The Simple Things...

Cabbage roses. What's not to love about a flower shaped like a vegetable?

Link Love...

 

Music Room designed by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell via The Library Time Machine

 

It's been a long time since I've indulged in some link love. Each week I see so many amazing things I'd like to share with you but somehow the time flies and the moment is lost. Not this week. Here are a few things that have been tickling my fancy over the pass little while.

:: 30 Abandoned Places That Look Truly Beautiful took my breath away (am I the only one who finds what has happened to Detroit incomprehensible?)

:: Dave Walker at The Library Time Machine continues to delight with stories drawn from the libraries of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. I particularly enjoyed this one about 1930s interior design and his recent one which takes us inside the Imperial Institute in 1893. If you enjoy these two do take a look around the site. There are some fascinating stories lurking within.

:: How clever is Leeyong? Never have Explorer socks looked so good.

:: I am totally obsessed with Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's monumental novel, 'The Museum of Innocence' and the whole wheels within wheels story behind it. Do you know the story? Nobel Prize winning author writes novel about a museum then spends prize winnings on replicating it in real life? Check out these gorgeous photographs of some of the exhibits The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul.

:: Finally, it's been great fun following Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on Twitter this year - amazing photographs and experiments - but nothing to top his version of David Bowie's, 'Space Oddity'. Take it away Chris...

I Am Anxiety

This week beyondblue released a new Get To Know Anxiety campaign to raise national awareness about the symptoms of anxiety, and to help sufferers get the help they need to manage it. Having lived with anxiety for over 20 years now this is a subject close to my heart. Although an estimated 2.44 million Australians reportedly experienced an anxiety condition last year, awareness surrounding its various manifestations remains low.

Genuine anxiety can not be dealt with by just 'sucking it up' or wishing and hoping that it will go away. It's not the result of an acute reaction to a very stressful situation (although sometimes it can start this way), it's a chronic condition that can have a massive impact on your quality of life. So if you or someone you know thinks they might be experiencing some of the warning signs don't wait to get help, the sooner the better. Yes, it's confronting having to admit that you are not coping with seemingly everyday situations but the sooner you learn the triggers and get some professional advice on how to manage your anxiety the better. I put in some hard yards when I was first diagnosed but I must say that since I've had children I've really let things slide and if I'm really honest with myself I've built my life around my (perceived) limitations. This campaign has been a wake up call for me. I let my last management plan slip past its use-by date but I rang my doctor today and I'm getting back on track. You can too.