Pippi Longstocking.

I think Pippi Longstocking was onto something here! This is her theme song, the song that best describes her..

Freedom calls
Pippi runs
The girl who never heard she couldn't do something
Watch out world 
Cause here she comes
And shes bound to teach you more then one thing
Pippi Longstocking is comin' into your town
The one no one can keep down
No No No No
The one who's fun to be around
Whoa! Whoa!
Pippi Longstocking is comin' into your world
A freckled faced red haired girl you ought to know
She'll throw your life into her world

She dreams dreams like me and you
And yes, it seems that she always makes her dreams come true
She loves trees and roaring seas 
And the mountains please her more than toys do
Pippi Longstocking is comin' into your town
The one no one can keep down
No No No No
The one who's fun to be around
Whoa! Whoa!
Pippi Longstocking is comin' into your world
A freckled faced red haired girl you ought to know
She'll throw your life her world

Warmth hits the heart.

She saw the chance. She decided to take it. Without another thought in her head, she jumped on the motorbike and took the spare helmet that this handsome stranger offered her. 

As she rode away from situation that had plagued her for hours, the frustrations, the tension and the fright began to wear off. She was free. The fresh breeze was blowing against her skin and after spending all day on the beach in the sun, the cool breeze was a welcoming change. She wasn't cold inside anymore. The sun was beginning to set at 9 that night. The sight was indescribable. The colours that were used to paint this perfect sunset could never be re-created. She smiled. Even though the sun was setting, she felt like it was warming her up from the inside out. It gave her hope that another one of these sunsets were possible. That, surely, this wasn't the only one of it's kind. 

The handsome stranger begun to interrupt her thoughts with polite conversation. She answered as best she could, as there was a slight language barrier. Who would have thought that this ending were possible? With the arrival at her destination, a quick but grateful kiss was given and she turned to run back into the arms of reality. Not before one last glance was given to the perfect stranger, who was watching her leave with disappointment, never to be seen or heard from again.

Raquel Zimmermann

According to Models.com, Raquel Zimmermann is the current top model. She's represented in Milan, New York, Paris, London and even Sao Paulo! The reason why she's still at number one? Well, not knowing her personally at this point in time, i can only quote what has been said about her: Because she is such a professional and she is so passionate in her work and because she still keeps taking those memorable pictures, she remains the most wanted. Oh, she also likes to play the guitar and ride a skateboard when she's not catwalking..

Her portfolio is incredible and she's being talked about left, right and centre by the modeling world. This 24 year old has been modeling now for almost a decade! Makes you feel just a tad insignificant when she's accomplished so much by the age of 24! The shows that she's opened and closed for, the amazing editorials that she's pulled off, the intriguing advertising campaigns and, of course, the many of magazine covers that she's graced... I wonder just when she gets to play the guitar or ride a skateboard!

There seem to be two types of models. Those who take it all in their stride and stay true to who they are in order to try to make some sort of difference in this world. And those who conform to what they think society wants them to be in order to go to the right parties and meet the 'right people'. It can sometimes be tough, though, in figuring out just which is going to be the right decision for your career and obviously Raquel Zimmermann has made quite a few fantastic decisions! The amount of hard work that she would have put in when it seems effortless would be mind blowing.. I once was told that before you can start succeeding in your dreams, you must put in 10 000 hours into building it up... In-ter-esting!!

And there, floating and bobbing was every bit of her unsinkable spirit.

Her Diamonds.

Rob Thomas : Her Diamonds.

Oh what the hell she says

I just can’t win for losing

And she lays back down

Man there’s so many times

I don’t know what I’m doin’

Like I don’t know now

By the light of the moon, she rubs her eyes

Says it’s funny how the night can make you blind

I can just imagine

And i don’t know what I’m supposed to do

But if she feels bad then I do too

So I let her be

And she says ooh I can’t take no more

Her tears like diamonds on the floor

And her diamonds bring me down

Cause I can’t help her now

She’s down in it

She tried her best but now she can’t win

It’s hard to see them on the ground

Her diamonds falling down, way down

She sits down and stares into the distance

And it takes all night

And I know I could break her concentration

But it don’t feel right

By the light of the moon, she rubs her eyes

Sits down on the bed and starts to cry

And there’s something less about her

And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do

So I sit down and I cry too

But don’t let her see

And she says ooh, I can’t take no more

Her tears like diamonds on the floor

And her diamonds bring me down

Cause I can’t help her now

She’s down in it

She tried her best but now she can’t win

It’s hard to see them on the ground

Her diamonds falling down

She shuts out the night

Tries to close her eyes

If she can find daylight

Then she’ll be alright, she’ll be alright

Just not tonight

And she says ooh, I can’t take no more

Her tears like diamonds on the floor

And her diamonds bring me down

Cause I can’t help her now

She’s down in it

She tried her best but now she can’t win 

It’s hard to see them on the ground

Her diamonds falling down

I can’t take these diamonds falling down

Hippie.

