This Battered Suitcase

11/26/2025

✨ 72 hours in Tronno ✨

1-4: Spent time at the AGO (mostly for the Joyce Wieland exhibit)
5: View from my mom’s apartment
6-7: Wandered around Roncesvalles for vintage shopping and wine tasting
8-9: Forever eating and drinking delicious things
10: Went for a stroll in my old neighbourhood (the Annex) 🥲
11: Hi mom
12: Classic Toronto
13: Went to the Sunday Antique Market in Mississauga and it exceeded all of my dreams
14: It was Halloween so we watched nonstop horror movies from the 1930s-1960s on TCM
15: Same, Joyce Wieland, same

11/21/2025

I know we're all being bombarded with Black Friday stuff already, so I thought I'd share a post I wrote a few years ago (but just updated for 2025). In it, I share some of my favourite local gifts, including jewellery, art, home decor, and more! This year, all of the Christmas gifts I'm giving are thrifted, made by local makers, or purchased from a small business. Let's all try to buy local and support small businesses when we can!

Of course, even if you're not from Winnipeg, you can still purchase from these makers online 😉

From jewellery to home decor, there are plenty of gifts to choose from in Winnipeg. Here's your guide to the best local Winnipeg gifts!

10/20/2025

It's been a while since I've done one of these! It's a rainy day here in Winnipeg, but last week I took my first solo trip in SIX YEARS... to beautiful Pinawa, Manitoba!

While there, I stayed in a glamping pod in the forest with Navigate Pinawa, where I had my own private hot tub and sauna, drank wine by the fire, hiked around the old Pinawa Dam, and read Lily King's new book with a cup of coffee while surrounded by trees. In other words? It was incredible.

Where are you having your coffee/tea today? ✨

Many thanks to Travel Manitoba for inviting me on this mini solo adventure!

06/26/2025

It's almost that time again... Winnipeg Folk Festival time, that is! I've been to Winnipeg Folk Festival almost every year since moving back to Manitoba, and it's one of my very favourite things to do in the province. If you haven't been, I highly recommend going, even if just for a day!

This year, I'm incredibly excited to see Mavis Staples, Lake Street Dive, Ruby Waters, Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Duhks, Noeline Hofmann, Begonia, Fred Penner, and so many more.

Tickets are almost sold out, but I hope to see you there. 🥰

After an amazing time at my very first Winnipeg Folk Fest, I realised I barely took any photos. Here's why, and why I think you should check out Folk Fest, too.

05/11/2025

*NEW BLOG POST* Mother’s Day can be a difficult day for some people; since becoming a mom, I’ve often found this day to be filled with a variety of emotions (loneliness being the biggest). But as I prepare to spend my fourth Mother’s Day as a single mom, I wanted to outline some of the ways I’ve turned this day from something I’ve felt sad about to something I can actually celebrate and enjoy. Here’s what I’m up to with my son this Mother’s Day and how I’ve finally worked out how to manage what used to be a stressful day 😌

And to all those who celebrate, and/or those who find today to be a difficult one, I’m sending all my love ❤️

Spending Mother's Day as a single mom? Here are some of my top tips for making the day as happy and relaxed as possible.

02/19/2025

Good morning from beautiful Curaçao! This is my first big international trip in almost six years and my first big trip with my son. We have a week of sunshine, beaches, and playing in the pool. And hopefully I’ll finally get a bit of travel content for the blog, too! Where are you drinking your coffee/tea today? ☀️☕️

02/06/2025

*NEW POST* Almost three years later, I finally wrote about my birth story, including drywall dust, a panic attack, and a lucky pair of socks. I'll be honest: writing this down was mostly for me, and I know it won't appeal to everyone. But if you're at all curious about what my birth experience was like - I know I'm always interested in other peoples' experiences! - I hope you'll give it a read 🥰

I have been meaning to write this post for a long, long time. I suppose you could argue I've been waiting to tell this story since early April of 2022, which is when I gave birth to my son. Considering he is now nearly three years old, and I have one glorious day where I am actually on top of my fre...

01/15/2025

My friend Amanda wrote this fantastic post on what’s happening in the blogging world. I completely relate to what she’s written - this issue has hugely affected both of my websites - and I feel very worried and sad about the future of the small business I’ve been working on for 20+ years. I hope you’ll give her article a read! ❤️

A look at how the 2023-2024 Google changes and rise of AI technology are negatively affecting travel blogs and other small publishers.

01/13/2025

All these years later and guess what? I still hate this quote! What do you think?

Though a common one, I happen to really despise this travel quote. Here's why I think this is one quotation that should be retired.

01/05/2025

A few days (weeks?) late, but…

When I was a kid, I LOVED Christmas. I have so many happy memories of singing carols at the piano, the fireplace crackling; of snow falling down in big white chunks as we tobogganed in the local park; of hot chocolate and Christmas movies that we had seen dozens of times. I remember a sense of togetherness, of family, of being with the people I love. And I used to believe that, one day, I’d have that picture-perfect scene in my own home. You know the one: the husband, the two or three kids, the big extended family of in-laws.

I don’t think many of us anticipate becoming single parents, and when we do, I don’t think we anticipate just how hard the holidays can be. And while I spent lots of lovely time with my family throughout December - a privilege that I am so thankful for - I spent a lot of time alone, too.

“A day is a just a day!” People said to me. Why does it matter if I spent Christmas Eve alone, or if my son wasn’t with me on Christmas morning? I told myself those things again and again, willing them to sink in.

An idea I’ve embraced a lot over the past year is that two things can be true. A day can be just a day, and I can have a wonderful Christmas celebration with my son on December 26th, and I can be overwhelmed with gratitude at the love I have in my life. But I can also be sad that I wasn’t with him on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and mourn the loss of that dream I used to have about the “picture-perfect” family with a partner and our kids.

This holiday season taught me a lot. And when I let that image go - the one I thought holidays were “supposed” to look like - there’s a lot more room for me to embrace what I have right in front of me. I have an amazing group of family and friends, a life I love. And I have my boy, my beautiful, precious boy, whom I did indeed spend December 26th with: singing carols at the piano, drinking hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies, the snow falling down in big white chunks. And that sounds pretty perfect to me ✨

Here’s to everyone whose holiday season looked a little different this year, whether it was spent alone, co-parenting, grieving a loss, or otherwise ❤️