March has been crazy.
It started off with a deep angst that I couldn’t explain. I spent a decent amount of my time outside of my full-time job staring out at the ocean and mountains that I love so deeply. Not even certain of what I was looking for, just being still and, much to my surprise, enjoying the stillness. I went about my life as usual with that looming angst always there and palpable.
Then I got laid off.

I spent 24 hours very sad; my dad had been laid off from his university job not too long prior. It felt destabilizing. My friends reached out with loving words and dinner invitations; I needed to be on my own. I wore my favourite leopard jeans most days as some sort of safety blanket, perhaps. But then I started creating again and understood what the angst was about.

The fog has cleared, I celebrated my birthday, and I’ve personally grown a lot in this time. My friends and family got me three cakes that week. Three fucking cakes. I allowed myself to melt into the kindness and generosity of it all. We ate seafood, we listened to music, and danced in the kitchen with dirty, filthy little martinis in hand. Without even knowing it, I’d been nurturing my inner artist.

On top of my friends’ generosity, I’ve been able to indulge myself in all my favourite things: hot yoga, Pilates, reading, sewing for myself, going for long saunas, making mood boards and sketching, spending too long at the grocery store… I even traded in coffee for tea. This probably won’t last.

While what the future may hold is unknown, what I do know is that I have a six-week trip to Europe that I planned alongside my family prior to all these changes. I will be leaving in a couple of days, and it is a welcome escape. I always read and write most when I travel.

For now, this will be a soft place to land my thoughts while I travel through cities, cafés, museums, and markets. This space holds the details that catch my eye, the meals worth remembering, and the little moments I don’t want to forget.

I’ll be writing as I go. Consider this an invitation into my personal journal.

A random list of my favourite things this March:

• Matcha soft serve
• Sewing my own clothes
• Strawberries
• My neighbourhood bar
• Hot yoga
• The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
• The White Lotus
• Pho
• Leopard pants (or leopard anything, for that matter)
• Spring sunsets
• More time with my loved ones
• Antihistamines
• Bubbly water
• The sauna
• My Bink water bottle
• Reading glasses

See you in Europe.