Can you believe summer is right around the corner? Although it feels like it’s already here, I’m excited for it to be official. To me, summer serves as a reminder to relax (aka loosen the grip at work), do some traveling for leisure and enjoy down time with family and friends. It’s my favorite season for many reasons… I love celebrating the fourth of July, my birthday and how Palm Beach is no longer filled with tourists – it’s locals only. I love the ease and transition summer brings. Loose fitted clothing. Breezy dresses. Soft makeup. And I have a feeling this one will be very special.

A few months ago, while running out the door to commute from Miami to West Palm Beach (it’s about an hour away without traffic), my boyfriend stopped me and said how he really liked my bag. Rarely, does he tell me these things, especially about my accessories…it’s usually “drive safe amor, text me when you get there.” He was referring to this Brahmin (as seen here). Ahhh, man…that month was so busy. I started redecorating my apartment in West Palm Beach mixed in with lots of commutes back and forth and of course, work. So, I needed a bag that could adapt luxury to lifestyle along with my everyday tasks – but remain stylish and classic, too.

Accessible luxury has always been something I find to be worth the investment (it’s way better than fast fashion, better for the environment and reasonably priced considering it will last a long time). It entails price points between $100-1000, nicer material and craftsmanship and likely comes from a contemporary brand name. Since discovering Brahmin, I have been pairing so many of their handbags with my #ootds, commutes and travels (I’ve been using their handbags for the last 6 months)…did I mention how nicely they photograph? (Click here to see my last post in Rome.)

Though there’s not a huge transition here from spring to summer (it’s more like hot to hotter), I still love the idea of changing things up with my handbag collection. Slowly moving from dark tones to neutral tones with texture, which pops against monochromatic looks, as pictured here with the Faith Oasis Melbourne bag. (If you still prefer dark tones, I recommend this version of my bag in brown. I also love this one in red!)

By the time I hit publish on this post, I’ll most likely be “back in office” running around like a crazy person getting things done for the blog, commuting to and from Miami again, working on the apartment once more before we share the results over the summer (ekk! Can’t wait!) while grabbing my Oasis Melbourne (that fits all the essentials).

Rounding up a few more favorites from Brahmin below!

Xo, Stephanie