How to get what you want

There are a lot of people in the world who complain about what they don't have. They always 'want-want-want' but they apparently never get. Something all these people have in common is the fact that they sit around complaining about what they don't have. They never actually make the proper effort to get it! I have news for those people. You don't get anything for doing nothing.

Whether what you want is to lose 10 kilos or date that dream boat in accounting, there is always a way to get what you want. With hard work and determination! Now a lot of you are probably thinking you want to stop reading this right now.. Saying in your head "Yeah yeah, I've heard this before!", well if that's the case and you're still not getting what you want you're probably not trying hard enough.

Here are a few key things you need to know before you can get ahead.

Learn to admit when you're wrong.

There is nothing wrong with being wrong. Unless you cannot admit it. Nobody likes a sore loser. Just suck it up, apologise and admit it and you'll find people respect you far, far more. And being respected is way better than being stubborn.

That also goes for taking the blame. If you've done something at work, home or out, don't lie or blame someone else. Just say this key sentence "I'm really sorry, it wont happen again", and then try your damnedest to make sure it doesn't. Just take the blame and deal with the consequences and try to fix it. Its not as scary as you think.

Stand up for when you're right.

But don't rub it in people's faces. A lot of people HATE being told they're wrong and even when they know you're right, they will stick to their story. Just shrug them off, they're not smart enough to waste your breath on anyway.

Express your opinion fluently and passionately.

But don't be preachy. There is a good balance for everything, and when you strike the right one, you will know. Debating is fun. Arguing is not. There is no need to get in a fist fight over something trivial.

"Lead, follow or get out of the way."

Yeah, alright I stole that line from a movie. But they do say its the best form of flattery! But the line has a lot of truth to it. If you find yourself in a situation where someone needs to take charge, don't be afraid to! If you feel you're up to the task then exercise that authority and show them what you've got. If you don't feel up to that role, there is absolutely no shame in following. Someone might know more than you and would be better suited for the job. Getting out of the way, though it is an option, isn't a well respected one. Nobody will listen to you in the future if you just get out of sticky situations all the time.

Have courage!

Plato once said, "courage is knowing what not to fear". Things to fear go along the lines of; Sharks, explosions, falling off cliffs, etc. Mostly things that could maim or kill you really.. Don't be afraid to invite that cute guy out for a drink, or ask your boss for a promotion. The worst that could happen is you get turned down! And how long will that hurt for? The answer to that is 'it wont hurt'. You might just be disappointed for a couple days.

And remember.. There ARE other men/jobs/apartments/outfits. There is a whole world of other things out there! So when it comes down to it, you have nothing to lose. Only new opportunities to gain.

Real winners are the ones that try, even though there is a chance they wont make it.

Make sure you know your priorities.

Yes. We know you want that new job. We know what you gotta do to get it. But try to take it into account the rest of your life. There is no point neglecting your dog, family, boyfriend or most importantly, yourself, to get what you want. Weigh up the pros and cons and do what you can without killing yourself over it.

If you do rack your brains and start banging your head against walls trying to get what you want, think about what its going to do to your work. To get what you want you need to be competent. Scribblings on scrap paper at 2am, do not make the cut unless you're a writer or designer and that's how you do it.

Now for the hard stuff!

Okay, so we've got your basic rules down. You have the ammo to get what you want, now you just need the right idea on how to approach the situations life throws at you.

Asking out a boy might be daunting, but you cant let him see that. You gotta be cool, confident and collected. Walk up like its nothing! Just smile and say, 'wanna catch up after work some time for a drink?'. Easy as that! If he says something like 'Oh, sorry I have a girlfriend', or something like that, just turn it into a group thing! Something like 'I was just asking around the office if anyone wanted to catch up for work drinks and wanted to know if you would like to come!', if he doesn't work with you, just say 'sorry' and blush shyly, he'll be quite flattered that you went up to him either way.

