Rewind and start again!

I have taken on a 30 day blog challenge, I don’t know if I am supposed to tell you that but hey ho!

So  I am just going to tell you about how this relates perfectly to a new start in my life.

In two weeks time to the date (Tuesday 28th July) I shall be going back to full time work.

After being unfairly dismissed from my 17 year buying job in October 2013, having a breakdown and enduring another major Depression, I set up my own online business www.hatattic.com soft launching in October 2014.

Despite the fact that I am social media-ing myself silly, blogging, sending newsletters and basically doing everything I can people do not want to buy. I know that we as a country are under a lot of pressure, we have had this ridiculous election, which quite frankly has only made things worse! And a lot of people are now scared of spending, but somebody must be shopping somewhere. One of my main reasons for Hat Attic is that I know a lot of people out there do not have the time or the patience to hike up and down the high streets, only to find the same old stuff in all of the stores, so I thought I would make it easy for them. My aim is to have a one stop shop with lovely, unusual, exclusive accessories, gifts and treats, that you can just click on and I will get it to you hassle free. Anyway maybe one day you will get it.

Meanwhile I am having to go back to the day day job a 10-7, to be exact, to keep the roof over my head and the wolves at bay. I am excited at the prospect but also a little scared as Hat Attic will now become my second job.

Can I cope working 10-7, getting home at 8pm and working on Hat Attic as well as doing all the washing, cooking and cleaning?

I do realise that this is the society we live in now, most people have two jobs and families to deal with.

I do wonder though, is it this kind of pressure that pushed me to breakdown in the first place (the dismissal didn’t help obviously)?

I am not giving up on my dream of being my own boss and my website being a great success but until that time I still need to live, pay my own way because even though I have been a good tax paying citizen for 28 years, the government are sure not going to help me. The DWP have just given me the absolute run around for the last 22 months, stopping and starting and looking for reasons not to help me get back on my feet. I’ve never asked for help for anything in my life but when I did I was treated like just another useless drop out statistic that they brought in on their shoe.

#27 NEVER STOP LEARNING.

One thing I have learnt to love since I was rendered unemployed is cooking.

In an effort to make myself feel better, I went on an investigation into the relationship between food and mood (so to speak)

During this time I found that I actually suffer with a condition called Candida dysbiosis/ overgrowth, leaky gut. This is when yeast spores get out of control in your gut and can cause many different ‘illnesses and diseases’ ie. bloating, IBS like symptoms, skin & nail infections, extreme fatigue, autoimmune problems, brain fog (lack of concentration, memory loss etc), skin issues (eczema, psoriasis, rashes itching), depression, mood swings, all of this and more. So I decided that I would experiment with my diet in order to combat, visits to the GP ( they are busy enough as it is).

Basically diets high in sugar, yeast and carbohydrates make your stomach a playground for these spores. That’s why you get the cravings for these specific foods.

After reading and learning a lot from books by Amelia Freer, Deliciously Ella and many others, I have decided to go clean on my diet. That means I am wheat, dairy and sugar free, most of the time. Obviously this mode of eating is quite difficult to be 100% on when you eat out but easy to maintain at home.

This is my basic essentials list and few recipes that I use over and over again, you can use them as basics and make twists to them according to your tastes as you get more confident and experiment a bit.

I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I find this is working for me. And I am really enjoying learning new tricks with food, spices, tastes and ingredients. Now that I have had the time to learn to cook properly I am really enjoying it.x

#25 Can you hear me at the back?

Now I’m really not one to boast but I understand that to build a viable retail website you need to instill trust into your customer.

In my previous guise as Miliinery buyer at Fenwick of Bond Street my customer knew they could rely on me to have exactly the hat they needed for any occasion and they knew I understood and loved my business.

I found a few articles that were in the press that may interest those that don’t yet realise that the person behind www.hatattic.com is in fact me, the hat lady, that they followed and grew with at the hat department that I made at Fenwick.

The Telegraph

The Hedonist

The Feltmakers Guild

Feeling quite proud of myself, I’ve actually achieved quite a lot in my life.

# 24 A year in Arbonne.

A year ago I became an Independant Consultant for a beauty, health and wellbeing company called Arbonne.
I was having a very hard time, having lost my job and direction in life. I can honestly say that being involved in the business and using the products has helped me greatly. Having hit rock bottom my skin was grey and lifeless, thin and sad hair and yoyo weight issues due to depression, eating disorders and medication.
The first product I used was the RE9 anti-aging skin collection, cleanser, toner, eye cream, serum, moisturiser and night cream. I laughed when I read ‘shows visable difference within 24 hours’ , but it really does and a year later my skin is better than ever and shows no signs of the trauma I have been through.
I swear by the Intelligence thermal fusion hair & scalp revitaliser, when used in conjunction with the FC5 shampoo and conditioner. It has helped boost the growth and texture of my hair so it now looks quite ‘normal’. My Mother uses it, after years of back combing and bleaching her hair is now soft, shiney and better than ever. It has also helped my Aunt after Chemotherapy to boost the regrowth.
As a self confessed ice cream addict I generally have one of the chocolate protein shakes, blended with lots of ice and cold water everyday. There is the minimum of sugar but all of the vitamins and protein that I need for the day, so much better than a carton of Ben & Jerrys.
Also living in a sun starved country, we are all deficient in vitamin D so I get mine from the Vitamin D with B12 spray, just three sprays on the tongue every morning and I’m done ( it tastes yummy too).
All of this and more from a range of products that are pure, safe and beneficial. Arbonne products are botanical, vegan certified and green in substance and packaging. In this age of free radicals and harmful chemicals I feel confident that I am not doing myself, family or friends harm by reccommending Arbonne.
Please feel free to contact me directly or check my Arbonne page http://leciafinch.arbonne.com/ I am happy to answer any questions or meet you for a consultation. Maybe you might want to join me in the business!

