Had a nice bike ride after work and then met Michelle in a park. It was so lovely out, hanging onto these last summer days. Absolutely love that evening sun, magic hour. I’ve been wearing this cute smiley ring from Santa Isla all summer and it makes me happy each time.
View PostWe drove up to the cottage after work and I am so incredibly grateful to be here. The last week is really catching up with me, physically, mentally. Feel like this is the best place to be right now. I have Friday and Monday off for the long weekend and am looking forward to charging my batteries. In other news, I’m a millionaire in Animal Crossing! I got this game in the spring and didn’t think I would play much but I’ve been playing for a few minutes almost every day. A nice break from everything to step into another world. ?
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Take time for yourself. Take yourself on a date. Take yourself for dinner. Take yourself for ice cream. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t take time for granted.
View PostHad a nice Sunday at home. Sean and I went to another garden center today before coming home to work on the patio. I shot some content for my friend Tahnee’s brand, Pretty Denim. Excited to share it later this week! Sending you some smiley faces and good vibes for a great week! Sunday kinda love!
View PostSpent the whole day working at my desk and decided I really needed some fresh air. Put on a cute outfit, aka dressing up my hoodie with a blazer, and took a tour around the neighborhood. The sun was out but the air was cool. It’s only Wednesday but I’m looking forward to the weekend. Sending you some sunshiine in a set of smiley photos. Hang in there my friends, we will get through this sh*t show!
View PostThis week has been good. I’m getting into a workflow and figuring it out as I go. Most days I get up at 7-7:30, go for a run at 8 am, do a short Peloton workout, then get ready to start work at 9:30. If I’m at my desk or working inside the whole day, I like to put on something I’ve not worn in ages and go for a walk. Sometimes it’s just around the neighbourhood, other days it’s a nice long walk with a friend. YOU MAKE ME HAPPY The title of this post ‘you make me happy‘ is also a song also used in my latest video here. When I put on this jacket, it instantly made me smile. Made me think about how my clothes make me happy. So many of them have fond memories of a time or feeling. After spending 90% of 2020 at the cottage, one of the things I was really looking forward to was being home with my stuff. I love playing dress-up or sorting through things I haven’t worn in a while. While the world around us is so different, I find great comfort in the familiar things. Might be my Taurus nature to love home so much. I don’t have many family heirlooms but some of my most treasured things are clothes worn by my parents or anything from nana. Remember the other day when I mentioned Transitional Coat Season? Well, here we are again with another coat! I ordered this one 5+ years ago from one of my fav artists, Valfre in Mexico. It didn’t fit for years but I couldn’t bear to part with it, no matter how many times Sean said “you have too many coats“. Glad to report she fits great now and Valfre is…
View PostI do a petty good job of sharing positive stories, sunshine, smiley faces but let me remind you, once again, what you see on the internet is never the whole story. Some days are hard, messy, or just plain garbage. Life is hard and we are living through a deadly global pandemic. We’ve learned a lot after one year of this but that doesn’t make it easier on the day-to-day. I try to find joy in the little things, stand and face the sun, and get out fresh air to clear my head. The past year has really taught me about perspective and I try to keep that in mind when I’m faced with it a challenge. No matter how much I try tho, I can’t help but feel sad or angry sometimes, both made more difficult if you’re tired. This week has been a mix of awesome and shitty, a real rollercoaster. It’s important to remember that a bad day isn’t all days, you are strong, you can handle this. Take some deep breaths, a walk outside, or even take a little nap. There’s no sense in letting a bad day ruin everything and with each new morning, we have an opportunity to find some good in the day. Today I was having a hard time when I decided to stop everything and go for a long walk. The air was cool but the sun was out, by the time I got back home, I felt better. I love this reminder shared by Amy Shio on Instagram, a good one to keep.
View PostSometimes 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…
View PostI always kinda danced to my own drum but over the past year, I’ve realized how much I really like hanging out with me. I’m so fun. I love walking, running, exercise with me, making crafts, sewing. I love writing alone in my room with the lights dim and Netflix in the background. I love playing in my closet or going through the bins under my bed. I love being alone with my stuff and talking to myself. I laugh when I’m alone with me about all kinds of things. I smile into my phone when I text friends. I smile when I write emails and I think it shows. I think one of the best things we can learn from the past year is how to JUST BE with our thoughts and who we really are. It’s the biggest life lesson we can learn. It’s a journey, not a destination. The process of getting to know oneself is ongoing and there are bumps along the way. The road to self-love is less traveled and you have make your own path. We can all get there, it just takes work. Don’t get me wrong I love my family and friends, but when you really know and love yourself, you have more to share.
