Thanks to everyone who added their favourite romance movies to My Top 10 Favourite Romance Movies post.  What awesome movie selections!  My poor husband will never get near the TV now.  I’ll put together a master list on a future post so we can share everyone’s choices.  Keep the Kleenex coming!

The Bridges of Madison County still makes me weak in the knees even though I’ve watched it oh so many times.  When Francesca’s hand is gripping her husband’s truck door handle and Robert’s truck is hesitating in front of them at the green light, his red blinker flashing like a beacon, my heart is pounding louder than the rain on her husband’s windshield.  Will she take a leap of faith with her lover Robert and abandon the life she’s grown to accept?  “This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.” 

I can identify with her ambivalence.  Some days, life in my “comfortable marriage” is just that…comfortable – laundry on Mondays, grocery shopping on Wednesdays, Church on Sunday.  I love my husband and my pleasant but somewhat predictable suburbia lifestyle.  But what if one day, the very handsome man flipping through the latest bestseller beside me between the narrow bookshelves at Chapters strikes up a conversation?

“That’s a great book,”  he says casually pointing at the paperback in my hand. 
“Really?”  I answer in a nonchalant voice. 
“Yea.  I read it at the cottage last summer.  Great ending.” 
“Where’s your cottage?”  I ask while gently slipping the book back on the shelf. 
“Huntsville.  Beautiful up there.” 
“I can imagine,”  my hand flutters to my throat. 
“Hey, you put the book back?”   he says sporting a crooked smile.  “You’re missin’ a great story.  Let me buy you a coffee and I guarantee you’ll buy it.” 

Should I have coffee with him?  Would chatting with a handsome stranger about literature and life on a steamy hot summer day be so damaging?  My heart races as he brushes past me towards the end of the bookshelf where the small round tables await, a hint of Hugo Boss in the air.  What would Francesca do?

I think there’s a little heroine in all of us.  Which leading lady in your favourite romance movie best describes you?  Why?  Share your story.

Sometimes on a hot summer night, I’ll sit outside in my Muskoka chair and look up at the stars twinkling in the sky.  My mind wanders to people and places long forgotten.  A moonlit picnic on the beach.  Sipping champagne at an outdoor café.  Afternoon tea in the splendid garden of a rustic mansion.  Indulge [...]

I turned 49 last Friday and every year my parents give my brother-in-law, John (who’s birthday is 4 days before mine) and me a birthday party.  Along with the rest of the immediate family, we invite my mom’s best friend, Lesley and her husband, Don and their son, Tim who now has a lovely new [...]

Verona, Italy – the city of the most famous lovers in history, Romeo and Juliet.  Tourists flock to the tiny romantic courtyard of the House of Juliet and the hopelessly love lost send letters to Juliet looking for answers to sooth their troubled hearts.  Feelings of love twinkle on paper like stars in the heavens.  [...]

The first salad I ever made in Home Economics (remember that class, girls…I don’t know what it’s called now…Life Skills…or something) was Waldorf Salad.  There sat this creamy, no-skill-required salad right beside my prize winning pin cushion and gingham apron.  I was somewhat “domestically challenged” back then but…the Waldorf Salad…now that was my saving grace.  [...]

“The chicken might be too spicy for you, Dad.” “You think so?” “Yea, it says Cajun.” “I’ll just scrape off the sauce.” I shake my head. “What do you think Mom’s having?” He carefully places the menu on the table. “Some disgusting gruel I suppose.” He chuckles. “Hospital food all looks the same. Grey.” It’s [...]

Before you grab that prescription from your gynaecologist and dim the lights the jury is still out on the benefits of taking testosterone to increase your sex drive.  Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, Internist at the Mayo Clinic says, “testosterone therapy isn’t recommended to improve low sex drive. For women, other factors are generally more important in [...]

I find it astounding that many women still don’t make wearing sunscreen a regular part of their daily skin care routine! Buying sunscreen can be a daunting task with the shelves full of brightly coloured bottles and sprays not to mention the need for a PhD. to understand the labels!  But we have no choice.  [...]

I’m on holidays this week so I thought I’d resurrect one of my favourite posts that I’d originally written last fall.  Leave a comment if you’d like! Scammers seep into every crevice of society including online dating sites. Spotting one of these pros may not be as easy as you think. If it’s too good [...]

Historic mansions fascinate me.  When the Idlewyld Inn here in London was offering a special promotion at the London Women’s Show I couldn’t pass it up!  In 1878, this magnificent mansion was built for successful businessman Charles Smith Hyman.  His political ambitions included Mayor of London and the prestige of serving as a Cabinet Minister with Prime Minister [...]