Good morning!

First up, some housekeeping!

You may have noticed we have a new header… Do a hard refresh if you can’t see it! The photo of the blossoms was taken last year in Washington Square Park — I’ve put it there as a way of trying to will Spring to come a little faster! Fingers crossed, huh? The photos of me are by Chloe Rice, the photobooth picture was taken at Otto’s Shrunken Head & the other two pictures are of things in my office! I hope you like it, I think it has an optimistic Spring/Summer vibe, & it makes me really happy to look at it!

ALSO, henceforth, the “iCiNG” name is no more! It’s a name I came up with over three years ago & it’s time to shed it, like a snakeskin! The site is now called Gala Darling or galadarling.com, whichever you prefer, & it makes much more sense. Don’t worry, though! You are all still my nonpareils & I still love you!

Thanks for listening! xo

Panda-monium: Sixteen panda cubs pose for a class shot on their first day at nursery ahhhhhh!

gapingvoid’s thoughts on blogging, 2010. Amen.

I never ever ever play games online but Robot Unicorn Attack makes me laugh so hard!

Jump into the steel hooves of a robot unicorn, prancing freely amongst the lush purple grasses and rainbow-strewn backdrops of your wildest fantasies.

Plus, the music is a loop of Erasure (!!!!!!) & sometimes your unicorn gets decapitated. I like it a lot.

So this guy is doing this thing, The 100 Girls 100 Days Project. I found out about it as I was browsing through Craigslist. He’s dating one girl a day for 100 days, & he’s almost finished. It’s kinda interesting & weird all at the same time. I like people who do projects like this, though. I read about a girl in Time Out New York who decided to go to a party a night for 50 nights, & then realised it was so much fun that she kept it up. Sometimes forcing yourself to stick to a schedule is a great way of breaking a boring routine.

Never Too Much Glitter is a blog all about nailpolish & cute manicures.

Jennifer Hawkins Takes Stand For Natural Beauty, aka poses nude for Marie Claire & says no to photoshopping.

I am absolutely fascinated by this before/after photo of Heidi Montag, & I really & truly have no judgment of her for doing any of those things. While I prefer her “before” looks, I think cosmetic surgery is amazing. Her face has been completely re-shaped! Regardless of how you feel about cosmetic surgery, you have to agree that the science behind it is quite brilliant & clever.

Ally emailed me about this rad, FREE eBook, How To Be Remarkable!

BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO… is a cool Polaroid project… which you should contribute to.

Sok, who is a huge sweetie, emailed me to tell me about her friend’s fundraising efforts for Haiti.

She wanted to raise 1,000 (NZ) for the earthquake effort and if she did she would wear a cardboard box for a day – which she did super quickly! Her next goal was 10,000 and she would get a little tattoo if she reached that much. I’ve been completely blown away by her awesomeness, she seems like a quiet and shy person when you first meet her, and then she goes and does something like this off her own bat and follows through with it 🙂

P.S. I made this is a DIY blog. Thanks for the link Latha!

I love these quotes by John O’Donohue!

Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome. People share news online that inspires awe, researchers find. CASE IN POINT BABY!

Wikifashion Needs Contributors! Wikifashion was started by nonpareil Madeline, & it is brilliant! Dive in & get involved!

I met Keiko Lynn at the Fashion 2.0 Awards on Wednesday night. She is adorable & very sweet.

If you didn’t get any invitations to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, don’t worry! Most of the designers are streaming their shows live! Click the link to see the list. It’s just like being front row, except better, because you can watch while wearing your pyjamas & eating a packet of biscuits. Word!

Fafi has a new range for adidas Originals which is amazing. That jacket! & the shoes with sequinny holographic panels?! Ahhhhhhhh!!!

(Yes, lots of Nitrolicious links! I love Wendy.) Louis Vuitton has a new range of handbags, thoughts? I love those tails but I really, really, really wish they were fake.

I am not really a sneakers gal, but Jimmy Choo is releasing a capsule sneaker collection & it’s pretty cute. I like those blue ones! I love the Jeremy Scott for adidas Originals too.

New Zealand Design Blog is a round-up of cool creative stuff coming out of NZ. I mean, hello!!! The writing is funny & very NZ too, I reckon… !

In other news, don’t you love the word brooch? It looks one way, sounds another. Sneaky.

Overcoming Creative Block. Comments a go-go!

Awesome: “Harper’s Bazaar’s Personal Style Competition is looking for one fabulously stylish winner, who will receive a trip to New York City, a photo shoot to be published in a future issue of Harper’s Bazaar and a $10,000 shopping spree provided by Saks Fifth Avenue…” Who wouldn’t want to win this?! Enter here!

Beyond Happiness & Unhappiness, an interview with Eckhart Tolle.

Commercials Are the Culprit in TV-Obesity Link from the NY Times.

But research shows that young children are exposed to about 30 hours of food-related advertising annually…

Spy Emerson Reflects On Swimming Cities, ahhh, beautiful! I wish there were more pictures!

Free Advice. Fantastic. A guy in Copenhagen spent a week, five hours each day, giving free advice & coffee to people on the street. I would love to do this. Check it out.

Can best friends be good life partners?

Click on A Clipper In The Clouds to read about the Aircruise — a hotel in the sky which travels slowly, is powered by natural energy & has windows which can be opened…

One Step Closer is a figure skating exhibition to benefit the prevention & treatment of HIV/AIDS. It’s in New York on March the 27th & it’s only $15. Thanks to Yukino for letting me know! It’s a very worthy cause, check it out.

Check Yourself: Accidentally Contributing to Media Standards from The Demoiselles is about sisterhood & how we sometimes use our sisterhood to attack other women. Definitely something to think about. It is brill. Read it!

Allegra’s doing The Self Love Project!

@holleighz shows off her radical self love totem! Aw, beautiful!

A fantastic idea for Radical Self Love is having an inspiration day like Verhext did. Alone or with a friend, it’s an amazing way to get yourself tuned back into the “cosmic hum” (as she puts it!).

Woooooooooo, check out Madly In Love With Me Day! (Feb 13th!) Thanks to Siona for the link!

Rachel’s 10 Self Love Commandments!

I’ve linked to Operation Beautiful before but it deserves another plug… I was reminded of it by @crimson_kisses!

Your Love Mantra by astrological sign! Awesome, I love it. Thanks @hachikoxbb!

Oola wrote about Radical Self Love in Finnish!

Alzy’s Fashion Friday: Radical Self Love Wardrobe post is fantastic.

I believe radical self love starts with lingerie, macaroons. There is no time I feel sexier & more accepting of my body than when I’m strolling around my apartment in some knockout skivvies.

“Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. &, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements -– the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life -– weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, & the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.”(Lawrence Krauss) (via The Animal Orchestra)

Have an incredible weekend!