Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Currently Reading: Softly Falling by Carla Kelly

One of my goals for this year is to read more - at least one book a month. January: CHECK! It's been so long since I did a currently reading post! It's been so long since I read a full book! I actually read one while we were on vacation in October but I forgot about it until just now so I'll save that one for another post on another day. The book Softly Falling by Carla Kelly was given to me as a gift by Parker's grandma, Sharlene. She is always so thoughtful and knew that I love reading and I was so touched when she gifted this book to me. She actually somehow got it autographed by the author for me which was really cool! I've read one other Carla Kelly novel before this one so I knew I was in for a treat.

I'm a sucker for a good old-fashioned western romance. This book is about an English girl named Lily who gets banished to the wide open territory of Wyoming and how she learns to adapt to her surroundings and make due with what she has. You can't help but root for the characters throughout the entire story. The only thing that would have made it better for me was a bit more romance :). I don't want to spoil it too much but imagine feeling very grateful to live in this day and age with real homes and warm beds and furnaces and what not, especially during the winter. These people went through some rough times and it left me feeling very grateful!

I would give this book 3.5/5 stars. It was good and clean and entertaining but could have had a bit more love <3. I'm a sucker for a good kissing scene! lol


What's on your reading list this year? I need a good recommendation for February!

xoxo, Chelan

Monday, January 22, 2018

How We Wore It | White

You read that title right. I'm happy to announce that our favorite series, How We Wore It, has been picked up for another season (queue the applause)! Yay! To start off this year, we decided to style all things white. The reason we picked white was that we thought it represented a clean slate and a fresh start to the new year.

I don't have a lot of white in my wardrobe.. especially not winter friendly white. So I decided to style my 'white' hair that my amazing sister, Matlin, did for me over the Christmas break. She's the best and I'm not just saying that because she's my sister. She's really, really great at what she does! If you are in southern Alberta and need a fabulous hairstylist hit up @hairbymatlin!! My hair tends to pull really bronze/yellow when I go blonde but Matlin is a wizard and makes it the perfect ashy tone that I love. It's always a little more grey/almost purple at first which is really fun and then it wears off and becomes the perfect ashy blonde after a few weeks. Be sure to check out how my beautiful friends styled white this winter via the links at the bottom of this post!


Twinnerpated
Jordan Cidelle
Brittany Lowry

Coat: Abercrombie and Fitch. Also, love this!
Top: Bluenotes (its Canadian). Loving this one, too!
Jeans: American Eagle.
Boots: Kohls (old). Love these!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Bachelor Monday!

xoxo, Chelan

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Get Outta Your Mind

This week has been a little bit nuts. Today, in particular, has been super busy. Last night I was feeling really stressed about everything I had to do today and how I was going to get it all done so I contemplated staying up late but opted to just go to bed and leave the stress for the morning. Before Parker left this morning, he sat on the bed beside me and said, "I know you are really busy and I'm sorry but I need to ask you to do something for me today." Immediately my response was something along the lines of "No. Absolutely not. I don't have time." And honestly, I didn't think I did. I'm also ashamed to admit that I was feeling a little bit of resentment toward Parker for not being more efficient and getting his own stuff done even though he has had an even busier week than me (he was supposed to have today off to study for a test but they made him go into the hospital anyway - rude). Luckily, the thing he wanted me to do was something that was already on my list so it wasn't a big deal... Anyway, I got up, said a little prayer asking for some help to get everything done that I needed to do today and that I could focus and guess who is done everything on her to-do list by 2:30 pm? ME. 

Image via Pinterest

As was sitting around trying to decide what I should do with this unexpected hour of free time, I had a little lightbulb moment that I wanted to share. 

How much could I get done if I would just do the thing I'm stressing about rather than taking the time to stress about it at all? 

Then there would be no energy spent on worrying about it, the to-do list would get done faster, and I would be in such a better mood! I get in my head so much and get so worked up about stupid things. Sometimes a simple task like doing the dishes is completely overwhelming to me because both sides of the sink are filled up and there are dirty dishes scattered about the counters so it looks like a much bigger job than it actually is. In reality, it usually only takes me about a half hour to bust them out and get the kitchen cleaned. 

Image via Pinterest

So ladies and gents, get outta your mind. Stop stressing, start doing. You can do this! You are amazing! I'm cheering you on!

xoxo, 
Chelan

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Bachelor... Among other things.

It's no secret that I love the Bachelor. I've watched almost every season since I can remember. One of my favorite things is talking about it with my friends at work and asking them who their favorites are/how they felt about the drama, etc. So I thought it would be kinda fun to do a little post on my feelings about how this season is going. This will only be fun if other people share their opinions so please comment below or on the link I'll share on Facebook!




























