Things I Love Thursday

[ 2 September 2010, 10:01 ]

It’s my favourite month of the year, but then, I am a super-biased Virgo! It’s the month of New York Fashion Week, multiple birthday parties, & the weather oh-so-slowly creeping towards Autumn. There might even be occasion to bust out a cardigan! REJOICE!

September is going to be a big one for me. I wish I could give you more details, but sadly for now I need to be ~*~cryptic~*~. It’ll be worth the wait when it all comes to the surface, I promise!

Now then, as part of my radical self-love practice (nudge nudge!), here’s my gratitude list for the week. It’s also the best remedy for a surly mood that I know of. Give it a go!

Big Tom is this amazing spiced tomato juice which I am obsessed with. I am averaging one 750ml bottle a day at the moment. It’s delicious & all-natural & makes your mouth flush red. Does it mean something when you’re craving tomato juice?! Regardless, it is obscenely delicious.

Sitting in parks with Chloe! I met her in the West Village the other day because she has just come back from living in L.A. for the last FOUR MONTHS (can you believe it?!). It was so good to see her again! She makes me laugh & she gives the most genuine hugs of anyone I’ve ever met. I would like to have her around me all the time!

Trying to find a hotel in NYC for my mother. Well, that wasn’t the fun bit really, but reading the titles of the hotel reviews (on TripAdvisor) was so funny. My favourites include: “Nightmare in Chinatown!” “Nasty but legendary” “Surrealistic” “I’d rather take a nap at the Macy’s bathroom than this place” “TINY, DEPRESSING & FILTHY!!” “Great place, shame about the people” Hahah! Anyway, not to worry, we found her something fabulous. I’m so excited about seeing her again!

One of my vision boards…

Caramel macaroons; kisses goodbye while I’m still sleeping; finding an amazing park (with shade, a table & !!!free wifi!!!) to work in on Sunday; listening to The Current late at night; perfect sandwiches; Getting Organised (capital G, capital O); designing shoes (I’m not even kidding, JUST YOU WAIT); wearing a boater hat all the time; Sabina Kelley (hellooooo); “She’s really beautiful, she looks like a female Michael Jackson” (yeah, you can guess who I was talking about!); finally going back to the gym & having a really good time; women who will hold incredible pairs of shoes for you; everything happening at once; Gmail’s Priority Inbox (YES); an old guy coming up to me & telling me he wanted a “tribunal tattoo” — I think he meant tribal, but it’s aiiight!; working with my feet in a foot spa; getting reflexology & feeling like it unlocked my brain (all of a sudden I was awash with ideas, reflexology is great like that); this photo of Hank & Dolly (they’re so cute, it shouldn’t even be LEGAL to be that cute); trying on fantastic jackets at Coach (1 2 3) which made me seriously yearn for crisper weather; being hit on by a toothless lesbian in the West Village (I miss that neighbourhood!); planning Autumn outfits in my Filofax since I can’t wear any of it yet; when The Dish spends hours making me elaborate meals (swoon); getting really dressed up just to walk the dogs (I’m bringing fancy back!); Chimes Ginger Chews (MAJOR obsession); spending Sunday in an stationery shop & re-working my office; pink citron & macaron candles by Votivo (can’t even tell you); second-hand bookshops; holding hands with The Dish; when Dolly is an excited squirming monster in the mornings!

I’d love to read your list, too! Submit it below, or post it on your own blog & link it so we can see it!

P.S. I’m judging the DRESS! Gala For Her Birthday! & WIN! A Huge Prize Pack! competition later on today, so if you forgot to enter… or think you could improve on your initial entry (!), you better get to it!

RADICAL self-love & stardust,

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Curious Tuesday!

[ 31 August 2010, 00:02 ]

Just one question…

What’s your favourite outfit?

The outfit which makes you feel most beautiful, powerful, confident & capable… & when you think (or look) back on it, what does that tell you about clothing & your personal style?

(Now don’t you wish you were taking daily outfit photos?!)

Pour moi? Well, I couldn’t pick just one.

25th birthday (2008); in Hollywood (2009); San Francisco (2010);
East Village (2010); West Village (2009); Tompkins Square Park (2010).

