A Summer Sojourn in the United Kingdom

This year, the Gorilla's cousin was getting married and being from the UK, we made a trip down and spent two glorious weeks in the United Kingdom. Quite honestly, it was the best time to visit as the last rays of summer were making themselves fully present and that cold breeze that hits you is just simply refreshing. We spent most of our time in Coventry and managed trips to London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and of course, The Lake District, which has always been my favourite part of the UK. Its right up there with Bath and Stratford Upon Avon.

Here are some quick and fun highlights:

The streets of the town, Leamington, are dotted with these gorgeous flowers. Its a lovely town and about 30 minutes drive from Coeventry, where I stayed with Gorilla's grandparents, who live in the most beautiful cottage.

This is the garden that the Grandparents have. The property ends where the black fence is. And on most days, cows will be grazing at the back and its simply fun to go up to them and MOO at them.

Another view of the gorgeous cottage. Sadly, this house has been sold as the Grandparents are getting on with age and cannot maintain it. 

So, I spent a day in London and here are some fun sights:

PORTOBELLO MARKET

Here is a shop with old school sewing machines lining its walls!

Then, of course, I had to try the famous Humming Bird Bakery!

My friend, T and I had a cupcake each. 

 

Red velvet on your left, Cherry Cola on your right.

Quite frankly, very over rated and not worth the THREE POUNDS PLUS we paid per cupcake. sigh.
The textures were a little dry, stale tasting and not exactly worth its reputation. Sorry, I really am quite picky and its hard to wow me with food.

Now, I didn't take any pictures but the MUST shop place is CAMDEN!

Photo credit: http://www.google.com.sg/imgres?q=camden&um=1&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=785&tbm=isch&tbnid=GZp7ffnI4QJ7LM:&imgrefurl=http://www.alovelyworld.com/webgb/htmfr/gb6.htm&docid=XVI463x2ILg4dM&w=2301&h=1491&ei=UNOBTrGCI4_MmAWV_OVT&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=257&page=1&tbnh=108&tbnw=166&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&tx=114&ty=99

I didn't take any photos there as I was too busy shopping and looking at everything! T and I had such a blast running in and out of shops, getting lost there and on the tube but it was exhilirating! Bring lots of change and cash as you really would want to shop there! From quirky dresses to one of a kind art pieces, you'll never be bored and things are very affordable.
Oh, as we were leaving London for Birmingham, I managed to get a shot of this:


Too good to not grab a shot of...

BIRMINGHAM
The Gorilla did his uni there and we obviously had to make a trip down to see his uni mates. Now, there isn't much to do except visit Cadbury World but I managed to eat at two wonderful places.

The Plough at Harbone Village

This was recommended by the Gorilla's good friend who is also a chef. The food is pub food(like most of English cuisine-if you can even call it that) but my oh my, no greasy fry ups here! Its stunning, fresh and simply palatable. And I managed to grab a shot of the quirky and pretty toilets!!


The boys has some crazy, manly burger and I had a mushroom soup. That soup was fresh, creamy and nowhere near canned goods. To find out more about this delectable place, click here.

The Fallen Angel Bakery.
This, my friends, is a MECCA for cupcakes and cakes. YOU MUST, YOU MUST try this and get why people are crazy about Red Velvet, why cakes can be so addictive and why good baking is so rare but oh so life changing.


Here is their display:


And behold, a terribly English flavour made into a cupcake:


And I had to buy lots, 6 in a box for Gorilla's friend's family who was putting us up for the night, and one for me.


I had their Red Velvet and it was insane. Light, moist, fluffy, almost furry like velvet and the flavours was a complex and delicate mix of cocoa, buttermilk and then finished off with that indescribable tang of cream cheese and sweet that is creamy and yet surprising light. It really is Love at first bite. Heck, even I can't bake this well!
We headed back to Coventry for the wedding and it was such a pretty affair!
Here are some pictures:
 
The Wedding Car


The Bus that took us to the reception.

