Megabytes of fashion

Hi guys,

Today I'm posting some pictures from V Magazine. I really loved this cool and modern editorial with an array of strong prints and very bold colours. The idea of moving images is great because you can view the outfits from all different angles and I also think is funny how small movements can really catch our eyes.
















See you soon.
x

Mindful Monday: Upping the Ante

Image: Flickr User Last Zolex

I actually meditated every single day this week! Here are a few things that I noticed:

1. Since I'm new at this and easily distracted, it's easier if I face the wall. That way when I can't stand it any longer and I have to peek, all I will see is a white wall. If I peek and see something shiny or colorful ... it takes a lot longer to recover and go back to my meditation.

2. Five minutes is a really REALLY long time sometimes--like when you're 5 years old or learning to meditate. Just think of all the precious five-minute spans I waste staring into a computer screen every day... It's kind of appalling.

3. I have felt happier this week than I've felt in a long time. I don't know if it's the placebo effect or what (I've been reading a lot about the magical benefits of daily meditation lately... but five minutes a day for a week hardly seems like long enough), but I've decided not to question it.

Next week, I'm meditating for eight minutes daily. My goal isn't to sit for long spans of time, but instead to notice the impact of a daily seated practice. However, it seems like five minutes is just long enough for me to get settled.

If you meditate, how long do you sit? Is your goal to sit longer?

Hats for Spring - 1957

I'm feeling trapped. The snowbanks are higher than my waist, the driveway is getting narrower and narrower, and I am generally sick to death of winter. It's so cold, the inner harbor is frozen over. Someone remind me why I live in Boston?

To combat the winter blues and blahs this week, let's look at some goodies for spring so that we can start to dream of balmier weather. And for those of you living in warmer climates right now, I am officially jealous!

Today, spring hats from 1957. Just looking at hats lifts my mood. How about you?

Rose Valois forms a double bandeaux of rose petals.

Pierre Balmain wide brim straw hat.

Ruban flower petal cap with dramatic face veil.

Albouy uses metallic mesh and tops it with a rose.

Gilbert Orcel blue and white stripe silk.

New at Couture Allure - Vintage 50s Dresses

New at Couture Allure are lots of dresses from the 1950s, as well as other designer pieces and vintage accessories. Be sure to check our What's New section for all of our new items!

1950s Sophie Original silk satin ball gown.

1950s Jeanette Alexander cotton full skirt dress.

1950s French designer blue metallic strapless dress.

1950s black crepe cocktail dress, new with tags still attached.

1950s polka dot shadow print dress.

1960s black wide brim straw Audrey hat.

Topshop aviator jacket

Hi guys,

I hope you all have been well. Today's outfit post is also a new buy, which I could not resist!
Well, it all started a couple of weeks ago, when I passed by Topshop and started browsing through the sales racks. I saw some of these aviator sheepskin jackets but I was not on spending mood that day, so I didn't really look for one in my size to try it on. A couple of days later, I found a gift card for Topshop with full credit on it and like magic, the spending mood truly came back to me. I desperately needed of one these jackets as soon as possible!

They had it in 2 different finishes, one was black suede and the other was grey leather and the latter was the one I wanted! The question was would they have it in my size with the end of sales going at full swing?
That night, I checked on the website and they had it but I wasn't sure if the size was gonna be right and if I could add my voucher as part of the payment, so I waited until the next day and checked on the website again. Unfortunately the grey ones had already sold out, luckily I was near Topshop and managed to go there pretty early in the day. I managed to find one in my size and happily bought it.

The timing has been perfect, as it is getting very cold and it is freezing in London. I can't get enough of it and I have worn it for many days in a row. Today, I went for a strong aviator look with some pieces borrowed from my boyfriend's wardrobe too. (cozy)










I was wearing: Jacket and Scarf : Topshop, Cardigan: from my boyfriend, Cords: Cheap Monday, Boots: second hand, Sunglasses: Ray-ban.

See you soon.
x

COMEDIENNE/ACTOR MARIE DE GOURCUFF

FABIEN II

Movie screening (and falling ill)

Went to the movie screening of "Despicable Me" at church.

Sim Kuan came. :) She looked gorgeous. Didn't know she was good with makeup ehh. Hmm, beauty is only skin deep but it's the sort of thing which starts from the outside and grows to the inside... I mean how do you feel pretty when you don't look pretty? :/ But I think everyone is pretty in their own way~

Was the backup singer for the night, didn't know some of the lyrics but mouthed along. Lolol. A lot of ppl brought their friends, which was the point. So many unfamiliar faces. Saw a Bestarian. Actually, I didn't know she was one until I asked her which school she went.

