at Lightfoot and Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Over the past few years, I have been working on a writing project and although I am by no means ready to share it publicly I can say that the heart of it is woven into everything I am and do.

It’s about what one does with a calling.

And how a calling generally doesn’t just come up out of nowhere.

It is asked for to some degree, and then in some way, shape or form, it is provided in a small way.

Something to create. Something to cultivate.

How do we tend to what we are given?

How do we create space for what something needs to be.

Like raising a child.

Or growing a garden.

It takes work.

It takes time and space.

Space to step back, take in all that it is becoming and trim and refine the edges.

To hem in where needed and to let go wild when possible.

This is the creative journey,

It is also the soul journey.

I am interested in that.

What it means to become.

There are many ‘becomes’.

We are not just one layer, but many layers.

We make choices of how we become.

I’d like to think that the years of cultivating and creating has been working to develop and ‘become’ a better version of me.

A version that will produce not just once, but over a lifetime.

A version of me that has roots deep down and brings out the best in others.

A version of me that can weather the storms and shine bright in the sun.

It takes work.

It takes vulnerability.

& this is why I share these thoughts.

I share because I know I am finding the heart of something in all of this private writing and sharing with a select few talented writers.

White Point Beach Resort | An Autumn Cottage Weekend

*as I post this, I recognize our province could announce a second lockdown at any moment. That being said, there are skills and a renewing of the mind that has occured, that even if that has to happen, we are better equipped to handle what it means to create a rhythm inside the home.

March 2020 was a month none of us will forget.

For some, the worldwide pandemic was already at their door. For us in Nova Scotia, it was March when the reality provincial state of emergency was announced.

We changed everything in our lives in a matter of 24 hours.

A bit like being in a snow globe and having everything you knew being shaken and tipped upside down and then right side up again to only wonder how everything will fall into a new place. Or if it ever will stop spinning?

That has left some effects on us.

In our coming and going, we are still living in a state of unknown, of work and life colliding in the home and of many things being delayed or put off indefinitely.

This Autumn, one of my goals was to find some semblance of ‘weekdays’ and ‘weekends’ again.

Having a daughter go to grade primary was a marker for us as a family, and despite the pandemic, it has renewed many things in our lives. We hope she can remain in school l her whole primary year, but we embrace it for what it is for now.

Week Days

Morning routines are back. An alarm goes off, and it isn’t helpful to ignore it in the least.

Work hours are evident in some respects.

The school hours mean we are bound to drop-offs and pickups.

Weekends

time for the home DIY projects

the seasonal activities ‘pumpkin carving, fall walks’ etc.

Errands and household logistics.

Scheduling an event that is safe and within guidelines that provides an exhale.

Life still has been shaken like a snow globe.

Stores don’t open until 11 am.

Extra circular activities are limited and harder to get into

parties, celebrations and events are generally prohibited unless adequately managed.

Planning ahead is difficult.

Yet, somehow we are starting to feel our weekdays and weekends again. I hesitate to say it, but there it is.

We are finding our way back to a right-side-up world, even if the right side to us now was upside down to us before.

We adapt and start realizing the world will always keep spinning, but we can remain standing still amidst it all.

Justine Gelevan

Certified Professional Coach & Consultant

Justine can be found coaching others by meeting them where they are at while also working on building programs that are versatile, relatable and impactful.

Justine is passionate about creating a community of self-improvement junkies and finds fulfillment bringing herself within conversations and digging deep to affect change in another person’s life.

She also has a way of keeping things fun, engaging and relative in all aspects of her interaction with others.

INSTA LIVE LINK <——

MORE JUSTINE

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Facebook

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A snippet of our October.

White Point Beach Resort

Working

And the moments in-between.

A new habit I have begun implementing has been taking in the news once a week for an hour as part of my workday.

As a writer and producer, being up to date with my community, province, country and the world is more than helpful. I would consider it part of the job as a storyteller and content creator. To have a pulse on the heartbeat of others, invaluable.

