Here’s my pick of the bunch:

‘The Casual Vacancy’ by JK Rowling. I was never a huge fan of the Harry Potter series myself but Rowling’s success is undeniable. Her first adult novel has been a long time coming and as such I’m very excited about it. The synopsis doesn’t sound particularly engaging but I can’t imagine JK releasing anything less than perfect given the hit her reputation could take.

‘Philida’ by Andre Brink. The fact that this book has made the Booker Long-list says enough. I might even have to buy this one in hardback as the dust jacket is quite beautiful. Browse inside here.

‘The Black Count’ by Tom Reiss. Tag-lined with ‘Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo’, I doubt this will prove to be a bore. This is the tale of General Alexandre Dumas (father of the author of the same name) who was sold into slavery by his own father but managed to turn his life around and end up as one of France’s strongest soldiers until imprisoned by Napoleon. I can’t wait to read it!

‘The Elephant Keeper’s Children’ by Peter Hoeg. It sounds quite peculiar and the cover art intrigues me – probably not a great reason to read a book but there you go. It’s about two children who try to catch out their dodgy parents (a bogus minister and organist who fake miracles). Browse inside here.

‘The Collini Case’ by Ferdinand Von Schirach. I hadn’t heard of this author until now but he’s apparently the German John Le Carre and with that alone I think it’s worth a read.

‘Dodger’ by Terry Pratchett. I’ve never read a Terry Pratchett novel before but I would love to and this sounds like the perfect place to start. Set in Dickensian London, it follows a mischievous boy who goes from zero to hero. Browse inside here.

Their latest exhibit is a very interesting one. They have the team from free weekly magazine, Stylist, working in the gallery and the action is being streamed live. The aim is to see how a normal office works and interacts, and how this changes when they’re put in a goldfish bowl situation. Is it day-to-day work or are they putting on a show?

Watch the action unfold here

After Reading Stylist I want to…Spend the night in a treehouse in the heart of the New Forest

Feed my curiosity and try Bacon Jam because I have no idea how this would taste nice at all…

Fall asleep under the stars at River Cottage in a pop up ‘hotel’

Smell the new Marc Jacobs perfume DOT, purely because I love the bottle

Take a trip to Camden Beach to enjoy cocktails on a deck chair and pretend I’m in Mexico…if the weather holds up that is

Support the latest trend byzantium which I have no idea how to pronounce

Here’s my celeb spots of the day!

David Prowse:

Kenny Baker:

Alex Winter (Wild Stallions!) – I had such a crush on him!

The legend Al Leong:

Charles Dance:

Michael Socha:

Christopher Judge (and Ironman!):

Adam Baldwin:

Todd from Scrubs:

The mum’s favourite, Hercules himself, Kevin Sorbo:

There was an incredible array of costumes from film & TV fancy dress costumes through to Cosplay. One of my favourites was the Walking Dead group:

I got to meet the utterly gorgeous Anthony Stewart Head. I’ve had a crush on him ever since those Gold Blend days:

I also met Jonathan Ke Quan – Data from the Goonies/Short Round from Indiana Jones, whom I’ve loved since I was a kid. I even chatted to him in Cantonese! He was really sweet (AND the best dressed guy there!)

I managed to catch the Judge Dredd talk, with Karl Urban & Alex Garland, where we also saw exclusive previews of the film:

A great day, though sadly my friend, Andy Thorp, did get captured by some Stormtroopers:

I’d have loved to post a more fashion based feature on the Comic Con – even Stylist are reporting on the most fashionable starlets at Comic Con 2012! However, the most fashionable thing I did there, was bump into the ever gorgeous Karina Liew from Cobalt Cafe, who had her own art stall there. I previously blogged about meeting Karina in my Bourjois blog post, where she drew this stunning picture of me! Here’s hoping we get to work together on something fashion based in the future! In the meantime, she’s one to watch!

Overall, I had an amazing time and I took this little souvenir home for my Macbook, a lovely little present from the Hungdrawn guys!

