Bienvenue à Paris 2.0,

Photolog. 

Paris never ceases to seduce, or so I have been told. It's my second time in Paris. The streets, the Parisian bistros claiming to serve modest meals, the cathedral architecture, the overly friendly buskers, the not so friendly waiters, and the dusty metro chairs ring a slightest bit of the bell. Faint, but definitely memorable - especially one in 1997 where my family and I had to seek cover in a boulangerie during a heavy hailstorm. Heavenly smells of freshly baked bread and falling ice from the sky, what better way to make the day of a little girl who lives near the equator.

The charm of the city isn't the romantic aura you're psyched to believe (there you go, a jibe about the hype) but there's a certain unspeakable charm about the place that draws you in - perhaps it's in the bohemian vibe of Montmartre or the friendliness of French passerbys entertaining to every request of my 'Excusez-moi, est-ce que vous savez où est....' It makes you feel alive. Understanding doses of French really helped with getting around, or so I like to believe that my hours invested in French classes did conjure up to something useful hahaha. Another gem about Paris is the abundant flea markets, seemingly overrated but you can get quite good bargains and hunts if you spend half a day looking through the little bins. R and I spent an hour sieving through old postcards and black/white photographs, what a treat! Having bread at every meal was also a delight in its own, as I'm a huge fan of fresh bread.

Decadence: while we couldn't afford to march down Avenue des Champs-Élysées laden shopping bags, we did indulge in simple(r) luxuries of life like walking along la Seine, falling in love with my first bite of Ladurée, red wine and giving thanks for even being in Paris! Or just having warmth when the icy cold wind blows....or staring at the oddly shaped trees at their parks. Sur[reality] at it's best.  

My only regret was not staying long enough to soak in more of the city, and not getting my hands on an amateur (and preferrably old and dusty) French novel. Post travel note: Got one on my third trip back ♥

Au revoir Paris, je ne vais pas manquer votre métro malodorante.

(Read: Good bye Paris, I will not miss your smelly subway stations)

Side note: Do try Le Roi du Pot au Feu located at 34 Rue Vignon, 75008 Paris, France, they serve a mean French stew. Coupled with fresh bread and red wine, you're in gastronomical heaven♥ 

DIY Sparkle heels,

With the escapades of Winter and Spring frozen as memories, and me being back home on the sunny island of Singapore - I'm more than pleased to fall back into the reverie of DIY craft ♥ These dusty court shoes have been idling in my cupboard for quite a while, hence the sudden thought to jazz it up a little. What more beautiful a transformation from a dull pair of formals to a sparkle of silver to your plain outfit?

For this, I used my old pair of court shoes which has been faithfully serving me during my labourious council duties and office stints. Coupled with a few other materials from Art Friend (favourite store of all time!) such as Mod Podge (seriously useful, you might want to purchase a bigger bottle as an investment), an old brush, sparkly glitter any colour of your choice and Hi-shine glaze. It gets quite messy so do line the table with some rough papers, once you're done let the glittering begin!

1. Line an old plastic tub with aluminium foil, and mix the Mod Podge and glitter in the proportions of 2:3. If you wish, you may add more glitter to thicken the mixture but this was what I did after experimenting with it :)

2. Ensure that your shoes are clean and dry - and begin to adorn the surface of the shoes (you might want to use gloves if you're afraid of being messy, I love the messy craft feel though!)

3. Allow it to dry for an hour or less, and coat it with a second layer. This helps to strengthen the coat and cover the gaps you missed the first time. If you wish, you may coat it a third time.

4. Allow the shoes to dry for an extended period of time, e.g. 1-2 days and spray it with the Hi-shine glaze to hold the glitter coat together and ensure that the shine doesn't fade! You might want to do this outdoors because of the glaze fumes. Dry it for an hour and viola, you're done! Perfect for dinner dates with a black sleek dress ♥ 

Update: took a picture with my outfit, whilst playing with Mirrorgram!

Ciao!

God save the Queen,

19 January 2013

The days are getting colder, for we are approaching the midst of Winter. It hasn't started to snow yet, much to my dismay - but it's freezing and I can feel it down in my bones. Got in touch with a Hongkong girl before I came to England, and we decided to meet up at Buckingham palace - she's really sweet and demure. Half past noon, we're standing in front of the gates barely knowing each other - but it's cold and we clicked immediately in a common goal for warmth. A nearby tea kiosk saves the day and rekindles my faith in surviving winter! Armed with my tea, we walk on in awe of the majestic palace and the slow-dying trees around. I feel every part of my body inching towards any glimpse of a sun ray.

It was a pleasure meeting you Manyi throughout my stay in London ♥ Please take me to the best dimsum places in Hongkong if I do ever come visit hehehe ^^

Mounting lions,

9 January 2013

Settling in didn't take much time - friends avisiting, pub grub taking over the simple ole Asian fare, laughing at the occasional horse poop near Horse guards parade and gallivanting amongst the lions of Trafalgar. Standing as tall as lions, as the winter unfolds - bring it on mother nature show me whatcha got. Post-note to self after 6 months: Brr, mother nature is not to be messed with.

Borough delights,

My wise friends often advise me to travel out of London as much as possible - posing as an excellent springboard to Europe. As much as I agreed with that, after my humble share of travelling during the first few months, I realized that the true beauty of London could only be experienced by living there like a true Londoner. Newspaper strewn neatly on the tube (sorely tempted to place a picture of the tube but I won't), friendly grocers, overly friendly Portuguese guys watching soccer at a nearby cafe or even that deranged woman at the back of the bus stabbing a chicken. There's certainly an unpredictable charm about the city that I would love to go back to one day ♥

 One of the many places which I returned to countless times during my stay there was Borough market, you can't go wrong treating those gastronomical taste buds of yours! Needless to say, I've been having huge cravings since I left because Singapore doesn't really have much food markets like such.

Good food to look out for: Banoffee pie, an English dessert pie with cream, bananas and caramel (sells out pretty fast in the day). The duck confit burger station has entertaining vendors who were ever ready for a picture when I whipped out my camera, love their burgers and their crispy bits within the meat. Another favourite of mine is the pulled pork burger, in which the meat is slow cooked for hours and full of flavour when served. R swears by the raclette...., unfortunately I'm not really a fan of the dish but it's an amazing dish if you adore cheese. A creature of habit especially when it comes to eating, I didn't dive into the oysters even though they are clearly quite famous amongst my friends - but these ones are fresh and the tobasco/lemon/onion dips by the side are starting to make me change my mind about oysters (to R's delight of course!) Other treats to look out for that were quite popular when bringing my friends around: owl biscuits, home grown tea flavours, exotic meat burgers (think kangaroo, camel, ostrich or crocodile meat), mulled wine and mushroom pâté. Stay away from the cold croissants, paella by the church steps and the Bristol chicken pies, they weren't worth the stomach capacity the last time I tried ^^

It's always such a joy to roam around food markets, have fun exploring - ciao!