Sleep 2300 to 0300 hrs

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGS

are keeping me awake i just hear a firework go off, probably a left over from NYE. i smile because i know im not the only one here still awake :) i've decided to photograph what I wear from now on, perhaps not everyday, but when i have time. heres what i wore today.

1. Favourite oversized jumper that I also use to sleep in hehe 2. Black Singlet 3. Tie dye leggings 4. Stella McCartney bag 5. Rings on my finger and a ribbon in my braided & bunned hair

Lately, I've been into a craft mood. I like making things that make me smile/proud. Here is what I did this morning:

Made small signage for food: Ciabratta and Dip: Vinegar, Olive Oil, Salt + Garlic

Buttered Ciabratta Bread

Healthy & Light Breakfast: Fried egg, salted cucumber, mushrooms, fresh walnuts and nectarine, bread + dip

Today we went to the Night Market, the Queen Victoria Night Market. It's one of my favourite things in summer. I like the atmosphere and the cookiness of the things that are sold, even if they are the same stores and people and products as every other year. The multicultural foods also get me, except they are so fucking expensive. i spent about $20 on food served in small proportions and the quality can be better. I had a Turkish 'Gozmele' (?) which was a soft quesadilla with chicken, spinach and feta cheese dipped in some kind of sour cream, chives and garlic sauce. SO YUM! but not enough to satisfy me and vman. we pushed through the crowds and i purchased a tiny lamb souvlaki for $10 while vman lined up for a Bratwurst Hot Dog at the German Sausage stand. when he got to the front, they had fun out of bread. There was a discounted price of $2.50 and the sausage was being sold for $5. a plain sausage of medium size sold for $5! A hot dog is not the same without bread. any bread would do. we bumped into a lot of people, including phuong, angela, sharonne, jek and tin and vman's sister + gang. we sat with them and shared their food. i tried the pasta with tomato sauce and spanish paella. and also some of vmans hot dog without bread. it was quite yummy. we also bought this Chocolate and Macadamia fudge. What did it taste like? Fucking Yummy. We bought 1 bar and the kind lady behind the counter halved it for us. I ate mine in an instant. Vman didn't, he had left overs and now I'm gonna eat it tmrw morning :) I bought a couple things, including a ring made of the end of a spoon and a metal hand made and painted jewellery bowl from India. photos to come soon! i love looking at hand made goods from India, South America, Thailand and all over the world. The hand made is definitely more interesting, something that is becoming less common and therefore more treasured! for people like me that is.

Spoon Ring

Indian Handicrafts

there were no camel rides or charleston dance lessons this year. and it probably wasn't as packed as the years before. i was very tempted to get a temporary tattoo as i usually do. then i realised, the money i spent on temporary tattoos in my life time could be a deposit for a real one. no more useless spending.

My Kawawa Vman Complete with Eye Bags He was so tired from work but drove me anyway because I was sooking . He felt sorry for me hehe

We arrived about 7:30pm and it was already packed

100% Organic Hats for Peasants and Witches

Outdoor Seating Area

10:00pm We left at closing time

Camden Markets, I Love You

I have a new place to shop, its better than American Apparel. For those who know me nothing beats American Apparel and I've bought 4 colours in the same American Apparel jacket. This place is called camden markets and its massive. we took the train from Nottinghill Gate, to Tottenham Gate then another train to Camden Town. As soon as we got off we were greeted with open air markets bustling with hundreds and hundreds of people. it is mainly clothes and jewellery for sale. sometimes you would get london photography, shoes. there are plenty of hats, ear muffs and gloves. they are what is usually displayed outside the shops to lure people in.

Camden Town

the market is a combination of open air stalls, stalls inside halls and actual shops/buildings that you walk into. the buildings were decorated with whatever the store name was. so the Levi's building was painted denim blue with Levis in white and a red tag - just like the jeans. The converse store had massive sculptres of chuck Taylors comming out of the wall. and the asian resturant had a massive dragon.. its all very 3D.

Levis Store

i bought som much things. i was a kid in a candy store. i love markets for the hunt of a bargain and the feeling of never knowing what you might find. markets also serve for inspiration for designers or creative people. here are the things i bouht today:

• gold skull ring wearing sunglasses that you can flip on and off its face hehe
• sterling silver triangle earrings/studs (sterling silver is so fkn cheap)
• turquoise wooden ring
• wooden texture circle ring
• awesome brown fur russian style hat with ear flaps (im wearing now heh its fun to wear)
• gangsta typical timberland boots (nice looking, light weight and comfortable)
• and a few other things that are presents but i cannot say it here just incase they find out and it wont be a surprise!

london fashion is different. i new it from the start but i saw it with all the things they sell at the markets. my perception of is it still classy, neat, tailored, subtle but at the same time unique and interesting. its kinda fun wearing and buying al this winter stuff. i thought winter clothes were a bad thing, heavy clothes and multiple layers but now i see it as a good thing. more clothes = more potential for styling. accessorise with scraves, gloves, hats. its fun to choose different coats, jackets, boots.. and heels.. maybe winter is a good thing. it wasnt as cold as it was yesterday i didnt even need gloves and at a couple times today i actually sweated. we tried mulled wine for the first time today. i didntknow that wine could be so yummy!! mulled wine is red wine warmed up and mixed with sugar, spices and citrus fruits like orange and lemon. for london weather, mulled wine is perfect. we sipped our wine and browsed through the markets. it was soo good we got another cup. i willmake it at home when i get back hehe. the markets were also lined with foods from all over the world. indian, central american, west african, polish, japanese, mexican... thats when i realised london isso mulitcultural, australias got nothing compared to this! very large cookies were stacked up in coloumns of flavour, and after purchasing they will be warmed up and ready for eating. there were donut stands/carts. food is displayed as they were if they were sold to a customer. it was exposed and 'touchable' to the customer, one cud even pick at it and eat if they wanted. i felt it was unhygienic, but at the same time it made feel 'trusted' , it made me want to come closer for a look. food presentation is so pleasant and inviting! if i had a food stall back home id know exactly how to present now hehe.

