Blisters

This is my feet situation after a day of work - all the other 7 models had similar feet situation. But I think mine were slight worse because the day before I went to an art exhibition and had the stupidest idea of wearing heels. Now I regret it. To add to my collection of blisters - yesterday's client probably, most likely, got the cheapest heels they could find.  And those heels were definitely not made to be marching all day.  **I love how they care about us**
My blisters will take a bit of time to heal until then... no heels for me. :(

Anyway, here are some great tips on how to prevent your feet to get blisters and if you have them, how to treat it. By WikiHow.

Blisters develop from friction. Typically your toes experience high friction when things are wet, hot, or dirty. So to avoid blisters you will want to reduce friction and keep your feet clean, dry, and cool.

Prevention

- To minimize rubbing, you will want a thumb's width between the shoe and the end of your toes.
- Choose the right socks. Layering 2 socks can reduce friction. Similarly, wearing polypropylene or other synthetic wicking fabrics that remove moisture will help.
- Consider applying tincture of benzine to harden your skin. Similarly try walking barefoot around your home and in safe outdoor areas to toughen your soles.
- Apply lubricant such as Body Glide. Petroleum Jelly also works great!
- Stay dry by applying foot powder, talcum or corn starch. If your socks get wet, change into a new pair.
- Prevent rubbing by putting skin covers such as mole skin, second skin, blister blocks or zinc oxide tape over the areas which are prone to blisters.

Treatment

- Clean around the area of the blister with warm water and soap.
- Decide if you want to let the blister heal by itself or whether you want to drain it. If the blister is not making walking painful, then you should let it heal by itself.
- If it is impractical to let the blister heal, treat it by draining it. Start by sterilizing a needle with alcohol or boiling water, or use a pre-sterilised medical hypodermic needle.
- Apply some povidone iodine antiseptic to the blister site.
- Cover the blistered area with a gauze bandage, plaster, mole skin or other protective cover.
- Allow the blister to heal in the open air as much as possible.

Artificial relationships

How many fake friendships do you have?

I keep forgetting who are the ones you can really rely on. I'm tired of 'fake friends'. I want REAL friends.

Modernization has made lots of people to become selfish and the only thing they would care in life would be their own well-being.

Maybe I'm over thinking this...but friendships in today's time and age - its a constant competition of who is wearing the most expensive shoes, who knows the most famous people, how much did you earn last month.... and so on.

I'm so sick of it! 

I guess you just got to deal with this kind of people, and accept the fact that not everyone in life is going to stay true.

God of the impossible

Yes, that's my God.

He makes the impossible become possible. I trust my Lord Jesus Christ will turn things for the better in my life and in the life of my beloved ones, so that His name can be glorified and honored around the world. And all man will see and realized that He exists and He is very much alive.

Even in time of tribulations, we must glorified His name. We must seek His face. We must call after His name.

I believe in His promises.

That's why Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour - I give to you all my problems and doubts that come to my mind and I will leave to You, to find a solution for them. Because your ways are better than mine. Your plans are higher than mine. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amem


And as Pastor Fabio Rodrigues preached last Sunday. Jesus used the natural to show us the supernatural. Luke 18: 1-8

Pray ALWAYS!
NEVER give up! 

Taxes = legal stealing

I hate paying taxes, it's a robbery! The only thing that differentiate is that this one is legal.

I have just got an email from my accountant (a work colleague already told me she is ripping me off with her monthly fees), and the amount goes waaaay over of what I was expecting.

I'm so upset right now, because in the back of my mind I was thinking: alright, deducting 20% of all my payments I will have a bit of money saved when my tax payments is due. But reality is the completely opposite. I still need to add more money into the tax money account. Sad sad sad.

I don't think becoming a self employed was a good idea after all...

Yesterday I was shooting for Look magazine for the Catwalk section.
I loved my hair style, made by Keith from Australia. I kept taking pictures from all angles so I will know how to do it on myself. On the first shot the stylist didn't like it and asked Keith to change it. *boooo

So we change for this. Still very nice hair style but the 50's feeling from the first one makes it a winner. No?

