Take Me to Seine

Back in the hometown with heaps of spare time in hand, my dear and extremely talented friend Natalia and I came up with this shots by the river.

I'm wearing one of my favourite dress from Hong Kong that has been sitting in my closet for too long since I banned myself from buying black and white. It's been my possession since I sat in junior high. As you can tell, I was forever a giantess, thanks to the world's greatest sin: gluttony. But due to that, I get to keep my clothes from back then to wear to date, so I guess I'm kind of lucky. Hee.

doing the one and only pose i am capable of doing since the age of six. obviously i haven't grown up.

i love, love, love ruffles, collars and pleats. and this dress have them all.  not forgetting to mention, it's a swing dress so it allows me to eat. yaaaaaay.

The fascinator I am wearing by Morgan & Taylor is a purchase done when I first discover it as a really, really young girl. I've always been a sucker for outrageous headpieces. Thanks to Melbourne Cup and outdoor weddings, at least once a year everyone got to enjoy wearing one and feel its magic.

And the last bit of the outfit but certainly not the least, a pair of lucky find from Wittner. Doesn't it look like this pair of Miu Miu teacup heels?

Natalia and I had so much fun shooting this and I'm pretty sure we will come up with more.... so stay tuned!

Twenty and Six Espresso

Without any doubt, I crowned Twenty and Six Espresso as the best brunch spot in Melbourne to date. Food there is always innovative (not just some random stack of greens with some proteins and simple yolk porn you can put together easily at home), coffee backed up by Proud Mary's blend has never been disappointing and service is always awesome, therefore giving us the actual Melbourne's own brunch experience.

my all time favourite - the hunter. mushrooms and chorizo just couldn't get any better with their dressing combined.

my original love - the traveller. amazing moroccan sort of taste - hummus, flat bread, amazing lamb sausage hidden beneath the glistening spicy sauce. too bad they've stopped serving this.

and they've replaced it with this - the cassoulet. fancy name for baked beans and sausage drowned in sinful duck fat. it stands equal to the traveller in terms of presentation and cooking method but to me the traveller is still the winner.

this poor little fellow looks too ordinary sitting next to others at the table. there, there.

Apart from their marvelous food aesthetic, owners of this successful little cafe - Nedin Rahmanovic and Majda Falan - are graphic and interior designers. No wonder every details the eyes caught in the place also seems to be thought of carefully despite the limited space and the deceiving simplicity. Both the eyes and the tummies are satisfied at once. What's more to ask?

notice anything unusual here?

it's the water glasses! certainly not some crappy-dented plastic cups. they used to serve water with these when they started but as they grow very crowded, sadly they've stopped. 

innovative use of empty bottles, light bulbs and pot-pourri. no?

crates as racks. brilliant.

more crates as seats with old coffee sacks as cushions; industrial chic done right!  nigahiga should have made an ad about crates rather than the inflatable green ball, agreed?

wonder what is he throwing?

a paper plane!

that ends on the other side.

i just have a thing for cream and this shade of greenish-blue. and they have it all.

Oooh I know. Ask them to be open on Wednesdays as well, maybe? And also bring back The Traveller? Or maybe a slightly expand the location? Or make bookings available so we don't have to queue up on weekends? Okay I better stop here, I'm starting to ask for too much.

Disaya

It's a shame that I only recently discovered Disaya. Playful, quirky, yet oh-so-chic at the same time, how could I have missed it for all these years? Just look at how beautiful their fall winter 2012 collection is.

Okay you got me. I might be biased since the collection is based on afternoon tea. Still, Disaya deserves serious credit for amplifying the idea, making me blasting this image to its full size here. Notice how thoughtful every single detail in these pictures are? The china, the cakes; all of the essence of tea time are captured and developed into the eye-catching earrings, rings, bracelets and of course the outfits - not to mention the uber cute puppy with a hat and bow tie imprinted as a china print on the chest. Brilliant.

Pardon me for the slightly pixelated image but I just can't help not posting this major  think-pink editorial.  Loving the swan-heart print Disaya is bringing this round, simply romantic.

Extremely in love with the props on the picture on the left. Best thing for those residing in Bangkok, Disaya's store display in its flagship store consists of these!

Swing dresses! Definitely my favourite cut of dress - although I kind of look stumpy in this cut since I don't possess those gorgeous spidery long legs - it allows you to look chic, breathe and most importantly eat at the same time. Rare that these qualities can coexist at once.

Another slightly pixelated one - sorry for that - but I can't help posting it since it's so gorgeous!

 When you are tired of all those florals, this cake print is definitely refreshing to the eyes.

Disaya is named after its designer, Disaya Sorayakritikul, another amazing Thai originated talent educated in the prestigious Central Saint Martins. The brand was established on 2007 (yes, I've been living in a cage apparently) and the first collection was picked up by 70 stockists at once, followed by luxury retailers such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols! Thanks God for that, it proves that I'm not the only one in this world full of studs and bolts that finds all these girly, whimsical, dreamy clothes and jewelry a must.  Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean I hate studs. I do love them to a certain extent - seriously, who can resist against these mighty yet classy Valentinos?- but the world needs some sprinkles too and I believe Disaya is one of the magic fairy dusting the world with its addicting sweetness.



Images from various sources