Thursday, 16 January 2025

Ageless Style: Winter Blues



Hello and welcome to another installment of Ageless Style.  Today's prompt is brought to you by Joanna from Slices of Life.  Here in Saskatchewan, Canada winter is LONG.  It's our longest season and it's hard for all of us and seasonal depression is very real and alive for many.  I am thankful that I do not suffer from depression and continue to have good mental health, that being said there are times were I feel down and defeated by the endless winter months and the cold.  Over the years I have been able to figure out some ways to keep myself moving forward and to keep the winter blues at bay as best as I can.  


#1 Outdoor Time

As long and cold as winter is here, we do have a lot of sunny days.  Forcing myself outdoors daily is the best medicine for the winter blues.  Partially my job requires me to be outdoors daily on supervision for 45 minutes and that happens everyday that is warmer than -27 C (-16.6F).  After dinner we have pups who need to get their daily walk so off we for a 30 minute walk.  This is a daily habit.  We also love being in the forest and exploring, walking,  and cross country skiing. 







#2 Physical Activity

Being physically active is a must for winter blues.  It's easy to slow way down, which has it's own benefits, but you don't want to become sedentary.  We all know that vigorous physical activity is critical for our mental and physical health, so I have invested in good quality winter gear that allows me to continue running even in winter.  I have a great post on winter running and gear you can find here. I also have an amazing in-home gym, with weights, a spin bike, treadmill and an elliptical machine, that we have invested in.  



#3 Planning for Fun

Having something to plan and look forward to always helps keep my eye on warmer days.  I start planning out our lake time in February.  I reach out to our regular guests and we start picking out dates for them to come and visit.  If we have trips, I take lots of time to do research, bookings, and all the planning during those colder months.  This year we are heading to Europe over Easter so that's super exciting!!!!!  I also try to have something FUN with friends and as a family on the calendar each month (January - Halie's birthday celebration/parties; February- family ski/snowboarding day trip; March- HELP?!?)


We are heading to Europe over Easter and we couldn't be more excited!


#4 Down Time

I do take a lot more time to blog, start new projects, read, etc. during the winter months.  I embrace that there is less on the go and it's less busy.  I enjoy the slower mornings on the weekends and keep my workouts later on in the day.  


When I actually take out my cricut Kindness shirt project.


Enjoying a variety of specialty teas from David's Tea.

 

#5 Seasonal Decor & Fresh Flowers

The last few years I've decided that spending a little bit on seasonal decor to spruce up my homme throughout the winter month makes me cheerful and happy.  And although there is often snow on the ground well into April, my home can resemble signs of spring even when it feels like winter.  I love to have a Valentines Day tray, a hot chocolate bar, and fresh cut flowers starting in March or whenever I tire of the winter look.  





#6 Cozy & Comforting Style

I love sweater weather, cozy sweater dresses, boots, toques, mitts, and I am big fan of  matching cozy suit sets like here and here.  This year for Christmas I asked for this olive two piece set from Amazon.  It's so soft, and cozy, and looks comfortable but chic.  I love the half-zip pull over style, and the material is very light weight, but buttery soft.  I am currently living in this set on the weekends and I know it's going to be my favorite travel day outfit for our trip in the spring.  Bonus, it's teen approved as both girls have already asked if they can borrow it.



It's your turn!  How are you fighting off the Winter Blues?  What should I put on my FUN list for March  (still very cold and snowy here during that month)?



Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle
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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

Jennifer - Overflowing with Thankfulness

Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style
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Joanna ~ My Slice of Life

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Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits
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Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog








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Sunday, 12 January 2025

Part 1: In Our Mother-Daughter Era

                       


In early December Anya and I finally embarked on a year long anticipated trip to see Taylor Swift in Vancouver, Canada.  Anya had received the trip as gift one year in Dec. 2023 and we had been dreaming and planning for well over a year.  Our bags were finally packed, our outfits safely in our carry-on, and friendship bracelets made.  We headed out of Saskatoon vibrating with excitement and anticipation.  Today's post is completely going to be dedicated to our Swifty experience and next weeks post will be dedicated to the rest of our Vancouver/Victoria trip.  

