Saturday 30 July 2011

Soul Love.



'Thank you Thank you Thankyou to every soul that has ever touched mine. I have realised in this life of love, lust, pain, vision, hate, dreams, confusion, colour or lack of and everything and anything we think and feel, there is so much to take from it all and so much to give. I guess thats what pushes us to make Art. In giving we are taking. I have a conversation with someone on a train and that's a song or a poem or painting. People should never get bored when we are surrounded by everything to inspire us. So I am grateful for that, so thank you world! Joss xo'-



Joss Stone from new album LP1. (my favourite singer)






(image:Gig Junkie)

Friday 29 July 2011

3 things Friday x

Its FRIDAY! :) My favourite day of the week so I thought I'd share my current loves with you all:


1. Vintage style tea dresses (1950s)


(image: etsy shop)






2.  Sweet Jewellery like this, oh how I love teapots!:


(image: Adorn London)




3. Beyonces new and beautiful album. My favourite track is 1+1


 (image: NME)




And of course, I will always love:


my friends and family
fresh flowers
sunshine
nature
and.... being true to my hippy self- peace and love. haha xx


Oh and news... my sunflowers are now ready to be planted and given away. I'm giving some to my good friends as thank you gifts. It has been a great experiment to grow them and see their little leaves grow bigger and bigger. 


Have a great weekend friends!


xxxxxxxx

Thursday 28 July 2011

Excitement.





Dear friends.


It made me so happy yesterday to read your happiness lists on the post below. Keep them coming in. Its so important to count blessings, that in itself is a mood booster I've found. 


Well today, its sunny, im sitting in my new green floaty dress (love) and i'm so incredibly excited for graduate school in october. I know its ages away but I havnt been a student for a year as have been earning money for my  next degree! And its nearly august so the time is approaching fast,


Saying that I don't want to wish away my summer.


But today I am so so so excited! 


Have a good Thursday xo    


(image:blog)

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Happiness Wednesday: Your Happiness List.

Hi friends,


Its Happiness Wednesday! Even though in London here its rather grey but we shall ignore the weather! 


So this week instead of talking on a particular topic, what I thought I'd do is ask the question:


What makes you happy?


And then I'd love you to write your answers in list form in the comment box below- its your happiness list!.


Here's a few things that boost my mood:


1. Putting on make up and prettifying
2. Going for walks in nature and noticing flowers and beauty around me
3. Chatting to a friend especially ones that make me giggle
4. Listen to music i love
5. Go to the cinema or theatre.
6. Talk to my sister and have a gossip!


Theres so many more- chocolate, butterflies, growing my sunflowers, blogging..... these all make me happy too. So what about you?


Happy Wednesday! xxxxxxxx


(image:Best Desktop Wallpapers) 

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Beauty of a sentence.

Today I read this in a book on theatre,


'We are wedded in language, have our being in words.'


And I thought it was the most perfect, beautiful way to describe our lives. Words can transform and change our reality. Happy Tuesday.


x


(image: Sally Jane Vintage Blog)

Monday 25 July 2011

Dreaming.

(image: blingee.com)

Lately I have found myself dreaming about how I want my life to be. Its a time in my life where I'm making choices and becoming fully independent. But I feel kinda trapped in a way. Don't know if anyone else feels like that?


I want to move away from home but its finding the balance between that and my finances (I'm trying to save). I'm starting a masters degree in applied theatre in the autumn which I'm very excited about, but I also want to be living in my own place or with a friend. So right now this is whats on my mind.


I also miss travelling..... Vietnam, The Northern Lights......Australia... New Zealand... America.... Italy. I want to see so many places and experience so many things in this world.


I want to do something of worth in my career, give back, help others but achieve something for my family. :) They've given me so much.       


I'd love to find my soul mate and fall in love.


What do you want for your life? What are your dreams? 

Sunday 24 July 2011

The Help- Kathryn Stockett.

