Here we go!
1. Sidi Boo Said is known as a town full of artists. The area is painted mainly in blue and white. It reminded me of Greece. I loved the cafés, cobblestone streets, and of course, the amazing view of the Mediterranean.
2. View from the café, not too shabby for a work trip
3. I love elaborate doors. Especially turquoise ones.
4. Walking on the cobblestone streets of Sidi Boo Said. It was pretty stunning.
5. There was no Starbucks that I saw while in Tunisia. However, I did come across "Angel Bucks" Café...
6. Le Ribat Monastir, an Islamic fortress, is the oldest ribat built by the Arab conquerors during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. It's totally intact and spectacular.
7. Interior view of the Ribat. Fun fact, this landmark appeared in a couple of movies including Jesus of Nazareth and Life of Brian.
8. Mural walking through Monastir
9. When you go up all the stairs in the Ribat you overlook the Mediterranean Sea.
10. Tunisian ex president Habib Bourguiba was born in Monastir, and his mansion is still located in the city as a museum. You can see why he never left with these views.
11. The Bourguiba mausoleum is a monumental grave in Monastir, containing the remains of former president Habib Bourguiba, the father of Tunisian independence. Here I am in the large square in front of the site.
Pokète's idea for hidden pocket wearables, was born out of my love for exploring different places and cultures.
Do you have an interesting trip you want to document in a quick photo diary? I'd love to share it on the blog.
I hope to hear from you soon to share your travel adventures too.
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There's TONS of articles about vision boards out there and I don't think it's an exact science, but by putting what you want from many aspects of your life up on a board that you see everyday, it can help you manifest these intentions. You can use clippings from magazines, images that you like in articles on the internet, quotes... anything can be used. It's YOUR vision board!
The areas I focused on for mine were:
Here's what I did: I found a few quotes or images that would inspire me and remind me of these aspirations for each one of these areas of my life and put it on the board. My vision board sits on my desk behind my computer and I look at it often. That's key, you want it to be in a place you look at regularly so it will remind you to take action.
Does it work? I think so, and so do many other people. What I love about it is that it's not simply focused on one aspect of my life. It encompasses a lot of different elements, so i can feel successful about something everyday.
Sometimes I look up and say "MAN I should really move..." and the vision board has magically inspired me to go take a Peloton class mid-day. Sometimes I look at the friends images and I pick up the phone and call a girlfriend and so on.
I'd love to see what your vision board looks like, send it to me.
xo
Andy
]]>I was diagnosed as a young teenager with Keratoconus. It's a progressive eye condition causing the cornea to thin and become shaped like a cone instead of a spherical basketball, resulting in light refracting all wonky. This causes vision to be blurry, can make you see double, and night time is a nightmare with impossible to navigate halos. I used to say I turn in to a pumpkin when the sun goes down. I put in some photos so you can better understand how people with KC see the world.
Really unfocused...
My mom has KC and so does my sister. I wasn't very concerned when I was diagnosed, I mean, my mom's eyes weren't too bad if that's what my future had in store for me. She wore soft lenses and never really complained about it. No big deal.
As years passed, I got away with wearing very high prescription glasses. Night driving was awful, and to be fair probably quite dangerous, but I did it anyways as my eye doctor never told me I couldn't. Hard lenses would have corrected my vision better, but I had a terrible phobia of anything in/near my eyes, so this was out of the question. For example, even makeup artists could not apply mascara to me. How on earth would I manage hard contact lenses? So I continued with my sub par but passable glasses.
I was shocked to learn in my mid twenties that KC is really not the same for all people. For most, it's a nuisance and essentially entails the same treatment as anyone with a severe astigmatism. But, for a small percentage of people, it can become debilitating. That was what was happening to me. I was finding it more difficult to ski as I could no longer see the terrain. I decided to give up night driving as I was terrified I'd hurt someone or myself. I had to read everything closer and closer to my face. I couldn't recognize someone until they were directly in front of me. No more reading books or magazines. Too hard. I just ordered whatever other people ate at restaurants because I couldn't see the menu anymore. The list went on of what I could no longer do. My now husband was surprised at how well I was able to hide my vision impairment by making small adaptations that many people wouldn't even notice.
The eye doctor told me if I wore hard lenses I'd be able to see again. I decided my loss of vision was so severe, I'd have to do something about it, even if I was terrified of anything near my eyes. I went through months of behavioral therapy to get over my fear of being fitted for these lenses and having to poke my eyes daily. Thank god I did that.
