Off-duty effortless

Shriya, Anjuly and I have sleepovers at least once a month.  I don't remember how it started, just that we would hang out into the wee hours of the morning until there didn't seem to be a point going back home for bed anymore.

I was never allowed sleepovers as a child.  I seriously missed out on all the fun stuff that other girls got to do with their female friends, and in a way, I'm making up for lost time.  

We've since gotten our sleepover system down to an art.  I bring my duvet and an extra pillow, the hosting person (either Anjuly or Shriya) clears space on the bed and floor and nibbles are provided by all.  We even have a timetable of sorts - traditionally dinner, or a massive snack fest, followed by a couple of chick flicks and then gossip or discussions that go on for hours.  And always, always breakfast the next morning. 

On the face of it, it's a really frivolous, girly thing to do, but behind closed doors, things can get pretty intense and I don't mean in the way school boys always imagine.  As the moon peaks and then starts to set, we talk about our pasts, our futures, our hopes, our dreams, our fears.  We laugh a lot over juicy tidbits, but the talk can also get pretty serious.  Somehow after midnight, everyone's guard comes down and thoughts are shared, some so private and secret that we don't even mention them the next morning.

Breakfast is a different matter.  A phone alarm goes off, and I, ever filled with anxious energy, bound out of bed and get dressed first.  Shriya gets ready second while Anjuly lolls around in bed till the last possible minute, then we all troop to the nearest coffee place to giggle and chat.  At this point, I'm usually feeling a bit scuzzy and bedraggled, and shuffle for coffee in the closest thing to pajamas I can get away with.  

Not Anjuly.

Miss Thing has perfected the morning after outfit (a crisp white shirt, jeans and cute flats) that would blend in equally well at brunch with the girls, a shopping expedition or a lunch date.  I often hear lots of people talk about how models and actresses dress off-duty - a neat, simple, classic pulled together look.  But I seldom see anyone (myself included) carry it off so well in real life. 

In particular, I love the details that elevate this from a simple jeans and shirt ensemble.  The dainty gold hoops, the coordinating but not overly matchy structured bag and tortoiseshell sunnies and the subtle snakeskin print.  And I love that her belt is a contrasting colour.  Whoever said black and brown shouldn't be worn together didn't know what they were talking about.  

The next time we have a sleepover, I'm going to attempt to look equally pulled together - well, as pulled together as I can be after a night of flaming gossip.  Hah!

Magic Minutiae: Vintage Earrings

I'm huge a sucker for details.  To me, the details in an outfit make it - tiny stud earrings, delicate necklaces, a chunky ring.  Nothing thrills me more to see a person in a cute basic outfit with lots of little touches that make it different and individual.  So I was delighted when my fellow blogger Camille, over at http://sacheebombom.blogspot.com/ announced that she was starting a series called Magic Minutiae that would focus on all the little details in a person's outfit.

She's invited anybody and everybody to join - all you have to go is go to her site and put the Magic Minutiae banner on yours, then link your posts when the time comes.  If you're all detail hounds like me, you know what to do!

This week is the first call for entries and the theme is Vintage Earrings.  At this point, I have to say that I've cheated a little because although I got my earrings from Camden Market, I'm not 100% sure if they're vintage or not.  I suspect they're newly reconstituted from vintage buttons, but I thought they looked old school enough to participate anyway!

The pearlised centre and gold curlicues match with everything from jeans to a cute dress and I constantly find myself reaching for them when I'm looking for studs that don't just hide meekly under the hair.

Dress - Primark.  Necklace - Claire's.  Bracelets - H&M.

Mustard tights - Topshop.  Shoes - H&M.

I wore this to meet with some friends for a potluck dinner.  (Is there a more genius idea than potluck?)  Some people hate these mustard tights, but I'm personally a big fan of how they make any outfit pop like this £10 dress from Primark.  I love the navy colour, the print and the way the fabric falls around the shoulders and the hem.  I think the mustard tights keep it from looking too girly and precious. 

