The grass is green, the trees are blossoming (finally!) and I think that’s cause for celebration! If you’re looking to treat your taste buds to something refreshing after what was quite possibly the longest winter in Canadian history, embrace spring’s bountiful produce with my Spiced Strawberry Watermelon Gazpacho. This pretty, pink (yep, still riding that Spring 2017 Pantone Fashion Color Report wave), chilled soup is the perfect menu addition for your next spring soirée, baby or bridal shower, or anytime you’re hosting your girlfriends and want something fuss free, fresh and festive!
My Spiced Strawberry Watermelon Gazpacho is so simple, I almost can’t call it a recipe — but I’ve been meaning to publish this one since last summer! I popped over to Blushlane (a new organic market that just opened in my neighbourhood) on Friday and was so inspired by the beautiful strawberries, basil (I picked up a gorgeous basil plant… let’s hope I don’t kill it!) and mini watermelon that I knew I had to channel them into this recipe. With just 10 ingredients (seasonings and garnish included!) this fruity spin on traditional gazpacho comes together in just 10 minutes! So grab a delicious glass of rosé (I’m enjoying a Spanish Rioja!) and kick back with me tonight for the details on this modern, seasonal spin on a classic Spanish dish while I catch you up on a few cool things that have been happening the scenes lately — I can’t share a lot right now, but if you followed along with my Insta Stories last week, you may have an idea!
Backed with a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communications and 13 years of professional experience in the advertising industry, JustineCelina‘s creative work and lifestyle content has been published in print and featured all over the internet! Here you can browse features on Apartment Therapy, Brides Magazine, Brit + Co., Buzzfeed Food, Country Living, Domino, Elle, The Everygirl, Food Bloggers of Canada, Food Network Canada, Green Wedding Shoes, HuffPost Living Canada, Hunker, Junebug Weddings, My Domaine, Narcity, PureWow, Redbook Magazine, Style At Home, Style Me Pretty Living, Tourism Calgary and more.
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Well hello, friends! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted — I took some time during the first half of this dry January (it’s actually been great!) to reflect on the past year, get re-inspired and really put some thought into what I’d like to achieve in 2019. It’s been a very valuable exercise, so thank you for your patience! Today I’m dishing on everything I’ve discovered in this real, raw, lengthy (we’re talking the longest post I’ve ever written!) read recapping 2018 and sharing my intentions, aspirations and goals for the new year — plus exactly how I plan to achieve them!
When I look back on my goals post from last year, I feel grateful to be in a much better head space and place in my life — although it was a long road to get here. Longtime readers will know I’m always very transparent about the staggering amount of work that goes into blogging, content creation and creative entrepreneurship — and from the day I stared this blog in March of 2015 through to the end of 2017, I hustled hard. As a result, I entered 2018 feeling completely burnout, uninspired and unsure of how to proceed. I knew a change was necessary for me to move forward and progress in a way that would allow for more balance and well being in my life (and therefore more inspired work), but I wasn’t exactly sure how to get there. I felt like I needed to slow down and take life as it came, rather than creating an exhaustive list of all the things I felt I needed to accomplish — and I spent 2018 doing just that. I changed course and made chasing my passions for HOME and FASHION based content my first priority, which resulted in a pretty monumental year here at JustineCelina. That said, the largest shifts I made were off of these pages, in my mental and physical health, relationships and life in general. Fast forward to January of 2019 and I’m feeling energized, more inspired and productive than ever — and ready to make 2019 my best year yet! If you’re curious about what what’s to come, my favourite tools and resources to stay organized, inspired and fit, or in need of a healthy dose of motivation, cozy up with me and let’s chat about living and working with confidence and intention this year!
Friends, welcome back for my annual (and very belated!) Blogiversary celebration! My 3rd Blogiversary went roaring by on March 2nd — but to be honest, I was completely engrossed in our Living Room Reveal and some other fun, last minute projects at the time. Earlier this year I chatted about changing things up around here and creating space to let life happen — and that’s exactly what I’ve done! There’s been a lot happening here at JustineCelina lately as we get ready to reveal the next rooms in our SPACE REFRESH series (coming your way later this month!) and I simply had to prioritize my time differently to make this all possible. March was one of my most creatively fulfilling months of my life — it left me completely exhausted but also incredibly inspired! In the two months since My 3rd Blogiversary I’ve reached some milestones I’ve dreamed of achieving since launching JustineCelina and they’ve reminded me exactly why I started this whole thing in the first place. So, although it’s a bit late and I’ve been chipping away at this post when I can, I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this Pantone Spring 2018 inspired 3rd Blogiversary soirée with you!