Many of women may dream of getting married but the reality of planning the big day can often turn into a bit of a nightmare – particularly if you’re after something different from what you’ve seen in bridal magazines. To that end I’ve put together some cool wedding ideas suitable for modern brides. From a gin bar on a bicycle, to a walking wedding ceremony and literary confetti, here’s how to avoid having a fussy, frou-frou ‘meringue’ wedding celebration.

Duty-bound to help in any wedding emergency, ensure bridesmaids have everything to hand with this cool cotton tote.

£12, alphabetbags.com

Having an outdoor wedding reception? Create a festival-chic vibe with these jubilant, 8m-tall handmade flags.

From £30 each, Big Wave Flags at ruby+diva

Bunting is SO over – now, it’s all about the perfectly round bubble balloon. Filled with helium and decorated with handcrafted strings, Bonbon offer a rainbow of colours to decorate reception spaces. Or why not have bridesmaids holding a bunch as a fun alternative to a bouquet of flowers?

£28 each, Bonbon Balloons at ruby+diva

Featuring leopard print heels and a pretty heart detail on the back, these glamorous platforms will make a statement as you head down the aisle. Great for those opting for a modern short dress style.

£620, Charlotte Olympia

Forgo a traditional veil in favour of a statement floral headband. Everyone from Lana Del Rey to Keira Knightley have been spotted in them this summer, and Missoni heiress Margherita Missoni gave her bridesmaids floral garland toppers at her wedding last month.

£15, dollybowbow.co.uk

We promise we won’t spill the beans if you decide to tell your guests you made these vintage-chic embroidered table number hoops yourself.

£16.58 each (approx), Merriweather Council

Bookish has turned guilty-pleasure Mills and Boon novels into pretty, heart-shaped paper confetti that’s ideal for scattering on tables or throwing over the happy couple. Surely it’s only a matter of time before Fifty Shades of Grey confetti goes into production?

From £5, Bookish at ruby+diva

Add an on-trend Fifties feeling to your big day with these retro striped straws from Borrowed Blue Wedding. Just as perfect with a gin fizz cocktail as in an American Diner-style milkshake.

£2.95 (for 25 straws), boutique.borrowedbluewedding.com

Fashionista brides on a budget will love Richard Nicoll’s highly-anticipated debut bridal collection for Topshop.

From £75, Richard Nicoll for Topshop

Bridesmaids will love the pretty keepsake necklaces and bracelets from Melinda Mulcahy. The South Wales -based designer will personalise her silver pieces with a special saying or song lyric for a truly unique memento of your wedding day.

From £39, MelindaMulcahy.com

Not into big flashy sparklers? Forgo a traditional engagement ring for this 18-karat gold ‘Marry Me’ ring from ultra-cool jeweller Solange Azagury-Partridge.

£1,400 Solange Azagury-Partridge

Serving G&Ts and other gin-based cocktails from a vintage bicycle, gin fiends will love The Travelling Gin Co.’s mobile bar at their wedding. Founders Edward Godden and Joseph Lewis love taking their bicycle bar to unusual places, so the more obscure your request, the better.

thetravellingginco.tumblr.com

Head into the wild with a walking wedding from Stepping Beyond. Pick your route and walk to or from your wedding ceremony (with or without your party) through the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside. Family-run company Stepping Beyond can also arrange for the ceremony and reception to take place outside at your chosen Hertfordshire beauty spot.

steppingbeyond.co.uk

(Via edited and added by me)

•  Only 5% of sports media coverage features women
• For every 53 articles written about sporting men, there is one about a woman
• Women’s sport receives only 0.5% of the total sponsorship income into sport (men get 62.1%)

Kelly Clark at the Winter X Games Europe 2012

I found these statistics both shocking, yet unsurprising. Being a female snowboarder, I’m more than accustomed to being involved in a male dominated sport. However, while there are slight differences between men and women’s snowboarding (there is much debate as to whether or not women should ride the same courses as men), they do receive a similar (although not equal) level of exposure in the media when it comes to competitions. This is largely thanks to the standard of today’s female riders. With the likes of Kelly Clark going as big as some of the men, they are just as incredible to watch as their male counterparts.

