Somebody I used to know.

So, I am very much aware that I have really been avoiding what was not so long ago my obsession. I have been crazy busy, so while I find some time to conjurer up some inspirational post, I leave you with my current favorite song. I thought the music video was brilliant and the lyrics are. . well. . .incredibly true for anyone who has ever had a break up or an end to nay type of relationship really. I was sharing the same thought with my boyfriend (who I adore and hope is never the recipient of such a song) just the other day, about how strange it is that when you form a relationship with someone, you get to know everything about them (well almost) and then suddenly, over time, as the result of a break up, that person ends up becoming somewhat of a stranger. The person you once trusted with all your heart, is now someone you would remember only as a distant memory. Sad, isn't it.

Dad

12 years ago today my dad passed away. He committed suicide after suffering from severe depression and my life has never been the same since. As a child, I was very close to my dad, I was his little girl and we shared many precious moments together that I will forever hold close to my heart. He used to wake me up early and we would sit and drink our tea together in the morning before anyone else was awake, telling each other stories and laughing together. Whilst I would trade a great deal to have him back for just a moment, I have grown and learnt a lot from his death. The emotions that revealed themselves on the day he died never really did go away, they just became less prominent and learning to deal with those emotions in a healthy way has been both my greatest challenge and accomplishment in my life so far. You cannot describe in words how it feels to lose someone close to your heart and there are days when I would trade my entire world just to see him for one more chat over a cup of tea, but I have come to accept his death, forgive him for his decision and continue to uphold his memory. I hope that I have made you proud Dad, I love you very much and I miss you every day.  

We get by with a little help from our friends

So today was rather successful. After a bit of photographic creativity in the morning, I was invited to join my mum and her friends for lunch. I am extremely close to my mum and get on with her and her friends very well. They are an absolute laugh and there is nothing like a girls lunch to get you in a cheerful spirit. I sat across the table from four beautiful women picturing myself staring at my own best friends some 30 years later, reminiscing about the good and the bad times and finding a reason to laugh through it all. It’s wonderful what you can learn from someone older than you, someone whose been there done that and can give you advice on finding your own way through the world. Women especially, are such wonderful teachers, there is a delicate grace in which they pass down their knowledge and as a young woman myself, I am more than eager to receive all the advice that I can get. What inspired me most about today’s lunch was hearing these women’s stories and then looking at the way they have handled all their trials and tribulations. From cheating husbands, horrible divorces, cancer, burglaries and all the other hardships that come with life, they have still managed to maintain a positive spirit (with a little help from a bottle of wine and some gin and tonic) and have emerged from those struggles with a courage, bravery and strength that is an admirable quality in any woman. It was inspiring to see how even despite the hardships that they may be facing on a daily basis, they are still able to come together and help each other laugh about it all. That what friends are for, I guess, they lift you up when you are down and keep you there. They are aways there for you, even if you only see them years at a time, and are always happy to remind you of the beauty and strength that lies within your soul. The gift of friendship is a wonderful gift, one of the best, and I can’t wait to experience my life alongside the wonderful people I call my friends and sit across a table in 30 years time and remember what a laugh we all had and will continue having.  

“Friendship is like peeing in your pants, not everyone can see it but only you can feel the true warmth”

Just some Friday loves. . . .

Andrew Berry Photography

I saw this on we-are-awesome.com/blog and I couldn't resist re-posting it! I love these images and think the are so beautifully inspiring. A new and wonderful look at fashion photography!

From Here

Kate Spade New York: "Our Spin on the Pinwheel"

In true Kate Spade Fashion: Live your life coloufully everybody :)

Have a beautiful day!

From Here

Dreamer

Ever catch yourself starring out of the window, your mind wondering around thoughts that have no particular connection to what you were actually or should actually be doing? It happens to me often, more often than not in fact, although my thoughts don’t always dance around other thoughts, they kind of just sit still, I really like to just not think sometimes, it calms me. That however is the problem, when I’m really stressed, I go into my ‘calming’ mode and I just completely zone out. I sit there, completely motionless, staring out the window, thinking about nothing in particular and I end up just letting my work load pile on. I’m a Pisces, so therefore a dreamer by definition, I can sit for hours completely entertained by the wonderful thoughts that fill my mind, or those that don’t, I can browse the internet for hours, allowing things to catch my eye, inspire me and then lead me to dream of a million more things, a chain reaction that leaves me quite frankly exhausted but I love it. I think one’s ability to think and to sit quietly with one’s own thoughts is so beautifully magical. Your private thoughts are so wonderful because they are just that, private. They are thoughts that no one will ever know, unless you share them of course, and it is those private conversations, that we so often have with ourselves, that I truly feel are what get some people through their day. I am surrounded by amazing people and I love to spend time with them but I believe that it is not until one is able to sit quietly with their thoughts and converse with them, that they have ‘discovered’ themselves and the beauty that comes with truly knowing yourself, who are and who you want to be. Discovering who you are comes with allowing your mind to tell you who it wants to be and what thrills it, it comes with listening.  So I dedicate this post to all the dreamers out there, to all those playful thoughts, those wishes upon stars and those private conversations. People may look at us and assume that we are unable to concentrate on what’s in front of us but only we know that that’s not the case, we just happen to find our thoughts more entertaining! Keep dreaming, keep believing and keep inspiring yourself to think!