Beautiful Flower :)

Sending smiles around the world with India Arie :)



This is a song for every girl who's
Ever been through something she thought she couldn't make it through
I sing these words because
I was that girl too
Wanting something better than this
But who do I turn to

Now we're moving from the darkness into the light
This is the defining moment of our lives

'Cause you're beautiful like a flower
More valuable than a diamond
You are powerful like a fire
You can heal the world with your mind

There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you, who are beautiful
Yeah, you, who are brilliant
Yeah, you, who are powerful
Yeah, you, who are resilient



Inside my head there lives a dream that I want to see in the sun
Behind my eyes there lives a me that I've been hiding for much too long
'Cause I've been, too afraid to let it show
'Cause I'm scared of the judgment that may follow
Always putting off my living for tomorrow
It's time to step out on faith, I've gotta show my face
It's been elusive for so long, but freedom is mine today
I've gotta step out on faith, It's time to show my face
Procrastination had me down but look what I have found, I found

Strength, courage, and wisdom
And it's been inside of me all along

I close my eyes and I think of all the things that I want to see
'Cause I know, now that I've opened up my heart I know that
Anything I want can be, so let it be, so let it be.


... Oh and a little Jill Scott... Youtube's Leija Turunen says that Jill Scott raises your vibrational frequency and gives you a shiny and bright aura... here's hoping! :)

My yum vegan, gluten-free pancakes! :)

If you're trying to wean yourself off that pesky bread... then let me show you a brill – and yummy – pancake that will satisfy all those cravings for stodge. This is super easy and quick to make.

Recipe:
Millet/Rice/Fava bean flour (your choice – just anything gluten-free).
Rice milk (quinoa milk or nut milk will do fine too – but rice milk will satisfy that sweet tooth).
Flax seeds (to replace eggs as the binding agent... and make your skin baby smooth! :)
Coconut oil for cooking (not only does coconut oil make the pancakes taste sweeter but it's also the only oil that doesn't become a carcinogenic trans fat when heated).

Steps:
Put the flour into a bowl - as much as you like! :)
Add two tablespoons of ground flax seeds.
Add rice milk until the mixture becomes liquidy.
Add a spoon of coconut oil to the pan.
Pour in the mixture and cook on both sides until golden brown! :)

Et voila!! :) An extremely yum bread-replacement.

Sweet topping:
Blend together your choice of fruit... banana, mangoes or berries will be truly delicious. Add a squirt of lemon juice and it's yummy to the tummy! :) (I used a banana, goji berries and pumpkin seeds in the picture above).

Savoury topping:
Slice an avocado, add grated carrots, chopped herbs and sprinkle with sprouts and a dash of salt... or just add your usual bread topping like Marmite... Mmmmm :)

Tips:
Millet flour will be sweeter but if you want something more savoury, use fava bean flour.

This is a great recipe to use if you're transitioning to a raw food diet... Once you wean yourself off the bread and transition to food like this, your body will soon give you the signal to cut out the pancakes altogether and stick to the yum fruit and veggy toppings! :)

Happy eating! :)

Fabulous Fashion Avenue

A couple of days ago I discovered something magnificent! Fashion Avenue in Dubai Mall!! A separate enclave cut off from the rest of the mall and home to every high-end designer under the sun... Salvatore Ferragamo, Stella McCartney, Oscar De La Renta, Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli...

And the best part – you can wander in, try on some clothes, admire the fabric... feel the textures and absorb the general feeling of fabulousness that these places exude.

Well as much as I love art, fashion, clothes, pouring over the latest designer collections online, I've never been able to afford such luxury, so looking around these shops and just being in the presence of such mastery is the next best thing.

I'm usually way too overwhelmed by my 'I'm not worthy' mentality to enter the really super-duper high-end designer boutiques like these. I remember backpacking around Italy when I was 19 and gazing with *longing* into the designer stores along Rome's Via dei Condotti, but being way to scared of the militant security guards at the door to actually go in.

