Blog

Last month I mentioned that I went to Norway as exchange student.  I was 17 years old and it was quite an adventure.  

In Norway, Midsummer's Eve is a big deal - it doesn't get dark and there are bonfires all over.  The week that I traveled to the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway for Midsummer's Eve celebrations, I was treated to a phenomenon that I have not seen before - the midnight sun!  

I took these pictures at 11 pm (from a boat).  It was so weird for the sun to be up in the middle of the night and I could see how your body clock would be a bit screwed up.  

As for bronze jewelry going with the midnight sun?  Well I will let you be the judge of that.  

If you want to know when I release new items, sign up with your email below and become an insider!  

Today is World Bicycle Day.  The UN declared World Bicycle day to celebrate the bicycle as "a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health".  

I realize I should have been out riding today.  Instead I have pretty pictures of a colourful card I received last year on my birthday.  I do love to bike, though. 

As for the jewelry part - well I mostly don't wear jewelry when riding, except when the occasion calls for it (the jewelry I mean).  When I do, I like something light to wear and easy to care for, but still has a bit of pizzaz.  That is why I like my Lucia necklace, because it checks all those boxes (the one pictured is a small bead, one inch).

If you want to be first to hear about new releases, then you need to sign up with your email and get on my list!  

My friend Julie, who I have known since grade 6, arranged for a birthday delivery for me.  

Chock full of goodies from The Farmer's Daughter, it was a fantastic and generous gift.  

So, I filled a glass with Prosecco and a glass with beads and I "cheers" to her.  Best that I don't play with my tools while drinking tho'...

Want to know when my new pretty things are released?  Then sign up and become an Insider!

Can you see the earrings under all that hair?  It's hair cut day, so hopefully you will see them afterwards.

My hair grows fast and is going more and more curly over time.  When I was a teenager, my hair would not hold the "Farrah Flip", even with curling iron applied.  

Now, I let my stylist guide my hair into something that works for me.  I am not into much fuss or much product to hold things in place, for that matter.  

So you can see, she tidied it up a lot.  But I am taking advantage of the forced "growth" and seeing if I can go for a new style.  Stay tuned...

PSST:  My Captiva earrings are available in my store.

If you want to be first to shop new designs and exclusive offers, then sign up to my Elegantly Audacious Insider mailing list below:

What do trolls, vikings and my bronze coral reef beads all have in common?

Well, nothing really.  Other than I lived in Norway on student exchange for a year and today is Norwegian national day (also known as 17 Mai!)

I like to shout out to Norway and all the friends I made there on this day.  I was supposed to be attending a reunion this summer with those friends.  We have postponed until next summer.  

In the meantime HEIA NORGE!

One of the things I like to do to relax is to read books.  

I visited the Little Free libraries in the neighbourhood again and traded 3 books.  The bottom two are my usual mystery / thriller genre. 

But the top one had all the colours of the ocean and beach, so I figured it was meant to be!  I'll let you know how it is. 

PSST:  The necklaces are now in my store.  

If you want to be first in on the next release, sign up below with your email.  

Today, the radio station I listen to has been playing women in rock - in some ways a hit parade of my adolescence.  It got me thinking about influential women.  

In 2006, I rode my bike from Toronto to Ottawa with four other women.  In Ottawa, we saw the commemoration of the "Famous Five".  These are the suffragists who challenged the British North America Act in the Supreme Court to include women as "Persons", thus allowing women to be appointed to the Senate.  

This landmark judgement occurred in 1929 - NOT EVEN 100 years ago!  Sadly, I don't remember learning about Canadian women's history in school; hopefully young women these days learn about the strong women who blazed trails in history.  

So, on International Women's Day, celebrate the women in your life.  And celebrate those who forged paths for us to follow.  

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
      In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
      In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

To me the poem and the phrase "Lest We Forget" have always meant not to forget the ravages of war.  I have relatives, including my father (larger picture above) who served in WW II.  My great uncle Vinal died in France in WW I.  With war, we sacrifice - our loved ones, our planet, our peace.  

Perhaps we should Remember.