If the boy you want to ask is a bit closer to home, like a friend for instance, just flirt a little more than usual and see if they pick up on the hints. Dress in ultra cute outfits, try hang out with just him more often, giggle. You don't need to come straight out and say it straight away, if he's into you, he should pick up the hints! (unless he's a bone head, then just get tipsy together and kiss him unexpectedly)

For a promotion, approach your boss when there isn't an ultra crazy deadline keeping everyone in a frenzy. Try get him or her when its been a relaxing day, during work hours. No one wants to talk shop after work. Make sure you plan out what you want to say, and keep it brief. Don't drag on with 'uhmmm's and 'errr's. State what you want and why you think you deserve it and thank them for their time. Write down a speech at home and practice with your housemate or cat to get it polished and perfect.

If you're asking your partner to move in with you or visa-versa, just ask them straight out. Don't beat around the bush, and try to word it so if they won't feel bad if they say 'no'. Ask them when they're not stressed out from work or anything. They'll be more appreciating if you wait for when they're relaxed. Remember, men cant process as much info as women. Make sure they have time to think about it over properly and come to a reasonable solution.

Asking landlords if you can get a pet. Myself, and one of my close friends have both dealt with this and it will all depend on your landlord and the pet you're getting. Remember to be reasonable. A Golden retriever might not be the best idea for your one bedroom apartment in the middle of the city. Make sure you decide on a suitable pet and research its habits and traits before you ask your agent. Will it need a lot of room? Is it a yappy dog? A shedding cat? Will you buy a puppy or a fully grown animal? Don't look for one until you get clearance either, cause you might not get permission. Make sure you are able to speak to your agent properly and tell them about the animal you want. They may be fine with a cat, -most strata owned flats are- but not with a dog. You might be able to sway their opinion if you voice your proposition passionately and show responsibility. Explain what measures you are willing to take to prevent the house being affected by the new occupant.

If you want to lose weight. There is a simple answer to this. Just do it. No excuses, nothing, if you need help, get it! There are plenty of nutritionists, dietitians, gyms, doctors and naturopaths that can get you on the right track. If you're strapped for cash, research diets on the Internet, making sure you don't get onto a 'fad-diet'. Eat healthy, drink plenty of water and exercise. Do a detox programme and stick do it. You DO have the will power. Remember that.

Start your new dream hobby. Gather the materials you need, make some time and do it! That's all there is to it. If you don't know how to do it, look up classes or how-to's and learn!

Moving out of home. Living with your parents is relatively easy compared to living on your own or in a share house. Before you announce your departure, write out a budget, it'll need to include rent, bills, food allowance, entertainment and a some extra to put away for emergencies. Do you make enough? Will you need a new job before you think about moving out? You need to take all this into account before you do anything. Then you need to think about what kind of living situation will suit you the best. Is a share house your thing? A single housemate? Or living alone more your style. You'll also need to put away money for furniture and bond.

If you want to travel, first thing you need is money and an estimation on your costs for the trip. For that, go to an agent and sit down with them and work it out. Then calculate spending money in accordance with the exchange rates and then you need to save. Speak to your employer and see when is best for you to get time off work, then work out how long you will stay. Think about your accommodation, communication to back home and how you'll travel when you get there. Make sure that you have a separate account with money for emergencies, work out travel insurance and learn some basics if the language there isn't English. ('Help', 'yes' and 'no', 'please' and 'do you speak English?' are good.)

To get rich and famous. Now this one is a tricky one.. Because if I knew the secret, you'd definitely be seeing me on the cover of Vogue! But as you are not, it means I don't know. The only advise I can give you on this, is do what you love and are good at, and do it with all your heart. That way you cant go wrong. Some day, your hard work and effort will be paid off.

Now that I have given you some hints on how to get what you want, all you need to do is go out there and do your best!

Good luck ladies!

xo-xo

Sleepover special!

Now you know its not really like me to post photos and what not, but I was loving my jammies this morning and how my hair looked and thought it would be fun to have a girly sleep over special!

First up, you'll need awesome jammies. I love ANYTHING PeterAlexander -- you could call me obsessed.. -- next, some form of delicious treat, anything that'll dance on your lips and rest on your hips (you'll be dancing it off all night anyway), then you gotta grab two or three bottles of wine, a couple of your closest gal pals, and get the beats cranking and let the make-overs begin!

