Hawaii Recap

Ray and I went to Hawaii for my 30th birthday. We both had never been and didn't really know what to expect. Everyone kept telling us that it was the most magical place. To be honest, we expected it to be a bit like Bali- beyond magical, tropical and foreign (even though it's part of the US). When we landed and noticed all of the strip malls and giant chain stores we were a bit confused. It took us a few days to genuinely appreciate it. While it may not be foreign in the way we had expected it, it was definitely breath-taking and unlike anywhere we've seen before. It also helps to know where to go and what to do.

Island.  We went to Maui and stayed there for 5 nights and 6 days. I think this was the perfect amount of time on the Island.

Hotel.   We stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua. We only stayed there because we used points. It was okay. The service was amazing but the facilities and rooms were just okay (i.e. not very luxurious). I would recommend it if you wanted to use points but I wouldn't stay there if I had to pay.

Restaurants.  When we landed we stopped at a food truck called Like Poke?, which was 5 minutes from the airport (in a Costco parking lot). I found it on yelp. The poke was UNREAL. We ended up stopping there on our way back to the airport. Our favorite dinners were Mamma's Fish House and Merriman's. Mamma's Fish House sits on the most beautiful piece of land overlooking the water. They have something called a rolling menu. The menu starts off with the fish they have that day and as the fish sells out, the fishermans' come and bring more fresh fish and they update the menu with whatever catch comes in. Merriman's also has the prettiest view (we ended up eating there twice).

Sightseeing.  We spent a day doing the Road to Hana. It's long but worth it. It took us about 9.5 hours of driving in total. I won't lie, I was really nervous since I tend to get pretty car sick. Surprisingly, I was okay. Just make sure to drive with the windows down and sit in the front. The valet driver at our hotel told us about the Shaka App and I don't know how we would have done it without it. The app is like a virtual tour guide. You download it and it works off of your GPS (since you lose service pretty quickly). The guide describes each stop and even offers helpful tips like whether it's worth it stop and see (since there are so many stops you can't possibly do it all in one trip), whether it's family friendly (aka the hikes aren't too difficult- perfect for me haha), where to park, how far you are from Hana etc. It also plays Hawaiin music and tells you stories about Hawaiin culture. It was like having your own private tour guide. I honestly don't know how people do it without it.

Clothes.  Bring cute beach clothes, sandals, running shoes and windbreakers. It rains a ton, but for a few short minutes each time. I didn't wear any of the heels I brought. And I definitely overpacked (oops!).

What I Packed For Vegas

I didn't post a lot on my Instagram while I was in Vegas but I did post on stories. One night I posted my outfit with a Forever 21 bodysuit and I got the most swipe ups I've ever received! It led me to believe that I'm not the only one who has no idea what to wear in Vegas and is looking for some outfit inspo. I honestly had no idea what to wear since I knew mom jeans wouldn't work, let's be real. I spent hours on Pinterest doing some research and found some good outfit inspo. I then found the looks for less.

London Packing List

I'm off to London tonight for a week! I'm visiting my brother who lives there and I also have a few meetings and a shoot planned. I always start thinking about what I'm going to pack wayyy too early (cue the stickies on Mac with lists that get refined as the trip gets closer). I thought I would share with you what I decided to pack (personally, I think it would be way easier if I just followed someone else's list). This is perfect for a place thats cool (but not snowing) and a 7 day trip. In addition to the following I included this turtleneck and these jeans from yesterday's post, a few blouses for at night (like this one and this one), toiletries, makeup, hair brush and curling iron, electronics (and converter) and my carry on with all my goodies for the plane. 

1. Sweatpants // 2. Booties // 3. Dark jeans // 4. Purse // 5. Pajamas // 6. Camera // 7. Second pajama set // 8. Choker // 9. Black sweater // 10. White tee // 11. Leather jacket // 12. Grey sweater // 13. Boyfriend jeans // 14. Sparkly sneakers // 15. Puffer // 16. Pumps // 17. Black tee // 18. Grey tee // 19. Sunglasses // 20. White sneakers // 21. Black jeans

Packing for Montreal and Miami

If you are reading this you are probably like me: terrible at packing. By terrible I mean we overpack. Period. I could have one suitcase for my shoes, one for my clothes and a carry on for all my cosmetics (but Ray would kill me). Without a doubt I end up wearing 50% of what I bring. Not only do I overpack, I start thinking about what I will pack days before I actually leave on a trip. This time I am going to Montreal and Miami, so packing is even trickier. I started laying out my clothes for my trip and decided to share my packing list.  I hope you find this list helpful xox

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Jean Jacket by Hidden jeans

* Keep in mind I am going to Montreal and Miami. If you are going away to a different climate, make changes to the list as necessary. I linked the actual items I am packing below.