I MEAN ISN'T IT ODD WHEN PEOPLE CAN GO TO THE SAME PLACE EACH DAY AND NOT REALISE EACH OTHER'S EXISTENCE?!

Weird. Also had sudden epiphany when I realised Silver Spoon was actually Chef Ken. Brunch there yesterday. Yum. Italian cuisine is lovely.

Vector and Gru. Lolol. Impressed with the backdrop done by Bernard and team. ;)

Fell sick after the movie. Dunno what hit me. Feeling a bit shitty. But okay, got my meds. Some people get reluctant to swallow their pills but I'll be like, "GIMME MORE IF IT MAKES ME BETTER". :B

Today. Sunday. My darn shopping day. Stayed at home while I watched the rest of my family go off shopping and come back with bags of new year clothes OMGOMG I WANTTTT.

Weekend Eye Candy - Jacques Fath, 1957

Jacques Fath weaves black silk ribbons into a tight fitting cap. The loops at the back resemble a fun coiffure. Notice too the mix of a double strand of pearls AND a brooch. Love!

Tina Leser Beach Ensemble, 1945

Tina Leser was well known for her use of exotic fabrics and style influences from around the world. During the WWII years, however, her travels were limited and so were her fabric choices. Leser was still able to find inspiration, though, and here she uses simple white jersey for an exotic beach look. The two piece swimsuit has a twisted bandeaux top and came with a long wrap-around skirt. The set sold for $42 in 1945 (about $509 in today's dollar.)

Tram talk

Yesterday the temperature went below zero for the first time since we got here. It was something like -2℃ in the daytime. So it was not a good day for Tram 5, which Marlon takes to work, to be twenty minutes late. 

In a country where tardiness is unacceptable, the Dutch tram driver was beyond himself and visibly stressed. The crowd of frozen, grumpy commuters at each stop who would stomp into the tram and glare at the driver did nothing to ease the pressure on him to make up for lost time. 

Neither did the loud American woman who greeted every group of boarding passengers: "So! How long y'all been frozen for?" To make matters worse, a teenage guy kept leaning on the door, delaying the tram by a few precious seconds every time that door opened and closed. 

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Finally the tram speakers crackled to life and a voice boomed from the heavens. The beleaguered tram driver had had enough.

"WHAT. THE. F*CK?!" Who the f*ck keeps leaning on the f*cking door? I'm already more than twenty f*cking minutes late, so if the f*cker does that again at the next stop, I'm going to stop the tram, leave you all in here and go for a f*cking smoke break!"

Yesssss. Meltdown. In English. All the better for us non-Dutch to be entertained by.

So I was having a bad day yesterday. Call it schadenfreude, but sometimes it helps to remember you're not the only one!

Be Featured on Spoiled Yogi!

There's nothing I love more than hearing how other people got interested in the practice of yoga, their first a-ha moments, and the thing that keeps them coming back to the mat time and time again. I get little glimpses into who you and what you practice from your comments, but I want to know more! And I'm sure I'm not the only one...

So this is what I propose:

Write a story about how you came to be a yoga student. Tell us all about the fateful day that you decided to pop into a class for the first time, and why you kept coming back.

Or if you're not the story-telling type, answer these questions:

This is my picture in one of my favorite poses. It's only fair.

1. What made you decide to take your first yoga class? Describe the experience.

2. Tell us about one of your biggest yoga a-ha moments.

3. Besides the teacher who is supposed to teach you yoga, who or what is your best yoga teacher? (Think unconventional teachers here... nature, your dog, your kid, your dentist...)

4. Where is the craziest place you've ever done yoga?

5. Describe your yoga journey in 3 words. (Yes, you may answer with ONLY three words, or you'll be hearing from me!)


Send your story or answers and a photo of you in your favorite pose to SpoiledYogi@gmail.com, and I'll feature you in a blog entry!

I can't wait to read your stories!

ESSAIS NOUVELLES LUMIERES avec LOUP

Le sigh

The apartment situation has been a little crazy these past few days.

Through Housing Agent #1, we made an offer for the place on Beethovenstraat which was lower than the owner's asking price. After two days, the owner's agent told us they had knocked €50 off the asking price—and I was like, what the heck kind of tawad is €50? Still, we kicked our budget up a notch (the house is that nice), made a counter-offer, and waited.

And waited.

In the meantime, we viewed another apartment with Housing Agent #2 (a.k.a. The Blond Clive Owen). A ground-floor apartment near the Concertgebouw and Museumplein, it promised to be a contender, but turned out to be too big of an investment on our part—we'd have to spend for closets, curtains, a dryer, lighting fixtures and to clean up the garden. So much for that.

