5 DIYs

1) Another awesome hairdo!

Image and source via The Beauty Department

2) Wrap ring :)

Image and source via Sincerely, Kinsey

3) Must learn how to do a sliding knot! Then the options are limitless!!

Image and source via Honestly... WTF

4) DIY gold leaf bowls

Image and source via A Beautiful Mess

5) Host your own party!

Image and source via Sam is Home

Get crafty! ;)

Moving back...

The first thing I found out once I sat down at the office this morning was that an old friend has decided to move back to Hong Kong. We can finally improve our past meetup frequency, which was annually.

Very exciting news indeed. I cannot wait! Definitely categorizing this under festivities!

Wedding gowns

I'm usually not a huge fan on wedding gowns but these ones by Pronovias were waaay too nice not to share.

Images via Fashion Squad

Coffee table book wish list

I know you can probably find all the information you need through the world wide web without paying a dime, but you know, there is something different, not to mention special, about casually flipping through pages and have certain things catching your eye. And whatever it is that pops up to you evolves over time too. How exciting!

Anyhoo, the following are on the top of my coffee table book wish list. I know my birthday is still some time away, but I am more than happy to receive any donations towards the ce fund. 

Number 1: I Spy DIY Style by Jenni Radosevich

The title itself says it all. I am a huge fan of Jenni's blog, so obviously her book is on my wish list!

Image via I Spy DIY

Number 2: Design Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney

Similarly, I have been following Design Sponge for quite some time. A book full of home decor inspiration that is actually do-able! Major!

Image via Design Sponge

Number 3: Paris in Colour by Nichole Robertson

I must admit, this book was more of an impulse item. I was wandering through the bookstore and my eyes settled on the cover among the sea of other books. I flipped through some pages and the pretty pastels left a huge impression. Imagine going through the book on a rainy day, with a cup of green tea in hand. Maybe it's also due to the fact that I met some interesting French guys last night. *swooon*

Image via Talbany

PS Happy mother's day! We went to a farm to pick out some organic vegetables! And I got her a pair of legit sunglasses (no more clip-ons zomg)! How did you spend your day with the mama?

Older or wiser?

One year olderwiser for Miss W (even though that is not her in the pic haha)!!

An exceptionally long dinner (over 3 hours) at Entourage on a quiet Sunday night to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend. Was actually glad that there were only 3 tables (including us) because we have pretty much dominated half of the restaurant as our backdrop (more on that in a bit). I mean, this is what happens when you lump a handful of girls together in a nice restaurant with a tummy full of fancy French cuisine!

The giagantic rose as the centre piece got us very intrigued...

We started off with (clockwise from top left):

1) Fresh steak tartare

2) Snails and spinach ravioli with garlic cream

3) Crab Martini with pink grapefruit and avocade mousse (personal favourite out of the three!)

4) Warm scallops salad with grilled asparagus and cured ham, sauce vierge

I liked the scallops so much an iPhone picture was called for ;)

Followed by (once again, clockwise from top):

5) Stuffed chicken breast with garlic mousse, portobello mushroom, chicken juice

6) Wild mushroom risotto, crispy parmesan (the parmesan actually caught me off guard a little bit haha)

7) Pan fried black cod fillet, crushed potatoes and meat juice

Was a fan of the cod fillet!

And then:

8) Crème brûlée with bourbon vanilla pods (no pictures as we were too busy digging in)

9) Hot chocolate fondant served with hazelnut ice cream (the ice cream was ahhhhh. I miss it already)

10) Thin apple almond tart with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce (not a huge apple dessert fan normally but boy this was gooooood)

Okay, now I see why we were so full towards the end. Alas, can always work out later ;) (IF that ever happens)

And courtesy of the huge pillar blocking the other tables from seeing what we were doing, we started indulging in our own little world envying the apartment across the street and taking some of the random-est pictures :)

My favourite of the night! Somewhat scandalous but not quite there ;)

All in all, Entourage was leaning towards the pricier side but would recommend to others if French cuisine is what's on your mind. There were definitely some mindblowing dishes!

The cutest little stall selling severely overpriced vintage toys next door

The quiet Pottinger Street (i.e. Stone Slabs Street) on a Sunday night

Last but not least, I can finally post what I made for Miss W :)

Inspired by the amazing Geneva. Click here for her tutorial!

Good night everyone! 

Chinese New Year photo diary

CNY is almost over (not for the traditional believers as I think the festivity lasts for the half of the lunar January) and I'm grateful for getting to spend it with close family and friends. Not to mention all the insane food!

