First Sunday Of Advent

Today it is the first Sunday of Advent. It would have passed me by unnoticed had I not decided to call my brother earlier today. My step-niece told me that she'd been to church today and lit a candle.

In Sweden Advent is a big thing. It begins on the Sunday nearest to 30 November and lasts until midnight on Christmas Eve. It is a celebration that is usually carried out at home and everyone will get their Advent candlelight-holders and wreaths out on the table. They will also place electric candlelights and electric stars in the windows. It looks very pretty when you're out on a cold, dark evening (or even an afternoon since it gets dark at 3pm) and you see all the candlelights and stars lit in people's homes.

As with a lot of religious celebrations the real reason as to why we celebrate is forgotten. And I have to admit I did a Google search to make sure I knew what I was writing about. I quote: "Advent is the time when Christians remember that Jesus came into the world in Palestine 2000 years ago and that Jesus also promised one day to return in all His glory".

What Swedes (and I include myself here) mainly associate the first Sunday of Advent with is a reason to eat saffron buns, gingerbread cookies and to drink mulled wine. It's a lovely tradition.

**Photos courtesy of flickr

I Could Have Eaten Chocolate For Charity But Now I'm Not

I'm still not feeling well and I'm still addicted to nasal spray. Because of this "thing" that I've got I missed out on "The World's Largest Chocolate Fondue Party" last night. It was an event similar to this only that this time it was for charity. Imagine eating chocolate for charity. What a win-win situation.

And today I've had to cancel another charity event called "Group Healing Night" where I had volunteered to be one of several reiki healers giving reiki for charity.

I am A.N.N.O.Y.E.D.!!! I am so fed up with waking up every day with a blocked nose and a feeling of getting a cold. I'd rather just have the bl**dy cold and get it over with instead of this "not-quite-being-ill-but-still-not-feeling-well" feeling. Do you know what I mean?!

Well, instead of doing something good for charity my evenings turned out like this:

I need something to cheer me up and this little fella' makes me smile every time I watch him. I know it's an old one but what the hell...

What's Your Secret, Kate Winslet?

I was surfing the net I came across this picture of Kate Winslet.


And I nearly fainted because the last time I saw a photo of her she looked like this.

Then I remembered that Mamacita told Santa that she wants to look like Kate Winslet on the Vanity Fair cover this Christmas.

But, didn't you hear me?! The last time I saw a photo of Kate Winslet she looked like this!!!


Kate: What the hell is your secret??!! We're dying to find out. Please don't tell us it's just airbrushing. Come on... what cream are you using???

Tarot Tuesday

For the past six Tuesday evenings I have been learning to read the Tarot. It all started with me having my cards read in Turkey in June this year. The Tarot reader and I had so much in common it almost felt like having found a long lost sister. I then read a book called "The Sepulchre" where the story is built around an old deck of Tarot cards. The author made Tarot sound so mysterious and magical that I couldn't wait to learn how to do readings myself.

We are an enthusiastic group of 10 students who have now started to practise readings on each other. We have learnt several different spreads and although we still need to look at our notes it is amazing how accurate our readings are. We're having great fun and our confidence is getting better and better. I will soon dare to ask my friends if they want to have their cards read.

There is a jungle of different Tarot decks out there, the most common one being the Rider Waite deck.

Personally I find the Rider Waite to include a lot of symbolism so they're fairly easy to interpret but visually they're not particularly stunning. One of my fellow course mates keeps on buying new tarot decks which he proudly shows off to the rest of us. Today he told us that he needed to buy shoes but he couldn't resist two decks of cards. Shoes or cards... tough choice.

I could see his point when he showed me the Margarete Peterson deck. I mean, who needs a new pair of shoes when there are cards like these to purchase?

Aren't they beautiful?! These cards are now my favourites and I shall go to Watkins and buy a deck myself. Tomorrow. No shoes. Tarot cards.

Reporting Back On An Exciting Day

I've been feeling under the weather for nearly three weeks now. It started with a cold that turned into a permanently blocked nose and now I am a) fed up and b) addicted to nasal spray. Because of this I haven't had any energy to be out and about and report on the exciting parties, film premieres, restaurant- and nightclub openings that I normally frequent. All invitations has had to be turned down. Instead today have looked like this:

Waited all morning for a couch roll delivery whilst having two cups of coffee and scrambled eggs. I caught up on new blog posts so at least I had entertainment.

After the delivery man turned up around 12.50pm I ventured out to Sainsbury's because I had nothing in the fridge except for old milk.

