This is the practice: Keeping the heart wide open even when the path becomes tremulous and every possibility appears at first glance stormy and unwelcoming. The dead, decaying parts of ourselves must be shed so that we can grow, and this growth takes us deeper into our unknowns. Sometimes growth feels good and other times the process leaves us wrecked and wondering. And this is where belief enters the narrative …. do we trust it or do we doubt ourselves? Continue reading →

About a week ago I met up with a friend called Lauren whom I’ve known for 4 years now. We started out as work colleagues in the same part time job and she has now moved on within the world of law and I am very proud of her accomplishments. We hadn’t seen each other since my birthday so we decided to have lunch and a mooch around our favourite shop, the Body Shop together.

What I love about Lauren and what she teaches me is to relax and to treat myself more. She is not an over spender on things but she does work hard to get what she wants. When I tell her there is something I really want, her response is always “Get it then, don’t feel guilty for treating yourself.” and I love that. I do struggle with guilt and learning to value myself has been a hard road to walk down but I’m slowly getting there (Hence the red lipstick and tattoos). Through friends like Lauren I am learning that buying stuff for myself doesn’t make me a consumer or a shopaholic, it makes me normal for wanting to be attentive towards myself plus the Body Shop uses organic products that are not tested on animals. At the Body Shop Lauren found a body mist she felt would suit me and it did smell divine and very sensual and so she devilishly tempted me to buy this very sexy Black Musk body mist.
Lauren: “Katie, get it, it’s very you, I mean just look at the sign, it says “Sweet on the inside, Fierce on the outside.” it’s totally you!”
Me: “Do you really think so?”
Lauren: “Yeah it’s just you if you were a perfume.”
Me *with a smile*: “OK then!”

Sometimes you need friends around you to remind you of your worth and to teach you self love, in a world where we are bombarded with negativity on a daily basis, it’s important to give yourself some love, to be kind to yourself and others throughout the bad times by just getting that book or dress or perfume you wanted, sit in meditation for 5 minutes, laugh at puppy videos on youtube or take a nap and go see friends and family members whom you can be yourself around. Life is so short so practice love in all shapes and forms.

My time in the North of England visiting family and friends was good for me, it was a time of reflection and contemplation about the direction I want to go in with my career and life.
I’ve realized, Plymouth is not for me anymore, even though there are some loose ends to tie up and small things to do first before I move on. Then after all of that, there is nothing in Plymouth for me anymore. There is change in the air and I really don’t want to be in this part of the UK anymore or even this part of the world at all. I am searching for opportunities that suit me and thinking up ways to leave, I have itchy feet and a heart that has healed and is ready for the next adventure. I feel like something will happen over the next few months and although I am nervous because I feel like something is round the corner, I am also excited because I am bored out of my mind being in Plymouth.

Just spending time with my best friend performing and teaching in Liverpool showed me there is a huge creative and holistic hub where my line of work fits The whole atmosphere up North felt more bohemian and more welcoming of individuals like me.

I am excited to have my website go live with brand new content. I am also creating new up to date resumes as an English, Art, Dance & Yoga teacher/holistic practitioner too. I have so much to work on and it feels like I am nesting in prep for the next phase, putting everything in order whilst I wait for the opportune moment, it’s all about divine timing.

Chatting for hours with best friend have given me the clarity I need. My best friend and I spent our days imagining running holistic music, art, dance & yoga workshops together around the North West. Another friend is in contact with a beautiful tea cafe owner who allows teachers to facilitate workshops in her cafe or assist her on her charity project in Gambia, these are all things I want to do and are within reach. I do believe before this year is up I’ll go back up North for a short while to promote my work in the community and to collaborate with friends.

In the mean time, alongside all of the little things I hope to do whilst I am still in Plymouth,So much is being planned, some of it may not come into being and that’s OK, but it feels good that these things are the final chapters to my time in Plymouth. It is coming up to the time now where I need to spread my wings and show people what I am made of after a few years of quiet servitude.

It has been a while since I have seen my best friend. Last time we spent time together was in October last year when I was visiting friends & family for my birthday. Nic & I have known each other since university and it was love at first site. In fact she approached during our induction class and she found out I have a love of belly dance, mermaids & tarot cards and we have been close ever since. Nic is a multi-faceted artist although her primary subjects involve music & acting she is also very crafty and enjoys creating hand made things, painting, writes plays and dancing. Nic tutors young adults in piano and vocals, is in a band, is currently writing her solo album, in her free time is involved in acting projects and skates with a roller derby team.
We are so in sync and are always bouncing ideas off each other so there is a constant flow of mish, mash creative energy involving all forms of art across the spectrum of creativity.
Her imagination is expansive and her charisma is limitless so she is my lovely becon of light during rainy days.

We had so much fun during our day together. Her family had a mini break to Devon and wanted to stop over in Totnes so I hopped on the train and met up with Nic just to have a bloody good laugh and mooch around strange little boutiques whilst conversing about life. We exchanged gifts in a garden cafe, she treated me to a slice of cake & hot chocolate and later we had some exquisite home made soup at ‘The Willow’ (If life is uncertain, eat dessert first is a motto I like to live by). We found a biarre little junk shop caked in vintage clothing & costumes and towards the back it had a secret wardrobe that reminded us of Narnia, here we just enjoyed dressing up in fur hats, vintage shoes & Shakespeare-like attire like little girls lost in our own secret, imaginary world.

