A Fresh Start

Are you ready?

Holiday Expectations

This year don't buy into the myth ...

Let it go and keep it real.

Let The Games Begin!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

My Blow Dryer Died

My blow dryer has gone to blow dryer heaven and I'm looking for a new one. 

I think my Conair Infinity Pro was at least 20 years old.  It did the job; it dried my hair.

Now I'm looking to achieve 'salon quality results' (smooth, frizz-free, shiny locks) at home. However, the variety of wattages, styles and brands available today is, to say the least, OVERWHELMING. 

Not to mention pricey, YIKES!

So far, this one looks pretty good and I may just get it:

Cute, eh?  Are you familiar with it? 

What's your take on blow dryers? Do you have one you can't live without? 

Please share and I will be forever grateful!  

Hairdressers - why don't they listen?

I just had my hair cut. I took a picture of what I wanted along with me (always do) AND explained what I 'saw' in the picture just in case there was a 'perception issue'.

This is the picture:

This is what I got:

WTF? It happens every time with every hairdresser I've ever used. I keep hoping things will go differently (you know, maybe this time ...) but they never do.

This is what it looked like after I styled it myself:

Better, but still not what I wanted.

Am I alone here? Does your hairdresser listen to you when you tell her what you want done to your hair? 

Please share.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend here in Canada.

I'll be hosting again this year as my daughter is too busy with work and family life; mainly these two cherubs. 

It will be the usual fare ... turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans ... apple and pumpkin pie later.

What's your favourite Thanksgiving dish? 

New Glasses

Got my new glasses yesterday.

What do you think?

Seven Months

Hello all! I've been working on a little project lately ... actually it started way back in February:

Seven months dye free. YAY me!!!!!

xo

Happy Labour Day Weekend!

Sunscreen Slime

When I turned 60 in March, I resolved to take better care of my myself.

My skin had been (somewhat) neglected, my diet needed tweaking and my activity level wasn't that great; long walks mostly for Ben's benefit was the extent of it.

Since then, there have been many changes for the better. I've shed a few pounds, I'm walking more and a new skin care regimen is showing very favourable results (YAY)!

BUT ... I've yet to get my hands on a good, non-greasy, sunscreen.

It's the shine; I can't stand it.

And as the reject pile grows, my patience (and wallet) wears increasingly thin.



If you know of one, please share.

I'll be eternally grateful.

Mourning

"I have to constantly remind myself that I am communicating with a being with hearing loss."

- Marion Ross

*the original quote says 'person' I changed it to 'being'.

My best friend is showing signs of hearing loss and I am so, so sad for him; kind of in mourning and can't seem to shake it.

Ben In The Garden

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."

- Picasso

I'm currently working on this piece of Ben in the garden; can't seem to get the light just right. When manage I that, I'll start on Ben, who is just a blue outline for now.

Saudade (Portuguese)

Portuguese is the only language that has a noun for this feeling ...

"Saudade is 'the love that remains' after someone is gone. It is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure and well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live them again."

my babies
1984

Happy Family Day,

Light

"Light reveals us to ourselves, which is not always so great if you find yourself in a big disgusting mess, possibly of your own creation. But like sunflowers we turn toward light. Light warms, and in most cases it draws us to itself. And in this light, we can see beyond our modest receptors, to what is way beyond us, and deep inside."

- Anne Lamott

xo

What Is Attractive?

"We cannot deny the social pressure on women to be thin.  But attractive demands no particular weight.  To each her healthy own.  We can focus on treating our bodies well, and we can build attractive on a foundation of kindness towards ourselves.  Kindness, while not always indulgent, is always forgiving."

- Lisa of Privilege

xo

Food Is Always Love

"People who love to eat are always the best people."

- Julia Child

I woke up this morning with a song in my head; Let Your Love Flow by The Bellamy Brothers, do you know it? Can you hear it?

xo

Acceptance

"Being full of affection for one's goofy, self-centred, cranky, annoying self is home.  It's where world peace begins."

- Anne Lamott

xo

Dawn

"The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.  Don't go back to sleep".

- Rumi

xo

Creative Acts

"Faith is almost the bottom line of creativity; it requires a leap of faith any time we undertake a creative endeavor; whether this is going to the easel, or the page, or onto the stage - or for that matter, in a homelier way, picking out the fabric for the kitchen curtains, which is also a creative act."

- Julia Cameron

Ben in the garden - my latest project

xo

Hands In The Dirt

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.

To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul."

- Alfred Austin

xo

World After World

"For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die."

- Anne Lamott

xo

Your Inside Person

"Sixty feels like fifty, with aching feet and more forgetfulness ... but your inside person doesn't age. Your inside person is soul, is heart, in the eternal now, the ageless, the old, the young, all the ages you've ever been."

- Anne Lamott

xo

Dogs

"Dogs are the closest we come to knowing the divine love of God on this side of eternity."

- Anne Lamott

xo

Loss

"You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved.

But this is also the good news.

They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly — that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp." 

- Anne Lamott

xo

This New Blog of Mine

Hello friends!

Well, it's a little over a week now since I started this new blog of mine!

Its purpose is to share a love of photography, and my take on life. I find quotes inspiring, uplifting and sometimes .  .  . even life changing.

I hope my selections resonate.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of A Whole Lotta Magic so far.

Have a great weekend.

It's All Around Us

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."

- W. B. Yeats

Happy Friday.

Home

"There's nothing like staying at home for real comfort."

- Jane Austen

Happy Thursday.


Linking to Sincerely, Paula, French Country Cottage

Laughter

"The earth laughs in flowers."

- Emerson

Happy Wednesday.


Linking up with Savy Southern Style

Faith

"Some things cannot be explained.  This is part of the magic of life.  There cannot be a word or an idea or a definition attached to everything."

- Jim James

Happy Tuesday.

Monday

"And suddenly you know ... it's time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings."

- unknown

Happy Monday.

With Glittering Eyes

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.  Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

- Roald Dhal

a little morning magic for you

Happy Sunday.