The Wellness Project

Akuma Caca

2012-02-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

Back to more Taipei photos! :D I still have a ton of photos that I'm going through (slowly...but surely!) and many of them are of the cafes we went to in Taipei. Actually we didn't really make it to that many this time - only 3! - but out of the 3 that we went to, this one was definitely my favorite. Interestingly labeled Akuma Caca, the significance of which is still unknown (I'm still not really able to find out what it stands for), it's a quaint cafe tucked away amidst an otherwise unassuming alley in the Da-An neighbourhood of Taipei.
Siang and Sandra outside the entrance. Unique asymmetrical beams frame the exterior of Akuma Caca, sure to attract the curious eye of passersby walking along an otherwise nondescript and quiet alley.
Founded in 2009, Akuma Caca occupies an extended space from the design firm, Akuma Design, which is directly above it on the ground floor. I looooved peeking into the Akuma Design office; it looked like such a cozy yet creative space from the outside. True to its design roots, Akuma’s interior pays homage to geometry – from clean lines to asymmetrically shaped table tops to custom made geometric glasses that balance precariously on one side (and always seemingly on the verge of toppling!).
Akuma-designed glasses that balance oh-so-precariously on one side. These were easy enough to drink with but gave us mini heart attacks each time they whirled around on their unexpected axes. But they never did fall over! What I love about this place is how it's created spaces to support the promotion of local artists. There's a long tabletop that stretches across one side of the room along which numerous artworks (think illustrated books, framed pieces, calenders and notebooks) by local artists are on display for the month.

Isn't this adorable? An illustrated Calendar by a local artist featuring a much loved Taiwanese dessert – red bean soup with yam balls.

An even deeper venture into Akuma brings another more private and intimate space. Soft recessed lighting, brick laid walls and wooden tables bring to mind a cosy log cabin, perfectly for huddling in deep in winter with a mug of hot chocolate (coffee in this case!). :DDD Isn't that hand-crafted wooden table just insane?

While we ordered your very basic cappuccinos and lattes, a wide selection of coffees is available for those with more adventurous palates. Apparently Akuma also holds coffee classes for aspiring connoisseurs and aficionados. Couldn't resist ordering this matcha latte. But it was definitely too sweet for my liking! >< (I've come to realize that even at places like Starbucks they tend to put in quite a few pumps of syrup into matcha lattes. So best to request for 'less sugar' if you prefer less of that in-your-face sweetness.)Teeheehee. :D Ahh what an enjoyable afternoon we spent there, basking in the peaceful ambience that's perfect for cosy chatter...and writing of cards! The service at Akuma (like many places in Taiwan) was impeccable – the staff were friendly and more than willing to give recommendations for drinks. This is one aspect of Taipei that really impressed me. They're very much like the Japanese in terms of their service standards.
One memorable thing that happened was that I had left a ring of mine by accident in the restroom and when I called back a few hours later, I was so thankful that they had found it and had managed to keep it safely for me! Upon returning to collect it later on in the evening, a smiling waitress came up to me saying in her sweet saccharine voice (as most Taiwanese ladies do) that she'd kept it for me, and proceeded to hand me a tiny well-wrapped package that held my ring in it. Seriously?? Who does that! X) This sort of attention to service and detail only served to emphasize how little things like these can make customers keep coming back for more. I would definitely want to visit this cafe again if I go back to Taipei.

Akuma CacaB1F.,

No.6, Lane 14, Siwei Rd.,

Da´an Dist., Taipei City 106

Open 10:00 – 23:00

Vanilla Bar and Cafe

2012-02-09T09:10:00.001-08:00

School's been a lot less busy these days. :) In fact, it's almost like a pseudo-holiday. I love it. I wish these days could just drag on indefinitely. I've decided to make use of this period of relative freedom to meet up with a ton of friends whom I haven't met up with in ages. And the fringe benefit of meeting old friends? It's usually always for brunch or tea - perfect opportunities to check out new cafe haunts which I loooove to do.

Vanilla Bar and Cafe is one of my latest finds. And boy is it a real gem! :) It's located in the Central Business District so, really, unless you set out to look for it you're probably not going to come across it unless you happen to work around the area. But what a great place to hangout at after work for those workers in the area! It's located along a peaceful stretch of road (Boon Tat Street) and a few doors down there's Sarnies (famous for sandwiches) and The Muffinry Bakery and Cafe (self-explanatory), both of which are places I'm dying to go to next. I love this steady proliferation of quaint cafes and eateries. :) Makes for much more interesting afternoons spent exploring Singapore.

One of the things that greets you right IN THE FACE is this giant cute-ass Domo-kun toy atop the display fridge of cakes near the entrance. Any place that worships Domo is a place for me!Went for brunch there with Yueh and Cheryl. Can't believe Cheryl said we meet really often. Not enough yoz!! I'd read a couple of reviews that mentioned this Vanilla drink as being a must-try! I suppose it makes sense given the name. It was pretty delish! Reminded me of a vanilla smoothie but of course in a much smoother more consistent liquid form. Worth a try! Another dish that this place seems to be known for is its Pumpkin Croquette which were SO GOOD. I happened to love them because they were light, fluffy and CRIPSY. Nothing like sinking your teeth into real crispy batter. And the warm pumpkin filling inside was really smooth and tasty too. For some reason it wasn't a huge deal for Cheryl and Yueh so I ended up eating most of them. -__- Smoked salmon and egg mayo sandwich. REALLY REALLY GOOD. I'm a huge fan of salmon and egg mayo so this was just the perfect combination! :) Plus, the bread was warm and toasty - perfect for a sandwich. Smoked Salmon linguine. This was really yummy too. Normally I'm not a fan of cream-based pastas but this one was light and tasty and really not too creamy at all. Apparently that's how Japanese cream sauces are, so if you're a fan of the Japanese 'lighter' interpretation of Western sauces/pasta dishes, this would be a good choice.

For some reason they've got a bit of a robot infatuation going on. The one thing we couldn't quite figure out.

For dessert we had the crowd favorite - warm chocolate lava cake with rum and raisin ice cream (you get to choose between vanilla and rum and raisin). I had been gunning for the famous VANILLA DIRT CAKE which is actually a cake (or apparently it resembles a MacDonald's flurry) that's served in a little flower pot-like contraption, but for some reason my friends weren't so adventurous. HUMMPH. The warm chocolate cake was pretty decent; the only thing is that the molten chocolate filling inside wasn't as molten as I would've liked it to be. It didn't quite come spilling out the way it usually does in really well-made ones. But you can hardly go wrong with a chocolate dessert.

Vanilla Bar & Café

3 Boon Tat Street #01-01

Singapore 069612

Tel: +65 6423 0366

Email: info@vanillacafe.com.sg

This place is perfect for:
- those keen on off the beaten track cafes
- a cosy enjoyable space to spend an afternoon or evening with friends
- those working in the area!What's really good is that they do deliveries as well.
They've got a little foldable menu with photos of almost all the dishes they serve. Targeting the working crowd is such a great idea. If I were working in the area, I would totally go there just to chill out or relax if I had the time. In fact, I might just bring a few more friends there next week. 3rd time in 3 weeks! :) But you can never have too much of a good thing.

Oh and psst: if it makes life easier,Follow my blog with Bloglovin! :)

i'd wish for this every year

2012-02-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

As promised (and because I just wanted to look through the photos again hur), here's a little post about the wonderful surprise birthday party my friends threw for me last Friday. :DDD
Honestly, I had no idea they were behind this! I'd even gotten a little wistful the morning of my birthday, thinking that none of them had replied to my whatsapp about meeting up during the weekend when actually, they had merely been busy planning this. X) SNIFF.My favorite friends since secondary school! I was just soooo so so happy that they had all gathered together to celebrate my b'day with me. Especially since Yueh was only in town from Taiwan for about a week and it just so happened that she was able to make it for my b'day. :) And I hadn't seen Melissa for agessss ever since she did a semester abroad in Korea. How cool is that eh?? But here's a spoiler for all those K-culture fans out there - turns out they can be pretty... unlike the characters portrayed in those tv dramas. That's probably the most politically correct thing to say. But apparently Korean girls have the most impeccable makeup...especially Korean university students. I digress. But it was super fun hearing all her stories about the stuff she'd encountered with her friends in Seoul.
Cheryl and Siang! :D Looking sweet and demure. xxx
LOL. From left to right: Eager Beaver. Pizza slayer. Trigger happy camera-woman.
Some fancy paper napkin folding going on here!
Sushi was part of the dinner. That was just the first round along with sandwiches. The next round consisted of oyster omelet, fried veggie and... ok I was mainly preoccupied with stuffing the yummy oyster omelet down my mouth.
Cheryl and I with our cutie stuffed toy keychain gifts from Melissa!! My cat has eyebags and looks EXACTLY like me on a Monday morning. =___=
Surprise visit from my mum and sis! They came bearing gifts of Island Creamery ice cream - Nutella and Dragonfruit (in lieu of the Dragon Year. Not a bad flavor at all, really! :P) Yeah, just say it, my mum looks young. Just like one of us. We get that ALL THE TIME.

Carrot cake birthday cake. :)) Speaking of carrots, my favorite Carrot! (affectionate nickname for Karen heheheh) made an appearance! I was so happy to see her there especially since I hadn't seen her in so damn long. Whenever she's back from Australia she always has a million and one gatherings/meetups to attend to so I hardly ever see her. X) SIGH. I wish we could have like multiple birthdays a year. Birthday part 1/2/3/4. More reason to lure people together.