Well times are a changing... in Dubai at least, and I was free to browse, enjoying a chit chat with the store workers about the great designs and try on a few select pieces in Stella McCartney:


(I love this but sadly not a good look for real women! ;)

Marc Jacobs:




I looked around Oscar de la Renta and literally thought I'd died and gone to heaven. How is it even legal to design such beautiful clothes, lol!? I picked a beautiful, voluptuous gown off the rack and held it against myself in the mirror... an instant transformation back to every little girl's fantasy of becoming a real-life princess fairy! Lol And then looking at the price tag (as if I could afford it anyway!!) was instantly pulled straight back to earth with a bang! Dh45,000!!!! That's about 7,000 quid!!! Holy crap! [cue a sharp intake of breath and me veeery carefully putting the dress back where I found it! lol]







Anyway, a girl can dream and dream I do! :) And for anyone in Dubai, I'd recommend a trip to Fashion Avenue for sure!!! :)

On a lighter (high street) note, I'm really loving French Connection right now! These days I've taken to snapping pictures of myself whenever I try on something that I really, really love. That way I don't just buy everything in sight... and can sit on it for a week to see if I still feel the same way in a few days time – my nifty money-saving plan! :)

However, French Connection [sigh] ... I just love everything, and pictures really aren't helping me make a decision... For the past week, I've been slowly talking myself into buying every one of these fabulous dresses! Eeeek! :) Decisions, decisions...

Travellers' songs

I discovered the amazing Avett Brothers for the first time a couple of days ago. They've been around for a while and I think they're pretty big in the US. Anyway, they are soooo good, I can't believe I'd never heard of them before. For the last three days I've been listening to 'I and Love and You' on repeat... Has to be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard! And amazing lyrics – whoever wrote this is a poetical genius:

Dumbed down and numbed by time and age
Your dreams to catch the world, the cage
The highway sets the travellers stage
All exits look the same



Load the car and write the note
Grab your bag and grab your coat
Tell the ones that need to know
We are headed north

One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay, to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

When at first I learned to speak
I used all my words to fight
With him and her and you and me
Oh but its just a waste of time
Yeah its such a waste of time

That woman she's got eyes that shine
Like a pair of stolen polished dimes
She asked to dance I said it's fine
I'll see you in the morning time

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
What you were then, I am today
Look at the things I do

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Dumbed down and numbed by time and age
Your dreams to catch the world, the cage
The highway sets the travellers stage
All exits look the same

Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
I and love and you
I and love and you



Last night I dreamt the whole night long
I woke with a head full of songs
I spent the whole day
I wrote 'em down, but its a shame
Tonight I'll burn the lyrics,
'Cause every chorus was your name

Break this tired old routine
And this time don't make me leave

I am a breathing time machine,
I'll take you all for a ride



Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I’ve collected
And throw it in a pile

Bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name

Park the old car
That I love the best
(The) inspections due and it won’t pass the test
It’s funny how I have to put it to rest
And how one day…I will join it

I remember crying over you
And I don't mean like a couple of tears
And then I'm blue
I’m talkin’ about collapsing
And screaming at the moon
But I'm a better man
For having gone through it
Yes, I'm a better man
For having gone through…

Ever since I learned how to curse
I’ve been using those sorry old words
But, I’m talkin’ to these children
And I’m keeping it clean
I don’t need those words
To say what I mean
No, I don’t need those words
To say what I mean

Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I used to own
And burn it in a pile

And, bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name

Dubai's corporate minefield

I probably sound like I moan about Dubai a whole lot so I think I should set the record straight. Dubai is an awesome place for the right kind of people. For many it's the new land of opportunity where dreams really do come true... where you can jump a few steps up the career ladder, party the nights away, laze on the beach... and all that jazz.

For others that doesn't necessarily ring true. I'm not even going to get into all the stuff that gets reported around the world – that's a whole other books worth and one that talking about right now would surely get me thrown into jail! lol. For now at least I'll just say a few words about corporate Dubai.

I'm not sure what it is about Dubai, but it does have a knack of changing people that come here. Or maybe it's more a case that Dubai attracts a certain kind of person - people who wouldn't usually be so successful back home and are riding high on the glory of their success. And boy does it often get to their heads! Suddenly you have all these 22-year-old expats marching around like divine dictators or high school twats ... and the rest of us onlookers are wondering *jeeez!* what the hell got into him/her... The simple answer, is, well... Dubai.

Ok, so a bit about corporate Dubai. From my experience at least, companies here aren't so into the human resources side of things. There's no career development, no training or investment in staff, and hard work is seldom rewarded. When you come to Dubai, you're a commodity, plain and simple – no beating about the bush.

So first things first, they take your passport away from you... just in case you ever think about doing a runner... And getting it back (albeit temporarily) is a long and complex process involving the gathering of authorisation signatures from about a zillion managers.

