La isla bonita - Spain the island of beauty

This year when travelling to Spain, I was constantly asked the same thing. Why Spain? 

There are so many reasons, why this needed to happen the year i turned 30, I knew that having my 30th bday in Spain was going to Spain. When i was younger Spanish black olives could have been consumed as a past time. The song La isla Bonita was an all time fave song from Madonna.

More recently Spanish brands such as Zara, Mango, or exclusive designers like Manolo Blahnik, Christobal Balenciaga and leather goods like Loewe have all taken my fancy.  

But if fashion was the sole reason that i traveled, I think it would have been a single ticket - without my husband. So it needed to include all of this, including the love of eating and enjoying food. 

In Barcelona we couldn't get enough Paella and Sangria, the experience of food was about family and friends sharing food, eating and talking around a table of  croquettes and patatas bravas. La Boqueria, the Spanish tourist market became a daily visit,purchasing a selection of jamon, olives, croquettes and fruit smoothes for dessert. We even missed our San Sebastian flight because our visit in the market.

To Andalucia we went, the South of Spain, where Granada was by far an authentic Spanish experience. The first night we experienced Flamenco dancing, it brought us to tears, the intensity of a beautiful women that danced and oozed sex appeal.

In each region there are different ways of serving tapas, in the south each time you buy a drink you are served with delicious tapas for free. in San Sebastian in the north, bars are filled with a selection of tapas plates and you pick a plate of your choice. 

The variety of artists and the museums we visited were amazing, Pablo Picasso, Antonio Gaudi and Salvador Dali, all so different and all so Spanish. 

And finally Ronda a small town in the South where bullfighting begun. Madonna shot the film clip "Take a bow" an oldie but a goodie. Ronda is unique and again purely Spanish, it was hard to find anyone that spoke anything but Espanga. Even though the bullfighting ring is only in use a couple of nights a year, due to the controversy in Spain amongst the locals, it is well worth that a visit, a stunning arena and a great museum.

All up Spain is highly recommended, shopping was fantastic, food delicious, music still rings in my ears, clap clap....Ola!!!  

I heart New York but I hate it right now...

I love New York City for the popular things, Central Park, Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, SOHO, Park Avenue, Times Sqaure, Bridge Brooklyn and 5th avenue,etc etc.

However the things that I really love about the most expensive city in the world, is that you can just wonder the streets and find the most beautiful things to do, stop and have coffee at Dean and Deluca and watch the world go by. Go to any magazine stand and see just how many fashion, interior designs, gossip magazines there are, all made in NYC, it really is magazine heaven!

But right now I am hating NYC, because what is NYC when you don't have the love of your life with you, I miss my husband and he is having the time of his life there without me. Although I miss NYC, I miss him more....


Top 5 things I miss...
1. Cuddles in the morning
2. A big hello kiss when I get home
3. Watching TV together before bed time
4. Talking and hanging out
5. Just seeing each other

Top 5 things I am enjoying:
1. Cooking less
2. Washing less
3. Putting the heater on high
4. Having my own time and space
5. Watching whatever I want on TV.

1 week to go.....................

New York City where dreams are made!

So my husband is in NYC,not for just any work conference, where  mediocre people sit around in their suits exchanging business cards and partcipating in workshops that are quickly forgtotten about by the time you return to the office. This is internet week, it's a marketing - website conference, one that inspires, one that makes you want to live for your dreams, achieve the unthinkable, reach for the stars, meet people that have made things happen and are about to make it BIG.

How can a conference make you feel so real? How can a city make you feel alive? Is it the city? Is it the experience we are having in the city? or Is it us? Are we the type of people who get easily inspired and are generally aspirational. New York City is now doubt a concrete jungle where dreams are made of. These streets inspire, make you feel invincible, make you feel brand new, those tacky Times Square lights will brighten your life, lets hear it for NEW YORK! I miss you, xoox 

Art in fashion

'Art is in the eye of the beholder'

What a stunning dress, with a digital art print on the fabric, just beautiful!

Another gorgeous dress with the illusion of old burnt paper.
Unfortunately the designers are unknown...

