Book Review- The Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz

Those of you close to me know how much I love Don’s books and how much I harp on about them. Don is definitely one of my favourite authors. I knew when I downloaded this book that I would enjoy it! Here is the ‘back of the book’:

Ruiz refers to the forbidden tree of knowledge, likening the abandonment of the true self to the fall from heaven. This fall, he says, occurred because of the loss of "the impeccability of the word," that simple yet potent prescription for countering the judgmental inner "Voice of Knowledge." Adhering to "the word" - saying only what one means, refusing to speak against one's self - allows anyone to quiet those inner tyrannical thoughts so that we can become aware of our Voice of Integrity. Knowledge then becomes an ally, and life becomes an expression of the authentic self.

The forbidden tree of knowledge and the fall from heaven is referring to the legend of The Garden of Eden. It is a great story full of symbolism and it is very interesting to read Don’s interpretation of it. He talks about the two trees in the garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. The apples from the Tree of Life are full of love, truth and emotion. The apples on the Tree of Knowledge were full of words and knowledge tainted with lies.  The snake in the tree of knowledge (who is the fallen angel) seduced us with his stories contaminated with lies, to eat from his tree.

“When someone tells us a lie and we believe it, that lie takes root in our mind. There it can grow big and strong just like a tree.”

The problem with eating from this tree is that we're told what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, what is beautiful and what is ugly and then there is us in the middle trying to judge what is what. Now each of us has our own personal tree of knowledge in our head from what we have been taught as we have grown up. We all grow up with different meanings of what is right and what is wrong. You may have grown up with a family who steals and uses force to get what they want. To you that is right because that is all you know. You may have grown up in a family that keeps emotions bottled up and to express emotions is a weakness. To you that would be right because that is all you know. So what is right to one person may not be right to another. 

“Knowledge goes into our mind and reproduces a structure inside our head, which is everything that we know. With all that knowledge in our head, we only perceive what we believe; we only perceive our own knowledge. And what is it that we know? Mostly lies.”

Don says that we are born perfect. Instead of words we think with our emotions (the purest way to think, emotions don’t lie) because we do not know words or have a concept of language we use emotions as our guide. But then we learn to talk and words tend to take precedence over our emotions which should not happen.  Words are limited and can never explain the full extent of how we feel and are always left open to misinterpretation. We should use words to help us communicate to one another but not to replace emotions. Instead of a constant stream of words filling our head we should be examining our emotions because the words about next weeks episode of GLEE might be bouncing around in our head but it is not more important than right here right now. Our emotions tell us how we feel in the now.

To be honest the beginning of the book sat a little uncomfortably with me at first because he uses words that we usually liken to a positive, in a negative way. If you talk to me and ask me what my favourite things are I always say one of them is the quest for knowledge. I just love knowledge and learning. But in the book the word knowledge is cast in a negative light. He also uses the word ‘lies’ a fair amount in the beginning and that word just makes me feel uncomfortable full stop. But it really is a means to and end and I can think of no other way of telling the story. He is honest and to the point and the words he uses evoke an emotional response (they did in me anyway) which also helped me understand the point. He also talks about the ‘voice of knowledge’ which also sat a little weirdly with me. He says when we learn to talk we learn that it is not necessarily ok to be ourselves. We cannot say this or do that. We have all these rules and regulations in regards to behaviour that we must to adhere to. We see our parents act in certain ways that we copy. When our parents put themselves down or lie or bitch about another person we learn to do the same. Children do as their parents do not as they say (so so so so true!). It is all well and good to tell a child not to lie but when there is a knock at the door and you tell them to say that you’re not there, that is a lie. It might be a white lie but it’s still a lie. Children are always listening and watching and they are little sponges that absorb everything.  Hence Don informs you in the book that you gain all this knowledge through observing the behaviour of those around you and then the ‘voice of knowledge’ starts in your head. This voice is constantly judging and self-deprecating. Im not sure if I am overly sensitive to the statement ‘voices in your head’ but naturally, on closer examination, there is no other way to put it and all the while you are reading you really do find yourself agreeing and inserting your own experiences into his stories.