I made a chicken stir fry with noodles for late lunch followed by a couple of these.

After this I was going to watch an episode of Sex And The City but I fell asleep!

And woke up just in time for this classy entertainment show on telly - "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here".

It's a reality show where a number of "celebrities" are being sent to Australia to live in the bush for a few weeks and every day they have to do certain tasks to win meals for the camp. First of all the "celebrities" are Z-listers or wannabees who are trying to revive their careers. I'm sure half of them will have an autobiography out for Christmas. How exciting it would be to read about Carly Zucker's life. Secondly the tasks that they have to do involve eating disgusting parts of animals such as crocodile eyes and worse. Can it be worse, I hear you ask. Yes, last year someone ate an animal's anus. That's what they do to get their "fame" back (if they ever were famous in the first place). Eeeewww!

Insert An Eye-Catching Title Here.

The weekend has been nice and relaxing but pretty uneventful. I can't think of anything exciting to write about except that I've got a new favourite song stuck on my mind. Every time I turn on the radio there's this song playing "and I love you a little less than before....". Have you heard it? You'll know if you have because you won't get it out of your head for, like, ever. So, I shall end this week's blogging by giving you: James Morrison & Nelly Furtado.

Broken Strings

Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like this

and a body like this

and HE

I have been very good this year!

Thanking you in advance.

Lots of love,
Helena xx

Creating A Spa At Home

I was feeling a bit under the weather today and needed something feel-good to cheer me up. What was I to do? Ah, why not create a cosy, inviting spa in the bathroom and use the free samples that came with a copy of High Spirit magazine I bought a couple of days ago. There was a face mask, a salt brushing scrub and a moisturiser.

Actually, looking at the photo I took of the stuff I now realise that the face mask was for lightening the skin! Oh my God, I'm such an idiot just slapping it on without reading beforehand! I'm white as it is already!

And funnily enough afterwards when I looked myself in the mirror I did think that my skin colour resembled a dead person's. So it worked!

It's not that easy to create a spa-like atmosphere in the bathroom I share with six other people. These dead plants belong to one neighbour who never loses hope that they will get a new lease of life one day.

And one must try to block out the image of another neighbour's laundry hanging to dry.

One thing I have perfected during my years of living in shared accommodation is patience. Having a laid-back personality probably also helps.

So I got into the bath tub with my whitening mask slapped onto my face and pretended that I was here...

...overlooking this...

...whilst having my non-whitening face mask applied by a professional beauty therapist.

Feeling rejuvenated and looking pale I decided to walk to Covent Garden. There I discovered that Sophie's Steakhouse has just opened another branch and not only that... they were offering everything on the a la carte menu for half price! How about that for Bossy's Daily Poverty Party?! I had deep fried calamari with a garlic mayo to start followed by a fillet steak, Bearnaise sauce and fries. Obviously washed down with a glass of red.

As I rolled home I was feeling much perkier than I did when I got up this morning. I'd say a pretty fine day all around.

Babies' Foreskins Give You A Baby Face - I Wish I Was Joking

I was sitting in Caffe Nero enjoying a cappuccino and reading the Daily Mail when I got to the lifestyle section and this sub-heading caught my attention:
"The latest anti-ageing treatment claims to erase wrinkles by using skin cells from newborn babies. Is it a step too far?"

As I was reading the article I nearly choked on my cappu. Listen to this:
"This summer, Karen, a surveyor, agreed to have her face injected with millions of microscopic new skin cells, cultured from babies' foreskins, as part of a trial into a new cosmetic procedure."

Oh I'm sorry, are you choking as well? Click here to read the full article. Don't worry. I'll wait until you're back.

What do you think about this? Personally I think that, yes, this IS a step too far, dammit. It says in the article that the foreskins are donated by the parents. I certainly hope they don't get paid. What happened to good old Oil Of Ulay? Seriously.

On a completely different note I had a couple of comments to my previous post asking if I'd read the article about the Afghan girl in the National Geographic photo. The photographer had returned to the refugee camp in Pakistan 17 years later, found out that she'd moved back to Afghanistan, traced her and managed to get an interview and another photo of her. Her name is Sharbat Gula. You can read the full article here.

I can't help but going back to the first article about Karen who has injected millions of microscopic, new skin cells, cultured from babies foreskins to look better. Then you read about Sharbat who, I quote: "has never known a happy day, her brother says, except perhaps the day of her marriage."