LOVE - Melbourne Fashion Week

Alex Perry; classic 2012

Alex Perry; stunning gowns

Ellery; classic colours with a different cut

Samantha Harris; great design

 Karen Walker; so much fun

Independent designer; a touch abstract

Independent designer; layering is a must in Melbourne

To love, from words

It was the day before Valentines Day when the topic of conversation popped up!

                      


I admitted to dinner for Valentines Day, when a colleague at work responded to me, by saying "sucked in".
The arguement went back and forth, about marketing, commercialism, consumerism and adopting the American way.....


But If we dont have seasonal celebrations, what do we have?
Sure, I was playing tennis that night, but who cares, you don't want to celebrate this day - don't, but don't criticise and judge others that do.


Whether it is Love Day, Easter, Birthdays, or when one of us is away on business, we always spoil each other with small meaningless items that lay on a kitchen bench, with a special note of course.


So two days after Valentines Day, I get a call from reception saying a lovely bunch of flowers were delivered, the thought of my bitter colleague seeing them, made me so anxious I ran down stairs, when I was literally willing to walk out to the street and give them away to a stranger, but keep the special note of course...


The flowers were so cute, but of course the special note said.....

                 "I honestly feel sorry for those

                  who say that they don't subscribe

                  to such wonderful days, for we 

                  are not only marketers but we 

                  are opportunists, be it in life,

                  or love. I love you,

                             Happy Valentines Day"

             

                 

Days too long, years too short!

Where did 2011 go?


I look back at my blog and there wasn't one single entry.
So what did I do in 2011 that stopped me from writing to you.
Everyone says 'time flies', but what are we doing with our time, that makes time go so quick?

In 2011, I got a new job, it was time to take the leap yet again and challenge myself, I love what I do - marketing consultant in financial services, but sometimes it can be quite stale and that is the reality of it!


Why I love what I do, marketing is my passion (amongst other things) working with small business is amazing, I am helping to build someone else's dream- their business! So creating great client experiences, creating a brand, creating visuals to support the brand, and developing a marketing plan to support the small business is what day to day looks like. Sure I got to travel around Australia, however apart from fancy hotels and hard work when you're visiting a new business, it's so tiring - i miss being home! So the new job is going really well, but what else did i do?




The new job needed some creative qualification to back my creative skills up, and to work efficiently with our creative designers and studio department, I decided to hit the books and do a Graphic Design short course, oh boy, what was I thinking!
It was a 12 week course, and took up 6 - 7 hrs a week. The time and relationship pressure was the hardest, my amazing husband is well equipped with these creative skills as he is a Digital Marketing Manager. So every night he was trying to be a teacher, leader, mentor as well as patient, but eventually I finished the weekly assignments, all 12, it was hell!


In 2011, it was my husbands milestone birthday, so we took the opportunity for a fun holiday off to the US to celebrate his 30th birthday, Los Angeles, New York City and Las Vegas. It was a great two weeks where New York City became a huge inspiration to me....It is so alive, so chaotic, yet so beautiful, we went to the museums, had a bike ride in the beautiful Central Park, walked and walked along 5th avenue, shopped at SOHO, and dined at the very delicious Cypriani restaurants....

In 2011 I remained commited to exercise, my weekly schedule, two gym sessions, a walk or a run and tennis on Tuesday nights. All up I did 3 fun runs, I started out with good times, but I think I got pretty lazy at the end, finishing up with 1hr 07min  which is 1 min off my best time. 


In October, one of my all time favourite artists came to Melbourne for a concert, Janet Jackson. She hadn't been to Melbourne for 11 years, so it was worth the wait, a great concert with all the dancing and theatrics and she had a great voice.  


My parents took the trip of their lives to Europe, recommended and planned by me, it was daunting and exciting, luckily it all went well. They did a 30 day tour of Europe then spent most of their time in Greece and Cyprus, they also missed my 29th birthday which was celebrated at Becco, a lovely Italian award winning restaurant.


I think that sums it up, lots of highs and lots of highs, it was a great year!


However 2012, is all about achieving many of life to do's, I have so many plans so many motivations, maybe I will tell you about them, some time soon!