In Fashion

How to Prepare for Fashion Week

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

fashionWith the international fashion shows season just around the corner, you need to be organised if you plan on attending. These top tips for the fashionistas amongst you will help to ensure that you have everything that you need before your alarm clock goes on the day of departure.

Pack in advance
You will have items that are necessary to take: laptop, hard drive, camera, business cards and chargers, and those that you would like to take such as books and comfy sweaters. Remember to pack any toiletries into plastic bags, you do not want any spillages onto your clothes. Your clothes: you will more than likely have been fretting about what to wear for several weeks ahead of the fashion show, and while you will be tempted to keep adding items to your bag, it is important that you don’t exceed the weight limit for your carrier.

Each item that you select must be able to be worn in a multitude of ways, for example, turtlenecks can be worn with slip dresses, undershirts, with skirts or trousers. Remember that accessories can transform the same outfit, and are lighter to pack and carry. Check the weather before you leave, Paris, for example, is notably warmer at this time of year than New York, London or Milan, and so you need to pack accordingly.

Transport
Before your departure day, make sure that you have arranged transport from the airport to your hotel, and that you have the necessary details to access it. You may be tired from travelling when you arrive, and the last thing that you will want to have to try and arrange is transport to your hotel. Your return flight is another issue, and you have time to consider all options, but arriving in a city to go to an area that you are not familiar with is another story.

Your travel clothes
Make sure that you are comfortable when you are traveling. To avoid having to pack your large winter coat and risk creasing it, wear your coat to travel in. It will also double up as a blanket to keep you warm during your flight, and as people have a tendency to get tearful on flights, you will be grateful for the additional comfort!

Airport check-in
Take full advantage of checking-in for your flight ahead of arriving at the airport. Not only will you avoid the queues of people, but you will be able to get through passport control and security without stressing about the time that it invariably takes you. You will be able to arrive at your departure gate in good time to have a drink, and read a book or catch up with sporting events on the Unibet blog before you have to board.

Once you have arrived at your destination and booked into your hotel, you can exhale. The temptation will be to get right out there and soak up the Fashion Week vibes, but remember that you have all week, and you need to pace yourself to make the most of it! Have a wonderful time!

 

In General, Mindful Living, Mindfulness

The Joy of Mindful Writing

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
The Joy of Mindful Writing

When the Joy of Mindful Writing popped through my letterbox I knew after just a few pages that this was going to be one of those books that I keep with me for a long time and refer back to again and again. The Joy of Mindful Writing, one of a number of books in the Mindful series from Leaping Hare Publishing, has been written by Joy Kenward who writes with warmth and a keen understanding of what it is to write and to be mindful.

Joy of Mindful WritingThis isn’t a read once and shelve it kind of book. This is a book that you put page markers in, sticky notes or even highlight (unless you borrow someone else’s copy of course). It’s a reading and understanding book with exercises, meditations and more for you to try, all of which help you get closer to your goal of mindful writing.

Mindfulness is not something you can switch on and off like a light switch unless perhaps you have reached Buddha level (which I have not). I started to gain a keen interest in mindfulness and mindful living last year and as a consequence am now nearly the end of a mindfulness diploma. I’m also someone who loves to write. I’ve been blogging for coming up twelve years and have been a freelance copywriter for nearly nine years full-time. I love to write and I’m pretty good at it. There are different ways to write however and mindful writing is more than rambling in a blog post or working to a client-sent brief. Mindful writing is….. more. I’ve written mindfully in the past, without knowing it. I don’t write that way all of the time because it isn’t relevant. It’s difficult to explain but if you are a writer moving into mindful writing, you might very well know what I mean.

The Joy of Mindful Writing is perfect for those just starting to write and those who, like me, have been doing it for years. It’s not a better way to write or a more professional way to write. It is simply a different way to write and its something I’m exploring more in my personal writing right now.

To fully appreciate the impact this book has you really do need to explore it yourself. There are meditations and more which help bring clarity and open you up to creating something unique and special to you.

This is the only book in the Mindfulness series that I’ve explored however it will most definitely not be the last. Thank you to Leaping Hare for sending me this book to try out, it’s been quite the exploration!

See the full The Mindfulness Series collection for more ways that you may enjoy a more mindful way of living.

Joy of Mindful Writing

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