March Inspirations
I’m polishing off two weeks in Laos where I’ve been inspired by three girls that have been traveling with me for the past 2.5 weeks. They’ve taught me so much and it’s been a personal journey to finding happiness in my day to day. Have you ever traveled and met people that you just click with? Every conversation I had with them had depth, every time we spoke I found myself telling them things I haven't told anyone before. Sometimes you just meet the right people and you realize how many amazing people there are out there. I'm feeling inspired to make changes to the way I live and who I surround myself with so I feel that type of positivity and encouragement everyday.
I also just spent a week being incredibly sick, again. This time I spent some time in a Cambodian hospital and had A LOT of time to think about the direction of my life, where I want to go and what choices I make regarding my health. I'm feeling inspired to make some life changes in the way of my health as well, I need to be more cognizant of what I put on and in my body and the lasting effects of my choices, physically and emotionally.
Here are a few things inspired by those three girls and what they’ve taught me that is inspiring me this month:
Exploring Workaway
There’s something about being with people that make you feel invincible that make you feel like you can do anything, go anywhere and be anything you want to be. I’ve always wanted to live in a different country and work somewhere for an extended period of time. I gave up on that dream when I found myself in a long-term relationship, however now out of it I realize that I can do anything and go anywhere I want to so I’m exploring Workaway to make that possible. I’m not sure if that means Italy for the summer working in an olive grove, or winter in NZ and summer spent exploring the coastline. I’m not sure, but I feel capable of anything right now.
If you don’t know much about Workaway, take a look at their website and learn a bit more about the Workaway program. The idea behind the website is there are travelers looking for accommodation, food and opportunities to learn about a culture. There are also locals looking for help around the house, gardening, childcare and workers on their farms. There are so many more opportunities available, but the website provides an avenue to connect these two. It’s a great way of seeing a country and not burning through your cash quickly. Often times, you work around 5 hours a day, 5 days a week and have the rest of the time to explore. Take a look at the website and see if anything in there interests you!
Mark Groves and Create the Love Podcast
My friend K introduced me to this earlier this month and i’m already hooked on the posts filling up my Instagram newsfeed. Mark Groves is a human connection specialist, and if you don’t have his instagram @createthelove in your newsfeed, get it, right now. Whether you’re in a relationship or single, happy or sad, he provides lots of no BS advice. I just finished a Valentine's Day Challenge with him which had me writing out what I'm looking for in a life partner, what I want right now and what I need to work on myself to get to the point i need to be to be open to this type of love. He has a podcast that I highly recommend you give a listen to and check out his thoughts on the Apple Store here.
Comfortable Clothing
The girls I just traveled with seem to have Hippie Chic mastered and always looked so put together. Part of this is I believe is brushing their hair more often than I do, but their clothes were always comfortable and looked nice despite the weather. I’ve been adding to my wardrobe to channel this, and look more chic than slobby. Just because it’s +35C, doesn’t mean you just give up! This also translates well into the next inspiration. I’ve been pinning lots of outfit inspiration for hot climates on my Pinterest here.
Sustainable Clothing
I just spent a night in a hotel going through all of my clothes and trying to figure out what I want to keep and what I want to part with. Some things don't fit, some pieces are ripped and some I have no idea why I bought them apart from the fact I know they were cheap. It makes me realize that most of what I have with me, apart from the technical clothing from Lululemon, is cheaply made or is made with fabrics that don't breathe. It might be harder to do while traveling, but I want to try switching focus to sustainable clothing, made from organic cottons, recycled blends and locally made. Mind you, all the dresses, pants and jumpsuits I keep picking up are made by the local women here, but I don't think I can wear 95% of these in the real world.
Here are a few brands that I have my eye on for when I get to where I’m going. Backpacking, there is no point in buying nice clothing because it’s going to get ripped and/or lost before you have a chance to wear it somewhere nice.
Londre Vancouver, Canada
FieldStudy Calgary, Canada
Spell & The Gypsy Collective, Australia
Natural Products
After watching my Deet-filled bug spray melt through a purse of mine, I've been terrified to put it on my body. That stuff is strong and I'd rather not put it on my body if I can help it. I recently found myself a great brand of Citronella and it made me think about taking a look at my other products that I put on or in my body, If you look at most of the things you put on your skin, it has 40 ingredients and it usually contains silicones, and ingredients that you can't pronounce. I know that a lot of great products have a few of those in there, especially when they serve purpose, but I want to make a concerted effort to reduce the crap I put on and in my body starting with my body products.
Re-branding
I've been wanting to re-brand this blog for ages. I'm not as attached to the name as I was when I was 18, I want to refresh the look and feel and make sure that the brand I created ages ago still sparks joy. I'm working with a couple people to bounce new ideas off of to change the focus and look of C&V.
This Spring, you yourself can take a look at re-branding yourself! There’s the start of the school season, NYE and your birthday that all provide opportunities to refresh and change pace, but know that you can re-brand yourself at any point. Don’t wait for monumental occasion. Just say, today I’m different, and just go with it. Change your patterns, your style, your location. You can always change. you are in control of that process and you decide when and how much.
Is the Spring weather inspiring anyone else? If you have any ideas of more things that you want to see, comment below!