Some inspo on how to achieve your goals 🙂

Hi everybody! So little update here… Things have been absurdly productive for me lately. Lots of fresh and inspiring new projects coming into my life, all of which I can’t wait to tackle! Along with this, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my goals, milestones, and things I want done in my life. This past week I spent at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Anyone else go? It was THE BEST. I absolutely love that event, it is the spot for all tech, music, and film. Anyways.. at SXSW I was talking to someone who mentioned a quote by Peter Thiel (c0-founder of Paypal) that really resonated with me so I wanted to share it with you all.

“How can you achieve your 10 year plan in the next 6 months?”  – Peter Thiel

THIS IS SO REAL.

Think about everything you want in 10 years. Chances are, most things on that list can actually be achieved in 6 months if you really commit. I took the question posed very literally and wrote down everything I want to achieve in 10 years.

6 out of the 8 goals I wrote down are achievable within 6 months.

How am I going to get there? HUSTLE. That’s right folks. Good old hard (and efficient) work. 

You guys should really try this too. I mean… why the hell not. Write down things you want to accomplish in your life in 10 years. Look at this list, and realistically assess what you can do in 6 months. It will likely surprise you as much as it surprised me! 

Comment below, I want to hear your thoughts 🙂

xx,

Suit: Moana Bikini

Hi! For those of you who follow me on Instagram (@robynkimb) we did a bit of a Q&A on my instastory last week. Thanks for submitting all your questions, I picked my favourites and have answered them below! Hope you likey 😀

Q: How do you collaborate with brands on your blog?

A: Having the opportunity to collaborate with brands I love on Skinny Belle is definitely one of my favourite parts of being a blogger. There’s getting to know the team behind the brand, learning more about their values, and (obviously) getting to show off what I love most… the product! So, how do I collaborate with different brands? There’s actually a few different ways that I go about it. First, it is as simple as an email. Realistically you can reach out to any company you want and say, “Hey! Love your brand, let’s talk.” Nobody is stopping you. Good old fashioned knocking on the door can get you pretty far in life. I choose to reach out only to companies who I am obsessed with, as I like to be selective on who I connect my own personal brand to 🙂 Another way I collaborate with brands is through instagram! Instagram is a fantastic platform for getting to know other bloggers, brands, and just friends in general. Start posting things you love, and the opportunities will begin to pop up before you know it.

Q: Any tips for beginner bloggers to start collaborating?

A: Just do it! Seriously… just start reaching out to companies you like. Start posting on your blog and really get to the core of what your own personal brand is. This is definitely key.

… Leading into our next question…

Q: How did you create your own brand?

A: Honestly this is a significant struggle for a lot of bloggers – the way I see it is your blog is YOU. So your blog should be filled with things you genuinely love. This is a big one for me. I never post anything on Skinny Belle that I don’t truly love… because, why the hell would you ever do that. It literally doesn’t make sense. Your authenticity will be compromised, your readers won’t appreciate it — a lose/lose situation in my books. Skinny Belle is a place for me to share all the things I love with the world. From cute swimsuits, travel photos, to recipes I am addicted to — it is all me! And that is how you start to build your very own brand. Just do you, honey boo. 😉

Q: Who shoots your photos?

A: Hah! I love this question and get it all the time. Total realness: My friends shoot for me, my mom shoots for me.. anyone can do it. Let me be clear: handing someone a camera and telling them to shoot will never compare to professional photographers. After 8 years of modeling, I can say that with absolute certainty. BUT, if you invest in a quality camera (I love the Nikon D7100) you can do a pretty stand up job on your own. Shout out to my mom for being a down as hell to take photos of her annoying daughter all the time. She always says: “Robyn, look ‘bitchin’”. Whatever THAT means.

Q: Do you edit your own photos? What program?

A: Yes! I love editing with lightroom! The program is so easy to use and super fast. Great for editing large quantities of photos. My favourite feature is being able to make pre-set filters that are easily applicable to all your photos – and can be adjusted once applied too! Super easy, and costs about $15 per month.

Q: How did you start blogging?