Hippie.

So many times, i look out the window of what is classed as a normal life and long to be the traveling hippie. It's inside of most of us, only a few act on it. My best friend is planning on traveling around Australia in a kombi van next year. One of the most amazing and freeing ideas i've heard! She can stop where ever she wants to. She can stay however long she wants to. She can meet whoever she wants to. I know it's inevitable, but i wonder just how long until my inner hippie, fights her way into my adventures and just how long that adventurous spirit will stay for... Until sleep becomes permanent... 

So if you tell me i can't, i'll show you i can.

As children, we always had quite a number of 'dress ups'. Of course everyone wanted to be the Bride or even the priest marrying them, never the groom though. The one with the shortest hair always had the privilege (or in most cases, the horror and disappointment) of playing the groom. Lucky i always had long hair... I remember this one outfit though.. It was a hippie outfit. With a wig and everything! I always thought that the outfit was from my parent's era.. You know.. Back in the dark ages where there was no television or lights and they wrote with a feather and some ink.. I thought my parents were ancient! But the outfit was truly legend.. 

So next time you walk past a hippie outfit that may be out for a halloween party , stop and give respect to our parents.. because if they weren't writing with a feather in some ink (which they repeatedly had to tell me was just my imagination), then they were probably out under the stars some where, around a camp fire, listening to and playing awesome music...

Dad Jokes.

I’m more than certain that each and every one of you have heard a dad joke, or two, in your life and if you have never heard one, let me give you a brief definition.

A dad joke: a joke that is more commonly said by dads and is so lame that you have to laugh. This type of joke has more recently been picked up by mums, and sometimes teenagers, in the effort to make someone laugh. Generally, they’re the only ones laughing.

So this is an acknowledgement of every dad out there on Father’s day who can’t help but riddle their lingo with dad jokes. You make us all proud in keeping up the tradition of the dad joke and we love you for it.

My dad? Oh he’s full of dad jokes! He brings something different to the plate though. You see, he thinks he’s cool. No really, he thinks he’s awesome. He has four daughters and i guess we’ve kind of influenced him too much with chick flicks, nail polish and hair styles. In all fairness though, he loves all three.. deep down, he loves them.

We’ve had a good go of being boys for him though. Tomboys. You see, we all grew up water skiing. He was a pro water skier and owned boat after boat. I even got my boat license (before it went to the law where you have to do a 2 days course and pay $500). Dad then moved onto drag racing as there were crocodiles in the river that we’d been skiing in for years and he felt that it wasn’t safe enough for us. To the drag races! We love them! He’s fixing up a Monaro at the moment with a 408 Chev motor, which has 630 horsepower. Impressed? Yeah.. It’s a black Monaro. 

So you see, i think we’ve been pretty good daughters AND sons to him. We keep him on his toes, that’s for sure. But the last few years he’s given in and goes around saying things like, “Sup, GF?!” which means, “What’s up, girlfriend?!”. He also says things like, “Evers!” with a wootang sign on his hands. This means, “Whatever”. We can always tell when dad’s pretending to be mum either on Skype (when i was in London or Brooke was in Italy) or via text message on mum’s phone. Generally the messages come out like this (even when he’s trying really hard to sound like mum):

“Hay hwo r u we move house dog is funny wat u doin.”

And he wonders how we know it’s him and not mum?

He gives us a great laugh. Happy Father’s day, Dadda. I love you.

Emma Xx.

Welcome Home.

I distinctly remember our many sisterly rivalries. I have three sisters and we were all born within five and a half years, about 2 years each between the last three and one and a half between the second oldest and myself. At first, we all got along quite well. As i was the oldest, i would be able to tell them what to do and according to mum, was quite the bossy little bee. Surprised? I was too...

I remember the stories i would make up and i would gather the three younger sisters around me, sometimes they had friends with them so it would grow my audience, and i would always begin with once upon a time. Quite a few stories revolved around a magic tree that money grew on as they all seemed to find this story completely and utterly intriguing. I, of course, got the saying from my parents when i would ask for some money to go and get lollies. In return to this request came the constant retort, “Money doesn’t grow on trees, Emma.” To which i would mumble this reply, “Yeah, well they do in my mind.” 

My mind. My friends, bless their hearts, have now come to the point where they don’t question the kind of ramblings that seem to originate in there. They seem to have accepted the fact that it changes subjects over and over again. In fact, it’s a common occurrence for me to ask them a question, and if they don’t reply for a while, then my mind will skip onto 50 new subjects so that when they answer, the answer that they’ve answered with doesn’t match what i am now thinking about, and of course i’ve forgotten what i’ve asked. 

Back onto the subject of sisters.

