SOAR for Cystic Fibrosis

LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 3, 2021 | BY: KIMBERLY EVANS

If you know me well enough, you will know that I would rather do anything than sell my soul, posting about products that I don’t even like. This post contains affiliate links which I am so excited to recommend to you (and make just a little money from) and would hope that if you have the opportunity to recommend products you love, you would do the same.

Whether you know what your core values are or you’re thinking, why on earth would I need to know my core values, these details about our lives play an intricate part in the direction that our life moves.

SOAR for Cystic Fibrosis came to reality in 2017 when K+S Potash Canada came on board generously with Cassidy’s Lemonade Stand to sponsor this dream come true event featuring performing Artist Tenille Arts & Brent Handy Aerobatics. Since then we had the opportunity to repeat the event in Moose Jaw again in 2018 as well as bring it to Saskatoon.

Set inside an Airport Hangar, this event was magical from beginning to end. Excitement was in the air as Brent Handy Aerobatics kicked off the event with an incredible stunt show in the air with his adrenaline-filled, heart-pumping series of tumbles, torque rolls, and loops in the air above the guests.

As the sun was setting, the lights and music were kicking off with performing artist Tenille Arts, local to Weyburn|SK who now resides in Nashville and is making quite a name for herself! She even performed the song ‘BREATHE’ with Cassidy, which left not a dry eye in the room. Check out Tenille Art on iTunes singing Breathe which donates back to Cystic Fibrosis Canada for each download.

This Airport Hangar started out like a blank slate + with months of planning, details and marketing and the help of an incredible team including friends, family + corporate sponsors I was able to create this fabulous experience!

From cocktails, appetizers, experience raffle prizes + dancing the night away, this was a night to remember!

I can hardly wait until we can gather in person again and press repeat on such an incredible night out for Cystic Fibrosis.

Cheers to Celebrating Today,

14 Ways to Celebrate at Home During Covid-19 Uncertainty!

In these uncertain times, with new information flying at us minute by minute, its easy to feel overwhelmed and not sure if you are making the right choices for yourself and your family. Most likely, due to cancellation of travel, activities and perhaps even school, you are scrambling to try to figure out how to keep boredom at bay and find things to do at home! Did you know that trying new things can make you happier? Research confirms that novelty-seekers are generally healthier and more satisfied in life.

What do you have to lose? Take a break from the same old, same old and celebrate your life from the comforts of home!

1. Cook Together - Pour yourself a Glass of Wine and make a fun mocktail for the kids while you cook dinner in. There are so many delicious and easy recipes to choose from. We recently made sushi and really enjoyed this ‘how to’ guide from Fifteen Spatulas . You can even get all of your groceries delivered right to your door with PC Express Delivery. It’s AMAZING!

2. Read a Book Together - Pick a classic off your bookshelf or download one online and relax together as you read.

3. Play a Board Game - We have loads of board games that we often don’t get around to playing. Currently, we are loving Dutch Blitz, Life, Monopoly & Clue.

4. Online Yoga Class - While these are meant for younger children, we still enjoy the Free Cosmic Kids Yoga Classes that you can watch on YouTube. They always give us a lot of laughs and we feel so great after we are done. (And the narrator’s voice is SO relaxing!)

5. Family Karaoke Party - You may not have in indoor performing stage, as we do in our house (best gift ever!) but that doesn’t mean that you can’t karaoke with the best of them.

6. Make homemade greeting cards - I could sit for hours and craft cards. I love pulling out all of our craft supplies and crafting cards that are specific to the recipient and the occasion. Check out my Pinterest Board for Inspiration.

7. Do a Home Spa Treatment - My girls LOVE home spa treatments. We fill the tub with water, soak our feet, do salt scrubs & lotions and have so much fun. Followed by nail polish and face masks this activity could last for hours. We especially love Queer Eye’s JVN Lip Scrub which you can make for yourself here.

8. FaceTime with a Friend - Some of my BEST friends have never lived in the same city as me and FaceTime is the next best thing to meeting up for coffee!

9. Indoor Picnic - Throw down a blanket and make some veggies, fruit and little sandwiches. Eating on the floor shouldn’t be this fun, but it is!

10. Bake a Treat - Treats should be my middle name! (but instead its JOY which is pretty much the same thing!) I love me some sweet treats and one of my all time favorite recipes is Magic Bars.

