Series: Monday Musings

1. If you are having savoury cravings why not make some Skinny green popcorn. I made some this weekend, and it was devoured in minutes! (Courtesy of the Londoner)

2. In a technology led world, one father reminds us how the simple things make the big differences. He made his kids the coolest packed lunches.

3. Building up on the thrill of Girls season 3 back on our screens - 10 reasons why we love Lena Dunham

4. Explore the magic of genuine and beautiful moments captured on a great new photo blog - Unposed Scenes

5. Get excited, the Wolf of Wall street is coming soon!

19 Things to do before you die

I came across an article recently mentioning that although everyone has their own version of things to cross off their bucket list; such as "buy dream car" or "learn a new language" or "take an adventure somewhere far away" - what drives each of these desires is a common connector, an innate yearning to belong and to feel love.

In the spirit of living life to the fullest - here is my take on things you should do before you die.

When we do what we love, we become an expression of love and our happiness is infectious. 

1. Stop trying to control your outcome
2. Find your purpose and live it full-heartedly
3. Adopt a furry friend
4. Trust that everything is in the right order
5. Don't feel guilty for holiday weight gain
6. Travel to the place you keep thinking about
7. Be open to change
8. Forgive and let go
9. Be the best YOU can be
10. Share your joy with the world - it's contagious!
11. Stop blame-shifting
12. Show your loved ones you care every single day
13. Reject rejection
14. Give up all attachments to belongings
15. Stay hopeful and optimistic in difficult situations
16. Welcome all life lessons
17. See the opportunities in every challenge rather than give up
18. Establish your moral compass and stay true to your values
19. Play with the world

That place I keep thinking about...

The Curiosity Cabinet

Curiosity cabinets are seen as the ancestor's of today's museums. During the European Renaissance, aristocrats and enlightened amateurs would often collect and display rare and unusual, sometimes bizarre 'curios' with a taste for the eclectic and unique. They assembled a mixed selection of antiquities, stuffed animals, skeletons, seashells, works of art and other precious pieces.

Today the House of Boucheron boasts a tribute to the curiosity cabinet in the form of a fine jewellery collection. Jewellery conoisseurs are not unlike yesterday's curiosity cabinet collector: they enjoy rarity, exclusiveness, and creativity.

Boucheron: The iconic first jeweller of the Place Vendôme

Here are my 3 favourite pieces...

Masy the Chameleon - truly a natural phenomenon - it is the only animal endowed with the extraordinary faculty to change colours thanks to specific cells in its skin. This piece embodies a range of the most exquisite coloured gems including tsavorites, blue, pink, and yellow sapphires & rubies.

Masy

Cypris - the Swan - is so closely linked with beauty, elegance and majesty that it has always adorned the water features of European princely homes, while the peacock would grace Oriental gardens.
Did you know Swans mate for life - how beautiful is that? Couples form almost a year before having offspring, and this is referred to as the Swans' engagement. Then they go off together to find a place to raise their family. I had no idea they were so romantic...

Cypris

Boucheron's Swan was poetically named Cypris because it was the Cyprian name of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, pleasures and beauty.  According to Greek mythology she travels on a white swan.
This piece evokes the nobility of the bird itself as well as the ballerina dancing to Tchaikovsky's Swan lake. When worn together they look truly breathtaking. It is almost animated to reality with the way it wraps around the finger.

Natalie Portman in the Black Swan

Explore the rest of the collection and find your favourite here. 

4 Reasons to Start a Journal now

Ever since I was little I kept a diary. When I was about 8 years old I had a big pink fluffy diary with a padlock where I used to write the silliest occurrences from primary school and complain about how I hated history class and wanted to be lead in the school nativity play ( I subsequently ended up playing Mary!).

The Typical 90's girly diary

Now it doesn't mean I've consistently written since then, in fact I'm pretty sure I didn't even finish that pink one. A few years later when I found it during a spring clean I was so embarrassed by my infantile writing I ripped up the pages and threw it away, in true drama queen style. 

