#Fragrancelab and some fun with my girls

Hey Beautiful People,

How are you all?

I am continuing to recover fairly well. I say fairly as, well, last week set me back quite substantially. Unfortunately, having had a fairly 'good' week the one prior, last week saw me pretty much incapacitated; I was unable to straighten my leg or and pretty much unable to put any weight on it which sort of, well, sucked.

Anyhow, despite my propensity not to be, I called on the patience I have been forced to acquire over the last 6 months and 'patiently' waited it out. Bearing in mind that it will be Christmas 2014 before I am fully 'fit' again (whatever that means!), I guess I needed to remind myself that a week out, resting a knee that is continuing to heal, wasn't a train smash. Yes, it was frustrating but no, I wasn't going to lose the use of my left limb. All would be ok if I just stopped panicking and calmed the eff down. So, give or take a few 'wobbles' that is what I did. Worked from home and pretty much stayed put with a multitude of cushions, ice packs and painkillers for comfort and True Blood and YouTube for those much needed breaks.

And low and behold, come Saturday, when I was due to meet my favourite females (who you ask? Well, Caitie and Mommy Booth of course) at Selfridges, I felt strong enough on my feet to brave it. Well, one has to have priorities of course and letting this pesky knee of mine get the better of a day of indulgence with my girls - well, no, that was never going to happen.

Anyhow, we had a great day of sale surfing, eating, (pasta and cheesecake), drinking (champers and coffee) and catching up and while I was in a whole other world of pain at the end of it, it was well worth it. It just always is.

As part of our girlie day out, I was treat me to something rather special: a chance to create a bespoke and totally personalised fragrance at the Selfridges Fragrance Lab.

As part of the Selfridges Beauty Project, the Fragrance Lab offers a one-of-a-kind profiling experience, from which you leave with a signature scent that alleges to represent the essence of who you are (for the not insignificant price tag of £65 mind!)

While I am definitely glad I did it and I honestly love the scent and what it 'said about me' as it were, I would have to say that for something as deeply personal as this, 20 minutes is just not long enough to truly commit. While I suppose the journey (which, without giving too much away, takes you on a journey through a scents and objects room and concludes in a pretty peaceful 'fragrance garden'), I didn't really feel like I had enough time to really 'experience' the experience - if that makes any sense at all. I guess I didn't think it was quite long enough to really get comfortable.

Similarly, I had hoped to be afforded the opportunity to learn just a little bit more about the fragrances; I mean, what is it that makes a smell comforting, sexy or playful? And can a smell that is comforting to one bring another out in anxiety induced hives? Unlikely I suppose, but as you can see, I left wanting to learn more than I came away with.

Nevertheless, my inner narcissist enjoyed the 'summary of me' I came away with and while I could pick the science behind the methodology apart if I so deigned (because, you know, I am like, really really clever and all -....), I (and my faithful partners in crime) kind of agreed that in the end, the scent I got, well, it smelt like 'me'!

Its now just a damn shame I won't be able to repurchase it....or maybe I will?! You never know what Selfridges will think of next so I shall certainly be watching this space.  Thank you Selfridges for #fragrance lab

How have you spent your Saturdays? I really would love to hear from you.

As an aside, has anyone seen The Fault in Our Stars (#TFIOS) yet?! Or read the book???

I can't wait to hear from you.

All my love as always,

From the Heart,

Christie
XOXO

Why Hello there Pretty Pastels...

Hey you beauties,

How are you?

We are now over 'hump day' and the weekend is fast approaching - this in itself is reason for delight! What do you have planned?

So, where have you been this last 10 days you may ask? Ummmmm painting my nails a number of pretty shades, thats where! I jest, I do, in fact I have gone back to work, albeit 'from home'. As I think I've mentioned before, I had 3 weeks off to recover from surgery and the following 3 weeks I have been and will continue to be 'working from home' which definitely brings with it its own challenges!

While I have enjoyed managing my own time and have loved the sound of the Thames washing up under my window (yes, I live right on the river!), taking one's job and stripping it of all the banter of an office can be tiresome. It has become frightfully one dimensional and for that reason I will be pleased to be back in the office next week. Well, sort of anyway.

The point of this post was not to ramble however (how do I always manage to?!); I actually wanted to share with you some (pastel) nail shades I have been adoring this Spring.

So, something you should know about me and nail polish - in principle, we don't get on. I always manage to smudge or chip my mani moments after its complete. Dull I know, but true. So true.

But wait. With the new shades I have found and been dying to try (and bought regardless of whether I'd actually use them or not), I rediscovered the top coat that changed my life (nail wise...) a while back: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Top Coat. Oh. my. God. The stuff is incredible - gives the colour such gloss and staying power and actually ACTUALLY dries in 60 seconds (ok, I'd give it 5mins to be safe but you get my drift).

