Tornado: The disaster nobody expected…

Wearing: Shoes: Puma, Dress: Allsaints, Bag: Nini Molnar, Blazer: ZARA

Here I am strolling down the streets of London but it is only few days ago when I was in Czech Republic 10 mins away from a disaster that nobody expected. The whole preparation for this trip was very stressful. We knew we needed 15 covid tests in total for my family but until the last minute I was not sure if my husband who has Irish passport is allowed to enter. There is so much confusing information online but luckily the trip was pretty smooth in the end.

Little did I know that the summer storms they were predicting for the region where I come from will turn to a disaster and nightmare for many people. And there it was I was looking out of window at scary looking sky and looking at the biggest hail stones I have ever seen in my life whilst 10 mins away from us several villages were hit by a strong tornado. That is something so rare and so unpredictable and something we Czechs do not have much experience with. And it is also something you cannot prepare for. You do not know where it will hit and how it will end up. You may think your house is well built but it does not matter. There were hundreds of houses seriously damaged and people were left with nothing, there were lives lost and people were injured. The villages looked like there was a war zone. It was a sad sight and I pray for all these people to get through this nightmare as soon as possible. My village only experienced electricity outage, cable tv and wifi outage but now I have to laugh at it as in comparison to those poor people it is the smallest issue. I cannot even imagine what they must be going through.

I was driving following day for my pre-flight covid test and what I saw was very sad. There was chaos, ruined houses and people already busy clearing what they could. I personally contributed to several families and if you want to do so as well here you can have a look at stories of those affected. You never know when you will need help yourself and we must realise nature is much stronger than we think.

Na fotografiich si to kracim Londynskou ulici a v te dobe, kdy jsem fotila tento outfit, jsem nemela ani poneti, co nas ceka pri nasi navsteve Ceska. Jestli me sledujete na Instagramu (evglamazon), mozna vite, ze cely vylet byl trosku stresujici, cekalo nas celkem 15 covid testu a hlavne jsem si az do posledni chvile nebyla jista, zda ma muj manzel, ktery ma Irske obcanstvi povelny vstup. Internetove zdroje byly matouci, ale nakonec se ukazalo, ze rodinny prislusnik, muze bez problemu pricestovat. Nebudu vam lhat, hodne jsem si oddechla.

Pocasi nam vyslo na jednicku a koncem tydne nas cekala letni bourka, v te dobe pouze jeden zdroj tvrdil, ze pri takovych teplotach se casto tvori tornada. Ale koho by to napadlo ze? Je to neco, co se v nasich koncinach vidi opravdu malo a navic je to neco, co se neda jednoduse predvidat a ani tomu zabranit. Zatimco ja jsem jsem pozorovala z okna ty nejvetsi kroupy, co jsem kdy v zivote videla, deset minut od nas zazivali lide nocni muru. Stovky lidi prisly o domovy, o majetek a nektere rodiny i o sve blizke. Nedokazu si ani v nejhorsim snu predstavit, co museli vsichni prozivat. Predstava, ze tento zivel sebere moji rodine strechu nad hlavou a mozna i neco vic je desiva. Zatimco u nas vypadla elektrina, kabelova televize a wifi, tak druzi s hruzou sledovali, jak jim tento zivel bere celozivotni shanu a v nekterych pripadech i zivoty blizkych. Tech pribehu je tolik a nektere az zenou slzy do tvare.

Nasledujici den jsem jela na pred odletove covid testy a takovou zkazu jsem nikdy nevidela. Domy bez strech, znicene podniky, vsude polamane stromy, smeti a uz pilne pracujici postizeni, kteri se snazili odklizet co se dalo. Jedna vec je o tom cist, ale druha je to videt to na vlastni oci. Ja sama jsem prispela nekolika rodinam a pokud i vy chcete pomoci, muzete tak ucinit napriklad tady. Solidarita byla obrovska a to je dobre, jelikoz nikdy nikdo nevi, co se stane jemu a priroda je silnejsi, nez si obcas pripoustime.

Eva

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Is work-life balance a thing during pandemic?