Set a theme for your sleepover! Maybe its your birthday? Pretty in Pink more your thing? Or Diamonds are a girls best friend, maybe? Why not a guerrilla midnight picnic?! Anything is possible! For the snacks of the night. stick to light, yummy sweets and savories. Finger food if you will! You could gather the ingredients before the party and get the girls to help out in making the delicious snacks for extra activities and amazing smells!

For the alcohol, (if there will be any) drink, but don't get drunk. This is a fabulous night in, not a messy one. We don't want you girls burning each others ears and hair off with the straighteners or having cat fights over cupcakes. If you start to feel a little woozy, cut out on the booz-ey! It could also help to have some other things to drink, such as pink lemonade, tea or juice. Make sure the girls bring over some of their own make-up, some candy, and if they want, a movie. Girls nights in are a group effort!

My sleepover favorites; Skittles, M&Ms, tomato basil and cream cheese volauvents, mini deep fried mars bars, Shiraz, caramel ice cream with masses upon masses of expensive chocolate topping, home made pink lemonade, Ceylon tea, strawberry and mango herbal tea, P.S I love you, The House Bunny, any silly hens night games, gummy worms and root beer, GHD straightener, Babyliss Conical Wand, Strawberries and marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate, cheap flavored lip gloss, truth or dare, togas, pink jammies, finally falling asleep, giggling in the dark, bitching about boys and playing with the wuppies.


Have fun girls!

xo-xo

Things I love and miss; him, places, her, and now

I read a post by Gala that made my heart all fuzzy, then I read all the cute stories that people wrote about their memories of love. When it got to my turn to write mine, the page informed me that the post was too old to comment on.
So here are my memories.

Him, places and her

Emailing all day every day, wake up phone calls cause I'm too sleepy to notice my alarm, resting against him on the train in the morning on the way to work, bagels that say 'I'm sorry', the smell of caramel as you walk up the stairs, cleaning the house and stopping cause you just cant resist him anymore, IKEA, feeling so small and safe in his arms, walking sausage dogs and people asking to pat them, "Young Lady", the smell of freshly photocopied paper, leaving work early and getting Starbucks, emailing the girls, getting lost on lunch breaks, laughing when no one is looking, opening mail and pretending its all for you, touch typing love letters you'll never send, stealing strange office supplies, rubber bands and paperclips, the comfiest futon ever, Penny being my pillow, watching Japanese dramas, when she forgets I don't speak Japanese, "It's gonna be alright" hugs, getting expensive drinks at posh bars, playing dress up, Shiraz, ice cream and terrible romance movies, crying over amazing romance movies, massive cook ups, talking about the future, her laugh -- unforgettable, kissing on the lips, smuggling Penny into the cinema, her face when she looks at her Prada, our excuses for boys being retarded, meeting new friends together, planning weddings with boys we haven't met yet.

Now

Screaming over loud music, forgetting his name, pretending we're not falling in love, his big smile that makes me smile, squishing his face to wake him up for work, forgetting our first kiss and remembering our anniversary, chain smoking when your flight is delayed, when you finally got to the airport, jumping on you to say hello, when you finally say you love me, when I have the courage to say it back, driving with you in your brothers car, arguing over its name (its a pig, damnit!), when you throw me over your shoulder and carry me around, being weak but you making me feel strong, downloading silly cartoons and watching them, cleaning your room then seeing how long it takes for you to trash it again, not knowing who's snoring louder, you or the garbage truck (or Quiqueg), Getting jealous of the dogs getting the first 'Hello' then getting the mushiest, how honest we are even though it could hurt, cooking Internet recipes and getting them right, falling asleep while watching cartoons, reading horoscopes for both of us, watching Titanic with her and being looked at funny for crying for most of it, having matching straighteners, intimate girly talks about EVERYTHING, sharing books, drinking extra lemon-ey tea, being more romantic with each other than we are with our boyfriends, feeding her with chopsticks, holding hands while we ice skate and doing each others hair.

What are your stories?

xo-xo

Muse of the month! Coco Avant Chanel

Coco Avant Chanel, Designer, Lover and business-woman. With her birthday coming up (19th August) I thought I would celebrate it, along wit the release of her biographical movie with mini bio of this amazing woman, who revolutionised fashion for women the world over.

