jamaica: what i wore

Happy Monday, y'all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend filled with fun, family and friends. That trifecta makes me the happiest, and I have an inkling it does the same for you.

I wanted to thank you for your kind comments on my Jamaica post. You're such sweet peeps. Believe it or not, those shots were all taken with my iPhone 4. I used the Camera+ app on a few of the pictures but otherwise they weren't altered at all. Not too shabby, right?

Thanks as well for all of your packing tips. I took your advice and rolled my clothes (no wrinkles!) and I only took seven dresses - which is really good for me. Unfortunately, that's where my good sense ended. Five cardis made their way into my bag (I know, wtf!) along with ten pairs of sandals. What can I say? I faltered.

Here are some of my favourite ensembles from our trip. Note: there is not a stitch of Anthro in sight.

dress: gap
belt: banana republic
sandals: town shoes

dress: joe fresh
belt: h&m
sandals: town shoes

dress: h&m
hat: old navy

The Joe Fresh dress garnered quite a few compliments from the lovely WestJet staff at the Montego Bay airport. Little did they know it only cost $19. And the H&M dress? $20. I just love me a good {stylish} deal.

Ciao for now! I hope your week is off to a solid start, friends.

xo Dajana

irie days in jamaica

Hi friends! Life has been busy since we got back from Jamaica, but in such lovely and positive ways. I went away on a girls weekend/soccer tournament and I've also tried out five new restos in the past three weeks (including Taste, Farm, & Corso 32). I'm really into joie de vivre'ing!

But on to what I really want to share with you: my fashionably late Jamaican vacation post.

Did I mention that this was our first trip to Jamaica? I have to say it was paradise. Negril's casual, laid-back pace and tropical beauty were a feast for the eyes and soul (especially for this sun-starved lady).

We stayed at Couples Negril, which is an all inclusive resort (highly recommend!). This is fairly uncharacteristic of us, as we’ve always extolled the virtures of travelling off the beaten path.Our trip to Costa Rica last year was exactly that kind of trip. But y’know what? There is a place for all inclusive resorts in a person’s travelling repertoire. Especially when said person (in this case, me) is in dire need of tranquility, rejuvenation and most importantly, not having to worry about a single thing.

Couples Negril had all of those things covered, along with romance, delicious food and hospitality. Speaking of hospitality, the resort staff were fantastic! One of our favourite parts of the trip was getting to know these incredible people, especially Kadeen, Syan, Nordia, Tiffany & Celia. They were lovely! As an aside: while we were getting our dance on at the Ultimate Dance Party (cheesy name but oh-so-fun!), Nordia told me I had rhythm. Hellooo! I can dance, peeps. (:

In Jamaica, we were able to take our relaxation to a new level of bliss. It was truly the most perfect tropical holiday. I would go back in a reggae (heart) beat.


Vacation highlights:

• Noshing on all kinds of tasty Jamaican delights, including: ackee & saltfish (Jamaica’s national dish), curried goat, dumplings, callaloo, bun, fried plaintains, jerk pork & chicken, festival, roasted breadfruit & soursop (my new fav fruit)
• Our first ever couples massage at the resort’s award-winning spa - divine pampering!
• Watching local kids jumping from 40 foot cliffs into the sea
• Going down the slide during our sunset catamaran cruise
• Discovering the Silver Birds Steel Orchestra. Their rendition of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was amazing!
• Meandering along soft white sand with my best {boy}friend
• The sound of tree frogs at night
• Swimming in the warm crystal clear cerulean sea
• Devouring four books while relaxin' in "my" hammock
• The delicious pink, purple and orange sunsets
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I hope you've enjoyed perusing these pictures as much as I've enjoyed posting them.

Happy Wednesday, friends! I sure have missed you.

xo Dajana

it's good to be home

Hello, friends! How was your Easter long weekend? Are you chocolated out?

We’re back from our Jamaican vacation – relaxed, happy and tanned. Actually, we’ve been back for a few days now but there hasn’t been much time for blogging as life has been chockablock with Easter get-togethers, birthday dinners, and spring cleaning. Heck, I haven’t even been on Facebook since we got back. That is huge for me.

I’m excited to share pictures of our trip, so while I sort out my upcoming vacation post, I’ll leave you with this awww-inducing snapshot of our laidback Lucy as a puppy.  We celebrated her sixth birthday this past Monday. Wasn’t she just the sweetest little peach?

Hope your Wednesday is all kinds of wonderful!

xo Dajana

jamaica: last day in paradise...

For the past week, Scotty and I've been immersed in the laid back essence of Jamaican life - enjoying the beautiful waters off the pretty town of Negril on the country's west coast.

Sadly, we're nearing the end of our tropical holiday. One more day of sun and sand and we're back to reality in Alberta (which, according to the weather reports includes snow - boo!).

I can't wait to tell you about the resort, the food and the lovely Jamaican people we met.

But for now, I'm back to my hammock.

Talk soon, friends!

xo Dajana