temporary escape.

Here I am, caught in the middle of winter, finding myself missing the beach. This photo was taken last February while I was in Malaysia. It's scalding hot outside every day there but it's beautiful. We spent most of our time in town but for a couple days we decided to travel out to Pangkor Islands. Search that up because it's lovely! We only stayed one night at this little island getaway but I wish we could have stayed longer. I spent my short visit there collecting seashells and walking along the beach. I think this song is pretty fitting. This is my temporary escape from winter. I took a plethera of gorgeous photos during my travels. I'll be sure to post more in the future! Please enjoy 'I Was Made For You' by She & Him.

visitors

During the Christmas holidays, my extended family living nearby make rounds visiting each other's houses. I spent Christmas eve here at my godparents' house and fell in love with the lights in their window. I've seen them elsewhere before but I never new they had them. The photos seemed a little cliche but I'm easily attracted to shiny things. I hope to hunt down some of my own star lights one day. I've also had this vision of having a white, metal frame headboard in which I could weave white Christmas lights through. It sounds much like a little girl's room but to this day I still wouldn't mind having that. It would be making up for lost bits of my childhood.

Believe it or not, this is a photo of a Christmas tree.

I love the rich red of poinsettias.

And a little bokeh because you know I love it.

disco for the holidays.

I have so many Christmas things to blog about but here is just one. These were taken while I was decorating the tree although there is no evidence of Christmas in these photos. We almost weren't going to have a Christmas tree this year but my parent's surprised me a couple days before Christmas with one. We have some pretty funky decorations including these lovely disco balls. We have four in total but a bunch of other similar, disco-esque ornaments doused in glitter. I took decorating the tree into my own hands and had a lot of fun with it, though I'm short and it's difficult for me to do some of it. It's the feeling of accomplishment at the end that I love and it never feels like Christmas without a sparkling tree.

Please enjoy this awful photo of me I took during the process. It's purposely blurred so I can better hide my flaws but I think it adds a soft effect. Although I look terrible, messy-haired and only one eye made it into the frame, I was very happy at this moment in time. If you haven't noticed, that's the Wilfred woven wool scarf! I received it from my sweetheart for Christmas. It feels so good to cross this one of my wishlist though I feel a little spoiled with it being quite expensive. Since it is on the pricey side, I will wear it constantly and in every which way possible to get full use out of it! I shall embrace my thrifty side!

some holiday sparkle.

As a blogger, I think I'm lacking in holiday themed posts. There's only two days left until Christmas and this is my first! I do have a lot of pictures taken so I'll be making up for it in the next couple days. Christmas galore! I absolutely love the holidays. I love giving presents and, who am I kidding, I love getting them too! Everyone is just so happy and it makes me happy too! I recently bought some silver nail polish from aerie and it's so festive! It'll be my holiday/party nails look. Their nail polish was originally 2 for $7 but as of last week they've been marked down to $2.99 a pop! I already have two bottles but I think I'll be going back for more. How often do you come across a good sparkley, silver nail polish? The same nail polish comes in rich red, royal blue, and bronze. All of which are sparkley! Speaking of nail polish, I'm really excited for the new Katy Perry colours with OPI. I've got my eyes on the Teenage Dream colour.

First wrapped gift! I love last year's IKEA reversible wrapping paper!

Silly me. I went outside to take photos of the almost fake looking snow outside my front door and decided it would be a good idea to pick up snow and take photos of that. I ended up freezing my fingers and my hand was bitter cold for about an hour. I know there isn't much snow on my fingers in this photo but I did pick up more snow after that. Mistake. On the brightside, these photos turned out really nice and icy. The photo below is of the bush in my front yard that used to be dying but has made a miraculous recovery. It looks quite Christmasy what with all the fluffy snow! Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday! Happy Christmas Eve's Eve.

loitering

Last Friday was the last day of school and what a wonderful day it was. It was fun and full of little surprises! I was expecting one Christmas gift but I received two more! I haven't taken pictures of all of them yet but I will soon. First I shall talk about my visit to Chapters later that afternoon. I was originally going there to pick up a book to read for school but that's just one excuse to be there. I love going to Chapters! The feel is just nice and I love how people are strewed out all about the store reading. I always wonder if this should really be allowed though. I could just pay multiple visits to Chapters and finish a book I never bought. Then again, they do put seats in every corner of the store. There's also a Starbucks located right across the room, known for their loungy atmosphere. I'm kind of getting the feeling they want us to loiter there. Anyway, I got what I came for but had to pass up many books that caught my eye. I did get some ribbon though! You may not be as excited about this as I am but they were darling colours and 30% off! Ribbons make me very happy, I have a collection budding in my dresser drawer. One day I will be Monica Geller.

My favourite section!

