Friggatriskaidekaphobia (Fear of Friday 13th)

May12

So tomorrow is Friday the 13^th; some of you may well be thinking of staying in bed just in case. I however no longer fear Friday 13^th but see it as lucky. Last year I put a bet on a horse on Friday 13^th and it came in, so for me this is all the proof I need! Tomorrow also marks the end of one of the seemingly longest working weeks; it has felt more like a month than a week after all the short weeks we have had thanks to Easter and the Royal wedding. Now on the subject of weddings, it seems wedding talk is surrounding me at the moment. My best friend gets married in August, my brother gets married next year, a girl at work is arranging hers, on the train home tonight two girls were enthusiastically discussing one of their weddings and even the magazines are in on the act talking of wedding season approaching! I however still eagerly await my proposal. My boyfriend and I went to New York to mark our two years together and I really thought it might happen as did many family and friends of both of us but sadly no. Does anyone else feel society puts undue pressure on you to marry before you are 30?

This week has been tough on me for another reason. My move had felt more like a holiday up until now but the reality of work makes it all the more real. Naturally you both bring home stress from the work place. God I miss coming home to my meal on the table! Yes I was spoilt though at home. My Mum is not just my bestest friend in the whole world but when I was at home, she acted as personal assistant, writing letters, making phone calls and running errands; often to the post office to collect my latest internet purchase! Hang on a minute, that last part hasn’t changed; I still have parcels delivered to Mum in order that I can sneak in my new additions to my wardrobe and shoe collection! I must share with you all how thoughtful my boyfriend was yesterday though; when I got out the shower, he had left a freshly picked rose on my dressing table. I am loving living with him despite the need for us both to adjust.

Today I found my mind wandering to holidays and as it happens, this months stars said my thoughts would be filled with ideas of foreign travel. I know I had a fantastic holiday in New York already this year but I really do fancy a beach holiday – this pasty complexion needs to catch some rays! Also I saw a great cut out swimsuit I must have so now I naturally need to go somewhere to wear it.

Anyway try not to fear tomorrow too much, try seeing it as lucky, after all it’s only a number! Stay smiling, it’s the weekend at last!

Pallazzo, Harem or even Palladium?

May9

I want to start my post today with clearing up a matter. In my excitement of getting a ‘like’ on my blog and trying to look at the kind persons own blog, I accidently liked my own post. So no I am not arrogant, just technically challenged; to think I made fun of my Mum not fully understanding the wonderful world of ‘facebook’! Considering I have grown up with computers my knowledge can be at times extremely limited. To be fair to my Mum she has mastered texting which is more than many people her age and after all the older generation never grew up in a computer age so I guess we can cut them some slack, things are very different now; or are they? I was happily reading the latest issue of Glamour magazine or should I say my bible, on my commute to work and it got me thinking about fashion and how it comes full circle. When we were young teenagers many of us probably turned our noses up when out shopping with our Mums, they turned to us and said ‘I remember that the first time round’. However in more recent years, vintage has become popular; or perhaps its more that someone realised you could make a killing by inserting ‘vintage’ in front of the description of something, as is the case with ‘wedding’. This year it’s the turn of 70’s fashion to make a revival, bell bottom jeans, fringed jackets and maxi dresses. In recent years, trousers also seem to have been reinvented. There were jeggings (jeans crossed with leggings for those of you who were not familiar). At least this name makes some logical sense and it got me thinking about some other names for popular clothes items. Many girls my age will remember ‘palladiums’ which were canvas shoes with a block heel. Now why a shoe was called a word that generally means in the image of Pallas whichTroy’s safety depended on I would love to know! Next came Harem pants. These are loose around the crotch trousers that tapper to the ankle; a kind of cross between trousers and a skirt. Now I wonder how many of you know where this name came from? A Harem was where the Muslim women of one man could rest. It had Turkish associations and the trousers were commonly worn inTurkey. This brings me to my next question; Pallazzo trousers, a yes or a no? These are very wide leg, long, loose trousers. I have yet to try a pair but perhaps it may be something I surprise myself with and like, in the same way as the jumpsuit, which I thought made me a fashion victim but has since proved to be much loved and I am keen to make myself another one from a vintage pattern. So Pallazzo literally translated from Italian means palace. Not quite sure how that relates to the trousers but I am open to suggestions! Before I sign off for tonight, I must confess to my latest purchase. My graduation is fast approaching and of course for a shoe lover such as myself an excuse for a new pair. Now I wanted them to be special so I started to look at Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Manalos but sadly my modest wage or my credit limit do not stretch to these! I have also always wanted a pair of L.K Bennett shoes and promised I would treat myself as a reward for getting out of debt; however my solvency didn’t last long enough. On browsing their website tonight, I fell in love. Now these are beauties and they were in the sale. Yes it was a splurge but I like to think of it as an investment. I will wear these loads and feel a million dollars in them and the added bonus is they look very similar to the Manalo’s in the first Sex and the City film that Carrie first puts in her new wardrobe. I know these will look great in my new purpose built wardrobe my boyfriend made for me. Ok now I have confessed I can sleep soundly tonight. Until next time ……………..