Le bigodon

"I will tell you, Gabi. Don't worry I will tell you!" That's what my boyfriend said to me the other day while entering the room. I looked at him with what the heck are you talking about look. And with a cheeky smile on his face he said: "You know... when you grow old and start growing la moustache, don't worry I will advise you to do something about it." And after that he burst into laughing and so did I. And then almost instantly I replied:"Humm... but I won't have it any because my grandmother doesn't have and neither my mum, so nothing to worry about on that department."
I kept quite for a couple of minutes and happily I told him that will notify when he start growing hair on his ears. His face expression went from smiling to cheerless. As I kept staring at him trying to understand why all of the sudden isn't funny anymore. In a sheepish way he said:" I have already..." *I'm laughing so hard at this moment* He also admitted that he has plucked a few already. LOL.

Flash backs: I remember my teenage years hanging out with my sister's friends. Ohh man, always felt like we were in a comedy play. We would hang out usually in someone's house for a coffee and spend whole afternoon together. We would literally laugh non stop... One of the jokes we used to make was the story of a girl with la moustache or how we used to said le bigodon. And we would repeat this  signalizing with a finger in our upper lip every time we saw someone with le bigodon. haha

Tips for pretty nails

To maintain the softness and smoothness of my hands and feet I, whenever possible, let my nails soak in warm extra-virgin olive oil in a plastic container for 15 minutes. This prevents flaking and cracking. When I'm not working I try not to use nail polish, enabling my nails to breathe. If my feet are dry I will mix sugar and honey and dump it around my feet then I will put socks and sleep with it - my feet feel amazing the next day. Now a good trick if your nails are weak is to put 3 cloves inside your base coat nail polish, it works wonders. To help set the nail polish, apply white vinegar to the nail before the polish. Also, if you don't have much time to wait for your nails to dry properly, put them under cold running water after application - it will also prevent the emergence of air balls. Another great tip for long and strong nails is to soak the fingertips in a mixture of warm water and sodium bicarbonate for 10 minutes, once a week.

Credits

 

Dress from Topshop

Shoes from Chloe Green's new collection.

Photo by Rosana Ragazzi @ Covent Garden Hotel in London.

p.s: I do think the dress look a bit shorter than when I tried in the store. ops! 

ahhhh I know why... the heels! They are super super high.

London underground x London taxi drivers

I don't know which is worst, the consistency of delays on the underground, engineering works or bad taxi drivers. I've made a comparison and I got to a conclusion that both are the same and when you in a hurry the only thing to do is to hope for the best.

*Tube It can be faster when: they don't get stuck between stations, don't have signal failure, when people don't get sick, when people don't press the emergency alarm on purpose, or like the other week when central line was shut down in East London - because a pipe from the Thames burst and 2 million liters of water came down to the tracks.

Rush hours are dreadful. In the morning most of the time, you need to wait for 3 or 4 trains to pass by so you can squeeze in and very likely you will be inhaling someone else bad morning breath. In the evening, I don't know if is better or worse. I guess, it depends on the weather. If is cold, is not so bad. If is hot, Mama Mia, you pray you have enter the right carriage, with good ventilation. If its raining is not much you can do then to breath odor of mold and bad dry clothes. Argh!

Trains are so dirty and sometimes (most of the times) I check the seat I'm sitting in. I'm not being a freak or have a mysophobia. Who knows who's bottom was sitting there before I sat. Also, sometimes the bars to hold on to are so greasy is gross. I wonder if a study made on how clean is the underground? would take place one day - that would be very interesting.

*Taxis I usually take taxis when I don't see myself walking for 10 minutes to get the tube in sky high heels and when I need to get up extremely early in the morning to get to work. I'm all for taking taxis but I must confess sometimes taxis drivers, drive me up the wall. I get so irritated! Most of them, don't know how to drive at all and I wonder: How the heck did you get your driving license?

One time, taxi driver was so nervous I had to guide him to my destination because he had no clue on how to get there. And that was from a famous taxi company, you know the one with big white letters on the back, you see loads of them around London. Others, think they are in a Formula 1 race track, driving like a maniac, cutting the front of cars, cyclists, buses. I just close my eyes and pray for God to save me from any accidents.

One thing that always gives me car sickness (most of them tend to drive that way), is when taxi drivers use the break so roughly that makes me to nearly jump to the front seat. I got a taxi last week and he did that ALL the time we stopped in a red light. Grrrr drives me crazy! By the end of the journey he drop me in the wrong street and had to walk for nearly 20 minutes to find the restaurant I was suppose to meet my friend. Sometimes you think oh I will get a cab will be faster! That's when you are wrong.

