Playlist Repeat

sep 24 | Playlist Repeat

I've been loving on a few tracks recently that I thought I'd share with all of you.

So here are the top ten songs that have been getting lots of extra play time on my itunes.




1. "Surrender" - Cash Cash
I become obsessed with this song after hearing an a cappella version sung by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's No Comment.

2. "Like a Wrecking Ball" - Eric Church
His voice, those lyrics, enough said.

3. "River" - Leon Bridges
A new find that I can't get enough of. I love the smooth gospel sound and the slowed down balled is a nice break in an otherwise upbeat list.

4. "Prayer in C" - Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz
Of course every list needs a purely dance track and this is it for me. 

5. "Lean on Me" - Major Lazer & DJ Snake
Love this song for two reasons, one its great to play in the car and two great for exaggerated expressions and dance moves. 

6. "Brother" - Need to Breath Feat. Gavin Degraw
I have been a huge Gavin Degraw fan for years, there is something about that voice I love. So of course when I heard this collaboration I knew it was a must add.

7. "Dancing on my Own" - Robin
This song screams 80's/90's to me and I find it so fun and playful.

8. "Bungalow" - Scott Helman
I love songs that are versatile, they work in multiple settings, driving, hanging out on the deck or playing in the background while I work on the blog.

9. "Sound of your Heart" - Shawn Hook
I enjoy songs that build and bring you in and this one does just that. I'm hooked! (cheesy pun I know)

10. "Shake it Off" - Taylor Swift
At some point over the last year this song has somehow become my unofficial anthem. It just makes me want to dance, and have the occasional shake off.

So there you have it, now that you've had a peak into my eclectic music library, I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any great stuff I should check out! 

xo
     Taryn

Mind and Body

sep 15 | Mind and Body

They say walking is as good for the mind as it is for the body. So this afternoon I laced up my Nike's and hit the pavement. 

I'm lucky enough to live in a beautiful little community close to the water and we have access to some amazing paths and views. As I made my way along, I stopped to snap a few shots.









Needless to say, the walk did me some good (and the views weren't too bad wither) I was able to clear out some garbage and get some perspective. I'm lucky I have the time to do this right now, I think I may need to make it part of my routine while I can!

xo
        Taryn

Losing it

sep 14 | Losing it

I know I have been neglectful the last couple of weeks and I feel terrible for going radio silent. But I am back and this little blog of mine will be up and running again!

My disappearing act was a result of needing some time to regroup and refocus after a rough patch professionally. Without going into too much detail, I was let go from my organization due to restructuring and it left me thrown for a loop.

If I'm going to be honest, I wasn't entirely happy where I was and I had been toying with the idea of changing industries for a while before this all happened. For a couple of months I had leisurely been applying to roles that had sparked some interest, but I wasn't very serious in my search. 

Now with no job or income, it meant that I had to take my laid back search to a more serious level. So like anyone in my position I started hitting the job boards and sending out my resume. But despite being in need of a position, I didn't want to apply just anywhere. 

Cue the epiphany.

It took a day or two after this happened and several phone calls with my amazing girlfriends to realize that I was in a pretty unique position. Yes I needed a job, if not for the obvious reasons, but here I was able to take a moment and understand what it is that would really make me happy. 

I didn't need to rush this decision, I could and should take the time to really investigate what avenues I wanted to explore, where I wanted to take my career and what company I wanted to be a part of. 

Losing your job sucks, and it can be life shattering for some. Once the initial shock wore off, I suddenly realized I had a whole world in front of me for the taking. This wasn't a negative, in fact, I think this was the universes way of telling me I was sitting stagnant too long. I needed this push and I am kind of glad it came when it did.

So I will continue applying to roles that appeal to me, but I think I may explore some of the little ideas that have been dancing around in my head for a while. Who knows what could happen....



xo
       Taryn

Weekend Recap

aug 31 | Weekend Recap

Well yet another weekend has flown by and this one was the last one in August! I can't believe its going to be September already, where is the time going?

At least the weather is still summer weather and it was absolutely perfect for spending some time outside.

On Saturday the guy and I drove out to Niagara-on-the-Lake just after lunch and managed to squeeze in a couple of wineries before closing.

First stop was Trius Hillebrand, one of my favourites, where I did a flight of white and he covered off the reds.





Since it was his first time at this winery I insisted we walk around a little so he could see grounds and take in the amazing views. While we were wandering, he noticed a couple of picnic benches off to the side and suggested we head over to check it out. To our welcomed surprise they had a grill going, so we ordered up a couple of pulled pork sliders and hung out amongst the vines for a while.










Once we finished we headed off down the road, literally, to Jackson Triggs where the tasting room was absolutely nuts. Instead of being squished in with everyone else, we opted to buy a glass and sit out on the patio were we proceeded to order even more food, and just enjoy a great conversation.




Once we finished up at the vineyards we headed home, with a stop in Hamilton to visit with some of his friends and have dinner, (More food!). By the time we rolled up at home it was after midnight and I was beyond exhausted. Wine, sun and long drives really do this girl in.

