Her Point Of View

How would you describe yourself?

I am chatty but adore quiet time. I am classic but also quirky. I love fashion and in particular shoes and bags. I think I am easy going; my children may say otherwise. I like activity and can’t sit still for long. I love change and will travel to unknown places rather than somewhere familiar. I am not fearful although I wouldn’t jump out of a plane. I can handle spiders but keep the snakes far away. I am better at night but have come to appreciate an early morning.

The beauty of my surroundings is extremely important to me as is my home; home and family mean everything. I majored at university in political science, history and psychology; who would have thought? I have a dry sense of humour and cannot tell a joke to save myself. I like a vodka martini or a good glass of red and my last meal would be shaved fresh black truffles on slightly toasted sour dough with lashings of French butter and a sprinkle of sea salt. Sublime.

Tell us about your day-to-day life?

Every day I wake up and think about what I will write or feature here. I spend a couple of hours, catching up, writing and perusing the Internet. My “office” day starts at 10, so I like to have my content written before the girls come in to work. We start the day and discuss editorial content, the imagery we will use and what we are working on in social media. One of the fun parts of this “job” is working with these creative talents; they help me tell my story and make my aspirations for the site come alive.

Throw into the mix a handful of meetings, time spent on the technical side of the site and outings for inspiration and photography and it is a very full working life.

After work I go to the gym or walk around the neighbourhood; too many hours at the computer has its downsides. The evenings are catch up times with friends and family or an indulgent night in.

Are you the woman you imagined you would become?

Not at all.

I don’t know who I imagined I would be or where my life would lead. I don’t think I thought about the future in any great detail. What I do know is I am very content in this space right now and wouldn’t swap anything.

What are the valuable life lessons you have all figured out?

I don’t think we ever have it all figured out and I believe every day is about learning something new.

The two most valuable life lessons I know are the importance of loyalty and commitment. These qualities have taught me that all is possible, however tough at times. Joy and happiness are the others; there is nothing greater than embracing life with a joyful heart and letting happiness be a guiding light.

What do you like most about yourself? What do you like the least?

I am adventurous and spirited and not afraid to take on challenges; I am grateful for that. I have never been stuck in my ways and that has meant my life has been one long unexpected twist and turn after another. I don’t plan and I let life surprise me. A lack of planning is not for everyone but for me it is stimulating and exciting. I don’t like to sit still long and I would not like to think there were no surprises left.

I am too much of a perfectionist and it is a mixed blessing.

In a work situation it is a bonus; in life it can cause far too much pressure and undue stress. I don’t like the idea of, “near enough is good enough’ and it has never been my motto but there is a point where balance is all important.

Finding balance in life is my greatest challenge.

What do you like most about getting older? What do you like the least?

I hope I am wiser and more considered as I have aged. I am less impetuous and think more carefully before I act; that is a bonus. I like that I care less about what others think and I am more confident in my choices. I love that I know my own likes and dislikes; I know what I want and how I should go about it. Confidence and insecurities disappear with life experience and that is one of the very best parts of getting older.

I dislike the window of life narrowing and the loss of parents and friends as time passes. Sometimes I relish the responsibility of age and sometimes I wish I could re-visit the child in me and leave some of the harder moments to someone else.

What’s your favourite way to dress? Do you have a signature style?

I prefer to dress formally than casually. I like classic suits, man style with a feminine twist. My wardrobe is heavily biased towards winter and coats and jackets are my absolute passion, along with shoes and bags.

My goal is to look elegant and well put together, to look myself. I wear the same combinations over and over, I adjust for the season and replace the pieces but I don’t deviate a great deal. Summer holidays are when I experiment more with fashion.

Do you have a beauty secret to share?

A good hair-cut and a professional blow-dry.

This is the easiest pick me up I know and the quickest way to feel well groomed and ready to take on the world. Pair the hair with a red lip and we can conquer anything.

But the best-kept beauty secret of all is confidence,  always and forever. Confident women are the most beautiful and engaging of all.

 

What’s on the bucket list?

Travel and more travel with adventures thrown in for good measure. See as much as I can as often as I can.

Learn another language; I want to start with Italian.

Learn to be more technically competent. I absolutely love understanding the back end of our digital imprint. If I had all the time in the world I would learn code and create everything for myself.

If you could change one thing in the past, what would you do differently?

I would study differently and choose a career more carefully. I went along with the flow and didn’t spend enough time understanding where my strengths were. Now I can see so many paths I could have taken, areas I would like to have explored but they were unknown to me.

My life has been one of change and excitement and I work everyday doing what I love. Perhaps if I had followed a set career path I would not have had the adventures I have and found such fulfilment today. It was serendipity that lead me to a life in writing and being in the right place at the right time enabled me to create this blog. How grateful I am to be working on a daily basis, with such an inspirational team of people at this time in my life. There will be no slowing down here.

What age do you feel right now?

I feel ageless, better than ever and probably much younger than my years.

This year, thinking about my philosophy of “better not younger” has made me understand ageing. Yes, it will have its downsides and no one can argue with that but there are so many ways to be “better” rather than “younger”. I feel better, stronger and smarter than in my earlier years; the wisdom of hindsight, what a treasure that is. I see the physical differences and sometimes that’s off putting but the qualities I have learned and the truths I have discovered far outweigh a few silver hairs and a handful of wrinkles.

Who would play you in a movie?

Dianne Keaton

I don’t know why but I like her mix of quirky and her sense of style. xv