Style Tips -- 8th May 2008

[ 8 May 2008, 13:32 ]

Instead of treating people like strangers, & only showing kindness or your true self once you know them, pretend they’re you’re best friend. You don’t need to go overboard, but make them feel important, pay attention to them & be open. You will be amazed.

Eat fresh fruit for breakfast.

Go people-watching, & work out what it is you like about other people. Then think of ways that you could incorporate that into your own life. Maybe it’s a certain swagger, an edgy femininity, big hair or the way they touch other people when they speak to them. Write notes & then make an effort to give it your own individual twist.

Film yourself walking down the street. Then use some video editing software to set it to music. The music should reflect what’s going on — is it an ethereal drift, a punk rock jaunt, or a unique strut? Now put it up on Youtube (or Flickr)!

Write all your emails in haiku format for a week.

Keep your money in a sock (striped? Lacy? With toes? You decide!) instead of a wallet.

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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Things I Love Thursday

[ 8 May 2008, 07:16 ]

The iCiNG community — You all continually amaze me. I received this email from Mica a few days ago.

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you for organising the contact page for us all. I had to go down to Melbourne for a graduate position and I had a break before my flight home, so I asked one of my new Melbourne-based iCiNG facebook friends what I should do. I got some great suggestions although I actually ran out of time to do much, it was still helpful! When I got called back to Melbourne again the next again week I made sure I had a bit more time to spare so I could meet my new Melbourne friend! I met up with the lovely Nora yesterday and we sat in a little Melbourne coffee shop, drinking hot chocolate and chatting. It was a perfect way to relax and unwind after an interview, and I’m really glad I got to say hi to her face to face… My favourite part was being thrown out of the coffee shop as we had overstayed our welcome, we’d both not noticed the time! hehe. Not something I would have expected to happen after meeting a complete stranger…!”

Telephones — This is going to sound silly maybe, but have you ever thought about how incredibly amazing the telephone is? You press a sequence of numbers & you are connected to your best friend, your lover, your parents; instantly transported to a kitchen in Bombay or a library in Boston or someone climbing a tree in Dunedin. I love it!

New York — Oh, come on! You knew that was coming! I’m really starting to feel at home here. It has been fabulous roaming the city with Simon, but now that I am here alone, & have been a bit nervous about it, I feel like New York is cheering for me. It wants me to stay. It’s doing its best to make me happy. The weather is warm & beautiful, & when I stepped out the front door today, here’s what I was greeted with. Blossoms.

Raw food — Man, New Yorkers have it totally sussed. I went into a tiny health food store on the Upper East Side yesterday & found an entire wall full of raw food. Not to mention the amazing food I’ve eaten since arriving here — mind-blowing, to say the least.

Being open to opportunities — I’ve made a conscious effort to open myself out to new people & experiences while I’m here, & it’s paying off in a major way! I have had offers to stay all over the city, go vintage shopping, explore Brooklyn, scope out street style with Altamira (aka Craig), stay at someone’s summer house in East Hampton, visit Disneyworld, hang in the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, go to Minnesota & stay with a guy from Rhymesayers, & way more than I could ever mention! It’s absolutely amazing & I’m so excited. I love having so many choices that I’m not sure which one I’m going to pick!

Warm weather — New York has totally been putting on the ritz in terms of weather. Blue skies, sunshine, blossoms & butterflies are everywhere. Even better, as you read this, I am 30,000 feet in the sky, flying to Florida, where it is even warmer! It feels kind of like cheating to go from the Australian summer to the American one, but you know, I’m okay with that!

Feeling a bit Carrie Bradshaw — Oh, I know it’s a cliché, but here I am, a girl in the city, laptop in hand, writing about her experiences & trying to make sense of them… Of course, there are probably thousands of girls in Manhattan who feel exactly the same way, but it’s a club I’m pleased to join! (Also: can’t wait to see the movie! Squeal!)

Honourable mentions: Lots of books to read (I am dying to get into them but have been too busy thus far!); Disneyworld (can’t wait to go!); spontaneous phone calls; yerba mate tea (yummy!); my bathrobe from the New York Palace (it is pimp); the New York Palace in general (I’d be happy never to stay anywhere else again); the East Coast raw community (aaaaaabsolutely… faaaaabulous!); Zappos.com (upgraded me to overnight shipping for free & were generally amazing); plotting out an informal Spring uniform while I’m here (pictures to come once I’ve obtained it!); marvelling at the things in the supermarket (really, it blows my mind); my new Frye boots (pictured above); pink (it’s everywhere & I’m embracing it); my New York City Moleskine; new friends who want to help; tulips (they are all over the city, huge & vibrant) &... well, pretty much everything! I am a little bundle of loved-up loveliness right now! Mwah!

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem

So, gorgeous, tell us! What’s ringing your bell, turning your crank, keeping you awake at night? The promise of Spring? A new Winter coat? Stolen kisses? Trapeze lessons? Let us know!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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What Should I Buy For Mother's Day?

[ 7 May 2008, 11:04 ]

This Sunday, the 11th of May, is Mother’s Day. You can call it a Hallmark holiday all you like, but let’s face it — without a mother, none of us would be here in the first place! She deserves a bit of love, & you know it. Here are some ways to show her your appreciation without resorting to old faithful gifts — like a gift pack from The Body Shop or a scented candle!

Write her a letter or card
These days, whenever it’s a birthday, Christmas or Mother’s/Father’s Day, my gift of choice is a card or letter. That might sound like a bit of a cop-out, but really, my parents have everything they need — & anything they want, they’ll get. I can’t add a lot of value to their life by buying them knick-knacks & stuff they’ll never use.