X) Thanks Donald, for helping to organize the entire thing! He actually did a great job of keeping it a secret from me hmmmmph. Up till the very last minute he said we were going to an Italian restaurant recommended by a friend which just happened to be near Cheryl's place. It was only until he took me through a 'SHORT-CUT' right past Cheryl's house (of which the gates were WIDE OPEN) that my jaw dropped to the ground with realization. Though I must say, I suspected something was up when Mr. I-have-a-GPS-in-my-head kept fiddling with his phone in order to 'get directions' to the ahem restaurant. ;p
Nursing our full bellies with a game of Bridge. HEH. I like this classic Mel + Yueh shot.
This is a NEW AWESOME GAME that Yueh introduced us to. It's called King of Opera and for 99 cents, you get to have ENDLESS HOURS OF AWESOME FUN. Seriously. It's SO side-splittingly fun. And best of all, it's a multi-player game! Basically each person is a big fat CUTE male Opera singer (complete with generous belly and big moustache and all) that needs to shove other Opera singers out of the way in order to get into the limelight and the one that spends the most time under the limelight WINS. YOU.SHOULD.DOWNLOAD.THIS.NOW.
So those were the highlights of my birthday party. :) Had such a great time because of the awesome company and the thought that was put into it. It's funny how when you're a kid you just want a huge party with lots of random classmates/friends so that you can receive a mountain load of presents and have a huge birthday cake but as you get older...somehow it's the smaller, intimate gatherings that you really get the most out of and somehow crave for. Or maybe it's just me being sappy.

Style Bite: B'day Outfits

2012-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yup. I've turned 23. I think as the years go by, birthdays get easier and easier to accept. Especially when you're in your 20s. Every year seems just about the same...until you reach 30? :) Good thing that's a number of years away.

This year I had a really FANTASTIC BDAY!! X) I really wish it could be my birthday everyday because 1. people let you decide on where to go/what to eat/what to do with minimal disagreements 2. scoldings get postponed (turns out this was an actual consideration that my parents made lol and I am grateful for that) 3. you get lovely lovely presents 4. people take the effort to come together to meet up after a loooong time of not meeting :) A birthday post will be coming up next but decided to do a little outfit post showing what I wore on my bday (and featuring Donald as well! :D). I've probably been into fashion blogs for close to 5 years now and I always always enjoy seeing what other people wear/how other average joes/janes like me dress up. So, it's going to be a regular feature on this blog now since fashion is one of my big loves and one of the things that always makes me happy. X)

(Dress: Modcloth, Cardigan: Uniqlo, Shoes: Martina Pink)

I'm really in love with this dress I recently ordered from Modcloth. It's just the perfect party dress in my opinion! :) I love floral prints of any kind and this just had sweet feminine pastel tones to it so if you're a "girly girl" (as my 7 year old cousin so astutely pointed out to me when I was visiting my relatives in Seattle last year) like me, it's pretty perfect. Ugh but no heels for me for the time being. Thank goodness these Martina Pink ones were comfy enough for me to walk around the entire day in but towards the evening, I was starting to get grouchy from the sore feet. Honestly, how do people wear heels all day/to work even?? Let me know if you're aware of some secret way of walking thanks.

(Shirt: Muji, Jeans: Uniqlo, Boots: NeedSupply.com)

Featuring the boy, Donald! :) He's my shopping partner-in-crime and possibly the only person (apart from my mum) who's able to last almost as long as me at the stores.

We happened to be walking around the Telok Ayer Street area after having popped into Vanilla Bar and Cafe (a post on that coming soon!) and came across this cute little alley which actually links to Ann Siang via a wooden walkway up a hill. And something else we happened to come across:

Some wicked wall art! Wonder what that place was... Probably a bar from the sign jutting out at the side.

Ok, today's was just a quickie post. More tomorrow.

Taipei - Supper in the Streets

2012-01-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

I love places that have a bustling night scene. Taipei's just like Hong Kong, with plenty of restaurants and small eateries open till late at night. I think we had this one night after traipsing/eating our way through a night market but needed a bit more food for sustenance. Taipei's terrible for the tummy. Just non-stop work for it from morning till night.

I remember the noodles + bean sprouts + minced meat dish to be pretty tasty. The noodles in gravy one however... somehow I've found that I'm not a huge fan of stuff soaked in dubious starchy gravy sauce that seems to feature quite a bit in Taiwanese street food.

(Taipei, Dec 2011)

As you can see, Sandra, my fellow photographer on the trip, was also busy at work documenting our food. :D I love how Cheryl and Siang were completely understanding about us constantly whipping out our cameras at every single meal. I know it must be a pain for most people but but but in my defense, I'm really helping to capture moments worth remembering. Try using that line the next time somehow's about to blow a fuse when you take out your camera before the start of a scrumptious meal.

Short post this time because it's late and there's school tmr (YUCKK). Attended a really great CNY gathering earlier tonight which was really a massive steamboat session (2 huge trays of veggies and mushrooms and a couple of trays of pork/lamb/beef and the smallest yummiest pork+chive dumplings) topped off with homemade cookies and cream ice cream (made by a guy!). I'm a little bummed that the height of the CNY festivities is almost over. Feels a little quieter this year. But at least there's still a whole bunch of goodies left to finish.

zzz.

巢: Nido Cafe :)

2012-01-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts about our Taiwan trip was the cafe-hopping. Honestly, I LOVE cafes. :) I could spend all day in a small, cozy, quaint cafe, attempting to make my cup of tea/cappuccino last as long as possible while reading, daydreaming...or simply enjoying being in a perfect little space for a few hours. Siang, our main researcher for the trip, came up with a list of awesome cafes (most of which were also featured in the Monocle Taiwan Travel Guide :D) and first on our list was 巢 or Nido Cafe in Taipei. We went after the morning of Jiu Fen so by the time it reached the evening, we were all ready to relax and veg out in a cafe. Problem was, we didn't exactly know how to get to the cafe from the nearest mrt station. We knew that it was off the main road of Zhong Xiao East, but turns out that it's a friggin long stretch of road. We ended up passing by TWO WHOLE SUBWAY STATIONS as we walked all the way down that loooong main road, counting down the alley numbers until we reached the one we were looking for. That was not the best experience ever. -__-;; But it was worth it in the end, because it was such a lovely quiet cafe (that is, until we barged in and wreaked havoc with our riotous laughter) with many many gorgeous nooks and crannies that we oohed and ahhed over and took many photographs of. :)
According to the owner, Nido stands for Nest in Spanish (if I remember correctly...or was it Greek?) and it was then that we realized much of the interior decor was meant to resemble the twigs/texture of birds' nests. Notice the texture of the table?
We ended up staying there for agesssss. We were given a "private room" (well more like a private section of the cafe) probably because there were so many of us. It was nice and warm at the start but after awhile we realized the heating in that particular room was really POWERFUL. At the start it was just us in the cafe and we were having such a great time chatting and laughing (possibly in our boisterous Singaporean manner) that the owner of the place actually came into the room to tell us to quieten down as there were other customers in the cafe that we weren't aware of. WHOOPSIE. ;p
Cappuccino! Pretty average cup but it's really the ambience that you'd pay for I suppose. We all took one look at the dollop of cappuccino art and wondered if it was because the owner (oh yeah, did I not mention that there's only ONE guy running the entire place and doing everything?? from making coffee to serving desserts etc etc) was a beginner and hadn't yet learnt any other patterns for his cappuccino art. :p Next time we're going to go back and see if his cappuccino art making skills have improved.
Cheesecake on the left and tiramisu on the right. Both REALLY REALLY good. :) The cheesecake was excellent and it had a cool name like ... Cheesecake on Cheesecake. Or something to that extent.

Our *ahem* Lovely Ladies pose.Our attempts at looking PENSIVE. ;) ROFLMAO.

I just looooove how there are so many whimsical spaces in the cafe that are so beautifully decorated. I'm hoping my house will be like this next time. All wooden-y and cosy with soft lighting and beautiful spaces. That's another plus point of cafe hopping really. You get to see all these examples of gorgeous interior design and get inspiration for the future.

So if you're in Taipei, I'd highly recommend:

Nido Cafe (巢)

10, Alley 22, Lane 553, Zhongxiao East Road Section 4, Taipei

Hours: 2:00pm ~ 12:00am (closed on 6th, 16th and 26th of the month)

Tel: 02-2753-4402

台北市忠孝東路四段553巷22弄10號1樓

九份 (Jiu Fen) in pictures and words

2012-01-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ohh this is sooooo belated. :D But I've got so many Taiwan photos left to edit and share and I'm so happy with a lot of the photos that I MUST POST THEM!! Going through photos and editing them till I'm happy can get pretty tedious/tiring since I'm no professional at it (I'm sure there's some sort of method professional photographers use to speed up the editing process no?) but at the end of the day, it's so worth it. :) I feel all happy thinking about the moments behind those photos and I must say that the trip to Taiwan with my pals from soooo long ago was really good. We were all such lazy bums who could never get out of the hotel room at the stipulated timing that we had planned the night before.
So here are photos when we went to 九份 (Jiu Fen) for a little day trip. It's one of those small towns just outside of Taipei that's known for its rustic charm and olden day streets and shops. The only downside to the trip was that it was RAINING that day :(( which made for some inconveniences. Picture us making our way through the crowded narrow streets dodging the rain while trying to take photographs. My circle scarf was a big saver. :) It kept my camera nice and dry. Oh and it was funny how at the start of the day we had planned on taking a direct bus to Jiu Fen but in the end we were taken in by an extremely enthusiastic taxi driver who ended up taking us on a mini tour of other scenic spots around the Jiu Fen area ("I'm taking you all there for free!! No extra charge!"). Taiwanese taxi drivers are sososo nice. :) I guess that's their way of fishing for tips.

