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If things have been a bit quieter than usual the past few weeks, it’s because I’ve been working hard on a number of freelance projects – all of which will be revealed soon. One of the great projects I’ve been working on is Witness My Revival, a new blog to celebrate the launch of Lucozade Revive. Next week it will be my turn to guest edit the blog all week, so keep your eyes peeled as I’ve got some great posts lined up!
p.s. Revive are one of the sponsors of the Christian Louboutin Retrospective at the Design Museum, and I’ll be able to give away some tickets to the exhibition on here soon. And maybe even some yummy Revive if you’re nice. To be continued…
Despite the fact that most of my life is online these days, some things I like to keep private. My home is one of those things (mostly because it’s a massive mess all the time), but the other day I finally cleaned up my little office and thought I’d show you where I work from every day.
As you know, I’m a freelancer, so I work from home. My office is in the basement of my home, underneath the staircase – it’s London, you gotta make the most out of all available space, after all. The space underneath the stairs was wasted and unused, so I decided to use it to the max – an “office” seemed like the obvious choice. It may be small and a little awkward but it’s perfect (despite the bruises on my head), and these days it’s filled with memories from my fashion life so far – from invites to drawings to USB sticks to books to pictures. I hope you like it!
P.S. It NEVER looks this clean. Ever.
Beautiful books I’ve never really read.
A reminder for when I start wondering why the hell I’m doing this.
Fashionable Diet Coke
Masks, invites and pictures of fashion events I can’t seem to get rid of.
My Liberty print “A” – the sloppy first try and a beautiful drawing of me from a Thomas Lyte event. 
Family snaps and my precious Chanel SS11 show invite
Will work for tips.
A Magic Eight ball – gives me all the answers I need!
Dim Sum basket filled with USB’s from events
Last week, I spent 5 days in the glorious countryside of Northamptonshire for a 5-day detox at Homefield Grange Retreat. After the excesses of the past few weeks, I decided it would be a great opportunity to start the year afresh, and this detox was the perfect way to kickstart a healthier lifestyle, so I headed to the rural retreat with my mom.
Homefield Grange is a small, dedicated facility based in the village of Rushton, just 1 hour from Central London, where the owner Suzanne and her staff spend 51 weeks a year doing exactly this. The detox programme is a holistic approach, combining a strictly controlled diet, treatments and exercise. Now before you think I just spent the last week being pampered, let me tell you – it was hard. The detox consists of 3 ‘meals’ a day: a juice for breakfast and lunch, and a bowl of soup in the evening. That all adds up to about 500 calories a day, and every day would include a long Nordic walk in the fields in the morning, and a yoga session in the evening.
We had a small group – around 6 detoxers, with a few more coming later in the week for a shorter stay – which made the experience more personable and friendly. Although it was mostly women, there was also a guy, and it’s a friendly environment where you can just hang out together in the living room in front of the fire, or hang out in your room, watching one of the many DVD’s to choose from. At Homefield Grange, everything can, not should. You make it whatever you choose to make it.
I’d been told the second day would be the hardest, and indeed, by Tuesday, my body felt like it was just shutting down. I was exhausted, had horrendous caffeine-headaches, and quite frankly, I was starving! I spent most of the day asleep apart from my treatments (including a colonic… let’s not go into detail, but actually a very interesting experience).
On Wednesday I woke up like a new person. The detoxing process was well and truly happening, I felt good in my skin and even did a gruelling 1 hour session with a personal trainer. I also opted for the intolerance and live blood test, which revealed some interesting things as to why I’ve probably not be feeling as good as I could in recent months (intolerances to wheat, dairy and… champagne!!!) In the evening there were talks, educating us about our bodies and digestive system, giving us the skills to continue living healthy after the detox. The good news is that, after a while, the hunger just disappears…
In the end, I lost over 5 pounds in under 5 days and since getting back, another 1.5 pounds. I feel great and ready for a fresh start, which includes a whole new way of eating. It feels like someone has pressed my reset button! This initial weightloss is a great starting point and motivator, and I really hope I can continue to embrace some of the vital lessons I learned whilst staying there.
Homefield Grange offers a range of programmes – a 3-day, 5-day and 7-day juice detox, but you can also opt for healthy food if things get a bit too hard. The food and juices are 100% fresh and personally tailored to your needs – so if you just can’t stand the thought of drinking things like beetroot, celery or cucumber, they’ll make sure there’s an alternative for you. Although in theory you could be doing the juicing at home, I think getting away from temptation and sharing the experience with other people who are going through the same thing makes this gruelling process a little nicer. It’s a perfect opportunity to leave stress and work behind, mobile phones are not permitted in the communal areas (although there is wifi, thank god! This girl would have gone crazy otherwise… :)
Although 5 days was more than enough for me (don’t think I could handle 7 days!), I highly recommend it, even if you just go for the weekend, as it’s a great way to give your body a chance to recover from its daily stresses. I can definitely see myself going back – something lots of people seem to do, as a few of my fellow detoxers had been there several times. It’s a homely and welcoming place with a lovely professional and kind staff.
I hope that I can turn my stay there into a real long-term success. I’ve already bought my juicer…
www.homefieldgrangeretreat.co.uk
Homefield Grange in the distance… 
Every meal comes with a full explanation of what ingredients were used, and why.
My home for the week (a deluxe room with ensuite, other options are available too).
On one of our early morning Nordic walks.
Teddy the dog. A legend.
***Alex was a paying guest at Homefield Grange Retreat.***