Blouses: I generally pack 4 blouses that I can wear to dinner/nights out. If you have more fancy dinners then bring more. I tend to do half fancy, half casual. For the casual dinners I'll just wear jeans, a tee and pumps with my moto jacket. 
T-shirts: Normally I pack 2 black, 2 white and 1 grey tee. They can be worn during the day as filler pieces or at night when I'm going somewhere casual.
Jeans:  I generally bring 1 black jean, 1 dark blue denim (no rips), and 1 light denim (with rips). This time I am also bringing 1 light pair with no rips. 
Jean shorts: I normally bring 1 light pair of jean shorts and one dark pair. This time I am also bringing a denim skirt.
Dresses or two-piece sets: I normally bring 1-2 from this category. I am bringing this navy two-piece loveshackfancy set and a loveshackfancy dress.
Jackets: I always bring this Moto jacket. Firstly, it is so light and doesn't take a lot of room in my luggage. Secondly, it goes with every outfit.
Loungewear: I always pack 1 comfy pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt (I love to be cozy!)
Pajamas: I only pack 1 pair (comfy shorts and a tee)
Intimates: no need to go into detail on my bras, underwear and socks ;)
Swimsuits: ugh this is a constant struggle for me. I always feel like I don't have any bikinis and stress out before vacations. Then I get too cheap and don't end up buying new ones. Anyway I try and bring 3.
Purses: I bring one purse for at night (normally my small black Chanel) and one purse for the day (alternate between my black Gucci, black Celine and my beige Chanel).
Shoes: I bring 1 pair of black heels, 1 pair of light heels (either nude or white), 1 pair of cute sandals, 1 pair of slides for the beach, 1 pair of sneakers and 1 pair of wedges. This trip I am bringing my black YSL tributes, white Manolo Blahniks, the River Island sandals I posted on IG a few days ago, new adidas sneakers that I'm obsessed with and white nike slides.

tips for getting the most out of your hotel

I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! Ray and I went to the desert. As I mentioned in my post last week, this was a last minute decision. We knew we wanted to do something, we just weren't sure what that something was. We also knew we wanted to book our hotel on points. We had a budget for the trip and knowing how we eat (and more specifically) how we drink on vacation, we needed to get the hotel for free. Surprisingly enough, our cheapest option was to stay at the Ritz (or a Westin golf course but, no thanks).

Our stay was incredible. It was just what we needed. After we checked in, settled down and went to the pool, Ray was saying how we really make ourselves known in hotels. I said there was no point not to, you need to make the most of your vacation. In other words, Ray was saying that we rarely settle and always try and get the most we can. It's not that we're cheap (although it can be looked at that way). It's that when you are spending soo much on a hotel, or soo many points for your stay, you want to maximize and make the most of it. I'm sharing my tips for making the most of your stay below.

Never settle for the first room. This is something I learned from my dad and for some, may seem obnoxious. I remember when I first started dating Ray he would get kind of embarrassed but would do it for me.  Now he is a pro and believes in this whole heartedly. The fact is, hotels normally have many different types of rooms and are rarely full to capacity. Moreover, they want you to be happy (and don't want bad yelp or trip advisor reviews). This trip our first room was terrible! Well, terrible for us. It was an "upgrade". There was a front patio with a fire pit that was very charming. But there were crying children on both sides (we're not there yet), the room overlooked the pool so zero privacy and it was pretty dark. I remember walking into the room and thinking this is not going to be good. We went back to the front desk and the woman was sooo understanding and helpful. She said she had a room she thought we would love and it would be ready in an hour or so. When we finally got to our room we were in awe. It was a totally different experience then the first. It was quiet, on the third floor with the most incredible view of the desert, bright and beautiful. Not to mention they had rose petals all over the bed. It is not a lot to them to give you a better room (even if it's an upgrade of an upgrade) if the room is vacant. To me, it's always worth the try.

