In case you haven’t noticed by now, I kinda have a little love affair with Italy. In my recent trip to Verona (click here if you didn’t see my Verona blog post), we decided a day trip to Lake Garda was a must, seeing as we were in the nearby vicinity.
When most of us hear ‘Verona’, I’m fairly convinced we all want to burst in to a speech of “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene…” reminiscing the story of Romeo & Juliet and William Shakespeare’s infamous script of the tragedy.
A few weeks ago me and my ‘Romeo’ visited Verona, as part of a mini break to Italy (including Lake Garda and Venice – future blog posts to follow) and I had to share my experience of this beautiful town in northern Italy…
“A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” Winnie the Pooh
The honey-obsessed, naive and rather slow-witted bear also once said, “Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved,” as well as “some people care too much, I think it’s called love.” Despite the need to “think” ever so often, this charming Pooh Bear was always willing to help his friends.
You may have a friend or loved one who finds themselves in a “pickle” – i.e. loss and grief, a severe health issue, heartache, an abyss of anxiety and stress, a feeling of worry and sadness for a loved one, a marriage break-up, money issues, a job redundancy instigating a feeling of failure…the list of “pickles” amongst us all is endless (sadly).
Of course a cuppa, a chat and maybe a few tears is great therapy, but should you know someone who requires some extra special love and attention, here are some suggestions I have come across that are so wonderful, thoughtful and helpful in so many ways…
The new year is nearly upon us, and so I have decided to reflect and learn from the last year. I read the blog post I published this time last year (click here to read it), and my 2015 objective was to worry less and that I was going to “learn to dance in the rain”!
For me, 2015 still had its occasional battles, personally and professionally. Some I still choose not to share, but a bully in my life, who I thought would never be gone, suddenly became gone. Having been in my life for so long, it took a while to fully digest that I didn’t have to be in their presence ever again. It made me realise how much of my daily worry and life stresses were enhanced by this one awful individual.
FYI Being a bully, an egotistical fool, someone who victimises others and abuses the system, someone who doesn’t lead, inspire or educate and someone who deliberately antagonises , belittles and is mean to others, is not somebody worthy of our effort, friendship or respect.
I do often wonder what will happen if one day I bump in to this particular being…cue Charlotte from Sex & the City “I curse the day you were born!” HAHA!
The world of “vlogging” has gone a little mad in recent times. As a gal who’s worked in magazines, marketing, PR and all things media for many years now, it completely baffles me when I come across successful and popular vlogs, from those who have no qualifications, credentials, skills or experience in the fields they perceive to know and understand – with the beauty subject being the main culprit. (Unless, like me, you blog for a hobby or for some sort of life distraction and/or therapy – and therefore, not pretending to be something you’re not…)
The concept of vlogging is brilliant…but I just can’t seem to get on with many vloggers out there when it comes to beauty. As a 30 year old (alright…31), I find it very difficult to learn of new beauty tips and advice from a 20-something marketable lass, with no beauty qualifications or credentials – I just can’t relate to them or trust their content. (Especially when most of their posts are biased from being paid by brands or breaking the laws of the Bribery Act!). Good luck to them all, but I am just not their target viewer.
I may have originally qualified as beauty therapist before I moved in to the world of marketing, PR and lifestyle/celebrity/glossy magazines (when I was 17 wanted to be a makeup artist), so I do have an understanding of a basic skin care regime, and certain beauty dos and don’ts, but I like to still get my fix of up-to-date advice, trends, and learn of new products and tips – especially as I age (*sob*) which means implementing the occasional tweak to my beauty routines. I am NEVER one to ever look at myself and say “I’m pretty”, so for me, I want advice from someone who I can trust…
Flamingo Monroe 