Inspiration

Create and Explore is a new project that mashes up audio and photo/video, and the results are pretty stunning. There are only two so far, this one is my favourite.

I really loved Elise’s podcast this week on thinking productively about your passions with the photographer and yogi Cortnee Loren Brown. They offered some really solid advice and I found the whole talk very inspiring. Cortnee’s accompanying blog post is also great, if you aren’t a fan of the podcast medium.

I needed some instant stress relief last night, so I did what I was told in this video (very simple legs up the wall pose) and it was actually really helpful.

This girl paid Photoshop experts in different countries to “make her beautiful” and I found the results really fascinating. Primarily because they are all such different images and such differing interpretations of beauty. Really cool.

I liked this round-up of interesting, easy blog post ideas.

An Instagram account I’ve been liking lately: @citysage.

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It was my first week at my new job and boy, was it a stressful one. I was really thrown into the deep end (I’m learning that’s typical of all hagwons) and felt like I was just making it all up as I went along. After three days I have a little more of a handle on things but I still have a long way to go. This weekend, we are headed to the beautiful Jeju island (this trip really snuck up on me!) and I’m hoping to see a lot of beautiful sights and do a lot of relaxing. Happy weekend, everyone!

It’s no secret that Sarah Addison Allen is one of my very favourite authors, and this week I was inspired by the article about reading that I mentioned in last week’s inspiration post to “climb her family tree”. Her FAQ section had a lot of reading recommendations and I’ve added all of them to my never-ending to-read list. I’m planning to do the same with Curtis Sittenfeld and John Green next.

I thought this photo post from A Beautiful Mess about the stuff they’re currently loving was so totally awesome. This post from Elise that was inspired by it was pretty sweet too. So now I’m just excited to figure out my own version of it to do too!

A great article (via Laura!) about what travel teaches you that going to college doesn’t. For the record, I think both experiences are very important, but this article was full of great reminders.

I wouldn’t say I identify with every single one of the things on this list but I also refuse to say how many I do identify with (very many). I laughed a lot while reading it. I would argue though that I’m not antisocial! I just try to spend my social energy carefully, or at least that’s what I’ll be over here telling myself.

I thought that this week’s episode of This American Life was exceptional. They did a show live in Brooklyn and it included a Broadway musical adaptation (!!!) of one of their radio shows. I absolutely loved it, and I am not kidding, I still have one of the songs stuck in my head 5 days later.

This picnic looked so yummy and fun. “The point really is about creating the space to enjoy a meal or hefty snack in a beautiful setting along with people you care about.”

Two Instagram accounts I’ve been loving lately: @sonyayu, a new-to-me food photographer with the prettiest, most colourful stream, and @ariellevey, whose stream is full of southern California loveliness.

Some oldies-but-goodies: the time I went to Diner en Blanc, strawberry rhubarb pie (3 years ago this week – whoa).

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And another week bites the dust. I can’t believe it’s mid-summer already. When did that happen?! We still have a lot of summer left though, and I intend to make the most of it. This weekend I’ve got to move into my new apartment, but I’m also hoping to squeeze in some beach time! Happy weekend everyone.

Read at whim! What a delightful idea. This post has lots of great thoughts on reading from the book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, which is now on my to-read list for sure.

Speaking of which, I loved this round-up of good reads for summer.

I’ve only done 11 of these, which is making me feel like I still have so much to experience in the beautiful city of Montreal. I have to go back!

“…Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen.” More of this please.

This hammock chair DIY is amazing and it makes me want to build one ASAP.

One day this week I watched the entire city.ballet. series in one fell swoop. I have a fascination with ballet dancers and I loved this behind-the-scenes look at the New York City company.

I loved this post that was full of beautiful outfits and timeless style.

Interesting and helpful tips from Anthony Bourdain about travelling the world.

I finally saw Oprah’s commencement speech at Harvard and I liked it a lot.

My new aspiration in life is to find a career that lets me work from home in a backyard studio like this one.

I found + fell in love with Molly’s blog this week. Her photography is so brilliant and her life seems so awesome.

Some things I’d like to make and eat: french chocolate cake | frozen coconut limeade | chickpea sliders.

Two Instagram accounts I’m loving lately: the aforementioned @mollyyeh, and @kellypurkey because she’s in Paris right now and her photos are making me nostalgic.

Some oldies-but-goodies: that time I ran the Colour Run, what to pack to backpack through Europe (written one year ago today, which is insane to think about).

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This week was much better than the last, but it held its fair share of growing pains too since I was doing a lot of errands and trying hard to figure things out. Things are feeling exponentially more settled this Friday than they were last Friday and it seems crazy how fast the past two weeks have gone. I’m feeling grateful that things have worked out the way they have and that I’ve had a lot of support during this hectic time.

This weekend I’m planning to visit the nearby city of Gyeongju which is full of Korean historical and cultural landmarks, spend some time at the beach, and check out the local beer fest. It’s going to be a good one! Cheers, friends and happy weekend to you.

I bought these summery shorts in black this week and I love them.

This colourful garden wall is so rad.

So what if I already have 5 striped shirts? This tutorial makes me want to knit another, stat.

I loved these thoughts from Elizabeth Gilbert about honing one’s craft: “I’m not trying to ignite a revolution every time I sit down at my desk; I just want to pursue excellence.”

Last week was a bit rough in terms of some of my relationships, and this article offered some solid advice on what to do when people disappoint you.

Earlier this week when I was feeling rocky, I did this online tarot card reading and this quiz, What Emotion Are You Guided By? Both felt spot on – the tarot reading very accurately reflected my topsy-turvy mood, and it turns out I am guided by Hope. That was a nice reminder midway through a crazy week.

I would love to get my hands on one of these portobello bahn mi’s, some of this coconut and pistachio vegan ice cream and a few beer-battered onion rings.

An Instagram account I’ve been loving lately: pretty and healthy food photos from @mille1000x.

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I was understandably less inspired this week since I was more upset and panicked. I have great news, though: I had a job interview today and was offered the position! The job would let me stay in my neighbourhood, is open to a contract only until the end of when I’d originally planned to stay in Korea, for the same salary and similar hours. The only big downside is that they offer fewer vacation days than most schools, meaning I might not be able to take some of the bigger trips I’d planned to take with my friends. However, considering that I’m planning to travel after my time here in Korea, I’m trying to remember that the vacation days are not as big of a consideration as the location and the salary. Those two factors will make up most of my quality of life here in Korea and they’re both exactly what I’d hoped. Nothing is signed yet but I’ve accepted, and touch wood it all works out. As my mom wrote to me this morning: “It all works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.”

And so with that, the week of uncertainty and stress has wrapped itself up. It was scary and unsettling, but it seems to have worked out, just like everyone told me it would. Barring anything going wrong, that is – I don’t want to witch it! Overall, perfect timing for me to enjoy my weekend away in Seoul with my friends, dancing all night to M.I.A. and sightseeing all day. Cheers!