Catherine

And so we start. We have found a builder/renovator we feel confident in and a kitchen design company that will work in tandem. It is with slight nervousness that the internal demolition will start this week and we are away for work! A friend is cat sitting and the builder has promised to send photos as he goes. Crossing our fingers that nothing major is discovered and that solutions are found. The previous owner had been in mourning for a long time and the apartment felt depressing and sad when we visited it. So many ornaments, awards and stuff.

I didn't have a clue as to what to write about this week as we are in the final stages of banks, signing, slow notaries and juggling finances. I just wanted to sit on the sofa and in doing that, I realised that other than the bed, this is where life happens. A sofa with two cats and a husband, cocktail at hand and criticising a poorly made crime movie. Doesn't everyone know not to go down to the basement and why don't they turn the lights on? Honestly! I digress. The sofa is probably the most important piece

We were lucky to have a friend get us free tickets in to the Cannes yachts and boats festival. A place where money meets toys. Aside from my personal opinion on this, it was interesting to talk to a salesman about Feng Shui and boat interiors. He pointed to a new design with sharp edges and decor, saying, "that will be dangerous on the water!' It was all poisoned arrows and angles and a lack of balance. His boat on the other hand was elegantly moulded wood paneling with soft corners echoing the Art Deco style. It seems that

We are finally here and have settled in to a rental apartment for the next three months along with two cats. The cats are proving to be even more adaptable than we are. They found a place in the sun - on top of the piano keyboard, next to the window and are fascinated by all the coming and going. The apartment has been Feng Shui-ed with mirrors and fully cleaned. Yes, there is a cleaner and no, it is not our place,  but here are some tips and tricks that have worked over the years. Just remember, it

The following week will be full of final moving logistics, a time when a stiff drink will be needed! Already, wonderful friends have rallied around, delivered goods, supported with food and generally kept us sane. Cocktails, top food and the Elvis movie one night with our Breakfast Club was a perfect end to days of managing processes both at work and home. We move to a rental apartment until our new apartment is renovated and, of course it will be checked out with Feng Shui practice!   Feng Shui First Even with short term rentals, use the Bagua map

Light is our key source of wellbeing and Vitamin D and there is plenty of it at the moment! As the hot summer continues, shutters are closed and curtains drawn. It can feel like living in a tent. Any walking ensures all body salts are lost at least once and people are over heating. August has already happened in July and here we are with another month of intense sun and the need to slow down to maintain some sort of balance. Ajhan Brahm says, "When the weather is hot, keep a cool mind. When the weather is cold,

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in"- Robert Orbin. He is right. No schedules or place we have to be when time slips by and it doesn't matter. Friends are visiting and a week of sand, sun and sea with an evening spritz is here.

“We need objects to remind us of the commitments we’ve made. That carpet from Morocco reminds us of the impulsive, freedom-loving side of ourselves we’re in danger of losing touch with. Beautiful furniture gives us something to live up to. All designed objects are propaganda for a way of life.” ~ Alain de Botton. This morning we sold a lovely wardrobe for a song. Lifting and moving pieces, unknown muscles were discovered and another part of our history was gone. Other furniture is on the market and it is a fascinating sociological experiment with enthusiastic messages and then silence,

As we continue with the heatwave, it is a blessing to have a cool dip in the turquoise sea late at night. During the day, people are eating fruit, drinking ice cold wine and realising that any elegance goes North, South, East and West. Our cats move around trying to find a bit of 'shade' by lying under a chair in the lounge and a small fortune is being spent on air-conditioning. As we go through the day, Pat Conroy's quote seems apt for any hot place, "Walking the streets of Charleston in the late afternoons of August was

"It's the table and the bed that count in life. And everything else we do, we do so we can get back to the table, back to the bed"- Marlena De Blasi. We are in the process of packing up again and will be taking our American bed. It is big with a wonderful mattress fit for a princess and a pea. It was 2010 and we were moving to New York. We had stayed one night in a tiny Holiday Inn and the next morning we asked what the brand was and immediately bought it and it is