Okay, I”ll admit this picture is far from perfect but the day meant so much to me.

Imagine, there I was just this past March  in my little blue Hyundai accent rental car, driving all the way down the west coast of sunny Florida selling my julz!  My heart was racing and palms were sweating, this was the USA!  Untouched territory for me!  All of the store owners I met with had just pulled themselves out of a brutal recession and I had no idea how they were going to respond to a Canadian girl flogging her julz!

Much to my surprise with each appointment I was greeted with the warmest and friendliest “Hello Darlin'”.  These people were incredible, still going strong, able to hold on to their businesses that they had worked so hard to build.  It was so inspiring to meet with them all and listen to their enthusiasm and true love for what they were doing.

Personally I  felt so welcomed and supported by the Floridians.  I was so appreciative of their time and their genuine interest in what I was offering them.

This picture of me was taken in Key West, at the most southern point of North America, only 90 miles from Cuba.  I was half way through my travels at this point and had successfully sold to several boutiques along the stunning shorelines of the Gulf of Mexico.

I came home on such a high and then boom!  Disaster struck for my new friends in the sunny south!

The oil spill feels so tragic to all of us, how do people survive these disasters?  How could I have just been there a few short months ago and everything was so peaceful and serene.  Sparkling water, gorgeous sunshine, pelicans sailing above me greeting me as I passed through every Key.  It all seems so unfair.

I suppose we need to trust.  Trust that all of the people working on this disaster are doing there very best and that our Floridians and fellow Americans will be taken care of by their government.  With each disaster or misfortune we need to believe that good things will come in abundance.

I truly believe that this man made disaster will be a turning point for all of us earthlings, we will pay even more attention to one another and this beautiful planet that we roam on.  We will be gentle and kind and put our greed aside.  It’s time to clean up more that just the oil spill.  We need to clean up our interpretations of what our planet has to offer and be gentle.  We will do it!  It’s time!

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone that attended our Open House for Mother’s Day shopping last Thursday!  It was a big success and we really appreciate you sparkling up your Mom’s wardrobe’s with our julz!

I feel so honoured to have so many wonderful people around me that support my business and have been with me since the beginning.  One of those people is a local TV celebrity that all of you know.  Annette Hamm from CH Morning Live.  Annette is so gracious and a real star!  Annette attends all of our events and proudly wears her glamjulz on her show just about every morning!  It means so much to me!  Annette loves to promote local business people and has always invited me for regular appearances on the show!

On Friday we drew the raffle for my newest convertible necklace design and Annette was the winner!  She’s going to look so fabulous in the necklace, be sure to tune into CH morning live to see Annette wearing her new julz!

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

Last night my hubby and I went to see Craig Ferguson at Massey Hall!  What a fantastic night!  We laughed until our bellies ached, although we kinda do that everyday anyway!  We are all about the humour.

It was so fantastic to be there last night, it was a beautiful spring evening and we arrived early so we hit the lounge at Massey Hall.  All of the concerts that I have been to over the years I never even knew they had a lounge downstairs. It was perfect, kinda felt like going to a friend’s basement party in highschool.  They had a fantastic photo gallery of all of the performers with Autographs and beautiful collages showcasing write ups and reviews of Massey Hall’s performances dating back as far as 1853.  It felt so wonderful to read the old reviews and see what was happening in our big beautiful city back in the good old days.  I am so proud to live in Canada and Toronto is such a fantastic city, taking time to relish in our history made me realize again how lucky we are to live here!

I want to thank all of the fans, family and friends that came out to the Spring One of A Kind Show!  We had a great time seeing you all and a few of you even left your cottage weekend early to come and support your Canadian Artisans!  That’s so amazing!

Usually after I am done the show I veg for the day…….like I REALLY become one with the couch….curtains drawn, Love Boat and Three’s Company re-runs and I am re-energized!

Today was different, I slept in and was greeted by beautiful sunshine coming into our bedroom window.  I could not wait to get outside!  I puttered around in my PJ’s for a while and then treated myself to a wonderful pedicure and got a foot massage!  Ahhhhh!  Hit Longo’s, my most favourite grocery store and loaded up in the produce section and treated myself to some beautiful candy-striped carnations, my Mom’s favourite flower.

Gonna cook up some beautiful steaks tonight and continue to enjoy this glorious day!  Wayne is out with the boys tonight so a chick flick will also be a definite MUST!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I am enjoying this beautiful Monday!

Thanks for being the BEST fans I could ever have!

Talk about fun!  Here I am meeting with a bride to be.  Rachel, owner of the White Sands Inn in Marathon, Florida.  Right in the heart of the Florida Keys.

We are creating a beautiful multi-strand crystal a pearl necklace for Rachel and then we are leaving space on the necklace where she is going to hang shells that she had collected over the years.  I can’t wait to see Rachel on our Bridal page!  What a great idea!

