Stylish Spaces

Every one of us is living till death comes calling on us, but have you ever wondered what it means to 'live'  - for  there is a marked difference between 'living' and 'being alive'. Every one of us lives, we go about our life, raising kids, managing our homes, going to our daily jobs, going to restaurants on weekends, getting groceries, yes - we all do that, but are we truly alive? Do we not go about life doing the mundane, the expected, following the millions before us, going through the motions of life - sleeping, eating, breathing without feeling alive. I myself , like millions of others go through the motions of living everyday, and  I don't know about you,  but I certainly want to feel alive at least part of the day everyday. Being alive is to ignite a passion for something so greater than yourself  that you feel  energised just thinking about it - every fibre in your being is consumed by it. Some are lucky to find this in the jobs they do- some fin...

When growing up, people often ask you where your interests lie and what do you want to be when you are older - the bizarre thing is no one asks the most important, fundamental question- what kind of person you aspire to be - after all that's what defines us ultimately, not our jobs, our careers, our salary package, no, none of that - but the person we grow up into.  I never always knew what I wanted to do in my life - but I always knew the kind of person I wanted to be - and that for me was a person with grace, integrity, riding the storm of life with a calm exterior - a person who believes and strives for balance, harmony and all things beautiful. It's been a journey getting to be that person, and I can honestly admit I am not there yet, but it's getting easier as I grow older - because like any other career  goalposts that require work and commitment, getting to be the person you aspire to be requires commitment and dedication as well. All the great people in this worl...

At social gatherings I get asked a lot what I do and when I tell them I teach, the casual response sometimes is 'so just a teacher" which puts an instant freeze on the smalltalk because I can only blink  and stare back at them all the while thinking - now do they actually want me to say something in response to that - but more importantly, do I want to respond to that ignorant opinion of an even ignorant, bigoted person? Teaching skills of academia to secondary students (teenagers) is one of the hardest but also the most rewarding jobs you can do  - and I think most parents of teenage children will agree with me here when I say - at this age, you get the best of them and the worst of them. So I can honestly say, you end up not just teaching them, but listening to their tales of woe from home, smoothing over their ruffled feathers when they have an emotional tiff with a peer and rejoicing in their little triumphs. They...

My son is turning 18 end of this month and aside from planning a party, I have been trying to find a meaningful present to give him to mark the milestone - and boy has it been hard (excuse the pun!) - I literally scoured hundreds of websites trying to find something - and my criteria from what I thought was pretty straightforward was -  I wanted to get him something that a) an 18 year old would really appreciate, b) is not gadgety (so as not be obsolete in the next five years with the way technology is advancing) and  c) something that he can keep forever  He will be off to university in October and technically this is his last birthday at home with us, god knows next year he'll be meeting us at a restaurant somewhere! So 18th birthday is pretty special, it marks a foray into adulthood and independence (also legally) and parents do want to give something special on an18th birthday -   But take my word for it, there is nothing out there - yes, there is the borin...

My fifteen year daughter wants to be a journalist - among other things of course - including filthy rich (she doesn't know how exactly but will come up with bizarre, witty and outlandish entrepreneurial ideas) and I do admire and feed her wandering, creative mind  by passing on links to interesting and inspiring articles.  Thankfully on the journalistic front there are many female role models, ladies who have shown tremendous courage in their jobs, covered war zones, seen and reported how-it-is to the world, at times putting politicians and world-leaders to shame by the horror their ill Yalda Hakim thought policies have havoced.  Some of these female correspondents are charismatic to boot and not hard to look up to professionally, +Christina Amanpur, +Lara Logan, Alex Crawford,+Kate Aide, +Zeina Badawi, +Yalda Hakim - any one of these ladies is a befitting role model for a 15 year old. Zaina Badawi Alex Crawford Courage and creativity are two tra...

Ask people what glamour is and nine times out of ten, glitz and gold will slide off their tongue in the same sentence as glamour - because that's what it means to most these days- all things glitzy, sparkly, unnecessarily and insanely expensive - all to behold with a longing gaze and admire from afar, knowing it's there for a lucky few. But true origins of word 'glamour' lie in being enveloped in an aura of enchantment and mystique - (note - nothing to do with glitz or gold) - but more to do with entrapment that draws us, allures us into a world of sophistication and charm, that is pleasing to the eye and utterly, beautifully lifting to our souls - and that's what I look for in glamorous people and glamorous interiors - that understated, charming, captivating quality that holds your gaze and makes your heart skip a beat and fills you with  wonder. I must confess, I do get slightly annoyed by all the snapshots of celebrities in garish, over the top  makeup and...