Two women in different parts of the world with very different lives, worries and concerns. It makes you think, doesn't it?

**photo courtesy of National Geographic

Exploring The World Without Going Away

London has been gearing up for Christmas for about two months now. It annoys me when they start selling mince pies in the supermarkets in September when it's still fairly warm and sometimes even sunny outside. However, in mid-November when the days are grey and it gets dark at 4pm it is nice to see the Christmas lights brightening up Central London.

It surprises me how low-key the Oxford Street Christmas lights are this year. But on a positive note I'm guessing that they're not wasting as much energy as they've done in previous years.

Regent Street is a bit more sparkly without being tacky or over-the-top.

Check out Hamley's toy store on Regent Street. It's in a different league. I wonder what their electricity bill is like?

I love Carnaby Street. Look at the snowmen. Aren't they great?!

But this is my favourite. As I'm walking into the area in Covent Garden where I work every other Saturday I'm being greeted by Angels.

As I was walking down Regent Street I had a very nice surprise when I found that National Geographic has opened its own store. Being a globetrotter I love to look at the photos in National Geographic. **below photos courtesy of National Geographic


The store is huge - three floors. It has an area where they sell things such as walking sticks from Tibet, beaded bowls from Africa and chocolate from South America. On a different floor they sell their own books, dvds and even cameras. On the ground floor framed photos, mainly portraits, were hanging from the ceiling which turned it into a gallery.

And there was a very inviting cafe/restaurant which unfortunately was full when I was there. As I was snooping around I noticed that the tea was being served in Moroccan glasses on a silver tray. I would love to go there for afternoon tea or tapas and wine one day. The whole concept is so cool. If you, like me, are not a big shopper this place is great just for browsing. I recommend!

Walking Down The Memory Lane Of Guilt

A couple of weeks ago I was invited by a friend to become a restaurant critic for the evening together with two other friends. All four of us met for a drink beforehand and we were all excited about the free meal [including drinks, mind you] we were going to indulge in as long as we gave our feedback the following day. No problem. It was a Spanish restaurant chain that had just opened a new venue at Spitalfields. We decided to start with a variety of tapas followed by a paella to share. We all enjoyed the tapas but agreed that the paella was too salty. Well, you asked for our comments and we're not going to lie to you. The wine was of course fabulous.

Today I met up with another old friend, Jane, who I haven't seen in over a year. Shocking, I know, but that's London for you. We were catching up on everything we'd been up to in the year that's gone by and of course I told her about my evening at the Spanish restaurant where my opinion counted. After I'd told her in detail about the evening I finished the sentence by saying: "It's not every day you get a meal for free". Jane quickly replied: "Oh Helena, you've been known to getting free meals before", with a slight twinge of sarcasm in her voice. I could feel the shame making me blush and I looked down at the table in embarrassment. What she was referring to is something I had managed to block out of my mind after having suffered from severe guilt-pangs for months after it happened.

Jane and I used to be work colleagues. This "incident" happened about three years ago. This was way before the credit crunch and the company where we were working invited all its employees to a summer party. They'd hired a huge tent on the South Bank and drinks were flowing. However, there was not food enough to line the stomachs of the hundreds of staff attending. The party took place on an unusually sunny afternoon and it was scorching hot that day. Hot, sunny weather + lots of wine - food = seriously drunk.

It was only around 6pm when I decided that I'd had enough and it was time to go home. I was going to walk along South Bank to my home which is a 40 minute walk in a sober state. As I walked past a certain noodle restaurant [which I shall not name here for reasons which will soon become obvious] I realised how hungry I was and popped in for dinner. When I had nearly finished my meal the devil entered my head and this little voice asked "How difficult would it be to walk out of here without paying?". I quickly looked around and in my drunken haze spotted my waitress going into the kitchen. With noodles still hanging from my chopsticks I quickly grabbed my handbag and walked towards the exit. I stopped for a split second. Should I take a left and go to the ladies then return to my seat and ask for the bill? Or should I take a right and go out of the door and see what happened? I took a right turn. I held my head high and walked out with as much confidence a drunk person can muster. I didn't dare to turn around to see if I was being followed by a mob of angry waiters wanting to attack me with saucepans. To begin with I walked fast but slowed down after a while when I realised that nobody was going to come after me and have me arrested. That's when I had a fit. I started to giggle. I was giggling, feeling really smug about having "saved myself" £6.50. The more I giggled the more my shoulders would jump up and down. It then turned into laughter. I thought what I'd just done was hysterically funny. And let me remind you that all this happened while I was being alone. I've got nobody to blame but myself.