And still, we waited.

Marlon and I also decided on a back-up apartment should Beethovenstraat reject our offer. I haven't blogged about it since the pictures I took were crappy. But we saw it on our very first day of house-hunting, and it was the pick of that day. We just needed to get the final word from Beethovenstraat so we could make an offer on this other place before it got snapped up by someone else.

But still, we waited. And started to wonder why the owners were taking so long to evaluate our counter-offer.

Today Housing Agent #1 found out that the owner's agent was in talks with another prospective tenant about the same apartment! Instead of holding one-to-one negotiations with the first to make an offer, he had been playing us off each other without either of us knowing. After getting an offer from us, he would tell the owner, then run to the other party and get a counter offer, then make the owner decide.

This whole runaround not only prolonged the entire process, but drove up the rent (and the agent's commission)... in favor of the other "bidder". Marlon and I weren't expecting a bidding game, and we're certainly not funded to play one. Welcome to Expatland, where there will always be someone with a bigger relocation package/housing allowance/tax benefit than you.

So we gave up the bidding war to the other party, and for the second time in as many weeks, I'm crushed.

We now have a pending offer for the third choice on our list. I can only hope it's still on the market—we lost so time on this stupid waiting game—and that the negotiations are not as draining. We're only in the serviced apartment until Wednesday, so we have to close a deal on an apartment asap. Like tomorrow.

Qi Yao's dpc

Went for Steamboat at DPC. Qi yao's birthday. He very pro one. Morning; round 1 at school, afternoon; round 2 with BSD friends, night; round 3 with Bestarians. Lolol. Not bad, not bad.

I think about 20 people came? But some of them went off to walk around in DPC. Okay. Karen Tan was the only girl there. Hahahha. Was reluctant to go, and then hitched a ride with Xian Jiong because I didn't want to go alone. Kiasu like that. He fetched Rysher too. Rysher cool name. :) And King Jiat has an english name called Raymond. Hahahhaa.

Siet Yen was supposed to go but she FFK. :( Family stuff. Guat Tyng and Jun Wen, tuition. Parties on weekdays not official enough. xD It was more like casual steamboat dinner lo. Table a bit overflowing with people. Lolol.

Went home early. Their second round, going somewhere to drink beer. Haiyur. Cannot tahan beer and smoke. In-built to be a good girl. Hohoho. Smoke makes my throat itch and my eyes burn. For people who smoke, it's their preference, but I hate it when they smoke around me and I get second-hand smoke. :(

Want die, go far a bit!!! Hahahha. Xian Jiong a bit offended when I kept nagging him for smoking. Okay. What else. Some of the guys whom I usually see during outings were there. I always get curious at how they end up being friends with the circle. Like the circle of Bestarian Form Fives. I like to quiz them. Hahahah. Research. Some from primary school, some from tuition, parties, friend of a friend. Always good to include strangers in parties. If not like same faces onlyyy.

Didn't recognize Vincent when he came. Like badminton kia in his yellow jersey thingy. Ping Kuang and Theng Loo went back before eating. -.- Ping Kuang kept accusing me for making his lens break. Too pretty for his camera lah.

Oh yeah. SEE THIS MAN.
EXHIBIT A:
before:

after:

EXHIBIT B:
before

after

SEEE! My editing skills coming along not bad hor. Good until can compensate not having a DSLR-quality camera. Hahahhaha.

I like taking pics of my Slyvanian Families. Please don't say I'm childish. They're too cute to resist. Horrr. ;D http://fuckyeahsylvanianfamilies.tumblr.com/ Nahh. My tumblr blog where I throw all my wonderfully cute photos.

I use Photoscape! Auto level auto contrast filter effect contrast deepen colour enhance and then BANG. So pro. Discovered the bright-colour section. Aiyoh. Noob la, overlooked it all this while.

Nicole brought some photos today! Fujifilm. Nice. See so many people putting one of the instant photos in their e-card holders. Including me. Hohoho. And then also saw some of her lomography photos. Wooo. I like. Holga camera. Sweet fisheye pics of her and Nil.

Tried express chat. Not bad. Type until high already. OK. Simply, you chat with a person within a time limit, and then during that time you type your ass off. Maximum effect in minimum time! Hahaha. No need to wait for replies! Hehehe. Snail snail~

Sleepy. Dutiful kid. School draggy. Lots of people ponteng. Higher level, official ponteng style- come to school in uniform to fool your parents into thinking you're going to school and then sneaking out of school when they turn their backs. Lolol.

Haiyur. Sleepy. Good night. :)