Writing My Bucket List

It's time to try new things, decide what I want, and GO FOR IT. In short, I need a bucket list...

1. Ride in a hot air balloon.
2. Visit LEGOLAND.
3. Learn to play the guitar.
4. Invent a boardgame.
5. Learn French (I've already made a half-assed attempt).
6. Become a published author.
7. Go on a Sex and the City tour in New York.
8. Visit Europe.
9. Be published in Vogue.
10. Learn how to make cheese (dunno why, looks fun and I dig milky treats, okay?!).
11. Go zorbing.
12. Try shooting a gun at a firing range.
13. Be an extra in a movie (er... aim high, right?).
14. Write and sell a TV script.
15. Attend a grand slam tennis event, preferably the Australian Open or Wimbledon.
16. Build a Big Thing like the Big Pineapple.
17. Try a life drawing class (hey, I'm not a perve!).
18. Learn Japanese.
19. Try fencing.
20. Become an awesome breakdancer!
21. Learn an obscure musical instrument.
22. Milk a cow.
23. Learn archery.
24. Go on a helicopter ride.
25. Own a pinball machine.
26. Learn how to pick locks (I can pretend I'm Hercule Poirot or something).
27. See a psychic. Completed 15 January 2012 at the Pyschic Expo.

Gosh, this is a bit lame. I'd like to add heaps more items.

HELP!!! I need ideas!!!

What's on your list?

Fabulous Fridays: 25 November 2011

 Fresh (or rather, worn out) from a mega-exciting dance class, I'm bringing you the skinny on what's amusing me this week...

• Luckily I avoided the Dorito tan fate when I went in for my first ever spray tan on Monday. It's actually lovely and natural-looking, unlike these...
• And Doritos, like all foods, always go well with an ice cold Coke. Refreshing feeling... ice cold Coke. Refreshing, Ice. Ice. Refreshing. Ice cold... Ice. : )
• I'm dubious about their leg-warming properties, but these rose and lace beauties are super-adorable.
• Dear Facebook, why do you keep filling my sidebar with dieting ads? Whatcha tryin' ta say? Here's my side of the story. Sincerely, Becks xx
• The land of Aus is set to get its own ELLE magazine (well, again... our previous version folded 10 years ago). Hopefully it takes after the UK title rather than the US one. Yes?
• Sometimes I get real, actual shivers hearing an incredible ballad, like when I heard Charlie Puth and Emily Luther's cover of Adele's "Someone Like You".
• Pole dancing celebrities don't get any bigger than Jenyne Butterfly and I got taught by her tonight at my regular studio!! Here she is on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
• Watching old episodes of The O.C. reacquainted me with the cruisy sound of Crowded House song "Fall at Your Feet" (one of Mr Big's favourites).
• I'm thinking I take my ninjabread cutters out for a test drive with this simple gingerbread recipe. Mmmm... Christmas-y goodness. : )
• Apart from Fanta, I've never really bonded with orange, but it's definitely having a moment in the beauty world. Surprisingly flattering in lipstick and nail polish.
• In Year 10, I worshipped "Set You Free". Best. Song. Ever. And it definitely made me cool, right?

Later, lovelies! xx

The 2am Update

Why am I writing this at 2am?

Two reasons:

1. I've been sleeping off a killer headache all day (no, not self-inflicted from a hangover or anything -- I'm a good girl!); and
2. I drank a Coke to perk myself up at 4pm and therefore am wide awake now. No fairsies!

The upside of this is that I can share my recent writing-related exploits with you. Project Zine is going ahead well. A bit of back story... For those of you who haven't heard, I've recently fallen in love with independent zines, cute A5-sized booklets put together by rather cool individuals. (To see why I find them so delightful, head to the little Facebook gallery I've compiled of my girliest faves here.)

So, I'm making one myself for magazine-lovers, and plan to sell it on Etsy and zine "distros" (small DIY shops). First, I must finish it and hooray, hooray, I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. It's rather slow going compiling it, but I gotta say I'm having a blast! The picture above is of a new double page in a section on making your own magazine-themed gift baskets. How could I resist recommending a Sex and the City version? You like?

All going well, I'm hoping to launch the zine in early December. I absolutely cannot wait! : )

In other news, my 12-month hiatus from my desk job at Consumer Affairs is coming to a close and it's crunch time for deciding if I'll return in 2012 or continue freelancing and office temping instead. My old manager Steve called on Tuesday and I'll call him back tomorrow. I think I know my decision, but it depends on what he says too.

That's all for now. Hope you're all having a super-exciting, fun week! xx

Fabulous Fridays: 18 November 2011

Happy Friday, everyone! Yes, I've been busily beavering away on my soon-to-be-released zine and another sneak peek is on its way. In the meantime, feast your eyes on assorted goodies...

• This rings true: "Why You Should Be Wary If Your Partner Starts Dieting". What do you think?
• I had a galah land on my boobs on Tuesday. That's not a euphemism, it really happened while visiting a lovely bird rescue lady. Her feathered friend was almost as charming as this fellow.
• Colossally lusting after Butter London's Black Knight nail shade. Sophisticated with sparkle.
• My latest music obsession? Jessie J singing "Domino" on US X Factor. Yes, she's the real deal.
• I've recently contemplated making jam from our fruit trees' produce, but feel a little too Susie Homemaker. This is way far in the other direction, though. A microwave? Really?
• The closest Lily Allen clone I've found, but light-hearted musical fun in her own right: Kate Nash.
• A high school friend of mine moved to London and became an archaeologist by day and burlesque performer by night. Intrigued? Meet Ava Iscariot. : )
• Saucy Japanese schoolgirl hijinks I've been reading of late... Pastel. Good stuff.
• Into shopping with a conscience? At the urging of a friend, I happily bought the Shop Ethical app to spend my dollars better for the environment, fair trade, cruelty-free and more.
• Haven't been able to evict the Glee Rumour Has It / Someone Like You mash-up from my head since I heard it. Damn, Santana can sing!!!

Wanna be part of the next Fabulous Friday? I'd love to hear of any brilliant blogs, sites, articles and generally tomfoolery you'd like to share. So, what's been inspiring you lately?

High Tea and High Hopes

Writing for magazines isn't all sipping tea and glamorous events. In fact, I'm still waiting for the glamour part of the equation to kick in (any day now, right?). Occasionally though, I do enjoy a cup of tea in a classy establishment...

Five of my best gal pals and I went to a seaside high tea yesterday afternoon, complete with finger sandwiches, mini quiches, tiny scones and danishes, tea, coffee and best of all, CHAMPAGNE! We caught up on plenty of Sex and the City-style gossip, went for a walk and generally got some girl-bonding time happening. It was fantastic!

Back down to earth today, I've sent a Valentine's Day pitch and am working on another one to do with flight attendants. It's a very cool topic that I haven't seen covered before, so I'm eager to make the pitch work. We'll see.

I've also made a BIG decision -- I'm not going back to my mediation job at Consumer Affairs in January. I've taken 2011 off as a year of leave without pay and I'm now going to extend it for another year. I don't want to cut ties altogether with them, but I feel pairing magazine writing and being a guerilla secretary-for-hire is working out well. I want to give it more time and see where it leads. : )

In other news, this week I'll be getting stuck into the Magazine Love zine, so I'll be able to show you some more pretty pictures of my progress soon... maybe you'll even get an update tomorrow. You never know your luck. ; )

How about you? What are you working on this week?