Pen Pal blogger treats courtesy of Ioana of Fashezine

After absent mindedly posting a comment on Ioana's blog, Fashezine, offering to post her copies of Dazed and Confused that she couldn't track down in her home town, I thought it would be nice if we could trade magazines/treats instead of just reimbursing me so we came up with the idea of becoming Pen Pal bloggers.

So this is the first post documenting our Pen Pal journey, I hope you like it! There is a little envelope on my right hand sidebar (or click here) where you can find a page dedicated to the posted treats...

I had been expecting Ioana's parcel in the post for a few days now, what with weekends and bank holidays getting in the way, so when it finally arrived this morning I was nothing but delighted with the contents. Ioana had sent me a couple of her favourite magazines, 'Interview' from her recent trip to New York and her favourite Romanian magazine 'Omagiu' which thankfully has English translations, accompanied by a very cute, handwritten postcard from Ioana. I love seeing different handwriting, there's always so much personality that you just can't capture in an email.

I have never owned a copy of 'Interview' before, only stared longingly at it's website as it's difficult to get hold of in rural England... So thumbing through it's massive pages was a proper treat, though I always forget just how many adverts there are in American magazines. I was enthralled by the interview with the beautiful Carey Mulligan, inspired by the Bronx Ballerina editorial and fell in love with their photography.

'Omagiu' had me at 'Hello'. With just a lonely, plaited braid of hair on a completely white background on it's front cover, I was hooked. This issue is obsessed with magicians, dissection and witchcraft so it is packed full of beautiful, thought provoking illustrations, art work and fashion. It is definitely a culture and ideas magazine rather than solely fashion which interests me greatly. I could flick through it's pages for hours without getting bored.

I love the smell of proper, chunky magazines, there's something about it, and feeling the paper in your hands, that can never be replicated online and keeps magazines oh so special. I also love getting post for a similar reason, I love looking at stamps, seeing handwriting and opening envelopes. It's also lovely to see things specifically chosen for you, Ioana got it perfectly right, I love both of the magazines!

To see more of Interview online, click here. To see more of Omagiu, which I thoroughly recommend you do, click here.

If you have been inspired by this and want to get involved, find yourself a fellow blogger to be your penpal and get posting! Let us know how you get on if you do...