A life of discovery

My lovely client Jennie James and I are planning to get her new glasses. Jennie is a debt elimination coach currently based in Seattle, but she coaches virtually. Her company is called A Different Answer is about trust and simplicity. She's helped people with every level of debt, so reach out to her if money is keeping you up at night or you're tired of paying too much interest for no good reason. ps. there is never a good reason. 

Anyhoo, back to glasses. 

Glasses are worth investing in. Regu…

On my vision board (yes, I'm hugely pro these, reach out if you want help creating one, they are a ton of fun) are the words "inspire and be inspired."

The podcast I created called Conversations About Closets With My Closest 1000 Friends has been blowing my mind. So far I have had conversations with 40 incredible women. Most of the time we are laughing, but there's a few like Mahtab's and Cindy's where I've cried. I started off awkwardly. I need to go back and edit out a few "Can you hear me? I…

Dear Shonda Rhimes, 

I wanted to say thank you.

The world has been extremely stressful and very strange for a long time now. But thanks to you I have discovered a happy place I can go when things become overwhelming.

 That's not to say that my life isn't wonderful, I'm safe, loved, grateful and surrounded by SAD lights. I do wish I wasn't in Seattle, but it's an 18 hour plane ride and two weeks in solitary confinement in a hotel if I wanted to go to NZ to see my family and some sunshine, so t…

I bought Nordstrom stock this week,.

Before you get all excited about my portfolio, I have three shares. Yes, that's three, as in the number 3. Current value...hold on, let me check. 

$99.84

Apparently, the stock dipped today by 1.01 percent. Despite that, I think I'll hold. I could lose it all tomorrow, but I feel quite sanguine about it. It would have gone to a good cause (I do have actual charities I support but for now, feel free to think of me as having hidden shallows). 

Why did I deci…

I recently listened to Radical Candor ™by Kim Scott on audio book. It is bloody (yes, I can say that, I’m a Kiwi) amazing.

According to Kim (may I call you that?) Radical Candor™ is “Caring Personally while Challenging Directly. At its core, Radical Candor is guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific and sincere.”

It can be applied to personal style. Yes, it can.

So…read the actual book as I’m about to paraphrase what I learned, and relate it to how you present yourself in th…

In the 70's, when I was nine, my family went to Te Puke for Christmas.

Te Puke is about three hours from Auckland, where I lived and back then, I think it was famous for kiwifruit. Yes, it is kiwifruit, they are not called Kiwis - that what you call people from NZ, FYI. 

My auntie Jeannie lived there and it was her turn to host. I got to sleep in the caravan parked by the house, which was super cool, though I probably had to share with my younger brother.

It was a really good year for Christm…

I'm lousy at group events. 

I mean the ones where there are many people in a room (this goes for parties as well) and the idea is to mingle. With business ones, the intention is to "network," you know, find out what others do so you can collaborate or refer, or hire each other. It's efficient but I get tired super fast so leave early or hide in the kitchen (if it's a party). It's just as tiring online. I like people as individuals and I don't mind speaking to a crowd, but interacting with a lot…

I had no idea who Nanette Lepore was. 

I was at Thrift Culture in Bellevue square, pre-Covid. It's run by LifeSpring and supports programs that feed, clothe, educate and provide emergency support for local children living in poverty. They pay $1 a year in rent, in one of the highest cost-per-square-foot locations thanks to the Kemper family who own and run the mall. Insert applause here!

I was browsing because I believe in wearable fun and part of my entertainment budget goes to thrift stores.…

I'm not a fan of virtual backgrounds on Zoom etc. though you can get really cool ones. The thing is, every time you move there's a good change you'll look really weird and we all know you're basically hiding a pile of laundry or clutter. But yes, if you have no alternative, they are much better than holding meetings where everyone can see your bed or fridge. 

A really quick and easy way to create a Zoom background without resorting to virtual is to zip down to a fabric store. Pun unintended. Ye…