Travel Guide - Fort Walton Beach

From our day trip to Destin.

my outfit: dress // earrings

 Our last day at the beach.
swimsuits left to right: 1) bikini 2) top // bottoms // sunglasses 3) one shoulder bikini

Florida has the prettiest sunsets.

I recently returned from a girls trip to Fort Walton Beach, specifically Okaloosa Island. We decided to go on this trip to take a break and relax from the previous semester. We had a great trip and I'm wishing we could've stayed longer.

where to stay

We booked our stay through Airbnb at El Matador. Our host, Zach, was amazing and I highly recommend booking his condo. It looks exactly like the pictures and it's actually more spacious in person. Zach is very helpful and responds fast. The condo is steps away from the beach and the pool. It's also not a bad walk to the gym, suana, inside hot tub, tennis court, and other pool. The complex is the last one on the road, so the beach is a little more private which is awesome.

Views from outside the condo.

Views from the pool.

where to eat

With so many places to choose from we decided to try Rockin' Tacos located at The Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island and I'd say it was a great pick. We sat outside which is one of my favorite things to do when at the beach. This place has such a cute atmosphere. They started us off with chips &  salsa of course and I have to say I think they had one of the best salsas I've had. It had kind of a sweet taste to it so that's probably why I enjoyed it. I totally recommend trying one of their margaritas - specifically the watermelon margarita. To eat I had the cheeseburger tacos which were SO delicious I'm wishing for more right now! My friend had the steak quesadillas, which she said were really good as well.

watermelon margarita

Also located at The Boardwalk are three other resturants: The Crab Trap, Floyd's Shrimp House, and Al's Beach Club & Burger Bar. I have eaten at The Crab Trap in Destin, which I talked about in my Destin travel guide here, so I do recommend this place also.

what to do

After lunch or dinner at The Boardwalk, you can walk down the pier for $2 or watch a movie outside for free on Tuesday nights at Al's Beach Club. Across the street from The Boardwalk is a Wild Wiley's Adventure Zone which is great for families with kids.

On our last day we decided to take a half day trip to Destin to go shopping at Silver Sands Premium Outlets. I have also talked about this place in my Destin travel guide. I personally think it's the best place for shopping because there are tons of great stores with awesome deals. We worked up an appetite after a few hours of shopping, so we stopped at the Surf Hut, which is only a few minutes from the outlets. The Surf Hut is a super cute place right on the beach and the whole restaurant has views of the gorgeous teal water. They also have a few games outside in the sand which is a perfect pass time while waiting for food. For lunch I had the traditional bbq sandwich with their mashed potatoes, so yummy! My friends enjoyed the fried crab claws for an appetizer (I'm not big on seafood.) For their entrees they had the sunset chicken salad, surf hut burger, fried gulf shrimp, and the grilled chicken sandwich - they all said it was good. {p.s. the outlets are only about 36 minutes from the condo}

If you have any questions message me on Instagram or comment below.

xoxo steph

Life Update

Hi everyone! Obvi by the title this is a life update so... I'm going to update you on what's been going on.(; I have not been posting blogs much at all since the beginning of this year and I'm sure y'all can guess why... school. This has honestly been one of my busiest semesters. I thought sense I was only going to school two days a week this semester I would have more time to focus on my blog, well I was definitely wrong. I just have to find that balance and it is not easy, so if anyone has any tips send them my way!!(;

This semester is finally over and I'm very happy about that because I need a break haha. During my month off (I'm taking summer class yayy - *rolls eyes*), I plan to create tons of content so I can constantly stay ahead of the game. So, make sure to follow me on Instagram so you don't miss anything - I post a lot more on there anyways!

xoxo steph

Restaurant Week

I have to start off by saying "WOW!" because a year ago tomorrow I wrote and published my first blog post and it was about this same topic, restaurant week, and it's a great topic I must add. If you know me you know I freaking love food! If you know me you also know I love a good deal. And guess what!!! Restaurant week is both of those things put together like wow what's better than that?! Not much.

