What’s behind the door?

‘ADULT MATERIAL BEING WORKED ON. DO NOT ENTER IF NUDITY OFFENDS YOU’.
What would you do if you saw this sign plastered to a door?
Would you enter? Would you run away? Would you do what I did and breeze on past it like you never even saw it?

I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to tell you exactly where I saw this sign; but I bet you can guess where (as I’m here 9-5.30pm most days of the week)! How intriguing!
How exciting! Well maybe not exciting as in I-just-received-that -Disney-Couture -bracelet--I’ve-been-crushing-on-for-Christmas exciting, but exciting as in maybe-a-few-boys-I-know-would-melt-away-if-I-told-them-what-I-knew-about-what-was-behind-that-door.

This is one of those things that I know you are just squirming in your seat about, like if I don’t tell you, you might stop reading my blog or you might convert to reading (cue horror music) Pink Is The New Blog! But I know deep down you know it’s totally not the new blog. But, come on, don’t change the subject, we’re trying to decipher what was behind that door.

Now, as I didn’t actually open the door I’m not sure exactly what was in that room but I can tell you this; I work in a company where it’s possible to be involved in nude photoshoots. Yes, you read that correctly, NUDE photoshoots. These photoshoots usually involve good looking women (some not so good looking). You also know I work in the wonderful world of magazines within the biggest publishing house of Australia. Basically you name the mag, I can totally get you a staff discounted subscription! So I guess this takes us to the ‘men’s lifestyle’ mag arena (just go with me here). We’ve got Zoo, Ralph, FHM, Men’s Style – yep, pretty cool huh? (if you happen to be a boy)
So really, ‘that sign’ may have had anything to do with any of the above magazines. But then again - maybe it didn’t?

Til next time,

Girl Next Door xx

P.S Door in picture is in no way associated with this story.

Rule # 5987 – how to really piss me off

I have a few pet peeves. I bet you do as well. I’ve just come from a workout at the gym and while I walked in there on my mobile phone the guy who worked there began to shove a flyer into my face yelling ‘get your friends a present they’ll never forget’. I looked the other way whilst still talking on my phone so as to make the guy realise that I was so not interested. Do you know what he did? He continued to shove the flyer into my face. I could not believe it. After getting over this annoying start to my workout I went about my 40 minute routine, hit the showers then made my way back through to the reception area where yet again another lady threw her arm out with a dreaded flyer, I looked at her and said ‘no, thanks’, and kept walking. After she replied with some smartass remark I was ropeable! I mean if I want a flyer I will take a flyer. If I want to get someone in my family a present from the gym exactly one week before Christmas I will. But I don’t need it shoved in my face at any given opportunity.

Not to mention walking around the city only to be bombarded on every second street corner with a CD or a brochure of some sort, then half way down the block there are millions upon millions of these brochures flying round the street, littering our city.
I hate to have a bitch right before Christmas but does anyone else agree with me?

Girl Next Door xox

When following your dreams means leaving everything you love behind….

We all know I love to do a bit of thinking. My 45-75 minute bus ride every morning and afternoon forces me to do this. The thought of change strikes my mind from time to time. In the past I have been known to leave the house absolutely ready for another day and by the time I arrive at work have actually talked myself out of working at that particular place; resigning 40 minutes into my day.
It’s not that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind every other day; it’s just that for some reason that particular bus ride made me realise that ‘today was the day’. Phrases and clichés were floating through my mind like bees on speed; ‘life’s too short to be unhappy’, ‘you only live once’….blah, blah, blah.

I never thought that someone else in the world would actually be having the same thoughts that I did. I opened up The Daily Tele this morning and on page 41 (the front page of the Sydney Confidential) I am told that MTV presenter Ms Lyndsey Rodrigues has made the big, fat move to the Big Apple (yes that’s New York) and totally taken her career to the next level. She’s hosting Total Request Live where she has already interviewed Will Smith (earlier today), Simple Plan and Wyclef Jean (not too sure of who he is) do you know how many viewers see that show every day, Oh only 93 million! Uummm can anyone say ‘Cool’! I remember when this chick first began on MTV, I was working at Girlfriend, and our entertainment editor Bec was interviewing her in the office. She was a total stunner and just had that ‘famous look’ about her, but no one had any idea who she was. Now she’s halfway around the world having just replaced Vanessa Minnillo (currently dating Nick Lachey). I mean WOW that is very cool indeed.

