Because I Can: Beach Treasures

Beach Treasures by elbonner featuring aqua home decor

Holy crap, do I have the beach on my mind! It's been warm, it's been sunny, I've shaved more than I have in the past 6 months; that time of year is here! If it wasn't already stupid-obvious, the beach is my favorite entity on the face of the earth and I try to spend as much time there as I can. If all was right with the world, I'd have a little beach cottage where I could look out upon the ocean every day, but that's kind of a pipe dream right now. What I can do is surround myself with beachy stuff to keep me happy between sweet, salty, sandy release!

Body (R)

L'Aromarine Oceane perfume- Fresh and cool, like a good day by the ocean! Not a sweet or sunscreen-scented fragrance, but an earthy aquatic scent.

Earth Tu Sea Salt Scrub- Made with all organic oils and no preservatives; this scrub is effective without being harsh and a chemical-laden mess!

Sachajuan Ocean Mist Hair Spray- The super hip beach spray of the moment. I love the simplicity of the packaging and the turquoise color. Reminds me of Waimea Bay!

Bobbi Brown Beach Body Lotion- This lotion is a part of Bobbi Brown's hugely successful "Beach" line, which makes sense because the beach is awesome. Why would you not want to smell like it all the time? Kosmo Kramer does!

Malie Organics Plumeria Beauty Oil- Want to smell like a Hawaiian vacation whilst nourishing your skin with rich tropical oils? This company has all sorts of scents to keep you on island time, all the time!

Clothing (L)

Raen Optics Underwood Glasses- A more modern take on the Ray-Ban Clubmaster; these shades are cooler than cool. Good quality that won't make you cancel your Netflix subscription, Raen makes some pretty cool from for sun and prescription glasses wearers. Can't go wrong with these!

Wildfox Couture "Born On The Beach" Shirt- Do I really need to say more? It's like they made it for me! Soft cotton and the word BEACH plastered all over it; two thumbs up!

Roxy Mystic Beach Bag- Now I can finally bring my love for shibori tot he beach with this cute bag from Roxy. Simple, but fun, just like the beach!

J. Crew Chambray Shorts- Denim shorts without all the stiffness your usual cutoffs can have. No more doing the "shimmy stiff shorts over my sandy butt" dance with these. Elasticated waists aren't just for ill-fitting sweatpants anymore!

Chan Luu Wrap Bracelet- The pinnacle of beach jewelry. It's not overdoing it, but still really pretty and they come in all the colors of the rainbow!

Reef Swing II Flip Flop- Everyone needs a pair of decent, leather (or leather-like) flip flops for the summer. They hold up better than rubber ones and look nice enough to be worn at a restaurant! They are the ultimate multi-tasker!

If you're lucky enough to have the ocean close by you, spend some quality time with it this summer. If you crave it during the week like I do, inject some beachy fun into your wardrobe and beauty products! Happy Tuesday, everyone; hang ten!

Pineapple Paradise!

Pineapple Paradise by elbonner featuring beach bags

Who knew fall would be so full of such great pineapple themed stuff?! I can't get over how wonderful it is seeing one of my favorite summer fruits all over everything! I partially blame it on all the Australian designers coming out with stuff for their summer season (stop gloating and posting all of your beach pictures on Instagram you jerks!), but it's all okey dokey with me because I wish it was summer all the time. There are tons of bags, home decor items, shirts, shorts, scarves, and accessories that are all pineappled out! If there is a true God in this universe, he will keep this whole tropical fashion trend going until the day my ashes are packaged into firework shells and lit up on the Forth of July. It doesn't have to be summertime to enjoy pineapples! Eat it up!

The Swimwear Spiciness Chart

Spicy Swimwear Chart by elbonner featuring a swimsuits two piece

The thing I love about beach style is that it comes in so many different shapes, forms, cuts, colors, and designs. There are so many ways to look beachy! It's also another outlet for you to be able to show off your own fashion prowess which works in two ways: 1.) makes you look really good at a place where people normally don't take the time = instant bad ass, and 2.) inspires other to experiment with beach fashion. It doesn't have to be big t-shirts and  Soffe shorts, people!

The Mild Look- Classy, elegant, screams "I own a beach mansion and you don't". By mild I don't mean boring, I mean put-together, muted, and simply elegant. Go for pastel-toned, beautifully made suits, paired with flowy kaftans and dresses for a super relaxed feel. You should exude an "I haven't had a real job in years" vibe and wait by your infinity pool for someone to bring you a mimosa.

