Quotes from Italy

Sharing some words I saw outside a museum in Rome. I thought they were pretty cool. Click image to read.

Accomodation in Italy

I thought I'll just write one entry on our accommodation in Italy unlike previous blog entry where every location has its own entry. Considering the amount of data I want to upload here, I thought it would be easier to write one entry that consist of all the information. So let's start. I only have 4 places to talk about in this post anyway. All accommodation was booked via Hostelwold.com, the internet's best place to find cheap and value for money accommodating.

We stayed in 5 different places in a span of 2 weeks. The start and the end was at Milan Nettuno Hotel (Cost 50 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax). I have no photos of this establishment what so ever cause well, we didn't really like staying here. It's cheap and convenient in terms of being near the Milan Centrale station and walking distance to the shopping district and all, but frankly, staying here was depressing for us. Period. Next!

Our next stop was at Vernazza, one of the town in Cinque Terre. We stayed at Elisabetta at 5 Via St Francesco (Cost 50 Euro per room per night). It was easy to find as they emailed me the direction to get there. We were suppose to arrive at 1500H, but due to some problem with the train, we arrived at 1300H instead, but the two person who was in the process of cleaning the apartment for us was kind enough to let us check-in. It was a delightful little place located at a slope, which could have easily accommodated 4 person comfortably. It feels very cosy, and they provided drinking glasses and a water cooker which I really like cause that means I can make my own hot chocolate at night. The whole place just feels very homey, and I absolutely adore the glass front door.

Next stop was at Riomaggiore, another town in Cinque Terre. We stayed at Viadeibanch (Cost 65 Euro per room per night), an apartment on the 3rd floor in one of the buildings on the main road of the town. Again, we arrived early, so we called to see if we could check-in at 1400 instead of 1500. A nice lady came by to open up the place for us. It was modern looking inside, and we also have access to the 4th floor where the other rooms and office were. There was even a roof top patio, but we didn't go up there as it was raining most of the time. What we did enjoyed was looking out of the window in the morning as you could see the whole street from there. At the back of the apartment, the lady's husband has a space area where he makes wine. We had a chance to see him in action. Lovely place with lovely people. Thumbs up!

After Cinque Terre, we moved to Venice and stayed at Locanda SS. Giovanni e Paolo (Normally Cost 60 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax, but room price increases on special occasions), which is a small inn. Getting there was slightly challenging as our train from Milan was late 1.5 hours. We had to call to say we won't make it in time as their office close at 8pm. They told us to get the keys from another hotel nearby which is open 24/7. We soon found out that reception there were hardly existing, so it's really kinda private if you like it that way, but hard to find help when you need it. Anyway, this location cost the most in all of our accommodation, and I booked it because of the venetian decorated room they advertise on. We have bedside Murano lamps and a chandelier in our room! And although at first I though breakfast was included, apparently it was not. But no complaints there as we're all expert in finding food anyway. It's located on a lane of a main street, so it can get noisy at times.

Lastly, perhaps our favorite places was surprisingly in Rome, at B&B Casa Suri (Cost 45 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax). There was no Suri, and there was no breakfast provided, but there was a very nice lady name Daniella and her super chubby cat that took great care of us. We were actually living in a part her apartment, but it was very private. I love the color of the room and how it was decorated. Everything was so pretty and clean. It was located on the 5th floor with an old elevator in the building. Most of the times we just took the stairs. I also found out that the location of the place was on a rough area, south of the Rome Termini Station which was not a recommended place to be in at night. Still, we felt pretty must at home here, probably because the people the guide book was warning others about were etnic groups of Indians, Chinese etc, and we were part of one of the groups. This place also reminded me very much of the apartment we stayed in when we were in France.

Ref:
Milan - Hotel Nettuno
Cinque Terre, Vernazza - Elisabetta
Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore - Viadeibanch
Venice - Locanda SS. Giovanni e Paolo
Rome - B&B Casa Suri

Postcards from Italy

It was an amazing adventure that started out from a DIY paint by number which I got to work on. It was a painting of an Italian Riviera. And I knew that I wanted to visit that painting. So starts the Italy trip planning, in the year 2013, for two weeks. And the key place of visit was the Cinque Terre, 5 towns that look like my painting. I just got back last week, and I am unsure how I should start the blog entry of my trip as there are still severe backlog of other things I have been meaning to blog about. But life is short, and I've decided to just do what I love as this is after all, my own personal blog. So I thought I'll start by sharing with you postcards from Italy. The two on top are of Vernazaa (right), and Riomaggiore (left), the two place that we stayed at in Cinque Terre. The photo was taken at an awesome jazz cafe at Manarola on one rainy afternoon while we were waiting for our train to take us back to Riomaggiore.

