Long time no see!

Hello everyone!

It's been quite a while since I last posted here as I've been utterly busy with school. I'm afraid that I won't be able to post again for at least a month more - my promotional exams are coming soon and this is a very, very important part of the year for me. Rest assured though, that I will start posting more frequently once my exams are over - this is because it means I can go out more often! Hurray! :D

Expect some changes when that time comes! ;)

xx

National Day

Happy (belated) Birthday, Singapore!

I spent the first half of National Day waking up at 1pm, bathing and afterwards doing nothing but surfing the web until around 5pm when we were supposed to go to our cousin's apartment to watch the fireworks. The fireworks thing didn't happen though because maybe we're not close enough to Marina Bay to watch it or maybe it was because of the huge stadium right in front of the flat that was blocking our view. Whatever, man - I'm happy as long as I get to eat!

Today, however, I'm afraid it's time for me to get started on that pile of homework. :(

But it's okay! I'm going out to have dinner later with friends. Can't wait to eat baked rice. Yum!

Langkawi

The hotel room

Kilim Geoforest Park

Houses & hotels along Pantai Cenang

Me, parasailing. Thanks to my sister who took this photo. :)

I spent about a week of my holidays in Langkawi, Malaysia. I had so much fun there - how could I not?! I tried so many new things - jet-skiing, para-sailing, and banana-boating.  "Just keep swimming" is about the best advice I've ever been given when trying to avoid getting bitten by the fish when snorkelling - thanks Dory! 

Of all the places in Langkawi I've visited, I think I'll miss Pantai Cenang the most. The beach was utterly beautiful and that's where I did a lot of my water activities. Besides that, there are restaurants along the road next to the beach as well as the small quirky shops which make me wish there were such things in Singapore.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll let them explain the rest.

Recent happenings.

1. It was my 17th birthday exactly two weeks ago. So much fun! The best part was that I received lots of chocolate that day - I absolutely love anyone who gives me chocolates for my birthday - yum!

2. Recently, my friend and I went to a public art exhibition - called Noise Singapore - which is held annually. There I got to doodle on a totebag (the activity was 100% free, so of course I had to grab the chance) and ended up with the above. Not bad if I do say so myself! I was even asked by a girl to have my picture taken holding up the totebag which I drew on! What a compliment - it totally made my day!

3. I also bought Florence + The Machines' recent album which is titled "Ceremonials". Seven Devils is my most favourite song so far.

How have you been, dear readers? I have been rather busy with schoolwork lately - it seems to be endless! :(

Shopping!

I bought this peter pan collared long-sleeved shirt from Lalu just a week ago, and I'm already loving it very, very much! I'm currently looking for a maxi or midi black skirt to pair it with, as well as a black wide-brimmed hat (yes, I know - I love la couleur noir so much that my entire wardrobe seems to be a perpetual black), so if anyone knows where I can get one in Singapore, I'd be very much thankful. I'm also considering buying a "pleated assymmetrical length skirt" from The Scarlet Room, a local blogshop, which really is (in my opinion) one of the best local blogshops around. Tell me what you think! xx

From Marlous

I was utterly delighted to receive Marlous' letter today as part of her letter-writing project - and look at all the goodies inside! Thank you so much Marlous, for sending me these vintage (?) stamps, stickers, tea, and so much more! Also, thanks for writing a few Dutch phrases for me. I love all of the things you sent me! I don't think I've mentioned that I liked tea in the letter I sent to you, but thank you very much for sending me a bag of tea anyway - I'll make sure to use it for tomorrow's tea!  And you even decorated the letter itself with lots of japanese washi tape and stamps. Ahhh this totally made my day! I really reaaaaaaalllly love it! ;D

I'll try to write back to you as soon as I can! *squealing*

Reads + Art Prints

A week or two ago I managed to grab the 44th issue of Frankie from a shop I just happened to stumble upon while looking for a Fujifilm Instax 210 to add to my collection of cameras (which I ended up deciding not to buy after looking at the price of a pack of film and instantly feeling the impact it would have had on my wallet OTL). Now, I'm looking for a 35mm back for my Diana F+ since, let's face it - 35mm film is much cheaper than the current 120mm film I'm using. So if anyone (a.k.a my fellow Singaporean readers) knows where I can buy the 35mm back at a lower retail price, feel absolutely free to contact yours truly (I encourage you to). Sorry about the sidetrack but anyway, I was pretty excited in getting to read Benjamin Law's witty articles in Frankie again, after almost half a year of no Frankie-loving at all due to national exams and such. :( I have to get my hands on the latest issue soon - I feel horribly outdated.