View PostI turned right from our walkway to the path and heard the loudspeaker with messages about wearing a mask in both English and French. The rail path is extra busy today at magic hour with the air at a warm 5 degrees. Everyone keeps their distance, some people smile. I’m in my own world listening to classical music, taking in every detail, dressed in all black with a fur coat. It was my second walk of the day, I love getting fresh air. In an effort to avoid other humans I zig-zag the streets, taking breaks to walk on the road just avoid people on the sidewalk. This practice would have been so rude two years ago but it’s common now. I didn’t bring my phone because despite being home all day, I seem to have let it die. I’ve got music and route tracking on my watch so I’m blissfully disconnected from wifi & LTE. Out of reach, on DND. The sun is so beautiful setting over Dupont, I always stop and stare at it. This week I’m feeling more content than I have in a while. Have been getting 8hrs sleep pretty consistently for about 3 weeks and although I’m still tired, my body and mind are rested. Drinking less and working out more also help. I track everything these days on my watch or phone; sleep, meditation, breathing, steps, stairs, workouts, period, heart rate, oxygen, fasting, and when to water my plants. In other news, I’ve noticed I’m consistent with updating the blog for a few days, but if I skip a day, I skip a few days and batch update before my fear of forgetting kicks in. I take photos every day in an attempt to keep more memories and often upload them to a draft…
View PostWent for a walk this morning and wowwweeee it was brisk. Decided to take take a different route and pick up a coffee somewhere in the neighbourhood. As I turned onto Dupont, I noticed a cafe with this big heart out front. Finding hope. ? The coffee was good. I shared a laugh with the barista. Such a simple interaction but it set a good vibe for my day. It made me think about mum and when my sister and I were very little. As an immigrant to Canada with no family here, she didn’t know many people at first. Mum used to go into shops just to talk to shopkeepers just to have conversations. I can just see her kind face and warm smile lighting up conversations and charming people with her accent. Remember, a smile and short conversation can really turn someone’s day around, even your own. We need connection more than ever these days, call a friend, smile at a stranger. We’ll get through this. xo
View PostYesterday I was so exhausted. After watching Y&R (as usual) from 4:30-5:30, I put on my pajamas, washed my face, and got ready for bed. Had a couple of phone chats with friends and finished S2 of BONDiNG on Netflix. Good show, it’s about a Femme Domme, a comedian, and their relationships. Got an advance copy of a new book on Kindle via NetGalley called ‘The Girls Are All So Nice Here‘. It’s a suspense thriller about two best friends and comes out on March 9th, 2021. This month I’m determined to read more books, I read heaps at the start of the Pani and fell off my reading game over the summer. I did a Peloton sleep meditation before bed last night and woke up feeling refreshed. According to my watch, I slept 9 hours & 24 minutes and my average sleep per night has increased in the past 14 days. I’ve really been loving the Calm SleepStories but decided to switch it up, I know, WILD. I used to stay up late but given the current circumstances, I figure I might as well get as many ZZZs as possible and make some new habits. I’ve been finding it harder to get up in the morning so I’m actively trying to fall asleep earlier. If I get a good 8 hours, as the days get longer, I’ll feel more like doing my morning workouts. At least, I HOPE THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS.
View PostHello & happy Monday! Getting a good start on Monday gives me the energy I need to carry me through the week, or at least until Wednesday haha. I did the Daily Calm meditation as I crawled out of deep sleep and made my bed. Put on my running gear right away and did 2km on the path. I did about 300 jumps on my rope while the kettle boiled & before making coffee. Was at my desk and ready to rock the day for a meeting at 9:15 am. LFG! Today’s blog is inspired by an Instagram post from my friend Ama Scriver. I’ve used Ama’s writing prompts before and decided to share this inspo with you today. Creative writing is so FREEING, just write, let the words flow with nowhere to go, get them out. Side note, Instagram is weird about embedding posts now so I have linked to her original post on Instagram here or in the image below. Feel free to take it and write something today! I wrote this without thinking, only feeling. It took under 5 minutes. I think something really important about the creative process is to just create, make something without the pressure of having to monetize it. JUST CREATE. It won’t always be a masterpiece but you need to consistently make things to practice your craft. Future Me, by Casie Stewart, 25 Jan. 2021 Future me is free, she is fit and healthy. She smiles into the sun, long hair flowing in the wind. She travels to the beach and spends summer at the lake. She loves freely and supports her friends. She sees challenges as an opportunity and she can face anything. She is bold but soft, caring, and strong. Future me knows her worth but in her heart she’s…
View PostToday was a good day. Left the house late afternoon to meet Natalie and her dog Chloe for a walk before the sun went down. We sat outside in the park by the Telus Centre near the Royal Conservatory of music, then went around the park. Walked through some of the University of Toronto buildings and I recognized a bunch of from Tiny Pretty Things on Netflix. There are heaps of recognizable locations if you’re watching the show, see some of them here on BlogTO. Good show, I’ll finish it tonight. Before heading home I had a little meetup outside with Nelson & Talia. We went to Eatily and got groceries. It felt like being out on the town! It’s been so long since I went to a place with anyone other than Sean. We were all wearing masks and only inside a grocery store, but it was invigorating! Earlier in the day, after my run, I tried a TikTok hair trend to do natural, heatless waves with a belt from a robe. I wasn’t sure how it worked at first but as the day went on, the curls relaxed and my hair looked great. I can’t wait to try it again and get really good at this. I’ve dreamed of having long hair for years and without the pandemic, I would have probably cut it. The title of this post on Day 311 is Amber by the band 311. My sister and I used to love this one so much. It will make you smile. ?
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