So after all of my complaining about the beginning and how the certain wording of stories didn’t sit too well with me at the start but were actually a means to an end, the rest of the book was a lot more to my taste. It was back to being positive and upbeat. It talks about love and the wonder of it and you should not just think that a love for a single person is the strongest form of love. Your love for life should be just as important! Come from a place of love always and you will find yourself so much more at ease, I love that. Here are some of my absolute favourite quotes from the book.

“When you have the courage to open your heart completely to love, a miracle happens. You start perceiving the reflection of your love in everything. Then eating, walking, talking, singing, dancing, showering, working, playing- everything you do becomes a ritual of love. When everything becomes a ritual of love you are no longer thinking; you are feeling and enjoying life. “

“Love and respect are what we should also teach our children, but the only way to teach them love and respect is to love and respect ourselves. There is no other way. Again, we can only give what we have, not what we don’t have.”

"Just to breathe is enough to always be happy, to always be in love."

I know I have said so much about this book that you might think you don’t need to read it, but trust me, I haven’t even scraped the surface. It is an amazing book and a must read for anyone on a path to a better life! I give this book 5 stars because the information is invaluable and I will definitely read it again! I hope you enjoyed my review!

 Stay fabulous!

X

avandia recall

Queensland Floods

I rarely find myself being dramatically affected by natural disasters. After September 11 and how deeply affected I was by that I made a resolution to not let myself get so emotionally involved with anything like that again. It hurt me and haunted me for weeks. I felt like I was walking around with a cloud over my head and wondered why we would bother living in this world at all if such things could and do happen. The images on the TV screen of people jumping from the burning buildings still haunt me. So after that if there is any kind of huge disaster I never read more than one article about it. I won’t watch it on TV and I won’t go to the galleries of pictures to upset myself over the loss of human and animal life. But I do usually donate to certain charities that support the people who have been affected so I can 'lend a hand' without getting too involved. But this time was different. 

I didn't know anyone that was directly affected by the flooding. My friends live in high rise buildings or are in areas that were unaffected even though that may have only been by a metre. I couldn't tare myself away from the TV or the Brisbane Times website or the on flow of information and pictures people were putting up on Facebook and twitter. Watching the death toll slowly rise and the number of people unaccounted for rise even faster. Reading the terrifying stories in the paper and seeing peoples tear stained and exhausted faces on television. I sat for probably two hours watching Sky News and even though it was basically the same information over and over and over again for two hours I couldn't get away. By the night time I felt so.... depressed. People were so scared and confused and it wasn't just the people being affected by the floods... I think the whole of Australia actually felt that way. This kind of thing doesn't happen in a major city in Australia let alone places that have been on water restrictions in recent years. 

I promised blogs and posts at the beginning of the week but couldn’t write and then if I found something worth posting I couldn't as I found that it might be insensitive. People are losing their homes and loved ones and I would be posting pictures of Jimmy Choos... hmmm doesn't fit. But as they say every cloud has a silver lining. The light behind the gigantic clouds that dumped more water on us than needed was people’s morale. The respect I have for the people who were standing waist deep in water in their living rooms and telling a reporter ‘we are just doing what we can to keep our spirits high and even though its not a nice thing that’s happened it has happened and we just have to get on with it’. What a brilliant attitude. It’s your attitude that can make or break you, not your circumstances. You can choose to let your circumstance’s overwhelm you and feel hopeless about the situation or you can take the attitude that things will get better, because they always do, and get on with the task at hand. The attitude of the people who have been affected by the floods has sparked something within us all and caused a ripple effect. The amount of people who have put up their hand to offer assistance is phenomenal. 

Australian’s are donating money left right and center, places designated to take food and supplies have started turning people away as there has been so much donated in such a short amount of time. Volunteers are pouring into Brisbane to help with the big clean up and there are so many people who have put their names down to foster animals until they can be returned home that I haven’t even been considered for the job yet! There are always the amazing animal advocates to help us remember that it’s not only people that were affected but animals were too so there is a large amount of people donating their money to the RSPCA to help them pay for the mounting vet bills that animals incurred because of the floods. 

