Sex, Cupcakes & Roll'n'Roll

Strolling around Soho lost today I walked past a darkened doorway that normally makes a sweet and innocent girl like myself advert my eyes. Then I did a double take - lots and lots of gorgeous cupcakes, a vertible rainbow of foodie lust. Cox Cookies & Cake, and all the more amazing because one half of the partnership is apparently none other than shoe maestro Patrick Cox (other item on my list of wanted desires!).
It was tough to choose just one, but diets must!, so Zesty Lemon it was. Gorgeous, just the right amount of tang against sweetness, and soft to nibble on. If only my own efforts in the kitchen were quite so spectacular!

Tongue Twisted

Owners Direct, a self catering firm, has recently published a study on language mistakes Brits make abroad. Some of the mistakes are understandable; in Portugal and France, the word for “condom” is “preservativo” and “preservatif” yet some holidaymakers are presumably hoping for jam (and not a life preserver). While “Je suis plein” means “I am full” in French, but when mispronounced as “pleine”, translates as “I am pregnant”. The study also revealed that 95 per cent of Britons attempt to speak some of the local language on holiday, particularly those travelling to Spain or France. The most commonly used words and phrases were "hello", "please", "thank you", "goodnight", "where are the toilets?" and "a bottle of house red".
My friends believe that given a phrasebook and a passport, I will happily embarrass myself in any country, in any language. A couple of years ago, knocked out with a bad case of flu in Venice and hunted out a pharmacy, only to discover that everything was now closed for a siesta. I sat outside waiting for the chemist to come back, too weary to move in case I fainted or could never find it again. When the pharmacist finally came back, I took out my carefully handwritten note in Italian and tried to pronounce it. After several false starts, the Italian behind the counter reached over, took my note, and said "I speak very good English; you don't even speak very bad Italian. Please, please, never ever try my beautiful language again. You are ruining it". He did say it with a grin, and gave me some very strong pills that made me feel close to human again so I couldn't be too upset.
You would think that I would have given up after that, but no, I have attempted French, Japanese, Finnish, Polish, and even on less than memorable occasion, Gaelic. I did once manage to order myself Japanese in Paris; I had been across the road in a cafe where the waiter was determined not to understand me and demonstrate his distaste for anyone not fluent in Français that I finally conceded defeat, and went in search of nourishment elsewhere. My French was still terrible, but my rusty Japanese was passable enough to ask for food, so my first proper meal in France was sashimi and yaki soba.
It does work in reverse though; as a teenager I once found two elderly women who were clearly lost, and I tried very hard to give directions in Japanese, but failed. In the end, mostly because I imagined my own globetrotting grandparents getting lost, I walked them back to their hotel three blocks away. I was mildly insulted to be offered a fiver though - I was doing a good deed, and they thought I needed tipping!
I wish I was linguistically talented, and could master a language quickly, but I can't! Hypnotherapy maybe?

What I Like.. this week

Daylight savings ends this Sunday, and with it goes any hope of warmth (you could argue that hope packed up a month ago, but there was one weekend in early October where you could almost remember summer!). Of course to soften the blow of grey skies, drizzle, frost and soggy shoes, we still have Christmas drinks to look forward to. The question is, what to wear; not every party has 'cocktail dress' on the invite, and jeans can be so, so comfy, so here's my latest purchase to wear over singlets/ camis for a vodka or three in the local bar. Its got the essential party sparkle, more than a nod to the fringe trend and yet isn't going to raise the 'overdressed' eyebrow. Plus its a bargain at £38 - Red Herring at Debenhams.



Winter jacket definitely required though for the bus ride home!

Black shrug with embellishment and fringing Item No. 1030103063

Justin Bieber brings his talents (?) to nailcare

Here's something I never thought I'd hear about; Justin Bieber, teenage lust object and tweenie heartthrob has teamed up with Nicole by Opi to launch a nail polish collection. Now I know that it shouldn't, but it does raise the question of... Well anyway, if you are lusting after tweenie dream, you can get just that little bit closer to him by wearing him on your fingernails. OK, not quite close to your heart, but you get the drift.



The range includes One Less Lonely Glitter (lavender), Prized Possession Purple (grape), Give Me The First Dance (silver), Me + Blue (dark blue), OMB! (bright red), and Step 2 the Beat of My Heart (heart-shaped glitter). No prizes for guessing that his inspiration was his own song catalogue. So far, it appears that they will only be available in the United States, but I'm sure they will make their way over to the United Kingdom soon. Ladies, you can have my spot in the queue, because I think I'll give this one a massive miss.

images and info courtesy of Nicole by Opi

How old is too old to be bullied?

