33 Things

Sunday was my birthday, I turned 30 *ahem* and-a-few-more… and I thought that it was the ideal opportunity to open up and tell you a bit about myself. So here goes nothing!

1. The only perfume I’ll wear is Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey Eau de Parfum. I’ve been wearing it for 17 years now and recently massively freaked out when I was struggling to find the EDP any time I passed through duty free (the EDT will do at a push, but it totally doesn’t smell the same…) I have since been reassured that it hasn’t been discontinued (but I’m still tempted to buy in bulk to be on the safe side.) Possibly you could accuse me of being unadventurous and set in my ways, but hey – I likes what I likes.

2. I passed my Grade 8 trumpet exam (but haven’t really played it since – which I’m pretty devastated about) and was a complete band geek at school; big band, orchestra and choir (even though I can barely sing a note…)

3. I suffer from terrible stage fright (which probably contributed to me no longer playing the trumpet) and any kind of performance or public speaking (no matter how informal) leaves me shaking.

4. I’ll eat pretty much anything – with the exception of tripe and baked beans (truly the devil’s creation) and maybe weird crunchy bugs/scorpions (although I’m not completely ruling it out)

5. Following on from point #4 – I am a massive foodie, eating out and cooking (and drinking) are pretty much my favourite things to do and where most of my disposable income goes (read: is the reason that I don’t have any savings).

6. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would probably have to be pasta! No, wait – cheese… No, pasta. Okay – pasta with cheese. Seriously though, creamy, cheesy pasta makes me ridiculously happy, especially when served with a generous dusting of freshly cracked black pepper and a chilled glass of white wine.

7. Still on the food topic – I am totally missing my sweet tooth! Which is fortunate as I already have far too many vices (yes cheese and wine, I’m talking about you… again…)

8. I’m a perfectionist – but to the degree that it hampers me in every day life since I don’t like to try or show anyone something unless I know that I’ll be good at it… I like to be good at things! This is something that I’m trying to work on and any advice is much appreciated.

9. Conversely to point #8, I’m hugely messy. I don’t mean to be, I’d love to be tidier (and my husband would love that too) but I just never seem to have enough time/have too many clothes, handbags, shoes/not enough storage space.

10. I am the typical Taurean – passionately loyal with a love for food and the finer things, creative, reliable, stubborn and utterly bull-headed. Anything you’ve ever read about a Taurus female is likely 110% true for me.

11. I’ve been with my husband for 8-years and married for three – he’s my best friend, my favourite person and there’s no one I would rather be on this crazy adventure with! You can read a little more about us (and see a few wedding pics) here.

12. I’ve been living in the BVI for 10-years, straight out of university. It was the age old story – girl meets boy – boy convinces her to move across the Atlantic – boy breaks up with girl – girl decides to stay anyway because she’d made so many friends… 🙂

13. Speaking of university I studied Italian and spent a year attending L’Universita Di Pisa, living in Tuscany.

14. I’m the biggest wimp. I shut my eyes (and cover my ears) and hide under the dogs during scary movies.

15. Speaking of the dogs – we have 3! My sweet old Roxy girl (who we think is nearly 13 – she was an adult when I got her) and the 70lb wuss that is Oscar. We also recently took on a new rescue Pit-mix that we named Bruno, we think that he is about 2 years old. Sadly he was starving and pretty poorly when we got him but he is getting so much better! You can see more of their Caribbean adventures on my Instagram here.

16. I’ve never managed not to cry at a wedding… and not polite, pretty, dainty tears! Big, ugly, dribbly crying which is pretty embarrassing when I’m sobbing my way through their vows as a bridesmaid. (Recently this reached new frontiers when one of my best friends sent me the video of her wedding ceremony and I cried my way through that too).

17. I’ve been a bridesmaid 7 times, three times as a child and four times as an adult.

18. Weddings are one of my favourite things and when I finished university being a wedding planner was my chosen career – buuuuut then I moved to an island and got sidetracked…

19. I have a pretty big phobia of sharks – which can limit the amount of fun I have swimming/snorkeling around my tropical island.

20. I have zero hand-eye coordination and can’t play tennis (or any other racket sport) to save my life. I am not good at this.

21. I suffer from chronic resting bitch face – sooooooo many times people have met me and confessed that they thought I hated them or was really grumpy/unfriendly… I’m not, I promise… (except maybe if you wake me) which brings me to…

22. I could sleep professionally – I’m just waiting for it to become an Olympic sport or something that would legitimately pay by the hour… any amount of light, movement, noise or crowd – I can sleep! I am nearly impossible to wake. I am seriously talented at sleeping… zzz

23. I love, love, love to travel – in the last couple of years I’ve finally woken up to the fact that travel is truly the best thing that money can buy. Sadly it doesn’t stop me from buying expensive handbags… but I’ve started prioritizing experiences and trips with my husband.

24. I squirrel away interesting facts and trivia which means that my brain is full of useless information but also means I’m quite good at pub quizzes.

25. I’m fiercely independent and have been since childhood (sorry Mum!) – I can and I will change that tyre (in white jeans and heels, if necessary – yes, that happened) or that fuse, I can (but often forget to) check my oil and I will figure out how to get most everything done (even if it involves a quick Google first) but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate a helping hand from time to time.

26. I have terrible taste in television. I’m currently mid-way through a Grey’s Anatomy marathon (it had been 9 years since I had last seen an episode so you can only imagine how many I had to catch up on…) and it is driving my husband mental! (Sorry. Not sorry.) When we first met it took him a couple of years to successfully wean me off KUWTK… and I like to binge watch Come Dine With Me and First Dates until my eyes bleed. I’m fascinated by the dynamics between people and with relationships.

27. I love to people watch! When I lived in Italy one of my favourite past times was grabbing a coffee, sitting in a sunny piazza and watching the world go by. I do it here too, except now it’s a beach bar… I get this habit from my mother!

28. I taught myself basic sign language – including the alphabet and some very random words and phrases… swimming costume, orange juice, umbrella… It’s safe to say I won’t be holding any long conversations any time soon.

29. I’ve been wearing my cat-eye eye makeup (and using the same brand of eyeliner) for half of my life.

30. I’m rose gold obsessed! I think I (and everyone around me) was hoping that it was just a phase… but I’m fairly certain that it’s here to stay… what can I say? I’m just that basic!

31. Professionally I work very hard at taking care of other people’s life admin, their travel, their plans, their renewals, their deadlines. It requires me to be very organised and juggle a lot of different things. Personally I am exceptionally bad at taking care of my own life admin, recently letting my passport expire for an irresponsibly long time, losing my marriage certificate etc… (it’s not actually lost, it’s just in a really, really, really safe place…)

32. I use the phonetic (military) alphabet daily.

33. I have one baby sister, who I adore! I am lucky to have the most wonderful supportive family, who give me both roots and wings. But I do miss them terribly! Though we’re now scattered across the globe (and across many time zones), I know that they’re only a phone call away. Plus, now we have a few exotic places to meet up!

So there you have it – 33 things that you probably didn’t need to know about me! But now you do…

Any little idiosyncrasies that you can share that will make me feel better about being quite so weird?