MY NEW SANDRO BIKER JACKET

Hello everyone,

I have been on a hunt for a new leather jacket for quite some time but without much success.  I've tried heaps of them but because I have quite narrow shoulders, they all look bulky on me around this area. Then, one day while scrolling through the images on my computer screen, I came across a jacket that look so much different to everything I had seen so far that I immediately wanted to have it.

A quick visit to the link revealed that it was made by high fashion French label Sandro and costs a fortune.  However, the image of it has been on my mind ever since and every time I thought about this jacket, I wanted it even more.  

My only other purchase from this label was my blue and red stars jacket that I bought few years ago but still wear it a lot which draws complements every time I wear, so it was no wonder that I liked the leather one so much 😄.  One day I mentioned to my girlfriend how I had found the perfect jacket commenting about its high cost when she suggested that I should check Selfridges of London website.  

According to her, everything that she likes on Sandro or simiarly expensive brand, she compares it with Selfridges and it is always much cheaper and that's where she ends up buying her fancy clothes.  I don't normally shop and buy on-line, somehow it never looks as good in life as it looks on the screen, besides even if you don't have to pay for the postage on the point of sale, it's always the buyer who pays in case of a return that annoys me a lot.  However, I followed her advice and struck gold.  

Not only was it the change of seasons period and all the department stores were trying to get rid of the old stock in order to bring in clothes for a new season, but also being an overseas purchaser, I was exempted from VAT which in Britain equates to 20%.  Bottom line is - after I paid for the jacket and overseas delivery charges with the exchange rate which is not in the favour of $AU, I ended up paying half of what it would cost me had I chosen to buy it from Sandro.  The jacket arrived safely a week later all wrapped up and packed inside a big box and it looked as fabulous as I imagined.  

I tried to describe it for you but then I came across a description of it on the net which sound so poetic and says it all that I wanted to share it with you.  To be brutally honest, I couldn't have done it better even if I try.  

So here it is:  "Sandro uses this leather jacket to add a little rock’n’roll to its tailoring tropes. Structuring is a key element in the French label’s design and, like a tailor’s chalk, the raw, tarnished edging highlights these details – the coin pocket here, the thin, buttoned belt loops there, the buckle, the biker collar – taking your eye from point to point."

I can't explain how hugely popular the biker jackets are in Sydney at the moment especially among younger women.   Despite the fact that we are in the middle of summer season, they still wear it in the evening over the singlet or a t-shirt or even to the gym over their Lycra tops.

I also wore mine over a t-shirt but paired it with wide legged pants in a black and white houndstooth pattern and a pair of white sneakers that are also extremely trendy right now.

What do you think of it?

AN EXERCISE A DAY KEEPS WEIGHT GAIN AT BAY

Hello dear friends,

It has been awhile since my last post about our 2019 holidays.  Just a week after our return in late July, my husband had to go back to Cape Town to help move his ageing father into a nursing home and to dispose of the family home and all its contents that was quite a sad and stressful process, as you can imagine.  After spending three weeks in Cape Town he flew back to Sydney only to get on a plane a month later to see his father again.  By that time he was gravely ill and was taken to the hospital where he shortly passed away. Luckily, my husband arrived in time and was able to spend some time with his dad before it happened.  I couldn't leave my husband to go through the grieving process by himself, I jumped on a plane to be with him and provide him some support and comfort.  

 

Anyhow, life goes on and writing is a good distraction from sad thoughts.  This post was meant to go public as soon as I finished writing about our holidays and that's when these photos were taken so as you can see I have acquired quite a sizeable "spare tire" around my waist 😃 which brings me to the subject of today's post.