We all grew up on five and a half acres of land with a mini farm, horses, dams, creeks with bridges, trees, quad and motor bikes, bicycles, boats, go-carts, baskets full of dress up clothes, neighbours the same age and an annual Santa Clause that lived down the road and would mow his front lawn wearing nothing but DT’s. Of course we were never allowed down that far on the road because we couldn’t be seen from the house and there was a jail that was situated in the same area. Intrigued? Pretty great childhood i have to say.

I can distinctly remember the day i was allowed to ride my bicycle past the ‘brick letterbox’ of the neighbour down the road. I was 8 years old and i’d been pestering my mum for months saying over and over that i was older than the others and deserved privileges. Needless to say that she gave in and said that i was allowed to go to the end of the street! Yee Haa!! I was so excited. I ran to my bicycle and put my helmet on. I checked the chain on the bike and rang my bell. I was out of there, baby! As i was leaving, my three sisters were getting on their bikes, doing the exact same thing. But i knew i would go further than they would because i was older and more mature. 

I hit the street and rode the fastest i’ve ever ridden. I was free! Wind was blowing in my hair and speed was on my side. I flew past the ‘brick letterbox’ and i felt butterflies in my stomach. This was what life was about. This is why i had to pester mum all those months to let me have this little bit of freedom. 

I got to the end of the road, took off my helmet and sat on the grass, enjoying the silence and the thrill of being able to go past the ‘brick letterbox’ while my other sisters waited for me.

To my horror, the next thing i heard was the ring of a bike bell... It was the next sister down. Mum had let her do the same thing as me because she knew i would look after her. This was the biggest crime that i thought was out there in the world! THE biggest in justice ever! This was my day, my opportunity. I cried.. I was 8, OK!

To this day, when we joke about the old times and living out on that awesome, adventure-filled and mysterious property, this story will always be bought up and laughed about.. by the other girls. 

Welcome home, Bama! I’m glad that you got to experience some of the beautiful world that we live in and i hope that you never have to stop at the ‘brick letterbox’ and that you power past it with wind in your hair and speed on your side. I love you.

Emma Xx.

Life is a journey..

Ever have that feeling that you're being watched?

Maybe it has something to do with the endless amounts of creativity that are thrown at us by forms of movies, music and other creative industry outlets. Either way, it can be a scary or a thrilling thought. 

When i was a little girl, i lived out on 5 1/2 acres of land surrounded by trees, animals and a world of creativity left to my sisters and i. We had so many adventures! One included me leading my two youngest sisters down to the back of the land with some of my parent's clothes, shoes and hats and dressed up a tree. When the second sister came down on a quad (without a helmet i might add - something that our parents stressed but no one ever abided by), i convinced my young sisters to run at my other sister yelling, "Brooke! Brooke! Go get mum and dad! There's a man on our land and he's coming towards us! See! He's just behind that tree! You can see his hat!!" To this, Brooke turned the quad around with a horrified expression on her face and sped towards the house. We all broke into fits of giggles (yes, giggles because we were all between the ages of 4 and 9). About 20 minutes later i heard my parents screaming out my name. Naturally i turned to run the other way, afraid of getting in trouble yet again, but something in my mum's scream made me race towards the origin of it. 

I rounded the corner only to see my sister pinned underneath the quad, hot petrol leaking out of the quad, dripping on her back and her un-helmeted head only centimeters away from a big rock. In her fear, she'd looked back to see if the man was chasing after her, hit the staff picket fence and rolled the quad. Needless to say i was grounded that day. The ironic thing was, Brooke was also grounded as she didn't have a helmet on. This was the kind of creativity the 4 of us had and we all look back on these stories and laugh.

From that day on i could have sworn that good 'ol tree man was watching our every move, glancing over to see if he could scare us, yet again. I was made to return the parent's clothes and i think deep down they found the prank hilarious, but i vowed to never dress up a tree again. It's a scary thought to think that someone is watching you.

It could also be thrilling if you're up on a stage, held in prestige and you know that people are watching you. You know that the moment you step onto a catwalk or onto a stage with your band or onto the red carpet to debut your latest big screen movie, people are watching you, respecting you, admiring you. What a concept. Of course, with this comes a certain way you're suppose to act and certain things you're suppose to look out for.

I have friends who will be these people. They are chasing their own dreams at the moment. Whether it's catwalk, stage or red carpet, i know, without a doubt, that they will get there. There's something different about their attitude. They don't think that they will get to the place of their dreams, they know it. I guess that's the difference between achieving the dreams and thinking that you'll achieve them. Either way, life is a journey, everyone's journey is different.. Enjoy the ride.

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin 

Love Story and a police chase?

Life would be great if it was a 70's movie! 

Let me just say straight up that if you have not seen a 70's movie, then shame on you and if you have not seen the classic movie Love Story, then you need to drive right now to the nearest video rental store and pay anyone to let you see that movie! Even if the store is closed and the cleaner is inside. PAY the cleaner to let you in. If that doesn't work, try the ventilation circuits in the building.. It always works in the movies! Plus, the police should let you go if you simply explain to them that you were merely getting into character for the next Baz Luhrmann film.

