Do The Daniel - Do The Daniel

May 18, 2021May 18, 2021

Turns Out, Life Had Other Plans

It’s 10pm on a random Tuesday in May and I am left feeling a mixture of nostalgia, loneliness and restlessness all wrapped up in one. It’s been a few weeks since I last saw my husband or my dog, and while I am learning to make new patterns for this portion of our journey to having kids, it doesn’t make any of “this” any easier. I could have been wildly financially ahead of where I am had I made better choices in my youth. I could have had a “better body” had I focused more on the vanity that conventional beauty demands.

I could have this, and should have that, but in the end it turns out, life had other plans.

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021

Spring is Here, Which Means it’s Time for Wine

I mean… it could be winter and I would probably be saying the same if I’m being honest.

Over what feels like the past twelve years of pandemic life, I’ve really had the chance to learn more about VQA wines and how important supporting local wineries really is. Not only because a beautiful bottle of wine makes everything better, but because many of you may not realize that these small businesses need our support to stay afloat amid a very challenging year as well. Having met and worked with so many of them throughout my career as a blogger, and to kick off a partnership with Wine Country Ontario for #30DaysofVQA, I thought I’d share some of my personal favourites.

May 1, 2021May 1, 2021

The Three Small Changes I Made for Me

The self-improvement and self-love narrative is nothing anything new to me, my blog and my social media accounts. If you’re already following me on Instagram (if not, why not? ? click here) you’ll have seen that I bought myself the loudest pair of adidas running shoes you can imagine and have been really trying to form healthy habits. Amid a big change, I’m trying to not be the biggest cliché of all, but I do want to make this chapter in my life the best I can.

So, I thought I would share with you all the three small changes I have made that seem to be making the biggest difference in the way I feel.

April 23, 2021May 1, 2021

Stop Being so Hard on Yourself – It’s Okay to be on Day One Again

On the first full week of living in Ottawa again and adjusting to my latest chapter in my personal and professional life, I found myself being on “Day One” of my physical fitness journey. Yes, again.

At this point in my life I’ve lost touched with the amount of times that this has been the case. But maybe that isn’t the right way to look at it anymore. Maybe, finally, I have come to terms with the fact that “Day One” is a blessing and a way to refocus vs the negative connotation around “reset”. A means of forgiving the past, embracing my humanity, and stop holding on to the idea of it as a failure of no longer being where I thought I should / would be.