I started 2019 off by choosing a word to focus on for the year both personally and professionally.

Curate
verb: select, organize, and present (content, merchandise, information…)
typically using professional or expert knowledge

Personally

It is comedic to look back and realize that I chose this word not knowing that we would have to fully gut and renovate our kitchen. The early weeks of 2019 were full of anxiety, discomfort, and unknowns as we trial and errored to fix a serious house problem which led us directly into the very raw and real experience of having to strip what we had down to the bare bones and begin to build back and choose carefully how we would put a new kitchen in (as well as manage our house better to avoid this problem re-occurring). It forced us to naturally curate as we went. For that I am thankful. The journey was harsh, but now, as we use our renovated kitchen, host our friends and make goals for the new year, it is obvious that the work we put in over the months have carefully and naturally curated what we have (physically and metaphorically) into valued and treasured elements of our lives.

Professionally

I went into the year wanting to align myself with projects and people that created empowering and insightful content. Using those values as a guide I have been able to see first hand how taking one’s time, carefully choosing the next right yes and discerning carefully along the way creates strong long-lasting work. Launching Brilliansea with Claire Fraser gave me hands-on experience with seeing film and media projects go from conception to reality. While managing a new platform and personal home renovations I also was able to honor my writing sessions to put ideas to paper and begin creating drafts of various new projects for pitching, applications, etc. Staying true to who I am has led me to create strong connections with many women including those on the board of ‘Women in Film and Television Atlantic’. Being welcomed on the board has been an honor and a joy.

As I begin to close the chapter on this year’s word “Curation” I feel proud and excited to see what is to come in 2020.

Fireworks from Dewolf Park. Bedford. NS

I think it’s safe to say the first half of this year has flown by…

At the beginning of 2019, I felt it impressed upon me to focus on the word ‘Curate’ and it has remained with me every day since.

Personally

This year has taken turns we were not expecting. Dealing with a beetle infestation and having to embrace that our home needed us to put some financial investment into it not down the road, but right now, was a blow to a few of our plans this year. In reflection, I see how those hard and confusing months allowed us to see how important it is to invest in our home and property and that we are 100% capable of doing so. I believe that God has a way of providing what you need exactly when you need it. So many little things along the way helped me to see that even when it feels like a step back, so often that step back is so you can leap forward in a more clearer and better direction.

Professionally

Earlier this year I had a break through with my use of time. I recognized I was acting as if I still had a very dependant toddler at home when really we were thriving together and individually. When I started assessing how busy I felt I realized it was because I was doing tasks like a scattered mom with young children. Making an effort to re-evaluate how I can have a better work flow has been essential and of course I discovered all of this to only have to put a lot on hold to deal with our home, but that time of distraction allowed me to see how necessary developing a proper work flow for this new stage was and how efficient I could be for my work and projects.

As I enter into the last half of 2019

I recognize I still want to continue curating our home and it’s atmosphere. Putting our house back together after months of upheaval in a mindful and intentional way will allow us to find rest, to host others and commune together in it. I also want to continue re-evaluating on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis how I allot time for paid and non paid work. Both are worthy causes and both deserve the appropriate attention.

Over the years Jeremy & I have enjoyed giving these boards as wedding presents. Watershed Wood Designs is a local business that creates beautiful pieces with laser etching.

Every time we buy a board for a married-couple-to-be we are more than a bit envious, which led us to use this valentines as the excuse to buy one for ourselves!

*insert #happyasclams <—- need I say more?

For us, living on the coast (Bedford Basin) & calling our little home “Little Shore Loft”, this sailboat design was all too fitting.

Here is how we used our board for the first time:

Various cheeses we found at Petes Frootique in Bedford, along with a few truffles from Newfoundland Chocolate

the sailboat etching is our personal fav….

New Years Eve Sparklers | 2019

The ground is shifting.

It’s quaking and rumbling beneath my feet. I can sense the place in which I am planted is about to change in this new year.

If I am being honest, it has created a lot of questions for me.

How will I manage in 2019 as these shifts take place?

Will I and what’s important to me, fall through the cracks?

Will I find that I am even more capable, or will I crumble?

Spinning these thoughts in my head over the past month has led me to the unique word: ‘Curate’.

Curate verb

• select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise, information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge:

& although it’s often reserved to explain an art gallery or other aspects of gathering information/elements together, it has struck a chord within me. As I am adjusting to the ‘shifting’ and ‘growing’ in my / our lives, it is time for me to make careful and precise choices with where I place my energy and time.

PERSONALLY

Raising a ‘little’ into a child to equip her to handle the various aspects of life that will be thrown at her in less than 2 years (entering the public school system) means we need to be even more focused on bringing her the opportunities to grow, learn and mature in a new way. My time with her in this format of life is limited. Instilling values of kindness, empowerment, literacy, imagination, etc, before her world becomes more than just us, is increasingly heightened in importance.

As a family we are capable of more than we ever have been before. Leaving the baby/toddler stage has meant we are more able to connect and interact with our community, family and friends on a deeper level. It’s time to open up and pour out our energies in a new way.

PROFESSIONALLY

Continue to carefully align myself with the work atmosphere, collaborative teams and projects, knowing that what I commit to will get my full attention. Learning not to downplay myself & what I have to offer is a practice. I have learned so much in the past year about my craft, the industry I work in and where my boundaries are. Continuing to cultivate these interactions and various work projects while upholding my values is not a risk, it’s an integral part of who I am and how I choose to function within this world.

& as I close on this first day of the New Year,

by learning how to ‘curate’ in both my personal and professional life, I will be finding the proper footing to keep my feet actively on the ground while also gaining insight on how to adjust wherever 2019 puts me / us.

Happy New Year!

Bullet Journaling has changed my life drastically.

Pre-parenthood I would buy any day planner and fill in where necessary.

Then as technology progressed, I went to using my phone with a day planner in tandem. Events / meetings etc went in my phone while specific tasks went in the day planner.

Post-parenthood I was at a loss.

How do I do this? Nothing is predictable and yet the tasks are piling up and somehow, for my own personality and sanity, I needed to find a new way to keep track of it all.

It was finding Bullet Journaling that really put life planning and preparations in perspective.

Although it’s a necessary chore that can feel hard to overcome while balancing motherhood, work, aspirations, busy family, friends and personal needs, it can also be a place and time where I map out every ‘right yes’. Bullet Journaling has helped me to see my personal and professional choices laid out in a manner that excites me, and brings me into a place of alignment with my values and my choices.

Here is how I am designing 2019’s Bullet journal so far:

Starting with an overview of the year like this….

Milestone events will be highlighted…

A wellness wheel which will allow me to identify what I need to work on and add / take away from my life.

A seasonal ‘bucket list’ of sorts with a way to track what wardrobe additions will be needed for the season.

As much as I wanted to try a new monthly layout, I couldn’t seem to shake this one. It’s very direct and specific in it’s visual.

A new way to track the daily.’s I haven’t done it vertical before so this will be new for me. I also am going to change the word from “Today” to “Dailys” where underneath I will have the daily routine. i.e. Tuesday might look like: - Cardio, - Clean Kitchen, - Hair Rinse.