On the flip-side, writing somebody something personal has huge value. I’m not talking about a card that says “Happy Mother’s Day, love Josephine”! You need to make it worthwhile. Sit down, spend an hour, write something meaningful. I like to write to my parents & tell them that I love them, admire them & am grateful for everything they’ve done for me (though of course, I mix it up a lot!). It always means much more to them than a candle or a book ever could.

This article was actually prompted by an email I received from a girl who said that she & her mother didn’t get along very well. She knew she had to do something for mother’s day but felt that her mother had caused her so much pain that the idea of buying her a gift made her grit her teeth. My suggestion was that she write her a card or letter, saying that she knew their relationship wasn’t perfect but that she loved her anyway, & that she hoped that they could work on that. So it doesn’t have to be all sweetness & light — just genuine.

Help her out
Your average mother is an unbelievable multi-tasker, juggler & jack of all trades. She has kids, a career, a lover, a house that seems to self-mess & a billion obstacles to navigate. Imagine you were your mother for a day. How well do you think you’d do? I think I’d be a total flop!

So, why not help lighten the load? Now, you don’t have to do any manual labour yourself if you don’t want to. But you could try hiring a cleaner for a month — they could come in for a few hours every Monday & help get the house in order. You could offer to cook dinner for a week, or if cooking isn’t your forte, you could hire someone to do it for her! You could offer to babysit so that she can go out & do something indulgent & luxurious. Alternatively, you could pay for her to get pampered. What mother wouldn’t want a massage, a manicure or a spa day?

A framed photograph
If you have a good photograph of you & your momma, or even just a nice recent photo of yourself, frame it & wrap a bow around it. Everyone likes evidence of themselves with someone they love having a great time. Bonus points if you use an image editing program to make you both look younger & more beautiful! A little use of the healing & blurring brushes goes a long way!

Sending a photo of yourself is a great option if you live far away from your mother or just don’t see her very often. That way, if you turn up at her door one day, she’ll remember who you are! (Just kidding!)

Something alive
Flowers are nice but they don’t last very long — & all that cutting-the-stems-diagonally, putting-Aspirin-or-sugar-in-the-water stuff is a bit of a drag. Mother’s day is meant to be her day off, after all! If you buy her a potted plant, it’ll be something she can keep for much longer, & every time she looks at it she will be reminded of you, her sublime offspring!

The best thing to do is go for something low-maintenance. Buying her something she has to think about all the time is not the idea! Orchids are my favourite because they only need a bit of water every couple of days & they’re right as rain, but if you ask someone at a garden centre, they’ll be able to push you in the right direction.

Go for a walk
How often do we get to spend time with our mothers & just hang out? If you’re anything like me, barely ever. There’s always something to do, somewhere to go, businesses to talk about & dinner to make. If you go on a walk together, you might be surprised at how good it is to just spend time with one another. You’re related, after all, & more similar than you might initially think. You don’t have to walk along the beach (this isn’t a personals ad!), but even walking to a café or around the neighbourhood can be wonderful.

Have a cup of tea
& hold her hand. Tell her you love her, bring her some biscuits & hug.

If none of these have tickled your fancy, there are a whole lot of other ideas at my article on Gift-Giving from last year!

If you’re a mother, what was your best ever mother’s day present? If not, what are you going to do for your mother this Sunday?

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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Your Life In Haiku

[ 6 May 2008, 09:32 ]

If you were to write a haiku about your life at this very moment, what would it say?

Remember, the format is 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syallbles, & theoretically it should involve something about nature.

Mine might be…

I love this city.
We wake up early to roam,
with hair like wild vines.

or…

My darling FedEx,
Please deliver my new boots (!!!)
Love, A Girl Possessed.

or…

I love Simon. I
love Simon. I love Simon.
Don’t go to London!

or…

So, celebrities
love Pinkberry. I’m sad to
say they have no taste.

How about you?

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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Weekly Resolutions

[ 5 May 2008, 07:01 ]

Yay, weekly resolutions! A bit of structure for my (currently) incredibly random life! I’m so excited about this, haha, what a nerd! I don’t know what time this is going live for those of you in Australia & NZ, but it’s 7am here… so I’m sorry if your usual iCiNG schedule is a bit out of whack!

Drum up lots of fabulous content!
It has been a pretty crazy week, & I really haven’t made any time to sit down & do any writing. This becomes a problem when your website revolves around articles! So, this week I resolve to plot out lots of time where I can sit down & write. I always feel better when I have new content up & I know you guys appreciate it too, so that is my #1 priority for the week.

Announce ModCloth competition winner!
Yes, this is one of my major goals for the week. It sounds like a small thing, I know, but have you looked at the competition page recently?! My god! There are 522 entries, & we have to comb through every one to find the greatest, sparkliest, & most fabulous! Then, of course, Susan & I have sit down & discuss our winner. (If we were doing it in person, there would certainly be pie, strong coffee, & excessive gesticulation.) You get my drift. It is no small task. But I will do it, because I love you!

Relax & be present
New York is one of the craziest cities I’ve ever been in, & it’s really easy to let everything around you affect you & make you feel as if you need to do a million things right now, or else… Well, or else, who knows? But there is this general compulsion to rush & act like a lunatic when really, all of that stuff is a choice. So, instead of thinking about the twelve billion things I’d like to do in the next couple of days, I’m going to do my very best to take it slowly, appreciate the moment, & just enjoy what’s going on around me. I have time. There’s no rush.

I have some other little goals too. Like spending as much time with Simon as possible before he goes to London (I’m going to miss him so much!), connecting with lots of new people, opening up to experience & presenting myself well.

How about you guys? Are your goals personal, career-related, physical or spiritual? Do you want to step back into making your goals for the iTC come about? (There are still a few weeks to go, so it’s never too late!) Let us know in the comments!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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