#DigitalDetox | Event Recap

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend an event called #DigitalDetox, hosted by Penguin Random House Canada. In case you missed it, during the month of January they encouraged everyone to get away from screens and electronics for an hour a day, in favour of doing something more productive - like reading!

Colouring some beautiful aquatic scenery from Lost Ocean

The office is so modern and airy, with huge sliding doors that form a wall that can be opened to create one big room for a gathering like this. The first thing I saw was a table full of colouring books and an area where we could actually colour in a long page! I was pretty drawn to that table (no pun intended), and spent some time colouring in a pretty fish.

Counter-clockwise from top: Olive and Rosemary Chickpea Flatbreads (p. 155), Millet-Sesame Croquettes with Tamari Dipping Sauce (p. 262), Salmon Balls with Crunchy White Sauce (p. 198); Mini Carrot Cakes (p. 175); Amelia Freer introducing her cookbook

There were some dishes to sample from Amelia Freer's new cookbook, Cook. Nourish. Glow. I particularly liked the Salmon Balls with Crunchy White Sauce!

Displays from Greenhouse Juice Co. (top left), Butter Me Body (top right), and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up featuring floorplaysocks

There were lots of samples and demonstrations, including hand scrubs by Butter Me Body (I love the smell of their Pomegranate & Mango Shea Scrub, despite mango scents usually giving me headaches) and clothes-folding demos to help optimize drawer space.

How do you motivate yourself when you're in a rut?

We were also able to submit questions for Cheryl Strayed's #IndigoBookClub Twitter chat.

At the end of the night, everyone got a bag full of goodies, including books, snacks, and socks - it was a lovely night and I'm so grateful to have been able to go!

"Brave Enough" by Cheryl Strayed | Book Review

Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed

Publishing Date: October 27, 2015

Pages: 135

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Links: Goodreads | Indigo | Kobo

Cheryl Strayed's books have been highly acclaimed: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a New York Times best seller, the first choice in Oprah's Book Club 2.0, and was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film; Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar is a national bestseller and has now been developed into a podcast. On top of this, she's also released her debut novel, Torch. Now, she's come out with a collection of quotes from her works, called Brave Enough.

I love quotes, but I've never actually had a book of quotes so this is a nice change for me. I haven't read any of Cheryl Strayed's books yet (although Wild is very high on my to-read list), so I didn't really know what to expect from a book of quotes by her. I did hope it would be motivational and inspirational – and it was.

In Brave Enough, you'll find a ton of wise quotes about life, love, and forgiveness. Some of these hit really close to home and left me teary-eyed, and some made me feel like I could do anything if I only put my mind to it or were willing to work for it. There were some that I didn't really identify with at this point in my life, but I think it's normal for one person to not identify with all of the statements in a collection of quotes – the ones that don't resonate with me could be the ones you identify with the most!

Cheryl's quotes involve compassion, tough love, empathy, bravery, and much more. Her words are sometimes funny and often comforting. She teaches us that life will never be perfect and we'll be terrified sometimes – we just have to try to be “brave enough.”

What's your favourite quote? Do you like books of quotes?

*This book was sent to me by Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.

November Book Haul!

Hi all! I don't know about you, but I had quite a busy November. It was my birthday month, I've been travelling out of town, and what with all the sales going on, I've been getting in gear for the Christmas season...I can't believe it's December already! As well as spending all my money on gifts for people I love, I've also been working on something special for the blog - I'm hoping to be able to show you within the next couple of weeks! But for now, on to this month's book haul:

1. Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed

2.  Poles Apart by Terry Fallis

3. Cracked by Barbra Leslie

4. I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

5. The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak by Brian Katcher

6. Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews

7. Our Turn by Kirstine Stewart

8. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

9. The Widow by Fiona Barton

10. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Have you heard of or read any of these? What books did you get this month?