Thursday, December 25, 2008

Snippets of life: Christmas in London


Although I hadn't planned on spending Christmas in London this year, Christmas Eve dinner turned out to be one of those perfect meals - from the people, the food (all homemade from scratch), the drinks, conversation and the present exchange. Mmm, more please.


Part of the fun is in setting the table.


Looking rather Christmasy, despite the absence of a tree.


I really do love our icicle lights (bought from Sainsburys). They look so pretty when turned on.


The only shot of the food I took, as I was too busy feasting. On the menu last night: butternut squash soup with garlic bread; pork and crackling (pictured); leg of lamb with apricots and thyme; roasted potatoes, parsnips and carrots; brussel sprouts with mixed veggies. All mains recipes courtesy of Jamie Oliver - say what you like about him, the man's recipes work!



Ownself-made chocolate hazelnut yule log for dessert (recipe from Tish Boyle). Also served with iced blueberries and raspberries and elderflower sorbet. And as if that wasn't enough, we finished off with a cheese platter and dessert wine and port.

Blessed Christmas, everyone. I hope you had a lovely one filled with wonderful food, loved ones, good cheer and fabulous pressies.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Today, of the moment

Today
I spent a day with myself
After church service, instead of taking the bus
I walked home from South Kensington
walked pass shops, cafes, pubs
smells of Christmas in the air
With my worries and thoughts
pondering, musing, wondering and turning them around

while

I munched a dark chocolate chip cookie from Ben's Cookies
Spent an hour in Daunt Books and bought:
Sipped a take-away hot chocolate from Paul
Onward home

It's moments like these
that make me glad that I moved to London
For better or for worse
I thank God for all His blessings
and choose to put my faith in Him

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Snippets of life: Ice skating at Somerset House


Today was one of those near perfect days. Walking to the station on my way to meet friends for ice skating at Somerset House.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


I didn't fall down while skating. Achievement!


Warming up with some mulled wine in a very posh Tiffany's cup.


Finishing off the day with sushi at newly discovered and new favourite hole-in-a-wall place near Selfridges.


Even with that big plate, we were still hungry, so we ordered more.

Today was a very good day indeed.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

This November, I am into...


Wearing: anything that doesn’t make me look fat, grey boots from Jones, killer heels from Carvela, jade bracelet, Caudalie Vinoperfect radiance serum
Styling: with the BaByliss hair straightener
Eating (and drinking): Greek yoghurt with fruit compote and granola, mint tea (obsession fuelled by holiday in Marrakech), strawberry Fruli
Reading: The Nasty Bits, Lolita
Listening: girl bands like Wondergirls, Girls Aloud and S.H.E.
Watching: The X Factor, new season of Top Gear
Baking: cupcakes, cakes and cookies, oh my!
Partying: learning to Ceroc, weekends filled up with social events – Christmas season is upon us!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Bakefest

About a month back, I finally found where my mixer had been kept, and because things have quietened down a lot at work, I've been going into a baking frenzy. Out came all the cookbooks I brought with me to London, and I spent many a night poring over them, wondering what recipes to try. I decided to revisit recipes I'd tried before (like Nigella's chocolate cherry cupcakes and Pierre Herme's Suzy Cake recipes) before tackling new and untrodden grounds.


I'm really happy that I've finally nailed the Suzy Cake recipe. I realise that I hadn't made any mistakes the first time round. I had only been too impatient and tried to un-tin my cake before it had cooled. I've since made this twice and both times, it has come out superbly. I love serving it with raspberries and some cream. It's also an instant crowd hit because of that tremendous hit of chocolateyness.

The Nigella recipe, I have discovered, definitely needs tweaking. To be honest, I'm not much of a Nigella fan. She very often uses too much butter, cream, oil and sugar in a lot of her recipes, and I've found that her measurements aren't always right. If I cooked like that all the time at home, I'd have a really fat ass in no time. However, I will admit the cherry chocolate cupcake recipe (I made strawberry chocolate cupcakes previously) is just too yummy and easy to pass up. It doesn't even require a mixer. The second attempt came out well, but I still feel there was a wee bit too much sugar. My colleagues didn't have any complaints though.


I decided to decorate the cupcakes with some lavender from our garden

Confident that my baking mojo hadn't gone, I've now branched out to non-chocolate desserts. The first I tested was a lemon angel cupcake recipe from Cupcakes!. The taste was really yummy, but consistency-wise, not so hot. Turns out I had overbeaten the egg whites and sugar, so they were a little chewy.

I tested another lemon cupcake recipe from the same book, and remembering not to overwork the dough, the lemon tea cakes turned out much better. I think I'm slowly learning the science of cooking :) Next thing on my list is to resurrect my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Korea meets Mexico



Images from FeetManSeoul

Things are a little slow in the office now, so I've been indulging in quite a lot of surfing. One of my recently discovered sites FeetManSeoul brought my attention to the Seoul Fashion Week. I really enjoyed clicking through the collections, in particular one designer, Ye Ranji, who based her collection on Frida Kahlo. I love how she's taken the prints and mannish pants and translated them into something modern and wearable. One final thing: I'm in total lust with those shoes. Where can I get a pair?