Wearing: Tracksuit via Femme Luxe, Shoes: Puma, Bag: Strathberry, Blazer: Zara, Sunglasses: Longchamp

Work-life balance is a word I used to mention daily at least hundred times when I worked in recruitment. I used to sell that dream to my candidates but looking back I am thinking…who was I kidding? I did not have work-life balance myself and most of the people I spoke to neither. In one job I used to come to the office at 7 in the morning and leaving at 9 on most days. When I got home I just jumped to bed as my body just could not do anything else.

I started to think about this again today when looking at these pictures where I am wearing my casual uniform of tracksuit and trainers. Yes got the same one from Femme Luxe in another colour and I truly love them all. It simply made me think about this as covid changed the way how we dress, how we spend time so let’s see if how we work also shifted. How has work-life balance changed? If we work from home did things get better or worse?

London and big cities are the worst when it comes to work to be honest. People are praised to work overtime and are celebrated when they come to the office very early. I just think it is so wrong as it is about productivity and results. The question is how is it now when we can’t see to people’s homes. One thing that definitely helped to people in big cities is the time you save on travel. However, it only depends on what they do with that time? Will do an hour of yoga instead or sleep longer or jump straight to laptop to do more work. And how about the key workers? Surely they had to work harder than ever and that includes medical staff but also couriers and delivery drivers. The demand was bigger than ever. Looking at my husband who worked at home at start and then he had to go to the office and projects nothing changed for him. He works crazy hours and even if working from home he easily turns on his laptop 6:30 and switches off 8 pm some days.

Perhaps people feel more rested as we saved time on other things like going out and doing all sorts of activities but everybody still works very hard. On the other hand the people that were lucky to have a job are probably very grateful. Lot of people lost their job and the aftermath of this will take time.

Eva

Work-life balance je slovo, ktere jsem pouzivala denne, v dobe kdy jsem pracovala v personalistice. Snazila jsem se prodat onen sen, kdy mate dost casu na sebe, ale zvladate i praci snad kazdemu potencialnimu kandidatovi. Dnes se zpetne divam a rikam si, komu jsem nalhavala? Myslim, ze i sama sobe. U jednoho z mych predchozich zamestnavatelu jsem prichazela do prace v sedm a odchazela v devet naprosto bezne a nekdy i pozdeji. Kazdy vecer jsem akorat prisla domu a unavou padla do postele. O nejakem balancu mezi pracovnim a soukromym zivotem nebyla rec.

Dnes jsem se zpetne divala na tyhle fotky v me covidove uniforme a dalsi teplakovce z Femme Luxe a premyslela jsem prave o praci. Jak jsme na tom s balancovanim prace a zivota v dobe pandemie? Je to lepsi ci je to horsi? Jsou veci vyrovnanejsi, protoze vetsina pracuje z domu? Covid zmenil tolik veci at uz jak se satime, jak travime cas a tak premyslim, zda prisla i zmena ve work-lifebalancu.

Velka mesta jsou urcite horsi, od lidi se ocekava brzky prichod do prace a nejvic se oslavuje ten, kdo odchazi z kancelare posledni. Ja v to jaksi neverim, je to prece o vysledcich a produktivite. A jak je to tedy dnes v dobe pandemie? Miliony lidi pracuji z domu a do jejich oken nevidime. Jedno je jasne, ze spousta z nich ziskala cas pro sebe navic tim, ze nemusi dojizdet. V meste jako Londyne je to klidne hodina i vice jednim smerem. Je ale na nich jak tento casu vyuziji. Nekdo si mozna da hodinu yogy pres zoom ci si pospi dele, ale spousta lidi urcite skonci k pocitaci. A pak tady mame key workers, kteri urcite mohou na work-life balance v dobe covidove zapomenout. Spise pracovali vic nez kdyz predtim. Muj muz napriklad pracoval behem prvniho lockdownu z domu a pak uz ne a muzu rict, ze i kdyz obcas pracuje z domu, zapina pocitat v 6:30 a nekonci drive nez v sedm ci osm vecer. Myslim, ze naroky jsou porad stejne pro tolik odvetvi a mozna i horsi.

Myslim, ze lide pracuji porad hodne i v dnesni dobe, je to jenom jina forma. Na druhou stranu ti co maji praci v teto dobe jsou vlastne statni lide, protoze pandemie prinesla velkou krizi a ta tady bude jeste pekne dlouho.