Arie is AWK! He is so, so, so, so awkward. I don't not like him but I don't love him, either. There is just something about how he acts around the girls that makes me cringe. I really liked him on Emily's season so I'm surprised at how I'm feeling this season. I'm really hopeful that he'll win us all over later on in the season but at this point, I don't really care who he ends up with.. is that bad? I'm really just over here picking out my choice for the next Bachelorette!

As far as dates go - Becca K and Crystal's dates were the best (even though Crystal seems a little crazy, but we'll get to that later). These group dates are awful and so weird. The demolition derby was the least awkward out of the three but the GLOW girls one was horrid.

Let's chat about the girls. My current favorite is Tia (her accent is the cutest) and Becca K is a close second. I don't love the short-haired Becca. There's just something about her that bugs me. Taxidermy girl freaks me out, or rather her collection does. Crystal, poor Crystal. I feel bad that everyone hates her so much because I feel like a lot of the editing makes these ladies seem like crazy people but I guess that's just a risk you take when you agree to do the show? Maybe she is crazy? Her poor voice. But she's got some wicked arms and abs! I'm sure she's actually really sweet. Chelsea is bothering me less and less but I think that's because they've chosen Crystal to be the true villain. I'm just a little puppet and the editors are my puppet masters telling me how to feel, I know.

This is Tia if you can't remember. I want to talk with a southern accent just like hers. 

Anyway, I want to know your thoughts. Who do you love? Who do you hate? What do you think of Arie? No spoilers, please!

I listen to a few Bachelor-related podcasts that you should totally tune into if you like the Bachelor. I almost enjoy the podcasts more than the actual show.

1. The Almost Famous Podcast with Ben Higgins and Ashley I. Theirs is mostly focused on the Bachelor with some relationship advice mixed in every so often which is fun to listen to. I love that they have guests come on the show - Annalise just went on the dish about the other girls and about Arie and ugh. I just love the drama!!!

2. Scrubbing in with Becca Tilley. I think Becca may be my favorite person to ever come out of the Bachelore franchise. I just want to be her best friend.. Is that too much to ask? They talk a lot about Grey's Anatomy on her show, which I also love, and do a lot of dating advice segments - doesn't apply to me since I'm married but still entertaining all the same.

3. Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe. So good. I really didn't like her all that much on the Bachelor or as the Bachelorette but I have loved almost every single one of her podcasts! She talks about all sorts of different things and has all sorts of different guests but it's always a good time. I don't care much for all the talk about wine but that's her thing so I deal. She just upped her episodes to two a week in 2018 rather than 1 and I'm jazzed about it!

"Ladies. Arie. This is the final rose tonight. When you're ready."

xoxo,
Chris Harrison


Friday, January 12, 2018

2018 Check In


Hey everybody! It's Friday afternoon, Parker is having a nap on the couch and I'm trying to be super quiet so I don't wake him. He's had two really, really early mornings and has been so busy the last few days that I think a nap is totally warranted. So I'm just trying to find something to fill the time during his nap that won't wake him up and is semi-productive. Why not write and share a blog post?!

I figured I'd do a little check in on how my 2018 goals are going so far! I know we are only a couple of weeks into January but it's never a bad time to see what's going on and where I can do better, right?


I chose a word for the year, as I've seen SO many people do this year and my word is consistent. Whether that be I'm more consistently organized, consistently being productive and efficient, consistently keeping caught up on laundry or even my favorite tv shows (balance, right?!). However that may look on any given day. You can read more about my quick 2017 year in review and see some of the words I was considering using as my theme for 2018 here.

Alrighty, lets check in!

+ Diet. This year I'm trying to be more intentional with how I take care of my body. Parker and my family have been into it, too, which makes it a lot easier. I complain pretty consistently about it lol but I know it'll be worth it. I'm not 'dieting' per se, but I am being really conscious of the things I put into my body. Trying to think of food as being fuel rather than a social activity or a reward is HARD! I just meal planned some low-carb meals for this coming week and when Parker wakes up we are going to brave the winter storm to go get groceries. If you have any low-carb snacks or easy meals (lunches specifically is what I'm lacking on right now) send them my way! We aren't avoiding carbs completely, just trying to eat less of them. RIP my favorite food: potatoes. May you always be remembered with fondness and happy times.

+ Exercise: I've only exercised once this year. Whoops! I'm still sore from my PiYo class on Tuesday so that's good! I've been teaching dance a little bit but I'd love to get my gym membership reactivated so I can start going and lifting some weights! I miss going to the gym!

