Thursday, July 24, 2014

Writing and Feeling Free

 
As I promised in my previous post, today I'm going to talk a bit about my writing and I will share more from time to time. It's funny to me when I think about the fact that I've never really talked about my writing here and I've been writing this blog since 2008. Some of my original goals for writing this blog were:

  1. To reach out to others because I felt isolated in those early days of living here
  2. To share my experience as an expat
  3. To get back to writing again

Over the years I've explored the first two goals a lot as is evident here on my blog. And even though the third goal did happen within the act of publishing my numerous posts, I realize that I've kinda been a writer undercover here at my blog  :-)  It's not like I've hid it, but it just struck me recently that I never really mention writing outside of blogging here. I may have mentioned writing a little bit, but if I did it's been so long that I can't remember. LOL.

Writing this blog has brought so much into my life in ways that I could never have imagined. I've become friends with people that I probably wouldn't have connected with otherwise. I've had the opportunity to share my experiences in a new land with all of the wonderful people who have read my blog over the years. And I've been given the chance to experience new places and things through blogging. It has been a blessing. You know, I just read back what I wrote and it sounds like I'm giving up blogging...that is not the case at all :-)  In fact, I have a renewed interest in blogging and all things writerly lately so I hope you'll keep visiting me here.

Anyway, back to the point of this post...pardon me, I ramble sometimes. LOL. That's the fun of a blog though...something that I'd forgotten. This is my place to ramble if I like. It doesn't have to be perfect because hey, life isn't perfect.

Okay back to the point  ;-)  So I'm going to share more about my writing here from now on. I'll weave it in with my photos and various posts. It won't be a detailing of plot points from my book or anything, but it'll just be me being me. I'm like every other writer in that I don't want anyone to read my book until it's done, but talking about my love for writing will be a joy!

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm in a writing mood lately. I've been working on this one manuscript  for a few years off and on. It really got put to the side while I was finishing my degree, but now I'm interested in finishing it. Here's the thing though. It's like somebody turned on a switch and I have ideas for two other books. Well, to be fair, one of the other two ideas has also been with me for a while and I've been making notes. The third idea just popped into my head a couple of weeks ago when of all things I was making the bed. LOL. Hey, you never know when inspiration will strike I guess ;-)

Even though three ideas are floating around in my head currently, I know that I need to take them one at a time. And if some ideas pop into my head, I'll just keep doing what I've always done...I'll keep writing down my notes.

This post is longer than I planned for it to be and I was rambling, but it has been therapeutic. You know why? It's been helpful because I spoke my truth and let my intentions out. I'm usually a private person and that's fine. I think privacy is important especially in the times that we live in. However, I know that creatively I need to release the dam sometimes and be free! I'm a laid back person as well and it feels good in my soul to just not hold back so darned much. Thanks for reading this far...I appreciate it! :-)

Until next time...



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A Quick Literary Note




Just a quick note....

As I mentioned in my post last Friday, I'll be sharing some thoughts about my literary pursuits this week :-) My next post will be about that...either tomorrow or Thursday. I'm intrigued to talk about my writing here because I've never really done that to any extent. It'll be fun share where my heads at right now as I go on this journey to finish writing my first book. I hope that you'll come along with me :-)

Until next time...


Friday, July 18, 2014

Happy Weekend

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

I do love summer weekends. If the weather's good, I usually get out and enjoy the sun while I can. This summer we seem to be having much more of a warm summer than we've had the past few years so this is great! The weather people here are predicting a heatwave of sorts this weekend and I say...

BRING IT ON!!!

It won't be a scorcher, but it'll be hot for England and I'm so ready. And I know that some of you reading this are having scorching hot summers and just want things to cool off. I totally understand. I really do. I remember my Georgia summers. So I'm hoping that you get a cooling breeze wherever  you may be. But when you hardly ever get sunny weather like this, you just really relish it when it comes :-)

For the past few summers we've had downright autumnal weather some days, so I'm relishing the chance to wear shorts and sandals while I can :-)

So in celebration of the sun and all things summer, here's a pic that I took at the beach in Bournemouth a few weeks ago.



P.S. - In addition to enjoying the warmer weather, I'll be working on my book. I'll share more about this next week :-)

Friday, July 11, 2014

Pictures From My Week

Today I'd like to share a couple of photos that I took this week. They're just random shots that I took on my phone but they have been a good part of my week. 

This is what I saw yesterday morning...a beautiful blue sky and some lovely slowly fading roses. The blue sky is always welcome and it reminds me that summer is finally here in this corner of England. Yay! As for the roses, I've taken pictures of them many times over the years and every year they seem to be a little different. I guess that they are in actuality because each rose is unique and the roses aren't reincarnated ;-) They smell wonderful and they remind me of back home. We had white, deep pink (almost red) and light pink roses in our front yard. The smell of roses always takes me back to being a little girl in our front yard in the summertime :-)


The picture below shows what I'm currently reading. It's The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, aka J K Rowling under another name. It's about 550 pages long and I'm roughly 200 pages in. I like it and I'm not usually a crime fiction reader. I don't know when I'll finish since I'm a preoccupied reader sometimes. Lol. I love reading very much, but I can get distracted sometimes. Once I finish though, I'll write up my thoughts on the book and share them here.


So there you have it...a look into my week.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend. Have fun! :-)

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

The heidi klein Pop Up Shop in Covent Garden



A couple of months ago, I attended a press event given by heidi klein swimwear, which was held to reveal their High Summer '14 Collection and their new My Body line of swimwear. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the collection up close. Each piece was lovely and I wanted one of everything :-)  If you missed that post, you can read it here and you can also see some of the beautiful designs.

Now there is more news from heidi klein swimwear. They have very recently opened a pop up shop in the Covent Garden area of London.

Above: heidi klein Covent Garden pop up shop


The shop is 1,000 sq. feet and is located at 29 Floral Street, Covent Garden. It will be open throughout the summer months. If you live in London, anywhere in the UK, or if you'll be visiting London, the heidi klein pop up shop is well worth a visit. They are the authority on perfect fitting, luxurious swimwear and will help you pull together a beautiful look for your summer getaway. The pop up shop carries the style influences of their Chelsea and Westbourne Grove boutiques in that it evokes the feeling of chic oceanfront enjoyment.

Founder Heidi Gosman says:

"We wanted to offer the same exclusive shopping experience found at our other London boutiques."

The Summer 2014 heidi klein collection is fresh and elegant and features classic nautical prints as well as bold color harmonies. There's something for a variety of tastes in the form of swimsuits and cover ups. And heidi klein also has a wonderful array of colorful mix and match bikinis. The pieces are well-made and offer great support and fit, so a woman can feel good and look good as she goes off on her summer holiday.

Shoppers are invited to stop by for a complimentary personal fitting on swimwear and receive a free heidi klein beach bag on orders over £200. If you tag a picture of yourself on Instagram @heidikleinswim  wearing a heidi klein bikini, you could win a gorgeous heidi klein bikini of choice.

Location:  29 Floral Street, London, WC2E 9DP
Opening Hours:  Mon-Sat 11am-7pm / Sundays 12-5pm


For more information on heidi klein swimwear go to www.heidiklein.com

Happy Wednesday

   

Happy Wednesday!


Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Taking a Look at My Pictures #5



Here's another one of my pictures. I took this the other day when I took a morning walk. It's so peaceful at this spot. I go there when I need to clear my mind and it works every time :-)