I’m not ill, a trip to A&E the other week established that. The visit left me red faced and with a fetching pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of my nose.   I’d convinced myself that the stabbing headaches and the general sense of listlessness were signs of something sinister. Turns out that they were migraines and that my eyesight had got a bit shit. My vision is now crystal clear and the migraines have gone, so why do I still feel like the woods have dressed up as trees and are scampering about my mind jeering “bet you can’t tell what we are”? Why do I want to curl up on the sofa every night watching TV? Why do I put off writing? Why do wake in the middle of the night convinced that there is something important I should have done? Why on earth have I seen that stupid John Lewis advert so many times that I now have an opinion on it?   Yes, I’m under the weather – not in the sniffling snotty way, in an all in my head kind of way. And it is annoying the hell out of me.   That’s why I’m forcing myself to write this, I want to snap myself out of this pesky malaise that has sneaked in, riding on the coattails of all these dark mornings. I’ve dabbled with the idea that I might have Seasonal affective disorder and, on closer examination the symptoms on Wikipedia (as you do), my dabbling appears to be pretty close to the mark.   Yet there is a little part of me that is convinced that this maudlin inactivity is some form of well-earned break, a winter reward for a spring, summer and autumn of hard work. Eating a[.....]

  Stuff that I have been up to lately, in pictures.   1) Laying some cool stuff out on my bed and taking a picture.   2) Sitting in old man pub   3) Playing spot the ladybird  

  Gather round close, come on, I’ve got a secret to tell you. I’m going to have to whisper it and I’ll only say it once, so listen up. Ready? Good. Here I go: I’m not peppy, I’m not a go getter and I’m not a “highly effective person”. At least not naturally. There, I’ve said it and it feels good.   Over the past few months, a lot of good stuff has happened in my life. Good stuff that I have shared with you all on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. I’ve been trying this whole “presenting a positive face to the world” schtick. It has been quite easy, especially when so much positive stuff has been going on. I’ve been busy, busy riding the roller coaster of life and hitting some pretty dizzying heights.   Social media and blogging makes telling you all about this amazing stuff easy. Dangerously so. Social media makes “image management” easy too. I can simply choose not to tell you about the time that I exhaustedly sobbed on the train at the prospect of the umpteenth 14 hour day in a row. Or the four foot high pile of ironing in the airing cupboard that I ignored until it collapsed and spilled out onto the hall floor. Or the time that I screamed and threw a coat hanger across the bedroom when I couldn’t find my left shoe.   Not telling you this stuff isn’t really me. It is a restrained and reined in version that I dabble with from time to time. I can’t be a perky robot.   There are some lines in a Rilo Kiley song that pop into my head nearly every time I click “publish” on a blogpost:   “Any asshole can open up a museum;[.....]

  What a birthday weekend! Not only did I get to go out and celebrate lots, I also got this beautiful new blog!   This is the new home of Bookish Brunette, designed and built by Tom and co. at Phoenix WS, thanks to funding from SPEED WM. It also features a beautiful illustrated header by the talented and fabulous Claire Goldthorp. The site and illustration are so perfect that I shed a tear of joy when I first saw it.   Have a look around and enjoy it. This is a pretty big deal for me as I’m finally starting to realise that anything is possible. Bookish Brunette started out as a mere mouse of blog, the voice of a girl who wasn’t sure what she wanted from life, other than to write. That girl is now a journalist and business woman, who has found that life really is what you choose to make of it.   My story isn’t spectacular, I haven’t had any real adversity to overcome other than my own self-doubt. But I know that there are millions of young men and women who share the same nagging doubts and worries. You know what? Sometimes we have them for good reason, other times they do nothing but hold us back from doing what we really want to do in life.   Enough of this self-help, motivational speak. Time for pictures of me posing in an outfit in Birmingham’s Brindley Place on my 27th birthday:   Top: The Kooples Jeans: Topshop Brogues: Topshop Satchel: The Cambridge Satchel Company Sunglasses: Topshop  Necklaces: Gifts   Before posing, me and Mark went to the launch party for Brewsmiths Coffee and Tea on Livery Street in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The place had a real arty and community orientated, friendly atmosphere. The owners, Dave and Kate[.....]