Oh yes, so my mum would like to let the world know that for all the photos of the 4 of us, she's the one who took them! :)
Urghgh, word of advice, best not to get the stick of corn on the extreme left if you happen to go there next time.
I'm sure the ordinary corn without special flavoring would've tasted pretty sweet and nice but for some reason we were adventurous that day and decided to try out the corn with the special dark sugary-salty flavoring. It tasted like something you'd get in a corn chip snack.

Isn't this adorable?? :D I was so surprised at how smart this little pun was. Who would've thought the Taiwanese knew how to pun English words like this eh?? (JUS KIDDINGZZ. My Taiwanese friend, Yueh, is probably reading this and getting pissed right this minute.)
Little cats to decorate cups/glasses with! Aren't they so cute? :) I love the one hanging upside down chillaxing away.

So this young chap's in the middle of making a type of dessert-snack which is basically a wrap filled with sugary peanut shavings. I was pretty impressed by how diligent and quick he was.
Man look at those huge slabs of peanut coated in syrup.

One thing that Jiu Fen is famous for apparently, is this dessert called 芋圓湯 (Yu Yan Tang) (Yam Ball Soup) (haha yeah that's roughly how I'd translate it), which is basically red bean soup with lots of small yam balls in it.What made this dessert so good at that time was the fact that it was warm and comforting and we were so cold from the rainy weather. MMM.

Cutest little girl playing with the rain. :)

I like how our umbrellas came in useful in the end. :D
Ahh how I would like to go back there again in the Spring or Fall... when it's not raining!!
xx

the second New Year of the year :)

2012-01-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

As it's 1 a.m. this time now, I should say Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! :) I really had meant to do a little CNY eve post and show some of the photos that I took over dinner at my grandparents' house but but but my mum, sis and I got carried away with the latest episode of Modern Family. :) It's HILARIOUS and if you aren't already hooked onto it, you should definitely start watching. It'll provide endless hours of side splitting laughter and make you feel good on the crappiest of days.

That said, I'm so glad it's the Year of the Dragon this year, because *ahem* I'm one too. X) And so far it's been a pretty good year and there's a ton to look forward to over the next few months so... I'm feeling pretty happy at the moment. But really, it's just because the next two days are public holidays and I'm gonna be stuffing my face with new year goodies and sleeping in and being a total (happy) pig.

Some photos from dinner at my grandparents' house tonight:

Isn't Baby adorable??? (yeah, that's her name!) She's my cousin's doggy and she's probably the fattest, laziest, cutest retriever I've seen yet. Most of the times when I go to the house in the afternoons, she's ALWAYS snoozing in a patch of sunlight. I can totally understand that though. It's one of the best ways to deal with the insufferable SG heat. She's usually not allowed inside the house but I guess they let her inside the kitchen since it was raining outside. I thought it was so cute how extraordinarily attentive she was inside the kitchen; watching everyone prepare the food and probably hoping to get lucky. :D

Teehee. Staring at the food on the table!

The CNY eve dinner spread!! There was sooo much good food and there's definitely gonna be more tomorrow. :D Really looking forward to tossing some Yu Sheng tomorrow.

Nian Gao cooked with slices of yam. Not my favorite thing in the world 'cos it's kinda just a big slab of sweet sticky glutinous cake that you get sick of eating after about 3 bites. But that's tradition for you. Appears on the dining table every year. ;p

So that's my little niece, Amanda, in the center. She's about 16 months now and is pretty darn adorable. The two people by her side are my mum and dad. I thought it was pretty funny/cute how they were both taking turns feeding her after her main meal was over. My dad was like, "Turn right, and you get some fish maw. Turn Left and you get some bun!" Heh. It was kinda sweet/freaky seeing the two of them feed her that way. Almost seemed like a scene from 20 + years ago when my sis/I were that age. D'awwwww. :)))

Getting up close and personal with Amanda!! She likes going reaaaaaaaaaaal close to the lens; sometimes so close I can't even focus on her! It's nice having a teeny toddler around the house, especially at gatherings. Whenever there's a bit of a lull in the conversation or when people are too full and lazy to talk, all they have to do is sit around and watch that little ball of energy as she entertains herself, not realizing she's also entertaining about 10 other people in the room. ;)

Before I head off to bed and some pre-bedtime reading (soooo happy I've got more time to read now that the exams are over), you must must must watch this awesome video:

This is one of the BEST video clips I've seen hands down. It's basically a promotional video done by Onitsuka Tiger about the legendary Zodiac Race among the animals that decided the order in which they'd be featured in the Zodiac calender. It's hilaaaaarious, especially if you listen hard to the commentary! :D And of course, you get to seen how incredibly magnanimous the Dragon was. There's really just no competition.

xx Peace out.

Style Snippet: 1 Week to Closet Revamp!!

2012-01-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

Seriously, Ruche is one of my favorite online stores ever. Not only do I love just about everything they sell because it's pretty, sassy with vintage twist and really unique, but the girls at Ruche always take the effort to come up with amazing lookbooks and features which show how versatile a lot of their pieces are. Pretty much all the stuff is gorgeous so GO TAKE A LOOK!

One of their most recent features was this: One Week to a New Closet !! It couldn't have come at a better time. After all, Chinese New Year is in like 2 days :DDD and it's the time when most of the Chinese families are busy spring cleaning...letting in good feng shui into the house haha... and yes, I think my wardrobe is in need of a serious overhaul. These are really great tips if you're looking to doing the same! I'm not in the habit of pruning my wardrobe regularly but apparently that's the wise thing to do in the long run since you'll always know what you have in your closet/what you don't need/what you have to match your possible new buys with.

All images from Ruche .

Speaking of Chinese New Year, I'm so happy that this year I can enjoy it without having to worry about any studying at all. :D I think it's a first in a looooong time. I do think this would be quite a perfect CNY outfit:

DV by Dolce Vita Fawna Belted Crepe Dress from TobiUnfortunately, as all good things go, this one's all out of small sizes. :(( If there's one piece of advice I can dish out based on my numerous hours of online shopping (and trust me, I've done a lot!)(i blame it on the unending stream of tests/exams), it's that once you see an item that you like, IN YOUR SIZE, and that's pretty much PERFECT, you should just GO FOR IT THEN AND THERE. Seriously, no point waiting for the chance of a sale because unless you're camping by your computer 24/7 waiting for the moment the sale starts, there's gonna be some lamer doing the exact same thing and waiting to snatch up the exact item IN YOUR SIZE the minute the sale notification pings in her email account. And you will be left with nothing but DEEP REGRET. Everything sounds more impactful when it's said in a theatrical manner eh? :D But yeah, trust me on this.

So I've just discovered Tobi.com and it looks like it's going to be the start of a nice long relationship. There are tons of brands that the site stocks that are amazing and that I love like Eryn Brynie, BB Dakota, Alice + Olivia, Mink Pink and ohhh the list does indeed go on. But apart from designer brands there are a ton of really nice items that are going for really reasonable prices. :) Yeah, in other words, GO CHECK IT OUT.

And do let me know if there are online stores that you like and would like to recommend? I do believe in sharing the love.

xx

I really want to go here...NOW

2012-01-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this recently opened boutique off Bukit Timah Road and it looks AWESOME. Almost like a different, perhaps a smaller, more select version of Rockstar by Soon Lee? (also one of my favorite stores in the whole of SG :D) I think you can tell a lot about a store based on its website and its attempts to brand itself. A quick visit to the Little Man shop's website can probably tell you that it's classy, contemporary and chic. Wow, triple Cs there. But that's the vibe I got, also thanks to its tumblr-theme style site.

All images from the Little Man shop's website and facebook page.

The only problem is, it's kinda in the middle of nowhere with no other shops I know of around the area. I'm all for the trip there asaaaaaap since I have a feeling it's going to be the next big/indie hipster kid on the block. So it'd be good to go there before it's thronging with too many people during the weekends. Unfortunately my usual shopping partner-in-crime is getting cold feet at the thought of having to make a trip all the way there just for the store. HMMPH. I do admit though, that a car would be very welcome for this trip. But that aside, I'm excited. Like a little tween who's just discovered that Backstreet Boys are releasing a new album and she has GOTSSS TO GET ITTT. :)

It's been a great day so far in any case. Baked the annual Indonesian layer cake with my grandma this afternoon (ugh the heat was stifling though) and went for a great foot reflexology session. I now have a favorite masseuse whom I request for specifically. She's so good I could literally die in her hands. Happy.

And for tomorrow...TGIF! :D As always.

Always happy looking forward

2012-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Now I know that title sounds a little like one of those mangled-English-quotes you get on a smiley-cutesy-lacy shirt from Taiwan/HK/Japan but in my defense, I've just finished my exams and my brain's still in the process of recovering its lost brain cells. :p I'm pretty zonked at the moment. Ever get into that sort of zone when you're pretty darn tired but there's something inside (or more like something on the computer screen in front of you) pushing you to go on? I call it the 'tired high'.

That said....