Always tip the person at the front desk. This goes hand in hand with never settle for the first room. if you plan on playing musical rooms as I call it, you need to tip. We generally give $20. And don't get cheap here. If you want a better room you need to give something. Have one less shot, use that money here and you'll thank me later.

If your celebrating an occasion, mention it.  Always mention if you're celebrating an anniversary or birthday. Even mention if you're just trying to enjoy a special couples weekend. Good hotels will generally do something about it (rose petals on the bed, free champagne or fruit in the room, a better room etc).

Negotiate at the spa. We really wanted to use the spa services but massages were so expensive! We went into the spa and asked if they had any promotions. They had two for May: a prenatal massage or Mother's day massage- very helpful for a couple with no kids. I said something along the lines that there was nothing for couples, only for mothers? (in a polite way). But I mean, c'mon. The woman at the front desk said hold on, went to the back and came out with $25 gift vouchers per massage. Had I not said anything, we likely would not have received those. There are always promotions/offers so just ask.

* I wore this outfit on our getaway. In love with the grey & white combo. 

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Top, Shorts and Shoes from Vici Collection

tips for booking last minute travel

Living in Los Angeles has its perks and its downsides (although I will admit, those are very few and far between). One of the downsides is obvious and that's living so far from our family and many of our friends. With our limited vacation (the US needs to catch up with Canada in terms of work-life balance), we generally use the time to visit family. That means trips to Montreal and Miami. While I love visiting home, spending time with family and just relaxing, it's not exactly a romantic vacation with my husband reminiscing about our good times, planning the future, dreaming of what's next and just having fun. I really think it's important to change up the routine, travel, experience new things together and getaway from daily stresses for a bit. Since lately we have spent most of our real vacation (all 2 weeks) with family, I thought it was particularly important to try and go away the 2 of us this Memorial Day. We've been talking about it for over a month but only booked this week. Below I'm describing our tips for last minute trips. 

P.S. how amazing is this Storets top?? In love. 

Points. When we moved to the US Ray became obsessed with collecting credit card points. He started reading all of these blogs about it, keeping track and researching every new card. In Canada, the credit card/points system is pretty limited. In the US, there are constantly new cards with spending bonuses. So, for example, if you spend $3,000 in the first three months you get a points bonus of 100,000. We've done this several times. 100,000 points is a roundtrip to Europe for 2 (or a gorgeous hotel for a few nights). 

Some cards have high fees while others don't have any the first year (so just cancel them once you've made the bonus and redeemed the points). But even those with fees can be really worth it. For example, my American Express Platinum has a fee of $450 a year. But it gave me 100,000 points, which covered both of our flights to London and return when we went in April (which would have cost over $1,000 for sure). It also has other perks, like $15 uber credit a month, free airport lounge access, $200 airline fee credit and so on. Not to mention the concierge service, which I take full advantage of. Anyway, when looking for a last minute trip, use points. Hotels tend to be so expensive if you don't book early (Parker in Palm Springs was almost $1,000/night for Memorial Day weekend!) 

Hoteltonight.com. We've used this app a few times. The good thing is you could catch a really good deal. The bad thing is it is super last minute and you don't know what hotel will be available. Sometimes the one you want pops up and other times its all chains you're not interested in (that happened to us for this weekend). 

Price Match. Check out all the sites like Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz.  See which one offers the best deal (beware that some include tax in the price and others don't, which can be deceiving). Then call up the hotel and see if they have any special offers and if they would be willing to price match (a lot of them will). 

Bargain directly at the hotel. Okay, so this one may be more relevant for Southeast Asia then, let's say, Palm Springs. When we went on our honeymoon in Bali someone gave us the advice not to book any hotels in advance and to negotiate when you get there. This was the smartest advice because more often than not, hotels have empty rooms and they definitely want to fill up as much as possible. We were able to get villas with pools for 1/5 the price. You may not get the same bargain in the US, but it still can be worth the try. 

Hope you guys have an amazing Memorial Day weekend. Follow along on my Instagram story to see where we ended up booking, on points ;) xoxox

Photography by Felicia Lasala