Tropical Vacation - Fashion Sneak Peek

Guess what!? Tomorrow I am off to the tropical island of Curacao for a week's vacation! I am SO excited. I started packing on boxing day haha! (..seriously though...)

Today I wanted to show you some of the items I'll be taking with me (and why I think they're important to pack for a tropical vacation!)

Also, I am excited to announce that while I am away I will be having three fantastic guest bloggers posting here on LLB! They are 3 of my personal favorite fashion bloggers so I cannot wait for them to post. I wanted to make sure you, my lovely readers, weren't left without content! Be sure to come back on Monday and see who the first one is - you are going to love her. Also, follow along on instagram & twitter to get photos & updates from my trip! 

Packing for a Tropical Vacation 

Similar Bikini Top // Bikini Bottom

My starting point when packing tropical is always my swimsuits! I figure I'm going to spend more time in them than any actual items of clothing so I might as well spend the most time picking my favorites (and picking coverups, accessories, etc. to coordinate with my swimwear!)

Similar Dresses- (1), (2), (3)

I always pack one casual summery dress for a tropical vacation. Something light and breathable that can be worn for a day of sightseeing. 

 Sports Bra // Similar Workout Shorts- (1), (2)

I indulge and laze around most of the time while on vacation, but I do like to have at least one workout outfit on me. You likely won't find me in a gym while vacationing, but I like to be able to a run on the beach or even some yoga/abs by the pool in the mornings. A simple workout outfit is therefore a must! 

Similar Tops- (1), (2), (3) // Similar Shorts- (1), (2)

Similar Looking Romper that I LOVE

I like to have one casual outfit consisting of comfortable shorts and a top. This is perfect/necessary for a day of exploring. 

 Similar Dress 

In addition to my one casual dress, I always pack one slightly fancier dress for dinners, evenings on the beach, grabbing a late night drink, etc. You may remember me showcasing this dress here- it was definitely one of my favorite outfits from last summer, and I am still so in love with the fit and pattern. This was my first Lilly dress and I can't get over the amazing fit/quality! 

 Monogram Necklace // Earrings

Last but not least I pack some jewelry. I go pretty easy on the jewelry when I travel- especially when travelling somewhere tropical where I know I will be in an out of a chlorinated pool, salt water, and be covered in sunscreen. ... Not exactly a fun environment for your jewelry! That being said, I pack 3-5 items that I think are pretty durable. The monogram necklace is perfect because it's acrylic!

Have a fantastic week everyone! I know my guest posters will take awesome care of you while I am away and I will see you back here in a week and a half!

Linking up with: that friday blog hop // fab favorites // fabulous friday // flashback fashion friday // casual friday // friday favorites // friday finds // favorite fashion friday 

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High Five for Friday #4

Happy Friday! This week I am doing another High Five for Friday recap of 5 great things from my week. It has been a CRAZY week. Here goes:

1) Flash Mob In one of the more surreal "how-is-this-my-life" moments, a few weeks back I got a dance gig dancing in flash mob! This past Monday night was the actual flash mob and it was SO much fun! It was held at the World dermatologist convention, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. We had to pretend to be venue staff; and were in the conference hall when the dermatologists came in. We mingled about as staff for a few minutes and then busted out into a full on dance. There were SO many people there (nearly 1,000 dermatologists) and they were all screaming and filming us. It was such an unbelievable and unforgettable experience... and because I couldn't find anything else, below is a random pic from an outside dance rehearsal this week.

2) Article in VanCity Buzz My first article for VanCity Buzz was published this week! (..well, technically it was published last week, but I only found out about it this week, so it totally counts as 5 things from my week haha). The article, on fashionable items for rainy weather, can be found here.

