Left-brained

'...dans les champs de l'observation, le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.'

(In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.)

Louis Pasteur

Girl of my Dreams X

Miss Dior, the sensual silhouettes illustrated and envisioned by René Gruau.

Ode to A Shoe

Or rather, an ode to the elegant asymmetry. I am lacking a legitimate reason to wear it just yet - perhaps on valentine's day (with a LBD), or at the next orchestral performance (with a sheer black maxi skirt).

'You’re considered superficial and silly if you are interested in fashion, but I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity.'

Sofia Coppola

Wintry Song; one hundred

Bare silhouettes of trees in January // A cheeky quote from the School of Life // The humble, loyal loafers // Precious winter light, that grayish hue in the crispy cold air // Winter uniform consists of jumper, scarf, cigarette pants and Joseph

In just less than one year, I have come to my 100th post - thank you for staying in tune, dear readers!

If you have a moment, please drop a line in the comments because I never really know who my readers are (you all prefer to stay a bit anonymous? ;)

For February and March I am determined to live the minimalist way of life - no more frivolous purchases or silly, impulsive spendings - instead, I will be busy budgeting, shopping inside own wardrobe and de-cluttering (both in the realm of possessions and thoughts) - because I am saving up for my spring trip to New York!

x

Serendipity

six.

Ad-hoc visits to:

The Table (Southwark) for brunch - excellent eggs benedict and buttermilk pancake // Sunflower Seeds by Ai Weiwei revisited - the video documenting the process of how they produced 100 million procelain seeds in a small town in China is illuminating // Oh Rothko // Surrealism is always a good idea // Miró in April at Tate (squealing in excitement!)

London: a feast to the mouth and to the eye (when you know where to go!)

Dear Audrey,

I collect your pictures, especially the really rare ones of you - when you are behind a set, sipping your tea, being yourself only for yourself but not for the public eye. You radiate perpetual beauty and elegance through your bright eyes and kind deeds. But it is interesting to see - with more images of you circulating, the femme mystique of you grows.

This is one of my favourite quotes of yours,

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.

Kisses to you too,

x

Girl of My dreams IX

Clémence Poésy: dis-moi, pourquoi est-elle très belle?

Vivre Sa Vie

Lend yourself to others and give yourself to yourself.

Serendipity

cinq.

Finding a really good spot in the library to work (:

Serendipity

quatre.

Thank you Shuen-Yi for the restored edition of Sylvia Plath's Ariel - reading the collection in its original order and manuscript sheds light on Plath's creative process, techniques and more powerfully, how she painfully battled with the inner demon and transcended it all.

My all time favourite is the Morning Song, written when her second son Nicholas was just born.

Love set you going like a fat gold watch.

The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry

Took its place among the elements.

Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.

In a drafty museum, your nakedness

Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.

I'm no more your mother

Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow

Effacement at the wind's hand.

All night your moth-breath

Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:

A far sea moves in my ear.

One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral

In my Victorian nightgown.

Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square

Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try

Your handful of notes;

The clear vowels rise like balloons.

I Dreamt a Dream

From *Roberta Ridolfe

By the end of this year I should have:

*gone to New York (finally!)

*completed my dissertation

*completed my first degree

*spent the summer either in Switzerland/India/Hong Kong

*started medical school again

Oh good God.

Nothing is more daunting than things left undone.

- How would I get there, and how should I get there?

Serendipity

trois.

Looking at simple things that I cannot live without - usually inside my bag (from left to right):

*my old phone who is now 5 1/2 years old - Who would need a smart phone if all you want to do is call and text occasionally?

*Schedule for 2011

*Body Shop Shea body butter

*a good ball pen (0.38mm) - my handwriting is small!

*and a book on the go. The one I am reading now is written by my favourite neurologist/storyteller Oliver Sacks, given to me on my birthday by bf :)

Under a blanket of Gray

amidst the chaos I am beginning to see the blessing under disguise.

Serendipity

deux.

I tidied up my room today - wiped everything, bought holders for my files and magazines, rearranged the flowers. It is nice to find peace in everyday entropy.

x

Serendipity

*Inspired by Christine and thought it would be a fun project to embark on - I will go on to list one thing that makes me really happy starting from today, every day.

un.

Decided to pop by the National Portrait Gallery and looked at the exhibition 'An Englishman in New York' by Jason Bell. The portraits are good themselves but the stories behind the English expats are infinitely more interesting. Here is one of my favourite.

Simon Doonan, creative director, Barneys

"There’s a tremendous sense of freedom living in Manhattan. I remember when we were opening a small Barney’s outpost in Soho; in a cavalier way I told everyone that I would get a Queen Elizabeth II lookalike to come and cut the ribbon. We didn’t have a huge budget and I couldn’t find one so I decided to do it myself. I dressed up with butt pads, crown, sash, gloves, purse and jewels. I braced myself for the catcalls and the insults, and as I exited the lift into the lobby of my building the doorman said, “Mr Doonan, do you want your mail now or when you come back?” I often think what would I be doing if I’d stayed in England? I’m sure I’d still be on the scarf counter at John Lewis where I started. I failed the eleven plus in England and I always thought of myself as really stupid. Nobody knows that here, so I’ve written four books and a column for the New York Observer."

x

Girl of my dreams VIII

Cara Delevingne is an 18 year-old model and actress from London. In her own words, she's a 'drama queen, chiller and first class biller', describing her style as 'cool, calm and comfortable' - i-D

I know her as the girl to watch in 2011, and who makes asos clothes look ever so good.

Stella

Stella McCartney's beautiful country estate - an Eden reborn.

“I grew up with gardens, but not like these,” remembers Stella, whose family also has a farm in bucolic Sussex. “You can’t plant a pea in Scotland!” she says, laughing. “In Sussex we had a beautiful garden—but it was very different. Ours is a quite traditional English garden. People don’t build gardens like this anymore,” she adds, “and I can see why! They are ridiculously expensive. It’s insane. It’s literally like building a house. But a garden becomes another room, an escape. Being out in a beautiful garden is nicer than sitting in a beautiful room, in my opinion. They bring you so much joy. We recharge our batteries in that environment. You have to feel extremely privileged to have a garden—I don’t take it for granted.

*Read the full article here.