a place to call my own. life of yablon now lives in a slightly smarter home…

my news is infinitely more exciting for me and simply a minor adjustment in your busy lives.  my blog has moved house.  it now lives (very happily – but early days) at the grown-up name-sake domain it justly deserves: www.lifeofyablon.com

no moving in gifts necessary but do drop by to read, enjoy, comment, baulk or just smirk.

 

behind these secret doors…

Forbidden territory brings out the curiosity in me. Behind the closely guarded entrance doors of 26 South Audley Street, lies a world I am not invited to.

http://www.culturecompass.co.uk/2012/01/23/harrys-bar-review/

mascots over the rainbow

Smaller version of Him has been talking about ‘mascots over the rainbow’ for weeks.  Having no idea what he has been referring to (and based on the fact that he is often talking about his imaginary friends and life in his very own private world) we have smiled politely.  Now we get it; Wenlock and Mandeville are the London 2012 Olympic mascots. We have just sat down to watch Michael Morpurgo’s charming 5 minute screenplay.  The promotional film tells how these funny looking creatures were made from left over droplets of the steel used to build the Olympic stadium.  Very cute and very clearly aimed at exciting the kids about the Olympics.  Just watch out for the pester power.

beauty boo-boos

In general, I think we all look a great deal better than we did in our 20s. Recently, when moving house, I found some shocking pictures of myself after university. Big frizzy hair, even bigger eyebrows and a terrible habit of wearing overly-baggy clothes.

Read Belle About Town to find out what were the faux pas of  2011: http://tinyurl.com/7u7cl25

 

A girlfriend marriage

Someone once told me that if you have to work hard at keeping a relationship going, the friendship is false. I don’t agree at all. Kooky Cook and I have not had a second to catch up on our Christmas breaks, current projects and life as we live it.  Today we did and as we updated and downloaded simultaneously, I realised that our girlfriend friendships need the love and attention we, at least, try to give our marriages.

David Cameron has ‘revealed’ (via the trusty source, Now magazine) that he and Sam Cam need a date- night each week to keep their marriage sane. There is no revelation there, we are all too aware of the need to prioritise our partners – but what about those girl-friendships or lad-mates?  They also need our time and affection.

 Kooky Cook and I feel better now; we have laughed, whinged and debated over strong coffee. But mental note on my part not to let the girlie side down. It’s who we are and, crucially, there’s no marriage to stop it from falling apart.

G&T anyone?

Feeling no need to January detox, the Red Head and I learnt how to make our own gin on Portobello Road.  http://www.westlondonliving.co.uk/bars

Facebook etiquette: excuse me, would you mind awfully if I poked you?

In a week where Mini-Me has learnt how to address the Queen correctly as she drops her a note to express her excitement of the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee, I am wondering about the etiquette of Facebook.

Are we foisting personal information on our friends and acquaintances?  Or have we become consistently nosy about our neighbours and insanely curious about those we hardly even know?  All this amounts to a constant stream of noise as we tune into our parallel existence, the Facebook world.

Either way, here are my etiquette-obsessed observations:

1)      Zuckerberg created Facebook messaging for a reason.  We don’t all need to know everything so therefore the direct and private message facility helps to avoid over-exposure.

2)      If someone asks you a question in response to your status update, do answer them.  I am sure it is rude to just ignore them.

3)      Don’t ask someone you don’t know to be your Facebook friend. It’s just bizarre.  Walking in the park, you wouldn’t just go up to a stranger and ask them to be your friend.  Why do it on Facebook?

4)      Quite simply, why over-share? (she says with a self-indulgent blog)  Spice up your status updates.  Do we all really need to know what you had for breakfast?

5)      The eternally grumpy Facebook friend; we all have one.  Why can’t they just go and rant in a dark room instead?

6)      874 friends.  Is that really necessary or even achievable?

Navigating social situations in this virtual world can be downright tricky, let’s learn as we go….

2 definitions of a (dinner) party

(dinner) party noun

1. a social occasion at which guests eat dinner together.  Conversation topics include politics, cleaning lady, children’s accolades and husband’s work.  Canapés or crudités on offer before dinner is served.  Table plan reveal who your host thinks you might like to chew with.  Hostess smiles nervously as her menu is enjoyed/picked up or left on plate. Rude to leave before midnight.
2. a party where dinner is only the first course.  Noise level wakes up children sleeping upstairs. Shots on offer with salty nibbles.  Hostess entertains with food only as an accessory.  No table plan; dash for nearest chair feeling tipsy. Secrets revealed about children’s faux pas and hideous photos from the past are distributed.   Wild dancing, more shots and lots of falling over.  Memory loss ensures you can’t remember what time you left.

On your marks, get set…

I’m pretty sure that I’m not a shopping addict.  I have proof; department stores make me feel giddy, I find high streets uninspiring and I abandon many a basket online. But I will admit that my heart does flutter a little at the thought of a trip to a designer fashion boutique.  So it was no coincidence that my client meeting today finished in time for a quick detour before the school run.

Start London, on Rivington Street EC2, is one of my top 5 shops of all time. Owned and run by husband Philip Start and buyer wife Brix Smith-Start, the (now) three boutiques in close proximity are nothing short of a local institution. To find a range of high end and ultra trendy brands this extensive, you would need to visit Harvey Nichols or Saks 5^th Avenue.  Labels stocked include 3.1 Phillip Lim, Vanessa Bruno, Stella McCartney, Jil Sander, Karen Walker and Marc Jacobs alongside accessories by Miu Miu, shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood and some of the funkiest jewellery I have ever seen….

I was lucky enough to have a birthday voucher to spend (you know how clever you are, Friend).  I chose a brilliantly simple Alexander Wang jumper dress. One of my new year’s resolutions is to try not to wear jeans every day.  This dress, worn with tights and boots, will be an instant win to wean me off my ‘uniform’ look.

Take a trip east to check out Start’s cleverly edited clothing and its unfailingly charming and helpful team.  Tell them I sent you.

www.start-london.com

War Horse: a novelist’s dream

It is a quite outstanding tale to tell and no less outstanding for the author himself.

http://www.culturecompass.co.uk/2012/01/11/war-horse-a-novelists-dream/

And, here is my review of Spielberg’s film: http://www.culturecompass.co.uk/2012/01/09/war-horse-review/