Inspiration

A beautiful article about quality time, why it can’t be scheduled, and how we need to just show up and be around. This one hit close to home for me.

Some serious food for thought about giving up refined sugar.

An excellent article about mental errors that may sway us from making good decisions.

This post definitely inspired me to get back into writing more.

When I was in New York, I used these city guides and ended up going to so many awesome places.

I like the idea of “no regrets” purchases.

This is such a balanced, lovely nighttime routine.

I really want to see Les Bosquets and The Danish Girl. And I still haven’t seen Inside Out!

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I spent the long weekend visiting a friend in New York City. We laughed constantly, ate a lot of delicious food, and saw a ton of NYC, Brooklyn and even Long Island. It was amazing to see her again and to spend more time in such a magical city. This weekend I’ll be heading down to Veg Fest, then going to visit my grandma on a road trip with my sister. It should be a great one. Hope yours is excellent as well!

This acoustic-ish Drake cover is my new favourite song.

I made a video of my time in Southeast Asia! I love to watch it because it reminds me of all the wonderful adventures I’ve been lucky enough to have.

I love this adorable tiny home.

A handy dandy little guide to living your values.

I’ve been working my way through the archives of a few blogs this week. First, this sweet blog – I love the tips on how to live in small spaces and how to make your space beautiful. Also loving Be More With Less.

I’m not sure what this says about me, but I found these Ikea puns hilarious.

I planned my first capsule wardrobe using this free planner! I am hoping to start officially wearing it in October.

Whenever I get the tools, this will be my first quilting project, without a doubt.

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I’m spending this weekend downtown Toronto with great friends, great food and (hopefully) great weather. I’m excited to celebrate one friend’s birthday and take another’s yoga class. This past week I spent a bit too much time sitting and staring at a computer screen, in a consuming state of mind. I want to recommit to being outside, being creative, and being grateful for what I have. Have an awesome weekend!

I read a lot of articles on C’est Christine this week and they were inspiring as usual. This one in particular has a lot of great life advice.

I may have shared this before but I don’t mind sharing it again: the beauty and simplicity of The Moral Bucket List.

I always want more tips on how to find cheaper airfare!

A seriously inspiring blog about living with less waste. I read the entire thing in one night and wanted to buy all the non-disposable containers! Related was this podcast episode, also amazingly inspiring.

A wonderful little film about what’s really important in life. “I try to collect moments”.

This week I committed to the habit of flossing daily. I loved this article on how to be a better flosser and the tip to tie the ends of your string of floss together so that you don’t have to wrap it so tightly around your fingers – game changer!

More than halfway through my 2015 reading challenge, only one book behind schedule! Any book recommendations for me?

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Life lately has been a lot of family time, which I’m thrilled about. It’s so wonderful to be back around my sisters and my parents and to do little everyday things with them like buy groceries or get ready for a dinner out together. My days have been very quiet and slow, a lot of reading and thinking and not a lot of leaving the (paradise) house. I’m gearing myself up though: a few more days of relaxing, then I’m spending a weekend in Toronto, then a weekend in New York to visit friends, then my boyfriend arrives (!) for a few weeks of fun. It’s going to be hectic but it will be so wonderful too. I’m just trying to remember to stay present and mindful every step of the way.

I absolutely adored this deeper, more meaningful answer to the question “how are you able to have it all??”

Sweet stories and helpful perspectives from various people about how they knew their partner was The One.

A great, helpful article about choosing a college major and more broadly, deciding what to do with your life.

I read Junot Díaz’s This Is How You Lose Her this week and loved it. For a taste, read this excerpted story from the book.

A wonderful, thought-provoking episode of Dear Sugar about introversion and extroversion with lots of helpful reminders about the difference.

In related news, I took this introversion/extroversion quiz and it put me at 32/100 for sociability (it’s not wrong..).

A podcast episode that I seriously needed to hear this week all about changing negative thought patterns. I had some amazing a-ha moments with this one.

This week I roasted tomatoes and garlic with the method listed here (maybe 10 minutes longer of cook time) and blended them into the best sauce ever.

This is my current favourite song – plus the singer is signed to a label a friend of mine works at, which is awesome.

Inspired by Jess Lively’s Throw Out 100 Things challenges, and motivated to cultivate my possessions carefully.

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This week has been lovely. It featured a long hike in the woods on a beautiful day, a couple campfires in the backyard, stargazing, reading great books, spending time with family and sunshine. This time at home has been exactly what I was hoping for and I’m very grateful.

I hope you’re having beautiful summer days and enjoying all this lovely sunshine!