Month: March 2012

People spend a lot of time trying to break habits using willpower but research is showing that habits are the opposite of willpower.  With willpower, you have to make a decision, which can be derailed by life’s stresses.  Habits require no willpower, no decision – they stick because they are effortless and automatic.

The key to changing behaviour is to reinforce the habits you want with the right reward.  Or at least that’s what a recent article in Marie Claire magazine had to say.

Then does that mean if you’re a shopoholic in order to stop you must buy more?  If so, where’s the next shoe store?

Speaking of shoes………….

 

Summer is around the corner………or so it seems if you consider all the references to “the sea” in all the latest fashion magazines and on the runway.  Don’t we all gravitate towards things from the SEA?  We must make the most of summer months by wearing little summer dresses, seashell necklaces & carrying wicker handbags.  Oh; and flip flops.

Alright maybe it’s a bit premature but looking at these photos makes me feel better.

 

 

Tell me as a little girl you never pretended to be a Mermaid.  There is something fascinating and mysterious about them.  This book by Margot Datz that I picked up in Florida is fabulous for us grown up mermaids.

It is a handbook for the landlocked mermaid, survival tips for the stranded sea nymph’s soul.

The world has changed but Fairytales are still going strong if it’s any indication from all the new movies coming out.

Have you ever seen a mermaid’s lingerie?  She invented the fishnet stockings!  She put the naughty in nautical!

 

 

 

 

For now we say goodbye to the beautiful Oregon coastline as we make our way home.

 

These photos are from the “Sunshine Market” in St. Helena, NAPA.  I’m obsessed by this market and cannot leave without making a stop.  The freshly baked breads, cheeses, olives & seafood varieties are second to none.  To qualify for “best of” one stop shopping a store should have everything from great produce and wines to a variety of fresh seafood & deserts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love their very European displays. It’s not a super big store but you can find everything here from high end local wines to every type of wine vinegar possible including anjou pear & gravenstein apple.

I wanted to buy everything but was reminded we can only eat so much and no room to store it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My other favorites are the Mill Valley Market, the “original” Whole Foods in Mill Valley, S.F., Rouses in Louisiana (they carry Boudin) and any Publix in Florida especially for their daily homemade key lime pie which is better than most.

 

 

 

Here are reasons why I need a little NAPA now & again:

Life is too short to drink bad wine

I love their pour, pour attitude

Rosy cheeks means less makeup

Sunshine Market for finding all your fresh & difficult to find items.

Dean & Deluca – pristine & purveyors of everything good in food, wine, etc.

The town of St. Helena with its olive oil tastings, art galleries, little shops and restaurant/cafes.

This little piggy went to “MARKET” – the restaurant in St. Helena where we found out that they have complimentary corking for any unopened bottle of wine you bring in.  They also have an outstanding fresh market daily menu & their own extensive wine list.

Too little time – too many wineries.  Here’s what we managed yesterday:

The Coppola winery because inside its like a movie set.  Sofia Coppola has her own wine.  It must be nice to have one named after you.  Mine would be “The Whine Queen”.  Let me say his movies are much better than his wine.

“Orin Swift” where we took home an elusive “Prisoner” and learned a lesson.  That wines labelled “old vines” must be at least 50 years old to qualify for the name and those that are labelled “ancient vines” must be at least 99 years old.  See, older is better!

“Clos du Bois” in Geyserville, Sonoma County where we bought the “petit verdot”.

“Chateau St-Jean” which make my favourite Chardonnay but now they make my favourite limited release pinot reserve.

The best for last was the “Jacuzzi” (Italian varietals) where you can have a chocolate shot – hollowed out to fill with wine of your choice – now we’re talking!

 

Animal prints are classic and they’re still being seen on the runways & all the major magazines– will we ever tire of them?  My mom used to have an amazing leopard print one-piece with mesh inserts that to this day I’ve yet to see another one quite like it.  At one time she looked fabulous wearing it too.  Unfortunately we’ve lost track of its whereabouts.

If you’re daring & obviously comfortable enough with your fab body to wear the Michael Kors snakeskin swimsuit  then my hats off to you.  It’s absolutely sexy but pricey.  If instead you gravitate towards leopard & would like an equally sexy swimsuit then the Coquette limited edition monokini is the one for you – & the cost is substantially less.

This months issue of InStyle magazine shows that what used to be hidden is now out in full force for evening.

 

 

 

 

Interesting Tidbit:  Design queen Vivienne Westwood was the first to popularize the corset as outerwear (more in previous post).  Jean Paul Gaultier designed the cone corset for Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour further bringing the corset into the main stream.

On another note I love this photo of Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover of Bazaar Magazine.  She looks so glamorous in this Yves Saint Laurent jumpsuit.

Interesting Tidbit:  Design queen Vivienne Westwood was the first to popularize the corset as outerwear (more in previous post).  Jean Paul Gaultier designed the cone corset for Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour further bringing the corset into the main stream.

Sometime after midnight last week I saw a large owl sitting on top of a lamppost in New Orleans.  It hung out for several minutes before taking flight.  It got me questioning why we never see more of them.  Then I remembered that a shop keeper in Brazil gave me a little owl charm for good luck just before flying back to Vancouver .  I wanted to find out more about owls as they seem to be popping up more lately & they represent a list of symbolic meanings such as:

• Wisdom
• Mystery
• Transition
• Messages
• Intelligence
• Mysticism
• Protection
• Secrets

I read that the Owl Comes to Those Who are More Scorpionic and Plutonian as The Owl is a Night Bird and Awakens Its Higher Self at Night.

If like me, you are curious to know more about what the mysterious owl represents read on………………

Owl symbolism

Owls have been associated with magic, wisdom and heightened senses throughout history from ancient Greece to Asia and America. Plains Indians wore owl feathers to protect themselves from evil spirits, and in Middle Eastern cultures the owl was seen as a sacred guardian of the afterlife.

Native Americans associated the meaning of owl with wisdom, foresight, and keeper of sacred knowledge.  The Owl has Always Been Seen as The Bird of Wisdom , The Mind of All Knowingness and Mind of All Seeingness.  It should be clear that the owl was honored as the keeper of spirits who had passed from one plane to another. Often myth indicates the owl accompanying a spirit to the underworld – winging it’s newly freed soul from the physical world into the realm of spirit.

In ancient Egyptian, Celtic, and Hindu cultures the symbolic meaning of owl revolved around guardianship of the underworlds, and a protection of the dead.

In Greek mythology the owl was attributed to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and as the symbol was used on Greek coins owls also became associated with wealth. However in medieval Europe owls had a bad name; a symbol of witchcraft involved in the secret powers of the night, which is in sharp contrast to the symbol of knowledge and education that we commonly associate the owl with today.

In modern Japanese culture owls are still quite significant as many Japanese people commonly carry an owl charm, but what does it symbolize?

The owl is the symbol of magic. Powerful magic, good omens, prophecy, astral travel, power to see the un-seen, all seeing knowledge, great wisdom, good luck, power of the moon and night, insight, giving and receiving messages, clairvoyance, religious beliefs, communication with the spirit world, and insight into others true motives.

The owl – quite a significant icon!