(image: blog)


I just finished reading 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett based on the lives of African-American maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. It is a truly beautiful book that focuses in on two maids- Aibileen and Minny, working for white families and a white woman, Skeeter Phelan. It expresses the boundaries all three cross in mutual friendship and fighting for change. Below is my favourite quote from this extraordinary tale where the maid Aibileen speaks to Mae Mobley,the white child in her care about Martin Luther King,  




"Today I'm on tell you bout a man from outer space." She just loves hearing about peoples from outer space. Her favorite show on the tee-vee is My Favorite Martian, I pull on my antennae hats I shaped last night out a tin foil, fasten em on our heads. One for her and one for me. We look like we a couple a crazy people in them things. 
"One day, a wise Martian come down to Earth to teach us people a thing or two," I say. 
"Martian? How big?" 
"oh, he about six-two." 
"What's his name?" 
"Martian Luther King." 
She take a deep breath and lean her head down on my shoulder. I feel her three-year-old heart racing against mine, flapping like butterflies on my white uniform. 
"He was a real nice Martian, Mister King. Looked just like us, nose, mouth, hair up on his head, but sometime people looked at him funny and sometime, well, I guess sometime people was just downright mean." 
I coul get in a lot a trouble telling her these little stories, especially with Mister Leefolt. But Mae Mobley know these our "secret stories". 
"Why Aibee? Why was they so mean to him?" she ask. 
"Cause he was green." 



Apparently I read this book just in time, as the film of it is coming out next month. I totally missed all the buzz surrounding it- don't know how! 


Read this book! And if you have read it, what did you think?
xxx

Saturday 23 July 2011

Time.

(image:We Heart It)


I may be only 23 years old but sometimes I turn around and think to myself- am I really here? Am I really grown from that gangly teenager into a woman? And sometimes its hard to think that the time has passed because you wonder, where on earth did it go. You are filled with a whirlpool of thoughts that catch you as your head lies on the pillow- about life and love and in between, every day thoughts. And that can get scary but can also be beautiful. Time spent dreaming and hoping is never wasted, as long as some of those plans are fulfilled. I just have to remember that time is a gift. Dreaming is a gift. And all in this upside down, crazy, world is a gift- even if it hurts.
x

Friday 22 July 2011

East Africa Crisis... YOU can make a difference.

Dear friends,








I have often refrained from writing posts that are too serious on this blog because no one likes to read about depressing news. However, today I have decided to write about a serious crisis going on in our world, with the hope that you will read this and help make a difference.


This week, the UN declared a famine in the south of Somalia, East Africa. Millions of people, men, women, children are at risk of death. There is already acute malnutrition and livestock have died. The last declared famine was in Ethiopia in the 1980s, of which the Live Aid concerts were created to raise money to feed those at risk.


Millions across Kenya, South Sudan are also suffering from malnutrition and disease. 


Although our governments have given money in aid, it is not enough.  Here in the UK, an appeal managed to raise 15 million pounds. But, we have to help our African brothers and sisters before it is too late.


Please do the following:


Donate money to an NGO working to get food and medical supplies to the region e.g. Save The Children, UNICEF, Action Aid UK/ USA, Oxfam or Oxfam America, Action Against Hunger etc. Even a small amount of money makes a difference.


Please sign this petition, to call upon our leaders to make a change to the short term and long term elimination of poverty.


This is an avoidable tragedy. There is enough food to feed everyone in the world.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBdfKn8Ld6A&feature=player_embedded


Make that change today.


El xxxxxx


ps- please read: http://globalpovertyproject.com/blog/view/432

(image:  islamic-relief.org.uk)

Thursday 21 July 2011

Sleepless and Beautiful.

'There are hours without sleep which is not to say that they're sleepless, because on the contrary, they're not about lack of anything, they're rich and full. Desires, memories, fears, passions form labyrinths in which we lose and find and then lose ourselves again. They are hours when anything is possible, good or bad'- Bernhard Schlink.


This quote is from the most beautiful book I read about a year ago, 'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlink. He is a wonderful writer. I also find it quite relevant to my life because there are times when its hard to get to sleep because my mind is whirring, or worrying or dreaming... How about you?

xxxx

(image: swiss-miss.com website)

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Happiness Wednesday: Friendship



Dear friends,  


Today is Happiness Wednesday again :) One of my favourite times in the week. No longer Hump day, but Happiness day.


Last week I blogged about relaxation tips- natural relaxants like chamomile tea, lavender oil and hot baths. This week I am going to talk about a totally different topic but just as important. Friendship.


