THE POWER OF PALS

Posted by kait / November 4, 2013

On a recent trip to the desert, where we had been promised (a strong word, I suppose) inspiration, empowerment and next-level networking, some friends and I encountered quite the opposite. There was the three of us, sauntering around the pool at our beautiful hipster hotel, mystified as to how we had ended up in this bizarro gong show of a ‘retreat’ that we had spent thousands of dollars to attend. And while I am sure there were people who walked away from the experience feeling excited and inspired, until we took things into our own hands there was perpetual yawns plastered on our faces.

Instead of dwelling on this and retreating out of the beautiful hot sun, we decided to make our time there AMAZING. Since we all live in the same city, it worked out like gangbusters that the three of us ended up spending our days together. It meant we could actually go home and do something groundbreaking with what we had learned – from each other. The power of pals is an incredible thing, my friends. Not only can a good pal inspire you to achieve your dreams but they also make you smile, laugh, cry and learn how to be a better person. I relished in the power of my pals that weekend. We brainstormed and laughed and met people from all over. We made it completely worth our while.

My lesson learned from this? Never do anything you don’t want to do. Especially, if you know it is not going to help you in any sort of way. Abandon it and feel good about your decision. Find something new that inspires you and lifts you up. In our case, it just happened to be the decor, the cocktails and the people of the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs. Cin-cin to that!

Photo via

BE THANKFUL

Posted by kait / October 15, 2013

One of the biggest lessons you will every learn in your life is to be thankful, show gratitude and be the change you want to see in the world. This past weekend was filled with amazing family and friends, coupled with ridiculously good food and wine – a Thanksgiving to remember.

While you should give thanks everyday sometimes you just need that extra special day to share how you feel, especially for people who make find it harder to express their emotions. Wine definitely seems to help loosen up the whole *sharing* thing a bit. I had a really great talk with a family member who I don’t know super well personally but is usually a bit more reserved with his feelings. It was so great to hear how thankful he was to have a big family full of great people and how he is going to make it his personal mission to make dinners like that happen more often.

I definitely find myself feeling like I need to be more grateful and thankful for everything good in my life. Every so often, I just get so caught up in the general busy-ness of it all and I lose track of why I do the things I do and how to be thankful for it all. Writing it down helps so I thought I would share:

1 | So thankful for my best friend and husband, Byron, who I get to share all of my adventures with! I know how lucky I am.

2 | Thankful for my amazing family. I totally won the fam-jam jackpot when I was born. So happy to have awesome parents and a brother that I can call a best friend.

3 | Very thankful for having some of the best girlfriends ever. You know who are you + I couldn’t do it without our coffee dates, shopping trips and wine nights.

4 | Hugely thankful for my career. Some days I still can’t believe I get to wake up and work from home and write for a living. I am so grateful for all of the opportunities I get to partake in and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

5 | Lastly, I am just so thankful to live in such a beautiful city and country. The more I get to explore and see new pockets of Canada, the better. Beautiful, inside and out.

LET’S BOWL!

Posted by kait / October 7, 2013

Does anyone else love bowling as much I do yet somehow simultaneously suck at it? I love everything about the bowling experience, right down to the vintage-y bowling shoes and pink marbled bowling balls. But somehow, when I get up to the lane I just cannot take myself seriously and I end up rolling some goofy between-the-legs-backwards ball towards those pins. Sometimes it works out for me and others? Not so much.

We recently had the chance to check out the NTNL on 10th‘s new bowling alley just a couple days after it had opened. First of all, can I just say how excited I am that bars are completely becoming more and more interesting all of the time? Community tables, ping pong and now bowling. Things are getting more interactive and fun. I like this direction.

NTNL Bowl was just a blast. The alley is just as gorgeous as the rest of NTNL except of course it has beautiful long bowling lanes with plenty of plus seating. The shoes are classic (I was the first person to wear the ones above!) and music is fantastic. We even heard rumours that there is going to be DJs and bands playing down at the alley which is something I would definitely get on board with. The alley is not without it’s quirks however. If you have a fear of clowns, you may want to avoid certain parts of the bar. Hint: there is a GIANT clown head on the wall. Just watch yourself.

