This is week two of unemployment, for the second time, and I'm faring well so far, I suppose. I'm still in a kind of forgetful stage and wake every morning with a start before rolling over again, remembering it's another two hours before Jeremy Kyle starts.

When working I would always hit the snooze button for a final hour of snatched sleep, drifting in and out of a light slumber, the stresses of the day ahead plaguing my mind. I never really enjoyed the snooze button time but rather awaited anxiously the final shrill of the alarm that signalled the last possible minute had arrived for me to get up and face the day.

Now I can enjoy endless sleeping in without worrying - every cloud and all that. When I finally rise I can take my time getting ready, preparing wholesome breakfasts. I remember to take my vitamins every morning and have time for a second cup of tea. The mornings involve channel hopping, reminding myself how many stressed workers would love to spend a morning like this and I should be grateful now for the chance.

However, after two weeks the novelty of the leisurely lie-in is starting to wear thin. Rather then fretting about emails and meetings, my thoughts centre on wondering what will Phil and Fern include in the holiday capsule wardrobe segment after the break.

I wonder is today the day that Jeremy Kyle reveals the lie detector results to show if Scott from Barnsely did get Tracey's sister pregnant even though he was in prison.
I wonder which of the irritating Loose Women will make up today's panel and which former Emmerdale hunk will be the guest star to keep us stay at home women entertained. Of couse my daytime TV habit is coupled with stalking companies for a chance to meet and impress them. Lunch times are more varied and depend on which unemployed friend is available for a coffee or a walk around town.
Time off is all very well but, despite still being paid for these next few weeks, a strict monitoring of every penny is needed. Luckily I was only unemployed for three weeks the last time and knowing I had a new job to start meant I really did enjoy that time off and was refreshed for my new position.

Hopefully I will have similar luck this time round, because if I'm still unemployed in September and the return of the Afternoon Show, I'm in danger of not getting dressed at all!

How good are the summer sales this year?! The tricky thing about being out of work is having endless hours to trawl the shops unearthing bargainous gems, but with very little money to buy it's a dilemma! Window shopping is my new favourite way to pass the day but I did give in to temptation twice this week when I discovered an amazing dress in Top-shop reduced from €68 to €22! Leaving it behind was simply not an option and it's definitely an investment for my new job, wherever that may be!

Also got sucked in while browsing in Oasis and bought these cute toe cap pumps reduced from €55 to €25, a total bargain for a flat lover like me..I live in flats so am always on the look out for well heeled and priced pairs at topshop and oasis, unfortunately my odd inward leaning feet just can't withold the cheap thrilling footwear at Penneys, there are somethings that just can't be compromised on even in a recession!

Last week I was stuck for an idea for this column. With my deadline just days away I hadn't heard of any life-changing events or recession wowing stories, and the news reported nothing too interesting.Then one afternoon, up to my eyes at my desk, I got a call to the boardroom that would change my life and shake things upside down, yet again. I was let go from my job, a mere 16 weeks after I started, and the second time in a year I found myself in this situation!

You really couldn't make this stuff up.

After apologetic explanations about cutbacks, I left in a rage. I had heard it all before.Unfortunately for me, and my chosen industry, it really is a case of day-by-day at the moment. I had a choice of two jobs back in February and hedged my bets that this was a safer choice, boasting as it did an impressive portfolio of long term clients. But no one and no where is safe from the evil recession, like a wildfire spreading and damaging lives at all cost.

As a victim of the 'last in first out' syndrome I just can't seem to get a break. I had just settled in, learnt how everyone takes their tea and how the printer works.I had sensed no warning that this was about to happen again. In my first job there were whispers of impending cuts for months before any of us were shown the door and on the day I finally received my notice my overwhelming emotion was actually relief, relief that I hadn't after all been paranoid during the previous months.

The knots in my stomach were justified and although I was devastated to leave somewhere I loved, I was ready to start a clean slate.But now my clean slate has been muddied. I was completely caught off guard and hadn't suspected that my call to the boardroom would deliver such a blow. One minute I was stressing at my lengthening ‘to-do’ list for Monday, the next I was running up the canal in shock.

It's been a few days now and I have regained my usual positive disposition and 'glass full' perspective.

Everywhere is experiencing cutbacks; all clients in all industries are clawing back and slashing budgets where they can. I know it's nothing personal and I am lucky to have worked for these two great companies and learnt a lot from both.

Now I am ready, yet again, to fight another day and not let the recession get the better of me.

It might not be a coincidence that 2009 sees a big return to 80s fashion, the best and worst of the decade that last saw us knee-deep in recession.First spawned on the catwalks and now taking over the highstreet are a kaleidoscope of neon brights, tie-dye patterns and chain-strap mini handbags in 'colour block' shades resembling those of a Rubix cube, another 80s legend. Ankle socks, lace-up brogues and jumpsuits are all back in style!

It's time to recycle your old wardrobe and have a good dig out for that faded denim jacket or ruffled mini skirt, some of the items adorning shops this season along with fingerless gloves, oversized clutches and big shoulder pads.Structured blazers signify a return to power-dressing for women which, when worn with tons of blusher and statement earrings, shows you mean business and might just land you that job!

White Blazers are particularly big news this summer, once we're careful not to overdo it and end up looking like an extra from Miami Vice or one of the Bee Gees. Celebs who are modern champions of this trend include Alexa Chung, Angnes Deyn and Kate Moss who get the Eighties/Noughties balance spot on. Other 80s trends currently being revisited are acid-washed jeans and ripped pale denim with off the shoulder t-shirts.

