Dresses (birthday gifts from my parents): Calvin Klein, Spense & Jessica Simpson
Shoes: Guess & Sbicca
Shorts: Hybrid & Co. | Top Talbots 
Bikini top: Target | Hat: Rampage
I've uploaded a haul video I filmed so check out the link.
This year my birthday extended over three weeks (three weeks!) and I must confess, I’m not complaining.
My girlfriends and I (a new group of girls I was introduced to less than a year ago by a dear friend) try to have girls’ nights once per month, but we hadn’t seen each other since our Christmas Party in December! Anyways, we decided to plan a get together a week prior to my birthday and I mentioned to my friend (the introducer) that it’d be nice to go out and in a way celebrate my birthday with those girls and since this girls’ night was so close, we could roll it into one. I figured we might say a, ‘Cheers! Happy Birthday Amanda!’ over drinks at dinner. Boy was I wrong. My girlfriend made it her personal mission that we celebrate my birthday that night and she made that very clear when she showed up at my apartment before dinner with the amazing, custom cake above. Yes, that is a big chocolate shoe. It brought tears to my eyes!
From there, we got ready and met up with the other four girls and had an amazing Italian dinner complete with complimentary shots from our server. Afterwards, we went back to my place and cut the cake, had some drinks and laughs. It was one of the best nights of my life (that sounds pretty bold, but it was).
I have spent three birthdays in Florida: five to six, eleven to twelve and this year, twenty-seven to twenty-eight. Pretty lucky, right? I’d say so.
I flew down to to Florida the day before my birthday so was there to celebrate and it played out perfectly. In the morning, my mom, step-grandmother and her niece all went to get pedicures at a Cosmetology school. It was interesting and fun. The pedicures were only $14, which is a steal (I know I mentioned $8 before but the numbers were mixed up) and everyone was very nice. I picked out an orangey-red colour but cannot remember the OPI name.
F21 top, American Apparel bandeau, Almost Famous shorts, Bamboo sandals, H&M bangle & Dollarama ring
We hit up Target after our pedicures and I must have tried on half the store. I walked away with some new skinny pants (in magenta!), a bikini top, some Elf make-up brushes and the brightest pink blush you have ever seen. I certainly didn’t buy a lot, but it was our first day of shopping so I didn’t want to go too crazy.
On that note, I had four more things in my cart that I was planning on buying (cat-eye sunglasses, a white bf cardi, a coral pencil skirt and some jewellery) but put them back at the last minute. Do you ever do that?
Ashley B jacket (last seen here), Rachel Roy pashmina, Charles Jourdan purse & Diva Lounge wedges (last seen here)
That night, my whole family (seven of us) went to my favourite US chain, Chili’s, for dinner. We had two-for-one drinks (love this concept as we don’t have that in Canada!) and I got my favourite: the buffalo chicken sandwich with coleslaw. Mmmm.
Our server got wind that it was my birthday and came along after dinner with some others, sang to me and presented me with the most delicious brownie you’ve ever had. I shared.
Edit: Forida recap HERE.
Jacob Connexion button-down, thrifted leather skirt (last seen here), Joey heels (last seen here), Suzy belt & Dollarama ring
Once I returned home, I was taken out for a very special dinner to a favourite restaurant of mine. Since the weather was so mild, I took advantage and went bare-legged with highly uncomfortable shoes and rocked some extensions.
What you didn’t see:
My work friends (which includes one of my besties) surprised me by taking me to lunch at one of my favourite lunch spots.
I thought it was just going to be me and my girlfriend and I was saying how I really shouldn’t go and spend money since I was leaving for Florida the following week. She said she would treat me for my birthday and little did I know; we showed up and the other three were there (one of whom is on mat-leave currently!) and they had already ordered (my favourite dish) and were waiting.
It was so kind. They also gifted me with the sweetest card and a gift card to one of my favourite stores, Winners!
Another shot of the beach. Your thoughts: Yawn. Snore. Boring! I'm on holidays though and not doing full fledged outfit picture taking and all that jazz... Is it Tuesday or Wednesday? I can't keep up. That's what true holidays feel like, right?
Shopping purchases post coming soon. Two days of vacation left.
You guys I'm in Florida! I'm having such a great time and am finally unwinding and relaxing. You know when you first arrive on vacation and you're all go-go-go!? Well, I am, and it takes me a few days to come down from the regular pace of life and just simply enjoy doing nothing, basically. I think I'm almost there.
