You are the first and the last impression on my mind each day
As everything falls away
You stay there like a midsummer dream
A dream that is ripping at the seams
Alas, some dreams are just that… dreams
Simple truths I have learnt the hard way
You can only rely on yourself.
For years…
I tried to find happiness in others.
Why?
March 2018
How is it March already? Every January I talk about blogging every week and then by this time each year I just stare at my blog and say oh no.
Anyways, I figured that if I implemented a template, it will be easier for me to at least do one post a month. So here it is!
March Mantra
Limit access to your mental space.
In March I will try to
1. Donate more baby clothes and stuff lying around the apartment
2. Not to buy more than 3 books (already purchased one)
Current Reads
Lessons / Reflections from February
1. Happiness isn’t the end goal, it is a journey.
2. Cut negative people out from your life. Life is too short to entertain that negativity
3. Believe in yourself and say what you mean and if people don’t like you for speaking the truth… then it is their problem, not yours.
Things I was proud of in February
1. I had some incredibly fruitful conversations with people I admire
2. Joined the board for Code for Canada
Those are all the updates from my end for now! How is your year so far?
December + Holiday Things
December is probably my favourite time of the year, especially since we moved into our current place. I can’t wait for the weather to turn colder so we can light a roaring fire and sit around our fireplace sipping on cold drinks. Which reminds me, I really ought to remind our superintendent to get the chimney cleaned before it starts to snow.
This year also happens to be Iman’s first holiday season and we are excited to celebrate with her. Plus I just ordered our first ever Christmas tree! Both mine and hers! AHHHHH! Beyond excited!
Also… we are going to our first ever Christmas Market this Friday! WOOOO! I will definitely have to do a blog post about that.
In other news, my kid loves Gilmore Girls, which is amazing! I can’t wait for her to be older so we can watch it together.
Working on several projects right now and really need to get them done tonight, so I should stop babbling and get them done.
5 Keys to Success by New York Times Best Selling Author, Gabby Bernstein @ #GIRLBOSSRALLY!
5 keys to success by @GabbyBernstein
✨ Truly claim that success is an inside job. It has to be a priority to turn inwards. Ask yourself does this feel good to me? Do I feel excited? Do I feel energized?
Say yes to the things that make you light up.
Say no to the things that don’t feel good to you.
✨ Intention. Intention. Intention.
The key trait of a high performer is intention.
What is the intention behind this event? Blog? Copy?
✨ Slow down
✨ You don’t have to be there right now. Take small, right actions to get where you want to get to. Remember to have fun along the way!
✨Fuck it! Let’s go! Let’s make it happen! Let’s do it!
Make it a mission to say yes to your dreams, one moment at a time!
Atelier
I am obsessed with the word Atelier and just in the span of last 3 days, it has turned up twice in my life.
- I am watching a show on Netflix Canada titled Atelier.
It is a Japanese show about a young girl from rural Japan who moves to Tokyo in hopes of kickstarting a great career. The industry of her choice is custom lingerie – since she is in love with fabrics.
I am honestly fascinated by the show.
Not everyone knows this, and I rarely used to talk about it here, but when I first moved to Toronto, I was working as a digital media strategist for a jewelry designer named 3Shahs.
Through her, I have attended a number of fashion events and the show depicts them accurately. I also really enjoy looking at beautiful items of clothing, watching Japanese dramas & the language in general, so this is a rare treat.
Custom lingerie seems so luxurious though and I will honestly give it a go. Would you?
- I just heard the most recent episode of girlboss radio and it is with Atelier Doré!
Fantastic episode and so many great learnings that I can start applying to my life right away.
Go give it a listen by clicking here.
Side note: I am heading to girlboss rally on November 11 with my friend Marsha and I couldn’t be more excited! But I feel that it deserves a blog post of its own.
I don’t know what the point of this post was and to be honest I just wanted to check in here because in many ways this is my atelier and has been since 2011.
I really want to get into the habit of blogging regularly but with work and everything, it always takes a backseat. Maybe I should go back to my schedule of positing 3 times a week and spend one hour each morning just writing. Anyways, it is pretty late here so I am signing off for now.
Ria has officially melted
It is so flippin hot here in Toronto right now. And while my brain is in the process of melting, I thought I’d update you all on what I have been up to. I miss updating this space with random tidbits and snippets from my life.
By the way guys I say flippin instead of fu**ing now, because we have a kid in the house.
hahhahah as if… Yeah… no 
So what was I saying?
Oh yeah. It is fucking hot and I am melting but it being this hot also means that le baby has been falling asleep for longer periods of time – in front of a fan of course.
This heat wave has also thwarted all of my plans to light candles during autumn. Thank God we are freaking lazy and hadn’t put away the AC yet.
It is a portable unit and usually during fall and winter we put it in storage.
My candles are all just sitting on our table, waiting to be lit but alas.
I am off to an event but have a very exciting post lined up for tomorrow!