HAPPY 2012!!!! :)

A little belated this greeting is, I know (omg now I'm speaking like little Yoda), but I always feel better late than never! So here's also wishing you a belated Merry X'mas as well. I wish I could've blogged a lot more in the past month but I had the misfortune of having to sit for exams that were right smack in the middle of January so I ended up having to study through Xmas and New Year. -___- There are cruel people in the world who do this to students.

So a couple of things I was just thinking of sharing here now that we're all on the cusp of new things to come. I always like that feeling. :D And I tend to jump at any opportunity I have to create some sort of change in my life - for the better, of course. Whenever a new school term starts... or when there's a little holiday (regardless of how short it may be) I tend to entertain the thought of inciting some change/order/improvement in my life. Soooo... here are my new year resolutions:

1. Eat healthily
2. Exercise more (for fitness and health, not just for weight loss!)
3. Nurture and maintain the relationships that mean the most to me in life
4. Be grateful

Hmm I suppose they are a teeny bit unspecific ;p If I wanted to really achieve them I probably need to plan out bite sized manageable step by step goals to achieve a bit at a time right? I'll probably get down to doing that in awhile. But that's really the gist of it.

Here's something I'd recommend everyone read -->

30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself

and

30 Things to Stop Doing for Yourself

written by bloggers Marc and Angel Hack Life. I read the second one first and thought everything that was in that post made so much sense that I went on to the next one. I'm a sucker for self-help stuff but this really is just a reminder of the things in life that we often tend to overlook. And if anyone's looking to start the year on a fresh page and start well, I'd definitely read this. It does help put things in perspective. =)

And something else that I really wanted to share during the Xmas period but really was too guilt-ridden over my pathetic attempts at studying to even try blogging, is this:

Like seriously, my favorite sexyface JGL and the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel??? WHAT A GEM!!! :DDD I discovered it through ahem both their twitter feeds as well as the website Hello Giggles , of which Zooey Deschanel is one of the co-founders. It's quite a cute website; full of columns about entertainment, beauty, memorable stuff... a lot of which seem to be contributed by women who are keen for a laugh, beauty tip, good read about daily life. Check it out if you haven't already done so! xx

only in taipei

2011-12-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

So, before I forget... BELATED MERRY X'MAS to everyone! :)) How was your Christmas?

Boy has it been a hectic past week. Well, not so much hectic in the rushing around sense but I've started on revision for my end of year exams (which have EVILLY been placed in mid-January, effectively leaving me and my classmates with a really half-baked holiday season) and... it's not been good. I've been very much distracted by almost anything that isn't studying. First it was dishing out Xmas cards to friends overseas (because Singpost had such a great promotion ;p), then it was rushing around repairing Canon items that seem to be breaking down at the same time, and now that people have returned home from overseas for Christmas, it's always a must to meet up with friends and relatives. How can anyone get any studying done when there are so many other more enjoyable things to do?? Oh, and I somehow have a knack for discovering awesome online shopping websites at the most inconvenient and unnecessary times. :P Apart from that, I'm pretty much past the initial deadline my friends had given me for editing my Taiwan photos so partly out of guilt, and partly out of very fond memories of those times, I decided to go through more of them tonight.

As the title of this post goes, to me, these things can only happen in Taiwan. X)
(and just so you know, it's quite photo heavy! a lot heavier than anticipated)

1. At the Tao Yuan International Airport, there were reading glasses of varying degrees provided for people who needed some help in filling out their immigration forms. I just thought this was so dang cute and considerate! :D
2. I've never seen bicycles kept like that. How'd they all get up???
3. Left: Mysterious staircase we happened to pass by around the Shi Fan University area. Right: Donut on an Eiffel Tower?? But with a little sign below that says, "I'm Real!".

4. Wandering around a night market in the daytime. Not particularly happening. :) But that's what you get when you're at tourist unsure of the time when things start happening.
5. Milk carton display!
6. Fried minced meat/veggie dumpling from a street stall if I'm not mistaken.

7. Dimsum being sold in a bakery! Can you believe that? :D Such a genius idea. And sooo comforting on a cold wet rainy taipei morning to bite into a steaming hot piece of siew mai/bun.
8. And it just so happens that that bakery was 30 secs away from our hotel.

9. The land of Bubble Tea. (psst, notice Sandra's lovely manicured nails? We made it a point to very subtly position our then newly manicured nails into many photos.)
10. Bottles of milk tea sold in Seven-Elevens. They were REALLY good. Why can't they have that in all Seven-Elevens, starting with the SG ones??

11. Soooo many of these Daiso-like stores selling almost everything you need for a low price. I would probably get all my Xmas ornaments from there if I actually lived there X)
12. Oyster Omelet from a night market stall. NOT my fav because of that strange sauce they splashed on top of it. I still say that the SG ones are the most delicious; if you have the luck to eat from a good stall.
13. One of the many dogs we saw in Taipei. This one was out enjoying the cool night breeze at the night market.

14. Just had to take a photo with that gorgeous mural on the wall of a small store at the Shi Fan night market in the background. It was by far, my favorite night market. :D So many little boutiques that we didn't manage to check out because that place was just a maze.
15. One of the more typically well-dressed dogs in Taipei.

16. Just thought I'd add this in since it's only in Taipei that we walked sooooo much and were way too tired to step into the Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall. Though we did manage a couple of jump-shots.
17. One of the closest we got to the Taipei 101 building. Due to the rain every day and almost each night, we never made it up to the top of the building because of all that fog. And we had some serious night market traipsing to do.

~~

Yeah, ok am now pretty much peached out. Today my classmates and I had a 12 hour marathon revision lecture. YEAH, I'm still coming to terms with that figure. It really helped that it was by one of the nicest, most dedicated Profs so I was too busy admiring him (only because he's so dedicated and patient XD)(I've come across too many not-so-nice-tutors to not (outwardly) appreciate an awesome one when I see one) to really fall asleep. But still. 12 hours.

Can't wait to graduate and not have to take another exam in my life again. :( I can't understand how people make it to consultant/emeritus prof (and the works) level without seriously losing all their hair.
And also, can't believe 2011 is drawing to a close. It just feels like there's a lot more that I want to do... or perhaps reflect on slowly and quietly before the new year begins. But I have a feeling I'll just be revising (or attempting to) through the new year, which is a rather depressing thought because we should all take time out to stop and smell the roses and all that eh? So do you guys have any New Year plans at the moment? :)
xx off to sleeeeeeep.

through the rain, night markets, milk tea and cafes

2011-12-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

Just came back from a week in Taiwan. All I can say is...... SO MUCH FUNNNN! :D I love love love spending time with this group of friends (and we've been together since primary/secondary school) and thankfully, we're all pretty chillaxed people on holiday so setting alarms at 8 really means waking up at... 8.30 and leaving at 9??? Heh. The only unfortunate point would be that it simply wouldn't stop raining in Taipei when we were there! :( We ended up traipsing streets and touristy spots with our umbrellas which REALLY made important things like taking photos a littttle harder than usual. But when we got to Taichung there was our dear friend Yueh, whom we'd been looking forward to meeting for ages and a ton of SUNSHINE. I really miss the Taichung weather now. After our plane landed in SG and we were walking from the airplane to the arrival gate, Cheryl, Sandra and I looked at each other and unanimously chimed, "It's too hot!!". But, I'm getting ahead of myself. There are a ton of photos from this trip and as my friends will probably barge their way into my house and personally remove the photos from my laptop if I don't have them all ready to be sent to them by Xmas day, I need to get started. ;p So here's a teaser/short little collection of photos of the trip.

(Taipei and Taichung, Dec 2011)

More details of the trip will be in later posts. :) But let's just say it involved a lot of walking through light drizzling rain with our umbrellas, drinking lots of milk tea, going to a night market almost every night (and doubling back for the one we liked the best, eventually!), finding our way to quaint and gorgeous cafes that we'd manage to find on the internet (thanks Siang, for doing the cafe research!), eating and eating and eating tons of street food, spotting many dogs decked out in winter-wear... and really loving the 7-11 convenience stores that very incredibly, have warm food and drinks and microwaveable meals.

And just a couple of things that struck me (and the others, perhaps) during this trip to Taiwan:

1. Taiwanese taxi drivers are sososo nice. All the taxi drivers we met were incredibly friendly and helpful, and once they recognized our Singaporean Mandarin accents, they proceeded to recommend us places we had to visit in Taiwan... other Singaporean students/visitors they'd met before... their advice on which night market was the best (taking into account our age differences as well)... one even regaled us with a short tale on an Egyptian customer he'd once had, how large her eyes were, how PURPLE (yes, he used the word purple O_o) her skin tone was, how nostalgic he was of those moments when he'd met her... Yeah, they were real charmers, these cab drivers.

2. Taiwanese 7-11s are hands down, the BEST I've been to! Ok so maybe I've only been to 7-11 in a few places, but if you compare them to the ones in Singapore, we have so much to learn! There's nothing like coming in from a wet and cold afternoon outside, only to be warmed up by a can of heated soya bean milk and microwaveable rice ball/beef noodle soup set. And along those lines, the best place to be at when you have 6 hours to kill in wee hours of the morning while waiting for a flight home, would be 7-11.

3. 24 hour bookstores are the way to go. We went into the Eslite bookstore and I wanted to just keel over and die in book heaven. And that was at 12.30 am after our failed trip to erm the club. ;)

4. The key to attracting customers to enter your store at the night market (which is probably as cramped and as small as the next 500 ones before and after), would be to strategically place an adorable kitty cat on the floor in full view of passing customers. Because believe me, if they happen to be female, there's a very high probability they will go in there squealing, eager to pet the cat, and will end up browsing the store's items eventually.