I think the NTNL chefs and mixologists had a lot of fun working out the bowling alley menus because it is all Mexican. Strictly a taqueria, you can order up delicious tacos and churros to your hearts content! And the cocktails all have tequila in them, making this a super dangerous place because, you know, you get pretty thirsty while you are bowling! As per usual at NTNL, tons of great beers available too.

I can’t wait to head back to bowl with a bunch of friends to bowl the night away. Maybe a bowling team should be in the works? Though I really should start practicing…

RAFTING ADVENTURE X FIESTA MOVEMENT

Posted by kait / September 23, 2013

Happy Monday, folks! I hope you all had beautiful adventurous weekends. I told you a bit about getting inspired for new adventures last week thanks to good people involved with the Ford Fiesta Movement. I firmly believe that there is room for adventure in every single day – you just have to find the opportunity and go for it! Whether it be trekking across town to the new farmer’s market or going for an epic bike ride – adventures are what you make it. Just make sure you have a big cup of coffee before you head out.

I was inspired to do something new and exciting just as summer was ending. Despite living in Calgary for most of my life, I realized I had never rafted down the Bow River before. After the crazy and devastating flood earlier this summer, I was a teensy bit hesitant about heading out on the waters but once we go started, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Byron and I met up with his brother + wife to join us for the day on the water. It is essential that you have two vehicles to make this boat trip a success so that you don’t have to trudge back to the car with raft in tow + soggy wet clothes. Our entire rafting trip was about 2.5 hours so you could imagine how long it would be. Lazyday Raft Rentals makes it super easy though – they will even help you plan your entire trip. We embarked on our journey via Bowness and floated all the way back down to Lazyday headquarters just by downtown.

My favourite part of the rafting trip was just absorbing the beauty that exists around us right in the middle of our big city. It is pretty incredible that we get to witness such gorgeous nature just minutes from home. In fact, I couldn’t believe it took me so long to get to the river for this adventure. Second favourite part of the rafting excursion? Killing ourselves laughing when the ride got a little bit bumpy and the rapids increased. It only lasted a moment but I totally felt like a kid again enjoying a little bit of fear. I made a little video of us spinning through the crystal clear rivers:

A beautiful day, all in all, and an excellent way to celebrate the end of summer. I can’t wait for my next rafting adventure. Next summer, I will be a regular for sure.

I’m already getting so excited for my next adventure. What will I do next? I have a couple more travels lined for the fall – I expect some cycling in my near future. Also inspired by adventure and rafting, I love this Ford Fiesta Movement video by Anthony Hull featuring an ultimate rafting adventure with some cool creatives! Watch + get inspired to take some risks too!

This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation. The photos and opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise stated.

GO DO SOMETHING! x FIESTA MOVEMENT

Posted by kait / September 17, 2013

Hello my lovely pals. Happy Tuesday! I wanted to share a bit about the Fiesta Movement. What is Fiesta Movement? Well, it’s all about getting ramped up for the arrival of the 2014 Ford Fiesta and celebrating the fun adventures that life takes us on. The Ford Fiesta Movement is inspiring me to stop messing around and do something worth talking about! Over the next four months, I’ll be taking on fun projects inspired by the Fiesta Movement, and how I spin it is up to you and me! Yes, you, the reader can help me decide how to make the most of each and everything month!

This month’s theme is ADVENTURE. Hey wait, I am pretty sure this whole year’s theme is adventure – at least for me. I’ve been lucky to do some amazing traveling this summer so I am hoping to make the most of this last month of warm(er) weather before any water freezes over. The photo above was from my recent adventure to the Okanagan and Wine Country. We kayaked up Okanagan Lake and it was stunning. I would love to hear any ideas of an adventure I should go on or partake in this month.

I am particularly inspired by Fiesta Agents Justin + Kyle’s Go Do Something! video. The idea of jampacking a whole day, from sun up to sun down, with adventure and fun sounds like the perfect way to take advantage of the Adventure theme. Maybe I could jampack a day with as much adventure as you can find in Calgary in one single day: Ziplining, rafting, bike riding, bowling, etc…. I’m up for a challenge so please send me your ideas! In the meantime, watch Justin + Kyle’s awesome California adventure here:

This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation by the Ford Fiesta Movement. The photos and opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise stated.

