Yup, Yup, Yup.

The water is perfect!

So Good.

The sun feels sooooooo good.

Best Places to Visit in January

If you live in a place with lots of winter, you might be ready to head to somewhere a bit warmer.  January is a good month to visit many places world wide, some quite warm and some a bit cooler.

January is the perfect time to visit Costa Rica because it is in the middle of the dry season.  There are so many outdoor activities to engage in from the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve and Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. I can tell you from personal experience that the food down there is quite good.

Another place to visit is Lima, Peru where it is the middle of summer.  There are lots of beaches, a shopping mall built into the side of a cliff, several museums, and if you choose the correct time of the month, you can participate in Foundation day, celebrating the Spanish settling in Peru.

Bogota, Columbia is suggested as a great place to visit in January.  Columbia has a reputation for drug cartels but the country has been changing and has become safer recently.  Bogota offers several museums, a chance to enjoy Columbian coffee, or pop over to Andres Carne de Res with good food, dancing, and great entertainment.

If you prefer to stay in the United States, head down to Park City, Utah to participate in the Sundance Film Festival from January 23 to February 2nd.  There are film showings, discussions, and multi-media presentations.  In addition, one can pop over to do some skiing at Deer Valley, and Park City Mountain.  There is the Utah Olympic Park from the 2002 Olympics that people can visit.

Or perhaps check out Chicago, Illinois with museums, sports teams, art, music, and comedy.  Chicago is also known for its wide variety of food from deep dish food to burgers.  The other great thing about Chicago is that the cost of hotel rooms drops significantly at this time of year.

Have you ever thought of visiting the Canary Islands?  January is the perfect time to visit since the temperatures are perfect and the architecture once you've left the flashy resorts is spectacular.  There is the Cactus amphitheater, or a home with rooms carved into lava bubbles.  This place also has a volcanic national park and an art museum where people can swim underwater.

If you live in a warm place and want to check out cold weather head up to Montreal to enjoy the Igloofest with all sorts of entrainment.  There is also wonderful French chateau architecture to enjoy and awesome food such as smoked meat sandwiches or hand rolled bagels.  If you want to snowshoe, head up to Mount Royal to enjoy the view.  When you need to warm up you can head down to the underground filled with shops, movies, and restaurants located under the downtown area.

If you could visit Panama instead of Costa Rica.  The country has two long coastlines filled with beaches.  There is a Jazz Festival hosted in Panama during January but if that isn't your thing, you could head off to visit the San Blas Islands  protected  by the Kuna tribe.  There are no hotels, only hammocks and huts. Furthermore, the capital's old quarter is being renovated.

It is usually recommended for people to visit Australia during January but with the bush fires, this is not a good place to go.  If you want to head off, look at one of these places.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Beauty Marks - Yes or No?

 Beauty is filled with styles that go in and out of fashion. At various times, a specifically placed beauty mark on the face has been important while at other times, the smooth face is preferred.

The reality is that most beauty marks found on faces are actually moles that appear but depending on the time, these might be popular enough that people placed one on their faces.

From medieval times on to the Salem Witch Trials, moles were seen as proof of the Devil having entered the body.  This is where the image of the ugly witch with the hairy mole on the over sized nose or chin came from.

At one point, society preferred the clear skin but Shakespeare loved beauty marks to the point, he often wrote about them.  Innogen from his play "Cymbeline" has a facial mole or beauty mark.  In fact, if you read his works carefully, you'll discover many of his female characters have moles or imperfections on their faces.

Sometime between Shakespeare and the 18th century, women in Britain became so enamored with moles that they used mouse fur attached to their faces but the government didn't like this idea so they out lawed the practice in 1650 but it didn't stop people. It was not only in Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries both men and women wore mouches or faux mole patches.  The word mouches is French for flies.

These mouches were used to cover up smallpox scars because smallpox raged across Europe killing both the ruling class and the commoner.  "Beauty marks" hid scars making the person look so much nicer.  These mouches became  so popular in Venice that there was a street in Venice dedicated to making them out of velvet, silk, taffeta, or leather.  These beauty marks might be made in the shape of a circle, star, heart, or half moon.

In addition, these mouches could convey information by it's placement.  Madame Du Berry, the mistress of Louis XV created a cheat sheet to decode mouches.  If the mouche was located on the cheek, it said you were a flirt but if the mouche were found near the lower lip, it said you were discrete.  Some placed the mouche on the right temple indicated the person was planning to break up with their current love.

Furthermore, it wasn't long before beauty marks signaled political choices.  If a woman placed the beauty mark on the left side of her face, it indicated she supported the Tory's while if it were placed on the right side, she supported the Whigs.

Beauty marks went out of fashion during the 1800's and recipes for getting rid of freckles and moles were abundant.  Society felt that moles were unattractive and undesirable so women did their best to get rid of them.  This attitude changed once again when Hollywood made movies which cause faces to be seen. Clara Bow and Jean Harlow were early proponents of the migrating beauty mark but  Marilyn Monroe is noted for hers but no one is sure if hers was real or drawn on.  It has been noted that her beauty mark was originally found on her lower left cheek but in 1959, it began appearing on her chin.

