Journal: 3rd July 2013

Notice how I’ve skipped quite a lot of dates? Well that’s because in between my last journal post and this one, I went on a holiday to Paris/London. There may or may not have been too many photos, and obviously as you already know, I’m an incredibly lazy person so I’ll sort through the photos at a later time and make a post then. In the mean time, let’s pretend I’m back from my holiday, and I’ve already packed up my whole entire house in boxes and I’m currently living in the Kerry Hotel.

I pretty much spent my last week in Shanghai with friends and wandering around Shanghai like a stereotypical tourist, sorta like a staycation. Anyways, I was supposed to get a haircut at Hyatt on the Bund but my hair stylist wasn’t there so I decided since I was in the area, might as well I go take some photos around the area. Yes, I do have hair stylist trust issues, but that’s a story for another time.

I started of on Nan Xun Road (南浔路) and kinda just walked around the area.

I love taking pictures of people’s laundry, it’s too much fun. Sometimes I feel like I’m invading their privacy, especially if it’s underwear/bras but you know, it is hung outside for the world to see so why not. And hung laundry is such an interesting topic to photograph; a plethora of photographic opportunities.

Yaaaay more laundry pictures!

These are one of my favourite photos of all time. Maybe it’s because the iconic pearl tower is entwined with the olden Shanghai and the new modern Shanghai; maybe because the very essence of Shanghai is embodied in this picture; maybe because I just love it. I don’t know, I think it may be because you generally don’t see the Pearl Tower from this perspective, or at least very rarely, thus looking at it from this perspective brings the whole thing to another level.

I’d do nearly anything and everything to be back in Shanghai right now, to be a tourist in my own city again. I want to walk the little alleys and streets, smiling at strangers while I’m creepily taking photographs of their lives. Shanghai streets gorgonize (hehehe I just learnt this word today. It means to have a paralysing or mesmerising effect) your camera so immensely that shutterbugs will willingly spend forever getting lost in this city.

Hehehe and here I present to you meatsticks man! Actually, this isn’t measticks man, this is.

His name is Boss, or at least that’s what he named himself. Boss makes the best meatsticks and veggie meatsicks in Shanghai. I’m biased though, because he’s only 5 minutes away from where I used to live. He’s become a mandatory late night snack, which may also be because there’s a Lawsons right opposite him so people have easy access to alcoholic drinks.

Since I was near the bund area, there were multiple couples taking wedding photos! Chinese brides very nearly ALWAYS wear red, and their dresses always have some elaborate design that occasionally makes it over the top and funny. Just personally, how much better would the dress be without that furry thing? They also always do these hilarious poses that are so cliched and stereotypical chinese.

Most symbolic and iconic view of Shanghai ❤ ❤ ❤  My city, my home. Thank you for the past 13 years.

Hehehe that night for dinner, my dad and I decided to go to Jean Georges, this Michelin Star french restaurant on Three on the Bund. Except I was dress extremely casual but you know, casual attire never stopped anyone from enjoying find food. In fact, it may make the whole dining experience better as you’re generally more comfortable in what you’re wearing.

“The discerning cuisine at Jean Georges Shanghai features a mix of the finest natural ingredients blended together in unique and surprising ways that light up the eyes and the taste buds. Under Jean George’s gifted direction, Executive Chef Lam Ming Kin transforms classic French dishes through the use of bold, Asian-inflected seasonings and unexpected flavor combinations. Fresh vegetable juices and aromatic herbal infusions act as natural flavor enhancers that create depth and complexity without the heaviness of traditional cream or meat-based sauces. Bringing bright modern flavors to traditional cooking techniques reflects the core of their culinary philosophy. It draws the basic essence and nuanced flavors of quality ingredients to the fore and allows them to truly shine.”

Sorry for the terrible photos – it’s exceptionally hard to take pictures of food when the restaurant is basically pitch black as you have to resort to using flash, and flash never looked pretty on food. I always wonder why classy restaurants are generally so dark. I mean it’s not like their food presentation is ugly so they want to use the darkness as a cloak. Silly people.

The bread was delightfully scrumptious. Warm and fluffy bread that’s semi hard on the outside? My favourite kind of bread. I’d take it anyday anytime. Sometimes I wish I can go to restaurants and just eat the bread and leave, it’s all I ask for in life.

If memory serves me correctly, this is the foei gras with pineapple ‘sauce’. Yea I know, when I first looked at the menu I was a little taken back – pineapple and foei gras? What? What’s going on in the world? Funnily enough, it tasted amazeballs. The sourness of the pineapple mixes harmoniously with the saltiness of the foei gras. Nomnomnomnomnom

For the main course I ordered the salmon with sautéed spinach, black olives and passionfruit sauce! Except I gave all my olives to my dad because ewwww olives, not a fan.  Once again, passion fruit and salmon and spinach? Who would have thought. There’s a reason why this is a Michelin star restaurant. Probably why.

What meal would be complete without dessert? Wouldn’t even be a meal if there was no dessert to indulge in, or at least that’s my life motto. This is chocolate lava cake-ish with vanilla ice cream! Probably the fourth best chocolate lava cake I’ve had. First is at Capo  second at whisk, third at ps. cafe which leaves this fourth. I take my chocolate desserts very seriously. Except WHY WAS THIS DESSERT SERVED ON A PLATE?!?!? Do you know how difficult it is to eat ice cream and lava cake from a plate? Practically impossible. Only thing stopping me from licking the plate was  the classy ambience.

Aaaand that’s a wrap for the day!

I hope you’re having a good day today!

Jin x

Question of the Day: What’s your favourite city?

Journal: 14th June 2013

Awks this is more than one month late but better late than never right. After the Koh Samui trip, I suffered withdrawal symptoms. Hard. Are you trying to tell me I couldn’t wake up to the view of Koh Samui and the infinity pool anymore? What? No fruit platter already prepared for breakfast? No decently sweet and prices mangos in Shanghai either. Nope this bed definitely isn’t as big or as fluffy. Where are my friends. Where’s the sun and blue skies?

Obviously to cope with these desperately depressing withdrawal symptoms, we decided to go for thai food at the Simply Thai nearby (plus I had a 50% voucher so it was only mandatory we went). We looked at the menu and we gawked at the prices. I mean after the amazingly cheap food in Koh Samui, anything above 20RMB seemed ridiculous and not worth it. Thank goodness for vouchers.

Pad Thai! No Pad Thai can ever beat road side Pad Thai. No price can ever be cheaper either. It wasn’t scrumptious, but it was edible.

Because we had the voucher, we decided to order some platters so everyone could share. Who doesn’t like platters? You get to taste everything. There were spring rolls, samosas, fish cakes (favourite), and these shrimp-pineapple-peanutball thing. I know it sounds really weird, but I actually really enjoyed the shrimp-pinapple-peanutball. You wouldn’t think the flavours work well together, but surprisingly they do. The sourness of the pineapple is offset by the sweetness of the peanut ball, and the shrimp adds some freshness to the whole thing. I had about 8.

The lemongrass flavour in the ribs was beautiful. The meat-bone ratio? Not so much. I don’t like putting in so much effort to try and take the meat only to find more than half of it is bone. I like my meat.

To this day, we still have no idea who ordered this green vegetable curry. It just turned up on our table and left there, until someone realised it’s existence. Everyone’s just like YAAAAY FREE FOOOD! Until it turned up on our bill. Awks. It’s a little like sayur lodeh, but I’m a bigger fan of sayur lodeh.

Duck fried rice with pineapples and cashews. I love it when fried rice comes with pineapples and cashew nuts (I should keep this in mind next time I’m making some fried rice). Minus the semi-oiliness of this fried rice, I really enjoyed it.

Satay! Didn’t particularily enjoy this because in my head, nothing can beat Satay Club’s satay in Singapore. Singapore satay trumps all, especially the peanut sauce. When it comes to a peanut sauce, I love mine chunky and thick. Don’t give me the runny ones – they don’t even stick on to the satay. However, the grilled mushrooms and tomatos were reaaaally good. Hard to go wrong with grilled vegetables.

Seafood Tom Yum Kong is probably one of my favourite soups of all time. Hello? Seafood and spicy soup? Automatic winner in my book. The ones from Simply Thai are really generous with the mushrooms, but not too generous with their seafood. Ehhh perks of living in Shanghai.

Koh Samui gang minus the two that didn’t want to come and the ones who couldn’t wake up on time. 10 year reunion?

I hope you guys are enjoying your weekend!

Jin x

Question of the Day: What’s your favourite Thai dish?

Wednesday Wishlist: 17th July 2013

Here’s to all the items I currently crave yet don’t actually need, until I manage to convince myself that I do actually need them. I can be pretty convincing if need be.

Disposable Camera by Urban Outfitters

These aren’t no normal film cameras yo (please excuse that). These are the c00l k1d versions of film cameras (who would have thought film cameras could have gotten any cooler). Basically, these film cameras by Urban Outfitters are film cameras that come pre-edited in a way. As you can see from the picture son the right, the film already comes designed with words/pictures/anything really. Thus when you print the photo, it’s almost as if you printed them post photoshop. Am I making any sense? I don’t really know how to explain this. Okay e.g. for the Remember this version, on the bottom right, it says NO REGRETS on the picture. The no regrets word is fixed there, thus the background picture is just the picture you take. Does this make better sense…? I hope so. But how sick would these be, especially the birthday ones. These cameras are great for a night out because if you lose them well… they aren’t exactly ridiculously expensive in comparison to let’s say DSLR’s or even digital cameras. Count me in.

Needle & Thread Solstice Mini Dress by ASOS

To be fair, I probably won’t even wear this dress very often – it’s one of those dresses where you can probably once wear it a few times because it’s so bright and loud that it’ll definitely be remembered. Also, how many occasions are you going to attend in which you’re going to be wearing a full on sequined mini dress? But you know, apart from the ridiculous 400SGD+ price tag, it’s actually a beautiful dress. Something about the tribal-y yet darth vader-y symmetrical print makes it so unusual and perfect.