Love Story is about a strange emersion of worlds between a guy who has the rich family and a girl who has worked to get where she is. Although the story is still very similar to modern day movies, this movie has been written and produced in such a raw way that you can't help but feel for the characters involved. Although they face some challenges, everything in their worlds seem very simple to them. For instance,  the man of the story is chatting to his friend about the future of his family (his wife) and the friend asked, "What are you going to do now?" and he simply replied, "Well, she wants to have a family and i want her to go back to college, so we're going to have a family." That was his thought process to his friend.

Now usually we all sit there and chat about all the different options that we can do and all the different angles that we can take and we analyse absolutely everything there is to know the decision we have to make. Most times there's chocolate involved and maybe we'll make a whole night of it and get a bottle of wine. Sometimes we even throw in a movie and a dinner, but we all look forward to that point in time when we can sit down with out friends and talk about everything! That scene in the movie was the quickest thought process that i have ever seen! It was so simple! 

Another quote from this all time classic movie that will never leave my memory is this:

They had been married for a few years now and they had their ups and their downs and they'd moved houses a few times. They found a new house in an apartment building and just arrived with all of their belongings. The wife playfully demanded that he carried her over the threshold. So, he picks her up in his arms and carries her up to the top of the building. But as they're walking in through the lobby, the door man shouts out to them with a big smile, "Newlyweds?" to which the wife simply replied with an even bigger smile, "Eternally!".

My point to this blog isn't really clear except that i wanted to tell you a little about this classic movie so you would race out, climb through the ventilation and possibly be chased by the police in order to provide some fun and adventure to your night. 

 So next time you're sitting there, bored as a goose, take a leap out of a classic movie, and go and have yourself an adventure!

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin

Little stick men

The other day, as i was coming home on the tube from modeling in Alternative Fashion Week 2009, i was looking around to see who my fellow riders were when my eyes became side tracked by a very intriguing and beautiful thing.. A poster.

Now you must be thinking, "Ok, sure, posters can be quite intriguing, especially those ones that have funny quotes or amazing colours.. Yes, i totally understand where you're coming from Emma!" .. Do you just. Well, let me take some time to explain exactly what i was looking at..

It was a sign, just above a particular seat. It was a block colour of blue with white writing and white for the pictures. Yes, there were pictures. The writing read, "Priority seat, for people who are disabled, pregnant or less able to stand." The people under each word were stick figures. One was a pregnant woman, one was a woman with a child and the other was a man with a walking stick. 

"Big deal. I see them everywhere!" EXACTLY! That is my point! Thank you for bringing it to my attention.. We see these particular stick figures on signs such as priority seating, road crossings and the most recognised, we see them on the front of public toilet doors, or on someone's private toilet door who has stolen one of these signs and has then returned it to their home and put it on display for all to see.

Whoever designed these stick figures must be seriously rich. They would have made an absolute fortune. Either that or they're now sitting at home on a flee infested couch, in their pajamas and a torn bathrobe, eating some Ben and Jerry's ice cream (cookie dough flavour) and are surrounded by their babies.. 10 purring felines. Let's call this cat carer Ron. Ron is most likely having a twice daily conversation with his cats about how he was the one who invented the stick men and back in the day it was considered a real art, until someone stole the idea from him while he was sleeping. The next thing he knew, they had it posted on every public toilet door and someone else got the recognition for his artwork!! .. Poor Ron.

So the next time you visit a public toilet or you ride the tube and see a priority seating stick man staring at you, take some time out to remember Ron; the ice cream eating, couching sitting, feline loving, poor man who wasn't able stay awake at the most crucial time of his life.

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin 

99 pence chocolate

Do you have those people in your life that you have no idea when they entered and how they were so quickly intertwined into your world? This crazy concept of feeling like you've known someone for years, but in reality, it's been such a short time! 

I have so many people like this in my life and as the journey continues, i am constantly meeting amazing people who quickly become intertwined into my world. The support that comes from these people is so valuable and just plain random! I am talking to one of my loved best friends right this moment and i was thinking about how our friendship happened. As i couldn't remember how, i just thought to myself "Wow, life would never be the same! What an inspiration!". We can learn so much by the people that we put around us and in our lives.

With that said, i'm going to dedicate this next blog to my support! What am i going to write about this time? Yes, that's right.. Raw Food Detox.. It's time i face the music..

So i kick started this Raw Food Detox on Sunday by having an amazing 8 course raw food lunch/dinner and i was so full by the end of it that i could have challenged an elephant to a biggest loser contest and the elephant would have won by 100 pounds! I was seriously rolling out the door. 