Sadly the balance isn’t quite as even in other areas of snowboarding media and women don’t feature too heavily in the majority of mainstream edits, films or magazines, all of which are a fundamental part of the sport today.

However, women within the sport are starting to raise their own profile and there are a handful of production companies, organisations and websites which cater to the (not unsizeable) female snowboarding population, with more emerging all the time.

Cooler Magazine, part of the massive action sports media group, Mpora, which publishes Whitelines and Onboard snowboarding magazines, has been providing action sports loving women with their own dedicated magazine for several years now.

New on the scene is Coven Magazine, an independent quarterly for women which combines action, art and adventure. Issue two is just out and features everything from women’s surfing, skateboarding and motocross, to fashion, art and a fair trade safari in Kenya. Check out the website to view the magazine online or find your nearest stockist, to pick up a hard copy.

While the big female orientated brands, such as Roxy, have been producing promotional edits featuring their sponsored riders for a while, female riders haven’t had much of a presence in full length snowboarding films. However, this is changing thanks to production companies such as Lipstick Productions who last year released the awesome, full length film ‘5 more minutes… please?!’ which features only female European riders, such as Basa Stevulova, Aimee Fuller, Sina Candrian, Conny Bleicher, Aline Bock and Tini Gruber. They recently released the teaser for the follow up, ‘Eurotic’ and it looks like it’s going to be every bit as good as the last!

Some other sites and organisations which represent female boarders are Women in Boardsports, Girly Legs, Powder Room, and Chix Shred. And then there are the brands such as Roxy, Nikita, Volcom and Burton who also run sites dedicated to female shredders.

So, perhaps female snowboarders are fairly well represented in the media compared to other sports, such as football and rugby. But this is undoubtedly testament to the tenacious female riders who are determined to go as big as the men and refuse to be relegated to easier courses (Canadian rider, Spencer O’Brien has been quite outspoken on the subject – see her blog post on the subject), and also thanks to female riders in the media who are determined to give themselves, and their heroines, a voice.

What do you think? Are women in board sports well represented in the media compared to other sports, or do you think they should have more of a presence? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts and get a discussion going…

Cheers!

Cat

If you want to support Stylist’s ‘Fair Game’ campaign, click here to sign their petition.

Smell: 4/5

Cost: 3/5 ($55 for 1 oz)

As a little girl, I was obsessed with jotting down as many girls’ names as I could think of — I actually kept a notebook with names and added to it any time a guest on Oprah popped up with an exotic name I’d never dreamed existed. Weird kid, I know. Imagine my confusion when I discovered that mommies and daddies had the power to just make up names. Bullshit, I thought.

That’s sort of how I feel perusing Stylist’s list of 2012 “best of” skincare contenders. The British publication does an amazing job of categorizing items according to whether they are luxury or affordable brands. But I am finding myself overwhelmed by the sheer number of products I have not only not tried, but wouldn’t know where to find in the states. I will be following the results of this list very closely and plan on sampling as many UK products as possible (if anyone can suggest sites that would save me the pain of paying crazy shipping and handling charges, I’d be grateful).

In the meantime..one product on the list was familiar: Origins Plantscription Anti-aging Serum.

Pros:

• I’m a fan of Origins because I assume their products are delivering ingredients that are as close to nature as possible, given theirs is still an international corporation. Despite critics’ concern that the serum is not as natural as it claims, it contains no dyes, parabens, or sulfites.
• A medium weight serum that absorbs quickly and made my skin smooth and silky
• Light, sweet fragrance
• Brightened my complexion
• Unlike other serums I’ve tried that came in similar packaging, this one doesn’t require that you rip off the pump at a certain point so you can dig your pinky finger in to get every last drop of lotion. So that’s a plus.

Cons:

• I’m sorry to say that I saw no evidence that this product minimizes fine lines. While it makes your skin look healthier (credit the ingredient Anogeissus for that), I can’t say it actually fixes your flaws. But it does highlight and illuminate the positive aspects of your skin — kind of like a good pair of jeans that maximizes your attributes.
• Too costly for a serum that I would consider “average.”

Can’t wait to see how it rates on Stylist’s 2012 list!

