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Motherhood

Live Loud Girl – lifestyle & interior inspiration for little ones and stylish moms by Roos Kriek

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SOTP contributor, Roos Kriek, meets Live Loud Girl over breakfast to talk about her move to Dubai from the Big Apple, and how the interior stylist established her well-read blog on the back of a piece of paper on a US road trip.

A tall, blond, radiant Linda Dekkers walks into Le Pain for our breakfast meeting. Live Loud Girl – is her alter ego. She is also a loving mother of two gorgeous blond boys, a wife and a friend but being able to do what she really loves, makes her an even better at ‘all of the above’.

Over the past year, Linda has really established herself as an interior stylist in Dubai having worked on numerous projects and assignments. Her strengths? Well, it is first her enthusiasm and secondly she has made interior styling fun, affordable and accessible to everyone.

Big city girl Linda had a career in marketing at L’Oreal and later Coca Cola before relocating to New York for her husband’s job. She needed exactly five nanoseconds to make that decision – living in the Big Apple had been a ‘Sex in the City’ inspired dream of hers. A dream that became a reality as she regularly started running into the real life Sarah Jessica Parker.

But relocating also meant resigning from her marketing career and building a new life. A very different life it would turn out, as she went onto to have two children.

Her local nail studio in NYC became her ‘space’. Not because she loves having her nails done (that was just a bonus), it was more because it forced her to sit, think and evaluate what she was doing with her life. These trips even became necessary to the extent that her husband would sometimes suggest: ‘Hey babe, maybe it’s time to hit the nail salon again?’ when she had become less  then good company at the dinner table.

And when the opportunity came for the family to move to Dubai, it was again Linda who was already packing her bags before the contract was signed. She was keen for a new adventure.

The difference this time was that she had a plan. Linda had always been interested in styling – buying old chairs, doing them up, selling them, that sort of thing. She needed a platform to develop more of her ideas. Prior to their departure for the Middle East on a road trip from Washington back to the city, the concept of ‘Live Loud Girl’ was born. It was something that she could take along with her wherever she went. The words ‘Live’ and ‘Loud’ stand for who she is: not afraid to take a risk, nor of making bold choices in life. Living in style is what she believes in. According to her, as life is short, it’s ok to take good care of yourself and of everything surrounding you.

Her first impression of Dubai was: ‘Wow, how different’. A complete opposite to where she had just come from, in fact. While NYC is cold, Dubai is warm; where as NYC is old, Dubai is so young. In the Big Apple she did almost everything on foot, here in Dubai she is always in her Jeep. When she met like-minded Marie Bouhas (@liveloudbymarie) she pulled out the notes that she had put on paper back in New York and the Live Loud Girl concept became reality. Her first blog post was online at the beginning of this year.

Now with almost 4000 Instagram followers, partnerships with fellow Dubai entrepreneurs, shops, cafes, as well as the styling of several homes on her list, Linda seems unstoppable. What’s in her head needs to get out, so, believe me, we will be hearing a lot more from this long-legged lady, currently living loud in Dubai.

Live Loud Girl – Blog, Shop & Style – is a concept by Linda Dekkers.

Blog – on things she loves in terms of interior styling. www.liveloudgirl.blogspot.com

Shop – It gives others the opportunity to integrate a piece of Live Loud Girl in their own home. Items are for sale at pop-up shops throughout the year. (Next one is at the night market at Tom and Serg on 16 December 2014). 

Style – interior styling

Follow Live Loud Girl

 

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One diamond please | by Roos Kriek

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I have heard of a friend of a friend who has been complaining about the lack of a sparkler on her left ring finger. Because she is neither engaged nor married (being bad enough), her partner promised to give her one upon the birth of their first child… er, second child…. After a while, with her being rather disappointed in him and he somewhat fed up with her nagging about the ring, he decided instead to transfer a considerable amount of money into her bank account. It didn’t take very long at all for her to walk in and out of a Tiffany store and then post a photo on Facebook, showing that she had finally got her ring. No romance involved, just a financial transaction so she could acquire her new ‘best friend’.

Another friend once told me that she would only accept a Tiffany solitaire diamond ring when her future husband would ‘get down on one knee’. At that time, she didn’t have a boyfriend but it was clear that whoever did come along would need to be a clever (or at least wealthy) boy. In time, a suitable fellow arrived, the question was asked and – crucially – out came the green box that she had been waiting for for so long. I doubt that it all was entirely down to his own initiative.

Another story: American girl meets European boy. He gets her parents’ approval and vice versa. He decides to take the plunge and proposes with a diamond ring; she says “yes”. They both share the happy news with her friends, who upon inspecting her left hand say, “Ohhh, how cute”. He went for European style, apparently, which for people (like me) who need a translation, means: “Ohhh, can someone please hand me my glasses because I cannot see the stone”.

Ok, one more. All true stories, I promise.

A boy goes out of his way to get an engagement ring. Now even though he did spend the ‘common’ (or so I’m told) amount of three months salary on it, and she said “yes”, they went back to the jeweler together to exchange the ring for the one she really loved.

