i'll give you all i have to give and more

Hi. :)

Just a short blog post.

The end of January was a major whirlwind that zoomed by so fast I hardly remember what happened. Well, maybe I remember a little. Anyway, here's a mini update on all things happening in Wendy's life:

As a freelance writer, having a constant stream of work is ultra important. Fortunately, things have been pretty consistent.

For example, my new year's resolution of pitching to more magazines has already paid off. I've been writing for Kiwanis International Magazine again (I interned there as a college sophomore) and I love it. I write mostly about the philanthropic things Kiwanis club members do around the world. From Japan to Germany to Canada and right here in the USA. Very inspirational.

For the past few months I've also been working with Tyra Banks' team on her new online magazine. The site should launch sometime this month (crossing fingers) and I've had an absolute blast writing fashion, beauty and style-related pieces. Ms. Banks herself even read my first article and approved of it (I did a little squeal when I heard the news). The best part about writing for Tyra's new site is talking with so many brilliant people in the beauty/fashion world. I'm especially fond of a comprehensive article I wrote on the little black dress. You'll have to stay tuned.

One other new writing/work-related announcement: Asylum.com shut down. :( I was super bummed to learn the news, as I had a blast writing quirky news stories for them over the year I joined board. However, I was hired by Urlesque.com, a somewhat-similar site also owned by AOL properties, and I'm very excited to build relations there. Already working on some very cool pieces!


Anyone who knows David and me knows that we're travel fanatics. We're always thinking about our next destination. One place that both he and I have always talked about visiting is Europe in general.

We made "visit europe" one of our must-do's on our 2011 bucket list and I'm happy to say we purchased tickets last month. Woohoo! We spent hours looking at travel books at Barnes & Noble trying to figure out where to go.

After playing the blindfold/finger game (aka, close eyes, open book, turn page and point), and mulling our options over, we finally came up with a game plan.

Here's our (very rough) itinerary:
May 11 Leave PHX @ 9:50AM
May 12 Arrive LONDON 8AM, check in at hostel, explore afternoon/evening, sleep
May 13 Explore another day, sleep
May 14 Explore another day, leave in evening via boat/train to AMSTERDAM
May 15 Arrive AMST in AM, get to hostel, explore day and sleep
May 16 Explore another day, sleep
May 17 Leave noon for PARIS via train; Arrive PARIS in early evening, explore, sleep
May 18 Explore another day, sleep
May 19 Explore another day, sleep
May 20 Explore another day, leave for Rome via overnight train
May 21 Arrive in ROME early, check in hostel, explore all day, sleep
May 22 Explore another day, sleep
May 23 Explore another day, sleep
May 24 Leave for PHX @ noon local, arrive 9:30pm local

So we fly into London, head to Amsterdam for a few days (for the Amsterdam experience and some vintage shopping!), go to Paris, France (we'll pass through Belgium, David's native land hehe) and then from Paris we'll ride a train into Rome to see the big sites.

We're very, very excited and have been looking at hostels like crazy. Our goal is to book all lodging by the end of the week. :) May can't come soon enough!


For those of you who aren't aware, I sell vintage on Etsy and have had a blast doing it! I officially started right after moving to Phoenix and have so much fun finding new goodies, researching them, posting them for sale, etc. I also love imagining the new homes they'll have after being purchased.

Things have been going well, there, sale-wise. As of right now, I'm at 99 sales and can just feel that 100th sale! Woohoo! So, a few plugs:

Befriend Zebras and Bubblegum (Z&B) on Facebook here.

Buy here:

One last section. :) Since moving to AZ, I've tried to get more involved with music. I started taking voice lessons again in fall 2010 and have enjoyed it so much. When I'm not singing, I crave it so much that it's almost painful to listen to a choir, opera or any other musical performance because I'm not able to do it myself! Ha, kind of weird, but true.

Anyway, I had a vocal competition on Saturday that really pushed my limits. I'm not used to singing Broadway (more of a classical girl), but it was a theater/acting/singing competition. I have so much work to do when it comes to acting, but I definitely improved a bit.

I also auditioned for the Arizona Music Fest choir. We're singing Beethoven's 9th symphony at the end of the month. I've never performed the 9th, even though it's (arguably) one of the most recognized classic choral arrangements today. It's been fun learning the German (and the notes!).

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Okay, that's all I have for now. I'll leave you with this cupcake picture I took months ago but never posted. :D

Tasty, eh?

Cheers,
Wendy