I recently discovered this beautiful illustration Saudade by Portuguese Illustrator and Visual Artist Fatinha Ramos.
www.fatinah.com
Fatinha describes Saudade as “The only Portuguese word without translation. It´s the feeling of missing someone so hard, that the pain goes deep into the soul. Saudade is a deep sadness and emptiness , a void that can only be filled with memories.”
I asked Philip Treacy…
“What top tip would you give to women wanting to be the best version of themselves?
“A hat is a positive symbol.
A good hat is the ultimate glamour accessory.
A hat can completely change the personality of the wearer, make them stand differently and walk differently.
A hat can make that person feel interesting.
People think sometimes that people who wear hats want to show off.
But human beings, since the beginning of time, have always wanted to embellish themselves. So hats have been around since the year dot.
It’s a human thing to want to dress every part.
Hats are meant to be for everyone.
It’s a very potent part of the body to decorate because, when you meet people for the first time, you are not meeting their foot or their hand or their hip, you are meeting their face.
The purpose is to enhance the features of the face.
It’s also a cheaper alternative to cosmetic surgery!”
“Imagine a sisterhood , across all creeds and cultures . An unspoken agreement that we, as women, will support and encourage each other. That we won’t seek to take advantage of another’s weakness, or sit in judgement of each other’s shortcomings. That we will remember we don’t know what struggles each of us may be facing elsewhere in our lives and so we’ll assume that each of us is doing our best. That we will do the work to heal ourselves so that together we can create a more compassionate world.”
We – A Manifesto for Women Everywhere by Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel
I’m just going to say the thing you’re not supposed to say…
I love you… but I love me more.
I’ve been in a relationship with myself for 49 years and that’s the one I need to work on.
Samantha Jones – Sex and the City
I love this quote because I’m all about understanding and improving the relationship you have with yourself… and I will use any excuse to quote Samantha Jones. I mean it was unlikely I’d ever get to work her classic saying of dicklicious’ into a blog post!
So this February make a declaration of love to yourself.
Buy yourself something (flowers and/or heart shaped chocolates) or make time for some self-care (slap on a face-mask and tidy up your trotters.)
Me? I’ll be popping over to Asda for some heart shaped crumpets and sharing the love by treating my beautyblender to a new home (egg cups are the perfect practical storage solution and my new obsession).
So, what will you be doing?
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
From the wonderful book Big Magic by the fabulous Elizabeth Gilbert
A favourite poem of Audrey’s, and one she often read to her children.
“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you’ll never walk alone.
People even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed: never throw out anyone”.
Remember, if you need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others”
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.
And the beauty of a woman, with passing years only grows.
Sam Levenson
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost . . . I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault . . . It takes forever to find a way out.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in this same place. But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall . . . it’s a habit . . . but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
I walk down another street.
“If you wait for the weather, you’ll wait forever”
My Grandad Paddy
What’s preventing you from embracing your fabulous life right this moment?
What are you waiting for? Maybe it’s Mr. Right? Smaller thighs? Inner poise? Or having amazing sun-dappled layers a la Jennifer Aniston?
Are you waiting for what you perceive to be the perfect situation to present itself? For the stars to align? For your ducks to be sitting in an ooh so pretty, and very neat looking row?
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but while you’re dreaming of the day when you wake up, click your fingers and the Disney perfect scene of helpful forest animals… You know the one where the rabbits, squirrels and chirping bluebirds appear – Snow White style? Life is passing you by!
Yes I’ll admit it took me almost a year to light a Jo Malone candle and I went batshit crazy when The Husband used one of the accompanying, and somewhat beautiful matches. Even going as far as naming and shaming him on Facebook (Oops).
So, it’s time to wear your best frock, post your CV, put yourself forward for that promotion and actually use the expensive bath oil that you were given for Christmas, (you know the one you save for special occasions).
Become the most fabulous version of you… Don’t wait for a special occasion, life is the special occasion x
“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.
A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”.
Roald Dahl – The Twits