It was a very pretty affair and a gorgeous summer's day!

Next, we went off to SCOTLAND!!

SCOTLAND
Scotland is lovely, blustery and very, very beautiful. We were in Edinburgh with Gorilla's parents as Gorilla and his dad needed to make kilts for a wedding next year. That means I get to go UK again next year!

Some wonderful highlights:
A great place to stay is the Fountain Court Apartments. Its a service apartment, very clean, cosy and a stone throw's away from great sights to gastronomical outlets.
I didn't take a picture but here is a stock image and the link:





Here is their link: http://www.fountaincourtapartments.com/

The best part is, guests get discounts at selected restaurants.
We tried out Gusto's:
http://www.gustorestaurants.uk.com/
Again, I didn't take any photos as it was rude in their culture to do so.. AH well. But the food was fresh, light and you can taste the ingredients instead of just flavourings. I loved their tomato based sauces, you cna taste they made it from scratch with no added fake canned puree.

If you are ever in Scotland, you must do the following:
1) Visit Edinburgh Castle- Its stunning!
2) Eat Haggis and Black pudding - Its heart-stoppingly delicious and very stodgy.
3) Eat at the Witchery - a Five star dinning restaurant located near the castle, very exclusive and oh my, so darn good.http://www.thewitchery.com/ We went there for dinner one night and MAN, worth the rave!
4) Eat TABLET -Scotland's equivalent to Lake District's Fudge. Its much more sugary and less refined but very delicious!

Next, we went to my favourite part of uk, 
LAKE DISTRICT





This was the view from my hotel window! We stayed at the Old Mcdonald House ( http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/macdonald-old-england-hotel-spa/) which had a wonderful gym and lovely view. Lake District is really known for its scenery and best for hiking, rowing and cream teas!

Its a shame that I never got a chance to do cream tea this time on my trip up to UK but in case you are wondering what Cream Tea is, its basically a meal that consists of a pot of tea, finger sandwiches and scones served with jam and clotted cream. The last time I was at Lake District, Gorilla and I found a wonderful place called The Giggling Goose. They make their clotted cream from scratch and serve the best cream better, better than those in Cornwall. You can view them here: http://www.findsomewhere.co.uk/HiddenPlacesLakeDistrictandCumbria/Cumbria/LDC42358.htm

And here is a parting shot of my favourite place:


Swans on the grass patch next to pavements. Do not be fooled by their sanguine demeanour. They are vicious and will peck you for whatever scrap you have in your hand.

So that was my UK Soujourn! Till next year!

XOXO

S.T

Clay Flowers, Cat Silhouettes, and a recipe Book! ~ All handmade by E.L.

Alrighty, I have loads to blog, but for tonight it's about the flower power!

I started making these flowers out of clay, a progression from my previous piece of the leather charm bracelet with a painting of a bird silhouette. And instead of painting a picture, I tried moulding it into a simple flower shape and painted it! Hanging it as charm on a ribbon of pearls I think this piece looks pretty and sweet.

So other than just using it as a charm, the button like shape to it was perfect for ear studs!

I'm making a bunch of these to gift them to my little girl cousins! So pretty and perfect for little girls!

I made a pair for a good friend's birthday too.. she has an obsession with funky ear studs so thought she would appreciate them for her collection.

 So wrapped it up classically in a white creamy box with a gauzy black ribbon... She loves cats [as S.T. does too btw], so I experimented with a cat silhouette ear stud too!

Since I haven't put up any posts on my handmade-handbound books, here is one, so the same friend loves to cook, and I decided to make a recipe book. I printed out some recipes from online [cos' I'm crap at cooking so I don't have recipes of my own to share... but do refer to S.T. for yummy tips!] and bounded them into a book.

Ok till next time when I can find more time, I'm gonna tell you about a lovely spa place I visited recently... update on old projects with extensive photos [long overdue!]... and the gorgeous gift S.T. got for me from her trip to UK! Which she WILL blog about soon too! Our Travel page looks really sad at the moment... but not to worry we will fill it up soon enough!

