“…Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom…”

- Marcel Proust

The gorgeous Miss Carla at MessyCarla (watch out for our interview with her this Wednesday, she’s a whole lot of awesomeness with a side dash of awesome sauce!) has named me one of her Inspirational Women of 2009 – I’m all a blush!

So, following in her inspir-o-girl footsteps, I thought it would be good to show a li’l love and gratitude to the people who make my life a whole lot sweeter…

Lindsey, Aimee, Me, Susie

My gal-pals - I LOVE them. Fact.

I never really used to be a girl’s girl, in fact up until about 8 years ago, most of my friends were boy-types – shhh, don’t tell them, but they’re ever such low maintenance – but what I didn’t know, that I do now, is that having gal pals makes life significantly better. Especially when they come in the shape of my friends, who I simply adore. They may be scattered across the globe – everywhere from NY, Glastonbury, Australia, Italiano, London, San Fran, Scotland – but to know they’re just a call or an email away, makes me happier than any Vivienne Westwood bag ever could…

Sarra and I

Sarra Manning – Author girl, editor and my number one inspir-o-girl.

Why? Because when Sarra was Ed-girl at my all-time favourite magazine J17, she put up with endless emails from me asking if I could write for the magazine, to shut me up she gave me an internship, I was beside myself and got to write for at least 4 issues before it closed – that was nothing to do with me, btw – that was where my freelance career began – Sarra, you rule.

Leonie Allan – goddess.

Leonie’s lovely, beautiful and magical – she hosts creative e-courses that I LOVE, I did her her Creative Goddess e-course and it was totes bliss-kissed, she provides goddess guidance, creates ah-mazing art – I have a piece on the wall of the Pink Palace, and she writes an inspir-o blogginz that you should definitely subscribe to….yep, I’m a fan-girl. Her blogginz and gorgeous art make me smile happy smiles right from my heart – J’adore.

Poppy King – lipstick queen.

I am shame-faced that I only found out about Poppy and her lipsticks o’ loveliness last month. I bought her book Lessons of a Lipstick Queen purely by chance in a bookshop in Brighton, and I fell in girl-crush with her honesty, authenticity and total fabulousity – she started her own lipstick brand when she turned 18, because she couldn’t find any lipsticks that she liked. She wanted lipsticks that gave her the look of the 1940’s. Rich, opaque and filled with pigment. So… On a whim she found manufacturers to mix up some lipsticks, a business partner and the nerve to approach a few stores. It became a run away success! Obviously there’s a whole lot more to the story than that, so if you haven’t read it, go buy a copy now, you will be inspired – this woman is kick-ass.

Paloma Faith – lady o’ creativeness

Not only is she the creator of my favourite album of 2009, The Truth or Something Beautiful, she’s crazy talented, she’s kooky, she’s a li’l dorky, she’s funny and she wears the best outfits I have EVER seen. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

The Piperita Patties - best girl-band. EVER.

I LOVE their shouty, feel-good, sugar-coated lyrics, I LOVE that Miss Maria Luisa is one of my BFF’s, I LOVE them. Simplez.

Cathy Cassidy - Author-girl and cheerleader

I’m so lucky that my mentor is Miss Cathy – she’s a super-talented children’s author, she tells me everything is going to be alright when I think I might pull my hair out, she lets me stay in her tipi – I only lasted one night! And she’s one of the best friends a girl can ask for – I heart you CC!

There is simply not enough room for me to include ALL my favourites,  but rest assured Sassy Minx will be filled-to-the-brim with my inspir-o-girls ALL year! Care to share some love for your favourite ladies?