Hand-Embroidered Mali Rug by Anthropologie

How stunning and exquisite is this rug? I love how it’s circle shaped instead of the typical square/rectangular shaped rugs you find, which makes it just that little bit more interesting. I definitely need this in my new room. Somehow the stripes of different prints just mix so well with each other, almost as if it was meant to be.

Louise Saxton – Ellis’ Paradise 2011, after Ellis Rowan 1917

This intricate and divine artwork is by Melbourne artist Louise Saxton. This particular peice is made by reclaimed needlework, lace pins and nylon tulle and is 142 x 99cm in size. Any homeowner will be lucky to hang this anywhere in their home. With the vibrant  and dynamic colours, mixed in with the elaborate and ornate needlework… Words fail me right now. I can’t even begin to describe how much I love this piece.

Go Get ‘Em Tiger Card by Rifle Paper Co

HOW ADORABLE IS THIS TIGER? If anyone gave me this card I’d put it on my bedside table and wake up to it every morning. All I need for my morning motivation dose.

Mini Pineapple Underwire Top by JCrew

Hehehe mini pineapples. You know the brief period where people were obsessed with pineapples (or at least it seemed like it from my Tumblr dash)? Yea, I never really understood that. But how cute are these little pineapples. Bonus that this bikini is an underwire top – my ultimate favourite kind of bikinis.

YOU’RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE WEEKDAYS! It’s nearly Friday (:

Jin x

Question of the Day: What’s on your current wishlist?

Musings from Storiesaregoodmedicine

I came across this article today which discussed the debate on professionalism and ‘ethnic dressing’, and it sparked off this inner-debate in my head. How come in the corporate business world (or at least the corporate business world I know), I rarely see any forms of ethnic dressing? Why? Why is it that some people think they have to give up their ethnic ways of dressing to ‘fit’ in with the stereotypical corporate dressing? Or even worse, why are some people barred from wearing their ethnic dressing in the workplace? Should we not be celebrating the diversity each culture has to offer the world?

Here’s a few bits that really resonated with me

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Suit or Sari? On Professionalism and ‘Ethnic’ Dressing

by Sayantani

 She urged us conference participants to be assertive, not aggressive, in our speech, to think about standing and sitting with confidence, to avoid lilting upward at the end of our sentences, to resist being cut off by others while we’re speaking.

All of this made a lot of sense to me. I know that women are often taught to defer to others in conversation (“no, no, you go ahead”), that we may unconsciously adopt physical postures of passivity or childishness (the cocked head, the crossed leg stance while standing), that we may sound as if we’re apologizing, for even our names (“my name is Sayantani??”).

And yet, when the lecture got to the issue of dressing for presentation success, I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable.

“Don’t wear skirts that are too short,” she said, “And — man or woman,  if you’re planning on crossing your leg at the ankle (a gesture men often do), please wear calf-high socks. There’s nothing as distracting as a hairy leg – female or male.”

Ok, no hairy crossed legs, check. Seemed simple and logical enough.

“Don’t wear patterns, scarves, obvious jewelery or dangling earrings — they distract from your face and your message,” she urged.

Ok, I guess I could see that, I thought, thinking dubiously of the patterned scarf I was wearing, as well as the embroidered Indian top, the gold paisley shaped earrings – also from India.

“Don’t wear patterned clothing – I stick mostly to black, and perhaps one solid color to pop,” the lecturer added. She was wearing black pants and a red blazer.

That was the advice that continued to bother me. After all, just the night before, at the conference’s formal gala, I was among one of few women in ethnic dress (a salwaar kameese, dupatta, and fancy jacket), and got nothing but compliments. It’s a deliberate gesture of ethnic pride I often make at formal occassions, but it’s also a practical one – my nicest and most dressy clothes are usually Indian clothes.

Over the next few days, I began to wonder –  do such pieces of advice eliminate personal style – either regarding speaking or dressing? Do they mandate an appearance of ethnic homogeneity? I mean, did Aung Sung Suu Kyyi or Winnie Mandela or Indira Gandhi (all powerful global women leaders and speakers) avoid patterns and jewels? In this rapidly shrinking global world, was it possible for all women to dress alike anyway?

Might a woman wearing a sari at a podium get a different reception than a woman wearing a dark suit? Perhaps. I guess it depends if the podium is in New York or Topeka, Washington or New Dilli. But isn’t that difference in reception one worth challenging and interrogating?

I guess my point is – ethnic dressing, like standing straight, meeting people in the eye when I talk, and not apologizing for my point of view, is actually a form of assertive communication on my part. It’s a personal choice – just as any other woman’s style of professional presentation is her personal choice.

And honestly, even if  if I dress like Hillary Clinton or Madeline Albright, no one’s going to be mistaking me for them any time soon. If people are prejudiced against me for dressing ethnically, will they be any less so if I put my brown skin and Indian face in Western clothing? I hazard an assertive no.

Like the question mark I keep trying to keep off the end of my sentences, I don’t want to apologize for looking, and sounding, like exactly who I am.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m going off track a little, but I think the Indian ethnic dressing is absolutely beautiful. The mix of the golden bangles that make that whimsical sound when they your hand sways, the way the sari flows and swings with ever step you take, the endless henna decorations trailing your hand makes everything seem picture perfect.

I don’t have any form of ethnic dress so I can’t really say for individuals who do wear their ethnic wear on a daily basis, but I hope to see more individuals wear their ethnic wear to the workplace. Like Savantani rightly said – would people look at you any differently if you dress in a suit?

And the bit about not wearing patterns, over-the-top jewelry, scarves, dangly earrings… WHAT. That’s outrageous. I understand the corporate workplace dressing attire isn’t as ‘daring’ as  let’s say, the fashion industry and magazines (or at least stereotypically it isn’t), but I don’t believe we should let these social ‘restrictions’ limit our style. I understand we shouldn’t wear ostentatious jewelry that makes us look like a gold mine, but what’s wrong with dangly earrings if they’re simple and understated? Also, what’s wrong with scarves? It’s always cold in office buildings so you know, if it’s cold, I’m going to be wearing my scarf thank you very much. And no patterns and only solid colours? Hah yea no, that’s not going to happen. I’m not going to go and wear some disco printed top, but I’m going to wear patterns. I like my patterns mixed in with my solid colours.

At the end of the day, there will definitely be limits to what one wears at a workplace, especially for females. It’s easier for men – suit/tie/pants/jacket/shoes, but for girls there’s just so many other options that it makes the boundaries a little hazier and equivocal.

But you know, I for one wouldn’t mind seeing more ethnic dressing in the workplace.

Hope you’re having a good Monday!

Jin x

Question of the Day: What do you think of this topic?

Journal: Post Prom Activities

Hehehe I talked about the graduation/prom, but I never really talked about the shennanigans we got up to after. Well, here it is. Since the prom was at Ritz-Carlton, Maggi’s parents got us a room there! A ROOM! Okay technically speaking we paid for the room, but her parents got us a sweet deal, and since her dad is some VIP member, we also go a free upgrade hehehe. Which means that for a SUITE in the Ritz-Carlton that overlooked the bund (meaning you wake up in the morning to the Pearl Tower), only cost us 1000RMB. Parent perks.

As aforementioned, we had a limo (Thank you Maggi’s parents!) Basically after prom, we all went up to the bedroom to get changed to flood Perry’s Cafe full of Dulwich’s post-prom happenings. Then we come downstairs to see this limo waiting for us… No one complained.

There was this little embarassing moment when after we got out of the limo, we realised the limo’s windows were see-through……. Awkward. We didn’t get up to any crazy/wild activities in the limo but still. Hint to anyone – make sure your limo is fully tinted before you start whipping your head back and forth.

Now, about this Perry’s Cafe. Don’t let the ‘cafe’ full you into thinking it’s all about bookworms sitting in the sun while sipping on their exotic lattes. Perry’s is more of a bar mixed in with a cafe mixed in with a pub mixed in with a bit of everything really. Everything in Perry’s is written on – the walls, the menus, the lights, everything. Every available surface is marked by someone’s memories.

I absolutely love them though; the act of leaving your mark in a place you’ve been, mixed in with all the other strangers you met that night just seems so befitting.

So we get to Perry’s, and all we could see were our ‘alumni/fellow graduates’ swarming the place like infested bugs. Literally, the whole place was filled with our year (waheeeey last bonding session!) We got there a little later though, and most people were already drunk out of their minds. As I always remain sober (maybe I’ll talk about this at a later date), I love drunk people even more. They never fail to crack me up with anything that comes out from their mouths, and also because they generally make fools of themselves hehehehe.

We pretty much just spent the night drinking (well they were drinking), smoking shisha (they were smoking shisha), PLAYING KINGS, dancing on the chairs/tables, and other shennanigans. Best night that’s unequaled by anything.

Did I also mention I love being sober because it means I can take hilarious photos of the not-so-sober people? Welcome to exhibit A. Oh I love my friends.

Exhibit B. Notice the picture on the left. It was extremely awkward to watch, yet at the same time immensely comical. Zoe (the girl on top of Celin) was very into what she was doing that it was even awkward to watch…. Yea no, I’m not going to elaborate anymore, I think I’ve done enough. The picture on the right is where we’re all standing on top of the tables and struggling hard not to fall.

Exhibit to the shisha activities. Doesn’t Nic (left) look like the ultimate hipster-office-desk-job worker.

Favourite people ❤

Of course the night warranted a mandatory 3am Maccers run. French fries and burgers at 3 in the morning? Never has there been a more suitable timing for Maccers.

We get back to the hotel and we didn’t really sleep till 5+ in the morning due to various different reasons. Let’s just say puking and crying were involved with some individuals, while other individuals just wanted to fall asleep (guess which category I belonged in).

But you know, other than that, and the lack of sleep the next morning, the night was second to none. Take me back?

Enjoy the last day of your weekend!

Jin x

Friday Finds: 12th July 2013

Yes, I realised today is Saturday. But how about let’s just pretend it’s Friday today so I can post my Friday Finds? Thank you

1. Lasagna grilled cheese

Just take a deeeep breath and look at how beautiful this grilled cheese looks. It is recipes like this that makes me excited to do grocery shopping in University and cook everything on my own. Seriously though, lasagna and grilled cheese combined… a definite match made in heaven.

2. 25 sign’s your addicted to books

It’s the most accurate buzzfeed post I think I’ve ever come across. I can fully vouch that the signs are accurate, especially the one about how the book is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS better. I have yet to come across a book which has a better movie. Movie’s ALWAYS fail the book, or at least in the ones I’ve watched.

3. Scrapbooking! 

These scrapbook are from Project Life, which is this hybrid between scrapbooking-photo album, which sounds perfect to me. Sometimes I wish I was more creative and actually scrapbooked and there are times where I’m tempted to buy the supplies but I don’t know, I just never did. Although I have a feeling Project Life will get me to, since it’s not 100% scrapbooking and is basically a photoalbum, with that weee bit of decoration. Perfect.

4. Shelly Floral Cut Out Skater Dress

I’m loving this dress from Misguided. The subtle side cutout is enough of a cut out for me (I was never one to bare much midriff skin), while the print just makes the whole dress adorable. OH did I mention it’s a skater dress too? OH and it’s ‘only’ 20pounds. I’d say that’s a relatively decent price. Although who knows, if I try this dress on, maybe I’d look like a Chinese porcelain bowl.

5. Soft and chewy smores cookies

If the picture and the name doesn’t get your attention, then I don’t know what else can get your attention. Maybe it’ll help if I write it in shouty capitals. SOFT and CHEWY SMORES COOKIES. SMORES. SMORES. SMORES. SMORES. Do I have your attention now? I can’t wait to bake these bad boys once I get my oven in the new house!

6. Aj Fosik

Check out these tribal inspired wooden sculptures by Aj Fosik! I’m still deciding whether I’d hang them in my room/house though. I mean on one hand, the rich vibrant colours are just too beautiful to ignore, but on the other hand, I’ll be terrified of them in the dark. I I guess it’s the eccentric blend of beautiful and monsters that make these sculptures so majestic.

7. Pesto Chicken Salad

If you don’t know me, pesto is one of my favourite things in the whole wide world. I’ve come up with so many sandwich combinations involving pesto it actually gets a little weird sometimes. (Quick tip: pesto goes great with apple and cheese in a sandwich. Please, just try it). I’ve actually converted a few people into pesto lovers. This guy I know actually wrote in my yearbook “Thank you for revolutionising my sandwiches.” See what I mean? ANYWAYS, i’m getting off topic. How epic does this sandwich look? And it’s relatively easy to make, so bonus points for that.

8. I’m having a love affair with New York City

I would buy this pouch in a heartbeat; wouldn’t even think about it. Actually I lie, it depends on the price. Yea no, this cost 20SGD. Sorry, as much as I love New York City, I’m not spending 20bucks on a pouch. Still, if anyone wants to buy me a superduper early birthday present, or just make my day. Or if you have 20SGD to spare you know.

Hehehe well that’s it for today. I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Jin x

Question of the day: What’s your favourite book/movie of all time?

Journal: Graduation & Prom 2013

I realised I talked about my grad trip, but I never really talked about what happened during graduation. Ooops? I mean I did dedicate an entire post about exams being over, that was filled with GIFs but you know apart from that, let’s talk about what actually happened during/post graduation.

Okay where do I begin. My last exam was on the 21st of May, and the graduation/formal day was on the 23rd May. In the morning, we had a ridiculously boring practice graduation ceremony. You know, the usual this-is-where-your-seat-is, and other increasingly boring things like this-is-how-you-shake-hands because you know, we didn’t know how to shake hands or anything. Except that went on forever.

Our actual graduation ceremony was in the afternoon at 4pm. More than a few tears were shed. It was an incredibly emotional moment where we had to stand facing the teachers and parents, and you look at all the familiar faces around you, knowing this may be the last time you see them. Then you look at the faces of your teachers, and your heart swells with gratitude and love for these individuals who have helped you (although to be fair some didn’t really help at all but ehhh still nice to say thank you). All the students were just looking at each other, not really knowing what to do, yet you could tell in our eyes that while we were filled with joy to be finally graduating, none of us wanted to bid our goodbyes just yet.

Can I just say how uncomfortable these hats are? Seriously. They make your head all itchy and hot but you can’t take it off and it’s just terrible. Also, no one looks good in them. Kudos to everyone out there who actually manages to pull these hates off, or look half decent.

Look at how cheerful and carefree we look after we threw our hats up in the air. YAY NO MORE HATS. Oh and of course YAY FINALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL. I have my priorities straight…. I promise. Everyone just looks so ecstatic and joyous.

Don’t we look adorable and unspastic. There’s a reason they’re my best friends. I don’t think I could ever be best friends with sane people, it just wouldn’t be as fun. Oh that’s Rachel and Celin (HI CELIN) and Saj in case anyone was wondering.

After that there was the typical let’s take photos with everyone in our gowns and hats moment, except we had to rush home to get ready for the prom because we only had an hour to get ready. I mean for me 1 hour was enough since I literally just had to shower and get into my dress. Makeup? What makeup. Hair? Yea I shampooed and conditioned it, might have even brushed it. That’s the extent of my hair routine. It’s a good day if I brush my hair

That day also marked the last time I’d ever wear the school tie. I’m not a big fan of ties but hey I’m a sentimental person. That tie will always hold a special place in my heart. To the future me that reads this 109238102984 down the road, I hope you still remember who these people are. IF you don’t (shame on you really), that’s Bryanna Hunt, you, Rachel Chan and Maggi Gao.

Also, check out that limo behind. It was ours (: But more on that later. I’m getting ahead of myself. Officially, the formal started at 7:30 but the actual doors only opened at 8:00, so we took advantage of the location to take some pre-prom photos. The prom was held at the Ritz Carlton in the IFC, and they have the greatest bar on top with the best view. You get a view of the bund and it’s just majestic and perfect. We went up there to take a few photos since we didn’t have enough time to actually go on the bund to take the stereotypiccal Shanghai pre-prom photos there.

What more can you want to have the iconic Pearl Tower behind you in your pictures? It’s all one needs really. Looking at these pictures just makes me nostalgic for the old times. Everyone looked beautiful (I mean they still do but… I hate tenses)

Also obviously Eric was my date.

Once again, just in case the future me is actually doesn’t remember any of these people (I promise I will not let that happen), that’s Eric Schlott, me, Nicolas Prieur, Celin Phoen and Avila Magee.

As you probably realise from the photos above, it was REALLY REALLY REALLY windy. It didn’t help that I had a large slit in my dress so needless to say, I’m pretty sure I had countless of Marilyn Monroe moments. Except I 103% wasn’t as graceful as she was, and neither did I look so elegant while having my skirt fly up. Awkward moments. Let’s just hope I didn’t flash anyone.

Then it was time for the actual formal! I don’t know why I sound so excited now because it really wasn’t an exciting formal. You would think in the Ritz Carlton the food would be delicous, but it was only mediocre at best. The only redeeming quality was the creme brulee, which I would have gladly eaten 38471230481732 plates.

We arrived a little before doors were scheduled to open so SURPISE SURPRISED we took more photos! That’s Charlotte Suen, me, Kangan Sehgal, Linton Wang, Kimberley Seet, Narissa Brennan and Celin Phoen.

Quick sidenote about Linton – greatest Vicotiran/Edwardian guy ever. I’m still confused which century he likes but I know it was one of them. There’s a reason he’s dressed like that. He comes to school in bowties and these ribbon things and he even custom made his own winter tail coat and he has a cane and words can’t even describe how brilliant it is. He’s known around school as the guy who wears ribbons.

Whenever people talk about him, it’s just like Linton? Who’s Linton. Then you all you have to say is THE GUY WHO WEARS RIBBONS AND TAILCOATS and they’re just like OOOOOH THAT GUY. Okay, back to the topic at hand.

Just for future me again: Eric Schlott, me, Kangan Sehgal, Matt Tayler, Rachel Chan, Omar Kanaan, Narissa Brennan, Hursh Gupta (OMG I JUST REALISED NISA AND HURSH ARE STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER hehehe), Sajanee Samules, Celin Phoen and Alex Strickland (Stricko).

I didn’t really take many photos because there wasn’t anything interesting to take… Average formal.

This is Ms. Rajput! She’s my psychology teacher, and one of the coolest teachers I know. I mean for starters check our her tattoos. How many teachers do you know have their entire arms covered in tattoos? She’s really loud and when she talks on facebook it’s as if she’s a 12 year old kid, and she’s really funny too. She’s actual ‘friends’ with her students.

This is Mr. Mao! He was my maths teacher and one of my favourite teacher. Even though sometimes he can be really moody and temperamental it’s scary and everyone in class is intimidated, he’s hilariously funny. He always makes these academic puns and these crude jokes. He’s also the one that said “in life, there’s only winners and participants”. Greatest insult if he called you a participant. It’s these little jokes that made HL maths that little bit more bearable.

In all honesty, HL maths classes were only not horrific because of the people in the class, so thank you to all of you guys who made maths class that much happier.

This is Mr. Clappeton! He was my form tutor for 2 years, and he also runs IA. So much to say about him. He’s the one that made me try snails because ‘the chilli sauce was so good that it would be a waste to not try it with snails’. He also made our class have a birthday cake schedule in which everyone had to bring in cake for someone else’s birthday. How can you not like a teacher who makes bringing in cake compulsory?