The strong Leo woman was born on the 19th of August in 1883 as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, in Saumur, France. (though she would say she was born in 1893 in Auvergne) She was born an illegitimate child, with her mother passing away before she was twelve, leaving her to grow up in an orphanage along with her four siblings. She was educated at a convent, where the black habits of the nuns would inspire her world altering designs.

Before becoming a successful designer, she was a dancer, a horse rider an actress and a singer. When performing caberet at Cafe la Rotonde she would sing, 'Ko Ko Ri Ko' (French for 'cock-a-doodle-do') and 'Qui Qu'a Vu Coco'. The audience would cry out 'Coco!' when demanding an encore and the name stuck!

Coco was an incredible business woman, and that along with a string of devoted sugar daddies she started her career. She would boast 'I was able to start a high-fashion shop because two gentlemen were bidding over my hot little body'. Oh Coco! So modest! One of the men she referred to was the love of her life, Englishman Arthur 'Boy' Capel. Boy would show her the way into the society she craved to be part of, lavished her with cash and loved her. The only problem was that he could not marry her. It was out of the question for an aristocrat such as himself to marry into a lower class. This would be the start of Coco's independence that lasted throughout her life. In 1910, he would help her open her first boutique on rue Cambon, which initially specialised in Millinery for clients who were friends of the stage and from society. 9 years after the opening of the boutique, she was devastated by the passing of Boy whom died in a car accident, and she never gave her heart away completely again.

Coco would later collaborate with the likes of Picasso, who rejected her as a lover, and Stravinsky who did not. She would be a part of the most eloquent of Parisian high society: Cocteau, Dali, Diaghilev. Her liaisons would include aristocrats such as Etienne Balsan the racehorse breeder and the Duke of Westminster who at the time was rumored to be the richest (married) man in England. The Duke would inspire her love of costume jewelry and the signature Chanel Pearls, which she would wear with her tweeds when out riding with him. They would be together for 10 years in which time he would show his love for her by entwining her interlocking C's with his crest and putting them on all the light posts of Westminster. You can still see them today lining some of the smartest streets in London.

This was not her only fling with royalty, she would later be involved with Prince Dimitri a Russian duke who would help her launch her perfumes. The infamous Chanel No. 5 was created with Ernest Beaux, by mixing 128 scents together. Coco would be the first to incorporate floral notes such as jasmine into perfumes. It was named No. 5 with characteristic simplicity; as it was the 5th vial she sniffed!

The first Chanel cardigan jacket was made in 1925, and with her first tweed outfit in 1928 the Chanel 'attitude' was born. This would be the perfect armor for the ambitious women of the 20's. In 1931 she had negotiated herself a million-dollar contract with United Artists to clothe their Hollywood starlets, though this was short lived, as her heart lay with her couture house in Paris.

By 1939 she decided she'd made enough money to retire and with that, closed her beloved fashion house and moved into the Ritz hotel.

During the war, Chanel was to have had an affair with a Nazi intelligence officer and spy; Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage. Now that's a mouthful! He was but a toy boy to Ms Chanel, being 10 years younger than her. This might not have been the best choice of lover in the PR stakes as this eventually led to her arrest and interrogated by the French police, but thanks to a friendship with Winston Churchill, she managed to get out of any major retribution. She is said to have remarked that 'at my age, when a man wants to sleep with you, you don't ask to see a passport'.

After WW2 ended, she left France and moved to neutral Switzerland, but then in 1947 at age 64 she returned to France and re-opened the doors of Chanel, saying that it was her duty in the face of Mr Dior and his new look. He embodied the very antithesis of all her lifestyle principals, though secretly Chanel was delighted to be back in business. Especially if she could blame the inconvenience of someone else!

Her comeback collection was shown in 1954, and there it was - she put the perfect little black dress on the catwalk. Thus becoming the most sought after item of clothing for well dressed woman and the 'Chanel Look' swept across the Atlantic.

Coco Chanel would work right up until her death, at the Ritz hotel Paris, on the 10th of January in 1971. She was still doing fittings for her upcoming collection.

In 1983, her look was taken over by Karl Lagerfeld who has kept the look alive and ever-youthful. She most probably would not approve of this as she didn't think much of her male rivals.

Chanelisms

'The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.'

'Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress'

'Don't spend time beating on a wall hoping to transform it into a door'

'Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes. Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind. One intuits it. It is in the sky and on the road.'

'It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.'

Merci Mademoiselle Coco Chanel.

xo-xo

Totally cute find!

The other day I was chatting with my friend and she linked me this amazing page one how to make vegan cupcakes! As I was writing in my previous post about these little treats, I thought I'd share them with you!

They're a little more difficult than the last ones, but look how adorable they are! Check out the recipe at Vegan Yum Yum.com. If you don't like the taste of vegan food, you can always use the recipe from the other cupcakes!

Enjoy!

xo-xo

Winter delight!

Winter has truly set in and with that comes guaranteed rainy days spent inside with nothing to do. Well, that's not entirely true! I decided to give you guys a recipe for chocolate cupcakes to keep you occupied as the rain pours down overhead..

First up, put together an awesome playlist on your ipod. Then, turn up the heating in your apartment full blast, get down to your knickers and an old t shirt and get cooking! (apron and boyfriend optional)
You will need:

100g dark chocolate
1 cup (250ml) water
125 g butter, softened
11/4 cups (255g) brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 18 x 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Combine the chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, until just combined. Add the flours and cocoa powder and stir until just combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Spoon evenly among the lined muffin pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

And that's not all!

Here is a recipe for toppings that will make you squeal with delight!

♥
Butter frosting
200g butter, softened
6 cups (900g) icing sugar mixture
1/2 cup (125ml) milk

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until very pale. Gradually add the icing sugar while beating. Add the milk and beat until well combined.
2. Divide frosting into small bowls and colour. Use a small palette knife or round-bladed knife to spread the icing.

♥
Chocolate sour cream ganache
300g dark chocolate
300g sour cream

1. To make the chocolate sour cream ganache, place the chocolate and sour cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
2. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and glossy. Spread over each cake and set aside to set.

So don't sit around eating bread out of a bag, dipping it in anything runnier than bread!

Get in the kitchen and get creative!

Bon Appetit!

xo-xo

Stardoll.com

This is my MeDoll. I made her on Stardoll.com. She is meant to look almost exactly like me. I think its a pretty close match, don't you think?

I stumbled across this website by accident the other day and thought I'd let my beloved readers know about it. Its pretty fun and you can make your own clothes! (I made the scarf the doll is wearing) Not only that, you can change their 'suites' to suit your tastes, get them pets, do their make-up/hair and take them shopping! They're pretty fun once you get the hang of the site. Also it gets pretty addictive too.

You can make money in the game by playing memory quizzes and celeb match ups but you can also pay AU$9.95 for a one month subscription and use it to buy some fab gear from the massive mall. I forked out the cash to see how the site really faired uninhibited and with everything available to me. I gotta say I had a blast.

You can also join clubs and invite friends over to your suite and everything! There are enough options in the doll design for you to make a doll that looks exactly like you too! You can make guys, girls, celebs, anything! There are comps where your doll can become a cover girl, you can make blogs, photo albums, give shout outs to your fellow Stardoll buddies and you profile will even have a celeb look alike. (Though I haven't found one yet)

Hanging out with my little sister in London, Just one of the things you can do on Stardoll!

There are a couple of down sides I will say, but nothing that some great taste and bargain hunting cant fix.

Fist of all, to buy the really nice designer gear you have to pay for a subscription. You can also design your own clothes, but most of the designs you use also require you to buy a subscription. That and the site being a little tough to navigate at first its all round pretty awesome fun. OH! And they should also sell Dachshunds. ;)

The game is made for teens, but its still pretty awesome for the 20 somethings. The oldest you can make yourself is 19! Quite flattering I must say.

Have a go ladies and send me a friend add! My name on the site is CelesteVonM.

Take care!

xo-xo

Mecca Love!

Last week when shopping with a friend, I found myself in a luxe make up and skin care store. The girls were friendly and it smelled amazing. They even let me bring Penny into the store! After a walk around and a chat about the best thing for dry skin, they bestow upon me, a D.I.Y spa kit sample. 'Oh Joy!' I thought, as I stuffed the little silver packet holding tubs of this and that into my hand bag.