My mother has asked that I send her postcard while I was there, as I have cultivated a habit of sending postcards home from places I've visited in the past. She also does not have access to the internet, so postcards were a way for me to keep in touch with her while I am away. Postcards were cheap enough at Italy, you could get some for 50 cent Euro (SGD 0.85) or less. But the postage was ridiculously expensive, at 2 Euro(SGD 3.39)  per card! And it's not even a stamp! It's just a postage label sticker! Pist! I think I send a total of 7 cards home, 2 to myself, 5 to my parents. Luckily 2 of the postcards were sent from Vatican City which understood the concept of stamps. The postcards above are of Venice, and Burono (an island near Venice), and the photo was taken at a cafe at Rome Termini Station while we were waiting to check-in to our hostel.

This last photo was taken in Milan one rainy afternoon while we waited to visit the Last Supper which eventually was not open due to strikes. Somehow I like photos that documents the places that I've been. I did got some postcards from Milan, but those were the first batch, and I didn't manage to take a photo of them. Anyway, this one is taken with a Milan guide book I borrowed from the NLB in Singapore. I took along with me 3 guide books (Milan, Venice, and Rome). It's strange that there are always room for books in my bag even though I'm backpacking :)

It was a great trip. At some point I did get exhausted and missed home. But it is a privilege to be able to travel, and so I will love every minute of it and not complaint. I should target to backpack for one month next time, before my body gets too weary from old age. I love the fact that after one week of backpacking, my arms and legs were all shaped up nicely.

Stay tune as I slowly reveal more photos from my trip. Cheers.

Ubud Food - Bebek Bengil (a.k.a Dirty Duck Dinner)

Ubud is famous for ducks, and Dirty Duck is a must try when you're there. It's located south of Ubud central, and it's probably the most expensive meal we had while we were there. It's basically slowly smoked duck. But it's so famous that the location of the restaurant looks like a typical tourist trap. We probably spend around SGD 40 to SGD60 there? Can't quite remember, but to me, it was way too expensive for my taste.

As per recommended by the internet, get a private hut, and go during the evening to watch the sunset. When we went there in May 2013, we didn't care where we sat. The whole restaurant look like a private villa with it's own garden, pond, and padi field view.

But basically this is what you will be there for, the dirty duck set which we ordered came with a whole duck, vegetable, satay, two drinks, crackers, and white rice. We ordered additional drinks (rice wine) which probably pushes the price up. To be honest, the satay there was really really nice! That was the only reason I went back for the second time 2 years later. But frankly, I think this place only deserve one visit, cause there are way more cheap and delicious food all over Ubud. By the way, note that the Ubud Food blog series only blog on local Bali food. We didn't try any "foreign" food as there wasn't any point traveling to a foreign country only to eat food you are familiar with is it? If you do that, shame on you!

Ubud Food - Ibu Oka Babi Guling (Roast Pork Rice)

 The very first meal we had in this wonderful place was the Ibu Oka Babi Guling which is smack in the center of town. It's almost just opposite from the central market/palace/temple. You can't really miss it. As kiasu travelers, the internet warned that we should be there by 1030am to watch the coming of the pigs. And so even though after a heavy breakfast from our homestay, we made sure we were there by 1030am. Below is a photo of the location for your reference.

 I thought it would be interesting to do a process photo on the making of the babi guling. You can see freshly slaughtered pigs being transported to be cooked. In fact, you can hear the killing of pigs in the early morning or evening as well if you know what it sounds like. The pig are then roast and arrive being hand carried on a motorcycle as per the second photo. It is then delivered to the shop. So if you just hang around the road where the shop is, you will see continuous parade of roast pig arriving.

Tour bus also arrive continuously, and you can see tourist and locals digging into the roast pork rice. If I remember correctly, it's rather affordable, maybe around SGD2.80 per standard set? This photo below shows a complete balance meal, with vegetable and roast pork on it. Somehow the meal was too herb intensive for me, but I don't mind eating once in a while.

