Day 212: More Support Next Time

If you only knew then what you know now, right? If I only knew that one of these nicely stacked woodpiles would topple over in <24 hours, we might have stacked it differently. C’est la vie!

I love stacking wood. It’s a great workout and you can do a lot in a short time if you hustle. I listened to Mariah Carey’s new book The Meaning of Mariah Carey on Audible, read by her! I love it. I’m 3.5 hours in with 7 to go. I like to listen to books for long drives, running, walks, or doing stuff around the house.

Some of my fav audiobooks so far:

In other news, last week I started watching Gossip Girl from the very beginning, for the first time. I love it, was searching for something with a dramatic/stylish vibe to zone out to after watching Emily in Paris. I’m almost done S1 and have 5 more seasons to go, should take me right through to December.

Day 211: Thanksgiving 2020 by the Lake

For the last few years, Sean and I have spent Thanksgiving at the cottage. We’ve been getting the Swiss Chalet ‘festive special’ for about four years now. This year we couldn’t dine-in so we got takeout and went down to Muskoka Beach Road to watch the sunset. Thanksgiving 2020 ftw.

This year I’m thankful for Sean and my family, how close we’ve all gotten the last few months through the pandemic.

I’ve also really become close with a bunch of friends and somehow, even though we’ve not seen each other much in person, we talk more than ever.

I am also very thankful for the internet, for keeping us all connected. To the internet for hosting my blog diary that’s helped me build a career and document my memories.

I can’t imagine trying to remember everything I’ve done over the last week, 6 months, or 15 years without having it written down.

33 Power Words That Make People Buy Immediately (and why)

Around this time last year, I decided to make a change in my life and start working out. I’m grateful that I stuck with it, that I didn’t give up, that I changed my eating habits, and learned to love myself more.

I remember seeing this Nike ad years ago, the message stuck with me. Why put off until tomorrow something you could check off your list today?

If you want to make a change in your life, start now. Start today. By tomorrow, you’ll already be on day 2.

Sending you love, hope you had a nice wekeend.

Day 210: Sisters in the Woods

Woke up and ran 4km in the morning then stacked some wood from this HUGE pile we had delivered. My sister and her bf arrived just after lunch and it was so nice to hang out. It’s been ages since they came to visit up up here.

It was an absolutely beautiful day! We stopped by our cottage neighbours place so she could meet the friends I’ve been telling her about the last few months.

So grateful to have some friends on the lake after years of not really knowing anyone. We are planning to spend more time up here this winter. The cottage isn’t fully winterized but with the base board heaters and heaps of wood, we’ll be nice and warm.

Day 209: Start A Creative Project

After years of THINKING about using my sewing machine, I finally busted it out last month. It feels so good to get into a creative project! I’ve been fantasizing about sewing for years. My goal is to make a whole outfit by the end of the year. I’ve got heaps of old vintage patterns from mum and I’m dying to tackle at least one of them. Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamt of making clothes. I used to make them with mum while I was a little. I love fun outfits and creating my own style.

I started w/ scrunchies as I’m a little rusty! It’s been A WHILE. ? I posted this video on Instagram today and a bunch of people said they would love yo have one. I’m doing this as a hobby for now while I hone my skills, but who knows where it will take me. Last month, I wrote a post titled You Don’t Have To Monetize Every Hobby (Day 183), I think it’s important to create for the sake of creating without the pressure to make money doing it.

This weekend we’ll be up at the cottage, my sister is visiting, and I have a bit of work to catch up on. I’m planning to make a few more scrunchies from old clothes to give to friends. I’m excited!

Love to know what you are working on! Share anytime! This long weekend is the perfect time to start something!
??

Day 208: Make Sure They Know

Tell your family, tell your friends, make sure they know you love them. Call, text, email, tweet, DM, FaceTime. If you’re thinking about someone, let them know. We need connection more now than ever.