This is Hu Lao Shi! You can probably tell from her name that she’s my mandarin teacher. She always gave us cookies and candy when we got hungry in mandarin since mandarin classes were most normally before lunch time. She also let us watch Sun Wu Kong! She was a really funny teacher too (sometimes) and she loved joining in making fun of other students.

The way to my heart is honestly just food and comedy. I kid you not.

And here’s one last picture to make you smile, and to make you understand what I mean by I don’t make friends with normal people. I love you guys ❤

ITS FRIDAY TODAY! I hope you guys have a great weekend

Jin x

Question of the Day: What’s the way to your heart? Food? Books? Movies? Nerdy?

Journal: Koh Samui 2013

So I actually haven’t posted for ages, but you know, life has gotten in the way… blah blah blah. The typical life excuses that people manipulate to justify to themselves why they haven’t been blogging, even when they made themselves a promise. Anyways, I’m attempting to rectify the situation by blogging about it now (Goddamn I have more than 1 month to catch up on, and let’s just say it may have been the most eventful one month of my life). Better late than never right? (:

As on can evidently see, this post is going to be about Koh Samui.

Here’s a picture I took with my fisheye and I think XPro Film just to keep you interested while I wabble on for a bit about the trip. Okay? Okay. I’m glad you liked that photo. Basically, this Koh Samui trip was my grad trip. It took a looong looooong time to convince my parents to let me go. You’re probably wondering why right? I mean who would not want to let their kid go enjoy their graduation in a place like this? Silly them. Let me make a list for you (and for the future me)

1. My mum thought I would go engage in “group sex” and “drugs”. Her words, not mine. I promise
2. They didn’t think it was safe
3. They’re ‘asian’ like that. Yes, I know it’s stereotypical to use that as a reason, but if you have ‘stereotypical asian parents’ and you’re reading this, I can imagine you nodding your head in agreement going ahhhh yes. If you’re not… feel free to drop me a message and ask!
4. They didn’t like the male gender would be present too, although I argued having males around makes it safer
5. Why Koh Samui and not somewhere cheaper like Sanya or Malaysia?
6. You’re still too young to do this

Anyways, I managed to convince them to let me go by making a sick as presentation about all the details and information (My dad’s a very pragmatic guy like that) and my friends helped to convince them as well. So so so glad I was allowed to go. Very easily one of the best trips of a life time. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to go to somewhere like that again with a friends as amazing as them. I’m so thankful.

We left on the night on the 31st, taking the 9:30 flight to Bangkok (we had to transfer to KS from BKK). We landed in BKK at 1+ in the morning, except our flight from BKK to KS was at 6 in the morning so……. 5 hour layover! Yay! 5 hour layovers are always so enjoyable, especially when you have no where to sleep. We found a burger restaurant and ate for a bit, until the restaurant closed so we just found some empty space near the check in and attempted to sleep/play cards/play DOTS on the Iphone and just tried to fill time until we could check in. On a side note, please go download DOTS. It’s incredibly addicting though (but at least I warned you).

Here, let me upload another photo to keep you/myself from being bored. I only want to upload my fisheye’s though (and maybe a few polaroids) because I don’t necessarily want to upload my digital photos as some of them are a slight personal and I don’t want anyone to be offended by having their face on here since I haven’t really asked for their permission. ALSO I have too many digital photos and I ceeebs picking through them 😛 The number maybe in the thousands if you include everyone’s pictures. Yea yea, I know I’m lazy. I have no shame

Anyways, the trip was a perfect blend of relaxing + some activities + drinking for them (I don’t drink-ish) + going out till wee hours in the morning + eating + making lunches and dinners + free breakfasts.

GROCERY SHOPPING. I feel a paragraph is needed to dedicate my love for grocery shopping. I absolutely adore grocery shopping, and I don’t even know why. I think it stems from my love for food and fascination with cooking/baking, and it’s so much fun making your own food. Grocery shopping in Koh Samui was too much fun. Fruits there are so ridiculously cheap I felt like I was in seven heaven. 10 mangos for 160BHT. Yes, 160BHT. That’s about 30RMB/6SGD for 10 mangos, thai mangos may I add. Where on earth are you going to find prices like that and mangos that sweet? Breakfast was provided to us by the villa (I’ll talk more on that later) which mainly consisted of cereal and eggs and toast and bacon and a whole large platter of fruit, so you know, we had a balanced diet and whole. Freshly cut mangos every morning for breakfast is a page out of a fairytale. They even made us mango smoothies one day! For lunch we generally just had simple things like pasta/wraps/grilled sandwiches and for dinner we’d either go somewhere cheap and good to eat out like in hawker centers or buy some seafood and come home to grill it. Maybe I will have to post some digital pictures to explain all this.

Our villa was absolutely incredible. You know how you hear about times where something is so beautiful it takes your breath away? I know it’s cliched, but that’s what happened to me. The villa was slightly ostentatious in size, but who can complain. Perfect villa for a perfect holiday. Curious right? Here are some photos!

Wait, let me explain something first. There were 18 of us who went on this trip – Me/Eric/Celin/Flo/Avila/Lauren/Denis/Strickland were in 1 villa, and Maggi/Omar/Kangan/Rachel/Emma/Saj/Hursh/Olivier/Nisa/Caitlyn were in the other villa. The villas were one of top of the other so it was really easy to just shout across, although it was a bitch to walk between villas because there was no direct paths between the villas so you had to walk a big STEEEP bend on the main road. That’s why the villas might look similar, but different (reminds me of my IGCSE art exam theme). One villa was called Gran View and the other was called Grand Vista. They’re basically exactly the same, but one is mainly decorated in white and the other is mainly decorated in red. Another key difference is that in our villa (red villa), the kitchen is on the same floor as the pool, and the rooms are on the second floor but in the other villa, the rooms are on the same floor as the pool and the kitchen is on the second floor. Basically a reverse of the other villa. I need to stop talking, I’m terribly sorry.

This is our pool! Because it’s mandatory in a classy villa to have decorations in the pool you know, just because. You see the ledge? Thank goodness for the ledge. This pool was a few cm deeper than the other pool so I couldn’t really stand in it, even when I was tiptoeing. I know I’m short and everything but really? Not short people friendly at all. So I pretty much just sat on the ledge to tan/chill/read/any pool activity

It was so ridiculously difficult finding a villa for 18 people that satisfied everyone. I mean the location had to be decent, the price had to be not too expensive, enough space and what not so when we found these two villas we were beyond estactic. The picture above is my/our group’s villa! Perfect way to spend the day reading on the deck chairs in the sun while sipping on mango smoothies or in their case, any form of alcohol. Did I mention our fridge was jam packed with beer and other alcohol? Literally. All the guys would buy would be beer/bacon/beer/bacon/beer/bacon/beer/bacon/beer/bacon/beer/bacon. Except I don’t like neither so goddamn they took up my fruit space in the fridge.

I had a love/hate relationship with our villa. I loved it because it was on the top of Bohput hills, and we were pretty much the only people there. There was this other family but other than them, it was just helpers. It meant we could play our music as loudly as possible (within reason of course) and we didn’t have strangers looking over the fence to stalk our privacy (that’s what facebook is for). There were also speakers by the bar next to the pool so that made everything just that weee bit more fun. Since we’re on the top of the hill, the view was just absolutely incredible. you pretty much get to look over the whole of Koh Samui, which is even more magical when you’re watching the sunrise/sunset.

But with that being said, sometimes I hated it. It was impossible to walk up/down the hill because it was too steep and too far up (I mean it is possible but really? Walking up and down the hill when it’s steep? Exercise? Uh no thank you) so the guys decided  to rent motorbikes which made everything so much easier. It meant we could easily go to the supermarket at the bottom of the hill (the guys loved this since it mean they would never be short of alcohol) without paying the ridiculous 600BHT fee for the truck. It also gave us a sense of freedom in doing whatever we wanted without annoying the helpers. It was also semi far from the ‘club’ area, so it would take us a while to get there at night, or going to the beach. It did discourage us going to the beach a little because it was that tad bit further, but riding behind the motorbike is just too much find. Mind you, I only rode behind since my hand-eye-feet co-ordination skills are as good as goldfish and I would have most definitely crashed and possible died so behind it is. The rush of wind blowing through your hair…. Splendid.

The ledge at the side of the pool made it a perfect tanning spot, and a perfect lie down to read a book. I have a feeling I’ve said perfect too many times, but I’m really lazy to open up the Thesaurus.

In our villa, there were these two massage beds on the second floor that were in direct sunlight in the afternoon, so my best friend (Celin) and I decided to pull them out and tan while reading. There was a lot of tanning involved during the trip, and suffice to say I tanned quite a bit. I may have even slightly burned my shoulders/nose. Just maybe

I just wish I was back to waking up to the view every morning. When you’re standing at the top of the mountain in one of the most magnificent villas ever, it tends to feel surreal. You feel as if you’re living another life, where your previous life just magically vanishes and ceases to exist. You live in the moment, completely free from the constrains of society. You momentarily forget about all the shit that’s going on, seperating yourself from the bullshit rules society attempts to impose on individuals.

Multiple exposures are my absolute favourite

Just look at this. Just look at it. Just look at it. Need I say more? Someone please take me back here

Just a few more photos of my/our villa. Breathtakingly beautiful isn’t it? Okay let me find pictures of the other villa and link it here. Like I said, it’s pretty much the same villa. Except it was semi annoying because some people in each villa kept going OMG OUR VILLA IS BETTER or OMG WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE FUN. Seriously, does it even matter? Problems of travelling with too big of a group. Omg another problem that really annoyed me was the lack of group photos. Do you know how hard it is to try and get more than 4-5 people in a photo? If you don’t, let me tell you it’s ridiculously hard. Plus after you take the photo, everyone needs to be happy with it. “Ewww my eyes are closed” or “hehehe wasn’t looking” or “OMG MY HAIR WASNT READY”. Granted I fall into those excuses too but uuuugh I just wish we had more group photos, that’s all.