Italy Trip Itinerary

This is what my Italy trip looks like at a glance. This is the plan stage of it. I'll blog out the actual happening once I'm back. Why Italy? Because of the food, and because of Cinque Terre. Initially I was even thinking of skipping Rome all together, but thought it rather silly if I flew all the way there and not visit the Vatican or see the Colosseum.

Here is an overview of my trip, (I'll link up the blog entries as I go along)
1-Nov (Friday) - Flight to Milan
2-Nov (Saturday) - Milan Duomo
3-Nov (Sunday) - Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza (1 arrival), (2 hiking to Monterosso), (3 dusk), (4 church)
4-Nov (Monday) - Cinque Terre: Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore (1 Pier), (2 Town), (3 Hillside)
5-Nov (Tuesday) - Venice
6-Nov(Wednesday)- St Mark's Square
7-Nov(Thursday)- Rigoletto
8-Nov(Friday)- Venice
9-Nov(Saturday)- Rome Walk: Spanish Step, Trevi Fountain
10-Nov(Sunday)- Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
11-Nov(Monday)- Colosseum
12-Nov(Tuesday)- Vatican City
13-Nov(Wednesday)- Rome
14-Nov(Thursday)- Milan
15-Nov(Friday)- Last Supper
16-Nov(Saturday)- Milan
17-Nov (Sunday) - Reach Singapore

Extra:
Accommodation

Flight: Finaire
Train: Trenitalia
Accommodation: Hostelworld

Ubud Name Card

Sometimes I use this blog as a storage space for my memories. Instead of keeping the physical name cards, I'll take a photo and transform the information to softcopy and upload it here for sharing, as well as for referring to in future. So let me tell you a little about each of these cards here.

From top left, Kue is a bakery/cafe show at the north east side of Ubud. Its a nice place to just chill in the afternoon. The serve wonderful vegetarian felafel there. The serving is so big you will have no space for the wonderful desserts they serve!

Below that is Warung Babi Guling, central north of Ubud. I don't really like it as it's kinda herb-ish for me, but its good to try.

To the right is Warung Lada, I love the black sauce chicken there, and it's a great place for lunch or dinner. Sit at the 2nd floor and you have a nice view of the streets below. I love staring out of the window from this warung.

Rai Pasti is also another place I keep going back to for it's Bebek Goreng (fried duck). It's on Monkey Forest street, and the restaurant is facing a small padi field. Great place for dinner and watching the sunset. Love the sambel that comes with the Bebek Goreng. I think they raise the price the last time I went (May 2013). But it's still affordable and offers great food!

Nasi Ayam Kedewatan is somewhere west of Ubud I think, not to sure as our host Dewa took us there via car. Nice atmosphere for breakfast, and not too expensive.

While I was there alone, I had my first pedicure at Verona Spa, a little alley at Monkey Forrest. I couldn't find it again when I went back in May 2013. It's only like SGD7 for a pedicure. It was the first time I had my feet filed off all its dead skin. Kinda embarrassing, but a wonderful feeling. Somehow my pedicure always last like a month, so it was definitely worth it for me. The bright red color lasted a long time as I couldn't bare to wash it off after.

Bottom is Jati Home card, the place I stayed at both time. Cost for a double room was 250,000 (SGD27.25) per night, and single room was 200,000 (SGD21.80) per night, breakfast included at a lovely homestay overlooking a padi field. Somehow the serenity wasn't there any more when we went back in May 2013 as where we once hear the sound of toad and birds in the middle of the night, we now hear jazz music and pop songs from nearby night places. Sad really.

Lastly is Fukutaro Japanese Restaurant. I know what you're thinking, Japanese food in Bali? And 2ndly, is it safe? Well I had extra cash on my first trip there, and since I was early in the airport, I decided to give myself a treat and went in here. They had the mince tuna rice I love so much, so I ordered one. And just to be safe from food poisoning, I ordered a coke to kill any germs from the raw fish. I think the lady serving me asked if I would like anything else, and I ordered the karaage (friend chicken). It was like the best tune minced meat rice and karaage I ever ate outside of Japan! It was that good for me! Would highly recommend this place if you have time to kill in the airport.

Yes, it has been more than 2 years since my first trip to Ubud, but I'm still slowly blogging about it. Planning a trip, and blogging about it after the trip is my way of stretching the trip to last longer than it actually is.