The first day of the detox was torture! I went for a walk in Holland Park and the smells of food that were wafting past my nose were so delicious that i almost bit Justine's arm off! We made it through the night on empty stomachs and arms still in tact.

Day two was fine. Until i went to my model friend Hannah's place and she was eating food, real food, in front of me! My mouth was watering but i kept my water bottle close and sung to it so my mind wasn't on food but rather than my beloved water. We watched gossip girl afterwards, so i can't complain!

Day three came about and i was going strong! I felt like i could make it! Until we started running out of food and money.. That's when things started going pear shaped to say the least. We still made it through the day.. the night time we may have had some chocolate from easter that was left over.. i said MAY have had some chocolate. It doesn't mean that we actually did.....

Day four... Day four is today... Day four is non-existent.. Day four didn't happen.. Lunchtime involved salad.. but it was on bread. Then i went a little crazy. I went to visit my friend Vic and as a hello gift, i bought some chocolate (a block is 99 pence here!!) and some HobNobs too.. Ever since then my stomach has been growling at me saying.."What would you do something like that to me!! What have i ever done to you! Grawrrrr!". 

So with that said, if you are on a detox.. STAY WITH IT! Don't give into that 99 pence chocolate. It'll still be there in 7 days time, i assure you! 

Want to know the worst part? When you sign up for this free raw food detox, they send you daily emails encouraging you with your progress.. i've fallen off the bandwagon, but i keep getting the emails! There's no way i'm going to tell them what's happened.. at the end.. i'm going to smile and say "What? 99 pence chocolate? I didn't even know it existed!"

Warm wishes and stick to the detox!

Emma Martin

Skywriting in London

Emma: "Hey Jus, what do you call it when those planes write something in the sky?"

Justine: "Sky riding."

Emma: "Nope i just looked it up and that has something to do with skateboards. Are you sure it's sky riding?"

Justine: "What did you type in? No, i said skywriting!"

This is the conversation i had with my housemate about 5 minutes ago. The truth is, this conversation sounds very blonde and ditzy. I'm here to confirm this. As i read back over the conversation, i realise how it sounds. However, this is only a minuscule fact in a much bigger story.

The last few weeks in London, the weather has been amazing. Ok, yes we still sometimes have 4 seasons in a day, but as a whole, the moment Spring hit, people walk around in T-Shirts and massive smiles on their faces that just cannot be wiped off. London also introduced the Australian version of Daylight Savings the other week until October, however, when i asked a Londoner what they call this over here, the person replied with, "Ahh, ummm... We just turn our clocks forward an hour. So i guess we call it 'turn your clocks forward an hour'." This was a rewarding conversation. All of a sudden, since 'turning out clocks forward an hour', it doesn't get dark now until 8pm! This is a crazy concept for any Australian!

What am i getting at? Be patient loyal reader, for the point that i will make is such a rewarding thought that i can guarantee that you won't look at another Spring day the same again.. Especially if you live in London.

Now, the trees are blossoming in the parks and soon we will see what the leaves look like on the bare trees outside our house. For months we've been trying to guess as to what they'll look like. We've had guesses anywhere from marijuana leaves to gum tree leaves to christmas tree leaves to tea leaves. Obviously we hope it's one of these leaves and i think you know which one.. the tea leaves of course! What do you take us for..

So picture yourself in the afternoon, walking down an English street with white and pink blossoms on the trees. Some are staying put on the trees and others are floating through a soft and refreshing wind, circling around your feet and kisses your cheeks and the tip of your nose. You look around and everyone you see is smiling and has a bounce to their step. You close your eyes and breath in deeply, catching scents of perfume floating through the air. As you open your eyes, you look skyward and see a sky that is clear of clouds. The sun is setting slowly and the colour puts an even bigger smile on your face. Then something catches your eye. "What's this?" You ask out loud (everyone talks to themselves in London, it's just what you do). This 'thing' that has caught your eye is so majestic, so simple, so out of this world, so joyous. It's none other than skywriting. You see about 16 planes in the sky, making the most of the open sky with the soft wind and they are going crazy. There's lines going every which way!

Now, the thing that makes it so special is as the sun is setting, it hits these lines in the sky and illuminates them like it's a light in its own right. It's a simple concept but i can guarantee that every Londoner gazes up at the sky at one point or another and these little lines in the sky will give them so much joy. It's peaceful and it let's you know that someone is going out of their way to make you smile, even if it's for one afternoon. Everytime you look skyward and you see these lines, you can't help but think that you can do anything! That's a point right there that i never want to lose.

This made me think. Who are the people that say, "Oh boy! The sky is clear, the sun is shining! This is my time to go out there and make all of London look up at the sky and make them smile! Yee Haa!" (You never know, they could be from the country). We never know who the beloved skywriters are, but i'm sure they could feel the weights being lifted off of Londoners and floating up to meet these lines in the sky. 