During my teens I kept a diary irregularly on my computer but only ever wrote when something was troubling me - helpful advice given to me from a soul sister of mine. 

Recently however I've been reflecting upon my future goals and things I want to see and do, and I realised I should restart my journal - but this time the proper way. Even if its not writing everyday - writing in it when something makes me happy, excited, low, anxious. What's been on my mind? People who are positively influencing me and how they impact my life. Experiences I've enjoyed/ learnt from. Private thoughts. Places and people I'm loving. Events I've attended and delicious food I've devoured. These are things that I want to write about and I'll tell you why...

1. Make sense of your thoughts

There are times when you are so busy with work or family plans and so on that you don't even have time to really ponder the events taking place or decisions that have to be made. Nor do you appreciate the beauty in the little things that make you smile. Sometimes we're just on autopilot and when this happens things usually get messy in your mind, there's a blur of the time that has passed. By writing you can keep a record of what is actually happening in your life, journaling gives you the power to be the architect of your memories. When it comes to decision making, you can write down all the reasons you have for coming to that conclusion. Then, after time passes, if you doubt your choice somehow, you have a way to remind yourself of why you made that decision and feel reassured.  

2. Encourages positive thinking

Whatever state of mind you're in, when you have a written account of things that have made you happy in black and white, it is bound to encourage your inner sun to shine. Reflecting on good times can serve as a motivation or even simply put a smile on your face. 

3. One day my grandkids can read it

Now I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I personally didn't get to see much of my grandparents growing up due to distance and when I did see them, it was never for very long. On top of that, the little time I did manage to spend with them was when I was a child and I didn't care much for asking them questions about their life and experiences.  So I never got to learn valuable life lessons from them nor hear them recount stories of their youth. That's why I want to pass on my journals for my future grandkids to read, this way even if I can't personally tell them about my escapades, they'll have a piece of me and we can stay connected. 

4. Gift to your future self

As each year passes pixels of our memories burn out and haze. By the time you're retired and chilling on your beach cabana in Cuba, you'll likely be remembering the faintest outlines of the big things that happened to you. Keep a journal, "taste life twice" (Anais Nin).

Series: Monday Musings

After a strenuous couple of weeks I finally had the weekend I've been craving. 

Staying in. Movies. Pizza. Make Up tutorials. Spending time with my loved ones. Tumbling. Reading. And everything in between. These snaps depict my ideal weekend marvellously.

Breaking Bad marathon! 

Throwing in some Eye candy for good measure

Advice from a Tree

Sea Therapy

When it comes to matters of the heart it's tricky to be wise, so you must tread lightly. A million questions run through your mind, thoughts, flashbacks... but it's established that life's complications are impossible to escape but it's how you handle these curve balls that makes the difference in the healing process.

In the presence of such circumstances some kind of therapy must be sought in order to rehabilitate your mind, body and soul. For myself, this was in the form of flying away somewhere dreamy, right on the beach, with sunshine, books, and serenity.

Supper Time Sunset

Creating a sanctuary somewhere far away from crowds of people, internet connections, phone calls, and unsolicited advice. Just my own private retreat with books I was glued to and the deep blue sea to keep me company.

One special moment during this time was breakfast with an old friend of my fathers - in a way I think of him as my ethereal guru. He helped me to see things in a new light and for that I am forever grateful to him. One of those things was that he taught me the importance of reading signs and seeing the charm in the simple things in life, not getting caught up in worries and problems that relentlessly burden our everyday lives. For example for the first time in a long time I saw and appreciated the beauty in nature. The way the leaves danced in the wind, the way the soft blue ripples of the sea caressed me, the way the salty air washed through my hair. Natural things we tend not to pay attention to.

Whilst swimming for hours and floating around in this liquid sapphire,  it felt as if with each and every wave the sea was washing away my negative thoughts and reinvigorating my soul.