I was playing around with this photo on photoshop and I loved how it looked as a blurred background with white text. Although I had a lot of trouble with deciding what word to put there. I settled for 'chapters' being that that's where I took the picture but I feel I could still do better. Any ideas? This could very well be a draft for a Chapters ad.

my wishlist: christmas edition

This seems a tad late, being only eleven days to Christmas, but perhaps there are still some stumped fellows out there. I have had many wishlists but I guess this one will be specifically to Christmas, an updated version. Although this isn't exactly Christmas themed. These are just some things I still want and some I need. There's a very small break between my birthday and Christmas and the time has slipped for me to spend my birthday money. Every year, before I know it, I've spent all my birthday money on Christmas gifts. The real shopping spree comes after Christmas is over. I'm excited for all the post-Christmas sales!

1. BB Dakota Dress; I'm loving the sheer skirt portion of this dress. It looks like it would be a super comfortable, casual dress. I linked the one on Fredflare but it's also available on Nastygal.

2. Sephora Rounded Powder Brush; In need of a large brush for face powder and blush!

3. Bowler Hat; This is a repeat item because I still want it very much. I saw a nice Wilfred one at Aritzia. I fit the size small/medium one!

4. Wilfred Woven Wool Scarf; This is a semi-repeat item, it's just in a different colour. I love both colours equally although I think this one might look better on me. It doubles as a poncho! Who could ask for anything more?

5. Gap Cable Knit Sweater; I've been looking for a cute, knit pullover. This would go great with my acid wash leggings from Aritzia!

6. Joya and Vane Solid Perfume Pendants; I think this is so neat! It's a beautiful piece of jewellery that also makes you smell wonderful. As you can see, I'm into the whole multi-purpose thing. It also comes in an oval shape and a heart shape.

7. Ecote Mini Crossbody Bag; Available at Urban Outfitters. This is the most adorable bag I've ever seen! I almost bought it last Saturday but it took all my willpower to say no and put my Christmas gift shopping first. It was on sale too! I will come back for you Ecote mini crossbody bag!

8. Threadsence Boots; I'm not even sure if these boots are still available but if they are, I want them! I've been searching for a pair of heel boots like these.

9. El Paso Minnetonka's; Repeat! I still want a pair of moccasins very much. I don't have any real shoes. By shoes I mean not boots. It seems all I've been doing lately is alternating between my two pairs of boots and my little, rugged school flats. In dire need of shoes!

10. Aerie Boxers; I adore Aerie boxers, they're undeniably cute! I recently bought one pair but resisted from buying more since it's still winter and I also already have two pairs. But the more the merrier I say! The prints on all of them are so darling, it would make me so happy to own a bunch of them. I'm also a big fan of their new holiday themed undies! They're pajama pants are sweet as well. It seems like an awful lot of money to be spending on clothes no one will ever see or you'd ever where out of the house but I don't care! Aerie makes me a happy girl.

11. Pins & Needles Tulle Skirt; I adore tulle! This skirt makes me feel princess-like and who wouldn't want to feel like a princess? I also think this would be a nice edition to my closet. I don't own any maxi skirts.

12. Katy Perry OPI Nail Polish; Okay, okay. I know her line with OPI doesn't come out until January but I'm just too excited. You can be sure that I'll be running around the mall January 1st hunting down this nail polish. My favourite of the bunch is this colour, Teenage Dream.

13. Cooperative Trompe L'Oeil Eyeglass Case; I actually really need this, what with me wearing glasses and all.

14. Cooperative Trompe L'Oeil Pencil Case; I love this quirky little pencil case by the same makers of the glasses case.

15. Sage Advice Tote; Very much in need of a tote for everyday use. I always find myself with one or two things extra on the odd day that I cannot fit in my backpack. I always settle for using a flimsy paper shopping bag and end up breaking it after a few uses. I'd really go for any nice tote bag but this baby is from Anthropologie.

There are some things that I need that I feel are slightly unimportant to put in an "official" wishlist like this but I thought I might mention some now. I guess you could call these the stocking stuffers if we're talking about Christmas. Here are the unmentioned:

• Black, hardcover, binded sketchbooks.
• Pilot fineliners! (I go through these like a mad woman.)
• William-Sonoma Hot Chocolate—the best hot chocolate in the world, in my opinion.
• Watercolour paper—to make cards.
• 500 Days of Summer on DVD
• Pattern by Orla Kiely; not exactly a stocking stuffer but still wanted.
• Crochet needles
• Cowboy boots!—this wouldn't fit in my stocking.
• A domain name to myself!
• Despicable Me on DVD
• Talula mittens in Vanilla Ice (that's actually the colour name, I kid you not.)
• Gift cards; Happily accepted from stores such as Aritzia, Urban Outfitters, aerie, American Apparel, Anthropologie and Starbucks and online stores such as Fredflare, Mocloth, Threadsence, and Nastygal.
• Pre-paid Visa! I was reminded by the listing of online stores. A pre-paid visa will allow me to shop online, identity theft free! I also wouldn't have to bug anyone for their credit card.

For even more gift ideas or if you have yet to see any of my wishlist blog posts, refer to my essentials, luxuries, and random edition wishlists.

dolled up.