Sunday morning my mom and I hit the salon for some pedicures and girl time. When we were finished we went by Carters Osh kosh so she could pick up a few more things to add to her already over flowing suitcase of goodies to take my cousins in Portugal next month.

After shopping I was ready to lay back and do nothing, so I grabbed my kobo and headed out to the back yard to enjoy.



Savouring the last bit of summer, we threw a couple of chops and steaks on the grill and enjoyed dinner on the deck, complete with candles as the sun went down.

Hope you all got out to enjoy the last August weekend!

xo,
        Taryn


Birthday Celebrations

aug 26 | Birthday Celebrations




If the photo of the absurdly large 30 didn't already give it away, I recently celebrated a rather large milestone. My birthday was last week and I have successfully avoided writing this post until now, as I have sort of been living in denial. It is hard to believe I am no longer a twenty something!

To help ease me into this next chapter of my life my family and friends spent nearly a week celebrating with me.

The festivities started the weekend before my actual birthday when my parents and sister threw what was supposed to be a surprise party, with all my family and some close friends. Even though I knew what was happening they still managed to sneak in a few unexpected things, including those balloons, and a cupcake tower!

I haven't had a real get together for my birthday in a few years, so it was extra sweet to have them take the time to organize everything.




On my actual birthday we kept things a low key with a dinner out at a nearby sushi place and cake and champagne at home afterwards. It was the perfect way to celebrate, intimate and with bubbly!




To round out the week, the amazing group of girls I work with took me for a drink at a little wine bar around the corner from our office. We toasted my birthday and how lucky I am to have them in my life to share this milestone with.

All in all, despite not being completely ready to accept that I am now starting a new chapter in my life, I couldn't have asked for a better way to kick it off. There are a lot of things I will miss about being a twenty something, but at the same time there are a lot of things to look forward to in my thirties.

I may not be exactly where I thought I would, and there are a lot of things I still have left to accomplish. But I know that I am the rule, not the exception, and those things I thought I needed to have figured out, I don't. Everything will fall into place when they are supposed to. I just need to look at how far I have come and how far I still have to go. I am thankful for what I have and the love I get to share with the amazing individuals in my life.

And as one of my friends said to me in one of my pre-birthday freak outs, relax, you're only one day older!

xo
         Taryn


Weekend Recap

aug 24 | Weekend Recap

Last week was a little on the busy side for me so I was more then excited to see the weekend come.

The girls at work had decided earlier in the week that they were going to take me out for birthday drinks on Friday evening, so who was I to protest. We dropped by a little wine bar around the corner from our office and spilt a bottle and tray of small bites. (FYI splitting a bottle was so much better and less expensive then getting our own drinks, definite repeat for the future).

Once we finished up, I headed home to meet up with another friend. We ended up sitting on a patio until after midnight chatting about everything under the sun. Those conversations are always the best!

Not having to much planned for Saturday, I ended up hitting the gym twice! I did a morning lift class and followed that up with a body blitz class in the afternoon. Crazy, I know, but so much fun!!



After working up a sweat I hit Starbucks on the way home and threw away all my hard work on a venti frappuccino. I hadn't used my birthday treat reward and when Starbucks is paying, you make it a venti!



Since it was such a lovely day I decided to spend sometime enjoying the sunshine on the porch before heading in to do some cleaning and then relaxing for the rest of the night.



With the guy heading out of town Sunday morning for work, I had another pretty open day. So after reading my latest book for a while, I decided to meet up with a friend at the Shops at Don Mills and make a gift exchange while I was there.

After that I headed home to scrounge up some dinner and backed a batch of White Chocolate Chip Avocado cookies, another Pinterest find, before calling it a night.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

xo,
         Taryn













Work/Life Balance

aug 18 | Work/Life Balance

I missed getting my weekend recap up on the blog because 1. I had to work late and 2. besides a brief break Saturday evening for an early birthday celebration my parents and sister threw me (more about that in another post), I spent my weekend, working. So overall, nothing really worth sharing, but it did give me the idea for this post!





For the most part, my job isn't demanding of my personal time. However, there are exceptions to this rule and this past weekend was just that. I have in the past been forced to forgo the gym, stay up until all hours and even worked the occasional weekend. I don't generally mind though, I have a great team and my company has set up a nice little trade off for me, allowing me to take time in lieu.


However, this isn't always ideal and I often find myself looking for a better work/life balance. This was definitely the case a few months back and ended up with me taking a week off just before our fiscal year end to reset my batteries.


I find that in order for me to be able to give 110% at work I need to be able to have time for me outside of work.


I have been making it a priority to detach myself from my job once I walk out the door at the end of my day and leaving non-pressing issues until the mornings (to-do lists help a lot)!


It is still a work in progress and although I make time to focus on me and the other aspects of my life there will be times when you just can't avoid the inevitable.



xo,
         Taryn