Posting last week’s recap a couple of days late because I spent a long weekend away in Minnesota! The primary purpose of the visit was my brother’s graduation, but he and my sister-in-law also invited my dad, other brother, and me to the state a few days early to go camping in the Boundary Waters. If you aren’t familiar, the Boundary Waters is a wilderness area near the border of Canada in the Superior National Forest that is home to some of the cleanest water in the world! Most of the area is only accessible by canoe, so it is not your run-of-the-mill car camping—you actually have to pass a test to receive a permit to camp here and have to follow strict rules to ensure this beautiful area is preserved. I didn’t bring my phone (the few pics I have were taken on my dad’s) so it felt extra special to be completely disconnected while surrounded by such serenity and beauty.
Monday, May 6
Just worked from home today and made a handful of Reels and TikToks in preparation for my weekend away. I’ve worn this outfit several times before, but I wonder if I should get rid of this dress finally… It’s always been two sizes too big, and I’m beginning to wonder if the boho oversized look isn’t as cute as I once thought.
Floral Dress: Francesca’s, $5 ($0.36 per wear), last worn here | Belt: Thrifted, $3 ($0.38 per wear), last worn here | Brown Sandals: DSW, $19 ($0.32 per wear), last worn here
Tuesday, May 7
I’ve never worn this outfit combo before, but I think it turned out really cute—the white cardigan makes it a little springier even though the pants and shoes are black. We had an all-day, off-site retreat for work today so I was grateful to be in such comfy pants and shoes!
Floral Blouse: Kohl’s, $20 ($2.22 per wear), last worn here | White Cardigan: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Black Pants: Clara Sunwoo, gifted for collaboration, $98 ($16.33 per wear) | Black Flats: Rothy’s, $100 ($5.26 per wear)
Wednesday, May 8
I feel like today’s photo is not doing this outfit justice. This was my first time wearing these new Clara Sunwoo pants out and about, and I got tons of compliments on them! Originally I envisioned this outfit with just the pants and black blouse (a little chicer), but the office is always freezing… So I threw this denim jacket on overtop, which makes the look a lot more casual.
Black Blouse: Dillard’s, $20 ($0.77 per wear), last worn here | Denim Jacket: Topshop via Nordstrom, $55 ($1.67 per wear), last worn here | Printed Pants: Clara Sunwoo, gifted for collaboration, $135 ($135 per wear), last worn here | Black Sandals: Macy’s, $28 ($0.78 per wear), last worn here
Thursday, May 9
Today was one of those days where I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. We had another half-day retreat at work today, and on top of that I had just a ton of regular work to get done before leaving. I left from the office, came home for about an hour to pack up the rest of my stuff, and then drove to the airport for my flight to Minneapolis. Thankfully, I somehow managed to complete almost everything on my lengthy to-do list!
Friday, May 10
We left at the butt crack of dawn this morning to drive about five hours to the put-in site of the Boundary Waters. The highlight of the drive was seeing three moose in the road, a mama and two babies, only 30 minutes after my sister-in-law expressed how much she hoped we would see a moose! As it turned out, that was the highlight of the whole day because we ended up getting poured on after only a couple of hours on the water. We found a camp ground to set up shop for the night and hopefully get warm, but instead we came to realize that pretty much all of our dry clothes, our sleeping bags, and our tent were soaking wet! It was a cold, dreary, miserable night… with no fire (the above pic was taken Saturday instead). We went to bed before it even got dark out because we were too cold to do anything else.
Saturday, May 11
Thankfully, we woke up to sunshine that quickly dried our clothing items, so we were able to explore the Boundary Waters on our canoes for most of the day, without rain. We set up camp on a small island (so cool!), found dry wood for a fire, and were awe-struck when we saw the Northern Lights start to dance across the night sky right at 10pm. It made all the suffering worth it!
Sunday, May 12
We packed up camp right after waking up and paddled two hours to our original put-in site. We had to hurry back to Minneapolis so we could shower and pick up my mom from the airport for Mother’s Day dinner at a nice restaurant! Packing for both camping and a graduation in one suitcase was a difficult feat, so I opted for a simple dress and denim jacket for minimal clothing items.
Gingham Dress: Thrifted, $20 ($1.43 per wear), last worn here | Denim Jacket: JCPenney, $19 ($0.09 per wear), last worn here | White Espadrilles: DSW, $45 ($0.44 per wear), last worn here
. . . . .
Were you able to see the Northern Lights over the weekend?? I know it reached as far south as Florida, which is crazy to me. It was my first time seeing them, though they’ve been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, so it was extra special to witness the Aurora when I was least expecting it.
As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today.
Miles of smiles,
Grace