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Create, Digital Blooms, Flowers, Inspiration, Life, Summer, Travel, Wellness

DIGITAL BLOOMS JULY 2020 | FREE DESKTOP WALLPAPER

Happy Canada Day, friends! I spent the day foraging our beautiful Alberta land for ingredients and shooting July’s DIGITAL BLOOMS — and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the true north strong and free’s 153 Birthday! This month I wanted to commemorate the peaceful couple of weeks I’ve spent here at my childhood home in rural Alberta creating content by channeling inspiration from my surroundings into July 2020’s Digital Blooms, so you can enjoy a little bit of country tranquility, too! Despite all the flowers that are currently blooming here on our acreage, my favourite quintessential image of summertime in the country is a sea of tall, wild grasses dancing and swaying in the sunlight. It’s a comforting image that just feels like home — and it’s something I wanted to share with all of you!

This year our natural grasses seem more stunning that ever, spanning an array of golden, lavender, purple and green hues — and I harvested an assortment of Reed Canary Grass, Smooth Brome, Perennial Ryegrass, Crested Wheatgrass and Cheatgrass to create July 2020’s Digital Blooms! To switch things up and keep all materials for this free tech wallpaper authentic to the prairies, I also photographed the wild grasses on a piece of foraged barn board from an abandoned farmhouse just a few miles away (this is where all of the wooden backdrops you see here in the JustineCelina RECIPE section are from!). Click through to download a snapshot of summertime in the country straight to the background of your computer, tablet or phone — absolutely free!

July 1, 2020 by Justine

June 2020 Soundtrack | Chill Summer Playlist | Inspiring Summer Playlist Spotify | Laughing brunette woman enjoying a glass of rosé wine in a sunlit prairie wheat field at sunset | JustineCelina’s childhood home in Wheatland County, Alberta | Summer 2020 Bohemian Style Ideas | Boho Casual Summer Dresses | Summer 2020 Fashion | Best H&M Dresses Summer 2020 | How to Style a Frayed Brim Straw Hat | Calgary, Alberta, Canada Creative Lifestyle Blogger and Entrepreneur// JustineCelina.com

Beauty, Fashion, Life, Music, Summer, Travel, Wellness, Wine & Cocktails

JUNE 2020 SOUNDTRACK + SUMMER FASHION FAVS

The first month of summer is drawing to a close — and that means it’s time for my June 2020 Soundtrack! June was an intense month as we moved into Phase 2 of our economic reopening in Calgary and also collectively experienced the largest civil rights movement in history. Amidst it all, we also decided to form a cohort with my family in rural Alberta and have been spending as much time enjoying the tranquility of the prairies as possible! We finally planted that Country Garden I’ve been dreaming about for years (posts to follow!) and it’s been quite a reflective, but healing, month. Over the years, these rolling hills and sunlit fields have always been where I come to feel grounded, creative and free. I’m so grateful for this magical, restorative place — now more than ever. Although COVID has brought with it many challenges, it’s also brought many gifts. In a time when the whole world feels like it’s on pause, I’m making the most of every last second by living and working intentionally, authentically and in alignment with my true self.

My June 2020 Soundtrack features just over 2 hours of ultra chill, easy-listening, instrumental tunes spanning genres — and also, a track from my nephew, DJBThomson, who’s foraying into the music world! A handful of my favourite tracks include Random Forests I Don’t Trust That Bird of Prey, Vladimir Martynov’s The Beautitudes, Headphone Activist’s Lazy, Shook & Ian Urbina’s Isolation, AK & Liam Thomas’s Peace of Mind, Late June’s Burning Slow, Dye O’s Uprising, iamlex’s Aurora, Tōth’s Copilot, Tom Kalani’s Target, Evin Iris’s Collapse Into The Light, Jose Mehlin’s Adjustments, Ghost of Summer’s Woodland Heart, UTAH’s Thirty Two, TOKiMONSTA’s Love That Never, Stan Forebee’s Skyshades, Wolf’s Play It Safe, Teen Daze’s Comfort and DJBThomson’s N!GHT SK¥ (Bass Version). Happy listening!

June 29, 2020 by Justine

Flowers, Travel, Wine & Cocktails, Winter

HIBISCUS BLOOD ORANGE MEZCALRITAS

Happy Saturday, cocktail lovers! I’m back this weekend with my first recipe of 2020, inspired by our recent trip to Mexico and the height of citrus season here in Canada — Hibiscus Blood Orange Mezcalritas! Have you ever tried mezcal? I discovered mezcal during our first trip to Oaxaca back in 2012 and it’s my spirit of choice whenever we’re in Huatulco. This traditional Mexican liquor is closely related to tequila (both are distilled from agave — mezcal can be made from any of several dozen species, while tequila must be made from blue agave) and originated in Oaxaca, which is still the largest producer of mezcal globally. Each time we visit we discover new artisinal varieties — and bring as much as we possibly can home to help ease our Canadian winters with spirited memories!

