The Hunt for Pink October

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And October every year, we get involved in a round of fund raising activities to help this important cause. Brisbane North Chamber of Commerce host a Breast Cancer Breakfast every year as do the Lido Restaurant in Ascot run a lunch and a lot of other organisations. The idea behind all of these is fundraising and a lot of fun along the way.

Here at the Boutique, we always make it a point of attending at least one every week during the month when we can .. and always take a gift voucher to the various raffles.

And as usual.. Mark is there with me.. and with his camera. A great month all around!

With Councillor Norm Wyndham at BNCC breakfast.

With Dr Jane Propsting at the Lido lunch.

Dressed in Pink for a fund raiser dinner at Coorparoo College

The lovely Sandy from Cancer Council Qld and her husband Scott at Coorparoo.

Sometimes you need to take 5 minutes out of your day.

Hurrying around getting ready for work this morning when I hear Mark calling from the studio. Seems he is trying to set it up for a shoot today and Chloe our dog is in his way. Can I come and remove the pooch?

Well.. yes I can.. but then.. how about a quick photo first.  This is the stuff memories are made of.. and it only took 5 minutes from what will be a busy day...

Chloe after a haircut with me.

It's October again, breast cancer awareness month.

As every October comes around, I always pause to reflect on the women who soldier on with their breast cancer journey. At a breakfast this morning hosted by the Brisbane North Chamber of Commerce (of which I am a member) a speaker from Cancer Council QLD was saying that the 5 year survival rate for breast cancer is now 97%.

An amazing figure. But it still means that 3% will not be here.. and my heart goes out to them and the ones they leave behind! Never mind, I want to be positive.. it is October and we will be attending several fund raisers this month, including one run by Bev from The Lido Restaurant in racecourse Road at Ascot. Check out Lido on Face Book and get yourself along there. It will be lots of fun and is f course, all for a good cause.

Councillor Norm Wyndham at our display this morning.

And my good mate Bev from the Lido in Ascot.

Whichever fundraiser you attend the month (and there are many) dig deep as 1 in 8 women will be affected by breast cancer. We need to nail this disease once and for all! Surely it can be done!

Wow! 10 years ago today.....

With September being such a busy month at the Boutique, we nearly forgot today, October 1. You see it was 10 years ago today that Mark and I purchased the shop from its previous owners. Before that I had been managing the boutique and when the opportunity arose.. well Mark said "Go for it girl!"

And as today has rolled along we have had a few special guest drop in to say hello, including our bank manager (the cheque is in the mail Aaron) and councillor David McLachlan, our local government representative in the area. Here's looking forward to another 10 years.. then perhaps retirement. Or perhaps.. not!

Me with Aaron Sayers our Bendigo Bank Manager.

David McLachlan (who opened the Clayfield shop in 2012)

Wow.... are we rocking and rolling !

Ladies we just have just 3 days left in our Spring promotion at the boutique. Purchase any 2 Amoena bras and receive a 15%  factory rebate discount.

Glenda from Amoena popped in to see us today!

And have we been busy. More ladies have been through our store this September than any September in the past. And we still gave 3 opening days to go! Make sure you don't miss out... come in ASAP!

Debra

Have you had a lumpectomy? Then this is important.

Fresh back from Amoena in Germany I have had a couple of disturbing cases in the boutique. Two ladies who have had lumpectomies, who had visited the discount lingerie shops on Brisbane's north side. Here they had been fitted in underwire bras and these had caused them damage with severe bruising.

When you have had any type of breast surgery, you need to wear a special post operative bra. The specialists at Amoena in Germany understand this and design bras especially for you to wear to provide support and minimise any discomfort to you.

Ordinary bras just will not do this!

And.. because they had been sent to these shops by well meaning (but ill informed non experts who don't understand what is needed) they have missed out on the opportunity to be fitted with a partial prosthesis.

A partial prosthesis? Yes.. depending on the size of the lump or lumps removed by your surgeon, partial prostheses can balance you up again so that you have equal weight for both breasts (stops shoulder pain) and give you that pre surgery look again.

Did you know that all of the partial prosthesis can be claimed 100% refund from Medicare if you have a Medicare card. (Ring us for details)

Once you are past the post operative stage and have recovered, we can provide you with pretty feminine matching sets of the most stunning bras and briefs especially made for women who have had breast surgery. And we are talking quality lingerie here too!

How pretty is this? A sample of our range!

Finally, it is a fact that no other retailer in Australia carries as much of the Amoena post surgery range of prostheses, bras, swimsuits and leisure wear than Spirit of Life Boutique. We have regular clients from as far away as Japan, New Zealand and all corners of Australia who visit us for their post breast surgery range. Why don't you visit the boutique and discover for yourself why these women make us their first stop when they arrive in Brisbane?

It's that time of year....

Yes spring is literally days away. And soon you will find your copy of our Spring/Summer newsletter in your mail box. And I hope we get some warm weather to go with spring this year. This August has been most cold.  This edition has some of the most colourful swimwear I have ever seen. And I am just back from Amoena in Germany where I have been discussing textiles and new seasons products with Catarina.

Deb and Catarina at Amoena in Germany