Yea yea, I know the film makes it look a little bit more contrasted than it actually is, but I promise the colours I saw in real life were pretty much like this. No kind of film or digital could ever do the scene justice. Trust me, I’ve tried

Just looking at these pictures is making me nostalgic. Although to be fair, who wouldn’t be nostalgic about this. Any mention of infinity pool just reminds me of our infinity pool. Nothing can ever trump this I think, but I guess I probably speak too soon.

There were a lot of ‘fights’ about who was on the floatie; I completely understand why the floatie was worth fighting for though. Who wouldn’t want to lie in a pool under the warm sun and take a nap?

There was also this other group from Dulwich that went to Koh Samui (Amy/Stella/Nathan/Tom/Tram/Will/Mario/Melnyk), and they stayed in this villa that’s owned by the same management company as ours. It was a lot smaller than ours, but it was still beautiful (except they didn’t have an infinity pool, but I really don’t want to seem like a spoilt rich kid who always has the infinity pool).

They were opposite to the other villa, except their pool was right next to the main road so it was slightly awkward sometimes when we drove by and could see them in their pool with their music blasting.

One on o the first few days, we went to this place called Fisherman’s Village which was literally right below our mountain/hill. It’s this street-ish place that’s right by the beach that’s full of touristy shops that sells the stereotypical I ❤ Koh Samui tank tops and other things, as well as a whole bunch of touristy restaurants right by the beach. The restaurants were all too pricey so being the cheap money savers we were, we found this cheap Indian/Thai place and had a scrumptious meal there. We mainly just walked around the place, shopped a little, and spent some time by the beach playing frisbee. Just a heads up, I’m notoriously bad at frisbee. People clap when I catch the frisbee; I’m not lying.

The number of tatto parlors I saw was actually incredible. I guess they want to give the drunken toursits enough options when they choose a tattoo in that spur of the drunken moment and probably regret it the next morning.

I love how the streets of Koh Samui were a mix of modern and old, in a sense that the rustic charm was still there yet it was bustling with modern elements to it. I know for certain I’d rather walk in streets like this, rather than some ‘mainstream’ street of other cities where each building and shop look the same. There’s something about having the old charm to the buildings that give them this alluring essence.

Mojito stores all around! Score for me. Mojitos are one of the few alcoholic drinks I actually drink/like so no complains there. Probably because they’re fruity and they generally aren’t very strong and yeaaa I like me ‘girl’ drinks. Also, they were ridiculously cheap. 60BHT for a mango mojito? Count me in, in a heartbeat. That’s 12RMB, or 2.4SGD… (That’s all the currency conversions I know, but I think it’s around 2USD or less)

Say an upside down hi to my best friend Kangan! I asked her if I could put this picture up and she agreed so I’m not infringing on anyone’s privacy or anything. Also I told her the url of this blog… there goes only strangers knowing about this.

Even though the shopping was aiiight (did anyone say multiple beach tanks and harem pants and hobo bags?) and the food was delicous (Indian and Thai on the table? The restaurant sure knows how to attract customers), the beach was actually pretty terrible. The sand was the stoney-sand kind,so it physically hurt when you walked on it. There was only this mini strip near the water that was the soft powdery sand so ehhh for Koh Samui beaches. But I guess they always say it doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you’re with the people you love.

So this other beach is called Chaweng Beach. In Koh Samui, Chaweng is where all the night clubs/bars/ladyboy shows/strip clubs are, so it’s no surprised that around that area there are also an abundant of restaurants and street side stalls and shopping. The shopping there is really similar to the concept of the fake market at the Science Tech in Shanghai, I even saw a few stalls that sold the typical Hollister/American Eagle/Abercrombie look-a-likes. Hehehe of course we did shopping, how could we not. It was mainly just bikinis for 250BHT each, beach/muscle tanks for 150-200BHT each, harem pants for 250BHT and a whole bunch of other thailand-y things.

As pretty as these deck chairs are, I’m not going to pay money to lie on them. Perfectly content with lying on a towel on the beach. But you know, if I had the money to spare, why not? Deck chair just means less sand over awkward parts of your body.

Of course we played frisbee again! But this time we had this mini American Football ball so we played that too. It was really awkward when we played piggy in the middle and this random stranger asked me to throw to him and I did. Except I missed. Awkward. Told you I was terrible at sports.

We also get henna’s done at the beach! It was pretty sick. All over the beach they have people walking around selling things like bracelets, bikinis, ice cream, drinks, cover ups and a whole bunch of other stereotypical tourist things. Took forever to wait for it to dry though, but I guess it’s all worth it. Hehehe all of us wrote Samui on our henna’s as a tribute to Koh Samui 2013.

One of the nights before we went to beach, we were out at the Chaweng clubbing/bar street just you know, having a good nights fun. Anyways, this guy randomly comes up to us and starts handing us these VIP bracelets going we just opened a club on Chaweng beach! Come tomorrow for a free buffet lunch and to use the pool and what not! So we’re like okay you look dodgy but you know, we can go check it out. When we went there… boy was it awkward, but we were never one to turn down free food so we joined in just for the free food. It was more of an adult club like place? You know the kind in movies where people aren’t actually swimming in the pool. Instead they’re sitting around/on the edge of the pool, sipping on their drinks, while others are lying on their deck chairs chatting people up and drinking more alcohol… Catch my drift? Yea it was that kind of place. Not really fit for teenagers/young adults like us but ehh free pad thai and frid rice and sausages and potatos? Count me in, no matter how awkward it is when people  there start eying you up and judging you. The things I do for free food.

On the second last day we went to the beach called Cheong Mon Beach. It was waaaay less touristy than Chaweng, which I greatly enjoyed. It just meant less tourists along the way, which made it quieter, more peace and serene. I was never really one for the OMG SO MANY PEOPLE ON THE BEACH THERES NO SPACE BUT SO MANY PEOPLE TO TALK TO. Don’t get me wrong, I love making new friends and talking to people, but I like my personal space too. It really depends on what I’m in the moood for.

As you can see from the pictures above, the sea here was a lot clearer than the one at Chaweng. In all honesty, I was a little dissapointed by the beaches. When you google Koh Samui, you are welcomed by a plethora of perfect beaches – the ones where the water is see through and crispy blue, the sand is delicately soft and palm trees are swaying in the background. But the beaches we went to were only average, and the water wasn’t exactly crystal clear. I really shouldn’t be complaining though.

And so, here’s a last picture to conclude everything. Here’s to the trip of a lifetime, one that I don’t think I will ever be able to forget, nor do I ever want to forget this trip. Thank you to everyone who made this trip as special as it was. I love you guys! x

This post is getting too long and I’m tired (told you I was lazy) so I’m going to add on to this in a bit.

Also, remember the best friend I was talking about above, Celin? She made a Koh Samui video! It pretty much sums up the whole entire trip in a 12 minute clip. Hahaha I’m well aware it’s a long video but good lord we had way too many pictures/videos to put in there

Here’s to an amazing week!

Jin x

Question of the day: Did you have a grad trip? Where did you go! Where did you want to go?

28th May 2013

Yea yea, I know the 28th was yesterday (unless you’re in a completely different timezone then please disregard this sentence) but I was too busy yesterday so I’m going to post about yesterday today! And yes, I realise I haven’t really talked about my post-graduation festivities but you know… I’m a lazy kid. Laziest person you’ll probably ever meet. It’s a miracle I’m still keeping up with this blog.

So anyways, back to yesterday. I had a 19 month anniversary date with the boy hehehe. We went to Downstairs by David Laris, which is in the Urbn Hotel. This is an extract from their website:

“URBN hotel has joined forces with Australian Restaurateur, David Laris, to create a brand new line-up of dining and drinking venues. URBN’s signature restaurant,  “Downstairs with David Laris” offers organic and natural, healthy, farm-fresh cuisine which keeps in line with the hotel’s core concept of sustainability.  Downstairs is china’s only environmental and carbon-neutral restaurant of shanghai. In addition to Downstairs with David Laris, you can experience our rooftop bar called “upstairs” and a private lounge called “the social”.”

Maaaan the food was delicous. Actually we only went there because I had a 50% voucher (you see what I mean by I’m a sucker for deals?) but it was an amazing meal that was worth every single cent.  I would have gone back there, even if I had no voucher. It was a perfect weather to sit outside – warm enough that you could enjoy the sunshine, yet not too warm that you were sweating like a pig (can someone please tell me where that comes from? Because pigs don’t sweat). There was also a slight breeze that made everything flutter ever so magically. Just look at how beautiful the outdoor patio is! Classy brunches at it’s finest.

Sometimes I reckon the best part of a meal is the ‘free’ bread they give before. I honestly think that the quality of the bread acts as a signal for the quality of the food I’ll be eating later. My favourite kind of break is a warm soft bread. Give me just about any bread that’s soft and warm and toasted and I’ll be in seven heaven.

Let me go through each bread. My favourite is the one on the top right corner, that semi resembles a cinnamon bun. EXCEPT ITS NOT! Inbetween each layer is pesto. Mmmmhm the mighty delicous pesto. Pesto is actually one of my favourite sauces of all time, it actually goes with just about anything, trust me. Even apples (yea I have a weird culinary taste).The one of the left was just a normal roll, but it was warm and toasted so hehehe right up my alley. The dark brown one I’m guessing was superduper whole wheat and the outside was just crunchy enough to match the softness inside. Perfecto.

How amazing does that all look? For the actual food, we ordered 2 appetizers, 1 soup and 1 wrap.