Also, I know that there's a thing called an "arm party" that's coming (back?) into vogue - that is - wearing stacks of bracelets at the same time.  I love the way it looks, but I'm a little bit timid, so I started something that's more like an "arm intimate dinner" with these H&M bracelets. 

Strangely, all the arm parties I've seen on style blogs are extortionate from little branded cord bracelets costing above £50 to massive leather or even stingray bangles that are worth much more.  That's like £500 on on arm!  I don't have the money for such an expense right now, so my bracelets cost about £8 altogether, at £1.99 a set.  Thank you, high street!  I also love how the thread bracelets have little gold buttons as fastenings. 

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Magic Minutiae!  Hop on over to Camille's post to check out all the other great looks!

Guest blogger on Season's Ingredients!

Today I'm really excited to be guest blogging over at my friend Shriya's blog, Season's Ingredients!  While you're at it, go on and browse the rest of her blog as well, she has lots of great food ideas and recipes, especially for people on a student budget. (Plus I've eaten many of her recipes so I know for a fact that they're delicious!)

Go ahead and check it out if you're interested in learning how to make this super easy, fresh and healthy 3-minute udon recipe.  She said some very kind things on the post as well, for which I'm much indebted.  Thank you Shriya!!!

The secret garden

My friend Jon lives in a brick house so lush that we get really excited when we're invited for drinks and snacks.  My favourite part of the house, despite his attic room crammed from floor to ceiling with books, cds and movies, is the garden.  It's one of the first real "English" gardens I've seen here, or at least, the first garden I've seen that complies with all my childhood visions of the English fairytale back yard.

The house opens right out onto the road, so it's a huge surprise when one is led around the sight and into a quiet, scented green tangle, quite tucked away from the rest of the world.

I imagine that if you press back the vines and creepers, the little stone or wought-iron lizards sneaking beneath them will suddenly come to life and flee with flicking tails.

We were invited for a garden party a couple of weeks ago, and I wore a casual, comfortable outfit conducive to stuffing my face.

Tied-waist blouse and brogues - New Look.

Pants - Zara.  Necklace - Made by mother.  Sunnies - Primark.  

Bangle - Vintage.

This summer blouse that ties at the waist is made of the thinnest, smoothest cotton, so light it's like wearing a cloud.  The photos (and my terrible posture) don't do it justice!

Photos of me by Shriya

And of course, what would such a gathering be without the food, artfully put together by Jon and his parents?  We had a hell of a time running in and out of the massive kitchen, complete with a rustic island at one end and an actual iron stove at the other.  At one point, my friends Gruff, Tori, Hilary and I actually gathered round and performed a loud (and squiffy) acapella rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.  There is footage of it, but if I show you, I'll have to kill you.

Despite all the mad laughter, running around and the copious amounts of food...

... even I got a little distracted.

If I come and hold you now

Photos by Dhany

I've been away for a little while on a sort of "holiday", doing a little travelling around the country and entertaining a guest who has come to visit from far, far away.

"Summer" has not yet made itself truly felt, but today it was warm enough to go out with bare legs (and crazy tap shorts) and sunglasses.  So, my best buddy and I went hand-in-hand, to walk together amongst the golden flowers and softly scented lavender, laughing and joking, teasing each other as we stepped carefully through the tall grass.

Fat bumblebees drowsed in the flowers and thistledown drifted through the air.  Such days are so few and far between for us right now that even an occasional draught couldn't dampen my spirits.

Sequinned tap shorts - Factory outlet.  Sweater - Factory outlet.  Bag - Vintage.

Ring - Present from Dhany.  Scarf - New Look.  Sunnies - Charles and Keith.

Bracelets - Claire's.  Clogs - Swedish Hasbeens for H&M.

It's not particularly warm or sunny here, or great weather for picnics or sightseeing outdoors.  Yet, I feel like there's not much more I could ask for right now, apart from giving thanks that you are here, and that if only for a little while, I have the chance to hold your hand.

I am?! THANK YOU!