If you’re looking for an inventive libation that celebrates citrus season and the vibrancy of Mexican culture, you’ll find it in my Hibiscus Blood Orange Mezcalritas! This jubilant craft cocktail is free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar and loaded with better-for-you ingredients, antioxidants and a healthy dose of vitamin C. Inspired by Mexican Agua de Jamaica, hibiscus tea concentrate combines with freshly squeezed blood orange and lime juices, Joven Mezcal, Cointreau and a splash of agave syrup shaken over ice and strained into a pink hibiscus salt rimmed glass. Transport yourself to the healing, pristine waters of the Mexican south pacific with this modernized, seasonal spin on the traditional mezcalrita!

February 22, 2020 by Justine

Fashion, Music, Travel, Winter

JANUARY 2020 SOUNDTRACK

Happy Friday, friends! I’m back today my first Monthly Soundtrack of the decade — and it’s one of my favourites in recent memory. Since we spent so much time traveling over the past month, I had to opportunity to discover tons of new artists and explore many different genres! My January 2020 Soundtrack is a 30 track playlist brimming with nearly 2 hours of relaxed, uplifting, inspirational tunes. From the snow covered Canadian rockies to the sandy beaches of southern Mexico, this new year soundtrack was blasting through my speakers (and headphones) all month long!

A handful of January’s stand out tracks include Mike Posner’s Slow It Down, Imaginary Future Float On (a dreamy, stripped down rendition of Modest Mouse’s original), Quinn XCII’s Always Been You, Brock Berringan and Allem Iversom’s Sometime, Judah & the Lion and Kacey Musgraves pictures, fantompower’s free (at ease), Freedom Fly’s Clint Eastwood (another gorgeous, instrumental cover!), Handbook’s Sweet Berries, Saib’s Aqua, ayokay and Nightly’s Sleepless Nights, Kyle McEvoy and Deeb’s Habitual Words, East Forest’s 10 Laws, Nina Nesbitt’s Toxic (apparently I was on an instrumental cover spree this month!), Catching Flies Komorebi and The Band CAMINO’s Daphne Blue (although I could go on!). Extend January’s motivations into February and beyond with my January 2020 Soundtrack!

January 31, 2020 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

Beauty, Fall, Fashion, Life, Makeup, Occasions, Style Staples, Travel, Vintage, Wellness

CASUAL FALL STYLE STAPLES

Fall fashion lovers, welcome back for a fresh instalment in my STYLE STAPLES series — this time, highlighting the more casual side of my personal style! We enjoyed this past Thanksgiving weekend completely unplugged in the country — and although I was device free, I brought my professional camera along. I actually had no intention of capturing style content last weekend, but rather, was hoping for some nice family photos since it had been forever since we’d taken some (we’re talking 5+ years!). Adam isn’t really into being in front of the camera too often — so when he agreed to sneak in a couple of quick photos before heading to Brooks for our second Thanksgiving dinner, my Mom and I killed some time while he was getting ready (believe it or not I’m usually ready before he is!) and also captured what I was wearing. Although this post wasn’t originally part of my editorial calendar, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share a fresh instalment in my STYLE STAPLES series dedicated to relaxed, comfortable fall fashion (the family dog, Charlie, even makes an appearance!).

My Casual Fall Style Staples are my most worn, most loved seasonal pieces that combine to create my go-to casual fall outfit formula — one I’ve worn various iterations of here at JustineCelina throughout the years! Longtime readers will know that while I absolutely love to dress up, I also love to dress well for more casual occasions. Today I’m sharing what I wore to Thanksgiving Dinner, complete with my absolute favourite fall wardrobe staples and elevated basics — the ones I look forward to repurchasing each year in new colours and textures! This laidback, bohemian look combines core pieces from my casual autumn wardrobe to create an outfit perfect for holiday family dinners, or anytime I want to look put together, but be comfortable and cozy (because I don’t believe they should be mutually exclusive). And as always, it’s a mixture of high, low, old (even vintage!) and new. Come along to my childhood home in rural Alberta to chat easygoing fall fashion amongst the yellowing Aspen trees and swaying tall grass!

October 25, 2019 by Justine

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