{Take action} How can you "be amazing" today?


Now this is my kind of bar!  I love this photo from the anniversary edition of the delicious Rue Magazine with the non-too-subtle reminder behind the bar.  (I want me some!)  Ok, so it's Tuesday, not my favourite day of the week.... for me, it's all too easy to groan at the sound of my alarm clock, fuel myself with coffee before "getting through" the day ahead with, already, one eye on my sightline to the weekend.  Not a great way to spend the 52 Tuesdays in the year hey?!  But maybe this Tuesday can "be amazing"....  I'm going to make this my Tuesday PB.

... Cutting back on the caffeine
... Making my to-do list manageable (as opposed to humanly impossible!)
... Taking some time to chat to people I cross paths with rather than losing myself in work work work
... Noticing all the little amazing moments throughout the day

Have  an amazing Tuesday x

Image: One

{Take action} Are you brave enough to go solo?

How do I put this? Hmmmm?  I don't like people looking at me.  Or more specifically, I'm not that good with attention.  I'm more than happy for someone else to take the limelight and I'll be content to be the one cheering on from the sidelines. 

I'm a tough cookie where it counts but sometimes the simplest things can unnerve me - like eating in a restaurant alone.  I've had to do it in the past when I've been working away from home and not been inspired by the safety-net of the room service menu, but I'd take a book or a magazine with me to lose myself in at the table.  Yes, the prop was essential in portraying the independent woman identity but, even with this, I'd self-consciously sit there and eating would be a functional (and fast!) exercise.

But last night was a mini-breakthrough.... A table for one for just little old me. No book, no magazine and I even restrained myself from absorbing myself in my iphone.  This might not sound like much for you well-travelled women but it was a personal milestone.  To sit back, leisurely enjoy my scrumptious dinner and take in everything that was going on around me - the couples indulging in a quiet sunday meal for two, the big, boisterious family gathering at the next table, and the girlfriends chatting away at the bar - I was perfectly content and just a smidgen self-conscious.  This is major progress.....

{Inspiration} Not one qualification but living the life!! How?

I can't say I fit in with the cool crowd at school.  I tried too hard to be able to carry off the required 'school is for geeks' attitude.  Neither did I set the sports teams on fire.  And, while I did well at school, I certainly wasn't the straight A student either.  This meant I was inconspicuous somewhere in the middle.

I must admit I never even considered doing anything but working hard and "applying myself" at school.  I was a good girl.  So I never quite understood the kids in my year that adopted the laissez-faire attitude with one eye on the end of the school year, the freedom that beckoned (that scared the bejeesus out of me) at the end of it all.  In short, it was drummed in to me that exam results, education, qualifications were the be all and end all.  And I've never questioned that.

Then I read Chris Guillebeau's frank and bare-all admission that he holds not a single qualification to his name and I was forced to open my mind.  What, not one?  And he's achieved so much?  I was in sudden admiration.

As I pack to spend a weekend at a coaching course, I had to stop and question why I was doing it.  This time it is for a big, fat selfish reason - I want to.  But I can't honestly say other 'qualifications', for what they're worth, have been motivated by the same reason.  For the most part, I think a qualification, a bit of paper, has been for everyone else BUT me.  To prove something to everyone else.  "Look, I can do this.  This bit of paper says so!"

And so I am in full admiration of Chris Guillebeau.  It must take a serious amount of guts to NOT take the easy option and conform.  He took the leap and trusted he would fly!  In his case, around the world...... Not a bad life for a school drop-out eh!

Image: Quint Buchholz

{Take action} Oh na na, what's my name?

We did it.  I've now been a Mrs for a month exactly.  And it has been a month of excitement and adjustment - the ecstatic highs of the wedding day (more to follow on this), the blissful relaxation of our honeymoon in Bali and then ..... the bump back down to earth in returning home.

Aside from getting used to my new name, the strangest part is coming back to life exactly as it was BM (Before Marriage) - it feels as though the world should reflect the change we've seen and feel in our relationship. Things should be different, married. 

And so I've decided to ride this wave - perhaps my new identity can be the start of a new me. The best me I can be. I've taken some time out to contemplate this, mull it over with my new hubby and chart my future course. And it's looking and feeling extremely exciting.

As "Ol' Blue Eyes" crooned, "the best is yet to come". And I will have my gorgeous hubby at my side as it unfolds.

Image: One

{Be} Turn down the noise

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and, it's true - I've missed my verbal doodles here over the past few days.  It just has been one of those weeks that tests the mettle!


The picture says it all - I feel a little like I've had the wind knocked out of me this week and, when the going gets tough, it's difficult not to get caught up in the noise!  Tonight I'm taking a little time out with friends to get back to 'ME' without the need to do, be or say the right things.  And try to find my little place in the world!


Photo: weheartit.com

{Beauty} Don't be a TEWL

Yesterday evening I went to a 'Natural Hydration' event at Liz Earle, billed as a 90-minute talk with the in-house botanist Jennifer Hirsch. Disappointingly, the talk itself was only about 15 minutes and, as a committed two-litres-of-water-a-day girl and skincare enthusiast, I can't say I learnt anything new .... except for one juicy fact.  Don't be a TEWL!


An acronym for Trans-Epidermal Water Loss, in plain English it means the water you lose through your skin, your biggest organ. And it hit home. I've been glugging away at the H2O and not applying a protective barrier to prevent it all evaporating from the surface of my skin. And the key ingredient you should be looking for to stop this? Plant oil. In short, it traps moisture within the skin so it continues to circulate around your body and, end result, keeps your skin looking plump and supple. Sounds good to me.


My Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Day Cream passes the test, but I'm now on the hunt for a new body moisturiser. Any recommendations?


Photo: Pinterest

{Nourish} Make mine a 'green juice'

Ok so it doesn't look that appetising but, appearances aside, I'm joining the green juice revolution.  Since my 'Personal MOT' last week suggested I need to get more greens into my diet, I dusted down a book I'd read a few years ago to give me a little inspiration - The Healthy Skin Diet by Australian nutritionist Karen Fischer.  The book's holistic approach encourages a whole-food and nutrient dense diet and extols the virtues of one little ingredient - chlorophyll.


I can almost hear you replaying your school biology lessons - yes, chlorophyll is better known for it's relationship with plants.  But it's benefits are not limited to your potted fern.  Chlorophyll is a highly-prized antioxidant.  It works by evening out the acid/alkaline balance of your blood so is great as part of a detox programme, but also improves circulation and has anti-carcinogenic properties.


I've been trying it as a supplement but now intend to give one of the juicing recipes a try at Total Raw Food.


Photo: wholefamilyfare

{Feel good} Friday-feeling tunes

It's Friday ..... enjoy! x

{Feel good} Attitude of gratitude

I'm a copycat.  There's the honest truth.  I read Lake Jane's post on attitude of gratitude and was inspired to follow suit .... aka copy!  So, here's my little list of things I'm grateful for right here and now:

... the beautiful work of Tabitha Emma on my new blog logo.  I'm so giddy about it.

... the generous glass of red wine poured for me by my gorgeous boy.

... for my wobbly legs, as I know it means I worked-out hard!

... the weekend in sight and the exciting things I have planned for it, including quality time with my infectiously happy Janey.

... for the tingle that says that times are a-changin'.

Photo: weheartit

{Feel good} Surround yourself with colour

Top: 'Through the Forest'.  Bottom: Emma Coulter’s 'Shedding Skin' exhibition

It's said red is the colour of power and blue is peaceful and tranquil.  And my favourite, purple, denotes luxury and sophistication.  Whether you believe in colour psychology or not, it can't be denied that a pop of colour - either in your clothes or your surroundings - can change your mood.


Imagine the sensory overload if you had one of these gorgeous paintings by Aussie artist Emma Coulter hanging in your home.  I'm no art-lover but these vibrant oil and acrylic paintings, from Emma's new exhibition Shedding Skin, have put a big, colourful smile on my face.


Have a look at the rest here

Photo: thedesignfiles.net

{Dare to dream} Believe

Isn't it funny how sometimes you see exactly the right thing, at exactly the time you need to see it most. The picture above is the inside of a card given to me by my parents for passing my first 'swimming endeavour'.  And, believe me, it was quite a journey to get there!  I was petrified of swimming - there were tears at bedtime the night before, sudden tummy aches and nausea on swimming lesson day and if, by force, I'd made it to the poolside I would spend the entire swimming lesson clung to the edge in terror.  At some point I must have let go and faced my fear because here I am, the one in the middle wearing a fearful expression, completing my long-awaited endeavour.  (The lady with the baby on her knee is mum, in a very fetching tracksuit, cheering me on!)

Although this card is 25 years old, it surfaced over the weekend and the inscription is so relevant to me at the moment.  Dad's unique handwriting reads:

"Dear Emma. Please keep this and remember at any time in your life when you 'think' that you can't, look at this and 'know' that you did.  And can."

Photo: Courtesy of Pappa B!

{Inspiration} Cocoa & a lot of heart

What did you want to be when you 'grew up'? I had a list as long as my arm when I was a little girl - hairdresser, air hostess, hotelier, teacher, artist, runner (this one is particularly hilarious!).  While I wasn't particularly choosy, the beauty of my perspective at this young age was that I believed I could do anything.  It didn't occur to me that they might not be options for me, I thought I could do or be anything my heart desired.


When did this change?  When does that child-like innocence and freedom gets swapped for a more 'mature' and rational mind? Our hearts' desires get a little diluted by doing the right and accepted thing.


In the past year I've woken up to this optimistic and confident part of my former self, realised that I should follow my heart a little more than my well-behaved head!


With this fire in my belly, it was lovely to see Jen Ramos' Cocoa&Hearts website come to fruition.  I've long been an avid reader of her blog, made by girl, and so was excited to see her new collection of original artwork - it's fun, colourful and full of life. Equally engaging though was the 'about' page of her website where she reveals that painting has always been her 'first crush'.  She has connected with those hopes and dreams and made it a grown-up reality.  Go Jen!


Photo: 'Modesty' @ Cocoa & Hearts

{Positive} Let's be happy

Sipping my morning coffee bleary-eyed yesterday, a news item on happiness woke me from my doziness.  Why?  Well this is a subject I find fascinating - the older I've got the more I've realised that happiness doesn't come from things, it comes from people. Trust me, I still lust over Christian Louboutin shoes, over-priced skincare and want to get my mitts on the new ipad, but I can hand-on-heart promise that the times I feel those bubbles of happiness most are when I'm enjoying the company of the special people in my life.


And I'm not the only one.  Action for Happiness was on BBC Breakfast to launch a new mass movement - encouraging happy vigilantes, I guess, to create more happiness by taking positive action to promote that feel-good factor at home, at work and in their community.  The group's website had so many people trying to pledge their support that it collapsed under the weight - and what does that tell you?  That there's a lot of contentment-seekers out there.  Watch out for a hug near you...


Like this?  You may also like: The Happiness Project


Photo: Pinterest