Windsor Lock

I've noticed that apart from myself everyone around me carries one of those sleek electronic notebooks. Indeed, I've been persuaded by many to chuck my beloved Windsor Lock (Filofax doesn't carry this style anymore) in favour of an electronic one.
Me? I wouldn't dream of it. I've had my trusted original filofax for close to twenty years, and yes, the leather's cracked and peeling at the edges, and the loop for my pen has come undone...BUT I like flicking through the pages and writing addresses manually AND it's got sentimental value: it was a gift to me upon my graduation from business college.
Okay, so now you can probably guess how old I am.
But anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because I've read an article in a women's magazine recently saying that the filofax in making a triumphant come-back! My heart did a little skip when I read that.
Ha! So it paid off to keep hanging on to it after all.
According to the article, any woman with a filofax (preferably LV) tucked under one arm is considered super trendy. For this season anyway...

Pharmac(it)y

Okay, maybe you won't find a decent pair of shoes in this little town, but you'll definitely never run out of Aspirins, that's for sure!
Warning: for all serious shopper girls planning to move here - there are more pharmacies and opticians located in the town square alone than any other major city I've lived in.

Makes me wonder how sick people think they're going to get while living here...gulp. ;-)

But don't despair, if you ever visit, there are a handful of reasonable shops that sell reasonably trendy clothes, there's a bookshop, a stationery, a shop selling toys and other paraphernalia for kids, a few hair salons, a cheap chainstore selling shoes and right next to that another store selling more upmarket type shoes and the latest addition: a shop that sells everything from plastic kitchen ware to gardening tools to disposable undies. And get this - all for 1 Euro.
Incidentally, it's called the One Euro Shop.

Happy shopping!

Wise Cat

I've learnt a valuable lesson from my cat today:

There's nothing wrong with being lazy and lying on your back in the sun all day...

You should try it sometime!

Continuing along this clothesline of thought...
'So, what's she wearing nowadays?' I hear you girls ask. Has she completely swapped her Theory/Malandrino/Marc Jacobs wardrobe for gumboots and mille-fleur patterned dresses?
Well, not quite.
Admittedly, I do own a pair of gumboots, but they're from Cath Kidston and really cute :-)

Anyway, the sun's out and it's nice and hot today. The sky is the kind of pure blue you normally only get to see in California. This is good. We're having a BBQ in our garden later today. Nothing fancy, just a couple of close friends, my husband and myself. My hubby has already gone and bought two crates of beer, as there's going to be a lot of rejoicing over Germany's victory football match last Wednesday night. (atleast among the menfolk)
And us ladies?
Oh, we'll be busy discussing the latest 'KitchenAid' model, I'm sure. Honestly. Would I kid you?

Cheers.

Summertime - T-shirt time

The other day I was looking round our gaggle of shops in search of a plain, white T-shirt.
When I was still a city girl I'd rush down to the nearest 'Theory' boutique in my lunch-break an grab one for 80 $.
These days I'm a bit more frugal when it comes to spending money - especially when it's only a white T-shirt. But would you believe? A plain, white T-shirt is about as difficult to find around here as a dropped contact lens on a carpet. I thought I'd found one in the local fashion store, but when I turned it over it had big, black, flock-printed angel wings on its back! Another one had 'DOWN & OUT' in fat capitals splashed across the front! Ridiculous.
So, after another fifteen minutes of half-heartedly flicking through the clothes, I did what any sensible girl living in the country would do. I bought one off the internet.

So, how about you? What's your favourite mode of shopping? Local or internet?

Green is my favourite colour

It's the end of June; the start of the summer holidays in this region, and I still can't get over how green and lush the garden looks at this time of year; the right flank is overflowing with roses and clematis and great big rhododendron are blooming on the left. I used to live in one of the high-rise blocks you can see in the picture, and the only green patch I ever saw was the mold that grew in the top corner of my shower cubicle!
When I first came here I actually had an aversion to grass - much like neurotic TV-detective Adrian Monk. Now I own a vegetable patch.
Watching my plants grow is very meditative and soothing to the mind. It's also quite rewarding harvesting the produce - and to think that I used to consider that plastic-wrapped supermarket stuff fresh!

So, tell me. How many of you have secretly always wanted to grow your own veggies?

When I moved here a couple of years ago it seemed I was the only girl wearing a suit. Honestly.
Not to mention the heels, the chunky jewelry and oversized designer bag.
Why would I notice such trivial things? Well, I'll explain. 
In my previous life I was a successful fashion merchandiser travelling around the globe, staying in top-notch hotels, dining in gourmet restaurants and enjoying all the perks my high-flying career offered. So what happened? How come I ended up in this sleepy town where bleached jeans, heavy-soled boots and flannel shirts are considered the height of fashion? And not only for the guys.

Truth is, I got sick. Very, very sick. My company didn't like sick people to represent them, even though I had done a tremendous job and all the clients liked and respected me. I didn't wait for them to give me the sack. Instead I upped sticks and moved to the country to start all over again. Not unlike Marin Frist in Men   in Trees. ;-) (Too bad they axed the show after only two seasons.)
Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only big city girl that has moved to a small town and it's not as bad as it initially seemed. More on this in my next posts -
got to feed the cat.

P.S. - from big city to small town in the country: what's your excuse?