Hellooooooo! Good morning from Surrey, BC. I’m here as a consultant for a conference and that’s all I can say about that right now. Arrived yesterday afternoon after a great flight on Air Canada. I’m staying at a pink hotel called Pacific Inn that looks like a Caribbean resort. I’ll take some photos before I leave!
Today we’re at a beautiful golf resort with mountains in the background. The view below is from the beach in White Rock, BC where I had dinner last night.
Tomorrow I’m heading to downtown Vancouver for the day and booked an Airbnb for the night. Back home Thursday.
You’d be surprised if you touched my hair, it feels like a little baby bunny it’s so damn soft. I do get it cut quite often but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I bleach/tone it every few weeks. Bleach is especially hard on your hair and so is the long dry winter. That is why you need to take special care of your hair during the coldest months of the year. If you’re not 100% sold on some of the hair care products such as shampoo that you use regularly, then you might want to compare some of the very best shampoos using a site like Reviewing This. They review some of the very best hair care products on the market, such as the Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo & Conditioner, so they may be worth checking out.
We’ve got about 6 weeks left of this cold so if you haven’t been taking winter precautions to protect your hair, start now!
Ok, let’s do this!
Yay, fresh cut & colour!
The other day I had my first 2018 appointment at Sassoon Toronto. You will remember from last year I partnered with them for cut/colour which was totally awesome. I’ve never had such great attention paid to my short, yet very high maintenance locks. Kim does an amazing job on my blonde and Jason cuts it just enough with perfect precision every single time.
Tips for Winter Hair Care
I chatted w/ Sassoon to get the low down on how to make sure your hair doesn’t get the winter blues.
Pamper.Sassoon offers a range of Kerastase Fusio-Dose customized hair treatments. They apply a tailored treatment to my hair each time I visit.
Protect. It’s important to use something on your hair to protect it from heat treatment. Use a blowdryer, you might be damaging your hair! Apply a thermo protection cream like the Kerastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique. It’s made for dry hair and soft enough for you to use daily. You can also give your hair some TLC w/ the Kerastase Nutritive Masquintense once a week. You can also have a look at some professional hair care products to make sure your hair is efficiently nourished and ready to combat the harsh winter months!
Trim.This is my secret to having soft hair. Since mine is short I get it cut a lot. Regular maintenance trims split ends and keep your hair from becoming rough and dull. Sassoon recommends a trim every 5 weeks (4 weeks for short hair).
Be gentle. Dry your hair before you leave the house, if you go outside in freezing cold air with wet hair, well, you’re looking for disaster. Blow-dry gently using a wide-tooth comb or small paddle brush.
Don’t overwash.I am guilty of this but my fine hair is super short. I am envious of people with long thick hair who do the recommended wash only 2-3 times a week and use products like hair thickening shampoo. Maybe this is what I should try if I am after thicker hair. With this being said, washing your hair less maintain natural nourishing oils in the hair and keeps it nice and smooth.
Products used on my hair at this appointment.
I’m heading back to Sassoon for a full colour in about a week and looking forward to it. if you are looking for a new salon or a fresh look. I’d be happy to connect you to my peeps. Feel free to get in touch and I’ll hook you up w/ my special discount!
Even though I was really glad to be home from New Zealand, I would LOVE to be back there on the beach right now. This winter seems never-ending and I even missed a month of it!
While I was away I didn’t miss a beat posting things to the internet. For three weeks I used Google maps as my navigator, Stories, Twitter, and Facebook to share photos, and was able to stay on to of emails.
Wellington, NZ
Lake Taupo, NZ
Akatarawa Forest, NZ
Piha Beach, NZ
A few people asked about my phone data usage and what plan I had. If you have ever travelled overseas, the phone/data situation can be stressful and very expensive. That was, until now! ?
Telus has a great add-on called Easy Roam where for you can use your phone’s regular data plan in over 100 countries. If you’re in the USA, Easy Roam is $7/day and capped at $100 per billing cycle. For international destinations, like New Zealand, the $10/day fee is capped at $150 per billing cycle.
Honestly, this is such a good deal. I remember travelling to the states for a weekend and a friend racked up $1,000 because she didn’t have a data plan like this.
My little car leaving Wellington
Beach babe!
My car in Auckland
The good things is, you’re only charged for days that you access your Canadian plan in your destination. So, if you don’t need to use your Canadian data plan (hellooo wifi!) you’re not charged.
While in NZ, I had wifi at almost every place I stayed, so that helped for nighttime/morning scrolling (just like home haha). Safe to say, I didn’t go over my monthly data and or get a shocker of a bill when I came home.
If you’re planning a winter getaway, you’ll find these useful:
Next week, I’m travelling to Vancouver to speak at a conference and before I head home, visiting the Telus HQ. I’ve wanted to visit Telus Garden since it was built!
The building takes up an entire city block downtown Vancouver and blends architecture, art, and environmental sustainability. It has 10,000+ square feet of outdoor space on six different levels, a community garden, bike storage, electric car charging stations, and more. I’m excited!
We’re under a deep cold alert but I can’t help the spring feeling in my heart. Next week I’m in Vancouver and then SF in 2 weeks. I’ve got a few projects blooming and seeds I’ve planted are starting to sprout.
