If you are interested, I do send out newsletters occasionally. This might be an exaggeration, as I've sent two in total. That being said, I have one drafted up for August that I will be issuing shortly. If you are interested in joining my mailing list, you can click on the link in located in the right-hand margin. As an FYI, it will ask you for your birthdate. There is no need to enter this, but I can't figure out how to remove it!⁣
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There is definitely some irony to this post. I just spent yesterday afternoon "unsubscribing" to all the junk emails in my inbox, and now here I am soliciting my own subscribers! I promise not to inundate your inbox with emails! I'm a minimalist at heart!!! 💖

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’ 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯!” Chapter 10- Elevate Your Health ⁣
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Summer, (or rather blueberry season) just happens to be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ for me! I went to visit my parents in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia this week so I could milk it as much as possible. My mom and I picked 33 pounds between the two of us. This is just the beginning. I’ll be back for a refill once these are gone. You might think I’m freezing them, but I’m not! I’ve been eating blueberries three meals a day ever since. My son, who follows in my footsteps, sits down with them as if they are a bowl of popcorn. I feel pretty fortunate that my favorite food in the world is classifed by some as a super food! Win-win!⁣
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What classifies as the most wonderful time of the year for you? How do you milk it for all its worth?

Don’t you love the feeling of being in an inspired state? These are the times in life when you are bursting with enthusiasm, energy and motivation. Whenever I find myself on a “high” like this, I try to take advantage of it and go with the flow – to capture the moment and ride my own wave of enthusiasm! ⁣
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Often, we find ourselves inspired, but the feeling fizzles before we get a chance to take action. This is a reminder to act today towards your health goals. You don’t have to have the perfect home gym set up, every healthy ingredient on the list, or a sparkly new pair of running shoes to get moving on your goals. ⁣
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I’m incorporating this approach into my writing at the moment. I’m so excited about my new book, I feel the need to capitalize on the enthusiasm. I’m stealing any spare moment, in increments as small as 15 minutes, to get my thoughts down on paper (or rather the computer screen). ⁣
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What has you buzzing with excitement today?

Thanks for following along with me on the "summer inspiration" walkthrough of my book, Elevate Your Personal Style . 

I enjoyed hearing from those of you who shared your thoughts and favorite ways to elevate your summer style. It might be fun to run through the same process in the fall or winter.  For now, I'm going to try to enjoy as much of the fleeting summer warmth as possible!

Happy Summer!

“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺.” – Chapter 21, Elevate Your Personal Style. ⁣
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Chapter 21 is the last chapter of my book! Although we tend to associate our personal style with the visible, I think it runs a bit deeper than that! I believe our personal style includes how we express ourselves verbally, in writing and through our body language. I'm a work in progress in all these areas! ⁣
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This is a fairly broad topic, but this chapter covers a few key areas to consider. Choosing one area at a time to concentrate on keeps my goals feeling attainable. My focus over the last year has been on improving my writing skills. 𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳 can have an elevating effect on our communication skills. I’ve enjoyed the process of digging into the rules on a deeper level and brushing up on my skills and knowledge. ⁣
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What area of expression are you seeking to elevate this summer? ⁣

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩” - Elise Joan @elisejoanfitness ⁣

When you think about it, this statement is so true! 💪🌹⁣
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Chapter 20 of "Elevate Your Personal Style" discusses ways we can attain more grace by tapping into our inner ballerina. You don’t have to have a history of dance classes to do this! (My own background includes one awkward year of tap classes at the age of 7). ⁣
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For the past year, I’ve included Elise Joan’s @barreblendworkout program into my fitness routine. I’m still running, cycling and lifting weights, but barre is providing me with greater flexibility, core strength, balance and grace. I definitely feel like I’m holding myself with better posture and moving with more fluidity. Even though it’s summer and I'm trying to get outside as much as possible, I’m committed to this routine because the results are so inspiring. ⁣
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Adding a touch of grace to your life definitely has an elevating impact on your personal style. Carrying yourself with better posture and confidence takes things next level. What are you doing these days to keep your grace muscles strong?⁣

Apparently over 90% of woman are not happy with their bodies. That's a huge number!⁣
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As an “everyday woman”, I'm not going to pretend to have all the answers around body image. I get into more detail on this subject in my book. For most of my life I hated my legs. Because they are so muscular, I always felt like I looked out of balance. I"m short and small on top, so my legs made it even more challenging to feel feminine. At some point, I switched gears on this thinking. I have since decided they are one of my greatest assets, and I dress in ways that highlight them.⁣
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I love running, cycling and lifting weights – all activities that build strong, thick calves! I’m never going to have the long willowy legs of a model- it’s just not my build. The truth is, I’m lucky to have this muscle mass and it will serve me well as I age.⁣
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What's your greatest asset?⁣

I think looking after our belongings is really an act of gratitude. The time I spend cleaning, polishing or mending allows me to appreciate an object even more. There is something incredibly satisfying about giving our things some TLC!⁣
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My three pairs of Swedish Hasbeens clogs are favorites in my summer footwear collection. I love touching up scuffs with sandpaper and polishing the wood with beeswax. These clogs are 5-6 years old and are all still going strong. I had the black ones resoled last year and they are as good as new.⁣
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I actually enjoy washing my delicates by hand. I used to toss them in a mesh bag on the delicate cycle, but hand washing feels a lot gentler. It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s really not!⁣
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Have you been working on any wardrobe maintenance this summer?