Years ago in Interpreting training, we were taught to stay current with the news and the world around us. I always found this a practical and helpful tool, but with the rise of social media and lack of access to ‘paper’ read news (I prefer to read over watching daily news programs) I found myself only ever checking in during a catastrophic event.

Because news is a constant, overwhelming and often oppressive presence, taking the time in my work week to consume one hour of it intentionally has helped me immensely. It has changed how I view it and has made it less of an emotional journey, and more of intellectual practice.

I have also started doing this to be better equipped to speak to those I interview, to ask the right questions and also, to control how much I allow the '24/7’ news to infiltrate my life.

Obviously, this previous week has been heavy with news updates and current events unfolding.

I can only hope that as I move forward with this habit, I will find ways to continue consuming the news with a mindful, thoughtful and open spirit.

Compiled here on Spotify is a playlist I made for this autumn.

After committing to a subscription, I have been revamping my playlists, which already feels old.

It was a compilation I put together in September.

Stand Out Tracks

ily (I Love You Baby) | Surf Mesa

There is something about this cover that makes me find motivation in the corners of the day.

Forever Young | Rhiannon Giddens and Iron & Wine

This track is special to me for many reasons. In part, it was made for the finale of Parenthood, a show that helped shape my marriage and desire to continue developing healthy relationships with my family. Forever Young was the opening title song, and this rendition happens to be my favourite. It reminds me of why it’s worth it to be there for those you love.

As the Autumn has progressed I am finding the pulse of truth become known to me.

It’s not a new concept by any means.

But it is a practice. A consistency. Meditation in the form of trust and gut.

It’s showing up to serve the work to move it forward.

Moving a project forward can feel invigorating.
It can feel like one is wonder woman and literally saving the day.

It can also feel like monotony.
The dirty work.
The scrubbing the floor just to have millions of feet walk all over it again.

And there it is. That pulse. It is steady and true.

Although one may feel that there is nothing to show for what one did to ‘move it forward’ today. There is an accumulation of days that can bring ‘it’ to the light.

It is something that only tenacity, grace and a bit of a stubborn nature can produce.

May we not discredit our work, no matter how big or how small.
How much the paycheck is or isn’t.
How many likes we receive or don’t.
How loud the applause or how quiet.

May we be more focused on serving the work before us and moving it forward to its next right place, even just a smidge more.

Eventually, we’ll look behind us and realize we climbed a mountain and despite the results and how many people saw,

we did it.

As evident, I may have gone a bit crazy and ordered too many books from the library.
Although I would argue, one could never order too many books from any library.
That being said, it means that these pictures are done haphazardly as I blazed through these reads in order to get them back to the library in time.

The Glass Hotel | Emily St.John Mandel

A story about a money mogul and a few that surrounded him. The way this was written, I just couldn’t get into it the way I had hoped. Not my writing style. I wanted to like it. I struggled with the delivery.

Of Mess and Moxie | Jen Hatmaker

A comedian of sorts, Jen gives her antidotes about life and faith. Some of it felt unoriginal, yet I kept reading because there were a lot of beautiful gems of thoughts tucked in the typical comedian’s rants. It did pack a punch where it mattered.

Road to Riverdale | Various authors

Always interested in adaptations etc. This was another look at how graphic novels/comics often are all done by various artists and storytellers using the characters and world provided. Enjoyed it.

The Lies that Bind | Emily Giffin

The best part of this novel, for me, was the first chapter. It was riveting. I could picture it completely and wanted it to continue as such. Of course, the story weaves out from there but in my own perfect world, we’d capture whatever that first chapter had and make it into a short film or film.

Dear Edward | Ann Napolitano

A heartbreaking and heart inspiring tale of what it means to be the sole survivor of a mass tragedy and grow into yourself and find meaning to continue living despite the loss. I enjoyed this read. Tears at the end.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | Suzanne Collins

This had to be my favourite of this month. I am utterly reticent about prequels. Ballad of Songbirds and Sakes is the prequel to the Hunger Games Series and it blew me away. To take a character like “Snow” and find out what he was like as a child, where he came from and how he rose to power. Incredible. It also gives incredible insight into the society that we are welcomed into for the Hunger Games Series and it also feels a bit of a warning at times for our own present-day world.