When I finally went in to be evaluated for these specialty contact lenses, I was then informed my eyes could no longer be corrected. Essentially no prescription glasses or contact lenses would improve the vision at all. There was only one option left, a cornea transplant. Taking the cornea from a deceased cadaver and sewing it in place to the patient, me. I spent close to a year in therapy to get accustomed to the idea of wearing contact lenses, how on earth was I ever going to go through with this? Oh, and on this same day was told my vision was no longer legal to drive. I was considered legally blind.
I cried. A lot. I was terrified of the surgery and at the prospect of not seeing. I was lucky to be working for my family business at the time and lived close to my parents. My mother drove me to work everyday. I parked my car and left it at the office since I didn't know if I'd be allowed to drive again. My then fiancée (now hubby), guided me when we walked and told me when there was a crack in the road and helped me on stairs since my depth perception was so poor. It was a strange time to be living as a legally blind person when I'd been able to see not long ago.
I made up my mind that I would put myself on the waiting for a transplant. The surgery has an extremely high success rate which helped reduce my anxiety slightly. My options were to see blobs forever or have a really high chance of actually seeing the world around me again. I wanted to see again more than my fear.
The surgery went smoothly and although I had bouts of extreme pain during recovery, I saw again. Really quickly. The day after my transplant I took off my bandage as I was instructed to do. I was alone in my bathroom, and I looked in the mirror thinking I'd look like Frankenstein. I had visions that there would be blood oozing out of my eyeball literally. Instead, it was crystal clear and looked like a normal healthy eye. The first thing I noticed was wrinkles. Man I looked old! In fairness, I hadn't really seen clearly since I was 14 and was at the time 31. It made me smile. The vision fluctuated but continued to improve over the course of the year. It was so exciting to see again. I saw license plates and kept reading them out loud as a challenge. I woke up one morning and noticed my husband had freckles. They were all over his arms, I had no idea. I saw the dust in the corners of my house. I saw lots of details and all were amazing.
There are ups and downs with a cornea transplant. Mostly ups. I still suffer from light sensitivity. There's a chance of rejection forever. I still have stiches in my eye and sometimes they break requiring immediate attention from my surgeon. When the stiches are adjusted it can affect my vision. This week, a stich popped, and now I no longer even need glasses to see 20/20! I'm so lucky and grateful that I can see again.
My company Pokète is thanks to my regained independence and my love for seeing the world, exploring, and enjoying everyday adventures close to home.
If you ever thought about signing the back of your Medicare Card to become an organ donor, I hope my experience is a reminder of how beautiful it can be for a possible recipient.
xo
Andy
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The clothes are minimalist, efficient, chic, and trendy for you to run your errands smoothly. No one wants to miss life’s small moments just because they lost their keys.
When was the last time you didn’t feel the need to carry anything in your hands? Your hands were actually free ?
And by free, I mean no cell phone, car keys, glasses, meds, wallet, or anything else.
My guess is you don’t remember because it has been too long. With our busy and scheduled life, there is always something you are carrying, and if it’s not in your hand, you have probably forgotten it somewhere.
The Japanese have given us many things that we are thankful for. It seems this time it won’t be any different. One mile wear seems to be the next big thing in the fashion industry. A trend that is slowly gaining popularity.
Pokète wasn't intended to fall into this "one mile wear" trend, but we are thrilled it does! All of our styles have been created to be practical, timeless and effortlessly chic. Oh, and there's hidden pockets with zippers so you can actually go on those errands hands free.
Put all your essentials in your scarf pocket, zip it up, and you are ready to go, still looking stylish. Gamechanger!
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With lockdown going on for week number 7048 I decided to have a chat with Kim L'Ecuyer, a registered holistic nutritionist, to give us a quick and versatile recipe idea for our families. We discuss how to make it affordably, store it conveniently, and creative ways we can use pesto to get in those leafy greens. It's a new take on fast food! If you ran out of healthy food ideas for your family a long time ago, check this video out.
Drop your email to see Kim's Powerhouse Pesto being made!!
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Click here to see article: Heavy Purse Syndrome
]]>Click here to see article: Heavy Purse Syndrome
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Women’s pockets can be identified as an issue in gender politics, women’s history and the clothing industry. You can read more about it in this informative article about the history of women and pockets.
Click here to read article: The Weird Complicated Sexist History of Pockets
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Women’s pockets can be identified as an issue in gender politics, women’s history and the clothing industry. You can read more about it in this informative article about the history of women and pockets.
Click here to read article: The Weird Complicated Sexist History of Pockets
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