It looked pretty fancy without much effort and it seemed to be pretty summery too – the jolly joker of summer dinners I say.

I fancied something exactly like it and I never in my life thought of actually cooking something from Stylist magazine (or any magazine for that matter). I’ve got a few cookbooks and I tend to stick to them, I’m not very adventurous when it comes to trying recipes from magazines and I don’t even know anyone who’d do that – mind you you don’t necessarily need to cook in London, I eat out a lot and you can get fab ready meals from Waitrose or M&S so there’s rarely a need for doing something like this.

The only problem, of course was the selection in my local supermarkets. I tried to get the basic ingredients for this dish – ricotta, red & yellow tomatoes and red wine vinegar and I was surprised to find how difficult it was to get any of this stuff locally. In Islington. I tried local Sainsbury’s, Co-op and my local offie but no sign of yellow tomatoes or ricotta anywhere. This sent me into a mellow rage – why do all supermarkets stock the same stuff and nothing else? Only the basic, boring stuff, not very exciting at all and you can never make anything nice using their ingredients either.

I wish there was a specialist deli chain that would include a more exciting selection of stuff including different coloured and shaped tomatoes, fresh herbs, different bread, more fruit and salad, interesting cakes and bakery products, dressings, vinegars, different sauces for different food – I the joy it’d be!
Or I just wish Waitrose did local shops, that’d do, that’d be sort of the same thing. There are plenty of people out there who’d pay good money for nice stuff in their area, urban people living in places such as Shoreditch or Islington who live in nice flats, have well paid jobs and don’t want to eat supermarket branded microwave curry every night but don’t fancy carrying shopping bags from central London either.

Right, rant’s off – let’s see how the recipe turned out without the yellow tomatoes and the ricotta (luckily I managed to get some red wine vinegar from my cornershop):

1. Preparation

2. Ready!

3. Served.

It was amazing, really tasty, really enjoyed it! Absolutely brilliant with a glass of rose spritzer.
Enjoy!

Captured through the lens of Tim Walker, a photographer well known for his love of fantastical imagery, the campaign features model Lindsey Wixon alongside a host of furry friends (or foes!), against the hauntingly serene backdrop of an English forest.

Campaigns like this one almost have me wishing away the summer months before they’ve even really arrived, to be replaced by the rusty oranges and plush textures of the autumn and winter days. Just look at the gorgeous designs – those shoes, in particular. I can’t wait to see how the high street will translate these covetable styles.

Images and Story from Stylist.

Inspired by the 25th anniversary of Dirty Dancing, Stylist looks back at other equally cheesy movies that we can’t get enough of. Grease is one of my all time favourites, the sing-a-long always puts me in a good mood. But what really brought it back was the mention of Clueless. As a nineties kid, I remember only too well the one-liners and catch phrases from that film, and hearing them repeated by my peers on a daily basis.  *sings rollin’ with the homies*……..and remember those furry topped pencils we all had at school?

………and that Cher had her own wardrobe app before apps were even a thing!!!

Like whatever – that is sooooo 1995!

Read the full list of embarrassingly cheesy films on Stylist.co.uk here:

http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/nobody-puts-baby-in-a-corner

I attended the event on my own, and I am used to going to this kind of functions solo, but I wasn’t very sure what to expect from the event, where you should take your favourite beauty product and you might be featured in the magazine.

The experience

Overall a delightful experience, just my type of event; I felt pampered, valued and special; the slogan on their massive, pretty sign, in the middle of the garden, really couldn’t sum it up better: “the art of the perfect picnic”. Indeed.

Check my pictures below!

The picnic

Manchester square is a beautiful garden in the centre of London, just behind Oxford street. Upon arrival, some extremely hospitable members of staff would welcome you, hand you a goody bag and a drink – M&S cava, Bucks fizz or juice – and offer you some picnic food: sandwiches, mini sausage rolls, quiches, cocktail sausages and later profiteroles and mini sweet tarts; all provided by Marks & Spencer.

The sight of the tent was glorious; and the fact the had a harpist playing throughout the event just made it even more special.

