Day 251: Synchronicity. Greenlight.

Sean went to the city after sunrise for a meeting. I spent the morning working until lunchtime. It was so lovely outside I decided to put on my gloves and get to work. 13 degrees in November, I’ll take it! I’m sure we’ll have snow in no time, so I wanted to make the most of the warm air. I started stacking all the wood that had fallen down from our first attempt a couple of weeks ago. I put away most of the patio furniture for winter, got the shutters on the front of the cottage, and a few of the big ones on the windows facing the lake. I was listening to Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey on Audible and it was great motivation. I really love this book and I’m thinking about getting a hardcover copy of it so I can look back on his notes, poems, and quotes. Ok, this is kinda crazy. I looked it up on Amazon and found this page. That quote about style on the right is from a daily quote calendar from the ’90s (maybe ’80s?). I know this because we had the same one at our house. Mum still has one of the pages in her fridge today. I know I have a photo of it somewhere but I will ask her to send a photo so I can update this post. I think it’s a sign I should get the hardcopy, who knows what else I’ll find in there. In life, I like to think small similarities like this are a sign I’m on the right track. Synchronicity. I am certain mum is going to ring me when she reads this because you won’t believe what happened next. The following page I looked up has a poem on it, look…

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Day 227: Witches In The Woods

It snowed today for the first time this season. I’m not ready for it but I also feel so romantic about it. I instantly want to start playing Christmas music while it falls slowly outside the windows. The sun came out for a minute in the afternoon and the snow finally stopped. I needed a break, so I put on my witch outfit and went into the woods. As one does! I am definitely my fav subject to shoot and highly recommend taking your own photo once in a while. I could have asked Sean but I find I like to do it myself and take my time. I don’t always know what I’m doing when I start so I like to just go with the flow and feel it out. Sometimes it works out and sometimes I just pack up and go inside and do it another time. I usually end up with a couple of good photos and a whole bunch that get deleted. I also like to take Live photos so I can turn them into short videos with the Lively app. I set up my tripod and use a self-timer or one of these handy Bluetooth remotes from Amazon. Most of the photos in my Instagram posts are taken by me with this method or a straight-up selfie. I made this video and was laughing so hard at the witch cackle, Sean was like ‘what are you DOING?’. Oh nothing, just being weird haha. See the video with AUDIO on Instagram here. With love from the woods!

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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.

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Day 184: TIFF Portrait Studio

For the past 10 years of my life, early September has always been about TIFF. From working at Much/MTV, to the early blogger hay days (ayooooo!), media events, screenings, so much fun. I was also in a documentary about the festival that’s now on Amazon in the US/UK. TIFF has been a huge part of my life and something I always look forward to. Yes, this year is different but watching from home is pretty great too. No shoes, comfy clothes, and you can eat/drink/do whatever you want! We watched Concrete Cowboy starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things. It was good, the story, the music, real people. I loved the cinematography and Shazammed a few songs. Found out today that TIFF is offering a free digital screening of this film to 500 essential workers in TO. ?? Thank you Nespresso for the digital tickets, goodies, and snacks. Nespresso is a long-standing supporter of film/arts and Official Coffee Sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival®. If you’re in Ontario, they have a contest rn where 30 people will win a machine, pods, AND A FREE PASS to Bell Digital Cinema. I wish I had a pass! If you win, please enjoy. Pre-COVID, I’d typically ask you to invite me over when you win! ? This VIP PORTRAIT STUDIO was so exclusive, I was the only one invited! ???? P.S. How great is this dress? It was in my donate pile but I decided to bleach it at the start of Covid and now I love it so much!

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Day 129: Book Recommendations – Summer 2020

I’ve been reading a lot over the last few months. Since I haven’t been working as much I’ve tried to make the most of this time with workouts, clean eating, creative projects, and books. I’m registered as a Professional Reader on NetGalley, a media review site for writers to receive advance copies from publishers around the world. I mostly stick to the same types of books including suspense/thriller, or female focussed adult fiction. I finally got around to putting a few book recommendations a list, see my favs below! Here’s a list of a couple of books I’ve enjoyed over the last two months. They’re all linked on Amazon and listed on my Amazon Book List here. Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner This was a great book, perfect summer 2020 read! The characters were interesting and I loved the element of drama, talk about influencers, and how the author described the locations there were. It was easy to follow and I couldn’t put it down! You can find this book at your fav bookstore or on Amazon here. The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry Highly recommend! I can’t imagine going through the tragedy that these families face and then all the other secrets, lies, and things they deal with on top of that. I was hooked from the first page and read this book every chance I had to finish in a couple of days. This book is out mid-August, 2020 and is available for pre-order. Spring Girls by Karen Katchur I didn’t realize this book was part of a series but it is definitely good as a stand-alone read. It follows a detective and the murder of three girls in the spring. As they try to finds the Spring Strangler they talk to one of the survivors and…

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Day 128: You Are What You Beet