Book update: Dom Joly “The Dark Tourist”: This book was something of a landmark for me. It was my first ever e-book. I read it entirely on my iPad and found the experience to be wholly positive. My minor technological triumph aside, “The Dark Tourist” is a great book. Dark Tourism is tourism with a macabre twist; visiting places that are “off the beaten track” for good reason. The opening chapter sets the oddball tone for the book, with the tale of Joly’s ski trip to Iran. He then plays crazy golf in North Korea and gets crazy-drunk in Cambodia. It isn’t all fun and frolics though. His adventures are often countered with sensitive observations of countries bound by tyrannical regimes or recovering from past atrocities. Joly’s description of Cambodia’s killing fields and meetings with former Khmer Rouge officials are genuinely unsettling. When writing of his home country of Lebanon, there is a true affection. He depicts stunning landscapes baring the pock marks of war, and pokes fun at the national “trigger happy” mentality. His American road trip, visiting famous assassination sites, is intriguing but seems somehow less “dark”. Maybe this is because the places he visits are now common tourist traps. The strangest parts of the chapter are his observations of tourists visiting ground zero. Apparently, no New Yorkers want to visit. Are some things too raw and horrific to ever be seen as tourism? Is it right for sadness and suffering to become the fodder of an entertaining travel book? Caitlin Moran “How to be a Woman”: I didn’t want to read this. You know why? Twitter kept telling me to. Twitter brings out my inner contrary five year old. Tell me to do something and I instantly decide that I will not do it, even if I,[.....]

This is one of those annoyingly chirpy/smug posts. If you are feeling cranky or have had a shiteous day, you probably won’t want to read it. It is a simple list of some of the good stuff that has been happening in my life lately. It probably constitutes “showing off a bit”. Right now, I’m off to chatter with some bluebirds, squirrels and chipmunks about how wonderfully chipper everything is. Laters BBxx Good stuff that has happened in my life lately: I’ve spent lots of time in London with some lovely people I’ve finally been to the Primrose Bakery Wahaca serve pork scratchings with guacamole I rode a Boris Bike though Regent’s Park The Kooples had a sale I’ve been to Graduate Fashion Week I’m now writing for bitchbuzz.com I have business cards that say “Fashion Journalist” I’ve worked with my first copywriting client I’m set to launch my copywriting business “Word Candy” in the next few weeks I’m delivering two professional writing workshops for business start-ups (tomorrow – GAH!!!) Bookish Brunette is getting a new blog I’m going to be an Auntie in a couple of months My friends and family are brilliant Mid-height block heels are where IT IS AT I had one of those lovely “this is my life and it ain’t half bad” moments: I walked out of Earl’s Court, hopped on the Tube to Knightsbridge and walked to Laduree in Harrods. I bought a box of macarons in the brightest, bestest colours they had. I held on to them all the way back home to the Midlands and tucked into them with my husband when I got home. That myth about not being able to have your cake/patisserie and eat it is totally bogus.

I’m just back from a week in Belgium. It is my new favourite country and here’s why: It is really flat and they like planting trees in straight lines Chocolate (obviously) Belgian people love small dogs. They sometimes put their tiny dogs in little baskets on the front of their bikes Kriek Beer – cherry beer is liquid Haribo Sour Cherries Amazing music, art, architecture, windmills and fashion We stayed in Bruges, in a cute cottage just off one of the main canals. My husband spent the whole of the first day trying to spot locations from “In Bruges”. He was thrilled when we stumbled upon the hotel Colin Farrell leapt out of onto the passing barge. Pink cardigan: Forever 21 Green vest: Topshop Rainbow necklace: H&M Sunray pleat skirt: Hobbs NW3 Leopard loafers: Jones Bootmaker Bruges is so beautiful; all hazy sunshine and fairytale buildings reflected in the glistening waterways. Everyone travels around on old fashioned bikes and you can always hear the clip-clop of horses hooves on the cobbled streets. The bars are a big draw with many offering menus of at least 100 different Belgian beers – we spent our days wandering around and allowing for many “refreshment” breaks. Each beer has its own special glass which I found highly pleasing. One of my favourites was a trappist beer (brewed by monks) called Orval. It came served in what can only be described as a chalice. We rode bikes to the nearby village of Damme, it was a blissful ride along the tree lined canal. The village is said to be Belgium’s answer to Hay-on-Wye and there were plenty of charming bookshops with tempting tables of second hand books. If only I could read Flemish… Sunglasses: Topshop Cream cardigan: H&M Floral top: Elephtheria Jeans: Topshop Mary Janes:[.....]