Life – Page 11 – Life In Limbo

Summer Bucket List 2014

June 4, 2014

It’s June, so in my books it’s officially summertime! As always, I want to make the most of this wonderful season. A couple years ago, I wrote a list of lovely things I wanted to do during the summer, and the summer after that I made a summer jar full of fun ideas (though I wish I’d written them all down in that blog post because now I can’t remember any of them). This year, I want to continue the tradition. This summer is particularly special because, of course, I’m spending it as an ex-pat in Korea. That being said, my hopes for this summer spent in Busan are pretty much the same as for any summer.

Already this season there’s been sunshine, beaches, a sunset boat ride, patio beers, rooftop picnics, yoga, swimming in the ocean, plum wine, and Sunday nights spent at the spa. In a word, it’s been perfect – I’m so lucky to be living such a good life. This is a list of more things I’d love to do this summer, but really, they’d just be icing on the already-awesome cake.

Go surfing

Swim in the ocean at night

Set off fireworks

Create a new cocktail

Sleep on the beach

Celebrate happy hour every weekend

Listen to live music outdoors

Watch a sunrise

Read several great novels

Have great heart-to-heart conversations

Eat al fresco whenever possible

Drink sangria

Take another boat ride

Buy a floppy sunhat, a maxi dress and a pair of shorts

Find (& eat) chocolate soft-serve ice cream

Enjoy it all as much as I can

***

No surprises there right? I just want to be outside, breathe fresh air, eat good food, spend time with friends, soak it all in. Sounds like a good life to me.

Spring 2014

May 21, 2014

In 2012, I took on one of my favourite projects ever: filming my life, piecing it together and putting it to music. The videos are often shaky, sometimes blurry, and as my mom always liked to point out to me, probably only interesting to myself and my friends. Despite all that, those videos are so incredibly special to me. They take me back to a wonderful time in my life, make me feel both happy and nostalgic, and will forever preserve the feelings of that year. For someone who loves documenting her life, they are imperfectly perfect.

Right after I got to Korea, I was talking to my friend Dylan about how wonderful 2012 was for me. After our conversation, as I was trying to think about what had made that year so great, I realized that the very act of documenting it had probably made all the difference. My life in Montreal was totally wonderful all 4 years I lived there, and the summers were always filled with the kind of wonderful magic that I captured on film in 2012. But filming it meant I was always looking for that magic and appreciating it as it was happening. Editing the videos always made me laugh and feel grateful for all those moments all over again.

So in light of that realization, I decided to do it again for my year in Korea.

Inevitably, I’ll miss moments and won’t be able to capture it all. Inevitably, the videos will be shaky and blurry and probably only interesting to myself and my friends. But also inevitably: they’ll make me laugh, they’ll remind me of the beauty and love I’m always surrounded by, and they’ll be my favourite kind of time capsule.

Here’s the Springtime of my year in Korea, early March to late May. I’m sharing it here just in case you’re curious about what my time here so far has looked like. If you don’t feel like watching it, I can summarize it by saying: I’ve made some awesome friends here, the cherry blossoms were beautiful, I went to Tokyo and Seoul, we ate good food, and we went to the beach a lot. I feel nothing but grateful.

Steph Loves Today

May 5, 2014

A little over a month ago, I started a photo project based loosely on 100 Happy Days. From their website:

“We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being.”

Amen, right? I loved the idea, especially since it goes hand-in-hand with one of my favourite quotes and guiding life philosophies: “I want to feel my life while I’m in it”. Staying present and appreciating all the lovely little things each day brings can be so difficult, but it’s also the whole point, in my opinion. It’s hard to remember to do this, but a daily photo project is an excellent cue.

I called the project “Steph loves today” as a reminder to seek out the beauty and happiness of my life each and every day. It was also an excuse to try and use my camera every day, in order to practice and improve my photography. I’ve done this kind of thing before with my Everyday Beauty posts and Project 365 in 2012. Each time I do, I wind up with a lot less space on my hard drive and a lot more captured – and, it follows, noticed and appreciated – special everyday moments. This time around, I’ve been sharing my photos daily on Instagram.

Right now, it’s just me: no boyfriend, no husband, no kids. That sometimes makes me feel like my everyday moments and routines aren’t as meaningful, because a lot of the time, they’re not being shared with anyone else. But when I come to my senses I realize how silly that is. I’m the only one I’ll spend my whole life with, right? And if anything, I think I’ll cherish the memories of these young years with all their little habits even more fondly as my life continues to change shape.

The photos in this post are from the past month and a half of doing this project. Some days I posted more than one photo of something beautiful or something that made me happy (my cup runneth over). When I was in Tokyo without internet, I missed a day. But overall I’m thrilled with the results. Life is good. I’ll (probably) only have one Springtime in Korea in my life, and I’m excited that it’ll be captured in some small way. You can see the rest of the photos so far here or by following me on Instagram @lifeinlimboblog.

The 24 List

April 14, 2014

Two years ago, I wrote a list of 22 things I wanted to do before I turned 22. I loved the idea and the project, and some of my favourite memories of that year were sparked by the 22 before 22 list: creating a book club, making a podcast, sewing a dress, running a race. I didn’t make a list last year, mostly because the year was a bit strange for me between travelling for 3 months in Europe, living at home deciding my next steps, and ultimately moving to Korea. Since I didn’t know what the year would look like in terms of my routine or physical environment, I didn’t feel inspired to set goals. This year, I feel more settled and I have a pretty good vision of what 23 will look like, which means I’m feeling excited to start a new project.

These goals are all things I think will make my life richer, happier, and more fun. They’re meant to inspire me to have more adventures and experience more joy. They’re not meant to make me feel stressed out trying to check them all off. On the 22 list, I only completed 12 of my goals, and while I (of course) hope to cross more off this list, I’m approaching it with a very fun and relaxed attitude. So here we go, 23! Let’s see how many of these I can do before I turn 24.

Get a tarot reading ✓
~~Learn to surf~~ Go surfing ✓
Try acro yoga ✓
Get into lotus pose safely and comfortably
~~Run a half marathon~~ Run a 10K race ✓
Shoot & develop a disposable camera
Learn 4 new hairstyles
Get a manicure ✓
Make 24 new recipes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
See the sunrise from a beach ✓
Have a picnic somewhere stunning ✓
Write another (e)book
Sell something I make ✓
Order room service
~~Make a photobook for my trip to Europe~~
Spruce up my websites ✓
Go camping ✓
Go trampolining ✓
Write articles for 7 websites (1, 2, 3, 4)
Create a photography portfolio ✓
Be able to do a free-standing handstand ✓
Donate to charity once a month ✓
~~Make business cards~~
Write 12 love letters by hand (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-9, 10, 11)