I gotta move it, move it

I am at a point in my life when I eye the excesses of colours, prints, and more glitters with a little bit of wrinkle of my nose. Not sure why, but I am desperate - desperate - for a complete wardrobe overhaul. Could be my intern, who is such a beacon for youth and it girl cool.

Anyway, more than anything, it is my body that I want to change. I really am so fucking tired of the whole image issue I have. I don't want to go back to those dark days again, but want to live up to the amazing lightness of people like Kimberly Snyder, Kris Carr, Darya Rose, Cassey Ho... and dare I say it, even, Gwyneth.

Some may deem it as a meteorically tall order, but despite failing over and over again, I feel the fire in me rekindle again (been off the wagon for the past few weeks). I am looking at losing a few pounds, and to get rid of the horrible acne that has plagued me for a while now all over my face. And maybe some waxing is in order too...

Call it spring cleaning. It is TIME. 

your daisy dukes

I have always found the whole business a bit shifty - yes it is Baz Luhrmann so you can expect his form of grandiose, epic proportions to hit screens this month; yes, it is Carey, Leonardo's no doubt harrowing portrayal of the corrupted Jay Gatsby, and Tobey, and omg, the flapper dresses and dripping excesses of pearls and jewels (thanks to Tiffany & Co., a fact that will definitely OH MOST definitely be splashed all over the magazines this month) that I so, so love. But yes, I have tried not to mention my excitement, my anticipation, only because everyone is talking about it. I don't actually feel that I have a right to express my excitement merely because I am excited for the movie version (nope, I haven't actually read Fitzgerald, but I might, had it not been for the taster I had with Another Side of Paradise, which I found rather obfuscating). 

Fun fact: I did a brief research on Zelda, Fitzgerald's bipolar wife, and later on, their extravagant lifestyle that have you totally rethinking the whole definition of decadence, and was totally floored by the real grit in their otherwise florid lives. Life imitated art, or art did - Zelda committed suicide in her worst days of depression.

ANYWAY. I stray from the point of this entire post. I am completely enthralled by this Vogue US shoot by Mario Testino - with styling done by the amazing Grace Coddington, who is no stranger to gaining inspiration from this very particular jazz, flapper age - and wanted very much to share the spread here. All pictures are from Vogue.com, of course.

This. Is. A. McQueen. Floored. 

Bag Hag

Picture from Who What Wear.

A Loewe sling would be nice.

Hitta MODA

"Don't sleep on the job."
"Everyone starts somewhere. Make yourself indispensable."
"Be nice to everyone you work with* - they will undoubtedly turn up in unexpected places in your future." (*Be nice anyway!)

I was just idly browsing through FB, and am now more than inspired, spurred, by a manifesto of I stumbled upon of my fellow colleagues (long-distance type of colleague, anyway). Doesn't matter where you came from, or how quickly it comes, but as long as you are willing to stick out out and work hard, you will get there.

a different treatment

Women. I'd dare say that perhaps, barring exceptional circumstances, we all are our own harshest critics.

This really teared me up inside, which brings me to the fact that life is so fickle, so short, that we all should do everything we can in our capability to live life beautiful and happy. Keeping healthy is so important, not only for the overall health of the body, but also the mentality. If you feel shit, of course you will think shit, and therefore, look shit. There are days when I look in the mirror and feel like crawling back into bed and lie face down all day long. I know how dark those days were - all the more reason then for me to remember that self-sabotage is the prime culprit for all failures to align with my goals to a healthy, vibrant lifestyle. All the more reason then, to shoot for the stars and keep the gold/goal in sight. The human body is amazing; the mind, even more so.

How to break a habit, Goop style

There are a few bad habits I have been meaning to break, so this came in great timing.

Jeremy Dean speaks to Goop in this newsletter, and I like that he actually addresses the sort of "behind-the-scenes" questions of breaking a habit - the nitty gritty, of which a lot of psychologist-authors tend to ignore point blank. I mean, sure we know that habits have to be changed and how it can be changed in terms of "re-aligning" the neuron pathways of our brain, but what if you are getting resistance from that inner demon-self?

