Lullanotes

The Boy laughed that I had no idea what I was in for when I signed up for a trip to Bhutan. Indeed, I had no idea what I was in for. I was an over-confident city girl and I thought I would breeze through everything ― the differences in altitude, culture, food etc.

 I only packed my new hiking shoes which I had not even broken into, two mornings worth of trekking through MacRitchie Reservoir, a positive attitude and off I went. Six hours of flight from Singapore and six nights in the Land of Thunder Dragon, I found myself sorely tested time after time but looking back upon my return, I couldn't be prouder and more motivated by certain incidents that happened during the trip but those are stories for another day.

 I set off to learn how the happiest people in the world live and I hope I brought back enough inspiration to guide my own path hereafter.

We wandered into this pretty cosmetics and fragrance shop called 'Fresh' on Bleecker St. after indulging in Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes. There was a citrus fragrance emitting from the shop and it smelt all so lovely. It was again, by chance, that we found out that Fresh's makeup was used in the production of Sex and the City. I use Fresh's Lip Treatment myself and it was amazing. The lip treatment has a tinge of colour and it is uber moisturizing. I honestly have almost every colour in that collection except Sugar Petal and Cherry which are the new colours so I will be making my way down to get them soon! I bought them at Sephora in Singapore and Sephora has a section for Fresh products but seeing an entire shop in New York City is nice!

There's my friend at the counter paying for stuff.

The soaps are all prettily packaged.

Almost all the scents are amazing. I have Sake, Brown Sugar, citron de vigne and Hesperides. What pretty names!

Hesperides makes you smell like a grapefruit.

This is the Coral Lip Treatment which was a new colour at that time.
My favourite products in there are obviously the eau de parfum and the lip treatments. Some of the fragrances are also limited edition. I have a couple of travel-sized bottles that I take turns to bring around because I am obsessed with smelling good enough to eat.

To be honest, Fresh is a very dangerous shop. You start uncontrollably bringing things to the counter because they smell divine and you just want a piece of it. Evidently, other people feel the same. It has the hypnotizing effect of getting you to open up your wallet and extracting out a credit card ... and the next thing you'll remember is walking out of the shop with a giant paper bag.

One of my friends staying in New York City recommended "Fish", a seafood restaurant on Bleecker St. So one afternoon, we made our way there with high expectations, hoping to get a good brunch out of crustaceans.





We ordered lobsters and crabs with chips but to our disappointment, the lobster was overcooked. While the crab was passable, the service staff had an unfriendly and impatient attitude despite the fact that the restaurant was not crowded so that put us off. Needless to say, we didn't enjoy our meal so we paid and left promptly. We were in New York City for a holiday and we didn't want to dwell in any kind of negativity so we didn't kick a fuss. We just wanted to get the hell out of there.

I found myself liking Bleecker St. There were rows of trees on both sides of the street, providing ample shade on a warm day and the street was lined with little shops with huge windows to peek into. Since we didn't have a big shopping budget to blow, we were mostly contented to just admire the jewelery and clothes on display. We did find some shops selling affordable jewelery and bought some to satisfy our vanity. At one of the road junctions, we came across a girl piping cupcakes so we just stood outside her window and stared at her. In retrospect, that must have been creepy and annoying for her.


Our sweet tooth directed us into the shop. After an unsatisfying meal, we needed to find solace in sweets. It was then I realized that we stumbled upon Magnolia Bakery, the very same one which saw Carrie and Miranda (in 'Sex and the City') sitting on a green bench outside the shop, eating frosted cupcakes and discussing Carrie's love life. This was an unexpected surprise and it is further testament to the fact that when Life gives you a bad Fish, find and eat Cupcakes.

T-shirts and shopping bags with their namesake are for sale.
They sell pastel-coloured sprinkles in jars!
Seeing these cupcakes cheer us up considerably.

The shop itself was pretty small and there was already a queue. People were snatching at freshly baked cupcakes the moment they were placed on the shelves. It is also known that sometimes the queue could result in a long line that winds its way round the block. Luckily the queue wasn't that ridiculous. We managed to buy 4 different types of cupcakes. There was a little park with green benches just opposite Magnolia Bakery and already, some seats were taken up by cupcake enthusiasts. We found a spot and sat down and dug into the cupcakes. The rich creaminess and sweetness of them made the day right again.


Magnolia Bakery was the only bakery we tried while we were in New York City so I wouldn't know how they fare in comparison to others but we were fans of Sex and the City. If Carrie and Miranda eat them, it's more than good enough for us.

I like to be prepared for everything, especially during long haul flights because I get bored very easily. I also feel very insecure when I don't have my essentials with me so I always made sure to pack my carry-on bag properly. It has everything!

1. Longchamp Le Pliage Tigre Large Tote ― With the amount of things I carry around, a lightweight and large bag is a must. It is crucial that the bag has a zip as well because I am klutzy and will somehow find a way to overturn everything. It is also very convenient to stash your bag under the seat as required by the airline.
2. Apple iPad Mini ― I load my 64GB baby up with TV series and movies. It also contains my subscriptions for National Geographic and Glamour magazines.
3. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ― I have a lot of ebooks and since the Paperwhite has background lighting, I can read it even in the dark. I also have the Royal Purple Leather Cover. The cover is pricey but fits extremely well and well worth the money!
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in White
5. Bose QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones ― I tried out a pair The Boy lent me and I was sold! I had someone to help me buy them from an outlet in US because it is cheaper there. The ear sponges are soft on my ears and I won't get disturbed by crying babies and inconsiderate chatty people.
6. Apple iPad Nano 16GB in Pink ― They hold different genres of music according to my mood.
7. A pair of socks ― I wear sandals on flight and I keep a pair in my bag in case it gets really cold.
8. Two packs of tissue for when leaky nose strikes.
9. Charging cables for all sorts of gadgets.
10. Sony HX9V Camera
11. An empty waterbottle so I can fill it up at the boarding area.
12. A large warm scarf ― sometimes I use it as a head rest, sometimes it is freezing on the plane and I want to snuggle up to something.
13. Graphic Pouch ― This holds all my medicine and all sorts of knick knacks.
14. A pen to fill up any troublesome forms.
15. Wet Wipes ― for sticky situations.
16. Panadol ― in case of headaches or flu.
17. Vicks ― Once I was on a flight and I developed a sudden runny nose. I spent the next 3 hours in absolute torture with a leaky nose. Vicks keeps the nose together till you land.
18. Eclipse chewy mints ― keeps the breath fresh after a meal.
19. Rohto Lycee Eye Drops
20. Contact Lens
21. Kiehl's Face Moisturizer
22. Blistex Mint Lip Balm ― Come to think of it. I've used this for a long long time. Maybe 18 years!
23. The Body Shop's Blusher
24. M.A.C Studio Fix
25. Shiseido Facial Cleanser
26. Clinique's Chubby Sticks ― I have multiple sticks of these in different colours. I choose the colours based on my mood.
27. Nylon Make-Up Pouch
28. DKNY Sunglasses ― to hide unsightly dark cicles and stroll out of the airport like a superstar.
29. A miniature of Love Chloe's eau de parfum ― It smells like baby powder.
30. L'occitane Lavande Hand Cream ― I use lovely scents on airplane to keep myself feeling fresh and relaxed.
31. Salvatore Ferragamo Wallet ― my new love that I got on a 30% discount.
32. A bar of Chocolate ― I get a little low on sugar so that fixes me up.
33. Passport Holder ― I have this in Toile blue that I bought from a fleamarket. It can also be found here.
34. A small purse to keep foreign change in

In the 1000 things to do in New York City, having a burger at Shake Shack took the spot at #19. There are so many movies which had Shake Shack at Madison Square Park as the backdrop. Just recently, I spied it again in "Something Borrowed". We didn't go with the intention of specifically locating the outlet at Madison Square Park because we weren't too sure of our bearings and we didn't know if it was going to be out of the way. It initially stamped from a simple desire to try the burgers and see if they were as good as some claimed. However one night in a taxi ride, we swished past the Madison Square Park and lo behold! We knew we had to sit and eat at the green benches with its incredible outdoor setting.

Going in the afternoon would be nice but going at night was almost magical with its fairy lights. It almost felt romantic but would have been even more so had we been there with our better halves but hey, I was there with my two girlfriends and it in itself was gratifying. The queue was pretty long and it took a while before we got food but consuming the juicy burger, the cheesy fries and washing it down with milkshake was like a heart attack about to happen. Because I am a crap food blogger, I shall leave you with reviews from TripAdvisor.



Although it was good, just as how all sinful food taste like but if you are anything like me, you believe in the power of ambience and company too. One bite sends you to gastronomic heaven but the collective energy of the crowd dining together with you in an outdoor setting as such brings you straight back to Earth to cherish this very moment where you are far away from home, in the city that doesn't sleep, living a life you thought you could only experience when you hit "replay" on a DVD.

I leave you with a dreamy, bokeh picture of Shake Shack.

It was summer when we first stepped into New York last year. I was going to Toronto for a work trip and I persuaded a friend to come along with the lure of free accommodation. Because we already flew halfway around the world to be in Toronto, we decided to make a stop in New York as well. It sure was tough trying to find an open jaw flight that was reasonable but we managed it. We didn't exactly go with an itinerary in mind. We just knew from the top of our heads that we wanted to go to Times Square, Central Park, Macy's (yes it was an attraction), see the Statue of Liberty (my wish, not hers) etc.