A: Okay so this one is a little bit of a story… I was on exchange in Prague for my last year of university. Discovered that the education system in Eastern Europe is notttttt exactly as challenging as it is in Canada (no offense to my euro friends, this was just my experience at this particular school.) My classes were 3 hours long and I was SO BORED because who can sit in one place for 3 hours and learn next to nothing? Not me. That’s who. So, I started lurking the internet…. Hard. I began finding more and more blogs that I loved, and was SO inspired by the unique fashion and different styles of writing I saw. I knew that I too needed my own little spot on the internet to share the things I love. So the planning began. I actually took about 6 months to plan out my blog, everything from how it would look and feel to what my core message was going to be. The first version of Skinny Belle was designed by me and painstakingly coded by my friend who was so kind to make a website for me. It took a long time, but I was SO happy with the final result. I used the first version for my two years, and switched to this new one about 6 months ago. The new look of Skinny Belle was curated to be a more visual space to share the things I love! Having a blog has been endlessly rewarding for me, and I am looking forward to getting to know more and more of you over the years to come 🙂

Okay that’s all for now! Hope you guys found these answers useful, if not, hope you were at least amused by them. ?

Talk soon!

x,

Top: Hollister / Bottoms: Billabong

Nobody ever believes how frequently I shop at Hollister, especially in the summer. You can really find some awesome stuff there. I love their jumpers, sweaters, tanks, swimsuits, etc. Totally relaxed beachwear and perfect for vacation! The other day when I was on one of my Hollister trips, I found this super cute frilly swim top. There was a matching pair of bottoms too, but for me it was just way to many frills in one outfit haha. So just went with the top — more me.

If you don’t go in Hollister because it gives you nightmares of early 2000’s fashion, just give it a go. I have found some jems there 🙂

Paired my Hollister swim top with these dope Billabong bottoms! As you guys know Billabong has been one of my favourite brands for years. I love their beach style, and focus on surf culture. Brought tonssss of Billabong with me on my trip to Hawaii and did not regret it! So great to have them as a Skinny Belle partner. 

Also, thank GOD american companies are finally making euro-style swim bottoms. For a while there we were all walking around in diaper-style swimsuits… not cute. I am all about the sassy and cheeky swim bottoms (though my family gave me a bit of a hard time for it though lol ?) But you gotta do you!!

Hope you guys enjoy these pics from Hawaii, and love this little swimsuit as much as I do! Happy Valentines day 🙂

x,

Top: Billabong /  Bottoms: Billabong

Hey guys, sharing my Hawaii vacation pics at a bit of a delay here. I went in full vacation mode — nothing more than instagram was done for a whole week! It was AWESOME. Sometimes it is great to unplug and unwind.

But baby I am back! My Oahu vacation stories are long overdue, so here we go…

To start, SURFING. Love it like crazy, and go at every opportunity possible. The first time we went in Oahu (see my last post) it was an astronomical failure. We ended up at this military beach (random?) and had to find military personnel to “sponsor” us to be allowed to rent surf boards. Honestly had never heard of something like this before so the concept was all new to us. After stalking down and bothering a couple military guys (lol) and getting them to sponsor us, we were finally out on the water. The waves were TINY (like, the smallest) and the wind was crazy. There wasn’t enough surf to actually catch anything, so we ended up drinking margaritas on the beach and eating a bunch of junk food haha. #closeenough

Anyways, found another beach a few days later and killed it! The waves were a bit bigger and the wind was minimal. Surfing is so addictive, once you get a good wave you just want to go again and again. 

If you can’t tell, slightly obsessed with surfing and know it would be a huge part of my life if I actually had the opportunity to do it at home. More Hawaii pics and stories to come!

A big thanks to my friends at Billabong for this dope suit! 

x,

Top/bottoms: Billabong

Longboarding today! Got out there in some pretty savage waves/wind to do some surfing. Definitely was far from my best day on the water (like, the farthest), but it was still awesome to get out there for a little bit.

Enjoying our resort in the Ko Olina area today and relaxing for the remainder of the day! Have some super cute beach looks coming for you guys soon <3

xx,

Shoes: Michael Kors / Jeans: Citizens of Humanity / Jacket: (I can’t remember will 2x check!)

HELLO FROM HAWAII!!!!!! If you follow me on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/robynkimb/) you have already seen the obnoxious amount of pics I have been throwing up on my insta story. This place, is heaven.

Before we get to that, here are a few more snaps from London last week! Totally in love with the Shoreditch area. Most locals say it is “so over” because it is too commercialized now, which I can really understand. As soon as big brand stores come in the charm of an area has a tendency to kind of die a bit. That being said, there are still tons of gems in there. Whether it be  restaurants, clothing shops, or vintage markets… Shoreditch did not disappoint (for me, at least.) Some of the best restaurants and shopping I have had in a while.

