ISSUE 55: a weekend in November
“I love cheer!” She told me that night when we were back in the hotel room. “I love wine!” I thought to myself. But also - I loved that moment. & five design things I saved this week.
The Debrief is a weeklyish newsletter - because the post life event chats are (almost) always better than the event itself. Forever honest and aesthetic driven.
I went to Guelph this weekend for a non-competition cheer competition. It was loud, the arena was cold, my arms were bursting with our Superpuffs, my bag, Alice’s cheer backpack, her Stanley and my good old yellow Nalgene. I squeezed all of the above contents between my two arms as I followed my girlfriend (another new cheer mom) down the stairs of the arena until we found the spot that we estimated would give us the best view of our girls during their routine.
I sat down and hefted the load onto the vacant chair beside me and took it in.
There was more than one faux fur teal jacket in my line of sight. (Yes more than one).
Months ago when I arrived at Alice’s cheer gym for the grand reveal of which team the athletes had made I had my first taste of the cheer experience.
There was a sea of teal. There were parents in literal teal lawn chairs holding teal Stanleys with teal cheer mom and dad tops on respectively. I felt very much out of my element (I was wearing orange for the record).
But this weekend felt different. Just because I will never be the dance mom or cheer mom wearing top kind of person, doesn’t mean it didn’t feel incredible to watch Alice do something she loves and was slightly terrified to do - successfully.
“I love cheer!” She told me that night when we were back in the hotel room.
“I love wine!” I thought to myself.
But also - I loved that moment.
The other moment I loved - stopping at Fitzroy Rentals in Toronto on our way back from Guelph. I needed a dress for an upcoming event and being able to try on their rentals was such a fun experience! For my favourites, click here.
Five Things I saved this week —
01 | I’ve had this entrance in my “Pretty Things” folder on Pinterest for a while. There is something about the minimalist old understated door and slightly arched detail of the surrounding brick mixed with the stunningly flamboyant polished brass awning.
02 | This rug. I mean just look at the colours, the metallic threads, the butterflies. Definitely a budget obliterating statement but gosh what a beautiful one it would be.
03 | Lately I’ve been experiencing the itch to write fiction again. Maybe it’s all the audio books I’ve been listening to lately. Maybe it’s my soul telling me to do something a little more offline for a change. Either way, a pretty notebook is forever inspiring.
04 | I still haven’t painted my office. I have the paint. I have nothing else. Part of me would love to just step into a finished space - all wood and nature views. And this lamp. The lamp is what is really calling to me. (The whole home is gorgeous and worth a look).
05 | I love a sexy coupe - and this one is no exception. There is something about it that screams holiday whilst still being appropriate the rest of the year.
Happy first week of November!
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Thank you for reading. I used to write a lot so this feels good. — Ashley.
I love hearing about Alice in her element & you know I’ll be first to volunteer beta reading said fiction 📖. Rooting for you to do what you feel pulled to when the time is right 🦋.
Thank you for giving us these little snippets into your world. Oh and that rug!!!! Stunning.