1. 0650am outside my apartment

2. the perfect afternoon tea – a silky brew of gen mai cha latte and a green tea donut (filled with a creamy, luscious custard)

3. japanese wishing tree

4. palm trees never get old

an early start to the day (0650am to be precise) is never looked forward to, but the beautiful sunrise gave me pause from thoughts of the flurry of tasks i had to get through that morning. sometimes all we need is to be still, and i am hardly ever that on the weekdays.

so i devoted the afternoon to just that – lounging outside a cafe watching the world go by and soaking up the surfeit of socal sunshine (can’t take this for granted, it is technically still winter after all). something simple that feels infinitely luxurious. even if i now have to go back to finally organizing my haphazard box-strewn apartment (which i’ve been putting off for weeks), it’s okay, my mind is finally in the right place.

have a relaxing weekend, folks!

absolute scorcher of a day in LA (80 degrees) – considering how it’s winter. i’m blasting my a/c as i type, a weird experience in itself since i’ve had nothing but the heater on at night for the past few weeks. but really, i’m thrilled by the sunshine suffusing the city, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable stroll in pasadena today, popping in and out of the shops with latte in hand. up next,  foreseeing a long overdue trip to the beach beach in the very near future.

i see one too many that i wanna try!

this spring, i’m craving polka dots that are more mad men than minnie mouse, ie. grown-up iterations of something more traditionally girly. think full skirts, peplum tops, flowy silk dresses with velvety sashes in midnight blue, and on the far right, a playful take on the polka in a draped and ruched version.

oh, and happy lunar new year everyone! may you have a blessed year ahead with your loved ones, filled with happiness and good health it rained like crazy in LA today so i slept in till noon (!), caught up on pan am, had thai takeout, snacked on pineapple tarts (which i look forward to every CNY) and stuck to all the traditions this first day…no wearing black, no cleaning the house, no taking out the trash, no washing of hair – funny how some things just stick to you subconsciously when you’re away from home!

for stress-free soirees and upping your hostess with the mostess cache, a handy guide to mastering place settings. ps: click on the image to see it in its entirety.

credit//lonnymag

in the last few months or so, a new idea crept into my head: starting my own business. i’m not much of a desk-bound job kind of person, i like to move around and immerse myself in a creative environment and work in a very ideas-driven career. starting my own business sounds too much for me at times, so i like to think of it really as working for myself, or a passion project – essentially doing what you love and finding joy, meaning and fulfillment in it. because we spend so much time at our jobs, it’s essential to enjoy your work or at least gain a valuable learning experience.

i’ve been thinking about what it is i could possibly do and if there’s a niche for something waiting to be filled by this thing i love (whatever it may be), but nothing concrete has materialized yet. at the same time though, i feel like this would be an ideal situation type of thing, when i’ve firmly established myself in a career and can afford to branch out. for now, a girl can dream…

anyhow, goop (yes i do confess to reading it and actually find it quite resourceful) has some great advice for small businesses and here are some of the tips that stood out the most for me:

• “Building only what you need to prove that you can succeed. Create the minimum you can in order to test the hypothesis of whether your business will succeed or not. Polish, and bells & whistles are great, but if you focus on answering whether your fundamental assumptions are correct, you’ll be much better off in the long run.” – Kevin Systrom, Co-Founder of Instragram

• “You need business experience. Even if it’s not formal business training, a law career or expertise in another field is necessary.” – Tim Zagat

• “Change, constant thoughtful change. We’ve redesigned our site (and major aspects of it) about 5 or 6 times since our launch. And every year, we take a close look at our content and other products, both top performing and the clunkers, and really examine what’s working for us as a team, an evolving brand and content leader, as well as for our readers.” – Christine Barberich, Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29

• “Have fun with the fantasy. Starting a business is really hard and it can be a marathon in terms of keeping spirits up and staying positive. For me, it was really helpful to spend time imagining Refinery29′s success and the fruits of all our hard work. When obstacles or frustration would creep up, I would just sort of go to that happy place and dwell for a minute in that feeling and image…the excitement, the gratification, the actual space. The fantasy is part of the reward—at every stage of the process—and it can be an insanely powerful tool for manifesting what you really want.” - Christine Barberich, Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29

• “Passion is essential. You need to make sure that you’re passionate about the product you’re basing your business around and that you are soulfully connected to the mission of the company. When I started, I truly felt that I had something that needed to exist and I needed it to be successful.” – Jessica Herrin, Founder of Stella & Dot

credit//goop

so i was doing laundry a few days ago and noticed a familiar pattern. it appears that i have developed a kind of uniform that i fall back on, on a regular basis. i love me a striped design, in any permutation, color or texture really. can’t stay away from them no matter how many striped tops i have, although i go for more. they’re so smart, classic and versatile. jcrew, in particular, is a perennial favorite. i certainly don’t wear them every single day, maybe a few times each week, and i wear each one of them differently.

but i couldn’t help but wonder though, does too much of a good thing get boring?  is there a particular style/print that you wear alot of too?

might just have spent more time admiring the sweet and scrummy strawberries n’ cream donut from cafe dulce than the actual process of consuming it. i’m eating my way through their pastries, and their red bean donut is another satisfying winner that’s unbeatable when it’s fresh out of the oven, filled with the creamiest azuki paste that’s got just the right amount of sweetness. paired with the gen mai cha latte i did so love on my first visit, or the london fog (earl grey latte) i ordered next, and i’m a happy camper on a sugar high.

challah french toast with lemon curd and raspberry coulis 

how did i not know about 26 beach in venice earlier? so spoilt for choice with several different kinds of french toast to choose from – each sounding as equally tempting as the one before. figured that i must come here again and settled for a lighter option – the lemon curd french toast – which turned out tart yet sweet and awfully fluffy. just the mood uplifter anyone needs for a grey sky sunday morning.

