slowly fades into this..

Read Full Post »

a hazy blue view..

the view from my office today, best viewed full size up large.. and if you look closely you can see evidence of development – in the form of a plastic yellow boat, the first upgrade I’ve ever seen from the big old fishing boats that normally roam around these waters.

Read Full Post »

and now for something slightly different..

through the ol’ facebook i mentioned yesterday, I have come across an old school friend’s blog which is pretty cool. She is a firefighter who is doing a 5 month posting on Antarctica –
Life in the Freezer

how cool is that?

Read Full Post »

scrabulous

I have a confession to make… I am a scrabulous junkie. I am totally addicted. Sometimes I even log in before I’ve had my breakfast in the morning, just to see who’s played their turn. I am fiercly competitive and hate losing. This is made even worse by the fact that my mother, the crossword queen, has signed up and I have yet to beat her at a game.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me enlighten you.. it’s an application on the website that I have developed a hardcore love-hate relationship with – Facebook. I kind of love the fact I have found all these all school friends and seen their wedding photos and kids and found out about what’s happened in their exciting lives since we parted ways at age 11. I hate the fact that I have work colleagues mixed in with school friends mixed in with travel aquaintances mixed in with family, it’s all a bit strange, and they all get access to a bit too much information on me – the colleagues to get to read about ‘yeah remember that time we fell down the stairs we were so drunk’ or a friend asks how the resignation from work is going? before I’ve even resigned (thanks Kelly).. all these groups of people are supposed to be separate, they shouldnt be all mixed up receiving the same information. The details I want to share with them are supposed to be vetted through ME not posted on a web page for all to see!

But the existence of scrabulous just keeps me coming back for more… what is it about an online scrabble game that has got me so addicted?  god knows.. but did you know that etaerio is a word?

Read Full Post »

mumbai today

is smoggy.. its that time of year when the temperature drops, when you can sleep without the AC and when you can do your shopping and errands on foot without drowning in sweat. unfortunatly the cool weather seems to bring with it a layer of smog that envelopes the city and turns the sky hazy and dim. the ocean view that stretches out from my office window has lost its sparkle and now the horizon is non-existent.. the sea is colourless and pale and melts into the white sky in the distance.

We do get beautiful sunsets in the cool season – the sun turns into a red fiery ball as it drops down into the sea, disappearing well before it reaches the horizon and leaving behind an explosion of red, orange and purple. It lights up the fishing boats and apartment buildings before slowly dimming and fading into night.

mumbai today.. it’s friday and the office is relaxed, everyone in short sleeves and slightly hungover from the office drinks last night. tonight K and I are going to a photography exhibition and tomorrow a trade exhibition for home furnishings.. hopefully to get ideas for the house renovations. Saturday night is my first Indian christian wedding, on a beach in the north of the city. I’ve been to plenty of hindu weddings but not sure quite how this one will go and how it will differ from a NZ christian wedding.

Anna, from the wonderful and inspiring blog absolutely beautiful things has linked to my Cafe Bali post, thanks Anna! I adore her style and visit her site daily to check how her renovations are going for her new house and to see the new stock coming into her store in melbourne.. oh if only I could shop there!

while I’m linking.. heres a few other design blogs that I reading right now, enjoy them during your weekend..
All the best  – Ronda has great interviews with different designers

My Marrakesh – I have linked to Marayam’s website before, I love her taste and hearing all the news about the hotel she is building. Plus I just discovered Marayam is a personal shopper. I SO want that job.

Girl Meets Glamour more yummy interiors stuff

Nama Rococo If it was possible to marry wallpaper I’d be divorcing my husband and proposing right now. I LOVE this wallpaper.

check out these two – its like beautiful chaos, the first one reminds me of mumbai…

Read Full Post »

further adventures of ego-man

Read Full Post »

Cafe Bali

When we left Singapore for Bali my sister sent me a text saying Just make sure you check out Jalan Laksmana (a streetname) and go to Cafe Bali. We tried a couple of days to find this street – laksmana, lakasmana left? right? with no luck and had kind of given up on it till we stumbled across it while looking for somewhere to eat dinner. After the crudeness and colorfulness of Jalan Legian, Laksmana is cool, calm and collected – stylish furniture and designer clothing stores, Italian restaurants, art galleries… and Cafe Bali.

I’ve been slightly interior design obsessed lately as we are planning house renovations (yes, still and yes I know its been ages and no, it still hasn’t started. wanna come and pack up the house for me?) but this place is gorgeous. I don’t know who owns it and who did the interiors but they just did such a good job of creating a wonderful, calm and stylish interior while still keeping the features of the original old house and not going too modern and funky. Plus it incorporates local Balinese features, and just has a wonderfull calmness about it that I’m sure my photos do not do justice too.. nevertheless, Ladies and Gentlemen, may i present to you Cafe Bali:

and check this out for a chandelier:

It all kinda looks like it shouldn’t go together – flowers and frills and a wall of mirrors and white tables with lace table cloths and mismatched white chairs.. but it does, it really works. Plus their coffee rocks.

yum.

Read Full Post »

Bali

We were off.. for a week of togetherness and sunshine and exploring and snorkelling and r e l a x ing.

We took an evening flight from Singapore and finally ended up at the incredible villa we had booked (check out thevillas.net) at around 10pm. We walked in and our jaws dropped. When you book something on the internet you never expect it to be quite as good as it looks do you? But this exceeded all expectations:

Private pool in a private compound with an open kitchen and dining table, massive bathroom and huge comfy bed in a optionally airconned bedroom.. for one week.. is this paradise? I think so.

we got explored the local streets and beaches for the first couple of days courtesy of The Red Tiger, then upgraded to The Blue Beast  which was The Red Beast for a while but due to a tyre explosion she got substituted:

We took surfing lessons and attempted to stand up. I was successful a couple of times,  then retired to my sun lounger as a new fashion magazine was calling me. K was more successful and perservering.

The beach was a little crowded in some spots, but not too bad. The beach hawkers were pretty easy going compared to the relentless sales pitches of the Goan hawkers that we are used to.

We went on a road trip to Ahmed one day, the famed snorkelling spot, and wove through small roads, past beaches and green valleys:

 

  We passed Mount Agung, the last eruption of 1963 decimated the surrounding area and left a cloud of black ash over the entire north east side of the island:

 

We got so excited about the great snorkelling and yum seafood lunch in Ahmed we fogot to take photos. But trust me it was GOOD. Gorgeous coral reef only metres away from shore and extending about 50m out to sea. We saw all kinds of colourful tropical fish, starfish, seaweeds and then just as I was admiring the weeny little cute jelly fish that were floating round me one stung me right on the inner thigh. ouch. little bastard.

We found the most superb cafe in the world on Jalan Laksmana that will get its own post later today, and we had a night out dancing after drinking a bottle of champagne in our private pool under the stars. We got sunburnt, had massages, ate and ate and ate lots of good food – Indonesian, italian and even found an excellent Greek restaurant, we surfed some more, shopped and siesta-ed. On the final night we went the Oberoi Hotel in Seminyak for a last drink at sunset… what a beautful spot:

and then.. just like that.. we were on the plane, speeding down the runway, and flying over the lights of Jimbaran Bay. We had a day in Singapore where I picked up a shiny new laptop (!) about which I am super excited.. more news to follow about the exciting plans that it is to be used for!

My tan is starting to fade already and my bag is sore from my first day back in the office sitting at the computer for 9 hours again.. oh holidays! how wonderful, yet how fleeting you are….

Read Full Post »