3 Instagram Accounts to Follow

Hello!

It's been ages since the both of us posted anything on this dying blog. So I'll just continue sharing on my favourite thing to do during my waking hours- looking at beautiful pictures of strangers on instagram.

1. First account would be keiyamazaki (http://instagram.com/keiyamazaki). I think she makes the most amazing and wholesome breakfasts. Her pictures are so rich in colour and it screams delicious even though I know I would never have the chance to taste them. I simply do not know where she finds the energy to make such beautiful-looking breakfasts everyday, I could barely wake up when it's my off day let alone a normal work day. I love how the Japanese have such a clean and rustic approach when it comes to styling their food, it's as if her pictures came right out of Kinfolk or a Japanese cookbook!

2. Second account would be lepetitelefant (http://instagram.com/lepetitelefant). Cutesy, whimsical and cheery would be the three words that would sum up her account as most of it is filled with her illustrations. I have always thought that her illustrations are perfect for an animation film (think something like "Up") and I personally can't wait to see her illustrations come to life someday! You can check out her online store selling original artworks, prints, cards and stationery at http://www.genevievesantos.bigcartel.com/. Would love to see her little set-ups at fairs and markets someday, but sadly that would require me to travel half way across the world. :( Anyways, do follow her if you like illustrations that warm the cockles of your heart! :D

3. Last account that I will recommend would be greenlaundry (http://instagram.com/greenlaundry). Her account is filled with Singapore's prettiest-looking haunts! She always seem to capture the prettiest little corners of Singapore, even those that you might most likely miss out when you walk pass. Her eye for vernacular beauty is something I would like to develop. It's almost like finding beauty in the mundane which is something we all very much need. She also happen to make the cutest pom poms which you can purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenlaundry.

So here is my second post on 3 instagram accounts to follow! Will definitely provide more recommendations if procrastination doesn't get the better of me.

-Cheryl

Listserve

Hellooooo!!! Hahaha Cheryl and I are the laziest girls on Earth! We can't even bring ourselves to type stuff here arghhh.

Anyway just an update, since I've graduated from NUS in May 2013, I went to Taiwan and Bangkok in the same month, found my first job in end July 2013, went to Taiwan again in March 2014 and am still at the same job now. Wow sounds so boring but I really experienced a whirlwind of emotions I tell you. Hahaha.

Working is really different from schooling man. I feel so much richer cos of my stable salary as compared to my infrequent pocket money (I know, I know.. I'm trying to repay my parents now!!). I think I am getting better at dressing up and wearing dresses and skirts now haha. And I am wayyyy fatter now because I will eat a regular meal during lunch, and a very heavy dinner because my mum really cooks a lot all the time. I really need to cut down on my snacking!!

Okay, anyway today I wanna share my Listserve experience!! Listserve was introduced to me by a very cool friend, zoeychrix (haha), in 2012 and since then I've been receiving daily emails from random people in the Listserve mailing list talking about anything and everything. One lucky person from the mailing list will be picked everyday to talk about whatever they want, and zeng zeng zeng... I received the email from Listserve that it was my turn in early March!!!

Honestly, it was during a busy work period so I didn't really have time to look through my personal emails, but I'm glad the title caught my attention. Haha, but I was quite worried about this because my English is not exactly good, and I don't know what to say at all!! There were many inspiring ones during the first year, but subsequently, people talked about science and business, or adventures etc that they have tried. I have nothing interesting to share about myself, so I decided to just share about the quotes that inspired me recently during this dull and uncertain transition period of my life (being a working adult is really not easy haha).

Part of my post

You can read my post from here: http://thelistservearchive.com/2014/03/19/my-favourite-quotes/. Hehe, first time seeing my name appearing in the Google search list *pats my shoulder*.

But the main point of this whole post is that you know what, I received 50+ replies from Listervers (?) all around the world and ALL OF THEM were sooooo encouraging and nice! Omg. I was soooo worried when it went live because I thought it was a bad post with bad English but ahhh, everyone was so nice! There were some who thanked me for making their day. Noooo.. they don't know that their replies made MY day (and probably life) instead!! Sigh, I'm so touched! Thank you everyone and Listserve and zoeychrix!

Just wanna share this very powerful quote that made me shudder for awhile: "...Please underestimate me. Because then you'll never see me coming.". Wowwww right? Haha. Other than this, there were so many more meaningful ones but I think the most important experience that I've gotten from this is that I could feel a part of happiness of those who have emailed me? I don't really know how to explain this. It's like, if you read my post, I shared what I've learnt from the quotes and how those quotes made me feel better. I think readers might feel good cos I shared something good and happy about myself. It's the same feeling reading their replies, and imagine receiving so many of them! It's like I'm experiencing happiness multiplied by 50 over times! :') I'm so glad that I asked readers to share with me cos I was feeling so worried about my bad post and English, which explains why I used birds&flora's email address instead of my own personal one. Ha ha ha...