# 22 A blog about the blog.

I challenge anyone to come out of Alexander McQueens Savage Mind and not feel inspired somehow. It’s not just about fashion, it is also about our lives.You have to remember this man was just as messed up, if not more so than most of us who live with a mental illness, or was he???? Was he just allowing his dreams and imagination to be free, was he just bullish enough to do exactly what he wanted to do, with no reservations.

Read the review that I wrote for my website here, have a look at my website at the same time!

I’m actually donating 5% of all hat sales to Wear a hat day (March 27th) to help Brain Tumour research.

# 21 It’s all about me !

Enough of the doom & gloom that fills most of my time, here is a little something pleasing and uplifting and surprisingly it’s all about me !

It’s a piece written by my accounts and business advisors, I hope you find it as inspiring as I did!

As you can tell from my previous blogs I am as far from an ego maniac as you can get, it’s really interesting to read how other people view you and what you do. This has inspired me to get up and get on with making my business even more of a wonderful, mindful place for like minded people to shop.

#20 Trying to make a living.

I live a pretty simple life, despite my ‘job’ I’m not a materialistic person, I just cater for those who maybe.

It is taking time to understand and accept the ‘me’ that is left. I am still recovering after the bullying, death, shock unemployment and acute depression that I have been subjected to in the last few years. My boyfriend admires me for my independence and strength, but I don’t have the energy to be strong anymore, I’m tired. My friends don’t understand when I say I am a different person now, they say everybody is and that we all change as we get older. Why can they not see that this is not an age thing this is a circumstance and experience thing? The whole age thing makes me angry, I don’t feel any older, in many ways I feel like a frightened child.

Despite all of this mental turmoil, that only I can eradicate, I am not dragging my heels, I have to live somehow!

Whilst updating my CV, a document that had not been touched for eighteen years, I realised that I am sitting on a wealth of experience. I have all of the tools, contacts and knowledge to set up an immediate business, seamlessly.

I have taken some really hard knocks in the not so distant past but I am not going to let it pin me down, I can’t I have a life to live. I have set up in two businesses, skincare and wellbeing in the shape of :

Leciafinch.arbonneinternational.co.uk

and my designer hats, fashion accessories and lifestyle gifts webshop :

http://www.hatattic.com

I am still healing and some days are really hard, not helped by those that do not understand that I do not need a little part time job to get me out of the house, I have businesses to run, that’s a full time job! I am just lucky to have the luxury to be able to work around my mental health issues. But being able to do that with support and understanding, for the new and different me, would be nice.

#19 A new year another beginning.

Ok let’s get this ball really rolling.

I had a good feeling as the clock struck midnight, this is going to be a good year for those who work at it.

Stop, look and listen to what your heart is telling you.

Banish the excuses and the fear and get on with your life as you are supposed to be.

Everyday, feel the gratitude and speak those affirmations with real meaning, make it happen.

I for one am very thankful for my wonderful friends and family who stick by me through thick and thin. Their constant support and outpouring of love is overwhelming.

I am thankful for the opportunity to go it alone, so to speak, business wise and I will do it, I will make it work.

I am thankful for my health, (despite the odd foot, leg, knee, back twinge) I am a fit and healthy girl, capable of doing anything I want.

I am thankful for the amazing inspirations that I see and experience everyday.

I think we as a race have fallen into a malaise of just accepting our lot and now just plod on being down trodden humans who can’t see the point in trying.

Wake up! if we all go about with our heads down feeling sorry for ourselves nothing will ever change.We all need to wake up and look at the world with new eyes, be good to ourselves and each other.

I think 2015 is a good number it’s got a certain ring to it, let’s get on with it and make it happen.We all have a lot to live for and to give.I want to make it better for myself, my family and friends and more importantly for the future, I have three beautiful little nieces to think about.x

#18 Time flies.

It is so true that time flies when you are having fun!

So it’s now been a month since I welcomed you into my world with my fledgling web shop http://www.hatattic.com #hats #scarves #bags #jewellery #gifts #nailpolish.

I am still coming to terms with the fact that I am a business woman and in charge of my own destiny. It’s very strange not having to check in with anyone, travel to an office or get dressed even!

The fact is I am a very logically minded, organised kind of girl and I am actually awake at 7am and up & dressed ready for work by 10am.Yes I am lucky, I have the luxury of not having to rush through my yoga & meditation and I have time to read or listen to something inspirational before I put my business hat on. But it’s weird I still put the pressure on myself and feel guilty if I’m not working on Hat Attic or Arbonne between the hours of 10am and 6pm.

I do count myself as being very lucky indeed though as I can have my business and have some ‘time’ to make myself a better more informed person.I can study, visit museums & exhibitions, meet and actually have time to talk to friends and family. I am not as stressed and grumpy as I have been in the recent past.

I have learnt to live and love life all over again.

#17 Ready, Steady, Go!

Today is the first day of my new life.

My beautiful online shop is open for business., exactly a year after my last hour at my previous job.

So much has happened in that year, I have definitely changed in many ways, and for the better!

I could not have done this without the support of my amazing family and incredible friends but most of all my Giuseppe, who has made my beautiful website.

It was G who really convinced me this would work, when he saw me floundering about and getting disheartened over shop leases.

It has been a great test for him too, he is a web designer but he has built this site from scratch by himself having to learn as he goes along. Being a Virgo means he is a perfectionist and I have to say I am very proud of him because it has been a lot of hard work, done in the evenings and weekends so as not to impact on his actual job. A side project but in no way a little undertaking.

I am very happy with it and I hope you will be too.

I do declare http://www.hatattic.com open for business.