I almost started adding these to cart. But then I remember I had put this together and decided to make a little graphic instead.
And WHY is it so hard to find the perfect pair of round toe strappy sandals…!
Just looking at the menu
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Category Archives: Still Life Photography
January Reads
I’ve been trying to read 20+ pages a day which has really helped me to read more efficiently. And because of that I managed to finish 2 books in a little over a month! I’m trying to diversify what I read because I’ll normally read business/strategy/career books and get bored and not want to read for a while. Or read thriller/suspense/fiction one after another and then I feel like I’m consuming without learning anything. So to prevent that – I switch it up (ie: thriller, followed by business, followed by fiction, followed by self growth, followed by thriller etc). It’s a good way to stay motivated and the habit of reading a certain number of pages of day helps too! Read on to see my reviews :)
How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith
This book had me nodding in agreement throughout! The authors present 12 habits that women specifically do to serve them well earlier in their career – actually end up holding them back when they further their career. What I really like about this book is that they talk about women-specific behaviours that I’ve learned also learned from other sources (like women not speaking up for their accomplishments). The peer reviewed sense of it really made me feel like these things I do are common to all women and I shouldn’t feel bad. More specifically, the habits of building relationships and never leveraging them or try to be perfectionists – I was immediately able to see the habit in me and other women I knew. With each habit, the book provided an example and actions to overcome it. A great book and something I will reference and read again.
Find How Women Rise at Chapters Indigo (Canada)
Such a quiet place by Megan Miranda
This book is about a close knit community and the strange things they know about one another and the efforts they go to preserve what they believe to be the truth about their neighbours. The story reads well and although I wouldn’t say it’s a page-turner, it was definitely something that kept me engrossed. Harper’s roommate is sentenced to 20 years in prison for a crime. But her conviction is overturned which sends all of her accusing neighbours into a frenzy (and against Ruby). Including Harper, who although believed Ruby to be innocent, but now wants to remain on the inside with her community. There are twists, turns and random pieces of information that don’t necessarily add to the story but are still interesting info about the characters. Definitely a great vacation ready! *fingers crossed* we’ll be able to take vacations this year ;)
Find Such a quiet place at Chapters Indigo (Canada)
Become a #GoalDigger + Free Wallpaper Download!
TL;DR
If you can’t get to the entire post, I’d like to highlight the following
- Vision boards are great tools to help you conceptualize and work towards your goals
- Even though I’m posting this on the last day of the year, #VisionBoards can be created ANYTIME (of the year) you need an extra boost of motivation
- Scroll to the bottom for the FREE download!
I’ve been a big proponent of vision boards for a long time – and still am!
I’ve created them yearly (sometimes several times in a year) and find them to be a great way to focus and hone in on my goals.
I believe in them so much that I’ve got my girls in on it. I want them to know what it feels like to both be strategic and reflective when it comes to goal setting. I want them to know what it feels like to reach milestones and accomplishments they set for themselves. I also want them to know that getting to those goals, doesn’t happen overnight – and what progress feels like.
Also want them to know what it feels like to be internally driven. Not told to do something because the school system, an adult, society or their friends etc have told them to do something. And although yes, I do give them some guidance – I really ask that they think of the specifics around the goals. The journey throughout the year is really amazing. They consistently view their board, talk about it with me or between themselves and find ways to make their dreams a reality.
I’m so glad I introduced them to vision boards early. I only learned about them as an adult so I’m still learning and right now, I’m pivoting as well. So two things of note:
- I’m currently perusing the book #FutureBoards for more inspiration and knowledge
- I’m taking on a different approach where instead of doing a vision board for the entire year, I create a vision board for a month or a quarter
- Creating a vision board doesn’t need to only happen at the start of the year
Some tips I’ve started to use when creating my vision boards are:
- Come up with a goal statement and write it as if you’ve already achieved it! (very empowering) Remember you can also have several goals in different buckets (Personal, Professional, Fitness, Family etc)
- Next write out a detailed story of each goal – be as specific as you can. You really want to help your brain see in your minds eye and your heart feel emotions attached to achieving the goal. If you have a why statement you may find yourself leaning on or tweaking that as part of this exercise.
- Break down that vision into milestones, 4 works really well because that can fit nicely into quarters of the year or weeks of a month.
- Now with each milestone, figure out activities that will help you get there. As an example if you want to change careers you might have a milestone to apply to your dream job. Activities for that milestone could be to research companies that align to your values, update your resume and then apply to jobs. Milestones can have many activities, so try to keep it to three activities so as to not overwhelm yourself.
Now here is the best part! You can create a vision board based on the goal statement, goal story OR on the milestone activity! Like I mentioned above, I’ve always created the vision board based on the goal story (macro level based on what you want to accomplish in the year), but this time I’m creating it on the milestone activity (micro level based on what I want to achieve in each quarter of the year).
I don’t think there is any right or wrong way – I do think you have to try it out and see what works for you.
If you are planning on creating a vision board or set intentions/goals for the new year – enjoy! I wanted to share two motivational wall papers (for your phone and desktop wallpaper).
Click here for a free download!
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!
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.
- Everything we experience, will come in peaks and valleys
- When you think you’ve been buried, you’ve actually been planted so get ready to bloom
- Success is rarely achieved over night
- The fact that you are trying, is in and of itself hard
- When you need to plan something or find that you aren’t balanced – try the 3 bucket principle
- You’ll never be the same woman again, so celebrate with her everyday
- Breath and be grateful (every hour if necessary, which sometimes it is necessary)
- Make art, it soothes the soul
- Don’t put your energy into only one thing because if that one thing goes sideways you’ll feel lost
- Never expect your first draft to be the best version
- Balance is key
- If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it.
