Twinkle Toes

Firstly a HUGE thank you

for all the wonderful comments

on the previous post.

It was so assuring to read that

I wasn't the only one going through

this mad crazy behavior of

compare and despair.

Your comments were truly

eye-opening and so appreciated.

So I thought I would keep

things a little "light" this

week after 2 quite heavy

posts previously.

If you missed my Compare and

Despair post it's here.

If you missed my controversial

opinions on breast cancer

research, it's here.

OK, so back to sparkles :-)

As the nights start to well and truly

draw in here in the UK, it's usually

the time I start to think of sparkles for the

feet.

Valentino

Bold. Beautiful. Striking crystal

heels seemed to be all over

the catwalk.

Guiseppe Zanotti

I so LOVE these

Don't forget Mini-Me

What's your thoughts?

Are you prone to channeling your

Dorothy when the winter and subsequent

party season arrives?

As always love to read your comments

xxxx

Compare and Despair

OK, here's the thing.

In this land of blogs, Pinterest,

Facebook updates and Instagram

it is so easy to take a peep into

other peoples glossy lives and

start comparing where you are with

where everyone else.

Now I've never been one to compare

or be competitive when it comes to my choices

in comparison with my friends for example.

I always seemed to move against the tide

and was always happy not following convention.

But something strange has been starting to happen.

I have started the dreaded "compare and despair"

(well not quite despair, but you can see where I am 

going with this).

OK let me tell you my 

dirty little secret.

You see I follow someone on Facebook

who is not even in the same industry as me

(she is in online marketing/coaching)

She is super glamorous, very young.

She has glamorous photo-shoots done in

her home on a regular basis

that are now starting to look too staged 

for me to be honest, yet I still love seeing them.

What's that all about? Why don't I just turn on the

TV and watch Real Housewives of NYC or something?

She is clearly very successful 
and I really do admire her 
drive at such a young age.

However I did one of her courses and wasn't 

that impressed with it at all and decided

that she was great at marketing her
personal brand  but maybe there 
was not so much substance under

the gloss (until Hubs said "maybe

you decided you would consciously not 
like the course so that you could prove 
your theory that she's

all gloss and nothing else")

The pen gifted to Dita Von Teese by Mont Blanc

How DARE he.

BUT was he right?
(he knows me better than
anyone ;-)

HOWEVER (now this is the scary bit)

 I am still addicted

to seeing her photos, what she's bought,

what she's wearing, where's she holidaying etc.

Now this is SO unlike me it is frightening ME!

As I look at her Facebook feed

I am starting to notice a "flaunting"about

lots of the photos she does now , and yet I can't
 resist following
(but on the other hand she could
be showing her younger target market
what they can have if they work hard.
There is that side to it too).

She seems to be idolised by many

younger business women who

follow her (as I guess that

is her target market)

How gorgeous is this work space?

However, the bigger question is why

don't I just click away and be done

with it?

But no! I then start comparing

how I was at her age. I didn't really know

where I was going or who I was and I

certainly wasn't buying Hermés or

Chanel in my 20's.

I then start comparing the older me with this person 
(even more dangerous) and start to

despair that I left it too

late to acquire all my dreams
so I might as well

give up now and crawl
back under the duvet.

Those of you who have followed
me for some time know this is SO not me.
I am so driven and optimistic about
whatever life throws at me.

So what's happening?

Maybe I am living my fantasy

of how I "wish" I had been through her?

Maybe it's who I want to be now

from a business perspective?

Is it dangerous never showing

the real you; your bad days, your

vulnerabilities etc? Is it totally

unrealistic, or is this glamorous

escapism what people need to be inspired

and to escape their own realities?

The danger is clearly when you start

comparing your progress with someone

else's. 

Is this really dangerous territory or

just all harmless fun?

I'm really baffled, not only with

my "continuous curiosity", but how

I have no answers as to why it's happening.

Note to self

I would love to hear your thoughts

xxx

Why "Pink-tober" Makes Me So Angry + Sad

October and pink needs no explanation really.

If you are a new follower, you may
wish to read here how I've been touched by
breast cancer, and why I controversially
believe we will NEVER make progress with
breast cancer research.

