A Guide to Note Writing

I love writing notes and cards to my friends. Just ask one of them - they will probably tell you they have a small stack of cards from me from over the years.

With the exception of the adorable box of hedgehog cards from Mara-Mi, all of the cards featured above are from various Happy Mail deliveries that I've received. Happy Mail is a stationary subscription service that I am a part of, created by the lovely ladies over at A Beautiful Mess and I highly recommend it. What could be more fun than a delivery of beautiful, high-quality stationary items to your mailbox every month?

Having just shared my favourite stationary, here are a few of my favourite tips on how to write a heartfelt note, no matter the occasion:

• Be specific: Is it a thank you note for a gift? Make reference to the gift and how you've put it to use since receiving it. Is it a thank you for an act of kindness someone showed you? Explain why you appreciated it so much and the impact it had.
• Remember: I love sharing a specific memory and what it meant to me when writing birthday cards to my friends or family. It not only lets me reflect back on our relationship, but it also shows that those memories are cherished and remembered. If it is someone I don't see often, I like to express how much I am looking forward to the next time we will see one another.
• Use your own voice: I prefer to write my cards in a voice that sounds like me. I don't become overly formal in my notes but ensure that the recipient can hear my words in a way that would be natural. I sometimes add in a joke where appropriate and use the same language they would be used to hearing from me.
• Be timely: Although it is never too late to say thank you, aim to send thank you cards out within a week or two of the occasion {unless they are for your wedding, in which case you have some more time}. Give birthday cards on the date or at the time of celebration.
• Be thoughtful in your stationary: I will admit that I have an obsession with collecting stationary. But I will also share that the reason for this is because I love the process of choosing a particular card for a particular person and occasion. I consider past cards they may have already received from me and ensure that they aren't getting a similar one. I consider their taste in colours and humour {where appropriate} and am very selective to match my stationary to the recipient because I feel it shows that much more consideration.

Hope that inspired you to write more notes to those special people in your life!

Karla

CMF: Country Catchall

My goodness. This province/country/land mass is in desperado need of rain! I say that with a deep understanding that my voice isn’t always the most authoritative, so I’ll let Luke Bryan tell mother nature about how rain is a good thing instead.

Now while he does that, we can explore a few other country hits.

The First: Run by Blackjack Billy, The Road Hammers, and Doc Walker 

Turn it up, turn it up. Both a lyric and a practical instruction of how to listen to this song.

This song is by no means new. In fact, it was the song from last year’s Bands on the Run Tour which, shockingly, featured Blackjack Billy, Doc Walker, and The Road Hammers. Kind of a smart/cool move to perform a song together that pays homage to your tour title. Or perhaps the song came first. Who knows… it’s a chicken and egg situation, really. Either way, the woman at 0:39 was quite clearly not impressed enough by this song. Odd choice to include her in the music video, if you ask me but hey, #creativedifferences

The Second: Just Like Love by Steven Lee Olsen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCV7bIpEKPI)

Unfortunately for him, though perhaps fortunately for us, he is not a part of the multi-billion dollar corporation run by the Olsen twins. Having said that, it is my opinion that little Stevie may not actually need them. Do you remember one of his first singles Make Hay While The Sun Shines? Probably not since I know that for a large number of you, these emails are the only dose of country in your life. Well guess what: it was a decent start, even without Mary-Kate or Ashely’s creative direction. Shocking.

The Third and Final: Yeah Boy by Kelsea Ballerini

Just give this song a chance. It might surprise you, like it surprised me with its rather catchy chorus.

Warning: you might get this song stuck in your head and unknowlingly sing it while passing other humans on the sidewalk. This will likely not turn out in your favour because, in my experience, the boys who think you’re singing about them are definitively not the boys you would consciously choose to sing about. So sing with caution. Please.

  

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.

Current habits

A friend forwarded me an article from Relevant just prior to my twenty-fifth birthday on 15 Things to Start Doing by the Time You're 30 and I've recently returned to it because I think it's such a great list. I really do believe in the importance and value of all 15 habits listed and I plan to work on all of them.

