Hello friends!

This is Amanda, my very first employee.

It sounds a bit weird calling her an ’employee’ since we’ve been friends for most of our lives. Amanda is so much more than an employee, she’s a very dear friend of mine. I would even go so far as to say she’s a sister to me.

We’ve been close for many years and have pretty much grown up together. As children, we would sit and day dream about the kind of women we would grow up to be. Gorgeous successful glamazons is what we aimed to achieve (at the tender age of 11). Beautiful clothes, mansions, twin brothers that we’d marry so we could legitimately be related… we had it all mapped out. Being a young and somewhat imaginative young girl, I never doubted for a minute that I wouldn’t have everything I ever dreamed of. The biggest part of my childhood dreams was that whatever I achieved, it would have to be alongside my BFF Amanda.

Growing up as an incredibly awkward and tubby teenager was pretty horrendous but it was especially difficult going through adolescence alongside Amanda. My BFF has always been incredibly beautiful. Not just ‘pretty’ but absolutely stunning. Mother nature blessed her with a gorgeous face AND a perfect body. Amanda blossomed through adolescence and I kind of spluttered, fell over and apologised my way through. It seemed unfair at the time and I truly hated my body and wished for one more like Amanda’s. Life as the tall, tubby and shy friend of the gorgeous girl was tough but it taught me many things.

Okay so we’ve established that Amanda was pretty much physical perfection from day one but I haven’t mentioned her greatest asset… her heart. Every teen movie would have you believe that the stereotypical ‘gorgeous popular girl’ is an absolute self centred bitch. Amanda couldn’t be further from that hideous stereotype. Sure, Amanda couldn’t fully understand what life was like for me back then but NEVER did she ever make me feel ugly or grotesque. She always lifted me up and loved me for the person that I was inside and out. We understood each other back then and still do today.

Over the years we’ve accomplished so many life goals together. Boyfriends, mile stone birthdays, Engagements, Weddings and Children. Amanda is a phenomenal mother of a beautiful 7 month old baby boy, George. Having a child would never slow her down, she has as much ambition and drive as I do which is probably why we are such good friends. Having her on my team makes my life so much easier because I have that one person whom I can depend on. She will lift me up when I’m feeling down and she knows when to pour me a glass of Rose (we have the fridge at work stocked with essential office wine).

I look forward to you all getting to know Amanda, she’s a pretty special human… one of my favourites.