I am pretty certain that almost everyone who, like me, has crossed the 50th birthday line, apart from the few genetically blessed who can eat anything they want at any time of the day and never gain an ounce, would agree that with age it is getting more and more difficult to keep weight gain at bay no matter how much effort you put into it.  Despite the fact that many years ago I quit my sugar consumption, only drink tap or sparkling plain water, avoid any soft drinks, fruit juices and any other beverages containing sugar, cut out carbs significantly, reduced eating red meat and cheese and only treat myself to a good piece of cake every now then, the weight still keeps creeping on.  

 

They used to say that if you are watching your weight, 80% of weight loss is the result of a healthy diet and 20% is due to being physically active but, in my opinion, staying fit and active is much more effective way of burning fat and calories and the new studies show that regular exercising plays a far greater role in weight loss than a diet would back me up.  

 

Different things work for different people.  As for me, it's going to gym.  I first joined the local gym for a weekly Pilates class after the birth of my second child at the age of forty to tighten up my stomach and pelvic floor muscles but being a full time mom I could only do it once a week.  If you are not familiar with Pilates, it is a physical fitness system developed in the in the early 20th century by German physicist, Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named.  He developed his techniques while helping soldiers injured in WWI to restore, improve and rebuild their physical abilities. 

The main focus of this system is the core or “powerhouse" as some instructors like to call it and the exercises are built around straightening and tightening your abs aka as "six pack" as well as buttocks, thighs, lower and upper back.   Pilates also improves your posture, balance and the muscle endurance elasticity that is very important, especially in advanced age.  There are degrees of difficulties available for almost every move that allow you to work at your own pace and ability.  I've been doing it for over 15 years and am in an advanced class which is quite hard and requires a high level of endurance but I can feel great after the class and am pleased with the results.

 

The other fitness activity that I chose to do is Body Pump that I now do twice a week.  It is a weight resistance set of exercises that targets all the muscles groups in your body, toning and conditioning them while helping you to burn calories.  Studies show that regular resistance workouts help to prevent diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular health not to mention that it gives you confidence about your body and mind.  Think about how great you look wearing a tight sleeveless top knowing that your stomach is flat and the upper arms are toned.

Both activities help to sculpture, condition and maintain your body in a good and healthy shape for many years to come.  It is not just our face that needs lifting, it's our body too:  saggy boobs, soft stomach and muffin tops around the waist, flabby arms, knees etc and if you don't want to subject yourself to radical body reconstructive procedures that not only awfully painful but also extremely expensive but want to get your body into shape, my advice would be - join your local gym.  They offer a good number of group classes that you can choose depending on your level of strength and what you would like to achieve on what parts of the body you want to improve. 

If being surrounded by strangers makes you feel uncomfortable or you might feel intimidated by the ability of other participants, then you might consider having a private fitness instructor who would help you set your goals and the means of achieving them, get you to become familiar with the gym's equipment etiquette and will be there with you every step of the way.  You can find a lot of information about the classes on a gym's website.  They also regularly run an open day classes where you can meet the instructors face to face and get a taste of the classes that you might be interested in attending.  A good gym also offers some free trials before you sign the contract.

 

If you are looking for something less strenuous then weight lifting or high aerobics class, yoga is another world-wide popular fitness practice with huge amounts of benefits.  I personally prefer a Body Balance fitness class which offers a mix of Tai Chi, Pilates and Yoga and encompasses the benefits of them all.   Surely, if the gym is not your cup of tea, a good run, a jog or simply a long walk are all good and work towards improving your health and general well-being.  At the end of the day, the important thing to keep in mind, is that whatever physical activity you chose to do is better than doing nothing.

 

Stay fit, stay healthy, look fabulous and be happy.

I am wearing:  tights from Unigloo, Nike sneakers, B.O.D top, Sportsgirl jumper, Valley sunglasses

Until then

Anna

xoxo

TBILISI HIGHLIGHTS

Hello dear friends

According to the old adage everything that has a beginning has an end and so did our 2019 holiday.
After a couple of delightful days in Istanbul, we flew to our last destination Tbilisi.  Tbilisi is a capital and largest city of Georgia, one of the fifteen former republics of the USSR but currently is an independent country. 