Treating the readers

Inside, a relaxing yet sophisticated atmosphere, created with flowers, candles, soft seating, mini manicures by Rococo, hand massages and make overs by Space NK. Everyone giving you the beauty treats was very nice and chatty, and so the Stylist magazine team – what a lovely bunch!

My first treat was a blissful hand massage with a beautiful red-head therapist who is also a ring designer (and she designs mermaid themed rings – mind you, she was the picture of a mermaid herself) and followed by a mini make over, with smokey eyes. Fell in love with a brow pencil from a brand I didn’t know, Kevyn Aucoin, so will have to check it out at Space NK.

The queue for the mini manis was quite long (can you blame the girls for going crazy over the amazing shades?),  so I decided against it to appreciate the harpist and chat with other attendees, who seemed to be enjoying the event just as much as me.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The goods

The good bag was expensive and in-line with the event’s caliber; it contained a lipgloss from Lipstick Queen (RRP £20), a nail polish from Rococo (RRP £12) and a bath/shower gel from Beautannia (RRP £30), all available to purchase from Space NK. Sadly, the lipgloss is not my colour and I haven’t really worn lipgloss for ages; the nail polish is a lovely hot pink, but I have too many of very similar shades, if not the same. Bath/shower gels are just not my thing, I don’t get excited by them (mainly because I cannot have a bath, as my already low blood pressure plummets and I faint, but I might try, it smells great!). Having said all that, I wasn’t expecting to get a goody bag, and it was very thoughtful of the organisers and sponsors to offer one, so the fact that I might not use all the products doesn’t even count for me as a minus. Also, they could make lush gifts, as they are very nice, luxury products on their own right – just unlucky I got the colours I did.

I absolutely love this type of events and wish I attended more;  you always hear they happen, but I suppose it is just a matter of keeping our eyes peeled. And I shall.

Thank you Stylist magazine; I had a FAB time!

This was part of a readers’ contributions issue, all about Landaaan, and anyone could go.  And it was free!  We got to chat to the smart and lovely people behind Stylist magazine, and eventually we all pitched them a features idea.  Also, it was held in the Palace Theatre, current home to Singing in the Rain!  (Ohhh, I want to go see it!)  I was quite relieved they didn’t have us pitching on stage, X Factor style, but we were quite comfy in our stall seats, and had a big ol’ intelligent discussion between ourselves.

Doo-do-do-do-doo-do-do…

They started the meeting by giving us several hints and style tips for feature pitching – which, in case you didn’t manage to hear about the event in time, I will share with you now.  Just so you can really pretend you were there, here’s the team that we got to meet and talk to…

Collette Lyons – Features Editor (@lettie28)

Amy Grier – Features Writer  (@amy grier)

Julia Maile – Editorial Assistant  (@julesmaile)

Deborah McQuoid – Entertainment Editor (@deborahjoan)

Meep meep!

THE STYLIST TEAM’S ADVICE FOR FEATURE IDEAS AND PITCHING:

• The three things you need:  Title, tag, three lines.  Go to your pitch-ee with a winning headline already thought out.  As Collette Lyons (Features Editor) discussed, sometimes even an already-done idea can work if it has a new, clever title.  ‘Do you have Career Dsymorphia?’ was an interesting headline she cited: it’s a unique way of phrasing and labelling a common problem, and will appear fresh and creative (and I also think a headline helps the pitch-ee to visualise the final article).  In terms of a tag, or tagline, the article must be summed up in a punchy, pithy couple of sentences (as it would be printed – the grabby bit below the headline).  And finally, ‘three lines’ refers to how long it will take readers to turn the page if it’s not interesting.  So no slow build-ups.

• They don’t want an idea – they want an article.  This may sound obvious, but they won’t find the angle of your story for you.  Start with something that’s interesting to you, and pin it down to something very small – “Most articles come out of something very tiny,” Features Writer Amy Grier noted.  For example, an article that revolves around food, looking after yourself and not getting ‘nourished’ might be pinned down with the question ‘When was the last time you cooked for yourself?’  It’s small, but it’s relatable and less abstract.  An idea needs to be fully formed before being let loose on the world.

