Beauty Mark? or Holy Mole-ey!!!

Angelina Jolie - Actress & Human Rights Activist

Are people with moles hotter than non mole-ey people?  Hmmmmm.  Well I did a little digging and here is what I found.  Dr Veronique Bataille, from the Twin Research Unit at King's College London, who led a study on this said: "The results are very exciting as they show, for the first time, that moley people who have a slightly increased risk of melanoma [skin cancer] may, on the other hand, have the benefit of a reduced rate of aging."  As a person with a few moles myself, I was a little concerned about the "risk of cancer" mentioned so the hypochondriac in me kicked in and I dug deeper. Thankfully, the news got much better after the mention of Melonoma.   It was actually discovered that people with moles live longer, look younger and are healthier than the average person. Well, according to the studies anyway. 

Marilyn Munroe - Actress 

Now usually I would say this is just hype but I actually know for a fact that there is some truth to this.  My grandmother who passed on the mole-ey genetics to me is 95 years old and has always been in optimum health......the woman also has more moles than I can count.  She looks a lot younger than her age though and hardly any wrinkles!  I sure do hope I inherited that gene, pretty p-l-e-a-s-e. 


When I was younger I asked about the mole on my face and my grandmother calmly informed me that my mole was a beauty mark.  And so, from that moment on I saw it as just that.  I never thought about it until very recently when I stumbled across the research done on this subject.  Seems like grandma knew this stuff already...but then, she is smart like that.

I remember when Cindy Crawford was in the height of her modeling career, she rocked the heck out of her mole.  Then guess what, women everywhere starting making moles on their faces with eye pencils and such.  So funny.  Sometimes the mole would be on the left side on the woman's face, but the next day it would be on the right side. oooopsie! 


Now I know there are people with a gazillion moles and they totally hate them.  I come from a mole-ey family so trust me, I know.   Don't let it get you down though, if you love yourself the way you are, people will pay attention to you and not your mole.  Morgan Freeman is a prime example of this.  This man has mad swag and the moles just makes him more interesting.

Morgan Freeman - Actor

Here are some celebrities who fully embrace their moles.  And if truth be told, they are not only aging slower, they are muy caliente.  Long live the mole!


Cherio!

Tamera Mowry - Actress

Eva Mendes - Actress & Model

  Enrique Iglesias

Kelly Rowland - singer



 Robert DeNiro - Actor

Janet Jackson - Singer & actress

 
 Goldie Hawn - Actress

Natalie Portman - Actress

Get Your Shine On With Chandeliers

Hall of mirrors (palace of Versailles)

There is nothing more glamorous or opulent than a beautiful chandelier.  And if there was any doubt about that, I refer you to pictures one and two in this post. And I rest my case.  If a chandelier is in a room, guess what everyone will be admiring?  The chandelier. They are bold, unapologetically amazing and drop dead gorgeous!

Call me crazy but I want a chandelier in my bathroom or in my kitchen.  Am still undecided as to which I will go with but I really like the look.  I used to want one over my bed until I pictured it falling on me as I slept.  Let's just say I got over it after that. Real fast.  In the bathroom though, it does not have to be directly over the tub (in case you're nervous about it falling).  Just place it where it can have great visual impact and get ready to be wowed!

Chandeliers usually are quite expensive so while many of us want one, due to the hefty price tag, it will most probably remain on our wish list.  It's a whole new day as far as options are concerned though.  From reproductions to purchasing used pieces, you now have many choices.  It is finally possible to have the chandelier of your dreams without sacrificing your budget.  And here are a few places where you may find chandeliers at a fraction of the price.  It requires a little tenacity and patience but it is so worth the time.

1.  Check out your local thrift store/s 

2. Garage Sales 

3. Etsy

4. Craigs List

5. lampsplus.

And there you have it lovelies, another one of my decor infatuations.  Hope this inspires you to consider chandeliers in your decorating........you won't be disappointed. Ever.

An Unconventional Love Story

When I said yes to my husband's marriage proposal, I did not have any grandiose ideas about having a big wedding or even a reception. There was only one thing I had to have, and that was a nice ring. A wedding ring to me is sacred and it represents the everlasting love between a husband and wife. Hopefully. But in addition to that, my wedding ring is what I will wear everyday "till death do us part"...... so I wanted one that I really really liked. Well because I am such a nit picker, I mean selective shopper, I ended up designing the rings myself and having them custom made.  Our jeweler did a wonderful job and I fell head over heels in love with my ring at first sight.

Then the worst thing happened two years later...I lost my ring!

I had been hiding this little dark secret from my husband for three months.  I just couldn't bear to tell him I had lost it, after all it had cost him a small fortune.  To make matters worse, I knew exactly where I had lost it and there was no hope of ever retrieving it.  You see, I had lost it in the ocean. Way out in the sea where Jaws and his crew hang out......probably.  It was only a matter of time before my husband figured out the real reason why I had not been wearing my ring and I was beside myself......and out of valid excuses.

