The Good Girl Gone Blog

Confessions of a fashion intern: week 1 lessons February 28, 2010

Shoes at Brick Lane

Guys, I survived week one of my internship and let me tell you, I've learned quite a bit. My internship is definitely different than anything I've ever done before, but overall, I think it's a good experience. I mean, seriously, I get to look at clothes all day!

Here's what I learned this week:

1. Waistcoat = vest...vest = sweater vest or tank top
2. It's normal to call your coworkers "love" and "sweetheart" (I somehow don't think that would have worked very well at my old internship.)
3. When answering the phone, always put the person on hold before transferring them.
4. When calling a magazine, you're usually calling an operator who will direct you to your desired party. As a result, you can't just ask for "the fashion cupboard" but should ask for "the Vogue India fashion cupboard," for example.
5. Clothing starts to get really heavy, especially when you're carrying intricately beaded evening gowns.
6. Interns can be your best friends- they help you out, show you wear to get lunch and are very understanding when you make rookie mistakes.
7. Though it feels amazing when a friend compliments your outfit, it feels 10x better when someone working at a fashion label tells you she likes your top.
8. A full day of work at a major fashion label is exhausting.
9. The well dressed men that work in the store below the press office, though initially intimidating, are actually really nice. Don't let the suits fool you.
10. Wear comfortable shoes. Trust me.

It's good to know Sara Parker February 15, 2010

A few weeks ago, I received a facebook message from my friend and former mentor, Sara, asking me if I wanted to attend an opening reception for the One Young World summit. One Young World brought together young people from across the world seeking to discuss important global issues like global warming, religious tolerance and peace. All in all, it seemed like a very cool event!

Not one to turn down a party or a chance to take tons of photos, I agreed to attend and was given a special press pass. (Apparently, tickets to participate as a delegate cost something like 3,000 euro!) Though I was invited to sit in on the sessions as well as the opening ceremony, I had to pass on the sessions due to an abundance of school work. This meant I didn't get to meet Kofi Anan or John Kerry...

BUT, I did get to hang out with journalists and photographers with intense cameras. It was great to pretend I was part of their group, simply because I had a press pass and a relatively large Nikon lens. I managed to speak with one of the delegates, a 17-year-old boy from Holland, but spent most of my time snapping photos. Unfortunately, I forgot to follow my dad's most important piece of advice (no, not "never refuse a breath mint): always bring an extra battery.

Of course, my camera managed to die right before  speeches from Desmond Tutu and Bob Geldof, as well as a performance by Corrinne Bailey Rae. Needless to say, I was VERY unhappy with myself. Well, I'll let this be a lesson to myself- if I want to be a serious journalist, I need to come prepared. 

My favorite speaker was definitely Desmond Tutu. He reminded me of a cute little grandfather. I desperately wanted to give him a hug. (Check out his amazing facial expressions.) Tutu managed to remain positive even when talking about major world issues. In my opinion, that makes a great speaker.

Bob Geldof and Desmond Tutu entering the building

To be quite honest, I didn't really enjoy Geldof's speech. Unlike Tutu, who remained very positive, Geldof seemed to use the fear approach. One of his main points was that we spend way too much money on frivolous things...such as our pets. According to him, this is unnecessary, because everyone, including these pets, will die due to global warming. 

How cute are these little kids? They're all from London, but represent over 80 different nationalities. Additionally, they were amazing singers. Watching them reminded me of watching my mom's students perform- they were just so cute!

 

Thanks Sara for hooking me up, you're the best!

Scottish men are creepy January 26, 2010

• Cute boys in kilts that made the trek from Glasgow for a pub crawl will take a photo with you...and whip our their ghetto disposable camera so they can immortalize their shot with the Americans.
• Scottish people are hard to understand, especially if they're not from a big city.
• Don't use the word "fanny," as in "what do you guys keep in those fanny packs?"
• Scone should be pronounced "skahn"
• Old Scottish men will get drunk, hit on you and jump in your photos...at 8 pm...while you're minding your own business and finishing your dinner at a pub. (See photo below.)

• Cider is best when frozen on top.
• Even though Scotland uses the pound, some of their bills are stamped  "Bank of Scotland," so they look slightly different.
• Scottish people are very friendly.
• I will never EVER eat traditional Scottish food. Haggis? No thanks.
• Always Sunday- has the BEST breakfast. EVER.

