1. Holiday 2014 Prep: The Planning Stage

It's official, my family is heading to St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Tortolla and possibly St. Thomas in 2014! This is a homecoming and first international trip wrapped up in one for my mom and brother respectively.

St. Kitts

Frigate Bay, Nevis

Shoal Bay, Anguilla

Tortola

So being the obsessive planner I am, I've started prepping for our holiday. Starting early means that I can afford to wait for deals, search for coupons and be more selective. This post is going to have a lot of name dropping and price tags, even though it isn't sponsored. The only company I'm loyal to is the one with the best price!

My new camera is waiting under the tree for me, courtesy of Mom!

Canon SX510 Powershot

It's a Canon SX510 Powershot, 12.2 MP and 30x zoom (Price matching, a coupon + Target red card = $50+ cheaper). I'm in love and I haven't even taken a single picture with it yet.

I also got a 32GB memory card from Amazon for $22, much cheaper than Best Buy ($35) and BJ's ($28). I paid more for a class 10 since my camera can record videos up to 1080p. I plan to buy a few smaller cards for my trip (16 and maybe 2 8's). I also want an extra battery, so I'm price watching on Amazon.

Ona Bowery, $119. Scratches seem to be added to the
display bag,  because there are less scratches in personal reviews.

Earlier I was leaning towards this bag in leather but after a chat with Mom I'm getting the canvas. From my keyboard research stalking, it seems like the leather is very soft and scratches easily. Sounds like a nightmare for my OCD. Scratches ≠ character, at least to me. I just wish the strap was leather instead of seatbelt fabric.


 Bathing Suit I'm shvitzing over. And another one I'm interested in.

Santorini by La Blanca

Ibiza by La Blanca

I also need a new rain jacket, with a bigger hood because my current one can't handle my big
curly hair. It can't even handle a low bun without making me look like a dinosaur LOL. I'm partial
to Patagonia (college nostalgia) and North Face so here are a few options:

1. Patagonia Women's
 Torrentshell Jacket $129

2. Patagonia Women's
Storm Jacket $269

3. TNF Mesmeric $149
Cute shape!

4. TNF RDT Rain Jacket $149

My green patagonia has been fun, but I'm going for a less LOUD color this time around. I'll probably make a trip to REI (I'm a member) to check them out but I'm leaning towards the first and third. The second one seems like a fall, early winter jacket which I definitely don't need. The fourth is also a contender, the zipper placard is very shiny/distracting.

And this fun hat. Hopefully I won't put it down to check my phone and then leave it home like I did for my trip to PR. I didn't even realize I forgot it until I got to the beach later that day LOL.

Fortunately, I don't need much. I did a lot of shopping last summer, so I don't need any more shorts, skirts and tops.


All items were or will be purchased by myself. Or good ol' Mom LOL.