Travel Capsule in Action part 2 of 2

Regular outfits will return following these two features on my recent travels to Texas. 

Saying a pre-dawn goodbye to my parents at the airport, 

prior to that darn eye-mist blurring everything: 

Yesterday's post showed three of the four pieces that my travel capsule organized itself around: grey-and-black striped maxi skirt, giant Thai fisherman pants, and the large-print maxi dress. Together with the patterned skirt below, all of the pieces layered well with t-shirts and / or tank tops, the button-front shirt, long cardigan, and / or grey motorcycle jacket. They also played nicely with all of the accessories, and if necessary could be worn with any of my three pairs of footwear - the dreaded flip flops or sneakers, and these green Fidji shoes: 

giant crushable ribbon hat: Sun 'N' Sand, Tuesday Morning
sunglasses: Ray Ban, worn here
necklaces: seen in yesterday's post
button-front shirt: Reitman's, worn here
shark-bite hem tank top: Bellina, Winners, worn here
red leather obi belt: Elizabeth Kelly London, etsy, last worn here
patterned skirt: Max Studio, Marshalls, last worn here
shoes: Fidji, last worn here

Two weeks is a nice amount of time to develop a bit of routine while away, and I started my days with sunrise over the Gulf before going to the gym, between which fell the waiting-to-see-if-there-would-be-internet interlude. This was my outfit for that process, which involved precise triangulation of laptop and balcony doors, hence the screen-shading hat: 

3/4 sleeve scoop-neck top: Zellers
enormous pint glass of start-me-up: Gevalia Morning Roast
yoga pants: can't recall
sneakers: Nike Free

When I visit my parents, my mom and I enjoy to do almost all manner of window shopping, and the decline in regular retail / new clothing quality from last year to this was dramatic. A more substantial proportion of garments were disintegrating on the hangers, and designers previously associated with classic looks and quality construction were un-appealingly "on-trend" with dated-out-of-the-gate stuff. 

handsome fellows ready to light up your life, loved and left, consignment store

What didn't disappoint were thrift and consignment stores, where I picked up the rectangular ring and wool skirt already shown in this post. Despite the generally sad state of things, I somehow managed to find nice items all over the place which overcame my powers of resistance. 

I was pleased with the going-home travel outfit created by piling the bulkiest and the most fragile things on my person, but still had to check my bag, darn it! Practise makes perfect, and we'll see if I can both bring less and buy less next year. 

straw hat: Charming Charlie
green flower: Dillard's, clearance (99 cents)
P.O.'d expression: courtesy of the 4-hour delay to accommodate my suitcase's unplanned side trip to DFW rather than DTW 
green scarf: a gift from my mother
leaf-print jacket: I.C. by Connie K., Becky's, South Padre Island
blue beaded necklace and bracelet: Gabii's, Progreso, Texas
olive cowl-neck jersey dress: Signature by Robbie Bee, Dillard's

More gorgeous island architecture, and images from a day trip across the border to Mexico, below the jump. It's back to the snow-bound barn from here - thanks for coming along!

beautiful building, South Padre Island