Old School Guides

could it just be another chic city guide with cool graphic design? well i hope not, nevertheless, Herb Lester offers specialized city maps to which ever kind of traveller or tourist you wish to be. in a time where you can app your way through any city to find the most hidden nooks, the pleasure of old-school map-in-hand referencing simply can't be replaced.

to date, Lester has got major cities covered like New York, London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. And to further feed the olympic hype, a guide to East London has also been produced!

one of my favorite cities not just because its home to the best football team :)

Country Roads

best things about long drives are the beautiful country side views which we singaporeans are deprived of i.e. mesmerizing clouds, sun rays, vegetation, farm animals and fresh air (with the occasional aroma of dung). we made our way to eastern france last weekend to the quaint city of strasbourg. it's my third time paying a visit to petite france and its still as charming as ever. but as they say, its not always about the destination but the journey getting there.

Fashion on Camera

if you haven't come across Jamie's blog already, come see this photographer's coverage of this year's CFDA awards. it's not the usual AFP/Reuters entertainment pictures we usually get from random entertainment sites for award show reviews. jamie focuses on the the details and pretty much makes every outfit look extremely fashionable. then again what better way to highlight fashion (it's the CFDA anyways) with these amazing shots of who wore what.

Accents {Mineral Magnet}

found: lovely gems for the board in a study or a fridge door from leif. sold in sets of 8 which include citrine, petrified wood, chrysocolla, calcite, rose quartz, blue quartz, green aventurine and more.

you may chuck away holiday souvenirs off the fridge door now.

Disney Shoes

i'm disappointed by Louboutin's Cinderella slippers, why aren't they glass?! Impractical, impossible? But isn't this Disneyworld? design speaking however, it's not my type of aesthetics. for others i guess its quite a magical collaboration = say hello to Disboutins. (via Stylist.co.uk)

looked good here until i saw the pair in the third image

lost the magic here.

have a magical week ahead :)

Monster

latest ad campaign from mulberry. liking this big brown bag.
happy friday folks! {click pic to make it big}

Roomscapes {Laundry}

this might be the only way to make me do laundry. unfortunately for us here in zurich, laundry facilities are commonly UNavailable in flats. there are communal laundry rooms at the basement of each apartment building - and mine here can only remind you of a German WWII bunker. they have good washers, dryers, laundry lines etc but i just find the whole basement too cold, too creepy (and too many excuses) so no guesses as to who's still doing them ah!

via Trad Home Vol IV Spring 2012

black / white may be an overused palette to most but create a classic by sprucing it up with provocative prints (or creepy faces by fornasetti), patterns and finishes and you'll get a space you'd probably want to spend more time in :) luckily for the home owner above (interior designer Berkeley Vallone), laundry will never be seen as a chore!

quote - i totally understand what she means when she said...

When i fall for something a little far out, and I can't get a client to use it, I have to use it in my house,

now who wouldn't have wanted that room?!

The Professional Organizer

i'm still amused how one can be a 'professional organizer' and be registered with the association of professional organizers "NAPO" - crucial in my opinion if you wish to avoid being called a mere cleaner. settling in my homemaker role of late, there just seems to be every corner of the apartment to organize or clean up i have realized. shamefully considering how small the apartment is and how much smaller my kitchen is, i have yet to develop a permanent 'system' of my own. 

anyhow this discovery via dust jacket of a spanish design firm (Deulonder) specializing in kitchens, pantries and laundry rooms has totally inspired me to get my butt movin'! 

beware...kitchen envy ahead.

love love love!

Carry on, Keep it Up

for those who want to be or are in the creative industry. via dear heart
whatever you may be doing and creating, the point is, keep making more of it :)

Plans to Plan

i almost forgot this bit of www existed. as i was planning to plan my week last week, the mr confirmed his business trip and we took the night flight out to london on the very same day. as much as its always a blessing to visit english speaking countries (you can tell i'm not enjoying german very much), it's quite a hassle to keep traveling when you are trying to settle down.

anyhow, i made the most out of that trip to spend some time at the family home, buy great-fitting trousers from M&S and pay a visit to notting hill (love love love). it was great that i didn't drop by portobello during sundays because many shops and people confuse me in general. i made some good conversation with ceramic enthusiasts at Ceramica Blue for one and spent good time browsing at THE notting hill bookshop :) managed to get quite a loot of design books at sale prices too which reminds me, i experienced this eureka moment a week back and ever since then had a flood of ideas for exciting future projects. so pumped up for this and hoping i can get started on planning that one seriously.

okay its about 18 days to the great month of ramadan but i'm apprehensive at the same time due to the super long fasting hours i will be observing! there are so many things i will want to complete before the month starts like painting our living and dining area walls and ordering a wardrobe! hopefully we can get the house up just in time for Eid :)

in other news, i should be receiving my wedding photos soon, would love to share some here once they get delivered.

oh and happy monday everyone, enjoy some pictures from portobello.