We just had a baby, so I won’t be doing much in this post except listing the books I read in 2018. 🙂 If a book is on this list, it means I liked it (I cut all the books I read that I didn’t enjoy). If we have similar taste in books, hopefully this list can help you make use of any Indigo and/or Amazon gift cards you received over the holidays!
I changed almost everything about my life two and a half years ago.
I had a full-time job as a teacher in a magical school (a job I had been working towards for years) and I was finally there. I kept reminding myself, “You made it! You did it!” but there was this voice in the back of my head that kept asking, “But what if…?”
We’ve recently moved back to Canada, but Greg and I wanted to share what we discovered while living in Los Angeles over the past 4 years. This guide is by no means comprehensive, but if you had a couple of days to spend in LA, it would give you some ideas of how to tackle this massive, sprawling, incredible city. We hope you’ll find it helpful (and we hope you’ll go visit!)!
Even though Dawn was my favorite member of the babysitter’s club, “living in California” wasn’t something I ever dreamt about. Maybe it seemed outside the realm of possibilities, even for dreams. Plus, “life in the U.S.” just didn’t appeal to me. I had been to various parts of America on trips with my family, and had even been to LA, but I was overwhelmed with the freeways and the traffic, and I was carrying some negative beliefs about “Americans” and “American culture.”
Growing up, my dad was an entrepreneur. He built several businesses, starting from scratch again and again without hesitation. His cycle was to climb a ladder, only to jump right off, and climb up all over again. Once I asked him why he didn’t get to the top of the ladder and just relax there for awhile… he said, “Because I don’t climb to get to the top – I climb to feel the resistance.” In other words, it’s the feeling of the climb itself, the challenge, effort and reward in doing something hard with nothing propelling you forward but yourself, that he was after.
We LOVE Hawaii (I mean, does anyone not love Hawaii?). Especially from LA, it’s such a logistically easy trip. Direct flight, and you are still in America, so no hassles with phones, currency, or customs. Book the flight, the AirBnB, and the rental car – and that’s it, trip planned! Below are the highlights from our recent trip in case Maui is on the horizon for you.
If you had told me when I was growing up that I would someday graduate from Harvard, I never would have believed you.
It’s hard to believe, but a year and a half has passed since the beginning of my “unplanned year” experiment.
To recap, despite having an amazing job, one that I had been dreaming about and working towards for years, I felt compelled to make a big change. Â I wanted to press pause on my life – to intentionally create space, and see what would come of it. I honestly didn’t know what the end result would be. Â Had I been asked to bet on it, my money would have been on me returning to teaching with a deeper appreciation for the stability it provides; I have been so surprised by what has emerged instead.
I have come across so many wonderful books this year. The bolded books are my top 10 (and within each category, I’ve listed the books in order of how much I enjoyed them, with my favorites at the top). Happy reading!
‘Tis the season! If you know me well, you know that being cozy is one of my top priorities. Especially given the tough week we’ve had in LA, I really needed to slow down and focus on what makes me feel calm. The below list is comprised of the things that help me get into the coziest of moods. Enjoy!
young, wild, and tidy. 