Due to its location on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, it has always been a strategic outpost for many powers since its 5th century foundation. And because of that Tbilisi historically has been a home to people of many different cultural and religious backgrounds that you can still find today.  The country of Georgia stretches from the Caucasus Mountains down to the warm sandy beaches Black Sea and it's due to its unique position that Georgia is protected from the cold by the mountains from one side and warmed by the sea on an the other, the country is blessed with warm dry climate and very fertile land that is ideal for growing a huge varieties of fruit and vegetables as well as being highly diverse tourist destination.   From the beaches to mountain hiking, from wine tasting to enjoying the solitude at a quiet mountain retreat, there are plenty of options to have a great time in Georgia.

We landed at the Tbilisi airport in the sunny and warm afternoon and took a cab to our hotel.  We booked King Gorgasali hotel , a boutique hotel conveniently situated in Old Tbilisi overlooking the river and an old Narikala Fortress with a huge statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the founder of Tbilisi, on horseback.  Our room was decorated in an Art-Deco style with big claw bath taking centre stage in the main room and a lovely view of the fortress and a cable car.

As we were just about to unpack, there was a knock on the door and behind it stood a hotel staff member holding a tray with two wine glassed filled with dark red wine, courtesy of the house. 

He told us that the wine name is Kindzmarauli and was favoured by Joseph Stalin who apparently once served it to Roosevelt and Churchill at the Yalta conference in 1945.  He went on to tell us that Georgia claims to have invented wine and found artifacts which show an evidence of wine production for at least eight thousand years.   It tasted divine and closer to the end of our stay, we ended buying a couple of bottles of Kindzmarauli to take back to Australia.

It was quite early in the afternoon and we had plenty of time to get on the top of Hop-on, Hop-off bus to look around until dinner with some of our friends who, like us, also came to Odessa for big birthday bash and like us flew to a Tbilisi sojourn afterwards.  You can read more about our Odessa adventures here.  The bus took us around Old town and city centre and we liked what we saw.

The city centre has wide streets lined up with big leafy trees and elegantly looking buildings behind them and we were looking forward to see more of it later.  Our dinner was booked at a restaurant called Old Melnica meaning The Old Mill, hugely popular by the locals and visitors alike for its delicious food.  I have tasted Georgian food before and really liked it. 

Georgian cuisine is unique to the country but it also carries some influences from the other Caucasian countries, nearby Middle Eastern and Eastern Europe culinary tradition.  It is rich in meats and vegetables, very aromatic, flavoursome and very tasty and I couldn't wait to try its food again.   As we arrived a bit early, we had a chance to walk around and came across this big room full of smoke and wonderful aroma coming from the big charcoal grills where a few chefs were busy cooking meet for the hungry guests. 

Both, food and wine, as I expected, were utterly delicious and we all had very enjoyable evening.  As I mentioned earlier, it was the first time for my husband to come across Georgian culture but as you can see from the photo below he took it really well trying to look like a local 😍.  During the dinner I asked my friends about their time in Tbilisi and they told us about the local tour guide who was with them the day before and highly recommended that we should contact him too.  We did and luckily for us he was totally free the next day and agreed to spend it with us.

The following morning our tour guide, came to our hotel to pick us up.  Since we saw most of the city centre and old Tbilisi, we asked him to take us further afield.  The first stop that we went to was the Holy Trinity Cathedral.  Commonly known as Sameba, it is the main cathedral of Georgian Orthodox Church.  Build between late 90's and completed in 2004, Sameba is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world.  It symbolises the spiritual and and national revival of Georgia and the money for its construction came predominantly from private citizens and businessmen.  The Cathedral consists of the nine chapels, all of which, quite unfortunately, were closed.

