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Business, Dwell, Fitness, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Living Room, Wellness

MY TOP 10 SELF HELP AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BOOKS

Friends, I’m thrilled to finally share a post I’ve been meaning to publish for years all about My Top 10 Self Help and Personal Development Books! Although I’ve always been interested in these topics, this isn’t the type of content I would typically share in a dedicated post here at JustineCelina — until 2021, that is! As we surpass one year into a global pandemic, I find myself reflecting on the journey that’s taken place, both collectively and individually. The world has changed drastically over the last 12 months — and I have too. Learning to navigate this new normal has resulted in a lot of self reflection, growth, healing and transformation as I anchor into WELLNESS practices — which I’ve mostly shared with you on social media, until recently. While I’ll always appreciate creating and sharing beautiful and inspiring tangible things that contribute to a vibrant, fulfilled life, 2021 is the year where I share things that bring me inner peace, joy and inspiration as I create from a more mindful, aligned place. JustineCelina is, after all, A Creative Lifestyle Blog — and my self care, personal development, and spiritual practices contribute greatly to my ability to create and stay inspired as an entrepreneur!

Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the literary world of self help and personal development or are a longtime enthusiast of the genre, this post is for you! I invite you to slip into your most comfortable loungewear, pour yourself a mug of herbal tea and curl up on the sofa with me tonight as I deep dive into My Top 10 Self Help and Personal Development books — including mini reviews, key takeaways and quotes from each book, why they resonate with me and my process for absorbing (and applying) the information learned. I’ve also included shoppable links to each title, as well as a Pinterest-friendly graphic so you can bookmark this post for future reference! Who’s ready to dive into some seriously inspired and motivational reading material on this cozy Saturday evening?

April 10, 2021 by Justine

Business, Dwell, Fashion, Fitness, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Living Room, Wellness, Winter

MY DRY JANUARY EXPERIENCE

Friends, I’m elated to be back today with the first completely new piece of content I’ve created in 2021, dedicated to My Dry January Experience. You may have noticed that things have been more quiet than usual lately as I took a step back from content creation to refocus my time, attention and resources on reviewing 2020 and getting inspired for the year ahead. While January wasn’t the most exciting or glamorous month, I’m so grateful I finally gave myself permission to focus on what matters and align with my goals! This Dry January involved a lot of self reflection, accountability and honesty about my blogging and entrepreneurial journey and where I want to take it. 2020 was an incredibly challenging year for so many, myself included — but it was peppered with experiences and wisdom that have afforded me a greater clarity than I’ve ever experienced. As a result, I’ve emerged from 2020 a much different person (as I’m sure many of us have!).

This time last year were in Huatulco and I was sipping a mezcalrita with my toes in the sand — oh how times have changed! Despite the drastically different circumstances of present times, this isn’t my first January, or sober month. It’s something I do whenever I feel I need a hard reset — and I’ve always found it to be in incredibly rewarding experience! If you’ve always wanted to try a Dry January (or sober month) but aren’t sure what to expect, are looking for some strategies to ensure success, or are curious about the benefits and positive new habits I’ve adopted, this post is for you. Top up your coupe glass with your favourite kombucha and join me for a raw, transparent recap of My Dry January Experience and how it changed my relationship with alcohol!

February 5, 2021 by Justine

Fashion, Food, Goals, Lookbooks, Pantone, Travel, Wellness, Wine & Cocktails, Winter

RESORT 2020 LOOKBOOK

¡Buenos días!, amigas! After a wonderfully rejuvenating vacation and some time back on Canadian soil reflecting on all things JustineCelina, I’m back today with a dramatic change of scenery in my impromptu RESORT 2020 LOOKBOOK! As I mentioned in my last post, approaching our vacation I was unsure how much I’d want to share. It was first time in 6 years we’ve taken a week long, unplugged vacation outside of Canada — and I was desperately in need of time offline to decompress, refocus and reconnect. I decided to pack my professional camera last minute to capture images as I felt inspired, but completely relieved myself of content creation pressure. There’s an incredible duality to blogging — and as much as I wanted to capture, create and share content because it’s what I truly love to do, I also wanted to ensure I was actually resting and enjoying my vacation, rather than sharing every experience and working the entire time. While these blurred lines between life and work allow me to live and work in a way that nurtures my passions (one of the main reasons I started this blog in the first place!), they also make lifestyle blogging as a career incredibly tricky to navigate and can inevitably lead to burnout.

I’m happy to report that by our third day, I was itching to bust out my camera and capture content! This trip was incredibly refreshing — we completely lived in the moment and only captured things when we felt inspired to do so. Surprisingly, I actually have quite a few photos and videos from our travels! It was such a valuable experience to let go of my regular content creation routines and just take things as they came — a lesson I’m carrying into my workflow in 2020. So although I would have loved to shoot outfits everyday, today I’m sharing 3 looks (rather than the 6 you’re accustomed to!) we captured in Huatulco — featuring a colourful dose of free spirited, Mexican-inspired fashion, along with a handful of of my vacation essentials! My first LOOKBOOK of the decade fuses TRAVEL and STYLE (as well as some Pantone 2020 Colour of the Year inspiration) for those of those of you jetsetting to a tropical destination this winter. If you’re curious about what I wore on vacation or learning a bit about Huatulco and where we stayed, whip up a mezcalrita and come along to the pristine southern shores of Oaxaca, Mexico digitally!

