Walk that Walk

My maths teacher from high-school once told us that he could know whether one had a perceptive mind from the way they walked. That was the day I acknowledged my walk as one of my biggest strengths. That would be my super-power, I said to myself. You know, it sounds kind of stupid now that I say it but don’t give up on the idea just yet. Models even make a living out of it!

This walking therapy is fairly simple and inevitable, I might add. You just have to keep a strong, decided pace and to keep your head straight so that it seems you've got everything handled and no worries in the world. Hurry up a bit and you’ll look like you probably have a full agenda and a busy, professional schedule. But don’t look disheveled; we don’t want people to think we’re running to-and-fro because we can’t handle our workload. You might just be going to get a cup of coffee from the deli – walk your walk. Let’s take the classic “Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.” I say that besides the fact that continuous smiling might make you look a bit psychotic a clean walk has a much bigger impact. It impressed my maths teacher and let me tell you, he isn’t an easy fellow to impress.

Moreover, besides the impression it leaves on people, walking like you know what you’re doing boosts your confidence as well. My tripping over percentage and the rate of people handing leaflets stopping me on the street definitely decreased. (I’m so sorry for all those that have to freeze on the street while handing leaflets to people – I always get the “put yourself in their shoes” line from my friends every time I say ‘no, thanks!’)

So forget all the self-help books that tell you what you’re supposed to do to be confident and to feel good in your own skin. Just walk you walk and everything will follow naturally. Tell me, what do you think? Do you agree or is everything I just said stupid? 

Relationships vs. Dogs

             

                What do you want for Christmas this year: a boyfriend or a dog? If you’re in doubt, don’t worry – it’s basically the same thing!

I believe one of the most important things people crave is familiarity. Let’s just cut the ‘I’m 20 and all I need is adventure’ crap because, at the end of the day, when all adventure is over all we want is to be in our warm bed near our families and friends. We all like to read our favourite book twice and go to places we loved when we were little even if we only loved them because we were little. Hell, I even watched Magic Mike because of Matt Bomer and Channing Tatum. "With familiarity, other people become part of ourselves", said James Coan, a psychology professor in University of Virginia's College of Arts & Sciences. We even choose to buy dogs that look like us. And yes, this has been proven scientifically. Apparently we’re that narcissistic that we indeed choose dogs that resemble us. After all, what is more familiar than our own face?

               

And I think that going into a relationship is mostly like buying a dog - except partners don’t always prove to be as loyal as dogs. Very often, when I go see my grandma, I meet this old lady, walking her dog in the little park across the street, and they both have the same facial expression – a very bored, sort of sad look in their eyes – and black, watertight jackets. Just like pets resemble their owners, every time people are in a relationship they start looking like their pair. I even had some friends that actually wore colour-coordinated Abercrombie&Fitch outfits. That was a couple you couldn't miss! Lizzie, a friend of a friend, wouldn't go to any party if her boyfriend’s tie wouldn't match her dress. And I’m sure you guys would have at least one similar story to tell.

There’s so many times, however, when we actually do things we don’t like for the sake of our boyfriends or girlfriends. That’s how I went through the first season of One Tree Hill even though I hated it. I still pretended to like it.  They say opposites attract but the opposite aspect somehow gets lost after becoming a couple. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the couples that have a HE and a HER besides a THEM. We do that unconsciously. We become ‘we’ persons voluntarily. I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago and asked her how she was doing. Her reply was: “We’re cooking dinner”. We who? Normally, if someone would refer to themselves as ‘we’ people would probably ask some questions (is she sane, for example). But I guess we just have to get used to live in a world where people come in pairs sometimes.

               

I don’t think this is either good or bad but rather funny. Is it that we lose ourselves while we are in a relationship? Do we adopt our lovers’ habits and ideas to conform to the ‘norm’? I have no idea and I think there’s no particular way to stop this nor should we necessarily want to stop this. It’s more or less a natural evolution to start doing things that the people we are next to every day do as well. The real problem, I think, comes up when a couple decides to get a dog. Who should the dog resemble, I wonder. Well, one thing I’m sure of – if I ever get a dog of my own I want it to have my hair colour and language skills. Fair enough, right?

Tell me your thoughts, I want to know everything!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I wish you the most beautiful holidays and the best times around your loved ones. This Christmas I didn't really wish for anything besides being close to my family and friends, loving them and feeling loved. So I wish you all the best of times! 

Lacquer Lab

A couple of weeks ago I headed out with a friend to Spitalfields Old Market to scout for cute Christmas presents and some vintage shopping. The thing I love about vintage markets is that you never know what you might find. Yes, of course, a lot of times I end up empty handed but there's days when I find some very special things. This was the case now, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this post.

As I was walking through the stalls I came across the girls from Lacquer Lab, a nail boutique that creates custom glitter nail polishes. As you've seen from my previous post I have been experimenting with glitter, trying to introduce it into my nail routine and escaping the stereotype that all glitter designs have to be fit for a drag queen. The girls had at least 20 jars full of different colours, shapes and sizes of glitter and I did choose two, fairly similar, bronze glitters. Just in time for Christmas! What is more, besides the glitter combos they also have base colours and "ready to wear" glitter polishes. They also offer packs of three nail polishes that you can also combine to your own discretion. I got my nail polish fairly quickly, in about 10 minutes and loved the result. I tried it on and it lasted me for a week without chipping. (not to mention that taking it off was, as with all glitters, a pain in the a**)

The Lacquer Lab website is also in progress so keep an eye out for it, you'll be able to make your own combinations online as well!

iSnap

This is a caption I snapped outside Charing Cross Station right before leaving London. It left me with such a positive mood and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys!