Becoming Mrs Hunkin
2016 was the year I got to marry my best mate. Mackenzie and I met years ago on the set of Plain Jane, when he was director of the MTV makeover show. We were lucky enough to travel the world together, work together, and get to know each other first off as friends. Nobody in the world makes me laugh the way he does, til I can hardly breathe! His ability to see the funny side of every situation in life, his love of adventure, and his enormous, kind heart, make me feel very grateful to call him my husband (which I’m still getting used to saying, by the way!).
Family
Nothing means anything without family. And I’m lucky to call my Mum and Dad two of my best mates. Nothing I love more than to arrive home for the holidays, Christmas carols blasting in the kitchen, dad makes us a large gin and tonic, and we put the world to rights. I’m also a proud sister and auntie, in a fairly female-dominated household!
Girlfriends
Moving across the globes 8 years ago, meant I got to make a whole new group of friends here in LA. But what will always warm my heart, is the close bond I share with my girlfriends back in London. It’s like I never left: we click back in from where we left off every time I go back to visit. Like my Mum says, old friends are the gold friends.
My Job
I started out my career in magazines. I worked my butt off at Vogue.com in London, covering stories, and hosting videos for Vogue TV. Bloggers didn’t really exist, and the term ‘influencer’ was yet to be invented. So I feel incredibly lucky that my generation has spawned a wave of female entrepreneurs, killing it in an industry that wasn’t even part of fashion until a few years ago. We travel, we write, we shoot, we support each other, and we make the rules. How freaking awesome it that.
Pilates
Alright, I know this sounds like I’ve lived in LA too long, but truly – exercise is my respite from an otherwise chaotic schedule. Taking an hour to switch off my racing mind and just sweat or stretch, I swear does even more for my mind than it does my body. Shout out to Chris-Anne, who has built me a booty and shared my early mornings for the last 7 years!
England For The Holidays
Dark cozy pubs, rainy cloudy afternoons, sweet milky tea, baked beans on toast, Jilly Cooper novels by the fire, the Queen’s Christmas Day speech, walks in the woods, the X Factor, Barbour jackets, shopping at Selfridges…I could go on and on. But that’s England to me, during the holidays, and it’s perfect.
Political Apocalypse
Ok hear me out on this one. Yes, we’re being faced with a scary and confusing prospect. It’s hard to grapple with how the next four years are going to pan out, here in America. But one thing that Trump’s win did do for me, was light a fire under my butt. Political apathy no more. My friends all feel the same way. It’s time to get up and start making any difference we can, big or small. We are in charge of how our communities feel and operate, so let’s be a proactive part of that change, rather than sitting back and complaining, or worse still, just watching.
The Crown
Obsessed. Netflix you are nailing it this year. And Princess Margaret: so chic and so naughty, who knew?! New fashion icon alert.
My Aquazzura Floral Heels
Come on, one thing on this list had to be fashion, and these guys had been on my wishlist to drool over, for ages. I remember a trip to Florence last year when I walked across the city to find the original Aquazzura store. My palace! I chatted to the sales assistant for so long in my broken Italian, she must have felt sorry for me because she gave me a discount! Ever since then, my obsession with this talented shoes designer has grown and grown.
My followers
It makes me pretty emotional when I think about how unbelievably loyal and kind –hearted you guys are. I recently received an email from a refugee, who used to watch Plain Jane, and had currently made her way to Sweden. She had nothing left, and spoke of her journey, of how she still had hope, and how she remembered watching the uplifting nature of my programme. I showed the message to my team, and we were all moved to tears. It’s easy to get lost in the hamster wheel of rushing around every working day, but that message made me stop and remember exactly why I began all this in the first place. If I can instill an ounce of confidence in someone who needs a boost; if I can help someone believe in themself a little more, and see some light at the end of the tunnel, then I’m happy. There are so many comments of support across Front Roe and my social media, I love more than anything to banter back and forth, answer questions and chat. Speaking of which, watch out for way more live chats coming up next year…keep an eye on Twitter q&a’s and Facebook Live!
xx,