Last time taxi driver showed up 40 minutes late and I managed to arrived ridiculous late to my friend's birthday dinner. Tube can be stressful but they get you there one way or the other. Taxis you have to rely on drivers ability to drive properly and also in the traffic. Difficult! Anyway, I think I've said enough about that and I've made my point clear? I hope so...

Here is a picture from my friend's birthday dinner at Downtown - Cipriani last Saturday. I got there 2 hours late due to my silly decision to get a taxi instead of the tube.

Girly night

Last night I went for dinner with my girlfriends - we went for Japaneses SO restaurant in Soho. I totally recommend it. I must admit, at the beginning I was a bit reluctant to go there. Because once I had a quick peek in the menu, I realized the food wasn't that cheap. And I wanted to go somewhere where could eat and feel satisfied and not leave the place still hungry. But my guesses were a bit wrong and I spend £26, and ate really well. The start of the night didn't started as planned as I was incredibly late (as usual) but I had a good reason for it. I met little George. Kris and Tim's new baby. He is so adorable- what a pleasure to have met him! I can't believe their wedding was just a year ago. Everything happens so fast. Life happens so fast.Crazy how time flies once you start to get older. I remember being a kid and used to wait so long for our school holidays. I always thought why time goes by so slowly? Now I wish time would go by just a little slower than usual. Anyway, that was the reason why I was so late for my girly dinner. And oh dear, what a night. It was so good to catch up with all of them! We laugh the whole night - literally. Love them!

Charley horses

Last night I was woken up by this terrible pain on both of my legs. I couldn't move at all and the only thing I could do was scream. I had no clue what was going on. As I started to scream to my partner I was in pain, I of course, woke him up. The pain went on for several minutes and it was so intense I started crying. Dom kept asking: "What is going on? Are you having cramps?" I had no clue. Because from what I know, you could only get cramps if you have been exercising way too much and not eating enough bananas (which is not my case, because I do eat banana every morning with my cereal). The only times I get cramps is when I have been using high heels all day long or back in a day when I used to exercise like a maniac. My right leg was the first one to come back to normal then after another extremely painful minutes, Dom said: "Stretch your leg!" And I managed to do so. The pain slowly went away. This morning I woke up and I can still feel my muscles a bit twisted on my left leg. I went to check online this abnormal thing that happen to me and I found out that what I had was skeletal muscle pain or also know as charley horses. Wikipedia explains it best,"Skeletal muscles that cramp the most often are the calves, thighs, and arches of the foot. Sometimes known as a Charley horse or corkie, this kind of cramp is associated with strenuous activity and can be intensely painful—though skeletal cramps can occur while relaxing. Around 40% of people who experience skeletal cramps are likely to endure extreme muscle pain, and may be unable to use the affected limb. It may take up to seven days for the muscle to return to a pain-free state."

BIG HAIR

Having your hair back combed is the worst night mare for a model. This picture proofs why....

First because will definitely give you split ends - even if you brush it after with tangle teezer. It doesn't matter how careful you are or how strong your hair is, it WILL break. Second the finished look is not always nice. Rarely are the times when the finished look is great. Besides the crazy amount of hair spray you inhale it's insane. You stay with hair spray taste in your month for hours.... So yeah, when I see hair stylists doing this to my hair I start to cry inside.

Need your vote

It has just been announced that my church Comunidade Evangelica Internacional da Zona Sul has been nominated in the two categories at the prestigious Brazilian International Press Awards. The awards ceremony – with editions in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom – celebrate the most active Brazilian communities outside of the home nation and are supported by the Consulate General of Brazil in London and Embassy of Brazil in the UK. Winners announcement will be on the 15th of August, a month before the awards ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 22nd September at the Hilton Canary Wharf, London. Voting is now open and will remain open until Wednesday 25th July. Please do take a moment to vote for us. Here are the following categories: 7) Show Brasileiro em Turnê - Aline Barros and 19) Instituição de Ação Comunitária - Comunidade Evangelica Internacional da Zona Sul. Click here to vote!

Great finale

And like that we come to an end of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Well done BBC news, brilliant coverage!