My first two years in Dubai were spent working in a windowless basement with dim flickering lights. I've always had 'broken' eyes, but it wasn't long before my eyes (and the eyes of numerous other people) slid a few grades down the vision chart. And what does the company do to improve the situation? Get some better lighting? Move us to an office with windows?? Nope, nada! Similarly, good office equipment was sorely lacking (not worth the investment apparently). For about a year I worked on a computer that (*and I kid you not*) crashed *every* five to 10 minutes... And this being the country's biggest selling national newspaper! (I'll not mention the name! ;)

Working day and night is expected of you. In my situation, as other staff members left or went back home and deadlines were brought forward, I was forced to double and triple my work load - never taking brakes with hardly a second to run to the loo... Twenty minute lunch breaks grabbed whenever there was a moment to spare were raised in performance reviews as an issue of concern. After my 10 hour day was up, I was expected to go home and start my days work as an interviewer and feature writer (ok, so I did it willingly)... right up until the small hours... then a couple of hours sleep and in again for 8am.

For an extra dollop of icing on the cake, from my experience at least, the place really nurtured the kind of working environment where people would think nothing about taking credit for your work and blaming you for their cock-ups – never the best ingredients for a happy working day.

Not last and not least (but the last thing I can think of right now), there's the whopper of an issue of people from a 'certain' part of the world (not the locals) who can't get past the fact that there's a woman in the office. Women are either viewed as 'sexy play things' or 'verbal punching bags' with no middle ground. As a woman, you are usually treated with real disdain and a 'please get out of here and go have some babies or something' type mentality. The Dubai melting pot theory is great, but let me tell you, daily instances of this become truly exhausting! And from my experience, women who get promoted (usually the youngest ones with the shortest skirts), are often so surprised by their success, they spend a dazzling amount of energy making sure the rest of the women stay in their place, never to become a professional threat...

So what about that old cultural melting pot theory? Lunch breaks at my work place were always an amusing sight with different nationalities sitting at various separate tables. Go and sit with people who aren't your own nationality and the conversation literally stops dead with the *confusion* you've caused! Lol...

I've thought long and hard about why Dubai is such a breeding ground for these sorts of working environments... and why there exists here this strange sort of cultural melting pot where people of different nationalities live and work side by side but often never really mix or share a cultural identity like they would in other parts of the world (even among people who have lived here for 20 years or more).

Answers that spring to mind are the gaping issues like salary differences between people who do the same job but have the misfortune of coming from different countries. That leads to restrictions in the way that people socialise – so while some people are champagne brunching in style every weekend (not me! Lol) their colleagues from other parts of the world can barely afford to catch the bus home. There are other issues too - like the fact that expats never get citizenship. Anyone at any given time can get the order to pack up and leave the country within 30 days – whether they've been here for 5 years or 50 years. In that respect, I can see why certain people can't be bothered to change their lifelong perceptions... about women in the work place... or anything at all... After all, why change your fundamental beliefs when everything could change in an instant?

So anyway, these are just a few of my experiences of life in corporate Dubai. I'm sure some companies are great but I know from friends in other work places who had very similar stories to share, that this is veeerry much a Dubai phenomenon.

Would be nice to be proved wrong!

... And that's my rant over! :) Onto a nicer topic for next time ... ;)

Dreaming of London

I've had a weird thing happen to me in the last couple of weeks that's been creeping up on me little by little... And all of a sudden, I'm thinking, 'I want to go *home* soooo bad!' Well not home exactly (I'm not too sure where home is these days) but to London town!

It's a little feeling of nostalgia that's been growing on me very slowly – and all of a sudden I have a great huge hole in my heart that won't be cured until I'm sipping tea with the taste of the Thames under slate grey Victorian skies (to quote the master of expat Englishness! Lol)

Here's a few things I miss about London:

Enjoying the evenings with friends, smiling, laughing, dancing (without feeling like an alien).

Treasure hunting at Camden Market – and coming away with beautiful nic nacs, a bracelet maybe or a skirt (little pleasures that don't cost the earth like they do in Dubai).

Wrapped up warmly, sipping mulled wine and eating corn on the cob as dusk settles over Camden town.

Dancing the night away to Morrissey in a cozy indie club. Then watching the sun rise over the Thames and going for a full English breakfast as soon as the first place opens at 6am.

Stumbling on beautiful, record shops, book shops and gigs that you weren't expecting.

