June arrived this weekend with a hiss and a roar, and I’m excited to see what it’s going to surprise us with!

Pretty much all I can think about right now is my upcoming trip to the Greek Islands with Shauna and Kat! We decided that the Cyclades sounded like the perfect location in which to kiss my twenties goodbye and saddle up for my thirties. Nothing makes a big birthday less terrifying than being surrounded by blue skies, turquoise seas and plenty of myths and legends. We’ve been booking flights and hotels, and my mind is all awhirl with Grecian daydreams…

Okay, okay, I’m getting distracted. Here were my favourite things about May, from beauty to clothes to music!

The biggest beauty change I’ve made this month is that I’ve stopped using shampoo and conditioner, and have replaced them with a baking soda/water mix, and apple cider vinegar/water mix. The main reason for doing this is that my hair is very fine and prone to oiliness, which means that if I want to look presentable, I really have to wash my hair every day. (Dry shampoo only does so much, and the results never look as good as I want them to.)

At our very first Blogcademy, Liz — who has gorgeous hair — told me she hadn’t washed her hair in months, and it really got me thinkin’. The more I researched it, the more sense it seemed to make… So I took the plunge.

Here is what I do: in a little bottle, I mix 5oz of water with a tablespoon of baking powder. I shake it up, then sit on the side of my tub, tilt my head back and pour it over my hair. I use my hairbrush to brush it through, then let it sit for about five minutes. Once I get in the shower, I rinse it out, and then spritz my hair with a mixture that is half water and half apple cider vinegar. I brush that through, too, and rinse it out. That’s it! Pretty simple!

My hair is looking great (if I do say so myself) and the best part is that I’m not washing it as much. I can leave it a couple of days and it looks fine. If the roots look a little greasy, I use No Drought, and it gives me a few extra hours of wear. I’ve heard that the longer you go using the ol’ baking soda/ACV route, the better your hair looks, so I’m excited to see what happens over the next month or so! I will, of course, keep you posted!

Other than that, my current beauty obsessions include using St. Tropez Instant Glow Face Lotion every day, and mixing two or three lipsticks to create custom colours. You know, Jean Godfrey-June says that if you mix any two lipsticks, the resulting colour will be perfect. I don’t know how accurate that is, but I’m enjoying experimenting!

On Friday night, as the rest of the city was going out to party, drink and stumble over cobblestones, I was in a studio illuminated by chandeliers. I sat with 30 other women, learning secrets from Veronica Varlow, who was draped in vintage slips and a cream flower crown. Rose petals were scattered, candles were lit and, with a red blindfold knotted behind my head, a woman I’d never met fed me strawberries… I scribbled notes in my purple Moleskine and danced with my eyes closed.

I was 100% out of my comfort zone and it was magnificent.

I am eternally in awe of Veronica. She lives her life with intention. When she looks at you, her eyes eat you up; when she talks, she carefully plucks each word from the air; when she walks, her hips sway and her hands undulate. Just like all of my other favourite people, she inspires me to be better. She inspires me to live in a more resplendent and mythical way; to reconnect with my femininity and innate sense of magic; to weave my own legends and woo my most fanciful fantasies.

Any experience with Veronica is an enchanting one, and her classes are a wonderful excuse to be near her and soak up her energy.

Being around Veronica just makes me feel good, which is why seeing her, learning from her, and taking part in a ritual she created, topped my list for the month.

No huge surprises here, but I am still obsessed with 8tracks. There’s just something refreshing about not knowing what song is going to be next. My picks for the month are An Extremely Long Early 2000’s Playlist (certainly appropriate for any #throwbackthursday action!), RnB March Mix and up all night. They’ve all been getting a lot of play in my headphones.

After watching a Rachel Zoe Project marathon while I was laid-up in bed for the first half of the month, I got really into dark nails. I ended up with a dark grey gel manicure, with grey glitter thumbs. I just can’t go without a bit of sparkle… And I always maintain that since you see your thumbs all the time, especially when you’re on your phone, they are the two nails which require the most love and attention!

I went to Sakura yesterday for a brand new mani/pedi, and this time I went for navy blue: solid fingers and glitter thumbs. I am definitely having a navy blue moment… Must be all those photos of the Greek Islands I keep staring at!

Our couch is absolutely on its last legs. It’s so on its last legs that I’m actually embarrassed to tell you about how we “fix” it, so I won’t. Let’s just say, it needs to go. (We found it on the street a couple of years ago, so we’re definitely due a new one.) The urgency for this is beginning to increase because Kat is probably going to be snoozing on it for a couple of days after we get back from Minneapolis… And she can’t sleep on the floor!

The real issue is that we need a little couch — 80″ max — and I’m really picky, so most of the ones I like ship within 4 weeks minimum. Hmmmm. Also, the ones I really like are too big or too spendy (hello Jonathan Adler. Dribble). I am kinda hemming and hawing over the Tyler, the Parker in blue (but maybe it’s ugly? I’m so undecided), the Crescent Heights in blue (but it’s 5″ too long, ARGH), the Avec Peacock (great colour), and the Chester in ink blue velvet (my favourite, at least my favourite that will also fit the space!). Oh, I don’t know. I guess all I want in life is a navy blue velvet sofa. Is that too much for a girl to ask?!

Anyway, if you have any ideas, please let me know… For both my sake and Kat’s!