So the next time you see some skywriting, think about who has gone out of their way to make you smile and maybe look towards the plane and give a little wave, i'm sure the beloved skywriters would appreciate it very much. Here's to the skywriters that give their time, passion and love to the world. Life definately wouldn't be the same without them.

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin

DETOX is the word of April

The countdown until detox has started! 

The other day i was sitting in our cosy living/entertainment/kitchen/laundry/media/dining/ lounge room and i thought to myself, "AHHHH! (I literally thought that in my head) Emma! What are you doing?! You've never had a detox! It's about time you restart your body clock!" Then my thoughts began to have a debate in Spanish! Ok, i don't know Spanish, but you know the moments when you have this great idea and then you start thinking about everything that goes with it and you start thinking.. I might pass.. Well the realisation of  not being able to eat chocolate, or anything with that delicious nature, finally hit me! 

So i started researching detox diets and Justine had mentioned one where you just drink water and salt water for a week. I must say, it didn't sound too appealing, however, i thought, if this is what a detox is, let's try it! 

As i was researching, i stumbled across a raw food detox. Now this immediately sounded amazing as it had food in the title! Since being over here in London, i've met people who live on raw food only and it's amazing the recipes that are created! I'm telling you, it would blow your mind. So this raw food detox.. Don't laugh at the name.. The Raw Divas.. Has a 5 day preparation stage and then a 7 day detox. This works out well because the last day of the 5 day preparation stage is Easter Sunday, which means.. CHOCOLATE! 

It's exciting because for Easter this year, we're having a bit of a London framily lunch. Framily is basically friends who are family. Just clearing that up so then you didn't think i was trying to be all cool and drop an R into the spelling of a well established english word. This framily lunch is going to be amazing! Its a raw food lunch, so everything is going to be made with raw food and raw chocolate! Who's jealous??

Now comes the challenge. I challenge you ALL to a detox. I know it's odd timing as Easter is pretty much now, but the day after Easter, we are all going on a detox. Not even an option. Let me know how it goes for you or if you've found an awesome detox diet with an awesome detox name. Because let's face it, every detox diet deserves a corny name....

Detox, detox, detox.. Say it 10 times fast..

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin 

Fairy Tales

Ever wanted to live in a fairy tale land? A land where dreams come true no matter what plans the evil character invented. A land where you look fabulous from the moment you wake up. A land where your true love rides up to you on a beautiful, white horse and declares his love for you. A land where you could fall from the top of the highest mountain and every piece of you would still be in tact. A land where animals gather around you and help you get dressed in the morning. A land where everyone can sing (i mean, what's with that!? What about the rest of us who just can't seem to grasp this talent!). A land where the main characters, no matter where they are or what they've lost, are able to enjoy the place that they're at.

It's been 2 months now since i decided that i wanted to be a model and what a roller coasted it has been! This whole 2 months has been a fast learning curve. I've learnt to re-adjust my thinking, how i act, what my dreams are and how i'm going to accomplish them. Let me just say straight up though, it's about now that the missing of the best friends and the family back in Australia really starts to set in and i am so lucky to have one of my best friends over here with me. Her name is Justine Clare and she's an amazing actress! She's one of those actresses who won't do one movie and that's her career. She is going to go down in the Hall of Fame. There is no way that i'm biased, this girl is going to re-set the thinking of our society and touch the hearts of all who will see her films. 

How does one even begin to explain these past two months? I simply cannot. Instead, i will say that when doors start to open, it's easier to walk through them with confidence rather than ramming yourself down a laundry shoot that is too small for you. 

Tomorrow i'm starting a 12 day detox. I must admit that i have never done one of these detox diets but i'm absolutely looking forward to it! It's a raw food detox so i will keep you updated on the progress of it all. 

I've heard stories that if you eat too much carrot, you turn orange and if you eat too much peas, you turn green! Maybe that was just from my childhood friends encouraging me to throw my vegetables to the dog under the table at dinner time.. Either way, i don't think i can turn any other colour than what i am right now... WHITE! As an Australian who loves the beach and who lived on a beautiful coastal town, i do not think i have ever been this white! I was talking to my dad on Skype this morning and he was saying things like, "Oh Em, you look like you have the London tan!" and my personal favourite, "You glow Em!". As i was wearing a white singlet, he couldn't resist in saying, "Oh you are wearing a long sleeved white shirt! For a moment there i thought it was a white singlet". Yes, the rumours are true, i have somehow misplaced my 'natural glow', however, i hear that white is the new tan so i can live with that.

April 20-24th 2009. What is on these dates you will ask. Alternative Fashion Week of course! This is where all of the up and coming fashion designers will present their designs to all who wants to see. Why am i so interested? I've been accepted to model in the shows and i am so excited for it! So if you're free on these days at 1.15pm, make your way down to the Spitalfields Traders Markets and enjoy the shows!

This is the start of my fairy tale.. How does yours start?

