Okay folks, here’s the scoop. My photo shoot with Better Homes and Gardens yesterday was the real deal! I’ve been flooded with questions from readers and friends about the experience so I’ve compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions (and a few I made up).
Q: Were you actually in a magazine photo shoot?
A: Fo shiz. (See above.)
Q: Did you get to keep the clothes?
A: No, sadly. All the clothes, shoes, and accessories I wore were samples on loan from various clothes makers, which make advance copies of fashions then show them off to retailers, who submit orders. None of the stuff I wore is for sale right now, but when the magazine comes out in July the clothes will be in stores and the outfits will look fresh!
Q: What was the shoot like?
Insane. Surreal. Tons of fun. The whole thing was like something you’d see on TV. There was a hair stylist named Mitch that made my hair curly in a few snips. When he blew it out I was rockin’ the original Charlie’s Angels look! Anthea the makeup stylist shared her drugstore make up secrets while doing me up. The before and after pictures are remarkable!
After getting my hair and make up done, I was a dress up toy for a stylist named Jonny and his assistant (see me and Jonny at right). “Try this on,” he’d say. I put it on. “Oh no, that’s not right.” I take it off. “Try this on,” he’d say. I put it on. “That’s cute but not right.” I take it off. “Try this…”
When he was satisfied with the skirt or dress, we’d move onto tops, then jackets/sweaters, necklackes, bracelets, and shoes. You don’t know how many pairs of shoes I tried on!
Q: Tell me more about the shoes.
A: Well, okay. There were dozens of pairs all lined up. Mostly heels but some flats. Strappy, peep toe, classic pumps, espadrilles, platforms, you name it. I tried on a lot of pairs because they were so cute!
Q: Did they plan the outfits ahead of time?
A: No, but they borrowed dozens of dresses, skirts, tops, jackets, sweaters, and shorts from Talbots, Banana Republic, Ali Ro, Old Navy, Nautica, and others that fit the theme of the issue, which comes out in July. There was a lot of red, white, and blue, folks.
Q: Did all the clothes fit?
A: No! A lot of them were too small or too big.
Q: How do they make everything fit perfectly, then?
A: Pins! “Now you know why everything fits in a magazine,” the stylist, Jonny, said to me. “Because it’s all pinned.” (He’s fixing something on my top below.) Once clothes were pinned I couldn’t bend down so they put my shoes on for me. Bizarre.
Q: Did you get naked on set?
A: No, there was a make-shift changing area with fake walls and a few racks of clothes that I changed in. At first, Jonny and his assitant Becky left every time they asked me to put something on, but pretty soon I was stripping down to my undies and bra in front of them. I didn’t care, and there were so many outfits to try on!
Q: What happened after they dressed you?
A: The stylist and his assistant would lead me onto the set, where the main stylist for the magazine, a gorgeous woman named Amy, would give her approval (actually, once she sent us back for an outfit that was too immature). A photographer and his assistant would fiddle with the lights, the hair stylist would run on set to fluff my hair, and the make up stylist would freshen my lip gloss. Then the photographer would say, “We’re ready,” and start taking pictures of me.
Q: Did someone really come on set and fluff your hair?
A: Yes, about 72 times. Mitch always wanted to make my hair look better. You can tell we had a lot of fun, below.
Q: Was everyone a total fashion snob a la Devil Wears Prada?
A: No, everyone was super friendly and made me feel at home.
Q: What did your set look like?
A: A super cool version of my office with a sleek Mac laptop (I used a Dell), a clear chair (at home mine is on loan from the dining room table), and a fashion manequin (um, I suppose this correlates to my faded red courdorouy chair).
Q: Did they feed you?
A: Yes. The shoot was catered and the food was uber-healthy: yogurt, berries, and OJ when I arrived at 9:30. Lunch was spinach salad, asparagus soup, sauteed brocolli, veggie patties, and duck over beets and grains. I didn’t dare touch the flourless chocolate cake before squeezing into the clothes, but I did have ice cream to celebrate after dinner.
Q: When can we see the pictures?
A: Check out the July issue of Better Homes and Gardens!
Q: So you’re like, famous now?
A: No. I’m still my old self. And tomorrow I will go back to writing about saving money. I promise!
It has been a year exactly since I left my steady job as a reporter at the Los Angeles Daily News and launched BargainBabe.com. I’ve published 1,012 blog posts, learned how to write a monthly business budget, and surpassed my earnings at any previous job.
Thank you to anyone who has sent me a tip, signed up for my email list, or told a friend about BargainBabe.com. You rock!
