Hey Mr Deejay

I just had the craziest day yesterday. I work in the shopping district in London, what one calls the West End and I often hear about all the designers coming out with their collection in H&M or TopShop or wherever, on such and such day, but I never bother going because I just hate the running around, fighting girls over a certain dress, elbowing each other just to get the latest fashion.

So I never went to those things, but going to work yesterday, I remembered that the Madonna collection was coming out that day at H&M. I walk by that store every day on my way to work, so I thought it can't hurt to have a look inside.
I get there and there is music blaring out of the shop - 'Music' by Madonna, which is one of my favourites, is played by two trendy deejays.
I enter the shop, following the music like in a trance. The collection is downstairs, but I see nobody on the escalator and looking down there are lots of paparazzi, so I wait, unsure of what to do, which must have looked so silly. Then I see a couple of girls taking the plunge, and so I get on the escalator.
As I start looking around the collection I quickly grab some items in my size like if I was possessed, and I especially fall in love with a short leather jacket. Everything is black, white or beige, very elegant, very chic, well, very Madonna I think.
Shoes, bags, sunglasses, belts, dresses, all sorts of everything.

It was 9.30 and I was 30 minutes late for work. But never mind, I had to try the clothes. So, I ended up deciding on the leather jacket, which is to die for and I want to wear it every day for the rest of my life, and a black and white jersey dress.
On my way to the till, I am surprised to spot my lovely colleague S.! We have been working together for 5 years and are very good friends, on the same wavelength so to speak. She sees me at the same time and we start laughing: 'You too here?!!' So we began browsing the racks once more, worried that this could be our last chance before everything is sold out.

Well, I ended up also buying 2 shiny black belts, one skinny, one large and one silk foulard with the Madonna logo.
She got three dresses and also a foulard.

At the till, we told the sales assistant that we were skipping work to be there and she laughed, we felt like 16 years old girls skipping school for a day of shopping!
At the end we arrived at the office at 10am, so not even that late, but we decided to stroll in separately and that I was going to hold the bags, as her client was waiting for her and she did not want him to see she was late because of the shopping. Of course all this was possible because our boss was on holiday.

Today is Friday, I am wearing my new jacket and it's a super super day.

Nostalgic afternoon

I have found my favourite cartoon from the '80's! Have a look, it's hilarious. It's a Japanese cartoon dubbed in Italian called Hello Spank. This is the title song. Isn't he cute?

I used to watch a lot of Japanese cartoons when I was a kid, as that's what they showed at the time on telly, it brings back many memories of happy times!

What are your props?

I recently read a book about dependency and addictions in general, as I was very interested about the psychology of it all. I have always considered myself to have an addictive personality and so I wanted to explore what it all meant.

I found out many interesting factors but most importantly the book explained that sometimes we substitute one addiction with another. I started wondering what will I substitute my addiction to cigarettes with. I have successfully managed to cut down from 20 a day to 5 a day since one year and half ago, when I turned 30, and at Christmas I will be quitting for good. We will start trying for a baby and so smoking will come to a natural end.

I also wondered about the people around me and what their addictions are and even if they have any. Some people appear to have no addictions or compulsions at all and I can't help but admire them. Take my sister for example, she doesn't drink or smoke, she works a lot, she has one kid, pregnant with her second, she cleans the house every day and cooks like Martha Stewart, she is not too attached to telly or books, even though she enjoys both, she doesn't own a computer, so we can rule out the Internet, she doesn't overspend, but actually is a great saver, so what does she have? Is she superwoman?

I hope to one day become a good mother and a good cook like she is, but I know I will always need props. Props is what the book talked about in terms of addictions. It explained that addictions are like props, props to help us in this life, to make us forget that we don't know why we are here, and that we don't know where we are going once we die. There are healthy props and unhealthy props. I hope to give up the unhealthy ones, but it is a difficult process, to walk unaided, without crutches, because that's what my props are, just crutches to help me walk in this life. Why can I not walk without? I don't know.

My props at the moment are telly, books and cigarettes. One has to go for sure, the other two can stay, as long as they don't become compulsive and take over my life.

Can you walk without crutches and if not, what are your props?

Moving Home and Moving On

We are moving! Well, I sound happy, but it was not such a happy news at first. Our landlord called us and told us that he is selling the flat where we currently live, in Shoreditch.

Shoreditch is a lovely area of London which is most famous for his multitude of bars, restaurants and clubs. There is very little green, but lots of trendy bars. It is extremely close to the financial centre of London, the City, so our neighbours are a mix of trendy but poor artists or wealthy stockbrokers. We have always loved the bohemian feel with the art galleries and the mix of different people and the exciting night life, that as a young couple with no kids, we have been experiencing quite often.

We would have stayed here until the big move to Paris, but as we have no other choice, we have to move and we have decided to change area as we are completely fed up with the nightlife and the indulgence of boozy afternoons sitting in the sunshine outside our local pub. We want proper parks and proper family neighboroughood, we want a garden and a barbecue and a supermarket nearby. We want walks by the river and romantic dinners, we want an occasional evening in a no-smoking pub with our friends and their kids, we want to finally be a grown up couple and realise that maybe, finally, the party is over.

And it feels just about the right time. So, after researching and researching, we have settled on Greenwich, a lovely neighboroughood by the river Thames in the South East of London, with a massive beautiful park, a charming market, and a high street with a village-feel. The little fishing and surf shops just add to the charms of this 'wannabe small town', but still with the feeling of a big city.
Here is an example:

The Cutty Sark


Greenwich Park


So the search has begun for the perfect place to rent! So, if you happen to live in Greenwich and want to rent out your house, you have 3 bedrooms and a lovely garden, drop us a line!