InstaLove: Becki Peckham

Photographer, Graphic Designer, Blogger, Home Renovator, Fashionista and all around cool girl Becki Peckham is in our InstaLove spotlight today! 

When Becki isn't doing photography and graphic design for Bold Creative, travelling the world or dancing, she is working on home renovations and blogging about it. Becki and her partner of 13 years, Chris Nicholas, bought their first home together in St. John's in 2011 and immediately started renovating even though they had never done any home renovations before. The blog started as a way to track the renos but it has grown to be an inspiration to many.     

In March Becki and Chris did an interview with CBC News about their blog and home renovation experience which you can read here and you can find their blog here.  

If you love great photography, travel, fashion, food, travel and dance, or if you're just looking for some home inspo, you should definitely give Becki a follow on Instagram.

InstaLove: Good On Ya

Good On Ya is a Newfoundland based business that creates absolutely beautiful skincare products. Each products is lovingly handmade by mother and daughter duo Valerie and Megan Fleming with 100% natural ingredients. Good On Ya has a great selection of products including lip balms, body and lip scrubs, body butters, tub truffles and a face mask. 

The company has become immensely popular since launching in 2015 which comes as no surprise to anyone who has used Good On Ya products. As a consumer it's so refreshing to know (and to be able to pronounce) what ingredients you're putting on your body, and the fact that everything smells good enough to eat is a delicious bonus. 

Valerie & Megan, the amazing women behind the brand.

An assortment of Good On Ya NL goodies. 

Good On Ya's newest body butter scent. Femme.

Handpicked muscle shells that accompany each body scrub, because they're adorable like that. 

Cocoa Rose Tub Truffles

The Atlantic Kelp Hydrating Face Mask

Personally I've tried (and finished) the Lemon Poppy Seed Body Scrub, the Peppermint Lip Scrub, the Sweet Bay Body Butter and a raspberry lipbalm and I've loved every single product. I also highly recommend everything to anyone who even brings up the topic of beauty products to me. It's so hard to choose a favourite product but I think if I had to, it would be the Lemon Poppy Seed Body Scrub. Normally exfoliators leave my naturally dry skin feeling even tighter and more dry than before, but the Good On Ya body scrub leaves my skin feeling hydrated and silky smooth, it's a truly awesome product. For more product reviews you can check out Don't Forget to Sparkle's and/or Just a Bit of Becca's blog posts here and here. Also, Alison Halleran, owner of local Business Opal + Onyx Clothing, named Good On Ya's Peppermint Lip Scrub as one of her top five beauty must haves in a recent interview with the Getting Ready Report (and if you've ever stepped foot in her store you know that that woman knows what's good). You can read her full interview here. 

If you love natural beauty products and supporting local you can check out Good On Ya's Facebook page here and their Instagram account here.  

xx

D.

InstaLove: Woolies Crochet & Furs

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, Woolies Crochet and Furs is a business that creates crochet and fur products. What you might not know is that these products are lovingly handmade by our friend, and fellow Newfoundlander, Genelle Butler.

Genelle originally started crocheting hats and scarves for her friends and family, but decided to turn her hobby into a business after realising how in demand her products were. Over the past year or so Genelle has expanded her product portfolio to include crochet slippers with fur poms, as well as snapbacks, bag charms and most recently, jewellery! 

Genelle's original product: crochet hat with fur poms

Crochet scarf with fur poms

One of many colorful fur bag charms Genelle created for our 8th birthday

Genelle's most recent creation: fur pom jewellery

Crochet slippers with fur poms

Brightly colored fur waiting to be turned into one of Genelle's many products

100% Coyote fur pom snapback 

If you're looking to purchase for any of these amazing products, you can find them at our little shop or at the Craft Council on Duckworth Street. Genelle also sells her products at various craft fairs and markets throughout the year. Any inquiries can be sent via the Woolies Crochet and Fur Facebook page. 

Genelle recently created an Instagram account for her Woolies products and it would be great if you guys could show her some love by giving her a follow!

-D.

InstaLove: Scout the City

Scout the City is a lifestyle blog that gives you a glimpse into the very fashionable life of London Scout, a four-year-old from Montreal who is now living in NYC. The blog is run by her mom, Sia (sounds like "Cy") De Silva. 

Scout is a kid model, signed with Generation Model Management, and Sia started the blog once their IG following hit 10K. While Scout the City started as a blog solely based on kiddie fashion, city life and inspiration, Sia slowly started transiting herself onto the blog due to popular demand- which is nice because I haven't come across many 'mommy and me' lifestyle blogs.

This blog is great if you're looking for some micro fashion inspiration, but it also has really valuable beauty tips for fellow curly-haired humans and some awesome healthy recipes. 

You can find Scout and Sia on Instagram, YouTube and their blog. 

Until next time,

-D.

