2014 Recap

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I hope you all had a great New Years Eve and are ready and excited for 2015. I know I am! 2014 was a bit of a crazy year for me, and I thought for today’s post I would re-cap my 2014 (… and show some of my fav 2014 outfits in the process!) Here goes:
The above picture is from New Years Eve 2013… I rang in 2014 with my best girlfriends. We went out for a lovely dinner then went to a friend’s house party.  
My dress: BCBG. Similar: here
Natalie (far left)’s dress: Anthropologie. Some available on poshmark here Similar here
Sarah (far right)’s dress: Guess. Similar: here and here

In March my friend Alex got married in Mexico! I was so honoured to be a bridesmaid. The wedding was beautiful and it was such a fun vacation! 

In reflecting on my 2014, I (happily) realized I focused a lot of my time this year on spending time with the little kids in my life. I have always really loved spending time with kids. I was that kid at 5 years old that wanted to be a mom. The first picture is of my mom, myself and my 5 year old niece Maia at a family pilates class. It was so much fun. The second picture is me and my niece Chloe, and the final picture is my god-daughter Lila who I registered in “baby ballet” this year. As a former dancer it basically made my life complete to put her in a tutu and get to play dance mom haha.  

My workout top: Lululemon
My mom’s workout top: Lululemon
My baseball cap: J Crew. Similar: here
Lila’s Tutu: Unknown. Similar: here

 2014 was huge  for me because I was articling (the law equivalent of an ‘internship’ that you must complete post-law school). The above photo was from my most surreal work day to date – doing site visits to the site of a  homicide case in order to prepare for the trial, which I got to assist with. I worked my butt off on that case and learned so much. 

On June 19, 2014 I was officially Called to the Bar (ie. became a lawyer); my greatest career accomplishment to date! The first pic is me with my closest law school friend. Mitch and I met on day 1 of first year, and I literally could not have survived law school without him. The second pic is my family, who managed to handle me through three years of exam stress, and deserve a medal for it haha. (Ps. How ridiculous are our court robes?! Yup, these are what we have to wear in the higher courts, and (clearly) on the day we are called to the bar) 
My lipstick: MAC “relentlessly red”

So the day after I officially became a lawyer what did I do? … I went and got a tattoo! My best friend Maddie went with me (in case you’re confused I have two best friends- Maddie and Sarah). I got an anchor for a number of reasons; an anchor is the international symbol for hope, the anchor is my sorority’s symbol, in many cultures anchors stand for strength, and finally because I wanted to remind myself to be anchored. I have a hard time ‘being present’; always thinking about/planning the future so I use this as a little reminder to anchor myself to what is happening around me each and every day and live in the moment. 
My symbol midi rings: Bauble bar. Similar: here and here
My “love” midi ring: Bauble bar. Similar: here and here

This RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS setting is Smithers, BC. I spent the month of July here. I was in a long distance relationship for the better part of 2014 with a great guy who lives here. So, I spent July here. The relationship didn’t work out, but I learned a lot from it. Coincidentally enough one of my sister’s also lives in Smithers (this photo is actually the view from her living room) so it was a great month both with the boy and getting to spend time with my sister and niece and nephew.

Ahhh August 2014. Sarah and I did a Euro trip (our second one together!) We traveled together through the south of France, Monaco, Italy and finally Greece. From Athens we then started the ‘second part’ of our trip…. yacht week. Have you guys heard of yacht week?! If not, you need to check it out. It was the most unreal week of my life. Sarah, my friend Natalia and I did it together. There are really no words I can use to describe its epic-ness, but the below pictures can try:  
My skirt: J Crew Factory. Same skirt in a different shade of green here
Sarah’s sunnies: Aldo

Parties all day. Parties all night. Ocean breezes, warm sun and constant mimosas. How was this even real!?! <3  
My neon bathing suit: Forever 21
My neon shorts: Forever 21. Similar: here and here
My white dress: Boutique in Athens. SImilar: here
My pink clutch: Michael Kors
My bow bathing suit:Etsy shop “Amorouse”

September 2014 – I STARTED THIS BLOG! Yup! Many of you readers may not realize LegalLeeBlonde is only 4 months old! This outfit pic is one of my favourite blog outfits to date.

October 2014 – I moved to Vancouver!!! This was a MASSIVE decision for me, one that I flipped back and forth on for months. I had to give up my Ontario Law Society membership and join the BC bar. I moved out here without a job, just with the belief that Vancouver is where my heart is ( I lived her for university from 2004-2008). In November I got a job (a contract as Crown Attorney for 5 months) and I am LOVING it. It is the greatest job- I look forward to work every single day and feel truly privileged and grateful to be able to do what I do.

December 2014, I returned to San Diego for the first time in 6 years. I worked for Invisible Children back in 2008 and had not been back to SD since. I went back for an Alumni Reunion in light of Invisible Children completely changing it’s operations model to focus it’s efforts on the on-the-ground work in Africa. The trip was a joyous, tearful, soul-awakening experience that reconnected me with my passion for helping people and re-awakened my need to do non-profit work. I am incredibly grateful for this, and will definitely be taking this ‘reminder’ with me in to 2015; with plans to get involved with more non-profit initiatives both locally and globally.

That’s it folks! Congratulations to those of you reading this- you made it to the end of the longest post in the history of ever haha. Thank you for reading, and for being a part of my 2014. CHEERS TO 2015!!!!