Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and I’ve been getting so many emails from various businesses pimping their top picks for the occasion. I can’t speak for everyone but I’m so sick of seeing all these fluffy, frilly pink things – surely this Paris Hilton demographic has been slowly shrinking over the past few years or have I just been living under a rock? Here’s what I would put together if I were to spam your inbox!
In a bid to put an end to lacy, soppy, rose-smelling pink cards, here are some very cool Bloom pop-up greeting cards by Artechnica, A$150 for a pack of 15.
Everyone should have an instant camera. Fuji Instamax Instant Camera, US$130.
Adding this to the list because Leicas are cool, it looks fab in orange and only 200 people in the world will have one. Leica M7 Hermes Edition, price unavailable.
Why are vintage bags so cool? The chances you will bump into someone else with the same bag are halved every year, thus you’ll probably be the only one in your city with this vintage Chanel tassel bag, US$1,865.
Alternatively a huge carryall like this weekender hobo from Marc by Marc Jacobs, US$228, will do the trick. Especially if it comes packed and ready for a surprise weekend trip.
Taking a tip from Seth Green’s infamous line in The Italian Job; though these M-sized Geneva Sound System babies, A$1,999, won’t blow womens clothes off but they look mighty cool in any living room. And if you’re wanting to put that theory to test, it comes in L and XL too.
Quality sound that looks funky.. portable cool! Totally digging these Skullcandy Ti Tokidoki Headphones, A$120.
There are regular steak knives, and there are Legnoart spicy steak knives by Carlo Contin. Unconventional as a V-Day gift, to say the very least. Price unavailable.
1000 Dessous: A history of Lingerie will look fab on any coffee table. From US$60.
Sexy! MAC Lipmix in Red, A$21.
I can has funny? These LOLMagnetz, US$20, are hilarious and a great bang for your buck. Check out the user submitted pictures on Thinkgeek!
For photography buffs, these Re:Vision Camera lense cuffs recycled in South Australia by Craig Arnold also come in sterling silver modeled on the real thing. Each recycled cuff is one-of-a-kind. A$140-250
Thinking of You flat-packed metal cut sheet vase covers from Artechnica hides that cheap vase so your blooms will always look cool. Guaranteed to last longer than the flowers you’ll be paying a bomb for on V-Day. A$55-$65.
Keep your other half up all night with this sexy Nespresso Delonghi Lattissima, $A699.
Riding crops from Lucrezia and De Sade, ahem. From A$25.
Images from respective sites.
On Sunday, MJ and I went on a walkabout around Walsh Bay so I could put my new camera to use.
I found this water feature/fountain that wasn’t in use and to my delight it was a map. Coincidentally we were talking about traveling and I was just thinking out loud about how much I miss KL.
Though, in this picture it seems like I am pointing at the Malaysia-Thailand border instead. Geography fail :(
Geography fail
I met a cab driver last weekend and he asked me where I was originally from. “Everyone’s from somewhere, originally,” he says. He’s been here for 24 years.
No matter where I end up in the future, or if I stay here, I will always see KL as my first home. I’m hardly the most patriotic of people but I love that I grew up in a place I am proud to call home. If there is one thing I have noticed living out of Malaysia is that I often come across Malaysians that say living overseas is so much better than living in KL and how shit KL is etc. (some more than others) and I think it is hard to make that comparison. For some it may be a matter of circumstance – I get that. But hearing these comments from people who have had happy lives prior to living abroad irk me. It’s great that we can be part of a different community and be where we are today; KL may not be the best of places but is there a need to really slam it that badly? Is living abroad for a few years is all it takes to forget where you come from? There’s nothing wrong with calling two places home.
Just wanted to get that off my chest. It has been bugging me for a while. My background is an intrinsic part of me and it’s something I’m proud of. Maybe I am also pig-headed and cannot understand how one goes down the other path.
On that note, I am glad that there are a group of Malaysians here that I enjoy hanging out with. It is nice to be around people that share the same background (and love of food – we have Malaysian-themed cookouts haha). Am making it a point go back as often as I can (without jeopardising my travel budget of course). Unless I can find a way to move KL here.. HMM!
[Post title refers to an Malay saying, bagai kacang lupakan kulit. Directly translated it means "like a nut that has forgotten it's shell" where kacang = nut and kulit = shell/skin and used to describe people who have forgotten where they come from.]
Something really random for the weekend..
Tracy posted something about being an extra on an ad on Twitter. For some reason I decided to google one particular ad I was an extra in, it’s been so long I don’t even remember exactly when but here’s a screen capture:
It was 35 degrees on that day. I remember this because I was with my cousin and we were sweating buckets and drinking warm Coke and wondering when we could go home. I don’t drink Coke normally, so it is rather ironic I got paid to appear in (all of 0.5 seconds of) one.
My cat is the cutest thing ever.
After more than six months living with him I have gotten used to his random quirks. He always wants to cuddle; some days when I am in my working chair he will jump onto my lap and stay there until I stand up.
Cats: can be annoying when hungry
Today he woke me up by licking my nose.
Finally made my way to La Perouse on Australia Day (26th Jan) as we had a day off from work. Been wanting to go there for a while as I saw some photos of the place by some very talented local photographers and thought that I should check it out.
When I got there I realised I should have brought my snorkels and fishing pole, there were plenty of people chilling out on the little ‘island’ with a few eskis of beer and fishing the afternoon away. I haven’t fished in a while and perhaps that’s something to add to my list of things to do next month. It was a lovely day for it as well, even with liberal application of suntan oil I am slightly burnt from my day out.
Was a little amused that a lovely Greek man that ran a cafe there directed me to the nude beach! I am fine with topless sunbathing in enclosed areas but I draw the line at full nudity. What’s the protocol on nude beaches anyway? I think it wouldn’t be fair to go to one with clothes on while everyone is naked!
Jo rang and the first thing he said to me when I mentioned that I was at La Perouse was “Are you at the gay beach or the straight one?”
There were some locals harvesting fresh sea urchin under the bridge and I went over to say hello. I’ve had some sea urchin roe before when dad was here and can’t really stomach the thought of eating it straight out of an urchin on an empty stomach so I had to politely decline their very generous offer to share!
Also met a lovely little aborigine boy who was standing on the cliffs and saying hello to everyone who walked past, and told me to have a nice day. He was so adorable and I wished I had a picture of him. He had the cutest smile!
And then I made my way to Bondi to join the tens of thousands of people who decided to do the same thing and spend Australia Day on Australia’s most famous beach.
I wish Summer was endless. There are so many beaches here all up and down the East coast that I have yet to explore!
—
On a different note, should I buy an underwater casing for my Canon G11 (~A$300) or spend A$100 more on one of those all-weather compacts from Olympus/Panasonic? I have been sitting on this for ages and can’t decide – much as I’d like to bring the G11 out to water it’s easier if I had something smaller I wouldn’t need to worry about? But G11 takes amazing pics.
Stephanie is currently in Sydney.