5. Circle Scarves are the BEST piece of winter clothing to pack along for a trip to a cold place. It keeps you warm, acts as a neck accessory so you really don't need to bother about necklaces and the like (since there's no space there anymore anyway), allows you to hide your hold hands underneath (no need for gloves then!), AND provides a great cover for the camera that's hanging down your neck. Big big plus!

And, on a more reflective note,

6. We are meanest to the people we love the most. We all agreed this was probably one of the more meaningful statements to be bounced about (the rest of it was frivolous Cityhunter chatter hahaha) and well I had to put it here. X)

In the meantime, apart from busying myself with editing all those photos (and forcing myself to come up with some form of a study schedule because of year end exams that have been cruelly placed after the New Year in mid January :(( sigh), I shall be having fun reading some 幾米 (Jimmy) books that I got at Eslite, the awesome Taiwanese bookstore. Reminds me of the time long ago when I was half decent with my Mandarin. Used to be a huge fan of his work (the illustrations are really gorgeous, if you haven't already seen them before!) but I hadn't kept up with his books for a number of years. He's the same author who wrote and illustrated the book A Chance of Sunshine (向左走, 向右走) that was eventually made into a movie (which totally bombed! but the book is fantastic). I always feel guilty thinking about how my Mandarin has deteriorated to such abysmal levels. :( I wonder how people manage to stay effectively bilingual/multilingual because it's so hard maintaining a level of competency...even in one language, really.

So yes, more photos coming soon. :) And am soooo looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Staying up for a 6am flight is pretty darn tiring.

OChaCha~

2011-12-10T09:13:00.001-08:00

Hands down, one of my favorite places to have tea at. I can't quite recall when I discovered this place (probably sometime earlier this year) or why I decided to even venture near the counter but then again, who can resist NOT going to have a closer look at a place so awesomely named?? Reminds me of my Akazukin Cha Cha craze days in the not so distant past.

Basically, it serves all things Matcha. My absolute favorite has to be OChaCha Silk, which is an amazing blend of Matcha and Soy Milk in genius proportions and warmed to sipping perfection. I've not really tried much else on the menu (because there simply has been NO NEED TO!) but there are a TON of options ranging from hot drinks to iced to ice blended as well if I'm not mistaken. And they even serve desserts (which do look pretty tasty) and simple dishes like ramen, rice bowls, porridge etc. I must've taken a gazillion photos of this place with my iphone but they've all kinda disappeared in the freaky unknown depths of my laptop.

(isn't the takeaway cup adorable? I think the plastic 'plug' to insert into the hole in the cover is absolute genius!! no need to worry about it losing its warmth or the risk of it spilling while you walk.)

(yes, I'm just super pleased with my cuppa')

I love how this place is always quiet and peaceful. I love how the service staff is extremely friendly (my mum, channeling the social butterfly aura that comes from my Ahpo, even made friends with one of the gals) and are always ready with a smile. I love how whenever I take a sip of warm matcha + soy milk tea, I get to enjoy moments of pure, unadulterated inner peace. For those first few moments especially, everything is suspended. All there is, is a good, comforting drink.

I suppose not everyone would keel over and wax lyrical in this manner about it. After all, my mum and Donald have both tried it before and while they like it, it's highly unlikely that any of them would describe it in this blissful way. Which probably goes to show that your state of mind the very first time you take a sip of that drink (or bite of that sandwich/slurp of that soup.../glimpse of that boy!) makes all the difference. A variant of the way first impressions count. If you were feeling incredibly relaxed and comforted by that very first sip, chances are, you're going to associate that drink with all the similar feelings of wondrous bliss. And then that could very well become your buffer for life's glitches. I've gone to OChaCha many a time after a terrible day at school or feeling hot and bothered or absolutely shitty... and whenever I settle down at a table, breathing in the steam from that mug of matcha and soy milk, everything feel a million times better already.

So... if I haven't convinced you to give it a try... you must be an unfeeling beast!!! :P But seriously, it's a great place for a break from the shopping. Any places you know of that make you feel the same way too?

And before I forget:

OChaCha

290 Orchard Road,

#B1-25 The Paragon,

Sat–Thu: 9am – 9.30pm

Fri: 9am – 11pm

oh my happy belly~

2011-12-04T09:21:00.001-08:00

These weekend was just one long major food fest. Apart from sleeping in, feeble attempts at gymming and cracking open my textbook for about 2 seconds, the rest of the time was spent going someplace to eat and the act of eating itself. Donald and I managed to cover quite a few places - Papa Palheta for coffee, Cat Socrates just out of curiosity (and what a great find!), Keisuke Tonkotsu King for ramen... and we ended up going to our favorite Salted Caramel not just once but twice. SIGH. <3 Food is such a blessing.

More on those other places another time. For now, it's Salted Caramel again, with the two king flavors of Chocolate Stout and Horlicks + TimTam. :))

Isn’t the Cookie Monster poster adorable? They aren't selling that, unfortunately. Because I did ask. I think it’s highly possible that at that moment, I planted the thought of selling all Salted Caramel related merchandise in their heads. Maybe in 3 months time there’ll be all sorts of Salted Caramel paraphernalia for sale and when they're reeking in their thousands for this great business venture, I'll give them a knowing smile and yes, be very gracious about it.

Possibly the biggest fan of Chocolate Stout flavored ice cream. Honestly, it just tastes like BEER ICE CREAM to me. O_o Give it a try, perhaps with your eyes closed and try telling me you don't think that's the case.

Notice the awesome chunky bits of Tim Tam? :) Makes it soooooooo unforgettably good. (PSST! For some reason these two awesome flavors are NOT ALWAYS available. So I do think it really depends on your luck! :( I went with another group of friends once and lo and behold, BOTH flavors weren't available that day. So... good luck!)

Happy with all that ice cream in my belly. There's too much good food everywhere. <3

Now to press on for the week ahead. ROARRR.

dreamers and realists

2011-12-03T10:22:00.001-08:00

This week, I watched Twilight: Breaking Dawn. I know half of you are about to puke in your seat while the other half will get a glassy-eyed expression from thinking about the Cullens (or Jacob; whichever team you're on) but I must admit, this movie turned out to be a lot better than expected and a LOT better than Eclipse. :) I first got well, semi-hooked on the series after watching the first Twilight movie and I do think on retrospect, it was largely to do with the pretty awesome soundtrack it had. This 4th movie featured some really amazing songs and I started checking the out the minute I got back home. Possibly my favorite song (that was also featured in the first movie!) -- American Mouth, Flightless Bird by Iron and Wine. I could wake up and fall asleep to this. X) That said, if anyone who can enlighten me on the true meaning of this song's lyrics, I'd be truly amazed and grateful. Sigh. I just think it's the perfect song for Edward and Bella and how sweet is it that it was played at their prom and at their wedding?? Ok, the gushing teenage girl in me shall quieten.down.now.

Now this next song, Turning Page by Sleeping at Last is THE song to listen to if you just want to curl up in your bed...and possibly shed a few tears of emotion. It's a pretty incredible song and everytime I hear it, something inside simply swells up with emotion.

Apart from that, I've also recently managed to change the lens on these glasses for myself. A month or so ago I had the WORST illness ever and I've managed to make a pretty dramatic story telling out of it after having regaled people with it numerous times. But to cut the long story short, there was a looong fever and eye inflammation that resulted in my having to use dilating eye drops for a period of time which totally screwed up my near vision. Ended up getting a pair of degree lens. Now that everything's back to normal, I figured, might as well make full use of the specs and change in a pair of clear lens, no? :) I've come to think of it as a new accessory, not unlike a necklace or jacket or scarf.

Source: Parisienne Print by Blanca Gomez on Etsy

While I really just want to spend my time sitting at a cafe, reading or listening to music or really not doing very much at all but taking it slow... there's a week more of work to be done. Then it's a short break before the final push for the end-of-year exams which have horrendously been placed after the New Year. -__- But there's also stuff to enjoy and stuff to look forward to. Today, I ended up watching the entire show of The Incredibles on youtube and thoroughly enjoyed watching cute little Dash outrunning all the evil minions, all the while with his smug and confident face. >:D

Had a good weekend so far?

Dimsum at Victor's Kitchen

2011-12-03T08:45:00.001-08:00

Recently went to a fantastic dimsum restaurant for lunch with my very awesome clinical groupmates. We skipped a lecture in the afternoon(SHHHH) and braved the stifling humidity and hot noontime sun for it but really, when it comes down to a reasonably priced and very tasty dimsum lunch with friends versus... 3 hours in class half-drooling and lapsing in and out of consciousness, which memory would you rather have?? >:D

Victor’s Kitchen

91 Bencoolen Street #01-21

Sunshine Plaza Singapore

Here's Victor's Kitchen which, apart from the hefty number of positive food reviews plastered on its walls, is an otherwise unassuming restaurant tucked into the deep recesses of Sunshine Plaza. I'd heard about it previously but it always seemed to be packed with people that I never felt the urge to stop and try it out. This time however, we were all under the influence of one of my friends who swore that the dimsum was one of the best in Sinapore he'd ever tasted. And he knows his food. >:)

While I didn't have my camera with me on hand at that time, I did have my iphone + Instagram! :)

Row 1
Left: Cripsy deep fried beancurd skin rolls. I have no idea what was inside; possible some veg and shrimp and minced meat, but it was GOOD. Each bite was hot and crispy.