11. Old School Games - My girls have been watching videos to learn how to play old fashioned string games this week. Cats Cradle anyone?!

12. Get Active - My tendency is to hibernate when at home but there are so many ways to stay healthy and incorporate movement to keep up your health. Play Twister, Go for a Walk, Do some squats, lunges, push ups or jumping jacks standing in one spot or chase your kids up the stairs and surprise yourself with how out of breath you are.

13. Order a Candy Grazing Box to Surprise a Friend - Yes, here is a little self promotion, but small businesses like mine need all the support we can get right now. Treat a friend, co-worker or someone special with a sweet surprise. From the comfort of your own home you can Click celebratingsimplelife.com to Get 15% off right now with Code: GRAZING15 Free Shipping in Saskatoon and Shipping Available Across Canada.

14. Make S’mores - Light a candle and place a marshmallow onto a wooden skewer. This always makes me smile and it feels like you are camping in the comfort of your own home. Roast a Marshmallows and Party S’MORE :)

If you have other stay at home ideas, I would love for you to share them in the comments below!

Cheers to Celebrating Today!

WellFed - A Bohemian Inspired Brunch

My heart is still bubbling over from the first, of now monthly, WellFed Event at The Well Collaborative. This place, these people, this community has captured a piece of my heart and I’m forever changed. I’m so honored to be a member at The Well and you can check out their website to see if membership might be right for you. However, WellFed and many other events at The Well are open to EVERYONE…..you are always welcome.

This Bohemian Inspired Brunch was the perfect start to a beautiful Mothers Day weekend. Mothers, Daughters, Friends, Sisters, Girlfriends came together around the table to celebrate the beauty of community, to connect, experience new foods, new activities. The goal was to create an atmosphere where guests could leave all of their cares at the door and just allow themselves to relax and accept the gift of relaxation in a tranquil atmosphere.

As guests arrived, they were greeted with a few signature beverage options. Beautiful hand made syrups of Cardamom Rose & Hibiscus Lime to enhance their sparkling water or a Mimosa featuring the floral deliciousness of Lola Rose from Pelee Island Winery in Canada.

Guests were led to our Flower Crown station to create something beautiful. I was inspired by the simplicity of Lauren Conrad’s DIY Flower Crown Tutorial and it was stunning to see how everyone’s flower crown had its own unique design to it. We sourced beautiful flowers and greenery from our Broadway neighbour, Bills House of Flowers. Watching women crown each other with these floral crowns was a sacred moment, showing deep care and connection. It was absolutely beautiful to be a part of.

Nestled in the corner, was an intimate writing desk with a vintage Olivetti Red Typewriter (Yes, I asked for a typewriter for Christmas as a child and my wish came true!) beckoning guests to sit down and stay a while as they took crisp sheets of floral paper and one by one typed letters of love to friends, sealing it with a vintage stamp. Laughter ensued, as we realized how much brain power it takes to type when you can’t erase or backspace!

When it was time to feast, jaws dropped, cameras flashed and audible oohs and ahhs were exhaled. I’m surprised Instagram didn’t blow up from all the beautiful & delicious content posted. The incredible, beautiful & talented Courtney from Ellamental Mama went above and beyond and not only created the most incredible menu, but poured all of herself into it. The menu included honey glazed citrus salad, floral crepes topped with fresh fruit, chocolate avocado mousse, cardamom rose chia pudding, carrot lox toasts all adorned with edible florals from Pure Roots. It was all divine!

These beautiful menu cards were designed by Pop Brand Co and fit the theme perfectly!

Leaving just enough room for a doughnut dessert, Pals Donuts left us with the perfect sweet ending to a beautiful event. Laughter, stories, sharing and Instax photos were abundant as we all nourished ourselves, mind body and soul. It was magic! As the morning made way into the afternoon, it was time to say goodbye, leaving this beautiful experience to capture a piece of our memory forever.

Cheers to Celebrating today!

Stay tuned on Instagram & Facebook for our June WellFed Dinner Announcement. **Hint - it will be a throwback you won’t want to miss! **

To connect with all the delicious collaborators from our WellFed Bohemian Inspired Brunch, check them out:

Venue: @thewellcollab

Catering: @elementalmama

Photography: @tammyzdunich

Brand Design: @popbrandco

Event Curator: @celebratingsimplelife

Florals: @billsflowers

Floral Art Backdrop: @paperocelot

Doughnuts: @palsdonut

How to Host a Launch Party With All The Feels!

