk down to get to it. There is not a bathroom or any food sold here.

Surfside Beach

Quick Description: Crowded beach with big waves

More Info: Great for people watching, and if you like pretty big waves I would definitely check this one out! There are lifeguards and a place to buy food, as well.

Madaket Beach

Quick Description: Not too crowded, but pretty crowded beach. My fave!

More Info: The water here is gorgeous! They have bathrooms, and the waves are not really big, but do exist. There are lifeguards. I love this beach!

Side Note: Something else my family does is rent a boat from Brant Point Marine and go to the points! We also go around the harbor and look at some of the gorgeous homes.

Brant Point Marine

Look out for posts about Nantucket's food and shopping!

XOXOXO,

Kelsey