High Five for Friday #5

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

1) Rooftop Dinner

Last Sunday night my friend Natalia & I spent some time relaxing at the beach (always a win in my books). Then went and got Thai take out for dinner. Natalia's building has a rooftop with some of the most ridiculously gorgeous views of the Ocean so we took our thai food and ate dinner on the roof in the sunshine. It was so much fun and the perfect relaxing way to start off another week!

2) Mail Day!

I am like a kid at Christmas when things I have ordered online finally arrive. This week I got a target shipment and I am in love with everything I got!

Bikini Top
Bikini Bottoms 

Lemon Tank Top 

Anchor Book Ends 

3) World's Shortest trip to the U.S.A.

On Tuesday I went to Point Roberts, Washington for the first time. I recently got a mailbox there (something apparently so many Canadians living closer to the border do; who knew!?) and so I went to pick up the above mentioned target order. I was in the U.S. for all of 30 minutes but I had SO MUCH FUN. I am so weird but I just could not get over the fact that within 50 minutes of leaving my apartment I was in a different country!! I actually had so much fun driving over the border, and Point Roberts is actually a cute little town! I drove around the ocean front for a while before heading back across the border and snapped a couple pretty pics.
 

 Sunglasses. Similar: here

 

4) Dance Rehearsals I have a big dance show tonight (ahh!) and so this week has been filled with dance rehearsals. I think I have danced for a minimum hour and half every day this week.

5) Family Time

My mom arrived from Toronto last night and is staying for a week to help me get all moved in to my new place. I am so excited to have her here (she has a great eye for decorating and I could really use her help!) plus I am excited to just spend some time walking along the sea wall and catching up.
Ps. since my mom arrived last night I don't have any pics to represent this "great moment from my week" so here is a pic of my mom from a blog post I did on her here)

 

Linking up with:

high five for friday 

let it shine 

five things friday 

oh hey friday 

casual friday 

fab favouritesfriday favourites 

shoe and tell

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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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Travel & Fashion - Scotland

Happy Thursday readers! Today I wanted to post again about a trip I did last summer. If you've missed my previous travel and fashion posts you can read about my trips to Uganda, Tanzania, Greece & Italy.

I went to Edinburgh with my best friend Sarah. Let me just say right now that Edinburgh is officially my favourite city in the entire world. I just loved it. The history, the kind people, the organization (..yes, as someone who is extremely type A, the fact that the city is super organized was like crack for me) and even the climate. Being a Vancouver-ite through and through, I didn't mind at all that the weather is pretty rainy. After years in Vancouver I am a PRO at what to wear in a rainy climate so the fashion in Edinburgh was right up my alley!

 As you can see from the above two pictures the fashion was about staying warm and staying dry... with lots of cashmere and plaid. In the top picture I am wearing a 100% cashmere sweater that I got in a local shop in Edinburgh for UNDER 60 DOLLARS CANADIAN. It was the greatest thing. Cashmere is SO cheap throughout Scotland. I also fell in love with the plaid bow headband that you see me wearing in the top picture.. I bought it in three different colours haha.

Cashmere Sweater: Similar: here and here
Plaid Headband: Similar: here and here

 This was probably the coolest part of exploring Edinburgh. This is the coffee shop The Elephant House... which is where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote parts (most?) of Harry Potter. The cafe has lots of dedications in her honor inside and every table is more like a desk in that it has a drawer filled with paper and pens should you wish to write. I was in full on Harry-Potter-Fan-Meltdown-Mode the entire time Sarah and I were there.

The scenery of Edinburgh really is something spectacular. There are castles at every corner and the city is so green and lush. Below are my two favourite 'scenery' pics.

 The Food in Edinburgh was.... odd. I'm not sure I'll ever become a fan of things like Haggis. However, it was cool to try some really crazy stuff like deep fried Mars bars (Sarah and I could barely finish one shared between the two of us) and this AWESOME soda you an see below, called "Irn Bru". Irn Bru is Scotland's own soda pop. It is delicious but, more importantly, I think it is really cool because it is the highest selling soft drink in Scotland - outselling both Coca Cola and pepsi. Apparently, Scotland is the only country in the world that has a different pop that beats out Coca Cola / Pepsi which I just think is really freaking cool.