I've been reading the January issue of National Geographic too - interesting, really. The article I was most interested in was the featured article about how identical twins with their identical D.N.A could possibly lead to new discoveries about human behaviour , illnesses and the like.*(Feel free to correct me here, in case my one-sentence summary is off by a bit.) Now I don't want to get into all the scientific details (impossible though, I'd have to copy and paste the whole article if I wanted to) so I'll leave it to you to get your own copy if you're interested in reading more about the article. (I bet you don't see many blogs which blog about scientific studies, do you? This is what happens when you're a science student. I am a geek by night.)

Last Saturday, I've also managed to buy a couple of art prints from Stephanie Cahyadi while I was at the LaSalle College of The Arts Open House 2012. No words are necessary besides the standard "I love them very much" for beautiful artworks such as these.

All in all, the past week has been good to me. How has yours been, dear beloved readers? xx

Korea Part II

After our first few days spent in the countryside, we headed back to the city to do the thing most of us were looking forward to do - shopping! One thing I will never forget about our vacation to Korea was the amount of walking we had to do while we were in the city area. (Take note that this is in the viewpoint of a Singaporean.)

There were loads of shopping centres, and they stock a lot of branded goods. Naturally, I couldn't afford those (being the poor student that I am) so instead I tried my very best to look for stores which sold actual souvenirs, which, to my surprise, were rather difficult to find. We did, however, go to a street market that had many stalls selling clothes, and there we stumbled upon a stall which sold " t-shirts for tourists" as I like to call it. You know, the "I love X COUNTRY" kind? My family and I bought a few for ourselves and other close friends.

While we were in Korea, we also managed to go to N Seoul Tower, where we got a fantastic view of the city. I have to say though, climbing up the slope which led to the tower took a lot of effort and I'm not even exaggerating! Oh well, another few kilos gone, so it's okay. At the top of the tower there was a souvenir shop and a cafe. That was where I got some of my other souvenirs.

On our second last day in Seoul, right after the visit to the National Palace Museum of Korea which was located in the Gyeongbokgung Palace, it suddenly started to snow. We were utterly thrilled, because for the most of us, it was actually our first experience with (falling) snow. Some of us even started dancing right there and then.

I miss Seoul dearly. The last memory I had of our vacation was during the plane ride on our way back home, when a Korean I was sitting beside had offered me his ice-cream which was given to passengers as a dessert. Haha, it was really nice of him and yes, I did accept it.

xx

Letter-writing.

Today I had quite some free time on my hands so I thought I might do some letter-writing to some of my friends - I had a lot of fun decorating the envelopes. I also got to use some of the stationery which I bought from my trip to Korea. Although they were too pretty to use, I figured that I might actually have another chance to get some more of the stationery, so there you go! xx

P.S. I just started a new blog. Will post more on that sometime in the future.

Win a painting by Cupkay!

So yes, apparently you can stand a chance to win this lovely painting by Kayla of Cupkay. All you have to do is comment on her giveaway post on what your dream vacation is, as easy as that! Not only that, there are additional entries you can earn to win Wanderlust (a.k.a. the title of this beautiful art piece) so make sure - if like me, you're utterly in love with this piece - to gain every additional entry you can get (even if it means you're making my chances of winning this much lower! But hey, it's okay. Every man - or woman - for himself (or herself), right?)

Click here, or click on the image above to go to the giveaway page. Winners will be announced on Friday, January 13, so be sure to get those entries coming! xx

(credits for the image, of course goes to Kayla)

Happy 2012 everyone!