But as cool as it all seems - the glitz, the glamour, the early starts and the late nights….is it all worth it? Is a move for the sake of your career at all worth leaving everything you know and love behind? That’s the question that a lot of you will face in your life. It all sounds pretty straight forward and simple, but that one question is the hardest that you will ever have to answer.

Just so you know Lyndsey’s boyfriend is joining her in the U.S early next year. But what about her friends, her besties will be lost without her? Her family will miss her so much.

Can you see what I'm getting at with what my 'thoughts' were?

So you’ve got some homework for me tonight; what would you do? What would help you in determining the decision of a lifetime?

Girl Next Door xox

I wanna be a Victoria's Secret model!

Did everyone watch The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show last night on Channel 10 (Hosted by the gorgeous German-born Heidi Klum)?
I don’t know why I put myself through this torture each year but I just love watching those perfect models strut their stuff down the runway. The way they make the average girl feel is quite something, especially that Aussie-born and newly reformed Miranda Kerr - what a stunner (see pic below)!

As well as making me feel super great about myself these girls had me wanting to strut my stuff down the hallway and give a wink or blow a kiss to those who were watching (my boyfriend seemed to be the only one applauding my efforts). But seriously the way those fantastically fit girls walk down the runway has me so envious! So sexy and amazing, with bodies to die for and at the same time trying to carry a 20 kilo pair of wings - Wowzers!

Towards the end of the show; The Spice Girls graced the stage and wowed the audience with their first official come-back performance. Singing and dancing up a storm to ‘Stop’ (just quietly it sounded a hell of a lot like the recorded version).
As much as I love The Spice Girls I wouldn’t be surprised if they mimed that one.
But, in saying that it was an amazing performance and from the looks of things the Girls were very happy with themselves as well.
The glitz and glamour of the show was enough to keep me amused for the whole 60 minutes (and I think the lingerie was enough for my boy – Bless him!)

What did you think of the show? Do you think Victoria’s Secrets have some impressive shows?

Girl next Door xox

So this is Christmas….

…and it’s so close I can hear Santa’s sleigh bells ringing!

When I was younger I awoke late one Christmas Eve and could have sworn it was to the sound of bells. The sound was coming form my rooftop. Naturally I knew that Mr Claus was dropping off the items that my little brother, sister and I had waited all year to see. But the one thing that is so fresh in my mind I felt like I did it this morning is the ritual my family and I used to go through to put up the tree. The carols music we played whilst dad climbed up the step ladder into the roof to retrieve all the decorations. The fight me, my brother and sister had in who was going to put the angel on top of the tree – this went on for so long Dad had to lay down the law and get us to take turns each year.



We’d hang all the trinkets and tinsel on the tree and watch as it glistened back at us. The smell of the pine needles are what told me it was Christmas time. Smelling that exact smell today as dad dragged in the gorgeous tree took me back in time to the place where I got so excited each year. All the fond memories came rushing back to me. But this year it was different. My brother was at work and my sister was out shopping with friends so was no where to be seen. There was no music, no decoration snatching and definitively no argument on who was putting the angel on her home for the next 4 weeks. The only sound I could hear was mum instructing dad and I on which way the tree was slanting and how to get it in it’s upright position. It’s kinda sad that we’ve all grown up and don’t do those little things that mean’t so much to each of us together anymore. That one simple task of setting up ‘the tree’ each year was such a huge event and now has diminished into something that we’ll get around to doing when we have time……

I think these days my family and I appreciate Christmas for what it’s really for; catching up and spending time with the ones you love, your family.

And maybe if we be good Santa will drop by as usual on Chrissy Eve!

Til Next Time,

Girl Next Door xox

‘Like WOW!’

That’s what I said when I opened up my Outlook this morning when I came into work. It was not the usual WOW that I say when I get an email from Whowhatweardaily.com confirming my sightings of the hottest pair of shoes I have EVER seen only to look down at the price and see that they are close to a 5 digit number. That’s right WOW. No, no today I opened my inbox and saw ‘Introducing Who What Wear TV’. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s right, all you chicks out there who are currently looking at their screens blankly/excitedly thinking ‘As if, this chick is nutso’, you can damn straight think again. Coz this is possibly the greatest thing since Macro Wholefoods Markets opened at Mona Vale!

