Getting Settled into my New Space

It's been a month of change for me with a shiny new job and new home! I moved in with Corbin on May 1st and I've spent the month getting comfy in my new digs. It's certainly a change for me as I had been in my previous home for the last 5 years (with a variety of roommates) AND my new place is in the west end of Toronto.

If you're familiar with Toronto, you know that there is a pretty strong divide between the east and west ends with Yonge Street being the dividing line. While I'm fond of both sides, I am an east ender at heart! I was born at Toronto East General, went to Earl Haig Public School, Westwood Junior High and East York Collegiate and then resided in Greektown/Riverdale for the last 8 consecutive years. I can basically do a tour of "Ashley Gibson, This is Your Life" whilst walking around the east side. That being said, there are lots of great things about where I'm living now and I'm making the adjustment. I love my 15-20 minute bike ride to work on the mornings I'm in the office/kitchen and there's lots of cute places around here that I'm quickly falling in love with. I'm planning to write a couple of posts on my fave spots from my old neighbourhood and then some of my new discoveries.

Part of moving into my new space has been adjusting to my new room. It's about half the size of my old room and has ZERO closet space. I did a whole lot of purging (with some very successful trips to Kind Exchange, Goodwill and Re: Reading) and the experience has encouraged me to work on being more of a minimalist. My previous room had been furnished, so with Lindsay's help I embarked on an Ikea adventure for some pieces to furnish my new space. I'm really happy with the pieces that I found - they're practical and fit the aesthetic I wanted for the room.

With Corbin's help, there was a bit of Tetris to determine the best configuration of my new room and I'm really happy with how it all worked out! I've got a great workspace for the days I work from home or want to sit and blog. I've also got enough space to do my workouts, which makes my life a lot easier! Corbin and I painted last weekend which included a lovely bright white on the walls, a new coat of paint for my bookcase to match the room and some bright sunshine-y yellow on the inside of the bookcase as well as some cubbies for storage. I'm so thankful for everything Corbin has done to help me get settled - he is such an incredible partner and (now) housemate!

With all the furniture in place and (nearly) everything unpacked, it's become time to add finishing touches to add some pizazz to the room. In a serendipitous moment, I received a message from the folks at Minted, highlighting their art marketplace. Minted carries an awesome selection of art (and other pretty things) by artists from all over the world. Artists submit their work and are entered into monthly art and design competitions where the Minted-goers help curate their selection.

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit browsing Minted's selection of artwork! There's a beautiful selection of art, photography and typography. On some prints, you can change the colours to suit the palate you're working with, which is a neat feature. I like that you can easily mark your favourites on your profile and also had fun playing with different configurations of pieces on my pin boards.

(Ohmigosh - the penguin!!)

To make life easy, there's also a variety of frame options that you can pair with your print to make sure you get it right up on your wall! Shipping to Canada for a framed print looks like it might be a bit steep, but if you're in the States the ground shipping option for framed prints doesn't look too bad. Unframed prints up to 16" x 20" come in mailers with protective pads to prevent bending and larger unframed prints are shipped in tubes with various shipping options.

Because of the number of artists who contribute to the marketplace, there really is something for everyone. Every time I see something that I think is my ABSOLUTE favourite, I find something else that changes my mind! I also like that you can easily choose which size you'd like the print in - it makes it super easy to find things that fit into your space, exactly the want you would want them.

Moving into a new space is exciting and I'm doing my best to take the time to make it 'just so'; I spend enough time in there, so I better love it! I'm excited to choose some gorgeous prints, frame 'em and get them up on my bare walls to really complete the room. Picking out art seems like such a grown up thing to do, but I'm happy to have a sweet resource to choose prints from and I'm looking forward to the end result!

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Minted. All opinions are my own, especially my fondness for all things yellow and that penguin print. 

Ditching the Limiting Beliefs

"I'm not good with money"

This is how I've viewed myself for a really long time. Maybe even my my whole adult life.

