Hi besties!!!

I hope you all had the most magical & fabulous holiday season!!!

For me, the holidays were for recharging my batteries, and that’s exactly what went down.

With having such a beautifully busy workload, pouring into my passions & mixing in a social life – I rarely take downtime to just do “nothing”… aside from Christmas with our famjam’s, I had zero plans (which is rare – I’m a busy body).

My holidays looked a lot like this: relaxing, recharging, and sleeping.

I read A LOT. (I finished an entire book… big accomplishment for me!) I got out in nature a lot and hiked some new trails with my loves. I watched an entire season on Netflix (Emily in Paris – cute, but corny (aka entirely my vibe lol) & I started And Just Like That on Crave – kind of a stretch by saying it’s good – let’s just say it’s def not like the old SATC). + I drank a lot of coffee, even more wine and indulged in a lot of tasty treats.

After some much-needed downtime, I feel refreshed, recharged and so ready to tackle this new year with lots of LOVE! (Disclaimer: love is my word of the year. WOO!)

The aesthetic of brainstorming for 2022 + a sneak of my vision board for the year.

With that, who else feels a magical fire-y feeling about 2022??? I know I sure do!!!

Obvi the number 22 has some major meaning for my love & I, so there’s that… but, after the last 2+ years of diving deep into self-love, reflection, and growth – I am ready kick some serious ass in 2022 (in the best way possible)!!!

I’m sure like many, I have a powerfully motivated ambition running through my veins @ the beginning of each year; but, this year just hits different. Anyone else!?

Anyways, I’m here to drop some major goal setting, goal-getting energy on all of you!!!

Firstly, as mentioned above, I like to start my year with a word of the year. This sets the intentions for the year, not to mention, my overall intentions with my everyday life.

LOVE is my word of the year.

Love can mean 2 things… 1. an intense feeling of deep affection, 2. a great interest and pleasure in something.

I chose the word LOVE; well, for the obvious – 2022 is the year I get to marry the love of my life, my best friend, Eric; and there are lots of events leading up and around it that revolves around our love and commitment for one another. ALSO! Several of my besties are also getting married this year; so, lots of love is in the air!!! Plus, my intentions are to do everything with love aka with great interest and pleasure. Which ties into my motto for life: if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no!!!!!!!!

Now, do you set New Year’s Resolutions? If so, what are they?

If your answer is yes, the first thing I want you to think about is – are your resolutions accomplishable? Are they attainable? And are you going to be continuing with these resolutions in December of 2022? And/or are you going to see the results of your resolutions by then?

If the answer was no to any of the above, try and reframe those “resolutions” as goals…

Here’s why:

Resolution is a firm decision to do (or not do) something.

Goal is an objective of a person’s ambition or effort.

With that, when shifting your way of thinking from resolutions to goals, do your ideas for goals change?

From my personal perspective, goals are much easier to obtain and accomplish. That’s why I like to make SMART goals. IMO (in my opinion), SMART goals are the best way to create a vision, plan, or idea without getting sidetracked or discouraged.

If you haven’t heard of the acronym SMART before it stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timely.

Specific: well defined, clear, and concise.

Measurable: specifics that measure your progress toward accomplishing the goal

Achievable: attainable and not impossible to achieve

Realistic: within reach and relevant to your purpose

Timely: a clearly defined timeline – including start date and target date

For example, some ideas of SMART goals can include walking 30 minutes a day at least 4 days a week, eating fruits and veggies daily, connect with friends weekly, journal often about key events, or even wakeup early… to name a small few.

When creating these goals, I like to think of the 4 following golden areas: CAREER, FINANCIAL, RELATIONSHIPS, HEALTH & WELLNESS

1. CAREER: Where do I want to see myself in the next 6 months to a year? What do I have to do to accomplish this? What steps can I take to obtain that?

2. FINANCIAL: What realistic financial situation do I want to be in, in a year? What spending and/or saving habits do I have to create to accomplish this? What monthly actions am I going to take to obtain this?

3. RELATIONSHIPS: What relationships do I want to focus the most on this year? Where do I want to see this relationship in a year? Am I going to do something weekly or monthly to enhance these relationships? Note: this relationship can be with yourself. This can also be a spiritual relationship. Relationships do not just have to be about friends & family.

4. HEALTH & WELLNESS: Are their new eating habits I’d like to accomplish? Do I want to work out more often? Are there different exercises I’d like to try? Is there an area on my physique I’d like to tone? What do I have to do to accomplish those goals mentioned?