More pictures from FeetManSeoul and the official website (click on The Centaur to view the collection).

Saturday, October 25, 2008

This October, I am into...


I know October is practically over, but without saying too much, this month has been rather rocky, both professionally and personally. That also explains the lack of posts, but things are getting better now as I'm getting my head back together and planning the future.

Wearing:
the new finds from Portobello market - Poppy Valentine 40's-style skirt, vintage kimono jacket, essie nail polish bought on eBay in Tea & Crumpets and Bahama Mama, newly found everyday blush colour from Nars and brush
Watching: cooking shows like Come Dine With Me, Hell's Kitchen, The Restaurant, Ministry of Food
Reading: Haruki Murakami's After Dark
Listening: Edith Piaf, Feels Good by Take 6
Interwebbing: clicking through the Spring '09 collections on style.com, Twittering
Baking: cupcakes
Eating (& drinking): out a lot...too much, in fact

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Laura Laine illos



I am having a major crush on Laura Laine's beautiful fashion illustrations on her site. Pictured here are ones she's done for Zara. This is really inspiring me to get sketching again, although I'm pretty sure my efforts will be nowhere near as fantastic.

If you want some Laura Laine desktop goodness, you can download a design she's done for Kitsune Noir.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Commes des Garcon for H&M


I was rather surprised to see quite a lot of the Marimekko collection for H&M still in shops a month after it launched, and so I can't help but wonder if there will be a mad rush for the Commes des Garcon collection once it reaches the shops on Nov 13th. My only worry is the quality and stitching - H&M isn't exactly consistent on that. I'll have to see.

You can see the full collection at Nitrolicious.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

More Spring '09 love

I don't have time to click through all the collections on style.com, so I pick and choose designers I like. Here are a few that I enjoyed:

Doo.ri

I've been following Doo.Ri ever since Wanz debuted a lovely mint dress at one of her private sales (Incidentally, I do miss those sales!). I just love her easy breezy style and use of silks and soothing colours.

Vivienne Westwood

It may not look like it, but I think Vivienne Westwood's clothes are actually quite wearable. You just have to look at each piece individually.

Gap

Patrick Robinson has designed a great basics collection. It looks quite European actually. I do love that white dress.

Marc by Marc Jacobs


Marc Jacobs is sometimes a hit and miss with me, but I mostly tend to like his younger (and cheaper) label for its youthful vibe, great colours and cute dresses. Also, am starting to think fanny packs are a great idea for going out.

All pictures from style.com.

Friday, September 26, 2008

3.1 Phillip Lim Spring '09 love


I think I may need to start a whole new label on this blog just for Phillip Lim love. Still loving all the designs, and the fact that he can do ruffles and pink without being overly twee. Loves it loves it loves it. Sigh.




All photos from style.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Eley Kishimoto Spring 2009

It seems awfully foolish to be ogling pretty clothes in light of all the bad and rather worrying news floating around lately, but a girl can't help herself. Eley Kishimoto's Spring '09 collection is such a delight. I would like the entire collection, especially the patterned tights plzthx.




Photos from style.com

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Korean dramas I'm looking forward to

This is probably of interest to no one but myself, but here are some Korean dramas I’m looking forward to watching.

Love & Marriage

A matchmaker and a divorce lawyer? I sense much potential for comedy and romance.

Beethoven Virus

Solely because this has to do with an orchestra, and I was very pleased to see that the lead actress is actually holding the violin properly.

The Painter of Wind

The whole girl-dressing-as-guy thing plotline seems to be very in right now. I still enjoy it though, and anyway, I’m a sucker for period dramas.

Gourmet

A modern-day Jewel in the Palace! I really do love food porn. Unfortunately I can’t get subs now as the series has been licensed. I’ll have to get my hands on the DVDs somehow. So far, I’ve only got the first episode.

All images from Dramabeans.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

This September, I am into...

Wearing: Uniqlo wool cardigans in purple and off-white, the new purchases from Pull & Bear (particularly the grey fake leather jacket), lots of bracelets
Carrying: New Accessorize pouch for make-up (the old one got stolen in Barcelona)
Eating: cooking quick and easy dinners from Great Food Fast, chocolate from Xocoa, boozing at Brouge
Watching: The Tudors (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is so sexay), We Got Married
Catching up: with friends
Enjoying: the new fringe, Barcelona holiday, the house to myself – everyone’s away!, learning Ceroc, various parties, wearing a jacket again

Monday, September 08, 2008

Enjoying the last bit of summer


Almost 14km travelled!

We went on a country walk from Southbourne to Chichester last Sunday, and I'm quite convinced that was the last sunny, warm day of the year. Perfect timing, I say.

The route took us through the harbour, pretty fields, and of course with 2 stops at local pubs for a drink and lunch, ending up at the grand cathedral in Chichester. If you're interested, the route we took can be found in the TimeOut Country Walks guide.