Music – everywhere.

Arts films (don't get those in Dubai).

Theatre (don't get that in Dubai either – for the most part).

Walking along Oxford Street as dusk falls and feeling the excitement of night building up.

Energy and life.

Variety... I Googled raw vegan restaurants the other day and about a gazillion popped up in London. Someone is always onto it... whatever *it* may be.

Feeling inspired to write, to live, to love...

Anyway, that's just a run down. My other half loooooves Dubai so I know I'd have a tough job convincing him to move anywhere (about as tough a job as I'd have convincing him to go raw vegan! Lol) Dubai is great but for me it also represents limbo land – and I can't help feeling like I'm waiting for life to begin...

I really think I can live the life of my dreams in Berlin and I think I can live the life of my dreams in London... Or maybe in a South American raw food community, living off the grid, growing our own food and creating beautiful things... Any one of those would do me just fine! Lol

Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today... :)

Till next time... over and out! :)

Foodie blog: My route to raw

For anyone who wants a boost of energy, I highly recommend becoming a raw food vegan. I've been leaning this way for about a year now (with a couple of relapses along the way) and can't speak highly enough about it.

When I was 10, I made the decision to become a vegetarian. I grew up with chickens as pets and remember that horrifying moment of truth when I realised that the food called chicken is the same thing as the adorable Cluckerberry and Sally who scamper up to you and attempt a jovial squarking conversation every time you go outside.

My moment of conversion came when I saw a clip of a chicken slaughter house on television at my grandmother's house in Germany. I don't think I'll ever forget the horror I felt as I saw the helpless chickens hanging upside down on a conveyor belt moving towards a machine that would chop off their heads. For me it was a real-life horror movie and even at 10, I felt completely devastated and appauled.

So for 10 or 11 years I was a super strict veggy... probably up to about 20 years old when I travelled to Amsterdam with some friends... and of course like any young tourists, we hunted down a coffee shop to smoke a doobie (wild! Lol)... But for me, the really wild thing was eating a chicken drum stick from a road-side vendor. At the time, I just thought, 'what the heck' and tentatively picked bits off it, being a little grossed out by the feeling of tissues and tendons... But at the same time feeling completely malnourished like this chicken drum stick was *everything* I ever needed from life.

And so (unfortunately) I gradually got back into eating meat... right up until the age of 30. I was never a big meat eater and always felt guilty every time I munched on the leg of a dead animal that died especially for me. I'd hazard a guess that this overwhelming guilt isn't a healthy way to eat. And I also always questioned what made my life so much more important than this animal that suffered intense pain and death for me. But in my 20s I just kind of thought, 'well what the hell, I've done my part for the animals... why should I be the only human who thinks about these things... and what about me for once...'

So I really put the ethical thing to the back of my mind and carried on munching away thinking I was doing a world of good for my nutrition. Well, the other part of the equation is that I was one of these home-alone kids probably from the age of about 13 or so, and mostly lived off frozen ready meals that my parents packed the freezer full of every time they came to visit. And as a kid, I really believed that frozen veggies would do me a world of nutritional good.

Anway, skipping ahead to the age of 20, it's hardly surprising I felt so totally malnourished as I picked at my chicken drum stick in Amsterdam. I'd grown up on frozen microwave meals and my body was crying out for nourishment.



Soooo, skipping ahead another 10 years, to 30... I like to think I know a little more about nutrition now than I did as a kid – in fact it's a hobby of mine – if that doesn't sound too dorky! Lol And these days I've learned that there's barely a jot of nutrition in meat. In fact it can cause havoc with your digestive system – leading to all sorts of illnesses and diseases like cancer. Quinoa for example is a far superior sauce of protein than any meat.

Which brings me up to this raw food, vegan, gluten-free thingy that I've been experimenting with of late. So these are a few of the effects that a raw food diet can have on you:

• Cures acne (I've had really mild adult acne for years that I've always had to cover with a thick layer of makeup.... no more!!!! :)
• Prevents cancer – Raw, enzyme-rich foods create an alkaline environment in the body. Meats, starches and dairy cause an acidic environment. Cancer only grows in an acidic environment when the cells are clogged with goo that they don't know what to do with – thus causing cancer and other illnesses.
• There have been *many* instances where terminal diseases have been cured by changing the body's pH levels and switching to a raw food diet.
• Raw foods give you a healthy beautiful glow and make your skin (and you) exude health.
• Raw foods give you energy – and a lot of it!!
• Raw foods make you high – on life! :) Well also rather high – at least when you first make the switch and your body is experiencing so much pure energy for the first time... You will literally be bouncing off the walls or hitting the gym for a couple of hours a time! All good stuff! :)
• For me, raw food also makes me want to reach out to people, to smile a whole lot more, engage with people and start conversations in situations where I normally wouldn't... in the lift, at the gym etc...
• Generally fills you with nature's life force... eliminates tiredness etc...

