Fashion & Style Diary
Join me on my adventures in the Kingdom of Bhutan!
Together with Sonia Chew, plus contest winners Cassandra and Victoria, we had the opportunity to travel to beautiful Bhutan recently. From a helicopter ride, to hiking to Tiger’s Nest and cooking a meal in a local Bhutanese home, here’s what we got up to!
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With special thanks to:
Ready to Travel & Topshop
Not my first time to Melbourne, but my first time road-tripping out to Mornington Peninsula – fun times!
This started out as a girls’ trip but then Aunty Sheng Wei joined us. (He was awesome though!)
We had such a great time driving out of Melbourne city to Mornington Peninsula, where we spent our time picking strawberries, riding horses by the beach, venturing through grass mazes and petting kangaroos, wallabies and koalas! Oh, and a lot of eating and wine-tasting as well. (When in Australia, live like the Aussies, y’know?)
Wait for Part II of this vlog where you can join us in Melbourne city!
It’s been so warm lately here in Singapore! Not complaining (well, not really) as at we’ve had some rain and the haze is no longer a huge problem (till the full wave comes mid-year *gulp*). When I look at my photos from my travels to places like the US when it was cold there, I am especially grateful for the eternal summer situation we have here in the tropics. Sure, you can’t layer as much, and my favourite beanies don’t get to see a lot of wear time, but I’ll take the warmth and sunshine; being able to run out in shorts and a singlet; supple skin that’s not parched from the cold; days spent hanging at the beach – over that any day.
That said, here’s one of my slouchy get-ups from NYC in spring when it was finally starting to get a little warmer. This was in front of the Roman Catholic church, St Peter’s, in the Tribeca area where I stayed. I attended mass here the whole time I was there, and I liked how the priest was very inclusive – he made it a point to welcome everyone and to make mention of the fact that regardless of race, nationality, financial situation and sexual orientation, all were welcome and encouraged to come seek peace and solace there. =)
So while everyone in Singapore complains about the terrible haze (I admit I am no exception!) and increasing PSI readings, I think one way to deal with it is to imagine yourself in a land where the air is fresh and clean. I miss snowboarding! The pals are already in the midst of planning not one, but two trips – hopefully I will be able to join them then. For now, have to contend myself with pictures and memories. =)
I miss waking up to this view!
Soon!!
NYC’s Union Square has this Greenmarket that happens four days a week, throughout the year (yes, even in the bitter cold of winter!). It gives small local family farmers opportunities to sell their fruits, vegetables and other farm products to New Yorkers, which I find is a lovely way to help sustain local produce. I decided it was worth a troop down, and it was beautifully sunny (albeit still terribly cold!) on Saturday, so I bundled up warmly and off I went!
Taking a bite out of the big apple. Heh.
I loved all the pretty blooms on sale, both fresh and dried.
And if you like dogs and other furry friends, there were tons of little (and not so little!) cuties out to play as their owners bought fresh milk and cheese.
Homemade honey & maple syrup. Mmmm…
Cheesy.
And if you needed help with something, or wanted a romantic sonnet written for a loved one, well…
I love skating – I started out with roller-skates when I was about seven or eight, progressed to in-line skates (begged my folks for them!) when I was eleven, and played around with ice-skates when I was fourteen. I still in-line skate to unwind about once a week – albeit with none of that stunt action involving steps and ramps anymore – but I haven’t hit the ice in quite a few years.
I’ve always wanted to skate outdoors (kinda hard to do that in Singapore, yo!), so I braved the cold, grabbed my skates and went down to Central Park. It also helped that it was a gorgeous, sunny, blue-sky kind of day – although still pretty darn cold, don’t be fooled!
Pretty snowdrops in the park. So lovely!
Plucky duckies taking a swim.
And that’s me looking extremely pleased with myself! (And flouting the no-mobile-phone-no-bag-on-the-ice rule, heh.)
Upcoming maryjulian pullover; for those who can’t wait, similar ones here & here | maryjulian leather flare skirt; try the shorts version too |Coach wool trench overcoat | Upcoming Accssori necklace | Thermal wear & gloves from Uniqlo |Vintage striped sling purse | Ray Ban aviators |
So I checked out the Brooklyn Flea over the weekend, and even though we got a little lost driving around trying to find it (we heard it was along Lafayette Ave, for some reason) I didn’t regret it one bit. For winter, the flea is held in the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, now restored, redeveloped and known as Skylight One Hanson.
It’s such a lovely space – and not only because it’s indoors (warmth, oooh!) – now a cavernous event space composed of the Romanesque Beaux Arts Bank Hall and the Art Deco Vault. Yes, I’m such a sucker for history and classic structures, and I really appreciate how great care was taken to preserve the architectural prestige of the marble floors, carved teller stations, magnificent vaulted ceiling and the huge mosaic of New York on the main wall.
That’s me rather chuffed (and hence smiling stupidly) at finally finding the flea, getting out of the cold, and finding it to be such a lovely space.
All manner of vintage clothing to be had (went mad!) and knick knacks galore.
Kermit acting all biker and hanging out with Piggy, Scarecrow from the land of Oz, Snoopy, and the rest of the motley crew.
There was art by local artists, and a lot of handmade stuff by local artisans. If you like Etsy, you’ll also go crazy at this place. I had to resist buying pieces of really cool furniture! 
Another draw of the Brooklyn Flea is the great food to be had! If you a a java addict like some of my friends are, you’d have enjoyed the freshly brewed Brooklyn coffee. There was also this cute little shop called Butter & Scotch that sold smores pies, green chile & tequila caramel corn, hot chocolate and all manner of sweets and craft cocktails. Pretty sweet (pun fully intended).
Also worthy of mention was this ramen shop, Yuji Ramen, that has been getting some press (here too)of late. Now, being Asian, and a huge ramen lover myself, I was pretty skeptical – this must be some watered-down, Americanized version of noodles tweaked to please the local palettes. I do pride myself on keeping an open mind though, so made sure to have a taste.
He does mazemen style ramen, which means the noodles are served dry & tossed, rather than in hot soup. I tried both the Spicy Tuna as well as the Uni ones. Expectations were low, especially for the tuna one, but it turned out that the tuna one was super delish! No pictures unfortunately, because I devoured them both like the glutton that I am. Sorry! =p Am going to head down to try his omakase dinner at Whole Foods this weekend, and help him raise money to start his own restaurant in the meantime.
Will update on that soonest!