Middle: Milk tea! I've never seen it served in this manner before :D but it certainly makes it unique. Highly recommended by my friend. I myself, had iced lemon tea which reminded me a lot of the iced lemon teas you get in HK cafes where they add many thin slices of lemon into the tea (unlike say, some places that merely serve a single slice on the rim of the glass...for decorative purposes), making it pretty authentic.

Right: Pretty decent Chee Cheong Fun. I've never been a huge fan of it but this one had a nice sauce you could dip it into.

Row 2
Left: Glutinous Rice with Sausage, Chicken...and other ingredients. :D This one's a must! We each ordered one and thank goodness we did, because otherwise we might not have gotten full fast enough from the individual dimsum dishes. I'd recommend ordering this as well, since it does act as a staple for the entire meal and while I can't remember all that was in the glutinous rice dish that made it so tasty, I remember there being hefty chunks of meat and very tasty glutinous rice that you could spend a long time chewing on because of its stickiness.

Middle: THE famous Golden Egg Yolk Lava Buns. Voted one of the best in Singapore if I'm not wrong. And mannnn they were good. A combination of sweet and salty in a hot molten yolk pasta that spilled out on the first bite. A must-try!

Right: Just a picture of the carnage after we got through with everything.

After that, even though we were pretty much bursting with dimsum, we still wanted dessert so we ended up going to THE original Rochor Beancurd House :D. For those of you who don't know, there's even a second floor above this place for customers to eat at. A good place to go to on weekday afternoons since it's pretty quiet and you get the almost all of the space on the second floor to yourself before they chase you out (which they didn't, for us!). Ice cold soya bean and beancurd is possibly one of the best desserts for a hot afternoon.

Our attempts at a self-taken "Family Portrait". :)

Honestly, I think most of the time the equation goes:

overall meal experience = 40 % food + 60 % company.

Yes?

Kyoto #1

2011-11-28T07:43:00.001-08:00

Summer of 2010, in Kyoto, Japan, with my mum. Gorgeous weather, peaceful, quiet streets, and if we strained carefully enough and remained absolutely still, almost always, the sound of a flowing river.

Seriously, I want a dog just like that next time. Anyone know what breed it is though?? My sis says it's the TinTin dog butbutbut... doesn't it look different??

That said, Kyoto is one fantastic place to go to if you're looking really to lose yourself in another culture, away from civilization/cell phone/car (whatever ties you down) and just rest quietly for a few days. It's got a beautiful river, Kamogawa (The Kamo River), and if you walk to the right spot, you'll be able to see stepping stones that you can skip across merrily or get your mum to take many many photos of (with you inside attempting many many jump-shots). :) That photo should be coming soon.

It's Monday - we're alive!

2011-11-28T06:27:00.001-08:00

Recently discovered local artist and illustrator, eeshuan, and his work online through my sis who sent me a link to one of his cuuuute illustrations (that will come later!). Was browsing through his website, gardensilly, and saw all the album artwork he had designed for a CD (featuring local artists) sold by the Singapore Cancer Society as a fund-raising initiative. I just thought it was pretty perfect for Sunday night/Monday morning blues. ;p

Source: All images from gardensilly. (some slightly cropped for display here)

I just thought the words on the album jacket were so apt. So many of us suffer from weekly/perennial Sunday night/Monday blues. I especially, whine and complain to anyone who'll listen on most mornings that aren't Friday/the Weekend. But really, when you think about it, every next day we get is a simple blessing that not everyone gets to enjoy. We always think of Mondays/tough days as days that involve a ton of work, stress, fatigue, a lousy time in general...when maybe, another way to look at it is another day of opportunities - of chances to do our job well, to face up to challenges and grow in our mental strength and competencies; of time spent enjoying fun moments with friends and family; of the ability to pursue a dream one step at a time. I'm sure you get the gist. :p I fear this will start becoming overly cheesy if I continue on. But sometimes cheese in moderation is pretty good for the tummy. And to me, it makes a whole lot of sense. At the end of the day, 'tomorrow' represents another day of hope and opportunity to make it a darn good day. I'm going to try and remember this whenever I feel the Sunday night and Monday blues creeping up on me.

Ohh and before I forget, here's the illustration my sis showed me that really got me interested in this artist:

CUTE, YESSS?!!? :D Our dear ol' Courtesy Lion!!! It was his entry for Project Singa that was launched under the Singapore Kindness Movement in an attempt to re-invent the age old Courtesy Lion icon. Unfortunately, I read on another blog that it's supposed to show how he's kinda jaded after many years of campaigning for us? :P I never actually noticed that! I just thought he looked really adorably stoned.

Ermie - prints, dresses and scarves

2011-11-23T08:34:00.001-08:00

Stumbled upon some of the most gorgeous fabric prints I've seen..!!! :DDD

Aren't these incredibly beautiful? All hand made by designer Jennifer Parry Dodge. According to the website, these are "original prints digitally printed in North Carolina and San Francisco using water-based pigment inks on natural fiber textiles".

This one's my favorite. I love how the print reminds me of beautiful Bokeh lights.

There's an almost tribal feel to the fiery colors in this one but they're much more toned down and the color combination just makes it so elegant. Of course, it's also how it's been accessorized, with that unique embroidered belt.

Honestly, just looking at those dresses makes my insides go queasy in an ahhh-i-just-want-to-lay-my-hands-on-that-soft-fabric way. I can't wait for the day (IF i get to that stage) when I can afford one of a kind pieces like these. They're so beautiful and individually made by the seller so I my eyes only widened just that much more when I saw the price. A cool $370-$385 for the dresses. I would so fill my wardrobe with perfect pieces like these. In my opinion, it's always good to get a couple of choice pieces that are so unique you'd never run the risk of wearing the same piece as another person at a gathering and of course, if it's comfortable and memorable... plus plus plus points! I tend to gravitate towards print dresses more so than solids because if they're gorgeous, they just do the job for you. :) No need to think about accessorizing with statement jewelry or adding makeup or getting a spiffy handbag to act as the focal point for the outfit. It's complete as it is. Easy peasy for lazy pies like me.

And just look at these scarves... I've started having a thing for lightweight scarves since they're probably the only thing you can layer onto your outfit in the hellishly humid SG weather (after cardigans) without collapsing from the heat. It's so easy to layer a pretty print scarf over a plain basic top and suddenly the ensemble gets transformed to something different. Now to find out how to tie scarves in more ways than one.

So, if you can take it, check out the store, Ermie, here.

Public Garden Flea Market

2011-11-13T06:28:00.001-08:00

Went to the Public Garden Flea Market held at the F1 Pit Building last Saturday and it was funnnnn. :)) I love flea markets; well, shopping of any kind, but what I like about flea markets is the thrill of tossing, flipping, scavanging through piles of items, really not knowing what you'll find. It could be old stuff, cleverly marketed as 'vintage' (since everything 'vintage' is an immediate sellout), painstakingly handmade items from independent sellers, quirky and creative accessories or lifestyle pieces from boutiques whose owners have decided to set up stall in the flea market, and so much more. Oh, I forgot to mention FOOD. This particular flea market had all of the above so I was very pleased. :D

Cupcake shaped pin-cushions that look good enough to eat! Good thing they had the warning sign stuck in? And they even come in their own adorable porcelain cupcake holders. Makes me want to take up sewing.

Pretty pins made by the owners of the same stall! Here's a link to their facebook page, My Sweet Desire.

I like how this particular stall was so dressed up. I remember when my friends and I tried selling our stuff a few years back (or was it just last year) at another flea market and it was not QUITE so successful; possibly because we didn't put in much effort to decking the stall up. This one looks quaint indeed.

Cutie little (some were HUGE) water droplet pouches from the seller, Mimi Pong! I think these are simply adorable. MAYBE I shall get one for my sis one of these days since she's a huge fan of Water Wally, the err Public Utilies Board (PUB) mascot. Lots of other really darling items from this seller's online shop, HERE .

An interesting stall was this one by local artist who goes by the name of Messy Msxi and suppose this stall can be thought of as an artistic statement of sorts. It's entitled "Breakfast Barter" and basically, you get to draw out a breakfast (can be your favorite or any random one; some people were cute and drew a dog's breakfast instead, dog included in the picture) on a template given and in exchange, you get a pretty polaroid picture of a breakfast that was probably taken by the artist herself. At the end, all the drawings were pasted on a nearby wall and while even her helpers weren't sure what the end result was going to be used for, it was interesting seeing what others drew out and how detailed/creative they could be.

3D globes from the store, The Occasional Traveller. I was checking out the items and overhead the owner talking to another customer about how she calls herself "The Occasional Traveller" because she doesn't get to travel as much as she would like to but one day she hopes she'll become "The Frequent Traveller". :) To think that there are so many intrepid souls out there just dying to get away to explore this huge world of ours. Most people leave travelling till after they're retired but in my opinion, that's a little too late. After all, what if you never retire!!! (dun dun dun!! *scary music) Yeah, just to get ya thinking yoz. Check out her website (which is also a great read) HERE.

Delicious looking cupcakes!! I love how the labels have such elegant font and are all stuck on tall satay sticks that way. Gives it a touch of class, no?