January 22, 2020 by Justine

Business, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Planning, Travel, Wellness, Winter

HELLO 2020

Happy 2020, beautiful people! I’m sitting here on this snowy Tuesday morning in my fuzzy slippers and housecoat with a big mug off coffee typing my first actual blog post of the new year (as January’s Digital Blooms were prescheduled so we could enjoy a restful couple of days in the mountains ushering in a new decade, where I captured these photos!). I mentioned in my December Soundtrack that we had surprise New Year’s Eve plans and I had absolutely no idea what was in store — that is until about 5pm that day! We spent the final moments of 2019 checking in to our favourite Canmore resort, sharing a bottle of wine and getting ready for an NYE-themed dinner at our favourite restaurant before dashing back to our room to ring in the new decade infront of a roaring fire with bubbly. It was absolutely lovely, relaxed and magical — just what we needed to wind down after a very full year and busy (but very merry!) holiday season!

From Christmas until January 3rd I prescheduled all of my content — and although it made for some very late nights and early mornings prior to my break, it’s the first time since starting JustineCelina that I wasn’t working at all over the holidays. Isn’t that wild? While I’m fully aware that this the the norm for most, for me, for as long as I can remember, it’s been anything but. I didn’t log into social media, write or capture any content, check the blog or go online at all, really (okay — maybe to peruse some Boxing Day sales with my niece!) — and it was blissful. My first work day of 2020 commenced last Friday after some serious R&R in the mountains feeling recharged, refreshed and reinspired. What a concept, right? Just before the holiday season, I stumbled on a tweet that really resonated with me (wow, how millennial of me!) — “Please take your rest as seriously as your hustle.”. For the first time in nearly 5 years since starting JustineCelina, I’m carrying that energy into 2020! So, unlike years past, this is not a 2019 Review + 2020 Goals post — but rather, a raw and transparent read about what’s on my heart as we ease into a new decade.

January 7, 2020 by Justine

Bathroom, Create, Creative Process, Dining Room, DIY, Dwell, Goals, Kitchen, Life, Living Room, Plants, Space Refresh

MIDSUMMER SPACE REFRESH UPDATE

Interior design loving friends, welcome back for a long overdue SPACE REFRESH update! If you read my 2018 Review + 2019 Goals post, you’ll know that I had planned to have the next rooms in the series completed by now — but due to some unforeseen delays and unexpected (but necessary!) repairs, things have been pushed back. I realized last week that I’ve been pretty good about updating you about what’s going on on my socials, but the majority of you don’t follow me there, so I wanted to publish an all-encompassing Midsummer Space Refresh Update here at JustineCelina to bring you up to speed!

Overall, even though the next rooms in our have taken longer than expected due to some furniture delays, I’m very happy with the way things are coming together. Originally I was planning to have both the Entrance Way and Main Bathroom complete by the end of Q2, but due to a couple of furniture items being back ordered until the end of September, I’m now planning to have both of those spaces finished this fall. Instead, I’ve used the extra time to source finishing details to really elevate both rooms and make them super functional! It’s actually been a welcome change of pace to take things a bit slower around here, enjoy the summer, and not be working on the apartment every single weekend. If you’re interested in what’s coming next, updates and repairs we’ve made to the other rooms and plans for the rest of the year, fix yourself a cocktail and come join me in my Living Room for a transparent read!

August 20, 2019 by Justine

Business, Creative Process, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Occasions, Summer, Wellness

ANOTHER TRIP AROUND THE SUN

It’s Leo season and the canola is in full bloom here on the Alberta prairies as I celebrate Another Trip Around The Sun. I’ve always associated these free-spirited country flowers with my birthday — so when we stumbled on this gorgeous crop outside Okotoks after wrapping up shoots for my upcoming Late Summer 2019 Lookbook, we pulled over to capture these images as the sun set. It had been a long, hot day and I was a bit sweaty and disheveled, but we had about 15 minutes to make it happen and decided to go for it! To maximize the beautiful golden light, we ended up shooting into the sun (rather than the pretty backlit effect I typically prefer) and I was stunned at how beautifully these images came out — in fact, I think they’re my favourite of all the canola photos we’ve taken over the years. So, I thought it was fitting to share them with you to celebrate my birthday!

I actually wasn’t planning to write a post for my birthday this year — this post, like these photos, were completely spontaneous. This summer I’ve been trying to live in the moment, make the most of my opportunities and take life as it comes — and I feel that this set of images represent me and the direction I’m heading with JustineCelina perfectly right now! I’m happy, healthy and excited about what’s on the horizon — I feel very much in alignment with who I am and ready to for wherever my next trip around the sun takes me. If you’re in the mood for a reflective and uplifting read I’d love for you to pour yourself a glass of wine and spend part of your evening with me!

August 9, 2019 by Justine

Dining Room, Dwell, Entertain, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Music, Wellness, Winter

JANUARY 2019 SOUNDTRACK

Dry January is almost over — and that means I’m back with 2019’s first Monthly Soundtrack! While I’ll be very glad to indulge in a glass of wine on February 1st, abstaining from alcohol, getting back into my fitness regime, being more mindful with my time and taking a step back during the first 2 weeks of the month to get re-inspired, set intentions and plan for the for year has made for the most inspired and productive January I think I’ve ever had. I’m feeling so optimistic and excited to dive into 2019 — and this 3+ hour January 2019 Soundtrack fueled an absolutely fantastic month!

So, what tracks kept my motivation running at an all time high? The War On Drug’s Thinking of a Place will always remind me of our magical Canmore NYE getaway (I shared some highlights from our trip in this post) and I had tunes from The 1975, Phantastic Ferniture, Jordan Cri tz, Evolution of Stars, The American Dollar, Men I Trust, Aphex Twin, Lofive, Barrie, No Rome, Loyle Carner, Moon Moon Moon, KAWALA, flor, SOAK, ayokay, Bearson and Geographer on repeat. I hope you enjoy this lighthearted, eclectic playlist!

January 31, 2019 by Justine

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