beach day

A Pizza Beach Birthday

June 30, 2017August 7, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

The first long weekend of Summer is HERE, and though we won’t be escaping to a cottage like so many of our Canadian counterparts, we’re definitely ready to celebrate right here in the city. We decided to throw a lakeside beach staycation at one of our favourite Toronto landmarks, the Sugar Beach! Dotted with white Muskoka chairs and pink umbrellas, there’s no better place downtown to spread out a towel and soak up the sun with friends. Especially when you have VEGAN PIZZA and a BIRTHDAY to celebrate.

In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, our pals at Panago created a limited edition Canada 150 box, illustrated by Chairman Ting, and you get to colour it in! Better yet, they also launched a new Vegan Canadian Pizza – with hot banana peppers, sautéed mushrooms, extra vegan pepperoni and dairy-free Diaya cheeze, it’s definitely a pizza that deserves a party.

With our soda pop and pizzas all packed up alongside pool floaties and sparkly flamingo sunglasses, we hit the beach! Has there ever been a better way to celebrate Canada’s Birthday?

A special thanks to Jeanine and Amy for celebrating with us.

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com

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Dress Up

Bows at the Beach

October 24, 2014June 22, 2015 by Alyssa Garrison

As much as I love winter and cozy weather, I’m such a sun baby, so visiting LA this month during a heat wave was like hopping a plane to paradise. I got to unpack my shorts and cute dresses from the depths of my closet, and I even got to try out a few new bikinis that I’ve been saving for a sunny day.

I’ve been a big fan of Lolli ever since I saw their adorable watermelon phone case on Designlovefest’s Instagram. Their bikinis are flirty and fun, and always have the sweetest little details, like a big floppy bow on the butt or a heart-shaped cut out. I opted for a sweet white set with a bow bandeau, and paired it with some baby pink gingham shorts, a Ban.do hair twist, and a massive pink beach blanket, and headed down to my favourite LA boardwalk, Venice Beach!

Dress Up

On Island Time

August 5, 2014June 22, 2015 by Alyssa Garrison

Though the weather hasn’t been the best and I find myself busier with work than ever, this summer has been pretty wonderful so far. I’ve had the chance to work on a ton of fun creative projects, celebrated my blog’s first birthday, and coordinated an incredible party shoot with Bicyclette. Perhaps the biggest event so far though was Sarah’s visit.

Sarah and I have been best friends since we were eight years old, and though our closeness has come and gone, I don’t think any time has been quite as rough as this past year. Last summer Sarah decided to go to grad school in Vancouver, where we’re both from, and at the end of August she left her life here behind, including me. It was so hard to see her go, and even harder to have such an incredible year of success and excitement without really being able to share it with her. We kept in touch nonstop, sending one another cards and packages, but it just wasn’t the same. I felt like part of myself was missing.

Sarah’s visit these past two weeks was so bittersweet that it’s hard to even sum it up. We did all sorts of amazing things she wanted to do, and went a handful of places that I had promised to show her. It certainly wasn’t perfect, and if I’m being totally honest things did feel a little bit different at times, but when push comes to shove we had an amazing two weeks filled with beauty and adventure.

One of my favourite days with Sarah was when we headed to Toronto Island to shoot photos with Brianne for a Take me Out post. We spent the morning frolicking around the island taking pictures, and in the afternoon we lazed around on the beach until we were so hungry that we had to leave. It was a beautiful day filled with hundreds of tiny beautiful moments; here are some of my favourites!

Photos by Brianne Burnell