After a quick look back through my Flickr account, I chose these six outfits as being my favourites. I remember them being comfortable, as well as feeling great & confident in them.

Clearly, pink is my power colour. When I wear it, I feel bold, powerful & invincible. Royal blue & turquoise have a similar effect. I love to cut my outfits with black, I embrace a cinched waist, & an a-line shaped skirt is my best friend. I feel amazing in Betsey Johnson designs (her pieces feature in half of the above outfits!). Oh, & I also feel more comfortable wearing something on my head than not!

I’d love to read your answers, & hear if doing this little exercise triggers any epiphanies!

RADICAL self-love & stardust,

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Do You Want To Be A Mermaid Or A Whale?

[ 30 August 2010, 10:10 ]

Natanya’s aunt, Deb, emailed this to her, & then Natanya passed it on to me. When it comes to things like this, you never really know how real it is, & there’s never an accurate source… But this was so wonderful, it gave me tingles. I wanted to share it.

Recently, in a large city in Australia, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern,

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia.

Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans.

They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist.

If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them… where is IT?

Therefore, they don’t have kids either.

Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.

With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, “Good grief, look how smart I am!”

RADICAL self-love & stardust,

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Cherry On Top

[ 29 August 2010, 09:50 ]

Henry Rollins.

“If you hate your parents, the man or the establishment, don’t show them up by getting wasted & wrapping your car around a tree. If you really want to rebel against your parents: outearn them, outlive them, & know more than they do.”

“To hate is to show you still care. Who needs that? Focus on what’s really important.”

“The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.”

“Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress people just isn’t worth the time & effort.”

“Life is full of choices, if you have the guts to go for it. That’s why I get immediately bored with anyone’s complaining about how boring their life is, or how bad their town is. Fucking leave & go somewhere else. Or don’t.”

More Henry Rollins: An interview, on dating, & on being cool. All worth watching.

RADICAL self-love & stardust,

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Carousel: Week Ending 27th August 2010

[ 27 August 2010, 10:00 ]

Hello!

Before we jump into the internet whirlwind waiting for you below, I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that I’m speaking at Evolving Influence at New York Fashion Week (again!) this year! I’m so thrilled to have been invited back & I can’t wait to make my presentation. This time, I’m not on a panel, but sharing the stage with Yuri Lee of Lookbook.nu, & we’ll be talking about growing your audience, stoking their fire & getting them engaged! We’ll have lots of time to speak individually as well as lots & lots of Q&A! So bring yo’ questions!

Get Involved: Cultivate a passionate readership
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Brought to you by theFashionSpot
One of the best parts about blogging is community engagement. Learn from the masters how to get your readers excited about your blog, and how to keep the love alive!

Awesome! I’m so excited. If you’re going to be in town, snap up a ticket, because they’re going QUICKLY! Also, if you do come along, come & say hi to me afterwards! I love meeting you guys in person, & you’re all soooooo charming, it is fabulous!

If you CAN’T make it to New York City (I understand! I am very understanding! Heeee!), it will be streamed live too! I’ll put the links up when I have them, so you don’t have to miss a thing!

Okay, public announcement over. Here’s the rest of the madness!

How To Talk Dirty: 50 Examples That’ll Make You Blush! I love this article! It actually gives you examples to work from, which is very kind!

Edita Vilkeviciute by Camilla Akrans is a gooooorgeous photoshoot & perfect for my Antipodean darlings who are about to head into the springtime!

The packaging of this chocolate milk is absolutely exquisite. Doesn’t it make you want to buy it? But I can’t work out HOW to buy it! Does this company even exist?! WHY MUST YOU EVADE ME CHOCOLATE MILK?!

Would you ever go to a love hotel? They’re becoming popular in Venezuela!

Name Calling by Stoya.

Some people seem to think that knowledge of a public persona’s real name is some kind of power to wield, like an old pulp fantasy novel in which a demon can be summoned by the proper pronunciation of its twelve syllable long name.

It’s not.