****NOTE: due to technical difficulties Noor’s interview did not come out as clear as we would hope. We look forward to a redo & time we can even welcome her into our studio.

Noor Aubaid 

Brand & Digital Strategist
Creator of the She + Me Podcast

Noor can be found working with others as a Brand & Digital strategist, while also interviewing and celebrating female founders in their journey, lives and work through her podcast She + Me.

Noor is a compassionate and passionate woman who has been actively creating content to show that success doesn’t need to look anyone way and that creativity and inspiration can start from anywhere. 

She also has the insight into what it means to be a creative entrepreneur that enables her to leverage that knowledge and lift up others through all aspects of her work.

Insta Live Link <———

MORE NOOR

Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/she-me/

Website

https://www.sheme.co/

A little summary on September.

Over the years, we have found a spark of joy in having a lunch date during a typical work week.
In many ways, this is not that special.
Two people going out for just under an hour, to have a meal and then get back to it.
We are one in millions who do this.
But I would argue there is something incredibly inspiring, memorable and empowering about this when done in a way that creates connection and support.

In the run of a week, the amount of time we spend (as parents) telling each other about our work is minimal. There just isn’t enough time, and quite frankly, at the end of the day, who wants to talk about work?

A work lunch date has been our opportunity to share what is going on in our work lives, pitch ideas to each other, be them in literal or abstract forms and generally speaking, find new ways to support each other.

For us, this generally looks like going to our favourite local restaurant, asking each other about our work and genuinely listening. It’s the listening that sparks ideas even in the subconscious. We let our work thoughts flow in and out of the conversation without expectation.

What do an engineer and a writer/producer have in common?

On the surface, nothing.
Nothing at all.

But so much of our work is creative and collaborative in ways that we can both relate and find ways to support each other in the midst of the differences.

dinner with family friends.

Seasons come and seasons go.

Our world is in a season of needing to maintain distance.

It’s crushing.
No matter who you are, true connection is what serves the soul.

I realize that not everyone is going to be able to spend Thanksgiving with others this year.
We are privileged in Nova Scotia, Canada, to have only three active cases and no new cases of COVID in a week, at the moment.

This means we can gather in groups of 10 close people to celebrate.

Settling into a new home means that we are working hard to maintain a new property and revive what we had to set aside for a season of our life.
In many respects, our little shore loft was a haven. A place of refuge as we became new sides of ourselves. As parents, new career paths and new jobs/projects.

Now, it is as if our new home is opening up space for more again.

It could be the restrictions we face, or the lack of communing the past few years of hard work has provided, but either way,

this thanksgiving

I am most thankful for the table.

The opportunity to connect, nourish and revive the soul.

And life is fleeting.

The moments around a table with those you love and learn to love are numbered.
We don’t know when they will end.
We don’t know when the last time we will pass a plate to that person.
We don’t know if they will sit there again or be a bittersweet memory.

This Thanksgiving, however, we sit and eat, I will be relishing and making an effort to harness these table moments into my everyday life.

Jhoanna Gonzales Miners

CEO & Principal Consultant at SeasonNova & Creative Director at NOVADEI

Jhoanna can be found championing others in their creativity with NOVADEI, interacting with clients through her consulting businesses and work, while also finding ways to reflect and slow down. 

Jhoanna is a grounded spirit who creates space and empathy in her consultant work through unconscious bias, anti racism and bi-stander intervention training and continues to bring a healthy perspective and understanding into the workplace.

She also happens to have a beautiful way in reminding us through all aspects of her work to reflect on the deeper values and meaning behind our actions, motives and work.

Watch the Insta Live <—-

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WEBSITES

https://seasonova.ca

http://novadei.com

None of us would have expected the events that 2020 has brought us.