I was at the office today and interviewed by a documentary filmmaker in Germany.
Last night we watched skating and Canada won GOLD in the team figure skating. It was glorious. Tessa & Scott are truly incredible. They danced across the ice with such delicate precision and passion. I seriously don’t know how they are not dating.
It’s been snowing for days and I’ve hardly left the house. Today I binged all of the new Queer Eye on Netflix and it is amazing. I prepped heaps of food as a distraction from anything else and it was great. I’m really glad it’s going to warm up this week. Somehow I hurt my shoulder so taking a break from yoga. I’m excited about what this week will bring. Tonight we are watching Olympic figure skating. Both Sean and I love skating!
On Friday night we watched a couple movies, The Tower and Dunkirk. Discovered this great list of the best 50 Style Tips of all time from InStyle. So many good things. Big fan of adding scarves to things. I can’t wait for spring.
If you haven’t watched queer Eye yet, HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It will make you laugh, cry, and maybe give you inspiration for self-care or updating your life/space.
Oh man, the last 10 days have been hellish. I was sick all last week and this week. It started with a sore throat and I thought I was getting better before *BOOM* a got a brutal cough. That was compounded by a nasty head cold. It was not cute. It’s been 10 days of cancelling meetings and rescheduling things for next week.
Once I was feeling more like myself, I did a big clean in my room. Put away the mountains of clothes and stuff that piled up. Broke out my brand new Endy sheets and pillow and put them on my bed. It feels so good to breathe easily again.
In other news, while I was sick I made a store. Curated items, things I love, and wish list here.
Omg, I am still sick and I hate it. Left the house for a hot minute this morning to get some meds and liquids but urghhh. I know I’m smiling here but I feel gross, I sound even worse. My chest is heavy and it’s hard to breathe. I put a filter on it. You can still smile when you’re sick. ?
I don’t even know if I feel better. I might be more stuffed up today than the last 4 days. I just don’t know anymore. My room is a mess, it’s more like a closet with a bed in it.
Since I’ve been in the house so much lately I’ve taken to getting WILD with the Instant Pot. Today I was inspired by my grocery store trip to make a soup using mixed beans and corn.
Veg Cauliflower Corn Soup
Energy Ball ingredients
The Soup Is Easy
I didn’t photograph making it. It was easy and unglamorous. Sean liked it. I’ll make it again. Cauliflower + broth + coconut milk make a tasty soup base.
Put a head of cauliflower on the trivet chopped in two.
Add can of corn (not creamed), can of mixed beans (drained), can of coconut milk, cup of broth, a cup of water, bit of salt, chilli flakes.
Cook for 12 min on manual.
Take out trivet, give a stir w/ a whisk, voila! Delicious soup.
Top w/ cilantro and some pepper.
In other news about things I made today, Sean bought a huge thing of dates so I cut some up in mixed in coconut, coconut oil, cocoa, and ground flax seed. Rolled them into little balls and popped in the freezer. They’re delicious.
This isn’t my photo or the ones I made but they looked like this. Recipe here.
Since being sick I’ve been eating mostly homemade food and no meat. I’ve been drinking heaps of water every day and getting a lot of rest. Taking my vitamins. I don’t know what to do anymore.
I really hope I feel better tomorrow. I hate being sick. I read in the news about how the ‘2018 Flu is Deadly’ and people are literally dying all over North America. I don’t want to die.
After days of being cooped up in the house, I needed to break free! Hung out w/2 of my bff last night and it was so nice to share laughs and stories. I’ve still got a cough today but feel a bit refreshed. Decided to skip yoga and hibernate.
Yesterday I started watching Flesh and Bone on Amazon Video, a show about professional ballet. I stopped dance when I was 13 but I did ballet for 10 years. I spent a lot of my childhood at the dance studio.
My teacher Lisa Meyerhofer was amazing. I learned heaps much from her, I realize more with age. She taught me to walk with confidence, shoulders back, head high. Dance was hard, there were a lot of times I wanted to quit but by not quitting, I gained so much. I learned to persevere and work through it. I remember crying to mum about wanting to quit and her not giving me that option. I can imagine as a parent that was hard but I’m incredibly grateful. I wrote about dance here.
This is me ?
First recital, 5, I was a Fluffy Cloud
My first solo ‘The Clown’, 9-10yo, mum made this costume out of the most beautiful fabric
Today Sean and I started Netflix’s new show Altered Carbon that came out on Friday. Pretty good so far. “Set in a future where consciousness is digitized and stored, a prisoner returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom.” FYI this show contains sex, drugs, and violence. It’s starring Joel Kinnaman the guy who plays Will Conway in House of Cards. Almost full frontal! ?
OK, that’s all for today. Blending into the couch.
