General, Love at First Listen

A New Home for Love at First Listen

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Screenshot of loveatfirstlisten.ca

It’s a big day in our cybersphere… the first New Music Friday of summer has birthed a new home for Love at First Listen! Since 2021, I have used a series on this blog to share and amplify the voices of emerging and established artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlists. Music has always been my one true love, and over the past few months, I have wanted to bring you more—more artists, more interviews, more concert and event coverage, more music news, and more new releases to bless your ears.

In order to achieve that, I knew my interviews, playlists, and other content ideas needed a digital space that was a little more focused, sure of itself, and ~funky and fresh~.

Introducing loveatfirstlisten.ca — Love at First Listen in its fully-fledged form. Consider her a freshly independent artist!

While the new site was under construction, I connected with some incredible Canadian artists with irresistible new music. Check them out:

Thank you to all the artists and their teams who took a shot on the little interview series that could, especially those that came back for Round Twos. I hope you will all plug in for more at loveatfirstlisten.ca and give us a follow on Instagram.

Stay tuned here at angelamclean.ca for more travel and lifestyle content, bylines, and, as always, the perfect amount of everything. ♡

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General, Giveaways

Our Best Christmas Gift is the End of 2020

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Merry Christmas blog post header for Angela McLean

It feels so good to come on here and officially say Merry Christmas. Christmas has always been my favourite holiday — a time to unplug from work, connect with family and friends, squeeze in a trip, and celebrate life and all those we love. Despite the very unexpected circumstances, I hope you’re doing as well as you can and you’re able to take time this holiday season to relax and recharge.

If you had asked me before March what I was looking forward to this year, I can guarantee it wasn’t planning to spend Christmas (and every other holiday) meeting with family 6+ feet apart, working from home full-time, limiting almost all of my social contacts, or stacking up concert refunds and flight credits. But 2020 — the long-awaited start of a new decade — decided it really wanted to make some noise and throw us all a curveball. We definitely heard you, 2020 — but I, for one, am very much ready for another fresh start.

Thankfully, we only have to live through one more week of “unprecedented-ness” before we can welcome in 2021, equipped with an agile mindset, pandemic-proof skill set and realistic resolutions. Here’s a preview of what I’ll be up to until then…

Writing, writing and more writing!

I plan to take full advantage of the holiday lockdown to draft up new content for the blog, including:

  • A wrap-up of one of my favourite — and only — trips from the year (The Great Mini-Canadian Road Trip),
  • An exposé of my Spotify Wrapped playlist to determine, once and for all, my favourite music releases of 2020, and
  • An inside look at my best (and worst?) celeb encounters of the year, both virtually and in person (remember those days?!)

Planning exciting features

The planner in me truly thrives every December as I whip out my pen and paper and strategize for the new year.

I loved starting my Take 5 interview series this year and publishing conversations with uber-talented musicians Reuben James and Michelle Treacy. With the goal of introducing (at least!) one influential and incredible human to you each month, I’m happy to tease that I already have several great names lined up for 2021. Get ready to do plenty of reflection, learning, listening and more. 😊

Know an inspiring or up-and-coming individual I should Take 5 with? Let me know in the comments below — or tweet me @angelamcleanx!

I will also be continuing my follower-favourite #NewMusicFriday shares every Friday at 12AM EST on my Instagram Stories (see my NMF highlights)! One of my proudest moments of 2020 was opening so many of you up to new artists and songs each week. Feel free to slide into my DMs with your most anticipated new releases so I can bump them to the top of my listening queue.

An additional teaser: I highly suggest you follow @vitaminwanderlust on Instagram. Fun things will be flying to your feed soon… ✈️

Giving back (to you!)

In case you missed it, I’m currently running a worldwide giveaway on Instagram for a sweet prize that is sure to help you through your toughest, longest days. I’m talking Starbucks coffee (my not-so-guilty pleasure!).

Head over to my Instagram by today (Dec. 25) for your final chance at a $20 CAD gift card! BONUS: As a thank you for reading my blog, comment your Instagram username below after you’ve entered on Instagram for an additional entry!

Looking forward to doing more contests and surprise giveaways in 2021. Be sure to have my notifications on!

Thank you for all of your support and readership this year! I seriously couldn’t do this without each one of you.

If you ever have any content ideas or suggestions, send me a note.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays xx

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General, Travel

5 Must-Read Books for Summer 2019

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Must-Read Books for Summer 2019 blog post header

One of my FAVOURITE parts of prepping for summer trips is picking out new books, especially for poolside reading. I’ve loved reading since I was a little girl — hence why I got into journalism and blogging! — and only wish I had more time to delve into some fictional (and non-fictional) worlds. Fortunately, doing so while laying under the summer sun is the best time to do it!

I just got back from a beautiful getaway to Maui, Hawaii, which I will have *so* much more to share from soon. But first, I wanted to share some of the incredible books I started — and sped through — that will make perfect adds to your summer reading list.

For words of inspiration to kickstart your vacation

Becoming by Michelle Obama book perfect for plane rides

I’ve had Michelle Obama’s Becoming on my book shelf since Christmas, and finally had the chance to start and finish it on a 10+ hour travel day. From cover to cover, it’s total female boss vibes! I will admit the opening section on Michelle’s childhood and upbringing definitely dragged on in some parts, but once she writes about meeting Barack you get a lot of interesting behind the scenes secrets and stories that make the wait worthwhile. I ended up bookmarking a few passages that particularly resonated with me, including:

  • “Beneath my laid-back college demeanor, I lived like a half-closeted CEO, quietly but unswervingly focused on achievement, bent on checking every box. My to-do list lived in my head and went with me everywhere. I assessed my goals, analyzed my outcomes, counted my wins. If there was a challenge to vault, I’d vault it. One proving ground only opened onto the next. Such is the life of a girl who can’t stop wondering, Am I good enough? and is still trying to show herself the answer.” (Becoming Me)
  • “New York always awakened a sense of awe in me, big and busy enough to dwarf anyone’s ego.” (Becoming More) (It’s true, New York is a such a remarkable and special place and I look forward to spending more time there!)
  • “The important parts of my story, I was realizing, lay less in the surface value of my accomplishments and more in what undergirded them—the many small ways I’d been buttressed over the years, and the people who’d helped build my confidence over time.” (Becoming More)
  • “My early successes in life were, I knew, a product of the consistent love and high expectations with which I was surrounded as a child, both at home and at school. … I’d been lucky to have parents, teachers, and mentors who’d fed me with a consistent, simple message: You matter. As an adult, I wanted to pass those words to a new generation. … I wanted to be the opposite of the guidance counselor I’d had in high school, who’d blithely told me that I wasn’t Princeton material.” (Becoming More) (To quote Beyonce, “best revenge is your paperrrrr…”)
  • “…I am still in progress, and I hope that I always will be. For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end. … It’s all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.” (Epilogue) (AMEN!!!)
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