Thank you so much, Be!  Be, over at Tripping Over Stars gave me this blog award and I'm really touched... We read each other's blogs and comment regularly and I was really surprised that she chose me to pass this award to.  Do check out her blog, it's not exactly fashion centric, but it's refreshing and funny and I love it!

Special thanks also to Mimi at Soy Confessions, from whence this award originated.  She has a great fashion blog, very quirky and all her, and I love reading it and getting her very sweet comments. 

So as most awards usually do, this one came with a set of questions, so I'll answer it just in case all four of you readers are interested :P  (I totally did pat my back after reading the award, by the way.)

Cat or Dog?

I'm actually both a cat and a dog person, the same way I drink equal amounts of coffee and tea.  I don't actually understand how people can be so polarised over this - I once had both a cat and a dog at the same time and I can tell you they're both very lovable animals, and if I could, I would have a menagerie of both.


True Love or the Ability to Live Forever?

Definitely true love.  Who wants to live forever?  (If your answer is anything to do with Twilight, please keep it to yourself.)



Being Blind or Deaf?

This is SUCH a hard question, obviously because the one thing you lose with deafness is music and it's such a huge part of my life.  To not be able to enjoy a concert or play the piano again would be devastating, but of course, with blindness, I think you lose a lot more independence and mobility.  Can I cop out and say neither?  Or say blindness but with the proviso that I became a Stevie Wonder-like musical genius after?

No TV or no Computer?

Chuh, easy peasy.  No TV.  I've already not had a TV for nine or so months because the TV license in UCK is so damn expensive.

2 Hours of Sleep or 48 Hours of Sleep?

Two hours, definitely.  I have a massive problem in that I like to sleep, but anything longer than 9 straight hours of lying down and my back starts to hurt like blue murder.  I know, I don't understand it either.

No Makeup or No Breakfast?

No makeup, obvs.  I love love love breakfast and would kill the person who made me give it up.

Cold Shower or no Shower?

Okay, so, let me tell you a story.  Back in that horrendous time of my life called Winter, I'd just finished playing a sweaty game of badminton and came back to fill up the bathtub, only to find that the water heater wasn't working.  The water was like six degrees cold, and I tried to put my foot in but almost died.

So, and this is painful for me to admit, I wiped myself down with moist towelettes and slept on the floor so as not to dirty the bed.  In the morning, I slunk over to the sports centre feeling very angry and miserable to use the shower there.  I didn't sleep too well either.

So no shower, but only for a short while.  Hey, I'm from Singapore.  I can't take anything below scalding.

To Blog…or not to Blog?

Um, I would say yes?


As always, awards are made to be passed on, so I'm passing them on to people whose answers I would love to hear (because I read them regularly):

Grace at http://heartbrokenstorm.blogspot.com/
Shriya at http://seasonsingredients.wordpress.com/
Katherine at http://styleidoscope.blogspot.com/
Nav at http://navlandstyle.blogspot.com/
Camille at http://sacheebombom.blogspot.com/
Lea at http://prettyprudent.blogspot.com/

Can't wait to read all your answers!

Anjuly

Last week, it was Anjuly's birthday, so we decided to have a nice evening out with hot chocolate's and desserts at Cafe Rouge.  I love the little creme brulee's and chocolate mousse cakes that they do!  I'm ashamed to say that we had McDonald's for dinner, but that didn't make my hot, crisp, six piece nuggets and Fillet-o-fish redolent with piquant tartar sauce taste any worse.

Anjuly looked really great - I think her pencil skirt and blouse made it the perfect "dinner with the girls" outfit - cute and pulled together, but not too formal.  Plus, how hot is she?

This star necklace was one of the presents Shriya and I got her, along with a copy of Roald Dahl's The Witches, as she had never read any Roald Dahl growing up.

It's unbelievable, but with the absence of my laptop, blogging has become almost impossible.  I can't reply certain people's comments because for some reason the browser won't let me, and every school computer I use is so incredibly slow that it took 15 minutes just to access the photos for this post.  I know it's a pain to hear me whinge, but hey, at least with the dearth of posts, the concentration of whinge is lower.

Le sigh.