As I’m typing this up, I’m sat lounging on the couch, chilling out after unpacking from a little weekend away in cottage country. We hadn’t spent a night out of the city since December, and I can already tell that the 48 hours away has done me a world of good. I’d been yearning for a slower pace and greener vistas, and was feeling burnt out, unmotivated, and uncreative. We’re lucky to have been able to drive up to a close friend’s family cottage for the weekend, just two and a half hours outside the city.
We did nothing all weekend besides eat, sit on the dock, read, and make fires, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. With things on the verge of opening back up slightly here in Toronto, the anxiety of going back to an old, faster way of life was starting to get to me. Add to that the constant mental gymnastics of calculating risk and the uncertainty caused by months of lurching, reactionary lockdowns here in Ontario, and I was well beyond due for a few days of quiet. Something about the sun on skin, a quiet lake, and falling asleep in a dark room with no light from the street coming through the curtains is an absolute tonic.
The weekend has reminded me of the importance of slowing down, as cliché as that is to say. I think with the world opening back up, I had been trying to plan too far into the future and it was doing nothing but cause me anxiety. And seeing people starting to go about their “normal” life, travelling and socializing indiscriminately, made me realize I’m very much not in that place yet. So for now I’m taking things as they come and going slow and steady. Anyone else feel like they can’t plan more than a week into the future lately?
I was really looking forward to our little getaway not just for the chance to escape the intensity of the city, but to finally have a chance to wear a few new pieces and some things I haven’t been able to wear much over the past 15 months. I had placed a little order to & Other Stories, one of my favourite stores but one I haven’t been able to visit in-person since the world shut down. The linen shirt was the perfect bathing suit coverup and goes so nicely with my linen pants I bought earlier in the summer. I’m also a massive fan of the smocked bathing suit I got, which is a chic bandeau top with high waisted bottoms. The hat is another new favourite I picked up from Bohème Goods, a Canadian slow fashion label and vintage seller. It was handmade in BC and is the perfect summer sunhat. And since we haven’t gotten away very much lately, I hadn’t had a chance to wear one of my favourite bathing suits, a printed number from Solid & Striped I got a few years back. It’s got such a strong 70’s vibe to it which I love.
Anyways, I’ll end this chatty little rambling blog post here. All this to say, we had a truly lovely weekend and I’m so grateful to be able to pack up and get a change of scenery. I have lots of fun things I’m excited to share this summer, and this was exactly the reset I needed. I hope you’re able to hit the reset button if you need to and are otherwise looking after yourselves.
Linen shirt and black bathing suit (top & bottom) – & Other Stories, Linen pants – Shelter, One-piece bathing suit – old season Solid & Striped, Hat – Bohème Goods, Sandals – Birkenstock
