Paris part deux

Paris was amazing. What a lovely break from the norm. Mr G and I went on the Friday and returned on the Monday. We went to Le Louvre, saw the fashion shows, had cocktails whilst listening to jazz in St germain, went for walks along La Seine…bliss.

We saw Sally for dinner on Friday night – copious amounts of vin rouge were consumed, gossip was exchanged and belly laughter was had. She is now going to rent her own studio flat as of next month and she is excited, yet scared as well. Being as gorgeous as she is, the men are falling at her feet. She is currently dating firstly the Estate Agent (to ease the volume of paper work and assist with dodging the mass of beaurocracy in France). Seemingly, he is ‘alright’ looking, hardly ugly, but not her Romeo. He fills a hole; takes her for dinner, shows her the city and makes her laugh.

Secondly she is also, to mine and Mr G’s horror, dating a Married Man. The man in question met Sally on the Eurostar. He is a millionaire with a wife and two kids. One would presume that money, health and a family would be sufficient, but clearly not so for this chap. Sally states she has only kissed him, but secretly enjoys the fancy meals, a chauffeur and champagne. However, much to my relief, she has refused his offer to fly her to his holiday home in Barbados (although very tempting, especially in this dreary weather, she barely knows the guy from Adam!)

Lastly, but by no means least, there is the Italian Man. Having met at her previous job, she instantly felt attracted to him (for the record, OMG he is stunning). Although she was going out with Alex at the time (for 8 years) Italian Man did awaken something in her. Seemingly, he has written to her stating his feelings and he also went out to paris to see her – how romantic – only the Italans would perform such a gesture. I know that Italian Man maybe serious as she has told him not to contact her until she is ready. We only do that when we truly like someone, don’t we).

I am really looking forward to the new shows coming up ; LFW is always so much fun! Got my new styles and colours sorted, just waiting on the samples. Got masses to do in the interim. Currently at my PT job whilst composing this, my objective for this year personally is to give up this job and focus on my business full time by the end of this year. I have to say, all of this juggling can get too much, but it is necessary whilst the business grows. Unless I take out a massive loan there is no other way. Why would I want to do this? In a recession it is hardly practical! Anyway, you only get out what you put in…

Just a quickie…

I will go into more detail tomorrow as have had an incredibly busy day and I have to get some much needed beauty sleep for another full-on day tomorrow…however, Paris with Mr G was lovely; delicious breakfasts, champagne in jazz cafes in St Germain, fashion shows and shopping…what more is there sometimes?

As I said, I will inform you all tomorrow with the details….bon nuit!

Alice, Chianti and I

After a long week of work it was so nice to let my hair down. Rather excitingly, I was in a national newspaper this week praising my entrepreneurial flair and growth potential. This has been amazing for me and my business and the phone and emails haven’t stopped!

After working solidly all morning and afternoon, I met Alice at 4pm as she wanted to show me swatches of the bridesmaid dress material. It is a gorgeous blue and is so flattering. We then went to try on different styles in a shop around the corner (oh, to live just off Oxford Street!). After a large glass of Chianti we were chatting about the wedding jitters one gets….sleeping with that one same person for the rest of their lives? Being an actual wife? Do you change your name? If you don’t, is that bad form and an insult to your husband? Alice let slip that she feels she has let go of her ‘dream wedding’ as rather than getting married on a beach in Thailand with just a few close friends and family, she is getting married in Portugal with 120 guests. Putting her wants first is not an option. I guess it is a balancing act; sharing the wishes between you and your future husband.
Well, as long as there is plenty of Chianti….

