I am dressed (don't ask much more of me): Vacation Edition!

I am one of those master planner packers, the ones with epic lists and a calendar of outfits chosen for each day and each event or activity that will occur during the trip.

I wasn't always this way. I spent my high school years in raggedy jeans and baggy t-shirts. There simply isn't any planning involved in such outfits. So long as I remembered my swimsuit, a pair of pjs, and the proper number of pairs of underwear, I was golden.

Whenever there was a vacation occasion I had to dress for, however, I inevitably forgot a crucial component of the outfit: white shoes, a strapless bra. You know the sort of thing. So I began to master plan.

Here are the results of the planning for the Michigan trip, aka What I Wore pictures in more exotic locations than in front of my bedroom mirror:

My brother Misha, the DDH, and I left Tulsa at around five on Friday evening, drove straight through the night, and arrived at my grandparents' house near Detroit about nine on Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon was my youngest cousin's graduation party. I wore some carefully selected casually dressy outfit, but this is the only picture I have from the evening. The DDH and Misha somehow convinced me to be a passenger on a paddleboat they would paddle for me (my cousin lives on a lake).

Sunglasses: Target; life jacket: borrowed; earrings: WalMart.

Okay, so you can't see my actual outfit, and to be honest, I don't remember what I was wearing other than it must have gone with those new turquoise earrings I got at, of all places, WalMart.

Obviously the essential piece here is the lifejacket. It really ties the whole outfit together. And would have kept me from drowning if I fell off the paddleboat. Which I didn't, even though Misha at some point insisted on standing up on the thing.

Shirt: Old Navy; skirt: Sears; necklace: Target?

The DDH and I dressed up for church. My grandfather's a pastor at a Lutheran church in downtown Detroit that's on the National Register of Historic Buildings. It was Freedom Sunday, the combined celebration of Independence Day and whatever Canadian holiday falls in late June, and there were bagpipers.

I wore this outfit a few weeks ago, and while it still de-emphasizes the baby belly, you can tell I'm getting bigger!

Monday we headed up to my uncle's land near Traverse City. The DDH, Misha, and I drove separately and took a detour to Frankenmuth, home of Bronner's, the year-round magical Christmas wonderland and one of my favorite places ever.

Shirt: Old Navy; belt: Goodwill; jeans: Kohl's.

Although harder to tell in this picture, I liked this outfit for how it showed off T-Rex without making me look too big yet.

Also, that is my first pair of maternity jeans. My grandma gave us a coupon to Kohl's and Mom took me shopping. We bought two pairs of jeans, black slacks, gray slacks, and a pair of khaki cargoes that roll up as capris or down for long pants. That should cover my maternity basics, I suppose.

Shirt: Gap; skirt: Animal Aid thrift store;
sweater: Gap.

Shoes that you can't quite see: Old Navy.

Tuesday, I played DD for everyone else's winery tour. In the first picture, we're at a winery that used to be a one-room schoolhouse; in the second, a different winery with pretty gardens.

This outfit was comfortable, but still fun for a town outing. It was a little cooler that day, and the sweater was perfect. Some aunt or another made a comment about camping in a skirt when I was wearing it around camp earlier in the day, but it was cool and comfy and long enough to do things in. Plus, it cost two dollars at the thrift store, so it's not like I'd care too much if it got ripped.

Shirt and tank: Old Navy; scarf-as-belt: old; jeans: Kohl's.

Wednesday we drove up to the UP and took a ferry over to Mackinac Island. I wanted something comfortable for tramping about all day but still cute for photos.

Although the scarf belt did not stay in place as well as I might have wanted, this outfit fit the bill. The shoes you can't see are black and white Old Navy sneakers, and yes, those are maternity jeans.

The outfit must have worked, because on the ferry back to the mainland, a woman sitting near me said, "Oh, you were on the ferry out with us! I remember you because I always try the tank-over-shirt look and it never seems to work but I thought how cute it looked on you!" Fashion victory.

I don't have any pictures from Thursday, when we hung out at camp and went on a second kayak float. On the first one, Tuesday night, I fell out twice and nearly died. The second one I only fell out once and had a wonderful time. Also my mom came with us, and everyone was very impressed, though she did fall out three times.

Necklace: Target; shirt: Gordman's; capris: Old Navy?;
shoes: Old Navy.

Friday we had brunch at a restaurant owned by one of my uncle's friends in Traverse City to celebrate my grandparents' eightieth birthdays. Plus, we actually had all the cousins there who would be able to make it, so we got this picture of all of us with the grandparents (my sister, who had to work, and one other cousin, whose third baby was born the week before, are the only ones missing).

The DDH and I had to leave from brunch to head back home, so I had to do a travel-and-nice-brunch combination outfit.

I liked this shirt before, but I think I like it more now that I'm pregnant. The problem with empire waists is that they always make you look a little pregnant even when you're not. But when you are, that's a good thing!

Black cargo capris are my go-to summer roadtrip bottoms--pockets, hard to stain, comfortable, good climate control. And shoes that slip on and off are a must for me whenever I'm traveling. Cargoes are casual, but I dressed up the outfit with a pretty shell necklace from Target that I always get compliments on, and I thought I actually looked pretty nice!

So there we go! A brief summary of my vacation told through outfit photos. I have much more attractive photos of things other than me, and perhaps I'll get around to sharing some other travel snippet sometime.

It's Wednesday, and this is what I wore.

What are you wearing these days? How do you plan and pack outfits for vacations?