Hello! I’m Michelle Forman. I chat about things I love, things I wonder about and things I’m living through (like mid-life).
Yes, I’ve been known to comment on the weather, often with enthusiastic arms waving and wide eyes.
But it’s conversations about treasures I’ve found, favourite places and things, or facts that people might never guess about me that make connections fun.
This post is meant as a conversation starter, one that we can continue as a community. Imagine being in a cafe or coffee shop, music playing, surrounded by kindred spirits with faces lit up, smiling as we chat about all things we get excited about! I’ll go first.
Fab Finds
A Canadian Brand: Crowfoot Collective
Don’t you love finding things that serve a practical purpose and also resonate deeply?
Crowfoot Collective is a Canadian, Indigenous co-owned company based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in Canada.
At Crowfoot Collective, we use garden grown botanicals from our own Garden, gathered according to tradition and the cycles of the moon in each one of our pieces.
The 11:11 - Eleven Eleven Classic Candle won my heart. It smells beautiful even when not burning. I get mine at Wascana Flower Shoppe.
An Antique Find: Cameo Ring
Next up is a much older find.
In the late 90’s I was consulting in New Jersey. I had fallen in love with cameos, but had never seen cameo rings until a client showed me her collection. I remember her taking me to David Wells Antiques in Cranbury and immediately feeling at home.
That store nourished my imagination while on that project with much more than cameos, but regular visits really paid off when I spotted this ring! I was giddy trying to prevent anyone else from seeing it while I looked for the owner to say “I’ll take it!”
In a Pickle: Delightful Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Bagel
Ok, this is a different kind of fab find.
My mother made every kind of pickle imaginable when I was growing up, and to this day we cannot put a dish of dill pickles on the table before dinner - they disappear within minutes! So when local coffeehouse The Everyday Kitchen started serving sourdough bagels with dill pickle cream cheese, I had to try it!
It’s now a staple on their menu, and an irresistible treat.
Favourite Things
I’m sharing a variety of favourite things with one common thread: all evoke a special feeling for me.
Close to My Heart
The first is a recent gift from my brother. I’ve worn it almost every day since. On the back of the pendant is a favourite quote of my late sister in-law.
She believed she could, so she did. ~R.S. Grey
It’s a motivational, treasured piece.
Scent of a Woman
Do you have a signature perfume or a collection for each mood?
For as long as I can remember, perfume has been something that enchanted me. I would smell my mom’s perfume, and if lucky she would let me wear some for a special occasion. This may be why perfume just makes me feel special. It’s often a travel purchase, sometimes been gifted and was a perk of two jobs in my twenties. No longer in a scent sensitive environment, I now wear perfume almost every day.
A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future. ~Coco Chanel
Maybe it’s the Coco Chanel in me?
In the Eye of the Beholder
I’ve always appreciated art of all kinds. It probably started as a child with a Lite Brite and Easy Bake Oven, then velvet art posters, and textile creations. Oh, the joy of my first camera! When I got my first apartment I couldn’t wait to put art of some kind on my walls!
This piece by Canadian artist Ivan Trotter holds a special connection for me. Ivan travels for part of the year, then comes back to Canada to work the market circuit. I saw this at a market close to 20 years ago. I had little disposable income, but could not stop going back to look at it. It seemed meant to come home with me. And it sparked a dream in me. It still lights me up each morning.
Fun Facts About Me
You know that ice-breaker where you tell two truths and a lie, and everyone guesses the lie?
I still smile about the team-building day where all believed I had a dolphin tattoo. Now, I love the artistry of tattoos on other people, but the idea of getting one myself absolutely terrifies me, so, I do not have a dolphin tattoo 🐬. I guess that’s a fact I wasn’t even intending on sharing!
A few truths that you might not have guessed about me are:
I grew up on a farm. It’s the same farm that my grandmother grew up on.
I am the eldest of six children.
I was in fifth or sixth grade when my parents volunteered me to play the organ at church…not a one time gig, but for every Sunday until I graduated from high school! I think that first year was painful for everyone involved, but as I grew older, so did my confidence and that of the congregation. My mother, sister and I spent hours practising songs at home over those years. It resulted in Sundays with a mix of new and old songs, and often fun harmonies.
Any of these surprise you?
What Do You Get Excited Talking About?
Let’s keep this conversation alive!
Share your fab finds, favourite things and fun facts.
Lots of love,
Michelle
P.S. Enjoy this post? What would you like to see more of here?
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A LITTLE BONUS: Music has always been a part of our family. The songs in this Spotify playlist hold a memory and get us belting out at least a chorus.Some Forman Family Favourites
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