Summer in New York is warm and not unlike Singapore minus the humidity. We trotted about in breezy dresses, capris or shorts almost anywhere that didn't require a proper dress code. To go to Central Park in that weather was perfect. Central Park is a public park right in the centre of Manhattan. We talked about buying a picnic basket, filling it with goodies and cheese and then going to Central Park to laze for a good part of the afternoon away but in the end we got lazy and just went without the said basket. Central Park, due to New York's good weather, was crowded .. and smelly. There were a lot of horse carriages lined up to be hired for rides so we shuffled along, hoping to find quieter spots. We came to the road junction of 72nd Street and Central Park West, I saw a pretty building and took a picture of it. Little did I know that that building turned out to be "The Dakota", famous for two things: its exclusivity and John Lennon. John Lennon was shot four times in the back just as he was entering The Dakota.


Because John Lennon and Yoko Ono loved being in Central Park, strolling and doing what lovers do, a 2.5 acre teardrop-shaped area of Central Park was sanctioned off in John Lennon's memory and his crusade for Peace. The entrance to this area is directly opposite The Dakota and named "Strawberry Fields" after one of The Beatles' song.


We ventured further in and managed to find a lovely shady spot and that's where we threw down our bags, took off our shoes and started lying on the grass, not believing that we actually made it to one of New York's most famous attractions. By a stroke of luck, we also found Le Pain Quotient, right next to the Sheep Meadow and that's where we bought crusty almond croissants, berry fruit tarts and iced lemon tea to feast on while we laid back on the grass to either watch the sky, read our Kindles or people watch.

One couple sat pretty close to us and brought their puppy and the puppy was so fascinated with us (more precisely, our almond croissants) that he sat with us, good as gold, his head cocked to one side and his eyes soulfully staring at our bakery treats. We got permission from the owners to feed him and he must have ate an entire croissant on his own. An hour later, some Central Park guards appeared in the vicinity and upon seeing them, the couple scooped the puppy up, popped him into a Balenciaga carrier and made off. There are some rules about bringing your dog to Central Park so I guessed they just wanted to avoid trouble!

In the early part of the evening, tired from all the reading, we packed our shower curtain (which we used as a mat) and started walking around. We stopped for a good while to watch the rollerskating dancers and this is an event open to everyone I believe. They rollerskate to the music and some even carried their own sound system as they skated. It seemed like very good exercise to me, except that I am a complete douche at rollerskating.

Some of them are part of Central Park Dance Skaters Association (CPDSA)

Lovers ― boating on the lake, basking in summer warmth
Central Park is a lush green sanctuary in the middle of the busy Manhattan. You can walk into her leafy embrace away from the hustle and bustle of city life to find a spot of peace. If you think people who hang out at Central Park are just regular park-goers, you should go experience it for yourself. There are many colourful characters literally and metaphorically in Central Park and it is they who lent the vibrancy to "just another big park" otherwise that made it uniquely New York.



When you are in Central Park, it feels like a different place ― a place away from the city but yet still in the heart of it all.

I was in Sydney last week for a very short work trip. I arrived last Sunday noon and had very little free time but was still very glad to squeeze in an afternoon of dim sum lunch at Fat Buddha and coffee with Kevin and his family. Kevin used to work in the same company as me about 8 years ago and that was how long I didn't see him or even knew he moved to Australia and started a family. The funny thing about friends sometimes is everyone could be busy with their own lives and not see each other for the longest time but when the moment comes serendipitously to meet again, the heart is still full of gladness, particularly knowing that the other person has done well in life and is happy and that was exactly how I felt when I spent the afternoon with him and his family again. It made me humble and grateful that I had the opportunity to travel and have friends in different parts of the world. Also, I've heard that prior to my arrival, the weather was gloomy and cold but the few days I was in Sydney, the weather was sunny, bright and so beautiful.

View of the Sydney Opera House from Waterfront Restaurant at Circular Quay


Watching the buskers perform at Pitt street on a Sunday afternoon
I also did the two favourite things I wanted to do in Sydney.
1. Eat the delicious pippies in XO sauce with fried vermicelli at Golden Century Seafood Restaurant.
2. Have a drink at The Baxter Inn.


I was first introduced to these amazing pippies in XO sauce after a particularly heavy night of drinking which left everyone craving for supper. You can ask for fried vermicelli as an add-on and the thick, slightly hot XO sauce soaks its way through the crispyness of the fried vermicelli. The pippies are bigger than what I could have in Singapore. They are sinfully succulent and juicy and it was not difficult to work through a kilogram of them because you just want to keep going! I can't imagine it would be healthy to have so much of it.