Thanks Lynn for the first two photos!

London lessons: part II January 19, 2010

Sigh, I really wanted to share a fashion post for you today- I wore the yellow shoes and everything, but the photo shoot didn't actually happen. There's always tomorrow! Instead, I thought I'd share with you some more interesting London observations. (Check out the first list here.)

1. The term "rubber" refers to an eraser
2. Brits don't say "knock on wood," they say "touch wood"
3. British peanut butter is very different than American peanut butter (or at least that's what my non-allergic friends say)
4. In order to get the 5 basic TV channels, Brits must pay a licensing fee of £139.50 per year...which goes to the BBC.
5. For words that are both nouns and verbs, the letter c is used for nouns and s for verbs- example licence vs. license
6. A small coffee here is about 2/3 the size of a small coffee at home
7. Apparently, it's normal for people to sell the five random things they have left in their basements on Brick Lane. (See photo above. Trolls? Seriously? I have an entire box of them at home!)
8. The UK = England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Britain = Scotland, Wales and England.
9. In England, married men go out to bars with their friends and hit on unsuspecting, small, Jewish American girls. Not cool. 
10. Jammie Dodgers = the best cookies ever (even if Maria eats around the Jam and then smashes the remainder of the the cookie into a huge mess).

A few lessons in London January 10, 2010

I'm cheating- this photo is actually in Israel. My London dorm room is NOT this fancy!

I've been in London for less than 12 hours, but I've already learned a TON:

1. Queen's Gate (my street) is not the same as Queen's Gate Gardens or Queen's Gate Mews.
2. It's very hard to remember which way to look before crossing the street, even if it's literally written on the crosswalk (look left, look right).
3. Jacket potatoes = baked potatoes.
4. Grocery stores and chemists (aka pharmacies) close ridiculously early on Sundays...like, 5pm early.
5. The metal rack in the bathroom is for heating towels. Touching it is a bad idea (oops).
6. A la cart samosas make for a very cheap and very delicious dinner.
7. The Heathrow Express = a fast and easy way to get from the airport to central London. It's clean, comfortable, and they play BBC TV.
8. Columbia Road Market is a really cool place that sells flowers and plants. It operates on Sundays because of an old act of Parliament that changed the day of the market in order to accommodate Jewish traders. (Thanks Heathrow Express/BBC TV!)
9. The clothes I wore in Israel are NOT warm enough for London, as the temperature has decreased by close to 40 degrees.
10. Apparently Flickr is an evil Website, as it is in violation of the Internet usage policy of BU in London. Not cool.
    

I still have another suitcase to unpack and need to figure out how to shower and dry myself off sans towel (I was going to buy one here, but everything is closed). I'll let you know how that goes!

(Also, I just wanted to thank you all for your kind words about all of my recent photos. You make me feel like a superstar!)

Sophie, I don't think we're at Starbucks anymore January 05, 2010

The other day, Soph and I went to Cup 'O' Joe  to grab coffee after I slept through the free breakfast at her youth hostel. Sophie asked me "What's a machiatto?" so I told her that I get it all the time from Starbucks, and that it's basically a latte with caramel.

She thought it sounded yummy and ordered one. This is what she got:

Look how tiny! It was then that I remembered my friend Arielle (who spent a semester studying abroad in Italy) complaining that Starbucks doesn't carry real macchiatos! I guess she was used to the mini shot of espresso that Sophie accidentally ordered!

Does this look like a happy camper?

Inspired by: Joshua Radin November 23, 2009

After a very tumultuous and trying week, I almost forgot that I had tickets to the Joshua Radin concert last night. I've had a bit of a crush on him ever since my cousin Dahlia first shared his music with me three years ago. Jenni gave me some more of his music (and convinced me his last name was pronounced rah-din instead of ray-din...apparently she was wrong) and my crush only got more intense.

Flash forward to this summer in the springpad office. I find out one of my coworkers has Joshua's new-ish CD on his iTunes, and I can't stop listening. Rachel and I look him up on Wikipedia as part of the age guessing game and realize that he's short, like really short...and he's sort of 35. Still, even though he doesn't pass my height test, I'd still marry him in an instant...If only he were 10 years younger!

Flash forward to last night at the House of Blues in Boston.