Anna Bligh’s popularity is through the roof due to her reassuring words and fast acting tactics. Even the seemingly forgotten Kevin Rudd was out there helping to search for the missing. It is quite appropriate that Australia Day is drawing near as in this terrible time people are banding together to help in any way they can and ‘lending a hand’ which in turn has made people extremely proud to be an Australian. The Gold Coast had a ‘Mates in Need’ street party at Tedder Avenue in Main Beach to help raise some money. I drove to Tedder Avenue on Friday night hoping that there would be at least a few people there so I could talk to them about the floods and maybe take some happy snaps of fashionistas. I didn’t think that there would be many people there at all as I didn't remember it was actually a Friday night because the week felt like it all melded into one big day of not so great news and of course the impending chance of rain. How wrong I was! 

The street was blocked off to cars and full of people, food and entertainment! This brilliant night raised almost $1 million dollars! Gold Coasters had turned out in force to donate money to a wonderful cause that was close to our hearts. Magic Millions was also this week hence there was a few Australian Celebrities who came to lend a hand to help people empty their pockets into tins!

     Australian Miss Universe 2008 Laura Dundovic and Kerley from Channel V        

V8 Car Driver James Courtney

Face of Magic Millions Jess Hart and me!

The Queensland Premiers Disaster Relief Fund is climbing steadily and is at $64,329,927. Stars from all of the world are giving the Fund a shout out, from Tim Cahill to Nicole Richie to YouTube star Philip DeFranco encouraging people to donate money. 

The clean up is well underway and people are encouraged to donate cleaning supplies and money to help get our Queensland back to working order as soon as possible so people can return to their homes and their jobs. 

If you would like to donate some money go to 

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

If you would like to donate your time or cleaning products go to

http://qldfloods.org/

The amazing photography is by local Brisbane Photographer Craig Scarr

http://craigscarr.com/

To see more of Craig's flood pictures go to 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Craig-Scarr-Photographer/123136487739174

Stay fabulous, stay optimistic and stay safe!

X

avandia recall

Ladies Charity Brunch 4 A.S.D Kids

Being a mother is the most rewarding role in the world. The love you experience from your little bundle of joy makes non-believers believe, the loveless- love, the lost- found and the hardest eyes soften. Children have a magic about them that surpasses any fairy tale ever. Being a mother can be trying but the love you experience is worth it a thousand times over. With this great love comes great responsibility. You can say it is a mothers worst nightmare if something is to ever go 'wrong' with your child and from the tears in Chloe Maxwell’s eyes this one morning in Sanctuary Cove as she reminisced about the time she thought she had entered into a nightmare, it unfortunately showed that this fear can sometimes be all too real. The initial fear of the unknown for her beloved son Max as she and her family started noticing a change which at the time did not seem for the better. The initial denial and defensive stance she took all while never wanting to contemplate that there was ever something that she did not understand going on with her first born. Gentle persuasion and patience from Mat and family got Chloe to the point where a visit to a paediatrician was undertaken and Max was diagnosed with Autism. 

4 ASD Kids - Rogers Family (9 News) from 4 ASD Kids on Vimeo.

Different people deal with such news in different ways. An autism advocacy organization reports that the divorce rate within the autism community is staggering. According to its research, 80% of all marriages end. Lucky for Mat and Chloe this was not the case. They banded together and rather than continuing to fear the unknown they took the proactive stance and educated themselves. Chloe buried herself in books. She wanted to know everything she possibly could so she could do whatever it took to help her Max. For those of you who don’t know much about Autism here is a snippet from Wikipedia:

“Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.

Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants. The prevalence of autism is about 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports an approximate of 9 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD. 

Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life. The signs usually develop gradually, but some autistic children first develop more normally and then regress. Although there is no known cure, early behavioural or cognitive intervention can help autistic children gain self-care, social, and communication skills.”

