I’m back! I had to take a little bit of a break as I am working on some excited things for you guys as well as making sure my blogging stays true to what represents me.
I am excited to announce that I will be a brand ambassador for NRML Femme. I will be working with various brands such as Mink Pink, Love and Lemons, Stussy and more. I will be doing another blog post about my experience working with NRML which is an Ottawa born brand and what it means to me to be working with such an amazing clothing store.
This beautiful outfit is one of the many outfits from their Fall season. Let us start with the top. This basic ribbed top fits me as a glove. As a bigger chested girl, I find it hard to find tops that flatter my top without showing too much. This is great because it shows my tiny waist and my figure tastefully while keeping it chic and slightly sexy.
I then added these amazing super comfortable lime green silk pants from Stussy. I love the lime green! At first, I was not sure if I could pull it off but as soon as I saw these bad boys, I knew I wanted to wear them. They are super comfortable, versatile and the colour alone is enough to make a fashion statement.
I then layered this outfit with this cute yellow transparent raincoat which really ties this outfit together. The raincoat puts everything together, especially with the lime silk pants. I can see my self-rocking this raincoat with an all-white outfit or some jeans and a simple t-shirt.
For shoes I kept it simple. Sine my life is getting busier, I have been changing my look a little and making my shoes as comfortable and fashionable as possible. Since styling with NRML I have learned about my love for sneakers and how you can really change a look to your personal taste with them. I added these simple assatric white nike sneakers. I love how simple and clean they look and with all the light colours it really brings the whole look together.
NRML Femme has an online store and it can be found both in Ottawa at Rideau Street and Bayshore as well. I would suggest going in as they have a look for everyone #urNRMLFemme .
We all wait for the first day of the year to promise our selves that we wil go to the gym four times a week, reduce the amount of sugar that we will eat/drink, save more money and various other promises. I am one that not only waits for the first year to start a new goal , however I tend to revisit my goals on a month to month basis. Now, that is just me. Not everyone can do that and I obviously can not expect that you will as well. That being said, I am on that gets motivated if I write down my goals and look at it day by day to remind myself what I promised I would achieve.
So this year what are my goals you ask? I have a few. Some personal, some career wise and others that are just ways to improve what I am doing now. So let’s have a look at a few:
Get a stable career that I love– working for years in a family business is fun and teaches you a lot that you can apply to various areas of work and in working with the business, I have recently found myself wanting to find a career that I love to wake up early to work towards every day. That hunger for a career actually starts with this blog. I love social media, being able to connect with people from everywhere and changing my environment time to time. In 2018 I will work towards my ‘entrepreneurial’ dream career.
Stay fit– I started my healthy journey seriously about 6 years ago when I noticed that my eating habits could possibly affect me in the long run. I go to the gym quite frequently ( as you can tell by my Instagram stories) and in doing so have found my love for fitness. In the new year I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and allow my body to explore its capabilities in ways that I probably could never imagine. I would like to try out a cross fit class, hot yoga ( again ), spinning class, pole dancing and bare class. I believe these are classes I always wanted to try but I was a bit intimidated to give it a go. Now time to face my fear!
Work on my mental health- this is something that is a long term goal for me. I have been focusing more on it for the past two years. As someone who does not like talking about my feeling even with my close friends and family I have over time gotten a lot better. I want to ensure that I remind myself to be in the now, that it is ok to say you are not ok and to ask for help when needed.
Grow the #shikachica fam– I started my journey last year in April and it has been a fun and exciting adventure. I meet so many people and made so many connections. with you lovelies. In the new year I want to not only grow the #shikachica fam I also want to connect with you guys more. I want to first start with the conference gathering in Toronto this Spring 2018. I will then be going to Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and many more cities along Canada. Eventually meeting you lovely chicas in Europe and the USA as well.
Spend more time with loved ones– it’s that time of year where you start to go through your friend group and clear out all the negative energies. I really do believe that the people you around yourself with is 50% of what can impact you to be the best version of yourself. As hard as it is to let go of unhealthy relationships keep telling your self how rewarding it will be if you let go of them sooner rather then later.
Travel to 10 new places– this is a big goal for my in 2018- I have a few travel destinations such as Cape Town, Bali, Amsterdam, Morocco, Germany, Colombia and more that I would love to visit in the new year. I really want to not only learn about new cultures however take my self out of my comfort zone.
Save more!- We all spend a ridiculous amount of money on buying our lunch and buying things that we really do not need. I want to save more money and be wise with my money in the new year
Find a great place to live– Weather it is a new city or new apartment, I want to start in some new environment this year in the Summer/Fall.
Live minimalist– the more I travel the more I learn I probably do not need half the things I own. In relation to a new environment I want to make sure I de-clutter all the things I do not need, donate them and stay simple with what fills my space. Clear environment clear mind right?
S o far things have been going well. I workout 4-5 times a week, I am starting to reach out to people if I need help, checking in with family/ friends more, being more active on my instagram story to connect with you guys more, I’m slowly cutting out the negative people in my life ( man is it ever hard). Things I need to work on? SAVING! I need to save more money. The amount of times that I have been buying food out is embarrassing. I am going to start looking at apps to help me budget my spending on a day to day basis. I also need to start planning my trip that I am hopping to take in February. It is slowly approaching and with saving that will allow me to have more options as far as destinations. Minimalist living is a project on its own. I will start going through my belongings on a monthly basis and donate any things I do not need or use.
