Hello all!!
My half term week started in style. Right after work last Friday friends and I went to see new James Bond movie, Skyfall and collectively, we really, really liked it. I don't think that the movie merits more than that. It was good fun. The movie was followed by a few drinks in a warm pub.
In my world, a pretty perfect way to start a holiday.
And then today, I spent the day with people I love and enjoy being with. I had a terrible nightmare last night, and couldn't shake it off for a few hours after I woke up, but having delicious mince pies, coffee and good conversation, made everything better.
Mince pies were provided by the amazing Heston Blumenthal via Waitrose:
Tin Tin joined us for coffee:
And after a dinner at a lovely Tapas Bar in Clapham Common, I opened my belated birthday present:
This person knows me really well. I can't live without a Moleskin diary and journal.
So, after waking up on the wrong side of bed this morning, all I needed was good people around me and a few small treats.
I'll leave you with something that caught my eye the other day. Often, people concentrate on the negative and how things aren't as good as they'd like them to be. Sometimes, all we need is to step back, breath and look for the beauty around us:
"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
Easier said than done, I know, but well worth a try.
Hope you'll all be able to appreciate the good around you and spend some time with people that make you happy.
Red xx
Hello all!!
This week has been busy but relaxing too.
After a tough rehearsal at The Royal Festival Hall, I deserved coffee and sugar:
More coffee in one of the very old coffee shops in London:
And then few days later, I treated myself to an expensive but beautiful trench coat.
You can't exactly see the stylish cut, but I quite liked taking pictures of myself in it, in the mirror. I can't wait to wear it with skinnies and heels.
I also bought myself a new journal:
And I have spent good few hours reading one of the books from this year's Man Booker Prize short list. It is set in Bombay and it is about opium and drug addiction. Narcopolis is very much recommended.
And of course, I spent time with people I love and ate good food. That's always improtant.
I am now recharged for the last week at work before half term.
I'll leave you with a quote from Buddha:
"Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass
of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is
almost unnoticed."
What nice things have you done for yourself this week?
Have a lovely week everyone and enjoy every minute of it!!!
Red xx
Hello all!!
Lately, I have been noticing how little people smile and laugh. So rarely, do I hear laughter on a bus, train, supermarket, on the street.
We get so busy and so preoccupied with life, we forget to look at life and things around us with a bit of humour.
This weekend, I have been lucky to spend most of my time with people I love and people that make me happy. And above all, they know how to smile and laugh.
When was the last time you had a belly laugh? How often do you smile at a stranger on the street or a cashier at the supermarket?
I make a point of smiling at and talking to people I don't know, on a daily basis. Sure, sometimes, the reaction is that of puzzlement, but most of the time, 99% of the time, I get a smile back from them. For some reason, this makes me feel happy.
So, apart from my friends making me smile this weekend, this guy in Brixton Village also did:
So, here are two proverbs to set you for the week:
"If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy."
"Most smiles are started by another smile."
So, who are you going to make smile or laugh this week?
Call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while and make them smile? Smile at a passer by on the street? Let someone get on the train before you? Tell someone something nice that happened to you? Buy someone flowers? Anything, just make sure you make someone smile, even if just for a second.
Have a happy week everyone.
Red xx
Hello all!!
This weekend has been busy, but I also made sure that I found time just for me.
The day has started with a yoga session at the fabulous lululemon in King's Road. For some reason, I found this morning's practise very challenging at first. I think last few weeks have caught up with me and I just couldn't relax. My mat was next to the window and I could feel the sunshine on my face. And slowly my mind and body let go off everything that is happening in my life and for an hour, I lived in the moment. It is very difficult to do that on a daily basis, but I try very hard to do that in my every day life.
So, after an hour of challenging practise, I was at peace with the world and my mind became uncluttered. Wonderful, wonderful feeling.
I did a bit of window shopping and people spotting in the trendy Sloane Square:
However, I did not give in to the temptation and instead had a healthy lunch. Trust me it tastes much better than it looks. In fact, this has now become a staple diet:
But to keep an uncluttered mind for as long as you can, your living/ working space needs to have some order too. I am guilty of being messy (although, quite a few people told me that my style is "controlled mess"). I work well in a messy environment and I like the style. However, my working space has been an uninviting place for quite some time (probably even 3-4 months). I have never had it in such a state, and the longer I left to clean it, the harder it got to actually doing it.
But in the spirit of the day and uncluttered life, I decided to finally tackle this space and make it more enjoyable.
To my shame, this is how it looked a few hours ago:
And this is how it looks after an hour of tidying while listening to some pretty funky music to help the process:
Sure, it still has more stuff than it maybe needs (I don't do minimalism in anything), but I now find it inviting and will probably spend hours working in there tonight.
So, with my mind, body and my living space in harmony, here are two pictures of nature doing her bit to keep my mind balanced:
A week ago I was with a
group of people participating in an activity that I found somewhat
boring. My mind wondered and I started to think about mundane stuff
going on in my life. However, the group's enthusiasm and joy for the activity brought me around and I thought: "I am clearly in the wrong here. If I can't enjoy the activity, I should at least let myself go and enjoy other people's satisfaction and happiness." And just like that, I was brought back to the here and now. I lived in the moment, and not surprisingly, I actually started enjoying the activity. I left the group smiling. It is so easy to give into the negative and so hard to will yourself to work through a tricky or challenging moment in life.
To help you along in enjoying the moment, here is a quote I tell myself on a daily basis:
"To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now."
Hope you all have a peaceful week, noticing the small and the beautiful around you and of course, living in the moment.
Red xx
