Typography

Image sourced from weheartit.com.

List-o-mania

Image sourced from weheartit.com.

I’m feeling terribly uninspired today. It could have something to do with the shifting kaleidoscope that has parked itself behind my eyes; it is constantly diverting my mind to something different – a feature article that needs finishing, a suitcase that needs packing, then compressing or an over-analytical brain that needs to be squeezed out like an orange.

My answer to escaping the labyrinth inside my head: writing lists. I love lists. From dictionaries and thesauruses, to positives versus negatives, there’s nothing more clarifying than a sense of reason offered by a list.

In homage to listing and the charity it has bestowed upon me for, well, I’d say almost seven years, I am posting my most recent inventory of trivialities; I’m hoping this will spark a list-making session within you.

Likes
1. Semicolons and em dashes. Yes, I’m a sucker for syntax and it has sort of gone beyond obsessive

2. Only having one week until I jump on a plane to explore Europe, the UK, and China

3. Letters, emails and text messages; I’m all about the written word – in any form

4. Cupcakes and an extra-hot cup of English Breakfast

5. Having a key to Chonni and DD’s house!

6. Sydney

7. The smell of swiftly flipping through the pages of a brand-new magazine. Weird, right?

8. Dropping abbreviated words in face-to-face conversations, but refraining from using them when punching characters into my phone

9. The Extraordinary Ernie and Marvellous Maud series

10. 2009


Dislikes
1. The Big Bang Theory; I just don’t get why people like that show!

2. People who don’t use an indicator when turning

3. Shaken water – don’t ask

4. The aftermath of an all-nighter

5. Hearing Powderfinger and Green Day on the radio 24/7

6. Olives and fetta – I’m a freak, I know!

7. People who don’t like dogs

8. Deadlines

9. Food without a generous helping of salt

10. 2010

I can not think of a better way of venting. Seriously.



Help out CLEO!

Image sourced from weheartit.com.

The Christmas aftermath can leave us with maxed-out credit cards and cash-less wallets. String a chord with you? Our answer to this: The Little Black Budget Book.

We’re currently working on a story that provides people across Australia with restaurant prices that won’t break the bank, special drink deals and budget beauty hotspots hidden in each capital city. So, if you have any thoughts on this issue, it’s time to share with the rest of us! We’re looking for ideas surrounding student rates, beauty school discounts, and bars with cheap cocktails – anything that helps to save a buck!

Help with this is needed from all over Australia and will be truly appreciated. Feel free to email me at ellie.mcdonald@uon.edu.au

Je t'aime Abbey Lee

October 2010. Imaged sourced from Vogue Australia.

Last week, I was combing the magazine shelves of my local newsagency for something I hadn't already read this month. It was at that moment that I saw the striking cover of Vogue Australia, framing Abbey Lee's flawless face with red and blue text. Abbey Lee has been the cover girl for Vogue Australia numerous times, but twice in one year? Total girl-crush. 

March 2010. Image sourced from fluxuryb.com.

March 2009. Image sourced from modelina.com.

Reel-time

I watch way too much television and have a sick obsession with a handful of movie moments that I hope I can somehow duplicate into my own life - gross, cliche and corny, I know!

Between the music, Rachel Bilson's 90's-looking get-up, Mischa Barton's defined cheekbones and the fact that this scene gives me butterflies each time I view it, I'm sure that after watching this, you will attempt to strategically plot your own movie-moment - OC style.

Nostalgia, huh?

I don't know what I love more about this movie: Heath Ledger's lush locks or the modern spin it places on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Actually, I'd probably have to say it's all Heath.

Fierce & Fish-ous

Last week, I was watching repeat episodes of Gossip Girl and it turns out that celebrity guests, like Hilary Duff, drop in to cause some trouble, Little J’s role is to cool-ify the term ‘goth’, while Serena and Blair take turns in showcasing a myriad of styles and trends that are later copied by women across the globe.

It was during one particular episode that Serena – played by the insatiably stunning, Blake Lively – lands a job as a publicist and attends a movie premiere with her client. Serena rocked a loose fish plait that sat on her shoulder which complimented her sequinned dress.

I’m not sure if it was admiration or pure envy that re-sparked my love for fish plaits, but I certainly know that Gossip Girl was the catalyst.

FRENEMIES!

Dang, it seems as though I am not 'cool' enough to sustain a friendship with some people on Facebook.

We're all guilty of aimlessly wandering Face-space, right? Getting lost in profile after profile with each click of the mouse, a person can acquire enough gossip material to write their own reality television series. Facebook is the online arena where relationships are made and broken, all within the span of a few hundred characters. Facebook is also home to the 'cool' class and the 'Remove from Friends' button - a mechanism determining the difference between virtual friends and foes.

While cyber-stalking this afternoon, I became aware of a few private profiles that I was once able to view due to our agreed 'friend' status. This realisation took me back to a feature article I wrote about exploring whether a Facebook etiquette exists within the growing digital age. I mean, going from 'In a Relationship' to 'Single' within this social media landscape is a more reliable device of making a statement than having an in-depth gossip session with your girlfriends. Hmph, it's about time people learned some manners!