If you click on one link today, make it Portrait of a Princess, various West End Theatre stars in possibly the funniest music video you’ll watch all year – A decidedly grown up fairytale!

Trust me, it’s hilarious and [...]]]>

If you click on one link today, make it Portrait of a Princess, various West End Theatre stars in possibly the funniest music video you’ll watch all year – A decidedly grown up fairytale!

Trust me, it’s hilarious and will brighten up your Monday morning considerably!

Time-wasting, like the distinction between solitude and loneliness, is a factor of scarcity, the reverse of the time glut experienced by the unemployed when waste becomes impossible. But appreciating its pleasures is an attitude of mind. Hours or minutes that might seem thrown away can [...]]]>

Time-wasting, like the distinction between solitude and loneliness, is a factor of scarcity, the reverse of the time glut experienced by the unemployed when waste becomes impossible. But appreciating its pleasures is an attitude of mind. Hours or minutes that might seem thrown away can be seen with hindsight to have an unanticipated value – from a chance encounter, perhaps, or the dawning realisation of a solution to a niggling problem, or the brief moments when a thread of birdsong leaks into your head.

Full article here

The brilliant Rachel Charlton and Amy C-T have launched a campaign to diversify the representation of women in the media. It’s well worth a click through to Nature Made Us Beautiful [...]]]>

The brilliant Rachel Charlton and Amy C-T have launched a campaign to diversify the representation of women in the media. It’s well worth a click through to Nature Made Us Beautiful and I look forward to participating in any way I can.

Also, take some time to sign the petition here.

It’s back! I’ve been neglecting this feature for far too long, so here’s a few picks from the blogosphere to get your Monday off to a good start:

* From the truly amazing Yes [...]]]>

It’s back! I’ve been neglecting this feature for far too long, so here’s a few picks from the blogosphere to get your Monday off to a good start:

* From the truly amazing Yes and Yes, How to Recover Your Blogging Mojo (I need this right now) and a guest post, How to Love Your Life Even if You Hate Your Job – truly relevant right now, when most employed people are grateful to have any job!

* From Wicked Whimsy, 13 Ways to Reconnect With Your Creativity & Get Unstuck, a great kickstart for a creative year ahead!

* From Frock & Roll, the wonderfully-titled 3 Ways To Get Your Business/Blog/Clownfish Named Remus Noticed In 2011, some great ideas.

* Positively Present’s To Do List For a Positive Life is a must-read if you’re feeling in a bit of a slump right now.

* Feeling crafty? Grey has a series of posts that starts with guide to pressing your own mineral eyeshadows. Part 1, And Now For More Pressing Matters and Part 2, Are You Im-Pressed together form an excellent tutorial that I can’t wait for a free afternoon to try out!

* Lipsticks and Lightsabers features a post entitled Danger Room – Brush Basics, highlighting blogger Anastasia’s makeup brush recommendations, and plenty of low-cost dupes for expensive M.A.C. must-haves.

Have a great week!

My plan for the week is to plan for the winter. I need to:

Why don’t you:

* Start making soup! – Soup season is definitely here, and when it’s cold there’s nothing better than a delicious home-made bowl full of your favourite. I’m planning on trying

Why don’t you:

* Start making soup! – Soup season is definitely here, and when it’s cold there’s nothing better than a delicious home-made bowl full of your favourite. I’m planning on trying this minestrone recipe, and freezing portions to take to work for lunch.

* Get ready for the cold – Make sure that your winter bedding and coats are all clean and ready to use, I usually get caught out and have to spend a few days shivering when the cold hits before I’m ready, but I’m prepared in advance this year and picking my coat up from the dry cleaners on Thursday!

* Look at all the Fashion Week snaps  – and see what trends you can embrace with the clothes you already own. I’ve pulled out all my Manic Street Preachers fan leopardprint!

* Have a “no technology” evening – No Internet, no TV, just you, good food, pampering products and a feelgood book or stack of magazines. Alternatively a partner, a bottle of wine and some board games. It’s amazing how good it can feel to “unplug” (apart from lights -although I guess you could use lots of candles -  heating and cooking equipment of course) for an evening.

Do you have any amazing plans for this week?

For me, this week is going to be all about reading everyones’ New York Fashion Week write-ups, being terribly jealous that I’m not there, and wishing it was spring next year already so I can start trying [...]]]>  Photo Credit

For me, this week is going to be all about reading everyones’ New York Fashion Week write-ups, being terribly jealous that I’m not there, and wishing it was spring next year already so I can start trying out some of the styles myself! Having said that, I’m not sure I’d have the stamina to cope with the craziness that is Fashion Week right now, so I rather enjoy living it vicariously through other peoples’ words and photos.

Just a few bits and pieces for your perusal this week:

* “How to Make Heels Bearable” from Amanda Lee’s blog. I’ve a feeling I may have featured this the first time she did, but it certainly bears repeating, particularly for me since I’ve only really started wearing heels “properly” recently.