The unforgiving 'jeggings' - a clever spin on the skinny jean and legging - should be approached with caution for anyone not a hundred percent happy with the silhouette of their pins. Many girls will remember shoe-horning themselves into leggings and skipants as chubby teenagers; brightly patterned lycra and cheap cotton transforming thighs into strung-up sausages, made worse when worn with a reversible sweatshirt that wasn't quite long enough! Ugh the memories!

This time around, however, we can get it right, ignoring slapwrist bracelets, jellied shoes and poodle perms.We have come a long way in the style stakes on Irish shores and know how to team leggings with longer tops, tone down neons with muted nudes and wear clothes with confidence instead of letting them 'wear' us.Through the benefits of hindsight hopefully we can pick out what works and make the 80s fashion work for us, second time around, and with not a camel toe in sight!

I spent last week keeping close to the edge of frugality. After nabbing so many bargains in LA I headed home certain I had obeyed the rules of recession holidaying as well as doing my bit for the world economy by shopping.

Sixteen hours later however, I was furious at having to pay €150 for excess baggage.

So i spent the week doing 'free things' such as washing, squeezing my new clothes into my boyfriend's wardrobe and walking a lot to limit the extent of calorie creepage after a week of margaritas and guacemole.

By Saturday I was ready for my 'non recession' treat, a belated birthday present from my boyfriend who has finally recovered from a virus.

A meal in Town Bar and Grill. Far were we from affording Town Bar and Grill right now but I enjoyed my night of spoiling. The place was heaving and I wondered if perhaps the other diners were also the recpients of birthday treats or once-off special meals.
There was no evidence to show that this is the latest haunt to come to the media's attention as being in trouble.

It's sad, but not surprising, to hear that such a good restaurant, with fantastic food and a favourite among many, is now experiencing recessionary difficulties.
It's not surprising to me as my own family's restaurant, ironically a year closed on the very night I ate in Town, was never short of covers at the weekend and its closure was merely an indicator of financial pressure rather than a lack of popularity.

That's the thing about recession, it sometimes claims the busier restaurants as its victims, with high rents and unsympathetic banks playing a role. A full house doesn't always make the books add up. Unfortunately.

Many quieter restaurants will survive the recession, while busier ones may continue to close - it's just financial logistics you see.

Indeed so sudden was our own closure in the end that I only found out on the day, Friday 13th last year. After working there five, sometimes six days a week, for nearly six years, I know all too well the effect a closed business can have on those involved.

I pass many empty restaurants in Dublin at the moment and always get a twinge when I see bored staff furiously polishing the cutlery, desperate to keep themselves busy and hold onto their shifts.

I hope Town Bar and Grill's, 'private investor' will put an end to their troubles and see it thrive in the future.

Each dish was perfect, worth every penny and calorie, even if I will be walking more this week!

As the recession originated in the US with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, my trip to LA had me curious about the economic impact at a local level. Being a total news junkie, I managed to sneak in a few news reports on the various channels, in between lounging in my uncle's sun-drenched backyard and hunting for recession-busting bargains at the mall.

I was interested to see if the current climate was portrayed in the 'doom and gloom' manner favoured by some of our own media.

In contrast, fluorescent-orange news anchors broadcast regular updates on the plummeting property prices across the valley, seemingly dosed up on happy pills and wittering with each other in over-the-top, nauseating tones.

Stories of crime and highway accidents are reported in such a cheesy, almost bizarre, manner that I often wondered if I was hearing the news correctly. Perhaps the Botox-pumped presenters are just immune to the tragic tales that are all too frequent in a city of 12 million.

The most ostentatious report I witnessed was following a freak outbreak of rain one morning which made for Big News: it didn't dampen my holiday spirits but did make me smile!

Ads for herpes, haemorrhoids and debt help lines are all delivered in equal measures of syrupy sweetness.

Interesting too was how a lot of stories eclipsed our own news of late: the take over of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show reminded me of Pat's departure, while news of retail hell and students being rejected from their fee-paying schools were all too familiar.

I'm not sure why I am surprised as I knew America was in a worsening financial crisis but somehow I hadn't expected so much of a similarity but it seems the US is really just as bad as here.

Apart from the unbelievable sales, I was lucky to be holidaying far from any recession reality at my uncle’s, although California is clearly a state with many struggles ahead.

It seems however that the trend in broadcast media is for the anchors to maintain their blinding, bleached smiles and saccharine style, in an effort to preserve the ‘happiness’ all Americans seem to adopt in public.

Whether it’s reporters, struggling waiters in half-empty bars or pouncing sales assistants who greet me ecstatically in every shop, no one could ever be accused of being gloomy, no matter what their troubles.

It's just the Californian way, service with a smile and tangerine-tinged television.

Although I could never adjust to such an overload of enthusiasm, it's good to see people trying to lift their own spirits, and each others. Have a nice day now!

I've recently developed a serious shoe addiction, a new fetish for me as I'm not very good at walking in heels..I've always preferred to put my money into good bags, scarves and jewelled accessories..but since discovering the amazingness of wedges in LA, I am hooked! I fell in love with these white leather beauties at Steve Madden in America..these cork heeled ruffle wedges are so lightweight I feel I could even run in them!..while I still have a few wobbles they aren't nearly as difficult as walking in heels, but they do give the height without causing my feet to go on fire..they are the perfect poolside choice for holidays, can be worn day and night, at work or for going out..plus, unlike all the embellished sandals that will end up shoved in the back of the wardrobe come August, wedges can be teamed with tights for the winter! The most versatile shoe ever ! Such a good recession purchase that I bought three pairs!

check out http://www.stevemadden.com/ and prepare to drool..