Kindle and Me

I've thought of getting a Kindle when I first saw it on Oprah. It was one of her favorite tool for reading and she recommended it so highly. But since Kindle is black and white, and I'm a child of the smartphone and tablet era, I thought a tablet would made more sense. So I got a HTC Flyer instead to read my ebooks. But the glare kinda hurts my eye and most of the time I can't read more than an hour or so. So Kindle was always at the back of my mind.

I seek some advice from my brother, and he say he has an old Kindle he could lend me for a trial run. I agreed to swap with him my HTC Flyer to try out a Kindle to see if I could get used to it before I make a purchase. I have no idea how much one would cost at that point. Well, we didn't swap. He said he has no use for his Kindle, so I got to inherit it instead. Winner!

I didn't really use it at first cause it was loaded with Buddhist books and it was boring me to death just reading a chapter of it. But I suddenly have to read a Murakami book title "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle", and I had to get a copy of it from the library. The book was so good I was hooked. I needed to read all his books! And what better way to read it then with a Kindle!

So the Kindle got a revamp loaded with Murakami, and went through a baptism to get its name right. And I haven't looked back since! I've been averaging about one books per week! And once the reading habit started, I read books from my Kindle (majority), my tablet (sometimes), and even physical books! Here's my impressive reading list from July 2013 onwards till September 2013 (2 months):

1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle  by Haruki Murakami via book
2.  Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami via Kindle
3. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami via Kindle
4. Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres via Kindle
5. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami via Kindle
6. The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life by Ajahn Sumedho via book
7. Two Lipsticks and a Lover by Helena Frith Powell via book
8. Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes via tablet
9. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis via Kindle

Still have more Murakami to go, and planning to read Game of Thrones series as well, and a whole lot of French authored books! Btw, I'm using Kindle 4th Gen. If you love to read, I highly recommend you get a Kindle, I am totally in love with it! It's light, and the battery life is amazing! In two months, I've only charged it once. Plus with a Kindle, you save space, you save trees, and you save your eyeballs from burning out.

Ref:
HTC Flyer
Kindle

Flower Power

 

A few weeks ago, life was rather unbearable, what with endless work and endless stress in the office. Weekend was a welcome change to me, but my house was always in a mess as I couldn't find the time to keep things tidy and clean. One day, fed up with the dump hole I was staying in, I decided to buy some flowers to cheer up my home. These are the first flowers I ever really bough for my home. It cheered me up instantly! Each stalk cost around SGD0.80 to SGD0.90 with the white back drop costing SGD3.00 but reusable if you keep them well. 

With just this small change, something interesting happened. I started cleaning my house on a weekly basis. Usually after I placed the flowers on my dining table, I would have the urge to clean the whole house. The fact that I love my floor cleaner helps tremendously. It's an environment friendly cleaner and the most expensive soap I ever bough for my home at around SGD7.15 for a 800ml container only available so far in NTUC. I love it cause it smells like Orchard ION where the big water feature that smells like soap is. You can say I'm kinda addicted to it :)

The following week, more flowers! And the house is now sparkling clean! I've also been exercising more and eating slightly healthier. The exercising could be due to my inspiration read of Murakami's memoir "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", and combine with "Two Lipsticks and a Lover" and "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It". Better stop before this turns into a book review entry! I'll write more on how I suddenly started reading again. Stay tune!

Ref:
Orchard ION
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Two Lipsticks and a Lover
Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

My CBTL Coffee Machine

A few years back, I had the most delightful macchiato at a place call Esmirada and fell in love with it. Coffee never have been a big part of my life before. As a child, we were not allowed to consume coffee as my parent consider it a drug and bad for kids. I grew up not drinking coffee and was always a social coffee drinker as an adult. But I've always love the smell of freshly brewed coffee! And I love espresso, I love the smell, the taste, and the way it's serve. And macchiato to me is such a small joy that I thought I'd like to be able to enjoy it as and when.

So in 2012 I started seriously consider purchasing an espresso machine for home use. Consuming shots of espresso outside was a pain to my pocket. It was only in April 2013 that I finally purchased one from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Initially we wanted to get a cheaper contata model selling at SGD199 which was our budget. But there was a trade-in promotion on where if you trade in a used coffee machine, they will give you SGD100 credit for your new purchase. The staff at the shop told us we can purchase a second hand machine for less than SGD10 at Cash Converter and bring it in. So we did, and we got ourselves an americano machine retailing at SGD299, but with the discount cost us SGD199 instead.

