After lots of wonderment at a small
If you’ll excuse the mess and the boxes and the totally ‘bare’ look, here it is. Hope you enjoy it and that you’ll appreciate the view as much as we do.
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So many products are being produced out there, touted to help you in keeping ageing at bay. From Botox to dermal massage rollers to facelifts. SO many are scarily invasive and can be dangerous.
Reading by chance an article on Daily Mail about ageing and the ancient art of tongue scraping, got me all excited to share with you my thoughts. I’ve been doing this for ages and very happy to share with you my own experience.
As many of you know, I love learning new languages! I am counting about 11 languages that I have learnt and/or speak fluently. This doesn’t include me picking up American Sign Language in my late teens as one of my best buddies in Singapore was hearing and talking impaired.
I started learning Spanish many years ago out of interest in one of the world’s most used languages. It also helps that many of the languages I learnt were borne out of my interest in food. Latin American food has always interested me. Therefore it was natural for me to want to learn their language. Due to the Spanish colonisation hundreds of years ago, the Spanish language is widely spoken in South America
Many of the books available to buy then were mainly from the US. I bought Spanish for Dummies, which was written for the US market and subsequently listened to CDs with pronunciations that were used in those regions.
Just like spoken and written English, there are massive variations. Think between English in the UK compared to American English and Jamaican English. They are all correct in their own terms.
Moving to Europe years ago meant that I became familiar with Spanish from Spain though I thought all Spaniards spoke with a lisp! Now I understood it as a Barcelona ‘quirk’. ?
I am getting familiarised again with speaking Spanish since we moved to Southern Spain 3 weeks ago. FYI, I find it harder to learn a new language when you’re not fully immersed in the culture and get to speak it often.
Here’s my explanation of what I find to be ‘cute’ differences and if you ever want to come visit me, here’s what you need to know about trying out the ‘local’ language. 😉
If you are now curious about the way of life in Andalusia, come check out this blog post! Step inside what a typical whitewashed village home looks like!
When I first chanced upon Brit Claire Grove’s Instagram page, I was so attracted to her beautiful profile. She had her work for different magazines on display and also her stylish OOTDs and her life in New Zealand to tease us.
I commented on her photos and was so pleased to see her replying sincerely. When she posted about the children’s books that she’s published, I knew I had to get them for my little girl.
We met in leafy Wimbledon Village when she visited the UK, her old hometown and where I happened to live by too! We had a gorgeous Sunday brunch and chatted like we’ve known each other for years! Isn’t that amazing when you chance upon a stranger and feel like you’re already friends for long?
She passed a beautiful package to me of her two books and some other little “My Mummy Loves’ gifts. I cannot believe how super attractive her books are! These books, I have to say, are probably one of the rare books I would like for myself as an adult!
I purposely packed these books aside for our move to Spain, thinking we’ll be away for a bit and I wanted some attractive books to keep 6-year-old Ayla’s attention. We’ve had so much fun focusing on each page and discussing the way she’s painted each item, besides reading the words. Every book has a little fun activity for you and your little one to do. (The more I read them, the more fascinated I am with each bag/shoes she’s drawn!)
1) Where does the inspiration for the books come from?
I’ve always been mad about shoes and bags from a very early age (a hint in the titles of the books!). When my first daughter Sienna was born, I thought how lovely it would be to read a book to her all about shoes and bags and the journey the mother and daughter would go on to find them. It took me until she was 7 to finally realize my dream and self-publish my first book, ‘My Mummy Loves Shoes’.
2)
I’d love there to be another book in the Mummy Loves series, but life as a recently single mum and my styling and influencer work takes up most of my time. I have sketched a few pages for ‘My Mummy Loves Hats’, and have the draft story done, It’s just finding those extra hours in the day to sit down and illustrate!
3) What are your plans for the future?
There are many exciting projects on the horizon. I’ve just finished a bespoke illustration for the personal shopper at Selfridges, London for him to give to his clients. Creating something for one of my favourite department stores was a dream. I’m currently working on logo designs for a luxury dog boutique based here in Auckland. I’m so pleased with the designs so far. I’m taking part in the Pink Star Walk in a couple of weeks (sponsored by Estée Lauder) that raises awareness for breast cancer. The day after the event I fly to Queenstown to work on a
If you are a fashion mama who wants to pass on the love of beautiful shoes and bags through exquisitely hand-painted books, or just want to get to know more of Clare’s work, do visit her site: http://www.my-mummy-loves.com/
Have you travelled around Europe and seen how you can drive through small, cobbled alleys?
I’ve always wondered when we used to drive through France and Italy, what’s behind those doors. Now that we have ‘gently’ moved to Southern Spain, it’s even more interesting to see these doors and get a glimpse of the people going in and out of them.
It was my husband’s idea to do this particular Sunday Vlog. He said, if we have wondered ourselves, maybe there are others who would love to know to. So here it is. Come through the keyhole!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iph7R_Eswk[/embedyt]
My miracle no.4 child is like me in so many ways. Yet she doesn’t look like me.
I suspect she’s most probably having ADHD (like me), is very good with little details and is highly emotionally in tune to people and environment.
Since she was a wee toddler, she’s always loved fruits and veggies. She could happily munch on cucumber and tomatoes as much as she does Smarties.
I’ve always thought she was lactose intolerant like I am and her 2 other siblings. So she knows she can’t go eating any milk products until I give the go ahead.
A bad episode of bronchi infection and months of prolonged coughing took us to the hospital where it’s revealed she’s actually allergic to all dairy products. This is the beginning of her own food journey.
She knows that she can no longer enjoy milk or cheese unless it’s specifically sheep or goats milk. After a while, she started to ask more questions about food. She would also be the one to point out to me that I’m potentially feeding her something I shouldn’t.
Since this happened about a year ago, her preference for veggies and carbs increased. She ate less and less of the meat we placed on her plate but would polished off the veggies and potatoes/pasta.
We’ve noticed her preference quietly and didn’t say anything except to encourage her to eat her meat protein as much as possible.
It wasn’t until we moved to Spain recently that she openly said ‘Mummy I don’t want to eat animals anymore. They are all so cute!’
We thought it was a little funny but realised she was serious. She would order chicken nuggets and chips from the kids meal but would leave the nuggets alone. A little cajoling to eat some nuggets would make her upset.
Anyway here’s a small clip from ‘the horse’s mouth’ so to say. I thought it’ll be quite fun to let her address my subscribers and share her new choice.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7oLcDrKBU[/embedyt]
