Family Ties - Be Back Soon

Not A Model is off on a family vacation.

For this one, it's not just the core four as in Mom, Dad, sis and myself. This time we're bringing along the cousins, aunts, uncles and BABY for the ride. You may wonder, "Who is excited to go on a vacation with their extended family in their mid-twenties? Boooooooring." Well, I am.

Growing up in an Italian family meant that my first friends were my cousins, my "nannies" were my grandparents and most of my extended family lived within a walking distance of each other. We are a close bunch (and while we're not bringing everyone along - there are a lot of us) I can't wait to spend a sunny week with them.

While I'm not one for forced holidays (*cough cough St. Valentine) here in Canada we have family day coming up on Monday. I hope everyone spends time with the people they care about, or whomever they call their clan. I'll be with mine, slushy drink in hand.

In the meantime, below are some of my favourite fashion advertisements for spring from Escada, Massimo Dutti, Mulberry, Hermes and Versace. Enjoy!

Not A Model will be back soon.

Mermaid Living

Hello dear readers!

Just a heads up, Not A Model is heading to where those Laguna Beach kids go on Spring Break. Yes, I'm off to Cabo San Lucas to live the life of a mermaid for a week! Well, a mermaid who has dancing feet at night and who sips pina coladas by day.

It's time for a little break. I'm ready to unwind, hang with my favourite girls (minus a few) and take in my surroundings. I want to breathe in some ocean air and maybe get some writing done. When travelling I always bring the essentials: music, reading materials, journal & camera. I can't wait to dig into all those September issues and my latest novel, "Water for Elephants. That issue of Vogue is weighing down my carry-on though.

Need a Not A Model fix while I'm gone?

Check out: http://notamodel-lite.tumblr.com/ or show me some love on Facebook. Lastly, you can always follow me on Twitter; who knows I may even post a few live vacation tweets!

I hope you all enjoy the last week of August, which to some is unofficially the last week of summer! When I return it will be September, which signifies a new year in a way. Change is coming...hold on tight.

Sea Salt Salutations

It’s hard to believe that less than two months ago, I was lying on the beach in beautiful Barcelona. I miss the sultry sun beating on my body, and the feeling of being submerged in the cool salty ocean.

While I would love to jet off to Spain, I’ll have to settle for the next best thing: LUSH’s Ocean Salt Cleanser. While meant to be a facial cleanser, I prefer to use it on my body to scrub away dead skin, and exfoliate. Fresh Ingredients include: fine/course sea salt, fresh grapefruit infusion, avocado butter, and lime oil. There is even some lime extracted in Vodka, so if you like Margaritas this is definitely for you!

Now that my tan is faded, and my skin is looking a little drab; one scoop of this in the shower, and I’m suddenly a beach babe.