Well, the very next day my mom and brother came for a visit and I got this sudden urge to go to the beach and collect shells.  I love beach combing so why not?  My brother on the other hand could care less and refused to go with me. For some strange reason though, my mother and I relentlessly begged him to go with us until he got sick of us and gave in.  (To this day I find this quite strange since it is out of character on both sides.)  When we got to the beach the tide was low, so low you could walk out about a quarter of a mile on the sand banks which my brother did by himself.  Mom and I stayed closer to shore picking up beach goodies, there was so much beautiful shells to choose from that day.

getty images

 All of a sudden, my brother who was out so far he looked relatively smaller, starting yelling.  My mother and I rushed to see what was wrong.  He seemed quite excited, he was waving frantically at us and jumping around. When we got within earshot of him, he was grinning ear to ear.  "I found something he said."  What is it?, I asked eager to see.  He slowly opened his hand and there nestled in his palm was my ring.  The one I had lost three months ago in the ocean.  My mom recognized it instantly and asked me "Wan, isn't that your ring?"  All I could do was gulp.

Turns out my ring somehow serendipitously reappeared out of the abyss after three months in strong sea currents and miles of shifting sand. My brother finding it equates to finding a needle in a hay stack. He said he saw a small beam of light emanating from the sand out of the corner of his eye.  Those were his exact words. Trust me, I am still in awe of this, I mean what?!!!  That beach is huge, plus the ring was buried under 15-25 feet of ocean for months.  What are the chances....and my brother had almost stayed at home too. All the planets had to be aligned just right for this to have happened, and they had. To this day, I just call it what it was. A miracle. My husband and I love each other so very much and our rings are a symbol of that love.  Maybe that is why it found it's way back to me.  Back to us. ...well that is what I believe anyway.

Since this incident, I wish I could tell you I never lost it again but I did lose it once after that nine years later.  And you know what, it found me again under very strange/unlikely circumstances. Call me crazy but in my sixteen years of marriage, because of the times I lost my ring, it is even more precious to me.  It is so true that you never realize the value of something until you lose it.....even if only temporarily.  I realize now that it is not the cost of the ring that matters so much to me but the cause of the ring.  It's all about love. And so lovelies, today on Valentine's day I wish you love.

Cherio!

Are You Ready For This!

About a month ago I on a whim entered a major gallery showing.  It was competition based so my sketches/ideas had to beat out numerous competitors to qualify. I sent the sketches and forgot about....that is until I got an email saying I had made the cut!  O. M. G!!!!  

And so, just like that I had a life changing opportunity in my hands.  I was so happy to finally have a major platform to express my heart through something that I love so much.  Art.   But then, I starting looking at the formidable competitors and envisioning what they might be bringing to the table and the more I did that, the more nervous and apprehensive I got.  My ideas were not coming together properly and the ones I did like soon became "not good enough".  I was second guessing myself and it was getting me nowhere.

The back and forth and vacillation between excited and overwhelmed continued until my son put an end to it.  He looked me dead in the eye and informed me "you gat this mom!".......gave me a big hug and and walked off.  Well, turns out that was all I needed.  After that I had fire in my eyes.   No matter what happened I was going to create something amazing. Something I can be proud of. 

 The first piece I made took a whole day to make but it was a little off so I scrapped it and started over from scratch.  I did not let it get me down, I just knew I could do better....... and I will.  At the moment I am working on two of the three pieces required for the show and everything is coming together quite nicely.  I am started to get excited now because I can envision/see the final product......the finish line.  I will probably have a Steve Urkel moment at the end, like "Did I do that???!" but in a really good way.  I am going to make sure of that.  

Well, back to work I go but I will be posting the pictures here when everything is finished.  Have a beautiful weekend everyone.

Cherio!

And The Winner Is....

Wowza! I won another award.  This time, it's the One Lovely Blog Award.

This award is personal and only given to a few bloggers,

to encourage each other to keep up the good work!

The three guidelines:

1) Thank the person who nominated you

2) Nominate your favorite blogs and notify them

3) Share a few things about yourself

Many thanks to Socal Tess of inlovebythebeach

I am so honored to be chosen for this award!

Here are the lovely blogs I'm passing this wonderful award on to:

accidentallywonderful.

lauriescharmingdesigns.blogspot.com
jeffnbecky.blogspot.com

middleageramblings.blogspot
dukebecky

A few things about me:

1) I would rescue every homeless dog I met if I could. A few years ago I rescued a dog and then two puppies.... I have a very soft spot for animals, especially dogs.

2) I am loyal to a fault in my friendships and personal relationships and will give chance after chance but when it's over, it is over.  I am a christian so I am working on that.

3) I love anything lemon flavored.  I don't know why but my taste buds really appreciate the flavor.

4)  I am a strong woman but I am soft spoken.  I love peace and hate petty arguments and drama of any kind.

5)  I am married to the love of my life.

Well There you have it ! Once again a heart felt thank you goes out to SoCal Tess for passing on this award to me and be sure to check out the awesome blogs posted here. You're gonna love em!

Cherio!