I’m Amber, and I’m a self-employed writer working solely to support an expensive shoe habit. I also like holidays in Florida, dresses, big hair and ghost stories. Oh, and wine. I live in central Scotland with my husband, Terry, a small white wolf called Rubin, 109 pairs of shoes (and counting), and far too many dresses. Forever Amber started out as an online journal, but has recently morphed into more of a personal style/beauty blog, as I attempt to tell the story of my life through the outfits I wear and the beauty products I buy.

Here’s a little bit more about me..

On December 15th, 2003, I got engaged on the banks of the Grand Canyon, while holidaying in Las Vegas. Eleven days later, on Boxing Day of that year, my new fiance, Terry, was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, and began two years of dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant. Shortly afterwards, I quit my stressful job in PR, and returned to my roots as a journalist, this time working freelance so I could be at home with Terry and work more flexible hours. We launched our business, Hot Igloo Productions Ltd., later that year, offering web design (Terry) and various writing and editing services (me): it was as much an attempt to reduce our stress levels, take back some control over our lives and spend our days doing something we actually enjoyed, as it was about earning money, and although those early days (and years) were hard, we’ve never regretted it for a moment.

Terry finally had his transplant on December 15th, 2005 – two years to the day we got engaged –  receiving a kidney from his brother, John, also known as “Our Hero”.  (You can read my posts about Terry’s transplant here.) We got married on March 31st, 2007, and, having learned the hard way that life is too short to be spent doing something you don’t enjoy, continue to run our business from home, although I’ve long since dropped the copywriting and freelance journalism in favour of full-time blogging. In addition to this site, I also run TheFashionPolice.net and Shoeperwoman.com which basically means I get paid to look at shoes and dresses on the Internet all day. My 12-year-old self would be so proud.

Although  I write about fashion for a living, I in no way claim to be a fashion expert, or even particularly stylish: I don’t follow trends, don’t care about being “edgy” or experimental, and am guilty of sticking to the same kind of style pretty much all the time – I describe it as “retro-inspired, with a modern twist”, other people describe it as, “the same damn thing, day after day.” I wear a lot of 50s-style dresses, a lot of polka dots and stripes (although not necessarily at the same time), and I’m rarely seen without my stilettos. I started blogging about my outfits, not because I think they’re particularly note-worthy, or because clothes are the only thing in my life, but because I think every outfit tells its own story, and telling those stories means I always have something to write about, even when there’s not much else going on at the time: or nothing I want to share with the Internet, anyway!

This site is intended to be (mostly) a bit of light-hearted escapism, and is my place to enjoy something frivolous, rather than dwelling on the more serious side of life. It’s not a reflection of my whole life, just the tiny part of it I hope might be of interest to some of you, and while I have no idea what this site might become in the future, I do know that it will be forever Amber: I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!

P.S.  If you’re new to the site, you’ll find some of my favourite posts here and a guide to the other people you’re likely to meet here.