One of the best stalls I came across!! :D Alter:sg is a small independent publication from a few like-minded individuals who came together to produce a guide book of all their favorite, less-touristy and more down-to-earth spots of Singapore. I'm ALL FOR THIS because really, I do think there are so many places that are worth exploring and appreciating in Singapore. No point bemoaning the fact that it's small and boring compared to other major cities. It's something I used to do so often but really, might as well make the best of what we have and look a little closer at the place we call home right? Go to their website HERE to find out more and you can get a copy of their book too! Though I recommend reading it on say, a Friday night, because after flipping through it you'll want to go exploring immediately so at least that way you have the whole weekend ahead.

The super friendly brains behind alter:sg who were nice enough to let me take a quick snap of them and their booth.

HEH. I thought these items were GENIUS.

On the left: Crumpled City Maps also sold by The Occasional Traveller. Quite a good idea because these maps are made of some special material so it doesn't tear easily and you can crumple it up/get it wet/fold it in any number of ways and it'll still spring back to a pretty flat state for easy reading.

On the right: A company called Epigram sells all these AWESOME books. I think this probably applies to many people? :) They all have the same sort of structure to the quotes. I am not XX. I am XX (something cooler or more truthful). I got another one for my friend which says, 'I am not high. I am just happy'. Of course, you can guess which one's the truth.

I ended up meeting my sis and a few of her friends there as I was leaving but then I conveniently mentioned that there was ice cream being sold there and we all ended up eating VEGAN ice cream. >:) It really was kinda tasty! Better than vegetarian meat which is absolute rubbish. The vegan tastes good probably because it also makes you feel less guilty since there's no butter/milk...but brown rice something inside there instead. So yes, these things do exist and are worth trying... after which you'll probably realize that if you're meant to like the real thing, you're meant to like it.

For more info on the Public Garden flea market, you can check out their website HERE. :D Totally looking forward to the next one.

On a side note, this weekend was pretty great. Am kinda sad that tomorrow it's going to be Monday morning again...BUT this weekend was a great one of absolutely zero studying, and I managed to meet up with great friends, eat a ton of great food, and attended my first-ever jamming session which was FUN STUFF. Kinda like a different version of Kbox. :D What did you do this weekend? Xx Here's wishing everyone a great week ahead. 5 more days till the next weekend!

how to draw cute

2011-11-13T05:44:00.001-08:00

Source: Tumblr!

For someone who's always looking for new ways to doodle on my own and friends' notebooks in class, this was too perfect! =) I tried a couple of them out and they actually DO look pretty cute. So surprise your friends with your new-found artistic capabilities tomorrow.

Song of the Week #1

2011-11-13T05:43:00.001-08:00

j mascis - too deep & several shades of whySong of the Week! :) But really, more like 2 songs of the week since they came together in the same youtube video.The song I'd originally wanted to post was Too Deep by J. Mascis, a beautiful, soulful song that I heard on the 7th episode of the tv series, Castle, Season 4. I tend to get a lot of great songs from that series. =D One of the reasons it's one of my current favorite tv series (along with the inimitable MODERN FAMILY!) The second song, Several Shades of Why, just happened to continue one after the first one ended and it was such a great song I ended up listening all the way.

just like the old days

2011-11-13T05:40:00.001-08:00

The Little Drom Store (one of the cutest and quirkiest gallery shops in Singapore) has some incredibly unique tote bags that bring to mind the good ol' days of Primary School! :D Seriously, I'm pretty sure all primary school kids would've played these (pretty lame) hand games at least once in their lifetime.

Photo from the little drom store

These just bring to mind such a sense of nostalgia. Of course, the red and blue colors against the weathered look of the canvas make it very reminiscent of old school posters. Now that I think of it, I can't believe how as children, we were able to learn a hand game, replicate it, and pass it on, all the while not really understanding a single bit of what we said/chanted/chorused during the game itself. Cherry Cherry Long Chiam Pass?? I can't believe I fell for that, once upon a time. :P

These bags are available at their online store or their shop at 7 Ann Siang Hill. :)

Antoinette for Tea

2011-11-12T09:19:00.001-08:00

Recently discovered this lovely gem of a place for tea! :)Antoinette is a cozy dessert cafe located in a rather less-traveled part of Kallang (I for one, have probably only been to Kallang a handful of times in my life. I must thank Sandra though, for introducing me to this place. When she first mentioned it was in Kallang it didn't actually hit me how far it actually was from my place (yes, I realize nowhere in SG is really far but still) until I actually had to travel there and ended up being way late (heh, sorrie guys) BUT i think it was such a worthwhile trip. :DDD

Macaroons galore!! Who here likes macaroons?? I definitely adore the sweetness and the slight crispy exterior that crumbles so readily when you bite down on it... but then each one always costs a hand and a foot. I hardly ever buy them because every bite I take all I'm thinking of is, "there goes $1... and that was just 50 cents down my throat... to my thighs..." Might as well buy a huge-ass slice of cake for the same amount of money.
Photo by Sandra

Doesn't it all look amazing? :D

Gigantic meringue puffs. :) They remind me of little bits of cloud! Though I can imagine how disgustingly sweet they'd be in the mouth...

Photo by Sandra

Upon walking into the cafe, we were greeted with a long table piled with a display of mouth-watering cakes and pastries of all kinds, placed on the prettiest crockery and tucked into large glass jars. Wouldn't it be awesome to return home next time to this scene upon walking through your front door? I just wish my future house would be like this...

Absolutely mouth-watering! I mean seriously, how can one walk past without needing to suppress the urge to just take every single one of those scrummy looking croissants and muffins and stuff them inside one's mouth??

Finally, these two were the pièce de résistance! Chocolate cake and The Antoinette Strawberry Shortcake. I'm sure there were much classier names for these two cakes but I can't for the life of me remember them. I actually like the chocolate cake a lot more than the shortcake, which was pretty average. But that said, I do have a weakness for all things chocolate. The cakes were a little on the pricey side (most were at least $6 per slice) but they are pretty worth it given that you get to enjoy them in a place with pretty decor and lovely ambience.

So happy to have had the chance to meet up with my dear secondary school friends after such a long time. :) And the best part was, we're all such cam whores there were minimal complaints when the cameras were whipped out to take photos of the food. I love it when people are patient when others are taking food. HINT to someone who never fails to grimace when I pull my camera out. ;p

Photo by Sandra

Antoinette
30 Penhas Road

If you have the time, I definitely recommend that you check out this place. It's a beautiful, quaint cafe tucked away in a quiet nook of Singapore. And it's totally unpretentious. While we were there, people of all ages (grandpas and grannies, families with kids etc) were walking in and out enjoying their tea and pastries. Great way to spend a weekend afternoon with friends. NOT TOO CROWDED YET so go before it's too late! :P

NYC: Butter Lane

2011-11-11T22:27:00.001-08:00

I was just looking through some photos I took a couple of years ago during the summer holidays when I came across those that I'd taken when I was in New York City. :D I think that was probably the second time I'd been to NYC; the first was when I'd been much younger and much less appreciative of the many treasures of the city (Soho for one, had not even been on my itinerary at all back then!). Needless to say, I'm a huge huge fan of the city. It's one of my favorite places in the entire world for so many reasons - one of which being the fact that you never know what you might come across anytime of the day, any day of the year.This quaint cupcake bakery was a total serendipitious surprise. I don't even really remember what I was doing that afternoon but I do remember two things: 1. It was a cool, breezy day; the kind that you can walk around in in a light cardigan and not break out in a sweat, 2. I had no map, and no idea where I was going.

So who wouldn't stop to take a closer look at this place? :) I was hungry, thirsty and eager for something to SIT DOWN ON.

Too many choices often give rise to a mild headache but I think it's a welcome one. When in doubt, I think it's best to go for the ORIGINAL flavor (whatever that may be depending on the store you're in) which is probably what I went for.

OMNOMNOM. I think this was probably... vanilla with key lime cream cheese? I wish I could remember! But given that it was the Summer FAVE I most likely went for that. ;p I probably ended up spending 10 minutes deciding and 10 seconds stuffing it down my throat with relish.

Butter Lane

123 East 7th Street

New York,

NY 10009

(212) 677-2880

Hours: Sun-Mon 11am–10pm; Tue-Thu 11am–11pm; Fri-Sat 11–12am

Do give it a try if you happen to be in the area! :) And tell me if there are new flavors in store.

So... I'd say it was quite a perfect afternoon snack. And after sifting through my files I've discovered I took quite a lot of street shots while I was there of the typical stretch of apartment buildings with their fire escapes. So here's one for the road.

#1 This Week on Instagram

2011-11-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

As anyone who's ever eaten a meal with me would probably attest to, I'm an ardent fan of food photography. :D And I'll wholeheartedly admit it! Some people lament the trend of people photographing everything they eat that has seemingly burgeoned over the last few years but I see nothing wrong with it. There are times when you are forced into taking a photo of someone/something you don't like; why not take a photo of something you like/enjoy/ADORE?? Plus, Instagram has made it a million times easier.

If you don't already know of it, Instagram is just a wicked awesome photography app for iPhone (maybe it's available for Android phones as well?) that has about 10+ in-built filters that allow you to alter the way your photo looks. It's simple, looks pretty darn great (or at least way better than the original most of the time), is super easy to use and allows for sharing with hundreds (or thousands?) of other Instagram users everywhere.

I must have accumulated more than a hundred Instagram shots over the past few months so I might as well put them into a little collage and share them every other week or so.

Here's the first one, with photos taken over the span of the last few months. :)

(From left to right)

Top:

1. A pretty sign for the Public Garden Flea Market! :) It was held last Saturday at the F1 Pit Stop Building and I'm so glad I went for it. I hadn't gone for a flea market in agesss so it was so nice to just walk around leisurely and check out all the interesting and quaint items being sold by the various vendors. Photos on that soon!

