I put together a little compilation of clips from my last lake adventure and I am so blessed (or maybe cursed?) that several of these clips individually went viral over on my Instagram account.

This was fairly unexpected, though it was what I was aiming for with the clips (I plan to do a deep dive look at all of this at some point) and it has definitely been a wild ride over that last few weeks.

My account has gone from 13k, to over 26.4k and it's still going! 😲

I've been trying a few new strategies over on Instagram to grow my audience and reach more mermaid fans all over the world.

HOWEVER.

My YouTube channel does appear to be dying. I'm looking into that as well and have a plan I am working towards to maybe help bring it back to life.

That said, I am trying to be active over on TikTok (@vancouvermermaid) because creating short-form content is much easier and honestly a great deal more enjoyable/satisfying.

I had the opportunity to sneak down to the lake for a very impromptu mermaid photoshoot with my husband Eric.

It was such a beautiful evening and the sunset was absolutely stunning.

The water was definitely too cold to be safe for swimming without protective gear, but regardless people were still out in it (I was shocked to be honest). 

I'm stilling playing around with the styling for this wig and after the shoot, I decided to try different placement for the braids.

To be honest I can't really see myself enjoying the experience of actually swimming with a wig (especially one this ridiculously long) but it definitely did help keep me warm on land which was fantastic.

I forgot that it had actually rained the night before and so the beach was REALLY soggy and it did make switching from pose to pose a little... messy.

I would recommend bringing with a plastic/rubber mat of some kind to put under your towel because my bum was SOAKED after only a few minutes (while getting into my tail).

My first swim in Chester 2.0 (henceforth to be referred to as Chester) was magical.

Mermaid Zelda invited me over for a swim at her mum's pool which was so beautiful!

The water was a tad chilly, but it warmed up once we got our fins moving.

I was a bit nervous about how this tail would feel in comparison to the other versions I've made (all of which have had fewer fins, or no extra fins at all). It was definitely heavier, but I actually feel like it benefited my overall form and forced me to slow down and pace myself.

I'm thrilled with how this tail looks, especially underwater. Everything flows together so beautifully and I am really pleased with the overall performance of this tail. 🥰

Don't laugh but I think this might actually be the definitive version of Chester and this may be his final evolution...

That doesn't mean that I will stop making tails, but I do think this will be the final version of THIS tail specifically. That's how happy I am with it. 💖

Now that my new mermaid top is in I'll be able to FINALLY complete my 2022 look!

I'm so happy with how the blending matches from the tail to the top and I really like this style because it creates space for my Ripple's Relics matching necklace.

I was thinking about commissioning a new necklace from Ripple for this tail so that it's predominantly blue but then get a few bright green accents in there as well.

I've also made myself three sets of matching cuffs (not pictured here) because I wasn't sure which I would like best. 

It'll take some guessing and testing, but overall I am thrilled with the progress of my 2022 look and I can't wait to get some actual proper photos taken.