So, to give you a little more detail (if you don't already know) - restaurant week is when 50+ restaurants in the Baton Rouge area have a 3 course meal for $20-$40 depending on the restaurant. At almost all the places you will be able to choose an appetizer, entrée, and dessert for a set price. Another great thing about this week long event is that every picture posted on Instagram that includes the hashtag #eatBR $2 will be donated to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Here is a list of my must go to restaurants:

~Portobello's

~Sullivan's Steakhouse

~City Pork Brasserie & Bar

~Capital City Grill

~Our Mom's Restaurant & Bar

~Mike Anderson's Seafood

~Caliente Mexican Craving

~Texas de Brazil

~Doe's Eat Place

~California Pizza Kitchen

This week gives you the perfect opportunity to try out a new restaurant and get a taste of everything for a lower price. You can visit the web page here for all the other restaurants and their menus.

Restaurant week starts tomorrow (January 21st) and will take place all week until the 26th. So, get your eating pants ready and go enjoy some of the best food in town!

xoxo steph

Travel Diary - North Carolina

Hiking the mountain our cabin was on.

Hiking Soco Falls.

As some of you may already know I just recently went on a getaway to North Carolina with some friends. It was my first time in the mountains and although I really wish it would've snowed I still enjoyed it.

We stayed in our own private cabin that we booked through Airbnb - totally recommend it! Our cabin was in a small town called Maggie Valley. I thought when I visited the mountains I would want to stay at a resort, but honestly a cabin is the way to go because it's quiet and private. It was a little over half a mile up the mountain, surrounded by trees, and a small creek/waterfall thing in the front - that was probably my favorite part.

For our first full day we went hiking to the waterfalls in my pictures above. Be prepared to get a little muddy and wet at Soco Falls. We also hiked up the mountain that our cabin was on. When you get to the top of the road the cabin is on take a right and just follow the road until you come to an intersection and take the road Dogwood and it will lead you back to where you started. This is about an hour hike.

Our second day we traveled an hour and 15 minutes to Gatlinbrug and then another 20-ish minutes to Pigeon Forge. There are tons of things to do in both of these cities. In Gatlinburg, we rode a sky lift and walked around to some of the shops. There are tons of stores, restaurants, and attractions down the same street as this sky lift including Ripley's Believe It or Not, Gatlin's Escape Games, Tennessee Homemade Wines, Guinness World Records Adventures, Aunt Mahalia's Candies, and so much more! In Pigeon Forge, we visited WonderWorks. It was really fun riding the crazy rides in there. There was this one ride that you had to peddle like a bicycle and it would spin you upside down in a circle.. it was kind of scary, but pretty fun too. Another ride we went on was like a 4D ride in which we were enclosed in this shell thing and it moved us around like we were on the rollercoaster that was playing on a video screen. So many interesting things in WonderWorks. After that we headed to Paula Deen's Family Kitchen. I highly recommend going here the food was amazing! Especially the rolls they serve.. wow! There are tons of other attractions in Pigeon Forge that can be found here.

Another day we drove to Ashville, NC to the outlets to shop. It was only 30-40 minutes away from the cabin. There is also a mall 10 minutes from the outlets. You can also find bowling allies in  Ashville if you want something fun to do.

At night we played a lot of card and board games - mainly UNO. We also cooked dinner almost every night. There are a few general stores near the cabin and the Walmart is a little farther away. We packed most of our food in an ice chest and one of the days we were out we stopped at the Walmart to get a few things like milk and eggs.

The morning we left we stopped at Joey's Pancake House for breakfast. It's one of Maggie Valley's main attractions so expect a wait. They have such a large selection of breakfast foods on the menu - I definitely recommend trying it out.

