Julio Reyes - Do The Daniel

September 8, 2023September 15, 2023

“You’ll never regret romanticizing your life”

That trending audio on social media is one that felt like it spoke to my soul the first time I heard it. I would click on the audio and watch as people around the world found beauty in sometimes the smallest and most simple things. It made me realize that amid the insanely busy pace I have been running this year, I am very grateful for the romantic lens through which I see my own life and accomplishments. For years I was deemed “sensitive” or a “hopeless romantic” and more often than not, it was used against me as an attack instead of the compliment I thought it was. But I love the fact that getting on a bike and chasing a summer sunset feeds an inner desire to live life more beautifully. Click here to see what I mean.

August 9, 2023August 23, 2023

Beyond what you see on the highway

I am the kind of person who has lost count of the amount of times I’ve driven along the 401 between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and beyond. Don’t get me wrong, I love to drive, but at a certain point you stop seeing the landmarks and the signs on the side of the road. When you think about it, there’s a whole world to explore at the next off ramp or destination, and for the longest time that’s what Bay of Quinte was to me. A sign on the side of the highway. All these years later I’ve come to appreciate that the region is so much more, and if I’m being honest, it’s become one of my favourite places in Ontario.

June 21, 2023June 24, 2023

The 2023 Levis Pride Collection

I guess the best way to start off this blog post is to define the term allyship and it’s importance to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Why? Because amid a very busy Pride month I have born witness to a lot of performative allyship / marketing, extreme levels of hate towards our community, and have even had brand partners ask me to “tone it down” to avoid controversary. And this year I even received death threats in the comments section on multiple social media posts.

In 2023.

So yeah, I think it’s important that we talk about this a little more.

June 3, 2023June 20, 2023

My tips on making a patio makeover easier

For those of you who didn’t know, a few years ago my husband embarked on helping to find a multi-generational home with his mom and brother. Living in Toronto, it took some time, but with the help of an amazing real estate agent, they found a condo in the Jane & Eglinton area. While the building was quite ordinary from the outside, the interior has been renovated to perfection and it was a fit!

A few years later, during a visit to the city, we sat in the living room chatting and I looked out onto a 12 x 12 balcony that had been mostly unused. That’s when I decided it was time to transform the space into the outdoor oasis the family deserved, and today I wanted to share exactly how I did that!