- Good things take time (instant gratification is something we need to break free of)
- Enjoy your success, Learn from Failure – and remember anything can happen
- 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)
- When in doubt, go for a walk in nature
- Always appreciate the therapeutic power of putting pen to paper and letting everything out
- Find ways to learn, especially when things seem out of your control
- Pomodoro timer as a productivity hack for the win
- 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
- Need to focus, make a cup of coffee first
Start your new year right
It’s around this time of year that we see a lot of gift guides online. And as important and lovely giving the perfect present to someone can be – it can also be crazy stressful (hence said gift guides appear all over the interwebs).
And I know there are people like me that need to “get warmed up” for holiday shopping by treating themselves to something nice first ;)
A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts about systems. All the items below help me create routines (or systems). Having systems in place can be helpful when coping with change, creating healthy habits, being more mindful and knowing yourself better.
So here is the treat yo-self/start your (new) year RIGHT gift list for YOU! Sharing a list of items to help you create systems! (Of course, you can start doing these things without these items – but a visual ALWAYS helps!).
- Skin care: The first step to self care is about develop and maintain a healthy relationship with yourself. Honestly sometimes, you must demand that time of yourself. Putting yourself first is important so you can find balance with the other priorities of your life. Either an AM or PM skin care routing (or both) can be both soothing for your skin and for your mood. It just feels good to pamper yourself and having a consistent routine for your face (even if it’s just wash/moisturize daily and a weekly face mask) can make that happen for you.
- Dress to impress (for yourself): Don’t do it for anyone but you. Dressing up (even for WFH or on a lazy Sunday) helps you build consistency and confidence. Whether it’s a fresh pair leggings and a tunic style sweater, a beachy waves hair do or hoops and a red lip – get dressed for yourself. I always feel more organized when I’m not sitting in two day old gym clothes or when I have all my rings, layered necklaces and bracelets on (haha, don’t ask).
- Manifest: Which also includes meditation, journaling, affirmations, vision boarding and just being mindful overall. These activities are considered enduring systems, because they can help one reap long term benefits with permanent effects. What helps me is having a variety of journals (blanked, lined and prompts) and pretty pens – and I naturally gravitate towards this system.
- Water & Smoothies: I recently got back on smoothies. I love them because they are easy to eat, help with digestion and it’s a quick way to eat a variety of fruits/veggies. Even better when it’s is a smoothie bowl. Having a smoothie for breakfast or dinner has become a comfort now. I rather mindless sip a smoothie then a bag of chips.
- Wake up & Plan your day: Planning has become essential to me. I’ve gotten really good at weekly and daily planning but I’m working on going macro to micro (2-3yrs – today). I have my direction which guides me, but I really want to get more strategic.
- Feed your mind: Read, listen to podcasts/ted talks, take micro learnings. This is something that I do when I feel in a funk. Reading and learning is essential for building self esteem, improving memory and reducing stress. It’s also great for when you are feeling stuck, because it can light up your imagination and help get those innovation juices flowing.
My Skin Care 101 #LazyGirlSkinCare
I should have titled this “Easy Skin Care – because I am the laziest when it comes to taking care of my skin (read: I am gaaahhhhhiilllty of not washing my face most nights).
But mid way through the 1st year of the Pandemic I started doing some research on what was required for my age and my skin (spoiler alert: for my skin type it wasn’t much). And then also what tweaks I could make given that I was creeping every so slightly towards 40!
I love this little infographic because a) I am a visual learner and b) it simplified everything for me.
First things first, I made sure I was using products that would: Cleanse, Moisturize & and provide Sun protection (aka Sunscreen).
A tweak I incorporated was: sun protection for the AM but then luxurious moisturizer in the PM.
I use a few different cleansers depending on the time of day, condition of my skin or what I am in the mood for: Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash, Aveeno Daily Cleanser or Cetaphil Face & Body soap (bar). Also on some occasions I will just use water to splash on my face (keep the natural oils on my skin and prevent unnecessary stripping of my derm!)
For the morning I found it easier to combine the moisturizer and with sunscreen protection and my go-to currently is Aveeno Positively Radiant with SPF 30. In the evening after washing my face, I use The Body Shop’s moisturizing night cream with vitamin E. I should also add that I layer Vichy Normaderm underneath my moisturizer on my T zone if I am breaking out (it has 2% Salicylic which targets pimples throughout their lifecycle but is also very hydrating!)
Another tweak I made was adding a serum or face oil depending on the needs of my skin or the time of day.
If I am breaking out/clear up blemishes: I’ll use The Ordinary Niacinamide & Zinc
Every AM it’s all about the Vitamin C: Olay B3 + Vitamin C Serum
PM I’ll use an Anti-Aging Skin Replenish (only twice a week): Pixi Overnight Retinol Oil
Evening Serum on the days I don’t use Retinol: The Ordinary “Buffet”
Lastly, I’ll use The Ordinary “Buffet” on my T zone if I want a break from Niacinamide/Zinc.
And now you may be wondering, what about face masks, exfoliating and eye creams – yes I use all of them too (following the cheat sheet I shared above)!
Now the most obvious questions? Does all this work?
I can say for sure that the anti-acne products do help, but time will tell with the other stuff. For me this has really been about creating a ritual for self care. It feels sooo good to pamper my skin, gave my face a little massage with my finger tips and see the glow on my skin :)
So what’s next / aka v2 for my skin care routine?
I definitely want to convert to clean and cruelty free products. I also want to glow from the inside out. I know I can adjust my food and incorporate herbs/supplements to improve my skin.
Do you have a skin care routine? Do you have products that you can’t live without? Would love to hear more about it in the comments below?