Joie de Vivre – Je t'aime Productions

Born on April 19th the last day of the Aries, characteristics of the The Ram certainly define some elements of my personality. With an innate appreciation for life and all that it has to offer, a positive mental attitude or “PMA” as I would say, I am a people person and adventurer at heart, full of creativity, determination, and generosity.

My birthday is in four days and I will be celebrating a New Year, my New Year and I am making some changes!

2018 will be……..

a year full of new adventures
a year full of new beginnings
a year full of new attitudes
a year full of reboots and refreshes

My first refresh will be that of my original blog Eat, Drink, Be Merry……..and Diet? Encouraged by my mentor and confidant Barbara in early 2011, I taught myself to blog. Later that year, I enrolled in a social media class at Stanford. The class project was to create a blog or improve one that already existed. Challenged by my professor, I chose to revitalize my original and make it better.

Fast forward to May 2017, a good friend and colleague challenged me beyond what I ever thought was possible. He asked to come up with a fashion forward IoT demo concept. He then asked me to design and develop it in a very short amount of time so that it could be showcased at upcoming partner events.

With a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears, coupled with networking to find people, strangers actually that took an interest and were able to help me make this concept become a reality, Kiss & Tell was born. Kiss & Tell is a shoe that is able to change patterns with the touch of a finger from a smart phone application. Words and shapes can be changed in seconds to compliment an event, an outfit, or a mood.

Kiss & Tell was not only one of my biggest challenges but also one of my greatest personal accomplishments, another life experience that has changed me forever. As my friend that challenged me and Oliver Wendall Holmes once said “The mind, once expanded to dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to it original size.” The essence of this quote has become innate. It continuously defines the outcome of many of my life experiences pushing me beyond what I ever thought possible.

In mid 2017, I started seriously thinking about my life, what I am passionate about, and what the possible could be for me. I found myself reflecting over and over again about my old blog. Was the answer to refresh it and make it more relevant and start blogging again?

With inspiration and encouragement from other friends, one who challenged herself to blog in celebration of her 75th birthday, and another who likes to read what I write coupled with the words of Oliver Wendall Holmes”…never return to its original…” xoSandrella was born.

xoSandrella will be my creative vehicle to introduce and share my thoughts, my experiences, and all the people, places and things from the world that I love.

I hope you enjoy my first New Year refresh, my blog .

Salut à la Joie de Vivre!