Fabulous Fridays: 7 October 2011

Before I indulge in a lazy, sinful dinner of wedges and sauce, I thought I'd serve up a smattering of saucy suggestions for you this Fabulous Friday...

• You wouldn't want chocolatey goodness getting into the wrong hands. Lord, no -- all hell could break loose.
• The poledancer song in Jerry Springer: The Opera. Beware: profane and... weird.
• O. M. G, I had this My Little Pony playset as a kid!! In fact, I've kept Sprinkles the pony, but no longer have the waterfall. Ahh, it takes me back... such a fun set. : )
• It's yet another brilliant story hailing from Russia: breast implant saves woman from husband's knife attack. Who says fake boobs are bad for you?
• Okay, so how freakin' cool is this zinester's blog? Correct answer: very. Japanese craft explosion!
• Young Talent Time -- the Aussie TV show that launched Kylie and Dannii Minogue as stars. Apparently it's set for a modern-day remake, but can you really beat vintage?
• Can someone make me this for my birthday please? PS, it's next Friday *squeal*!
• An intriguing book about shoplifting, claiming at least 9% of us have light fingers. Really?
• Holy f*ckin' bat out of hell!! I'd heard Meatloaf's performance at the football grand final was bad, but I wasn't prepared for this. My theory? I don't think he's well. He used to be an incredible singer.
• Snarky, grammar (well, punctuation really) nazi heaven. "Hilarious."
• Brush up on your German and rock out. No idea what this b*tch is saying, but it sounds damn good!

Hello Lover!

Mollini Starnight Fuschia Violet Satin Pumps

Next week? A super-special-fragilistic BUMPER BIRTHDAY ISSUE of Fabulous Fridays and news of my friend's wedding on the weekend! xx

Becks and the City Magazine Love Zine COMING SOON!

Hey, sorry for giving you the silent treatment since Friday. I've been working on a very special project...

Eagle-eyed Becks and the City followers will have noticed I've recently fallen hard for zines (handmade booklets of quirkiness) and posted my top picks in a Facebook gallery. They're just so likeable, kind of the cuter younger cousin of glossy magazines, and I've been busy constructing one all about their older relatives. : )

So here's a little sneak peek just for you!

You like?

Fabulous Fridays: 30 September 2011

There's a new addition to Fabulous Fridays this week, inspired by Batty's Bath (I warned everyone I was coveting her "What's New" feature here!), but first, the link line-up this week...

• Be a super sexy mega-flirt. Cosmo mag tells us how. Another naughty article for ya, Latorsha. ; )
• Mini turquoise suitcases from hip New York stationery shop, Kate's Paperie.
• Twitter: the mood ring of the Internet?
• My dilemma as a bridesmaid this week: our dresses arrived and the sashes were completely the wrong colour. Thankfully, the store dealt with our complaint much better than GASP! Only a week and a half 'til my friend's wedding. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
• Top 10 best sandwich fillings according to men. I'm partial to good ol' cheese and tomato myself, but these look far tastier.
• I'm no Disney disciple, but this is more than a little bit cute, no?
• Strangest houses in the world. I'd totally live in the strawberry or the nautilus. : )
• Being a pole dancer does not = being a stripper. Or a human trafficker. The US Government is not so down with this.
• Rihanna fandom has crept up on me. This one's my favourite.

What's New @ Becks and the City...

• On Facebook: Photo gallery of the best independent fashion zines.
• New Magazine Article: Click here to view the new Women's Health & Fitness piece in my portfolio.
• New Fabulous Books: Click here to see the four new picks at the Fabulous Bookstore.
• Poll: Vote for your favourite thing about magazines. Click here.
• Interview: Check out the Stuff that I Love profile of me on stylish site, Chasing Aphrodite.

More exciting developments next week. That's all for now!

Alannah Hill Challenge: Update # 8 and FINISHED!

Fireworks! Music! Partying! I've reached my goal of a whiz-bang writing portfolio of magazine articles to kickstart my freelance writing career!

