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Since the big engagement announcement the pressure has been on to plan and plan and then plan some more.
To make sure it all happens I made wedding planning a part of my monthly goals. By the end of this month I want to figure out when I am getting married and where it is going to happen.
So a few times a day I go online, google “destination wedding” and search around. But so far I’ve come up totally dry.
I flip flop between Mexico, St. Lucia and then I google some other destinations and add them into the mix.
I look at hotels and so many of the pictures are from the 80′s, and it makes me think the hotel is outdated. I look at menus (if they are offered, most of the time you have to request them) and I’m not convinced that the food would work. I look at drink menus and I can’t see the variety of drinks that we would need.
All I want is a fun party!
I thought destination weddings are supposed to be easier.
Photo Credit: Destination I Do
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Like many recently engaged women I was a bit nervous to announce that I was engaged.
After I told one of my good friends we were engaged I told her I was worried because I didn’t know what was going to happen when I told other people.
She told me that there are three questions everyone will ask.
As soon as I told my work mates I was getting married I got cornered outside of the elevators. The seven girls around me all asked:
Can I see your ring?
How did he propose?
Have you set a date?
It turns out my friend was right!
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I have this funny habit.
Every time I go to a new place I like I suggest to my fiance that we should move there, or a buy a country house, or rent a chalet, or build a cottage or…
He’s so patient. He nods and supports my crazy ideas and let’s me rattle off all the plans I’ve concocted. I’ll research for a few weeks and send him many real estate listings…..and then the idea will fade into the background and be replaced with another equally absurd suggestion.
I asked him one time when we were going to buy a cottage and he smiled and replied “When you find a place you want to buy, and it sticks in your mind for more than one month, I’ll know you’re serious”.
I laughed.
Guilty as charged!
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It’s that time of year up North again – it’s Thanksgiving!
In Canada we have our Thanksgiving about a month before the American Thanksgiving, and in case you are wondering why, there’s a very funny account of why covered here.
Around this time of year in any given newspaper, magazine, tv talkshow, or really any kind of media there will be heaps of articles about “Gratitude”. There will be lists, notes, books and songs about anything and everything that we should be grateful for.
And there is much to be grateful for.
In this recovering economy pretty much everyone has been affected. Some of us lost or jobs, some of us lost our minds, and pretty much everyone has lost something.
So, instead of focusing on the big and fabulous things to be grateful for, why not focus on the basic wonderful things that make our lives go round.
Be grateful for the rising sun.
Be grateful for the morning coffee.
Be grateful for the fresh and clean water that comes out of your tap.
Be grateful there is food on the table and wine in the bottle.
Be grateful for everything.
Take nothing for granted.
Embrace your wonderful and rich life and focus on what you have, instead of what you don’t.
But never stop dreaming.
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Once in a rare while there is a fashion trend that is so fun, lively, and just all around excellent!
Wear it with a coy smile and profess your love from rooftops!
These darling Betsey Johnson hair accessories are a must have for every fashion forward girl.
Can you feel the fun coming on already?
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As the temperature gets crisp, and the air gets dry, it seems moisturizer is in season.
This year there’s a lotion that not only gives you soft hands, it also warms your heart.
The Body Shops Soft Hands, Kind Heart lotion will give $6 out of the $10 purchase price to help stop sex trafficking.
That’s an amazing 60% going to charity!
That’s thrillingly generous!
It’s the perfect little gift for your girlfriends…or your staple “little gift of choice” for the remainder of the year.
Hooray for corporate companies with big hearts!
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For anyone thinking of a trip to South East Asia, a stop off in Siem Reap, Cambodia is a must. It’s a beautiful city with old world charm and wonderful cuisine. While there is a terrible recent history which has cast a dark shadow over the once powerful Khmer kingdom there is also a protected glimpse into an old Asian powerhouse that cannot be missed.
The temples in Siem Reap are truly divine, and to be understood in their best form a bicycle tour is called for. On a bicycle stops are easy, nature is nearby and there’s something magical about hearing the birds chirping while touring through the historical structures. It takes you back in time.
While in Cambodia I met an equally adventurous French girl who was also keen to cycle through the ancient city.
We agreed that the morning sun was much better than the scorching heat of the afternoon, and besides, we both wanted to see the sunrise. So we planned to meet early in the morning. Very early. 3 am kind of early.
