Not only can I not put this book down but I am taking notes on the go.  Alain De Botton never dissapoints with his wry humour and beautifully put together sentences. This books looks into my favourite topic: Love. It charts the progress of a relationship, from the first kiss to the onset of anxiety and heartbreak. It analyses emotions we’ve all felt before but perhaps never understood. De Botton brings a philosopher’s sensibility to his analyses of the emotion of love resulting in this book being both very touching and extremely thought-provoking. I realised today how heavily 500 Days of Summer, one of my favourite movies all time, has been inspired by this book. Here are some of my favourite quotes from it:

“It was no longer her absence that wounded me, but my growing indifference to it. Forgetting, however calming, was also a reminder of infidelity to what I had at one time held so dear.”

I’ve been listening to Kanye West’s much anticipated new album Yeezus. It’s a medley of several genres – electro, punk, rock and of course hop hop. West is angry, real angry and this is surely his darkest and most abrasive album so far. Tracks such as  ”New Slaves,” “Black Skinhead” and “Blood on the Leaves” address issues of race. The more I listen to it, the more I appreciate it. No matter if you like it or not, this album cannot and will not be ignored. Meanwhile here’s my favourite West song, this is the track that gets me through my darkest hours. When ever things get hard I put this on and remind myself that what does not kill me can only make me stronger. – Makes me harder, better, faster, stronger! -

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m counting down to my lunch hour to rush to & Other Stories to check out all these items that are all on sale. Question is do I really need yet another LBD? The purple shoes remind me of that of Malene Birger ones from SS12, I have those in green and could really do with a purple version.

Came across this image this morning and had to share it with you. A simple truth, love is kind or at least it is meant to be, we all try for it to be or? We have all hurt someone we love and tell me what’s more painful than watching any human you love in pain, be it a friend, a partner or our parents. For most of us this hurting is done unconsciously and quickly leads to regret and remorse. It’s important to be aware of those actions so that we can change the pattern. Little comments we pass, promises we fail to keep, small details we fail to notice. But then there are those that consciously hurt their loved ones over and over again, small actions which leads to big pain. Is that love? Does love hurt? I guess we all have our own definition of love and the rules that apply to that love. I’m not getting any wiser here observing or reflecting on my own relationships or that of those around me. Perhaps it’s not meant to make sense, perhaps we are just meant to go with the flow and do the best that we can.

So my 12 days off work has flown by, yet this is the first holiday I’ve had where I haven’t done much at all. I decided to stay in London for once which has been nice, especially during the first few sunny days. I’ve visited Holland Park every single day which has got my friends concerned, they can’t understand these daily visits and probably find them a little compulsive. The park calms me and the strolls are part of my daily exercise. What I missed in London which made me terribly unhappy before was being far away from nature, then I realized I had this gorgeous park just 10 min walk from my place. It’s so different from Hyde Park, much nicer if you ask me. Plus it’s really special to me because my love introduced it to me, some days we go together, other days I go alone.

Besides the daily park visits and spending time with him, I’ve spent times with my girls and Adrian of course. The photo above is taken last week when me, Charlotte and Lavenna visited The Box, that’s a night I will never forget. And today…well today was a very significant day, an eye opener in many ways….all in the right direction. Goodnight my lovelies, wishing you a wonderful new week. x

]]> http://www.beingdena.com/2013/06/gold-hoops-cherry-pie-im-the-apple-of-his-eye/feed/ 0 http://www.beingdena.com/2013/06/a-new-start/ http://www.beingdena.com/2013/06/a-new-start/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:28:13 +0000 Dena http://www.beingdena.com/?p=8875 Continue reading →]]>

Good morning lovers, just wanted to wish you a wonderful Friday and great weekend ahead. It’s a brand new day, a fresh start. Every day could be as long as you make up your mind for it to be. A day to let go of bad habits, bad energy, negative people in your life who don’t value who you are, a day to embrace love and those who put a smile on your face. Let’s make today real special, what do you say? For me today is a very important day, truly a new start in many ways. Today is the day my darling friend Andy is holding his “I beat Cancer” party. He is my source of inspiration and strength. I love you my friend, you did it, we did it! I can’t wait to celebrate your precious life later today.

It’s one of those days when you can’t do anything but reflect on everything around you. The weather is so moody that everyone’s hiding inside. I’m watching one SATC episode after the other and discussing relationships with friends. A girlfriend of mine was telling me of how this guy she has been seeing suddenly burst out that he doesn’t like it when she wears red lipstick or high heels and prefers her natural. Now my friend loves dressing up just as much as she can walk around very casual, either way she always makes sure to look classy. I’m guessing this little comment is only the beginning to a long list of changes he will be handing her. I advised her to be firm and tell him that this is who she is, she isn’t trying to be anyone else. That is how she represents herself to the world and some days she might feel or want to look sexy and other days very casual. This is the person he fell in love with so how come he wants to change her now? The most important thing in any relationship is that we stay true to ourselves, that we don’t change who we are for anyone and that we never try to change someone we love. Of course one has to adjust to their partner, any relationship is about give and take and meeting halfway but there’s a big difference between trying to be on time for your partner or more understanding of their needs then actually starting to change what you are all about. Isn’t it sad that many of us fall in love with the lively and wild side of someone, then try to change them out of fear of losing them, and then end up living with a shadow of the person we once knew and loved. Ultimately this will make both partner unhappy….so the love and relationship will be lost either way. I guess Robert Brault couldn’t be more right, what we find in a soulmate is not something wild to tame but something wild to run with. What are your thoughts?