 

From Day 1 dim sum to Day 3 feast and the various radish/taro cakes in between, relatively subtle flowers to decked out cherry blossoms, new born babies to ever-growing kids, and my closest by my side.

This holiday has been  great :)

Pre-CNY clean-up

They say you gotta clean up your place a little bit before Chinese New Year comes around. So here I am, moving things from one place to another in hopes of accomplishing this tradition. So far I've moved my mannequin next to my bookshelf as shown here in the pic, and just by thinking of opening my wardrobe sends me shivers already.

Must work hard!

Start fresh

Got to spend NYE on foreign land and the best part? With one of my besties :)

Another year has arrived and poop, seems like I have failed to fulfill my resolution for 2011. The past year has definitely been a rocky one. How I wish I could wipe away certain things that happened like erasing my name off a chalk board.

So here I am, on the fourth day of this new year, looking forward and expecting a better turnout.

Things I'd like to see happening in 2012:
1) be more patience (was my sole resolution last year that I have failed)
2) be behind the camera more
3) continue with my mini DIY projects and pick up sewing
4) write a little more I guess

Hope everyone is having a great start!

Boxing day

Lying in bed feeling rather sick. But it was fun having brunch at the cricket club and seeing one of my bestie's nephew.

I've also been making earrings and bracelets for people! So fun!

Fa la la la la

It's finally cold enough to embrace christmas! :)

Turkey time!

If only I had this on video... the wobbly turkey decor for Ted Baker in Shatin New Town Plaza!

Time flies!

Happy 26th anniversary to my parents!


Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from SmarTone-Vodafone

Still floating...

My 2-week old balloon is still surviving!!! Tied it to my chair so it feels like I'm sitting in one of those kid's supermarket trolleys when I'm studying. Genius!

Christmas lights

Christmas lights are already up by mid-November and I've had my final round of birthday celebrations (lasted for 3 weeks this year!). How I love hanging out with dear old friends for a laughable night. Makes your worries go away for a few hours. The picture above was chosen from a series of silly jumping shots me and a friend were doing. Definitely looked like I was pushing her down in order to lift myself higher ;)

Then there is the part of me that wished this particular person was still around to say happy birthday to me. Impossible in every way but I'm sure he's somewhere out there looking out for me. 

Bubba Gump Hong Kong

In light of a much needed pre-birthday celebration for one of my besties, we have opted to go to the Peak for some shrimp adventure after a very stressful work week (for some of us at least).

Where else but Bubba Gump?

Mango Frozen Lemon-Ups x 4 (served in the sparkly take-home cups!)/Run Across America Sampler/Shrimp Rigatoni/Fisherman's Combo Bucket/Frankie's Baked Seafood & Rice (apparently only available in the Hong Kong and Malaysia locations)/Mama's Best Strawberry Shortcake

To be honest, the experience at Bubba Gump Hong Kong was less than satisfying. My last encounter with the restaurant was at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. Even though it was a good 3 years ago, I remembered seeing high-spirited employees marching around, carrying all the shrimp they can across tables. I also recall devouring perhaps half a plate of delicious garlic shrimps. *reminiscing in pleasure*

This night, however, was dramatically different. Our host left us standing idiotically in the middle of the restaurant, followed by the manager who gave us attitude right behind our backs because apparently we were blocking their traffic. Our server was grumpy throughout the meal, not to mention she called out on her junior staff in front of us too.

Food-wise, my expectations were definitely higher than what was placed on the table. Did I mention our main dishes were served cold? Our strawberry shortcake, as displayed below, tasted just like an oversized salty scone with vanilla ice cream in between. :(

Mama's Best Strawberry Shortcake gone salty :(

Even though a lot has gone wrong, we were up on the Peak, and the view is always mesmerizing. Sitting by the window enjoying the skyline during dinner is for sure one of the biggest pleasures. And of course, it's always the company that matters the most ;)

Fuji Instax fun! Playing in the park after dark (long time no see monkey bars and slides! And it's interesting to know that are now tall enough to reach the ground when we're on monkey bars!)/accidentally 'creating' an artsy pitch-black photograph. Thank you for being there to share the fun times with me :)

A slightly smoggy Hong Kong :)

I am loving the fall breeze. The cool, crisp air (ignoring the pollutants) blowing against your skin, creating goosebumps on your arms. I wish it could stay like this forever. Hong Kong winters can be brutal...