oh baby...

I was tweeting with a friend today about Justin Beiber...

I admit it, I like this song.

It's infectious and poppy and catchy.

It makes me smile...

Following this admission, I understand if we can no longer be friends or if you choose to stop reading my blog :)

happiness is...

Happiness is essentially the process of becoming honest with yourself and the world.

You see yourself for who you are: good, but imperfect, and capable but not beyond error.

You see that the world is a good place, but not a perfect place.

You accept that billions of things will happen in your presence during your lifetime, and that not all of them will be exactly what you wanted them to be.

You understand that your mood is the product of your reactions to external forces, not the forces themselves.

- from Edward Harran

yellow...

I popped into one of my favourite cheap little boutiques the other day, First Day.  8/10 visits to that store always end up in me buying something!  

Continuing on my quest of embracing colour (and particularly adding more colour to my work wardrobe) I picked up a cute little mustard embroidered top... I am currently crushing big time on shades of yellow...

via Phuong on Pinterest

sunday morning...

Our friends at Vanguard are moving :(

That means today will be the last Sunday of a long standing weekend ritual - breakfast and coffee at Kith and visiting Sean and Jac at the bike shop.   Now if only the Mr would get out of bed, I'm hungry!!

 

via Phuong on Pinterest

holidays!

Thanks Janeo for sharing this cool song - you are one of my music gurus!
Have an amazing time in NYC!  I am so inspired by your marathon efforts xx
(ps i hope your shins don't annoy you too much) 

where the magic happens...

So you may have seen I have given bubbletealove a slight makeover... Now all I need is a pretty new header.. I wish I was a bit more artistic/techy.  I think a makeover is always a good thing.  It doesn't always have to be dramatic to be effective.   

Often we get too comfortable (and I am not saying comfort is a bad thing) but it's always nice and exciting to try something new and get out of your comfort zone for a bit.  It is often where the magic happens...

i want you back...

This song gets me every time, my go to cheer me up put a smile on my face song... perfect for a Friday morning!

pretty vs practical...

With all this travel for work and play, I am on the hunt for some new luggage.. my trusty old carry on that has seen me through many an adventure has definitely seen better days!

I LOVE the vintagey pretty style of the suitcases in this Vogue spread but I fear they will just not be practical ... pretty vs practical (a question I find I ask myself often! much to the dismay of the very practical Mr)... sigh....#firstworldproblems :)



via Phuong on Pinterest

It's been a hectic couple of weeks here especially at work with 2am finishes, last minute work trips to HK on top of the usual everyday stuff.   Sometimes it just helps to take a step back and take a breather...

a fine fedora...

Not enough people wear hats... I think we need to embrace the hat more often - sun protection + a life saver for a bad hair day!  

via Pinterest

cooking class...

We are off to Vietnam in a couple of weeks time with the fam and I can't wait!!

It's so hard to find authentic and tasty Vietnamese food in Singapore so I am hanging out for some amazing Viet food and spending time with my parents and second mum.  

Given the lack of available Vietnamese food here, I have been inspired lately to cook more of it at home... I need to get some more cooking lessons from my mama!  Although like a lot of mums, she doesn't really use recipes or measurements and normally cooks based on taste, gut and her experience.

Fortunately for us rookies, we have the interwebs... The Ravenous Couple (thanks Hieu!) and Viet World Kitchen seem to be full of great recipes and of course there are also old faves, Luke Nguyen and those lovely folks at SBS.   Here's hoping that one day, I can cook as well as my mama!

it's sunday...go outside...

an old friend...

hello from Hong Kong!

it's wonderful to be back here for a couple of days. I adore this city.

via Phuong on Pinterest

preparation...

Listening to this tune whilst getting ready for my birthday party!  It makes me happy

big apple love...

So it seems my battle with jetlag is finally over, my health is back and I am feeling normal again, yay!

As readers know, I was recently in New York for work.  A fun but long jet-lag filled week.  However, I was able to have a day or so free and caught up with Ro and Andrew (who were on an epic US holiday) and Liz and John (our mates who have lived in NY for a while now).   What did we get up to?

First stop was meeting for dinner at Schillers Liquor Bar.  I had the Mac + Cheese - it was yum!  I never used to be a creamy pasta kind of person but have recently been hooked on Mac and Cheese after eating it (and loving it) at Bedrock a few months ago.   Schillers has a great buzzy, warm atmosphere with some funky and quirky decor. 

After Schillers, we headed around the corner to a little speakeasy - The Back Room.  A hidden entrance down some stairs and an alley led us to a big room that felt like someone's living room complete with fireplace, massive velvet couches, books and a globe.  All drinks served in teacups :)

The next morning, I left my lodgings in the lower east side at The Bowery House (think edgy fancyish youth hostel - pretty good for $80/night!), coffee and bagel in hand and walked over to the West Village to Liz and John's place.  Ro and I headed to Tartine for breakfast.  Tiny, quaint little cafe where I had some fabulous eggs.  

After Tartine, Ro and I started our adventures for the day - we walked through the West Village and up to Chelsea.  One of our first stops was the lovely Anthropologie where I picked up some things for home and a few little things for YT for the b'day.  We headed over to Chelsea Market and delighted in all the fresh produce, market stalls and all around yummy goodness and explored some of the shops in the Meatpacking District.  We stopped off at the Standard Grill Living Room underneath the Standard Hotel for lunch where we had what Ro calls, our yipster (yuppie hipster) lunch.  Then it was off to walk the Highline (railway converted into awesome park/public space).  Finished up with a drink at Eataly (a mecca for all things Italian food) in the Flatiron district.  It was a beautiful sunny day and a wonderful way to spend a few hours exploring the city and catching up.  

Dinner that night was pizza at Arturo's followed up by some outstanding improv comedy at UCB.   The others went off for more drinks but I ventured back home in preparation for my long flight home. 

My last morning in New York was spent having an early morning breakfast of coffee, croissant, soft boiled egg and soldiers and the New York Times at Balthazar.   The perfect way to end my New York week.   The subsequent 2 days it took me to get home was less than pleasant but that is another story for another day!

friday loveliness...

elizabeth & james...

Pretty, bright floaty looks from the Spring 2012 Elizabeth + James collection from the Olsen twins. I am loving all the yellow. 

Speaking of twins, I miss mine!  Unfortunately, we will be celebrating another birthday apart on Sunday... 

a definition...

Jetlag (noun)

1. to be so very tired you lose track of days and time caused by high speed travel across numerous timezones
2. tendency to get sick resulting in little blog action.

be back soon xx

new york tomorrow...yay!

Source: via Phuong on Pinterest