The idea is to get super specific with your goals, and intentions – this helps not only to understand the final goal, but it also makes it easier for you to accomplish and stay true to your word.

Okay, I know up to this point it’s been a lot to unpack and consider; however, once you have your SMART goals in mind – I want to encourage you to think of creating the following…

A VISION BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A vision board can be physical (i.e. on a cork board made out of magazine cut-outs) or it can be digital (i.e. using Canva or Pinterest).

Personally, I go for the digital vision board using a combination of Canva and Pinterest. I say combination because I create a board on Pinterest with ideas, inspiration, and create a variety of selection. Then, I use Canva to create a more concrete vision board to layout my goals/visions. Once that is created, I simply save it as my screen saver so that I don’t have any other option but to look at it every single day!!!

When planning for your vision board, think of the following:

1. Word of the Year

2. The 4 Golden Areas

3. Colours

4. Quotes

5. Aesthetic

6. Travel

To name a few.

I simply copy and paste the images from Pinterest, google or my camera roll to create my ideal vision board for the year.

Personally, looking back on my vision board for last year it is amazing to see all that has come into fruition!!!

For example, I put a romantic picture of 2 lovers in a hot tub – thinking it would be us travelling, but it ended up being the purchase of a hot tub for us (so dreamy!)… I put a bottle of Rosé Veuve (boujee champagne) and I received a bottle as a gift for my birthday (OBSESSED!)… I also added inspiration for my 25th birthday and the plans turned out nearly identical to the inspo etc.!!!

With that in mind, what you put out into the world often comes back.

It’s so important to set goals both big & small to have achievable items to work towards. So, get specific. Be realistic. And, set yourself a timeline to achieve your goals. There’s no better time than now to get started!!!

Sending you all so much love, prosper and happiness for 2022!!! I cannot wait to hear, see, and accomplish all the vision boards together!!!

Please feel free to reach out in my DMs to chat about them!!! Drop a pink heart emoji in my comments (right here or on my insta post) if you would like to join a workshop this year to get inspired, create vision boards, and be surrounded by many other like-minded people!!!

Talk with you beautiful souls soon!!!

Xx,

That’s So Corbeau aka Rave

As Luke Bryan says in our song, “This is a drop everything kind of thing!”

Truly it is; and, it has been ever since the day we “met” on December 27th, 2012… I say “met” because my fiancé (Eric) & I have crossed paths in a lot of fateful ways before we started dating…

For starters: years prior he bought a dirt bike from my oldest brother… around that same time, he was my OTHER brother’s defense partner in hockey… AND, during high school (as well as, college for him), we worked at the same store… can you say, “everything happens for a reason?” Because I sure can!!!

How it started:

Now, contrary to popular belief, we didn’t meet at the store (lol) – we met through some mutual friends of ours!

A few of my besties started dating guys in his friend group; SO! I guess you could say that I kind of third wheeled them for nights out.

One night, December 27th, to be exact, my friends and I were out at an age of majority dance… being underage at the time, it was that much more fun (I was 16… whoops! Sorry mom… jk! She knew…) Anyways, Eric, who was 19 at the time, was there too!

When doing as I do best… tearing up the d-floor that is… he caught my eye!

With a little bit of liquid courage, I said, “Come on Eric, come dance with me!” He then said, “I don’t know how to dance.” I replied with, “Come on, I’ll teach you!” HEHE (Sidenote: we are now typically the last 2 standing on the dance floor whenever we find one LOL.)

After that night, we then started talking… I even recall during a girl’s night a few days later my friends asked why I was smiling so much at my phone… HEHE so I told them about Eric!

On New Year’s Eve that year, Eric & I ended up at the same party – that’s when sparks really flew, if you will HEHE… it became more public, and we were what they called “a thing” :)

Shortly after NYE, we went on our first date. On that date, we went to the movies; it was that day, when I knew I was going to end up marrying this guy… I mean, it’s true, they say “you know when you know!”

For starters, the gentlemen that he is, he picked me up from my front door and said hello to both of my parents… they knew each other from hockey, but still, it made my heart flutter!

Then, on our car ride, we got talking, asking questions, and just generally getting to know each other better… and, naturally, as someone who is very goal oriented, I asked him what his 5-10 year goals were… He answered with such specific detail & confidence… and it was that moment, that I deeply knew he was the one! I loved his ambition, hard-working ethic, and purpose… and I am SO proud of him for accomplishing every single goal he mentioned that day!

Of course, after a couple of months, we made it “official” on February 22nd, 2013.

