the fresh perspective...

Hot Holidays! Are you setting off to a warmer climate this winter season?  Are you prepared for the changes that the heat will do to your hair and skin?  As you pack up your bikinis and sunscreen, make sure not to forget the products that protect your hair, skin and nails.  Leaving an extremely cold climate to an extreme warm one is lovely for your hair/skin/nails when you're on your way, but as you return??

Try a deep conditioner on the last few days of your hot holiday.  This will help prepare your hair for the impending cold.  Even your skin and nails could benefit from a moisture overhaul just before you board your plane back home.  Most hair products are available in travel size, and a bottle of cuticle oil can be brought along in your carry on!  The flight is great time to use cuticle oil, put in on and relax while you fly.  Make sure you pop in to the shop to pick up some products before you head out!  That's the fresh perspective...

Wordless Wednesdays

BOGO! Buy one product and get the other 30% off.  ALL DAY.

Monday Morning Recipe

Best ever cheese ball I'm not sure how many of you are getting your Christmas on by planning early, but I am one of those types that gets things going sooner than later so I don't have to deal with ANYTHING in December.  This recipe for a cheese ball is easy and delicious.  It's a sweet cheese spread and, in my opinion, pairs well with a buttery cracker like Ritz.

INGREDIENTS

-1 Brick of cream cheese

-2 Cups shredded old cheddar (orange)

-2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

-2 Tablespoons old port

-1/2 cup chopped roasted pecans

-2 Tablespoons maple syrup

-1/4 Teaspoon orange zest

Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.  Place pecans in naked frying pan (don't add oil or butter) on medium heat and cook until browned and fragrant.  Take them off the stove and let cool.  Meanwhile place cream cheese in medium size bowl.  Add shredded cheddar, cranberries, port, and zest.  Mix well.  Roll into ball, wrap in plastic and chill.  When ready to serve, roll the ball in the pecans to cover the surface.  When your guests arrive, pour the syrup over the ball.

This cheese ball is a little sweet but because of its simple ingredients you can eliminate the syrup or even the cranberries.  The choice is yours.  So if you're a Christmas keener like me, you might have your menu planned already.  If not, maybe this little appetizer can get you going.  If that doesn't work, just know that there are 5 Saturdays left till the 25th.  That's right, I'm that guy with the constant reminding.... :)

Peace

the fresh perspective...

Winter is coming We're almost there folks.  Almost submerged in the freezer-like winter.  What have you done to prepare yourself for this?  Did you pull out all your winter clothes?  Did you dig out that toque?  I have just purchased some waterproof winter gloves.  This is different for me  because I'm a leather glove kinda lady.  Apart from being a leather glove kinda lady, I also loathe the cold.  The leather, simply isn't cutting it anymore.  It isn't warm enough and they stiffen in the extreme cold.

While we are all going to be thinking of ways to keep our bodies warm while looking stylish in a parka, let us not forget about our hair, skin, and nails.  The temperatures we're about to face can be really damaging to our hair, skin, and nails trio.  Are you prepared?  Got your cuticle oil already? How about a hair treatment to do every two weeks while the snow falls?  Maybe a once a month scrub down with a body scrub?  Don't forget about our trio being exposed to the temperatures and winds.  Prepare yourself.  Get ready.  That's the fresh perspective...

A poem for your thoughts

If

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same:. If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss: If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much: If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

the fresh perspective...

The Pencil Skirt Maybe it's because I saw some leaves on the ground or maybe it's cause I've been binge watching SUITS.  Fall is coming and the pencil skirt is... Well, the pencil skirt is so sexy, feminine and practical.  Most body types can work this skirt but depending on your physique you may need to ALWAYS wear heels to make the look complete.

The image above is a lady without heels but because of her body type, it works.  If you're a little thick in the middle or very short stemmed, the sneakers may not be the best way to go.  If you have a very small waist and some curves, then the pencil skirt can work to your advantage.  The image below has the skirt belted to show how sleek this look can be and to highlight the smallness of her waist.

August is almost over and while you're thinking of your new fall hair, what about your new fall wardrobe?  You the pencil skirt type?  Would you ever try one?  As fast as the summer started, it's almost done and as someone who ADORES the hot sun, I love fall.  I love layers and sweaters and wool.  I love boots and toques and vests.  As soon as I can get my baby belly under control I'm going to purchase a few pencil skirts to add to my fall wardrobe and channel my inner Jessica Pearson...  That's the fresh perspective...