Podcasts I Love

Serial

Serial is a hugely popular podcast that tells one story week by week. Serial currently has two completed seasons with a third in the works. My favourite of the two seasons is definitely the first which tells the story of the the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Throughout 12 episodes host, and co-producer of the podcast, Sarah Koenig narrates her investigation into the whereabouts of Adnan Seyd, Lee's ex-boyfriend who was convicted for the murder, during 21 minutes on the afternoon of January 13, 1999. This podcast is completely addicting and the only thing you can be certain of is that you can't be certain of anything. 

Ladies Who Lunch

If you're well versed in the would of YouTube you'll no doubt have come across videos by Ingrid Nilsen and Cat Valdes. These two bomb humans are the "Ladies" in the title of this podcast which is all about feminism, body image, sexuality, love and any other topic that interests them. Listening to this podcast feels like you're hanging out with two of your close friends. They're both so open and honest about topics that aren't necessarily always talked about, but are relevant and relateable to everyone. My favourite episode so far is the one about online dating because Cat gives some really good advice and interesting insight into a world that I personally have no experience with, but find fascinating. 

My Dad Wrote a Porno 
I think that if anyone's 60-year-old father wrote a porno they would repress the information and pretend that it did not exist- but not Jamie Morton. Instead, he decided to turn his dad's erotic novel into a podcast for the entertainment of the entire world, and for that I am eternally grateful because it is my absolute favourite podcast. The commentary of Jamie and his two best friends through the readings of each chapter is pure gold however, I do not recommend listening to this podcast public because you will laugh your ass off and people will most definitely think you're a crazy person. 

Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids 
I mean the title pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the premise of this podcast. GRTTWAK started back in 2007 and was the brain child of CBC radio's Dan Misener. Sometimes the stories are hilarious and embarrassing (those are always my favourite) and sometimes they're deeply personal and moving, but they're (usually) always thoroughly entertaining. The cool thing about this podcast is that it travels across Canada, so if GRTTWAK is coming to your city (or a city near you) you can sign up to be a part of the podcast, or you can just attend the live show and listen to the stories before they air.

That's all for right now but there will definitely be more coming soon, and if you guys have any podcasts that you love please comment and let me know!

-D.

InstaLove: Peeps Magazine

This Saturday past, inspired by a magazine haul video that I had recently watched on YouTube, I headed to Chapters on Kenmount Road with the goal of purchasing a magazine publication I had never read before. My mission was a success because I discovered Peeps Magazine and I love it so much that I thought I would share it with all of you!

What first drew me to Peeps was the cover, I know, I know, we were raised not to judge a book by it's cover but this is a magazine so it's ok. Simple yet eye-catching, this magazine just looked cool and its tagline, "Tracking cultural shifts around the world", instantly peaked my interest. I also liked that Peeps had a smaller format than that of a regular magazine and that it was printed on heavier paper so it felt substantial in my hand. I'm not going to lie, the fact that it was Issue 01 was attractive to me as well, because I liked the idea that I was discovering it before anyone else.

Indie magazines are really having a moment and Peeps founder, Greg Salmela, decided to get in while the trend is hot. Ten years ago Greg became interested in the practical value of anthropology in branding, communication and design. In his reading and investigation of anthropology, he discovered that there was a tremendous amount of fascinating knowledge that would never see the light of day outside of academic and professional circles. Greg was inspired to repackage the academic insight of social researchers as accessible narrative for the general public, and from that inspiration Peeps was born. Greg has largely self-funded the creation and printing of Issue 01 and is currently trying to crowd source funding to print Issue 02.  

Peeps is a publication that was designed and written with love which, as a reader, you can feel. If you're looking for something different from your usual magazine reading material, and if original stories about people and culture appeal to you, I highly recommend that you check out Peeps. 

Website: http://peepsforum.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeepsForum
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peepsmagazine/

InstaLove: Annex Vintage

I was first told about Annex Vintage from a MC regular during a conversation about our mutual love of 90's fashion and their Instagram accounts quickly became one of my favourites.

Annex Vintage is a vintage clothing shop in Montreal's Mile End district. They stock a lot of 90's vintage as well as classic vintage, but everything is hand-picked to reflect current trends. Annex Vintage is also big on supporting local and carries a lot of artisan products made in Montreal.      

I love Annex Vintage's feed because it's bright, airy and beautiful to look at while also being filled with unique outfits and really cool, quirky items like Frida Khalo key chains, asthma puffer pins, marble notebooks and "Feminist with a To-Do List" pencils.

I would highly recommend Annex Vintage to anyone who loves 90's fashion, one-of-a-kind pieces and a beautifully curated feed by people who love what they do. 

If you're in Montreal, you can find Annex Vintage at: 

56 St-Viateur Ouest 
Montreal, Quebec 
H2T 2K8 

If you're not, you can find them on Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook. 

Until tomorrow MC babes,

-D.