“The Island of Great Britain is populated by more than 62 million fascinating individuals who all behave like they own the sidewalk. But lately it seemed as if the entire island or at least the capital of London had been magically reduced to only two people… us. Four-hour conversations flies by in the space of fifteen minutes, and a few days apart feels like weeks. I realised that Einstein’s law of relativity would have to be amended to include a special set of rules, those to explain the peculiar effects of infatuation.”

Ok so I didn’t write that. I bet some of you recognise where it’s from, yes that’s right: SATC S1E07 opening scene, Carrie and Mr. Big. Watching that episode I realised that I’m there in Carrie’s shoes. I’m committing the cardinal sin… I’ve forsaken my girlfriends (and Adrian) for my new boyfriend and surely I will have to face the tribunal soon. But I can’t think of that right now, all I can think about is his gorgeous skin, those green eyes and that smile, oh that smile!

Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Naomi Watts and Robert De Niro are a few of the names featured in Global Zero’s awareness campaign where the notable actors call on the United States, Russia and other countries to disarm weapon stockpiles. In 1986, there were 70,000 nukes. Today, there are 17,000. Global Zero, the international movement for the elimination of all nuclear weapons world wide, have a plan to get exactly that -a global zero- by 2030 by bringing together world leaders from the nuclear countries.

“Human destiny will be what we make of it. Let us honor our past by reaching for a better future. Let us bridge our divisions, build upon our hopes, and accept our responsibility to leave this world more prosperous and more peaceful than we found it.” – President Obama

The COS sale is in full force and here are some of my favourite items which you can find HERE.

While we’re on the topic of the hottest new Scandi-store, lets take a minute and just have a look at these beauties from & Other Stories. I am lusting over every pair of these. I know best friend Shirin who is a shoe fanatic will appreciate this post.

If I could I would have kept & Other Stories hidden away from the world and all of their amazing dresses, lingerie and shoes just for myself, but I suppose H&M had bigger plans for its new label. If you haven’t already checked out their Regent street store, do yourself a big favour and do so! Or if you like me prefer online shopping visit them HERE.

I don’t deal with loss well, does anyone?  Someone very, very, very dear to me passed away a few weeks back and today was his memorial. I was too much of a coward to attend, I couldn’t face his mother or her pain, so I held my own memorial for him. When you’ve lost someone very close to you once, you learn to switch off when needed in order to protect yourself. So that’s what I’ve done here. I can’t attend another funeral, I can’t bare another goodbye.

Kevin Andresen, my gorgeous Welshie. We were best friends during university. He was the most gentle soul you could come across. He had your heart melting with his beautiful smile. He wore the cosiest cardigans which I would borrow, they kept me warm during cold summer nights. He has these adorable freckles spread across his tiny nose. The bluest eyes and perfect pearly teeth. We met in Tesco of all places, I was crying over something and this stranger came up and hugged me. We became inseparable after that. We lived next door to each other and I would text him late at night that I was thirsty, only for him to show up in my room with a pint of water a few minutes later. I remember my then boyfriend would feel jealous of our friendship like any boyfriend would, but no drunken shouting or fighting would scare Kevin off. He was there for me and he would stay no matter what… and he did. All these year passed and we always remained best friends, I remained his “Suger Plum” and he my “Welshie”. The only thing that calms me is that know that Kevin really lived, every single day he was given, he lived. He loved life and life loved him. And he left us while doing something he loved, climbing mountains. If only everyone could enjoy life as much as Kevin did and bring so much joy to those around them. I still have all the voxes (voice messages) he left me on my mobile and I listen to them over and over again, sometimes I laugh, other times I cry. I miss him, for selfish reasons I miss him so much. I believe we are alive as long as someone thinks of us. I will think of him every single day. Kevin is truly loved and he will remain in all our thoughts for ever.

I love you Welshie, RIP!

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go

I’ve gone and freely given up my heart today. Don’t remember the last time I lusted this hard after a piece of clothing. Oh Helmut what you do to me…I promise you folks, one day I will have a walk in wardrobe consisting of mainly Helmut Lang pieces. Helmut Lang will never dissapoint, fact!

Don’t forget the importance of sufficient and regular sleep. Our body is endlessly working to repair itself and sleep is self-healing, helping your body regenerate. 

Only when you possess self-awareness can you recognise your boundaries. And the stronger you mark your these boundaries, the closer others may get to you.

In order to get the benefit of a freshly squeezed juice you must drink it right after it is made, because after 15 minutes it starts to oxidise and the vitamins will be lost.

Anger is a powerful, positive and strengthening energy. We need anger to be able to mark our boundaries, showing what we find acceptable and what not.  To be able to control your anger and use it constructively gives you an enormous power.

Practice self-respect and self-love. This involves listening to your inner voice and valuing your good and strong sides but also being aware of those less good sides. 

One of the most frustrating things you can do is try to change others. The only one you can change is yourself and through that you might be able to change your surrounding.