Today I spent all day at the beach, which was glorious. It was over 80 degrees, sunny and breezy (we are staying in Cocoa Beach, Florida so the wind off the ocean is great as you can lie on the beach all day and not sweat, but it's still uber warm). I finished reading my book, I swam in the ocean (I body surfed & boogie boarded), I walked down to the pier and I sat out in the sun and relaxed (wearing SPF 30, of course). My spray tan is slowly fading and the albino in me is slowly showing her face (ha), but that's okay. People often comment when I come back from vacation that I 'didn't get much colour', but that's because I'm so fair skinned that one week in the sun isn't going to render me much colour, on top of that, I do tend to stay out of the sun (save today) as I try to be preventative (pre-mature aging) and I know I won't get much colour anyways!
I just finished dinner with my family and we ate at the condo for the first time since I've been here. Last night we went to this little pizzaria on the main street where you can get a pasta dish, salad and garlic bread for $5.99. What?! Where I'm from, that would be at least $15 and it was good, and there was a lot of food. I love eating down here, it's cheap and the portions are huge.
So I have five more days left in my holiday and then it's home time. So far the weather has been amazing, sunny and beautiful. Yesterday, my mom and I hit up Ross, Payless Shoes & Bealls. Although I tried on a ton of stuff at Ross, I only walked away with a couple items. The day before that was more successful at Target where I found a couple bikini tops, some new skinny pants (in magenta!) and some awesome Elf make-up products (we don't have Elf in Canada) including a super bright pink blush. We still need to hit TJ Maxx and maybe a few other places and I really hope I can go to a favourite: Bijoux Terner, which is at the Orlando outlet, before I head home.
Hope you are all having a great weekend & fabulous St. Patty's day!
Not my favourite photo, but for blog purposes, I'm letting you guys see it!
...for all you confused out there, we don't have a Target in Canada...yet.
I'm heading to Florida this week and pretty pumped. I know I mentioned it before, but I sent a suitcase (a big suitcase) down with my parent's who drive to Florida every year (it's a 24 hour drive). This will save me from lugging a suitcase through airports and also paying to check my luggage (woohoo!). Additionally, I'm not packing at the last minute, like I normally would be.
Whenever I travel, I style and pack outfits, versus just throwing everything into a suitcase (like I used to do). This helps ensure I have (almost) everything I need, makes it easy to get dressed while on vacation and (sort of) eliminates over packing. Sort of.
I definitley packed many favourites this year (which means I have to live without many favourites in my closet for a month) and aimed to pack lots of colour. Also, you never know what kind of weather you're going to get in Coco Beach this time of year and since it's right on the ocean, the winds are breezy and the nights can be cool. Layers, pashminas and light-weight jackets are a must.
I still have to pack my jewelery (going to aim for just silver this year, to make things easy), gym shoes, leather jacket (for motorcycle rides with my parents), pashminas, toiletries and my favourite black skinny pants (which I refused to pack at the time as I wear them at least once a week).
While the itinerary will be laid back, my mom has already texted me asking me if I wanted to get $8 pedicures ($8?! What?!). On top of that I will be celebrating my birthday in FLA on Thursday (exciting!), hopefully spending lots of time on the beach (thank you for all your book recommendations) and get some shopping in as well (Ross, Target, TJ Maxx & the outlets).
Are you going away this year? Did you already? How do you pack wisely?
Freshly painted, ready for the beach, mon.
Related posts:
* Florida 2011: what I packed.
* Weekend trip to Toronto: what I packed.
One of my good friends is currently in Cancun, Mexico.She sent me these pictures. Doesn't it look gorgeous?
One word:
Jeal-ous.*
* Especially since it just snowed over night and everything is now a winter wonderland here.
Dunkin Donuts 'Cool Latta' - I drank a few of these. We don't have Dunkin Donuts in Canada and these are way better than Iced Caps from Tim Hortons. Oh, and btw, that's a medium. Love those Americans.
During my trip to Florida, I kept a bit of a photo diary with my iPhone whenever I could. Sometimes I didn't bring my camera with me (shocker) or only had a second to snap a quick shot. I'm missing the warm weather a ton but the snow here is melting and despite temperatures being below zero still, Spring is on it's way.
Daytona Beach
The cart from my trip to Ross with my mom. That store is amazing and we clearly don't have that in Canada, either.
A solo evening at the beach.
My favourite beer which often comes 2-for-1 at many restaurants (another fantastic American thing). The one on the left was from my dinner at the Washington airport on my way home. Ending my trip and keepin' it classy: a solo beer and burger.
One morning, during my run, there were tons of seagulls congregated on the beach, just standing around. I stopped running, pulled my iPhone from my armband and snapped a shot.
Daytona Bike Week (psst, spot the dog?)