Let me tell you that the next day I didn't giggle anymore. The shame I felt was a.w.f.u.l. For a while I was considering going back to the restaurant and pay my bill. I used to be a waitress and if someone did a runner on me it came out of my wages. I felt so bad for what I'd done!
So, thanks Jane, for reminding me of it. It will keep me awake tonight. Cheers!

Want A Free Break Fast?

When I'm travelling abroad I find it amusing to read some of their signs. Unfortunately I don't always remember to take a photo of them. I found this sign in one of the bars we went to in Spain. It's not a funny sign as such. It actually stunned me that they were advertising that it's ok to smoke. At least it says in red that smoking kills. As if anyone would care.

In the same bar I found this sign on a different wall.


The country of all countries when it comes to funny signs is Japan. I've posted a picture of this one before but in case you missed it... would you dare going to this loo?

At this super hotel in Nara you get a free break fast. Sounds like a great offer when you're on holiday.

And at this bar in Yufuin they'll take you back to the stoned age. Is that legal?

Living La Vida Loca

I've been away on a girlie weekend. Usually I travel on my own so this was a bit of a novelty for me. An ex-work colleague of mine invited me and another work colleague to come and stay at her apartment outside Murcia in Spain. We met at the airport on Thursday afternoon and immediately started comparing the size of our luggage. It was hand luggage only since you had to pay some ridiculous sum to check in your suitcase [and we are very financially aware like that]. Thinking about it our hand luggage looked like something out of Goldilocks and The Three Bears with mine being the Baby Bear's luggage. I travel light - light as a feather. I carried a day pack on my back easily fitting in what I needed for the three nights we were away. Sally, had the Mother Bear luggage - a small carry-on on wheels (I might invest in one myself) and Diana had the Father Bear luggage - a somewhat bigger carry-on because she'd packed stuff "just in case". Well, she no longer goes under her legal birth name. She is now Mrs Justine Case.

We found our check in desk and the kind lady told Mrs Justine Case that her hand luggage was too heavy and she would have to take some stuff out and put it in her handbag. Time for a quick re-shuffle, stuff some clothes in the handbag and ask Helena to carry this weapon

around the corner from the check-in desk where she stuffed everything back into her suitcase and then we proceeded through security. Are you as confused by this as we are? So, they make you re-arrange your luggage in front of the check in staff but then you can walk away and put it all back the way it originally was. Hellooo??!!

Anyway, after all this hoo-haa we headed straight to the Baileys' tasting counter. Have you tried the new Baileys with coffee flavour? It's lovely. The mint flavour is very nice too. I recommend you try it next time you go the airport.

Next to the free Baileys counter was the free gin but someone pointed out that gin makes you depressed and we were going to have fun this weekend so we turned the gin down. Did you hear that folks, we turned the gin down!!!

We arrived in Spain safely and had big plans to go for walks and to go to the beach. Well, two days go quickly and we found ourselves lying by the pool. But first, of course, one must figure out how to unfold the sun loungers.

Put your heads together and stick your bums up in the air. Voila! [Please note that the sun-lounger to the right, the one that's already unfolded, is mine. And yes, after having taken this photo I did help them.]

This is the pool.

We're guessing that it was around 22-23 degrees Celsius so just perfect to lie in the sun without getting too hot. Let me tell you that the pool was freezing. All of us had a quick swim (me being the last one in, I admit) and nearly had heart attacks.

We certainly livened a couple of bars up with our great charm. Being Swedish I wanted some ABBA and Sally kindly went up to the DJ to request it. Before I knew it ABBA came on and the DJ announced that it was Helena's birthday! Everyone sang happy birthday and gave me their birthday wishes. I nearly fainted. Because it was NOT my birthday. Someone (I won't mention names here...) then tried to get free birthday drinks from the bar but the grumpy bar man wasn't giving any away. And maybe that was a good thing because the drinks measurements in Spain are very generous. It doesn't take much before you start chatting to everybody around you and dance energetically to Madness. On our last night we even entertained a young crowd by singing karaoke. We were fan-bloody-tastic!

We didn't make it to the beach and we didn't go for any walks but we were so busy sunbathing by the pool and going out eating and drinking that there really was no time **smiles**.

The Day I Entered Starbucks And Wish I Hadn't

I'm coming down with a cold and have been feeling sorry for myself all day. I had to cancel a coffee with a friend that I haven't seen in ages. I also had to cancel the reiki share although a bit of healing energy had probably been good right now. I just couldn't face getting on the tube and also didn't want to spread the germs to the others in the group. I'm considerate like that.