After a lot of expensive therapies ranging from speech to physio Max is improving in leaps and bounds. Seeing the results Max has got from the intensive therapies Chloe and Mat decided to go public with Max’s Autism and start a charity to help families pay for the expensive yet effective therapies. 4 A.S.D Kids now raises money and awareness for the Autism community in Australia. The most recent of their fundraising efforts was a charity weekend in Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast. The first event, starting on the Friday, was Mat’s golf day then a beach party by the lagoon pool at the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove that night. On Saturday there was the Chloe and friends Ladies Brunch, a Gala Ball that evening and finally finishing with Carols by candle light on the Sunday afternoon with Guy Sebastian. I was fortunate enough to be asked to come along by a talented friend from the brilliant events management company Limetree events and cover the Ladies Brunch. 

The brunch was held at the renowned Hyatt Regency and was hosted by the very quick witted Sandra Sully! Sandra was the funniest and most well-spoken host I had seen in while. When we arrived we were given Champagne (it’s not a brunch without Champagne!) and we sat at our tables laden with pastries, cakes, scones and sandwiches. Everyone looked amazing in their summer brunch dresses! The special guests were Charlotte Dawson, Corrine Grant and of course Chloe Maxwell. 

Corinne (who looked amazing!) spoke about her new book ‘Lessons In Letting Go; Confessions of a Hoarder’ and her possible T.V reality show she shot a pilot for in the USA to help people let go and stop hoarding of course all the while making us laugh! Charlotte spoke about being comfortable in your own skin and empowering young women to love themselves, have a healthy respect for their body, understand exercise is a part of life and starving yourself is not the way to go. She said nutrition and exercise should all be a part of the school curriculum. Naturally Australia's next top model was brought up and Charlotte explained how it was a terrible mistake and they had no idea until the next morning about the media circus that ensued. 

Chloe told her story about Max and how 4 A.S.D Kids is helping Australian families pay for the therapy and education to ensure the Children have the best possible chance at fulfilling their potential. The honest and raw emotion from Chloe as she spoke was admirable and had the whole room tearing up. “Your heart breaks for the kids and bleeds for the families” Chloe said when talking about the strain families can endure when the children are first diagnosed due to the fear of the unknown and then the financial hardship that can ensue due to the therapies costing easily up to $50,000 a year. “You only get $12,000 worth of assistance from the government over a two year period and that doesn't even touch the sides”. Mat and Chloe were able to help 4 Children last year and were hoping to surpass last years fundraising efforts so they can help even more families this year.

We were also treated to a lovely fashion showcase with JettRoc children’s wear by local designer Deb Tranter, 2 Chillies Swimwear, Gowns of Elegance, Intimate Secrets and Lisa Brown. 

Overall the whole weekend was a success and Mat and Chloe managed to raise over $200,000 which will help even more children this year! Check out the video below to see the families that were sponsored by 4 A.S.D Kids last year. Beautifully touching stories. 

4 ASD Kids 2010 Sponsorships from 4 ASD Kids on Vimeo.

For more information on Autism go to

http://www.4asdkids.com/Resources.aspx

To make a donation visit

http://www.4asdkids.com

Photos courtesy of Limetree Events

"If you wish to experience peace, give peace to another" - Dalai Lama

Stay fabulous! 

x

avandia recall

IDENTITY: An International Affair

This blog was originally done for Brisbane Threads (my first blog for another blog! Yay for me!) and they have so kindly let me post it to mine as well! 