In the 20+ years since I lost my
Mum, there hasn't really been any progress
in research. I have my reasons for this
very clear having worked for
the Medical Research Council (London) for 
many years.

And then the penny dropped.
From that day forward I stopped contributing
to cancer research charities (which I was a huge
advocate of before).

Twenty plus years on and we are still fighting the
disease in the same way; your options are to cut,
burn or poison.

Most Oncologists will admit
they would NOT choose the chemo-
therapy route for a member of their
own family, no matter
how bad the cancer was!

Is that progress?

But the food industry is huge and our governments
get enormous revenue from the food and 
pharmaceutical industry (which work hand in hand)

We are all living with false hope, when the answer is much
easier-change what you put into your body.

Just pop over to You Tube and watch the fabulous
film The Beautiful Truth about 
The Gerson Therapy,
told from a young boys perspective
(the film your doctor doesn't want
you to know about).

Or read any of the fabulous books on
Gerson Therapy,
and convince me cancer is not related
to food (something Governments have 
known for decades but felt the average
person wasn't intelligent enough 
to process the facts).

This is a subject very close to my heart,
so sorry if I have come across "preachy".
I just get so angry by how we are all being
duped.

One thing I know for sure. If cancer research was a 
business, the shareholders would have shut it down
decades ago. How can billions have been contributed 
to a cause and yet we are still no further forward?
We are not eradicating the disease. It is more
virulent than ever and we are treating it in the same
way we did 30-40 years ago.
Is that progress?

Ironically I am posting this
post on the exact day my Mum
died at aged only 48.

Totally unintentional, but
I dedicate it to my
Mummy nonetheless:-)

I would so love to hear
your thoughts .

xxxxx

Which Button?

I saw this on Facebook.

It was posted by the lovely

Simon Jordan (a marketing genius)

and I just couldn't resist sharing with

my lovely blog babes.

OK, so pick your button and don't forget

to tell us why.

I'll start.

I would pick pink

(I know it says the ability to heal

a non-fatal wound) but I'm assuming

diseases fall into this category as they

are not wounds per sé?

As some of my older blog friends know,

I lost my Mum to cancer when she was

only 48. For the first time I felt 

 helpless  (I was only

24 at the time). 

I just literally had to stand

back and watch it all unfold.

It still haunts me to this day.

So that's my reason.

On the other hand, the grey
button would be great for tidying
up after the Mr ;-)

What's yours ?

xxxx

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Back to Black

There is something very comforting

about the on-set of Autumn/Winter.

Yes, I can crawl back to my love

for black.

I absolutely LOVE all things black

About 20 years ago I had my

colors done at House of Color in London.

Thankfully, black was very much in my spectrum.

However, all the autumnal colors that we are currently

enjoying were not. So you will never find

an orange, brown, beige, cream (and

any variations on a theme) in my wardrobe.

But you will find lots of black.

Dior Darling

Jason Wu

Black does seem to epitomize

luxury, sophistication, power;

most luxury brands have some

kind of black logo thing

going on

The term "new black" is now coined

often to describe a color fashion trend.

Anyone know what the "new black"

is this season?

Black Liquorice Macarons

Black Beluga Caviar

I've always had black cars. 

Apparently if you own a 

black car it is "supposed" to say

you are "empowered, not easily

manipulated, loves elegance, appreciates

classics".

Or you just want a car you don't

have to wash too often (which

was my case).

Henry Ford said

"People can have the Model T in any

color so long as it is black"

" I've been 40 years discovering

that the queen of all colors was

black" (Renoir)

"There's something about black.

You feel hidden away in it" (G.O`Keeffe)

NEW: CÉLINE BANGLE

NEW: BELLA EARRINGS

NEW: MARGAUX CUFF

"Black is not a color" (Monet)

So what's your take on black?

Is you wardrobe/closet filled to the

brim with black items?

Have you used black in 

your interiors?

Do you think we all wear

too much black (as my friends

in Spain are always saying

about us Brits). If I ask

a Spanish or Italian

person to describe a Brits style,

"black" and "drab" always seem to

end up in the mix :-(

Would love to hear your thoughts

xx

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