Eva

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To Retouch or Not to Retouch

Images: India Edwards
Wearing: Dress: Shona Joy, Boots: Zara, Bag: Chanel, Belt: Black & Brown, Earrings: Missoma, Blazer: Vintage

To retouch or not to retouch is the question. I am one of many reacting to the picture by Khloe Kardashian. Well, for me the answer is not so simple. I believe she has full right to do what she wants without being judged or criticised. The whole family build the brand on looking immaculate and if that is the case and they post perfect retouched images it is their choice. She also has a right to take down image if she wants to. As with anything in life some people with praise it and some will hate it. The issue is that human beings do not want to take responsibility for themselves.

People and women especially need to learn to love their bodies as they are. The problem is that social media stars and celebrities are constantly pointed at that they are not showing the real deal. Well, I am firm believer that if you love yourself deeply and accept yourself as you are that retouch image of a super star will just leave you cold. You would not care one person is size 20 and the other is size 6. You are just happy with yourself and look after your body mentally and physically.

I am not the type of influencer that is demanding when it comes to her images. I do not retouch much apart from the od spot and I do not retouch my figure. There has been couple of photographers that have done it for me in the past but again I left it as was. It is their style and brand after all. f you ever meet a person that has been shooting with me you realise I am happy with little. I am not a diva that takes hours to get the perfect image as I am happy with few selections. However, again that is my choice. If I take a picture down again it is my choice and it is my choice to work like that too.

I am definitely not here to judge what people put on social media. And trust me I met so many girls from the blogging industry that when you see them in real life you cannot recognise them. That is how much different they look to their images. Again that is what they chose to do.

So let’s be more open to people’s choices and mainly love our bodies as they are.

Remember there is no right or wrong.

Eva

Retusovat ci ne? To je otazka, ktera se porad propira v mediich a na socialnich siti. Asi uhadnete, za jako spousty dalsich reaguju na skandal okolo fotografie Khloe Kardashian. Odpoved neni cerna a bila. Khloe Kardashian a cela jejich rodina ma svou znacku, ktera je vybudovana na urcite image. Pouzivaji top fotografie, filtry a retus a vyplatilo se jim to. Kazdy ma pravo jit cestou, kterou chce. Jsou Instagramove hvezdy, ktere se proslavily ukazovanim striji a jsou hvezdy, ktere maji dokonale upravene fotografie. A myslim, ze neni treba soudit ani prvni ani druhou skupinu. Kazdy ma pravo si na svuj profil dat co chce a kdykoli to smazat. Problem je v tom, ze lide nechteji klast zodpovednost na sebe.

Lide a zejmena zeny se musi naucit milovat sva tela jak jsou. Je to sice proces, ale cim vic na sobe v tomto smeru pracujete, opravdu tim mene vas drasa prave takova fotografie. Ja moc dobre vim, jak funguje modni prumysl a vubec si nelamu hlavu tim, ze je neco hodne retusovaneho, protoze zkratka vim, ze dana osoba proste takto nevypada. A hlavne se me to ani netyka. Kdyz se mate radi, je vam jedno jestli na vas na instagramu vyskoci modelka velikosti 34 nebo plnostihla zena. Je to o vas a o vasem postoji ke svemu nitru a vasemu telu.

Ja nejsem bloger, ktery foti hodiny jeden outfit. Jsem docela nenarocna. Az na par fotografu, kteri me retusovali, se ja moc neupravuju. Spis pracuju se svetlem, mozna vymazu nejaky ten pupinek a to je vse. Jsem jedna z tech malo narocnych a spis ten kdo je za fotoaparatem me nuti, ze bych mohla jeste zkusit par fotek, at mam na vyber. Ale to je opet moje rozhodnuti. Neni to ani spravne a ani spatne. Kdyz uz neco fotim, tak se soustredim na detaily v realnem case a v post produkci uz moc zmen neuvidite.

Nejsem tady abych soudila nekoho, jak vypada, jak retusuje ci jestli si vyfotil akne. Verte mi, ze jsem potkala spousty blogerek, ktere jsem v realu ani nepoznala. Nektere zkratka pouzivaji fotografie tak editovane, ze na vas v realu mluvi jina osoba. Je to ale opet jejich volba.