Various Beach Shots
Clockwise from top left: (1) Peanut butter M&M's (2) Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from Chili's (my fave) (3) Side Ceaser Salad from Chili's (4) Chips & bean dip from Chili's (5) My almost-everyday breakfast, toast with peanut butter and banana and a huge glass of milk (6) Chips and salsa from El Toucan (7) My Dad checking out how they make Salt Water Taffee in Daytona Beach (8) Chicken Enchilladas from El Toucan (9) Candy Apples in Daytona Beach (10) Cowboy Burger from AppleBee's (11) Steak dinner (which was horrible so I exchanged it for number nine) at AppleBee's
My trip to Florida was fantastic. I spent a week by the beach relaxing, reading, shopping and eating, and of course spending time with my parents. They have rented the same condo for the past four years and I managed to get a cheap flight, so I flew down to visit. It was so nice wearing open-toed shoes outside (and not just in the office), no tights, light-weight jackets and bikinis! What a treat. I'm back home in the snow now but with the longer days and milder temperatures, spring is on the way, I just need to stay optimistic it's coming sooner rather than later.
{ peacocks on peoples' front lawns }
{ we saw the space shuttle take off }
Above: Me & my Dad | Below: My two favourite bikes of the day
My parents and I went to Daytona Bike Week on my second-last day in Florida. It was a long ride on the back of my Dad's bike (250km total) but totally worth the sore butt because it was so cool. I saw a ton of amazing bikes, it was packed and it was such a nice day too.
"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." ~Robert Orben
That quote pretty much describes the first few days of a vacation for me. I'm always rearing to go, go, go and forget that now is the time to just relax. However, I find it hard to come down from the bustle of life, myself always on the go, always doing something, filling every spare minute of my time with an activity or what you may have. After a few days though, I get into the groove of a vacation and realize that sitting still is acceptable and I don't always have to be doing something... and it's quite nice.
So I've been in Florida since Monday night and it's been great. I'm staying with my parents at a condo on the beach, and while it's not glamourous (I've been sleeping on an air mattress in the living room of the one-bedroom condo) it certainly is appreciated. We are right on the beach (literally steps away) and there is no snow (at home, there is about five feet of snow).
We've been eating out every day, some good experiences, some bad (Applebees), and also had meals 'at home' (toasted tomato, avocado sandwiches, breakfasts, and lots of peanut butter m&m's). Tonight we are going to Chili's to celebrate my birthday (coming up this Tuesday) as it's my favourite restaurant and we don't have it in Canada. I'm going to wear my new AA double-u dress/top. On my real birthday (typically when we celebrate any birthday in my family), my parents won't be around and I'll be celebrating with my in-laws instead (yipee!).
For the first time in my life, I actually packed workout clothes (and shoes) for my vacation. I never do this. I don't work out on my holidays (hell-o, I'm on holidays) and honestly, I don't even want to work out when I'm not on holidays (but I do). However, I figured since hubs isn't here with me on this holiday (first time for everything), I might get the chance (or make the chance) to get some physical activity in (which should cancel out all the ice cream, cool latta's, peanut butter m&m's and other delicious food I've been eating without giving a second though, right?) - and I have! I have gone running on the beach twice (and wow is it ever different to run outside, I'm definitly a treadmill girl, and on sand is even harder - however, running beside the ocean is pretty awesome) and done a power walk (in my bikini, no less) with my mom.
Of course I have to tell you all about the lovely experience I had called, 'Amanda's Luggage Gets Lost'. I had a connecting flight in DC and my flight there was delayed (first it was delayed, then we taxied to the runway only to taxi back because something about maintenance), and when we finally taxied back, we took off. The plane was tiny. Two seats, an aisle, and one seat. The ceiling of the plane was so low, I had to duck to walk back to my seat (I'm 5'11, but still) - regardless, the worst part was that they wouldn't let me bring my carry-on into the plane, they said it was too big (it was a small rolly-suitcase). So I pulled my book (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) out and left my bag (which was annoying because obviously you pack your carry-on full of stuff you want to use on the plane, or at least I do, things such as earphones, camera, magazines, etc.).
When we arrived in DC, we had to wait outside the plane for them to pull all our 'carry-on' bags off before going inside to get to our connecting flights. We waited about eight minutes on the tarmack before they wheeled over a big trolley. I grabbed my bag and ran (seriously, ran) into the airport. I discovered that not only might I miss my connecting flight, but my gate was the furthest gate away (f-bomb). Fortunately, there was a 'shuttle' (like a bus) that took you from where I was, to the furthest gate, and it was leaving in three minutes (I just made it). Once I got there, I ran towards my gate and the ticket guy at the gate yelled out to me, 'Are you going to Orlando?!' I yelled back that I was, made it there, they took my ticket and I ran onto the plane - the second-last person to board. Phew. Just made it. We took off within minutes (and it was a bigger plane, three seats, an aisle and three seats with first class) and I eventually ended up chatting with the guy next to me who was from Sweden and learned all about his country and his profession (Sky-Dive instructor). Oh, and again, they wouldn't let me bring my carry-on onto the plane (I honestly don't know why as there was clearly enough room under the seat for my bag, grrr) but I did bring my book and before I knew it, we were landing in Orlando.