Blogging is different than any job I’ve had. I’ve learned a more diverse skill set (writing is only about 33% of what I do) and put in more hours than I expected. My income fluctuates and maintaining my focus is challenging.
But blogging satisfies me. I’ve made many new friends, been exposed to great opportunities, and am constantly learning. Through blogging I discovered my down-to-earth writing voice and re-created my career.
Coincidentally, my birthday falls near BargainBabe.com’s anniversary. Over the weekend I went dancing with girlfriends to celebrate. I was telling one friend about an upcoming business trip to New York.
“What are you going to New York for?” she asked.
“I’m going to be in a magazine shoot.”
“What?”
“A magazine shoot – for Better Homes and Gardens.”
“WHAT?”
I laughed. She hugged me.
“That’s awesome, Julia!”
“I know, I know,” I said, thinking of all the ways it could fall through.
“No, you need to stop and realize your dream is happening, Julia. Everything you set out to do, it’s happening.”
I dismissed her then. There is a lot I haven’t accomplished! But now I realize she is right. So I’m taking a moment to appreciate my success.
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Ahem. Back to work. The blog must go on!
PS. Giant, heaping, armful of thanks to Andrew, Ginna, Julie, Sean, Sarah, Aicha, my Mom, my Dad, Greg, Alex, Meital, Mariel, Steve, and Connie for your help and support.
I learned how to ride a bike at 3 to keep up with my older sisters. But I really learned how to ride from my Dad, a lifelong cyclist who has covered 300 miles in a day.
My Dad’s motto on the bike is “never stop pedaling.” I started riding with him because my public high school offered six classes a day. To squeeze in symphonic band, I skipped P.E. and made up the credits by cycling with him.
It wasn’t easy to keep up with him and on most rides I did not. Oh, who am I kidding? I never once kept up with him.
But yesterday, I was pretty sure, he would not be able to keep up with me. I was in near-peak shape and he was recovering from a sore back. Rain had prevented him from riding in weeks.
Mid-morning we set out for a hilly 38-mile ride and right away he started complaining that his legs were tired. On the first set of hills he begged off our original route and suggested an easier, shorter ride.
“I’m afraid I won’t make it,” he said.
“If it’s just fear, we should try it,” I replied.
“I don’t want to walk up the hills.”
So we agreed on the shorter ride, and I took off. A few miles down the road I stopped to wait for him because I did not know all the turns. He rolled by and sized me up.
“I may be up for the longer ride,” he said. “It’s such a nice day.”
Red flag No. 1.
On the next set of hills I leave him behind. At one meeting point he tells me to wait at the next peak in case he doesn’t makes it and needs to turn around. He makes it.
On the flats and rolling terrain he tucks in behind me and stays out of the wind, saving enough energy to keep up. On the hills, however, I pull away. Then we come to a T.
Turn right for the easy way home. Turn left for one last monster 2-mile hill.
“I could go either way,” I said.
“Well I suppose I could try the hill,” he said.
Red flag No. 2.
At the bottom of the hill he tells me to start without him.
“My quads are dead,” he said. “But wait for me at Inspiration Point.”
Ten minutes after I summit Inspiration Point he rolls up. We stretch for a minute before beginning the final leg of our ride, a twisty 3.5-mile stretch with a few bumps and a fast finish.
The whole ride I have been thinking about the finish. It is where my Dad always – always – sprints past me. But today, I think, he won’t even be close enough to make a move.
I am dead wrong. He stays about 30 feet behind me until we approach the final half mile. Then he latches onto my back wheel.
Red flag No. 3.
On the down slope where he usually makes his move, I glance back three times. He doesn’t budge.
So I sprint. My bike computer reads 29.6 miles an hour. My legs are killing me but I take a deep breath and tell myself I only have a quarter mile to go.
Just then, a flash of red zips by. My Dad.
Drat! I forget my legs and peddle harder until I begin to gain on him. But by the time I catch him he is already coasting. I finish ahead but the real race is already over. My Dad, who turns 64 later this month, is still faster than me.
Going into the ride I thought it would be an emotional milestone to finally surpass him on the bike. But as I choked back a sob, I realized it was crushing to still be No. 2.
I recover as we zip downhill together through the twisty Berkeley neighborhoods that rise above the San Francisco Bay.
“I thought your legs were dead,” I said.
“I guess I had a little more left.”
My Dad is still a faster sprinter, but I am the better climber. Next time I’ll chose a ride that ends on a hill.