+ Reading. I want to read at least one book a month this year. I used to read so much and I really made it a priority. I miss that! I set aside some specific time this week and it was really nice to just relax with a good book. If you have any recommendations for books I should have on my list this year, send them my way! I'm open to lots of different genres but would love to try something in the 'self-help' genre at least once this year, maybe? Usually, I stick to my romance, historical fiction, and YA books. I'm hoping to get back to posting my 'Currently Reading' posts every so often, too!

+ Blogging. I set a goal to blog more this year. I'm thinking at least once a week but this week I'm already at two posts. Go me! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog, you guys. It makes me really happy to see that a few people read these posts that I pour my heart into. I don't blog to someday be semi-famous or for monetary purposes (although, I wouldn't complain about either of those things if they were to happen at some point) and I try not to put too much stock into how many page views each blog post gets but just know that when you read, comment, and share my posts it really does mean so much to me! You just make my entire day every time you take the time to visit this here site, so THANK YOU!

+ Plann(er)ing! I got a cute new 365 Happy Planner for Christmas this year and I've been really diligent about using it. I also got some adorable stickers to put in it! Here's a peek at this current week so far :). Don't the stickers make it so fun?!


What are your goals this year? Have you been sticking to them? If not, it's never too late to start. You've got this!

xoxo, Chelan



Thursday, January 11, 2018

The Worst Flight Experience Ever with Air Canada

Once upon a time, there was a couple called the Hollingsworths who wanted to go to Alberta/Montana to see family for Christmas. They lived in a land far, far away called The Ohio and their families lived westward. After looking at flight upon flight, the couple found a flight via Air Canada that barely fit into their budget and worked with their schedule even though it was outrageously priced.
Photo via Pinterest

They promptly arrived at the airport in Cleveland on the 23rd day of the month of December to embark on the first leg of their journey West. Their first flight was delayed by about 50 minutes. Not ideal but not a big deal. They each had a personal carry on bag and had checked a larger bag at the gate. When they arrived in Toronto, they had a little trouble. You see, one of them lost their passport and when they went back to the aircraft to find it, it had vanished. They were distraught but wouldn't let this dampen their trip as they continued on their way.

When they arrived in Calgary, Alberta, at 1 AM on the 24th day of December (Christmas Eve) they anxiously awaited their bag on the carousel, however, it never appeared. Much to their disappointment, their bag had been stalled in Toronto but the Hollingsworths were assured that the Air Canada staff was working over the holiday weekend and would deliver their bag to them at their final destination the next day. Unfortunately, all of Mrs. Hollingsworth's clothes were in that checked bag along with a few Christmas gifts that the Hollingsworths were excited to give to their families! Without any clothing to her own, Mrs. Hollingsworth had to borrow clothing and toiletries from her mother and sisters. You see, she had packed all of Mr. Hollingsworth's Christmas gifts in her carry-on bag so as to keep them a secret until Christmas morning. In doing so, she had packed all of her necessities in the larger checked bag, confident that it would arrive safely with them. It was quite lucky that Mrs. Hollingsworth had family who she could borrow these things from because the couple had arrived on a holiday and a Sunday so there were no stores open to purchase these things. The couple continued to stay optimistic in hopes that their belongings would still be delivered. Unfortunately, they were not delivered that day, or the next day, or the next, or the next day, either!

The Hollingsworths had lots of family in the area. They spent some time in the town of Cardston, Alberta, then they moved on to Eureka, Montana for a time, then they visited Columbia Falls, Montana. With each move to a new location, Mr. Hollingsworth had to contact Air Canada's Customer Service and wait on hold for at least an hour before speaking with a representative to update their delivery address for their missing suitcase. It wasn't until 2 hours before Mr. Hollingsworth was to begin his trek back home that their bag was finally delivered. Unfortunately, it was a little dirty and torn up but they were just excited to finally have it back! Mrs. Hollingsworth was overjoyed to have her own belongings back and to wear her own clothing! As they were checking the condition of the suitcase, they realized that some cash they had inside had been stolen (dirtbags, pun intended). They unpacked the suitcase and repacked it with their Christmas presents that they had received and decided that it would be best if Mr. Hollingsworth took the bag back with him that evening. He had to be at the hospital the following day, you see, which is why he had to make the journey back to The Ohio sooner than Mrs. Hollingsworth who still had another week off of her duties.

Mr. Hollingsworth began his expedition back to The Ohio on the 31st day of December. Unfortunately, his bag got lost AGAIN on his way home. To make matters worse, the second leg of his flight was canceled due to 'inclement weather' although it was clear blue skies in Toronto. Because it was canceled due to 'inclement weather' Air Canada would not give him any sort of hotel voucher or meal voucher because 'the weather is out of their control'. Rather than wait overnight in the airport, Mr. Hollingsworth decided that it would be best if he simply procured a vehicle and drove the rest of the journey. He did so and arrived safely in The Ohio late the evening of the 1st of January - without his checked bag as it was still lost.