 I couldn't stop yelling "I love you!" to the stage, and I must have squeezed Rachel's hand about a million times in excitement when Joshua played my favorite songs. Seeing him in concert only reaffirmed my love for him. His stories were funny, his "whisper rock" breathy and beautiful, and his new more "rock n' roll" songs extremely catchy.

I think my favorite JR story described the inspiration behind the song "No Envy, No Fear," a song he admits to playing for himself every night. Joshua described the jealousy and self doubt he initially felt when entering the music business, and how he finally decided to do something about it.

Instead of being jealous of something you think you want, turn that jealousy into inspiration. If you can do this, you'll be a much happier person. And you know what? I think that's just beautiful, and I might make it into my new life mantra. 

photo via

GO FALCON, GO! October 15, 2009

via

Happy Friday- I thought the above photo was too funny to pass up. (Thanks for sharing, Kristyn!) So...do we think it was a publicity stunt or what? Being a PR major has made me slightly skeptical.

Also, feel free to laugh at my pain- I made cowboy mac n' cheese for my roommates, and apparently, the hot peppers I bought at the farmer's market today were very, VERY hot. The guy was not lying when he said on a scale of 1-10, these babies were an 8.

No, I did not burn my tongue (dinner was actually delicious), but my fingers, on the other hand, are killing me. Today I learned that just touching spicy peppers can burn your skin. I tried soaking my fingers in milk (the fat is supposed to absorb the evil pepper juice), I tried an ice pack, I even tried hydro cortisone cream (as prescribed by Krisyn, who I'm pretty sure knows everything). Nothing is working and this is NOT fun.

Note to self: When cooking with hot peppers, wear Izzy's rubber gloves.

Vegas: Where normal men get creepified August 11, 2009

 

Sam, Julia, Me, Elana and Arielle on our way to birthday dinner (photo via Elana)

Hi everyone- I'm writing to you from Julia's room in San Diego. My nose is stuffy, I have a sort of painful canker sore in the inside of my cheek, and my hair looks disgusting, but hey- at least I had a CRAZY Vegas weekend chock full of stories to share with you. I could give you a play-by-play of every detail (and trust me, I do love to talk), but I think I'll just divide my posts into categories. That way, you (and I both) won't get bored halfway.

So...this first post will focus on a topic I know you all love to hear about: my encounters with the opposite sex:

The hottie on the plane: One of the downsides of being tiny and traveling sans-checked baggage: it's nearly impossible to put your rolling bag into the overhead bin without help. Though I was thankful to the middle aged man standing behind me in the aisle of the plane for initially hoisting my little Betsy Johnson suitcase into the bin above my seat, he was less than memorable. The guy that helped me get it down, on the other hand, was super cute. I'd been hoping he'd strike up a conversation with me for the entire flight, but sadly, he didn't. So, when it was time to deplane, I seized my opportunity:

"Hey, can you help me get my suitcase down so I don't kill anyone?"

He smiled kindly and obliged.

"We wouldn't want that to happen!"

Yeah, that's me- I'm a charmer.

The drunk party-goers: After celebrating Jules' first (legal) drink in style at the Belagio, we headed back to our hotel to change shoes and engage in a bit of gambling. (For the record, I gambled a wopping $3. Though Jules came home with around $600, I was too chicken to actually try out the tables. Plus, I've come to realize that the Vegas lifestyle really isn't me- but that's for another post.) It was particularly fun talking to some drunk guys who couldn't wait to wish Julia a happy 21st. For some reason, in my tipsy state, I thought it was a good idea to switch to Hebrew. The guys had no idea what we were saying, but Sam, Jules and I thought it was hysterical.

The homeless guy: When he saw Jule's sparkly birthday crown, this grungy, disgusting guy felt the need to shout:

"Hey princess!"

When Jules didn't respond, he let out a gravely "aww come on." We ran away as fast as we could.

The Israeli Kiosk guy: Arielle thought he was cute, so we pretended to be interested in the steamer he was trying to sell. We all knew he was Israeli, but played dumb and asked him where he was from. When he said "Israel," we explained that the five of us had originally met in Israel, where we'd lived together for 9 months. We told him it was Julia's 21st, and he responded by saying we didn't look 21...especially me. He definitely knew how to win me over...NOT.

