TTIL (Travel Addition Part 1)

I’m currently in the mist of saving up for a trip next year.

at the moment the plan is to go to europe. a dear friend told me that many museum admissions and tours are free if you travel to europe under the age of 25. well, i have about a year to get my butt there and take advantage of the wonderful offer.

though theres still a year to go, I’ve been inspired by some of my recent traveling friends and produced a activities i’d like to do at specific destinations. i guess this will be a little list reminder to myself for when i travel to these places…
(in addition to the list, i plan to do visit the typical tourist attractions too. these are just more specific…)

Europe

France
– read a book with a cup of coffee at a street side cafe
– have the best macaron in town
– have an amazing french dinner
– buy myself a pair of Chanel earrings as a souvenir
– visit Coco Chanel’s apartment
– take an architecture tour!
– place a lock on the love bridge
– take a walk at the Versailles Garden of France
– visit South of France
– take market walks, tasting wine and cheese
– visit the countryside, mainly Provence. take a walk in the lavender field
– share a kiss under the Eiffel Tower

breathtaking

Italy
– toss a coin at the Trevi Fountain
– eat (and perhaps make?) an italian pizza! in Naples
– take a gondola ride in Venice
– take a typical leaning tower of Pisa pic
– take a pasta making course
– make a trip to Pompeii
– visit the beautiful city of Positano
– have gelato!

im in love with Positano

Spain
– eat the best paella
– dance the flamingo
–  participate in La Tomatina
– see Gaudi
– attend a fiesta

so exciting!

England
– see the queen
– say hi to Ben
– run into Platform 9 3/4
– enter Eden
– attempt to learn the British accent
– befriend and make a British penpal
– have tea and biscuits at the Ritz
– buy something at Harrods, even if i can only afford a hair tie.

Tea? anyone?

Germany

– have a german beer!
– have german sausages!
– see the remains of the Berlin wall
Denmark

– BIKE all over copenhagen!
– Visit BIG’s architecture
– live life like the Danish

Since doing just part of Europe took a good chunk of my evening, i’ll add on if anything else comes up and create lists for other countries too. More to come!

Gosh! (cosmetics)

Wo! First makeup post. I’ve been wanting to do one for awhile but had nothing to really show.

Today however I casually walked into my local Watsons (which is a very famous drugstore/cosmetic shop in hong kong) and picked up two lipsticks because there was a buy one get one free sale! Whoopwhoop! Both are from the line Gosh, which I just learned is a line from Denmark. Interesting. Most of the line is included in the sale which has everything from foundation to eye shadows. But because I am a lipstick addict, I beelined to the lip section.

Nice packaging

I picked up:
Gosh Velvet Touch Lipstick in 134 Darling
Gosh Soft’n Shine Lip Balm in 35 Antique Gold

Darling. Terrible camera lighting, see swatch below.

Darling is a very beautiful light pink toned nude that has a satin finish. I’ve been looking for the perfect nude lipstick for awhile and let me tell ya, it ain’t easy. You don’t want to look like you’re sick, so the perfect tone and hue matters a lot. I swatched it on my hand and it looked alright at the store so just gave it a shot and bought it. I actually really like it! I’ve bought another “nude” before from Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet line in the color 31 La Furitive and I’m not exactly happy with the purchase. looked pretty darn good at the cosmetic counter, but once i got home and tried it, it turned out very ‘orange’. not in a fashionable kind of orange too, more like an ompalumpa orange. lol. its a pricey lip purchase though, so I’m trying to find alternative ways to work with it.

Antique Gold. See swatch below.

Antique Gold has a light tan undertone with gold glitter. Because it is suppose to be a lip balm, it applies very smoothly, much like the Revlon lip butters that everyone was crazy for a few months ago. Antique Gold has a very beautiful sheer finish and in excellent for layering. It feels very comfortable on the lips, not waxy at all.

Heres a swatch of the lipsticks i talked about:

La Furative, Darling, Antique Gold

yeah theres a major difference in the two nudes. i’m not saying chanel made a terrible nude, i just don’t think it was the one i was looking for.

Darling on my lips. please excuse the afterwork me - bummy. lol

I have never tried any Gosh products so I’m fairly impressed with the product. i have yet to try out their duration, but so far so good! beautiful colors and finishes. i would love to take advantage of the sale now and pick up a few more of the lip balms. however there were only a few in stock today and most colors were very plum like, which i already have. I’m very impressed with the packaging of the lipsticks too, particularly the Darling one. it has a lovely matte black finish, making it look ultra chic.

love matte!

all in all I’m happy with my purchase and glad to have gave the line a shot. i’d definitely be on the look out for more of their products 🙂

TTIL #16

I spent a wonderful afternoon alone today.

Went to see my apple genius and dropped off my Mac to get it fixed. Kinda glad I’m still under warranty because to change some board inside the comp costs a whopping $4500hkd! The extended warranty only costs $2000 for two years. Many of my friends have convinced me to get it and I now see how it benefits.

Afterwards I really felt like settling down at a cafe and diving into the novel (that’s taking me forever to finish because I don’t seem to have the time) , The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I decided to visit the Agnes B Cafe upstairs from the Apple Store.

