Carolynn Thielges

Happy Friday! I’ve had a little staycation this week from work and it’s been so perfect! The weather has stayed sunny and 70° and it’s felt amazing with the fall breeze. I’ve been intentionally taking things slow this week with my time off – going on lots of walks, waking up a little later, taking my time getting ready, and spending less time on social media. I also wanted to take this week to focus on the blog and I’ve been LOVING it. It seems like such a silly thing but I feel so fulfilled with this little business. It’s so fun and rewarding to have your own brand and reach your own goals – even if no one else knows. I’ve been struggling lately with working on this business vs. living in the moment, especially since I need to work on it outside of my 9-5. But this week has been a really nice refresh and a perfect balance for me with both. Right now, I’m writing this post at my local Starbucks with my favorite drink and I’m definitely feeling like a main character lol.

Today’s outfit is a simple neutral outfit with a long cardigan, square neck bodysuit, skort, ruffle socks, and white loafers. My skort is from Zara and linked here. I’ve had it for over a year now and it’s so cute! It has a wide ruffle hem and a bow that ties in the front. It is on the shorter side which I’m not usually comfortable with, but the shorts underneath make it comfortable to wear. I’ve been on a skort + loafer kick lately – they’ve been my fall go-to’s so far! I was on the lookout for white loafers and have been eyeing the Steve Madden Lawrence loafers for a couple weeks now. I held off on them because they’re a little pricey and I’m so glad I did because I found these dupes at Target for 1/3 of the price! I love that they’re two toned with a lighter brown sole and a gold chain detail. I love a good white shoe lol and these ones feel really classy.

My exact cardigan is from Target a couple years ago and no longer in stock, but I do have similar options linked above. I really like that the cardigan is longer than the skirt because it makes the outfit feel more cozy in the chillier weather. The bodysuit I’m wearing is from Abercrombie and it’s a great basic for all seasons. It’s super soft and it runs true to size.

That’s all for today! Thank you so much for stopping by! I’ll see ya next Friday 🙂

xo Carolynn

SHOP THE LOOK HERE

Happy Friday! It’s been a long week so far – starting with the battery and alternator going out on my car on Monday. *yikes* lol I’m really looking forward to the 3 day weekend!

These shorts have been my go-to’s allll summer long. The green and white stripes make the outfit so fun and happy! These are also one of the most flattering shorts I own, partly due to the vertical stripe pattern and partly due to the amount of fabric. Normally elastic waistbands will add extra volume to my hips where I don’t want it, but these have the perfect amount of fabric. They’re loose enough where they don’t hug your hips, but tight enough to accentuate your shape without adding any extra volume. These shorts are also the PERFECT length and so comfy! Today I’ve paired them with a white button down and wedges to elevate the outfit. I’ve been grabbing my white button down more and more lately. It’s such a staple, makes any outfit a little more sophisticated, and goes with everything! I thrifted my purse and unfortunately can’t link the exact one, but I have similar options linked instead.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading along and a big thank you to my friend Kelsey for the fun photoshoot!! I hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

xo Carolynn

Where We Stayed

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal, which is technically located in Tulum! We were greeted with glasses of champagne when we arrived and the staff was so nice our entire stay. They were super accommodating whether we needed a taxi, extra water, new beach towels, and any other requests. The resort had golf carts that they used to bring you to your room after checking in, and to the lobby when you were ready to check out. Our rooms were on the 3rd floor, and the staff carried our luggage to and from our rooms. The golf cart rides were also available throughout our stay if we didn’t want to walk to the lobby. Some of the all-inclusive features included free room service, free drinks at the bars, and access to food at any time. The resort itself was kept very clean and it was a really enjoyable stay!

We stayed at the Adults Only section of the resort, which had an adults only infinity pool next to the beach. Our rooms had robes and slippers for each of us, and our fridge was always stocked with water bottles, coca-cola, and orange fanta. We each got one towel card, which allowed us each to have one beach towel at a time. We were able to swap out our towels at any time but once we wanted to turn one in without getting a replacement, we had to get the towel card back. The beach access was a little limited but there was always plenty of chairs available to have our own space. It was really fun to hop between the pool, bar, and beach all day long!

For food, the resort had a combination of restaurants and buffets. The restaurants required a reservation for dinner, and we made our reservations once we checked in. We scheduled most of our dinners at 8:00pm or later so we had time to watch the sunset on the beach. The pools also closed at 8:00pm, so having a later dinner reservation allowed us to have the most possible time to swim as well. You could also schedule restaurants at other resorts on the property, but since our time was limited, we didn’t get to explore the other resorts. The restaurant meals were delicious, and all of them were 3 course meals with complimentary drinks to start. I really enjoyed all of our meals at the dinner restaurants! You could also go to restaurants for lunch, but we decided to stick with the buffet so we could eat quickly and get back to swimming ASAP.

What We Did Outside the Resort

1. Swam in Gran Cenote

There were a few cenotes within 1.5 hours from our resort, but we chose the closest one available (about 30 min away) called Gran Cenote. We scheduled a taxi through the resort and got there right when it opened at 8:00am. I highly recommend doing this because it was so crowded by the time we left at 10:00am! We pretty much had the whole cenote to ourselves for about the first hour and it was the best thing we could have done. The cenote was gorgeous and so fun, but it was fairly small and I don’t think we would have had the same experience if we had gone there any later. It cost $25.00/person to enter the cenote, which you could pay with USD or pesos, and they require a valid ID to enter. The entrance fee included a life jacket and snorkel gear. This was easily one of our favorite things about the trip!

2. Explored the Tulum Ruins

The Tulum Ruins were halfway between our resort and Gran Cenote and we stopped there on our way back to the resort. The entrance fee was $40 pesos and it took quite a bit of walking to get there. By the time we got to the Ruins, it was about 10:30am and very hot as well as crowded. It was really interesting to learn about and there was quite a bit to explore, but we didn’t stay to see the entire place. We enjoyed the ruins and it had such pretty views, but it would have been a little more enjoyable to have gone another day right when they opened.

OVERALL TIPS

• Schedule the resort taxi in advance. We tried to schedule it the day before arriving but it was already booked up. Instead, we had to use the airport’s website for a recommended taxi service. If you have to schedule a taxi that isn’t from the resort, only book through the airport website.
• Exchange USD for pesos for tips, souvenirs, etc.
• Bring your own floats or plan to buy some at the resort if you want to use something in the water. We brought our own and it was totally worth it since the resort didn’t have complimentary floats.
• I was warned by another traveller to just keep walking once I got past baggage claim in the Cancun Airport, and I’m really glad she told me so I was prepared. There were people inside and outside of the airport yelling at us and coming up to us trying to get us to rent a car, call a taxi, etc. We just ignored them and kept walking and it wasn’t a problem!
• Use a water bottle from the room fridge to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth, instead of using the sink water.

Thank you so much for reading along! See you next Friday!

xx Carolynn