My cousin's wedding, part 2: God is in details

I took loads of pictures at my cousin's wedding in Ohio and it was the most beautiful, sunny, picturesque weekend.

I wanted to document it, but I'm always wary of putting pictures of people (and people's children) on the blog who haven't consented to it.  Technically, there aren't any privacy laws where I come from - take that suckers! - but I'd still like to keep all my limbs, thank you very much.  So instead, I thought I'd put up pitchers of some (faceless but lovely) details that I managed to capture.

The delicious Yo! Sushi eggplant salad that I had at the airport while waiting for my flight.  If you haven't been to Yo! Sushi but enjoy conveyor belts, I strongly recommend this eggplant salad, the fried squid and the spicy tuna handroll.  Or that's the lack of Japanese food in my life right now talking.

My aunt's garden and backyard, including the little tree swing for children (is it bad that I wished that I could fit into it?  I mean, I'm practically still a teenager.  Not.) and the table cloth she put on the table out back.  We spent ages sitting under the trees and eating the most amazing dinners.  If you haven't had Haleem, find a way people, stat!  (Haleem is not a person, by the way, though if she were, she would be very hot and wear many bangles.)

A jar of fireflies captured by all my neices and nephews, and string of lights in the trees.  I admit that I had a hand in catching the fireflies, but we let them all go back to their sex lives shortly after, I promise.

Details from the wedding hall - I had a hand in stringing the lights up and putting the flowers together!  If anyone wants to hire me, I'm free and charge a million dollars a day.  By the way, that cake was as amazing as it looks.

My very glittery star and the henna I wore for the wedding.  The lady who came to do the henna did an excellent job, you can see some of the stuff she did on my cousin two posts prior!

Some of the amazing patterns and colours worn that day.  Everyone looked absolutely gorgeous (I know you're obliged to say that but they really did) and all the prints and designs looked so good together.  Anjuly wouldn't want me to say myriad here, so I will.  Myriad.  Also, dig my cousin's beaded pumps.  I know, right.

I hope you guys enjoyed these pictures... it was a relief to be behind the camera and I thought it was a very moving, simple and beautiful wedding, made all the prettier for all the (40 or so!) family hands that went on deck to bring together flowers, decorations and run little errands. Not very elegantly put, but I hope you see what I mean.

My cousin's wedding, Part 1: The morning after

I was recently in the United States for my awesome cousin, M's, wedding.  It was quite a whirlwind trip over three days meeting lots of the family and having a really cool time, and M is great.  She's cute and fun and happy but on top of that, I've always been struck by her thoughtfulness and love for others and I was thrilled that I could be there!

Also striking: her awesome sense of style.

Remember how the morning after the Royal Wedding Kate Middleton and the Prince walked hand in hand to some helicopter and she was wearing this amazing, simple, chic ensemble with the perfect little black platform pump?  No?  Well:

Ganked from http://media19.onsugar.com/files/2011/04/17/6/192/1922398/a14eccff84948071_110430-kate.preview/i/Kate-Middleton-Duchess-Cambridge-Prince-William-Day-After-Royal-Wedding-Pictures.jpg

... now you do.  I just thought it was the perfect, breezy but pretty look for the day after what was probably a really stressful day in her life, and it made her very likeable.

That's exactly what I thought of M's look.  The next day after a late ending to her wedding, she showed up for a family brunch in an easy, chic look with a flowy patterned top and slim cigarette pants.  She also wore earrings made by her mother (my aunt), who makes these really cool, chunky pieces of jewellery.  And she even had the little black platform shoes!  Perfect. 

I doubt right now that I would have the presence of mind to put a look like this together the morning after my own stressful event, but with influences like M around, I can definitely start trying.

Although... some things absolutely do run in the family:

Trouble

I've been wanting to blog very badly, but a horrendous mishap with my laptop means that I've been left in the lurch, unable to even reply comments.  Now, my lovely, life-saving friend Hilary has lent me her mini-laptop and as a result, I'm finally back online!  Thank you Hil!  This post is possible because of you!

Unfortunately, there's still an issue replying comments and I've been trying for the last half an hour and have only managed one.  I don't know why that is, but I'm thinking that I'll have to start replying on a different schedule till my laptop is back out of the shop.  For this, I'm very sorry.  I love reading the comments and I reply every single one (thank you Tori, for commenting by the way!!  Please teach me to make elderflower cordial!  Please!) and I will get on it as soon as I can. 

I'm also getting used to a new photo uploading system and will start posting outfit pictures as soon as I can.  In the mean time, here are some pictures from my lovely weekend away in London where I enjoyed my little nephew's magnificent pirate party.

The whole backyard was littered with balls from the ball pit, lying in the sun like giant spheres of candy.  The decorations were loads of fun too, and I'm not just saying that because I helped put half of them up.

I even got to play with some of his toys.  This set, Kapla, is apparently one of the best-selling toys in Europe because it's just simple wooden block but you can build a multitude of things with it (and without glue!), right up to the Eiffel Tower with thousands of blocks.  It's supposed to be a toy to last you your whole life, and I can see why.  Here's my attempt at an igloo shape and my cousin's attempt at stairs.

