I am definitely going through a shift in my life right now. My priorities are changing, the level of responsibility is different, I have accomplished things and have failed at things as well. As much as I feel a little confused, I know something really great is in store for me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is feeling this. In fact, every spring, I seem to feel like this. It must have to do with the grueling, dark winter months coming to an end and the springtime and sun starting to show brightness and inspiration!

During my weekly Saturday visit to Chapters, I found an amazing journal to help with evaluating life, setting new goals and getting on track with recognizing the past, evaluating intentions and setting goals for the future! The actual process of writing and acknowledging your goals and intentions can be really hard so this book helps organize your thoughts and stimulate new ideas.

The journal has different sections like “work + passion”, “love + connection”, “mind + body”, “creativity + inspiration” and “spirit + mindfulness”, with an intro page explaining the section, some questions for you to think about and lots of place to write down your thoughts, answer the questions and set goals.

Today’s daily dose is the first quote you see when you open the journal

*turns off blackberry, goes to a quite sunny place, starts writing*

xoxo,

Lowe

Intentions + Goals is available at Chapters.Indigo for approx $22 Cdn

This month our book club chose Still Alice by Lisa Genova.  The story is one like no other I’ve read.

The main character Alice is a 50 year old cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and is known world over for her studies and findings in the field of linguistics.  A woman who’s life revolves around her work slowly starts to realize something is off.  She begins misplacing things, losing words and her place during speeches at conferences.  She is more moody than usual and then finally finds herself lost on a run on a path that she takes almost everyday.  Something terrible and tragic is wrong with Alice’s brain, she knows it but can do nothing to stop it.

The book’s author has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard and has the ability to give the reader this incredible view of how it might be to actually be someone who is suffering from mental illness.  I found it to be written so well that at times I started to question my mental awareness, calling my parents and asking them for my family history of disease.  Although the prospect of reading a book based around mental disease sounds dismal  (to be honest when it was suggested I wasn’t to hyped to crack it open) as soon as I started it I was hooked.  It only took me a couple of hours to polish off, I just couldn’t get enough.  If you’re looking for a good read that will open your eyes to a part of life we so often close off too, I highly recommend ‘Still Alice’.

Cool fact about Still Alice:

Genova couldn’t find a publisher for her book so she decided to self publish.  Simon Schuster eventually picked it up and it has since won The Bronte Prize and is a New York Time Bestseller!  Now that’s a lesson in believing in ’self’ and perseverance if I’ve ever hear one!

Check out Lisa talking about her book:

The Overnight Socialite -newest book from author Birdie Clark- is set in the glittery present day Manhattan.  Lucy Jo, a struggling aspiring fashion designer from the mid-west is just about to ditch her dreams of a life in fashion and head back to Minnesota when she meets Wyatt. A bored blue blooded social (with a PHd), Wyatt makes a bet with his bff Trip that he can turn the frumpy, classless Lucy Jo into a refined woman of culture within a few short months. Lucy agrees to be the subject of the bet with the promise of access to the movers, shakers and decision makers of Manhattan.

The book reads with all of the detail of a well directed romantic comedy  - maybe because it’s published by Weinstein Books.  An easy read that’s hard to put down, The Overnight Socialite makes you feel like you’re whisked away into the private (sometimes cut-throat) high-end world of old money Manhattan.  It is so interesting to see the hilarious rituals and the major expense that entrap the social world of the uber elite.  If you’re looking for a fun little escape and a glimpse into a world where Champagne flows like water and social standing is more important than world peace I highly recommend The Overnight Socialite.

3.5 bows out of 4

xoxo,

coco

Scottish artist, Georgia Russell’s ‘dissected printed matter’ is in museums, magazines and restaurants around the world and I had to share her works with you. They are genius. She takes anything from maps, newspapers, photos etc and slashes, slices and dices them into beautiful works of art.

Titles: Etudes sur L’hysterie, L’amour fou, La Nuit Remue

Titles: Evolution and Natural Selection, Harrap’s Standard French-English Dictionary

How beautiful is are these?!

For more info and previous works of art, go to www.englandgallery.com

xoxo,

Lowe

40 years ago Audrey Hepburn blew us away with her elegance and style with this classic look from Breakfast At Tiffany’s. If you’re having trouble finding something to wear to corporate events or work parties this holiday season, when in doubt, go back to basics and wear a Little Black Dress!

The concept has been such a hit that products have been developed and studies have been done geared around what is now known as LBD:

Degree Ultra Clear Deodorant – LBD approved!

I’m loving this commercial!

Little Black Dress Wines

You may have tasted this delicious wine at our Dirty Girl Clean event but if you didn’t, you must! Wine is such a great hostess gift but it’s hard to chose which one is best. With Little Black Dress wines you can stick to something safe and still be stylish!

Little Black Dress Diet

Instant Gratification? As instant as a diet plan can be. The Little Black Dress Diet, by Michael van Straten is catchy but explained by the author as “anything but trendy…it finds its foundation in nutritional necessities and the demands of human nature-you won’t be starved or malnourished!”

