Break From The Holidays

Call me a sucker for dance on film. 

The Tonic Lifestyle

Missed me? I've been so terrible at updating this blog. Life's been busy hectic - no surprise there.

Plenty of changes these past few months. To endings and new beginnings. A chance to start anew and to take this much needed opportunity to focus inward and on my personal development.  Where do I want to go? What do I want to do? What's next? Questions like these to be answered and reflected on in greater depth and with a more thoughtful approach in the coming weeks.  I have already taken a leap of faith, abandoning the comforts of "the known" and am willingly opening myself to the universe; learning what it takes to define what it means to know me, my strengths and what I can contribute to this life, inside and out.

In the meantime, here are a few shots from the Tonic Lifestyle Apparel's Fall/Holiday Collection I modelled for earlier this year. A brand whose testament to enabling your love for active lifestyles aligns true with my passion for physical activity and its impact on my health, happiness and vitality.

Photos from Frisco

Finally decided to share some snapshots from my trip to San Francisco a few weeks back (hey, better late than never)...  

Shooting The Breeze

 SHIRT: Wilfred, SKIRT: UNIF, BELT: Moschino, WATCH: Movado, NECKLACE: Vintage, SHOES: Aldo

This amazing weather sure makes for effortless functioning. My brain is in total summer-mode and it's been such a welcomed change to approach work projects without feeling insanely pressured.

On another note, I'll soon be jet setting off to San Francisco and can barely contain my excitement! Having family scattered all over the world definitely has its privileges, and I can't wait for a little change of scenery...even if it is just for a few days.

The Taste of Freedom

TOP: Wilfred, SHORTS: Zara, SHOES: Loeffler Randall, WATCH: Michael Kors, NECKLACE: Club Monaco

The long weekend is finally here and for the first time in what seems like months, I feel free.  No longer beguiled by some haze preventing better judgment, nor pressured by some lingering burden awaiting resolution. I've learned to say "no", set my boundaries and it's come at an amazing price: prioritizing me and having more time to focus on the things that really matter.  

See, it's hard for me to back away from things without wanting my hand in all of it. Blame it on my OCD, it's just not in my nature to strictly perform to standards - anything less than exceptional just doesn't cut it. Undoubtedly, this stems from fear of losing control and not wanting to let people down, but as of late, I've been finding that this behaviour is a one way ticket to burn-out and self-resentment.  Danielle LaPorte describes this notion to a T (click here).

Recently, an opportunity slipped through my fingers and I was beating myself up over why I couldn't overcome this wall that was set before me.  Something was blocking my ability to complete the task at hand, and while I justified the delay, I knew excuses weren't going to get me anywhere. So you were busy, you couldn't find the time, etc. - the work isn't going to get done while you sit on your ass and watch the world go by.  

What's done is done, and all I can do now is learn from this experience and hope it doesn't happen again.  Can this be guaranteed? Probably not. But I sure as hell won't go down without a fight, knowing that I did everything in my power to not let another good opportunity pass me by.

BDFL

BLOUSE: H&M, SHORTS: Aritzia, SHOES: Aldo, WATCH: Movado, NECKLACE: Forever21

A few weeks back, a friend asked if I would be interested in participating in Coquitlam Centre's "Best Dressed For Less" event. Bloggers and local influencers would be tasked with finding an outfit for under $150 - a challenge involving one of my favourite activities? How could I say no to that! For the weeks leading up to the event, I also contributed weekly posts on various trends and inspirational themes which can be found here, here and here.

Despite my best intentions to prepare with a little pre-shopping online, it's never the same story once you're actually in the heat of it.  From varied product selection to budgetary and time restraints, this was definitely putting a spin on your average shopping experience! Luckily, I managed to put together this top and bottom combo for just under $100 and was happily surprised with the matching lace sections, pastel colour combo, and ethereal details in the peplum and subtle trim on both blouse and shorts. Both items are perfect as a pair and stand well alone as essential pieces that mix nicely with my current wardrobe.

It was great to see what the other participants came up with and I'll be sure to post photos from the event in the days to come.

Gambier Island Photo Diary Pt II

It's been such a surreal transition back to daily life.  Now that summer has set in, it's like the whole city is on vacation - almost as if a collective burden of pressure has been lifted now that the sun is out to play.  Am definitely missing my uninterrupted time on Gambier. The luxury of feeling isolated in a serene, independent kind of way dissolved any fear of failure, anxiety, pressure and the like.