3) Work On Thursday night I attended the Canadian Bar Association Criminal lawyers subsection AGM in Vancouver. It was such an interesting meeting; with panelists discussing the biggest trial this country has ever seen - the Air India Trial. They discussed the difficulties associated with running a "mega trial". I learned so much about the difficulties they faced with the evidence from a forensic stand point; as well as what it was like to coordinate a trial that spanned nearly two years with an initial Crown witness list of over 1,000 witnesses. The panelists ended by discussing the human aspect of such a tragedy, leaving the legal issues behind for a moment, and discussed the great work that some of the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives are doing today. It was a difficult, but incredibly educating meeting, and (as always) left my walking away with a renewed love of criminal law. It really is a privilege to do what I do, and I am so grateful.  

4) Learning A Lot: Thought Provoking Article I've been doing a lot of reading this week and I came across an article I really liked. For people like me that are obsessed with plans and structure, its a great reminder that sometimes you need to take a step back and let life do it's thing. You can find the article here

 
5) Beach Time This week I got to have not one, but TWO beach days. Any week where I get to be by the ocean is a huge win for me! This past weekend I spent a day at the beach catching up with an old friend, and then on Tuesday I finished court at lunch time and was able to sneak in another beach day all afternoon. The perks of being 5 minutes from the beach!

 similar bikini

bikini
earrings

sun glasses 

hat

Linking up with:
High Five for FridayFive Things Friday
Fab Favourites 
Casual Friday link up  
oh hey Friday 

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Kini Swimwear - Design Process

Happy Friday! Today I am excited to share with you my experience with a really cool company called Kini Swimwear.

Are you looking for the PERFECT swimsuit for this spring/summer?! I had been looking everywhere when I came across Kini Swimwear and knew I was sold. Kini Swimwear is an online swimwear retailer that let's you DESIGN YOUR OWN SWIMSUIT! Yep, you read that right... how great is that!?

The process is really simple, and lots of fun. On Kini Swimwear you start designing your swimsuit by picking from a great selection of top and bottom designs.

From there, the fun part. Picking your colours! Kini offers a bunch of different solid coloured fabrics as well as some really cute patterns. This is where your creativity really gets to go wild. You can pick different parts of the swimsuit to have different colours and patterns. The possibilities are pretty much endless! 

 I had a ton of fun with this part - and actually made and "saved" a number of different designs before finally selecting the one I wanted to get. You can see a couple of my ideas in the pictures below!! Let me know in the comments what you think of these and which one is your favourite!

Overall, I really enjoyed this whole process and can't wait to wear my custom swim suit!. In terms of customer service, I would have to say this is one of the BEST companies I have worked with. I had a LOT of questions (... I think I emailed poor Em & Elle, the owners, at least 5 times!) and they were always helpful and happy to help with tips about measuring your body for fit, and comments about how certain styles fit.

I am more than happy to answer (honestly) any and all questions you may have about Kini swimwear; so feel free to ask away in the comments below!

The only "negative" I can possibly say about them is, you guessed it, the price. I would not normally spend close $200 on a swimsuit. Depending on what you are hoping to spend on swimwear though, I do think this could be a great investment. The way I see it, if you have a swimsuit you absolutely love (because you made it!) then you will have that swimsuit for years, and feel confident when wearing it (something that is HUGE for me when trying to pick amongst the always teeny-tiny, stupidly skimpy cheap swimsuits I seem to find in big box type stores). Something to think about. 

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Wednesday Wants - SWIMWEAR!

With so many people going away for spring break or march break over the next few weeks I thought I would do a round-up of my favourite swimsuits for this week's Wednesday Wants. I sorted my selections into Bikinis, High Waisted Bikinis & One Pieces. Scroll through the widgets below to see my selections and click on any image you like to be taken to the website to see the swimsuit!

Personally I am not going anywhere tropical and warm anytime soon, so hopefully I can live vicariously through all you lucky butt's going on a trip somewhere!! *cough cough Bree* (My good friend Bree is heading off to Cuba in a couple weeks!)

Teeny Bikinis:

High Waisted Bikinis: 

One Piece Suits: 

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