Today’s edition of #3ThingsThursday is all about new things – and I’m hoping that it’s obvious why, when you take a look around my site! (More on that below!) #3ThingsThursday is a blogger linkup hosted by Pink Chai Living, The Write Balance and Love Laugh Mirch. If you want to link up, you can do so right from their posts. It’s a fun way to create new community – and makes for great reading!

1. Let ME Out!! gets a new makeover!

It is really awesome to be friends with the Senior Web Designer of StudioThink, Stephanie Deo! She took my vision and made it even better with all her savviness and creativity! The purpose for the makeover was to create something a little more easy on the eyes and be able to host all the fun things I’m starting now, and plan to do in the future. In particular, I’d love it if you check out the Kind Sponsors in the sidebar. These are the amazing companies who are donating to #LMOKindness – a random act of kindness initiative where a business supplies a gift and we match it up with someone YOU thinks deserves a kind gesture. Speaking of which, right under Kind Sponsors is the nomination form. Please take a minute and nominate someone (or many someones)! This is currently open to Vancouver and Fraser Valley residents of B.C. but is expanding quickly across Canada. I’ll keep you posted!

Also, when you have a sec, I’d love it if you take a look at the pages that give you an idea of what I do outside of this blog. For example, my Portfolio page and the Hire Me page will be of interest to you if you are looking for a writer, speaker, media ambassador or content creator.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to check it all out and, as always, I’d love to hear your feedback (either in the comments or my contact form).

2. A new signature drink

As someone who always orders water with lemon, I am fascinated with the rituals and individuality of people’s drink choices. (I’m talking about non-alcoholic drinks, in particular coffee and tea). There was a time when I was going to a coffee shop fairly regularly. And when I say regularly I mean once a week. It was my one day that I could work out of the house when my dad used to babysit. Knowing I couldn’t just order a water and then sit there for three hours, I began the search for the perfect (for me) drink. Time and again, I would order something that ultimately did not live up to my expectations. For example, the ‘chai’ was way too sweet – and came from a carton. I can make chai at home, but even then I run into issues. Cow’s milk is hit or miss for me. Sometimes it digests just fine; other times I am in pain from all the gassy bloating. Not the makings of a signature drink. Caffeine sometimes has no effect on me; other times I get heart palpitations, dizziness and after the buzz, I can crash pretty hard. Who needs that? Plus, I don’t want to be someone who needs a special drink to get through the day! I have a hard enough time staving off potato chips and chocolate – I really don’t need to add anything to that party!

So, I’m getting creative and concocting my own drink! It has to have these things: some kind of health benefit (or at least not be detrimental to my health), caffeine-free, dairy-free, hot, and mildly sweet with a hint of Indian spice.

I might be on to something with this:

Red rooibos tea with unsweetened coconut beverage, cardamom and a touch of honey. I’m going to experiment further and try it with coconut milk instead of the beverage. And maybe I’ll throw in some cinnamon. I’ll keep you posted! In the meantime, what’s YOUR non-alcoholic drink of choice? I’d love to hear in the comments!

3. New neighbours

Knowing your neighbours is important, I think. You share so much in common with these people anyway, you might as well share your names and some other personal information. You may even end up as friends, with an open door relationship – and, as my long-standing neighbour to my left knows, they come in really handy when you need an extra lemon, or a strong hand to open the pasta sauce jar. We enjoy a great relationship with our next door neighbours and are even removing a panel from our fence this summer so the kids can go back and forth as they please. This will also make going over to each other’s homes for BBQs a tad bit easier, too.

Over the last few months, two new families have moved in to our ‘hood and like us they have young children. We’ve introduced ourselves and wave ‘hi’ from our driveway, but I thought a casual meet and greet at our home, over appies and conversation, would be the perfect way to really get to know each other. And I’m so glad we did it! We’ve really lucked out with great neighbours and I foresee many memories being made, right in our own backyards.

Also: I now have 2 more families to bug for that extra cup of flour – an even greater chance of someone being home when I’m in the middle of a culinary crisis!

There you have it! 3 new things happening in my world. What’s new with you?