The best thing about this trip for me was having the privilege to be there to witness Anya's joy and first experience of this magnitude.  Watching Anya connecting with people, exchanging bracelets, and her watching her as Gracie Abrams stepped on the stage realize that this was actually happening.  And then when the countdown happened and Taylor walked out and she just couldn't believe this was her real life.  Seeing her tears of joy is the greatest gift I could ask for.  Let's jump in!

Travel Outfits were T.Swift merch of course.  We choose not to stand in the long line-ups for merch, instead we hit up the Taylor Swift website and our hoodies came in time and in the size we wanted.  This was the way to do it rather than standing in lines for hours and then you might or not get what you want, in the size you want.  Anya opted for the ERAs cream colored hoodie and I went rogue and bought the Cruel Summer crew neck that I absolutely love, and its one of my top five favorite T.Swift songs.  People, these are very good quality, super soft, well structured and well made and worth the $75-98.  We wear them all the time.






From the minute we landed there was a buzz in the city in anticipation of the last three concert of the ERAS tour.  The city was SWIFTY-fied at every corner and turn.  The hotels went the extra mile to decorate the lobbies  with photo-opps, customized drinks, bracelet making opportunities and the city had so many places to get your SWIFTY pictures taken.  

The best thing about the city was the FRIENDLINESS and sense of COMMODARIE amongst the people.  If strangers noticed your bracelets or your merch, people immediately started chatting, exchanging stories, favorite songs, the journey to get tickets and the absolute joy of it all.  People hugged.  People smiled.  People wished you well.  It's completely opposite of most things we see now in our society.  Taylor Swift has brought a sense of community to people and that's beautiful.  My sister, who isn't in the least a Swifty, said she was floored by the kindness of total strangers,  connected by their love for Taylor Swift, and she said she was thankful to witness it even though she wasn't at the concert.  Everywhere we went we met people and were taking in all the T. Swift magic.







Anya created her REPUTATION outfit 100% independently, recycling old dance costumes, hitting up the dollar store and she used an old pair of combat boots.  Although she doesn't love me taking her picture, she did pose for a few but they truly don't do justice to the outfit she recreated, down to the glittery snake drawn with glitter glue, to the bejeweled combat boots that took hours and hours to create.  She also got some gold snake accessories to round out her outfit.

I on the other hand found my dress for $25 on Marketplace!  It had me at fringe, gold, silver and all the sparkle.  I borrowed a pair of silver sparkly boots from a co-worker and I was FEARLESS.  Sidenote, upon returning the boots I was devastated and it became my mission to find a pair of silver sparkly boots because they are awesome and every girl should have a pair.  I am happy to report I finally found some mere days before Christmas.  

Everyone at the concert had fabulous outfits, many which were homemade and AMAZING.  Everyone looked like a million bucks.  











THE CONCERT!

You guys, I've been to a lot of  really good live shows.  I give credit to any artist that can pull off a connection with a crowd and make people feel like they truly know them.  This concert was NEXT LEVEL and BEYOND.  There are absolutely no words that I know that can combine together to express the feeling of awe, joy, admiration, captivation and the mesmerizing feeling we felt for 3 hours and 13 minutes.  That's how long Taylor was on that stage, taking a total of maybe 8 minutes between costume changes.  She was present, in character, in step with her audience and her crew for each and every single note.  We were captivated the whole time, singing, dancing, connecting with thousands of other people.  It began with a stadium countdown to a massive ERAS clock, then the  melody from Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince and beautiful fans that are larger than life, floating over the stage, and a voice of an angle saying "It's been a long time coming...." and BAM she appears.  From that moment we were on our feet, never missing a beat.  Each ERA brought new favorite songs, a new set, new outfits  and it just kept on. When it ended after 3 hours and 13 minutes, we were felt both drunk on happiness and an immediate sadness that it was over.  Even right in this moment, 1.5 months after I am chocked up thinking about it all.  

It was the greatest show I have ever seen, probably the greatest show I will ever see.  It's like Disneyland for T. Swift fans.  A ride that you are so lucky to have had an opportunity to go on and it will live in your heart for a lifetime.  

We know how lucky we are to have scored these tickets the legit way and for anyone curious our tickets were in the lower bowl, approximately $450/each.  Next week we will dive into part 2 of this mother-daughter adventure so be sure to return.  







Are you a Swift fan?  Did you end up going to the ERAS?  What's the best experience you've had with your own child?  Share your own stories in the comments below.

