Beach Baby!

Photographed by: Robert Erdmann for Tatler Magazine June 2011

I don’t know about you, but every year I look forward to the day when the final school bell rings, exams are over and Summer has begun! Lounging by the pool in your fave pair of Steve Madden espadrilles, swimming with dolphins and gorgeously bronzed on vacation. For a whole three months there’s no waking up at the crack of dawn, no more itchy, uncomfortable winter uniforms, no more mind numbingly boring algebra homework. So you can imagine my disdain to find the season drawing to a close. Here is my list of the Top 10 things you should try to do before Summer ends. Grab your shades and sunscreen, this one looks like a scorcher!

Gabrielle enjoying the sun

   GO SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS:

This was a childhood dream of mine for so long, so It was literally a dream come true when my Dad told me for Christmas I was going swimming with dolphins! It was such an unbelievable experience, and definitely something to add to the bucket list of you love these creatures as much as I do.

MAKE A SMOOTHIE:

Due to the fact that in Summer, at least half of my pay is spent buying Boost Juice, why not make up your own fruity combinations at home using your favourite tropical fruits. Yum!

      TAKE A ROADTRIP

This Summer my friends and I all shared a beach house together for a week and it was so much fun! What would anyone rather be doing than hanging at the beach with their best girl friends?

WEAR YOUR BRIGHTEST, PRETTIEST SUMMER COLOURS

      What better time to flaunt the prettiest colours in your wardrobe and experiment with fashion?

Photographed by: Robert Erdmann for Tatler Magazine June 2011

  TRAMPOLINE FUN 

Lather your trampoline in soap, and put a garden sprinkler underneath. If you haven’t already discovered this (or perhaps forgotten it), you will have fun for hours and cool down as well.

MAKE SOMETHING NEW, OR FIX SOMETHING OLD

This Summer my cousins and I found this old boat ring, and we decided to repaint it and sand it. Use these last warm days for a DIY project!

Photographed by: Robert Erdmann for Tatler Magazine June 2011

'S' IS FOR SALES

 The end of Summer is also the best time to buy your bathers, as they are all on sale! And with a bikini this gorgeous, you'll never want it end.

1. Seafolly Coastline Bustier/ 2. Seafolly Songbird/ 3. Seafolly Miami Bandeau/ 4. Seafolly Field Trip Scuba Bikini

GO SAILING

Okay, this one may be a bit difficult if (like me) you don’t actually own a boat; but I had a go at solo sailing on my uncles boat and absolutely loved it. Listening to Weezer - Island in the Sun while using the ropes and sail is like being in a perfect summer film. Think ‘Charlie St. Cloud’... NOT ‘Titanic’

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”    - Mark Twain

TRY A NEW ICE-CREAM FLAVOUR
Okay so this option is definitely not for the faint hearted, but I dare you! Get outside your comfort zone and opt for the ‘Lemon and Lime’ instead of the ‘Choc Fudge Sundae’ flavour. You might even surprise yourself. 

HAPPILY EVER SUMMER

Before you get weighed down with books you HAVE to read, pick something you actually enjoy. I recommend ‘Love, Rosie’ by Cecelia Ahern which was one of my own holiday reads and is now my new favourite book!

Claire building sandcastles

As much as I love Summer, I think everyone can agree on one thing; we won’t miss being eaten alive by mosquitoes, or the never-ending pile of sand in our shoes, or Crocs. I can say this because I have succumbed to inebriation, and surrendered my dignity to buying a pair of Crocs. I guess I must have some undiagnosed brain injury, because I stupidly thought this was okay… IT’S NOT OKAY. And now that this is out in the open, I can safely assure you that they are not shoes. They are an abomination of nature.

“I thought you would have burned your Crocs by now”

“Oh I have. Multiple times. In my dreams. The good ones”

And the worst part is that in 10 years when I’m being interviewed at Vogue, I will not be able to put “never owned Crocs” on my resume…

In fact, I detest them more than anything, second only to “My Family” stickers. It’s like; thank you so much for telling me about your stick figure family of 6! Your Kia Carnival had me under the impression you were wild and single.

Though at times sad, the end of Summer is the beginning of a new season. And trust me; you’re going to wanna read every minute of it.

Xx