Category Archives: Musings

Lately my “nerves feel like a charm bracelet of plastic skeletons jangling on a chain” (one of my favourite Fransesca Lia Block quotes). Underneath my skin everything’s buzzing, but not with excitement or anticipation. Instead a familiar sense of foreboding, a quiet sadness, and a devastating anxiety are vibrating inside me, slowly working their way through my body in a way that feels paralyzing.

I know that part of this is a manifestation of my grief. The natural process of working through a devastating loss and trying to come to terms with it.

And then there’s that creeping anxiety of realizing that the year is half over and my move is less than three months away and there’s so much to do and what have I even been doing with my time? Cue panic.

Factor in my tendency to take on the emotions of everyone around me and the multitude of drama that seems to be cropping up everyday among those closest to me (can it really be a coincidence that Mercury is in retrograde right now?), and I’m left feeling frazzled and stuck and a little bit lost.

When I feel like this, things start to slip. My brain feels foggier. Work takes longer. And while I start every day with a pile of good intentions to get back on track, by the end of it I’m berating myself for not doing well enough because I haven’t suddenly transformed my life to look exactly as I want it to. Or I think I need to wait for a “fresh start” – whether it be a Monday morning or the mid-point of the year – to begin working on my new goals or routines. And when these days slip by unnoticed, I put things off just a little bit longer.

Yet, every day, every hour, every minute is a fresh start – a chance to start something new, to begin again, to pick up the pieces and put them back together in a new way. I know this.

Today, right now, I intend to living out of that knowledge. I’m finding a way to take a step, however tiny, in the direction of each and every one of my goals. Yesterday this meant cleaning my room to locate my old and current passports to apply for my visa (funnily enough I found them both in old Laduree bags) and going for a run, no matter how brief. Today it was a cup of English breakfast tea instead of coffee, an hour dedicated to magazine pitches, the beginning of my closet purge, and the intention to go to bed by 11pm.

I’m trying to go easy on myself, to celebrate each of these small steps, and to take the time to think about what I want my life to look like, to feel like and figuring out each small step that will take me there. For me, scribbling in my journal and talking to my friends and family about my dreams is helping to create clarity, motivation, and a sense of agency.

Even the largest, seemingly insurmountable goals start with the first step. And all of the little steps and choices along the way build on one another to create rhapsodic supernova that you never thought possible.

So, what are you going to do to make today a fresh start?

Big dreams and baby steps,

1//Jessi braved the rain to bring us homemade lemon bars her mom had baked. We nibbled them at midnight while drinking tea and listening to the storm.
2//I was out looking for Henry and couldn’t resist stopping to snap a shot of the pretty patterns from my skirt reflecting on the sidewalk.
3//Even though it snowed over the weekend, there are sure signs that spring is here.
4//I ordered a small haul from Upaya Naturals and have had a lot of fun making (and eating!) healthy, delicious treats.
5//When the weather has been nice, we’ve been making the most of it by sitting around bonfires, laughing, roasting marshmallows, and wishing the sky would clear so we could see the stars.
6//Work is always better with friends and a big mug of tea.
7//Tea & a homemade cookie during a Saturday afternoon blogging break.
8//I dyed my hair a different shade of purple last week and it looks brilliantly blue sometimes. It’s nice to be able to switch it up a little bit without having to retire the purple completely.
9//I spent Saturday night hanging out with two of my favourite ladies and their adorable furry counterparts. We baked cookies and listened to music and marvelled at the moon.

Today certainly was a busy one for me.. I worked at the shop for the afternoon, interviewed a woman for an article before dinner, and spent the evening finishing up a client project. Perhaps not a restful Sunday, but productive and interesting and now I’m taking a few minutes to appreciate all of the lovely moments that have made up my life lately.

How about you? What have you been doing, loving, making, seeing…? I’d love to hear!

