Practical Magic Secrets

First of all, a big thanks to Anna from Frosted Petunias to organize this amazing blog event. I love the blog button you created -- it sets the festive and mysterious mood to celebrate Practical Magic.

For this year's party I watched the movie again and then made dozens of screenshots of special scenes. Inspired by Walt Disney Confessions and Post Secret, I asked party participants to share their Practical Magic thoughts, secrets, and confessions anonymously. Thanks to all of you who answered my call for support -- I could feel the sisterly witchy love!

So now you are in for a treat -- 54 magical, uplifting, poignant, and sweet secrets. Some of them are my secrets, but I won't tell you which ones. I hope you like the images I chose for the confessions -- click on the pictures for a bigger size.

I want to be just like "The Aunts" when I grow up!

I am one that loves the house, especially the kitchen and the garden.

I really wish I had a sister, so I could always have someone to rely on like Sally and Gilly. I grew up along with my mom, and even if I have a step brother and sister, they grew up away with their mother. Of course, I also wish I could do magic!

My secret wish would be to have a wonderful Book of Shadows just like the one the Aunts have. Heck, I'd love to have the Aunts!

I secretly want to be Sally. From the moment she cast that true love spell so long ao to her opening up a botanical shop. I love how she blows on candles to make them light up and the home she lives is divine. The interior of the house makes my insides swoon be all giddy.

I wish I could light a candle by softly blowing at it.

The hats! Oh how I adore the hats these women wear. Especially Aunt Fran's. My favorite.

I wish I could be as free as Gilly.

I wish the Aunts were my family.

I would love to one day have a conservatory, kitchen, pantry, and garden as wonderfully magical and beautiful as theirs in the movie.

I hate that I am like Sally - being responsible all the time is a burden.

I love absolutely everything about Practical Magic and I think I mostly fell in love with the Book and the indoor garden.

Oh, that house! I want it SO badly!

My secrets about Practical Magic. They inspired the type of shop that I run. I loved her boutique and so I opened one of my own. It's not just herbal remedies but crafts of all types of things witchy!

I know Jimmy Angelov was bad, but he's so beautiful. My favorite scene from the movie is when Gillian meets him.

The Aunts inspire me. Since I am an Oma to two adorable grands, I want to be like Frannie and Jet for them. Fun, a little odd and pass on the craft to them in meaningful way. This movie shows how each of us had to let our loved ones fall without benefit of immediate rescue and yet be there when needed.

I'd love to rummage through the attic, just image the treasures and funky old stuff stored in a house like that.

I love the line when they are drinking margaritas when they say something like.....no one has ever been embarrassed to be a slut in this family!

I secretly wish I had been raised by Aunt Fran and Aunt Jet.

I love that Gary believes in the power of his star which is only his very own power after all.

I would dearly love the Aunts' wardrobe, especially the hats.

I grew up in a very "Owens" kind of family - I'm definitely the Gillian. I have the worst taste in men.

I wish I had the figure to wear the clothes that they wear!

I wish I had a pair of those stockings and shoes.

Last year just before the PMBP, I visited Coupville, Washington (the little village where Practical Magic was filmed). I secretly wanted to visit the land where the house, Amas Vertas, was built. I didn't, because the site is sacred. Instead, I tried to be as mindful as I could and let my experience be what connected me to the space.

When my fiance and I first moved in together several years ago one of the movies that we realized we both had a copy of was Practical Magic.

My favorite things would be how Sally found love in the end and also how the women of the town began to overlook their prejudices and support one another.

I’ve wished for a Practical Magic prequel, where we see the aunts as young witches.

Practical Magic made me realize that I'm a witch.

Sometimes I wish I had Gilly's gift to punish unfair people.

If I ever have little girls I want them to be like Kylie and Antonia.

I would like to have a vintage clothing such as that of Sally.

I wish I had a sister like Gilly!

Aunt Frances is my favourite aunt. I wish she was my real aunt.

You got to love a movie where women get away with killing a deserving dirtbag, use magic, and live happily ever after!

I would "accidently" kill for my sister too.

I always felt more like Sally when I wanted to be more like Gilly.

