You’re looking at the face of a Toronto woman who is fully vaccinated. Had the afternoon off work to get my 2nd dose of Pfizer and biked down to St. Joseph’s Hospital for my appointment. Pretty smooth process, everyone was nice, I wore a dress. On my ride home I stopped into my new favourite takeaway shop in Roncy, Sunnyside Provisions. It’s really cute, they have heaps of local food, soups, sandwiches, snacks, beer & wine. I got the roast beef sandwich (incredible!), local fish for dinner, a couple of cocktails, and a Flake bar for dessert. (As kids we used to get Cadbury Flake bars sent from our fam in New Zealand, they were so hard to find here!) Sean is still up at the cottage until tomorrow. I’ve got a half-day on Friday and plan to do next to nothing all weekend. My reaction to the first vaccine was brutal and I was sick for three days. Really hope that doesn’t happen again but if it does, I’m prepared. Please stay safe out there. This weekend we pass 500 days and the sooner we all get vaccinated, we can hopefully have some type of normal-ish life. Whatever that means, I’ve never been normal! Sending love,

On Day 495 she wore red lipstick and felt a renewed sense of self. With her dark pandemic locks, she put her unwashed hair in a braid, threw on some jewelry, and headed out on her vintage-style bike. She met up with a friend to catch up, the daily download on everything. The girls walked backstreets of Dundas West and got popsicles on Queen West. On the ride home, Casie stopped to take a photo of ‘billboard’ and thought, ‘that would be a great place for my face’. And as she typed this she thought, “Why don’t I write in the third person a little more? It’s kinda fun.” At home, she opened her mail to find a Tiki Party gift complete with Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Although she had work to do, knowing she had ice in the freezer, she reached for the blender. She worked and typed will dreaming of Pina Coladas in a tropical destination. Thought about buying some nice jewelry from Hestia Jewels. One day, she will travel again, her suitcase is ready and waiting. Outfits too.

Woke up super tired today, not sure why. I find I’m more tired than ever these days and I guess it’s just pandemic fatigue at this point. ?‍♀️ I was out and about this weekend and after not doing much for almost a year, it’s exhausting! Took myself on an ice cream date after a nice long bike ride. I try to get outside for a run or ride each day to clear my head, get exercise, and fresh air. The ice cream at Gaspar Cafe near our place is incredible! I rarely do dairy but when I do, I pretty much always have chocolate. Yesterday I started watching Virgin River on Netflix and it’s not particularly good but somehow I’m almost done the first season. I have a soft spot for shows that I can put on in the background while I’m writing that doesn’t take too much focus, especially if they’re murder or romantic comedy. That’s all for today! Here’s to a good week!

We decided to spend an extra day at the cottage to avoid long weekend traffic. Took sean out on the wakeboard at lunch and soaked up some sunshine. I find it a bit hard to work from the cottage so Sean let me usehis office setup and it made everything better. We know it was going to rain so took the boat out of the water in the evening and as we were getting back to the cottage it started POURING. We both got soaked but I didn’t mind, something magical about a warm summer downpour. Always loved this song, it this came out in 2000 when I graduted high school & started college, Summer Rain by Carl Thomas. Not sure when I’ll be back up north this month. Looking forward to being at the house, catching up on blog posts I’ve missed the last little while, and focusing on work. Will be nice to see friends and ride my bike around too. Sending sunshine your way. hope things are looking up!

Don’t say it..don’t say it…VAX GIRL SUMMER! ☀️ I’M SO HAPPY! I GOT VACCINATED! Sean gave me a tip from Vaccine Hunters that there was a pop-up clinic near at Harbord Collegiate offering the first dose of Pfizer today so I biked over soon as I could. If you are looking to get your first or second dose, check out the @vaxhunterscan account on Twitter, they’re posting vaccination clinics all across the country. I just really want to go somewhere ✈️, hug my parents, have friends to the house, and for this all to be overrrrrrr. Y’know?! ?✌️ One step closer to getting back to some kind of normal.

Nice picnic with April today. I walked her most of the way home with my bike and then biked back. I have this thing where if I see a mirror on the street I always stop and take a photo. Have you noticed? I love capturing my outfit on a random background and the different shapes the mirrors are in. Seeing more than one on a short ride is unique! We decided to dip into some alcohol-free beverages that were sent by Grüvi. The beer & champagne were pretty good! I’ve been rethinking drinking the last few years and gone through stages where I don’t drink at all. I’ve noticed that since I’m staying home more (not going to events) and weigh less, I can’t handle alcohol the way I used to. For years I’d be at several events a week and have a few drinks each time. Now when I do have drinks, I like to mix in an alcohol-free option to slow down the effects, water, soda, or something like these cocktails with no booze. If you’re ever looking for mocktail recipes my friend Sarah has some on IG. In other news, my hair is really long and DARK. I can’t believe how long it is. I love it so much and don’t see myself going back to short anytime soon, or ever. I can’t wait to get back to Sassoon and have my hair done. I’m going to keep the colour close to this just with a bit more blonde. if you’re ever interested in my hair journey, there’s heaps of Sassoon post from the last 5 years here.

A couple of years ago I was doing yoga almost every day with Sandy at Yoga Yoga in the Junction. I hadn’t seen her in ages and this morning to text me about going for a walk together. It was perfect timing as I didn’t have plans and Sean was back at the cottage. She said ‘Meet me in the park‘ and we decided to hang out on the grass at Sarauren Avenue Park. Idk why I’ve never really hung out there as it’s such a nice park. Bellwoods has been really busy lately, this week there was someone with a gun, and people keep leaving garbage there. Nice to discover a clean & safe place right around the corner from our house. One of my fav sunset views is this one along Dundas West right at the top of Sterling Ave. It’s not exactly spectacular but idk, I just like it. I biked home feeling energized and inspired. It was so nice to laugh with Sandy again. In other news, I ordered THE CUTEST set from Aerie. I posted to my Story and ended up sending the link to a bunch of friends when they asked about it. I ordered another similar set in blue. It fits so nice and the material is very stretchy, kind like a swimsuit. Week is off to a great start! I took a vacation day on Friday so it’s a short one! Weeee!