We all know that having good and supportive friends is essential to our wellbeing and overall happiness. It has been proven that seeing friends face to face makes us feel happier, something that online contact (although wonderful) does not stimulate in the same way.


Susan Jeffers in her book 'The Little book of Confidence' talks about 'Higher Self Friends'. The 'Higher Self' is the you at your best- the positive you who praises yourself, connected to goodness and spirituality. She says that we must surround ourselves with friends who promote this image:


'Ask yourself if they are 'be careful (lower self) friends or 'Go for It' (higher self) friends' - Susan Jeffers


A Go For It friend will encourage you to move forward with your life, be supportive and promote your own wellbeing without warning of constant failure.


Surround yourself with positive people in your life. This tends to come as your own confidence grows. 


Laughing with friends is truly my favourite medicine. How about you?






Have a very happy Wednesday!


xxxxxx


(image 1: Gary Pepper Vintage  image 2: We Heart It)
  

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Ghana Memories.

Last night, I realised that is has been an entire year since I was in Tamale, Northern Ghana (West Africa) teaching underprivileged women and working with primary school and nursery children. I had the most amazing time and learnt a huge amount about poverty, international development and of course African culture. The best thing I learnt was from the women I taught. Which is that one can have a bright, glowing spirit despite any challenges in life.


I'm going to post something I wrote the days after I got back to England, a year ago. It is a reflection on my time out there. Hope you enjoy reading.



'I wasnt going to write a coming home from Ghana note.....because I wasnt sure how I felt and I thought that I could tell everyone in person if they asked... But a lot of people have asked me about my trip and so I wanted to write a reflective note on here.....

Coming home from Ghana has been a very odd (and nice!) experience. At first it was so hard to acclimitise back to a culture so alien to African life, particularly in a fairly rural village surrounded by mud huts and goats where people get up with the sunrise and go to bed when it gets dark (6pm there). I found myself being confronted with contrasting lifestyles. It is hard to explain but I found a simplicity of life in Africa- without gadgets or material influence... people spend more time face to face talking together and there is a huge emphasis on community. I found that in the street people would greet you, in taxis people talk to you, and this could be because you are the exciting different person but also it is generally a courtesy to talk to others and ingrained in Ghanaian life. The other day sitting on the London Tube where everyone goes out of their way to avoid eye contact, I found it an odd and quite disturbing experience (even more than I had before I left!) 

I have found that coming home to 3 big meals a day (if i want), clean water from the tap, fast internet all the time, hot showers and having my hair cut to be a luxury that at times in Ghana I didnt have. I had cold water showers for 2 months which actually was quite refreshing in the heat! It has been weird going from maxi dresses and birkenstocks to winter coats and tights in the space of 2 weeks. It is odd being able to drink from the tap without fear of getting ill, not having to sleep in a mosquito net or be bitten by malarial mosquitos. I experienced the wrath of mosquitos out there and it made me appreciate that living in England we have MUCH less to contend with!! I found that malaria out there is rampant in the rainy season.... and was told that the hospitals are overflowing with severe cases. I learnt to appreciate the NHS when I had to pay for a consultation with a doctor and learnt of those who could not affrd to pay for drugs. I was told that in Northern Ghana there is only one Gynaecologist and two psychiatrists. It is a region severely limited in resources and it was horrific to learn of this injustice especially as the North is where the majority of the poor live.
I learnt that the education I have recieved is a luxury...that I can use a computer to communicate, that I am literate and numerate and can read books (let alone buy books) . I learnt that despite not having much and gone through so much, the human spirit in the women I worked with was strong, and BRIGHT and incredible........and I hope that they go on to live good lives.

So coming home to 'Western' life has made me a little shell shocked again...at how lucky I have been purely through an accident of birth and circumstances. It has been wonderful seeing family and friends but I know that my experience in Ghana is one I will carry with me through life and I encourage all to go and witness it, volunteer and see for yourself.'

And the memories are still carried with me every day even now a year on.





Have a great Tuesday xxxx
(images: my own. copyright eleanor s.) 

Monday 18 July 2011

Imagine.




This is my thought for the day. If it can be envisioned it can be achieved.


Happy Monday!
El xxx


(images:    1. allthatyoullsee blog via weheartit         2.blog via weheartit)

Sunday 17 July 2011

Emma Watson: Style Icon

Hey everyone,


Last week I posted the gorgeous Oscar De La Renta dress that Emma Watson wore for the London premiere of Harry Potter. So I thought, why don't I make a post with a few of her wonderful looks?


