Dancing On Ice With Russian Stars…
"you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Christopher robin
A Sunday Love Letter Straight From The Heart
For years I have been writing a Sunday Love Letter Straight From The Heart to the lovely people on my email list. I must have written hundreds.
I’ve written about everything! From my deepest thoughts, to questionable hairdos and from embarassing encounters to tales of shoes, my aim has always been to provide a takeaway. Something to ponder. Something to make someone’s day lighter, brighter, more positive - an anecdote to share with friends, or a new idea to try out.
I’m now going to write my Sunday Love Letters as a blog post. Why? So that they can live on a little longer and so that I can possibly lighten someone’s day who is randomly scrolling the world wide web from a far off country.
So with that in mind, let’s dive on in to this week’s Sunday Love Letter Straight From The Heart!
I’ve ALWAYS been rubbish at things moving underneath my feet…
In fact it’s a bit of a family joke that if something moves under my feet, I am likely to fall over. Skating, roller skating, skiing, snowboarding - one look and I’m gone. Splat!
Why we chose to take family ice skating lessons when we were gifted some money for Christmas several years ago I am not quite sure. The kids and my husband loved it and they were great.
However, there I found myself on a Sunday morning, learning to ice-skate with 4 year olds - who were distinctly better than I was.
But when the group lessons finished, I decided to carry on with an ice-skating coach - just to help me find my feet a little more.
As it transpired, the husband and wife team I hired to help me were former Russian Olympic ice dancers.
Looking back they must have taken one look at me and wanted to shout “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!” because I was terrible. Not only was I terrible but I was terrified.
I clung onto them for dear life. Not just one of them but BOTH of them.
When they took me to the middle of the ice rink, I thought I was going to pass out. I had an indescribably primeveal instinct to get back to the barriers at the side. I was hot and sweaty and shaking. I felt exposed and vulnerable. DRAMA QUEEN!!!
But then slowly I started to like it.
I remember the coaches letting me go…
And I didn’t fall over. I even managed to do some lemons and I learned to skate backwards. And much as anyone might laugh - for me that was a HUGE achievement.
For the last year, I’ve felt pretty much felt the same fear as I did back then!
Almost a year ago now, Mr G and I signed up to a Mastermind program to learn how to identify, design, source, ship and sell products on Amazon. Mr G has still been fully engaged in his current role, so it’s been left to me to crack on with things until he’s ready to join me (soon, hopefully!)
The learning process has tested me in virtually every way I can imagine. From tech platforms to negotiating contracts and from number crunching to understanding shipping plans and customs tariffs, I have had to learn it all.
It has taken me right back to learning to ice skate with the husband and wife Russian Olympic ice dancing duo who probably wondered what on earth had happened when I rocked up.
Sometimes I’ve felt sick with fear. My head has hurt with what I’ve had to learn. On occasion I’ve wanted to throw in the towel and run back to the safety of what I know.
But step by step, inch by inch, I’ve moved forward every single day.
Some days the steps have been imperceptible. Sometimes they’ve been bigger strides. Some days I’ve fallen flat on my butt and some days I’ve surprised myself with what I’ve managed.
But the great thing with age is that you learn how to give yourself grace. I will make mistakes. I will get it wrong. It won’t go to plan. But unlike my ice dancing career, the opportunity for great things exists and that is what excites me most.
If you would like to be part of our launch team and go on this crazy journey with us - for our first and subsequent products - please click the link below! We will be offering discounts, freebies, prizes and much more!
Much love, Beth x
PS Huge thanks to my UK friends who have supported me this year and also to my new friends in the US who are fabulous!
A KNICKER TREAT FOR YOU!
I've negotiated a great offer with Stripe & Stare, meaning that I can give you a 20% discount across their ENITRE range by using the code BETH20 at checkout. I absolutely love their knickers and don’t wear anything else.
I've opted to take less commission so that I can pass a discount on to you. It just makes me feel more comfortable.
And after all, that's what S&S knickers are all about 💗
Having said that, right now there might be some even better BF offers on, so it’s worth taking a look at the S&S site.
Style Guile Magazine
Do you run a small brand and would you like to feature in the next Edition of Style Guile? If so, let me know!
I'm so delighted that Style Guile is proving helpful to women. That's exactly what it's designed for.
The trends, outfits and pieces are designed to appeal to women who ideally want to use what they already own, to create up to date outfits which make them feel great.
Style Guile is aimed at women of all heights and sizes and I've specifcially featured brands who make their trousers in varying leg lengths and in a wide range of sizes at High Street prices.
Each image is hyperlinked to the brand's website to make browsing quick and easy for you.
This is what one reader said:
"It's like buying a typical fashion magazine without the endless pages of advertisements & with pages of inspiration.
Great outfits, great range of shops and prices, great layout.
What a winning combination."
To find out more, just click the button below & scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find the Style Guile Magazine.
The Perfect Christmas Gift!
I've got a fabulous offer of 50% off two bouquets of flowers and free delivery on the first order, when you sign up for a subscription. It’s such a fabulous Christmas gift and really is the gift that keeps on giving.
If you like the idea either for yourself or a friend just follow THIS LINK and use the code BETH50 at checkout.
Sourdough Made Simple!
This week in our Facebook Group we've had cracking crackers, beautiful loaves and broken ovens through overuse!
I’m still astonished by how happy you can make someone by giving them a loaf of freshly made bread.There’s almost something very primitive about it.
Come and join me as I knead, rise and burn my way through the fun that is sourdough. You’re very welcome to watch from the sidelines and just take it slowly.
And just to say there's no intimidating or overly techy stuff, I promise. I'll leave that for the experts.
If you think you might like to bake sourdough, I've got a couple of guides below to help 💗
Next Week
Next week sees the launch of my sauna hats on Amazon which is very exciting. My sister and I are also in the process of moving my Mum closer to me, invoking a Power of Attorney and trying to get funding for care for a relative, all whilst starting to get ready for Christmas.
I hope my cold water pod will be delivered soon - that will distract me for a while!
May your week be productive and smooth!
Beth 💗
A Few Discount Codes!
I've got 2 discount codes to share with you! The first is from Baukjen where you can get 15% off using BGSTYLIST15. At Stripe & Stare you can also get 20% off with BETH20 as mentioned above.
Just so that you know these are affiliate links and if you use them, I will make a small amount of money on each purchase made.