You never know what someone is going through behind the smiling selfies and social posts. One little message could turn someone’s day around.

I love sending voice notes to people. More intimate than a text and there’s something special about hearing someone talk directly to you. If you ever want to chat with me, send me a message on any app or an email. My DMs are always open!

Love you xo

Day 207: USA, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, PLEASE VOTE.

Sometimes I look back when writing my post for the day and think ‘wow that was only yesterday’. Lately, each day seems like a week and weeks like months. If only weekends could be longer!

Watched the debate tonight and it was…entertaining, frustrating? Seemed pretty tame compared to the shit show last week but yikes. What a time we are living in.

If you are reading this from the USA, please VOTE. If you have questions about voting, please visit iwillvote.com for info or to register.

My fav thing about televised world events is following along on Twitter. It’s the place news breaks, memes hit first, and trending topics tell the story of what people are saying. I was pretty tired last night but once the debate started, I was tuned into Twitter and couldn’t look away.

The highlight of the night was the fly that sat on Mike Pence’s head for two whole minutes. WTF?! Who doesn’t realize there is a fly on their head! The Biden team was quick to respond with merch encouraging people to vote.


That’s all for today, leaving you with another great re-face, me as Marilyn Monroe! It’s incredible how realistic these look.

Day 206: Free Spirit, Baby!

Busiest workday I’ve had in a while but I am feeling GOOD and excited about what’s coming in the next few months. Feeling like a FREE SPIRIT.

Sending you love through the internet today. We are living in crazy times right now but we all have the ability to make the most of it. I look back to my early pandemic days, I went through so many emotions but I also made a lot of things. I seized the opportunity to stay home, read more than ever, get creative with my art supplies, and exercise. I’m actually looking forward to winter and making more things.

Nobody thought we would still be dealing with this 200+ days later but here we are. Each day you have an opportunity to do something nice for someone, be kind to yourself, or find inspiration around you. We will get through this together.

Please stay home when you can, be safe, and wear a mask!

Day 205: Jacket Season, She Ready

Yesterday was a busy one! We ended up staying at the cottage Sunday night, working there Monday AM, then driving back mid-day to make it back by 2pm. Sean and I shared the driving as we both took calls on the way. I was going non-stop from first thing in the AM until about 6pm.

April and I planned to take some photos before stopping by a pizza popup. I don’t think I’m gonna go to any restaurants for a while. We waited outside for pizza for too long and being around people gives me anxiety.

This dress was handed down to me from April and it’s so great, an old one from Pink Tartan. The jacket and boots are old too. I feel like I only have a couple of weeks to wear all my mid-season jackets before it gets too cold. I love jacket season, get ready for a different one each day! ?

I have a feeling this week is going to be long and busy. I’m already looking forward to being back up at the cottage this weekend to recharge my batteries.

Day 204: Run For It

Today I was feeling a bit sluggish but I still went out and did 5km in Amy’s Run For The Cure challenge. It was so nice to run in the woods. Hoping to keep on track with my running this week. Planning to do 70km this month, did 10km this weekend!

Short post today. Need to recharge my batteries!

Day 203: I Want to Go To Paris Too

Today when I was running I paused my Nike Running app and it didn’t record my whole run. I hate it when this happens! I am really interested in getting an Apple watch so I don’t need to take my phone on runs. I did 5km thinking I had a challenge for the day but lucky for me, it’s actually tomorrow.

Made a delicious soup today with curry, carrot, and sweet potato. Once it starts getting a bit cooler I love using our Instant Pot to make soup. I rarely follow a recipe and usually use what we have around in the kitchen. This one turned out SO GOOD. I added jalapeno & goat cheese to serve.


Sean and I started watching an Italian horror movie on Netflix in the afternoon. He fell asleep and I switched to Emily in Paris. Safe to say, he was a little confused when he woke up haha. We managed to get through 9/10 episodes. It’s pretty cheese but tbh, it was just what I was looking for.