Anyways, now I am in Hawaii and about to go surfing (hell YEAH!) Going to be like Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush, just you wait. 

xx,

Coat: Small shop in Shoreditch / Shoes: Michael Kors / Jeans: Citizens of Humanity

How cool is this location? This is called the Barbican Centre and it’s a multi-arts and conference venue for theatre, music, dance film… etc. There’s also residential apartments and offices. Such a cool area. I think it was built in the 70’s? Anyways, you would never know this is in London, a totally unique architectural look. Love it.

My jacket was found at this uber cool shop in Shoreditch, London that makes all of their apparel on site. It was the dopest. I am still having the worst buyers remorse that I didn’t pick up more stuff. It is literally killing me. The shopping in London was incredible, definitely need to do another trip over there with the sole focus of emptying my wallet. Yes, it would be 100% necessary. 😛

More photos to come! (Photos by Joe Davs)

xx,

Sweater: Zara / Shirt: Zara / Shoes: Dune London

The jetlag, is SO REAL.

Welcome to London! I’ve been waking up at 4 am, and stumbling through my days in a zombie-like haze. 

The benefit to waking up super early? HYPER EFFICIENCY. I have been getting so much work done between the hours of 4 and 6 am, it makes me think I should wake up at this time every day. Then I spend about <10 seconds logistically thinking about actually waking up at 4 am every day and oh-so-quickly retract that thought. Have to say though, am loving the extra time to get things done.

Another thing I have learned waking up this early? Apparently there are other people who go to Oxford Street and literally wait for the shops to open… like… line up…. outside the doors……. Couldn’t believe people actually do that haha. Thought I would be the only one awake so early and keen to shop. 

On that note: shopping in London makes me wonder the following things: 1) WHY IS CANADA SO EXPENSIVE? 2) WHY DOES CANADA GET NO GOOD PRODUCT? 3) WHY IS THE QUALITY OF CLOTHING SO BAD IN CANADA? All good/valid questions. If anyone can report back and let me know why the f we get the short end of the stick in the retail world that would be great.

Essentially what I am trying to say is holy lord is the shopping ever good here. And so well priced too! Even with the horrible CAD –> GBP conversion. It is insane. 

Needless to say, I shopped my little heart out yesterday with all the other early morning retail keeners. 

Going to attempt to get a bit more sleep now. Key word: attempt. Talk soon!

xx,

Another beautiful day at Whistler Blackcomb 

Give me any choice in the world as to how I spend my free time? Chances are, this is it. I am 100% that person who is in bed before 10 pm on a Friday night so I can get up early and go skiing the next morning (I like to party, what can I say ?) It’s all about priorities and making the time to do what you love. After all, what on earth is the point if we can’t do the things we love in life? #realtalk

So make sure you take the time to do what you love, whatever that may be. The world will be a happier place for it.

On another note, lately I have had a badddd case of the travel bug. It has been far too long since I’ve gone on an adventure, so I am stoked to say that I have a few trips planned this month! Will be going to London this week (already preparing my English accent to annoy all the locals), and 2 weeks from now HAWAII!!!! Surfing all day every day? Yes please. All about it. Thinking about buying a new GoPro for that trip so I can take some gangster surfing pics. (lol) We will see.

Hope you all are having a great weekend! Happy Sunday 🙂

xx,

Happy 2017 everyone!

Well 2016, that’s a wrap! What a year. I think we can all agree that 2016 had some seriously sideways stuff go down. First off, the United States election. The unfathomable horror of a Trump presidency is indeed now a reality. Also, Brexit… a big LOL at that one. This year, my friends, has been a douzie.

But in my little world, 2016 was actually pretty fantastic. This isn’t to say there haven’t been tough times, because believe me there have been plenty, but overall 2016 was great to me. I have traveled to more places than I expected this year, including: Philippines, London, Paris, Austin, LA, Bali, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. Travel is one of the most culturally rewarding experiences, and I am so happy to have seen so much this year. Wonderful new people have come into my world, and I have made friends that I know will last a lifetime. And my little bloggy blog!!! Helloooo! It has been a FABULOUS TIME hanging out this with you this year, sharing new collabs (heyyyy Billabong friends!), celebrating Skinny Belle’s 2^nd birthday, and being rated one of the top stylists in Vancity. So much goodness in one short year. 🙂

Basically what I am trying to say is that even though 2016 had some pretty horrid things happen I am thankful to have had such a gratifying year in my life. If each of us looks closely at our own personal 2016, I am confident you can find something that will put a smile on your face.

It is fun to take a minute to reflect on the year that has passed, and I am looking forward to all that is coming in 2017. Started the year off right by spending the day skiing in Whistler on January 1st. That is what it’s alllll about my friends.

Love you to the moon and back, HAPPY 2017!!

xx,