My friend picked me up at my hotel and we jumped on our rental bikes – not the fancy North American mountain bikes, but the garage sale variety.
We had a long ride into the temples, but once we got inside it was pure heaven. No-one was around. It was blissfully silent, with the trees looking so fresh and dewy and the sounds of the birds so clear.
We went to our first temple and watched the sun rise. It was a lovely moment to see the sun rise in the horizon over the agricultural landscape in the distance. We sat in silence with many other tourists, all waiting for the sun to peep out in the sky and welcome the day.
When the sun was fully suspended in the air we looked at each other and with a nod agreed to cycle on. We rode on our rickety bikes for hours on end. Peering in different temples, amazed at the phenomenal masonry skills and the beautiful artwork etched into stone.
We went to one temple that had been taken over by these strange looking trees. I felt like I was in middle earth! It is by far one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.
In case you ever imagine that the saying “Slow and steady wins the race” is incorrect you may want to defer to these trees for a second opinion.
On our way back to our hotels we could see all these cars stopped. We didn’t know what was going on, but clearly there was something to see. And that’s when we met the monkeys. They were a little scary for me, and they seemed to be quite aggressive, but it’s not everyday that you get a monkey right next to your bike!
My friend and I looked at the monkeys for a few minutes until we noticed they were getting a little aggressive with the tourists, and jumping on their cars and grabbing food from people. Clearly that was our sign to get out of there!
We slowly rode ourselves home to relax with some great Cambodian cuisine, a cool drink and then an afternoon nap.
It was the perfect ending to a magical day in Siem Reap.
Cambodia is a beautiful country and has amazing cuisine. I would recommend it to anyone. It is a country that has obviously had some major challenges in recent history, but it is a country with a lot to offer, and a really lovely place to travel. If you are in South East Asia, make sure you add this to your itinerary.
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Like most career girls, there comes a time in life when you step back and take inventory or your life, health and everything else.
For too many women when their career takes off their health and wellbeing suffers.
Does this routine sound familiar?
1. Go to work at around 9 am every day
2. Sit down all day
3. Buy something convenient, and unhealthy for lunch
4. Get home
5. Continue working
6. Eat a convenient dinner as fast as possible
7. Continue working while watching tv
8. Spend a few minutes around the house before going to bed
If that’s you it’s time to put some balance in your life and get healthy!
1. Find Balance Between Work and Life. Set aside work free times when you are enjoying your friends, family and relaxing.
2. Get Some Exercise Everyday. Instead of meeting up with your friends for dinner have exercise dates. Make sure you spend a minimum of 30 minutes being active everyday.
3. Avoid Regular Restaurant Meals. The amount of salt and fat in your food will creep up on you slowly. Restaurant meals should be treats, not daily occurences.
4. Think Before You Drink. Many beverages are hidden calorie bombs – read labels and make sure you know what you are drinking. If you are thirsty water is your best choice. If you want a treat proceed with caution before sabotaging your diet.
5. Enjoy Your Down Time. Reduce stress and remind yourself of the simple pleasures in life – relax and unwind in your favourite healthy way.
6. Prioritize Your Life. Too often we spend most of our time responding to the latest crisis instead of living consciously. Step back, remind yourself what’s most important, and plan accordingly. Make sure you are spending the majority of your time with things that matter to you most.
7. Enjoy The Fruits of Your Labour! You have worked hard to get to this point in your life, and there’s no point in continuing if you can’t enjoy it. Stop thinking about what you don’t have, and embrace all the great things you do have. Don’t sweat the small stuff…it really doesn’t matter. You’ve worked too hard to have a lost button or cancelled plan ruin your day. Start Enjoying!
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It’s been a long process to get to this point in my blog and I couldn’t be happier with the recent modifications to the site to freshen it up and make it look cleaner and more stylish. But, I couldn’t have done it without all the support, encouragement and kind words from folks like you.
So a big THANK YOU to all the Cashmere Clutch readers. You guys have been amazing at helping me to launch the site and I’m thrilled many of you like it so much you’re getting your friends to read it too.
I can’t lie – it takes quite a bit of time and effort to keep this site up and running and making sure that there are fun posts for you to read almost every day.
It’s kind words of encouragement from people like you that keep things rolling along nicely – especially on days when posts mysteriously disappear into internet land!
