I woke up this morning crying – this week has been a complete doozy for me – all sorts of unexpected, not-nice surprises, and, it seems, life’s not been too easy for the people I love around me too, not to mention all the awfulness that’s happening in the world – phone hacking, financial crisis, the death of those innocent young people in Norway, famine in Africa and the loss of an incredible talent in the amazing Amy Winehouse – what upsets me most about the latter is that on social networking sites, I noticed a lot of discussions going on as to which is worse – the death of 90+ innocent people or the death of a celebrity. I don’t think we should compare or discuss but just acknowledge that the death of anyone is a very sad time and respect the feelings of ALL the families and friends involved… It’s all left me questioning; ‘Where is the love?’

Seriously…where is it? The beau whispered in my ear this morning that amongst all this crazy world of angst and pain, it’s even more important that we share our gorgeous love stuff with the world by loving even harder than we already do, he’s not only a hot viking, he’s beyond wise too, which is why this week I’m even more determined, in amongst all the not-niceness to find some juicy, juicy strawberries, moments o’ beauty…

Belly dancing – so, I have a substantial belly and thought this was all I would need to become a slinky belly dancing queen, turns out you need killer core muscles and rhythm – and right now, I have neither. Boo. It was SO much fun though, my teacher specialises in Tribal Fusion belly dance and it’s totally kick-ass, feisty and so cool, and with practice, I think I might get reasonably good at it! It’s such a fun way to work out – my thighs are STILL aching and the class was on Thursday! The beau seems very enthusiastic that I continue with these classes too – can’t think why?!

Women, Food and God – This book is amazing. I finished it last night, but have just started it over again because I know there’s still so much to learn from it. It’s as if author, Geneen Roth, has got inside my head, unscrambled all the crazy emo thoughts I’ve had around food and made some sense of them all. It’s a sad fact for so many of us that we believe happiness is waiting for us once we reach size 10, 8 whatever. Geneen Roth writes honestly and her story is one that resonates with so many of us. If you want to break free from all of your false preconceptions of who you are and stop beating yourself up for not having the perfect body, buy this book. It’s really changing up my thinking – I am now a total Geneen fan-girl. Every women should own this book. Fact. http://astore.amazon.co.uk/sassy06-21/detail/184983301X

Girl time - This weekend I needed to escape, so I took time out to spend with my mumma, it was much needed fun and I got fed yumz, watched crap TV, read magazines, sat in the garden and baked cakes – it was delicious and love-filled.

Burlesque Bible – I HEART this new magazine. Burlesque Bible celebrates the world of burlesque in its entirety: Embracing the Taboo, Fashion & Films, Corsets, Lingerie, Hair & Make-up, plus interviews with Dita Von Teese, Immodesty Blaize, Dixie Evans, Tempest Storm plus more artistes of the past and present. It’s pretty, it’s beautiful and makes me want to whip out a pair of nipple tassels, pronto!

Watching the beau do olden days – I love how passionate the beau is. I LOVE seeing him rock his stuff in his dark age ensemble, interact with an awe-struck 9 year-old who has a million questions about spears and helmets and re-enact a battle with his boy pals to woops and cheers from the crowd. I do love that dude, have I mentioned that?

Amy Winehouse – I don’t want to discuss how tragic her loss is, how damaged she may or may not have been, and how angry I am about the reaction of some to the death of someone with an addiction, I think Russell Brand does that far more eloquently than I ever could here, what I do want to do is celebrate her awesome, incredible talent. I was super-lucky to interview her at the launch of her album Frank, I was in complete awe of this kick-ass, curvy Jewish girl who made my heart literally hurt with her songs of heartbreak and Frank is still one of the most incredible albums you will EVER listen to. Which is why I am, on repeat. Love and beehive hair-do’s to you, Amy.