Anyhow, it's very interesting to see how simple words and sentences can help people like us feel better, and how those simple quotes can be used to define who we are, how we think and behave. Maybe soci undergrads like Cheryl can consider this social observation of individual's favourite quotes as their FYP topic yeah? I even helped you guys to think of the project title already haha.

Sorry for this whole chunk of text!! If you manage to read till here, do feel free to let us know about your favourite quotes too!! Okie dokie, that's all for now! Adios~


-Liwee

3 Instagram Accounts to Follow

Hello people out there!

We have been too busy wasting our last school holiday doing nothing and finding a job which brings us to the next stage of life called paid employment that we can hardly find any motivation to bring to put ourselves in front of the laptop to write a post of reasonable quality. As Liwee has done this 5 months ago, I thought it would be fun to do a post on 3 Instagram accounts which I adore. And yes, I do admit I'm an Instagram addict who spends majority of my time on the phone refreshing my newsfeed to oogle at other strangers' beautiful pictures and gorgeous lives. Instagram has also become my best guide for the latest food haunts around the tiny island too, all thanks to its geotag function. ;) I shall hereby declare that Instagram is my most used social networking app!

1. First account would be and_sweet (http://instagram.com/and_sweet). I am totally in love with all her pictures and am dying to find out what she app/camera she use to achieve that effect. They are totally gorgeous with a slightly warm tinge which I have failed to achieve despite toggling between all the different photo editing apps. :( Her life seems to be surrounded by the most delightful little things and the prettiest natural sights. Even plain apples look dreamy and pretty, imagine the beauty of those little snapshots of farmers' markets and cozy cafes in Korea. :)

2. Second account would be xyourfingers (http://instagram.com/xyourfingers). Her illustrations are the cutest things ever! Beautifully whimsical with a touch of humour at times. And she also happen to have the innate ability to put together everyday objects and make them look absolutely photogenic together. You can read her blog at http://www.xyourfingers.com/ or purchase products with her illustrations at http://www.etsy.com/shop/woodandlead. She also took part in the Tokyo Art Book Fair 2013 and published her first zine titled Baked Puns which anyone who has a penchant for food with cute faces would absolutely adore. :)

3. Last account that I will recommend in this post would be lyyeow (http://instagram.com/lyyeow), another Singapore illustrator. Singapore pride! :D Hurhur. Distinctively quirky and cutesy illustrations with the prettiest handwritten words and an eye for beauty in the everyday life are just some of the reasons I'm attracted to her account. I also love how readily she uses her talent to reach out to the community outside, whether it is just exchanging personal facts and letters with the fellow Instagram users or drawing a poster calling out for people to adopt a cute mongrel. It gives me the impression that art does have the power to change the world, and big changes always start out with these little things. :)

That's it for my first post on 3 Instagram accounts to follow. Will blog about more accounts which I adore the next time! :D

-Cheryl

Uma Uma Ramen

First came across this ramen place on 8days (I think 8days has an awesome food column). So this ramen place is kinda cozy and simple with an overall black theme. It just feels like one of those really authentic ramen places rather than those with more elaborate interiors like Ippudo and Menya Musashi. Ippudo is really up there in terms of interior design which also possibly explains its rather up there prices. Going back to Uma Uma Ramen, they are really considerate towards their customers by having white plastic baskets in which you can place your bags which saves you the hassle from placing it on your lap and having it obstruct your guts.

Unlike some ramen places with an assortment of condiments to add to your bowl of ramen, Uma Uma Ramen only provide those red pickled ginger slices which may possibly be a move to have customers taste their broth in their purest states. Rather than choosing the original Tonkotsu broth ramen, I chose their newly launched ramen called the Bushi Tonkotsu Ramen ($16). AND OHHHH MYYYYY GOSHHHH, I'm so in love with the broth!!! For a bowl of the Bushi Tonkotsu Ramen, you get a flavoured egg, charsiu, bamboo shoots, chopped onion, red ginger and a slice of lime. I think the greatest thing they did was to add the chopped onions and that slice of lime. Chopped onions gave the soup a mild sense of sweetness and a tiny refreshing crunch factor while that slice of lime really just reminded me of dobin mushi ( Japanese seafood broth that comes in a teapot). The soup was so refreshingly sweet and flavourful, nothing like your usual sinfully rich tonkotsu broth. I have no idea what they put in the soup because I thought I tasted something like konbu/kelp inside the soup too. And when I thought the soup really did it for me, I was taken aback when I tasted their charsiu which happens to be more than decent, in fact, it's pretty good. No overwhelming porky smell yet tender and nicely seasoned. You know how some charsiu are so tender and thin they kinda disappear in your soup (this is probably me but I swear sometimes my charsiu slices go missing)? Well, their charsiu was still existent after I finished the noodles. I think this Bushi Tonkotsu Ramen is really worth a visit down to Forum even though you're not a kid going there for the Toys R Us or some really affluent individual who adores luxury labels. And because Forum is clearly not the most popular mall on Orchard Road, there isn't too much of a crowd too. However, being not so crowded does have its disadvantages. Restaurants and shops in Singapore are opening and closing too soon. :( In order for me to enjoy another bowl of that ramen, please go down to visit this joint too! :)

