Searching for the Perfect Bathing Suit......

LeeAnne used to take her children on “adventures” when they were very young. And even though these adventures might be just a trip around the corner to get an ice cream cone or go to the grocery store, these were always trips full of surprise, mystery and excitement. Until the kids got older and then they were trips full of moaning, groaning and eye rolling.

For those of you who know LeeAnne well, you know that she continues to love to turn everyday events into celebrations, parties and bourbon and bacon nights. So, it should not have come as a surprise to me, when on our way to Surf Expo in Orlando to look for new lines of summer clothing for the shop, LeeAnne wanted to first stop off at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. SURPRISE.
I fully admit to a little moaning, groaning and eye rolling.

But after a mug of hot butterbeer and a trip to Ollivander's shop to be matched with our magic wands, I am not too proud to say I was totally on board with LeeAnne's latest adventure. Onboard the Hogwart's Express, I mean! At Platform 9 3\4 no less! How cool Diagon Alley is with its fire breathing dragon and shops full of Hufflepuff robes and Griffindor scarves. And back at Hogsmead you could tour the castle with its moving portraits and its sickening\awesome ride over the Quiditch Field.

Finding our inner-selves at Weesley's Joke Shop in Diagon Alley.  (Asian-Sailor & Rainbow Octopus-head)

If you thought LeeAnne's only area of expertise was in fitting your behind into a cool pair of jeans, stop into the shop and ask her any question you have about any minute detail of the Harry Potter Books or movies. Prepare to be impressed and amazed.

After our fill of magic and movies, hot pretzels and caramel apples, we moved on down the street to the Orlando Convention Center which held acres and acres of surf boards and SUP boards and campers, oh my! But we were there in search of the perfect bathing suits to bring back to the 603. Easy peasy.

Parking lot so HUGE you have to take a bike taxi to the front door.

How about the bikinis being worn by the tiny little models tetttering around in their high heels with their butt cheeks on full display? No. Just? No.
And how about the bikinis on the teeny girls in bare feet standing on the tables in the booth just across the way? ah...no.
And how about the teeny bikinis on the teensy weensy girls........well, you get where I am going with this.

Our friend Garrett, who used to sell SUP boards in Contoocook and is now based out of Wolfboro, was in attendance and he introduced us to a sales rep from Local Honey, a swim suit company out of California. She was showing us bikinis, but she was serving MARGARITAS while she was showing us bikinis, so these bikinis were quite interesting. Plus, they were really cute, were reversible and apparently don't ride up while you are doing active sports in and around the water, so yes, they had potential.

We also found a company called HelenJon who had one piece suits with matching cover ups that looked great. Plus, they gave us FREE STUFF, too. Now we're cooking!

We had so much fun talking to the very hip, bearded guys from the Duck Company who specialize in raunchy t-shirts. Well, the T-shirts might not ALL have been raunchy.....just our favorites!
And we found some dresses from Nuu Muu that seemed a good match for the shop AND they gave us each a free dress after we promised to put the dress on and wear it around the convention center giving out their cards if anyone asked us where we got the dress. We put them on over our clothes, and persevered through the rest of the convention in our strange outfits, having hot flashes, and handing out Nuu Muu cards to very hip, bearded guys from the Duck Company.

Sucking in our stomachs and wondering if they make Spanks for our arms!!

I promised LeeAnne that I would stop her from ordering anything on the spot at the convention just in case we were unduly influenced by free stuff, margaritas or beards, so we did not actually order anything for Indigo Blues and Co. but have come home to let all the information sink in and to let cooler heads, sans hot flashes, prevail. The search continues for the perfect bathing suit.......

We will let you all know when the decisions have been made on what, sassy, super summer items will make it into Indigo Blues and Co and we will definitely let you all know when LeeAnne dreams up the next eyerolling/awesome adventure, whether it is another Bourbon and Bacon night or another trip to some far flung place. My vote is for both.

~Julie