Thankfully I have pool chairs and beaches to hang out on ?. 

Beach blankets: Zaful

Glad I finally got to have my first beach day of the year. It’s been sunny and warm in Vancouver for the past couple of weeks (BLESS) but I’ve either been busy with school, work, or going away to have had any time to spend at the beach. This past weekend I finally had a bright and sunny day off so Terri and I hit the beach! Kits beach was bumpin’ with beach-goers who all probably had the same day planned as we did. Thankfully we got lucky and found parking a block away which is SO rare especially on a day as nice as last sunday. 

I made it a goal last year to try to have more adventures. This year I’m making it a goal to gym and beach as often as I can this summer. If I’m not darker than I’ve ever been after this summer then I will have failed. 

If you were wondering, my deliciously adorable beach blankets are from Zaful. LOVE their swimwear selection and affordable prices. A lot of people ask me whether or not you can trust these sorts of websites and the products they offer. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Zaful so far! As long as you do your research and read the reviews on the products, I think you really can’t go wrong!

What’s your favourite beach in Vancouver?

Sitting in lectures in school and I swear all I can think about are the picture perfect beaches in LA. Vancouver is a beautiful place don’t get me wrong… but the coastline of LA is just STUNNING. There’s not a single cloud in the sky, everyone’s out having a good time, and the palm trees… Oh the palm trees. *Heart eyes*.

We rented bikes from a shop right in front of Muscle beach and rode it along the boardwalk down to the Santa Monica pier. Something about riding along the beach felt so good. I’ve always enjoyed biking in the summer as a fun activity but biking along Venice made me love it that much more. It also kind of made me feel like I was in a Cali-based TV show and that’s always a plus. 

 Not to mention the sun in LA is SO much hotter and stronger than in Vancouver! We’ve had few good days this summer in Van but everyday was scorching and beautiful in LA. I definitely learned this summer that I am a hot weather kind of girl. Put me in minimal clothing and under the scorching sun and I am one happy camper.

I tanned more in my one day spent at Venice than my entire summer in Vancouver. I mean in Vancouver’s defence, I was mainly working when I’m in Van but STILL.   

I am super envious of all the Bloggers and Youtubers that get to live in LA. It’s such a beautiful city and is absolutely perfect for photos. The goal is to have a job that requires me to fly between Vancouver and LA ;D but that’s a goal that I’m still far from achieving. Until then I’m definitely going to be visiting LA again in the near future. Can’t wait!

Have any of you ever been to LA? What were your favourite spots?

Until next time, 

I got the pleasure to collaborate with yet another amazing local Vancouver brand. A few weeks back I was contacted by Lorena from INTI Beachwear and now its finally warm enough for me to shoot a couple pictures for the bikini she gave me! So I wanted to give you guys a run-down on how I’m liking my bikini so far and show you guys the pictures I took! 

So out of the current styles that INTI has in their collection, I chose the black Daniela top and the black Raquel bottoms to match. I initially wasn’t sure if I was going to like the Daniela top. For me personally, I usually like my bikinis to be a tight fitting regular triangle bikini top because of my small boobs. I thought that this top wasn’t going to be as flattering on me as it would be on someone with larger breasts. But I think I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this top. I really like the versatility of the halter top design. The top can be worn as a crop top with a pair of shorts at the beach without exposing too much skin. I also like how I definitely wouldn’t have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction in this top. I think this would be the perfect bikini top to wear when you’re going to the beach for activities (volleyball for example) rather than tanning. 

Moving on to these sexy INTI bottoms. I absolutely adore the cheeky cut of the Raquel bottoms. I can really tell that the girls at INTI really put a lot of thought into their beachwear. I find that the pieces are designed really well and flatter your body rather than just trying to cover it up. The Raquel bottoms are cheeky enough to be considered a thong style bikini bottom in my opinion and I LOVE it. It makes my bum look amazing and makes me feel really sexy and confident. And I think that’s what makes an ideal swim/beachwear set. Pieces that enhance a woman’s body and make her feel sexy and good about herself. 

I can’t wait to rock this set at the beach when the weather gets even warmer. I’ll definitely try to take pictures when I do! 

ALSO, the lovely INTI girls were nice enough to give me a discount code for my readers! If you want 15% off your INTI purcahse use my code INTIANGEL15 at checkout. The code will run from April 9th to May 9th (My birthday!) so make sure you take advantage of it and buy yourself a bomb new bikini set for the summer! And be sure to check out their Instagram account @Intibeachwear! 

Enjoy !

Now I know what you’re probably thinking…. “WTH Angel, you took YOURSELF on a date? F’kin LAME.” But you know what ! You need to know when to treat yourself, and it was just one of those days. I started off at Pacific Centre, which is a mall in downtown Vancouver, and did a little bit of shopping. I bought myself the Aritzia blanket scarf that I’ve been eyeing down for a while now. It was on sale for $25 off the regular price, so I took it as a sign and hastily paid for it before I could regret it. Next I went into Lush and purchased some new skincare items. I’ve recently ran out of my acne care regime by Vichy, so I picked up a new toner and a spot treatment in replacement. I also grabbed a deep cleansing mask to really give my skin a treat. (I talk about them here if you’re interested in seeing what I bought)

After the mall, I wandered over to the Art Gallery area and just took a walk past the Robson Skating Rink. The picture at the very top of the post also shows this area. I think one big reason I have a slight obsession with this side of the Art Gallery is because of Gossip Girl. The steps (once again, shown in the picture at the top of this post) remind me a lot of the steps of the Met. where Blair and her minions would sit and have lunch. If you watch Gossip Girl you would know what I mean.

There are a lot of interesting structural designs in this area too. All the different sets of steps, the skating rink… It’s definitely a fun area to explore if you ever visit Vancouver.

Here’s another view of the museum. This photo was taken at the end of this little garden area that I feel like not enough people know about.

When it hit about 3:30 pm, I started making my way, by foot, towards English Bay. Even walking through the city, on streets I commute on so often, I was amazed by the beautiful details of my city that I was only just discovering. I tried taking twists and turns that I would usually not take by foot, and was aiming to see as much as I can en route to the beach.

I found myself arriving at English Bay almost exactly 20 minutes before the sun set that day. I took my time strolling through this little park I found south of the intersection of Bidwell and Davie street. And then finally reaching the beach, I planted my bum down on a bench and waited to see the first sunset I would witness in 2015.

I’m writing this post partially because I wanted to show you guys my beautiful city that I am so so grateful for, but also partially to remind everyone to just spend some time by yourself every once in a while. Take yourself on a date, go explore your city, buy yourself some gifts, take a long (and I mean LONG) walk… Do something solely for your OWN happiness for once. It’s great to spend time with your loved ones, but I think everyone forgets to really give themselves some quality alone time. I didn’t think about school. I didn’t think about what was stressing me out. I just focused on being present; Lived in the moment. I made sure I was giving my full attention to my surroundings and the activities I was doing at the time. And you know what? I discovered new quirks about streets I’ve traveled on my entire life. When I pay attention, my city still surprises me with new things that I’ve never seen before. And I appreciate that so much.

Love yourself, because honestly, you’re pretty damn great.

Cheers,