Say hello to the creamy cauliflower soup with cheese croutons. This is probably one of the best cauliflower soups I’ve ever had (although to be fair I haven’t had many cauliflower soups before so please don’t trust my judgement on this one). Whatever it is, I really enjoyed the soup. Except the cheese croutons were a little too cheesey that they overpowered the cauliflower soup. Oh well.

A bowl of steamed mussels in white wine, fresh herbs and a side of fries (which I forgot to take a picture of). BEST MUSSELS I’VE EVER HAD. Now on this you can trust my opinion on. I’ve had a plethora of mussels, and this has to be my favourite. Mmmhm the flavours just mixed in so well together, and of course the onions help.

Also, the price was superduper worth it. For ‘only’ 88RMB, we got that LARGE bowl of mussels (those are all the shells). I’ve had more expensive mussels that came with less mussels, so I can’t complain about the portion sizes here. They aren’t stingy at all.

Next up is the dips and bits – hummus and artichoke dip, served with roasted, pickled and fresh vegetables served with bread. I WAS REALLY DISSAPOINTED THEY DIDNT HAVE PITA BREAD. Who serves hummus without pita bread. Shame on them. Apart from that, I can’t really complain about it. I mean I’m not a friend of asparagus/beans, except the boy is so yayayay not wasting food. I’ve never tried artichoke dip before but I really really really really enjoyed it. I can’t really explain what it tasted like, but I like it. Maybe I’ll try more of artichoke next time it comes up in a dish. Still sad there was no hummus to go with it.

Last but not least, here’s the falafel wrap and parsley salad. The wrap was a downer. It wasn’t bad, but neither was it OMG THIS IS GEAT. Wouldn’t have ordered it again, but I did add in artichoke dip/hummus into the wrap, which did significantly improve it. Ehhh you can’t win on all your dishes can you.

At the end of the day, it was a perfect date with a perfect lunch. Oh and here’s a photo of a typical Shanghai man, just for kicks. Notice the leather shoes matched with sweat pants.

Well I’m off to enjoy a birthday party and laser tag!

Have an amazing day today!

Jin x

Question of the Day: What’s your fashion pet peeve?

The Liebster Award

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by Sillystyle! Basically, this award is a peer-to-peer award and you nominate people to win it. After you’re nominated/won the award, you’re supposed to nominate 11 other blogs/bloggers with less than 200 followers, write 11 facts about yourself, and create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer. I think it’s basically a here-are-the-blogs-I-like, mixed in with a get-to-know-more-about-me kind of ‘award’. I’m using the term award here very loosely.

1. Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog on the 17th of May 2013, for reasons I can’t really explain. I’ve always been an ‘avid’ reader of blogs, and I guess I always wanted to create a blog. Thus when my exams finally ended, I decided why not, let’s create a blog. Except I’m not really sure what type of blog I wanted it to be, I just knew I wanted to make a blog. So I guess I made this blog because I wanted to ramble on about things, get to meet new people and treat it as a diary for my daily musings. K I realised I’m rambling now, so I’m going to move on to the next question.

2. Where do you find inspiration?

I find my inspiration from everywhere around me, all the tiny litten corners where no one assumes inspiration exists. Inspiration hits me from anywhere/anytime, although I’ll have to say my main inspirations are things I see in real life, my friends and blogs. Oh and tumblr, definitely tumblr. I don’t really have a specific place I go to when I lack inspiration e.g. Pinterest or anything, I just sorta look out for things in life that attract my attention.

3. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Smoking. I don’t even know if smoking is pet peeve, but smoking really gets to me. I mean it’s your decision if you want to smoke, I don’t have a say in what you’re doing, but it’s an entirely different matter when I can smell it. It’s the worst when I want to sit outdoors in a restaurant, but all the outdoor areas are saved for smokers. Why do they get the fresh air again? And I hate it when I’m stuck in an elevator with smokers and it stinks so terribly. Goddamnit smokers.

4. How would you best describe your style?

I’m going to go ahead and assume style here means fashion style. Hahaha my fashion style is very… basic. Literally half my wardrobe is plain tees. The last time I checked, I own about 10 plain white tees/tanks. I also dress for comfort; if the outfit isn’t comfortable, forget about it, the odds of me wearing it aren’t very high. I dress with basics, but sometimes I’ll throw in a few fun prints here and there, and I make sure to always walk out the door with accessories  because I truly believe they make/break an outfit. Even if it’s a simple ring, it still adds that nice touch to a basic white tee/jean shorts combo.

5. 3 places you would like to visit

THIS ONE IS HARD. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ONLY CHOOSE THERE PLACES I WANT TO VISIT. That’s like making me choose 3 foods I like the best. IT’S JUST NOT POSSIBLE. Okay well if I had to, it’d be Greece. I’ve seen enough photos of the beautiful white buildings and the rustic charm and the peaceful blue ocean to know that I want to spend time there. Need I even mention all the ancient vintage buildings? The second place would then be India. IMAGINE THE FOOD. ALL THE DELICOUS FATTENING FOOD that I want to eat for the rest of my life. I think I’d need to starve myself for a week before I go there. Jokes. But the culture in India is also incredibly fascinating, and I desperately want to go crash an Indian wedding and dance like they do in the Bollywood movies. AND my bestfriend is Indian so I get to visit her too! The last place I’d like to visit is New Zealand! I’d go bungee jumping and cross that one of my bucket list (although I’ll probably die from a heart attack because heights scare the shit out of me). And i’ll go make friends with all the sheep while visiting the idyllic scenery. Picture perfect moments? Done.

6. How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

I’m a very very very very loud and happy girl who loves food a little too much #sorrynotsorry

7. What are your favorite dishes / food?

REALLY? REALLY? THIS CANT BE A QUESTION. THATS JUST NOT FAIR. I refuse to answer this question, or more like I can’t answer this question because I’ll literally be listing everything and it’d actually go on forever. Okay I’ll choose cuisines instead, because that’s a little easier and I think I can do that. I love the Singaporean cuisine, because that’s where home is. Just the smell of Singaporean food is enough to evoke my childhood memories and mmmmhm they all taste delicous, especially the hawker center food. I also greatly adore the indian/japanese/italian/cantonese cuisine but I give up. I’m sorry, this is too hard.

8. What kind of music are you listening to lately?

There’s something you guys should know about me. I don’t listen to music. I know, shocker right? I don’t know, I do listen to music but not really. I literally never download music, and I don’t know how to explain this without making myself sound like an alien. Maybe some other time.

9. Which qualities do you believe every human being should possess?

Oooo I like this question! I believe every human should have a kind and warming quality, always ready to help others in need. I’m a naive person in a sense that I wish nothing bad should ever happen in the world, even though I know that at least for now, that’s basically remotely impossible. I also believe every human should possess the ability to make others happy, and the ability to love.

10. Which has been the best advice you have ever received and which one do you like giving out the most?

Man the questions get deeper don’t they? I think the best advice I’ve ever received is… I don’t particularily remember. I’m more of an advice giver than an advice taker? But I guess one of the best advice I’ve ever gotten is to be honest with myself. There’s no point lying to myself in what I want, or who I want to be, because at the end of the day, it’s my life. The advice I love giving out the most is HAKUNA MATATA. Seriously, best advice ever. Don’t worry about anything, because it’s not the end until it’s okay. Worrying doesn’t make anything better. Just trust yourself, trust life. I promise it’ll all end perfectly okay.

11. If you were ever interviewed by a professional reporter, which question would you like to be asked? (it can be on any topic)

Why society barely teaches boys to not wolf whistle/cat call/rape girls, yet parents in society continuously tell girls to be careful/never go out alone/never leave your drink alone…… The double standards are weird, aren’t they? And how come it’s more socially acceptable for girls to come out about having been raped, and not guys?

I’ll post the 11 random facts about me tomorrow because I’m tired, and I still have to decide who to nominate (:

Goodnight everyone!

Jin x

Question of the day: What is your favourite cuisine (notice I didn’t say food)?

22nd May, 2013

YESTERDAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF MY IB EXAMS

I ran out of school like this because I was THAT excited. IM DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER

I DONT HAVE OFFICIAL SCHOOL-ING ANYMORE.

I DONT HAVE TO WAKE UP AT 5 IN THE MORNING ANYMORE AND I CAN SLEEP WHENEVER

MY SUMMER HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED AND I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT ANYTIME I WANT. If you haven’t noticed, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING AND IM SO EUPHORIC

Too great for life. Adios IB, you won’t be missed. Yea no, I’m not going to miss pulling all nighters or stressing out for the Maths IA (Internal Assessment) or trying to work out what exactly constitutes as a KI (Knowledge Issue) or worrying about the ridiculously low word count for the EE (Extended Essay). Goooodbye sucker. See you never

Except part of me is scared and realises this can only have a bittersweet ending. I’m so glad school’s out and I’m done with IB, done with high school. but what about the future? I know I know, I am eagerly anticipating the future and see what it brings me, or what I manage to do with it, but it means I need to leave what I know as home. This school has been my safe haven for the past 8 years. I know this school inside and out, I know every teeny weeny little detail about this school. There’s something so familiar and comforting about walking in the hallways and corridors and classrooms that you’ve walked through an infinite number of times. All this is going to have to change. I guess I’m not exactly going to miss the school as much, but I’m going to miss what it meant to me. I’m going to miss my group of best friends that I love to the end of the universe because they’re the best people I ever know, I’m going to miss the teachers because even though some of them are terrible, the rest are brilliant (which sucks you know, because you can’t really be friends with teachers. I would if I could).

Some part of me doesn’t want this to end. There’s a familiarity in all this that makes me terrified to leave and move on. The plethora of what if questions semi scare me. I’m going to need to say goodbye to all these beautiful people I know, people I’m so glad to have in my life and wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. It’s a euphemism when I say I’m going to miss everyone so incredibly much.