 

The next point of interest that our guide wanted to show us was Chronicles of Georgia "Stonehenge-like" looking monument located on the hill about 20 minutes drive away from city centre, its tall and dark magnificent structure could be seen from afar.   The monument is also know as Historical Memorial of Georgia and was erected to celebrate 3000 years of sovereignty of Georgia and 2000 years of Christianity in Georgia.

As we wondered around sixteen massive 35 meters tall black pillars, our guide explained to us that the top half of each pillar depicts the lives of kings of Georgia while the bottom part is dedicated to depict stories from the life of Christ.  The whole monument looked very impressive but despite the proportions of the pillars, we didn't feel dwarfed but rather quite spiritual.

We descended the stairs back to our waiting car and sped off to our next stop - Jvari Monastery.  It was not the only one monastery that is worth visiting of course, but it was the closest to the city, just 20 minutes.   Jvari Monastery was a Georgian Orthodox monastery build in the sixth century near Mtskheta, one of the oldest cities in Georgia and its former capital and together with the other historic structures of Mtskheta is listed as the World Heritage site by UNESCO.  It stands on a mountaintop at the confluence of two rivers and commands a spectacular view over Georgia's country side.

The architecture of Jvari church is so different to what we expect from the church, it is very clean and simple and from afar you get the feeling that it formed from the mountains thus becoming a perfect example of harmonious blend of man made structure and Mother Nature.

It was early evening when we made our way back to Tbilisi but before we said good buy to our highly professional tour guide, we asked him to drive us to the top of the Naricala Fortress that we saw from our hotel.  As we stepped out of the car, we came across a massive statue called Katlis Deda meaning "Mother Georgia" that was built in the 1950th to celebrate 1500 anniversary of Tbilisi.

This spot commands an amazing view over Tbilisi and attracts a sizeable crowd of people climbing over here to watch the sunset.  It was almost dinner time when we jumped into cable car that took us down right across from our hotel.  It was time to say goodbye to out guide and thank him for sharing his knowledge and passion about his country and people who live here.

We didn't make any particular plans for our last day in Tbilisi and since we were facing a long and quite exhausting flight back home the next day, decided to take things slow.  We spent our morning packing and then went out to wander around souvenir shops to buy gifts for the kids, big and small, then took a cab to have lunch at place called Keto and Kote that was mentioned in a travel section in our local newspaper as a "must try".  

The place turned out to be even better in real life then on paper.   We chose our table outside and were rewarded by the lovely view spread in front of us.  Both, the food, which is modern take on traditional Georgian dishes, and wine were sublime, the wait staff were very helpful and highly professional and we couldn't ask for a better way to spend our last day on this hospitable land.  

We declined the taxi service and instead took a winding path down the hill that brought us to Shota Rustaveli Avenue, the central avenue of Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet.   It is very elegant.  A lot of government, business, public and cultural buildings line up along both sides of this  main thoroughfare, their magnificent facades and elegant architectural features make you feel that you are visiting one of the old European capitals.  

 

As we walked down the avenue towards Freedom Square,  I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the major department stores and designer labels have their presence there.  I wasn't very keen to shop in Zara or H and M as we have these clothing behemoths in Australia but I couldn't miss to do some shopping at Massimo Dutti as their clothes is not available in Australia.   

We passed Federation Square and found ourselves back in Old Tbilisi, the streets become narrower, the buildings smaller, older and a bit shabby and the small hip clothing boutiques and artisan shops replaced department stores.  

We stopped at one of the wine cellars and bought a couple of bottles of Kindzmarauli wine that we had tasted on our arrival to take back to Australia and then continued walking all the way to our hotel where we had our last dinner and then went to our room to finish packing and had an early night.   

And that is all, our 2019 holiday was officially over.  Hope you enjoyed reading my narrative and if you missed a post or two, you can always find them on my page.  Please do tell me what you think about what you read and if want to know more or have some questions, please contact me either via a comment box or via my email annamarcus@optusnet.com.au.  I will more than happy to help.

Until then

Anna

xoxo