Our time together was short and sweet as she had to head back to Liverpool the next day but it won’t be long before I see her again as she is coming with me to Bulgaria in September and I can not wait!

I was inspired by this adorable lady and her cute lifestyle blog Pourable Sunshine. Cara and I are good friends outside of Blogging and although we keep in touch and she has rang me out of the blue on some occasions we have never actually met. We tried to meet up in London when I was invited to dance at Mind,Body,Spirit but I was so exhausted and overwhelmed by London (to be perfectly honest London terrifies me) and I was poorly, I couldn’t meet her in the end. I am sure one day we will meet, patience is a virtue. We have a lot in common based on her “50 Facts About Me” for example, sunflowers are also my favourite flower and I also sing (badly) to Disney songs. I am not afraid of birds (although my mum is) I have a silly fear of moths and other flying insects, they really freak me out. I am appalling at maths also and I used to suck my thumb until I was 13.

So on that Note here is my 50 Facts About Me.

1: One of my favourite snacks are green olives.
2: I very rarely go into a deep sleep, I am a light sleeper, constantly in REM.
3: Because of this my dreams are out of this world, I can can control my dreams and I am a lucid dreamer.
4: When I was about 7 I convinced my younger sister that pouring orange on her cereal was yummier than milk.
5: I’m 35 and I still wear my retainer at night, this is why my teeth are still straight.
6: Although a bit more down to earth now, I used to walk out the house wearing wigs and mash of brightly coloured clothes.
7: I have a fascination with the symbolism and stories of mermaids.
8: I dislike nosey people and my intuition can pick up whether you genuinely care or just out to get facts to then pass it around.
9: I bite my lips when I am nervous & when I am in deep thought.
10:I am prone to panic attacks and claustrophobia when surrounded by large groups of people or drunks.
11:Autumn is my favourite season, I love the woody smell and the colours.
12:I enjoy smelling Henna & old books.
13:I am addicted to collecting & reading books because they remind me of my Nanna Monica.
14:My favourite colour is Turquoise. Although I really like Burgundy at the moment.
15:I believe in Karma, reincarnation, spirits and deities but that does not make me a hippie.
16:I read the Tarot & I can interpret dreams.
17:I am of Romany Gypsy ancestry, my Granddad was the last Romany in my family, everyone else is mixed.
18:That being said I am part Irish, Scottish, English and Romany.
19:I love Herbal Tea but I don’t understand why people dunk their biscuits in tea? Ewww Soggy biscuit!
20:I am atrocious at maths, my brain malfunctions at the simplest of sums.
21:But I am a genius at Art, English Literature, Psychology and Philosophy so who cares about maths?
22:One of my biggest regrets is that I never pursued dance as a career because when I was younger I was told I was too fat to be a dancer.
23:I was brought up in Blackpool, it is shit.
24:I have lived in Cyprus & China, Bali and Australia as well as Preston (uk) Plymouth (uk), Liverpool (UK) and now London (UK).
25:I am well travelled, thanks to my mum who took me to Bulgaria as my first destination at the age of 6, I am now a travel bug.
26:My mum owns a house in Bulgaria and will be living there soon. I get to visit all the time (obviously)
27:My mum now also owns a Gypsy cart.
28:I love Salad Cream
29:I love puppies (& puppy breath),my idea of heaven is this.
30:My hair is actually naturally curly and black although I have to dye it now, getting old with the greys.
31:Elephants are my favourite animal, Beluga whales come a close second.
32:Materialistic people bore me, no I don’t want to listen to you talk about your latest shopping experience.
33:Unconformists,Humanitarians and creative activists inspire me.
34: I’m a qualified yoga teacher and holistic coach
35:I have never broken a bone (touch wood)
36:I used to write in a diary from the age of 15 until I was 20. I should start up again.
37:I write poetry and have kept an art Journal since I was 19.
38:I now keep this lifestyle Blog and I love it!
39:I wear hardly any make-up even when I’m going ‘out out’. I only wear eye-liner.
40: I am learning to rollerskate and do the splits.
41:I can’t drive and I don’t really want to, car= expensive responsibility not freedom.
42:I dislike unwanted advice. Did I ask for help, no? Then bugger off.
43:I don’t really cry, I analyse my emotions or paint them away. Can’t stand overly emotional girls.
44:I have an Aunt in L.A. Her daughter (my cousin) dated Robbie Williams.
45:My American Aunt also owns Pickwicks Pub in America of which Bruno Mars used to perform there, he is good friends with the family.
46:I don’t want to get married in a church and it will be more like a blessing than a massive religious ‘game show’ *ahem* ceremony.
47:I don’t like wearing jeans or shoes. Love wearing long skirts & dresses.
48:I am very awkward & shy but I have an eccentric alter-ego.
49:I like getting to know individual people but dislike social gatherings and dribbling “chit chat”.
50:If I wasn’t what I am now, I’d want to be a Sex Therapist or Botanist.

So there you have it. 50 little facts about me you might not have known.