The weather was great for flowers - my aunt had unfurling roses the size of my head.  I'll put the pictures in another post. 

And of course, what would a visit to the relatives be without good food?  The food was amazing - crisp hollow shells filled with a spicy sour tamarind juice, a salty chutney and chickpeas and potatoes.  Called pani puri, they sometimes have flakes of chilli sprinkled on top for extra spice and you're meant to pop the whole thing in your mouth and savour all the juices and textures in one bite. 

I hung around the table so long that my aunt came over and said to me, "I can see you like those."

There were also beautiful fruit displays, dosai with various chutneys and at least three different cakes, including a cute pirate cake my cousin made for her son.

And the best bit?  Having stuffed our faces, we sprawled out around the massive back garden, sun-drenched and windblown, watching the unbelievable blue sky though the dappled leaves.  Bliss!

Shopping: Camden Town

A couple of weeks ago, my mother was in town to visit me, so it seemed like a trip to London was in order.  The shopping is actually not bad where I am (you've got your Primark and H&M and Topshop), but there isn't much by way of handmade, small business type fashion.

So I really love visiting some of the markets in London and one of the ones that was introduced to me by my awesome cousin the last time we came is Camden Market.  She brought us around the last time and I bought some really cute clothes with her help. 

This time, however, my focus was the accessories.  I am an accessory nut and I have a massive accessory collection (if you are interested to see it), but I'm always looking for more.  I think a cool pair of earrings or necklace not only stand out, but also tell me a lot about the person wearing them. 

For example, I once met a girl who wore jewelled ear wraps that she made herself and that spoke volumes about how she felt about looking different, standing out and her taste. 

A great place to get accessories in Camden is in Camden Lock which, if you take the tube and come out of Camden Town, is at the end of the street.  The whole street is filled with vibrant, punky shops and people.  There are shops selling old Dr Marten boots for cheap, stalls selling brightly printed wellies, goth shops with the most crazy platform boots and even shops filled with nothing but leather jackets in every imaginable colour.  It's an amazing place to go, and even if you don't buy anything, there's lots to see. 

Also, if you've never seen locks, there are actual locks in Camden.  This is fascinating to me because I read something once about locks (Either it was E Nesbit's The Railway Children, which is a brilliant children's book if there ever was one, or some Enid Blyton yarn) and they described how locks work but I never actually managed to envision it until I saw the ones here.

 Imagining a lock is a real exercise but if you check out the picture above, it's much easier to figure out.  (If you, like me, are Starbucks inclined, the Starbucks has outdoor seating overlooking the lock and its zealous pigeons.)

Dress - Esprit.  Shoes - New Look.  Bag - Longchamp.

Tights - Primark.  Necklace - Etsy.  Earrings - The Cathay.

I wore my purple Esprit dress with layers which I was thrilled about because this dress is so sweltering in Singapore, you cannot IMAGINE layering the slightest thing over it.

Once in Camden Lock, we set to looking for cute, quirky pieces and in my mother's case, vintage-y ones suitable to her taste and age, in particular.

There are stalls selling everything.

Cool necklaces...

Vintage button earrings...

Button necklaces...

Amber jewellery...

Black and white handbags with vintage pictures on...

Lights...

Leather diaries...

Art....

 

Soap...

At several stalls, the craftsmen may even be sitting there making their wirework or carving stone and if you wish, you can stand there and tell them how to customise a piece you're interested in.  Also, you'll get the chance to see how they make it and ask them questions about their trade which I find fascinating.  And of course, if you see a pair of earrings that dangle too long, or a necklace which doesn't sit quite right, they can correct it for you on the spot. 

I bought a bracelet for Dhany from one stall where the owner showed me how he wove them from a special waxed thread.

Also, we checked out Covent Garden's market shortly after Camden and found that they were selling many of the same things, but at higher prices, so I guess the prices are probably better here in general.

At lunchtime, we went out into the square at the back of the building which sells food from all over the world.  It was entertaining to watch Turkish kebab men flirt with women next to the Indian vegeterian stall while the African stall owner stirred a massive pan of curry. 

We had some wonderful kebabs and a Spanish rice dish with veggies.

I bought a ridiculous amount of accessories which I thought I would incorporate into different daily garb posts but I thought I would show what my mom got first as she's since flown back to the Fatherland with all the loot.

She got three quirky broaches: A beautiful silver tree with real amber fruit on it, a crazy tri-metal rhino broach with dangles hanging on the bottom (she said she could even add her own) and the prettiest sterling silver wirework broach with clusters of pearls and real seashells.

I thought they were pretty durn cute.  What do you guys think?


PS  I plan to check out other markets the next time I head to London, so stay tuned for those!

PPS How can you stay tuned to a blog?!  You can only stay tuned to a channel, innit?

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How to get to Camden Town:

Take the Northern Line on the tube to Camden Town station.
Shops are open most days of the year (except Christmas) but I believe they start wrapping up around 5pm
Camden Markets website

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Other ways I've worn this dress:

The little prom dress that did