How it went:

Flash forward, 8 years… it’s February 22nd, 2021.

My love had been working crazy hours since the beginning of the year, so we decided to spend our anniversary weekend at his family’s cottage on the peninsula.

We both had that Monday off; so, we spent that morning sleeping in, ordering takeout breakfast – and just took it easy enjoying each other’s company.

Our only plan for that day was to go for a hike.

On the hike we were just being our goofy selves… watching our puppy leap through the snow, making jokes, and talking about everything under the sun – it was magical!

As we got closer to the main views on our hike, my breath was taken! The views were stunning, the weather was perfect and there was not another soul on the trail…

When we got to the main look-out point, I said, “WOW! BABE! This is stunning – we should take a picture!” He said, “Okay! Let’s do it on the Go-Pro.”

Side note: we adventure a lot, and often bring the Go-Pro with us, so I didn’t think anything of it. Not to mention, it had been 8-years, so I was fully chill & content with the way things were for us.

Where the Go-Pro was originally set-up, it didn’t have much of a vibey view behind. So I said, “Hey babe, try over there! The view is way better!”… Meanwhile, my love already had the camera on so it captured the whole transition!

He then got the Go-Pro set-up in a tree that faced the gorgeous escarpment and views behind us.

As he was walking back to Harlow & I… me, still thinking it was a photo on timer, I said, “How much time do we have?”… He looks back at the camera, and back at me… as he’s pulling the ring box out of his jacket, he says, “It’s not a photo… Rave, you make me the happiest man in the world…These have been the best 8 years of my life… and I want to spend the next 80 with you… Will you marry me?” Me, so shocked, at a loss of words, and repeatedly saying “BABE!” I then replied with, “Uh huh!… YES!!!”

Eric then went on to say that the ring was a placeholder ring, because he had a guy lined up in Toronto that we would be working with to make my dream ring together!!!!!!

And so, over the next number of weeks we got to designing the ring… getting to pick the 3C’s (colour, cut, clarity), the metal, the details of the band, and then, we ended up getting to select the diamond itself!!!

After looking at multiple, the diamond we ended up selecting, wildly enough came all the way from ISRAEL!!!!! Like how cool!?

Of course, since the ring wasn’t ready for several weeks after Eric proposed, so we took some time to enjoy the excitement just between the 2 of us… it was the sweetest, most magical time together!

We then slowly began telling close friends & family within a few weeks. It so special telling each person in their own intimate setting’s + getting to celebrate with everyone at separate times.

After weeks of waiting, the ring was ready for pick-up on Easter weekend.

It was so beautiful being able to make a day out of it – getting to enjoy the day road-tripping to Toronto, getting excited, reminiscing, and listening to our fave music… it was so special!

That being said, our jeweller was so INCREDIBLE! He kept us up-dated often, was a wealth of knowledge and made us feel extremely confident with making such a big decision.

When we got into his office, he passed us the ring… again, I was shocked and at a loss of words… so in excitement, I said “HOLY SHIT! Is that it??? Is that thing even real!? I fricken love it!!!”…

From the time we left his office, to the time we got home, all I wanted to do was stare at this gorgeous ring on my hand… I mean, all I still want to do is stare at it! LOL Eric did SO good – everything about it was such a dream come true!!!

On our way home, we stopped at a park outside of the city for a picnic… we popped some champagne… I squealed A. LOT., LOL like a lot a lot (ask Eric hehe)… and this grin on my face, yeah that hasn’t been wiped off since February 22nd, 2021… well basically since I met Eric near 9 years ago!!! :))))))))

Let me just tell you, this man is so perfectly sweet, kind, and thoughtful!!! He’s always going above & beyond for me, our poochy, and EVERYONE around him! I just love him SO much!!!

How it’s going:

Wedding planning has been in full swing over here these days.

We have our date, venue, and almost, if not all, of our vendors selected & contacted.

The Type-A organizer in me has been loving all of it!!! (Not to mention, previously owning an event consulting business, has absolutely come in clutch during the brainstorming, planning, and for knowing what to expect!)

But, I will spare all those details until after our wedding!!!!!!!!!! Ahhh! I cannot wait to marry my dreamy man in 9 months!!!

For now, enjoy some sneaks from our engagement photos! We are beyond obsessed with all of them & we absolutely adore our wedding photographer!!! She’s insanely talented!

Xx,

That’s So Corbeau aka Rave

Welcome 2022: Tips for a Goal Setting Mindset

Our Love Story: The Proposal