Market & Bistro

On my way to the Coffee Prince cafe last year, I couldn't pass up entering this cute interior deco store that was in the little street full of romantic coffee/wine cafes. A little bit of search on the net reveals that 'Market & Bistro' is what I visited and it stocks natural, rustic & antique home deco, furniture, clothing, storage goods- furniture straight from the factory in Europe and fabric and kitchen-based goods from Korea itself. The store offers lots of wood-based materials adding to the European-style, vintage, recycling, urban feeling you get when you collide them with natural-feeling products. I love anything that is oozing out a natural, vintage vibe. It even felt better than visiting IKEA when I was a kid. I only took pictures of the budgerigars (being animal crazy as I am) because I didn't think that they sold these birds in Korea, lots of lovely budgies in Aussie-land of course. What I liked most; the vinatge tables and chair sets, wooden storage crate boxes and the red and white checked bag. I even contemplated buying that fabric laundry basket.

Oh dear...oh dear

Sandra Oh at the 2008 SAG Awards. Many people are probably thinking 'what on earth was she thinking wearing that gown?? She looks like a present!'. Let me explain. She was wearing a modern-day couture version of the 'hanbok' which is the Korean traditional constume. I have a bit of a soft spot for bows but even I have to say that her bow is way too overdone (and long!) and awkwardly placed. I applaud Sandra for going back to her Korean roots but I am cringing at the overall effect because I don't think she meant it to turn out that way (does anyone know who her stylist is?) but if she wanted to do a modern take on the hanbok I would probably have advised a different design and colour (of all the colours, why neon pink and black?!) made from a more delicate, sheer fabric to give a more romantic yet luxurious feel (it is the red carpet after all!). Take Korean singer BoA for example, she's wearing a modern version of the hanbok in a lovely organza-ish material and I think she looks gorgeous. This is definitely the look that Sandra should have gone for!

Florals for Spring

Oh my gawd! Who new??? When Luella showcased their Spring 2008 ready-to-wear collection with an abundance of ruffles, florals and 'geek-chic', I thought at least the flower business would be a passing trend but now with all the fashion mags out there reassuring me that florals are totally 'IT' for this year (quite amusing how it HAS to be on print for it to be OFFICIAL) and with colourful prints from Balenciaga, lovely dresses via Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren plus Dolce & Gabbana's arty ad campaign has me totally convinced.The ruffle-tiered mini skirt has been an ongoing trend in Seoul but a shopping trip to DongDaeMun (동대문) has shown me that those exact same Luella skirts (in the first pic) have totally made their way down mainstream.

Lovin' Longchamp

Spring/Summer '08 ads featuring the epic Ms. Moss. I literally squealed in delight when I saw the purple bag in print while flipping through February magazine issues. I've always liked the simplicity of a Longchamp handbag.
I know there's nothing particularly 'new' about the advertisements but I love the city settings, the clothing and lights. If they were trying to exemplify 'city-chic' in any way- it definitely worked (for me). The cross-over bag is another fave.

Brunch time

I love to brunch. Perhaps it's the fact that I've half starved myself in the morning to stuff myself later on or the unusually large portions brunch meals offer; but it is very satisfying to sit at a table with a galfriend friend and gab away for a good two hours while eating delicious food. Yesterday I went to Suji's restaurant which is apparently a lovely way to experience a good bit of New York dining (but since I've never been to NY I can't say if that's true). They have another chain in Itaewon but I went to the one tucked in the Hyundai department store at COEX mall.I would normally write down the directions but since they have a map on the website I reckon a pictorial representation is much more useful. So if you're ever in Seoul make sure to check it out for those days when you're craving Western food.
After a good tucking in of blueberry pancakes and Philly cheese steak sandwich, I checked out Uniqlo and bought a much needed black leather belt. I also purchased a letter set which has some interesting yet random street pictures of Barcelona on the paper. And yes, I still enjoy writing a good snail-mail letter to friends now and then...

Not at all swanky...not at all

I asked my lovely friend to bring with her a copy of the latest 'W magazine' from her trip to the US and that's how I have the January '08 issue in my hands. Now 'W' is one of my favourite mag' reads in Korea; it's fairly thick, has good editorials, interesting photo-shoots and I particularly love the large-sized, textured paper that its printed on....but compared to Korean 'W' I'm afraid the US version is extremely disappointing, and (argh) it's so thin!!!
I like Hilary Swank she's a fab actress and has a great body but the shoot was nothing special: moody, dark = plain picture.
The photo-shoot below was a little more interesting with mixed prints and 80's style references.
The photo above was my favourite of them all but I was a little annoyed with the Balenciaga boots appearing again, it seems that this pair is recycled in all the shoots for all the magazines even in the Korean Jan '08 issues.