WRAP-UP: IDENTITY: An International Affair

I am one of those people who like to know everything, is easily distracted and sometimes a little too curious. So with the mix of all these wonderful personality traits in full blast this blog has taken me a lot longer to write than it ever should have! I have actually re-written it 3 times now. This is my third attempt and I am really hoping I will be satisfied with it or I might have Danni from Brisbane Threads knocking on my door asking me what the problem is! And yes, what is the problem you might ask? It is that when you put so many amazing designs on one runway I go into a bit of a frenzy! The November IDENTITY was another huge success (of course!) and it has left me obsessing about new labels that I had never delved into. The labels included in this showcase were Easton Pearson, Catherine Malandrino, Day Birger et Mikelson, Elizabeth and James, Elie Tahari, HUGO BOSS, Maryan Mehlhorn Swimwear, Paul Smith and Tiffany & Co. So I guess I better start at the beginning before I jump into all the amazing labels I have been drooling over for a week now! After meeting Brisbane Threads wonderful photographer Carmel I grabbed a glass of Moet and an oyster and made myself at home. I had a perfect view of everyone there. If I didn't even manage to see the fashion show there is no way I would go home without my fashion fix because there was an array of stunning colour, gorgeous designs and amazing prints. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing everyone looked! That is what I love about Brisbane, no two people looked the same in Stephens Lane. Each person expressing their own unique style with the utmost confidence and ease. I was in fashion heaven. Now to the good stuff!

Easton Pearson showcased their long awaited Cruise collection for the first time in Australia (it had already been shown in Paris!). With striking colour, unique cuts and stunning twists on classic stripes Easton Pearson certainly delivered! Lydia Pearson and Pamela Easton are Brisbane based designers so with the success of their brand it is all too fitting that they were in the exclusive IDENTITY show! I remember reading Easton Pearson's design influence on their web site a few months ago and watching their pieces come down the runway it really all made sense!

'Our references are drawn from varied terrain: from Indian, African and European sources, from historical predecessors, from vintage clothes, from museums, archives and films, from books and our own travels with our families. The possibilities offered by specific textile techniques clearly influence us in terms of what might be adapted into clothing. Simultaneously, our visual references continue to wander.'

Their collection certainly stays true to their inspiration which is part of why they are so unique and successful! I would certainly love to be spotted poolside in some of their Cruise collection!

The Catherine Malandrino collection was presented by Samantha Ogilvie and was nothing short of amazing and definitely one of my favorites on the night! Catherine was born in the French Alps and now lives and designs in New York. Her intention is to blend the romance and elegance of Paris with the energy of Manhattan and as you can see from her clothing she is certainly successful at doing so! Her pieces are modern and chic. It's elegance and sex appeal all in one outfit! The cuts and colours are flattering so her clothes could suit almost anyone!

DAY Birger et Mikelson was presented by Frock Shop and is one of Scandinavia's most successful fashion houses. The label was originally inspired by Asian tailoring and culture yet during the past few years, the global ethnicity that initially characterised DAY Birger et Mikkelsen has become urbanised to appeal to metropolitan bohemians. The fashion house has the intention of reviving craftsmanship when it comes to design and the tailoring certainly appeared immaculate from where I was sitting! The beautiful day and night dresses that paraded the runway made me want to go straight to Frock Shop and try them on so I could just feel the material against my skin! They flowed so effortlessly and you can just see that the material used is of the up most quality. The pieces were amazing and with their timeless silhouettes they are certainly pieces you would have for years.

Elizibeth and James was also presented by Frock Shop and for those of you who are not familiar with the label I know you will be familiar with the labels designers Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Although I had read a little about their label I had never actually made the effort to see any of their pieces as the idea of their fashion line takes me back to my Target days when they had their own children's line which I used to loathe finger spacing the coat hangers just for a little girl to run up to excitedly and completely mess up so I was well and truly sick of the Olsen twins. But now I have taken the time to browse their women's collection and even their lovely accessories. Their designs have certainly matured and are really gorgeous. I watched a few youtube videos on their design process and how hard these girls work. They are certainly inspirational and their designs most definitely reflect their hard work! Their pieces range from business woman chic to plaid shirt casual and I was very impressed by all of their designs! They certainly reflect the fashion of young working women today... gorgeous!

Elie Tahari was presented by Samantha Olgivie. Elie takes what you know about fashion and then ups it a level. He takes the cuts, the material, the colours and just the mere presence of the clothes one step further than your average designer. The brand offers elegance and timeless sophistication. Elie's story is certainly incredible and if  you ever have time to delve into it I suggest you do, especially if you are a budding designer and need some inspiration to keep on doing what you love. Elie was born in Israel and after a tumultuous childhood ended up moving to New York as an electrician. He was homeless, sleeping on park benches in Central Parka and the YMCA Hotel when he could. He now owns a $500 million dollar luxury brand. His life experience and travels are reflected in his designs and it is just a pleasure to see his work in the thread!