A couple more points:

• Chimps are 98% genetically similar to people and eat a mostly raw food diet – with a few termites thrown in for good measure. Wild chimps have none of the health complications that people do. Captured chimps, however, that are fed on more of a man-made diet, do start to get ill with cancers etc...
• And lastly... if everyone in the world switched to a raw food vegan diet, just think what a beautiful place the world would be!!! There would be fruit trees growing everywhere, people would grow their own veggies, and the world would be abundant and green once again... What a beautiful way to heal the world! Lol

So anyway, these are just a few of the things I wanted to share about my food journey... Not an expat issue, I know, but hopefully interesting nontheless... I will keep you posted on my progress! :)

The Dubai stone

If you've ever heard of a thing called the 'Dubai stone', you will know that it's not something you really want to have. What is the Dubai stone? The short answer: FAT!

The saying goes that anyone who moves to Dubai is guaranteed to pile on the pounds – usually ending up a good stone or two heavier than normal.

Lack of exercise is the biggest culprit. Dubai isn't a place where you can go for a walk through the countryside or cycle to work and back. A summertime walk will fry you like a pork chop and a cycle ride down one of the busy seven-lane highways... well it's just not something you'd be advised to try.



I never really thought I was that fat when I lived in Dubai until I first moved to Berlin for a trial month to see if I liked the place as much as I thought I did. I rented a cheap apartment in Tempelhof and spent my days exploring the many cycle paths through the city and cycling the 40 minute journey into the city centre and back, as well as walking around outside, visiting the outdoor markets and enjoying Berlin's colourful neighbourhoods like Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg.

To cut a long story short, a month later, I returned to Dubai to pack up my stuff and leave for good, looked in the mirror, and was pretty much amazed at my shrinkage.

While I know I was probably doing a whole lot more exercise than I would have if I lived in the place, I also recognised the huge benefits of simple pleasures like walking down a street or cycling into town that just isn't an option in Dubai (no pavements to walk down).



Where food is concerned, you're not going to get a generous supply of beautiful fresh veggies in the desert. Organic is hard to come by (unless you make an extra trip to the city's one organic shop) and everything in the supermarket is either shipped in from some far flung place, (which always makes me feel a bit sorry for the world), hugely GM'ed or loaded with pesticides (which makes me feel sorry for my tummy).

I've always been big on herbs, buying big bunches or parsley and coriander every week. Well I always thought that the herbs I buy in Dubai had a real texture like plastic, so I assumed it was probably GM. My suspicions were confirmed when I discovered a whole different plant growing from my parsley stem. But then again, how else are you going to grow veggies in the desert?

Moving to Berlin was such a crazy u-turn for healthy foods than Dubai. Almost every street has a beautiful organic shop where you can pick from a countless variety of delicious fruits and veggies. You can also shop from one of the charming farmers markets. I once bought a 'flower salad' – very yummy and looked very pretty on my plate too! :)



Well now that I'm back in Dubai (albeit temporarily) I am super determined to keep the pounds off. It's the height of summer right now, so walking isn't an option (I tried this a couple of weeks ago and discovered that my entire body was covered in blisters when I got home!)

One of the good things about Dubai is that most apartment blocks have a gym and a pool... soooo, I'm making sure I get my 20 minutes cycling session in every morning. I see myself a bit like a wind-up watch and I've really noticed how much extra energy I have when I start my day like this! Every few days I've also been going for a really lovely swim... nothing strenuous – just a bit of a splish splash while enjoying that all-important sunshine! :) And for a touch of Middle Eastern fun? Belly dancing!!! Amaaazing workout and sooo much fun!



As for the food, well I'm making sure I put in the effort to get myself down the the organic shop at least once a fortnight to stock up on beautiful, colourful veggies that I know will flood my body with health and vitality. You might be stuck in the desert, but there's always a way to make things better... and so far so good... I haven't seen that Dubai stone creep up on me just yet! :)