Sick Day

Being ill sucks face. The End. I have been ill for 10 DAYS now with a pesky cold, of which I'm experiencing some most unsavoury side effects - sparing you the details!

Buuuut...here are a few things I think are particularly awesome about being forced to take the day off work:

1. Watching David Bowie in The Labyrinth - my fave children's movie. Although, there is something more than a little bit suggestive going on in the trouser department, which was mildly distracting to say the least!
2. Eating Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough (for medicinal purposes of course) until you feel more sick than you originally did. Case in point.
3. Becoming feverish and having a lengthy conversation with my new Siberian goose-down feather pillow. Ch-yeah!
4. Lift! Instant Lemon Tea with a big old dollop of manuka honey in it.
5. New Covent Garden Chicken Soup...oh my days, this is THE NUTS.

All in all, I didn't have a bad day off work yesterday despite some obvious 'vom' issues. Probably cookie dough induced, so I'm not complaining!

In other news, I am now at the refinement stage of my Invisalign treatment and have been given another 10 whole sets of aligners! I can cut down to wearing each aligner for 10 days, so fingers crossed, I should only have 93 days left of brace face ;)

And...got another cheeky tattoo at the weekend to show my love and support for my beautiful younger twin sisters - our family are separating, and I am going to miss them like hell when they are moved back down to London. Keeping my chin up, we will be celebrating by going for a meal and a hella messy night out in town on Sunday! Whoop!



Natalie Day!

By jove it has certainly been a while since my last blog! Had to take a break due to revision for a psychology exam, and I am incredibly happy to say that it is all over with now! Yay J no more study until October, when I will be studying a creative writing course...could not be more excited!

So, I have had plenty to keep myself busy with over the last few weeks, and have had many ups and downs that I promise not to bore you with! In typical Natalie fashion, whenever I have anything on my mind I either attempt frantic obsessive-compulsive cleaning or change the layout of my bedroom. This time I did both, and I also painted two feature walls in my living room and used the same colour throughout the hallway. I now have Dulux Banana Smoothie walls, and the apartment is looking super cheery!

off a work friend to cheer me up :)

The main thing that has really cheered me up though was the invention of Natalie Day (not my idea!). I came home one evening after a particularly rough weekend, to be greeted by two friends with presents who excitedly informed me that they had decided it was Natalie Day. I was bought some beautiful flowers, an AMAZING teapot with chickens on it, and we ate Ben & Jerry’s and watched Grey’s Anatomy all night. Perfecto. How blessed I am indeed to have such supportive friends J

this is one of my all-time favourite gifts now. Look at the chickens!

Other than that, I was doing fantastically with my meditation up until last Thursday, and I haven’t done it since *big slap on the wrist* But, I am starting Ashtanga Yoga tonight with the wife, so I plan to meditate as soon as I get home from my cheeky yoga sesh!

I will have loads more to update you on asap, I just had to get the dreaded ‘first-blog-in-weeks’ post out of the way. My dear friends, procrastination has a hell of a lot to answer for!

unrelated, but I had so much fun at the show with my Dad

Headspace

Talk about emotional baggage...I honestly don't know how they let me onto an aeroplane with my ready-to-burst suitcases of weighty issues. It really is so incredibly easy to get caught up in your own thoughts and give all your energy to feeding your problems.

I've felt like this recently. Questions of 'What if?' and statements of 'I don't understand' and 'if you look at it this way...' were consuming me, and in all honesty I've had a face on me like an unloved pug.

Yep, major case of sad eyes. Oosh! A change is gonna come!

I read about Get Some Headspace in an old copy of Elle and thought, 'Oh boy, this could be the ticket to fixing my internal monkey!'. Just so you don't think I'm a complete loony, I had a conversation not so long ago with someone about our internal monkeys - you know, the little monkey inside your head that reflects your personality and mental wellbeing etc. My internal monkey was lying in the corner of my mind in the foetal position, clutching a handful of crayons. And it didn't really look like a monkey, it looked like one of those weird goblin things off the old Sprite adverts...

Bad times eh?! So yes, internal monkey needs therapy.

Get Some Headspace was founded by Andy Puddicombe, expert in meditation. He has put together a fantastic website with tools and voice recordings to guide you into the habit of meditating each day. I wasn't really sure about the whole meditation thing to begin with, but after following his 'Take 10' programme I could definitely tell the difference. In 'Take 10', Andy encourages you to take just 10 minutes out of your day for 10 days to sit quietly and clear your mind. Once you've completed this, you then have the option to move onto 'Take 15' and 'Take 20'. I'm currently up to Day 9 of Take 15, and I feel fantastic. I cannot praise this website highly enough, and there's so much helpful information on there. No more sad eyes, no more fixating on things I cannot change. Just a clear mind, better sleep, and being much more productive at revising for impending Psychology exam - cheeky bonus! Women and children first, emotional baggage overboard.