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin

An unplanned step towards the dream

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Yep! I could do this for years and years!"?

I had the privilege to have this thought on Sunday night. What on earth am i talking about? Well now, i better let you in on my thoughts.. But first, let me take you back in time to Sunday 8th March at 5pm..

Justine Clare and i met at our favourite little cafe around the corner from our house and we embarked on a journey to the new Westfield. Now let's just focus on this new Westfield for one moment, shall we? It's the biggest shopping centre in Europe!! I swear you could play hide and go seek in there for a whole week! It's so massive that when you walk in, you have to act cool and act like you know exactly where you're going, so then you don't come across like a tourist, but rather an expert in the biggest sport that is hitting this planet: shopping.

So we decided to go to this gigantic wonderland and buy a DVD called "The edge of Love" at HMV and a fabulous dinner from a local vegetarian place. We were in HMV collecting movies. We were like two kids in a candy store. We both love buying movies! It's definately a form of art. In the middle of us debating whether or not we want to spend £50 on movies, my friend, Hannah, called me. Let me just put in a side note here. Hannah is an incredible model and a brilliant chef! We always make up excuses to come over and taste her food: "Oh Han, we forgot to tell you that we saw a really cheap hammer on sale in a random shop somewhere." Or "Han! It's you! Oh we didn't realise you lived around this part of London! It totally slipped our minds that you live 2 minutes down the road from us!" Or sometimes we like to go for the abrupt approach: "Han, we don't want to lie to you.. We smelt your cooking from home and the scent carried us to your doorstep. If you let us stay, we'll give you this bottle of wine and boxes of Oreos!"

Back to HMV on Sunday.. The phone call. Hannah asked if i wanted to model in a fashion show because they're short of models. I played it pretty cool on the phone but my face and dancing body just had a mind of it's own! Of course i said yes and we discussed details. One of these details was that the call time was 3 hours prior to the phone call and the first show started in 4 hours. 

An hour later i was at the Crescent Club in London for the Semon Cashmere collection by designer Semka Dashnyam. It was a rush to get ready but can i just tell you how much fun it was! It was my second proper catwalk, but it felt like i'd been doing it for ages! Hence the thought of "I could do this forever!". 

Funnily enough, it was International Women's Day! Hannah and i proceeded to tell them that in Australia, it's International Women's Day everyday. I think we boosted the tourism for Australia in just one sentence. 

We had a bit of a fan base there also. Some we knew, some we had no idea who they were and some were just plain freaky! After the first show, Hannah and i posed for 20 minutes with people who wanted a photo with us. Yet again, the same though of: "Ahh, i could do this forever!".

It was a brilliant chance to network and meet other models, photographers, designers, stylists and anyone else in that business. This is just the first step to a dream come true and i can't begin to tell you how exciting and encouraging this little fact is.

Justine Clare was like a proud stage mum. Don't believe me? Check out her video about the fashion show where it has actual footage of the show! www.youtube.com/user/justineclareX

Also, a photographer, Nick Fallon, has some photos up of the night, so be sure to check them out.

And while we're at it, why not mention www.modelmayhem.com/EmmaMartin.

As a sign off, let me just tell you one simple thing: never underestimate the power of a phone call!

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin

The rose between the thorns

How does one start to write about a pear-shaped day with a chocolate coating? Let's start with a bit of an overview.

A couple of weeks ago, i was searching on gumtree.com, a site for jobs, houses, etc., when i stumbled across an ad for a modeling agency. Before i could weasel out, i quickly typed an email and attached my CV, sending it into cyber space for the agency to review. I didn't really think anything of it, until a couple of days after, i received an email asking me to phone for an appointment. I left it a couple of days, nervously phoned the agency, booked my appointment and speedily hung up the phone.

Now for the pear-shaped day.

This particular Tuesday started off with me bounding out of bed, really excited and ready to start the day. Now this usually doesn't happen, so i'd say that the day wasn't yet pear-shaped, in fact, it was pretty grand. I went down the road from our home to the little cafe that supplies us with free wi fi with every coffee or tea. Let me just add a little side note here: they LOVE us. So i started my work for the morning as a PA and as i went along, i realised that i needed to do more than i originally thought. So while i was concentrating on that, trying to decide what to wear to the interview, drinking my tea before it got cold, eating my croissant, answering calls and of course listening to music, i become kind of flustered as time was closing in on me!

I raced home, got ready quite fast as, thanks to my female qualities, i was able to do more than one thing at a time and had already picked out in my head what i was going to wear to the interview with the modelling agency.

I stepped out of the door with a farewell encouragement and excited squeal from my housemate, Justine Clare, and prepared myself to take on the world. Then it started raining. Which was fine, except now i had to juggle the brolly, my bags, my coat, the phone and a notebook and pen as i had to finish up work before i boarded the tube. A little hint for anyone who tries to walk into an underground tube station while on the phone: there's ZERO phone service so try to wrap up your conversation BEFORE you enter. 