Many people have been bullied at some time or another at school. Acid comments by the school girl clique, shoving in the corridors, a foot out as you walk by, friends suddenly ignoring you as you say hello. Lets be honest, it was shit as a kid, and its shit as an adult.
You would hope that as we all reach adulthood, that we would magically become reasonable, realistic, understanding and compassionate, but this is Planet Earth, so it isn't going to happen. A couple of years ago, my group of girlfriends disintegrated after allegations of bullying; one of the girls had a habit of regularly cancelling plans at the last minute, often while the rest of us were sitting in the bar or restaurant waiting for her. One girl took the philosophical view that as she was leaving the UK in a couple of months, it wasn't worth raising the issue. One girl opted simply not to plan anything unless it was a group outing, ensuring she wouldn't be left sitting alone when she was 'stood up'. And girl number three eventually snapped and forthrightly told the inconsiderate lass exactly how badly she was behaving. It swiftly fell into a 'She said, you said' situation, and a catalogue of whispers, text messages and emails later, both Little Miss Forthright and Little Miss Inconsiderate both claimed they were being bullied. Several attempts to 'clear the air' took place without any success, and any socialising was very uncomfortable, meaning when Little Miss Traveller departed, the other three found less and less reasons to meet up.
So the question, how do you know when you are being bullied? Are you just being overly sensitive? Reading too much into a situation? Or are you placing more value on the friendship than others do? And what happens if you are being bullied? If this social group is your main - or only - group of friends, it can be difficult to cut yourself off from the problem, as you'll be worried about sitting at home being Norma No Mates. And whether you live in London, Kendal or Abram, it can be tough to make new friends as an adult.
I don't have any answers, just questions.

Mad Men.. and s3x

OK, before anyone gets excited looking on my blog for naked bodies, there aren't any. BUT! Did you know that Jon Hamm worked in the adult film industry before making it big as Don Draper in Mad Men? However, don't go looking through the titles at your local Ann Summers, because you won't find him on any cast list; Jon was a set dresser, moving around cameras, beds and chairs between scenes.
This got me thinking; what undesirable jobs have people done before landing their dream job? Has your not-so-ideal job given you any skills that you have been able to carry through to a new role?
I've had some lousy jobs before. I spent one summer working for a family member's business which maintained and repaired council properties, mainly doing administration work. However, one property was due to be let to its new tenant, but the cleaning crew let us down, so I was encouraged* (*bribed) to do it myself. It took me all weekend, clearing rubbish and dirty nappies, scrubbing mouldy surfaces and filthy floors, and I really did earn every penny of the £300. Long afterwards though its given me the motivation to get stuck in with my team to get the job done, no matter how crap the job.
In another role, I had an emotionally unstable boss who at the time I hated, but in hindsight realise she was just out of her depth. Her worst sin was to lose her temper at us and throw a stapler and a hole punch at us. Not surprisingly, she left shortly afterwards to travel, and I do sometimes worry about the school children in Japan she was heading off to teach English to. However, I learnt from her that when things feel like its getting too much at work, its best to take five minutes out to calm down, whether its hiding in the ladies taking a few deep breathes or walking around the block. Losing your temper at work will never instill respect in your colleagues, and its always better to appear composed, even if you don't feel it inside.
I'm still not in my dream job. There are times when I'm not even sure what my dream job is, but I do believe that when I find it, whatever I've done before, will help me then.

WARNING: Christmas is coming...

I had to check the date on my calendar today as almost every shop in London is selling Christmas merchandise; wrapping paper, stocking fillers, Christmas cards, decorations.. and yet its only October 25th - still two months to the Big Day.
Someone once told me that in the United States, that Christmas displays don't start appearing in retail outlets until the day after Thanksgiving, so around a month before Christmas. Isn't that so much more appealing that being bombarded by Christmas displays in your local supermarket in September, while its still UK Daylight Saving? Perhaps thats what the UK needs - an unofficial switch that lets everyone know its time to start thinking of Christmas, instead of having it foisted on us earlier and earlier every year. At this rate, we'll start getting Christmas displays up the day after Easter.
It has got me thinking though of the likelihood of a 'White Christmas', the ultimate dream, well unless you are dreaming of a fourteen day sunseekers holiday in the Dominican Republic. Currently the odds are 11/4 London and 3/1 Dublin. I've never had a white Christmas, and the idea of being able to build a snowman on Christmas Day is very appealing - Christmas is the perfect chance to act like a big kid!