April: A Note from the Editor

It’s hard to believe 4 weeks have gone by in quarantine already. And it’s even harder to believe how much things have changed for everyone. I know for myself, I was getting really excited for a few events coming up this spring. I had been planning my best friend’s bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs — we had some good girl time to look forward to over a few tasty dinners out, Sunday brunch at Norma’s and lots of time spent lounging by the pool. I was also given an opportunity to visit NYC for work that I couldn’t even believe was happening (I’m obsessed with NYC). While these things will have to wait for now, I’m still grateful to at least be experiencing this in our new home (which we love so much) and we’re thankful for our friend’s and family’s good health during this crazy time.

With that being said, April marks a month of big change. Whether we like it or not, we are facing a shift in life as we know it. Many people have been laid off (temporarily or permanently — only time will tell) and are left wondering how to fill their time. For me, I was laid off a couple weeks ago, which I was expecting, but it’s still tough to digest. While it’s been a bit of struggle to wake up every day and not have a 9–5 to report to, I have always wanted to take my website a step further and I guess there’s no better time like the present.

In addition to building this space into something I love, I’ll be focusing on our home and adding the finishing details to make it a space we truly love. From entertaining essentials to coffee table books, I’m going to take my time curating and adding pieces I can only say I love 100%. I’ve never read/watched Marie Kondo, but I feel like this is in line with her notion of only keeping stuff that sparks joy?

A few other little things I’m trying out this month:

• Testing new recipes — I’m making my first Tiramisu recipe from Martha Stewart’s March issue. It’s our favourite dessert so I figured I should probably know how to make it.

• Becoming a cocktail person — I’m picky with my drink preferences. I don’t like anything too sweet or bitter so I usually decline the cocktail menu. I recently tried a simple gin, grapefruit and rosemary cocktail that I really enjoyed, so I’m hoping to find a few more recipes to test out.

• Gardening — we’ve been going on daily walks around our new neighbourhood and I almost forgot how beautiful Kits is in the spring. The amount of magnolia trees in this area is incredible and I can’t stop taking photos of people’s gardens. In the next few weeks we’ll be putting together our list to pick up plants and greenery for our backyard. It’s really a blank slate at this point, but we are north facing, which brings a lot of shade into our yard and makes choosing plants a little more challenging. I’ll do a garden post once we’ve finished to let you know what we found.

I’d love to know what everyone is up to during these strange times. Do you have pipe dream projects or hobbies you’re picking up during this time at home? What recipes have you always been curious to try? What’s that one thing that makes you happy these days? Is it a morning routine? A walk through a specific neighbourhood? Something to wind down in the evening? While it’s a struggle to deal with the realities of this pandemic, it’s also a perfect time to try something new and see what you can make from this.