Today was so nice out, perfect weather. Haven’t been feeling the best this week and have slacked a bit on my workouts. I feel sluggish but I’ll get back to it, I feel like this happens every now and then. I took Sean for a wakeboard and then sat in the hot tub for a bit before it warmed up outside. This is my new fav swimsuit, Giant Tiger $10. Best store around these parts! For lunch, I made a delicious beet salad with pecans and goat cheese. Sean grilled beets on the bbq last night and had them in the fridge. I love beets! I’m onto another book today after just finishing The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry. It comes out in August and I received an advance copy via NetGalley. Highly recommend, it’s about a tragedy three friends face when an accident happens with their kids causing injury and death. I sped through it in a couple of days. My next read is The Broken Hearts Honeymoon, a more lighthearted feel-good summer read. Jen made us vegan spaghetti & meatless meatballs for dinner and we had rosé. At night we watched the sunset on the dock, had a fire, and listened to music. I’m still a few days behind on updating last week’s daily diary but I’m working through it. I have an exciting post about my first trip to a spa where I had a couple of treatments AND an announcement about a cool project I’ve secretly been part of during quarantine. Lots to share!

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Day 107: Take a Break, Read a Book

Today I did some work in the morning and then I read my book on the dock. I’ve been reading an advance copy of The Three Mrs. Wrights by Linda Keir and is SUCH a great summer read (release Sept. 29, 2020). Three wives, one man, a thrilling story of their escapades, deception, lies, and love. I started it Monday and will finish it tomorrow for sure. It’s the kind of book I wish were longer because I don’t want it to be over. It would make a great movie! If you’re ever looking for book recos, check out my reading list on Amazon. I’ve been adding books as I read them and still have a couple more for the list. I love a psychological thriller or fun chic-lit summer read. Another great book I finished last month was Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner. Eventually, I’ll get them all in a blog post with some reviews! Tomorrow we have a boat parade at 2pm and Sean got a whole bunch of new fireworks for Canada Day. We are also getting 5G internet! LOOK OUT!

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Day 93: We’ll All Float On Ok

Today was pretty quiet. I spend the morning working, as I usually do then set out on my paddleboard for nearly two hours. I packed some water and my Kindle and floated and read in the sun. I have been reading a couple of books from Netgalley, a medias review site for authors. My two most recent reads are Coming for You Deborah Rogers, The Dead Girl Under the Bleachers by Donna M. Zadunajsky, both linked here on Amazon. Find more book recos in my store! I typically read the same type of books with a female lead, there some relationship/family drama, at least one murder. I hardly ever read self-help books, I like to escape reality in a book, take my mind on a suspenseful & thrilling adventure. In the afternoon, I went to town and stopped by our cute little post office to pick up some packages. I look forward to visiting Judy at the Postie each time and try to take her a little treat as a way to say thank you. I was happy my order from Biddell arrived! Canadian designer and friend Evan Biddell has been making stylish masks you can order online here. I happened to have a swimsuit to match one of them, safety but make it fashion! For $45 you will receive a 4-pack of animal print masks. They fit great! Thinking of this jam, always loved this song.

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Day 39: Book Recommendations

Last night I finished the first book I’d read a while and then we watched 1917. I’m not usually into period pieces or wartime moves but it kept me in suspense the whole time. I started another book in bed before falling asleep. I think an escape from reality was just what I needed yesterday. A couple of months ago I was wandering aimlessly at Chapters (remember doing that?) and surprised myself at how many books I’d actually read. I took photos of all the covers to make a blog post with recommendations. I guess I didn’t really find the time until waking up at 5:30 this morning saying, today’s the day! You’ll notice a theme, lots of thriller/suspense, almost no self-help. Reading for me is a distraction from the outside world and I love a good story involving some type of crime or murder. Idk why, I just do. This post isn’t sponsored, I bought my own Kindle and most of these books. A few in the list below were advance reader copies from the publisher via PR or Netgalley. All books are linked on Amazon and can be found in my reading list here. I love reading on the Kindle. Until I got an e-reader, it had been ages since I’d read a whole book. I love traditional books but with Kindle, you have almost any book at your fingertips, you can read in the sun, in the dark, in water, or highlight things to look back on later. I also quite enjoy Audible, especially when the book is read by the author. A great feature of both Audible and Kindle is you can preview the book before you buy it, this has really come in handy with recommendations and the discovery process of finding your next read.…

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Day 9: Sunshine

I finally washed my hair today. I feel so refreshed! Last night was super fun! We joined a live stream dance party, laughed w/ friends on Houseparty, and chatted with a few people on the phone. It has been a loooooooong time since I have been this social. I find I’m connecting with more people in a day than probably ever. Today I was ready for a break from isolation hangouts, FaceTime, and Houseparty. We started watching Tiger King on Netflix which is a totally insane story. We’ve also been watched Collateral and an Icelandic show called The Valhalla Murders. Yesterday I watched Where’d You Go Bernadette on Amazon Prime and although Cate Blanchett was good, I thought the book was better than the movie. Sorry to be one of those people, it’s true! Short update today. Need a break from everything. Tomorrow is a new day and I am planning to make coffee and workout like I used to. I love this video from Briony and love the idea of making a collage over the next couple of days. We have lots of knickknacks around there I could put to good use. Cut & paste, crafts are something I’ve always loved and I have heaps of letter I cut out the other days from magazines. View this post on Instagram Hi All! I wanted to be able to help everyone and I thought I’d teach you some Arts + Crafts, specifically how to make your own collage, and hopefully take your mind off things. I made this by only using items I found around my house so that you don’t have to leave to get supplies 🙂 Learn how to make sparkles using only two ingredients! I was going to do a live video to teach you how to…

