Romantic Lace

Hello Lovelies.

Well today's blog is all about the wonderfulness

of lace;a fabric which has been

known to exist from as far back as 

the 16th Century

Venice became one of  the most important 

trading centres of lace

Zuhair Murad

Lace mantillas can still be seen being

worn in Catholic churches around the world.

In Spain it is still a common sight to see

women wearing black mantillas on Good Friday.

I am always amazed by the sight of the most

glamorous women walking to church on this day.

ELENA Pendant

Our Elena  pendant featuring Chantilly lace from 

the oldest lace-making house in Northern France; 

the same lace-making house used for the lace in Kate Middleton's 

wedding dress!

Also listed in Vogues "must-have" list 

There is also a heart version of this pendant

Zuhair Murad

I so love this styling

ELENA CUFF:

Again like our pendant above, the cuff features Chantilly lace from 

the oldest lace-making house in Northern France; 

the same lace-making house used for the lace in Kate Middletons 

wedding dress!

Also listed in Vogues "must-have" list 

Whilst writing this post I realized

I don't actually own any lace clothing :-(

So are you a "lacey-lady"?

Do you love wearing lace?

Do you only wear it for special occasions/evening wear?

Would love to hear your thought as always

xxxxx

Time to Re-boot

Here's the thing Lovelies.

Things are taking off in my business

in a way I have been dreaming of 

(and planning for) for some time.

Plans are coming together.

Visualizations are

coming to fruition.

The stream called "momentum" is 

starting to flow quicker.

Ideas that have been simmering for

some time are coming to the boil.

But  guess what?

 I am shying away from everything.

It's ludicrous. It just doesn't

make sense.

I am subconsciously

stalling the process!!

People who know me know I 

am a goals-oriented "ninja".

And yet I am letting things slip.

I start working on my to-do list and

I happily get hijacked my Pinterest,

or YouTube or even doing my

taxes (that's a sure sign something

is wrong and that medication may

be required ;-)

I am not finishing anything.

I looked at my bedside table where I have

7 new books; all non-fiction.

I have got no further than chapter 5 in any of them.

And when I walked into my little study there is a box 

of new books that I just keep piling up; touching, smelling

caressing and putting back onto the pile that is now their home.

If you even asked me what I read last night

I wouldn't even be able to tell you, because whilst

reading I am thinking about all the things I 

"should" have done that day and didn't.

So I have to go back and re-read each chapter

(or should I start fretting about Alzheimers now?)

OK, I'll just add that worry to my list?

If I watch something on TV I literally "lose the

plot" because my mind goes off somewhere else

and invites me along for the ride.

It's a strange place to be as I have never been

so "flaky" before.

Am I afraid of failure?

If I don't move forward in the 

way  I am now being called too,

I can't fail. I can only stagnate.

But that's not the same……is it?

Or am I afraid of playing a bigger game

(something that has never frightened me before).

If I start playing bigger I will have to step

out from behind my computer, out of my sweats

and become more the face of my business; I

subconsciously don't want to do this.

I love the air of anonymity I get from

having an on-line business.

 I just know I have no head-space left

for anything.

I can't even make a simple decision

like what to have for breakfast!

 So this weekend I am going to do 

my version of vegetating

I am sure I would play better if I had these

I am going to have my golf lesson.

Anyone who knows

me knows I so do not fit the image of a 

golf player. 

However it was either become 

a golf-widow when I moved 

to a home in Spain on a golf-course,

or join the party

I am going to do yoga.

Watch TV for no reason but

just because I want too.

Remove all reading material

from my bedroom

Cook.

Eat.

Sleep.

Walk.

Sweden

And call my neglected friends.

I think it may take longer than

this weekend to "re-boot"

but it's a start.

Hubs has said even if my website

combusts I am not to do a thing about

it until Monday (a bit harsh I thought ;-)

Adorn yourself with a Winter garland

What are your plans this weekend?

Would love to hear how 

you maintain your head-space?

xxxxxx

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

 Before I go, have you met SERAFINA?

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Thank you in advance as always xx