• 583 Orchard Road, Forum the Shopping Mall, #01-41/42/43
• Singapore, Singapore 238884

-Cheryl

Mr Jones' Orphanage, Bangkok

Hello! I am currently an official unemployed adult after graduation but nonetheless, I've been enjoying my holidays! Anyway, I wanted to blog about some food I had in Bangkok but I realised I only took photos of Mr Jones' Orphanage using my camera while the rest were taken using my phone. So here you go, an individual post dedicated to Mr Jones'. :)

"Speak softly as some orphans are sleeping"

New brunch menu at the entrance

Saw a few reviews recommending this cafe and decided to visit the branch at Seen Space as I had never been to Thong Lor before. Mr Jones' Orphanage is basically a cafe selling desserts and brunch with really cute interior design and concept. The whole cafe is like a toy house with wooden rustic furniture, vintage tableware (which are on sale), paper planes hanging from the ceiling and a huge carousel in the middle, which I realised is used as a storage space for the ingredients.

Tableware for sale!

The carousel is used as a storage space for fruits!

Very pretty paper planes hanging from the ceiling

The main theme behind Mr Jones' is that it is an orphanage for teddy bears. There are many fluffy teddy bears around the cafe, with some swinging on the ceiling (which I thought looks pretty eerie) and some sitting on the seats for customers to cuddle. By the way, I seriously thought that it's a real orphanage because I saw the sign at the entrance asking customers to lower their volume so as not to disturb the orphans upstairs. From my seat, there were like curtains on the second floor that make them look like real rooms and the whole cafe was pretty quiet which makes it legit to be an orphanage. Zzz I'm too naive right. My boyfriend kept disagreeing with me and thought that the upper floor is just for decoration because it's really low and the stairs to the second floor are really tiny haha. I just realised that he's wrong too after seeing Mr Jones' website. Anyway, check out their website! They have this navigation thing around their cafe which looks exactly the same as what you will see in real life. :)

Orphan Dropoff House for customers to donate their unwanted bears, aka orphans

Eerie swinging bears, haha

Okay, let's move on to the desserts. When you step into the cafe, you will see the kitchen on the right and there's a huge variety of desserts on display. Everything looks really colourful and sweet which suits the toy house vibe! As we visited this place right after having our brunch at Roast, we were too stuffed by then and so we only ordered the two recommended dishes which are the Custard Cow's Poo and Chocky Mud Pie. The Custard Cow's Poo is a baked custard with a hole in the middle covered by a slice of strawberry and it is served in a plate of  homemade milk. Really pretty presentation but I find it kinda too sweet and sticky for my liking. The Chocky Mud Pie, which is a chocolate lava cake served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, was pretty good though! The chocolate was not too sweet or bitter and it's really gooey. :)

Menu

Custard Cow's Poo

Chocky Mud Pie

Overall, I would recommend you guys to visit Mr Jones' Orphanage as the concept is really adorable. If Thong Lor is too far for you, you might wanna consider going to the other branch at Siam Center which has very cute decor too! :)

Mr Jones' Orphanage (Thong Lor)
G/F Seenspace, Thong Lor Soi 13
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: 02 185 2378
Note: Thong Lo is the nearest BTS but it took me about 15 -20 minutes to walk there even though it's just a long straight path. Seenspace is just next to J Avenue which is very easy to locate. You can find the map here: http://www.bangkok.com/magazine/mr-jones.htm.

Mr Jones' Orphanage (Siam Center)
Siam Center (2F, close to the exit to the Paragon Mall)
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: 02 658 1163

Till then! :)
-Lw

3 Instagram Accounts to Follow

Hello! I've finally graduated! Cheryl is still having her papers, so I shall update our dying blog first haha. So sorry Cheryl for being such a lazy partner! I think I didn't update the blog for the whole semester right? My bad!!

Anyway, my last semester was really hectic partly because of my FYP, which was fun! I was attached to Something Old Something New, a social enterprise and thrift store chain that helps patients with psychiatric disabilities, and my team and I got to sell some of their items at one of the flea markets in March this year to help raise awareness of the organisation. ^^ Do check out their three thrift stores in Simei, Pasir Ris and Bedok okay! You can also donate your unwanted items, especially clothes to them! :)

Okay, so I haven't really been heading out these few months and hence I can't really do reviews for anything. However, I have been reeeeally active online, especially on Instagram because it's a good way to take a break from all the work right? Haha. I think Cheryl is even more into Instagram because she was the only one among my friends who noticed the change in the Instagram logo typography. Hahaha so cute. So anyway, the main purpose of this post is actually to recommend 3 Instagram accounts that I think you should check out!