THE CALGARY FLOOD

Posted by kait / July 3, 2013

My friends at Let’s Neighbor recently asked me to write about the Calgary Flood. While we are still in the midst of dealing with this natural disaster city-wide, a lot of good has come out of it. A stronger spirit of community, a bigger sense of the word neighbourhood and the importance of banding together during times of crisis.

Last week I spent three days organizing a flood relief fundraiser called Mission:Possible with some folks at the Mission Cliff Bungalow Community Association. We somehow pulled it off and ended up raising over $13,000 and giving out over 2,000 free hot meals to volunteers. We also ‘flooded’ the donation center with clothing and housewares from all of our generous neighbours wanting to help out everyone who lost everything in the flood. It was a beautiful day that I will never forget. I have never seen such generosity before. The comradeship was incredible and I hope this good energy sticks around the city for a long time to come. I have a feeling it will.

I have included some stunning and heart-breaking photographs from during the flood by my friend Andy van der Raadt. He has a beautifully sensitive eye and has captured this tough time with a ton of grace and…stillness.

If you are interested in assisting Calgary get back on it’s feet, I have rounded up a couple ways to do so.

Donate to the Red Cross to help with immediate relief initiatives in Alberta’s affected areas
Donate to the Calgary Arts Flood Rebuild. So many artists, musicians and arts organizations lost artwork, materials, instruments and revenue during this hard time – help rebuild this community at InvestYYC
Support long-term community recovery efforts right in Calgary area by donating to the Calgary Foundation Rebuilding Fund.

Photos by Andy van der Raadt

a sweet valley high

Posted by kait / May 21, 2013

Just returned from a beautiful long weekend away to visit our friends in Trail, BC. A much-needed getaway to a beautiful valley was exactly what the doctor ordered. Feeling so much more refreshed and relaxed after returning. I’ve vowed to myself to not stay up past 11pm on weeknights anymore as that was becoming an easily increasing problem in my daily routine. Honestly, I was up until 4am the other night writing away. Not healthy despite the wonderful flow of words emerging from my brain.

While visiting the Kaslo May Days festival with our friends on Sunday, Jen and I stopped into a psychic & tarot card reader’s booth to get readings done. It was really incredible as to what she picked up on from me, without me hardly saying a word. She even knew that I had to be careful with what I eat as I am very sensitive and can get quite sick. She also told me some interesting things about my career future and some paths I will end up on in the next six years. Lots to look forward to, most certainly. It was nice to get an unbiased opinion or viewpoint from someone like her. Would love to get another reading done again sometime soon – this time maybe a bit more in-depth.

Back to the lovely grindstone now – so much to do & so much to share once it is all done. This summer is going to be amazing.

What I Learned at Alt Summit

Posted by kait / March 5, 2013

Well, this post is incredibly overdue but it was only now that I felt prompted to write it. It has been just over a month since I attended Altitude Summit in Salt Lake City. It really took me a while to absorb exactly what I learned and achieved out of the three days of extreme networking. As soon as I had returned from ALT, I headed back down to Colorado for a media fam trip to Vail Resorts for a week. The end of January was kind of a blur but now it is all coming back to me.

I have to really give a big shout-out to everyone who wrote amazing recap posts about ALT. Here were my favourite recaps that absolutely captured the essence of ALT:

Leslie Fandrich: After ALT – Making New Connections

The Proper Pinwheel: The Business of Alt’s Business Cards

Whitney Johnson: Advanced Blogging Skills

Bright Bold & Beautiful: 25 Things I Learned at ALT

It was my second year at the design conference and just like the first year it was overwhelmingly inspiring and creative for me. I thought instead of recapping every single thing I did while I was there, I thought I would break it down into my ultimate highlights from those three days.

Traveling with . I was really lucky to be traveling with a great friend and kindred spirit to ALT. We traipsed from the Grand America all the way to Whole Foods and back again with heavy bags stocked with Pellegrino, fruit & gluten-free treats. We partied and listened and learned. I think I also learned a lot from Shelley during the trip and I look forward to see what she does this year.

Crafting tiaras with Land of Nod. During a particularly busy day at ALT (the combination of panels & freelance work deadlines was stressing me out a bit), I decided to take a break and craft with the lovely ladies from Land of Nod. The tiara I made ended up being part of my outfit that night for the Mini Parties.

