Greek — I started watching this at the suggestion of Kris Atomic (I have been name-dropping her like mad recently but evidently, she can’t help how incredible she is!) & I am obsessed! Cute but awkward geeky boy? Demented socialite sister? Fraternities & sororities? Yes, yes, yes! I am convinced that my obsession with these oh-so-American things comes from growing up in New Zealand, with only my well-worn copies of Sweet Valley High for company (not really, but you know what I mean), imagining what “normal life” in the States would be like. I also attribute my going to cheerleading lessons to SVH. Oh, SVH, how you have warped me! Regardless… Greek is great. You should watch it. I think you’ll love it.

New shoes — They don’t change your life or anything, but they sure do make a gal smile. I keep taking my McQueens out of the box to look at them. They are the shoe equivalent of candy. Mmmm, shiny, & lickable! I’m officially wearing them out for the first time today. Here’s to not breaking one’s neck! Cheers!

Airbrush tanning! I have a thing tonight that I want to look fabulous for, & my legs have crazy bruises on them which isn’t terribly beautiful, so I decided to enlist the help of a spray tan. I looked around on Yelp, found Gotham Glow & called for an appointment. So yesterday, Tamar came to my apartment, set up a tent in my living room, had me strip naked & sprayed me with coloured solution. Ooh la la! Interesting times we live in, when you can change your skin colour in ten minutes! But she did an amazing job — so much better than your standard spray tan in a booth. She used an airbrush, which meant that she was able to give me definition as well as making my limbs look long & lean. I keep pulling up my t-shirt to look at my stomach — it has never looked better! Anyway, I’m so so happy with the results. (You will see pictures later today!) If you ever get the chance to have an airbrush tan, take it!

Jess — I went to see her the day before I flew out to New York at the start of May, not knowing whether the New York trip would happen or not. We hung out, watched Australia’s Next Top Model, talked a bunch & I watched as she made cupcakes. She had plans to come to the States in June (California & Texas), but as I hoped to be in New York at that time, she made arrangements to spend 6 days in the city. She arrived on Thursday, went to her friend’s place & passed out, & then we spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday together. Oh, the things we did! We shopped! We laughed! We hunted out cupcakes, frozen yoghurt, guacamole & Mexican food! We compared foot pain, avoided drunks in Starbucks & bought dresses! We spoke in crazy codes, dropped in pieces of our extremely limited French vocabularies & gesticulated wildly as we spoke! Suffice it say, it was a Good Time(tm). Yesterday she jumped on a plane to Austin, & today she embarks on a road-trip to New Orleans. I’m so envious; wish I could keep her here, all to myself! She is such great company & I really adore her. MWAH!

Sex & The City: The Movie (The Book) — Okay, so I know we weren’t all delighted with the movie, so it might come as a surprise to hear me say this, but the Sex & The City movie book is excellent. I picked up Sex & The City: Kiss & Tell a few weeks ago too, which is a book about the series, & it too is brilliant. Why? Well, SATC, for all its flaws, was an exceptionally well-put-together show, & that’s something you might not realise until you look through these books or listen to the director’s commentary on the DVDs (which I really, really recommend). In fact, I was a fan of SATC but when I heard the director’s commentary, I really started to appreciate the show. I love people who do things well, & SATC was really in the hands of some magnificently capable people. On the commentary & in the books, they talk about things like, why did they choose this dress? What did it mean for the character development? Where did it come from? How did they style the characters this way or that way? Why is Carrie’s apartment this colour? The books are even more in-depth: there are comments from the actors about the scenes, notes from Michael Patrick King about directing it, an investigation into Pat Field’s styling process & so much more. Even if you didn’t like the movie, comme moi, there is still lots to love about the way they put it all together. So it comes highly recommended; I’ve been really enjoying it.

New music — My most recent favourites are Vampire Weekend, Panic! At The Disco (I cannot stop listening to Pretty. Odd., I think it is totally brilliant), Snow Patrol, Nicole Atkins, Lights, Katy Perry, Deerhunter, Born Ruffians & Fleet Foxes. They all make me very happy. What are you listening to at the moment?

Triumph versus the Star Wars nerds — Oh, honestly. I know this is such old news but every time I see it I end up laughing until I hyperventilate!

Honourary mentions: Fabulously positive emails; anticipation (always always); SoulGarden horoscopes (yes, I am a huge fan); waking up three minutes before your alarm goes off; walking out my front door first thing to see that a pigeon is hanging out in the building — I startled it, it flew away, HELLO I am awake now!; dressing like a cupcake (my passion for it has been re-ignited!); my pink sequinned bikini top (must make an appearance at the Mermaid Parade this weekend, though I need something to wear it with…); the fact that hip-hop karaoke gigs exist; Skinny Puppy’s Greater Wrong Of The Right; falling asleep with the fan going & my faux-dachshund, Salvador, at my side; hot pink (I love it & can’t help but gravitate towards it); cherries for breakfast; finding nail-polish that matches my new dress perfectly; the Tarina Tarantino Barbie (so cool!); sunshine & real conversations!

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Okay… your turn!