I've answered a few of your questions, so here's one for you. Are you familiar with Ayurveda, the natural system of medicine which originated in India more than 3,000 years ago? It is believed that the universe is made up of five elements, air, water, space, fire and earth which form three different doshas - the types of energy which circulate within our bodies with each being responsible for specific physiological functions. Before you dismiss this as new age nonsense, try out this QUIZ to identify yours (don't worry it's not a dodgy website, you don't need to provide an email address or sign up for anything). When Jon & I did it we found the results freakishly accurate.
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Any excuse to share a travel photo! Taken in Jaisalmer, the desert frontier town in Rajasthan, Northern India, January 2020 |
My dosha is Vata (air and space). I've got boundless energy, a restless mind and I'm very impulsive. I struggle with routine. My skin is dry, I have difficulty gaining weight and a light sleeper, often woken by dreams of flying. My hands and feet are always cold and I'm at my happiest in a hot climate. Whereas Jon's dosha is Pitta (fire and water). His weight rarely changes and he develops muscle easily, he's a good decision maker, quick to learn and inclined to be a perfectionist. He has trouble falling asleep but when he does he sleeps deeply and it takes a long time for him to wake up. Missing meals makes him grumpy.
It is believed that you can balance the negative parts of your dosha by exercise and diet (HERE). Whilst we don't follow the advice to the letter it's good to know that my inability to sit still or Jon's insomnia, isn't because we're broken, we're just imbalanced - hence the need to regularly take a break from our routine to relax and reset.
I'd love to know if your results were as accurate as ours.

And because I'm a verified airhead and easily distracted, I'm switching to a completely different subject. Here's Jacob out of hibernation and trundling around the lawn on Tuesday afternoon - Spring has sprung!
And green shoots mean that our
Nepeta is growing back and the garden is a haven for stoned cats, off their tits on cat mint. Here's William Woolberforce....
Not particularly interested in the Dreamies but loving a bit of fuss and very chatty. He's an intact tom but he's obviously used to people and doesn't exactly look like he's starving so I'm not sure we can steal him.
Beautiful Kitty from next door, totally out of it.
Just one day of charity shopping this week - but a good one despite it being the school holidays and everywhere being busy.
Clockwise from top left: Topshop leather bomber jacket; Stronghold, Los Angeles leather boots (currently on their website for $320); 1990s leather flying jacket; 1970s Italian military trench; 1970s David Stafford, London jumbo cord blazer; 1980s Daks all-wool jacket; Zara woven mini dress; Transmission leather waistcoat; Suede mini dress; 1970s suede blazer, tailored in Kowloon; 2 x 1980s wool jackets; Joe Browns embroidered jacket; Contemporary Biba fake snake belt; 1980s leisure shirt; 1960s gents mac; 1970s St Michael housecoat and a 1970s halterneck maxi dress.
And here are the keepers.....
Labelled by the charity shop as "Kid's toy" and priced at 50p, this V&A Museum owl brooch depicts the consort of Athena, the Greek goddess of battle strategy and wisdom. With all my hair brooches are pretty much lost on me but I could always pin her on my hat.
Obsessed with all things suede, I couldn't resist this huge bag (£4), it's been on my arm ever since I bought it.
Unopened beauty products both priced at £1 - Australian brand, Frank, caffeinated hair mask which retails at £14 and Gatineau, Paris exfoliating cream which sells for a staggering £50. I'm almost hoping its utter rubbish and I'll hate it, I wouldn't want to buy it regularly at that price.
More snake-y stuff. This amazing bag was made in Italy by Nardelli and originally retailed at £395 - I paid £4.
Two mid-century Atomic cat vases.
Like I need another pair of boots! These are unworn with the H&M price stickers still on the sole and at £3 too cheap to leave behind ...and that's why, my friends, that I'll never be an minimalist!
Inspired by the one Claire wore on our Cotswolds day out (Claire's post (
HERE), I couldn't resist snaffling this peaked cap out of the charity shop £1 bucket, even if Jon thinks I look a bit gimp-ish in it.
The 66-piece capsule wardrobe is going strong (and now down to 64 garments as I've since donated a blouse and a waistcoat to the Kinky Shed ).
Last Friday: Zara embroidered blouse and Dilli Grey needlecord maxi skirt worn with C.Doux brown suede boots and a River Island felted wool hat (both charity shopped) for a morning of charity shopping and an afternoon of photography and eBay listing.
Saturday:
Dilli Grey maxi dress and a
Dilli Grey block printed jacket,
Monsoon fedora, a vintage 1930s
Liberty, London silk scarf and charity-shopped
Timberland boots for a day in The Cotswolds with
Claire, Gareth and Lord Jon.
Sunday: Vintage Anokhi blouse, vintage Kashmiri woolwork waistcoat, Fat Face jeans & Aldo fedora (both charity shopped) and snakeskin cowboy boots (Urban Outfitters, 2020, reduced from £95 to £12) for a trip to the clearance charity shop.
Monday: Topshop combats, turquoise necklace and Gap Indian cotton chambray blouse (all charity shopped), block printed waistcoat (Monsoon flash sale buy) for a morning of eBay listings, a root retouch and a blog catch-up.
Tuesday: Dilli Grey dress, retail-bought felt fedora (2018), Clarks Air Sole leather boots and Rawhide leather coat (both charity shopped) for swimming, breakfast in 'Spoons and an afternoon of mending & reading.
Wednesday: Vintage 1960s Louis Caring psych print maxi dress worn with The Jacksons suede boots & Reiss felted wool fedora (both via eBay) worn for a morning of Lidl & charity shopping followed by an afternoon of photography.
Thursday: Dilli Grey maxi skirt, Kharibu reversible block printed jacket, Monsoon fedora, M&S Heatgen polo neck (bought as a second from eBay) and a Medusa buckle belt (charity shop) for swimming, 'Spoons and an afternoon of chores.
Friday: Vintage Anokhi linen shirt worn with Levi's skinnies, River Island cap and Clarks suede boots (all charity shopped) for a morning spent sorting out the Kinky Shed and an afternoon of laundry and wardrobe sorting.
Thanks for the fantastic response to my skincare, make-up and fitness post (
HERE), I loved reading your replies. If you haven't already, it's worth going back and reading all the comments, there's some great tips.
PS: Tess and Louise from The Midlands - thanks for the questions on time management and diet. I promise to do a post on both very soon.
My lovely friend
Betty (who celebrates her birthday today) mentioned that I'd neglected to mention my nails so here's my rather extensive collection of
Barry M. Working in the catering trade meant painted fingernails were a no-no for years so I'm making up for all those miserable colourless decades now, it's rare you'll see me without my trademark Barry M nail paint, usually blue or green but as you can see, I've deviated in recent years and occasionally wear "normal" colours. I use Barry M's
Basecoat, Topcoat and Strengthener underneath and over the top and remove it with
Cutex. My nails are strong and grow quickly (which could be down to the Ginkgo), I've never had a professional manicure or pedicure and use clippers when they get too long, I'm hopeless with a nail file.
Thanks for reading. We're off to rebalance our doshas, see you on the other side!