26 beach

3100 washington boulevard, venice

310-823-7526

discovering cafes to while the afternoon away – best way to recover from a horrible week (jetlag, go away). too tired to traipse out to glendale as originally planned, so kept it close and headed for little tokyo. there have been some new additions since i last visited a few months ago, most notably cafe dulce, a japanese cafe which is seeing a steady stream of people throughout the day with its carefully crafted cups of LAMILL coffee and tea, french breads and pastries. my gen mai cha (green tea with brown rice) latte was delicately light and delish to the last sip – it literally made me smile.

cafe dulce

134 japanese plaza building e

los angeles

213-346-9910

anthropologie always throws up the prettiest and unexpected finds. like these hand creams from portugal infused with the loveliest scents. encased in equally sweet packaging, they make great gifts for girlfriends too. (everyone else apparently feels the same way too, which explains why i received one too many tubes of hand creams during the festive season, but i’m not complaining).

first meal back in LA, together with some favorite reading material. familiar and comforting.

excuse the absence, for i (frustratingly and exasperatingly) have zero internet in my apartment!

the week before i leave singapore is always the busiest – spending time with family, catching up with friends, eating my way through my favorite spots or trying out new places, loading up my luggage with treats (pineapple tarts! tau sar piah! m&s biscuits! australian milo!) and baking some with my mom. the past few days we were preoccupied with baking fruitcake and minced pies, and it’s always a great lesson for me as she’s been going at the whole cooking/baking thing for over 30 years now and dispenses all kinds of tips a noob like me gratefully laps up. although her experience means that whenever she watches me help her out, sometimes i get nervous/feel silly/all too aware that i’m moving too slowly and imprecisely for her liking.

these minced pies, however, turned out lovely. except for the fact that the star-shaped cutter was a bit too big for the pie and the edges broke off, the pastry was right on the money (really wish i had her instinct to suss out all these technical details) and the mixture of fruits she used (including rum-soaked organic raisins and medjool dates), had a delightful sweetness. finish off with masterful controlling the heat on the oven and there you go, buttery and crumbly minced pies that will see me through some late night snacking in LA.

coming home means a surfeit of good food. sweet treats have been especially abundant since it’s the festive period and i wanted to share a new discovery and an old favorite. plain vanilla (excuse the bad lighting in the photo) piqued my interest because it features classic, elegant and fuss-free cupcakes that don’t come with all the unnecessary and excess “trimmings”, toppings and flavorings that many a cupcake today is bedecked and laden with. it basically presents the cupcake as it should be, made fresh daily with high quality ingredients.

next up are the durian cream puffs from puteri mas, which i feel like have been eating since i was a little girl. living in the west we don’t get to eat these too often, but when we do these little puffs of pure d-24 joy (20 in a box) disappear really quickly. oddly enough, i find durian as a fruit too stinky for my liking, but these, these i can’t resist.

Plain Vanilla Bakery

34A Lorong Mambong (2nd floor)

6465-5942

Puteri Mas

475A Joo Chiat Road

6344-8629

if one of your new year’s resolutions (like mine) is to be more organized, the wall street journal has some nifty tips on creating a realistic and effective to-do list.  i used to just scribble mine down in my moleskine or post-it, now it’ll be interesting to see what a difference putting this extra bit of thought into them will make in terms of my productivity. what about you busy bees out there – how do you keep your days organized?

credits//wsj

LA as seen from the Griffith Park Observatory

2011 was a beautiful and blessed year, albeit a somewhat comfortable one. 2012 is going to be full of changes and transitions, and there will no doubt be plenty of challenges in store. nonetheless i’m excited for the year ahead, even if time does seem to be breathlessly barreling at full speed. this space has gotten dusty over the festive period as i have been spending time with my family, but i’ve got loads more to share soon. meanwhile, have a happy merry (and hopefully well-rested) new year!

make for an unusual but romantic and pretty pick for the hotel’s christmas decor.

lighted dusted in sugar and served warm and fresh from the deep fryer, the spanish-style churros from churros calientes have quickly cemented themselves as the perfect cold weather dessert. delicately crisp on the outside and chewy to the bite, it is indulgent yet every bit comforting when dipped into chocolate or condensed milk, or even better still, a rich and dense cup of hot chocolate. if only it wasn’t all the way across town, i’d probably be there every other day.

churros calientes

11521 santa monica boulevard

los angeles

424-248-3890

i’ve been in LA for almost a year and a half now but only got around to visiting disneyland last friday. well i did go to disney california adventure park earlier this year but didn’t step foot into the original one next door. i’m not one for rides but i have to say it looks spectacular at night and it is such a well-run outfit where they go all out to make it the happiest place on earth. i would recommend getting the park hopper ticket so you get to cross over to both parks in a day (definitely do-able) and for the nighttime shows i would 100% pick world of color (at the adventure park) over fantasmic. it combines lights, fountains, lasers, music and images from disney’s greatest hits, and some impressive technology for a mesmerizing performance. not to be missed!

the rainy weather in LA last week foiled many of our plans but we still made it to the beach on saturday. t’was still gloomy, cloudy and cold but the vermilion sunset cast a gorgeous glow over venice.