Reflection
2018 has been one of most challenging yet rewarding year in terms of growth and personal development. I’ve learned a lot about what it means to develop “perspective” from taking a step back and learning to quietly observe situations with an open mind. I’ve learned to let go of things that are out of my control – both at work and relationships developed with peers, friends & loved ones. I’ve learned to dial back and take necessary means to put myself first (even when the moment doesn’t feel right). Some time during the year, I felt overwhelmed with different blogging deadlines and the perfectionist in me of course wanted to execute everything a certain way. I ultimately felt burnt out and ended up hitting a road block where I couldn’t start anything or finish anything. Stop thinking and start doing is one of the lessons learned in 2018 (I will explain more of that below). Other things to remember & carry forward for 2019: (1) It is okay to take a social media/internet break when needed (2) It’s okay to say NO when it doesn’t feel right (3) To remember the reason why I started blogging. Although the blogging world has taken a huge turn since I first started in 2012; I want to continue my blog with the same mindset I had when I first started my website. I want to carry a positive & inspiring, cozy theme on my blog whilst hoping my readers can take something away from it too!
2019 & what’s to come
- Travel – We were luckily enough to travel to many places last year and I’m hoping to share this within the first half of this year. My mantra this year is stop thinking and start doing and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve come across many road blocks preventing me from even starting to write travel content but I’m going to be more mindful and execute these posts the way I would want to read them if I was doing research on any destination. In the past, I’ve debated many ways to approach travel posts (which sometimes seems daunting) and I’ve got to stop overthinking this. On another note, we’re in the process of booking an Asia trip this year but that probably won’t happen until later in the fall.
- Recipes – I joined my first gym membership ever in November of last year (I know!) and ever since I’ve been feeling a lot better about my body. I’ve been trying to go to classes at least twice a week. Along with exercising, I’ve also been trying to eat healthier by either buying my own groceries or opting for a week’s worth of food with goodfood meal plans. Goodfood comes in handy when it’s one of those busy weeks at work and it’s just easier to follow a recipe with exact portions provided for you and you don’t feel bad about wasting excess produce. I’m hoping to share these recipes (Goodfood and homemade) with you all!
- Food – I love eating out. That was the only reason I got into blogging. I love trying out different restaurants across the city but at the end of the day, it does take a toll on my wallet & health! So my goal for this year is to limit the times I eat out and only eat out when I want to. More times than often, I find myself eating out for the sake of eating out OR I come home from a long day of work and am too tired to cook. I want to save my quota of eating out for things I genuinely enjoy, for example – brunch. Hopefully, you guys enjoy my “Saturday Morning” Brunch series on my blog!
- Lifestyle – Lately, I’ve been really into checking out spa’s across various places in Toronto that aren’t exactly “bougie”. I’ve been averaging these places at least once a week and even sometimes twice a week! I’m hoping to share my experiences with you guys and hopefully you’ll find my lifestyle content helpful when it comes to gift ideas for birthdays, mother’s day etc.
That’s it from me! I would love to hear from you guys so please feel free to leave a comment, send me an email and let me know what you’ll love to see more or less of and I’ll do my best to execute it 🙂 Cheers! xoxo Grace