There you have it! There are my resolutions for the year. I have been really trying to be focused on giving myself some self love lately especially with the new year. I think I tend to get too busy living the busy crazy life I forget about taking care of myself. This year will be a year to give myself a little bit of gratitude day by day.
The collarbone is the new cleavage for the season. It’s all about showing the collarbone. It really accentuates the neck and gives this chic sexy touch to a formal or even casual outfit.
I decided to take this regular button down shirt and button only 4 buttons up starting from the bottom of the shift. Then I role the top on the shoulders and voila, you have an off the shoulder top in two seconds. A lot of stores do offer this look already designed for you, but why not get that trend from your closet with a piece that you already have for free. I then added this knitted skirt that I got from my moms closet that she wore ages ago. I love the grey and black pattern. It gives a vintage touch to the whole look while still making it trendy with the basic white off the shoulder top. You can layer a trench coat to keep you warm or if you live in a colder climate add a wool trench coat. I added this suede brown trench coat from H&M which really brings an earthy touch of color to the whole look
For finishing touches, I added my go-to simple black closed toe suede shoes from Call it Spring. Again if it is a little colder where you live, you can add black leather ankle booties with a heel. LAstely, I added this black hat from Forever 21. The silver detailing give a trendy metallic touch to the overall look.
I don’t know about you, but as much as I love how magical snow is and having hot chocolate near the fireplace or going hiking being surrounded by a winter wonderland, with the daylight saving and the dry cold weather I find it hard to stay motivated.
My life is always changing, especially being someone that is slowly making their side hustle a dream day by day. Being an entreperneur, sometimes you have good weeks and sometimes you have bad weeks, and unfortunately and fortunately, that all part of signing up for your dream. Nobody said it would be easy, and if it was easy, would it be worth fighting for? Probably not.
So after a week of countless surprising events, writer’s block and feeling down, I decided to get back to my routine. Now everyone has a different way of staying motivated however here are five tips on how I stay motivated. You can always try it out and see if it works for you:
1. Get Organized
I know. Another generic tip that almost every blogger or life coach can say but seriously get your s$&^@ together! Who else is going to do it if you don’t? Now, to be honest, I as weird as it sounds, go to a cute bookstore, you know the one with the Kate Spade looking Pinterest stylish stationery accessories and find a journal and agenda that you find visually appealing or better yet has a life quote that you live by or you can connect to. Just having an agenda and journal that looks nice will motivate you to write in it. There is nothing more satisfying than going to a cafe and pulling out my journal and agenda and getting excited to plan out my life in something I am proud of owning.
In your journal use the first page wisely. Write down your dream and where you see your self in the year. Now make sure these goals and achievements push you out of your comfort zone because the rest of the notebook is going to be your sketchbook to get to those achievements.
For the agenda, really it’s self-explanatory. You are 75% more likely to achieve a task if you write it down and don’t even look at it then you are if you just think about the idea. Putting it in writing is where you really make that goal official. This of it as a contract to yourself.
2. Get active
Now lucky for me I love breaking out a sweat and being drenched in it for that matter. I honestly feel like I can take over the world after a good sweat. Now if you are reading this and thinking ” I hate working out!”, “It’s so boring” they find something fun. Dance in your room for 30 minutes, do a workout class with a friend, walk your dog. Whatever you do get moving. If you can do it first thing in the morning. Why? It is the best thing to do to get your mind going and moving. You are getting your self mentally ready to start your day. Being active is also amazing to ensure you are more likely to be in a good mood for most of your day espeacilly when you look outside and its snowing. You want to make sure you are able to make the best of the weather and push yourself to stay active.
3. Mentor
Mentor. Such an intimidating word sometimes, especially if you really do not know what it is. I will tell you what a mentor is to me and what I mean by a mentor. A mentor is someone that when you have coffee with them, you can leave the conversations fulfilled and with a fresh pair of glasses on a topic or opinion. A mentor will give you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. A mentor will be there for you if you have a question or need advice ( there are no such thing as stupid questions by the way). A mentor is your cheerleader in life. Everyone needs one. It can be a family member, friend, personal coach, manager. Someone you look up too when you are at your best and worst and make you the best version of your self.
I can tell you right now, without my mentor’s I would not be writing this post for you chicas. Without my mentor, I would not be going after what I want and rather going after what society tells you that you should have. Mentors remind you of your purpose and/ or ensure you know your ‘why’ in life.
4. Eat healthy
Being someone who is doing one hundred and ten projects all the time making sure I take care of my temple is key. The number of times I will have a rough week and the cycle begins where I start eating all my meals out, binge eating and then my motivation also goes down. Esepaclly with the cold weather you want to make sure your body is getting all the nutrition it needs to stay concentrated, alert and well rested.
5. Be happy
I know I say this all the time but be happy. Find something that makes YOU happy. That is what is going to make you smile to your self on rough days. Happiness will make you celebrate those personal milestones. Happiness is going to allow you get the most that you can possibly get in life.
As I get older and hear the story of others, I find out how many people really are not happy and how much happiness can really put a huge effect on your thoughts, and your thoughts control you.
I have attached an amazing TED Talk by Lori Harder that I love where they are taking on of the concepts I discussed, staying active, and how you can apply it to life and stay motivated.