Along with my hero top coat, you'll see the amazing Leighton Denny crystal nail file. I know you might be wondering what the fuss could possibly be all about; I mean, a nail file is, well, a nail file right? WRONG. This baby is incredible, and comes with the a recommendation from one of my favourite beauty bloggers, Amelia Liana (please please go and check out her YouTube channel if you haven't already, she knows her s***); her nails are always immaculate so when she said this was her secret, well I gotta say, I believed her.

Anyway, with these bad boys at the ready, I was now able to give my new favourite shades a try and hope you'll enjoy them as much as I have been. 

Front: 873 Breakfast in Bed
Front (right): 621 Mary Mary Quite Contrary
Back: 501 Fancy a Dip?
(All Rimmel...) 

Essie  'splash of grenadine' 

I'd love to hear what shades you have been loving for Spring?

All my love,

From the Heart

XOXO

PS - should you have noticed the absolutely gorgeous framed picture (of a Coco Chanel bottle) in the background of all my pictures, it was made for me for my new place by my very talented sister (Caitie of When Caitie Met Soda - please head over and check her out, her online jewellery store is launching soon!)

XOXO

A certain darkness is needed to see the stars...

Hey there,

Long time no speak I hear you say? Well, I don't actually as it has been so long since I fell off the face of the earth that any kind souls who ever took a vague interest in 'From the Heart' may have long since forgotten they did.

Nevertheless, I thought I owed the 'blogosphere' and indeed myself, a little explanation so grab a cuppa (and a stale Hob Knob in my case….) and get comfy.

So, having brought in the New Year together (with celebrations that frankly, we have no recollection of), Caitie and I vowed to make this, 2014, 'Our Year'. We had big plans and positivity in abundance (unusual, given our propensity to be a couple of cynical critters….). Unfortunately the Universe (if you will…) had other plans.

Those who know me will know that I am, on occasion, a little accident prone. I always thought that my nearest and dearest were being unreasonable in their assertions but, when I returned from Vegas in 2012 on crutches, I began to realise that yes, perhaps my mother was right, I was more than averagely unlucky.

It was not altogether surprising then that this February, I managed to completely snap a ligament in my knee. Friends, the sound that made is not something I will (ever) forget. Ouchie. Suffice to say, this put me (back) on crutches for the best part of 3 months, took away most all of my independence as I was no longer able to do the simplest of things and ultimately, required reconstructive surgery to correct. As I write to you now though, I am three weeks post op and there were no complications so woohoo! Progress and a cool scar - I'll take that.

Given the months (and months) of physio ahead of me yet, I fully understand that in fact, this will probably be even more challenging than sustaining the injury itself, mainly because of the sheer force of will power required to push past the pain and the weakness and through the frustration. But Big Mama Universe, I now get what you were doing and that makes all of what has gone and is still to come kind of ok.

I realise now that despite my best intentions and plans for 2014, while my anxiety was more or less in check, I was not in a good place (head space, whatever you want to call it). I was not training, I was eating and sleeping badly, dissatisfied at work and in my relationship and was very much just muddling through, just trying to 'carry on' if you will.

This little set back however forced me to stop that though, quite simply because I couldn't 'carry on' anymore. I had to take a step back (well a hobble really) to focus on, well, me. 'Enough is enough' my body was saying; 'stop paying so much attention to everyone else and start paying attention to me Godamnit!' So, I'll admit, I told a lot of people and their problems to sod off and did just that. With an equal measure of support and irritation from my nearest and dearest (#ACL…), my recovery and rehabilitation, both before and after the operation have pretty much been my life these last few months.

It has been, and I guess will continue to be, a tough old slog but when it's all said and done, I think I will be glad it happened. Mostly because it taught me to love my body again, not for what it looks like (mate, I am a lonnnng way off that kinda love!) but for what it does and how strong (and clever!) it really is. Sure, I still drink a little more Bombay Sapphire than I should and I enjoy a Vogue menthol as much as the next person (actually, apparently not many do, but that's beside the point), so there is a way to go yet before I make the cut as a self professed health nut. But, I care more now. More about myself.

Re-enter 'From the Heart'. With the encouragement of my sister, blogging was something I started a little under a year ago, just for me and the stars in my eyes. While the hiatus I have taken from it has made me sad, it has also re-awoken in me that spark, that summin' summin' and that va va voom that has made me want to write again. About what? Who knows, lets see where this goes shall we?

I hope it'll have been worth the wait.

All my love always,

from the heart,

Christie

XOXO