2. Me and my dearest friend, Cheryl. :D This was taken the first time we met up after she came back to Singapore for good after studying in London. We sipped on some OChaCha tea and went for a Japanese dinner after that. Good times. And many more to come!

3. Even a plastic (?)/ clay (?) doggie gets a nice scarf to keep warm in the Tangs WinterWonderland.

Middle:

4. Color scheme for that day! :)

5. I couldn't believe how cute this little toddler was. Normally I'm not a fan of kiddies but this one was just right -- not screaming, not crying, with BIG CUTIE EYES. >:D

Bottom:

5. View at the Marina Bay.

6.It's only November but Starbucks is selling its special Christmas blends already!! Oh, Christmas is in the air ~~~ <3

7. At the shuttle bus terminal in NUS. Seriously, how can they expect anyone to board the bus with that sort of crowd?? And it was a hot, humid day too.

PSST, let me know if you're an Instagrammer too! :)

Happy because... it's Friday tomorrow!!

Gum Wall

2011-11-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of something as incredible as a Gum Wall? :) I'm quite the germ-o-phobe but when I heard about this place in Seattle's Pike Place Market, I couldn't wait to check it out.

My awesome aunt took me there one day a couple of years back (or was it just last year in 2010??) and though we forgot to bring along the one thing necessary for that trip (GUM, Doh!!), we found a little stall in Pike Place Market that had a sign that said, "Gum for the Gum Wall". It was probably the most expensive gum in the entire place but oh well. We were rushing for time. :p

Isn't it a sight to behold?? :D All the infinite rows of GUM. I just loved it. THE COLOURS! Apparently it was named one of the Top 5 GERMIEST Attractions in the world but when I laid my eyes on it, I just saw a place borne out of fun.

So just a little about its history, as it's right by the box office of a theater (that I don't think exists anymore), in the early 1990s, customers who were impatient about having to wait in line to get their tickets starting sticking the chewing gum onto the wall. The theater attendants tried scraping the Gum Wall twice (I pity anyone who was tasked with that job) but in 1999 it became a certified tourist attraction so they wisely gave up.

Can you identify the painting it's supposed to resemble? :) I can't say I disagree with that statement!

Of course, I had to leave my mark on the Gum Wall for posterity to appreciate. Oh Green Apple flavored gum, may you remain among the millions of other pieces of gum, an everlasting testimony to the wacky creativity that flourishes in a society where gum is not on the list of banned items.

The Gum Wall

Post Alley at Pike Place Market

Downtown Seattle

la petite cuisine

2011-11-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, this blog is going to be a lot about food. :D Because it's one of the great loves in my life. Nothing warms my heart and puts me to a peaceful sleep faster than a great meal.

Nowadays, I'm always on the lookout for new eateries and though I've always known that La Petite Cuisine was a little more than a short walk away from my house, it took me ages to convince my mum and sis (creatures of habit we all are) to give it a try. But finally, we did go! And every single time I've gone, I've not been disappointed. :D It's a pretty small, cozy restaurant and I suppose the only drawback is that everything is self-service - you go inside to pay for your meal before you get served, and then you fetch your own cups and pour your own water out from a dispenser. But those are small details and I suppose that's how they keep their costs low. More importantly, the food is GOOD. I've gone to eat there for both lunch and dinner and here are some dishes that I'd recommend:

Sauteed prawns with spaghetti in olive oil. SO GOOD. I cannot emphasize how much I love this dish. Probably because it's garlicky and slathered in olive oil (the two edible loves of my life). It's a MUST-TRY.

Next, dory fish with butter rice. This dish is fantastic too! The fish is soft yet crispy at the edges and fresh. And it's got a delicious gravy that, combined in good proportions altogether with the warm butter rice, goes so satisfyingly well.

For dessert we tried a strawberry cake (can't really remember the exact name they gave it) but it's similar to sponge cake. What was quite a nice surprise was the little chunks of fresh strawberries inside it. I loved the feeling of chewing on a piece of sponge cake only to be pleasantly surprised by a nice juicy bit of strawberry.

There's also the flourless chocolate cake. Not to be mistaken for a chocolate lava cake, ladies and gentleman. Unfortunately, my mum was expecting warm melted chocolate sauce to come oozing out from the inside and was sorely disappointed when nothing emerged. (I must say I definitely prefer a warm lava cake topped with vanilla bean ice cream on it)

On another occasion for dinner, we tried these sausages and fries. They were pretty decent; but really, I don't think one can go too far wrong with fried sausages.

On another occasion for dinner, we tried these sausages and fries. They were pretty decent; but really, I don't think one can go too far wrong with fried sausages.The duck confit. When asked to comment about this, D, who went along with us, mentioned that it wasn't fantastic duck confit as the skin wasn't as crispy as it should've been. I wish I could comment more about it but... it's not memorable enough for me to remember what it tastes like. ;p Whoopsies.

Smoked salmon salad, Potato Gratin and Creme Brulee. The first two were really good, especially the potato gratin. Slices of warm, creamy potato in thick gravy... MMM. (As you probably can tell, I got tired of giving individual comments Xp)

If you've got time and are in the neighbourhood, I definitely recommend you trying this place out. FYI, There's another La Petite Cuisine outlet at Serene Center which was the original one.

Salted Caramel

2011-11-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Salted Caramel

246F Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574370

One of the best late night treats: Ice Cream from Salted Caramel! :)

Top: Horlicks and Tim Tam. (one of the BEST flavors ever! those chunky bits of Tim Tam biscuit are insaneeeeely good)

Bottom: Chocolate Stout. (very much a guy’s flavor. not a huge fan of this but the boy sure is.)

If you haven't tried it yet, you should! Pretty affordable prices; around $2.50 per scoop of ice cream. And along the same stretch of road there are well-known eateries (The Prata House, anyone?) for your second supper.

(AND AND AND... there's also Habitat Coffee and Wafflelicious that have recently opened! I'm sure their names are self-explanatory. Once I haul my lazy ass out of my house and stroll on down, I'll give my 2 cents worth >:D)

our home away from home

2011-11-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places to go to is Ikea.

I love so much about it. The private-public spaces that change in mood and atmosphere every 10 steps of the way, the quiet bustle of people looking, browsing, buying, the feeling of hope and expectation hanging in the air - that this will be the perfect frame/stool/bed we've been looking for all this while!

I like roaming around the place planning on how I'll be furnishing my future dream house. If I had it my way, I'd have a huge house with a gazillion differently themed rooms just so I'd be able to decorate all the rooms in different ways.

I like how you never know what you'll find around the corner. =)

And then of course, there's the food! I've always wanted to try these (though they look a little on the radioactive side) but at the end of the day, I always end up getting the same things to share -- meatballs and shrimp salad (which might have been discontinued already! ;'( sigh).

Oh yeah but not to forget, someone always gets fried chicken wings and for some reason we were adventurous enough that day to try out some of those pancakes. Not particularly memorable though!

One of the BEST things about Ikea though would be the smooth-serve ice cream that's available in the basement for only $1.50! It's SOOOOOO good. Way better than any McDonald's ice cream. If you haven't tried it before, please do! You'll leave the place feeling so light-hearted and content, you'll always want to come back. For some reason I didn't take a photo of the ice cream that day, but I'll probably stumble upon one in my folders soon enough.

One day I'd really like to go to THE Ikea store in Sweden. And eat the REAL Swedish meatballs. Two things to add to my bucket list.

Hello World

2011-11-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Why, hello there. :)

I thought about the idea for this new blog a couple of months one day when I was feeling bored and listless from studying (the time when most ideas conveniently arise in my head) and wanted to stop feeling this way so often. Typically after a period of ennui comes the epiphany and that was when I realized that I just was not appreciating enough the things that I had in my life.

I suppose all of us have gone through periods of 'unwell'. And by that, I don't mean illness, but more of a state of mind that was anything but happy or content. I read somewhere that every moment we spend feeling angry, upset, frustrated, jealous, sad or ungrateful in life is a moment that we could have spent happy. It really struck a chord with me because there are times (oh, so many) when I succumb to those feelings as well but at the end of the day, when I think about things, I always come back to the same point - that I have so much to be thankful for and there's no reason why I should be anything but happy. Happiness is not just a feeling; it's a state of mind and a conscious choice on our part that we can choose to make every second of every day. I know that like most things in life, it's easier said than done. But being aware of this choice that we have is the first step towards actively changing our perspective of things in life. I suppose nothing sums it up better than this quote -- "The happiest people don't have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have". It's one of my personal favorites. :)

So what this blog is really, is a personal project of mine to rediscover and reinforce in my mind, the things that I love in life but all too often, forget to appreciate. Be it through exploring the nooks and crannies of Singapore (in an attempt to disprove all who say that Singapore is a boring place; in my opinion, we just have not explored enough of it yet!), reminiscing and creating new memories of times spent with family, friends here and abroad, delving deeper into my passion for design, fashion and all things beautiful, learning to lead a healthier, more well-balanced lifestyle…and of course, finding happiness in every day bits and bobs. I hope you’ll find something you enjoy reading here and that just maybe, it’ll inspire you to look to the areas in your life to improve your own well-being.

Apart from that?

I also love traveling, Cookie Monster, beautiful things, Ernie, Marks and Spencer’s EXTREMELY Chocolately Dark Chocolate biscuits, the movie Love Actually, GOOD FOOD… and MashiMaro.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.