It’s July! Can you believe it? The beginning of a new month means a new featured contributor at P&S Co. this month we have the lovely, pretty and smart, Natalie Weed. For those of you who don’t know Natalie, she has been a contributor at P&S Co. since October 2019. You will have seen her write about travel, motherhood and relationships. Expect to see more from her on those fronts! Natalie is a working mom in a busy real estate brokerage in the GTA and has taken some time to let help us get to know her better. So meet Natalie!
Name or nickname:
Natalie
What makes you feel pretty and smart/what does it mean to you:
Being pretty and smart means being productive and goal oriented while maintaining who I am. All too often women are encouraged to change aspects of themselves to be “more successful” and I believe you can be exactly who you are. You can be smart and feminine. You can be assertive and shy. I think the qualities that make us unique are what contribute to us excelling. It is important to know your strengths and focus your energy into careers/ goals that allow you to be your authentic self.
One piece of advice to your younger self:
You can do it all. Nobody can beat someone who refuses to quit. I was always concerned that I would end up in a job that I didn’t like, or working for people that I didn’t look up to. I feel like I have creatively structured and restructured my career on several different occasions to grow with my personal and professional goals. All too often I hear people who feel like they are stuck in life, and I refuse to let myself feel that way. If my choices and position are no longer serving my goals, I restructure and move forward. Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will, so keep on shooting for the stars.
What you’re reading/watching/listening to:
I love to listen to podcasts. These days, I rarely have time to sit down and read, but podcasts help me learn and reflect on the go. I listed to Cat & Nat podcast, Dr. Phil podcasts and I am a big Crime Junkie fan. I just finished watching Brittany Runs A Marathon and I am looking forward to the fourth season of Workin’ Moms.
Favourite thing in your closet right now:
Dresses. Being a new mom, I find it so much less stressful to throw on a dress and not worry about picking out separate tops and bottoms.
Biggest role model or icon (fashion, career, personal or otherwise):
I look up to many women who have been successful in different fields like politics, media and real estate. The trailblazers who have allowed young women to see themselves in powerful roles. Women leaders are so important to inspire other women to take on these roles. Younger generations are looking up to us and need to see women leaders in all industries.
When I think about who I want my future to be a reflection of, it is my mom. My mom is a strong, kind and compassionate woman who has had a successful career, a loving marriage and always puts her family first. She helps me every day accomplish my own goals and I hope to be that for my kids one day too.
Best word to describe you and why?
Driven. Whatever my goals are, I put everything into accomplishing them. Right now I am balancing work with my love of motherhood. Being a mom has been an incredibly fulfilling life change and I want to be the best mom I can be. I also take great pride in being a realtor and running my real estate business. I have been growing my business while tackling my new life and I feel like many people told me I would have to slow down. While I understand the challenges, I see it all as a puzzle that I am trying to learn rather than “impossible”.
What is your fitness or wellness routine:
I love to run. Nothing relaxes me more than throwing in my airpods and going for a run. I also really enjoy online personal training and have been watching youtube videos for strength training during the lockdown. I feel like my fitness routine suffers when I get super busy, but I try to make up for my missed workouts with healthy eating.
What is your favourite thing to write about?
All things travel! My favourite thing to share are my ideas for romantic vacations. Now that we have our son, I plan to write on family vacation ideas too! If I could have more opportunities to travel and write about my experiences, I would be very happy with that!
What is it like being a new mom? Handling career, marriage and mom life?
Being a new mom has been indescribably rewarding. I love spending time with my baby and want to be with him at all moments. It has certainly added an additional step in planning my work weeks. It has also added a layer of exhaustion to my everyday routine, but I am lucky to have a supportive husband, parents, inlaws and family. Without these people, what I do would be extremely challenging.
I find that I am needing to be more strategic in how I work and have learned that I need to ask for help when I need it. Marriage certainly changes after you have a baby, add lockdow to that and it takes more effort to create romance. However, we do try and dress up to go out and make fancy dinners at home to spice things up! We are now a family and have family goals instead of just relationship goals. We are navigating this new path and hoping to build a really strong, happy family by aligning our vision of what that looks like.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Bachelor and Selling Sunset! Hoping to have more of these shows ASAP.
What is the next place you plan to travel to (as soon as we’re allowed of course)?
We have been discussing where our first family trip will be. It was supposed to be Portugal in March and that was sadly cancelled. I would be happy to go anywhere in Europe, but Greece and Italy have a piece of my heart.
Favourite quote:
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, I’m saying it’s going to be worth it.” This line inspired me to take a huge leap in my life. Sometimes we can let fear get in the way of doing exceptional things, or the right thing. It is so important to choose the right path, rather than the easy path.
Zodiac sign:
Aries
If you want to know more about Natalie feel free to ask her anything in the comments below. You can also follow her here.