Today I thought I would share a few of the habits I've specifically been working on lately:

• Waking up earlier than you have to. Whether it's to get a morning work out in, spend some time reading my bible, or just taking the time to enjoy my coffee out on the balcony, I've grown to appreciate that extra time in the morning as a necessary way for me to start my day with a clear head and refreshed spirit. Because if I'm being honest with myself, I am never at my best until at least two hours after I wake up. Life is waking up an hour early to live an hour more.

• Actually caring about what you eat. I remember more than one night back in university when I ordered a medium panago pizza and polished it off that same night, without feeling awful. {Of course, I also remember having little confidence in my body and piling on unnecessary layers to try to cover it up.} I definitely am not capable of doing that anymore without feeling ill the entire next day and certainly notice how my energy levels are positively impacted when I make good food choices. Mostly I've realized that I'm the only one who can truly care about what I put into my body, and so it's up to me to make my food choices healthy ones.

• Making margin in your life. This one is huge. I've always been the type of person who liked loved being busy, but since graduating from university I've come to learn the value of evenings or weekends without any commitments. I think 20-year-old Karla would think "what a waste of time" but having "time to waste" by reading, going for a walk, or just sitting out on the balcony and thinking can feel such a luxury these days. So I try to be intentional when planning out my week and allowing for that time in my schedule because I know how thankful I'll be to have it.

• Actively combatting spiritual complacency. Because I'm the only one who can do this for myself. Yes, I can surround myself with mentors and go to church on Sundays, but unless I invest in my own forward movement I will continue to stay where I am. Maintaining habits of reflection and reading each day - and genuinely looking forward to that time - helps me do this.

• Being content with the life you have {while still trying to accomplish your dreams}. I think more than anything, this one sparked a little bit of an epiphany for me simply in the way it was written. I think we so often get caught up in the "I'll be happy when..." that we forget to enjoy each day. I know that I will always have goals and dreams that will motivate me to continue moving forward, but it's just as important to be present in those in-between moments as your dreams are being built.

...and away we go!

It's back to blog here at Twenty-five & vine. I've been seriously neglecting this little corner of the internet {with the exception of the CMF series, of course} and it's time to fix that. I'll be using Twenty-five & vine as I have in the past - a space to both share projects I'm working on, as well as to reflect on life in general.

Hope you can sick around!

Karla

CMF: Fireworks and beards and love.

Welcome to Tuesday? Friday!

I hope you all had a wonderfully patriotic Canada Day and enjoyed a BBQ hot dog and some fireworks!! I, of course, did neither of those things. Why?

a) I’m vegetarian.

b) I was so exhausted from the day that I was in bed by 10pm which meant I missed the fireworks. I did hear them, however. I also heard the choir of dogs in my neighbourhood barking at the fireworks (and the resulting humans yelling at said dogs, because that’s apparently necessary) until well past 11pm. Charming.

Let’s listen to some country music, shall we?

The First: It’s All Good by Jojo Mason

This guy. Who is he? Where did he come from? It doesn’t really matter because he rocks this tune and I look forward to many other wonderful and oh-so-fittingly-Friday jams from him in the future. Apparently Tim Hicks co-wrote this song, which I find interesting because I think it would sound quite different if he was the one singing it. Either way, it’s aaaaall good.

The Second: Some Day by The Washboard Union 

All the beard. All the banjo. What else could you want in a country music video? A truck? Some hay? Oh don’t you worry, they’ve got you covered there too. My favourite part of this video – and I think what really speaks to the goofiness of this group – happens nice and early on at 0:24, in case you were wondering (don’t lie, you were).

The Third and Final: Everyday Love by Rascal Flatts

Taking us back to this lovely oldie in honour of my friend David’s wedding this weekend. I have no doubt you and Kim will share a life no less wonderful than the one described in this song. Thanks for being my country music buddy for those years in Victoria when I so desperately need one – wishing you both the best! (P.S. Specifically linking the lyric video here because the real music video is too Y2K for my liking.)

  

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.