In the midst of it all, I came up with the concept for this celebratory post pretty last minute — about 10 days before the shoot (which, admittedly, was about 2 months ago!). It was so spontaneous, but serendipitous and things just fell into place (I shot it myself one sunny Friday afternoon with my tripod and self timer). This year, we’re going all out — because after 323 blog posts, almost a million views (OMG!), 180 000 images, 2 900 comments and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears (quite literally), I truly never thought I’d get here! My third year was one of intense growth, both on these pages and off of them — I hope you enjoy reading about 10 Things I Learned in my Third Year of Blogging in this raw, honest, unabashed post (you may need a sparkling glass of rosé to get though it!). Whether you’re new to JustineCelina (and there are a lot of you beautiful people — welcome!) or have been with me since the very beginning, I’m so grateful to have you here celebrating with me today!
I kept flip flopping back and forth about this post — and that’s part of the reason it’s getting to you on February 1st, rather than January 1st. Should I just publish the TREND GUIDE I had originally planned for these photos? Should I save these thoughts for a traditional New Year, New Goals style post, or my 3rd Blogiversary? Should I open up about all these things? Or should I just proceed with regularly scheduled programming? Do people like more personal posts? Is it okay to publish 2 posts in one day? Will anyone even notice or care?
These are exactly the kind of over analytical, consuming thoughts that I can pretty much guarantee all creatives, bloggers and content creators have faced at one point or another while they’re in the process of creating whatever it is they create. But today, instead of the FASHION content I had originally written to accompany these images, I’m going to share something that’s been on my heart and my mind for the entire month of January. This year, there will be no New Year, New Goals post, like I’ve published every January since starting JustineCelina almost 3 years ago. There aren’t any styled flatlays with planners, coffee and flowers today — because here’s the truth. If you want to make real changes in your life, all the planners, scheduling tools and cute stationary in the world won’t do it for you. Only you can do that for yourself. So today, it’s just me.
Well guys, we’re over half way through 2017 — and it’s been about 7 months since I published my New Year New Goals: Cultivating a Balanced 2017 post (say what?!). I’ve just come home from a partially unplugged weekend visiting family and I’m feeling refreshed, so I thought it was a good time to check in and update you how I’m working towards the goals, intentions and plans I set out for myself this year in an attempt to cultivate more balance in my life. Overall, I’m happy to say I’m in a much better place than I was at the beginning of the year — but it’s been a lot of hard work to get there and some things definitely haven’t turned out how I planned!
Today I’ll be updating you on my progress towards my overarching goal for 2017 to return to a more balanced lifestyle and what exactly that looks like for me as an entrepreneur and blogger. I’m also sharing my progress towards more specific goals like learning to overcome perfectionism, recovering from burnout, getting organized, investing in myself and my businesses, refreshing our space and being more mindful about looking at the bigger picture more often to ensure the puzzle pieces of my life and career fit together in a way that works for me. I’m also sharing a few detours I’ve taken along the way — some intentional and some completely unintentional (but serendipitous!). If you’re interested in learning more about the changes I’ve made so far this year in my quest to cultivate balance in my life while working towards my personal and professional goals, pour yourself a nice, juicy glass of wine (or a big cup of coffee if you’re reading in the morning!) — and let’s get into it!
I’m back today with another SPRING 2017 TREND GUIDE for you — and this time, I’m styling 1 outfit 2 ways! If we’ve visited IRL lately, there’s a good chance I may have been wearing some iteration of this outfit (don’t think fashion bloggers don’t rewear their favourite outfits around different groups of people!). I’ve worn this Casual Chic look to meetings, to daytime events and also out to enjoy a glass of rosé on a sunny patio with friends in the evening — transitioning my outfit simply by changing up a few accessories and losing a layer! While I’d love to be frolicking in a field or on a mountaintop everyday of my life (I mean… who wouldn’t?!), I realize that’s just not realistic for the average woman and moving forward I’ll be showcasing the more professional side of my wardrobe here at JustineCelina as well.
While this outfit incorporates a handful of seasonal trends, it’s also such an easy one to wear — and one I think would suit almost every body shape. So beautiful people, kick back with me this weekend and let’s chat palazzo pants and 70’s inspired silhouettes, stripes, the new white shirt, cold shoulders, straw bags, wedges, vibrant lips, metallics and the difference between inexpensive and designer shades (I’m wearing my very first pair of designer sunglasses in this post and sharing my thoughts on whether or not they’re worth the splurge)!