It’s crazy that when everything is going great you can also feel like everything is crumbling. I don’t mean Murphy’s Law but like just life, in general, has this up and down thing as much as you try to keep a plateau. This week I had two great things come to the table, one that I have been working on in the background of everything else for years, and another potential opportunity to do something I used to do well. I was feeling good about it but I’m at the point in my career that I don’t get too excited until I have the cheque in my bank or a signed contract and we’re making the thing. There was a time I’d get sooo excited about an email. I’d ring mum at work and be like ‘omg mum guess what?” and go on about how someone from some company or tv station sent an email about doing a thing. Sometimes it turned out and sometimes it didn’t. I don’t count chickens anymore.
Yesterday I woke up barely breathing with a deathly chest cold and it was hard to talk. The whole day was been hard because being sick makes everything harder. I had to cancel 2 meetings. 1 of which I first cancelled last week because I was sick. I’m going on day 7. I feel really bad about cancelling twice and even worse because I’m sick and I can’t help it.
I took the photo above while sitting on the floor in my living room with the camera on the back of a chair. I’ve been wearing this vintage wolf shirt for at least 24 hours and I feel like complete garbage. I put on makeup to go to shoppers to get cough medicine to make myself feel better but tbh it didn’t really work. As soon as I open my mouth you can tell you should keep your distance. I sound like a haunting, creepy old lady/man who smoked 200 cigs a day for life. It’s not cute.
DO NOT BE FOOLED. FEEL LIKE GARBAGE.
Later in the evening, I had a nice time watching Moana with Embot and eating homemade lasagna I made the other day. Everything was fine until I was cleaning up and poured some of the remnants of a Thai green curry I made [I’ve been cooking a lot] down the toilet. Well, apparently that was A HORRIBLE FUCKING IDEA. I went to the bathroom 15min later forgetting about the soup thing and then went into the kitchen. I heard water running. Did I leave the tap on? Maybe I should lay down, am I ok?…NO, NO TAP ON, TOILET OVERFLOWING. EVERYWHERE. WATER ON THE FLOOR. Clean water but STILL. FML FML.
Next, someone is pounding on the door, I open it to the downstairs neighbour YELLING at me because the water is leaking into her house. I say sorry and start crying. I can’t handle this rn. The other neighbour is also there and she comes in to turn off the water. I’m sick and stuffed up and there is water everywhere and fuck fuck fuck. Sean is on the phone upstairs and I tried to use the plunger myself without bothering him but I think I made it worse and oh my god she keeps yelling. I run upstairs and through tears and raspy voice I tell him he needs to come downstairs NOW. I’m crying more. Emily hugs me. Neighbour says ‘hi Emily!’ and is back to fast, loud talking right at Sean and me.
I feel horrible and I don’t know what to do. Sean goes to her place. The damage isn’t bad, like at all. He fixes the toilet. Everything is fine. Except me. I’m more stuffed up than I was before, dehydrated, and my face is puffy. I just want to crawl into the cocoon that is my bed and stay there until the butterfly inside is ready to come out. ?
Today we’re laughing about the whole thing. I mean Sean is laughing more than me but it’s ok. Haha. I’ve always been a little dramatic. You can’t sweat the small stuff! Today is a new day!
POSITIVE SIDE NOTE
When I was in New Zealand, Catherine had so many caterpillars in her backyard. They were everywhere and ate so much food. It was a daily trip to get new plants for them to eat. Reckon over a hundred while I was there. Some were lost in winds from the tropical storm, but many survived.
Monarch butterflies were dancing in the air all over the place. It was some kind of magic.
Two years ago today I was in Cabo with Sean on a sponsored trip w/ Sunwing. It was an ok trip. We had a pretty strict itinerary and were at a remote resort but the sun was beautiful and we had a great room. When I look at this photo, I think about how I had to post a certain number of things each day and it was kinda stressful. This was one of the photos I posted to IG during the trip to document stand paddle boarding. The other thing I see when I look at this photo is the size of my boobs.
Surfing photo, hiding the boobs here again.
Six months after this trip I had a breast reduction. For years I would hide them, they never fit properly in a bathing suit, or a bra, especially a sports bra. I hated them and was at the point where I was willing to pay for the surgery myself when the phone call came in. I am so glad I went through that process and have smaller boobs now.
The biggest change, aside from working out in 1 bra only is the effect it had on my mental health. I’m happier. I’m more confident. I was always a happy person with confidence but the change for me is in how I feel on the inside. I don’t stress about shirt buttons popping open anymore, I can just throw on something and get dressed really fast, I wear tighter stuff without feeling likes someone might say “whoa Tits McGee!”. That happened a few times before lol. I can laugh about it now, but having huge boobs was something that I really stressed about. I had a DD and was 100Lbs when I started high school, it wasn’t fun. For the last few years before the surgery, I never wore v-neck, low cut, backless, strapless, tank tops, or spaghetti strap. And the only t-shirts were definitely baggy.
If you have ever thought about going through the process of getting the reduction, I am happy to chat you about my process. It was covered by OHIP and I saw a great surgeon in North York. I personally know a couple women who have done it for me and it’s a real life changer.
These days I love working out, the gym, yoga, and running outside. I’m working on my summer muscles already and I can’t wait for summer. There are 46 days until the first day of Spring and according to the groundhog, we’ve got 6 more weeks of winter taking us to March 16th.
Sean and I on a jetski in Cabo! You can barely see the famous archway in the distance!