Spending time with Jana. My other ALT roomie was the delightful Jana Roach from the Vintage Whites Market. I met her last year at ALT and had also attended two of her markets in Montana this past summer so I was super excited to see her again. That girl is one vintage glamour queen. I loved checking out here amazing outfits every night at the parties. I know so much more will come out of our friendship – hopefully a collaboration soon!

Spontaneous Balloon Party with Color Me Katie. This was quite possibly the moment where the overwhelming goodness exploded in my brain. It was like “ohmygosh! this is so amazing and i can’t believe it is happening right now -slash- i think i am going to cry because i can’t believe this is happening right now’. Yes, I was feeling a little emotional during my trip. Anyways, Katie was so endearing as a public speaker and was so inspiring in her art practice. It was really refreshing to hear from someone who was so actively ‘do-ing’ and ‘living’ her life as opposed to the feeling you get from some bloggers that they are strictly just doing things to make a buck. She ended her keynote with a big balloon party that was an absolute blast. What a great way to end the conference.

Thought-provoking conversation instigated by Chris Anderson’s keynote on the next industrial revolution. I have still yet to delve into Chris Anderson‘s book that we were kindly gifted during the first lunch keynote of the conference but I have been thinking about his talk ever since. Essentially, he talked about how we are entering a new age of industrial revolution where we will start using the technology that has been invented over the past 20 years to the fullest extent. He focused a lot on 3D printers, a concept that still boggles my mind.

There was truly so many aspects of ALT that have already impacted my outlook on blogging and freelance work. The community surrounding ALT is incredible and exciting with new opportunities to be the best you can be around every corner. I am sure I will still be mulling over my experience until next January. A year goes by quickly…

Images all from .

Learning to Make a Life List

Posted by kait / March 4, 2013

Learning to define and set goals is one of the hardest aspects of your life to find dedicated time for. I figured it was time as I started feeling overwhelmed by the millions of ideas swarming my already busy brain. I couldn’t determine which ones were worth writing down and which ideas were just fragments that I may not necessarily pursue. I decided to learn how.

This past week I participated in a SkillShare class with the ever-wonderful Go Mighty co-founder, . The class is called Identifying Your Goals: Make a Life List with GoMighty and was everything it said it would be.

First of all, SkillShare is an incredible resource I only came aware of recently. Essentially, endless online classes that inspire you to learn new skills, become a better person and make new connections. It is even more niche than Twitter due to the fact that the people in your classes actually paid to be there. I was very impressed overall with my experience on SkillShare. I love the emails they send out with exciting new classes as well as notifications letting me know when I’ve made a new connection.

The Go Mighty workshop was an instant release of amazing ideas as I started reading my fellow classmates’ goals and plans for the future. Based on Sarah’s teachings and recommendations for getting started on my life list, I started to craft together my collection of goals. Ranging from long-term to short-term and from simple to complex, my goals started to take shape. While I won’t go into complete detail here on these goals, you can see my developing life list here.

The one thing that really stood out to me throughout this week-long experience was how accepting and supportive people are once you start voicing these ideas and goals. The amazing community on Go Mighty is just filled to the brim with good souls, who like to see good work done and done right. Everything wants to connect and reach out and help eachother. It is a group of extreme dreamers and do-ers. And I think you should sign up too. The founders of Go Mighty often work hard to help make the Mighty members find their way to completing their goals through sponsorship opportunities. That kind of dedication is often unheard of in our fast-paced internet-based lives. It is something really special.

Making lists like a pro (Images): 1. My Showroom Blog 2. 3.

Happy Friday!

Posted by kait / February 22, 2013

Feb-22

Longing for summertime roadtrips right now. Byron and I have been brainstorming ideas for camping trips today – can’t wait to hit the road every chance we get once the weather warms up. So many places we want to stop this year – any campground recommendations would be appreciated!

And it is finally Friday. How come short weeks always feel the longest? I’m looking forward to a nice weekend chock full of family visits and exciting brainstorm-y meetings with friends. Besides all of that, I think I will keep daydreaming about summer. What are you up to?

My posts on Vitamin Daily this week:

Pink Marks the Spot

An Affair to Remember

A Touch of Quirk for the Bookshelf

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting!

images: 1/