• Don’t pitch something they’ve/someone else has already done.  Patronising advice alert.  But, y’know.  When every magazine has a website, it’s worth at least having a quick search for any similar ideas.  And if you’ve seen the story in the media today, it’s too late – been and gone.

PAR EXEMPLE:

Julia, Editorial Assistant, led an example feature pitch for us that I really liked.  It revolved around interviewing Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates and a massive philanthropist with a background in computer science, economics and business.  This pitch would be a great potential for Stylist for a number of reasons, Julia explained.  Firstly, she’s a smart and interesting woman – prize candidate for Stylist’s love of high achieving females.  Secondly, Stylist apparently have great links with the people who do PR for Melinda.  And thirdly, having done her background research, Editorial Assistant Julia knew about Melinda’s work in philanthropy and other areas – and so could give a persuasive argument to Melinda’s people for the things that Stylist would focus upon in the interview.  Safe to say, it would not revolve around Bill Gates, but would aim to shed light on a fascinating character who is little known to the general public.  Interesting, not over-done before, and perfect for Stylist.  Bang tidy.

Click here for more details on Stylist’s London/readers’ contributions issue!

Following on from an assortment of comments and DMs on Twitter last night about a photo I posted of my supper, I thought I would share it with you.

This recipe was found my my sister in Stylist Magazine, and cooked by her too. Being a vegan, it was a great option for her – served with couscous, fresh coriander and pomegranate, it was absolutely delicious.

We ate really late last night, and it was almost dark. We took the plate out onto the balcony here in London to photograph, and with the vile weather going on outside, the coriander promptly blew away in the wind! Please excuse the quality of my photos. I’ve been away for a while and don’t have my SLR with me.

I’m going to be cheeky and enter this into Family Friendly Fridays over at Pebble Soup this month.

Here’s the recipe we used. We added some butternut squash too.

The ingredients…

… and the method!

I’m not sure how exciting a salad can really be. it not that I don’t like salads, I do. it’s just that for me to like a salad it usually has to be massive and involve some sort of cured meat, olives and cheese. So my salads tend not to be all that salady.

<a

This salad appealed to me as it involved one of my fave things. Roasted butternut squash. I’m also a fan of toasted seeds. At is most basic, i.e. following the recipe to the letter, the salad was a bit simple. it really was just seeds, squash, rocket and feta. that’s cool but ain’t no way that’s feeding a growing girl. By the time it came to lunch I had to bulk it out a bit. I beefed it up with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, sun dried tomatoes and more mixed leaves. It wasn’t an earth shatteringly amazing lunch but it was nice. The toasted seeds worked really well with the squash and it’s probably something I’d repeat.

Right, I’m getting back on this coking and blogging thing. I’ve decided that this month will be when I bust out the Stylist recipes. look at the picture above. What you can see is a folder of recipes, (in date order, natch) the overspill and the Nigella salted caramel special edition. You have no idea how much it annoys me that I’m not a proper commuter anymore. Stylist magazine pisses me off more than most things in the world but I did enjoy their random recipe page. I guess if I’m reading a fashion mag only for the recipes I’m probably not their target demographic. Maybe that why it’s annoyed me so much.

Actually no, what has always annoyed me about Stylist is the way they continually went on like ethnics didn’t exist. They seem to be repenting for their ways though and last month published an article from one of their beauty editors about her love of make up and what it’s like to love make up while having dark skin. This didn’t make me rejoice. if anything it showed what a shower they are. How could the magazine have a woman of colour on their beauty team and ignore the rest of us for so long. The woman in question does the monthy black beauty blog for the Guardian so she clearly has game and knows what she’s talking about. oh yes, you noticed. The dark skinned beauty blog in the Guardian is monthy and the “normal” one is weekly. I guess that’s because women of colour only spend a quarter as much on beauty and skincare products as our white counterparts? WRONG!

Anyway, back to the food. . .

I’ve decided to go Great British Menu style and do starter/fish/main/dessert.

So providing I have the time and don’t get distracted by something shiny I shall be making these dishes over the next month.

Roasted squash salad with toasted seeds
Paprika sea bass with red pepper relish
Pappardelle with lamb ragu
White chocolate cheesecake