Things I Love Thursday

[ 15 May 2008, 22:50 ]

Southern hospitality — This time last week I was on my way to Florida. I had such a great time there, & Meg & Charles made me feel so welcome! (Thank you!) It was all about Spanish moss, amazing weather, birthday parties, bubble machines, s’mores & a nice slow pace. I don’t know that I could live in Gainesville, but we went out to a tiny little town called Palatka where we spent some time at this beautiful house which made me think that I could happily spend a lot of time in a spot like that.

Disneyworld, Orlando & Mike Dooley. To me, the three are now inextricably linked, haha! I had such an amazing time there! I was only there for a day; I caught the Greyhound there on Sunday morning & back the next day. Mike & I went to Disneyworld, out for dinner in a beautiful setting (dining alfresco by a lake, warm tropical breezes & all), then spent time lounging by his pool talking. He has a great lifestyle, I didn’t want to leave! It was so much fun to spend time with him one on one (& fall kind of love with his dog). Mike is great, I totally adore him, & wish I could have spent more time in his company. Disneyworld was great too, of course! We went on the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean & the teacups…

Good plane seats — I have had incredible luck with seating this entire time I’ve been travelling. Lots of leg room, entire rows to myself, super-pleasant seat-mates, & more!

Butterfly Rainforest — In Gainesville, we went to the Museum of Natural History which contains one of the most fantastic things I’ve ever seen: a butterfly rainforest. Picture yourself walking through a beautiful, lush, green valley, as butterflies of all colours & sizes flutter past, occasionally landing on you & then flying on. It was incredible. Really, really incredible. The lime green one below fell in love with me, I think — it hung around for ages! Having a butterfly land in your hair is quite something, you can feel these tiny vibrations as it beats its wing close to your ear, & you get this feeling that you should stay very, very still so as not to disrupt the moment. Yeah. It was fabulous. If you ever get the chance to go, do it!

Flying into NYC — I flew into NYC’s LaGuardia airport last night, which I’ve never done (I have always been a JFK gal!). We flew right over the city, which was awe-inspiring & gorgeous. I stared out the window the whole time, getting my bearings & marvelling.

New purchases! I haven’t been going shopping crazy, but I have definitely picked up some fabulous new things. Hit picks: vintage Chanel scarf (free!), silver mesh high heels ($21!), black DKNY dress ($39), Disney hats (no idea) & my latest new toy… a Helio Ocean. Be still my beating heart! So sexy, so sleek! I am in rapture, truly. It is a marvellous thing. Meg & Charles (my hosts in Gainesville) both had them & every time they whipped them out to do crazy tinkering, my blood bubbled with lust! Now I’m back in NYC, & I have one of my own… Nyah nyah! Hee! I’m so happy, I have wanted one for such a long time!

Simon — He is great 24/7. I wish he could come back to New York! Eep!

Honourable mentions: Breakfast meetings at the St Regis (I met with Louis Vuitton this morning!); grey v-neck t-shirts (my new craze); ridiculously high platforms with straps all over; technology (man, it’s good — all the videos in this post reminded me how great it is!); the Sex & The City movie’s approaching release (maybe we should have an NYC nonpareil meet-up & all go & see it together?!); the way New York streets smell (amazing food scents 24/7); New York City’s incredible convenience (it might be all of the States, but Victoria’s Secret doesn’t close until about 9pm on a Wednesday! Wow!) & looking forward to settling into a sanctuary & writing furiously for hours on end!

“A single thankful thought towards heaven is the most perfect of all prayers.” — Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Okay, my sweet! How about you? I know this is going up a little late, so hopefully you have had extra time to think about what would make your weekly list of glee!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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How To Wear... Competition!

[ 15 May 2008, 18:19 ]

How utterly fabulous! iCiNG has teamed up with Polyvore for another competition!

This one’s more trend-centric than the last. It’s called How To Wear…, & the idea is that you make a set giving us your take on how to wear…
Gladiator sandals
Metallics
Purple
Blazers
Prints
Waistcoats
Headwear
Flared trousers
High waists
...or 1940’s style!

You have 14 days to whip up as many fantastic outfits as you like! I’ll be choosing 12 winners (phew!), all of whom will be getting a sweet little parcel from me in New York City! (I will write you love letters & send you trinkets & fortunes & bubble wands & anything pretty I see…) If that doesn’t entice you, how about the fact that your set will be world famous on iCiNG & Polyvore? Sounds good to me!

Click here to get busy styling, & be sure to have submitted your entries by the 29th of May! All entries should go through that link!

Best of luck, glamazons!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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A Place To Lay My Hat

[ 15 May 2008, 16:43 ]

My sweet nonpareils!

I am writing to ask you a favour. I feel weird about doing this, so please bear with me!

I am on the search for a temporary home in Manhattan, NYC. I’m currently staying with friends but I am going to be here until the 28th of July (!!!), & need somewhere more permanent. I have had lots of incredibly wonderful offers to stay with people for a weekend here or there, but I am really looking for a place of my own. A sanctuary, oui, where I can settle in, do lots of writing & properly fall in love with the city!

If you have an apartment that will be vacant from now until August, you know of someone who would like a house-sitter or you’re trying to sublet your place, please let me know! I am super-responsible, clean & tidy, good with plants & dogs & very respectful of people’s property & possessions.

All I require is that it’s in Manhattan & has a good internet connection. Hee!

You can either leave a comment here or email me (gala at galadarling dot com). Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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Yoga For Beginners

[ 14 May 2008, 09:09 ]

Never tried yoga, but want to give it a shot? Wary of walking into an incense-filled room with a whole lot of lean, healthy-looking people in close-fitting pants? Why not try it at home? It’s much less scary & you’ll feel less self-conscious about bending yourself around like spaghetti!

Tara Stiles is a Ford model who makes excellent yoga videos which you can view online. Here are some of my favourite ones… give them a try!

There are more videos by Tara available too! You’ll be limber in no time!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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ModCloth Competition Winner!

[ 13 May 2008, 22:00 ]

It is with great excitement that I announce the winning set from the iCiNG/ModCloth/Polyvore competition!

Our winner is…

April Showers by decembers! Congratulations, sweetie!

Susan of ModCloth & I were so excited by the following two sets from vulgarmoon that we decided to award her a $10 voucher, too!

Nevermore

She’s Singin’ In The Rain!

If you can both get in touch with me, I’ll send you your vouchers!

Thank you all so much for taking part in the contest — we were absolutely thrilled with the calibre of the entries & your fabulous style, originality & taste! For those of you who didn’t win, never fear! There is another wonderful Polyvore competition coming soon!

Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala

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