Hope this year will bring you great memories.

Korea (Part I)

It has been 4 days since I came back from my week-long vacation in Korea. There's not much to say except the obvious - I had a great time. The best part about the trip had to be when I got to ski for the first time. Despite being out in the cold for a long period of time, falling into the not-so-soft snow with almost every attempt but one at skiing down an albeit gentle slope, and having a most difficult time carrying the skiing equipment back up the slope as well as just taking them off - I loved the adrenaline rush, especially since I had no idea how to stop myself before I crashed into someone (hence, the final resort of falling into the snow). Did I mention that looks can be deceiving? As much as the slope is gentle, when you ski down that damn thing you feel like you're going at a hundred miles an hour (well, that's what I felt like anyway)!

The photos above are not the ones I took at the ski resort I stayed at (where, by the way, I also got to sleep on a heated floor for the first time in my whole life, which was truthfully, an interesting experience. I didn't think sleeping on any floor would be comfortable until that day). The first photo was taken during the ride up the Sorak Mountains which is found at the Seoraksan National Park. The next two were taken at Nami Island, where a part of the filming of Winter Sonata took place.

On Korean food - let's just say that the Koreans sure do know how to make vegetables taste tasty. I admit - before the trip I seriously needed to change my diet such that it includes more vegetables but I was utterly stubborn and reluctant (I hated eating vegetables since childhood). Now eating vegetables doesn't seem like the end of the world at all (Yes, I used to think that when I was younger).  Also, Tempura - where have you been all my life? Sweet potato tempura is undoubtedly my favourite.

Yes, I realize I have been missing out on a lot of things in my life. xx

The Sketchbook Project.

Look at what arrived in the mail today!

I've been looking forward to receiving this for a couple of weeks now and so I am thrilled that it has finally arrived at my doorstep (well, my mailbox really). I'll do my best to get started as soon as possible. The theme I'll be working on would be "The Secret and How to Tell It" and I will be uploading my sketches on this blog as well as on my profile too. Are any of you participating in the Sketchbook Project as well? xx

Lightbulbs.

I do quite love the displays local shopping centres set up even if I don't celebrate the occassion. I mean - look at all the pretty lights! To those of you who do celebrate Christmas - well then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! xx

Pretty Packaging.

Anyone who knows me well would know that I am a fan of handwritten letters. I've been having a hard time as of late, trying to figure out how on earth I should "package" my letters because the letters I have received so far from my penpals were all wonderfully packaged and I feel like as if it is an obligation to return the favour. After all, who wouldn't want to find beautiful mail in their mailbox? I know the act of receiving even a simple letter thrills me to the core! 

Above are a few examples of utterly beautiful packaging from fleur avenue, a flood of memories, and send more mail. xx

Rouge.

Given that I have 4 days left till prom (yes, my exams are over and I'm finally graduating), I should be worrying about the fact that I have not even bought new clothes for prom - seeing as how my wardrobe being "perpetual black" distinctly contradicts the theme for prom which is, in fact, "Rainbow". I have only a vague idea of what I'm going to wear and it mainly involves the colour red which is one of my few favourite colours.

To the readers of this blog, as well as my other more personal blog, I would like to ask if any of you are participating in the Sketchbook Project (Limited Edition)? I am currently contemplating whether or not I should join, myself. It seems like a very interesting and exciting project indeed, though at the same time I would have to take into account other personal factors such as the amount of free time I have available, etc. It would be nice to have another person's opinion to consider as well.

Meanwhile, enjoy these photos which may or may not consist of the different intermediate shades of la couleur rouge.

- R. xx

(sources are click-through; second picture - unknown source)

Apologies,

For those of you who've read the previous post, you should know that I've just received a brand new D5100 two days ago, so I have to say - I'm extremely delighted at the fact! Thank you mom & dad!

Here are some random shots of random objects around the house, unedited (as always, sorry), but relevant in the makings of my day today.

I'm going to bake tollhouse cookies tomorrow! Currently re-reading Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs. xx