Later on after a nap to recover from spending big, I opened up the little silver packet and sorted through my freebies. There was a 'how-to' book, hair treatment, luxe hand cream and a foot scrub. I thought to myself, "Time for a mani-pedi!" and looked through the little book on what to do next..

First, mini-mani 'cure'

As per the instructions; I reshaped my nails to a 'square-oval' shape, to 'elongate the fingers'. Next I applied the 'Velvet Glove' Hand cream and massaged it into my hands and nails. I then pushed back my cuticles and gave my nails a once over with a nail buff, then gave them a generous spray with Nutrimetics 'Nutri-rich body satin apricot kernel oil' and voila! Soft beautiful hands and it only took 5 minutes.

Next was the pedi 'cure'

To prep my feet I got rid of the chipped black nail polish and cut my nails into the same square oval shape and gave them a good buffing. Next I headed to the bathroom and soaked my tootsies in warm water for a little while before scrubbing the whole foot down with 'Barefoot Beauty' Foot Polishing Scrub. I left it for a minute or so then gently rinsed them off and padded them dry.
I then headed back to my bedroom and broke out my favorite body butter and covered my feet in it, massaging it into the dry parts and cuticles. I used Brazil Nut Butter from the Body Shop, it smelled amazing. I then went over the nails again with the buff and filed the edges nice and smooth!

For the next half hour I paraded around the house beaming at my amazing job and bragging about my new yummy products.

Check out the Mecca Cosmetica website for some awesome products that work amazingly!

Ourevoir Ladies!

xo-xo

How to take a great photo!

Life can be hard in the lime light!

Photography has been a great way to document and capture moments for ages. I bet half of you carry a camera around with you or can be seen snapping away at things on your camera phones. As I look through the albums of friends and relatives on facebook and myspace, I see that they seldom have nice photographs of themselves and their friends, etc. This is not because they are fat or ugly or cant dress properly. On the contrary! Some of them are drop dead gorgeous! It is because they, or the person shooting the photo has no idea about the basic principals of how to take a truly GOOD photo!

Like this! Thanks b!

Note: For the sake of this entry I have used some of the horrid shots I have been subject to being in over the years.

As a photographer, I see this as very troubling. Because sometimes, more often than not, I will find myself subject of these 'happy snaps', only to be terrified by how I look in the photos and quickly snatch the camera away and delete the evidence.

Here are a few tips on how to take a good photo of your friends and family that'll make everyone look like a star.

First up. When you are taking a photo of a friend, where do you usually position their head in the frame? Let me guess.. In the centre of the frame, right? Wrong. When you take photos like this you are 1) cropping out vital information about the evening/ day by removing their outfit from the photo, and 2) making no use of the space above their heads leaving a boring empty gap. This is a recipe for disaster. No one ever looks nice in these photos. Another mistake with this is taking the photo in landscape. (Holding the camera horizontal) Which as point number 2 also applies to. It is a waste of space and doesn't capture your models best features.

This doesn't look that good now does it? Too much space!

When taking a photo of a single person or a group of up to 3, hold the camera in portrait position, placing your models heads at the very top of the frame, making sure to keep the tops of their heads in only slightly. For extra props on being an awesome snapper, make sure you have it cut off just below their hips. Keep them as the most important part of the photo. This means having it tightly cropped around them leaving not much room for background. And before you start with the 'but its a cool club.. etc' remember this. When a club or dark room is lit up with a flash. It doesn't look as interesting as you think it will.

Its a ghost!

Another cool tip is to hold the camera up and tilt it down slightly, getting your models to look up to the camera. This will make their jaw lines look more elegant and them look thinner. It will also place focus on their hair, which if they're anything like me, they will probably have spent hours doing.

When taking beach photos, if the sun is behind you, always make sure you tilt the camera down. If it is in front of you, make sure the flash is on so when you take the photo your model isn't all dark or just a silhouette.

Things wrong with this picture; I wanted a photo in front of the dragon.. Yet you only see its feet. What is the point of the patch of concrete in front of me? Why do my thighs look sooo fat?! And can you tell the sun is blinding me?

