Every year after Christmas I sit down with a pen + paper and write out my goals / resolutions for the year ahead. I share them here mostly to hold myself accountable, but I do find that writing them out helps me get clear on what it is I want to work on and where I might be falling short. Since June is [half-way through the year] quickly coming to a close, I thought I’d revisit the ones I wrote out this year and see where I’m at – so that I can pivot and make adjustments or improve where needed.

Obviously 2020 + 2021 has been a bit of a shit-show with all things covid-related and I can definitely say that it has attributed to a lot more challenges /delays than I would like to admit. BUT, I’m not one for excuses so here goes…

+ health & fitness: I’m pretty proud of how I’ve handled this year, being pregnant. I found out I was pregnant last November and definitely took a step back from my normal fitness routines (boxing, high-intensity workouts) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t put in the work or effort here. My main priority has been my health and listening to my body – which for me, has meant lots of long walks, yoga, pilates and squeezing in MWH workouts when I feel like I need to focus on tightening + toning. I wouldn’t say that I’ve restricted myself by any means, but I have made a conscious effort to drink plenty of water and eat pretty clean and healthy which has helped me feel great. And it shows at my pre-natal doctors appointments, my blood pressure & vitals have been very consistent throughout the last 8 months which makes me extra happy moreso, bc that’s what’s best for my baby.

+ launched my new website: this has been a huge one to check off my list. I had been working with Chloe Digital for monnnnths to create a fresh digital space that felt like an editorial magazine and more of an experience than the simple blog template I had been using for years. While this will be something that I’ll probably always tweak and improve, I’m super proud of the site you are currently reading.

+ grow my team: I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I added a new team member to TWG in the graphic design dpt. I love working with Social District on creating custom branded asset for my Stories and newsletter. Growing a team is no joke, so this is something I’m taking slow + steady. As my brand continues to flourish, I’m sure there will be more additions but for the time being it’s been great having Tash join the team. Now that Covid restrictions are lifting and we settle into our new house, I’ll have the proper space for her to work in-house part-time which we are looking forward to.

+ moving into our family home: this year we found our family home! It’s currently being renovated and even though there have been MAJOR delays as to when we can officially move in, we know it’ll be WELL worth the wait. ICYMI, I shared some details here, here and here.

+ cooking: I still cook dinner every night for my family, but not much else has changed here since we are obviously still waiting to move into our house. Wait until you see the kitchen!!!!

+ brand building & direction: back in January I explained how I envisioned the continuation of building this brand out moving forward. TBH I feel like I’m in this in-between phase of transitioning into motherhood and being between homes, so I don’t feel like I’m fully where I envisioned being at just YET. I know that once our baby arrives and we move into our home that things will settle into a more natural flow, in terms of the content I will be sharing. I’ve kind of had to relinquish control and frustrations and just trust the process, knowing that it’s going to work out when the timing is right. This year has been all about sowing the seeds that will grow this fall and I feel like next year will really be the year everything comes to fruition.

I am, however, excited to be launching a new product this year in collaboration with Canadian-brand Lark + Ives. In the next couple months we will be releasing an official announcement + details and I’m so excited to see how it’s received. Since we got our sample product approved a few months ago, I’ve been busy working on the advertising and promotional assets that will be launching in September. The timing has been a bit tricky – we weren’t sure how I would manage shooting everything prior to the launch with a newborn so I opted to run pre-production well before baby comes – just in case. We are set to shoot our final day of production this week before everything goes in for editing.

…anyways, that’s my check-in!