Recommendations – Page 6

22 Favourite Things

April 9, 2014

I turned 23 on Monday and wrote about my 22 favourite memories from the past year. Today I wanted to share 22 of the things I loved this year. The memories of all the little everyday things you love fade so quickly, but I know somewhere down the road I’ll be fascinated to know what kinds of things I was obsessed with when I was 22. Below, a list of things that made this year so awesome for me.

Ps. Since photobooth strips are completely timeless, they didn’t “make the list”. But really, they always make the list for me.

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the iPad Mini. I was lucky enough to be gifted my iPad by my father as a graduation gift and it has really been a constant in my life ever since. This year held a lot of travelling, and my iPad was awesome for reading books and magazines, navigating new cities, booking hostel rooms and more.

Bullet Journalling. This one came late in the game for my 22nd year, but I have a feeling it’ll stay with me in some variation for years to come. This system is so intuitive and smart, but keeps me organized and in control of all my information. Totally awesome.

Yoga. If last year was the year of running, this year was the year of yoga. After getting home from my trip through Europe, I fell back in love with yoga and started practicing every day. My practice got me through some tough times in the fall (sounds strange, but it’s true) and I loved seeing myself get stronger and improve. I can now do things with my body I never thought I’d be able to, and that’s an awesome feeling.

Coconut deodorant. I started making my own deodorant this year, which I know is a bit surprising! But I had such bad results with natural, aluminum-free deodorants that I had nothing to lose when I tried this recipe. Happily, it’s all natural, cheap, and very effective.

LL Bean Quickload Travel Pack. I love this bag so much. My trusty backpack has come with me through 3 months of backpacking, trips to visit friends, and it was the carryon I took on my flight to Korea. It’s maximum carry-on allowance size, durable, hinges open like a suitcase, is light as a feather and has stayed looking brand new this entire time.

Lavender. I fell in love with the smell of lavender this year. I find it so invigorating and lovely. I have a hand cream my grandmother bought me at Marks and Spencer in Wales (which I never want to run out of!) and a body wash that I love to smell when I’m in the shower. I’m planning to add more lavender to my life wherever I can – maybe a candle?

The Defining Decade & Adulting. This was my first year out of university, in the “real world”, and both these books were such great reads and resources for me. Adulting is lighter and easier to read – it’s in list format with very intelligent tips for everything from ending a relationship to properly washing your clothes, as well as some key attitudes that one needs in adulthood. I thought it was very well written and very helpful. The Defining Decade is about making the most of your twenties, and I am so very glad I read it – I’m still quoting it and spreading its ideas in conversation almost 4 months later. It was a great reminder to me to live intentionally, make conscious decisions, and to not be complacent. I think it’s a must-read.

35mm f1.8. I bought this lens for my trip to Europe, and it’s the only lens I brought with me both on that trip and for my year in Korea. It’s so versatile and has such a good focal length (on my crop sensor camera, about 50mm) so it’s perfect for shooting literally everything – landscapes, portraits, etc. I rarely took it off my camera after I bought it.

Guinea Pigging Green. This one might go without saying, but I launched the GPG podcast this year with my friend Laura and it quickly became one of my favourite things to work on. It’s so much fun, and it’s been so great to get positive feedback from listeners and to be able to reach out to so many interesting people.

Ulmon travel apps. These are the greatest apps for travellers in big cities. They allow you to navigate offline (yes, you read that right!) and get recommendations and reviews for different tourist attractions and restaurants in the city. These were priceless when I was in Europe, trying to navigate big cities like Rome and Barcelona. I was so excited to see they have one for Tokyo, as I’m going in a few weeks.

BBQ Tofu Tacos. I must have eaten these 100 times this year.

OverDrive. Another of my favourite apps this year. This one allows you to log onto your local library’s ebook database and download library books and audiobooks from wherever you are, for free! While away on my trip I constantly downloaded books from both my Ontario and Montreal libraries.

Abundance (buddha) bowls. This was definitely the year of the bowls. I made buddha bowls constantly (and got my whole family hooked on them), and then when I got back from my trip I discovered abundance bowls from My New Roots! It’s the perfect recipe, I’ve made it so many times since. I can’t wait for her to post her Springtime abundance bowl.

Street markets. I spent a lot of time wandering through street markets this year – it very quickly became my favourite activity to do while travelling. You get to see local people, eat local food, and really soak up some of the spirit of a place. Some favourites were the giant La Boqueria in Barcelona with hundreds of brightly-coloured delicious fresh juices, the antiques show behind a church in Lisbon, and of course the gorgeous Noordermarkt in beautiful Amsterdam.

Scandal. I fell for this show this year. It’s so bad but it’s also so good! I can’t stop watching it, no matter how excessively dramatic it gets. I love Kerry Washington!