I'm already planning my next trip to the mountains - possibly Colorado.(; If you have any questions about anything I did or did not mention leave a comment or DM me on Instagram.

xoxo steph

New Year's Eve Style Guide

I honestly can't believe we're about to start a new year - 2018 has gone by way too fast and it's also been pretty stressful with school so I'm hoping the new year will feel refreshing and new. This year for NYE I will be going on a trip with some friends and I am SO excited! We have so many fun things planned out and I just can't wait to explore somewhere new. Make sure to follow along on my Instagram so you don't miss any of the fun adventures. And of course I will make a travel guide post also. Anyways... let's talk NYE outfits. No matter what kind of party you're going to this year I have the perfect outfit for you.

top || pants || heels || similar heels

similar sweater || shorts || booties || similar booties || tights

top || pants || heels || similar heels

dress || similar heels

dress || similar heels

dress || similar heels

dress || coat || similar heels

top || skirt || heels || similar heels

jumpsuit || similar heels

top || skirt || similar heels

Make sure to follow my Instagram (@effortlesslysouthernchic) so you don't miss anything from my trip and all my outfit posts! Have an amazing time ringing in the new year!!

xoxo steph

Christmas Gift Guides

Christmas is only a week away and I know I can't be the only one that waits until the last minute to buy gifts. Maybe you haven't had time to go shopping or maybe you never know what to get. I made a few different gift guides for the different people in your life.

Let me start by giving y'all some ideas for stocking stuffers.

1. gift cards to Chick-fil-a, Starbucks, if the person is in college maybe get a gift card to a grocery store I'm sure they'll apricate it

2. candy my personal favorite is the peppermint bark by Ghirardelli

3. bath bombs from Lush but Ulta also sells bath bombs and I have seen some at wal-greens

4. makeup Ulta and Sephora are basically any girl's favorite

5. tickets to a concert or sports event (doesn't have to be a stocking stuffer if you'd rather wrap it)

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8

1|| 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 

 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7

I hope this was helpful in some way and good luck shopping. Merry (almost) Christmas!!

xoxo steph

Thanksgiving Day Style Guide

Can y'all believe Thanksgiving is this week?! I'm so ready for all the yummy food - mainly the desserts hahah - and of course getting to spend some time with family. My favorite thing is waking up Thanksgiving morning and going in the kitchen and everything is already cooking. Then while I wait for lunch I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and drink eggnog with my dad.

And of course another one of my favorite things is to get all cute to just go sit in my living room.(: I like to dress in anything oversized and comfy - for extra room after I've eaten everything. So I'm going to share some of my favorite outfits with y'all.

similar sweater dress || similar booties
I wore this last year for Thanksgiving - oversized and comfy!

similar vest || boots || similar boots 

This is one of my favorite looks this fall - gotta add a vest to hide the food baby hahah.

ruffle sleeve sweater dress {$108}

distressed crop sweater {$48.97}

I feel like this sweater screams thanksgiving & I'm obsessed!!

plaid chelsea dress 

{$78 - also in blue}
Booties and a jean jacket around the waist would bring this together perfectly.

cozy neck pullover sweater

{$29.99 - 7 colors}

Minus the jeans, add some OTK boots and this is a super cute outfit.

taupe color block sweater {$32.97}

plaid tunic shirt 

{$26.97-$29.99 - 6 colors}

Looks great with jeans and booties or, for my favorite look, get a larger size & just wear some shorts underneath & add some OTK boots.. perfect!!

striped velvet chenille sweater {$35.94 - sale}

faux fur vest {$39.99}

Love this vest with the jean skirt. Looks great with any jeans or leggings and boots too!

Tees are always a simple way to go and you can add a cardigan or flannel to any of these tees to make them that much more stylish! These below are a few of my favorites from The Pink Lily Boutique. You can shop more here.

thankful tee {$24}

here for the turkey tee {$24}

gobble gobble tee {$24}

Below are a few of my favorite tee's from Rose Gold Rebel.

turkey wine stuffing tee 

{$17.99 - 10 color options}

here for the pie tee

{$17.99 - 10 color options}

feast mode tee 

{$17.99 - 10 color options}

Thanksgiving calories don't count so make sure to eat all the food and pecan pie!! If you haven't checked out the dessert recipe I shared you can find it here. And I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving!

xoxo steph