So, there you have it boys! No big deal, just some basic pointers as to how girls can be when it comes to engagement rings.

Given the tales above, it seems that for a guy the choosing of the ring could, perhaps, be more of a commitment than the choosing of the girl. Not in the least if we believe what we see on TV or in Hollywood movies – that he will drop down on one knee and she will start screaming upon seeing her reflection in the diamond sparkling up at her. Friends will sigh and say, “what a rock”, to which she will modestly chuckle.

But if that is not the case, will she say no? Did anyone ever say “no” to a proposal because the ring wasn’t right?

Not all married woman have a diamond and not all diamonds are from Tiffany’s. Although the products of this worldwide store are known for their high quality when it comes to the  4 c’s (carat, cut, color and clarity – which is how you rate a diamond), it does not mean that this is the only way to get a girl to say “yes”. Some questions are ‘popped’ with key ring holders or soda-can tops, others with a ring from the local fair.  It’s also worth remembering that diamonds may not be a particularly ethical choice (think ‘blood diamonds’…).

Let’s just hope that love is stronger then the value of the ring in the box. After all, it’s only really a result of one of the best marketing campaign ever to make such a big deal out of the expense. Many (well-known) jewelry stores happily lead insecure would-be proposers from their 0,25 carat section to the ‘real deal’ room with phrases like “it’s an investment”, “a once in a lifetime event” and, of their intended, “she must be really special”.

So, to all of you out there who are hoping to get married, here are two very important things to remember. One, a proposal is about the question and the person asking it. And two, don’t let any jewelry store salespeople persuade you to take out an extra mortgage. If it’s love, the answer should be “yes” no matter what the poor boy (or girl) is offering you…

Motherhood

Selfie Day | by Roos Kriek

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Don’t you often think: ‘if I had the time, I would… [fill in the blanks with one of the below options].’

a) Sleep

b) Go to a spa

c) Have a boozy lunch with friends

d) Go shopping

e) Read a book

f) All of the above

But we never have or make such time. Moreover, we cannot simply walk out of the house because of jobs, pets, kids and/or other people, animals, things to look after.
Drinking a cappuccino alone on a sunny terrace with a good book on your lap can end up feeling like a three-week holiday at a 5-star resort in Bali. And like the latter, it happens just as often (as in: NEVER!)

A friend of mine recently had his birthday. Having planned a family day with wife and kids things came a bit differently as the weather wasn’t good enough to go to the beach. His wife being a very considerate person sent him for a massage and told him to ‘take the day off’, have it totally to himself. And he did. He returned home at the end of the day feeling reborn. Not only did the massage do him good, having no responsibilities, plans or meetings had rejuvenated him.

The considerate wife saw this and immediately instituted this new concept within the family calendar: the Selfie-day.

A Selfie-day is a pre-booked day – once a month, once a week (if you are lucky), or year (if you are unlucky) – where you can walk out of the house in the morning and return in the evening. In-between, the entire day is to be had for oneself, with no demands, errands or chores planned in. Sounds amazing, right?

Yet don’t be fooled. Having a Selfie day sounds easier then it is.

The planning

First of all, planning one, especially if you have a family, can be quite tough. Demanding jobs, partners who travel a lot, children’s activities and your day-to-day social calendar can make it a challenge to book these in advance. Make sure you do though because spontaneous Selfie days are very scarce.

Advice: book a Selfie day once a month for the rest of the year. Cancelling (only if it is a matter of life or death) is easier than fitting one in.

The program

The whole point of a Selfie day is to not do anything that you would normally do. Take a good look again at the list above: do you do any of there things on a regular basis? If so, we think you  deserve a medal and should start reading one of our other posts instead. If not, read on. Either way, the Selfie day is not about picking up a gift for someone, running errands or making a mandatory family visit. It is a SELFie day; that is, all about you.

The guilt trip no-no

When presented with the possibility of doing something completely for oneself, most people will look like a deer in the headlights. Even me. I would just not know what to do because it is so never an option. And the first thing that comes to mind then tends to be: ‘well, if I have all day, I might as well [fill in the blank here with any chore]’. Or if you do make it to the spa for a facial, you might start feeling guilty for leaving your partner/parents with the kids or your colleagues at the office. Remember, however, that if you do that you are undermining the concept. A guilt trip is simply not allowed on a Selfie day.

 

The rules:

#You can‘t do a ‘sort of a Selfie’ day, e.g. a half-day. It is all or nothing

#Don’t cram twenty-five different activities into your day because then you will come home exhausted.#If your phone usually distracts you, turn it off.

#Partners are not allowed to call you with questions like: ‘what shall I feed the kids?’ (Conversely, the Selfie is not allowed to get annoyed if they come home to a dinner consisting solely of chocolate chip cookies and a bag of crisps).

NB. And for those of you who don’t have a family yet: take lots of Selfie days. You have no idea how rare (bordeline extinct) they become later on in life.

So, now it’s time to start planning.

Grab your calendar and book in a few options. Pour your partner a good drink and introduce the concept.

Being selfish on your Selfie day will make you a better person. Really.