Hugo Boss, well, does he really need an introduction? This is another designer story that if you don't know it you should check it out. Considering he was a Nazi I am incredibly surprised the Fashion House survived Hugo's death let alone being one of the most famous luxury brands in the world over 60 years later! It was the Boss Black Label which was showcased and let me tell you... a man in a Boss suit is, well... dreamy! Clearly this label is not going any where as it prides itself on innovative yet classic design to the highest of high standards. The Mens range is masculine, classy, swarve and stylish and the women's range is sophisticated, beautiful, edgy and innocently sexy yet packed with Boss attitude. The Boss collection showcased would probably have to be my favourite!

Maryan Mehlhorn Swimwear was showcased again with Tiffany and Co Jewellery. What a combination! Mayran's swimwear is immaculate and timeless. It oozes class and the jewelry you put with her swimwear, well, you wouldn't want anything less than something Tiffany. The cuts, colours and little details that go into Maryan Melhorn's pieces make them the perfect high fashion poolside must have. The Tiffany Jewelry was of course amazing. They even gave away a silver Tiffany Key Pendant and chain as a lucky door prize! Why oh why was my number not called out! I also have to mention the Tiffany sunglasses which are the gorgeous classic over sized sunnies which I have now added to my wish list along side the Tiffany Oval Key Platinum Pendant with Diamonds! 

And finally last but not least Paul Smith presented by Mitchell Ogilvie Menswear. Yes I have to say it again.. another amazing designer story about overcoming the odds but I will let you google this one! I always thought that if Burberry had a punk rock, street wise, yet educated brother... it would be Paul Smith. You can clearly see the, for lack of a better word I am going to make one up, Britishness in Paul's designs but he is so daring! For a man to be a Paul Smith man he needs to be confident and calm, easy and educated, playful but cool. The designs sent down the runway on the gorgeous chiseled male models made women's hearts flutter and made the men actually pay attention. If you ever need to buy clothes for a Man go to Mitchell Ogilvie in Brisbane and you will never look back.

This IDENTITY was certainly in the Christmas spirit as models bopped down the runway at one stage to Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas Is You (love Mariah's Christmas Carols!) as the hostess with the mostess Di Cant said that we could use the Tiffany Jewelry as stocking fillers! Love it! As you can see from this gigantic blog (the biggest fashion blog I have ever written!) that I was not kidding when I said it sent me into a frenzy! IDENTITY remains my favourite fashion show I have ever been to and I will certainly continue to attend next years showcases as the night is full of class, glamour, good food, Moet and truly amazing fashion (both on and off the catwalk!). The venue is gorgeous and the models are incredible. I cannot speak highly enough of this event! I cannot wait for its return in 2011!  

These photos are courtesy of Brisbane Threads and to see the whole gallery go to

http://www.brisbanethreads.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=253+&Itemid=92

Third time lucky!

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

WHAT KIND OF NAME IS ANONYMOUS ANYWAY?

Anonymous said...

Seriously... her favourite books are Skinny Bitch and The Secret?

Can she even read. How about you go pick up some real literature
What a joke

Dear Anonymous,

at first I was very annoyed by your post that you put up in response to my model interview on Ellie Gonsalves, but now I have to thank you as it has helped me make a serious decision. It is all well and good to have your own ideas and judgements about other people, but how you deal with and express these judgements is another story. I have no real intention of sticking up for Ellie because she is not the kind of person you need to stick up for. She is an amazing person who exudes charm, confidence and maturity and whether or not she has read 'real literature' (what ever that is supposed to mean) or not seems to be made irrelevant by your comment. Clearly what ever 'real literature' you have read has not helped you grow as a person in knowledge or wisdom so to poke fun at an amazingly kind and inspirational young woman for reading Skinny Bitch and The Secret when she would not even dream about judging you is quite ironic. 