Again, Mr. Hollingsworth had to call Air Canada's poor Customer Service and wait on hold for hours on end to get confirmation that his bag would be delivered. "Luckily" it only took three days this time instead of eight.

A screenshot of one of our many calls to Air Canada while we were trying to cancel the second leg of the flight they booked us on but didn't use.  


Mrs. Hollingsworth had a smashing time in Alberta for the remainder of the week where she spent lots of time playing winning games, watching and singing The Greatest Showman, and visiting with friends and family. She began her trek back home to The Ohio on Sunday, the 7th of January, by driving to the Calgary airport. She was directed to the wrong security entrance so she had to walk all the way to the other end of the airport and then back again before she could go through security. While going through security they 'randomly' insisted on a full body pat-down search and scan as well as opened up her backpack and poured everything out.

Finally, once everyone had boarded her first flight, Mrs. Hollingsworth's plane was sitting on the tarmac waiting for their turn to take off only to have some sort of passenger mix up. This meant that they had to taxi back to the gate, get the issue resolved, and then they could take off. Because of this long delay, Mrs. Hollingsworth would not arrive in Toronto on time to board her connecting flight. However, when she finally did arrive in Toronto, it was not so surprising to learn that her connecting flight had been canceled due to 'inclement weather' again. She cried there in the airport when she realized that Air Canada's Customer Service would be of no help to her. The earliest they could get her on another flight was the next morning but because the cancellation was due to 'weather' they couldn't give her a hotel voucher or any meal vouchers or anything. She decided to follow Mr. Hollingsworth's example and rent a car to drive the rest of the way. She safely arrived at 3 AM on the 8th day of January. Luckily, she had only a carry-on so all of her bags arrived with her.

Mr. and Mrs. Hollingsworth were overjoyed to see each other again! They decided it would be best to cancel Mrs. Hollingsworth's connecting flight that she was supposed to be on the next morning so they called Air Canada's terrible Customer Service again even though it was about 3:30 AM. They called waited on hold for at least an hour again to get that canceled. After which they had to file another claim to be refunded for only that leg of the flight.

As you can see, the Hollingsworths had anything but a 'Happily Ever After' experience with Air Canada.

The End.

***

I'm not sure why I felt the need to share our experience at all, let alone like a story. It just kind of came out like that as soon as I started typing (I realize it's 3rd person which is so annoying but it is what it is). I know it's super long - it's because we had issue after issue with Air Canada. I realize the passport thing isn't their fault but that was just the beginning of the downhill flight experience so I figured I'd share it anyway. The rest of the nightmare was completely their fault and they've done absolutely nothing to make it right. I hate to badmouth a company and their customer service, especially after sharing such a passionate post about treating Customer Service representatives with kindness. I can assure you that Parker and I have both been very nice to each and every representative of Air Canada that we have had contact with. They just aren't doing anything for us which is very frustrating! We are hopeful that our claim will be seen soon and that they will take action to make this right. We wanted to share our experience to let other people know that flying with Air Canada - no matter how much less expensive it is - is never worth it. We will never fly with them again.

xoxo, Chelan

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

2018

Happy New Year! Isn't it crazy that it's 2018 and hover cars aren't our main form of transportation?! I have a goal to blog more in 2018 so let's get this party started, shall we?

First, let's chat about 2017. It was a good year. Parker and I were able to do so much like go to Washington DC, Florida, California, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, New Orleans, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. We went to a ton of movies using our MoviePass - my favorites were Lion, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and The Greatest Showman (soundtrack on repeat over here). We spent a lot of time with family. Parker kicked freaking butt on his first round of boards (like kicked bootay, people). Can you tell I'm proud? ;) It was a good year for us and I'm pumped to see what 2018 will bring!

In 2016, I picked a single word for the year and that was FOCUS. You can read more about why that was my theme for 2016 here. This year I've written down some goals for the year in my new planner and I've been debating which word I should use as my theme. Is this something you do? If so, what word or theme have you picked for the year 2018?

Here are a few that I've been bouncing between:

Consistent
Service
Present
Optimistic

I'd love to hear your thoughts! They all have a little bit to do with the resolutions that I've set this year like complaining less and being more efficient/productive.

If you have a great new years resolution or goal or a word/theme for the new year, comment below! I'd love some more inspiration!

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope it's one full of amazing memories and bountiful happiness! You deserve it :)

xoxo, Chelan