Happy holiday

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I love nostalgic Christmas images like this one. I want to wish you a very merry Christmas and a joyous and peaceful New Year. This is a magical time not only because we are reminded of what is important to us, but because we can start over again for the new year. 

If you manage to have some time to think about your dreams and ambitions for the year ahead, write a few of them down and put them in your love/life file. Look at them often to stay on track. 

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

Guru of the day

 Dr Lipman via

Maggie and Gwyneth can't get enough of his wisdom; he's the man to have on your speed dial if you're concerned that carpet fibres might be affecting your long term health prospects. Dr Frank Lipman looks at his clients' welfare holistically.

I thought you might be interested to take a look at his philosophy here. I also rather like Gwyneth's newsletter, Goop. You can sign up for it here. 

So technically speaking, Gwyn is our friend. I mean, she wouldn't write to just anyone, right? 

Look Great Live Green

 Buy this book here

I heart this image. This is the front cover of Deborah Burnes' book exploring the dangerous side of chemicals in the beauty industry. As regular readers will know, my stance is that natural would always be ideal, but you often have to accept that you will not get the pigment you desire with natural products, or the effects you might wish for. I've been told directly by a well known deodorant manufacturer that there is no way his natural deodorants will work in the way a non organic antiperspirant will. So we have to make our choices. My choice is to stay fresh because of my lifestyle; I ride my bike and I'm often physically close to people...so I think I can speak for my clients when I say they're grateful for it!

My message will always be the same - if you care about this issue and can afford the time and money in going natural or semi natural then great, but if there are other issues to address right now, such as a heavy heart or low self-esteem, pick your battles and work on the self-love - the other bits tend to fall into place anyway.

I use natural skincare, but I also use some of the big cosmetic brands which are not natural - that's the choice I've made, we can only do what works for us given our time restraints and lifestyle. My position might change, it's changed before. My world is beautiful when I don't stress it.

I heart this

I heart this photo, which I found via Slumber Designs, one of my favourite blogs.

I heart Made By Girl

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I've posted previously on gorgeous Jen (above in her office) at Made By Girl. 

I love her work, her cute blog and brilliant ideas. She's been doing a great series on Christmas gifts - she asks interior bloggers what their fave one gift under the tree would be. 

You get to be nosy, be inspired and discover amaze blogs all in one go. I heart this blog which I've just discovered via Jen.

What's not to love?

Sweetly Raw

 Raw and looks oh so creamy...

Via Sweetly Raw

Having posted Jay Rayner's anti-raw rant yesterday which certainly made a lot of sense (who could argue with the fact that humans have come a long way?), my eyes caught some yummy looking recipes on the Sweetly Raw blog today. Tuck in. As far as I'm concerned, there's no way it can hurt to eat nutrition-heavy raw delights, whether you down wheatgrass like it's your favourite vino or not.

Find more recipes and words of wisdom from Raw food chef Heather Pace here.

Does cooking make us human?

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The raw food movement fascinates me and of there are plenty of examples of gorgeous proponents to persuade us of its benefits. Here is one of many. I'm always interested in the other side of an argument, so I found Jay Rayner's article Why raw food fanatics make my blood boil very interesting. Here's an extract below. You can read the whole article here.

'We are humans, ergo, we cook. The celebrated anthropologist Richard Wrangham recently published a whole book, Catching Fire, which argues it is cookery which made us human. Heating food makes it possible to extract the maximum amount of energy from ingredients. That meant our ancestors could waste less time foraging for stuff to keep them going and could instead concentrate on really cool things like inventing machinery, developing language, and becoming artists so they had something to talk about. Without the appliance of fire to food we really would still be hanging about in trees doing the fly-eating thing. Wrangham's argument is rigorous and compelling. You would have to be an A-grade, gold medal-winning, premier league arse of mammoth proportions to dismiss it as bunk.'

Have you tried eating raw? Where do you fit in between the two perspectives?

Making the most of your money

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One of the most important things to address for a beautiful life is personal finances. Whether you earn a little or a lot, learning to manage your money in a way that works for you is essential for a peaceful feeling. 

You can pop things onto a credit card in a bid for a consumer happy lifestyle, but once you've owned the new thing for a few days, the excitement wears off and the worries about how to pay the card off can overshadow any joy you felt at the point of purchase.