I am a huge reader of blogs and articles and I guess I just love reading in general but when I see nasty comments left by 'Anonymous', well, it really irks me. I don't believe in negativity, unjust knee jerk judgements or hiding behind my blog or my comments and so my serious decision is: I will never accept it on my blog. I have grappled with the idea for a while now as I do believe that everyone has the right to their own opinion BUT I personally have created my blog for positivity, inspiration and fun so I have no intention of keeping comments like the above on my blog. There is no need. This world is amazing and if you choose to see the world through a pessimistic pin hole then that is your misfortune and I wont have anything to do with it. I am not trying to say that I am Mother Theresa as I judge people all the time with out meaning to, but I catch myself as often as I can, see how silly I am being and that their life is none of my business. I never feel the need to put a paper bag over my head and walk up to them and say 'You know what? I don't like what you are wearing. Where ever you got that outfit from is a joke, get a stylist.' Hahaha! Odd example but that is what I sometimes find myself judging people on... my idea of a bad dress choice. There is no need for me to project my ideas onto other people and especially in regards to something as simplistic as dress choice! 

I really do believe that the majority of people are kind, are equal opportunists, want our world to survive, our animals to be treated right, people to express love and gratitude to one another, have goals, desires and inspiration and want peace and calm. It just seems, to me, that the people who are not so nice are a little louder than the majority who are hence there is an illusion that unkind people are the majority. So it is time to put a stop to it and tolerate it no longer, especially when there is so much good and love in this world!

If you cant say anything nice, don't say anything at all and then explore what made you even think that in the first place.

Be honest, be caring, be loving and above all be YOU because you are not unkind.

Stay fabulous!

avandia recall

CHAMPIONS HAIR BEAUTY DAY SPA

When I was asked if I would like to do a review of Champions Hair Beauty Day Spa by the lovely owner Caroline the answer really was a no brainer. Of course! I have actually been going to Champions for 7 years now so who better really to do a review than me? I know all the staff, in fact a few of them have become some of my closest friends and I am there almost once a week!  It really is quite hard to find a hair dresser, nail tech, massage therapist, etc that you like and you can trust to do a wonderful job time and time again and if you do manage to get them all under the one roof it is an incredible bonus! I literally get every one of my beauty treatments there. My waxing, hair, nails, spray tans and I buy all my hair care products from there too. Champions is in the gorgeous Sanctuary Cove Marine Village, right by the water. Although I have been going there for years I had never actually used the Day Spa. So last week I got spoilt and had some Spa treatments so I can give you the whole idea on Champions! 

The treatment rooms are gorgeous. With its chocolate brown walls, oil burner in the corner providing soft lighting and sweet fragrance, the treatment table in the middle of the room covered with crisp white towels and draped with a gorgeous mink blanket and of course beautiful relaxing music flowing effortlessly through the speakers in the roof you cant help but feel relaxed even before you lay down on the treatment table. My therapist was Kersty and she was just lovely. I first had a salt scrub which is a formulation of salt and other ingredients which is used to exfoliate dead skin from the body, leaving fresh skin behind and nourishing the skin with herbal ingredients. To have your whole body exfoliated feels great. With the change of season my skin was feeling a little tight and dry and now it feels refreshed and smooth. When that was done I had a Vichy shower. This shower is not just any shower. I was expecting to jump up and have a 'normal' shower on my own to wash away the salt but where would the fun or relaxation be in that? 

The Vichy Shower is an aquatic therapeutic experience inspired by treatments used in the French city of Vichy. It is a metal arm that has seven heads and runs parallel to a cushioned treatment table so you can be showered while laying down. The Vichy shower relaxes sore muscles and stimulates lymph circulation, which helps the body eliminate metabolic wastes. This was probably my favourite treatment. The feeling of the water against your body and the way the therapist creates different pressures and temperatures with the water is absolute heaven. My last treatment was an hour massage. The only problem with getting a massage for an hour is that it goes way too quickly! Kersty was amazing. She made me feel comfortable at all times and encouraged me to let her know how much pressure I liked which to me is important. Overall the whole experience was incredibly refreshing, relaxing and the ultimate me time. I most certainly recommend it! If you love it as much as I did it would be such a wonderful once a month treat as it really is an amazing indulgence and an incredible stress relief! It's all part of looking after yourself! 