* “How to Write an Album Review” from Rachel Phipps is a very useful post if you’ve ever considered writing this type of content, but you’re not sure how to go about it.

Backstage video for the new Ikea advert - SO CUTE!

* “Women in Tech” from Felicia Day’s blog. I love every role she plays, I’m addicted to her awesome web series, and I find myself agreeing with everything she writes.

* “Vegetable Eater“ is a selection of really delicious-sounding vegetarian recipes from Code for Something, most of which I certainly intend to try out at some point! The sweet potato and black bean chili sounds particularly good!

Have a brilliant, sparkling week!

This week I have some links to share that have been exceedingly valuable and inspiring to me recently.

Freelance Writing

Rachel Phipps’ blog features an excellent article; “Photo Credit

This week I have some links to share that have been exceedingly valuable and inspiring to me recently.

Freelance Writing

• Rachel Phipps’ blog features an excellent article; “How to Set Your Freelance Writing Career in Motion: 11 Tips to Get You Started“. If you’re interested in freelance writing this is a must-read, and be sure to check out all the links too, there’s some really valuable resources there.
• Yes and Yes’ “How to Rock Freelance Writing” is also a wonderful resource, interview-style with some great insider tips.

Blogging

• “Clever Blogging Tools of the Trade” is yet another brilliant post from one of my favourite blogs, Frock and Roll. Corrine has also started a new series of posts; “The Blogger’s Guide To Search Engine Optimisation: The Non-Confusing Way!” which is a really great guide, very useful if, like me, you want to try “proper” SEO on your blog but don’t have the time to study all the ins and outs of it. Part 2 is here.
• Kikolani also has a guide to help you “Increase Traffic and Authority by Listing Your Blog“, which is an excellent starting point for  blog promotion.

As you might have guessed, I’ve been thinking about blogging and writing a lot this week, and I’m working on quite a few things “behind the scenes” at the moment, including those design tweaks I’ve been talking about for months – they will appear at some point!

What’s inspiring you this week?

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Why don’t you:

* Try Lucid Dreaming, I’ve only tried a couple of times so far and been unsuccessful (as someone who rarely remembers her dreams I imagine [...]]]> Photo Credit

Why don’t you:

* Try Lucid Dreaming, I’ve only tried a couple of times so far and been unsuccessful (as someone who rarely remembers her dreams I imagine it might be quite hard for me) but it sounds like an interesting experience and I’ll be trying again.

* Buy a gym ball (they’re cheap-ish and really versatile) and use it as a seat whenever you can (I use it when eating and watching TV, it’s a little low to use at my desk however) and reap the benefits when you’d usually be slouching!

* Cook something that’s a little out of your comfort zone and that you’d usually buy in – I’m thinking of baking some scones this weekend, or perhaps a full-size sponge cake as usually mine collapse.

* Make your own ice lollies, and experiment with interesting flavours! I’m tempted to try making bloody mary ice lollies (with tabasco of course), I hear the trick is to keep the alcohol content at 5% overall or under so that they freeze properly.

* Read:

• “We Don’t Have To” a manifesto, it really speaks for itself. Amazing.
•  ”The Pre-Purchase Quiz” on Already Pretty is something I could do with taking note of next time I go shopping.
• A couple of great posts from Frock and Roll on ”Becoming a Better Writer“ and “How Other Bloggers Network, Promote and Get Their Blogs Out There“
• More blogging advise from Juliette – “My Favourite WordPress Plugins” has reminded me that I need to re-assess the ones I use.
• “Sancutary” is a post by Tavi containing screencaps of teenage girls’ bedrooms from various films and TV shows. It made me quite nostalgic about my own teenage sanctuary (complete with Titanic poster)!

This one’s all about the blog posts, as I’ve read some absolute gems this week!

* Firstly, Yes and Yes showcased a wonderful lady who’s doing a [...]]]> Photo Credit

This one’s all about the blog posts, as I’ve read some absolute gems this week!

* Firstly, Yes and Yes showcased a wonderful lady who’s doing a great job for kids in Uganda. I urge you all to help if you can!

* I am somewhat in awe of Tavi, so young yet such a force to be reckoned with! Her “Open Letter to Seventeen Magazine” makes some really excellent points.

* Aspiring writers listen up! Chrissy has written a beginner’s guide to “Submitting to Literary Journals“.

* Marta has written a brilliant guide: “How to Arrange Fresh Flowers“. Since I don’t have a garden anymore, I’m tempted to start buying myself flowers to brighten the apartment up a bit!

* Corrine’s “The Blogger’s Guide to Hustling” series is shaping up to be a brilliant read. Part 1 is here, part 2; here and I’m definitely looking forward to the third installment!

* “The Fashion Internship Guide” from Flying Saucer looks like it’s going to be an excellent series too. Part one is packed with useful information, much of which I think is applicable to all internships, not just in fashion.

* Finally, this kitty video that was posted by Shanalogic is both adorable and utterly hilarious!

I hope you have a fabulous week!