How is everyone else doing?
Afraid
Let’s talk about her – her choices, her decisions, her life and her things.
She is strong, independent, well educated and afraid.
She opted for an arranged marriage because she was afraid of ending up alone. Afraid that she won’t be able to have children.
Afraid of what people will say – the rumours they will spread, that will sting.
But most of all she is afraid of what her parents will think.
Now she is afraid of saying no to her husband. She is afraid because she knows that she is not ready to be a mother.
Afraid of the consequences her actions will bring.
But most of all she is afraid of what her parents will think.
She is brave in more ways than one.
She deserves to be loved and respected, not shunned.
Parents, please tell your daughters about all the joy that they bring.
So that they are no longer afraid of what you might think.
This post is inspired by a chat I had with a young woman recently. If you are reading this, I want you to know – you are brave, loved and I’ve got your back.
Consistency, September TBR pile & Bookstagram goals
Last week, while at a conference, I asked a blogger friend of mine how he managed to monetize his blog and he said, “I just blogged every single day for two years and it took off.”
While I don’t think it is just a matter of luck, I do believe that consistency is key to being good at anything. I see that in my 5 month old, who constantly tries to push herself further by first learning to roll over on her belly and now by trying to crawl. I am even beginning to see signs of her starting to sit.
My point is, she didn’t know how to do any of this stuff when she was born and with sheer willpower and daily practice, I am sure she will learn all of it.
Books I am reading in September:
I am currently reading a book titled “Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud. The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman” by Anne Helen Peterson. A series of essays aimed at highlighting stories of strong women who, for the lack of a better phrase, don’t give a fuck and always do their thing — and that’s exactly what has made them successful. The first chapter is about Serena Williams. I had no idea that the Williams’ sisters trained that hard to turn the odds in their favour and it is truly eye opening.
“As Richards later recalled in his autobiography, he’d arrange for kids in Compton to stand outside the courts while the girls were playing and yell every racial slur they could think of — a way to harden them against the white recoil that was bound to accompany their rise.”
Will write a more detailed review on this once I have read through the whole book.
I did finish reading Scarborough earlier this month and it is a fantastic read.
What did I like so much about it? The fact that it is set in a neighbourhood where I have actually lived in Toronto, realistic characters and heart wrenching stories.
I did, finally, start a book specific Instagram account on May 27 this year, which already has more than 300 followers and I am quite proud! The photos featured above are from my account.
Goal: Connect with 500 amazing book bloggers by end of the year!
What have you been up to lately?
5 Things I Don’t and Will Not Do as a new mom
When you become a new mom, you receive a ton of advice – some solicited, other not so much. This advice is usually given by well meaning loved ones or if you are a nervous first time mama like me, then by some random strangers on the bajillion mommy forums online.
Let’s face it, when you are a first time mom, you want to do everything right… or if you are like me, then at the very least you don’t want to fuck your child up. I don’t want to break my baby ok? (That was an actual fear of mine when she was a few days old, what if I dropped her and broke her bones. I didn’t but still…)
During the first two weeks, I tried to follow as much of the online “wisdom” as I could but some of it just doesn’t work for me. Here is a list of 5 things I am not doing and will not do in the foreseeable future.
1. Skin on Skin Time
Cue the shocked, angry, judgemental tones. But yeah… I am not stripping my baby down for every feeding. NOPE.
When my little one is freaking fussing and wants to eat, stripping her down to her diaper is the last thing I want to be doing.
As far as bonding is concerned, we are happy and are doing well. She smiles every time I am around, either that or she smells milk and smiles. Both of those things work for me.
2. Feed every 2 hours
Ok so when we were at the hospital I was told to wake my baby up every two hours after a feed but then she started cluster feeding and I just didn’t have it in me to wake her up after 2 hours after 6 hours of continuous feeding. NAHHHH BRAAH
Apart from that, she wakes up like clockwork when she wants to eat and has been putting on weight consistently.
I am sure that feeding every 2 hours works for some babies but my baby was constantly spitting up and had so much uncomfortable gas.
3. Use diaper cream during every diaper change
Why the heck would I slather on chemicals on my baby’s bum without a cause? Coconut oil rules.
4. Leave my baby in a dirty diaper overnight just because pampers are super absorbent
Okay first question: How’d you like to sit in your shit for 5 hours?
I know people say that you shouldn’t wake up a sleeping baby and normally I’d be happy to oblige but I don’t want her to get an extremely angry bum rash.
I am happy to rock her back to sleep or feed her once she is clean.
5. Not rock her to sleep in my arms
I enjoy it and so does she.
She is equally happy to fall asleep on her play mat. I am told she will get used to it but my experience tells me otherwise.
We are constantly told that every baby is different, then why do we try to put them in buckets and tell mothers to follow all of that advice that may or may not work for them? Mamas you know your babies best so do what works for you.
Ria In The City 