I returned from Florida last week and it’s great to be back.  Spring is here and we could feel the excitement of it last week as brides were coming in one after the other to get their julz for their special day.

Thanks to all of you brides for including us in your wedding plans!  We love to add the sparkle to your special day!

Hey what do you think of this?  My brand new corner office on the most southern point of North America!  That’s right!  Key West.  Okay so this is a slight exaggeration……not really my new corner office but I could not resist taking a picture.  I have been in glorious Florida for over a week now.  Proving to myself that anything and everything is possible. 

Over the years I have personally contemplated participating in big trade shows here in the US to promote glamjulz.  Maybe an opportunity in the future, but right now the idea just does not sit well with me. 

This is where my brain is at:

Hey, instead of paying thousands of dollars on a trade show and sitting inside a stuffy conference room with no windows why not do something completely different!  I know……I will do some research on-line…find some cool stores, make appointments and drive across Florida showing my julz! 

OMG!!! It worked….. 5 days later, a fantastic sun-tan and lots of sightseeing squeezed in, I have picked up stores from Tampa to Key West all for about 1/10 of the cost of participating in a trade show….I hate to brag but I feel pretty brilliant right now as I am entering my blog, sipping on a Pina Colada,  intoxicated by the atlantic blue ocean(or maybe that’s the Pina Colada) and looking forward to tomorrow morning’s appointment in Key West! 

Ahhhhhh…isn’t life amazing when we think outside of the box?

There is nothing quite like an old friend.  The ones that you have known since you were a child.  Here I am with two of my oldest friends up in the Muskoka’s.  Katherine in the middle and Dawn on the far right.  I am so fortunate to have these two special girls in my life.  All three of us are powerfully succeeding in our New Year’s resolutions.  Katherine and I power walk every morning at 6:30am, rain or shine! We are out there becoming one with the elements!  Dawn and I are totally committed to Hot Yoga and learning how to train our bodies and minds to be at their optimum potential.  I am so proud of the three of us!

We can all do it!  Just get out there and have some fun!

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that you are all inspired and ready to hit 2010 with a bang!  I love this time of year….making my resolutions and feeling the power that I have to achieve the goals that I set for myself.  It’s quite amazing.

I have noticed in the last year, turning 40 probably has a lot to do with it, I am not as keen on “the gym” anymore.  The flourescent lights, the noise and rigorous exercise just don’t have the same appeal to me as they once did.

I have a couple of dear friends that have encouraged me to try Yoga and I always rejected the idea thinking that it was not “challenging” enough for me.  Was I wrong?  Oh yeah!  This evening I participated in my 3rd Hot Yoga class here in Burlington at Moksha Yoga.  Wow! Wow! Wow!  I get it now.  My body feels amazing, my limbs feel lengthened, and any back pain I had seems to have magically gone away.  If feel light as a feather and stress free, I even feel like I am looking at life from a different angle because my brain is so well rested from the wonderful breathing exercises.

Now I get why men and women of all ages are flocking to hot yoga.  I think it’s going to make the world a better place.

Namaste

Wow!  glamjulz fans are the BEST!  We raised $3,000 for children’s toys this year!  You all got on board and bought these earrings for yourself and your loved ones and we are so thankful!  I knew that these would be a big hit as soon as my hubby, Wayne, came up with the design!  He was right, “Stars are cool and can be enjoyed all year round, not just for Christmas!” He truly amazes me, the guy really does know what women want!

Wayne and I really enjoyed the whole process, launching the Starz and then getting the amazing response from all of you.  Buying the toys was so wonderful.  We were able to buy some really great things like, an acoustic guitar, Monoply, Scrabble, an Easy Bake oven, the list goes on and on….we also took some of the money to sponsor two families for Christmas and make sure that their children had toys too!

Wayne and I are both very passionate about Children and Teens in need receiving gifts for Christmas.  It is important to us that we take the time to give them as much as we can.  We are so lucky to have supportive families and friends and a full schedule over the holidays surrounded by people we love exchanging wonderful gifts.  Everyone deserves that good feeling.  This seems to be the time of year that we can do it. We hope that in doing so we will provide hope and the opportunity for a great future for these kids.

We never could have done it with all of you.  Thank you for all of your support!  We have the best customers on the planet!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of the friends, family and fans that came out to support us at the Christmas One of A Kind Show.

It was so wonderful to see you all.  The show was a fun filled 11 days.  It was so great to connect with all of you and get your positive feedback on our new designs and colours for the season.

I will now be back in the studio taking calls and answering emails to fulfill all of your Christmas requests!

I am so grateful for the wonderful show that we had, thank you for loving glamjulz and making all of this success possible!