More Drama in Belle's House

My boiler broke and spilled its murky watery guts all over my bathroom. As long as I have plumbers and construction workers and electricians here, I honestly can't be bothered to blog.

I have a question for you though:

I signed my insurance contract literally the day before the boiler broke down - is that good or bad karma in action?

Somewhat Ghetto, But Very Useful

Tadaaa !!!
This is the ultimate summer accesoire for your balcony: a table that costs you nothing (you actually get a refund for the crates) it's light and sturdy and, okay, tiny ... ;)

In desperate need for a table I came up with this little piece of sleek design. These beer crates also served as table legs when we had our little barbecue. It's not pretty but much better than buying a tiny table for 50+ bucks!

Cash Jar Update

Whenever I want/need to save some serious money, this is how I do it: I open a second bank account of which I don't ever have the creditcard on me. I only have one card in my wallet, and that belongs to the account on which my "regular" money sits. Whenever I feel that I have some extra dough on my regular accout, you know, money that I don't need desperately to survive this month, I transfer it to the savings account. The money on that account is untouchable to me, so sometimes I actually forget I still have it at all. That's a good thing, because I just know that I'd spend it straight away if it was all too easy.

At the end of last month I had 200€ "left over". However, I have only transferred half of that money to my savings account, because moving houses and partying before ist going to be somewhat more expensive than usual. You have to be realistic about these things.

Ok, apart from that, I spontaneously decided to spend this weekend in Frankfurt - see y'all on monday and have a great weekend :)

Weekly Shoe - Slightly Belated

First off, here's what The Shoeper Woman rightfully entitled shoe porn :

Giving you something to drool over as you wonder how to charm your bank manager into giving you another moderate loan of 500€ or so for the incredible Louboutin Feticha. Yes, that's right. Feticha. They're available in red and snake skin (yuk!) too, but the black ones ... *sigh*...

So this week I want to share some shoe-related linky goodness - here are the blogs I follow, more or less:

• Sea of Shoes (as if anybody didn't know her by now...)
• Shoe Asylum (Yes, we all are shoe addicts!)
• A Girl's Guide to Shoes
  
• Shoeminx (She's mean and she's harsh at times ... but I love people who dare to be honest and still make you laugh out loud)
• The Shoebunny (with a huge list of links to designers and online shoe shops!)

And I adore the Shoeper Woman and all the other Midas Media blogs. But that's really not so surprising, I guess :)

An Unusual Photoshoot

Yesterday, it was time for me to find out just where exactly my comfort zone ends and awkwardness and the discomfortzone begin.

I know what you're thinking now - and you're right ;) I had a nude shoot, with the fantastic Jo Schwab. As you can imagine, I was incredibly nervous about it beforehand. What would my boyfriend think? And wouldn't it feel very very wrong to be naked around another man, even though he's a pro and has seen dozens of naked models? How would I feel about presenting my body if I can't hide any flaws under my clothes? On and on I worried, but decided to not chicken out (I considered that for a while) and go through with it.

And guess what? It was so much fun!

But don't get your hopes up, boys, the pictures are for the lion and myself to see, and nobody else ;)

Photo by Ingo Matthes

Here's a few things you may want to consider if you ever think about doing a shoot like this:

• Talk to your significant other. If he/she has a serious problem with it, you have three options: You don't do it, and forget about it. Or you do it anyways but that shows serious disrespect for your partner. I don't recommend doing that! Or you take him/her along to the photoshoot. This could be a fun and exciting experience for both of you!


• Find a photographer you trust. And even if you'd trust that person with your life, make a contract that specifies exactly where the pictures may be published (if at all), the financial aspect, etc. For more info on what a modelling contract should cover, check modelmayhem's forum or ask people who have experience in the business.
  

• If you bring lingerie for the shoot, don't buy the cheap stuff because "it's just for one picture". You want to take pictures that you can be proud of for a long time and if your outfit is in poor taste, doesn't fit well or doesn't look good for any other reason, you are probably not going to like the picture. Make sure the details are perfect and you feel good about yourself. If that means you have to splurge and buy expensive lingerie because you feel divine in this exact outfit and nothing else, so be it. It's all for the art ;)


• Before the shoot, practise posing in front of the mirror. That way you have an idea what a pose is going to look like and how much you show (or not). Work on your facial expression - the boomchickawaawaa lies in the eyes more than anything ;)


• On the day of the shoot, take as much time as you need beforehand to do your hair, apply make-up and get dressed. I like to go to the hairdresser just before a shoot, so I can at least trust my hair to be perfect. You can also get your nails and make-up done by professionals - anything goes as long as you feel gorgeous and pampered by the time you meet your photographer!


• Talk about the poses and angles that you want to shoot with your photographer. Always keep in mind that if you don't feel comfortable with something, you have to tell him and, if need be, abort the entire shoot. That's always an option!


• DON'T drink before or during the shoot. Not even a glass of champagne because you're nervous. It's not going to do your look or posing any good. Really.


• If you feel awkward, you can try to imagine you're in an entirely different situation... or you're somebody else. Picture yourself in a role that has nothing to do with you, because in your head, you can be anybody you like - a raunchy burlesque dancer, a naughty schoolgirl, whatever. I'm sure you can come up with more exciting things than that! :)

It took a lot of guts, but I'm happy things went really well and easy yesterday. I realize that nude shoots are not for everybody, but in my case, it was a real confidence booster!

What do you think? Maybe you have some more great advice for delicate shoots? :)