For more information or to start the Get Some Headspace 'Take 10' programme, please go to

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

p.s. You can even link it to your Facebook account so your friends can track your progress

p.p.s. my internal monkey is now sitting up and happily scribbling away in her colouring-in book

Showcase This

Yesterday I was worried I'd have absolutely nothing notable to blog about today...and then I went to 3rd Degree Festival in Liverpool.

I went to support my very talented friend's band Evelyn.Is, and boy did she rock that stage! I felt like a proud mummy when she introduced the set by playing her harp, intimately draped on the stage floor. Her sound is atmospheric and moving, and needless to say, I was an emotional wreck 45 minutes later when I greeted her off stage!

It made me so happy to see someone I love doing something that they truly live for and were born to do, and not only that but kicking the ass out of it. You can follow Evelyn.Is by searching for them on Facebook.

In other less interesting news, I was so pleased today to realise that I have reached Aligner 29/29 for my Invisalign treatment, which means I potentially only have 2 weeks left until my dream smile!

I started treatment in March 2010, and since changing aligners ever 2 weeks from that point I really thought this day would never come! My bottom row of teeth finished months ago and look fantastic - in fact, when I smile, I can hardly believe they are my own after years of hiding my spacing issues and being called 'gappy' by an evil ex (is there any other kind of ex?).

I have my review in 2 weeks to see if I need any refinement - you Invisalign geeks will know what I'm talking about! If the result is perfect, then I will have all my attachments removed and move onto the retainer stage. So, I will keep you updated and hopefully have some super shiny before and after pictures to show you soon!

If you have any questions about Invisalign please feel free to ask - I could honestly go on about it all day long.

Shoe-gasm

Today has been a happy day :)

Today was the first time (drumroll please)...

a fellow blogger commented on one of my posts! Not just a friend that I have emotionally blackmailed into following me *fake enthusiasm*. A person found me, and liked me, and is following me. I am WELL CHUFFED. And that's how I started my day at 7:47am!

Please go and check out fellow blogger Ashley's blog at http://www.ashleyborysewich.blogspot.com/ - I am such a whore for beauty blogs so this is right up my street, naturally.

Another reason I am super smiley today is that I can't wait to go home to my new babies. After much deliberation about whether my credit card could handle a manic depressive shopping spree, I splurged. And oh baby, did I splurge good and hard.

Love at first sight, right?

And if I didn't have a damaged tendon in my ankle I would be wearing these to the supermarket, to work, to play, and even to bed. If I trip over the damn cat again, I swear it's war!

These beauties are £79.99 in River Island - they've sold out online, but you can still pick them up in store if you're hot on it ;)

Guess What...?

Aaargh! I can hardly contain my excitement to tell you, that I simply cannot wait until my usual blogging day (Wednesday) to hopefully spread some cheer.

Not usually one to blow my own trumpet, but attempt #2 of making le macarons KICKED ASS! So here's me, blowing my own trumpet. Parp!

I don't like to be rubbish at anything, I take it very personally and last week's failed attempt left me with a throbbing vein in my head and an insatiable desire to eat the entire contents of my fridge to lift my spirits. Onions excluded of course. So when my little babies grew feet and started to rise, I smiled wider than a kid with a cardboard box. Big time.

Filled with Baileys buttercream to make them extra special, I gave these as a gift to Mama Gill for her mummy's day - and the mega squidges she gave me tell me they were a hit :)

Other than that I'm still feeling pretty pants at the moment. I keep having incredible urges to do the classic Ron Burgundy "I'm stuck in a glass cage of emotion!" scream from Anchorman (incidentally one of my favourite films), but fail to see a way to adapt this into a suitable expression of emotion in the office environment. Another day, perhaps.

So I'm off to buy shoes instead...oh my, I can already feel the rush!

Sweet Treats

Baring in mind that this is a blog about Happiness, I feel it prudent to mention that I haven't exactly been in the best of spirits for the last week or so. I'm finding that it doesn't matter how much of a 'naturally sunny disposition' you have or how much you try to look for the little things that brighten your day, there are always going to be times when you're completely overwhelmed by life - but it is ok to feel this way! I have somehow managed to progress from an unwillingness to leave my duvet to being short-tempered with cheery salespeople on the phone at work, but, progress all the same.

Last night, trying to put a smile on my face and also take my mind off things, I decided to try and recreate some of the Parisien magic I experienced almost 2 years ago in the shape of...macarons.

don't you feel more cheerful just looking at these beauties?