& this was one surprise that first rocked us, made us nervous, shaky and vulnerable.
We hadn’t planned to move or were even close to re-evaluating our home.
We have been happy, content and very blessed by the five years we spent in our precious condo with the ocean air and tinkling of boats.

and then things began turning and churning and all of a sudden clarity came in slow increments.

What if we moved?
Where would we go?
Could we?
Would we?

& somewhere in those days of discussion, we started seeing the doors open and clarity is like that. Like an open window on a spring day. You think it’s going to be too cold to usher in something new, but then upon the first rise, you find that the air is in fact refreshing, invigorating and maybe even, a little exciting.

Our Little Shore Loft has sold to new owners whom we believe will love it just as much as we did, and our new home is here. Holding us new on this first season we live in it.

In many ways, this home found us, and not the other way around.

A home is more than the exterior and interior. A home is how you cultivate and treasure the space you were blessed with. A home is where you celebrate, you grieve and you live fully.

As we light the first candle, sleep the first night and wake up to the first day, usher in the first season and celebrate the first christmas, we pray that over all of these blessings and changes, that they place us where we need to be for the next chapter of our lives.

That we may create, connect and commune in new and deeper ways as individuals and as a little family.

Over the past few months, Kaitlyn Adair and I have been preparing and in the beginning of stages of leading to create a podcast for WIFT-AT. It is an honour to work with innovative, intelligent and thoughtful women in the film and television industry, and this project has me both overjoyed and nervous.

It’s a sacred opportunity.

To cultivate a series that will not only highlight the work of others but also find new inroads, spaces and voices in the industry we didn’t know existed. Coming close to completing our team of various hosts that will span four provinces, we are looking towards putting the pedal to the metal from pre-production to production.

As all creative projects begin,

we don’t know where this road will ultimately take us all, or how it will take full shape. Still, we are confident that it is starting to reveal itself as an exciting and tremendous opportunity to dig deep, embrace vulnerability and hear from new and old voices.

A huge thanks to those at WIFT-AT who keep digging deep and creating a foundation for new ideas, projects and working to clear space at the table for those we have yet to meet and hear from.

The Wife Stalker | Liv Constantine

Another installment from the duo that makes the synanom Liv Constantine. I wouldn’t say this was my favorite of their books, but it did do their famous ‘turn the tables’ on the reader so to speak mid way and give you another way at looking at mental health, perspective and a fun psycological thriller.

The Enneagram in Love & Work | Helen Palmer

A borrow from my aunt. I admit, I didn’t count this book in my ‘goodreads’ list as read, as I ended up skimming the last section. This would be a perfect book to sit on ones shelf for reference when needed. I do like that it delves into the various pairings of personality in relationship both in work and personal life.

Outlander | Diana Gaboldon

Okay, okay, you caught me. I re-read it again. I spent this summer reading sections and re-watching Season 1. ‘Drought-lander’ is a thing, especially during the pandemic. I will be an old lady re-reading this series.

The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember | Fred Rogers

I forgot to capture this read before it left the house to go back to the library, but a simple small read of amazing quotations from Fred Rogers. A meditative book.

TV Shows / Films of note:

When Harry Met Sally | because I watched it for the first time. classic 90s
The Great Canadian Baking Show | why did it take me so long to get to this?
The Home Edit : Organized | because its perfection
Toy Story | Watching it with a kid for the first time is such a millenial thing to do.

Her Business Our Story Your Calling is a short documentary featuring various entrepreneurial women and their businesses' stories. Through their experiences, we aim to inspire and encourage other people (focusing on women but not limited to) to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

A Brilliansea Production

Director: Claire Fraser
Producer: Amy Grace
Co Writers: Claire Fraser & Amy Grace
Editor: Claire Fraser
Cinematographer/Camera Operators: Claire Fraser Devon Pennick-Reilly Amy Grace
Featuring:
Korayne Romanchuk - Koko Mod Floral Design
Kate Pepler - The Tare Shop
Elana Camille - Elana Camille Creates
Victoria Smith - Fluke Boutique
Sharlene Loveless - Glo Barre (Rebranded:Rehab Body Lab Wellness & Tanning Studio)
Claire Fraser - Claire Fraser - Photography & Videography

Summer was a season of giant shifts for us as a family and individually. Selling and moving from our little loft into a home was a job that took up most of our summer days, but in there we found some lovely little moments and here are a few things that made our summer special.