Picture by Imogenjc via Instagram

DIAMOND JUBILEE

The following Prayer, written at The Queen's direction by the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral for Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, was used in the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral today.

God of time and eternity, whose Son reigns as servant, not master; we give you thanks and praise that you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and Territories with ELIZABETH, our beloved and glorious Queen. In this year of Jubilee, grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God and in devoted service to her lands and peoples, and those of the Commonwealth, now and all the days of her life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Beautiful to see Her Majesty glorifying the one and only Lord Jesus Christ!

Diamon Jubilee Concert via BBC

I started watching when Shirley Bassey came on, so I had no idea that singers such as JLS and Cheryl Cole have performed. What were they doing there? Was it really necessary? That was a bit of a let down in my opinion, and from Her face expressions I'm pretty sure she didn't find it amusing. Were we celebrating Her 60 years as a Queen or was just to keep young generation entertained? Well, well... the cutest part was at the end, when Prince Charles personal tribute to The Queen and called her 'mummy.' I couldn't help but to be a little teary to see such affection between monarchs. It was clearly that Her Majesty was overwhelmed. Awwn. Now I understand why British people are so happy and proud of Her. She is a truly Queen. And is very unlikely that we will have another Queen like Her. One thing, that bother me the most was Cheryl Cole standing right behind the Queen at the final part. Every time the camera would show Her Majesty, Cole's smiley face would appear too. It looked like she purposely position herself to stay behind the Queen so she could be seen. What a contrast, a Queen next to a vain 'pop singer'.

Past jobs

One of my many PerUna videos I did last year while working for M&S.

Confession

Birthday tea party @ Covent Garden Hotel

As a journalist I know I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do, which is BLOGGING non stop. I realized that when my dear friend Claire text me the other day very excited about her blog. (Guys, please go and check it out! - you will love it.) Claire you've inspired me... So with that in mind, I thought: "Hey what about mine so called blog?" or "What am I doing to get my journalistic practices in action?" And because of that, I will give it another go. But this time around will be more personal entries and will try to document more of what I go through on daily basis. Hope you enjoy it! Lots of love G

60 seconds with

Ziad Khouri, a chief technology officer, 35, has lived in North London for over 20 years but is originally from Amman, Jordan. In his free time he enjoys going to concerts, museums, art galleries and practising MMA.


How long have you lived in North London?

I lived in Camden from 1977 to 1998, so, 21 years.


How was it back then? Has it changed a lot?

Yes. Camden used to be totally different. It was much edgier-home to various subcultures including punks, and graffiti artists. Also drug abuse was everywhere. It was raw, but also much more exciting. It first started to change when MTV and other TV companies opened their studios there. Now its been cleaned up and made more commercial.


What makes it so special?

Music. Lots of genres were born in Camden. Even today it has many excellent venues.
The market is the biggest tourist attraction in London by size, by profit and by number of people. The market has to be seen to be believe-It's huge and vibrant. There is nowhere like it in the world.


What are your best memories from that time?

My favourite thing would be to walk along the Regents Canal to the market. Its so green in some parts, you can forget you're in a city. I would walk along picking blackberries and checking out the new graffiti. Through the zoo and past the pirate castle! Then at the market I'd meet some friends for coffee and doughnuts before shopping for clothes and second-hand books. We'd finish the day with a pint or two and some loud live music.


Any places that still exist that would you recommend for us?

Trattoia Lucca: Serving excellent authentic Italian home cooking for over 30 years. I've been visiting this family run Italian restaurant since I was a child.
Cyberdog: Started in the early 1990's, this cyber-clothing label is a great example of the vibrant subculture scene. Check out their flagship store in Camden Market.
The Good Mixer: one of the few pubs that still have the 'old' Camden vibe. Not for the faint hearted!


If yes, do you ever go back there nowadays?

I go back a couple of times a year, usually to show visitors. Camden Town is really totally unique. It always feels good to go back.


Did you ever think of moving back?

I wouldn't move back. It was fun when I was younger, but these days I prefer things to be less hectic.

Dialogue with God

Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won't get mad
God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one
of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead bcuz the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm Sorry God
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...