When you're trying to change a habit, you're going to have this fight, this kind of willpower battle, between the new habit and the old habit. After a period of repetition, though, the new response will take over and you won't need the willpower anymore. What you're looking for is for that new response to be automatic, so you don't have to have that tussle with your willpower.

Courtesy of Charles Duhigg/Goop.

And don't you think it's always easier to create a habit compared to changing one? Just sayin'. 

Golden Girls.

SP08LG by Leigh Viner, from The Cut.

The perfect Cate Blanchett in Givenchy, from Net-A-Porter: The Edit.

Susie Bubble in Christopher Kane for Harper's BAZAAR US, from Style Bubble.

Pop Relief

Consider this a strike off my bucket list: a brief but meaningful trip to Taipei. I was there for work and though it did feel more than just another work trip, I think I am getting more and more used to travelling, and time just seems to fly, fly, fly when I am away. I am proud to say that I participated in most of the group activities, and opted to mingle instead of huddling by my lonesome self in the room with my iPad/novel/TV. What can I say? Chart it up to great, amazing, awesome company. 

We first headed out from the airport to Beitou Grandview in a very old-school Taiwanese style bus:

Camwhoring with my new Samsung Grand. :D

Fizzy welcome drinks. A white petal sat atop the bubbly.

Beitou Grandview Hotel's reception area. It is apparently situated in the Beitou District where it is famous for the breathtaking views and untainted hot springs. It's about 35 minutes away from the city centre (Taipei), so be prepared to really switch off here.

This is where you get to relax in 55 degrees celcius sulphur water. 

A view from my room.

Nespresso for the caffeine addict, and tea for the anti-coffee drinkers.

DEFINITELY a place for people to just mosey around in slippers and slip robes.

 And then it is onto high tea at Chinese Cuisine downstairs. 

best. fruits. ever.

After stuffing our faces, we went for a stroll next door at the Beitou Museum vicinity. Didn't go into the Folk Museum as we were saving our ammo for shopping in Taipei.

But the view was charming, nevertheless, and it was free. :P

Dinner was at C'est Bon.

What did I tell ya! Here's ED being super cute and venue-appropriate, from head to toe.

Testing out my flash light, and boy, it was like catching a deer in the headlights. 

Lobster saying C'est Ca. 

Day 2: work went along without much of a hitch.

That's how we do it! With Nis and ER.

Lunch at Aqua Deck.

Touted to be super addictive around the table. This I took for my sis, who is a big garlic bread lover.

And finally - LIFE! Taipei, here we go...

Woohoo!

CYS: Ladies' wigs and Men's toupees.

Entrance.

Lobby: the catch? It's on the tenth floor.

All sorts of random.

This dog crept me out, mainly because there was a wire next to it, and a little port. Looked a bit like a snoop cam...

 ANYWAY. 

While waiting for the rest, I rediscovered the beauty of Instagram (now that I am on an Android). World, I am Instagramming!

Wu Fen Pu was madness. Pure madness. Every warren was filled to the brim with stores - you just didn't know where to turn!

Steph: victory!

Shop till sunset.

Resting our exhausted feet

300 Ringgit worth of Taipei Dollars spent in 3 hours. And then it was on to Rao He Night Market.

It was humid when we were there, but the rain finally came down when we were sitting streetside gorging on soybean, smelly tofu, and fried chicken. 

Anyway I surrendered myself to the night, unable to follow on to Shilin. 

My view from the room. Talk about a big difference!

Next morning, one last stroll around the very exhibitionist style swimming pool area.

And the vicinity of W Hotel.

Taipei 101.

 Oh, and the toilets of the hotel.

An interior designer's wet dream?

Goodbye, W (I was on the 13th floor).

At the Business Lounge of China Airlines. Didn't know/think MAS would co-share with them but oh wells.

Anddddd onto striking more off my list! (Mostly return bound trips, really. I am so hankering after HK and Korea).