I want my garden to be like the Aunts and my herb stores to be as well stocked as theirs!

Back when I was younger I did a love spell like Sally’s , and I’m pretty sure it worked.

Whenever my husband and I look at real estate catalogues or windows, I always ask myself "would the Owens family live there?" as I admire kitchens, living rooms and so on. So far, only one home has lived up to the question, but it's in an area we don't want to live... If all else fails I guess, we might have to consider building.

THE SECRET: Shhh! and dare I say it? It is Sally's first love, Michael, who sets both butterflies and romantical moths AND, for that matter, any other winged~creatures dunked in love dust, aflutter inside me!

My sister and I often watch the movie together via skype webcam to have sister time. It's our favorite movie and we'll dance around the living room singing the midnight margaritas song and we always tell people that we are going to grow old together and die on the same day.

I like the book more then the film in story terms. The book brings the characters out much more and there is more depth to the story. Alice Hoffman really makes you feel like you are in the story with her detailed writing.

I love to watch the movie for all the scenery and that house, oh that house, I just love it and would love to do it in miniature.

My favorite song on the album is "This Kiss" by Faith Hill.

One of the things I love about that movie is the music.

I would have loved to have grown up like the girls did with all that knowledge.

I most definitely want to live in the aunt's house and when I found out that it was actually a facade and built only for the movie I was heart-broken!

I never liked Nicole Kidman before this movie.

I want to find true love like Sally.

I joined Anna's blog party before I ever watched the movie. Some parts of it were rather cliche, but at least the screen writers didn't paint the witches to be devil worshipers.

I know it's heresy. But I like the book way better than the movie.

I had not seen or even heard of the Practical Magic movie until a couple of years ago when my boyfriend made a reference to a quote from the movie. Later that day he insisted we immediately find a copy to watch because, as he put it "You're going to LOVE it!" Since then I've seen the movie at least a dozen times.

The Owens family is tightly knit, and even when they have their difficulties and do not see eye to eye, in the end they all stay together because they love each other so much. All families should be like this. There is such a beautiful magic to it.

I hope you enjoyed reading all those secrets. Putting together all the confessions took more time than I thought, so I didn't get around to create a door prize. However, you are very welcome to check out my current Oktoberfest giveaway -- you could win a T-shirt. Click here for the details and please leave a message beneath that post if you want to put your name in the proverbial hat.

Copyright of movie images: Warner Bros.
No copyright infringement intended.

W is for Winner

And you could be a winner! Click on the image below to find out about my current Oktoberfest giveaway.

For more great W posts, be sure to visit Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday.

Oktoberfest Giveaway

Today the world's largest fair started -- Munich's Oktoberfest or Wiesn as locals call it.

In 2008, I posted a couple of Oktoberfest photos here and here (comments there are still welcome). I hope I get a chance to visit the Oktoberfest this year, so stay tuned for some recent photos. In the meantime, you see the neat Oktoberfest Bier (Bier = beer) bottle labels by Paulaner Brewery.

Here's a close-up of the Oktoberfest waitresses carrying quite a few heavy beer mugs at once. That's a frequent sight at the Oktoberfest for sure.

Anyway, I think the Oktoberfest is a great occasion to celebrate the friendship among people from all over the world. Thus I am delighted to announce a giveaway which even includes a pink heart.

Another teaser photo -- can you already guess what the prize is?

Sure thing -- it's a T-shirt!

Show your love for Oktoberfest wearing this 100 % cotton T-shirt.

I pondered which size to offer and finally settled on M (medium). The front measures 52 cm which is roughly 20 inches. The cloth stretches a bit, so people wearing larger sizes should still be comfortable wearing the T-shirt. Those of you who wear a smaller size might enjoy the loose fit.

Earlier this week, I bought the T-shirt in the store below. I asked if I can take a photo to show the look in combination with black pants and a pink vest which the mannequin on the left wears.

So how can you win the I ♥ Oktoberfest T-shirt?

Simply leave a comment below (one per person please) and make sure that I have a way to contact you if you happen to be the lucky winner.

The giveaway is open until Sunday, October 2nd.

Good luck!

