One Sparkly Life

I'm not a writer, but I blog. I'm not an artist, but I create. I'm not a chef, but I bake. I'm not a mother, but I want to be. I'm not a wife, but I am an awesome girlfriend. I'm not an explorer, but I love to travel. I'm not an academic, but I love to learn. I'm not a fashionista, but I love great clothes. I am all of these things and none of them at the same time.  I am more than a label. I have dreams, plans, goals and crazy ideas. I love and am loved. I am the product of my decisions and the blank canvas of my future. I am me and who I choose to be today, tomorrow and next year. I am both complex and simple.  I am on a journey without an end.  I have been inspired and tortured recently  by the concept of who and what am I. I am many different things to many different people. But who am I to me? Who do I want to be? What do I stand for and against? Too big to answer today but I wanted to share.  Who are you? Who do you choose to be today? Xxx

Another month has flown by and we are already in the middle of February. Why does time go so fast as I get older? January was a month of craziness. I started the year with a cast iron desire to stand up for myself and not sell myself short. My first act in this was to hand in my resignation to the that was draining everything from me. Thankfully my contract included only a 1 week notice period so Monday morning I booked a meeting with the CEO and by Friday I was waving goodbye. While this brought a massive sense of relief that no longer was I being hammered in a toxic environment, the reality of what I had done started to sink in. I had thrown in my job with no back up plan. No savings and no other job to go too! Ahhhh sheer craziness and a sure sign of just how drained I was being there. It has been a long time since I had done something so foolhardy without a plan. But I had enough cash to pay the next 2 months of rent and a new enthusiasm for myself. My first week was a joyous...

A belated post wrapping up the year that was 2014. I mentioned it a little previously that 2014 started well but July to Dec was a pretty challenging time for me and my family all round. From work pressure and family grief by the time 31 Dec rolled around I was more than happy to say goodbye. On reflection there were some happy points but the last 6 months have been one big stress. I learned a lot about myself, my colleagues, my family and my friends along the way. I learnt to listen to my inner voice and trust myself.  I also learnt that your true friends will be there for you through these times and that some people have their own agenda and will step on anyone in their way. That was a hard lesson for me to learn as I trust people and believe in their good nature all the time. I am by no means "pollyanna" about things but I do believe that people are inherently good and not evil. This last year has shown me evil side of human nature. A side of some people I never thought ...

Happy New Year! Here's hoping you all had a fabulous start to 2015 and said goodbye to last year in a way that made sense to you. Before the posts about reviewing goals and and making new ones, I thought I would squeeze in a review of what my December looked it. Or at leaf the part that ended up in photos. A snapshot of the month that that was for you. Inspiration - Blanc de Blanc - White Dinner in Paris The Xmas Tree this year Summer sunsets on the balcony Homemade Honeycomb & Chocolate IceCream The drinks table at our holiday drinks Brunch - my favourite meal of the day Xmas baking - Choc & Cranberry Panforte Nan's recipe Lemon Curd Quick & Easy Raspberry Jam The finished gingerbread people ready for Xmas Xmas hampers for 2014 Fruit Mince pies The post Xmas lunch food coma Discovering Nan's original UK recipes The last sunset of 2014 Happy New Year from the balcony. I...