Photo key:
1. untitled, 2. issue3cover, 3. treehair, 4. our pink gingerbread house, 5. bettys butter biscuit hearts, 6. stars, 7. untitled, 8. toffee apples

White — I am just obsessed with it! I really love white rooms with white furniture & really a minimal, but whimsical & pale kind of aesthetic. I think I blame Kris Atomic. You should see her redecorated bedroom. Très fabuleux.

Late Show With David Letterman — I know it is really dorky & probably no one who lives in New York ever watches it. Especially since the studio audience is full of husband & wife teams from Kentucky wearing matching baseball caps & “fanny packs” & khakis & really white sneakers… BUT! I love to watch it, because… & this is even dorkier than the show itself… it makes me feel closer to NYC. I can almost feel the energy of the city coming through the screen. I know this is probably crazy talk, but the show makes me really happy, even when he is interviewing people I don’t care about. It gives me hope & it excites me to think that even at midnight in Australia, New York is still out there — across the ocean, but still there, waiting for me. (Awwww.)

Making myself good, proper meals — One of my goals for 2008 is to eat properly, create meal plans & stock my fridge with Good Stuff ™. I have been eating rubbish for too long & I’m sick of it. I am going to be 25 this year (PANIC!), & surely, it’s time to get on with it?! I have been making myself delicious sandwiches (wholemeal bread, hummus, salt & pepper, baby spinach, tomato, cucumber, chicken, parmesan cheese & balsamic vinegar) as well as bowls of yoghurt (plain Greek with fresh berries dropped in it by my loving hands — currently raspberries & blueberries). This stuff is probably obvious to you but to me it is a big deal! Also I am going shopping for a recipe book this weekend with my accomplished kitchen maestro friend. Yay!

2008! Yes, yes! It has been great so far. I have my new Moleskine & my system is to draw a heart, then write a “to do” action next to it, & when I’ve completed it, I shade in the heart with a purple highlighter. I have also been doing yoga regularly — I have been watching MTV Power Yoga & I have a new pink mat for downward dogging on! My ballet conditioning DVDs are in the mail & I’ve been reading great books. I have been eating properly & keeping the house tidy, making big plans & going for long walks. This year is going to be amazing, I feel like I could burst with excitement!

Elle UK — I love it. I really got into it when I was last in London, & I think it is one of the best magazines out there. I’ve been looking through the November edition recently & there is just so much information in there! It made my brain swell with ideas & colours & volume & cacophony. I think Elle UK is a true fashion bible of our time, more so than any other magazine I’ve ever read, in fact. I encourage you to get your hands on a copy soon!

The new iCiNG header! Those of you using an RSS reader to read iCiNG probably won’t know this, but we have a new header as of yesterday! New year, new look & all that! More excitement is coming, this is just the first step! (Watch me rub my hands together gleefully!)

Oprah — She is amazing. She was born to an unwed teenage mother, & at age 14 gave birth to a son who died soon after. She got a job in radio while she was still in high school & co-anchored the evening news at age 19. She then moved into the daytime television arena, & the rest is history. She says fantastic things & is the only black billionaire. What a woman! She is absolute proof that it doesn’t matter WHERE you come from or WHAT your circumstances — you can be as successful as you please. Read more about her here.

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” — Oprah Winfrey

Even better, in the latest issue of O magazine, she has an article called “Awakening Joy”, which is about how to feel happy in your every day life. Along with singing & getting a joy buddy (“a running partner in the pursuit of happiness” !!!), they encourage you to write lists of the things that make you happy! Well, don’t argue with Oprah. Let’s talk happy! Your lists! Go!