Waiting!

Jul 30, 2015

 It seems that most of this year has been about
waiting!!!!!
Not easy when you are a control freak.


As I watch all my friends and family go off on their 
summer jaunts.....I am still waiting;

*waiting for the grief of losing my Dad earlier
this year to subside.
It still hasn't! Will it ever I ask myself daily?

* waiting to finalise my Dad's
estate, something that has been so painful
for me

*waiting to see what my estranged Sister's next
move will be now that she "smells" inheritance!!

*waiting for karma (as you can tell this is related
to the previous point)

*waiting to move into my gorgeous new cottage in 
the Cotswold that I have just bought

*waiting.....with dread at leaving the home that has been 
in my family for more than 40 years.

*waiting to see whether I will cry when I leave,
or whether I will just close the door whilst biting
down hard on my lip and trying to be strong

*waiting to see whether all the memories from the 
past 40 years will come crashing down and overwhelm
me, or whether it will be a complete anti-climax



* waiting to make new experiences and memories

*waiting to belly laugh again without feeling guilty

*waiting for business objectives to  start to 
come to fruition. Sometimes you keep plugging
away and you can't see the immediate effect of all the small
things you are doing on a daily basis. 
I just have to remember all the 
small actions do have a compound effect.

*waiting for my business to be featured in Vogue 
and Elle China. I am so excited about this as this
is a market I really wanted to explore. So I am just waiting
to hear about the editorial dates etc

*waiting for some decent weather here in the UK.
I don't need it to be as hot as it is when I am in Spain.
But it would be nice to not have to put my duvet back
on my bed in the middle of July. Or to remember to 
take an umbrella rather than remember to carry
my sunglasses ;-)

*waiting for days when my mind can slow down

*waiting for days when I spend less time speaking
to lawyers and more time speaking to loved ones

*waiting for my creativity to come back

*waiting to design my new office space :-)

*waiting for the sun to slowly filter through my
grief and show me that there will be sunnier days









I'm just waiting
xxxx

Riviera-Chic? How Do I Get It?

Jul 22, 2015



Having lived in the Med for nearly 15 years and holidayed
in the places associated with Riviera-chic, I though I would
write about what I think constitutes Riviera-chic.

I am by no means a "fashionista", this is merely
my view of  a style and an era I absolutely love;
it's also where the idea for my boutique originated i.e
"bringing a little Riviera-chic to a woman's day".



Of course the famous Club 55 that epitomises everything that is Riviera-chic
and where my parents first took me when I was about 5 years old :-)



Apart from the Riviera being another playground for the rich and famous
(please note my family didn't fall into either category ;-)
the Riviera also has an "unwritten uniform" that dates back to the 1930's and 
comprises a mix of nautical and Parisian chic.


Here are some of my must-haves even today!!!


i) The Little White Dress

Main pic: Lily Pullitzer Resort Collection
Top Right: Jackie O
Bottom Right: Natalie Wood deciding which spot she is going to take ;-)




The perfect white dress adornment. All available here


ii) Stripes
Where out love of Breton stripes for the Summer all began!!!
Main Image: Riviera 1930's
Bottom Right: Bridgit Bardot




iii) The Straw Hat
Ladies on the Riviera always have the traditional straw hat


iv) Straw Holdall/Basket

Oh yes!!! Don't we all love carrying one of this in the summer
pretending we are channeling our Bridget Bardot?
It never looks quite as chic when I carry one ;-)

Basket Bottom Right: Aspiga



v) Big Shades



vi) Cigarette Pants/cropped pants
Left Image: Grace Kelly (1950's)



vii) Naughty in Nautical
Left Image: Sophia Loren




One of my favourite images from that era.



So is this your style?
Are you more boho-chic than Riviera-chic?
Which elements of Riviera-chic do you adopt
for your summer look?

As always I love to read your views 
xxxxx



p.s






(All black and white images-Getty)

What Do You Recommend?

Jul 16, 2015


OK, so Summer seems to be the time when we 
lose ourselves in our books. 

For some it's the only time they
really get to indulge in reading.

For others like me, I constantly have my head in a new
book; my Husband is often saying there's not enough room
for both him and my books (but he knows better than to make me choose;-)

Actually the new cottage  I have just bought in the English 
 countryside has a gorgeous summer house in the garden, 
and that is going to be my reading nook. 
It was either "man-cave" or reading nook.
Guess which one won? ;-)


But here's the thing. I tend to only read non-fiction.



Here's what I am reading at the moment-both 
of which I highly recommend





This book it truly terrifying to read especially as it is written by one
of the most prominent Neurologists who watched both his parents
suffer with Alzhiemers. As degenerative brain diseases are one of
my biggest fears (perhaps more than the big C) this book shook
me to my core. Am I following the recommendations? You bet!!!

Has anyone else read this?
What were your thoughts?

I can sit for hours flicking through cookbooks.
I LOVE cooking and so this is a great way for me to relax.
This is a new book I am loving as I explore Middle Eastern
cookery/food.


OK, but here's the thing.  In the Summer I do like to indulge
in some fiction and take my foot of the gas a little with the "heavy
stuff" ;-) But I'm a little stuck at what to read.


So I'm reaching out to my lovely friends here and asking,
"what fiction books would you recommend to me?"


I need a book that grabs you from the first few chapters (I'm sure
I have ADD). If I have to read 300 pages to gather what the book is about
I would have probably given up by page 200!!!

I'm open to any recommendations.
My fav genre's are: Psychological thrillers, stories about travel, 
friendship.................anything BUT chic-lit or sloppy romance.
I don't mind some romance if it's got a good meaty story behind it.





So let me have it.
Tell me your faves

xxxxxx


p.s



Just click here