When someone says “Hey, I know your real name!” they aren’t getting my attention in a good way. What they’re telling me is they have no respect for boundaries and are probably stalker material. It makes me less likely to reply, and reminds me of the fact that for every few thousand wonderful (and usually quite interesting) people that follow my work, read my babble (on twitter, tumblr, xcritic, popporn, and other places), and watch my dirty movies there’s one who kind of wants to skin me and stuff me with dryer lint to make their own personal Stoya doll.

The pros & cons of shoplifting. This article is so interesting!

How to seduce anything. How do you feel about the “seduction” community? Creepy & sleazy, or just a practical application of knowledge?

Hey hey! Five ways to become happier today!

A very good predictor of well-being is what psychologist Tim Kasser calls time affluence. Time affluence is the thing that we have time to sit down and chat with our friends while — not while being on the phone at the same time or text messaging at the same time, being with that person.

Oh, REALLY: Thinking yourself to orgasm!

I love this one. Why you can’t work at work. He makes some excellent points. This is one reason why I love working from home!

“Yeah, my feeling is that the modern workplace is structured completely wrong. It’s really optimized for interruptions. And interruptions are the enemy of work. They are the enemy of productivity, they are the enemy of creativity, they are the enemy of everything. But that’s what the modern workplace is all about, it’s interruptions. Everyone’s calling meetings all the time, everyone’s screaming people’s names across the thing, there’s phones ringing all the time. People are walking around. It’s all about interruptions. And people go to work today, and then they end up doing most of their real work after work, or on the weekends. So, people are working longer hours, people are tired – I’m working 50-60 hours this week. It’s not that there’s 50 or 60 hours worth of work to do, it’s because you don’t work at work anymore. You go to work to get interrupted.”

Sarah Wilson has the goods. Finding your daily launch pad is about this woman who stopped all digital action for A MONTH. A MONTH! A month without Twitter, email, Facebook, etc… Doesn’t it sound terrifying/delicious?

Mickey Mouse mania for men! Would your boyfriend wear a Mickey Mouse shirt? (Mine wouldn’t.)

Treehouses! Everyone loves a good treehouse.

Rebecca Minkoff has a blog, Minkette, which is so cute! Full of inspiring pictures & ideas. Well done!

Tim Ferriss knows how to grab your attention with a title. Viz: How Authors Really Make Money: The Rebirth of Seth Godin & Death of Traditional Publishing. It’s a good read, too, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.

Shayna Batya takes great photos.

What do you call yourself? Labels — & words — are important. What you call yourself matters. Read this sweet little piece to find out why.

The Most Important Thing That Men Who Have Sex With Women Need to Know. Yes! Charlie rules.

Resentment is one of the most common reasons that relationships fail. Therapists often say that couples come to them saying that they’re having sexual difficulties and when they start to actually talk about it, it turns out that there are all sorts of old resentments, hidden anger, and miscommunications. If you want sex to work, especially in a long-term relationship, you need to deal with whatever’s going on between you.

You knew it was going to happen eventually. TRON Sutra. Not safe for work!!!

This is so delightfully odd.

Make sure you love yourself sick before you leave the house each morning. Amen sister!

Why working at home is both awesome & horrible. Hahahah!! Except I don’t think any of those horrible things are that horrible!

I love Shae! It is no big secret. Starr interviewed her here & it’s a fantastic read!

Introduction to Life Design by Jessica Mullen. WHOAH! Loving it!

Leo in Bed. Would you want this bed? I would… & yes, I do have lots of Leo in my chart! Ha!

Attached to technology & paying a price from the New York Times. I feel this quite acutely. I’ve made some changes — most nights I leave my laptop in my office after about 6pm, so I can focus on The Dish & the dogs & the time we have together. Do you think your use of technology is interfering with your relationships?

20 Things I’ve Learned From Travelling Around The World For Three Years, including “people are generally good”, “the media lies” & “the world is boring”.

Pharrell Williams is a good egg.

I saw firsthand how Pharrell is with kids while watching him work later that day. During a recording session in the studio, one of his friends stopped by and brought along his 9 year-old son. The young boy was in awe when he met Pharrell. He shook the young boy’s hand and told him he was allowed anytime he wanted to come hang out, but the only way his body guard would let him in would be with his good grades.