As an event coordinator, my first thought is always ‘Let’s plan an event!’. However, when planning my very own Celebrating Simple Life Brand Re-Launch I went back and forth on the idea of throwing a launch party. And than I had an ‘AHA’ moment when I said ‘How can I showcase what I do for a living, hang out with my favorite people and Celebrate at the same time?!’ The LAUNCH PARTY was a GO!

I wanted the event to feel organized, yet casual, with attention to detail, but fun. I wanted to find balance between speaking about what I’ve been up to in my business and time to catch up with the amazing women who came out to support me. There were a number of women who were able to attend, who I had been meaning to chat with about ways I thought we could do future projects together and I was so happy to have this platform to make these connections.

If you have been thinking about hosting an event, soiree or gathering to engage your community, friends, family, colleagues & business associates in your industry about what you have going on in your business or launching a new product, it doesn’t have to be complicated. A thoughtful plan, with attention to detail goes a long way in making those around you feel engaged and important to you while also being able to showcase YOU!

Getting started is the hardest part and from there, follow these simple steps that I took to create my intimate launch party gathering:

1. Pick a date and book your venue ( or host it at home!)

   The right atmosphere is conducive to good conversation and feeling like you are apart of something special. For my Launch, I used the beautiful & intimate space of The Well Collab Not only is their space gorgeous, but their mandate is Women Supporting Women…a perfect fit! (And how gorgeous are the flowers that my Bestie delivered to celebrate from afar - put together by the incredible Blossoms Florist.)

2. Invitations

If time allows, a paper invite received by mail, is always in style! For my recent launch, I designed a beautiful digital image that matched my brand and texted it to friends and emailed it to industry professionals to save on cost and time.

3. Food & Beverages

The attention to detail is always what makes one party or event stand out above the rest. And how those details make me feel. (I was inspired by all the Grazing table inspiration I’ve been following in Pinterest, especially the ones from The Honest Platter in New Zealand.) I wanted to stick with my shades of pink color palette and had lots of fun at the market, picking out items that fit and than played around with placement of the items to make the board look amazing. We sipped on a delicious new Lola Rose Wine from Pelee Island Winery in Ontario that I stumbled upon because the bottle was pretty. (Does anyone else do this too?!) I was delicious!

4. Decor

Because the venue at The Well Collab already had the feel that I wanted, I didn’t want to add unnecessary decor. My rule with events, is that less is more and work with the space your re in, instead of trying to make it look like something it’s not. (Seems like an applicable life lesson in general!) I purchased a Rose Gold Geometric Patterned pad of paper from Michaels craft store to use as an inspirational backdrop as guests entered and it was the perfect spot for my photographer friend to snap some adorable photos of guests having a good time. I also wanted to add an element that shows up on my Instagram often, a large pink balloon. Just for fun! Party City has amazing large round balloons that look like they might float you away.

Photo Credit: Crossing Cultures Catering

5. Interactive Activity

When an event includes women gathering….a lot of talking goes on. Sometimes no activity is needed, especially when the timeline of the event is short. I wanted to find a balance in telling a bit of my story for new friends and to be clear about the direction that my business is moving forward in. That is one of the biggest challenges in creative industries is that often, even our closest friends, don’t know exactly what it is that we do. For something fun to add to the evening, I teamed up with Crossing Cultures Catering for a really fun Cake Pop making activity. (Check them out, because they have workshops and lots of other fun things that they offer!) Guests could decorate their own cake pop to eat or to pack up and bring home and have a whole lot of fun while making them.

6. Thoughtful Goodbye

As a way to remind my guests of the fun experience we had enjoyed together, I invited them to pick one of the pieces of Quote Art off the wall and take it home with them and put it in a place they look at often, as a reminder to tell them how amazing they are. I also attached sparklers to my new beautiful business cards from MOO that they could take with to connect with me afterwards.

I made sure to follow up with each guest in the days following my Launch Party and thank them for coming out and for the ones that I’m really close with, I also included a reminder of how much they mean to me in my life. Life is not for the weak of heart, and I’m so grateful to have the women around me that I do, cheering me on, encouraging me to always do what I love and inspiring me to be the best version of myself.

Cheers to Celebrating today!