It’s one of my favorite places to be. It’s such a clever location for a cafe. It’s connected to the mall and next to a small atrium that connects all four levels, but because the ceiling height is so high up, the cafe isn’t disrupted by the noise created by the consumer traffic below. It channels through as a background murmur. What’s best about the cafe is that they flourish the area with potted vegetation. It also is built under a sunroof. Absolute heaven.

I spent about a good two hours there letting the words in the novel guide my imagination. Afterwards I went window shopping for a gift for someone… And also bought myself a little gift 😀

A French designer by the name of Alexandra Margnat. Its so unique and delicate. Love!

So yah that was how I spent my Sunday. I think it’s important to have time alone. It let’s you reflect on your week and take the time to observe and appreciate things happening around you.

I hope you had a great weekend too 🙂

TTIL #15

What a week.

It’s been kinda crazy with running what isn’t 2, but 3 projects at the same time.

Last night, i had a bit of a freak out situation with both projects just before I called it a night. So after unsuccessfully resolving the issues at there are still many decisions pending, I went out for a drink with some friends.

Nothing a bottle of wine, a mediterranean platter and good company can’t fix.

Met up with a couple of archi collegues and had an interllectual chat about career and passion. It’s interesting where we ended up today. Seems like just yesterday we were slaving away on our laptops only to be crushed during our reviews the next day. O and of course, my collegues stealing my cup noodles put of desperation for food.

Great memories. Wouldn’t have made it without them. Cheers to endless support.

TTIL #14

A good hike with a friend.

An escape to get away from the city for a bit

TTIL #13

Keeping in touch with previous teachers.

For years I’ve been maintaining a good relationship with some of my previous highschool teachers. A few favorites that I use to visit have changed careers, but a couple are still teaching.

Every time I make a trip to see them, I feel like I’m catching up with old friends. It’s so interesting hearing them bash about the current status of the school board, talk about their families, and just chitchat about current events.

I love the bond that is built between students and teachers through elementary and highschool years those were the years where a persons development really is affected by people and events that happen around them. No doubt, my teachers have sculpted me into who I am today. I thank them for passing knowledge onto me, but even more the life lessons that they have taught me.

It’s such a pleasure to keep in touch with them 🙂

TTIL #12

Ok so maybe I lied a little about doing a TTIL everyday.

It’s hard, lifes getting so busy now. Which I’m not complaining about though. Another week has ended, I’m on my way home feeling accomplished and satisfied 🙂

Which brings me to my TTIL for today… Having a good relationship with the boss.

I had an amazing week working my butt off for two projects I’m juggling at the moment. During the week I felt like I really had the opportunity to show my boss my capabilities. I can sense that his trust for me grows every day and as a result, we are building a stronger employer-employee relationship.

A few days ago, he offered me an eggtart. It was such a simple but sincere gesture that meant a lot to me.

Today we had an awesome talk about photography. He asked if I’d like to photograph and produce an archive for one of his completed projects. We shared our amazement to HTC’s new commercial that featured commercial photography while skydiving.

He introduced me to Tony Mac and I’m so glad he did because his photography is spectacular. Hearing my boss talk about how much he appreciates Tony’s work was so inspiring.

We also had a small intellectual talk about Frank Gehry and his new creation, Opus.

The bonding time made me feel even more lucky to be where i am. i have no clue how i qualified for the title I’m given, or what he saw in me during the interview, but words can not express how grateful i am for this opportunity. every day at the office is hectic, but every day i leave feeling super blessed and successful.

i think thats the way an employer-employee relationship should be. be respectfully honest and frank, with nothing to hide.

got my key today 🙂

TTIL #12

o gawd i played this three times. laughed my butt off.

i love ellen degeneres. her humor makes me look forward to seeing her videos be uploaded on youtube, even if they are just short clips of her shows. back in vancouver i used to be compelled to having ellen hour everyday. her show always enlightened my day before it began. she was my kickstart, my dose of vitH (h for happiness). i think I’ve started following her many years ago and never once have i found her show boring. one thing i wish to do in the future is attend one of her recordings. that’ll be an extraordinary experience, especially if it was the christmas one.

all of her skits are hilarious. i particularly love her dance dares:

and celebrity pranks (david beckham does it best):

she has such a positive attitude in life and at the end of her show she always reminds us to “be kind to one another”

TTIL #11

ZAP!

love storms. but not being IN one though.

i like the feeling of curling up indoors, having a nice cup of hot cocoa and letting the storm just do its thing outside. maybe its the contrast that gets me all excited. it makes being indoors feel extra fun and safe.

my ideal storm weather remedy is:

hot cocoa
good movie
blanket
and…a special someone to cuddle with 😛

warms up the heart 🙂

TTIL #11

Being absolutely blissful for someone else.

Recently one of my dear friends just became an aunt. She’s absolutely ecstatic. Her niece is a darling baby girl with a beautiful name. On top of that she is with a wonderful special someone at the moment and I can’t even express how happy I am for her in just words.

I am greatly affected by those around me. Knowing that someone who I care for is on cloud9, brings myself up there too. That’s kinda why I ALWAYS (and still) want one of my friends to get married. I want to be genuinely happy for the couple. For a pair who has decided to walk the rest of their journey together. I think it’s one of the most amazing events in life and I want to experience it and give my blessing.

Someone hurry!