If you happen to be in a room filled with funky colors and want to get a photo of this, remember that depending on the color in the room, will be the color of your model. As the walls will reflect their colors onto them giving them an orange, blue or even purple tinge.

Now for some fun stuff!

To get cool photos of light painting in your portraits, turn your camera onto night mode with the flash on. This will make your models glow and is great for shooting DJ's or bands with.

I'm glowing!

If you want a photo in black and white, always ALWAYS change the settings on your camera. Never take the photo in color and then change it on your computer. Doing that will wash out the contrast that taking the photo originally in black and white will hold.

Lovely contrast!

Try these tips out and comment me with the results! I'd love to see how you went with it!

Happy snapping!

xo-xo

Bonjour mon amor!

Coco Rocha goes Vermeer
(I loved this photograph so much I thought I'd share it with all of you!)

Its been a while since I've written anything. The truth is since I moved cities I haven't found anything here motivating or inspiring enough to write about! So I decided to treat myself to a 12 month subscription to Vogue! How exciting.. Slowly but surely I am getting my inspiration back.. Ordering things online has been a real life saver too. I would like to thank my credit card. I also have a new man in my life. He's pretty fun and V. optimistic, so I have some perspective when I get homesick.

I LOVE SHOES!

I found myself a book on the net on how to make my own shoes.. I'm still tossing up whether to buy it or not (Which means can I be bothered slaving over a hot glue gun..) I'm pretty sure in the end I'll say yes, as always. Who could resist a pair of one off pumps?! Not to mention I love having new books to read.. I have also taken to gluing myself to the fashion channel as often as I get to sit in front of the TV without anyone else dictating the remote, not as often as I'd hope as I'm staying with family. (I'm so in love with Balmain shoes right now. P.s where's my invite to the Tribute to Movies Moet Fashion gala?) Hrmph..

On other news; I am nurturing my hate of Megan Fox with the new Transformers movie out. Well, ANY woman in that movie.. If you want a complex about your weight or looks, look no further than Megan Fox. I'm just glad she's as vapid as she is. "Best visual movie". *sigh* At least Isabel Lucas has some depth to her, as per her interview in Vogue August 09. Another thing I like about her is that she actually has some body mass. Its beautifully refreshing.

Now enough about models and actresses with legs up to their eyeballs. Its time for my Mid Winter 'things I love'!!!

Black and white photography

You cant deny the fact that black and white photography is amazing.. Something about it pulls you in and makes you think. The textures become alive and give you a sense of what life is like on the other side of the lens. I love it this Winter because its grit and attitude is reminiscent of snow.

Shoe Architecture
This Winter I am finding more and more shoes are looking less and less wearable and more like sculptures you'd see in a gallery. I love this. LOVE it. Shoes are my life and I am thrilled with the beautiful designs I am seeing this Season. Well done designers. Thank you for making the wedge wearable.

Hair Pulled to one side
Lately I have been pulling my mess of curly hair to the side with a flamboyant clip and loving the tres elegant (but easy to achieve) look you get from it. Pull it back with a decorative pin and scrunch those curls ladies! It is divine. You can also throw in a quiff and some extra hair pins for a more dressy look.
Prague
I have been entertaining the idea of going to Prague for some time now.. It is such a beautiful place and seems so relaxing! While browsing my facebook the other day an ad poped up for apartments for holiday rent! Coincidence? Maybe not!
Bueno!
Yum. That is all.

That may be all for my 'things I love' this time around, but you and I have some catching up to do!

Recently I have found a couple of things that are a must for the dedicated shopper. First things first. A credit or debit card. The internet holds a lot more than your mall so be ready to whip out the plastic for an amazing pair of earrings on ebay or a couture blouse.

Next you need the websites. Ebay is a given, with people selling old and new things left right and centre!
Also see these sites for some amazing buys.

www.net-a-porter.com
www.yoox.com
www.thevintageclothingshop.com
www.neimanmarcus.com
www.etsy.com
www.eluxury.com
The Purse Forum
www.superbuzzy.com -- For those more into DIY

Not to mention google image some random words along with pieces of clothing (i.e. shoes 09 love) and see what results you get! You could find an untapped source for amazing clothing and designs.

Hope you're doing well ladies! The writers block is over!

xo-xo