There is still time! Get ready for Valentine’s Day… or not.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, people are often confronted with a mix of feelings. Those in relationships usually love it: they go out, buy presents, cards, flowers, and chocolates… Anyway, they celebrate in the best possible way. But those who are not dating anyone, can end up feeling lonely or left out. On the other hand, they feel happy for not having this commitment and end up celebrating with friends or what’s usually called a ‘singles night out’.
With this day in mind, I spoke with a few different people of differing ages to give you some good tips on what to (or not to) do for this so called ‘Day of Love’.
Chatting about this topic with a single male colleague led to a point where he said that his dreams were to have a partner, to get married and have a family. He couldn’t bear the fact that he was going to spend another Valentine’s day all by himself. Okay, fair enough you are lonely and all but this ‘couldn’t bear the fact’ sounds a bit desperate. I tried to cheer him up and encourage him to do things with friends, but instead he looked at me with a disbelieving look on his face as if I had said something outrageous.
Options to be with the loved ones, or with friends, are endless. In a city like London, the opportunities and deals are some of the best you can find. For example, you could go watch a famous musical like Chicago or Les Misérables.  Every booking made by the 16th of February gets a free night in any of the 3 stars hotel listed, and all tickets are discounted by 20%!
If you’ve ever said that you don’t know what to do for Valentine’s Day, you’re not trying hard enough. Everywhere you go to, either on the streets, or online, there is a flood of deals, packages and promotions.
Speaking to my friend Juliana, over a coffee at Costa’s recently she quickly answered: “Well, it depends on what you are looking for on Valentine’s Day really! If you want to get laid, bring your partner to Babbo restaurant, a good romantic Italian meal follow by a free glass of champagne then back to his or hers! Or, if it’s your first date and you don’t want to head home quite yet, go to Cuckoo club for a great night out listening to the latest hits on the dance floor.”
Actually those tips are not bad at all and I think I would fancy the first option. A night out for an Italian meal seems quite romantic and easy.
But what about those couples with babies and kids? How do they celebrate? Do they have time for that? For that answer I had to call my good friend Anna to find out. She just had her third baby and her life seems to be nothing but, nappies, baby food, overnight shifts, and crying… Needless to said she did laugh out loud and say: “What? Valentine’s day? I haven’t known what that means in years!” Fair enough, her life is completely different from 5 years ago where she and her husband had all the time in the world for themselves.
So if you are in a relationship, you are a single soul, or have a huge family to take care of, there is always something enchanting you could be doing with your loved ones, either a nice cooked dinner at home by candle light or a simple ice cream at Marina Ice in Camden. Staying in or going out doesn’t matter, as long as it is in the name of Love, it’s all-good.
 

Fake tan

After my 2 weeks holiday in Brazil over Christmas and New Year, I arrived in London with a super sunkissed tan-soooo nice! It has been a while since I last got a tan like that... People were complementing me and all... I looked healthier, I felt helthier even though I ate like a pig, drank lots of soft drinks and ate sweets 24/7.
As my super nice tan faded way (in this english winter wasn't going to last long) I had a 'brilliant' idea to keep my tan one way or another. So I rang the nearest beauty salon and made an appointment for a spray tan. 
Doing everything by the book,  I go for a body scrub first, apparently takes dead skin off and the fake tan last longer..
Oh God almighty!! 
Firstly, you stay inside a mini tent and follow the instructions (straight, legs apart, hand and fingers apart, arms up, arms down) while you get sprayed all over you. The thing that put me off from the beginning was the smell. It stinks!! Stinks like a male pee. Its disgusting. The worst is when she goes into your face and you get that smell right inside your nostrils. Beurgh... She ended up doing 2 layers of it. Oh boy!! I had a super strong tan lines even stronger than the tan I had before but instead this was fake and had a horrid smell.
When I was all done I was already dying for a shower (for those who know me well- knows I love taking showers and to feel clean) when the woman said that I couldn't take shower for at least 24 hours!!!!!!!! I went crazy! Whaaaaaaaat????? You must me kidding me?!?!? Why didn't you say that before?!? 
Not to mention the fact I had these freckles on my face and I look like I have been working on a gold mine for the last couple of hours.
Anyway, goes without saying that I did take shower as soon as I could. I know that I definitely put money down the drain but I could never sleep well with that dirty on me and that smell...argh! So yeah... Spray fake tan?!? No never again and thank you very much. I rather be pale and wait until summer than have spray tan done again. Unless you want to look like that...