Milan

Milan. Not my favourite city but unfortunately, the SQ flight there is a couple of hundreds cheaper than Rome.

I will always remember Milan as the start of my first solo trip; the place where I stumbled around in my jetlagged and semi-unwashed state after a 13 hour flight.

My top 10 moments were: 
(1) figuring out how to buy a local data card from Wind 
(2) popping into a supermarket in a more neighbourhoodly area 
(3) my extremely comfortable room 
(4) exploring the immense and impressive Milano Centrale 
(5) walking along the never-ending shopping streets and spotting the brands I like 
(6) walking through the park in the afternoon 
(7) having a cheese + prosciutto dinner alone opposite a cute guy 
(8) buying my first tea at the standing bar counter 
(9) taking my own time to explore the rooftops of the Duomo 
(10) talking to fellow tourists who were very amused with my selfie stick.

Always amazed by the Duomo's intricate Gothic facade.

Literally walking on the Duomo's roof!

Gorgeous intricacy up close.

The extremely walkable pedestrian avenues.

Couldn't resist a from-where-I-sit shot with the pretty spires.

A modern geleteria with one of the best gelatos I've tried this trip.

Yes, that can only be a drizzle of Nutella.

Sunshine and storm clouds?!

A most satisfying dinner.

Selfie in Bershka!

Hello there!

On a whim, I'm back to blogging again.

I suspect that this sudden burst of enthusiasm will not last (as usual), but I'm trying not to be too fussed about it. It comes and go and really, who needs more to-dos on their to-do lists?

I accessed my blog again today to show a friend at work some of my grad trip pictures of Germany and Amsterdam in 2008. Of course it didn't stop there and I scrolled through other blog posts throughout the year (I started this blog in 2007 seriously??). Bad idea perhaps as I am now lamenting my lost youth and sniggering at how some of my friends have also aged.

Then, it struck me that how wonderful this self-indulgent and exhibitionist little piece of webpage is. It is a time-capsule, a photo album, a journal; a glimpse into forgotten memories and the silly goose I was at age 23, or 21, or 26. I realised that this blog is not so much for my audience (if any), but for myself as a convenient and hopefully perpetual repository of the bits and pieces of my existence. Yes, those frivolous, fun, depressing, whinny, exciting moments.

I'm taking baby steps by sharing my 28-on-28 trip over the next few posts. Fingers crossed - it will work this time.

Sabbatical

3 countries 15 cities 5 days out in the wilderness.

I'm abandoning my blog to travel the "world" for a month. It's a first in many aspects and I hope to share some of my experiences when I'm back!

The extremely tech-phobic me has finally gotten an iPhone to stay connected away from home. I'm quite addicted to Instagram and plan to use it as a photo journal for my trip. Have somehow managed to add a link  on the sidebar to my Instagram.

Ciao mon ami!

The Fault In Our Stars

I've somehow never gotten the chance to read John Green's books so The Fault In Our Stars is the first. I decided to buy it cos the title sounds like something which I would like, the cover is an eye catching bright blue with hand drawn graphics, and it received so many rave reviews.

Really unfortunately, I didn't like it. I didn't like his writing style and I didn't feel for the characters or find them particularly engaging. It was suppose to make you cry buckets (I usually have a problem controlling my tears at the movies or reading a book), but I felt detached after reading this. To be fair,  there are certain quotable quotes which I can imagine myself jotting down.

Just hoping that the movie would tug harder at my heart strings. Trailer looks promising!

Thinking of summer

I love to spend a couple of quiet hours during the weekend winding down and preparing for the start of another stress-filled week. I love looking at certain happy holiday memories. Currently laughing at the numerous unglam impromptu shots that Cui took last summer when we visited her in NYC. 

Here's one taken at Washington Square Park in the evening while we were sipping overpriced bubble tea bought at a Chinese cafe in Greenwich Village.

Happy Sunday folks.

Books vs humans

I like books more than humans?

 http://t.co/9QzTKqzqiL

Oh joyful day

Hey it's December

We're almost nearing the end of the month and I thought I should at least have one more post before the year ends. I can imagine one of my new year resolutions (again) - be more active at blogging, scrapbooking, documenting my life and thoughts no matter how mundane I regard them to be.

Here's a pic of my Christmas tableau at the extra space behind my desk in the office. Thanks to friends who gifted each model and figurine. The Muji 3D pop-out cards are a big hit seeing how my cubicle mate keeps pilfering it for his desk!

I'm actually looking forward to the end of 2013 with a big breathe of relief. I survived the year. New year is supposed to bring new hopes, new joys and new challenges (mutually exclusive maybe?) and I hope it rings true for everyone.

I feel most alive when I'm immersed in nature. Am looking forward to more adventures in 2014!

Happy mail

Something came through the mail recently which really made my day - the Gola x Liberty sneakers which I bought with a discount on ASOS!

Nostalgic me thinks that it is sort of a tribute to the first pair of sneakers I bought from Peninsular Plaza with my own money which was incidentally a beige and maroon pair of Gola. It was a particularly unforgettable day because I went for the USP interview after my shopping and one of the interviewers actually broke the ice by talking about shopping and making a comment on it. On hindsight, it was probably not that most professional thing (for me) to do haha.