 At Paris fashion week 2009 in Yves Saint Laurent. Love the Harem pants with heels! (image: Shes Fashion blog)









Wearing beautiful Christopher Kane dress (image:Lovely Emma Watson)


At London Fashion Week 2009- loving the yellow shimmer! (image: Fanpop.com)



(images: Teen Vogue) Emma modelling clothes for Teen Vogue, straight off the 2009 catwalks....




Modelling beautiful Valentino Dress in 2011 (image: website)




I love her style!


Whats your favourite look? 
xo

Saturday 16 July 2011

Harry Potter Quote.











This last week has been my 'Harry Potter' week. I caught up on the sixth film, and part 1 of the seventh (I'd already read the books but somehow had missed out these two films!) and yesterday I went with my lovely cousins to see Deathly Hallows Part 2. I won't spoil it for other fans, except to say I found it moving and breathtakingly beautiful.


I love this quote:


It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" - Albus Dumbledore 


I am a big dreamer, so much so that sometimes I forget to enjoy the present. This is so important to remember.


For all of us who've grown up with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hogwarts and magical life, who waited every year for the book to come to our doorstep so we could devour it and share the news with our friends, who watched the films, who identified with the characters, this is the end for now. That such a work of literature can be so complex, and beautiful and inspiring is what touched me most when I went to see the film yesterday.




JK Rowling- Thank you.


xo


(image: Harry Potter Nuts Blog)

Friday 15 July 2011

Sunshine.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone.


This picture reflects how I'm feeling right now. Creative, happy and free....


Lots of wonderful things have happened this week and I am so pleased my little blog here is growing and i've met so many new bloggers and continued to speak to old friends too. I'm happy for the sunshine and the freedom at the moment too here.... and seeing friends this week has been a joy. <3


Keep smiling and hope you stay full of positivity. Thats my aim for the weekend,


El xo


(image: digital magpie)

Thursday 14 July 2011

Thank you and Lovely Happenings.

Hello!


Second post of the day- but this is a little message to you as we go into the weekend. 


I want to thank you for all the support and kindness you have shown me here in the blogging community.


For the comments you leave that bring a smile to my face and for the heartfelt love! 


I want to make Mirror Of My World a place for you the reader to come away with a smile, a pick me up place, an inspirational corner of the blog world. 


If you have any suggestions for me to improve the blog also please write them below. That would help.
Love always xo


(image: weheartit.com)

Award Love and Katy Perry.

I was sitting at my computer last night when I got a lovely message from Vanessa at Life As I Know It to say she'd given me a blog award. I was so touched :). Thank you Vanessa!


So the rules of acceptance are that I have to share 7 things about myself and pass it on to 7 or 15 bloggers. As I did this quite recently, I'm going to pass the award to some new and wonderful bloggers I have found!


1. Alli at Reasons to Smile 
2. Red Boots
3. Resolute Twig
4. Lindsey at Delighted Momma
5. Sal at Daniel and I
6. Alice at Alice's Bucket List
7. Annelise at Box of Crayons

I love hearing from all new bloggers and followers to my page, so if you would like the award and I forgot to pass it on to you, let me know!! With love.

*****

And now to share 7 things about myself:

1. My heritage is from all over Europe. I have a British-German grandfather and Polish, Russian, Romanian and French heritage!



2. I am currently addicted to these lyrics: 
'You think I'm pretty without any make up on, You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong, I know you get me, So I let my walls come down, down' from Katy Perry. So romantic.


3. The Western Wall in Jerusalem is my spiritual home.




4.  Motown soul music is a true passion and Love. I love neo-soul music as well like India Arie and Joss Stone.




5.  I taught these women in Ghana last summer. They were amazing, bright, beautiful human beings and i miss the NGO Girls Growth and Development very much.




6. I am a hopeless romantic.


7.  I love Sex and the City, especially Miranda Hobbes. Shes so witty and funny!




Happy Thursday everyone! I'd love to hear seven things about you if you'd like? xxx


(images: google)

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Happiness Wednesday: Relaxation.