 This final pic is of Sarah & I right before we did a cool walking tour of the "underground" city of Edinburgh. Overall it was an unreal experience. I highly recommend exploring Edinburgh if you ever have the opportunity! 

Trench Coat: Similar: here and here
My Scarf: Similar: here and here

Sarah's Scarf: Similar: here

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Travel Guide: Uganda

Good morning readers! As you may recall, last week I wrote about my experience in Tanzania. While I was living in Tanzania I also traveled to neighboring Uganda for a week, and that is what I wanted to talk about today.

I love Uganda. The people are incredibly friendly, and the adventures are endless! As you can probably tell from the above photo I am a bit of an "adventure" traveler. If it involves swimming with sharks, riding elephants, or exploring volcanoes count me in! So, when my friend Jon (whom I was visiting in Uganda) suggested we white water raft The Nile I jumped at the opportunity! 

Jon and I did a day trip to the southern city of Jinja in order to whit water raft the Nile. In addition to loving the rafting, I actually weirdly enjoyed traveling there. One thing I love about Uganda is the scenery - from extremely lush to very dry the views are always something to admire. Additionally, one of my FAVOURITE foods I ate in Uganda can only be acquired during bus travel ... Does that sound odd? Well, you need to travel Uganda by bus and try "bus stop" Chapati and then talk to me haha.

Essentially, when traveling the country by bus you end up going through bus stops that are filled with people reaching food and other trinkets up to the bus window to be purchased. Every time we travelled anywhere Jon and I got the Chapati, which is a doughy pancake like food that is incredibly delicious.  

*Ordering our bus stop Chapati*

While visiting Uganda I spent the majority of my time in the capital, Kampala. Kampala was quite a modern city with a variety of cool shops and restaurants. I loved being able to buy fabrics from local retailers at every turn. I bought so many fabrics which I brought back to Canada to display on their own, turn into pillows, and even turn into dresses. 

* A selection of the fabrics I brought home with me*

The final city I visited in Uganda (other than Kampala and Jinja) was Gulu. Visiting Gulu was something I had wanted to do for years. In 2008 I worked for the non-profit Invisible Children which was founded by three young guys after having witnessed the destruction in Gulu at the hands of Joseph Kony and his rebel army, the L.R.A. Invisible Children began as a grassroots organization that grew to produce a number of short documentary films, help build a number of schools in Gulu, provide scholarships for Gulu students and employ a number of women to handcraft goods for sale in the US and Canada. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Invisible Children Gulu Office and getting to tour one of the high schools IC helped build.

While in Gulu Jon (who was also a law student) and I were tasked with attending the first day of a trial of a former L.R.A. commander. We were to observe and report as necessary. The trial was an experience I will never forget. 
 

As I'm sure you can tell my experience in Uganda was WAY too intense and busy to sum up in one blog post, but, I will leave you with a few remaining photos and thoughts on this amazing experience:

1) If in Uganda you must try: Nile Special Beer, Chapati & Mandazi (a donut-y treat)

2) You also must explore more than just Kampala - check out Jinja in the south and Gulu in the North

3) On Saturdays there is a farmer's market in Kampala that is definitely worth checking out. It has so many beautiful fabrics, dresses and paintings all made by locals

*The view from Jon's apartment in Kampala*

*the mode of transport around Kampala- Boda'ing*

*The BEST East African beer (Nile Special)... which we are using to take our daily malaria pills... that part is not recommended haha*

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Travel & Fashion - Tanzania

 * The sign in front of my office, wearing one of my custom made office dresses* 

A few years ago now, the summer after first year law school, I had the privilege of going to Tanzania for 3 months to work as an intern at a women's legal aid clinic. The experience was challenging, rewarding, at times terrifying, and a hell of a lot of fun.

I lived and worked in the capital, Dar es Salaam. I rented a small house with 2 other interns in a local neighbourhood (ie. not an expact community). I loved our house, it was bright and vibrant - filled with local artifacts. We also had a rooster that lived in the backyard (I named him George). George was my favourite because he was pretty much incompetent at his only job (being a rooster). He would - without fail - cock-a-doodle-do exactly 20 minutes after the sun rose every morning. As a total non-morning person I friggin loved him. George got me.