I still had to go out to get currency because tomorrow, dear readers, I'm off on another weekend away. This time I'm going with two girlfriends to Murcia in Spain. Woohooo!!

As I walked home from the post office it was drizzling with rain, it was dark, and my nose was blocked. I felt the intense need of something comforting to eat or drink. I passed Starbucks which I never go to because they make weak coffee but a little voice in my sub-conscious mind reminded me of a blog post I've read about Starbuck's Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I quickly turned around and entered the coffee-shop, scanned the menu but the Salted Caramel was nowhere to be found. I was slightly disappointed but since I'm an easy-going person I wasn't going to let this make me feel more sorry for myself than I already was. Instead I chose the Toffee Nut Latte.

Oh My God! Now I wish I had never tried it. I am hooked. There are two reasons why I can't have a Toffee Nut Latte a day:

1. my financial situation doesn't allow me to spend £2.70 a day on a posh drink

2. my waistline would expand dramatically and I would have to buy a new wardrobe which again my financial situation does not allow.

But I have to say once again that it was one of the most divine hot drinks I've ever had. I'd say "try it, but don't try it" if that makes sense at all.

I shall start packing my weekend bag. The bikini is going in although it's not hot-hot in Murcia, shades, suntan lotion and a glossy magazine although I have a feeling we shall be chatting away the whole weekend over Sangria by the pool.

McCain vs Obama Dance-Off

The Americans are voting today and Britain is following the election closely. This is what was showed on the BBC morning news today:

Recipes For Natural Beauty

I went out to dinner with three friends last week. The conversation was flowing over tapas and wine. Being typical ladies we discussed men, travel and skin care routines. The skin care routine conversation got quite heated and two of us insisted that cleansing and moisturising before going to bed is most important to healthy looking skin whilst the others felt that cleansing the following morning works just as well.

When I studied for my Natural Face Lift diploma I learnt how to make my own skin care products. I experimented whilst I was studying but I have to admit that I've gone back to buying products since it's quicker and they last longer. However, I no longer buy the expensive stuff. The cheap items work just as well. Most importantly I know that it's what you put inside your body that counts rather than what you put on the outside. "You are what you eat" sounds cliche but it is true.

Anyway, the conversation made me get my The Face Lift Massage book out of the drawer and I thought I'd share some recipes with you courtesy of Kundan Mehta.

I have dry skin and all recipes are for dry/mature skin.

Almond & Honey Cleanser
INGREDIENTS:
3 tsp honey
6 tbsp almonds that have been brought to boiling in water, cooled, and skinned
150 ml mineral water
4 tbsp rosewater

METHOD:
In a blender, mix together the honey, almonds, and mineral water and leave the mixture overnight in the refrigerator. Place the mixture in the center of a clean muslin cloth. Bring the edges of the cloth together, place over a bowl and squeeze the cloth to strain out the juice. Discard the contents of the cloth. Finally, add the rosewater to the extracted juice. Apply to the face with cotton wool and wash it off with lukewarm water. This mixture can last up to two weeks in a refrigerator.

Aloe Vera Moisturizer
INGREDIENTS:
75 ml sesame oil
25 ml cocoa butter or lanolin
50 ml rosewater
2 tbsp aloe vera gel

METHOD:
Warm the oil and butter together; warm the rosewater and aloe vera gel separately. Place all the ingredients in a blender and mix. Transfer the mixture to a container. Let the mixture cool. Apply to the skin as necessary.

Oatmeal Scrub
INGREDIENTS:
12 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp rosewater
1 tbsp medium-ground oatmeal
1 tsp honey

METHOD:
Mix all the ingredients together in a blow to make a gritty paste. Apply to the skin using gentle, circular movements, concentrating on the nose, chin, and forehead, to remove flakes of dry skin. Rinse well and pat dry.

Aloe Vera Mask
INGREDIENTS:
6 tsp clay
2 tsp aloe vera juice
1 egg white or spring water if you prefer
1 tsp honey

METHOD:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl to a moist but firm consistency. Apply to the face and leave for 10-20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

You don't have to go out and buy expensive rosewater in some posh shop. I bought mine in an Indian/Pakistani grocery store for 99p for a 600 ml bottle. Clay can be difficult to get hold of but again the Asian shops are your best bet. There are lots of Asian shops in East London if you happen to live nearby.