Fresh & The Hogtown Vegan. Laura and I happily frequented these two amazing restaurants a lot this year. They have such delicious vegan food, some of which I’m really craving today! Both are located in Toronto.

Oh She Glows. I’ve known about Angela’s blog for a few years but this was the first year I made any of her recipes. I have since become obsessed with her because each of her recipes comes out beautifully and are always so delicious. Some favourites that I made more than once this year: banana bread muffin tops and cauliflower fettucine alfredo.

The beach & the ocean. I spent an amazing amount of time near and in the water this year, in many different places in the world. I loved swimming in San Sebastian, walking the chilly, seashell-strewn beach in Vancouver, and dipping my feet in the cold water here in Busan. And now I live near the water. I don’t think this will ever stop being one of my favourite things.

Gelato. It really was the year of the gelato! Lots of favourite gelato moments this year, many of them outside of the small local shop in my hometown with my family, others from little shops all over Europe. I’ll try to spare you excessive exclamations over how incredibly delicious they all were (SO DELICIOUS!).

You Are My Wild & Olivia Rae James. You Are My Wild was a photo project in 2013 where several great photographers took weekly photos of their children. It was always inspiring and beautiful, I’m disappointed I haven’t found something similar for 2014 yet! And I’ve been following Olivia for a few years now, but this was the year she really wowed me and the rest of the world. She takes such gorgeous photos and she inspires me so much in both her life and her work.

Cherry blossoms. I only really experienced the cherry blossoms in my last month of being 22, but they’ve really lit up my life the past couple weeks. They’re so beautiful and really give life such a special touch. How lucky am I to be experiencing cherry blossom season in one of the best places for them, Korea?!

“I want to feel my life while I’m in it” -Meryl Streep I love this quote so much, and I’ve really tried to keep it (or some variation of it) in the forefront of my mind this year. I’ve learned that appreciating and acknowledging the good moments while they’re happening is really what happiness is. I’ve tried to just be with moments instead of always trying to control or document them. I’ve also tried to notice happiness and joy and beauty as they’re happening, instead of recognizing them later when I think back on my experiences. This is a practice, and it’s not easy, but it has been very worthwhile.

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As always, reminiscing on the past year always makes me feel so grateful and content. It really was a fabulous year for me. I have a feeling that 23 will be just as great.

You can read my 21 favourite things from last year here.

My Favourite Podcasts

March 24, 2014

I try to surround myself with as much inspiration, positivity and food for thought as I possibly can. I’ve recently begun to realize that consumption is a hugely important part of the creative process, and I think that feeding yourself knowledge and big ideas can make such a difference in how you live your life and what you end up giving back to the world. And podcasts have quickly become one of my absolute favourite ways to learn and to be inspired.

Podcasts aren’t just being made in someone’s basement anymore (although some are, and some of those are awesome too!) – the format is now an outlet for really high quality, well-produced radio content. Maybe the word “podcast” still has amateur connotations for you, but I’d urge you to give it another chance because there’s so much out there now that’s worth discovering. I’m the first to admit I’m still only scratching the surface of this wonderful world of podcasting, and I’m constantly stumbling upon amazing shows that already have hundreds of episodes in the archives.

Here are five of my current favourite shows: some are old faves, some are recently discovered, but they’re all great.

This American Life / In my mind, this show is the gold standard for podcasting. Put simply, in their words: “each week we choose a theme and bring you a series of stories on that theme”. The theme can be anything from strange coincidences to secret identities and everything – and I do mean everything – in between. The stories can be in the form of spoken fiction or interviews basic reporting style, or even voice actors doing a play. No matter what the theme is, the show is always endlessly fascinating. Sometimes I’ll read the description and think it sounds boring or weird, but once I actually listen to what they’ve put together, I am never disappointed. Plus, the host Ira Glass’ voice is so quirky and captivating, and he asks fantastic questions.

The Savage Lovecast / Dan Savage is smart and respectful and unafraid to tell it like it is. On the podcast he answers all kinds of questions from callers about love and sexuality and I’m continually impressed and fascinated by two things: 1) he rarely seems surprised by a question and is hardly ever unkind; and 2) the diverse experiences, relationships and sexualities that callers talk to him about. He is no-nonsense, straight forward (his favourite thing to say is “use your words!”), and practical. His advice is always excellent. The show has broadened my worldview and taught me a ton.

The Joy the Baker Podcast / Joy and Tracy are best friends and they make me want to be their best friend too. They talk about all kinds of “totally important, unimportant things” like TV shows or baking tips, as well as answer questions from listeners, and they do it all in the most hilarious, endearing way. They are smart and accomplished women but they’re also so down to earth and charming. I look forward to this one every week.

