Fashion Friday - Sunglasses!

 

With my sunglasses on, I'm Jack Nicholson. Without them, I'm fat and 60.
- Jack Nicholson

No trip to the beach is complete without the perfect pair of sunglasses.   Even Jack Nicholson knows that sunglasses are far more than just protection for the eyes.  Sunglasses show your style; they can instantly add the cool factor or make you look glamorous.  

 

 

For years I preferred the classic Ray-Ban Aviators because my dad, who was a pilot, wore them.   I can’t fly a plane to save my life, but I loved channeling the “Top Gun” dare-devil look. 

I was never able to pull-off the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, but it remains a popular look; thanks in part to Jake and Elwood a/k/a  “The Blues Brothers”.  

 

I could never “rock” the Jackie O look either, but I understand the appeal of an oversized pair of shades.  No make-up is necessary; just don a big pair of designer (or knock-off) sunglasses and you’re good to go.

Lately, I’ve been purchasing cheap sunglasses from a kiosk in the Mall; too many of my good sunglasses have been dropped, scratched, bent, and even run over with my car.  My latest favorites are a pair of Tory Burch look-alikes -- great shape; tortoise frames.   As soon as I put them on, I get an extra spring in my step.  With a great pair of “shades” I am ready to hit the beach and feel warm sunshine on my face and in my eyes.   

    

 

Ahhh . . . another week ended.  I love lazy Saturdays and Sundays.  I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather, wherever you are. 



Expanding the Roots, Advanced Workshop for Artists

As some of you know, I occasionally post on the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens blog.  Here is my latest post:  Expanding the Roots, Advanced Workshop for Artists

Fantasy Beach Trip

Well, it's another rainy day in Richmond, so today is Fantasy Beach Trip Day!  Yes, today I'll plan a trip to a beach that I've never visited.  First stop, Hawaii . . .

 

My first few days will be spent lounging in a hammock by the ocean,

while I sip exotic drinks with names like "Blue Hawaii".

 

When I'm good and rested, I'll visit the "Big Island" and tour Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  I will tour the Kilauea Volcano and see where the lava flows dramatically into the sea.

 

I will also visit a Coffee Plantation and enjoy fresh roasted Kona coffee!  Then I'll visit the island of Maui and maybe even stay at the Marriott Maui, where they have a waterfall in their swimming pool.

 

If I'm lucky, I'll be there during the Lantern Festival!  (Looks a bit like the movie Tangled  :)

 

I'll visit the top beaches on different islands, like Kauai . . .

Maybe someday . . .

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Beaches . . .

It's a grey, rainy day here in Virginia, so I've been thinking about my favorite beaches!   I used to live in Florida, so some of my favorite beaches are in "the sunshine state".  If I could be anywhere else today, I would pick Sanibel Island, right off the coast of Ft. Myers in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sanibel has many features that I love about Florida -- white sand, aqua water, colorful flowers and palm trees, bright blue skies, bike paths, and, most important, warm sunshine!

Someday, I hope to visit more beaches in the US and even make it to Hawaii.  What about you?  What are your favorite beaches?  Where do you dream of going?    

I don't usually pass along news stories, but the idea of a message in a bottle fascinates me.  I'd love to find one, or perhaps set one adrift myself.

"A Scottish fisherman has set a Guinness World Record by recovering the oldest-known message in a bottle, besting the previous record by more than five years.
Sailing the vessel “Copious,” skipper Andrew Leaper, 43, discovered the bottle floating east of the Shetland Islands off the northern coast of Scotland. It was set adrift more than 98 years ago in June 1914 by Capt. CH Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation, the BBC reported.
Guinness World Records has confirmed that the bottle is, in fact, the oldest ever recovered.
Yet those hoping for a dramatic message from a desperate seafarer or marooned sailor will likely be disappointed with the near century-old message.
“Please state where and when this card was found, and then put it in the nearest Post Office,” the message reads. “You will be informed in reply where and when it was set adrift. Our object is to find out the direction of the deep currents of the North Sea.”
According to the BBC, the bottle was one of 1,890 research bottles that were designed to sink in order to map the ocean currents surrounding Scotland. Thus far, only 315 of them have been returned.
Coincidentally, the bottle that held the previous world record was found by a friend of Leaper’s who was sailing the exact same ship.
“It was an amazing coincidence that the same Shetland fishing boat that found the previous record-breaking bottle six years ago also found this one. It’s like winning the lottery twice,” said Leaper in a statement posted on the Scottish Government website.
Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead lauded the find in the same statement.
“It’s amazing that nearly 98 years on, bottles are still being returned to the Marine Laboratory – and in such fantastic condition,” he said.
Aside from requesting the finder record the details of the discovery, the postcard inside the bottle also promises a reward of sixpence. Unfortunately for Leaper, that particular coin no longer exists."

Labor Day

Labor Day always marks the end of summer for me . . . (yes, I know the official end of summer comes on Sept. 21 with the Autumn Equinox) but for me Labor Day is the end of summer.  When I was growing up in Ohio we always started school the Tuesday after Labor Day, and it is the same here in Virginia.  It's a bittersweet moment . . . knowing that the alarm clocks will go off early tomorrow and the bustle of the school year will begin.  Our lazy, hazy days will recede into memory. 

For this blog, it will become more difficult to keep that beach feeling with me as Autumn rolls around.  I will just have to take some time out of my day to play some Jimmy Buffett, pour a Margarita, and pretend there is sand between my toes.