Oh, le macaron!

£30 worth of equipment and two attempted batches of basic recipe later = EPIC FAIL. Now, I do feel I should mention that macarons are notoriously difficult to make, so I'm not beating myself up massively over it. But...I also fear that my less than savoury performance has pushed me one step closer to a complete emotional breakdown!

I have spent my afternoon googling tips, so with fresh spirits I will be going home tonight to start a 3-day-prep-mission for attempt #2.

Other than that, I plan to pick up my spirits over the next few days by - 

• attending a fundraising event called JapanTease - in a Hawaiian themed bar with special guest Burlesque acts for the night - for the tsunami appeal
• hopefully, successfully creating at least one edible batch of macarons in time for Mothers Day
• causing a sensation at work by wearing inappropriate floral trousers
• going to visit my family for the weekend
• consumption of Cadbury's creme eggs

*duvet optional.

Look at the shiny shiny!

I can't believe that after many months of writing about things that make me happy, I had forgotten about the biggest thing that brings me daily joy...

This is the hummingbird necklace by iconic jewellery designer Alex Monroe. I literally cannot survive the day without wearing my hummingbird, even though it spikes me in my sleep and gets tangled in my disgraceful gypsy hair.

Those who know me well know that I have a bit of an affinity with hummingbirds, as not only are they beautiful, colourful and majestic (a bit like myself obviously) but they symbolise gratitude - you know, that thing I keep banging on about!

So my little friend serves as a daily reminder to me to be grateful. And it's pretty :)

I am lucky enough to also own the double lily ring which was a gift for my 21st birthday, but am lusting after many other items including the crow feather ring. Check out http://www.alexmonroe.com/ if you fancy having a cheeky peak inside his treasure trove.

Bristol :)

I was wrong. Making statements like 'Bristol is always sunny!' are particularly dangerous when you have an impending trip planned. At one point I was wearing jersey body, tights over jersey body, leggings over tights, socks over leggings, t-shirt over jersey body, cardigan over t-shirt, leather jacket over cardigan, and snood 3 times my height wrapped over everything. Quite the picture of trampy chic!

Obvious complaints about weather aside, I had a brilliant time with my chum doing lots of Bristolly things (I'm aware that's not a word)...





The awesomeness that is Swinky's sweet shop

More Swinky goodness

Traditional Morrocan Mint Tea - yum!

The Morrocan Tea Room in Bristol Market

From the pictures it largely looks like my trip to Bristol was nothing more than a celebration of food and drink. Point taken!

Because my Blackberry is such a willy these limited photos are all that I managed to take and are working Blackberry's signature blur and muted colours - winner. But, we did have plenty more fun times doing very touristy things and hanging out in nice independent joints, which makes a refreshing change from the chain-store saturated Liverpool. On a side note, did you know Phil Potts (the sandwich extraordinaire) is part of a chain? No corporate cucumbers please!!!

Good Times and Resolutions

Hope everyone had as much fun on pancake day as I did! There was red wine and American pancakes a-plenty at our pancake party, easily the most enjoyable Shrove Tuesday to date :)

And in the spirit of Lent, I thought that now would be the perfect time to share with you my new resolutions for my happiness project. Ok, so technically I'm not giving anything up (like chocolate/men/alcohol - you know, the usual), but I will be giving up some bad habits and free time!

Following on from the book I blogged about recently - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben - I indulged in a modest splurge (as she puts it in her book) and purchased a copy. In it she sets out the 12 areas of her life that she would like to improve; in the hope that the changes implemented will boost overall happiness, she focuses on one area per month and sets resolutions to keep.

I'm too dense to work out if you can share a document on a blog post, but heres an example of what mine looks like (poorly copied into Microsoft Paint - seriously, I'm not age 5 any more)...

You can only see a few months here, but I have managed to come up with an entire 12! My resolutions include things like focus on friendships, pursue a passion, giving, increase my potential, and focus on fun. If you can see my little smiley faces in the end column, these indicate the ones I've already completed - so I have already successfully completed all of February's resolutions and am making good progress on March!

I can already comment that I'm feeling much happier after following through on all of February's little tasks - just doing simple things like working out a repayment plan for my credit card and clearing out 5 boxes of stuff for the charity shop have helped to relieve some of the constant level of anxiety I was feeling!

And, as per February's resolution, I am off to Bristol for 4 days tomorrow to visit my friend Maxine. I can hardly wait for another drunken duet of the classic song Kiss (by Prince) in Mr. Wolf's bar, and Bristol's finest PieMinster pies. And later concluding that the obvious late night snack would be toast-on-prawns...or prawn surprise as we like to call it.



me and my pal in Brizzol