Friendship Lamp

On a whim, we sent a lamp to both ourselves and our long-distance besties in British Columbia to have a little fun while living on opposite ends of the country during a pandemic. It felt foolish at first, but all five of us have enjoyed the fun and colourful warmth it brings us to know that we are thinking of each other through our days.

Glitter in the Air

I have always liked this song. I have been practicing more now that we are settled into our new home and seeing it all come together.

Lightfoot and Wolfville Rosé

For our anniversary we went to our favourite vineyard for a private tasting and lunch. This was one of the Rosé’s we had and I adored it. Had to bring it home as a little nod from our day.

Lightfoot and Wolfville Tote

In their shop, Lightfoot had this tote for sale and I have to say, one of the things that I have always adored about the vineyard and farm is their branding. They have a beautifully romantic way of summarizing their values and history in their images.

IKEA Water Glasses

During our kitchen reno in 2019 and since we had multiple water glasses break for various reasons. (washing glassware in a shallow bathroom sink for six weeks may have something to do with it) It has left us moving into a new house with just five water glasses left and all mismatched from various sets. Picking up a pack of these glasses is a wonderful way of celebrating hosting in our new home and welcoming a new season in our lives.

Daisy Jones and the Six

I picked up this book during my first venture out of the house after the strict pandemic restrictions lifted. It served as a lovely summer read that had the taste of “A Star is Born”.

Sunglasses

So glad that I pulled for us to both get prescription sunglasses earlier this year. They made this summer’s nature walks, drives and the few beach days we could squeeze in so much more enjoyable. Huge thanks to All About Eyeware for making that happen during the spring months.

In this special edition of the Insta Lives, Amy & Claire discuss what’s next for Brilliansea and announce the public release of their short Short Documentary “Her Business Our Story Your Calling” for September 23rd, 2020.

Watch the Live Here:

Amy & Claire Insta Live

Top Centre - Clockwise: Marie the Cat Shoes | H&M, The Penderwicks | Indigo, Strawberry Dress | Thrift find from Auntie Nicole, Rainbow Overalls | Carters, Tropical Romper | H&M gift from Auntie Heidi & Uncle Sean, Pink Hoodie Sweater | H&M, Whale Mug | Gift from Great Aunt & Uncle, Pencils | Gift from Great Aunt & Uncle, Rainy Day Activity Book | Indigo, Striped Shorts | Old Navy, Donuts graphic T | Carters, Pink Shoes | Winners, Doll | Gift from Great Aunt & Uncle, Pink Swimsuit | Zara, Blue Dress | Thrift find from Auntie Nicole, Jean Shorts | Carters, Yellow T Shirt | Thrift find from Auntie Nicole

True to form, Zoë would rather be in a dress and without shorts or pants. This can be challenging when the only clean clothes are shorts and t-shirts but she managed to spend most of her summer in dresses, rompers and her overalls. And we scooted by in these shorts from time to time.

Seen here are her most worn outfits. Not seen are 3 pairs of pyjamas, 5 other t-shirts & a couple of dresses she outgrew during the summer.

New to Her

Blue Dress

A find from Auntie Nicole during her thrifting adventures. This dress was a hit. She wears it again as soon as it’s clean.

Swimsuit

Growing out of her last swimsuit, brought us to land on this one. Precious.

Hoodie

Not a fan of extra clothing, at least with a zip sweater it’s easy for her to put on without the strong commitment of her other pullover sweaters.

Still Going Strong

Overalls

She wears the overalls constantly and they stand up so well.

T-Shirts

All her t-shirts she has either grown out of this summer and the ones that are left are still in excellent condition. Easily donatable.

Time to Go

T-Shirts & Dresses outgrown not seen here.