On to the future now, but I don’t really know what that means anymore. There are moments I’m so sure in what I want and what I want to do, yet there are flirting moments when I suddenly realise the enormity of everything and start panicking. Then again, Albert Einstein did once say “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough”. And I realise that I do live by that line, I generally don’t think of the future very much because I know whatever it is, I’ll be okay.

I’ll be great.

The future will be more than okay.

Life’s brilliant.

I hope you’re having an amazing day!

Jin x

P.S. I’ll post about my post-exam details in a bit, I need to go out now

Question of the Day: What aspect of the future worries you the most?

FAVOURITE TV SHOW – Castle

Here’s my second favourite TV show of all time – Castle. Basically, it’s about this writer/author Richard Castle

who writes these murder fiction stories. Then one day, some murderer out there decides to kill in the exact way Richard Castle wrote in his book, so the NYC Police Department starts talking to him to see if he can help solve the mystery since you know, he did write the book. Except the woman who comes interview him is Detective Kate Beckett. Basically, he likes her so much he unofficially joins the task force.

There are so many reasons why I adore this TV show. Each episode is a new case, with some underlying themes that run through all episodes. This means there’s barely the whole this-show-is-going-on-a-break-hah-here’s-a-major-cliff-hanger-for-you kinda thing, which I actually enjoy more. It also means sometimes if you want, you could skip episodes (although why you would do that I can’t even fathom) and still understand what’s going on-ish It’s also ridiculously funny. It’s the perfect eclectic mix of comedy-action-romance-drama all rolled into one tv show. Some bits are so hilarious my abs start to hurt… True story.

Say hi to Richard Castle!

Please let me know if you can wiggle your eyebrows like this

Detective Kate Beckett (I don’t want to ruin anything so I’m going to leave her name as Detective). BUT OMG THE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END OF THIS SEASON. Uuuuh I can’t wait 4 months to know

Okay now apart from Castle and Beckett, they also have two other detectives on their team – Detective Ryan and Detective Esposito (I had to google his name to see how it was spelt). Ryan’s the one talking.

Together, they make the perfect team at crime solving. Beckett is all logic and facts, enterwine that with Castle’s crazy stories and theories and BOOM they solve the crime. Helps that Esposito also has that ballsy-ness to him, and Ryan idk… they all just work so well as a team together it’s amazing to watch. It’s as if they can read each other’s minds, but I guess that’s what you need in a partner right? This show is just too perfect for words. I love it.

I’m off to go do more revision and live the boring IB life until TOMORROW IN WHICH I’M DONE WITH IB FOREVER

Jin x

Question of the Day: Have you watched Castle before? What do you think of it!

Journal: 19th May 2013

Today was a really really really good day! Well actually the first half of it was a really great day. I woke up this morning and went to this watch shop. Now this is no ordinary watch shop. The brand of this watch shop is actually called Shanghai, and everything is manufactured in Shanghai. The store doesn’t even look like a store – it’s in this really rundown but local Shanghai area with tons of construction going on. On the drive to the watch shop, you see row after row of houses that are in the midst of being knocked down. There goes a piece of old shanghai. Now more about this watch shop. It doesn’t even look like a watch shop from the outside. It’s this really rundown rustic looking watchshop and all the furniture and interior design evoke the old vintage Shanghai. I don’t even think they have any security system in place, you could just walk out with a watch I kid you not. The store is run by these two middle ages man who are amazingly nice and funny but you know, they don’t look anything like watch sellers. And in this special watch shop, you can bargain with the guys. Yes, you read correctly. BARGAIN. Literally a dream come true. Generally you can bargain up to 20% off so that’s always a perk. The guys are so ‘terrible’ at bargaining too. There was a watch for 1700RMB so I asked “what’s the lowest price?”. He immediately replied with “1100RMB”. Well that was ridiculously easy, a little too easy if you ask me. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

Let me show you guys a few of the watches. The watches all have this vintage-y look to them which I absolutely adore and love. Sometimes I think society is going back to where it came from, in a sense that vintage things are becoming increasingly ‘popular’.

My parents bought me the watch above! Actually they bought me two, but this is one of them. I’m head over heels for this watch. The rose gold ring aroung the watch? Love. The leather vintage-y brown leather straps? It’s calling for my name. The roman numerals? Done deal. Everything about this watch is all I’ve ever wanted in a watch. It’s also expensive enough that I’m going to treat it right and wear if often, but not TOO expensive that I’ll never wear it due a permanent fear of ruining/losing/anything it. Isn’t it just beautiful? Here are a few more watches just to show you guys! I just want to buy them all. Please excuse all the chinese words though, they don’t actually have a website so I had to go through another site (TAOBAO!)  to find these images.

So there you go! A bombardment of Shanghai watches! #sorrynotsorry. After the watch shop, my dad and I went for brunch at La Cocina! We had never actually been before, but I had a buy one get one free brunch voucher so why not. See a recurring pattern? I love vouchers and bargaining. A true asian at heart really, not to be stereotypical or anything. La cocina is a cute little restaurant with a Mediterranean style interior that serves a mix of Italian/Spanish cuisine in the former French Concession area. The images below are all mine!

There weren’t many options for brunch, but they all sounded scrumptious. I was debating between the vegetarian “Huevos Rancheros” or the Eggs Benedict, but since I had a buy one get one free voucher and the Eggs Benedict was more expensive, I had the Eggs Benedict instead. I ordered it with salmon because I honestly dislike bacon (please don’t hate me, I know it’s weird) and I love mushrooms but dislike asparagus. Oh and salmon is amazeballs. Yeaaa I use the word amazeballs.

I’m a big fan of spinach and eggs and salmon, so all three combined was heaven on a plate. Nomnomnomnom I’m a foodie. The salmon was really fresh and cooked just to perfection, and the eggs benedict was perfect too. The yolk was just a little bit runny but not all runny, just the way I like it. Sort of like a poached egg. And well, it’s really hard to get spinach wrong, but paired with the hollandaise sauce, it was x12831u023 better. However, I wasn’t a fan of the top piece of the bread. The bottom piece was fine since the juices soaked through thus it was softer, but I found that the bread on the right lied. Looks soft right? WRONG. It’s stone hard. So I just gave it to my dad instead. My dad then ordered the Fried eggs, also with the Salmon. I think it runs in the family, or maybe he was just trying to be healthy

Although if you ask me, they pretty much look the same. Apart from the sauce and the way the egg is made…Nevermind it’s different. I love dessert, so incredibly much. I can be so full from the meal that I think I’m about to throw up, but I will still eat dessert. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth. Behold the dessert menu

Of course I ordered the Lapis Chocolate Nemesis. I almost always order the chocolate lava cake because I’m a big fan of it and it’s probably my no. 1 favourite dessert (unless something else sounds better of course). And it had the Best Chocolate Ever title next to it’s name, although I don’t think it deserves it.

Don’t let how attractive the cake is fool you. When the cake first landed in the table I was all OMG THIS LOOKS GREAT I CANT WAIT TO DIG IN I BET IT TASTES INCREDIBLE. And it did taste incredible, except the texture was… You know how lava cake is cake-y on the side and the center bit is liquid chocolate? This whole entire thing was pretty much liquid chocolate, apart from a teeny little bit of cake. The ice cream was also too hard so it took ages to melt, and it didn’t have much taste (although maybe that’s because the chocolate was too powering). Wouldn’t have ordered this again. I want to try the creme brulee though!

On to the interior design of the restaurant. Boy did they have the freshest flowers I’ve seen since spring came around the corner. I’m so excited to see a plethora of flowers everywhere I go.

Just look at the flowers! Can someone please tell me what they’re called though? Let’s just say I love flowers, but I don’t really know the names of many. I generally go by “you know the ones with lots of petals and that big center and is pink?”. I could stare at them forever, which I did because there’s a jar on each table.

The restaurant had this really Mediterranean laid back vibe which was great for a casual sunday brunch. They also had all the windows open on the top floor so it was like you were sitting outside, just minus the glaring sun (which I actually enjoy). French windows are just downright brilliant.

They then had this little hut which was separate from the main dining area and it looked too adorable for words. It looked really cosy and there was only one couple in there, so I guess they had a really good date. Or at least I hope they did; I mean what’s not to love. It was really awkward walking in to try and take photos so I just stood outside and took these photos. I mean I didn’t want to make it seem like I was taking a creepy stalker photo of them…

Apart from the 2 restaurant sections, they also have this outdoor bar that’s on the sidewalk. I think it’s an ingenious idea. Not only are you attracting attention to your restaurant so people are enticed, you’re also saving space and allowing fresh air to enter your restaurant. And  you can sit at the bar and people watch the whole afternoon while drinking a beer/tea/fresh oj/anything really.

They also have a Daily Salad Bar on the weekdays which I want to go try out sometime!

It really was a delightful brunch, and I got to spend time with my Dad. Mmmmhm life’s goood, I’m so incredibly lucky. After lunch we walked around to kill a little bit of time before my dad headed off to a message and I went back home to study (although I did make a slight detour to the lomo store to pick up my photos!) Here are a few shots I took along the way

If you’ve never been to Shanghai/China, there’s something you should know about something magical and truly wonderful. They don’t actually have a name, but normally their name is Whatever-they-sell man/woman. It’s basically people who stock things in a tricycle/cart of some sort, and sell it along the streets E.g. if you want to go buy a DVD, you say “let me go check if DvD guy has it!” I’ve seen everything ranging from accessories to flowers to DVDs to books to skateboards to clothes to notebooks, but this was the first time I saw someone selling bowls. I guess that’s what you get when you visit the French Concession.