Little Black Dress Experiment

Forget spending tons of dough on new dresses this holiday season. Use your creativity to help take what you have and make it brand new starting with the Little Black Dress!

xoxo,

Lowe

ENTRE NOUS-Debra Ollivier

My sister introduced me to this book she bought at Anthropologie called Entre Nous.

The minute I saw that it was a ‘guide to finding your inner French woman’, I knew I’d love it and it would remind me of my roots. I grew up with a vibrant, playful, cultured, beautiful mother who was passionate about everything and anything (to the point where finding a certain rock in the woods would bring her joy). Growing up she’d never leave the house without looking her best, dipped her croissant in her coffee every morning, made 4-course sit-down meals with the richest of ingredients, didn’t talk much about her problems with others, danced around the house to French music and above all qualities of a French woman was always late!

Entre Nous was such a great a reminder of how fun and interesting life should be!

It gives you a whole new perspective on the difference between North-American culture versus French culture. Quality is way more important in many aspects from food to clothing, beauty regimens to the friends you keep close. Taking the time out of your day to sit and eat a proper meal or enjoy a cappuccino is much more valuable than saving a few minutes by grabbing take-out. Oh, and passion is a must! All senses must be stimulated and French women find sensuality in everything–food, art, music, social settings and even by just looking in the mirror!

These types of books are great because they’re a quick reminder to take time to focus on you, to live life happier, sexier and live life the way YOU want to live it.

Here are some quotes from the book that I loved!

“Sexy is a state of mind.”

“The French girl moves through life as a grown up.”

“It’s not about luxury, it’s about maintenance.” (referring to beauty treatments such as manicures, facials, skin care etc.)

“To see in the ordinary a flash of extraordinary; to transform the usual into unusual.” (In reference to Jean-Paul Gaultier uniting with Tati)

“Not only how she looks in her clothes but how she feels in them.”

“Pieces purchased one by one that slowly build up a quality wardrobe through discretion.”

“She’s chosen everything in her closet with her trademark discretion.”

“One of the eminently practical attributes of the French girl’s sense of self-possession and her rejection of the quick fix is her way with men. Where they don’t find fulfillment in a man, Cecile argues, they find it elsewhere. ‘If the shoe doesn’t fit, you don’t buy it. Your foot isn’t going to change its shape, right? Same goes for men. If he’s not right for you, drop him. Unless you want to walk around in pain, you move on to new merchandise. It’s really that simple, no?’”

“We’re French, so we love to love. But we’re also Cartesian, so we can put things in an intellectual perspective and detach. A little detachment goes a long way in marriage.’

“There are no beans to spill here, no heart aching on her shirtsleeve.”

“And how can one word-aimer in French- mean both to like and to love, when in between the two feelings lies a whole world of emotional intensity.”

Entre Nous is available at Chapters Indigo as well as online.

xoxo,

Lowe

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night from a crazy intense dream and fell back asleep just to wake up in the morning completely forgetting what your  dream was about?

Isn’t it frustrating!

Book by Smythson

Although science hasn’t quite determined the purpose of dreams, dream dictionaries and books have been created to help establish the meaning of your dreams. These books are fun but through my personal experience, dreams almost always have a hidden meaning and it comes through metaphorically.

Example (this may not make complete sense):

I had a dream that I was in an elevator with a brunette and an older woman with grey hair and we were going up. The elevator started going up really fast like a rocket in a building with over 100 floors. I was scared and all of a sudden we burst through the ceiling and into the sky! As gravity defines, what goes up must come down and as we were headed down, the elevator  landed in the shaft again but got stuck. Thank god it did because with no strings attached, it was about to fall back down the shaft, with me in it!  The only way out was through the top of the elevator. The brunette had some super power and jumped out like it was nothing and helped the old lady out. I went to put my hand out and she took it and threw it away! She wouldn’t help me. I felt alone and scared but the old lady said, you can do it yourself. I said to myself ‘eff her’ and realized I would have to do it myself. I gained the courage to find a way out myself and she disappeared.

It didn’t take a dream book for me to sort through the meaning:

Elevator going up – road to success

Elevator in the sky – blissfull, happy, floating

Elevator coming down – adversity, ending of a relationship with brunette

Brunette woman not helping me out in a time of need- jealousy and envy on her part (which happened to be a perfect description of my so called friend around that time)

Me getting out alone – gaining the courage to overcome adversity on my own.

If I didn’t write that one down or talk my way through it, it would have been a whole bunch of bits and pieces with half of the information forgotten by the time I woke up. My mother keeps a pad and pen near the bed because she’s an intense dreamer and loves to wake up mid night, jot it down and in the am review her intense visions.

Doing this has helped me remember dreams but has also helped me work through problems or issues that I’m feeling at those times. Keeping a diary is great but keeping a dream diary is magical. It’s like tapping into a whole other world!

I highly suggest getting a dream book and writing your dreams down.

What do you guys think of dreams? Have you ever seen such clear meaning behind them or do you think dreams are B.S.?

xoxo,

Lowe