TED Radio Hour / This is a new one I’m just getting into, but so far I’ve really enjoyed it. The show weaves together recordings of different TED talks as well as interviews that relate to a chosen topic. The topics are always fascinating: one I listened to was on the simple art of happiness, another about the sense of identity. A recent one I listened to about solutions to various social problems literally brought me to tears. The format is great: they don’t play the entire talk, only the key ideas, and deliver the whole show in a conversational, interesting, and coherent way.

After the Jump / Another recent addition to my podcast arsenal, but it has been informative and interesting thus far. It focuses mostly work and life balance, productivity, and creativity. I’ve been going through the archives and just picking out the episodes that sound the most interesting (“Live the Life You Want to Live”, for example) and so far I’ve really enjoyed them all. Each one has given me lots of things to think about and apply in my own life.

Bonus: Guinea Pigging Green / I just had to throw this one in there! This is a podcast I host with my good friend Laura about all things health + wellness-related: mind, body and soul. We like to talk about everything from peanut butter to meditation, and this week’s episode is about taking risks and tips on making big life decisions.

Happy listening!

Book Club | January & February

March 10, 2014

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to read 75 books. I accomplished this goal last year, but I also had a lot more free time (I was traveling without responsibilities for 3 months of it!) and as I’ve written before, I didn’t feel like I was reading “bravely”. In 2014 I want to read challenging books with depth, because those are usually the ones that leave an impression on me. In the spirit of this goal, I’ll be sharing my favourite books every month or so on the blog.

The Defining Decade / I watched her TED talk and immediately knew I wanted to read the book. First of all, I’m so glad I’m discovering this information about how to make the most of your twenties while I’m actually in my twenties. Her tips are straightforward and smart, and she is not afraid to challenge us twenty-somethings to push ourselves and examine our own limiting beliefs. I find myself bringing up ideas from this book in conversation with others, such as the idea of identity capital or of really mapping out a timeline of the coming years to get a true sense of how much time you have.

Sisterland / Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favourite authors, and I’ve been looking forward to this book for a few years now. Happily, I wasn’t disappointed one bit. I think her greatest strength is being able to put into words some of the subtle feelings, situations and small details we all experience in our lives. Her ability to do that brings such a realness to her writing and makes it so much more relatable. The premise of this book involves psychic ability which sort of threw me off at first, but of course she’s so talented she can pull it off believably. I also loved this interview she did about the book.

The Remains of the Day / On the surface, it’s a simple story about a longtime English butler going on a road trip across England. This was another very subtle book: it doesn’t hit you over the head with its message, but it rings through clear as day. It’s told in the first person, which is even more interesting because the narrator is a little unreliable and his telling of the story is naturally clouded by his beliefs, judgments and misunderstandings. It’s actually quite a heartbreaking story in the end, but a beautiful novel.

David and Goliath / I absolutely adore Malcolm Gladwell’s work. He’s unafraid of controversial theories and radical ideas, and I love that his essays always challenge me to consider things differently. This book offers that the way we think about disadvantages and advantages is flawed and limited, and the way we see underdogs is often wrong as well. I zipped through this one, but it was fascinating and enjoyed talking to my family about some of its ideas.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? / I really loved this book. It was very, very funny, often in quiet, clever ways. I liked that it explored misunderstandings and confusion and crossed wires, and that the characters were flawed but self-reflexive and smart. It was thoroughly enjoyable and just a little bit silly.

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As always, you can see all the books I’ve read and plan to read on GoodReads. Also, if you have any great book recommendations for me, I’d love to hear them! Let me know in the comments below.

Inspiration | March 7

March 7, 2014

I immediately downloaded all of the fonts from this list I didn’t already have. They’re so beautiful!

Some truly wise, wonderful words from Ira Glass for all kinds of creators.

I thought the Oscars were sort of meh, but I loved these gorgeous portraits taken at the Vanity Fair after party.

I really needed to read this post about writing + it’s packed full of great tips.

This post, How to Have a Great Life Without Spending a Lot of Money, was just so smart and intuitive and feel good.

I adored this article on scientifically proven ways to be incredibly happy. Most of it I’d heard already, but they put a good spin on the information and added some fresh extra details.

From the same website, I loved the 7 qualities of uber-productive people, especially #2: “they see fear the way other people view lunch”.

This little infographic on ways to engage with creativity was sort of paradigm-shifting: it stopped me from thinking that creation is always better than consumption and set it up more like a continuum. I’m on a huge Austin Kleon kick these days, I love his work + ideas.

Over at Guinea Pigging Green, I reviewed one of my favourite vegan restaurants!

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By the time you read this, I’ll be in Korea! Happy weekend, everyone.