Which donut would you like?

Seating

Sheila

So steve wants me to blog about salsa. I dont understand why if my blog is so 'gay' in the first place.

Tita grace left for home today. i woke up at 840am to watch mum, tito boy, tita grace and tita cell pacing the floor downstairs. i watched from the stairs and leant sleepily on the rails while sheila just smiled at my drowsiness. today is the day i plan to take out sheila but 1st i must go back and get more sleep. i spent the whole night watching Taken, and a bit of Old Dogs and Sex in the City which i did not find interesting. i snuggled in my fluffy bed surrounded by puffy pillows until my alarm rudely woke me up at 10:10am. quickly got dressed pressured anio to hurry up! he was gonna come with me and sheila to the city.

we were meant to catch the 11.09am train from wg's but after much delay in getting ready we ended up catching the 11:30something from albion. Anio parked the car there and the 3 of us travelled to the city together. the weather was horrible, cold then windy, then it rained, and then the sun shone, and then this cycle was repeated the for the whole day. it confused me and sheila as we repeatedly took off and on our jackets.

our first destination was QV Market. it was the most ideal place for sheila to buy australian souvieners. i wasnt sure as to what the opening hours were on a wednesday, so we took the tram up anyway. it was closed. so we took a photo of the opening hours for our next visit.

We made our way to Melbourne Central by foot, where sheila spent the time comparing melbourne recommended retail prices and dubai recommended retail prices. apparently, here in melbourne we get ripped off hardcore. I took sheila to eat at my favourite Japanese resturant, Ito where we both had eel and rice. i dont really like eel, it felt crunchy in my mouth when i ate it. half way through i realised the eel had bones! what kind of eel has bones?? i thought they were spineless.. i divided the eel from my rice and continued eating the rice. i dont think ill be eating eel again. i dont like eating bones. sheila bought helps of australian souvieners from random shops on swanston street, and also a philosphy book in Metropolis.

Time went by quickly and it was time for salsa classes at Syn Bar. This will be my 2nd time, but sheila's first time. Vman did overtime at work an couldnt make it. this time we had to wear name tags, just for fun, sheila's read 'Jenn' and mine read 'Sheila'. if anyone was to ask, i would tell them i was from dubai, visiting my family for a cousin's wedding. Salsa lessons are so much fun. quite easy too. we danced with almost all the guys in the room (you had to). it's funny becoz there are guys there who think they are so pro with the salsa steps. i find it annoying how they swing my arms from right to left, please. i also find it cringeworthy when they try to improvise with their feet or dance steps, instead of stepping infront with their toes, they will step with heels and wiggle it a little.

No.

Bourke Street, Melbourne

The Last Night Market of 2010

I bought the prettiest hair piece today. It was handcrafted in central america. its made of glass beads and wood on a black leather piece. It set me back a good $15 but i believe it was well spent. I have made beaded crafts before and god it is time consuming! picking up every single tiny glass bead, one by one. first with your fingers and then insert the needle in the whole. then stitch the thread so the beads are secure. then repeat 500,000 million times. i reckon this one hair piece would take hours even for an expert bead-er so i appreciate and respect the workmanship that has gone in to this. That being said, i was quite disheartened when a young (maybe the same age as me) boy and girl beside me at the marketplace stole a bag. I didn't even realise it until vman told me what happened.

Girl takes bag off rag and puts it on: "Hey, look at me!"

Guy: "Com'on, let's go"

Guy and Girl both walk away, and nobody but bentot saw. The person who made that bag put in their time and effort, and the bag stolen just as easy as that.

I can shove a massive pin in the leather behind and make it a broach.

Or i could clip it to my scarf to keep it around my neck during winter.

i like versatile and beautiful things. who doesn't?

I also bought my 2nd pair of happy pants for $25. These ones are different to my 1st pair, they are brightly coloured and made of a silky material where as the other is made of a calico material. I understand happy pants aren't for everyone, but no one can disagree as to how comfortable they are. And don't diss them until you tried them.

My Happy Pants make me feel Happy

even when people look at me like im crazy =]

I remember the my mate Paulo would tell me, when he saw me wearing happy pants, 'you need to give those pants back to MC Hammer'. hahah shut up. hopefully ill be brave enough to wear them tmrw =]

I have just read phuong's blog on xanga. she has said i have given her an urge to shop, probably because of my posts about my shoes from sydney. I can't believe that kmart are selling $1.75 Rimmel Nail polishes. Do they have black? because i want black. ive got too many nail polishes already, i should finishes the ones i have before i acquire new ones. the same goes for my makeup. buying makeup is so addictive especially when they are so cheap! Groove and Ice Accessories for coloured eye make up and lip gloss and Rimmel for mascara.

Tmrw i must go to kmart anyway. The kmart advertisements from my mail box are so seductive. yes, seductive. kmart have improved their advertising and their clothing so much so, i thought it was a target catalogue. I'm gonna list a few of these bargain items off the top of my head for phuong to hear.

- Cute ankle boots for $15 (thats $1 more than phuongs bronzer)

- Grey blazer for $40 (since this is so cheap i gotta check out bcoz its too good to be true)

- Black tailored sequence blazer $40

- Long racer black baggy singlets $19

- Grey skinny jeans $29

- Old school demin button up shirt $29

- Long knitted vest with hood $29 (very pussycat doll type)

- leppord print leggings $15

- Tie Die jeans $29

wow. off to go and spend some more.