Only in China can you walk around and see little kids having photoshoots in groups. There were 4-5 other kids and it was hilarious to watch them. The guy kept throwing the stuff toy in the floor in the dirt. Aaaawks

Anyways, WordPress/Flickr/Tumblr is being a bitch and won’t let me upload any photos, although I think that might have to do with the fact that I live in Shanghai… Goddamn Chinese internet. I promise to finish this post off tomorrow! Fingers crossed my internet works better. [Update: I’ve uploaded everything!]

Hope you had a great weekend!

Jin x

Question of the Day: Do you like bacon/asparagus? What food don’t you like that ‘society generally likes’?

FAVOURITE TV SHOWS – New Girl

So I guess it was high time I dedicate a post to all my TV shows. Now here are a few things you should probably know about me before I tell you what my favourite tv shows are though.

I get scared really really really easily. It comes to the point where all the tv show has the be playing is scary-ish music, and I get scared, even if it’s a TV show like gossip girl/90210 (which I both stopped watching because I couldn’t stand the drama, not because of the scary music). I’d be Jack Sparrow below, just x24123948172341238941 worse

I also have a thing or two for gun TV shows, BUT I can’t stand any gore or bloody things. I guess I like the high action packed drama without all the scenes where people’s head get chopped off or you know anything like that. On to the TV shows now! They’re in no specific order

New Girl! I started watching this while it was on Season 2 because all my friends said it was hilariously funny and I needed a 20 minute TV show to watch inbetween my revision sessions (although it did end up being okay Jin, do one chapter of physics and you can watch one episode so I guess that was counter productive). I can’t even begin to express how much I love New Girl. It’s just so goddamn funny all the time.

This is Nick Miller. He makes the greatest facial expressions of all time

Now say HI to Jessica Day. Sometimes I don’t even what she’s doing/saying, but I don’t think she does either

This is Schmidtt for you. He acts like this cocky player but you know he’s a nice guy

Here’s an example. Also the one above is the him now, the ‘fatter’ one of him was during his College years

This is Winston. I don’t actually know how to explain him, but he’s just great.

Last but not least, this is CeCe. She doesn’t actually live with them, but she’s Jess’ best friend. Oh she’s a model too. Now here’s a few more GIFS of New Girl just because I love it so much

Oh I should probably tell you what new girl is about. It’s basically about this girl, Jessica Day, who moves into an appartment after she breaks up with her boyfriend. Except in that appartment, it’s all guys (Nick, Schmitt and Winston). So that’s how they’re brought together. There isn’t really any specific plot line? It just kinda… I don’t know I can’ really explain it. It’s going to make you laugh so much though, I promise. Please give it a try!

I feel like if I add in al my TV shows this most is going to go on till the end of time so I’m going to do one TV show a day (: Also it means I can bombard you guys with more GIFS each time.

Have a great day!

Jin x

Question of the day: Do you guys pronounce it GIF (hard g -similar to gift) or JIF (like jiffy peanut butter)

Musings from Thought Catalog

I was reading this article the other day, and I believe it really does resonate with so many others out there, maybe even me in less than a month. There’s something beautiful in the way it’s written that it appeals to everyone and makes the reader nod their head going ‘yes yes, yes that’s me. yes’. I love the way everything starts of with “I am definitely not”, because you know, none of us really want to believe that’s what we’re doing. In situations like this, so many of us fear the present, fear the past, fear the future, that we hate to admit what it really is, even though deep down we know it should be “I am definitely”. Click on the author to go check out the original post. Enjoy the read!

___________________________________________________________________

I Am Definitely Not Staring At My Phone, Wondering If And When You Will Text Me 

by V.S. Wells

I am definitely not staring at my phone, wondering if and when you will text me, because that is something that lovelorn teenage girls do, and while I might still be in the final throes of teendom I will not be a slave to cliches.

I am definitely not lying in bed and thinking about that one perfect night when I fell asleep with your head on my sheets and woke up with your bare chest against my back. I am definitely not burying my head in my pillows a month later to see if I can still smell your hair or your musk.

I am definitely not remembering the feel of your fingers when I touch myself. There is no way at all that I am recalling the shivers you gave me, the glorious sense of anticipation that twisted my insides into origami until I thought they were pretty enough for you to see. I am definitely not imagining your face buried between my thighs and of course I am not upset that this never materialised. Because it’s not something I’m giving any consideration to.

I am definitely not sitting in the sun and letting my mind wander to what you’re doing in the nice weather. I definitely don’t wish you were beside me and we were just talking, because sometimes when you spoke I tuned out and just stared at your lips — the perfect Cupid’s bow and the way you pouted when you were thinking — and I am definitely not thinking about your lips.

I am definitely not still mentioning your name in conversation, and then catching myself doing it, making a mistake, like referring to a deceased person in present tense instead of past. I am not hoping you find yourself doing the same thing, saying my name and wishing you weren’t. And when I informed my friends about what happened between us, I definitely did not take your side and defend you when they called you a douche and a dick.

I am definitely not wishing you would call me and let me know you made a mistake and ask me if we can start over.

I am definitely not trying to cast a shadow over my memories of us together so I can tell myself I wasn’t really happy, so it will hurt a bit less when a Passenger song or a chocolate chip briochet or a reference to your alma mater reminds me of you.

I am definitely not driving for an hour in the rain to see you for a platonic cup of coffee, when I should be doing all manner of other things. I am definitely not still at your beck and call, moulding myself to your every whim without you even realising it, and I am definitely not bitter about this. I don’t hate myself for still wanting to touch your cheek or stroke your knee, and instead I keep my hands wrapped tightly around my chai latte. I am not disappointed that we don’t even hug when we say goodbye, and I absolutely don’t stop driving on the way home and cry at the side of the road over how this is probably the last time I will ever see you. I am also not amused by the stereotypical pathetic fallacy and laughing hysterically over it as the tears continue to fall.

And I am definitely not writing about you.

___________________________________________________________________

I don’t think I ever want to be that person, at least I honestly hope I’m not. I don’t ever want to live in the past, hating myself for what happened and fervently wishing things would go back to the way they were, especially when they weren’t great. I don’t want to focus on all the miniscule positive bits of a relationship and forget how suffocating and restraining it all was. But I guess that’s what happens when you lose the ‘love of your life’. Maybe it was just never meant to be. Who knows

I hope you’re having an amazing weekend!

Jin x

Question of the day: What do you think the best thing about being in a relationship is?

FRIDAY FINDS : 17th May 2013

La Banane in St. Barts : Can we just take a moment and appreciate how beautiful this these bungalows are? And the bonus fact that they’re in St. Barts (which co-incidentally is on my bucket list of places to go). How amazing and serene does the whole place look? Imagine just sitting there with a great read, a refreshing drink and finger food? Hey a girl a can dream.

Just look how adorable and rustic the bungalow looks.

California Cobb Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette : This is a post from Iowa Girl Eats, and this blog is probably one of my favourite blogs, ever. The way she seamlessly adds in bits of her personal life (yea, you could say I’m a stalker who likes reading about other people’s life, or I guess a nosy/curious person) to all these delicous recipes is just brilliant. Don’t even get me started on her photography; it makes me wish food could actually jump out of computer screens into my mouth. Her recipes are always so simple and so easy to make, but they always have that little twist to them that stops them from being ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’. How appetising and fresh does this salad look? Bonus that cobb salads are one of my favourite salads.

LOOK AT THE PLETHORA OF COLOURS. JUST LOOK AT THAT

ASOS Mini Sundress with a Scoop Back:  I’m a sucker for basics. One look into my wardrobe and you’ll find about 10 basic white tee’s and 10 plain white tanktops, although I guess it’s partly because I haven’t found the perfect tee yet (yea no, I don’t have the money for the Alexander Wang tees. I wish) Now take a look at this basic/classic dress. It’s simple enough that I can wear it to anywhere and to anything, yet the low back gives it that unexpected twist. Oh and I’m also a sucker for low backs/cut out backs.

Imagine all the ways you can accesorise this dress

THE Ultimate Grilled Sandwich : I’m sure everyone out there has heard of a grilled sandwich, and probably tried one? (I sincerely hope you guys have tried grilled sandwiches before, if not you’re missing out). However, this sandwich takes things to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. What about making your grilled sandwich in your waffle maker? That’s right, you heard me. Sandwich in a waffle maker. Waffle maker. WAFFLE MAKER.

I wasn’t lying. Sandwiches can be made in waffle makers. Mind blown

Louis Armstrong told us so print by Society 6 : How eccentric would this look above your bed in the bedroom? I love that it reminds me  to travel and explore the world. I never want to stop travelling, never. I’m so ridiculously lucky to be able to travel to all the countries I’ve been to. Maybe I’ll make a post of that soon, and a bucket list of countries I want to visit (which is basically everywhere I haven’t been)

People falling over : If any of you guys are having a bad day, go take a look at this Buzzfeed page compromised of people falling over. You don’t even need to be having a bad day to see this, please just click on the link and work those abs.

Here’s a preview

Jokes aside, his would actually probably be me

KAREN WALKER Sunglasses:  If only my face allowed me to wear round sunnies and not look ridiculous, because I would have gotten these in a heartbeat. Well I lie, not these pair exactly because there’s no way I’m spending a few hundred dollars on sunnies; living in China has taught me well. But I’d definitely buy the cheap version of these that probably cost less than 10bucks but still look the same. Perks of living in China

TYPO Listmania: I go through phases with how I plan my day. Sometimes I’ll use a planner/diary for a week, sometimes I’ll make lists, sometimes I’ll post it note it but most of the time I just sick everything into my head. Maybe this cute little notepad is what I need to make it stay. AND it’s not even that ridiculously expensive

I can just imagine grocery shopping with this. Too perfect for words

Thai Peanut Chex Mix : Anything with the words thai and peanut and mix automatically have my attention. Just take a look at it for yourself. I’ll be munching on these while procrastinating my revision

Have a great weekend!

x

Jin

 

Question of the day: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? I want to know!