The coworkers from Maine: On Saturday night, after a fabulous Italian birthday dinner, we hit the club at New York, New York. Though we were sad to know that free Skyy Vodka drinks had ended just a few minutes earlier, we still hit the dance floor...with gusto! There, I convinced Jules that she needed to climb up on stage. Of course, I jumped up first and had to DRAG her up behind me, but she eventually complied. Oh, and as Elana tried to take photos from the dance floor, a 40-50 year old guy offered to take photos from a better angle. It was slightly awkward, but I will say, I was enthralled by the younger, much more attractive guy standing next to him. Eventually, the "old" guy asked me where I was from, I think mainly as an opener for his cute coworker to step in. Cute coworker then offered to buy a round of drinks "for my girls" and I happily obliged, especially because "get a guy to buy us a round of drinks" was on our Vegas to-do list!

After bringing me my drink, I felt obligated to chat with the guy and found out that he not only went to school in Boston, he was also in Vegas on business, working at a trade show. Yup...this guy's life mirrored my own. I was happy to chat with him, because we had so much in common. I felt bad when our group decided to change locations, and apologized for leaving. It would have been fun to keep talking with him, but whatever :)

The gay strippers: I don't want to go into details, because I was thoroughly disgusted, but I'm ashamed to say I was dragged to a strip club. It was eye opening to say the least, and though the rest of my group seemed  ok with the situation, I was not. Watching hairless men prance around in g-strings? NOT my idea of fun. I spent about an hour moping in the corner. It was absolute torture. Note to my best gal pals: when planning my bachelorette party, please, please, PLEASE don't hire a stripper! You will make me cry.

The creepy Flatbush guy: On Sunday night, we'd hoped to get into "Tryst," a super-classy club at the Whynn hotel, with the free passes Julia had received. Unfortunately, Tryst was closed Sunday nights, so we were forced to try out XS, another club in the hotel. The price was steep, but we were all dressed up and in the mood to go out. At XS, we were unhappy to find that the club, however swanky and grown up, was overpriced and underwhelming. The funniest and most disturbing part of the evening was when two young-ish guys came up to our group and started chatting with us. One guy (Ike) grabbed me by my arm, spun me around and told me I was adorable. I could tell he was drunk because he kept kissing my cheek. It was sort of gross. He then pulled me aside (although still within my friends' watchful gaze) and asked me if I was really a "good Jewish girl." Baffled and slightly creeped out, I said yes. He then proceeded to tell me he was " a nice Jewish boy," and when I questioned his religion, he offed to show me he was Jewish. It was disgusting. I ran over to my friends, who proceeded to share a disturbing truth: Ike was married and had a newborn baby at home. Eww. Eww. EWW.

Needless to say, I think you understand my feelings on the men of Las Vegas. Sure, maybe they're decent guys when they're in their natural habitats, but Vegas seems to creepify people. Thanks, but no thanks- I think I'll stick with some nice Boston boys...though to be honest with you, I'm not sure about them either. No worries, I'm still young.

Advice from Drunk Cousins August 03, 2009

About 3 weeks ago, one of my blog friends (who I also like to think of as one of my real friends) tagged me with the "keepsake award." Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to come up with a good post idea...but, after much thought, I've finally come up with the perfect keepsake to share with you: some advice my cousins drunkenly gave me at a family wedding. 

What's even better is that this post comes directly from my original "blog" aka one of the many journals I attempted to keep throughout the years. Thanks so much for the award, Mishi- this post is for you!

November 7, 2004

• Don't have sex until you're engaged.
  
• If you're drinking, make sure to have a lot of water & Tylenol b/f you go to bed, even if you're not thirsty.
• Don't do pot until you're in college.
• Go to all of your classes
  
• You have to get really wasted in high school b/c if the first time is in college, you'll be lost, confused & scared. Do it at home in a familiar place w/ friends
• If a boy wants to get you drunk, he wants to take advantage of you.

Looking back on the advice given to me as a 16-year-old, I can only laugh. I was so young and impressionable- I literally wrote down all of my cousins' advice so that I could refer to it later. It's funny to think that at that time I had never skipped a class (ok, there was that one time my friends and I cut gym in the 10th grade) and had only indulged in the occasional sip of wine from my dad's glass.

So there you go- I hope you enjoyed this little "keepsake" of mine. I'm going to tag the lovely Ashely, because I'm sure she has TONS of great keepsakes to share!