I think quote of the month came from our friend’s wife: “What’s this hashtagging thing? Is it something you do on your phone? Do I need to start?”

As always, I’m reading several books at once: Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story by Sera Beak, Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships by David Schnarch (recommended in a blog post by Charlie Glickman), and Reveal: A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked by Meggan Watterson. I’ve been making the effort to avoid television in the evenings (unless there’s something I really want to see) and reading instead. It’s a simple shift but a major one, and it’s incredibly satisfying to work my way through so many books so quickly.

My friend Mystic Medusa also released an e-book called Astro Compatibility: What Your Friends Won’t Tell You, Your Sun Sign Will. She sent me a copy and I laughed like mad. Oh, the truthiness!

Virgo’s partner: I am so bitter and yet feel so lost and alienated from you. I really want you to…

Virgo: That’s interesting. I was just reading this incredible magazine article about modern marriage by that author, you know, who also wrote the piece on the Sufi religion and…

Virgos are not often romantic in the cliched flowers, scent, and chocolates sense. They think that sort of behavior is more suited to guilty adulterers and the like. Virgo prefers thoughtful small gestures like remembering the book someone was reading so they can ask how it was, leaving the toilet pristine and refraining from nitpicking if their partner is on the phone…

What a lolfest. I love it, it’s one of her best books yet. You should snap it up!

SUCCESS! I think I have found my new summer scent, and I couldn’t be more excited! It is (drumroll) 25:43 by Lush Cosmetics, and ever since I bought it, I can’t stop sniffing myself.

It reminds me of my favourite scent from Lush, the now-discontinued Absolution massage bar, which was very heavy on tonka bean, and is one of my favourite aromas.

In fact, I love 25:43 even more now that I did a little research on tonka bean. Grown in Brazil, Venezuela and other parts of South America, it’s a bean with a mystical history. Ceremonial magicians believe that crushed tonka beans brewed to make tea may help to cure the soul, relieve symptoms of depression and confusion, chase away negative thoughts and boost the immune system. Carrying or wearing the scent of tonka beans helps build courage and draw money to you. It’s also said that holding the bean in one hand, while whispering a wish, leads to its fulfillment!

Sounds pretty perfect to me!

It was a good month for movies: we munched popcorn in the darkness while watching The Great Gatsby, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness. Mike loved Star Trek the most, and thought Gatsby was a tad ridiculous. I enjoyed all three equally for different reasons, and although Gatsby was not my favourite Luhrmann film, the art direction was exquisite, I loved the soundtrack, and it was an orgiastic feast for the eyes.

Behind The Candelabra was just as fantastic as I’d hoped, and I finally watched the rest of the admittedly terrible Pretty Wild late one night, in preparation for The Bling Ring (I’m going to a preview next week and I can’t wait!). I also re-watched Death Becomes Her, one of my favourite movies as a child. Man, add that to The Addams Family and it’s no wonder I am a barely-reformed goth girl, huh? Isabella Rossellini and Anjelica Huston both clearly made a lasting impression on me!

I’m starting to dress in more of a “uniform” these days, which sounds boring, but is anything but. The advantage of doing this is that it opens you up to make the most of the styles that you know work for you.

My summer uniform so far consists of maxi- and skater dresses, crop tops and racerback tanks with maxi- and circle skirts. At Victoria’s Secret Pink, I stocked up on sequinned tanks — they truly go with everything — and rainbow lace bralettes for wearing underneath them. I went a little insane at American Apparel too, and bought what I think is the perfect skirt in three fabrics: white leather, black suede and black denim. My trick? Buy a size larger than usual… Unless you want your bum cheeks hanging out!

I’m obsessed with this oversized safety-pin necklace which I bought for $14 and is perfect. I’ve been layering amethyst and rose quartz bracelets with spiked silver bangles and LOVE cuffs. I always end up going mad on arm candy in summer…

My next crusade is for a couple of pairs of sane summer shoes. It’s always a terrible quest to try to find something which meets my holy trifecta of requirements: comfortable, durable (I do a lot of walking, at least two miles a day) and cute. I dread the very thought! I will probably end up buying Hasbeens — they’re fantastic — and another pair of Nike Frees. I’ve been wearing mine non-stop, simply because they’re insanely comfortable and casual enough to go with everything. I might go for all black errrrr’ything next…

This wasn’t my most prolific month, since I was in bed with a fever for two weeks, feeling like curdled death. I did what I could, though! Here were some of my favourite pieces from May…

I compiled a mixtape of non-bullshit love songs, for those of us who are in love but don’t want to get all Celine Dion on it!
Shauna, Kat and I announced that we’re comin’ to Texas, baby… And scheduled another Melbourne class for those eager Aussies!
There were more photos from the Los Angeles and Portland Blogcademy classes than you could shake a stick at!
To celebrate Beltane, I collected 20 ways to celebrate spring. Did you do any of them?
When I was in Portland, I fell in love just a little bit. Here are my top 5 things to do in the City of Roses!
I kicked off my new column, Magical Thinking, with some gentle guidance on how a walk can change your reality.
Hashtag travel porn: I’m obsessed with the Greek Islands.
My silliest column idea yet has got to be Oh, Marilyn!
And in yet another new column, Behind The Fuchsia Curtain, I talk about making the leap from corporate corpse to blogger babe.

What a month!

Love and milkshakes,

Title image of waves in Okinawa.