Trademark Liberty purple (one fav colour), check!

Red liberty fabric - another colour I'm partial to!

Padded insoles, seriously?

Now I really need to think how I can bear to break them in.

Like finally?

Finally a computer game that catches my eye. Too kiddy?

https://infinity.disney.com/en-apac 

One thing to another

You know how some things trigger other things? Like when object triggers a memory or a place triggers a feeling. My bro told me about how a band of students were practising their medley of Disney songs at Sentosa last week. 

That triggered my compulsion to sing along with all the Disney songs on youtube tonight. For all unabashed Disney fans, this one is really cool:

Loving (loved) summer

Did not draw up a summer bucket list but managed to get a summer tan which is fading way too fast!

Summer essentials

Smorgasburg!

Le Bernadin

Queuing for Totto Ramen

Dinner at Parker & Quinn

Cycling across Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn street art

Lunch at Pio Pio

Along the Hudson River

Chilling at DUMBO

Coming to London!

I cannot be more excited having found out that Ace Hotel is crossing the pond to London (in the Shoreditch area no less!)

Picnic!

Summer's time for endless picnics! Just not here in Singapore. The weather is simply not conducive.

Today was a relatively cooler day and by that, I mean it was slightly cloudier. We packed the picnic basket (imaginary one) and headed to Botanical Gardens for a girls pow wow. The mrt brought us to the side of the gardens that was just outside the Bukit Timah Campus. So nostalgic! I remember tramping across the gardens from school to Orchard Road with Bing after lessons last time.

After moving our mat (clever YW who bought a shower curtain) several times, we found our 'perfect' spot i.e. a spot with some shade and polished off the goodies we pooled together, the marshmallow chocolate muffins YW baked before meeting us. That girl is seriously the most motivated and domestically handy friend I have! My contribution was 2 packs of spicy chips and a 1.5l bottle of water. Would love to pack a Da Paolo style picnic lunch but my energy level is bordering zilch in the morning.

Highlight of the day? Meeting the enormous labradoodle (Labrador + poodle) who stole everyone's heart as he frisked down the Palm Valley. He stole the limelight and totally deserved it! I couldn't resist going up to his owner to ask for a pic.

Nutella overload

Friday was a shitty day which explains (is an excuse for) my Nutella overload. Surfeit is probably a better word cos it killed my appetite for the rest of the day - in a good way. To be fair, I did not start out searching for anything Nutella since I've already had two Nutella cupakes in the past week.

To backtrack, Friday was one of those days where I had a court hearing in the morning which over ran into lunch, and I had another court hearing in the afternoon so that effectively meant that I had to hustle around and could only grab a takeaway. I decided to indulge in my favourite chocolate chip scone from Gastronomia Da Paolo and it was at that moment when I spotted the Nutella cake - a new creation from the awesome people at Da Paolo.

I had to get it even though it looks horribly sinful and to be perfectly honest, not very attractive in the plastic tub. But, just the word 'Nutella' makes my heart skip a beat. I simply cannot resist anything Nutella. Maybe my love affair with Italy has something to do with knowing that some Italian dude created this hazelnut spread.

Here's a blur picture of the cake. I only remembered to snap a pic after taking a couple of mouths. I suspect half a bottle of Nutella goes into every piece of cake - that's 3 thick gooey layers of Nutella for you!

Currently...

Rediscovering the lyrical beauty of books by Japanese authors. I'm reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and it's as intriguing as promised by a friend and an intern.

Also reading Madeleine L'Engle's A Live Coal in the Sea. Another gripping and illuminating book but I'm partial when it comes to her books and might not be the best judge. I'm trying to savour the book as slowly as I can as this is the last fiction book of hers which I have not read.

Read the controversial The Shack by William P. Young about a man rediscovering his faith. Can't decide whether the whole lot of it makes sense or not.

I find that blogging is a way of keeping notes for my project life scrapbook album which I'm still trying to keep up. Not that my daily life is very eventful but I find myself 3 months behind (hence the blog entries are useful to remind me what I did 3 months ago). Here's a layout (lifted from KP) which I did sometime back when inspiration struck.

Happy Mother's Day

I really love how irreverently quirky Google is. 

You can guess how much time I spent "creating" these masterpieces.

10 reasons why The Great Gatsby cannot come soon enough

1. There's Leonardo DiCaprio (one and only)
2. There's Carey Mulligan (new crush!)
3. It's directed by Baz Luhrmann (R+J)
4. Soundtrack by Florence + The Machines, Lana Del Ray, Jay-Z etc (simply nuts)
5. 1920s decadence (need I say more?)
6. 1920s flapper dresses
7. Bejewelled headpieces 
8. Tiffany's designing the jewellery
9. Miuccia Prada's designing the outfits
10. An adaptation of a F. Scott Fitzgerald classic

Heard that an NYC premiere had a Great Gatsby themed afterparty. This Kate Spade clutch would literally be the perfect accessory.

How cute can this get!

Coveting

A simple dinner bag - this Vera clutch would match the classic Vera shoes perfectly.

I'm a sucker for collaborations and this Levis and Liberty collection is totally swoon-worthy. A causal dress in Levis demin x Liberty prints - ♥