We are all on a train into a very uncertain time period. Some of us are in the locomotive. We’ve been in on what’s happening early, have been keeping up to speed and have been preparing. Some of us are riding somewhere in the middle, slowly becoming more and more aware of what’s happening around us and how we must adjust our behaviour and routines to this new environment. Others are in the caboose, way behind on what’s happening, confused and maybe in a little bit of denial. Wherever we are, I would argue that being emotionally strong and prepared is half the battle.

There are so many hilarious meme’s right now that speak to the various ways we are all emotionally dealing with this crisis. The extremes range from letting ourselves completely go (chip crumbs in your bed and all) to being annoyingly positive and productive. How do we find the middle ground and feel good now while also planning for the future past all of this?

I’ve found in every new challenging situation in life we start to search out little solutions to make things better. We do this organically, not always purposefully, but sometimes when we stop to reflect on what those solutions are we realize how adaptable we are. That maybe we’re not as much of a mess as we tell ourselves. Because we’re not just letting the situation control us, we’re finding ways to make things work for us. Today I'm sharing ten of my most practical tips for life in self-isolation (and beyond!).

As we deeply care for and appreciate the people closest to us in their times of need, sometimes, we have to turn that love, care and appreciation towards ourselves. We have to love ourselves enough to first forgive ourselves for not meeting our own expectations. And then we turn to appreciation. Just as a child who receives positive reinforcement is more likely to build on that praise, appreciating ourselves helps to remind us of the best within ourselves. Appreciating ourselves allows us to more easily and effortlessly draw on the good that is within us.

It all starts with our children. That’s right, OUR children. As parents, isn’t it our responsibility to do everything we can to make sure that the world is filled with nurtured, loved children who grow into well-adjusted, emotionally intelligent adults? If we do what we can to help all children grow into healthy adults, we are ultimately working towards a better world for our own kids too.

The magic of the unknown lies behind every corner. Sounds a little like a line from a children’s story book right? Maybe that’s why I was so drawn to it the first time I read it. I was thirty-one and my husband was in the hospital with a critical illness. The prognosis wasn’t good. While anxiously trying to pass the long hours waiting in his room, I came across this sentence in a book. At the time this simple phrase gave me a flicker of hope that regardless of what we were going through at the time, life can be long, and one day we’d be on the other side. There is an unknown magic behind every corner. The story is not yet written. Who knows what could happen?

Today I'm excited to share with you something that I've been working on for close to a year - All You Are's first loungewear collection. As some of you may know, I launched All You Are with one product - the ultimate women's robe. I designed the robe to fulfil all the features I wanted in a robe but couldn't find (flattering, functional AND stylish) and the loungewear collection was designed with those same ideas in mind.