Thursday 10 April 2014

Amor caecus est | No comments:



 









Travelling in Style
 
 
"Love is Blind" is a phrase that led me into a deep trail of thought...what does this mean? I am sure it means something different to everyone. Some may see this as falling for personality and not for looks or that love may fall within a danger zone (aka falling for your best friend) where you fear too much to admit it to them or to yourself; or even that we are blind to noticing something or someone.

Whilst I can admit that I can be blind to many things especially love, I was most definitely not blind to this beautiful landscape. So barren yet riddled with history and well, whilst there's not much if NO life (hence the Dead Sea) I felt more alive than ever. Whilst my legs were screaming at me to rest, all I wanted to do was climb this gigantic mountain and explore the history that lies dormant... Call me mad, but in life all the best people are completely bonking mad, including me! Whilst we did trek across the vast landscape, we did in fact opt for the cable car ride to the top rather than the snake path as I am not sure I would have survived. Literally it looked deadly as in people have ACTUALLY died.

At the top of Mount Masada you can see right across the desert with the Dead Sea stretching on for miles; Jordan is situated on the other side of the Dead Sea, a place I hope to one day visit with the 'Lost City' in Petra being on my Bucket List of things to see. I have never been in a desert nor to the top of a mountain like we did so I loved every single second of it. My father arranged for us to be chauffeur driven around for the day by the lovely Moni, not only did he give us a private guided tour at Mount Masada, he also took us to the Dead Sea where we all enjoyed lunch and I later indulged in a bit of a spa day (post to follow).

With the scorching sun and baring desert heat, I opted for a grey wash denim skater skirt with my 'Amor cauecus est' vest top, with a Gilly Hicks bralet underneath. I picked this A-line skirt up in Oxford Street on the Sale Rail in H&M for a mere £6..winning. Issue? My hilarious if not painful sunburn that covered my legs. As you can see in many of my photo's it looks as though I am wearing high socks...all my fault due to the fact I forgot to apply suncream on the day of the Marathon. IDIOT. TBH when you are waking up at 4am (usually the time I am coming in after a night out) you aren't really thinking straight. I was so nervous about the race that this honestly didn't even cross my mind...yet I look back and laugh and think it is my mark of victory slash I am now peeling and totally regret this! Gross, tights it is!


'Amor caecus est' Vest Top - Tea and Toast for Topshop
Grey Denim Wash Skater Skirt - H&M
Navy Lace Bralet - Gilly Hicks
Leather Converse - Converse
Frilly Socks - Topshop
Sunglasses - Bvlgari
 
Bea {x}



Tuesday 8 April 2014

The Sartorial Doll Goes The Distance... | No comments:

Yeah so... that happened, I totally ran my first ever marathon at the age of 20 and with my Dad..Cute!!!!! This is a much delayed and needed blog post, completely un-fashion related and in more ways a diary entry if such. On the 19th March I travelled to Israel to run one of the toughest Marathon trails in the World, with lets say around 60-70% of the course being UPHILL...literally death. With 20 degree heat, porcelain skin and the absence of suncream, I pretty much became a lobster in the space of 4 hours and well I looked like an idiot, but lets call it a mark of my victory!




Where's Bea?
 
Running 26.2 miles in the searing heat was honestly the toughest challenge I have EVER had to overcome in my life, and trust me there's been a few in the past. The gradient differential at the London Marathon is minus 36 metres (you finish 36 metres below where you start - it is effectively a downhill run), however, the Jerusalem marathon has 26 hills giving a differential gradient of 538 metres, making the Jerusalem Marathon the extreme City Marathon. WANNA TRY? The first half for me was fine until I reached 18K where I suddenly felt dizzy and unwell which lead to me hitting 'the wall' far earlier than I had ever anticipated. As disorientation and tears kicked in I felt so lost - however this was not a battle I was ever going to let myself lose. Lesson taught - Mind over Matter. At around 22k I pushed through the wall and refused to stop, as the 10K race merged, I started running faster and faster as they sprinted through the old city of Jerusalem. Much of this is a blur as you genuinely become so disorientated at times...




After hours of despair I reached the blue carpet leading up to the finish line, I hadn't looked at a clock or stopped in what felt like forever and as I reached the finish line, the clock read 4hours 18 minutes... and oh my was that the most overwhelmed I think I have ever been. I was so proud, yet shocked and just relieved that this torturous event was over. The emotions running through me exceeded what I could handle and I just couldn't stop crying! Even to this day I can't believe I did it!! I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't run another marathon, but as an hour passed I was already planning my next event, starting with the Polar half-marathon in Norway, a race in the dead of the night beneath the Northern lights - now that would be breathtakingly fabulous wouldn't it? That feeling you get when you finish, is a feeling no Chanel bag nor Valentino shoe could ever give you - it's priceless (although I did run in my Bvlgari sunglasses...staying stylish even when running a marathon)

I DID IT! I RAN MY FIRST EVER MARATHON! YAY

The best part about it? My father and I raised over £3000 for Shalva, a children's charity in Israel helping change the lives of physically and mentally challenged children. I visited Shalva the day before the marathon and saw just how amazing the home is, creating a place for mentally and physically challenged children to play and smile and love. Their passion and love for life through their difficulties is beyond inspiring and I feel blessed to have been able to raise enough money to help make more changes. When I felt like giving up, I remembered how inspirational the children of Shalva are and I know that they would never give up so why would I?

Bea {x}