Photo taken from The Vigilante Photographer's flickr

Address:
Basement/152-156 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

I may not be a whiskey connoisseur and in fact am very far from it. I like whiskey teamed with ginger ale or green tea and I have been accused of "bastardizing" the finer points of whiskey many a time but hey, to each their own right? The Baxter Inn is located near to Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and one night, my coworker brought me there and we had to walk through a dark alleyway where there was a bouncer who studied us critically before motioning us to climb down a flight of stairs into a dimly-lit basement. I remembered replaying the word 'dodgy' in my brains and was ready to bail anytime I smell a rat ... but the moment we passed through the doors, it felt like I had walked into a different time into a different space. It had transformed into a 1920s saloon and all that was missing was me dressing in glitzy flapper dress holding a jeweled clutch with sleeked back hair and pearls around my neck. The "Wall of Whiskeys" was impressive and I had literally no idea what to order when my turn came so I settled for just house whiskey with ginger ale and watched in fascination all night as the bartenders climbed up and down a wooden ladder to access whiskey bottles placed as high as the ceiling. Because it always felt as if I had gone back in Time in The Baxter Inn, I made it a point to try visit everytime I am in Sydney and one day, I will turn up in glittery wear no matter how odd that may seem.

The work event ran on quite smoothly and I did my fourth attempt at public speaking. I was shaking with nerves initially but after facing the crowd for awhile, the nerves did go away and I retained my composure. I definitely could do better but I was just proud of myself for not letting nerves get the better of me. I suppose the important thing about public speaking is to practice and practice and bravely volunteer at every opportunity you get and one day, you will get used to it. In the meantime, I will keep practicing and going!

Well, something else also happened at the event which had never happened before but I am not ready to talk about it yet so ... we'll leave it for another day and another time. With the ending of the events, April is also about to come to an end. Travelling twice in a month especially even if one is leisure and the other is work is just too tiring and I have never been more glad to stay in Singapore and chill out with friends.

One of the few blooms left of the sakura at Ueno Park, Tokyo
Late last year in December, my mother and I decided to go to Japan for hanami. 'Hanami' (花見) is the Japanese traditional custom of viewing the beauty of flowers. We then booked our airtickets early with Delta to get the best pricing for even as early as December, hanami tours were already booked out and hotel availability is scarce in central locations. It was the first time I've truly travelled alone anywhere overseas with her and because I did all the planning so that it felt as if I was going on a solo trip. These were some thoughts that ensued.

1. We've been to Taipei the year before to visit my two aunties living there but since we had the constant company of my aunties, it never really felt that we were travelling with each other. Rather, it felt like a group tour for most part which I quite enjoy because I had no responsibility for her travel experience. The good thing that came out of this trip was obviously the fact that both of us survived unscathed. My mother could be frustrating to deal with sometimes and I also don't have enough of a placid temperance to match but it was very satisfying to see her marvel at seeing Mount Fuji and the sakura, some of the things she really wanted to see in her life so all the preparations and minor disagreements fade away in lieu of seeing that glow on her face.

2. Complete strangers are not always scary. I am never really the kind of person who finds it easy to make small talk with people I do not know. I may come across as being aloof but it is really shyness at work and possibly the fear of making myself look like an imbecile the moment I open my mouth. However I let myself go in this trip and talked extensively to two strangers I met. Jo is from Laoag, Philippines and arrived one day after me. She put up at the hotel I was at in Tokyo and I started the conversation because we were both wearing the same outfit - a denim shirt and leggings. With Jo, the conversation was all about our "bucket list" to do before we die. Jo planned this trip for her big 30th birthday and she really wanted to see the sakura so I also told her the best place to view them seeing how Tokyo wasn't cooperating and sakura bloomed way earlier despite me doing a five year trend analysis. Denise was an older lady from America and she was on the same Mount Fuji/Hakone tour as us. The coach ride to Mount Fuji and back took 2 hours each way. Denise and I found ourselves seated next to each other, talking a lot about her children and places she had been. The funny thing is with the both of them, I didn't feel the need to keep in touch although it would have been nice if we had too. They are, like I am to them, passer-bys in the passage of Life.

3. When it comes down to travelling with the Mother, it never hurts to over-prepare the itinerary down to details on what transport to take and how to take them and also plan in plenty of rest time no matter how fit she claims herself to be.

4. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot to have a great time. It was one of those trips whereby I was not bogged down by my consumerist tendency and also spent very little on food because as what a friend described, my mother has a chinese palette and didn't particularly enjoy experimenting. She was happy just eating corn dogs (which the Japanese actually called them 'American dog') and instant noodles bought from FamilyMart, her two favourite food on this trip even though I've brought her to try tempura, ramen, katsu karē and tonkatsu bowls at proper restaurants.

Although I had a good time with the Mother, I still find myself questioning my tenacity for another trip with her and wondering if it would be better off leaving it to the hands of a tour agency the next time round.