Upon arrival, I was worried my luggage didn't make it since my connection was so tight (under 15 minutes), and sadly, I was right. My carry-on came out, but my check luggage didn't (aka all my clothes). Packed in my carry-on: six pairs of shoes (I figured, what's worse? Losing all my clothes or six of my favourite shoes? - exactly), two bikinis, my make-up and jewelery. They (the airline people) told me to fill out some computer 'paper-work' and that hopefully my luggage would be delivered to me the next day. I had a dream that night that my suitcase came but half my clothes were missing (my mom said, 'That's not a dream, that's a nightmare!' hehe). However, sure enough, just after noon the next day, a delivery van brought my suitcase here and we've been living in harmony ever since.
Since being here, a ton of shopping has gone down. I was itching to go to the (Premium) outlets in Orlando as I've been twice and it's only grown since being there two and three years ago, and of course Target (since we don't have this in Canada). Those were my only two pre-requisits for shopping, however, we've also hit up TJ Maxx and Ross, which were both very successful. I've come out with a new purse, two pairs of shoes (BCBG & Carlos Santana), several tops, lots of jewelery, several dresses and a couple pairs of pants. I'd never heard of Ross before and a friend of my parents (who lives here) mentioned it and I'm so glad she did - that.store.is.awesome. So cheap, it was unreal (for all you Americans you're probably saying, 'What's the big deal, it's Ross,' right?). My mom and I had a hayday in there (we were literally in the place for three hours). Target, on the other hand (which I was so excited for), was a big dissappointment. I didn't buy any clothing but did pick up some Suave Dry Shampoo (thanks to Veronika's review), self-tanner ($10 cheaper than in Canada) and some Elf make-up. I'm pretty much shopped-out... okay, that's not true, despite my feet and legs being very sore from all the walking and shopping we've done, I could obviously shop some more... however, my credit card begs to differ.
And what's on the agenda for today, you ask? Well, I'm currently drinking a Dunkin' Donuts coffee (did you know, 'America runs on Dunkin'?), blogging and getting ready to head outside into the sunshine. The weather hasn't been super warm (except Tuesday, when I spent the day at the beach) and considering I packed several binkinis, I've only worn one so far) but I'll take dry pavement and sunshine any day over mounds of wet white stuff (snow).
Lastly, more photos to come, but I'm restricted to this for now. I don't have my own computer (using my mom's) down here with me and cannot upload any photos to twitter as I don't have roaming/data (it's super expensive and not worth it to add a US package to my phone plan for one week). Hope you are all well and I'm checking blogs every now and again but need to take advantage of the sun (and can't bring the laptop outside with me - the wireless is tempearmental) so will catch up with you all when I'm back.
See what I packed for my holdiays here.
I'm off to Florida today and I couldn't be more excited. Well, I guess I could if hubs was coming with me, that's sad and I'm pretty sure when we say goodbye I might be a complete mess. Better break out the water proof mascara.
I spent hours (yes, hours) planning and packing. It's kind of annoying, but, at least my outfits are styled and I didn't just throw a million things into my suitcase and call it a vacation. The last trip I took was to Toronto and it was for an extended weekend but I planned everything out and it worked out really well. I was determined to do that again however, planning for a full week (with temperamental weather) is a bit trickier (hence why it took so long). I put together 12 looks and added a few random pieces in just in case. I think I'm finally ready and just need to throw my carry-on bag together, pack my toiletries and I'll be on my way. By this evening I'll be stepping off the plane into complete weather bliss. Goodbye snow, hello beach!
The suits
I wasn't planning on packing six pairs of shoes but I think this works. I styled all the outfits with shoes which was helfpul. The three pairs of heels are all wedges, and personal faves.
Accessories - was planning on sticking to strictly silver and ended up with a lot more gold.
* workout clothes
(um, yeah, who am I again? I'm actually planning on working out while on vacation? Weirdo, but, I think the absence of hubs will give me time to go running on the beach... we'll see how ambitious this actually is.)
* black leather jacket, denim jacket & tan leather jacket
(this was hard to narrow it down to just three and I need the black one in order to go on my Dad's motorcycle should I choose to accompany him and my mom to Daytona Bike Week)
* sweatpants, leggings x2, sweat skirt, terry shorts & a denim skirt
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