Be-witched

On my trip to Daegu over the weekend I got my hair done. I'd been growing my hair out for a while and was waiting for it to get super long and then wave perm it BUT since it was all dyed (caramel-brown at the moment) and medium-length plus I had grown out my fringe a considerable length...I wanted to try something a little new (basically, I couldn't wait any longer for it to grow out) so I opted for a 'do' that was on my mind for a long time.Yes! It is Marcia Cross from the 'Desperate Housewives' drama. I don't actually watch the show- I just like Bree's hair. Is the program really as upbeat as everyone says it is?
Anyhow, i wanted my hair in this sort of do with a throwback to the '60s and '70s. Nice and clean at the top and with a voluminous curl at the bottom. But off I went to the hairdressers and what did I learn? That this do was only do-able with blow-drying it every day and cannot be done-away just with a 'perm' as I thought it was. Anyway, I got a 'setting-perm' ( I have no idea what this is called in english) and (argh!) the designer persuaded me to chop off my hair a good two inches (so that when my hair rests on my shoulders it aids in giving out a more natural flipped-out curl).
But alas! Since I cut my hair and got it LAYERED (my mistake) and cut my fringe in my opinion I don't really think I got the 'look' that I was wanting but it came out more like this.
With more curls and a fringe. Sigh, why am I always incapable of explaining to the hairdresser what I am envisioning in my head! (Though my mother thinks my hair looks 'exactly' as how I had wanted it but this isn't so!). Oh well, I should now go around twiddling my nose about...perhaps?

Red ribbons in your hair is a must!

Miu Miu Spring/Summer '08 campaign ads featuring Kirsten Dunst. What do you think?

What's inside here

I've finally been tagged by the wonderful Miss Woo to spill the beans on the contents of my bag. I will now bore you to death with an intro of my handbag necessities.1. Red wallet (with butterflies!)
2. Anycall cell phone (tis' blue!)
3. Olive Water drop essence hand cream
4. Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer (usually a Chapstick and lip-gloss but it varies from time to time)
5. Kim's Graffiti Diary (finally decided to buy a more exciting scheduler and chuck my old school one out)
6. My other pair of eyes
7. Usb
8. Xylitol chewing gum
9. Artistry compact case (will chuck out soon, almost finished)
10. Eye drops, more sample lotion
11. Earrings (bought two new pairs yesterday! What do you think?)As you can see I only carry the bare necessities with me all the time and yet my handbag ALWAYS weighs a ton! It's so annoying. (Mental note: will abstain from carrying a water bottle until I get a BIGGER bag that can fit my lecture notes!)

Going red!

If you know me then you're probably aware with the fact that I have quite a thing for red hair. See for yourself. Hence I feel compelled to post this picture of singer Ashlee Simpson who has suddenly decided to dye her blond tresses in this intriguing colour.

Let me introduce you to Park Jin Woo

but I think he actually goes by Zinwoo Park when overseas- a visual artist/designer hailing from South Korea who is gradually taking over the art world to my great delight! Hee hee. I've been meaning to post about his quirky designs ever since discovering him in a subway magazine article and then seeing Camilla from Glam & Tonic blogging about his famous, Warhol-influenced, canvas 'FAKE bag' made we want to blog about him even more! A degree in metalworks at Seoul National University (woah whoo!), a graduate course completed at London's Royal College of Art in Product design, experience in designing for Samsung electronics and his variety of work ranging from lighting, furniture, graphics, interior, and visual art shows that his repertoire is exciting as his capacious resume. His major artworks include the 'Spagetti Chandelier" made from red industrial electrical wires and '5 Minute candles' (I think he's sold thirty thousand of those already). Erotic Works, the 'Toilet Paper Project' and his 'Bubble bubble' interactive chair are some of his other innovative projects.His works are becoming more well-known in Korea due to features in the current Korean drama, '못된 사랑' (Bad Love). If you want to see his current installation in real life come to downtown Gwanghwamun(광화문), Seoul to see the 'Christmas Factory' featured next to the 'Hammering Man' sculpture. and if you're ever in Korea his (gorgeous!) products can be purchased at 'Second Hotel' (a interior shop in front of Dosan Park, Sinsadong) or at 'Artmart' (in Insadong).