Sunday, 5 January 2025

2025 Goals: 1st Quarter & Link-Up



Welcome 2025!  We are all walking, running, twirling, leaping, etc. into the new year in different ways.  I am walking into it with optimism and an overall feeling on being content.  I am excited at the upcoming changes and growth our family will undertake, but mostly I just want more of the same, steady growth we've been experiencing the past few years.  We are all healthy, happy and steadily thriving in our own way, and more of that sounds great!

This year I am looking at my goals in a different way.  I am going to be working on them quarterly, adjusting and focusing on different things throughout the year based on my reflections from not only 2024 but many years.  I have seasons that are busy and really heavy in one or two areas, and my focus and attention has to adjust.  When I try to do everything plus more, I get overwhelmed and feel like I can't keep up with everything which only results in me feeling like I am failing.  For example, the winter season is much slower with my photography, which allows me time to plan ahead, post promotional content more and also to give more time to reading, blogging, and journaling.  Other seasons that's not the case, so this year I am going to be joining a group of bloggers to make my intentions for each season rather than the whole year.   That being said, I will be focusing in the areas that are a priority for me, Family/Relationships, Personal, Physical,  and Professional.  I'll also add other things that might be seasonal bucket list items or  other categories that apply.  Let's jump right in!




PERSONAL

  • YEARLYY READING GOAL:  Reading gives me a lot of joy and I enjoy making time to read daily, a minimum of 20 minutes is my goal. I especially  love to do this in the morning when I am not working out before work, otherwise I do it in the  early evening.  I will continue to have a goal of reading 24 books this year which will be a minimum of 12 read books and 12 audiobooks. Follow me on Goodreads! In this first quarter I'd like to read a non-ficttion book that focuses on effective leadership, as well as continue to read my fiction book for book club

  • Plan our Venice/Paris trip, including booking everything by end of January.
  • Work on Halie's graduation scrapbook.  Specifically go through each year and select pictures to create a digital scrapbook.
  • Create another month long meal plan for February/March.
  • Keep a gratitude/refection journal 5/7 days a week.
  • BLOG once a week for this first quarter!  Usually I post on Mondays, except on I link-up with the ladies of Ageless Style every third Thursday of the month so on Thursday, Jan. 16th join us for the prompt Winter Blues.

PHYSICAL
  • Include strength training twice a week and a yin yoga recovery once a week into my existing practice. I am getting older and know the importance of strength training but rarely actual do it because I am a cardio junkie.  This is what I invasion my weekly routine to look like for the first quarter.  
        Monday - Spin
        Tuesday - Run & Weights
        Wednesday - Rest Day
        Thursday - Weights
        Friday - Rest Day
        Saturday - Long Run
        Sunday - Yoga



FAMILY/RELATIONSHIPS
  • Host Halie's 18th birthday with her friends (wine-tasting and charcuterie board theme table, at her request).
  • Special one-on-one date with Halie (especially since 
  • Plan something for Logan's birthday with friends in February.  
  • Host book club at the end of January and plan a date with friends at least once a month.
  • Continue to walk 3/week with my husband.



PROFFESSIONAL


These were my most 💗photos of the year @A&HSnapshots.


FINANCIAL
  • No spending January!  I think we can all agree that the holidays are $$$$$$$$$$$ and although I enjoy it all, it's time to put the breaks on and be more mindful of unnecessary spending.  So unless I absolutely need it, it wont be purchased.  I am in a spending freeze.  


FUN SEASONAL BUCKET LIST
  • Go outdoor skating.
  • Go sledding/snowboarding at the local hill. 
  • Hot chocolate station for our home.
  • Go cross-country skiing at least 3 times before the beginning of March.
  • Go to our cabin at least once and enjoy the winter in the woods.
  • Do at least 7 items off of the "Winter Photo Challenge" and share (some of them are holiday related so I'll skip those) but at least it'll get my camera out of it's bag. 




Okay, that's my list.  How are you planning for what you want to do more of or achieve this year?  If you want to join us for our Bucket List/Goals quarterly here are the dates to link-up your own posts.

Since this is a fashion blog, here are a few outfits that I wore over the holiday season and beginning of winter.












Winter Goals/Bucket List Jan. 6th
Winter Reflections March 23rd, 2025
Spring Goals/Bucket List March 24th, 2025



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