The sea taught me to not go against the tide. When a force inside signals that something isn't right for you, you shouldn't go against it. The intuition or 'gut feeling' each individual holds are almost always right and its crucial to act on it rather than deluding oneself for the sake of flawed contentment.

Jennifer Lopez in Maria Lucia Hohan

I absolutely adore nude dresses and this one is especially beautiful.

Maria Lucia Hohan's style is defined by sheer vaporous dresses, with glimpses of gorgeous velvet,  precious satins and dreamy lace fabrics. She manages to create the perfect hybrid between eveningwear and lingerie. I particularly like that her dresses epitomise femininity whilst still remaining innocent.

Just added this one to my wish list.

James Marshall Hendrix

AKA Jimi Hendrix.

Despite his limited mainstream exposure of four years, he is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of popular music and one of the most important musicians of the 20th century.

I found this excerpt in an old vogue article;

"40 years ago Jimi Hendrix died, crushing under the weight of exhausting tours (like the ones in the 70s were), after burning the candles on both sides. He left us with a handful of memorable albums, a non-indifferent quantity of archive material that, little by little, fills the "bests of" and leaves more sadness behind"

Through the Lens: Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Batu Caves

Petronas Towers

Kuala Gandah - Elephant Sanctuary

Orchid Park

Chicken and Rice

Five Things

My beautiful bouquet of Roses

Coconut juice...done the right way

Blue nails! Courtesy of Essie (Mint Candy Apple)

Impromptu family tea party 

Feeding my growing obsession for interior design and tumblr simultaneously

The Good Girls Drug

I started getting into blogs about a year ago. 
I realised blogs gave a much more refreshing experience to browse the internet and find all sorts of write-ups from recipes to lifestyle tips, and all from people you can relate to.

Plus, once you find one you start to read regularly, the rest follow suit.

The Good Girls Drug is a blog written by my best friend, N and its one of those reads that never fails to make me smile by the end of her humourous posts. The blog was originally started as a way to unwind for the author, and I find that the readers can also easily associate with what she has to say.

You can check it out here. 

If you would like to take a look at some of the others that I follow, head to my Blogroll.

Say it with Song

I received a very special gift yesterday. A three-volume mixtape, and I love every single track on it.

 And it isn't just a bunch of songs jumbled together, they've been carefully divided according to different tempos and themes.

 There's just something incredibly romantic about the notion of someone searching through their music library to pick out songs that make them think of you. Call me cheesy, but I'm going to keep these forever...

A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please

For most, it may seem like a peculiar time to be looking forward to fresh starts -  as that kind of thinking is usually reserved for the gregorian calendar's new year, January 1st. However, with the whirlwind arrival and departure of Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic calendar (for those who don't know), it really gets a person thinking as to how one can perform to their maximum potential, in all aspects of everyday life. 


I'm a to-do list kinda gal, and without fail, twice a year I sit down and formulate all my thoughts and goals into my journal. Eagerly scribbling down one after the other, they range from the classic 'must go to the gym 3 x a week' to the broader 'spend more time with my loved ones'. Of course having all these wonderful objectives on a piece of paper is easy peasy, but reaching those targets can get somewhat tricky when we lose sight of them on a day-to-day basis.


As a result, more than halfway through the year, you wake up and realise  - wow, I've hardly gotten anything done *insert quivering*. So, I suggest, in moments like these, rather than dwell on the fact that you haven't gone as far as you had imagined in achieving what your heart desires, use it as a source of motivation to put your words to action and re-energise yourself. If you find those goals too scary for the time frame you had in mind, adapt them a tiny bit, there's no danger in modifying them. This way its likely you'll stick to it, rather than cross it out altogether. 

During exam season, when panic would take over me for the declining amount of time I had left to study, my best friend N would calm me down with her wise advice, saying 'you can get anything done as long as you put your mind to it'. And she sure was right, as the proof was in the pudding (in this case - my exam results)!

                         "The best way out is always through - Robert Frost"