21 reminders from 2021

The last few weeks have been have been strange for me in terms of direction and focus. Something must be said for following your inner knowing…because I find myself returning to thoughts I’ve always had about my purpose and my work, which to me means – that I’m still on a journey (and I just got side tracked – again lol).

Readjusting my aperture is what I call it (photographer here, and that play on words was absolutely necessary). I know that I’ll be constantly reminded of what I am meant to do so long as I’m not doing it. Kind of like you’ll keep receiving the same lessons until you finally get the message #ThankYouUniverse!

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adjusting my aperture

I think it’s okay to lose your way or to get distracted because I’m a firm believer that you’ll always hear a voice and be nudged back on to your path. So I think it’s important to lean into that voice and let that nudge guide you.

This post will also serve as is a reminder to myself that I’m still in progress. (And hey if you need it – take this as your sign too).

So in the spirit of having the right mindset and getting myself to realign to my goals and reprioritize what’s going on in my life, I’m sharing 21 reminders from 2021.

Important to note: this list is evergreen – these reminders apply to ALL areas of your life. Purpose, Career, Healthy Lifestyle, Productivity, Good Habits, Social Life, Personal Projects, Building a Business…seriously I could go on!

What we need to take away is that it’s always about the journey, that we can always re-adjust our focus and that it’s totally OK to start again.

  1. Everything we experience, will come in peaks and valleys
  2. When you think you’ve been buried, you’ve actually been planted so get ready to bloom
  3. Success is rarely achieved over night
  4. The fact that you are trying, is in and of itself hard
  5. When you need to plan something or find that you aren’t balanced – try the 3 bucket principle
  6. You’ll never be the same woman again, so celebrate with her everyday
  7. Breath and be grateful (every hour if necessary, which sometimes it is necessary)
  8. Make art, it soothes the soul
  9. Don’t put your energy into only one thing because if that one thing goes sideways you’ll feel lost
  10. Never expect your first draft to be the best version
  11. Balance is key
  12. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it.
  13. Good things take time (instant gratification is something we need to break free of)
  14. Enjoy your success, Learn from Failure – and remember anything can happen
  15. Never let the internet fool you (everyone has a chapter they won’t read out lout, and some have a chapter they will never even write)
  16. When in doubt, go for a walk in nature
  17. Always appreciate the therapeutic power of putting pen to paper and letting everything out
  18. Find ways to learn, especially when things seem out of your control
  19. Pomodoro timer as a productivity hack for the win
  20. When you fail to plan you plan to fail: Goals for the year, milestones for the quarters, activities for the months, tasks for the day
  21. Need to focus, make a cup of coffee first

WildONE // 1st birthday party

As you might now (or maybe you’ve been following along)…

Miss El turned ONE this month.

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It took us a LONG time to figure out what kind of party to have for her in terms of theme and event.  We went back and forth between a big hall party (typical desi style) and an intimate gathering at home.  We finally went for the latter and I am so glad we did!  As much as a I love the idea of a big event it was much more relaxing and engaging to do our own little thing :)

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When the theme of a WILDONE popped up on one of my endless Google and Pinterest searches I was so obsessed!  The words/phrase described Ellie to a T.  With Miss S I had decided on a theme (Shabby-Chic) months in advance.  I knew the colours for the party were pink, gold and off white.  I knew the sweets I wanted to serve, the DIY burlap banners I was going to make and even the search for a perfect vendor cake started when she was 9 months old.  I was a little late to DIYing for our little Lo, but I think the theme and the party came together perfectly in the end!

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The colours were black, gold and green (with a little bit of pink thrown in for good measure).  It was very easy to decorate the house: lots of toy animals and foliage!

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For the banner:

  1. Asked the Hubz to draw the word WILDONE in block letters
  2. My father-in-law exactoknifed them out
  3. I got some faux foliage (similar foliage) from Dollar Tree, cut off the leaves (in varying sizes) and hot glued them to the letters.
  4. I felt that it was missing something so I added little white flowers (from the same said foliage) and then pops of dark or light green paint to add some more depth.  I also used the left over branches on the ends.
  5. Lastly I added the green daisies for a more feminine touch!

*This is something I saw online and then DIYed to make my one (here and here is some inspiration)

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We knew that we HAD to do a cake smash (considering it didn’t really work at Miss S’s birthday).  So I decorated her high chair with black and gold streamers (to match the invitation colours) and added a vine of flowers.  To our sideboard we added a variety of stuffed animals and huge tropical leaves.  It was a perfect set up for a WILDONE’s first sugar!

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For the cake we wanted something cute and not the fondant cake that seems to be so popular these days.  To be honest I am so confused by fondant!  I grew up eating soft moist birthday cakes that have whip cream fillings (no custards, no butter cream and no fruit please and thanks!) and a plethora of whip cream slathered all over it!  I know the more expensive cakes also have butter cream but because Miss S can’t eat that stuff (and I personally don’t like it) I was happy with whip cream :)  I actually found this at Fortino’s.  They do a variety of designs on cupcakes (with a count of 24 or 48) shaped into the number of your choice.  I told them I wanted a nature scene (greenery and a water front) and then I added the toy animals myself!

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Off the Shoulder Top | Mens Polo | Birthday Crown (ours is old, but this one is so cute!)

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These cute dresses are from Marshalls (almost identical) but here is a similar option.  This is our highchair and we LOVE it!

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Whoa…that was picture heavy!

Outside of all this, we ordered/made Mediterranean food for lunch and had the cupcakes,  fruit and ice cream for dessert.  We also played 2 games.  I know it’s very popular to post to social media your baby’s monthly pictures and even though I didn’t really do that I did send these update photos to my family.  So one of our games was “Monthly mugshot match up” – and yep you had to guess which picture was taken in which month by solely looking at El’s face!  It was surprisingly hard and everyone got majority of them wrong!  The other game we played involved answering some trivia about El along with leaving her a sweet message.   I kept all the trivia sheets (with the special messages) for her to read when she’s older :)  I know kid’s birthday’s get a bad rep but gosh I love them!