There is one very large exception to us being Frugal Wenches: vacation. More specifically, food on vacation. Even though we were both extremely tight on pocket money after spending nearly every cent to our name in the month of September (birthday month babyyy), we decided to go on a week-long Pacific Coast road trip. We have driven the coast many times before, so I’m sure you are wondering why we decided to go again. One word: Twilight. Summer of 2020 rekindled our desire for the angsty, supernatural teen romance we are still in search of for ourselves. It was the Summer of Twilight for us and we just had to go to Forks. The plan was simple, drive all the way up the coast, stopping along the way to hit all the spots and end in Forks, just nearly at the Canadian border. If we could’ve lived the entire trip with the iconic and absolutely necessary blue filter of the first film, we would have.
Let’s talk about the highlights – outfit edition:
Day 1:
Audrey: American Apparel tie dyed t-shirt dress (thrifted).
Erin: Gap green striped 2000’s-esque blouse with denim shorts (also thrifted).
These were the perfect road trip outfits to wear while driving up the Southern California coast. We made a ton of stops, including Santa Barbara, beached seals and Big Sur. All places where we somehow spent money… all charged on Erin’s ~Visa~.
Day 2:
Audrey: Black t-shirt from Brandy Melville and black cigarette jeans from J. Crew (thrifted).
Erin: White cargo capris (thrifted… how else? lol) and a green cut-off tank top by Free People. Giving Keira Knightley in Bend it Like Beckham vibes.
Another LONG day of driving meant balancing comfort and style, while also channeling a Northern California vibe – foreign territory honestly. The weather had started to cool down so opting for pants with a light top was definitely the move.
Day 3:
Audrey: Anthropologie green, flare corduroy pants, black and grey men’s golf sweater (thrifted) with black plaid high-top vans.
Erin: Free People cardigan sweater (thrifted), Ralph Lauren white long underwear top, Loft Jeans (low rise and honestly weird but they just hit different with boots), with my Blundstone green suede boots.
Now that we had finally made it into Oregon, we definitely needed to dress for colder weather. Exciting! We only had a short drive from Eugene to Seattle so these outfits were not as comfort centered as our others (see Audrey’s very tight pants), but they worked well for a sunny fall day checking out campuses and drinking coffee with a cute jack russell terrier named Maddy (spelling assumed).
Day 4:
Audrey: Grey/blue turtleneck sweater (thrifted from grandma), grey men’s Levi’s (thrifted from Captain’s Helm), black low top converse.
Erin: Blue Ralph Lauren flannel shirt (thrifted from grandma), Levi’s 501’s (outlet), Anthropologie puffer coat (purchased after an assault of too-targeted instagram ads left me without a choice… happy for it though), black low top converse.
After picking up Erin’s Best Friend Becca (capitalized as an official title), we did some touristy things around Seattle like Pike’s Place Market and the gum wall. We dressed in “comfortable, Pacific Northwest chic” or at least what we thought that would look like.
Day 5: TWILIGHT
Audrey: Thrifted tan and brown striped t-shirt, brown flannel, and J. Crew jeans. Worn with the same plaid vans and Erin’s baby pink raincoat from Urban Outfitters (paid full price and was then marked down 50% a few weeks later…).
Erin: Black and white striped long sleeve shirt purchased in Florence from Misguided (Italian Brandy Melville) under a Target t-shirt appropriately hand-embroidered with “AS IF YOU COULD OUTRUN ME.” Worn with Levi’s 501s (outlet again, different wash), Blundstone boots, and Pendleton raincoat from good old Costco.
All outfits worn on this day were inspired by Bella Swan and Bella Swan only. Bowling shirt on the first day of school with keds meets vampire heartthrob in the PNW… obviously. I think we got the point across.
Day 6:
Audrey: Brown tie dye top, brown corduroy pants, and vintage men’s Levi’s denim jacket (all thrifted). Paired with platform Dr. Martin’s. She was 6’1″ and had Netflix quaking in their boots.
Erin: Orange velvet wrap shirt (thrifted), same Levi’s with torn knee, same Anthro puffer. (not photographed)
For our last day in Seattle, we kept the same vibes going for a morning of brunch and fancy croissants before we started our return journey south. Highlights of this day include the food mentioned above, spending time with good friends ❤ and getting our ears pierced (holes 2 and 3).
Day 7:
Audrey: Striped vintage (haha) Victoria’s Secret lounge pants with blue Madewell t-shirt.
Erin: Blue sweater and embroidered pants (both thrifted) with converse.
A LONG day of driving after spending a quick morning in Portland eating donuts and fried chicken sandwiches. With stops along the Oregon coast and in the redwoods, our outfits were comfortable and warm.
Day 8:
Audrey: Vintage rugby shirt from Depop, blue Ralph Lauren baseball tee, also from Depop with same gray jeans.
Erin: Navy t-shirt under a thrifted hand-made rainbow poncho (I’ve been waiting for this one) with men’s 501’s and converse.
The morning of Day 8, we took a stroll through Fort Bragg’s glass beach and saw some gorgeous coastline. The outfits were planned for this outing, but were comfortable enough to wear for the very long drive home to San Diego.
With so many stops and different climates to consider, packing for this roadtrip was sort of tricky. Luckily, our little prius doesn’t have baggage limits and we brought everything we wanted! Within reason of course… As you can tell from our outfit lists, we ended up rewearing a lot of pieces, especially bottoms, which made our packing a little lighter. Head to our instagram stories for a more in depth documentation of our days on the road.
Frugal Wench 