BZEN

And just like that my first slow experiment is at an end and the second one is about to begin! It only made sense to me that after slow food comes slow self care so that is what I plan to tackle this month. Plus with February being a bit of gloomy one a little TLC is just what the doctor ordered. Self care means a lot of different things to a lot of different people; For some it means having a detox of social media and processed foods, for others it means the exact opposite and having a cheese burger while taking some time out to scroll through Instagram is what they need. Determining what you need is the biggest first step towards embarking on a self care routine or challenge. As February approaches closer and closer I keep asking myself 'what do I need?' and 'what do I want to achieve?' Neither of these questions are easy to answer for me but what I've realized is that I practise very little self care these days so at this point, anything is better than not

Somehow we're already 2/3's through January which means I'm 2/3's the way through my slow food experiment. So far I feel like it has been incredibly successful and I plan on continuing this throughout the rest of 2018. It feels so much better to eat at home regularly instead of wasting money on constantly eating out, and I feel healthier for it too. The point of this experiment isn't for me to stop eating out entirely but instead to save eating out for celebrations and special occasions - to make eating out at a favorite restaurant something exciting again instead of the norm. Here are some of the changes I've seen come out of this experiment so far: + I spend less money + I follow a budget for grocery shopping + I've become more aware of how and where I'm spending money + I'm learning to appreciate simpler meals + I'm wasting less food + I'm being more resourceful + I am using less plastic + I feel more in control of my money a

Something I have realized since pursuing minimalism is the amount of money that has been freed up for experiences instead of stuff. I dubbed 2017 as the 'Year of Adventure' and adventure we did (I'll share more posts of what we got up to in the coming months). Our final trip of the year was a cheeky little weekend getaway to Toronto where we relaxed, played and took some much needed down time before Christmas was upon us. We hopped on a Greyhound bus and were whisked off towards Toronto; We prefer taking the Greyhound to Toronto because it means we don't have to worry about renting a car, navigating the busy streets, and paying for parking. Taking the Greyhound means we get to hop on and hop off which is easy-peasy. We stayed at The Novotel on the Esplanade right in the heart of the Entertainment District. I can't recommend this hotel enough - it isn't anything fancy by any means but it is priced well in an excellent location and is incredibly clean a

I've decided it kind of fell into place that the month of January is going to be the month where I take on the slow food experiment. Food has been my security blanket, and has been for a long time. Changing the way I interact with food is something I wanted to change in 2017 but it never seemed to happen. Now that I am taking on a year of slow, there has never been a better time to tackle this once and for all. If I am going to focus on slow food this month it is important that I take a look at how I currently interact with food and I quickly realized that I lean heavily on food to self medicate: If I have a bad day I make myself feel better by picking up an iced coffee (or three), a slice of pizza, or better yet a whole pizza. If I have a good day I celebrate by treating myself to a frappucino from Starbucks or Subway for lunch. If I am tired and not in the mood to cook dinner I blindly order Dominos online (you see the pattern here) and it has been happening for far too lo

With 2017 having come and gone and the new year already here, I want  to take a moment to reflect on what 2017 taught me. I love the  feeling of the new year - a fresh start, a new chapter, a new  beginning - which is almost as satisfying as  crawling into bed with freshly washed sheets and pillow covers, but  there is something to be said for taking a moment of pause to  appreciate the lessons the previous year has gifted me. ~ It feels good to face your fears ~ ...and bloody scary too! 2017 was the first time in a very, very  long time that I chose to step outside of my comfort zone and it was  one of the best things I did for myself. I took a ride on Canada's  Longest Zip-line , I traveled  almost 1000km in one weekend as Ryan and I traveled  around SW Ontario, and I finally booked those  pesky dentist and doctors appointments I've been meaning to book for  far too long. To some people these may not seem like a big deal  but for me these were HUGE. ~ It'

Happy 2018! On this exact day last year I read Cait Flander's post A Year of Slow  where she talks about embracing slow living experiments for 2017. With the new year here I have decided to follow in Cait's footsteps and will be embracing slow for 2018. The word slow is going to become my 2018 mantra and will need to be repeated often but will hopefully lead me to slow down, take more breaths, put my phone away, enjoy the moment, smell the roses, and give myself room and space to just be . 2017 was a great year - probably the best year of my adult life, and that isn't because of the things I did but more so the mindset I adopted. I faced some of my fears, worked on my anxiety, and just became a little more me . Through all of that I have really felt the pull and call of less, and slow, and getting back to basics. I want to ensure that I do not continue to get swept up in the craze that is busyness, eating out constantly, spending too much money, and missing the special