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Day 7: Give Yourself a Break

It’s raining and I woke up feeling tired. It could be the weighted anxiety blanket we’ve all been carrying or it’s the beers. Today, I’m giving myself a break from the routine, schedule, and everything to be in my feelings. Yes, there is a BBQ behind me in these photos. The other night I watched two movies and sat by myself at the kitchen table cutting out words from magazines. I use to love cut & paste to make art so I figured why not give it a go. It’s still kinda fun and I picked so many good words in great fonts, not sure the next steps at this point. ? The green/white thing is a digital thermometer I was sent a couple of years ago. I’ve been checking our temperatures each day. I checked Amazon for a link to it and the price is over $685 right now for a product that’s about $120. Whoa. How do I feel? Uncertain. Unsure. Idk how to feel about all this, it’s hard to process. Today I realized there might not be anymore Young & The Restless for the first time in 40 years. I know this is a bit silly when you think about the real issue but it was like a wake-up call. I’ve been watching this show my whole life. Looking back to the things I was thinking about this time last week, the world has drastically changed. Last Friday was my last time at the gym, I had a lunch meeting at Drake Commissary, and walked freely around in my neighborhood. I probably should have stayed home now that I think about it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Craft Boner (@craftboner) on Mar 17, 2020 at 2:56pm PDT Today I’m giving myself permission…

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Beat Winter SAD: 50 Self-care Ideas

Self-care can legit mean just about anything these days. For me, there are a lot of things I like to do and sometimes it’s as simple as putting away that pile of clothes or saying no to leaving the house. I made a list of things I like to do for myself, usually on a Sunday to prep for the week. Self-care is taking a few moments to yourself to do something for yourself, which makes you feel good and alleviate stress. Thankfully this winter hasn’t been as brutal as last year’s super cold months where everything was covered in ice. The 2019 winter blues really got me down and I am trying to best to make this winter not seem as dark, lonely, and depressing. It may seem like I am out on the town quite a bit but I assure you, it’s usually not for long. I love staying at home. I love hair masks, face masks, exfoliating, nice lotion, naps, cooking, and doing things inside the house. I started this list to make 10 things but kept going and now there are 50. Most of these you can do without leaving your house of opening your wallet. I added a shoppable section at the bottom in case you want to grab any of my favorites via Amazon Prime. If you are feeling down, do one little thing each day to bring happiness into your life. You DESERVE it. Treat yourself!

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Show Up For Yourself

I am no expert on self-love, recovery, or life, I can only speak from my own experience. I posted this image on my Instagram Stories 6 weeks ago and made a Story Highlight (the little circles) called 2020 MOOD as a reminder of the person I am going forward. Healthier, happier, a girl who can handle anything. It is definitely scary to be who you really are (especially to share it online) but I figure, there’s not really another option! Why not be the most YOU that YOU can be? Do what you want. Pursue all the things. Make a list and start checking off those goals. What are you waiting for? The time is NOW. Get creative, write your own story. It’s your life, you’re in control, you only live once. If there is one thing you can take from this post, it’s that you do not know your own strength or power until you try to use it. Put your mind in the right direction and push it further than before. Open doors for yourself. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

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Beat Winter SAD: Take A Vacation

Last winter was really hard, we had one of the coldest seasons in ages, there was ice everywhere, and my arm was messed up. I spent most of the winter inside our house going Marie Kondo through every cupboard and drawer. This winter, I’m determined to find joy in simple things and actively make an effort to warm myself up and beat winter SAD. I wrote a few posts with ways I’m trying to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder with the hope it will help make our days a bit brighter. Some take a little more money/planning but others you can do at home right now. I’ll update this post with a link to each so you can scroll once they’re live. Vacation The easiest way to boost your mood in winter? Take a vacation. I know this isn’t an option for everyone with work/family/finances but if you can do it, it’s so nice. This year, I took a 7-day all-inclusive trip to Cuba with a friend. We have been talking about doing a low-key beach getaway at the start of January for 2+ years and finally did it! Cuba was a good option because we were not going for luxury, our conditions for the trip were affordable, beach, sun. The beach was beautiful and the sun was hot. The food wasn’t luxe but we managed to eat simple, the main things I ate were bread, rice, fruit, pasta, and eggs. I read an entire book, took heaps of photos, and finished the week well-rested and refreshed. We went to bed early (and sober) most nights. I stuck to Amy’s 1K a day challenge and did some type of activity each day (long walk, dance, NTC). It was just what I needed and a perfect reset to start the year. I…

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