A start-up kit of 12 assorted capsules came with the new set, and we bough a further 2 tubes of espresso at SGD9.10 each to go with it as my goal was to use it solely for espresso. Well we just did a refill of 2 more tubes a week ago. We don't really drink it every weekend, it's just when I need a pick-me-up and feel like I need some home luxury I'll make myself a cup of espresso, usually black and without sugar. Occasionally I add some milk to make a macchiato. Now I don't frequent any coffee chain any more except if I can help it.

I've also tried a recipe for nutella coffee which taste like a mocha, but I stopped after two tries as the chocolate doesn't seems to melt as I would expected. What with palm oil being one of the ingredient in nutella, I decided to stop making it after that. Which reminds me, I need to try it one day with some milo instead....hmmmm.

Anyway, it has been a good buy. My cost of espresso from SGD2.50 cheapest have fallen to just SGD0.90 per shot now and I'm loving it! Besides, as I age, I read that coffee can help fight alzheimer. So I'm also treating this as a kind of health supplement to keep my brains working.

Btw, I got my adorable espresso cups from Jusco at Port Klang while I was there on my annual Cruise in 2013, half a dozen for less than SGD10!

Ref:
Macchiato
Esmirada
Cash Converter
CBTL Espresso Machine
One of the many articles on Coffee and Alzheimer

平井堅 Ken Hirai

Was looking thru my old blog last night, and found that my fave song 白い恋人達 by 桑田佳祐''s link was missing, so I search youtube and came across this clip again by 平井堅 Ken Hirai. And somehow for the rest of the night, I was just listening to his song.

Thinking that he just sings cover, I did a search on one of the song I live from him, and discovered that the wonderful bleeding lyrics were also written by him. Here's one I like which reminds me of my favourite book from Murakami title South Of The Border, West of the Sun.



Sometimes you just have to let your heart bleed.
Also like this song 告白の写真, but can't find the embed code for it to share it on this blog :(

Ref:
桑田佳祐Keisuke Kuwata
平井堅 Ken Hira
村上 春樹Haruki Murakami
South Of The Border, West of the Sun

Shopping in Seoul

Besides eating, the other thing I enjoyed doing is shopping in Seoul! It would have been perfect if I've managed to do some fabric shopping as well, but language and culture was a barrier and I only managed to buy only 1 meter of patch fabric from Dongdaemon. But I did manage to discover some stationery heaven!

And I couldn't understand why people keep asking me to bug face mask for them cause the last time I was in Seoul (in year 2000), it wasn't such a big thing yet, but wow the cosmetic shops in Seoul is crazy! The 3rd photo at the bottom are not even anything I bought, they are samples given out by the shops when you purchase something or when you're visiting or walking by.

I also especially love these chocolates here.

And lastly, bread in Seoul is surprisingly awesome! I later discovered that Fauchon is actually a shopping place in Paris. Why did I not know this when I was in France!

 

Ooops, one more fave thing I got from Seoul, my carrot-wabbit earings! I love them! But I can only wear the carrot cause the rabbit is too big for my ears :(  Still, they are so adorable!

Ref:
Dongdaemon Fabric Market
Fauchon Paris
Fauchon Bakery Seoul

한정식 Hanjeongsik, Korean Set Meal

 One of the highlight of my trip to Korean was a traditional set meal we had in Insadong in one of those traditional restaurant which was probably a tourist trap. But since it had a "Good Restaurant" sign on it (click photo to view in full), we trust that it must be good, right? This is the view of the restaurant before entering.

Anyway, here is the menu with the price printed on it. Even the menu look expensive. We ordered two menus, one costing W38,500(SGD42.70) and W55,000 (SGD60.90), and yes we spend most of our money on food cause I don't really do shopping very well.

We were seated in a private room we shared with a group of japanese tourist who left shortly after we arrived. So it was just us and the waitress through out the meal.

Here are the dishes.

And as we were leaving, we took some nice photos of the restaurant as well. It was totally enjoyable!  I love the fizzy rice wine there!

Ref:
Hanjeongsik
Insadong

안녕하세요 (Hello in Korean)

Catching up post. In desperation for an oversea holiday last year, I did a crazy thing of coming back to Penang on a budget air and reaching Singapore Changi at 10:20pm, rush home to change, and be back in Changi again for my flight out to Seoul, Korea by 11pm. My heart never beat so fast before while taking a flight for a holiday. To think that I trust Air Asia so much to be on time to catch my flight speaks volume of my faith in that airline!

