I love ...

I love lots of things.

I love food. It can smell good, look beautiful and taste delicious. Good food is a feast for the senses, and I love to indulge my senses. Does that make me sensual? Because I don’t mean it in a sexual way. Although food can be sexy.

Favourites:
Cuisine – Thai, Drink – so tough, coffee with baileys or vanilla coke, Dessert – again, tough, sticky chocolate brownies or banoffee pie (a recent discovery), Fruit – cherries or avocado, Vegetable – squash or cherry tomatoes, Herb – coriander, One thing I could never give up – cheese.

I love music. My whole mood can change just by listening to a song. I have playlists for sombre evenings, party nights and even for cleaning. I never leave home without a music player and I walk to the beat of whatever song is playing. I like the typical pop, groovy r&b, pumping dance and interesting “indie” stuff. I also love oldies, and beautiful sad songs.

Favourites:
Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Kanye West, Ellie Goulding, The Killers, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrews Sisters, Michael Buble and Melody Gardot

I love books. I love how you can enter a whole new world with the flip of a page. I love the captivation of good dialogue. I still remember sitting in front of a coal heater as a kid, reading a book and toasting my face. Pure bliss.

Favourites:
Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Sophie Kinsella, Maeve Binchy, Paul Coelho, Marian Keyes and The Chronicles of Narnia (I’ve read it start to finish at least 7 times)

I love films. For the same escapist reasons as books. Many of my childhood memories involve films because they were a real special occasion. I grew up on the oldies: Spartacus, White Christmas, The Sound of Music, ... We also watched lots of Disney films like Bambi, The Jungle Book, Snow White, The Lion King and Pocahontas. Even when I got older, I just loved watching films, especially romantic dramas and period films.

I love fashion. I love bags, shoes, accessories, clothes ... I love fashion as something functional, but I can also appreciate fashion as an art. There are pieces that I can just stare at. I have actually bought a pair of shoes, knowing I could never wear them, but just to put on my shelf to look at, they were so stunning. I really admire people with a strong sense of style; I’m still working on mine. I’ve always been on a somewhat tight budget so I mix high street (H&M, Primark, Next, Zara, Mango, Vero Moda) with vintage. I love browsing vintage/charity shops. It’s the prospect of finding a hidden treasure that is so appealing.

At the moment I’m lusting after Joan Holloway’s wardrobe (Mad Men), sultry 70s pieces and nature inspired jewellery (especially anything owl-inspired).

I love colour. Whenever people ask me what my favourite colour is (happens often when you’re around kids), I tend to sound a bit indecisive. I’ll say “Blue ... and red, oh and purple too, some greens are nice, I really like jewel tones ... oh and pastels too”. I love the sunny yellow kitchen back at home. I love the soft creamy butter colour of my bedroom. And I love love love my pink flower ring.

Basically, I love anything so beautiful I can lose myself in it.