Now i'm travelling on the tube to Oxford Circus and i was rearranging my bags, brolly, etc. and work was sorted out and now everything was going smoothly. This may have been simply because i was sitting and gravity couldn't revenge me in any way, shape or form.

I exit the tube station at Oxford Circus, only slightly knowing where i was going. I had walked some way when i looked down at my white coat and saw blood on the side. This tripped me out and i was really confused for a little while. Then i looked at my hand and realised that i'd cut my hand while putting up the brolly. My hand was full of blood. I raced into McDonalds and quickly cleaned myself up, took a deep breath, told myself that things can only get better, and confidently walked out and began my journey to the appointment.

I became lost. Yes, if you must know, at this point, the time was 11am and my appointment was at 11.30am, so i still had some time to kill.. Luckily. I stood on the side of the road and looked around pretending i knew exactly where i was and as i began fixing up my coat, while stealthily trying to recognise street signs, a guy approached me. 

Now, let me just describe this jolly fellow, let's call him Harry. Harry had just stumbled from out of the pub, zig zagged across the road, trying desperately to get to me in a straight line. He succeeded. He was smoking and blowing the smoke all up in my face. He looked like he hadn't showered in quite some time and his teeth had possibly seen some better days. One thing that Londoners haven't quite picked up on just yet is personal space because at this point, i had to try to reach back into my memory and grasp at anything that led me to believe that personal space still existed! It took me a little while to understand exactly what Harry was saying as he was almost giving me a hug. This is what i heard: "What's your name? Where are you going? Who are you meeting? Let's have sex. Just around the corner. Let's go, c'mon little darling." 

As soon as i realised exactly what Harry was saying, i ran, wide-eyed into the nearest Starbucks, ordered a tea, sat down and tried to muster up the courage to see if Harry had followed me. He hadn't. Needless to say, that tea was set in front of me and it didn't leave the table once. 

Once again, i gathered myself together and said, "Emma Martin, you can do this! You can make it to your appointment! Go get 'em tiger! Rawr!"

As i know you are probably now beside yourself with worry, i wound up at the right place, on time and the meeting was such a success! 

Let's just say that the morning of hell has made me laugh quite a few times and it made the appointment probably seem more exciting and successful than it may originally have been! One thing's for sure though, for me, it sealed the deal and made me more determined to achieve the dreams that i have inside of me. All the hard times in life i will one day look back on, laugh and say "That was a great story". 

For now, let me just say that this momentous day has sparked a determination within. I now know how to put my brolly up without cutting my finger, how to read google maps better, how to escape men like Harry and how to further my career as a model. As for the rest.. well now, half the fun is not knowing what the rest is.. don't you think? ;)

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin xxx

The big move to London

So i've finally decided to jump on board of the blogging scene. Some are rejoicing, some are confused, some are excited, some are thinking "why the hell are you blogging?!" and this is all from my family! 

To start my first blog, i thought i'd simply explain where i am and what's happening in my life at the moment. 

First and foremost, my name is Emma Martin and i'm a proud Australian. Just over a month ago, i left my beautiful coastal town in Queensland to move to the magical and inspiring city of London. Yes, i moved to the other side of the world and no, i didn't know anyone except the person i was traveling with, one of my best friends, Justine Clare.

What we've accomplished in one month is absolutely unheard of! We arrived at 6pm Saturday 24th January 2009 and by the Sunday (just one day later) we were living in our own appartment. Now, i know of people who, for months, did something called dosing. This is where you live out of your suit case and crash on someone's couch for a few months! Others simply stay in hostels. Justine and I, however, would not hear of such a thing. Now don't get me wrong, i absolutely support adventure and not knowing what's going to happen next, but let me just tell you how exciting it is to have your own place and your own bed, not some lumpy couch that could possibly have secret surprised down the side of the cushions. 

We've now lived in snow (we've both seen it but never lived in it), fallen over in the snow (Justine), gotten lost (that's a given), seen a punch-up fight in the middle of the street (between girls mind you), we've created videos, Jus is setting up a business and most importantly, we've defined our dreams and are following them with our hearts and souls. 

Let me just say that i could not have been able to define my dreams if i had not taken a risk and surrounded myself with people who were living their dreams. There are some amazing and inspiring people in the city of London and the magic is always just around a corner.

So what are these dreams that i've defined? Well now, you just have to wait for blog number 2. ;)

Until then, however, go out and buy a fabulous notebook. Not a nanna notebook or a tacky over coloured notebook, but rather one that catches your eye and reminds you to dream. THEN i want you to open up to the first page and write down your dreams. I don't want you to write down someone else's and i don't want you to think of other people, i want you to think of yourself for once and think of how you can go out AND CHANGE THE WORLD!

Warm wishes,

Emma Martin xxx