Since the T-shirt has a pink heart, I just have to link this post to Beverly's Pink Saturday.

V is for Vintage

Look what I found in my mailbox yesterday:

Isn't that ATC (Artist Trading Card) by Laura Carson from Artfully Musing just fabulous? I had won it in her monthly giveaway. This card titled "Sail Away" has a lovely vintage look and is perfect for Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday. Just look at the beautiful three-dimensional accents:

You can't just see the beauty -- you can actually feel it!

Such a sweet face! If you want to have your very own Laura Carson artwork, be sure to visit Laura's blog. On the left sidebar you find all about her generous giveaway. Be sure to have some time at hand -- her blog is a feast for the eyes!

Another beautiful detail.

I also love how Laura designed the back of the ATC. Laura, thanks so much for this beautiful piece of art which now hangs in my study.

September flowers

On occasion of Beverly's Pink Saturday, I show you a couple of photos taken in the garden. The flower below hasn't opened yet, but the bud has a lovely pink center.

Each year new bunches of these flowers appear.

What a sweet shade of pink!

Those roses are amazing -- many pink petals!

Another close-up of the rose.

Those roses are smaller and have a pastel shade of pink.

So very pink!

Happy Pink Saturday!

U is for Unakite

From Wikipedia:

"[U]nakite is an altered granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and generally colorless quartz."

Do you feel already a bit more knowledgeable about unakite? Anyway, it's a perfect word for Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday. Below you see a plate full of gemstones. Can you make out the unakite?

Let's see it in detail -- very pretty, isn't it?

Depending on which website you visit, its meaning varies. I found a nice one here:

"Unakite is said to lift your spirits when you are feeling down - this is the gemstone to help you to see the beauty in life. It is also used to uncover deception."

On the bottom of the gemstone is a little sticker with its name. This unakite (Unakit in German) was part of an Advent calendar.

But wait -- there's another unakite on the plate. Here it is:

It's a bit brighter in color with some rosy flecks.

This gemstone was also part of an Advent calendar -- hence the sticker.

Sarah wasn't happy

Mary from Green Paper has a new challenge for September. I used elements from the three images she provided on a collage sheet. The lady on the vintage photo doesn't look all that happy, so I came up with a little story why Sarah felt like being invisible. Her little sister Fanny was always getting all the attention, especially from suitors.

T is for Tangled

What better T to choose for Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday than Disney's Tangled? The movie has inspired me on so many levels. The music is awesome, the animation and graphics outstanding, and the storyline well thought out. And, of course, there's Flynn Rider.

Flynn Rider:
"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

One of my favorite songs is "Kingdom Dance" composed by Alan Menken. Be sure to take the time to watch this video:

Now remember the scene in which a couple of little girls plait Rapunzel's hair. The day on which I first watched Tangled, I wore my hair open. It's definitely not as long as Rapunzel's hair, but it's half way down my back. My mom said that very day that little girls would surely love to plait my hair. In the evening, we watched the movie together -- and had a great laugh when we saw the girls plaiting Rapunzel's hair!

Rapunzel:
"That's the funny thing about birthdays, they're kind of an annual thing."

One of the funniest scenes is when Rapunzel leaves the tower for the first time. She is definitely the first Disney heroine with a bipolar tendency:

Rapunzel (singing):

"I could go running and racing and dancing and chasing and leaping and bounding hair flying heart pounding and splashing and reeling and finally feeling now's when my life begins."

Oh yes, did I mention Flynn before?

For all romantic souls out there, here's the floating lights scene:

Rapunzel & Flynn (singing):
"Everything is different now that I see you."

Finally, I must mention the creative work of Disney Animation at YouTube. All the clips are witty and very creative. If you want to have some fun time, be sure to watch the clips. One shows the amazing artwork by Claire Keane, the daughter of the famous animator Glen Keane:

Do you want to paint your walls now, too?

Since this post contains a lot of pink (I love the shades of purple and violet in Rapunzel's dress), I want to link it to Beverly's Pink Saturday.

Copyright of images, quotes and movie clips: Walt Disney Company
Copyright of music: Alan Menken
Copyright of song lyrics: Glenn Slater
No copyright infringement intended.