Every day is Roald Dahl day!

Growing up I loved reading, I would read a book a day easily, & my absolute favourite was Roald Dahl. Everything he done, I was mesmerized by. I couldn't possibly pick a favourite.. Matilda /  The BFG / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.. they're all genius! It was Roald Dahl's birthday on Friday, so I thought it was worth giving such an inspirational man a mention :) 

Even reading over his stories now, there's so many lovely messages throughout them. They're totally timeless & there's something for everyone to learn from them! He seemed to be a very lovely, positive man, one of my favourite quotes of his is from the book "The Twits"

I think that's such a beautiful message - for both kids & adults! I would love the chance to visit the Roald Dahl Museum to see the writing hut he built specially as a place for him to go & write. It would be incredible to have your own private creative space cut off from the world, definitely a little dream of mine :) I can totally understand the need for a space like this, I love writing, drawing, painting & just all things creative really.. but I kind of struggle to chill out & get in the zone when I'm just sitting on the couch hunched over the coffee table or sitting on the bedroom floor.. I always feel much more inspired sitting out doors but, well, I live in Scotland. So that doesn't happen often!

Peace & Love,

Hippie-de-doo-dah

Now, I know this will all sound a bit cheesy & isn't to everyone's taste, but recently I've found loads of people interested in the meditation group I attend. So I thought I would chat a bit about it & how I ended up discovering it!

Over the past couple of years I have become more interested in 'mindfulness'. It all started when I read The Secret, which focuses on positive thinking & visualising your goals. It totally sparked my interest & led to me reading other similar books. The Alchemist is a great book, it's written like a story about a little Shepard boy, & shows us a lot of how everything happens for a reason, & how to follow signs towards your 'destiny'. Then I went on to read The Celestine Prophecy, which is also written as a story, & explains people's behavioural patterns, & how people tend to drain energy from each other in order to feel better about themselves.

I went through a certain time of being very stressed, having anxiety attacks etc. over the tiniest things, sometimes over nothing. So that pushed me to basically chill out more, & I thought I'd give meditation a go! I started attending a group every Tuesday night called Wake Up Glasgow. It's a great bunch of people, very laid back & welcoming vibe, I would say it's perfect for anybody considering trying it out but a bit nervous or unsure what to expect. I feel a huge change in myself over the past few months since starting, I'm much happier & very rarely get stressed out any more. If it's something you've considered for even a minute, I'd say go for it! We have organised a retreat in October I'll be going along to, so I'll pop up a post about that too.

The book I'm reading at the moment is really interesting too, Add More -ing To Your Life. At first I wasn't really diggin' it, but the more I'm reading I can really relate to the author. There's a lot of issues anyone can identify with, a big thing I've taken from it is how much a person's ego can hold them back. That little voice of niggling doubt that tells you 'you're not good enough' or 'you can't do this'. There's loads of exercises throughout the book, including meditation, that can help you deal with day to day situations. The writer also started this amazing website, aimed at women bringing women together to help & support each other www.herfuture.com.

I hope some of you can relate to this & maybe take something from it to help bring a bit more peace in to your own hectic lives :). I could talk all day about this, so if any of you would like more info don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading my jibber, as always it's much appreciated!

Peace & Love, 

Somewhere to_ Threadelic

Well, had a craaazy hectic week moving house & everything else in between, so just getting around to posting now! 

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Somewhereto_re:store [the high street heist] is an amazing project, that helps young people between 16-25 take on empty high street units to promote their own businesses and ideas. On Thursday my school friends Gayle & Tina took over the space just off George Square in Glasgow, & gave the place an awesome retro vibe for the night! 

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I went along early morning & styled Gayle's models hair for the day, & enjoyed getting stuck in to a proper beehive :) We decided to style Heather's hair all up in to a traditional beehive to show off all the detail on the top of her outfit (as well as her amazing cheekbones), & Morgan's hair half up as there was less detail at the top, and also she just had incredible hair to show off! Ramilia at The Hair & Makeup Lounge was doing the girl's makeup for the day, & kindly let me tag along & do the girls' hair there too. She was such a lovely lady, & the salon was stunning! 

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I was really impressed with what the girls had brought together for the day! Gayle Hanvidge is a newly established fashion designer, & the collection she was showing on the night was stunning. 60s inspired minis in gorgeous pastel tones, with amazingly unique embelishment. Gayle's mum Karen, is a whizz with ceramics, and had actually made individual small ceramic pieces that Gayle had hand sewn on to her clothes. It was so effective and different looking! I really loved the cut of the clothing as well, it looked very flattering and feminine! 

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(Official photo by Mark Kelly)

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Tina is a graphic designer, and I was so impressed with her work that I'm already planning what I can commission her to make for some very special Christmas presents! I'm a sucker for some good lyrics, and just words in general, so these were right up my street.  I love the psychedelic pattern clashing with the black, it's so striking looking! I'll definitely be keeping a wall bare for one of these beauties. 

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There was also a section from Eco-Chic Boutique, where students had made the most amazing dresses out of old recycled cans, bottles - & a really cool bag made from crisp packets! This dress is constructed from soft drinks cans (and the odd beer can of course), all folded over, & individually attached together to make this incredible shapely dress. 

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The students said it took them about 2 months to make, & I can definitely see how!
As this was the last pop up shop of the project, the day flowed smoothly in to the wrap party at night! There was all sorts going on, the DJ played awesome music, & there was randomly loads of deep fried bug treats to eat.. Normally I would be right up for trying out something like that, but I'd had a couple of cocktails & vinos by this point, & felt a little squeamish at the thought of it. So I just took pictures of it instead..

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Oh & fed this little guy a little bit of one of the biscuits. How cute is he?! The tiniest dog. He was so good with everyone, not at all phased by all the noise & crowds. He was called Maximillian & I got to hang about with him for 10 mins while his dad went to get a beer.

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Overall it was a really successful night, everybody really enjoyed themselves & I think the project is such an amazing thing! I love seeing people being encouraged to use their creativity, and this was an amazing platform for the girls. I can see them doing so well in the future, and hope that this project encourages more schemes to help young people do what they love!

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Peace & Love,