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50 Fun Facts About Me

    I once rode an elephant in Thailand. Together with my husband, I opened and owned a used bookstore in Vancouver for 3 years. My maiden name is Wallace…as in William Wallace aka Braveheart. Growing up (way before Mel Gibson made the movie), my father had our family crest displayed on the wall in our front hall, bearing the clan motto Pro Libertate...as in “they can take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”  I have taken two sabbaticals in the UK –  one before having kids, and one when our first son was 4 years old.… Read the rest

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about me, bucket list, chasing dreams, fun facts, life, travel

The Journey of Motherhood (in GIFs)

Over on my YMC blog this week, I posted a piece called The Journey Of Motherhood. It’s a story told in GIFs (you know, those little looping video snippets?). And I have to tell you, I had a total blast putting it together. Giggled my way through the making of it, in fact. I’m hoping it can bring a similar smile to your face.… Read the rest

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blogging, for fun, GIFs, happiness, humor, laughter, mommyness, motherhood, yummy mummy club

100 Things I Love

I’ve seen a few people do this on their blogs, and I decided it was time to try it myself. In completely random order, here are 100 things I love: Good coffee Paris Yoga Going to the movies Getting up early when the house is dark and quiet Wine Train travel The soundtrack to Out Of Africa Dark chocolate with sea salt Nail polish Pinterest The sound of spoken Italian Sangria Running A man in a well-cut suit The airport Being a mom Writing Egg cups Bookstores High heeled shoes James Bond The rain New York City A warm fireplace on a cold night Olives Spending half an hour finding the exact right word Having the exact right word come to me like a bolt from the sky The smell of freshly cut grass Dresses Travel The head massage while my hairdresser is shampooing my hair The English countryside Cream tea Going to the ballet The fall The color pink Five star hotels European history Indiana Jones Vineyards Downton Abbey Goodreads The smell of lavender Popcorn People who wink, and not in a creepy way Boots Raspberries African safaris The sound of the ocean Gelato Sunset with a glass of wine Sunrise with a cup of coffee Martinis NFL on Sundays Good thin crust pizza Dancing Parisian croissants Dry humor Songza Christmas Open air markets A clean kitchen Twitter London Paper Lipgloss TV/radio announcers with rich, gravelly voices Eating in restaurants The feel of freshly washed sheets Bubble baths Singing in the car Caffe affogato (hot espresso poured over vanilla gelato) Thunderstorms Sushi The sound of my kids laughing A heartfelt compliment Grocery shopping The word quintessence The moment of departure on an adventure The feeling of returning home Cheese Writing in a coffee shop for hours Tuscany Reading a great first line in a book Umbrellas Shakespeare French fries Van Halen The BBC Making lists Dressing up Music from the 80s Tulips Handmade Mother’s Day gifts Brunch Libraries Caprese salad (ripe tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, balsamic) The movie Moulin Rouge Chasing dreams… Read the rest

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books, coffee, food, for fun, happiness, indulgences, life, writing

Best Heist Movies

A few weeks ago I did a post comparing original heist movies and their remakes (Ocean’s Eleven, The Italian Job, and The Thomas Crown Affair). Today, I’m expanding things to include heist movies in general. As a forewarning, it’s a pretty eclectic list. To Catch A Thief To Catch A Thief Where I live, this 1955 classic is going to be re-released onto the big screen next month (maybe where you live too?), and I’m pretty excited about that.… Read the rest

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a beautiful heist, book launch, countdown, fiction, film, heist movies, movies

Top 10 Kickass Female Protagonists

Books and movies are full of ass-kicking male heroes (James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher…I could go on…) and I love them, I do, but what about the women? The damsel-in-distress type has her own charms, of course, but how about some of the ladies who take a rather more active approach to saving her own hide?  The heroine of my novel A Beautiful Heist is a regular girl next door–a little bit Bridget Jones, a little bit Carrie Bradshaw–but she also has a serious tough side to her, and can kick some major butt when she needs to.… Read the rest

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a beautiful heist, book launch, books, countdown, female protagonists, fiction, film, for fun, heroines, movies, top 10, writing

Famous Diamonds Of The World

There’s something about diamonds that has held people spellbound for centuries. Personally, I think some of that fascination comes from a diamond’s inherent paradox: that something so gorgeous and decorative could also be incredibly durable and hard. That something so sparkly and glamorous was hewn from the earth itself. Little wonder the most spectacular specimens, the rarest and finest diamonds, have attracted nothing but mystery, death, and intrigue.… Read the rest

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a beautiful heist, book launch, books, countdown, diamonds, fiction, for fun, indulgences, jewelry, publishing, writing