* My house *

I loved the work I got to do while in Tanzania, but more than that, I loved meeting and getting to know the phenomenal women I got to work with. From other lawyers, to social workers, to friends working in the peace corps, everyone was so passionate. It was uplifting to say the least.

Ok, I know you are all reading this for fashion too so let me get to that! The fashion in Tanzania was incredible. What many people don't know is that Tanzania is quite the mix of traditional East African culture and Indian culture. There is a large and vibrant Indian diaspora community in Tanzania. It creates, in my opinion, a culture and life that is really unique to Tanzania. By way of fashion, there are many Kangas and Katenges (traditional Tanzanian fabrics) with bold and bright patterns, but, there are also traditional indian garments such as Sari's.

I was lucky enough to live and work primarily in Dar, but I also spent a lot of time with friends in a nearby village called Bagamoyo. The town is home to an amazingly talented seamstress who made me a number of beautiful pieces of clothing. 

Living in Tanzania for as long as I did there was no doubt that I needed to get appropriate clothing for different local functions. Let me tell you, I did NOT have to be asked twice to "Go get traditional clothing made" haha. I jumped at the opportunity. Below are photos of me with my colleagues in a number of the dresses and outfits I had made.

See what I mean about bright and bold colours?! To me, the whole country just exudes vibrance. Below are a few photos that my dear friend Hannah took that I think really illustrate this: 

The other AMAZING part about Tanzania that I have to tell you about is the Safari that I took in Ngorongoro National Park just outside Arusha, Tanzania. An African Safari was something that was on my bucket list, and to be honest I am still in shock that I was able to cross it off my list. My safari was everything I ever could have imagined and more. My roomate/colleague Madison and I did a 4 day safari where we slept in tents RIGHT ON THE SERENGETI ... literally no fences, no nothing, just us plunked down in the middle of the wilderness. 

*Madison and my tent- day one*

*Going on safari in our 4X4. Madison and I met up with two American guys also wanting to do a safari, so we joined up with them and spent our days in this 4x4 watching the animals together* 

I couldn't believe how many animals we saw on safari, nor how close we were to them. In particular I had, shall we say, a "situation" with a zebra... but I'll tell you about that at the end. First, here are my favourite pictures from my safari:

And last, I leave you with my zebra story (and a favourite Zebra picture). So, it's the middle of the night and I wake up and realize I have to pee. Not an "I can wait till morning pee, but a my-bladder-is-exploding type of pee". I realize that I am going to need to leave the tent in the middle of the night and walk to the nearby outhouse.

On go my boots, on goes my head lamp, unzip goes the tent door, and out I go. Now, being considerate, I decided not to turn my headlight on until I had walked a few steps away from the tent so as to not wake Madison. So, in complete darkness I step one step around the corner of our tent and *BAM* .... I was standing face to face with a ZEBRA. After a solid few seconds of both of us standing there staring at each other frozen, I turned and BOOKED IT the other direction {swearing and screaming like a crazy person, of course}. Thankfully, I made it safely to the outhouse and back to my tent (taking a very long route around Mr. Zebra) without any further incident. All I could think though is; seriously!?! Who the heck RUNS INTO A ZEBRA?!?! The things that happen to me :S, hahaha. 

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2014 Recap

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I hope you all had a great New Years Eve and are ready and excited for 2015. I know I am! 2014 was a bit of a crazy year for me, and I thought for today's post I would re-cap my 2014 (... and show some of my fav 2014 outfits in the process!) Here goes:
The above picture is from New Years Eve 2013... I rang in 2014 with my best girlfriends. We went out for a lovely dinner then went to a friend's house party.  
My dress: BCBG. Similar: here
Natalie (far left)'s dress: Anthropologie. Some available on poshmark here Similar here
Sarah (far right)'s dress: Guess. Similar: here and here

In March my friend Alex got married in Mexico! I was so honoured to be a bridesmaid. The wedding was beautiful and it was such a fun vacation! 

In reflecting on my 2014, I (happily) realized I focused a lot of my time this year on spending time with the little kids in my life. I have always really loved spending time with kids. I was that kid at 5 years old that wanted to be a mom. The first picture is of my mom, myself and my 5 year old niece Maia at a family pilates class. It was so much fun. The second picture is me and my niece Chloe, and the final picture is my god-daughter Lila who I registered in "baby ballet" this year. As a former dancer it basically made my life complete to put her in a tutu and get to play dance mom haha.  