There are a million ways to organise finances, but something which has worked for me is very simple. I'm no genius in the maths department, so this is a very simple and easy-to-follow approach: 

1. Calculate what is coming in

2. Take away all the usual direct debits and standard payments (mortgage, utilities, insurance etc)

3. Then take out the amount of money you want to use for food and keep it in cash, or closely watch card payments if you are shopping online. Work out what is left after food shopping.

4. Then work out what you will need money for this month: beauty appts, meals out, coffee with friends, birthdays, social events and so on. Divide your remaining funds between these items.

5. Spend the amount you've calculated for the above and nothing more. If you manage to spend less than you allowed for, you've got a bonus saving at the end of the month.

In addition to this, keep a list of absolutely everything you spend over the month. Keep receipts to make this easy. 

I suggest columns with: 

• date
• shop/type 
• detail
• amount
• method of payment
  

This way you can start to see where patterns emerge. If you are spending a lot on taxis, food, coffee or lunch, you can figure out ways to save on those items if you need to. 

When you use money in this way, you start to see the bigger picture, so random impulse purchases can loose their allure. You see them for what they are; just tat. I put a lot of time thinking about what I need, and much of it I decide I don't need after all. I don't want to accumulate; for me it's all about streamlining. 

It's not all about having a lot of money. Although that is rather nice. It's what you do with it that counts. 

The inspiration for this post was this article. I was so impressed at what can be done with a little thought and sacrifice. They do say there's no such thing as 'can't'. Whilst a monastic life doesn't suit everyone (it certainly doesn't suit me), it's true that as you feel happier and more peaceful inside, the desire to own lots of things wanes, and the adrenalin burst you get in department stores lessens somewhat.

If you liked this post, you might also like: this or the Managing Personal Affairs posts, where my girlfriends kindly spilt the beans on their secrets of domestic bliss.

Pamela face

If, like me, you grew up with a big fat girl crush on Pam, maybe today is the day to channel her look? I've been going to town with backcombing the barnet of late, so whilst surfing for inspiration I discovered Sam of Pixiwoo. Check out her YouTube vids for amazing make up tutorials - they're the right speed to follow and you feel as if you're in the room with her. She looks amazing when done up as Pam by her own hand. Hot indeed:

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Sitting on the fence

 Ben, just because he's pretty cute to look at.

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I would describe myself as pretty open minded; politically pliable; nicely swayed by a bit of propaganda from one extreme to another. 

This can be a positive but it's also pretty annoying. It would be kinda cool not to swing from one fad to another. For this reason, although I've read a lot of books which have 'detox your life' somewhere in the title, I enjoyed Bad Science by Ben Goldacre immensely. Goldacre proves, amongst other things, that toxins do not really exist. That is, that no human being has been able to prove their existence so far, but of course you and I might talk about things like smoking and junk food and conceptually perceive these things to be poisons to our bodies. I find the umbrella term 'toxins' to be a pretty helpful way to describe them.

I don't get upset by these revelations, I was amused by most of them, but that doesn't mean I'm about to dismiss everything I've experienced to be true both personally and through my clients. I know that if I abuse my body with unhealthy lifestyle choices that I look and feel awful, and if I live well I feel good. Much of this could be a placebo effect, but I'm happy with that if I get the result I want. That's what matters, right? 

I've never been evangelical about using natural skincare or eating organic, partly because I'm so pliable and partly because sometimes there are bigger things in the world to get upset about. I don't believe that being neurotic is a fair exchange for healthy living to the point of fanaticism. I believe that having love, warmth, friendship and family in one's life and being in control (to a healthy degree) of areas such as finances and workload can have a massive impact on an individuals' wellbeing, so if we are going to be truly holistic then we need to consider all of these factors.

I recommend Bad Science because it's always good to be informed and hear the other side of a story. It's entertaining and laugh-out-loud good in places. It also serves as a reminder that in this world there are many many choices. We can worship at the alter of detoxes and raw food, but we can also worship at the alter of break-through science. I'm comfortable dancing between the two for now, because sometimes sitting on the fence is the best place for a girl while she figures things out.

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