Order Art with Confidence 

Have you ever ordered something online only to find it isn’t quite what you expected? The same thing often happens when ordering art - it can be hard to know for sure what will look good and even harder to know what size will fit your space. If you’re wanting a new piece to liven up your home or office but haven’t bitten the bullet, for this reason, I have just the solution!

With the Augmented Reality (AR) Live Preview feature on my website, you’ll be able to scale any piece of art to your space and be confident with the size you’d like to order and better visualize what it will look like on Your wall.To see how easy (and fun!) this feature is to use, watch the video here.

AR Live Preview Instructions:

Go to julie-williams.ca on your mobile device

Select the collection

Select the image

Select ‘Live Preview AR’

Allow access to your camera

Modify size using buttons on the bottom of the screen

View size in left lower hand corner of the screen

Storytelling for Seniors

Last week I was delighted to debut my "Memories of Australia" Tour to the Mosaic Home Care Services Community. Some feedback from the participants: "Julie I am glad you didn’t walk into the spiders. There are many deadly spiders and snakes there than anywhere else in the world. Excellent presentation." and “Thank you for a lovely presentation.”

Here are some of the highlights from that "Memories of Australia" presentation.

Named as one of Australia’s top 10 most Instagrammable locations in 2014, The Grounds of Alexandria blends the natural beauty of the great outdoors with simple, rustic charm. It serves as an all-in-one café, bar, restaurant, garden and event hub.

We savoured sun, surf and sand on the Gold Coast. Mornings were a delight strolling the beach and capturing the Broadbeach Surf Life Saving Clubpractising in the rough tides.

A visit to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary was particularly enjoyable wandering the rainforest and the open animal enclosures, feeding the kangaroos and the colourful lorikeets. Did you know: Koalas eat up to a kilo of eucalyptus a day; smell like eucalyptus; have 2 thumbs on each hand and have fingerprints! 

Particularly impressive was a tour of The Great Ocean Road, a winding coastal route of sandstone cliffs and dense rainforest. We marvelled at The Twelve Apostles, limestone stacks in the ocean comprised of skeletal remains of billions of marine animals; walked the Maits Rest Rainforest among 300 year old giant rainforest trees and of course, lingered on the soft sandy beaches.

Our trip concluded with a stay on Kangaroo Island. Only 150km long, Kangaroo Island is home to the densest and most varied menagerie of wildlife in Australia. Our adventures included al fresco dining with kangaroos hopping nearby; delighting in home made whipped butter, jams and scones all infused with fresh lavender at the Emu Bay Lavender Farm; Admirals Arch / Fur Seal colonies; the beautiful display of stalactites and stalagmites in the Kelly Hill Caves and watching the penguins, pelicans and other wildlife in their natural habitat.

What Happens in Vegas…

In February 2017, my husband and I treated ourselves to a winter vacation, and traveled to Vegas sans kids. I typically make all the travel plans. So it was even more special to sit back, be pampered and let my husband take control and surprise me on this adult get away!

For me, travel is the excitement of the journey and the anticipation of what we’ll discover along the way…

Above, aerial view approaching Nevada. Below, colourful sites along the Strip: a giant stiletto shoe, street festival and the Chihuly glass exhibit.

Our accommodations were 30 minutes outside the Vegas Strip at a desert resort. It was heavenly to be away from the busyness of the main strip.

I particularly enjoyed our visit to the Hoover Dam - Constructed during the Great Depression it is an incredible feat of engineering and a must-see! The tour allowed us access into the bowels and inner workings and a view of the 17 massive turbines at work.

Travel to the American west would be incomplete without a visit and hike through the unforgettable canyons!

One of my favourite spots was Red Rock Canyon below…and of course the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was a highlight of the trip, above.

Wherever your travels may take you, I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s always great to return home!