Bikini- Tori Praver
Kaftan- Jenn's Pirate Booty
Sandals- Havaianas

Medium- Everyday fun is what this look personifies. You're out with your friends, you need something that stays on whilst playing frisbee, but still looks cute when you inevitably fall asleep on the beach with possible snoring. PRO-TIP: A cute suit will probably detract from the snoring.  Pair with a trendy t-shirt and some cut-offs from a post-beach taco and margarita emergency session and you're good to go!

Bikini Top- Roxy
Bottoms- Billabong
Shirt- Wildfox
Shorts- PacSun

Hot- You're one of those people who doesn't leave behind fashion for anything, even at the beach. You love making bright, bold statements and peacocking whenever you get the chance. People may make snide comments about your outfit, but secretly wish they had the balls to pull off something like that! Go for bright prints and interesting cuts to stand out in a sea of solids! Pair with an equally bright cover-up and some super bright shorts to take your look from walking the sand to dancing the night away at a cool beach club! Take the plunge and work some prints, honey!

Bikini- Maaji
Kaftan- Mara Hoffman
Shorts- Calypso St. Barth

I've got beach fashion on the brain as I start packing for Oahu. Less than a week and I will be sandy, relaxed, and full of spicy ahi poke and I can't friggin' wait! Beach fashion doesn't need to be laborious, just have fun and try something new every once and a while! Happy Sunday!

Viva La Onesie!

Viva La Onesie! by elbonner featuring a ruched one piece swimsuit

Today I did something that I've been meaning to do for a long time: swim in the pool at the gym. Now, my gym pool isn't full of old people doing water aerobics or floating around on pool-noodles; I'm a member at a university gym with collegiate-level swimmers using the pool all the time. It took a lot of self-reflection and bathroom stall pep-talks for little chubby me to get up the courage to go get in that pool and swim a lane away from someone who may go to the Olympics one day. One thing that helped me with my pool-confidence and calmed my fear of accidentally flashing my whole butt to strangers was my awesome swimsuit. Feeling comfortable in something in front of strangers always helps you get over all of your other nervous jitters before doing something new. I recently bought the Body Glove Smoothies Zippered One-Piece you see in the upper right-hand corner in the brightest coral orange you can imagine. I was nervous about being seen in it in front of a bunch of career athletes, but low-and-behold I had the most bitchin' swimsuit there. The simple onesie swimsuit can create a lot of confidence by soothing your fears of having imperfect abs by giving you a little more coverage. Luckily, the swim industry has recently embraced the onesie and created so many cute suits that stay on no matter what activity you're doing. Above, I have accrued some really cute suits that can take you from swimming laps in the pool, to tumbling in rough surf, or to just feeling good in swimwear again. I've always gone by the idea that you should wear whatever you want because 99-100% of the time no-one will ever call you out on it or will end up being jealous of your courage, so throw on a onesie and work of your fitness!

Also, my pool workout totally kicked my butt so here's what I did:
-tread water for 30 seconds in the deep end
- 100m freestyle stroke
-tread water 30 seconds with arms and legs
-100m back stroke
-tread water for 30 seconds LEGS ONLY
-100m breaststroke 

repeat 5-10 times for a serious cardio workout!

clockwise:

Body Glove Smoothies Zippered One-Piece
J. Crew Ruched Bandeau Suit
L*Space Stardust Fringe One-Piece
Seea Riviera One-Piece
Wildfox Couture Classic One-Piece
Roxy Outdoor Fitness Lapped One-Piece
Mikoh Santorini One-Piece Suit

As If!: Make Me Cher Horowitz

This is purely a fun post with little to no substance other than the fact that I love the movie Clueless. This genius retelling of Jane Austen's Emma was most prepubescents girl first foray into British literature without even realizing it! It just screams mid nineties and it really is hilarious. There's something about a movie that is pure fun that makes me happy.I remember watching this movie on VHS every night during the summer of 1998 that I actually wore the tape out and my VCR decided to end its misery by eating it alive right when Cher is taking her drivers test. The new campaign from Wildfox helped inspire the little collage above and I'm pretty sure this will be my new Halloween costume. I love all the little plaid skirts and knee sock outfits. Totally killer fashion sense! That's all for now, later bettys, I'm outie!

As If! by elbonner featuring knee length socks