A 16th birthday is a coming of age year, you’re a bit more mature and figuring out who you are. You’re in high school, you can get your license. I can hardly wrap my brain around the fact that I’ve been writing this for so long. And for 400+ consecutive days of a global pandemic. I would love to have had a post written with all kinds of favorite moments in blog history: travel adventures, red carpets, film festivals, tweetups, and events, but that life seems so incredibly far away right now. I didn’t have the energy but now thinking about it, going back in time seems kinda fun. Looking back, the thing I’m most grateful for is all the people I’ve met through this blog. Nearly everyone I know today is somehow connected to my blog, by way of social media, work, or events. It’s changed my whole life. I changed my whole life. The thing is, if you want to achieve something, or be something, you have to work at it. You need to do something each day that brings you closer to that goal. You get up early and work on it before your job, you think about it on your run, you stay up late, you work on it. You skip going out with your friends to learn HTML and use what little extra money you have to make stickers and cards with your name on them. You do something each day to bring you closer to your goal. You take a step forward each day. A couple of things I’m pretty proud of are being recognized by the Canadian Academy of Film & Television as an innovator & pioneer, receiving an Alumni of Distinction award from Conestoga College, and being recognized by Ontario as a…

Today I started my new FT role at Funday Agency as Social & Culture Manager. My job is focused mostly on internal communications & operations relating to building company culture. Last year I came to the realization I didn’t want to work specifically in social media anymore. I was looking to expand and do more things related to general marketing. That beung said, it’s been 5+ years since I’ve worked FT and I expect there will be a *bit* of an adjustment. Today’s lunch was provided by Do Rueda in Spain who sent over a delicious selection of Spanish tapas and wine to taste. I saved the wine for after work but tuned in for a lunchtime seminar with several sommeliers from the region. Back in 2019, I went on a press trip to Spain where we spent a week visiting 13 wineries in Do Rueda, Spain’s top region for verdejo & white wine. See those posts here! Another great surprise today was the delivery of new blue light glasses from gry mattr, a new company from Joe Mimran (the founder of Joe Fresh). I picked this design on a whim without realizing they would look almost identical to my old fav glasses I wore when I first started Twitter (see small image here). I had this same black & white photo as my Twitter image from 2009-2012. Back then, I used to wear glasses ALL the time and I absolutely love these new ones from gry mattr. Thanks Joe!

Sometimes it feels like, is anyone out there? You’ve been following my year but how has your year been? How are you doing? I’m here if you want to talk, text, email, or Tweet. It’s me on the other side of your screen. Some days I feel good like I can handle this, I got it, I’m doing good. Other days I melt into the couch in loungewear wondering when the hell this will be over. I binge-watch shows and eat too many snacks. Then go to bed early, in my same clothes, and wake up hoping for a good day. Day 1: Social Distancing was published on March 14, 2020, it’s been one full pandemic year. My biggest accomplishments have been growing my hair out, writing this blog, and surviving. Getting through this has been hard and just making it to Day 364 is an accomplishment, so man people aren’t with us today. Although our old ‘normal’ seems a lifetime away, there are things to look forward to. As vaccines continue to roll out, and stores start to reopen, we’ll get back to some kind of normalcy. Yes, you still have to wear a mask and it might be sometime before we’re all vaccinated, but the days are longer, patios will open, and things will get better. One thing we can all take from this is the joy of slower living, the hygge of having a space that feels cozy. How important it is to have best friends, or how a call from someone can turn your day around. Some of the best times I has this year were long walks with friends or hanging out in the park. I have great memories with our cottage friends and spent lots of time reading on the dock. I’ve talked to…

Went for a nice walk went near High Park today. It was so lovely outside, felt like spring. Last night I was a co-host of Toronto Creator Power Hour, a Clubhouse room hosted by Joëlle Anello, Casey Palmer, Solmaz Khosrowshahian, Trisha Enriquez. I pitched the idea to have a chat about blogging and we had Hawley Dunbar from Sidewalk Hustle join us. We had a GREAT chat about blogging and how as a creator, it’s important to have an online home for your content that you own. When it comes to social media, it’s more like renting space as you do not own the platform and you can’t control what happens on IG, Facebook, etc. After work, I listened to my latest book on Audible, ‘Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol‘. This is the viral book Chrissy Tiegen read before getting sober. I also made a delicious sandwich, I love sandwiches. ?

The weather this week has been so nice. I’ve gone on some great long walks. met up with Aisha on Wednesday to go for a distanced walk with her and Kermit, her cute pup. We started out a warm drink and followed the sun walking around the Junction. I swear, every time I see a friend lately, I jump and scream, hugging myself to show how much I’d hug them if it wasn’t a pandemic. The sun is a star and so are you, don’t forget it. Each day we have more minutes of daylight, and in a few weeks, we’ll have another hour. Before we know it, daylight saving time will kick in on March 14th and spring will be here close. Kermit is so cute, he’s 5 months old and has a lot of energy. The fluffy fur!