If you look at the stars over the decades, you'll notice there are always a few who sport the beauty mark such as Goldie Hawn, Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna, and Cindy Crawford.  Do you have a beauty mark?  I do and I'm proud of it because I'm joining several famous people.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Wigs, Wigs, Wigs, and More Wigs

 When my sister lost her hair due to chemo, she opted not to wear wigs but I know many women who do historical recreations who rely on the use of wigs to create "the perfect look".  I own a few hairpieces to fill out the look because I have super long hair and can create the basic hairstyle.

The term "wigs" comes from the term "periwig" used to describe the type of wig made famous by the return of King Charles to the throne  in 1660.  It refers to a style of wig we see worn by barristers in the English court even now.


Records indicate wigs were used as far back as Ancient Egypt.  They often shaved their heads to keep from getting lice and to stay cooler in the extreme heat.  At this point in time, wigs were made out of human hair for the highest classes, sheeps wool for middle class and vegetable fibers for the poor.  In addition, wigs protected heads from getting sunburned.  Women often decorated their wigs with braids, gold, ivory ornaments, or and hair rings while men's wigs were plain.  Those of higher social rank wore the more elaborate wigs.

Most other societies such as Greeks, Assyrians, Phoenicians  used wigs including the Romans who often made wigs using human hair from slaves.  Women in Roman society used elaborate wigs to add volume and create better hairstyles. On the other hand, societies in Asia did not use wigs except in theatrical productions or by specific specific entertainers.

The use of wigs continued in the west until medieval times when styles dictated that women cover their heads so the need for wigs decreased tremendously for a few hundred years but in the Renaissance, heads coverings disappeared and the use of wigs returned and their use became wide spread.

In England, Queen Elizabeth I loved wearing elaborate wigs and she set the style in England while King Louis XIII started the trend of using elaborate wigs in France when he began going prematurely bald and wanted to cover it up.  This caused the first wigmakers guild to form in France back in 1673 because wigs became an intricate part of fashion.  Over time, the wigs became higher and more elaborate, filled with flowers, birds, and so many other things.

Due to the demand for elaborate wigs, the number of wig makers skyrocketed in France, England, Europe, and America.  Many wigmakers traveled the country side producing wigs for the common man without the permission of the guilds.  Men wore wigs even in America but it was a shorter, less elaborate wig called a "Bob wig" in the late 18th century.

Soon after the French Revolution, wigs began fading out of popular use.  Men returned to a more natural look while many women used hair pieces to create the actual look.  Over time, the use of wigs decreased but in the early 1900's one person is given credit for using wigs to create different looks on the same models at a fashion show.  Since then, wigs how gained in popularity because they allow people to change their looks without changing their hair.

In fact, there are even places out there where you can get the perfect wig styled to your exact standards and leave with it, much like going into a beauty parlor to get it done.  Otherwise, you can visit a hair store, or order off line.

There are five things to keep in mind when buying a wig.  The first is the actual hairstyle of the wig.  Second is the length of the hair.  Do you want a short, medium, or long length.  Third is the texture of the wig.  Do you want straight, wavy, curly, or frizzy?   You might even think about style because certain styles look better with certain face shapes.  This site has a nice infographic to help you with that or you can visit the local wig store to check different ones out.

Fourth is the color of the wig.  When my sister changed to a dark hair color from being blond, she had to change her make up and even then the dark color didn't look quite right with her skin tone.  Sometimes it is not the blond or brunette, it is the shade chosen that makes the difference, so if one color doesn't work, try a different shade to see if it is better.  The last consideration is the cap size.  If the size is too small, it won't fit right and if it's too big, it may look like a wig and may not stay on right.

Not all wigs are constructed in the same way and that can effect its final look.  The ways they construct wigs are as follows:

1. 100 percent hand tied hair or hand knotted.  This type of wig is said to have the most natural look where hair moves and flows naturally.   In this wig, every strand is hand knotted to the cap and if you have sensitive skin, this is the one most often recommended because it is softer.

2. A Lace Front cap has a natural hair line.  This is the best type of wig if you like styles where hair is pulled away from your face.  In this hair is tied individually in the lace front part but not on the whole wig.  Unfortunately, this material is more delicate than others so it needs special handling and may not wear as well for an active life style but it does come ready to wear.

3. Monofilament Top Wig looks as if hair is growing naturally from the scalp at the part.  The hair is hand tied to the sheer base but not the whole cap.  This type of wig is the most popular type of wig worn and when purchasing the wig, you can choose from full top, parted, or crown areas.

4. Open Cap or Wefted Wig is the most basic of wigs.  The hair in the wig is lifted due to the teasing done at the roots before you purchase the wig.  It offers good ventilation and if you can't afford much, it offers the best wig for the dollar.

Wigs are made of either human hair or synthetic fibers.  Each has something going for it.

Human hair has the most natural look and feel.  They can be styled and can be quite durable but once you wash the hair, it does have to be restyled and tend to be the most expensive.  Synthetic hair fibers can provide a natural look and feel but they cannot be styled as well because you cannot use heat from blow dryers or curling irons unless you get one that is specifically designed for heat up to 350 degrees.

One last thing, if you buy a wig be sure to use products designed for wigs to make them last longer.  This includes shampoo, conditioner, brushes, and combs, etc.

I hope this helps you figure out if you want to indulge in a wig and if so what to consider.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.

Do Not Disturb

Do not disturb!

Cute!

So cute!