Inspiration

I was lucky enough to help my friend Sonja cater Sarah Slean’s album launch party for Metaphysics this week – it was one of the most inspiring events I’ve taken part in. Let’s celebrate the amazing women I got to work with! Here’s Sarah’s beautiful new single, Sonja’s beautiful retreats, Danielle’s beautiful shop, and Jessica’s beautiful flowers.

“How does life live? Why are some things special? Why do you pick flowers and then they die? Will I have another birthday? Why are you on your phone? What is kind? Do you love me?”

Sarah von Bargen is the best and so are her lifehack tips.

I liked this post about simple bullet journal layout ideas. Mostly because all those Youtube bujo tutorials are usually more about being pretty than actually useful.

I’m going to see the Book of Mormon this weekend! Which means that I’ve been listening to the soundtrack nonstop.

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The little cutie in the photo is named Pablo, and I’m going to be taking care of him for a few months while my friend Bridget goes to Nicaragua! It will be so much fun to have a little buddy in my house keeping me company. This week was so much fun but also a blur, mostly because of the beautiful event I mentioned earlier. I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend and recovering from all the excitement. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

 

I’ve said it before but I have to say it again: I love Rising Tide Society. It’s essentially a group of lovely people doing creative things that get together and talk about business. The March meetup was this past week and it was such a highlight.

This trailer gave me all the feels.

For fellow bullet journal lovers! Doesn’t this make you want to write so much stuff down?

Serial is launching a new podcast called S-Town! I’m hoping it has Serial Season 1 vibes. I can’t wait.

Revisited some feminism 101 stuff last night so I have a handy dandy link at the ready about the wage gap! I’ll also throw in a great one about transgender rights because I love John Oliver. I also plan on re-watching Miss Representation and The Hunting Ground soon – both are on Netflix. Always good to refresh one’s memory on these topics.

6 types of people who do not deserve to hear your shame story. Oh man this is so good.

I’m listening to this podcast episode right now which is about the differences in how women and men communicate and it is blowing my dang mind.

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Another super-inspiring week around these here parts. Life is so good! I feel so much love in my life from my friends, my family, even the guys who work at my local coffee shop (love y’all!). It’s been bitterly cold in Toronto this week but the sun is shining, I’ve laughed my head off every single day, and I feel connected to my community. Is there anything better?

One of my favourite quotes is from Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote:

“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

So: if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is. Happy weekend everyone. xo.

This new campaign makes me feel proud to live in Toronto.

I wish I didn’t identify with so much of this whole post. One of my favourite writers and former bloggers wrote about what it’s really like to be a woman. Edit: this is a private Facebook account of a blogger I follow. I’m still leaving it here because it’s great.

Protip: if you install this Chrome extension you can speed up any video. Helpful for longer talks! I find I can go to 1.5x without it being too distorted or hard to follow.

Proof that you don’t even need to understand someone else to support them.

Dear Sugar is always wonderful, but this episode felt really fresh and was so interesting to me.

I signed up for an intro month of ClassPass this week and went to a yoga class with my friend Dylan. Turns out it was – surprise! – super hard hot yoga, so my arms are still thanking me. Still, I’m excited about ClassPass and hope it will encourage me to work out more and try new things.

I love Tony & Sage Robbins and have been really inspired by their interviews together lately. They seem to have such a grounded, loving relationship. Here’s one I got tons of insights from this week.

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It was another amazing week, for all kinds of reasons. I got great news, I spent time with so many wonderful women I care about deeply, I talked on the phone to my long distance bestie, I played with a puppy, I had book club and coffee dates and a pedicure and hung out with my fave baristas. I watched That Thing You Do! I also came down with a cold, had trouble sleeping and got some uncertain news about my living situation. All that said? Life is good. Life is beautiful. I am happy and I am loved and so are you. xo.

 

I particularly resonated with this episode of The Lively Show, which led to some big aha moments for me around arbitrary goals set by my ego and how I can manifest good stuff more effectively.

This is so good: 43 things learned in 43 years. One of my favourites: “Examining your motivations with radical honesty is a lifetime commitment. And it’s as painful as it is rewarding.”

I’m back to using Asana to keep track of my to-dos and loving it! Also still loving Trello and Workflowy for other purposes, but Asana has re-captured my heart, especially the calendar function.

My friend Sonja introduced me to Alanis Morissette’s podcast this week and I have been loving it! Think: super deep dives into ideas about relationships, mindfulness, and psychology. Really good stuff.

I don’t go to bed quite this late, but can relate wholeheartedly! My whole life I’ve struggled to get up at the same time as everyone else.

Notebooks are good places to have bad ideas, and good ideas for that matter. I love my notebooks.

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Home is Toronto! The last couple of weeks have been really, really good ones. I feel like I’m starting to find my flow here in the city, make some friends, and spend more time with my family than I have since high school! It feels amazing. I’ve been home at my mom’s little hideaway for a few days and it’s so lovely to do my work in the sunshine with the puppy beside me, and then go for walks in the valley in the late afternoon. Being here is always beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!