Hello friends,





Today on Happiness Wednesday I'm going to focus on relaxation.


We all live such busy and hectic lives that sometimes it can overpower us and we can feel stressed out, overwhelmed and unhappy. Hands up if you feel like that a lot?
I've found through reading various books, some tips that I'd like to share with you to make you feel a little more relaxed! They work for me and I hope they'll work for you.


Natural relaxants


After a long day of maybe being in front of a computer, stressed out, feeling stiff in your body, the best natural relaxants are the following:


Chamomile Tea




Chamomile tea is a natural sedative and calming sleep aid. You can drink it during the day, but not too much or it will make you too sleepy. I find that if i drink a cup before bed with some sugar to sweeten it, thats the best time. It helps me relax. But remember- don't drink too many cups!


Lavender Oil




I havn't tried this yet but the smell of lavender is said to be calming. Thats why it is put in a lot of bath oils to relax you after a long day. You can put droplets of lavender oil on your pillow at night time to naturally aid sleep and calm the mind.


Hot baths before bed.


Relaxes your muscles and makes you feel nice and sleepy. It is said the change in body temperature is what helps you to feel drowsy and relaxed. Add some candles and of course delicious smelling bath oils and youre ready to go!


Walking in Nature


Walking outside appreciating nature helps to calm and heal the mind. Focusing on flowers, trees and the beauty around you can divert your mind, increase happiness and decrease stress levels. 


Other relaxants may include yoga, massage, meditation, journalling before bed. I often find writing peaceful mantras before bed to calm my mind or when I wake up in the morning to ease anxious thoughts to be of great benefit.


How do you relax and have you found any of these methods to be helpful?


Have a happy Wednesday!xx




(images: google)

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Tuesday Love.


Emma Watsons beautiful Oscar De La Renta Tulle Dress at the Harry Potter premiere last week here in London. *sigh* x


(image: google)

Monday 11 July 2011

Celebrate Each Day

Hi everyone,


Hope you had a fun and restful weekend. This comes at the end of a busy Monday and a weekend where I had a great time with good friends of mine, having lunch and watching Harry Potter movies.
Oh and I saw my little cousin which is always wonderful!


And you realise that the little things in this world are the most beautiful and how important it is to celebrate each and every day. Even the mundane days where you can't find the top you wanted to wear or when everything seems to be going wrong. Even the quiet moments, like those that I had this evening, watching a cat in my garden and it coming over and meowing at me circling my legs, or watching documentaries. So I may not be scaling Kilimanjaro at this point in time. But as long as we connect every day to beauty and to realise how happy and grateful we are for things in our lives... to celebrate life.


On a different note, I also want to say thanks to the very lovely Alli at Reasons To Smile for recommending my blog in her blog award post. Alli's blog makes for wonderful reading. Thanks! :)


What are you happy for today?


xo 


(image: google)        

Sunday 10 July 2011

Smiling!






Remember- there is nothing like a good friend to cheer you up and make you smile. I hope these pictures make you smile too!


Happiness & Love,


El xo


(images: google, anne geddes, weheartit)

Saturday 9 July 2011

Sometimes...





Sometimes when all is dark and the stars are blazing in the sky, shining light down to planet earth, we sit curled up in a blanket (or sitting at a computer screen in pyjamas) and dream. We dream about how life should have been or could be... of foreign lands we have yet to adventure, of lost loves and the future love.. the one that will steal our heart and fill it up with goodness. We dream that like Paulo Coelho writes, 'your treasure is at the place where you are lead to tears'. Yet, what is this treasure?


And somehow although we can sit, despondent and wishing for a magic wand, or wanting to be transported to the moon, all we realise is that sometimes....


'The only thing constant in the world is change.' (India Arie)


But maybe, just maybe. That dream might come true.


x


(image: google)

Friday 8 July 2011

Daisy Chains

Its sunny, the wind is rustling the trees, and as the hours tick by it gets closer and closer to.... the weekend! Yey! 


I hope you all have a fabulous one. My ideal weekend would involve: picnics with friends, daisy chain making (although I'm still not that great at piercing the hole in the stem), finding new nature spots, reading novels, and pure relaxation. Throw in a film or theatre show or too and I could be happy. :)


What are you up to this weekend? Have a wonderful one!


xo


(image:google)
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