The 2 amazing women who founded Whowhatweardaily.com Katherine Power and Hilary Kerr will be hosting this tantalising show and each episode will show us how to get the look of a certain trend, the girls will explain exactly what this trend is so we can copy it any time we like! But wait there’s more.... the whole episode takes place in none other than the Who What Wear Daily fashion closet! OH. MI. GOD!! So if you got a kick out of getting the clothes delivered to your inbox, then you are about to be taken to a whole new shopping level!

Girl Next Door xx

For my beauty writing fans out there......

...here is another of my homework tasks from my course. And it's all yours to di-sect. Hope you enjoy!

Blemish free skin is just three steps away (but don’t think you won’t have to put in a bit of work to get there)

We could stand here and tell you to count to three and you’d have beautiful skin. But that would be too easy

You always seem to know when your due; not coz of your lack of concentration, or your ability to tolerate anyone (including your boss), or the fact that every time you get up and walk around you feel like you’ve been stabbed in the stomach, repeatedly. This one involves interrupting your perfect looking skin and planting a blemish right smack bang in the middle of your nose. Ooh and you forgot to mention that your boyfriend’s Christmas party is tomorrow night.

You’ve heard it all before - right? ‘Miracle ways to get rid of blemishes when you have your period’, ‘Pimple gone –overnight guaranteed’. We’re not going to promise you anything too unbelievable, but we will tell you that these products can be preventative to your monthly friend (the red dot kind) and if used correctly and regularly could actually decrease your luck in getting any kind of blemish at all. Pretty cool – huh?
The thing to remember with your skincare routine is you’ve got to keep at it. If you come home from a big night out and you can’t be bothered to remove your party make-up then don’t come crying to us. You’ll wake up a couple of days later with a blemish the size of The Eiffel Tower and we guarantee you’ll wonder why. Well we’re glad you asked, the answer to your question is simple; you let your guard down. For that split millisecond that you thought it would be fine to go to bed with a face reeking of 6-hours worth of dancing/drinking and the make up you applied 7 hours ago, well let’s just say it wasn’t ‘fine’. While you were sleeping your skin was trying to repair itself and in that process was shot down by an array of black liquid eyeliner, silver eyeshadow and remnants of the sweated amount of foundation (the rest melted into your skin) with a dash of fake tan in it. A big no-no.
So you see when that time of the month comes round and you ‘forgot’ to take your make up off 3 even 4 times you are automatically putting yourself at a 30-40% chance of getting a blemish when you least expect it. You could do this for the next 10 years of your life or you could repeat after us:
Rule One: At the beginning and end of EVERY, SINGLE day (this includes nights out!) wash your hands and remove your make-up, Try JASON Natural Products Satin Soap for Hands and Face, ($6.75) we like the summer-esque Mango flavour. Your skin will be beautifully cleansed and able to breathe as it repairs itself throughout your slumber.
Rule Two: Remove unwanted excess dirt and make-up with AcneRecovery Facewash, this soothing cleanser is specifically designed to target those nasty blemishes that creep up on us every month.
Rule Three: Put the moisture back into your beautifully cleansed skin with AcneRecovery Repair Lotion during the day and at nighttime try AcneRecovery Treatment Lotion, this one works in conjunction with your skin’s overnight repair system to make your skin smooth soft and the way you like it – not a blemish in sight! (The three-piece set is $99 and refills range from $21-$46)
Rule Four: Stare at your gorgeous, blemish-free face, breathe in, breathe out and give yourself a pat on the back! Well done!

Girl Next Door xx

Facebook – a revolution or an invasion of privacy?

This very thought has had me thinking lately. After deactivating my Facebook account for a couple of days I realised how much of an invasion it really is. I mean people adding you claiming to be from all walks of your personal life ‘You went to school with this person, ‘You hooked up with that person, ‘You met this one randomly’, ‘You worked with another one’. OK, so the majority of the people you know and are friends with are pretty legit, but what about the other 40 people that try and add you? Sure you went to school with them or you know them through a friend, but what the hell does that have to do with the price of fish? Have they spoken to you in the last 18 months? Do they know anything about your current life (without having looked you up on Facebook or Myspace?)? Would you call these people up to have a chat about what’s been happening in your life since primary school? Chances are you answered no to all the above, so what are we doing letting all these randoms back into our cyber-life? Beats me.
Sure it’s fun sharing photos and memories with those who you really want to, but me thinks you would probably have been in contact with these people from Day Dot.

What do you think about these networking type sites? Do you think they are an invasion of your privacy or somewhere good to catch up with long lost friends?

Girl Next Door xx