And I thought I had it hard…

Well, today I went to my part-time job this morning but was late…oops…I do hate being late, but I had a million and one things to do this morning. First and foremost, I had to send off information to my suppliers for new AW10 designs (always takes longer than planned), as well as do a little bit more of my tax stuff (not that any of it is easy…and they say “tax doesn’t need to be taxing”!) . Once I am at my second job I do enjoy it, but I had such an exciting day yesterday with a major business opportunity, that I just wanted to focus on my own work today! Still, got to have a nice afternoon as I met a lady via Twitter actually – only in the 21st century could one say that! – and she was lovely. A true inspiration as she has set up her business (hugely successful) not only on her own, but has also just become a mother! If anyone asked me to do what I am doing plus have a child, I would definitely say ‘no’. Running your own business is hard enough, let alone with a baby in tow! She was so lovely, looked glowing and healthy and was incredibly passionate about her work without being arrogant. If I can achieve half as much as she has then I would be very happy indeed.
Tonight though I was let down by Mr G….I was looking forward to a nice romantic meal but unfortunately his work got in the way. Oh well, I suppose an early night wil do me good. We are off to Paris afterall in 10 days time, so that is certainly something to look forward to….

When one is in love

That’s the thing when you are in love, you sometimes miss what is going on in the outside world. That has certainly happened this weekend. After a long week of work and rubbish weather, Mr G and I have literally spent the vast majority of the weekend in bed. Don’t get me wrong, I am hardly complaining! Today though we must look at our tickets for Paris for a couple of fashion shows that are happening in two weeks time. It will be lovely to have a change of scenery and go out. Hopefully I will get to wear my new boots that I purchased sneakily with Alice on Friday (God love Russell and Bromley). Fortunately, Mr G does not mind my occasional shopping extremes, though of course, he doesn’t know about them all; some things are just meant to be kept private…

Saturday in bed with Mr G

Mr G and I are having a lazy Saturday; endless cups of tea and breakfast in bed, not to mention fabulous nurturing sex…I have decided it is too cold to leave the flat, so we are staying in all day which is lovely. Oh, these days are the best after a long week…

Met up with my ladies yesterday which is always fun. Sally, who recently broke up with her boyfriend of 8 years, came back from Paris so we of course met for a long lunch in the City. Although she was distraught at first, I have to say, she looks fantastic after her break of one month. She is glowing from the freedom and uncertainty that lies before her.

Some women wouldn’t be able to cope with losing someone so close, but I suppose, how close were they in the first place? Do all relationships of that length go stale if there is not a ring in sight?

Snow everywhere – poor Scotland though; -21 degrees? Brrrrr…

England seems to be in chaos this week due to the heavy snow and severe icey conditions. I have another part-time job as well as being a Lipstick Entrepreneur. Being in only my second year of business, I have yet to take a proper wage and so have to generate my income somehow! I don’t mind the second job at all, in fact, I really enjoy it and it is nice to work with other people for a few hours a week. Sometimes working on your own it can get quite lonely.

I fell over on the ice on my way to work yesterday though – not fun. Boy, do I hate buses in London; why are they always so rude? In a break I started to think of all the extra things I must do….hearing back from my accountant, send off orders to Germany (I must find out what German publication I was in), and I must start planning my best friend’s hen party.

Today though is Friday (hooray!) and one of my friend’s who moved to Paris has come back for a couple of days. My old housemates and I from university are all meeting for lunch – now that is a bonus of being a Lipstick Entrepreneur; being able to have treats occasionally! In the meantime this morning I have a few emails to write and a few phonecalls to make. I have a show coming up in February which desperately needs planning for, as well as lots of admin work.

Here’s to a happy weekend though! 🙂

January blues…?

Of course business is never easy, especially in the current climate of the recession. All of the negative press, the early shop sales, the redundancies, the lack of consumer spending….it all affects ones motivation. To what extent though varies from individual to individual. It is often taken for granted, in my opinion, the ability for a colleague to off-set his/her workload onto someone else. Being an entrepreneur and running a business independently, this is not possible. If only! That’s the thing with January; one has so much to do with so many good intentions, but often suffers from “January blues”. I wonder how many people set themselves targets only to falter at the first hurdle? Diet books must make a fortune at this time of year!

Snow is falling heavily outside and it is often a time when I feel quite peceful and at my most creative. Plenty to arrange this month and I am really starting to look forward to it; after all, you only get out what you put in…