Sour, with a hint of sweet...

That describes my day today. Well, so far it's only been sour but it can hopefully only get better. Mainly because I am finishing work early, going for an Yves Rocher facial and then for a home workout (using my kittens as weights. Just kidding, they're too heavy.) before settling in for the evening.

Am really keen to get to know the Yves Rocher range better - I love the eye cream so far, but I have been very concerned that the Cure Solution Anti-Fatigue cream is just far too rich for my skin. I think turning 30 made me panic and run for the richest, creamiest anti-aging formula I could lay my hands on! So this facial, by a trained Yves Rocher specialist, should help me get a better idea as to whether the range is even suited to my skin type. Looking very forward to trying the below serum... I'll keep you posted on the feedback.

Am on Day 2 of my new Super-Healthy Living Plan, custom-designed for me, by me. A few things I need to shed before summer arrives. A couple of kilograms, a bad habit or two, you know the drill. It's the practice round for our New Year's resolutions. More on this to follow.

A little side-note: this is the view from my boyfriend's balcony - he's staying at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Am more than just a little bit jealous... Look at the beautiful building in the far right of the horizon!

King David Hotel, Jerusalem

Blogging blues...

Over the past few months that I have been blogging, I have to be honest and admit that I feel very restricted because I tried to limit myself to interiors, furniture and decor. There is just so much other (totally blog-able!) stuff going on in my life that I have made the decision to broaden my blog's subject matter.

From Chez Fifi

So expect something a little bit different over the next few weeks...

Xxx
The Girl Belle

Surely consolidation never hurt?

In keeping with yesterday’s theme and this wintery introspection that I find myself knee-deep in, I’m going to share a little bit about my next big project... I've had a lot of time to think this winter and reflect on my life and my lifestyle, and I've realised that I'm doing it ALL WRONG!

Ok, picture this: 

A spare room being used as my dressing room, built-in closets literally bulging with clothing - half of which I never wear, overflow of boots under the dressing table, excess of t-shirts living on the book shelf because there's just no other space! 

And when I tell you that I never have anything to wear, I mean it! I've spoken to a number of people about this phenomenon and we've put it down to this: dilution. I simply have too much and this dilutes any decisions and selections that I may make, I have chosen quantity over quality and the result is that I've been sacrificing my own sense of style.

So I've come up with a plan: a spring clean and consolidation of proportions never before known to me! I'm going to be so incredibly ruthless that I will whittle my wardrobe down to the bare essentials (hmmm... pun intended) and find myself left with the start of a very fine capsule wardrobe! 

To be honest, I am so incredibly bored with the clothing that I currently have that I can't wait to streamline it - will get my mom and / or some friends 'round for some serious wardrobe-culling! 

Luckily my lovely and very creative friend, Janice, has picked up on a great trend for all of our extra, soon-to-be-shed clothing (I'm not the only one in need of some sorting out!): she'll be hosting a 'style swap' sometime next month in CT - I'll post more details closer to the time. I love this article I found on hosting the perfect clothing swap party: here!

Ok, so back to basics it is.  As much as I have loved my over-indulgence in clothing and the dream of having a wardrobe that looks like this:

The truth is that unless you have help 7 days a week or an obsessive-compulsive disorder, a cupboard this neat can't possibly exist! Can it? 

Do quite like this scantily-clad little clothing rail. Less is more, right? Oh yes, and pics of these cupboards are courtesy of the ever-wonderful {this is glamorous}.

And while on the subject of clothing and creativity, I've fallen in love with this lace Kimono that I saw on the BurdaStyle website.

So, in the name of Quality over Quantity, yeehah! Here's to finding a new style for the older, wiser, more elegant me:)

A little bit of self-indulgence…

I love those subtle moments that I’ve been noticing more regularly when I realize that I really am growing up. Like overhearing a girl in her late teens call her Grandmother “Nonna” and not immediately thinking of my own grandmother but rather thinking about what nickname my own children will one day have for my mother….

And yes, children are still quite a few years away for me, but it is the essence of this subtle shift in perception about which I talk. Small snippets of life where talking furniture and décor, listening to my married friends and new mums talk about their lives beat hearing about a colleague’s raucous weekend hands down! When fun has evolved to spending an afternoon cooking elaborate dinners for friends. Maybe because it’s new and different to what held my interest before, I don’t know… It's great to be able to take a step back, remember some great parties, smile softly to yourself and be able to recognise and feel pride at how much things have changed. Softly, softly moving forward into something so different, so placid, so stable in comparison. And there's something beautiful in that. I dunno... I guess I'm just finding this whole experience quite beautiful! Most of my twenties flew by so fast and in such a whirlwind, I guess this is the time for me to retreat and regroup before I move forward.

Maybe I’m noticing it more because I have a birthday approaching. Turning 29 in less than a month. So many people keep telling me that “I’m still a baby” but bear in mind that this is all new territory to me. And it is a little bit scary….

I think the thing I’m most excited about as I get older and wiser is finally learning to love and accept myself. I’m still waiting to get to this point… (Please hurry!) 

:D