(post-sweaty family dance party)

After a March that pushed me to the edge of my limits in many, many ways, I was happy to wake up today feeling refreshed and inspired for the first time in a long while. I’m brimming with ideas for new posts and exciting feature ideas. For now, here’s a snapshot of what my life looks like these days.

Reading: Since I got my hands on a copy of the newly-released UnDiet: Eat Your Way to Vibrant Health I’ve been devouring Meghan’s inspiring lifestyle tips, nutrient-packed recipes, and scrumptious food photography. It’s been the gentle kick in the butt I’ve needed to get back on the path to abundant, healthful living …but more on that another day. ;)

Watching: Last night I watched Bill Cunningham New York on Netflix. It was a beautiful portrait of a sweet, inspiring man who needs no reward from his work other than the joy of the work itself. Bill is a pioneer of street style photography and I’d rate this film a must-watch for fashion-loving bloggers (and blog readers!) everywhere.

Listening to: I downloaded an audiobook copy of Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles from the library and it’s providing an inspiring soundtrack to my walks these days. It is a little distracting as I’m constantly finding myself compelled to stop and jot down notes. Even still, it may be my new favourite way of consuming personal development books. I can’t believe I haven’t tried it before!

Obsessing over: Likely a result of engrossing myself in UnDiet, I’ve been inspired to get in my kitchen to create delicious food from scratch. I’ve been pinning recipes like crazy and making trips to the health food store to pick out new ingredients. Today I’ve whipped up a tray of maple cinnamon granola, concocted a delicious new soup recipe and, after I hit publish on this post, I’m going to bake a batch of crackers. Yum!

Planning: I’ve been sketching and sourcing materials for a new creative project that I’m not quite ready to unveil the details of yet, but if you peruse my birthday list you’ll probably come up with a pretty good guess.

What have you been up to lately? I’d love to hear!

This fun prompt post is inspired by the lovely Danielle of Sometimes Sweet.

Today is all work, work, work, first at the shop and now I’m putting the finishing touches on a client project that’s due tomorrow. But I’ve been missing my regular blogging routine and promised myself I’d get back to it now that the rest of my life is feeling a little more normal. It’s nice that it feels strange not to be stopping by here to share my thoughts everyday, rather than my old norm of beating myself up for not blogging more often. It’s always easier to get back on track with your routine than to start a whole new habit.

Since it’s been so quiet around here lately, I thought I’d do a little bit of an update on what I’ve been up to. Currently I’m…

Obsessing over: Vintage dresses. Although this isn’t really a new thing, my Etsy scavenging has gone into overdrive and I’m constantly cooing over the pretty frocks in the shop. It’s probably the fact that we’re five days into spring and there’s still snow on the ground, but I’m yearning for bare legs and flowy skirts and lots of twirling.

Reading: I’ve gotten way behind on reading lately. I’m still working on the exercises in The Four-Hour Work Week and I have a stack of business development books checked out of the library, but I’m really craving a dose of delightfully escapist fiction. I’m thinking something fantastical with rich characters and lots of twists to leave me guessing. Any suggestions?

Watching: I just finished watching the first season of Smash and got caught up on the current season. If you’ve never heard of it, it follows the behind-the-scenes drama of bringing a Broadway musical into production. The show’s star-studded cast features Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston and it’s really very entertaining. Today I watched the first episode of a new murder mystery/thriller called Deception. I expected it to be terrible but the storyline is compelling and the acting is pretty good (I love Tate Donovan and Victor Garber).

Listening to: I’m on a big ’90s kick and I have Feeling Good in the 90s on Songza playing almost all of the time. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia, but it definitely puts me in a good mood.

Planning: My scholarship application for the Toronto session of The Blogcademy. I won’t go into details, but I think it will be pretty neat. And getting to spend a weekend learning from Gala, Kat, and Shauna would be dream come true. Gala was one of my major inspirations to start this blog in the first place.

So, how is your week going so far? If you write your own “currently” posts, drop me a link! I’d love to check it out.

This fun prompt post is inspired by the lovely Danielle of Sometimes Sweet.