1. The first would be a mummy from Nashville, named James a.k.a. bleubird (www.instagram.com/bleubird). I don't know how I came across her account on Instagram but I'm so in love with her family. She has four beautiful and cute kids with really good dress sense, especially her eldest son! ^^ She is also very inspiring as she home-schooled her children and has weekly nature hikes with them near their home. Plus, she's really pretty and artistic with really cool photos. I really wanna be like her in the future hahaha. By the way, check out her blog as well (http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/), she has this 52 Project where she takes photos of her children every week and I really like knowing more about her kids through this. I am so gonna do that in the future!!

2. The next one is also another mummy, Sue, and her Instagram account (http://instagram.com/sueshine) is mostly photos of her daughter, Sammy Lu, who is autistic. From her photos, you can tell how much she loves her beautiful kid with all the fun adventure they had together, such as "snow-skiing" indoors and travelling around the solar system in a basket at home. Sue is really creative and inspiring with such big love for her daughter, and I really love reading all the photo captions because she tends to talk abit more about autism and how she deals with it. I don't think she has a blog yet, so do check out her account and look through all the photo captions if you haven't! :)

3. The last account that I want to recommend is Betty Autier from Paris (www.instagram.com/leblogdebetty). I really liked her since the Lookbook days a few years back because I thought she's really pretty and fashionable. I even went to cut my hair like hers, with bangs and messy tresses hahaha. Her Instagram is mostly photos of her outfits, shopping hauls and food, so check out her account if you like fashion! I think she's a popular blogger too by the way. She blogs at http://www.leblogdebetty.com/en/. :)

Oh by the way, I've changed the sidebar of our blog with the links to our individual Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest accounts. Follow us okay! :) My Instagram is locked though because I can't stand spams, so just feel free to send me a request! And I think you guys should follow Cheryl's account because she takes really nice photos and she is always at cool places! And she has really good taste! Her Pinterest says it all, I swear!! :)

Hope you like the three Instagram accounts that I've recommended! Till then!! :)
-Liwee

Artistry

A relatively new cafe has slipped into the scene in the Kampong Glam area. Artistry is a cafe with an adjoining art gallery and I guess every now and then they have little exhibitions held in the cafe space too. The last time I was there, the theme of the exhibition was something about doomsday with reference to the Mayan's prediction of the world ending on 21 December 2012. Honestly, I thought the world ending seemed like an overly romantic idea and easy escape to life and its suffering which obviously won't come true because life has it's awful way of torturing us before we can go. That is what I think. But don't get me wrong, my life isn't that bad and it is actually something I am very grateful for. I just think that God or whatever supernatural power out there won't let humans get away that easily.

However, do note that this cafe does not offer a lot of tables. Instead, they have one long wooden table that resembles the table you see in Da Vinci's The Last Supper which means that you would probably have to share your table with many others if the place is crowded which is actually not that bad because it is a really really long table. Another small table with a sofa can be found at the side of the cafe nearer to the counter but I guess that is reserved for the early birds! There's also an al fresco section outside which can be nice if the weather is breezy. And having fresh flower arrangements on the tables is definitely a nice personal touch.

And on to the food! They serve locally roasted Liberty Coffee and some pastries and cakes. I'm guessing their pies are from Windowsill Pies. Windowsill Pies are really good, bought two of the pies the last time I was at Saveur. Recently, Windowsill Pies opened their own cafe in the up and coming hip neighbourhood of Jalan Besar. Will do a review of that when I can find time to pop by that place. And so... back to Artistry's food. I had the latte and poppy seed cake that day. As you can see from above, the poppy seed cake came with a blob of lemon curd. The lemon curd was a nice addition as it definitely adds a kick of citrus tang to the subtle-tasting cake. Personally, I like the tiny pop pop effect of poppy seeds but I don't know is it just me imagining the popping effect or they really do give that sort of sensation. Latte was also pretty good but I'm not a huge coffee drinker to be honest so I'll probably opt for the tea the next time.

With more than decent food and drinks, Artistry would be a good choice when you're looking for some place to chill that allows you to soak up artistic vibes. No art history knowledge required! And nope, not all art works require you to work up your imaginative and interpretive juices as some of them proved to have a humourous side to them as well so it's really accessible and understandable stuff. ;)

P.S. You need to go to their toilet. Very awesome stuff. Nuff' said.

17 Jalan Pinang, Singapore
Tue-Sun: 10am-7pm
www.artistryspace.com

-Cheryl