Cheers,
E.L.

Events: Flea @ CATHAY 28th August 2011

A big thank you to those who came and supported us at the Cathay Flea! It was a lovely Sunday and we sold plenty before the day was up! Here are some pictures of our display!

Yes, we sold manga comics that day too!

This was sold even before I could put it on sale on the site! A gorgeous handmade wire wrap with silver chains that could be worn multiple ways!

We also had this really cool display case that we laid down flat to create little mini pockets and had our earring stands all along the sides. That lasted for a whole of 10 minutes for the crowd started to pour in and yes, things got really messy!

We're on a lookout for the next flea to be part of and do drop by as we often collaborate with others who bring in quirky, pre loved items and AUTHENTIC VINTAGE DRESSES! 

Till next time! 

OXOXO

S.T

Collection 3 - Straight from the Sewing Kit by Like it. Make it. Wear it.

PSST! WE NOW TAKE TRANSFERS FROM UOB BANK TOO!

E.L.: Boyfriend's Birthday, and Art Jewellery

It was my boyfriend's birthday 2 weeks ago, and he was in Japan, so I only managed to give him his present recently when he got back. The actual gift was CHANEL's Bleu Eu de Toilette [happiness is CHANEL], but I also wanted to make him something as I always do.

So, I knew that he had just gotten himself a brand new camera, the Olympus E PL2 - which is awesome by the way, and all photos in this post was taken with it - and he needed a camera case. And of course, I made him one!

I used some blue leather and greyish-blue canvas, for the interfacing I used 2 layers, felt and sponge, so that it gives added protection. When making camera or phone or laptop cases always use good thick interfacing so that it provides the needed protection. I also lined it with white satin so that it does not scratch the camera. I also added snap buttons to the sides so that the bag can extend itself.

Since this was a surprise gift, I had to seek out the measurements of the camera online, however I completely forgot about the giant lens, and I was soo lucky that I made the bag so oversized that the camera fits it snugly!

I also made for him another leather cuff, which he had requested before in these colours, beige and green - in the photo it's sitting ontop of the previous one I made for him too, see it here in this post.

All the leathers I used are scrap leather, and they are all hand-sewn [painstakingly as leather is sooo thick], and I leave them quite raw around the edges as firstly I think it suits the look, and secondly I can't seem to find leather Edge Kote in Singapore! If anyone knows where I can find them please let me know!!

So aside from my boyfriend's birthday presents, I've also been experimenting with making jewellery with my art - my drawings.. I wanted to see if I can use paper in my jewellery without ruining it when it gets wet, and how I can make them sturdy enough.

And this are 2 that I came up with!

This first one is a rough drawing of the Eiffel Tower, the drawing is on paper, and I used jewellery wires to create the circle frames and attached them to the sketch. Then I coated the drawing with glossy finishes on both sides, and it became sturdy and waterproof! So chaining it up with pale gold ropes, I have a charm bracelet!

My second one, I created more of a bead like charm. Using clay and my drawing, then also using glossy finishes, I got this! I also braided strips of red leather for it to hang from.

I love them both! And they look great worn together too!

So these art jewellery range are not perfect, they are quite raw as they are all made entirely from scrap pieces, so not too sure if it can be sold. And these 2, I'm keeping for myself anyway.

However, if this catches any of your fancy, let me know!

Cheers,

E.L.

Reebok's Wrist Weights

If you know me, you'll know that I've been committed to a jogging routine for about 8 months now, before I used to be lazy where I go off and on the routine. However, now I'm pretty good at maintaining it! Well, I don't really have a choice see, my dad and brother are avid fitness freaks, and my mom was obese with health problems contributed from it.

Anyway, jogging is usually my only form of exercise, besides my 2km walks everyday to and fro work, I don't go to a gym as it's a waste of money to me. So, with jogging and walking, my legs and core are the only part of my body that is getting most attention, and I am left with jiggly arms. Hence, I got these awesome wrist weights!