So keep the comments coming, drop by often, and don’t be shy to tell your friends about the blog, as many of you have done already!
Hugs!
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The fall is officially here now, and it’s time to focus on what I want to achieve this October. But instead of making sweeping plans this month I’m going to be more realistic with my goals. Perhaps reality has set in that I’m not superwoman, and I can’t do everything all at once. But last month I made some wonderful goals…that unfortunately just weren’t realistic.
Here’s what the plan was for September, and then what really happened.
1. Ride my bike once a week. Earlier in the summer my boyfriend and I bought bikes. We wanted to ride them to cafes, on weekends, along country roads…and we’ve only ridden them twice! So for September I’m going to try and ride my bike once a week. It’s such a fun way to get around and I’ll get exercise while I’m having fun in the city!
What really happened I didn’t even ride my bike once! It turns out it’s a big activity to get bikes from a condo storage locker…and it’s a pretty big detterent when I’m thinking of last minute activities to do.
For me to get the bike I have to:
1 – get the key from the concierge for the storage space (5 minutes)
2 – unlock the bikes and take them out of the huge maze of bikes in the storage area (10 minutes)
3 – return the key to the concierge (5 minutes)
That means before I’ve even jumped on the bike I’ve spent 20 minutes getting it out of the storage locker. And that doesn’t even account for the time to get my biking outfit on, figure out where to bike, and collect all the essential things I’d need to take with me.
On a positive note I did go running a few times, and walked to all my appointments whenever possible. So I did get exercise this month…just not on my bike.
2. Go to a film festival movie. I live in Toronto because I love the life the city has to offer. There are always things going on…like the Toronto International Film Festival, but I rarely take advantage. So this year I’m going to see at least one show.
What really happened It turns out getting film festival tickets is not that easy! I was very close to getting tickets one night, but then the tickets weren’t available in the last second. So, there was no film festival. Instead, I went to Cirque de Soleil, which was unbelievable, so I didn’t feel cheated.
3. Visit New York City. I’ve always wanted to go to the Big Apple. But somehow life gets in the way, and because it’s so close I never end up going.
What really happened Since this big announcement I’ve really been watching my pennies. It turns out weddings are not cheap, so I need to be in the months leading up to the big event so I can afford it!
4. Throw a cashmereclutch launch party. Since I started this site I’ve been very slow at letting my friends know about it. Partially I wanted to make some more enhancements before I had a party, and also I was waiting for a sunny weekend. But like all good plans life gets in the way – the enhancements take longer than expected and the weather has been less than excellent this summer. So the heck with it – I’m going to live my life and have my great launch party anyways!
What really happened We’ve had terrible weather this summer in Toronto, but September has been beautiful. So everyone has been making crazy plans to take weekend trips, go to their cottages, and go to the last weddings of the summer – which means my VIP list would be MIA for my launch party, and that just won’t do! So, I had to postpone it for October.
Which of course leads to my October Goals.
1. Start wedding planning. Yup, I’ll be that girl buying stacks of crazy expensive bridal magazines, pouring over tiny details on invitations, and watching my savings account drip dry down while I plan one of the most exciting events of my life! This month I want to plan when and where.
2. Throw a cashmereclutch launch party. Yup, it’s on the list again. This time I’m setting a date and hoping that everyone can make it. If they can’t….oh well.
3. Have more focus on the task at hand. This may sound like a really silly thing to say, but I need to work on it. Like every busy girl I’ll be multi-tasking and doing about 6 different things at any given time. I end up feeling pretty frazzled, and like I haven’t been totally dedicated to what I’m doing. As a result dates, facts, and events get really hard to recall because I was never totally present while things were being arranged.
I’m particularly bad with phone conversations. I’ll be chatting away, half paying attention, while I’m also responding to email and clearing the clutter off my desk. It’s horrible! Last Friday I was chatting with someone and realized after I hung up that I have no idea what they were talking about or what I agreed to do!
So I made a deal with myself:
If I’m on the phone I’m on the phone only.
If I’m writing an email I’m only writing email.
If I’m having a conversation with someone I’m engaged in the conversation… and not thinking about the 10 other things I need to accomplish within the next 6 minutes.
And that’s it for my list this month. I’m going to be more focused than September. I’m trying not to commit to things that are not realistic.
What are your goals for this month?