Two weeks ago I got all glamoured up for a little photoshoot. It was for a reference photo for my current art project. I was going for high fashion, mystery girl. To do so I had to borrow items from all my friends because I didn't own a single thing of what I wanted to dress in. I think the photos turned out well and I'm excited to get working on my piece. Below are a few of my initial sketches for the project. Hopefully it turns out nice and perhaps I'll post photos!

Well what do you know. The second time I embed a song into my blog post and it's another Beatles song. This one's called "I'm Looking Through You". Have a listen!

savour that cupcake.

Isn't that such a sweet, little handcrafted cupcake? This was from my birthday, which is coming up to almost a month ago. I share my birthday with probably thousands of people and one of them is a friend of mine. His girlfriend made these adorable cookie monster cupcakes to share with all our friends. I ate one and then insisted on saving my second to take a photo of later. Silly me, I didn't bring my camera along on my own birthday. So I carefully transported this cupcake around, trying my best to resist from eating it, placed it in my fridge and only returned to it a week later. With the weather getting colder, the sun was hiding and I refused to take a picture when the sky was being so gloomy. Finally one Saturday morning the sun was bright so once again I threw on a coat over my pajamas and ran outside to snap some photos of this cupcake in odd backdrops. The picture I chose to share was this of the cupcake sitting on the top of a small concrete wall. Ain't he cute? He's still sitting in my fridge 'til this day. I don't think I'll ever eat it, just admire it every time I open my fridge door.

Later that day, I took many photos inside including these. The one directly below is of the lovely bow stud earrings I received from my pal, Velanie. I get to cross this one of my wishlist! After taking a photo of those to share in a anticipated birthday post I continued to take more! I couldn't ignore the lighting and I just loved how gleaming gold earrings looked under that light. I decided to share a snippet of my earrings collection from the gold section.

I also received a beautiful wool coat from my parents for my birthday that I've started to wear. It's from Banana Republic and I'll link it here but I'm waiting for a snowfall to take some photos of me actually in it. Yes, I'm very specific about when and where I want to take my pictures. I just want it to be exactly how I imagined in my head and that's in the snow!

flick favourites.

If you've read my last post, you'd know that I now have a flickr account! Being new in the flickr world, I've doing lots of browsing and have found so many beautiful photographs. I knew I was bound to come across some but who knew there were so many great ones! I can now go for hours, perusing through photostreams and carefully selecting which photos I want to appear in my favourites. For the first couple days I was a little trigger-happy and nonchalantly clicking away at every pretty sight but then I realized that these favourites should be absolutely outstanding. I shouldn't just let a colossal amount of little thumbnails pile up in my favourites, I should pick the ones that are genuinely my favourite. I think this may be the start of a small series on my blog; flickr favourites. The photos below are just a few of my current favourites. I didn't want to let this post get too lengthy so a series might be a good idea.

by Teresa Q

by kassia

by Teresa Q

by Yvette Inufio

by ghostlings

by Yvette Inufio

by _cassia_

by Yvette Inufio

by ghostlings

by kassia

by Elle.Photography

by NelsonBr2010

by Pascal Grob

Be sure to have a look at my flickr photostream as well and I've linked every photo to the photographer's photostream. Happy browsing! You can also glance at my favourites here.

birthday!

A birthday post is long overdue! It's been about fourteen days since my birthday and I haven't even taken pictures of everything I received. But I'll do the best I can and perhaps post birthday pictures in parts. These series of pictures were all taken in one night, the day I received Hazel's gift! She gave me the most heart-warming present this year. On the day of my actual birthday, Hazel was gallivanting in New York. Before she left she asked if there was anything in particular that I wanted her to bring back and the one thing I asked for was a photo of Tom's Restaurant, the famous diner from Seinfeld. Now, I have the memory of a goldfish and I soon forgot what I asked for. But lovely Hazel remembered and surprised me with a print of Tom's Restaurant she had taken herself. Along with this there was an I ♥ NY mug (classic) and a disposable camera which I've been itching to buy. I was overwhelmed with happiness. This was the perfect little combination of gifts. It doesn't seem like much but it's a lot to me! The mug I use almost everyday and I've already taken quite a few pictures with the disposable camera, including some of these adorable paper-folded stars my cousin made me years ago. I hope those photos turn out as dreamy and whimsical as some of these did. With the photo above, I was going for the disposable camera photo look with the editing. I want my photos to look like that, although they probably wouldn't be as clear. Below are photos of my gifts and some from my little starry photo shoot.

I adore how clean and white this mug is. It fascinates me.

Tom's Restaurant!

You can see this very same flower in my last post but covered in dust. I cleaned!

So darling.

Visit Hazel's blog for her New York trip posts! And also, I've made a flickr account! Please have a peek at my photostream, most of which will correspond with blog posts. I'd love to hear comments and feedback but also keep in mind that I am a total amateur with an insufficient camera. Okay, now go look!