So I ended up in Seoul on 14 December 2012 in winter with only one bucket list item to clear, to see snow for the very first time in my life :)  Guess what. Mission accomplish the moment I landed on Incheon Airport. It was snowing and everything was white! But as we took the rail to Seoul it self, there was less and less snow. But I did manage to see some of it during our visit to the Changdeokgung Palace on 16-Dec-2012.

 

We also briefly visited the main entrance of Gyeongbokgung while we were walking past it looking for a Kyobo bookstore. 

It was a last minute short trip for me. My second time to Korea as my husband requested to go there as he has never been to Korea before. We spend a total of only 5 days there, reaching on 14-December-2012, and leaving on 18-December-2012. Most of the time we were only shopping and eating. Will share more in other post.

Some info on the trip.

• Airport Transfer to Seoul, we went via Airport Rail costing W8,000 (SGD8.90) per person return ticket ( I think)
• For Seoul transport, we got a T-Money card each good for trains in city costing W2,500(SGD2.80) each, and we top it up with W10,000(SGD11) each. It was enough to last us the whole trip, but then again, we did walk all over the city most of the time :P
• We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel, Myeongdong for  W107,500(SGD120) a night breakfast not included.

Ref:
Changdeokgung
Gyeongbokgung
Kyobo Book Store
Kyobo Official Site
Air Asia
AREX (Airport Rail Express)
T-Money
N Fourseason Seoul

Home

1st entry for year 2013, thought I'll start with something striking, beautiful, and close to my heart. Above is actually a photo of a corner of my home garden outside my HDB unit. Yes in this concrete jungle, I still try my best to maintain some sanity in my life. My garden is one of my little joy in life here.

I thought I'll start the first entry of the year (even though it's already April now), by showing you little things around my home that brighten ups my day. When you're working day and night, Monday to Sunday, sometimes you need to slow down and look around you to see what your life have become. These little things help keep me rooted to who I am, and who I want to be.

 

For a start, there's a lamp in every room as I love the ambiance a lamp brings to a home. It's warm, calming and elegant (plus it really keeps the utility bills down!). My dining table is a classic kopitiam style marble table, probably the single most expensive piece of furniture in my entire home (most of my furniture are acquired "freegan" style).  On the dining table I have a set of hand sewed cat coasters (you can click on the link to view the coasters in detail). I would love to always have fresh flowers on my dining table, but the cost is rather high, so I got some fake ones instead. Me bad. Maybe one day when I have an actual garden, I can grow my own flowers and have them on my table daily :)

Photo on the right is actually my shoe cabinet. On it are three potted plants I'm trying my best to keep alive as I love the idea of having indoor plants, and perhaps herbs in my kitchen. The cactus in front of the scarecrow is one of the very first plant we got in our home. Behind it is a traditional peranakan tiffin which I got from my mother, who inherit it from my grandmother. So in a way, it's a family heirloom. I'm wondering if I can get it restored. Anyway, moving on, there's somehow always pumkins and scarecrow in my life, a reminder of a friend I am very fond of. And right in front, Hello Kitty! It's actually my very first DIY paint-by-numbers. I have a bigger painting which I'll try to show it here in one of my blog entry.

Recently during the long weekend, I suddenly have this urge to buy files to organize my shelves. So above is the end result. I'm especially please with how the files get label to tell you what they contain. This is just the first shelve I tried organizing. I'm in a minty green phase of my life recently, so green and white is my color of choice. Next to the files are all my Japanese books. One day! One day I'll master that language! The other three holders are actually my husband's. But all the naked volcanic dudes are mine :) They are my beloved hell guardians I got from Hokkaido.

Lastly I painted my gate minty green sometime last year, and just two weeks ago, I managed to paint the wooden door white. It looks rather weird from the outside, but I kinda like it. The white and the metallic part looks really good together. My motivation for finally getting the door done, was to purchase SGD5 worth of door numbering so that I can finally hang them on my newly painted door. I would like to put a hand pulled bell outside my door, but I'm wondering if people would come around and steal it. If it's not too expensive, maybe I'll give it a try.

So there you have it, the start to my 2013. I'll try to continue on my backlog from now on, so that at least when I try to look back at my life, it won't be just some empty pages and nothing to remember me by. I'd like to chart as many information here as much as possible. Stay tune!

Ref:
HDB Flat
Kopitiam
Freegan
Hello Kitty