These are designed for strapping on and then you can carry on doing your core exercises, so for my case, I strap it on and go jogging! And it's basically weights that work on your arms while you do your core. Mine are 0.5Kg [on each weight, so both weigh 1kg together] as seen in the photo above, and honestly I thought it would have been much heavier, but because of the momentum when I'm jogging, my arms' swinging actually balances out the weights so it does not feel like it's a toll at all. There was a heavier option at the store where I bought it from, it was 1Kg for each weight. However, to get basic tone, you should use lighter weights, for building on muscle mass, heavier would be the option. Since I've already got 5 and 9 pounds hand weights at home, I got the lighter wrist weights - besides I wanted toned arms only, not huge guns!

So I love it, the design too is smart, it pretty much works like an arm guard [those we use as kids when we are learning to ride a bike or roller-blade], you just hook the hole to your thumb and then strap it around your wrist. This design is good as it holds the weights in place, instead of having it sliding up and down your arm, or having to strap it on so tight. It's also made with breathable cloth, and it is filled with beans to create the weight, so it's flexible and soft and comfortable. Plus the attachment is velcro, so it's easy for strapping on yourself.

If you're interested, this should be available at any big sports store that also sells other gym equipments. It wasn't crazy expensive, SGD$23, but I did wince abit considering it was like buying beanbags for my wrist..


Cheers,
E.L.

Kao Liese - Bubble Hair Colour - Natural Black

I've recently discovered that when life gives you a whole ton of lemons to suck on, the stress will give you grey hairs... And I got several sprouting on my too-young head! So I wanted to get rid of them, and was plucking them out, but I knew it was not a good way, as grey is when your normal black hair has lost its pigmentation so it will never go away and will always keep growing back grey. So instead of plucking them out and enduring balding patches [grey hair is always better than no hair!], I decided to dye it!

However, unlike most asian women these days, I did not want to have fake blonde/brown/red tones in my hair, I personally find it offensive - like the new age of colonisation. Why do we asians see the need to try and look like the westerners? We should just be glad with our own distinctive look :)

Anyway, I wanted to dye my hair, but I'm quite dumb at doing it myself at home, where most do-it-yourself hair dyes requires you to have eyes on the back of your head when you apply it on evenly, and it gets really messy, and I didn't want to go through all that, neither do I want to spend an extortionate amount in a salon. So I was super happy when Kao Liese came up with their dark colour hair dyes range!

Kao Liese hair bubble colours used to come in only light colours which does not even colour greys, but with this new dark colour range, it is specially for covering your unsightly aged hair!!!
And I used it, and it was successful!! It was also as simple to use as the product claims it to be! Well, the frothy bubbles that the ad keeps showing is semi-true, where it is only frothy when you squeeze it out of the bottle [after you've mixed the solutions as following the easy step-by-step instructions in the pack], but when applied to the hair it will all just dissolve and you will not be have nice bubbly frothy hair as the ad shows, but it will look like dark sticky paste. This is normal, but the best part is that it is so neat! As you spread the froth over your hair, the paste will gradually hold up your hair, so it does not drip and you can push up your hair like you're shampooing [as seen in the ads but without the bubbles], so it does not dangle and drip all over your back. It also spreads evenly all over your whole head of hair and easily all over your whole head of hair.

The results are very good too! My greys are completely covered and actually the entire length of my hair are evenly dyed! And my hair is blacker than before [actually my hair was natural brown before], but I would have prefered a darker black. Hopefully they can extend their black range to like blue-black and such. Also it did not dry out the hair very badly, I had to condition it quite heavily to get back the smooth softness, and the pack also gave a leave-on serum which softened the hair after wash too. So with continuous conditioning and I use my own serum and olive oil, my hair is shiny and soft as ever!

So check out more of it here if you are interested!

Cheers,
E.L.