Je treba byt otevreny a nezaujaty a hlavne mit rad same sebe. Jde o to zacit, protoze to pro mnohe z nas muze byt dlouhy proces.

Eva

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Will it be just before and after pandemic?

Tracksuit: Femme Luxe, Boots: Allsaints, Hat:Nike, Bag: Polene, Coat: American Vintage via Brand Alley, Earrings: Zara

I do not know how about you but I am dreading a little bit the return to normality. I know it will not be fully as it was before for a while. Or the question is more if it will be ever the same as before? Is it going to be one of those things that will create before and after pandemic?

Anyway, I simply got used to so many things that resonate with comfort. Whether it is spending lot of time in the comfort of home, the comfort of deliveries, the comfort of online shopping, the comfort of online workout classes and really everything that has been huge part of our lives in the last year. Comfort is my second name and I realised how easy it is to get used to it. I am not rushing anywhere all the time. PR events are organised over zoom and although I miss social contact I quickly got used to it. For any event I can just put on cute top and keep on comfortable trousers and the travel is from sofa to my laptop on the table which takes just seconds.

Do I miss going out and seeing friends? Yes big time but also it feels like I forgot how to dress up and my body feels great in tracksuits and leggings. This tracksuit is the newest addition and it is from Femme Luxe. I have it in a different colour but this creamy one is perfect for spring. The cut is perfect, it has that oversized feel and I am over the moon with the fabric. It looks great after several washes too.

Do not get me wrong I am lusting to go on holiday and go to Czech to see my family but at the same time it feels almost not natural in my head. I start to feel dressed up in anything that does not scream comfort and although I do create content for social media I often catch myself in the baggiest trousers and top. I am excited for social life but at the same time I am seriously worried that I simply got lazy.

Comfort just became huge part of our lives. I mean who is missing the ugly side of everyday life. I bet not many of you miss the packed tube or crowds of people waiting to get served in a tiny sandwich shop. Well, let’s just hope we manage to find a lovely balance when we slowly go back to things as we know them before.

Eva

Ja nevim jak vy, ale trosku se bojim navratu do reality. Obecne si teda myslim, ze normalita jako takova nenastane ihned. Vse uz bude jine, otazkou je jestli na porad ci na jak dlouhou dobu? Ja pevne doufam, ze bude zase normalni si zajit do kina ci do narvaneho klubu ci proste jenom na Vanocni msi do kostela bez omezeni, rezervaci, gelu ci masek. Jenom jsem si za ten roz zvykla na pohodli. At uz je to pohodlne obleceni, donaska do domu, nakupy jenom online, zoom eventy a vsechno je to zkratka o pohodli vaseho zivota a domova. Usetri to spoustu casu, spoustu planovani a cestovani a dokonce i cviceni je jenom z domu. Nedavno jsem byla fotit s fotografkou a uprimne me to celkove strasne vysalo. Ze by si moje odvyklo na ten muj shon pred pandemii?

Dalsi vec je oblekani. Nejak jsem si zvykla na vice pohodlne outfity, nic komplikovaneho a hlavne na teplakovky. I kdyz mam spoustu krasneho obleceni, casto se pristihnu, ze saham opet po leginech ci teplacich. Tohle je muj novy prirustek a mam ji v tmavsi barve. Byla jsem moc spokojena s materialem a s tim jak vypada a sedi, ze jsem si poridila dalsi barvu.

Samozrejme snim o cestovani, o tom jit ven na veceri s prateli bez rousek a omezeni, o plazi a ceste na Moravu. Snim o tom, ze pujdu do kina, divadla a do galerie. Je toho tolik. Zaroven mi predstava krasnych satu a nejake poradne akce prijde jako vzdalena predstava. Na pohodli si clovek zvykne velmi rychle. Prestoze tvorim obsah a oblekam se na tvorbu, foceni ci videa, tak se v beznem zivote velmi casto pristihnu ve vytahanych dzinech a XL tricku.

Pohodli se zkratka stalo soucasti naseho zivota. A ve spouste vecech to ma sve vyhody. Myslim, ze spouste z nas nechybi narvane metro v dopravni spicce, kdy vam dychaji dalsi tri lidi na zada. Snad se nam podari najit prijemny balanc az se pomalu budeme vracet k beznemu zivotu jako pred pandemii.

Eva

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