Spice of Life

May8

So I have been moved in and officially grown up for nearly 2 weeks! To be honest it’s not all been plain sailing but I’m sure that’s normal. It certainly takes time to adjust to each others ways. I have come to the conclusion that men’s brains just don’t work like ours. For a start as I have discussed with my girlfriends, men only selectively listen, but of course it’s us who forgot to inform them of the upcoming event in the social calendar! In the words of judge Judy, put your listening ears on! Also on careful discussion, it seems men don’t have tidy minds; it just doesn’t occur to them if they have a cup of tea upstairs to bring the cup down with them! I’m not suggesting for one moment that I’m easy to live with; I know I have irritating habits and I’m sure I am getting just a little bit naggy much to my disgust. For those of you wondering about Rufus the rabbit, he has been quite unwell from the day we got him and despite £42 at the vets he still sadly doesn’t seem right. The way we both fuss over this rabbit, God knows what we will be like with kids! Anyway tonight I met the girls for a curry and he had his mate over to start building a run for the rabbit and to have a few beers. The evening highlighted how much peoples circumstances have changed, being that we first went to this particular curry house aged 16 and studying for our A Levels. One friend is heavily pregnant and we are all in steady relationships. Before we went to the curry house, we looked through all the baby things she has bought in preparation; I of course fell in love with all the dinky shoes. Hey if I have a child I can buy twice as many shoes, ones for me and for her! We discussed how as teenagers we sort of set targets to get married, have children etc and as we got to the age, the target was pushed more into the future, partly our choice and partly a result of circumstances. Now we are nearer 30 than 20 it feels like we are getting older; we no longer look forward to our birthdays in the way we did as teenagers; desperate to reach the legal age to drink! I’m sure I have noticed some grey hairs coming and thankful it seems I am not alone. We checked each other for wrinkles as one friend said she had spent time looking for grey hair but had forgotten all about wrinkles! I always thought I would get rid of spots and then have some perfect skin time before the wrinkles arrived but no such luck, spots remain and wrinkles join them! As I passed one of the local pubs on the way home with dance music blaring out, memories of our teenage party days filled my head. I think I’m currently somewhere between a hedonistic teenager and a mother; teetering on the edge, not sure which way I want to go. I want what the future holds but part of me wants to hold on to my youth.

Serendipity Moment

May4

After assembling all the furniture from Ikea, I finally decided to unpack. This was exactly what I did at University, put off unpacking in an effort not to quite accept the change. Was enjoying having my own space but missing home too. We happened to pop into a pet shop one day on our travels as we often did and I fell in love with a rabbit that needed re-homing called Rufus. I worked hard on persuading my boyfriend we should get him but he wasn’t giving in. I felt if I had a rabbit to tie me to the place, it would stop me getting freaked and running home. Anyway after watching the film Serendipity, an idea formed in my head, after all Serendipity means a fortunate accident!

On Thursday morning I said to my boyfriend, if Rufus is still at the pet shop at the end of today then I am meant to have him. He agreed to my surprise, not that I left him a lot of room to manoeuvre! When we arrived at the pet shop, I ran in, only to find that the enclosure Rufus had been in was now filled with new baby rabbits. My heart sank and then thankfully we found him in a different cage in the adoption centre. We got him home and my boyfriend lovingly put the hutch together. Now we were a proper family!

Journey into the Unknown

May3

Finally at almost 28 I have made the decision to leave home. Many of you will think about time (not least my parents! Lol!) University had been a holiday from home really as I only stuck it out 3 months at Newcastle and ended up doing an Open University degree later. Therefore this was to be my first real break from home. My parents hadn’t even as much as moved house during my lifetime so to me this was somewhat of a big deal. Not only would I be leaving home but I would be living with a boyfriend for the first time and moving areas to be further fromLondon. Would I actually manage it this time after numerous failed attempts; I think my family were placing their bets shall we say. There had been the attempted house purchase with my ex some 7 years ago which my cold feet for had probably finished off the relationship. Then even in this current relationship I had said I would move in Christmas 2009 but I had backed out for want of being engaged first. Then we were halted again the Christmas just gone when a hospital trip meant that the decorating of the bedroom was not finished. All of these of course had some how been used to create an obstacle to the leaving home. So now we are here and I needed to pack but I kept putting it off. Suddenly watching daytime television was all important. My parents were also losing my brother at the same time virtually and I think despite the problems we both cause at times, Mum was rather sad to see us go. As I looked round my room, I wondered where I should start in packing up my life. It’s amazing how much stuff you actually accumulate. When you start to go through it, old memories are aroused and before you know it an hour of packing time has been wasted looking at photos of drunken nights out and reading letters. How would my boyfriend react to my shoe collection? Maybe I should leave some at home and introduce them gradually. Was it appropriate to take my childhood doll? Anyway eventually I managed to pack some bits; amazingly the drawers were still full despite a suitcase full of clothes. When it was all done, I looked around with some sadness and realised this was it, I was to wave goodbye to my childhood once and for all. As my boyfriend drove us away, tears pricked my eyes. I knew it was stupid and I couldn’t expect him to understand. I was looking forward to our future but was grieving for my past.