Authentic Living as a Public Affair.

A controversial lifestyle blog.

  • A legacy of grace, written by the author of Grace: La Rochelle.

    They will call us old school, traditional, conservative and preppy – I call it vintage and classy. I adored this – a novel perspective, the observation to see how you’ve grown and celebrating the ability to evolve and pivot into a new season: la beaute de devenir. Standing here, ten years later, the realisation that…

  • Freedom can be seen in the attitude of the heart.

    “Wearing a mask, wears you out, faking it, is fatiguing, the most exhausting activity is pretending to be which you know you are not…” This is a brilliant quote, but it is not that easy. It is the thing with trauma. It is generational and it becomes engraved in your genes. And so, the body…

  • James Dean – The gentleman with an identity crisis.

    He’s quite striking at first sight, the Danny of modern society, arriving on a Harley Davidson, not giving a damn, free spirit persona and the walking maroon flag. The writing will be against the wall, but even then, you will stand on the front porch screaming: “But daddy, I love him.” Why – because they…

  • “The name of Duomo has magic in it’s very syllables” – Mary Shelly

    “If nothing ever gets done, it’s like the cathedral of Milan.” I heard a Milanese lady whisper while taking my awe walk in sneakers. She wore the epitome outfit, fit for the city described as a fashion capital – simple and elegant.  I could hear her heals hitting the cobblestones as she paraded past me….

  • Christmas in Como.

    It drizzled the moment we (my cousin and I) sat foot on our first “vaporina” – economy class. I think if you truly looked at the scene, it could have been quite miserable. But this was my dream destination, my moment to enter the play as an “extra” and to be the favourite mannequin in…

This is how it all started…

I once read the following in an article in a Vanity Fair Magazine: “She had the insatiable desire to do it all, but you do not get the feeling that it’s stressing her out…she is just doing it with joy, and that’s very, very contagious.” I thought this to be brilliant and a golden standard to work towards. The reality, however, is that you should not gain the whole world at the expense of your soul and authenticity.

As an occupational therapist, I am fascinated with subjects such as adult neurology and phycology. I believe authenticity and imagination make each individual unique. We are all storytellers, and we leave a piece of writing on the hearts of those we meet. We however live in a time where you have to morph to fit the mould, and all authentic writing are lost in the process.

I write, not just to express and create, but to make sense of my own reality and in an attempt to keep my perspective my own. I am writing from my perspective – a girl, finding her feet in grown-up world.

Disclaimer: This can be seen as a controversial lifestyle blog – it is letters written by myself, to myself, filed by myself, all in an attempt to think outside of myself. I am not making use of any AI tools. All creation is from scratch, and authentic. Enjoy.

Annemie Nieuwoudt

Qualified Occupational Therapist / Writer by Heart