I finally bought the lovely "Poor Little Fun Mum" Alannah Hill cardie pictured above for my reward. I heart it so much! You can't really see from the dodgy-quality photo I took on my iPhone (sorry!), but it's black with pink bows all over it and best of all, I bought it half price and fit into a size smaller than usual. Sweet! Also, because it's black, it'll go with so much of my wardrobe, but it's still quirky and cute enough to make me smile whenever I wear it. I'm so happy I treated myself to celebrate finishing this challenge. : )

When I started the challenge in January, I was all fresh and eager to succeed this year. I've now accumulated six glossy issues in my portfolio, and more on the way, but I'll be honest -- it's been a hard slog and not everything has turned out as expected along the way. This has been both bad and good...

The Bad:

• Being asked to write 'on spec' (with guarantee of publication) by SA Life and, more recently, Good Health and after writing 1,000 words or more each time, having those articles rejected. Grrrrr!!
• Receiving a "yes" from a magazine editor in March, saying she'd be in touch later in the year for their summer issue. When I followed up this week, I discovered she's resigned from that role and I was asked to re-send the pitch (ie back to square one). Double grrrr!!
• A famous brand of travel guides offering me a gig updating the outback SA section of their Australian book for a scarily low rate. By the time I paid for petrol, accommodation etc visiting all the restaurants, sites and hotels, I would've been earning next to nothing. When I sent a polite reply email clarifying the deal, I never heard from them again. Nice.

The Good:

• Learning that feature writing and short stints working as an office temp combine quite well -- you earn a tidy extra income and playing secretary temporarily doesn't interfere with your writing. Also, office work can be quite interesting if you're not at any one workplace long enough to be bored by your allocated tasks or annoyed by the office politics. Yay!
• I'm exploring the wonderful world of copywriting. I'd never really considered it before, but I've been approached by a business to do some blogging for them and I'm seriously looking forward to it -- I think it'd be fun. We're still finalising the details. More info will be revealed as it (hopefully) happens. ; )
• Other opportunities have taken me by surprise as well, such as competitions to be a magazine intern or paid fashion blogger, writing for smaller magazines on some very entertaining topics and being given a role as assistant editor for The Essential Guide to Twitter.
• Exchanging emails with a fellow Sydney Writers' Centre graduate who first wrote to me a couple of months ago. The info and support we've shared has been invaluable in keeping my spirits up and generating ideas.

So it's had a few twists, this Alannah Hill Challenge, but every time I wear this cardie, I'll be wrapped in how far I've come. Thanks to the editors, my email pen pal and the others who've helped me along the way. I couldn't have done it without you. : )

What's your dream job? How have you been working towards it lately?

Fabulous Fridays: 23 September 2011

It's that time again! Celebrate Friday and explore the best online has to offer in fashion, food and fandom (at least, according to me!)...

• Did anyone else grow up with The Sooty Show as well? Between that and Muppets, I seem to have quite the puppet fetish!
• Nerd call-to-arms. Put your mad gaming skillz to good use in a charity event. : )
• Betsey Johnson's rockabilly creations are all sorts of cute. I'm trying hard to resist this skull watch.
• How Harry Potter Should Have Ended. Stick around for the last bit with Gandalf. Gold!
• I caught up on my Buffy Season 8 comic reading earlier this week. So, so good. Just finished volume 6.
• Coloured jeans. I bought a cropped pair on Wednesday and am oh-so-happy with them. Love, love, LOVE!! (Mine are a cornflower blue.)
• Her designs always had the look, but now Stella McCartney and ballet are hooking up in an official capacity. Awesome.
• Who can help but be touched by the delightfully politically incorrect Borat? Certainly not his sister. One of my fave movies. : )
• Can someone make me marshmallow snowballs, please? They look so easy, I might even do it myself (gasp!).
• The coolest DIY party idea: mustache drink toppers. I think I've found my birthday craft project!
• I managed to score tickets to a preview screening of the Footloose remake this week. Most exciting for a dance movie die-hard like me. Tough to beat the original though.

What does the weekend have in store for you? My tummy is looking forward to burnt fig icecream on a gourmet day trip tomorrow. : )