Growing up we didn't have a tonne of money, but my parents made sure I didn't go without. I got my first job at 17, and instead of saving my money, I used it for lunches, clothing and fun. I felt entitled to spend it however I chose since I was the one earning it. I acquired my first major debt at 19 when I took out a student line of credit and a student loan to put myself through musical theatre school. I got my credit card towards the end of musical theatre school. And when I got my first "grown up" job following college, I still didn't place my focus on budgeting, saving or paying down my debt; I continued to do whatever I wanted with my money.

Over the years I've continued to pay down my credit line and student loan slowly, but have managed to rack up my fair share of credit card debt. Up until last year, even when I was working jobs that paid me well, I still didn't take the time to learn more about budgeting or saving and wrote it off to "I can do what I want with my money" and "I'm just not good with it".

The limiting beliefs we have about ourselves can be paralyzing. You may not even realize that you have them. Are there thoughts you have about yourself on a regular basis that are holding you back? Do you find yourself making flippant comments about a certain personality trait or quality? Are there certain qualities you admire in others and deep down inside you wish you possessed?

Your limiting beliefs could be related to any number of things:

• Money & personal finances ("I'm not good with money")
• Health & fitness ("I'll never lose weight" "I'm not motivated")
• Trust & relationships ("I've been betrayed before so I can't trust" "I'll be single forever")
• Success ("I'll never be successful" "I fail at everything" "I don't deserve to be successful")
• Time & resources ("I don't have enough time" "I'm too busy")
• Procrastination ("I never finish things" "I'm just a lazy person")
• Being enough ("I'm not good/smart/thin/young/wealthy enough")

These beliefs that we hold about ourselves are the things standing in the way of achieving success. Once we start believing something, our choices and actions follow and your limiting belief has the ability to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The amazing thing about life is that we get to make choices. And while it can be difficult to re-program our brains and our thoughts, it can be done and we can leave those limiting beliefs in the dust behind us. 

5 Ways to Ditch Your Limiting Beliefs

1. Start by determining what's holding you back - maybe it's something from the list above or maybe it's something different entirely. Once you start to recognize patterns in your thoughts you can move forward in addressing and challenging them.
   
2. Don't be afraid to ask for help - it can be super scary to ask for help in any area of our lives, but especially the ones that may be holding us back. But it's okay, and it's totally a good thing. Asking for help will look differently for different people. It might mean seeing a counsellor or therapist to work through some of your "stuff". Maybe it's hiring an advisor or coach to help guide you. It could even be finding a book / blog post / podcast to start steering you in a new direction. Whatever the help, it's out there and you deserve to utilize it.
   
3. Find a new mantra - turn that limiting belief around into something positive and say it 'til you mean it. Repeat it to yourself daily. Initially you might find this new mantra laughable because it's the exact opposite of what you've believed for perhaps as long as you can remember - and that's okay. The saying "fake it til you make it" applies here; give yourself some time to get to know your new mantra and really adopt it as your own. Watch what follows.
   
4. Make a plan and run with it - once you've turned your limiting belief on its head, set some shiny, new goals and make them happen! Ridding yourself of the things that have been holding you back can be very freeing and can open up a multitude of new doors. Open them and just go.
   
5. Trust that you are enough - because you are. 

When you can leave your limiting beliefs in the past, you can open yourself up to a world of possibility, positivity and new adventures. It's certainly not easy, but it's worth it - what do you have to lose?

Yesterday I met with a financial advisor. When he asked me about my goals, I said "I want to work on finally dealing with my debts. I want to work towards saving and having a reserve. I'd like to learn how to budget. I want to work on being a grown up". For me, this was a HUGE step in leaving my limiting belief in the past and working with a new attitude of abundance and positivity in this area. I left with some extra pep in my step and excitement about the future, and that's a pretty awesome way to feel. 

If you are looking for help to overcome your limiting beliefs relating to healthy eating, fitness and setting goals, I'm looking for 8 people to join me in a group beginning on Monday June 8, 2015. I'm so excited to be offering this group. We're going to tackle clean eating, incorporating exercise and goal setting with 3 weeks of daily assignments, incredible workouts, meal planning tips, videos and resources. I'm also offering an amazing personal development book as a special bonus from me to those who reserve their spot before Friday May 22. You can grab your application here.