When it comes to beauty products, it seems like we're inundated with new innovations and ingredients and -- frankly -- it can be difficult to keep up, and to know what's real and what's a lot of spin. I thought I'd share some of my own top picks that have made it into my medicine cabinet as trusted additions to my regimen!

I often look to quotations for affirmation or comfort or inspiration. So, with that, I thought I'd share some of my favourite quotes! I hope they move and inspire you, as they do me every day. For example, "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

I have to admit, I am a through-and-through romantic and, although my love life has had its ups and downs (whose hasn't!?), I like Valentine's Day. But love isn't an easy concept. For me it's something that has changed as I myself have changed. In each relationship and decade of life, love plays a different role.

It seems like the New Year and its associated resolutions are ruled by my head -- all the things I know I should be doing, whether they're external or internal changes. But my birthday is ruled by my heart -- I feel my way through it -- a whole year's worth of gratitude, support, optimism, love and friendship.

My beloved dog, my dear friend, Deecoy passed away last week. My heart is broken. If you have loved and lost a pet you will not need me to argue that this is a legitimate form of grief. Deecoy was part of my life for 11 years.

January can be a tough month for many people. Once the early optimism of fresh-starts and resolutions has faded, many feel like they've been unceremoniously dumped in the darkest month of the year. But I think it's a month you can make whatever you want. Here are some tips for avoiding those January blahs.

We traditionally associate the New Year with a fresh start. Many of us have bad habits we want to reform, or changes we found difficult to make in the normal course of our days. My own resolutions this year aren't about eating more protein or taking more spinning classes, they're about nurturing my very soul and being, and about creating a state of mind where I'll make better choices about everything.

The holidays are a time for many kinds of traditions. Whether it's the lighting of the menorah or the trimming of the tree or reuniting with friends too long unseen. And, of course, this is a time of year for watching movies and singing songs. And while we spend a lot of the rest of the year chasing the next "new thing," around the holidays, most of us revisit our old favourites... watching movies that take us back to our childhood.

The Christmas season is a time when our focus narrows to a shorter time-frame. Right now, we're all preparing for what happens between now and December 31. Maybe Christmas is a good time to practice living more in the present, being fully there at those gatherings of family and friends.

In stories and movies, in our own lives too, we make a big deal of romance. But while romance can ebb and flow, friendship is constant. I think as we get older we really grow to appreciate the qualities of good friends as something truly special. And yet, how often do we pause to really appreciate our friendships?

It's already November. Soon, we'll all begin looking forward to a new year, forming new hopes and goals around our calendar year. But, it's also a time to reflect on what we accomplished, to bank those new learnings and embrace the person we've become in 2012. Here are some of the things that I learned in 2012 and that I'll carry forward to the next year.

Every season in Canada has its positive side, but we all have one season that's more difficult for us -- whether it's summer's blistering heat, or winter's cruel cold. For me, it's the short, dark days of fall and winter. Here are some of the ways I stay positive and happy when the thermometer starts to dip and the sun's rays begin to wane.

Many of the women I know, myself included, spend their twenties and thirties struggling to live up to the ideal of having it all. When it's physically ideal to have children, most of us are off concentrating on other things: travelling, establishing careers and looking for that person to share it all with. Your twenties are really the time, if not to act, then to consider and make crucial decisions about what you want your family and future to look like. Instead, most of us defer those decisions, not realizing how fast time flies.

Let's be honest, sometimes we're given good advice but we ignore it. Other times, we put too much trust in the guidance of others at the risk of ignoring our own inner voice. With that said, I thought I'd share some of the best advice I've ever received and some advice I never received, or didn't listen to, that I really wish I had! Hopefully, some of you benefit from these!

I don't believe "balance" is a matter of compartmentalizing work and life, but of making the two integrate seamlessly. And while many find that technology is one of the major things hindering their work-life balance, for me it's a major tool in enabling a healthy work-life integration. If you're struggling to maintain relationships throughout your busy days, or over a long distance, here are some of my favourite things to do.

Much as we're wrapped up in the day-to-day, most of us think about the big picture: what we want to achieve and what a "good life" really means to us. In recent years, it seems everybody has been talking about their bucket list -- that laundry list of things they want to do before they "kick the bucket."