My workout top: Lululemon
My mom's workout top: Lululemon
My baseball cap: J Crew. Similar: here
Lila's Tutu: Unknown. Similar: here

 2014 was huge  for me because I was articling (the law equivalent of an 'internship' that you must complete post-law school). The above photo was from my most surreal work day to date - doing site visits to the site of a  homicide case in order to prepare for the trial, which I got to assist with. I worked my butt off on that case and learned so much. 

On June 19, 2014 I was officially Called to the Bar (ie. became a lawyer); my greatest career accomplishment to date! The first pic is me with my closest law school friend. Mitch and I met on day 1 of first year, and I literally could not have survived law school without him. The second pic is my family, who managed to handle me through three years of exam stress, and deserve a medal for it haha. (Ps. How ridiculous are our court robes?! Yup, these are what we have to wear in the higher courts, and (clearly) on the day we are called to the bar) 
My lipstick: MAC "relentlessly red"

So the day after I officially became a lawyer what did I do? ... I went and got a tattoo! My best friend Maddie went with me (in case you're confused I have two best friends- Maddie and Sarah). I got an anchor for a number of reasons; an anchor is the international symbol for hope, the anchor is my sorority's symbol, in many cultures anchors stand for strength, and finally because I wanted to remind myself to be anchored. I have a hard time 'being present'; always thinking about/planning the future so I use this as a little reminder to anchor myself to what is happening around me each and every day and live in the moment. 
My symbol midi rings: Bauble bar. Similar: here and here
My "love" midi ring: Bauble bar. Similar: here and here

This RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS setting is Smithers, BC. I spent the month of July here. I was in a long distance relationship for the better part of 2014 with a great guy who lives here. So, I spent July here. The relationship didn't work out, but I learned a lot from it. Coincidentally enough one of my sister's also lives in Smithers (this photo is actually the view from her living room) so it was a great month both with the boy and getting to spend time with my sister and niece and nephew.

Ahhh August 2014. Sarah and I did a Euro trip (our second one together!) We traveled together through the south of France, Monaco, Italy and finally Greece. From Athens we then started the 'second part' of our trip.... yacht week. Have you guys heard of yacht week?! If not, you need to check it out. It was the most unreal week of my life. Sarah, my friend Natalia and I did it together. There are really no words I can use to describe its epic-ness, but the below pictures can try:  
My skirt: J Crew Factory. Same skirt in a different shade of green here
Sarah's sunnies: Aldo

Parties all day. Parties all night. Ocean breezes, warm sun and constant mimosas. How was this even real!?! <3  
My neon bathing suit: Forever 21
My neon shorts: Forever 21. Similar: here and here
My white dress: Boutique in Athens. SImilar: here
My pink clutch: Michael Kors
My bow bathing suit:Etsy shop "Amorouse"

September 2014 - I STARTED THIS BLOG! Yup! Many of you readers may not realize LegalLeeBlonde is only 4 months old! This outfit pic is one of my favourite blog outfits to date.

October 2014 - I moved to Vancouver!!! This was a MASSIVE decision for me, one that I flipped back and forth on for months. I had to give up my Ontario Law Society membership and join the BC bar. I moved out here without a job, just with the belief that Vancouver is where my heart is ( I lived her for university from 2004-2008). In November I got a job (a contract as Crown Attorney for 5 months) and I am LOVING it. It is the greatest job- I look forward to work every single day and feel truly privileged and grateful to be able to do what I do.

December 2014, I returned to San Diego for the first time in 6 years. I worked for Invisible Children back in 2008 and had not been back to SD since. I went back for an Alumni Reunion in light of Invisible Children completely changing it's operations model to focus it's efforts on the on-the-ground work in Africa. The trip was a joyous, tearful, soul-awakening experience that reconnected me with my passion for helping people and re-awakened my need to do non-profit work. I am incredibly grateful for this, and will definitely be taking this 'reminder' with me in to 2015; with plans to get involved with more non-profit initiatives both locally and globally.

That's it folks! Congratulations to those of you reading this- you made it to the end of the longest post in the history of ever haha. Thank you for reading, and for being a part of my 2014. CHEERS TO 2015!!!!

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