The weekend before my amazing Day Spa experience I had a wedding to go to so I had an upstyle done by the beautiful Sam! I had never had my hair done by Sam before but I must say she is really amazing at upstyles! I can be quite indecisive, especially when it comes to my hair, so when Sam asked me what I would like done I told her I wanted an upstyle but I didn't want to look like the Bride or the Bridesmaids! So with so little information she got to work.

  It turned out perfect! I loved it! The girls at Champions really know their stuff. My regular hair dresser Mikkie is constantly trying out new dos and re-inventing her hair style. She has a real talent for knowing what colours and cuts suit people and is great at doing what YOU want with your hair. My nail Technician is Zavier and she is great. She keeps up with all the latest colours and nail products and is always doing new courses to keep up with new techniques. The other two Nail Techs, Terri and Nikki, are just as lovely and talented but you have to book ahead for these three girls because they are in high demand! My spray tans and waxing are done by what ever beauty therapist is available at the time and they are all lovely, discreet, professional and brilliant at what they do. 

Have a look at their website to see their gorgeous facilities.

http://www.championshairbeautydayspa.com

They have two locations, one in the Marine Village at Sanctuary Cove and the other at the Hyatt Regency in Sanctuary Cove. Champions are reasonable priced and it is just a wonderful atmosphere full of lovely professionals willing to help! Go and check it out for yourself, you wont be dissapointed!

Stay fabulous! 

avandia recall

MY CRUSH

I just finished watching the episode of SATC where Carrie develops a crush on the furniture designer Aidan. There was a subsequent conversation with Miranda while eating pink cup cakes, with Carrie smiling ear to ear in her crush state, about crushes. It really got me thinking about crushes and the amazing feelings and fantasies associated with them and how we can have crushes but may never have actually had a crush on the person we are dating or dated or even married. I have never had a crush that amounts to anything. I have had plenty of boyfriends but I never had a 'crush' on any of them. My first crush was an odd one... Casper the friendly ghost. Obviously not the animated ghost but the boy who appears at the end of the movie when he becomes human, Devon Sawa. He was on the cover of TV Hits and all the related magazines and I had them all! 

Then one I will embarrassingly skip over quickly *ahem... Taylor Hansen. I seemed to have a break for a while after him. Then when I was 16 I developed a huge crush on a bronzed, athletic built South African that I used to go running with. He was a bit older than me but I didn't care. He was handsome, fashionable, drove an awesome convertible and had a cute room mate. Wait? Yes he was gay. Damn! Eight long years later I developed a crush on a man at a Fashion Festival. I didn't even meet him. I was sitting in a gorgeous marquee at South Bank waiting for a fashion show to begin when he walked in late. I saw him and my heart fluttered. I immediately text my friend who was sitting in a different row to me 'I am in love! See the guy two rows in front!' and she almost instantly wrote back 'Yes!'. We instantly turned into 16 year olds. It was hard to concentrate on the fashion show after that. My oh my was he handsome and he had that X factor about him. You see extremely good looking people all the time but when they have that X Factor.... I guess that causes the crush. When the show finished I met my girlfriend outside the marquee and I waited nervously for a glimpse of him! I didn't see him. To me I had a crush but to my friend he was good looking. It's funny how some have the X factor to one person and not another. In our 16 year old state we nicknamed him Dimitri as he appeared Russian. Every now and then she will tease me and say 'how's Dimitri'. Damn. I don't know. This was in August. No such fluttering of the heart since then. It's funny that none of my crushes ever turned into anything. I guess it didn't help that Devon and Taylor live in America and did not know I exist or that my chiseled South African was gay or even that I never got to meet Dimitri. I think I need better luck with who I actually develop a crush on. But after writing this I am extremely interested to hear your crush stories. Did your crush ever amount to anything? Did you even marry your crush? Let me know by posting a comment below or email me at casey.lee.evans@gmail.com   

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall