They are my favorite and they are beautiful when they open up.

But I got them on Sunday and then sort of “forgot” about them as the week went on…

Untill this morning, when I walked into the room and smelled their scent that transcended the room above and beyond any other smell in the house.

It was as if they said to me “If you don’t see my beauty today, I will make you smell the lovely scent…..but you dare not ignore me !”

That reminded me of us in this world.

We spend so much time on our own beauty and focusing on getting ourselves pretty and in shape day in and day out.

But it is not untill we start giving off a beautiful scent (or stench) that the world stop and take notice of what has been there but forgotten for a while.

It is much easier to look pretty on the outside than to give off your special scent in this world….me thinks?! Agree?

I am not saying that it is not important to look good…. it is just that it soon becomes ignored and forgotten if we don’t have anything else to offer??

It made me think…what am I offering at the moment to the world that goes beyond what they see…. how can I make myself “noticeable, pleasant, make a difference to every room I walk in, let others see that there is more than just meets the eye….what is THE thing that make me open up and let the world take notice?

That is my challenge for today and it gave me a lot of thinking to work on…….so I am wondering….

What is your “scent” to the world? Do you  know?  What do you do everyday to make people notice, to give yourself purpose and to spread a lovely aroma around you? What is it that you do that makes other people enjoy your “being there”…. that makes them want you to stick around….and be in their lives…fill their rooms and speak to their senses?

Would love to hear !

I have had a sweet day with my offsprings. How about you?

I got the sweetest gift from my little one today.

It started off with a picture she drew at school……yes – that’s us – even the dog !!

It was then converted into a card as well as a necklace – they shrunk the picture at school to fit !!!

I thought it was super cool !!!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY EVERYBODY !!!!

For FULL DETAIL, FUN BITS, SUPPLIERS, PRODUCTS and more about the day itself – go to the  EVENTS page on this blog.

For more on this event, hosted by Auburn & Blue on May, 30th 2013  - see this page EVENTS.

Were they coming….. or going…. ??

What do you think?

Our plans don’t always work out the way we want it to….

So many hearts today heavy and burdened….in many places around the world where you had friends and family.

None more broken than those who would have woken you up today with hugs, gifts, good wishes and happy birthday songs and then would have certainly spend special time with you on your special day. Those who would have been there in flesh and not just on facebook.

Instead – just an emptiness without ending…..

Thoughts at random for those who knew you and now mourn the death that came too sudden and a life that ended too soon.

Not even a month short or you would have been 44 today. Now you will be forever young.

Forever in our hearts.

Thinking of you today, Anton. In sadness, in silence and with smiles that bear tears…..but celebrating the person we all knew and who gave so much in the ALMOST 44 years you were here.

Blowing you happy birthday wishes and sending you sparkles today. May you rest in peace and celebrate where you are now.

photo credit: M I S C H E L L E via photopin cc

One thing I would not mind adding to my list right now, are these fabulous Filled Fig treats by Heidi Epling that I found on fab.com.

As she describes them – ‘Boozy, Seductive, Chocolatey”…. ooooh… that would have gone down well with my cup of tea now. What do you think??

Maybe it is because of all the cheese I have already consumed today….just need this FINAL Sweet Fig Fix !!

If you are with me on this one – you can always click the “Like” button at the bottom – this would not only let me know that you are in for a treat too….but I will also know if the button finally works !! How’s that for a double win ?

Fab.com sends me daily temptations to my inbox. Not only by way of sweet treat temptations.

But the saving grace for me has been that they don’t ship to Hong Kong.

Yes, the CEO even wrote to me one day…..promising me they would  - some time in future – (oh dear…that’s gonna rock the wallet !!) .

For now…..in his words:
We currently ship to all 50 states in the US as well as Canada. We also recently launchedhttp://fab.de, which ships to: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, and http://uk.fab.com servicing the UK.

Just go to Fab.de, or uk.fab.com, create an account and we will ship it to you!

So – you might be somewhere where you  CAN get your hands on their products………..so, who am I not to share this good news?!

You can find them here. Yes – please don’t hate me for telling you !!

Oh – go ahead – it’s not all gonna bad for the hips – they have FAB things….. and it can distract you for HOURS !!! I know you are looking for something other than Facebook to lure you into a hour of leisure pleasure !!

But if you are stuck like me, with the shipping thing and a bit bored with Facebook …what else do you do with ME time when you get the chance to have it?

For me, it is almost holidays, which means I can go back to my home and I am already dreaming about all the things I want or wish to do over there ! I have spent hours today already thinking about putting finishing touches to the extension we added last year….

So many things…..so little time… so many plans…….so much money….. aarggghhh…..but hey – who says we can’t FANTASIZE on days like these…. at least this option is not making me want that sugar rush……. but it is as satisfying nevertheless !

Can’t wait to get back there and put some details into the decor that I left behind last time I visited.

What do you do on days like these… a public holiday where you have a bit of downtime to think about things that matter to you most !!?

 …..that the beauty in the background gets all blurred out.

Trying to look a little bit beyond the thorns right now and hoping to get the beauty back in focus for the future.

Hope you are well.

Taking a spoonful of the Mukhwas at the door of the restaurant as we walked out yesterday, reminded me of our little group that gathered there to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The four of us had  a lovely lunch at an Indian restaurant. We are not Indian – but, we are all from the same country originally. Our group had a certain bond and blend, despite our distinctly different personalities, interests and abilities.

Our conversations were interesting, dynamic, diverse and refreshing but unavoidably we often refer back to our roots during our discussions –  even if it has, in some cases, a darker shade of reality. There is an understanding of the common ground and therefor you don’t have to explain too much when you share details. There is a complimentary variety, and yet a common thread, in the conversations and that is refreshing and soothing. Sometimes we talked about sad things, but I left, still feeling refreshed from being with them.

Just like the Mukhwas. Undeniably you are always reminded of their origin when you taste it. A refreshing combination serving more than one purpose – it is sweet, diverse and interesting. Unique and soothing and completes your meal. A digestive aid – meaning that it makes the parts that can be hard to swallow and process, a little easier on the system.

Do you have a group of friends like that? So different and yet the same. Completing your life meals with their compassion serving as digestive aids. Leaving you refreshed even if you talked about ordinary things. A blend that works well.

Well – then you can consider yourself blessed.

And if you don’t…. I encourage you – step out…. you don’t always have to have people who are exactly the same as you. Dare to befriend somebody who is a bit different – as long as you can somehow identify with their roots…their principals…the originality.  It’s all in the mix – it’s all in the bringing together of different spices in different combinations that makes it a winning recipe !

Find some Mukhwas Friends. It will keep you refreshed, complete and with a sweet taste in your mouth.

Mukhwas, according to Wikipedia  is a colorful Indian and Pakistani after-meal snack or digestive aid. It also freshens breath. It can be made of various seeds and nuts, but often found with fennel seeds, anise seeds, coconut, and sesame seeds. They are sweet in flavor and highly aromatic due to added sugar and the addition of various essential oils, including peppermint oil. The seeds can be savory or sweet-coated in sugar and brightly colored. Plain water drunk after chewing and consuming the fennel seeds contained therein tastes extremely sweet.

Occasionally, this is eaten for medicinal purposes.

The word is an amalgamation of two distinctly different words, mukh meaning mouth and vas meaning smell.

Some days it is better NOT to say what’s on your mind…

I could just rant and rave and ramble on and on today about everything that went wrong this morning  - from the bacon at breakfast that was gone before everybody had some ……up to the moment that I dropped off my daughter at school still explaining that a cheque IS “real life money” and it WILL buy a cow in China even though (she believes) the school said to bring CASH in for the Reading project.

Picking a fight with a husband who just got back home and will soon take off again, is also not a good idea. So, I just left it. Peace is a priority on the odd days that he is here.  Even though I did have the undeniable desire to go pull out a poster and walk around the house in protest with the grievances growing inside of me, in big, fat ink ……maybe THAT would have gotten everybody’s attention. Instead you rage inside and repeat a thousand times in your head what you would have said….. not only today or the day before …..but also the day before that….. and the many times before when somebody said something that you really felt deserved a bit of their own medicine back to make it not taste so bad.

So, it is perhaps on this frustrated note that I walked into this meeting this morning ….

I knew that my very valid point would not go down as constructive criticism. But still very tempted to just stand up and tell them all off and say exactly what I think of all the opinions in the room and the conflicts in the organisation it was all about, I had to remind myself of something I saw yesterday – on good old social media.

“Sometimes you have to think what is the prize you will win, when you win this argument.”  And quite frankly there was no prize to be won today. Speaking out would have just made things worse….not only today, but also the other day …. and the other day…and the many days before that day.

So, I had to breath in, breath out….

Go to the gym and let it sweat out of my system.

Sometimes you have to just let it go…. or there will just be no real winners in the end.

Do you have days like that?

Many D-days on which I decided – this is it…a new day, a new beginning…..for many reasons – I needed to, others wanted me to, the doctor said so, society sort of expects you to…..

But I have discovered on my last undertaking to make changes in my life and schedule that….

I am hoping that this time it will have a lasting effect.

I desire change.

I wrote it on the day of his funeral as part of me paying my final respect to a special friend whose funeral I could not attend because I was in a different country. I left it here for a short while as part of a process, coping with grief, shock and loss because we are so isolated in our own mourning over thousands of miles and a variety of continents  - without the ability to communicate our losses or express our feelings when losing a friend or family member.  The reality of having a network spread out across the globe where people traditionally used to come together in private and share their emotions, no longer exist for us due to logistical reasons and this blog was a vehicle for me to express those thoughts.

I hope that those who got to read it, got a final glimpse of a great guy who was loved by all and who is sadly leaving behind a family in mourning.

I have now removed this post but will keep on remembering those good times as we all continue our lives in the hope of a bright future that lies ahead of us all.

May you rest in peace, Anton.

* Anton Bidlingmaier  (4 May 1969 – 7 April 2013) was shot and killed in an armed robbery in South Africa when he locked up their business.

Please pray that the violence in South Africa will be addressed and that it will become a safer place where people can live freely and live out their dreams, passions and bear the fruit of their hard work…..and keep their families safe…so they don’t have to leave…..

For those who did not get the link, but understand Afrikaans – here is the news article:

I have a friend – a bundle of joy…. full of inspiration and ideas. You know the saying “Good things come in tiny packages”??

Well, God created her in such a way that her petite figure occupies but a tiny bit of any room, but her personality certainly fills every corner of every room she enters. And with that tiny body, came amazing capabilities.

A woman equally at ease in the presence of Ambassadors and Presidents, as she is in a rural village with people of poverty who are in desperate need. And it is exactly the latter that inspired the latest undertaking of Ruth Cube Keijdener,  in collaboration with the talented, Inge Hooker.

These two ladies have created something new, something vibrant and they are putting it on exhibition in Seoul for those of you, fortunate enough to be in the area to go get inspired by their new creation, in person. And to support a good cause – all at the same time.

Reflections of Radiance is an upcoming art exhibition in Seoul by Artists Ruth Cube Keijdener and Inge Hooker. This exhibition is an expression of intense joy. Keijdener and Hooker combine the arts of painting, photography and design to create big, bold, vibrant art that leave you with the very sense of joy.

Be sure not to miss it – for something new, never-seen-before…. this is the place to be:

Somerset Palace, Seoul, 85 Susong-dong, Jongno-gu 110885. Call 02-6730-8888 for more information and directions or 

Running from March 29, 2013 thru May 30, 2013.

 or to get more information: thereflectionsofradiance@gmail.com

And be sure to VISIT and LIKE their facebook-page: http://www.facebook.com/reflectionsofradiance

 where you can read more about these fascinating ladies !

Ruth is a diverse and dynamic person to get to know and in her own words:

“…..My inspiration for this artwork exhibition is Somalia and Philippines. I am involved in an organization who helps feed millions of malnourished kids in Somalia and give new beginnings to Philippine women in the dump areas in Manila. Every cent bought from these paintings are going to a good cause. My heart is to do something to help others build their lives and for children to have good food. God is good.”

The wonder of “creating” – let us never stop creating….

In the definition of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

¹cre·ate

 verb \krē-ˈāt, ˈkrē-ˌ\

In a tiny shop on a little island of Hong Kong.

She has no website. I could not even get her name…..language barriers.

But I got her name card….”.be”….and her number on the back. Just that.

No Twitter, Facebook or the whole shebang.

I loved her little shop. And the photos she takes.

So I bought some.

I want to go back. Because I want to “be” like her…. not her….but to just “be”…… “be me…”

Today I met a lady in a coffee shop. Very Old. Eccentric.

I had to look twice when I walked in – because you could not just pass her by looking only once….

Loved her enthusiasm..as she was wildly paging through a Vogue magazine and with grand gestures expressed her thoughts to the lady sitting next to her….

And once again I was reminded….to just BE…whoever you are…whereever you are….. just BE yourself.

Others will take notice…. or not….but as long as we can be…… we can be free….

Only to realize on Monday evenings that I have overloaded myself and ended up going nowhere ?!

Mondays are always like new beginnings…. the day I will start a diet, the day I will be super-productive after a lazy weekend, the day I will finally sort out the finances, pay bills, make right all the wrongs in the world.

Countless times it ended in Migraine Monday, Messy Monday, Mundane Monday, Manic Monday, Moaning-Mom-day, Miserable Monday…..but never Magic Monday ???

Oh Monday madness.  Is there a cure?

Maybe. I have a plan up my sleeve for next Monday. Watch this space.

How was your  Monday ? Got something done?

Or was yours more like mine?  Let’s give ourselves a break. Four more days to go to get something done.

Let’s have a cup of tea first, take a deep breath and try again tomorrow !

It fills the air slowly but definitively.

Untill it completely takes over the old smell that was here an hour before.

A new sense of being in this room alight.

Life over the last few years. Hurtful. Painful. Doubtful.

Hoping that in less than few years – a new sense will overtake.

Fill. Fulfill.

Untill all of the pain will just vanish as if it never existed.

And a new smell, new sense of life discovered, inhaled, experienced.

On Sunday my daughter’s pink pants brightened up the beach during our Sunday Stroll.

….but coming home I realised that it was not just a one-time affair.

Me and HOT PINK have been having a little fling for a while now….and it always makes me HAPPY  in an instant !

Maybe it started with this tree I bought one Sunday  last year. Find it in this post. if you wanna refresh your memory.

Seeing it bloom outside my window,  certainly made me feel a vibe in my veins whenever I saw a pop of pink out on the streets ….and suddenly my shopping basket filled up with hot pink items over the past few months…one after the other like it was nobody’s business !

It started with my pop-phone…

and I kept adding to the collection…… my mobile phone sling bag, my runners, my t-shirt….

I often wear these when I walk my daughter to the bus stop – and since this is at an hour way before I am bright eyed and bushy tailed…..  where I have to rely on the attire to make me  look like I have fully woken up already.  I am sure it distracts others in the street from my pale face and droopy eyes that they otherwise would have noticed! (I am totally believing myself here !!).

The  same scheme made its’ way into my cupboard for the things I wear a little less casual….so, it’s just not a wake-me up color. It is still as reliable to work its’ magic in the evenings, as much as it does early mornings !

and my latest addition to the scarf collection in my cupboard – simply confirmed that I am seeing the world through – yes, not rosy glasses….but bright pink ones ! I

HELLO WORLD !!

These items did not only end up in my cupboard, but also on my coffee table in the form of this  fabulous photobook that I bought in November – “a kaleidoscopic collection of images that serves as a window onto the vibrant diversity of the South African street” – as the cover so accurately states. A book by Ed Suter about Mzansi style (Quivertree Publications).

If you want to know more about the book – it is explained in this Quote from the Book:

and although the pink caught my eye…. that is not all there is to this book, if it’s not YOUR colour right now !

But a fun book to add to your collection if you love STREET STYLE.

Is it possible that I am also picking up the magazines that have  hot pink winking at  me from the stalls…or even those free Shopping Guides with a hint of pink ?!

In the words of Freddy Sam, (quoted above in the picture earlier on) – I hope that this Colour today INSPIRED you , to inspire others to inspire change….even if just a change in your mood…. into a HAPPY ONE.

It just shouts out I AM HAPPY, I AM HOT and PINK is POWERFUL !!

Oops – it even showed up in my bedroom ….

YES – I am officially HOOKED.

And in a world of bright-red Hong Kong taxi’s, this bus was a bonus on my day out !

Let me know which colour is trending right now in your collection !

Have a Happy Week ! Hope it is as hot as mine…. HOT PINK…. share your colour…… wanna compete??

I took this picture earlier this week on my morning walk and there is just something about it that I LOVE.

Maybe the peace and calm.

Maybe the colors of the boats.

Maybe the fact that it reminded me of this blog and its’ followers.

I can see from the Statitstics, which I hardly ever look at, that over 14 000 people visited it over the past few months….

altbough I don’t know exactly who they are.

Don’t you too wonder – who are the owners of these boats in the picture? Who are they…where did they come from? When will they return?

But important for now – they are all gathered here at the same spot. That is the part I love especially. It was a good, safe place to leave their boats.

And some of you,  anchored your boats here, on this blog – long enough to rest and read some posts.

It kind of makes me feel bad that there is sometimes so little going on on the blog, while there are a million things in my head to blog about and make you excited about visiting !

But despite that,  there are still new visitors daily  or  returning followers for whom it is a place to come hang out for a while every week.

On the blog’s facebook page, I do notice every new “boat” that arrive , every  new “like”…. except that in those cases I do get a quick glimpse of who the owners are via their profile photos … and it is sort of like seeing the boat owner before he leaves his  boat !

A big thank you to the latest followers – naming just the ten latest followers on Facebook  - Achala Abeysundera, Nadia Chougui, Doreen Baros, Anne Sutton Fisher, Jennifer Hamlin, Jane Gilheaney Barry, Scott Santee ( I guess that is Lisa ) , Nicolle Kaspar, Kahori Matsui Roskamp…. and the list goes on and the thank you extend to  all 120 people and 30 page- likes before them. Always exciting to see every new face that shows up and give me a stamp of approval by “liking” the page.

Just like the boats look sort of the same and totally different  - there is surely  a common interest amongst the followers, and yet everyone different in their own right.

This  place where you anchored  for a while to rest and read… this blog…. is my familiar water….

and I am SO HAPPY for every one that meets me here…

even if the boats are empty and I did not see all the owners before they anchored  - I know they have owners….I know you are out there…

One way I can get to know you a little, would  be to occassionally leave me a comment.

That way I can get some sense of who you are…. and what you think. Your opinions certainly matter to me.

But if you are just happy to anchor and stay here for a while – I am also perfectly happy about that.

For me – time to start diving under the surface and bring up the jewels I know are down there…so we can share them on shore !!

I don’t know….but I felt like Sleeping Beauty last week and ended up with an excessive amount of sleeping… you can’t even call it “napping” ?!

I comforted myself by the conviction that you should listen to your body and if it says SLEEP…. then don’t stress about it… SLEEP !!

No point staying up anyway if you are unproductive, feeling fuzzy and just WANT to sleep all the time anyway , is there??

But with 3 kids and a household to take care of, you can’t sleep forever….and so Sleeping Beauty had no choice but to wake up….because my Prince… the husband…is travelling again – and that meant the goodbye kiss this morning was also the “Better wake-up-Dear”-kiss!! You have work to do and you’re on your own here now !

And then I remembered this photo I took this holiday of our cousin’s dog, sweet little LULU… and I saw myself…… drowsy and lazy while blissfully unaware of what piled up on top of me while I was happily asleep. Sleeping Beauty suddenly turned into Lulu because I do actually have things to take care  of….can’t keep on ignoring that ….and just happily live ever after ! Oh, the joys (not) of Reality…..

So here I am – back at the business of blogging…yes, I call it a business…. then I can explain the fact that I am not doing the other “work” that is somewhat overdue right now…and probably deserves priority over my blogging in order to lift this pile on top of me.

But opening up my blog this morning for the first time this year and noticing the drafts left in my folders, really convinced me to start this year by doing what I love, first… and the rest will follow !

Oh… I have a lot to say… but for today… all I want to say is HEY…. I’m back…. I woke up… I will soon catch up and this year we will take it a notch up….. untill we can give 2013 the thumbs up !!!

For now – may you all have a FANTASTIC 2013 ahead. I always heard that you can say HAPPY NEW YEAR untill January 12th….

Oh well – it is January 14th and I just made my own exception to that ….but the important thing is I wanted to not start this year without saying it and now I’ve said it – and you all deserved it, because who does not deserve to have the hope that the year ahead will be their best ever….. with lots of grace and good health ahead to make sure we all can just be the BEST ME we can BE !!! in the next 11.5 months !

I was not asleep all of the last 2 months since I last blogged….yes, I promise this condition was only the past week…..and maybe as a result of the past 2 months !

So, I will be back to tell you more about that and catch up on the lost time since my previous post !!

Take care till then,

He is to embark on an adventure with theatre and drama.

I am going to help finish off a project at our holiday home.

We have been  handed a lot of opportunities in life. We mostly try to grab them with both hands and make the best of it.

So far life has been good to us and we all have been blessed with rich experiences on this path of life.

It is however hard to separate a family to be off in different directions, once you look beyond the excitement.

We all look forward to what lies ahead, but mostly we look forward to be back together again to share with those who stayed behind, what we have learnt and how we have grown.

You always come back different after a trip. It is unavoidable to learn something about life and people while you encounter them on your journey – even just at the check-in desk at the airport. Be it hostile or friendly. It shapes us in who we are and how we believe the world around us is.

A lot is learnt from how and when we pack. The difference in mr O (my husband), myself and my son, in packing, is very indicative of our different styles, strengths and struggles. And it all shows…. the neatness of it all, the method, the procrastination in some, the last minute grabbing of things…..yes, it all reflects who we actually are on a daily basis. Very different indeed. It also reminds me how my young man is still a boy.

Today is a day of packing, preparing, leaving and lift-off.

For those staying behind, it is the start of counting-the-days till Mommy returns, making plans for big sister to sing little Sis to sleep at night in Mommy’s absence, thinking about how life is different without everybody here and thinking twice about whether big brother really is annoying when you suddenly feel his absence next to you at the dinner table.

We look forward to being together again.

Leaving is all about Coming Back.

Oh, so me…..

But now that Pinterest is down for maintenance today, it reminded me to get back to blogging!

Or should that be to ….cleaning and organizing my house…

Or cleaning and organizing my house so that I can blog about it??

Oh, whatever…. just don’t give up on me…. I’ll be back !

What have you been up to lately?!

I am hoping to unroll some changes to my blog in 2013.

I have started to pull out some things in my house to help me along and give me some direction.

I have some ideas, but still need lots of inspiration.

November is just not the best time of the year to make drastic changes.

This year has had about as much as it could handle on its’ to-do list, and “overwhelmed” has certainly been a word that slipped into my life dictionary where it never had a place before.

But…let’s be hopeful !

It does not mean that I am done posting for this year…..but I am hoping to give my blog a little blog-lift in the New Year.

In the meantime, I would love to hear from you – do you have anything you mind whispering in my ear…. what is it you would like to see more, what do you like, what would make this a place where you would want to come back and spend time on your rainy days?

Do let me know – I will take it all to heart.

I talk a lot. But I listen too!

Back soon…..

A house that looked nothing like this when its’ owners first laid hands on it !

Hong Kong is known to most as a concrete jungle with tall buildings on top of each other – and rightfully so if you look around you when first arriving at this apartment block in Mid-levels, Hong Kong.

The average size of a Hong Kong dwelling poses a tremendous challenge to any person who ever had the luxury of space before.

And it was no different for this family of four who once had exactly that in their home country, South Africa, that they loved but left, for work purposes – relocating to the UK initially.

When Leonie Roets, packed up her private law practise in Londen in 2007 to move to Hong Kong, they thought that they already know it all about giving up floorspace. After all, UK property comes with a huge premium on living space, so they had downsized once before.

But stepping inside this home today, you will see that there is no need to compromise on style when you go small on space.

Looking at the outrageous prices of rental property, and the limited choice there was, they decided to buy instead of rent.

But in a market still priced beyond measure, a dingy dwelling still comes at a high price and a good chunk of money still only offers an uninspiring, often run-down space. And with a housing allowance that abruptly came to an end, having to pay for their own housing after living on an expat allowance on the southside of Hong Kong when they first arrived, they had to run wild and buy the most uninspiring place Leonie had ever come across.

Having these wonderful accent pieces is unfortunately not enough to light up any dark, awful apartment which had a toilet in the kitchen.

There was no way to go other than renovating before they could even set foot in here.

And as Leonie explains…. when asked by a friend back then “What is it that you like about the place you bought…..she cringed when she heard herself say “Nothing…absolutely Nothing !”.

Not the words you expect from somebody who just BOUGHT the place !!

It was all a fuzz….but this no-nonsense woman knew one thing for sure ! She had to knock down a few walls….. open up the space….. and she started with breaking down the walls in the kitchen, opening up the space to form part of the lounge area.

Going with neutrals – white, gray, stainless steel – is the way to go in small spaces. The kitchen feels light and open and airy.

Taking this neutral scheme through to the rest of the house, makes it feel uncluttered and cleverly spacious by tricking your eyes with its’ simplicity.

Keeping the floors, the wall colors, the gray doors consistent throughout definitely gives it a sense of cohesiveness and a calm, clean look from the back to the front end of the apartment, which is connected by this corridor.

There is an element of white and gray in every room…which keeps the undertone flowing….

but by adding a unique color scheme this clever woman made sure each room stayed fresh and interesting on its’ own.

A small space that invites you to stay and promise to keep you fascinated for hours and made me wish I was a little girl again !

Unfortunately I had to move on as there is so much more to this apartment that had to be renovated in a short timeframe where they had only 6 weeks to complete the job. This might sound do-able to some people, but in a place where they had to path their own way in finding contractors and dealing with a culture unknown to them, and with very different ideas as to what exactly the definition of a “Western-style” renovation is, this turned out to be quite a challenging endeavour. Especially where Leonie opted for removing beams, while the contractor insisted on covering them and installing a false ceiling in a place that was already a challenge for a 6 feet 3 ” tall husband.

But a woman with a passion makes sure that giving up her dayjob is not all in vain, and this proofed again to be true in her son’s room.

A boy is a boy and he needs a different space, but it still does not mean that it has to be boring.

Leonie says that the best part of the whole renovation was certainly the flooring that came at such a high cost at first, but the silky feel of the floors, makes it a pleasure to walk on and greatly reduce the need for rugs in every space. Carpeting tends to bring down a small space where you try to stretch your distance between floor and ceiling to the max. Reminder that homes in this part of the world has lower ceilings, if you did not know that.

Peeking outside however, the view suddenly was not so bad anymore and was enough to make any monkey happy to live in this type of jungle !!

Hong Kong has seasons and white and gray can tend to become cold and depressing when your mood needs to combat the gray skies when winter chills creep in.

Elements of gold, dark wood and candles combat all of the above by the warmth and ambience it provides all throughout the house.

These elements that you first met in the lounge were skillfully repeated in the Master Bedroom…

….and bathrooms. Even with no time to renovate the bathrooms, they were given some TLC by Leonie’s touch, sprayed white and changing just the critical items like the basin. (see photos on the flickr link below)

You can take away walls, but there is unfortunately no way of adding rooms in a space like this and Leonie had to make do by building in a cupboard that serves as an office space….yes, that is the reality of the Hong Kong Housing, but again – she added her personal touch to make it a fun area as it forms part of the general living space. And in this little space she married them all – white, gray, color and even the gold….

to not subtract from the beauty of the rest of the room that sits on the other end. All coming together beautifully where mixing the elements in her decor surely brings out the best of the renovated space.

The selected windows were chosen because they had very few panels/ sections, creating an illusion of more space, once again. They open up completely and the combination of stacking doors and double-glazed windows were one of the best decisions they made in terms of opening up and allowing the outside in.

A job that reflects attention to detail, reason and rhyme to changes that were made and an end result that makes you stand back with a feeling of wellbeing for the worth it brought with every wall broken down or window installed.

Asked about one of the hardest thing that a family experiences in Hong Kong, it definitely is the lack of a garden or outside space and as Leonie explains – there is no going around that. You have what you have…and there is no knocking down walls here…but adding flooring that matched the indoor flooring did help to make the spaces link up.

Leonie managed to make this house a HOME….as one last look at the kitchen reflects how this expat mom and wife successfully took a neutral scheme to maximise space but added fun and color to ensure life is anything but dull in this dwelling !

Leaving this house, with it’s DIY umbrella stand and coat hanger at the front door reminded me of the tranquil white and gray scheme inside, not forgetting the dash of color that brightened up every space without overpowering the overall scheme. And this Hong Kong postbox with its’ dash of red just confirmed that.

It made me want to go right back inside.

But in a world where Concrete RULES….

Creativity ROCKS !

So, I leave you with this….

If you wish to see more details in this beautiful home, you can find it here. 

All photos by Auburn and Blue. Please credit if you use them.

For the last 2 questions, I don’t know the answers and I am hoping you will let me in on your secrets !

Here we go – Have you seen this pin?

No – you think you have, but you haven’t …

Maybe you saw something similar – but not this one. I know  - because this birthday calendar has just been made  - DIY  - and never been pinned before (YOU, off course are very welcome to be the first to pin it  !).

You are on PInterest, right?

Yes, I knew that.

Are you addicted to it?  Sort of??  TIny bit??

Ok – knew the answer to that one too.

But, for the next question – I  am wondering about your answer  ….. are you  a practicing or a passive Pinner?  A what….?

Passive - you love pinning. The end. That is where things stay – never make a recipe, never try the 10 health tips, never mix your own modge podge. Just adore you boards and feel like you accomplished a lot after a day of productive pinning (ME).

Practising – you geniunely look for things that apply, you actually go back and make them ! (MY SISTER).

My sister and I, from 2 continents, pinned the same pin (a different version of the one above, but we had a few opinions on it) – both thought it was a cute idea though. Chatting one late night on Skype about our total aversion to traditional birthday calendars where there is never enough space, and you forget in any case to turn the pages, so you don’t see the next month’s entries and then you may as well not have one to begin with. But this in-your-face, on-the-wall version that grows with your circle of friends and family is just perfect.

On her visit to Korea,we talked about  how she could finish off her ‘Orla Kiely -inspired’ study room at home.

We remembered this pin again and agreed this would be the perfect finishing touch to fill the empty spot on the wall. We rushed off to the Korean market, Dongdaemun, and gathered supplies.

She had some of the beautiful wallpaper left – enough to cover a plank – so no need to spend on expensive wood or paint.

Easier than painting the header, we bought some wooden letters that she could place on top of the plank – no need to attach to the wall.

Here is a picture from below so you can get the perspective of the letters and how thick the plank should be.

The trickiest thing to find is the round wooden “chips” as I call them ,but with enough determination you can find anything ! DO remember to have them punch in the tiny holes for you – most people are willing to do that….but you will pull all your hair out if you have to punch 200 chips both ends with a hole to attach them to one another (unless you have only 5 friends with birthdays – then go, ahead – it’s okay to attempt this at home !)

The “months”‘ were added an additional chip that was painted gray for a nice contrasting color to the white and to blend in with the color scheme.

Instead, she decided to just take a plank, cover it with some leftover Orla Kiely wallpaper and make it broad enough to have a safe ledge for the wooden letters to rest on.

Stencils were used for the MONTHS, but a Sharpie did just fine for the DAYS – especially if you have to keep on adding as your friends get added to you board… for that reason your own handwriting is best, because you don’t want to have 180 chips in one font and color and then you run out of stencils….or add over the years and then you have to get out a paintbrush every time. No, keep it simple and keep them the same. Just write on them – easy !

And that is basically Birthday Board in a nutshell !

A picture paints a thousand words ! I love how it came out. (that must have something to do with the fact that I had to throw in my ideas and inspiration of the how we will tweak the original, where to find things and  …….- ok, enough credit for me ! She really did it.) I am the pinner and planner, she is the implementer.

But to be fair to the person who came up with the idea of this birthday board in the first instance – here is the credit that is due to Lolly Jane. There you can find the whole tutorial on the exact how-to’s.

So, my questions again:

1. Have you seen this pin?

2. Are you on Pinterest?

3. Are you semi addicted ?

4. Are you a PRACTISING (*)   or a PASSIVE (**)   pinner? – I’m curious tell me?

5.  If you are “practising” – Tell me what you have done that you have seen on Pinterest? What have you actually taken off your Board and put into your LIFE ???

6. This is not a question –  If you are a “passive” pinner – oh, just go ahead and pin this !! You will never make it, but I know you will love looking at it as if you plan to make it !!  You can be sure to soon see it on my PInterest boards here.

Happy PINNING everybody and happy DIY if you can’t wait to finally be that person who does not miss a Birthday !   (I know Facebook reminds you – but put your friends on your REAL wall, not just your facebook wall !)

You will find out about the rest of the characters as my story unfold – 3 Blogs – a Book – a (Pinterest) Board – a Bakery – a Busstop – a Bassett – a Best friend – a Bond  - Blessings – a Blue envelope and a Bootcamp.

Sitting at my desk, I reflect  on the unfolding of this story over the past 2 years. But it comes not from my desk,  but straight from my heart.

It all started when I started a blog…. way back when….yes – I knew absolutely nothing about it, but just wanted in !

On the blogging bandwagon I jumped with both feet, arms up in the air !

One day I was browsing around on the internet and stumbled upon the beautiful blog of Holly Becker from decor8. It took me about a second to realize just exactly HOW little I knew about blogging. I spotted her link on the side inviting me to join an online-course and in desperate need for help I signed up !

It was incredibly inspiring and I had big plans for my blog. But life carries on while you dream your dreams and in the last week of our course my mother passed away.  My blog provided me with comfort in coping with this loss, but along with her burial and a period of grief, I also buried a lot of the plans for my blog. Death of a loved one tends to take your focus and divert it to your mourning heart.

Sharing my burden through my blog did however help me to keep myself together and soon I was ready to blog, tweet and pin to my heart’s content again!

The Turn in the Tale came in June 2011 when I joined in on a fun experiment , again hosted by Holly, called Stripemania. Holly created a Pinterest board for this and needed my location to add to my entry and oh my – not only did I discover Pinterest this way (THANK YOU, THANK YOU HOLLY !!!) …..but as I told her that I was in Seoul, South Korea – she tweeted back (from Germany) asking if I knew Moline, a lady who recently moved from Germany to South Korea. I did not.

Holly does not know me personally as I was just one of over a thousand students that has gone through her online courses and workshops (yes, she’s famous !)

Sidenote  - still amazes me how 2 people who have never spoken or seen each other can tweet from across 2 continents, without saying hello…without saying goodbye…but having the middle part of a traditional conversation in less than 140 characters. The wonderfulful world of modern day social media. So, if you have not been convinced of social media benefits – today is your day ! A simple tweet can be life-changing.

You know Moline? She lives in Seoul.

No, I don’t.

Click. Bye. Conversation over. Isn’t that amazing – and that is what Twitter brought to us !!

But that, my dear reader,  is not where the story ended. That really was the BEGINNING .

Hastily I searched Moline… and good old Google ranked a blog called Moline as the nr 1 find. I followed the link and as the images loaded, a life unfolded in front of me of  a hearty home and a crafty homemaker with beautiful children and a Basset. Never seen them before. So “Moline” was still as much a stranger as when the question came in an hour earlier.

In a city of 14 million people though, it is not surprising to have not run into a person that one person happened to know in a different country. So, what are the odds.

Right that moment my son walks past and spotted a Basset on the blog – “That dog is at our Busstop everyday ” … really?? . I mean REALLY??

 (photo Moline)

I browsed through as many posts as I could and could not believe my own eyes when I realised that Holly had put me in touch, from another world, with a woman who lives up my street, whom I had never seen, met or heard of.

But finding her blog and meeting her would  still not mean that  I would like her or that we had anything in common  - other than the fact that we both loved blogging ?! But deep down in my heart I had a good feeling about this talented woman that unfolded on the internet and flickr. (Yes, you HAVE to go later and check her out !)

I mailed the contact on the blog, she responded …or perhaps, as a true blogger – first checked my blog and then responded – so, comments started streaming in on my blog and I got super excited as I liked her more and more with every response I received.

My holiday started the very next day, with no time to meet this “stranger from up my street” – but we arranged a “blind date” upon my return to Korea.

A blind date in a bakery followed 2 months later, where I found Yvonne (her real name), only by her description of “look for a tall, Blonde lady with a German accent “.

We chatted, we connected, we clicked, we communicated, we simply could not believe how much we had in common as crafty creatures !

We met weekly – starting in a bakery  early morning…

and then venturing out…as I found somebody who instantly  became a best friend and a bond formed that took us later through trials and tribulations and difficult situations …right to the point, the month before I had to leave, when we found out that we needed the same surgery the same week, for which both of us were blessed , with “benign” as a result …but we could  cry and comfort during those times and most of all understand each other so uninterrupted. And life just seemed brighter walking up to a hospital with a friend by my side….especially if she comes dressed up in the Pantone 2012 Color of the Year – Tangerine Tango!

Life would have not been the same without that tweet from Holly that night !

We had so much fun…. strolling the streets of Seoul…. following paths that lead us to quirky corners where we could capture yet another moment on film for the sake of sharing our stories with the rest of the world – something we both love to do.

Happy days had to end as I packed my bags and took off to Hong Kong.

Arriving here, with a home to decorate, and a hole in my heart with nobody to meet in the local bakery, to go venture with me or to inspire me daily in a creative way, I started to stare at the things in my  house, missing my old life in Seoul and wondering what to do over here to make a new beginning….

Yvonne soon picked up that I was in a dead-end. Pins started flying my way via mail with new ideas and inspiring schemes that she has concocted for me while I could not see beyond the mover’s boxes.

Fast Forward a few weeks and a BLUE Moodboard arrived at my doorstep in the form of a letter.  Oh my – did this pick me up from my desperate deco dilemma !!

Oh…you can’t make me happier than sending me a self-made envelope with BLUE moodboard snippets from magazines. It was the right pick-me-upper to get my creative juices to start flowing again !

I was excited, but still a bit clueless , so  I turned to Holly once again for helping me out. This time in the form of her best-seller book, Decorate, that was so neatly stacked on my shelf.

Her book deserves a post of its own, which will follow tomorrow.

Being confronted with all the beauty in Holly’s book and all the Pinterest boards Yvonne so delicately shoved under my nose, I could not help but feel my desire to blog, growing again.  But I needed a community of bloggers to spur me on and an expert to help me along with those things that got left behind and buried in 2010.

Just in time to save me , I spotted the BOOTCAMP that Holly was offering to students who had done her courses before. JUST what the doctor ordered – and here I am today – doing a post for my workshop that started yesterday…. full of excitement and eager to learn a few new things….So much to learn and new things to try out ! Recently I started my blog’s facebook page and if you have not been there, hop on over and like it – that will make me happy too since you will hear of posts hot off the press !

So, if you are a blogger and you are sort of on the sideline whether or not to do a course…. you will make no mistake learning from Holly – she really is the BEST in blogging…..and you might just get a lot more than you bargained for !

Be encouraged today – sign up or start a blog. Social media fostered this relationship and made 3 woman connect in a way that touched 2 lives in a most profound way, for there is nothing like receiving a moodboard in the mail…. to make my day !!

This is my story that I wanted to share with you. One with a beginning… but no end.

Because a Blogging course lasts a month, but the benefits goes beyond borders and Friendships are Forever.

And together with a special friend in real life, I also am gaining wonderful new friends who have signed up with me for the BOOTCAMP and together we grow.

Can’t wait to see what is in store for the next chapter !

Yes, I’m sorry  Apple – I’m your biggest fan, but it’s true.

That ‘s a long story of its own…but basically I don’t have access to all my precious photos right now…. a string of errors and complications and crashes and a spinning wheel that drives me insane..

So, most of the things I wish to share with you in pictures are somewhere “out” there “inside” my computer somewhere without me being able to access or use….if that makes sense at all. I’m working on it though…so, don’t lose hope !

In the meantime, I’ll share with you something else instead – of a new item in my house – of which I took a picture that I can still lay my hands on !!!! …..and a little lecture from me on buying new furniture for your home.

Anyway – it’s about a recent purchase I made –  a Decorative Chinese “CD” cabinet….as the label read…. (and might I add that already in the shop, on the label – I saw my name in invisble ink on there…)

But let’s not go there and waste time on what it is called – because that is exactly my point today !

Instead – here is what I want you to know about buying new furniture.
1. Determine the USE, the NEED, the FUNCTIONALITY of the piece you have a space for in your place.
2. Then go look for something that would meet the requirements of 1.
3. No, wrong – don’t just BUY because it is functional and useful and meets the need….. Fall in love with it, make sure it is beautiful and pleasing to the eye..or else you will have something in your house that is useful, and not beautiful and that is a deco crime ! (Ok, you are excused if it’s not beautiful when you buy it, but you can make it beautiful yourself – that – certainly – IS allowed !)
4. You love it AND you can use it? Ok – go ahead and buy!

* If you have the money, and no need – and it is simply beautiful – go ahead, skip step 1-4 and just buy – you are one of the lucky people who can afford buying beautiful things without having a need for it ! For the rest of us… here is my story of my Cabinet.

It’s about the process of looking for that piece – and the mistake we often make – is to go out and look for an item that fits the bill in the traditional way – like a bookcase for books…. a pencil holder for pens…. a shoe cabinet for shoes…NO honey, that’s not how you do it ???!!!!
It doesn’t matter what it was INTENDED for. It is whatever YOU NEED it for and that’s all there is to it. It needs to serve your needs despite what it was built or designed for.
Okay – on to my story finally…

It is about my new “make-up” station ! I LOVE it because I am a bit of a messy make-up-per !! It’s always one of 3 scenarios which none pleased me:

1. I pull everything out the drawer, usually when I am already in a hurry and then have no time to put it back.

2. The alternative is to keep it on my countertop – but I hate clutter and messy bathroom tops when the items are not in use….

3. Another option is when you leave it in the drawer and just pull it open when in use – but that also irritates me as the drawer is always between you and your mirror and that annoying distance can ruin your effort in a minute……

In my old house – the bathroom had space for my make-up, the drawer was on the  side and not too low and it had enough light to do make-up right there. This new house, however, forced me out of the bathroom and into the bedroom to do my make-up and hence the NEED arose for a new “make-up” station.

So I had to find a solution…and voila…this cabinet did it for me !

Let me first say – I Looooved the smell when it first arrived….yes, it did creak when I opened it and it smelled of old wood and it was like opening up a treasure chest when it just arrived!!

The colors were just perfect with the new color combo I selected for our bedroom but here was the selling point in my own mind…. The top has a deep enough drawer that you can have all the make-up out on display – as if in a drawer… but the lid opens to the top – so, no drawer between you and the goodies…..and the best part…when you are done – just slam the lid down – job done, no mess in sight, no clutter, but also no cleanup required….just perfect !

I have started putting it together – so here is an insider’s peek into it so far…

Two things I might add here as a side note which you may have noticed already … you mean you did not notice the empty toilet roll holders?? Ok – let me point it out..

1. Use empty roll holders as  a way to keep mascara or eye liners to stand up straight if you hate them wobbling around or lying down in your tray

2. Put a little handy bowl inside the drawer as your “mini trash can” – that leaves me the only thing to remove daily for clean-up. (the little ceramic bowl I was about to throw in the trash and then gave it a second life as a trash can for my cottonwool sticks (Q-tips)I use to perfect my eyes or mascara smudges or remove excess lipstick with !)

And the rest of the drawers…well, yes I admit -I have a thing for little drawers….. but they come in perfectly handy for that make-up you pull out only once in a blue moon, some sunglasses…. the possibilities endless !!

Was this piece of furniture intended for this use? Certainly not. But – I had a NEED, I loved the LOOK – so, what did I say in step 4 – need it and love it? Buy it and you will not regret !!

I bought it from the Red Cabinet here in Hong Kong and I can not end this post without saying that the customer service and the friendly staff in the shop, the free delivery and the wonderful stock selection made it an absolutely enjoyable experience from the moment I stepped  foot into their shop here in Hong Kong. Well worth a visit and a big thank you to Cynthia and her staff !! I am very sure they will also not mind me sharing their little hiding place here in Hong Kong….

In fact…it was so great… I just HAD to go back…maybe I will tell you about my bookcases that I bought there, next time and why I love them so much !

So, my point today – whenever you see an item in the store – always think a step further – we don’t always need to use it for its’ intended use – you are free to use it for ANY PURPOSE you might find for it. And with a beautiful piece of furniture, you will never regret using it in any which way it pleased you – you can always go back to the original purpose if you need to.

What do you have in your house that you are using for something different than what it was meant to be?

Let me know – you might just give me a fresh idea !!

I came across a street vendor with his little truck parked on the sidewalk selling beautiful plants, shrubs and trees.

How could you not love this color?!

So, I had to bring it home….

When I asked the lady: ” Is it always this beautiful”  she replied: ” No, not always….. there is a short period in which it bears no flowers ….and added…but most of the time it is ! ”

And when she perhaps noted slight hesitation, she went on to say: But in that short term when there is no flowers, the tree is still beautiful, still alive and it just needs time to prepare for a new, beautiful bloom. And you will still remember her flowers then, even if you can not see them !

Tonight those words rung up in my head again as I was pulling my hair out on this end…..

I missed a deadline in signing up my daughter for an activity. This means she will miss out for the rest of the year not able to join her friends when they take off on a Wednesday afternoon after school on their adventures. Detrimental for a little girl desperate to make new friends in her new environment.

I try to be a good mother and I am most of the time….but not always……

So I try very hard tonight to convince myself that there will be a time when we slip up, where we make mistakes, where we are not as efficient as we should be….but it is not always possible to be on top of it all. And I have to forgive myself for that.

There will come a time when I will be in full bloom again, able to handle it all and not let my kids suffer the consequences of my mistakes. Breaks my heart !

Right now there are a lot of balls to keep in the air and I am not able to bear flowers and be as beautiful and efficient as I would love to be….but I am hoping that this period will be short lived so that I can get it right again…. still not all the time…but hopefully most of the time.

That’s just life….. we can be beautiful – MOST of the time…but not ALL  the time. Nobody is capable of that and we have to forgive ourselves for that from time to time…. or our tree will die within and that new bloom will never come.

“Ease up on yourself Mom, you’re just human…and new to this town…. and there is life after school activities…. ”  she says…. with that  awful feeling deep down. Your kids will remember your beautiful flowers, and the things you did right when things go wrong. You will bloom again. Just not today.

Why? Because it has given me so much happiness in my new home since I moved in.

Here is how it started.

I have a super creative friend. Don’t you just love those people for having fresh ideas when your mind is numbed by other things?

In my last week in Korea we dreamed about decorating my new house and spoke about all the things so near and dear to me that I can not get rid of  - no matter how determinded I was to de-clutter at that stage. Remember this post about some of  those very dear items ?

So, my friend introduced me to the concept of having my own postcard holder.

It was the last day of our packing up in Korea and the movers were already in the thick of things….. but you know… I am unstoppable when I have a bee in the bonnet…and luckily I had a friend who understood (she started it after all?!) so she got the getaway vehicle ready  on the sidewalk on a sidestreet en route from our last lunch back to my house.

So, at a time when both of us had promised to be home much earlier, we hastily picked up the bespoke item as I decided “Let’s do it….it’s not too late!

It was too late to get it onto any kind of inventory list, so I just unceremoniously sneeked it into the final pile of things to pack.

My husband had no idea I even bought it…so, you can imagine his surprise when this wire rack appeared out of a box on this side ….so confused he asked…what the heck is that…and before I could even answer, he clicked and jokingly said…. “What?…did you buy the last postcard and then the guy decided to sell you the rack as well?? “. That was it. He loved it too.

It is important to put something in the shipment that is new and will excite you when the rest of the boxes can be quite overwhelming and mundane to unpack.

Finally the rack now proudly takes it stand centre stage in a sunny corner in my house here in Hong Kong.

Oh, the joys I’ve had…. since it entered the house.

Not only did it mean, I could take silly little breaks between unpacking to get out my old postcards that I collected in various places and on many journeys we’ve had….see, I always buy a postcard in fear I lose my camera !!  but then …I’ve never lost a camera… so, I have all these postcards I have never put into an album…. (Do any of you do that?? Buy postcards that you don’t mail but just keep for yourself?? ) ….but it also meant I had a place to put a few special greeting cards that should not be in dusty boxes….. and off course, the REAL postcards I received from many friends from all over throughout the years…

….like this one from one of my best friends, Judith, many many years before I could ever make it to Disney myself !

How true.

Oh, the memories it brought back putting them out on display….

I love having it out here.  Now, it is part of our home and I can dream every day about the places I’ve been – some only in my mind with my friends….. and the places I’ll go!

SO, if ever you are off somewhere far and think of me…and you have my address….. send me a postcard and I will add it to my collection and keep you close to my heart…and in my home.

Do you have something special in your home that gives you everyday joy?

Or did you grab something last minute when you had no time to really do it, but you are so happy you did?

Or what do you have tucked away in a dark corner that you can pull out on display to give you much more pleasure than it does currently?

Would love to hear !!

Especially lazy ones…. where you can rest, recover and reflect.

I have lots to do for today, but no intention of doing it.

Instead I had a chit chat with my son after my husband left for the airport.

Gone for 2 weeks.

We will miss him and hopefully get lots done before his return.

But for today…. no plans.

How is your day ?

That reality is like cold water in my face every morning I wake up and find myself in a surrounding not yet familiar to me. It is a very pleasant view to wake up to ..but still…it is new, it is foreign and it is something to get used to as I realize it is not the same place where I woke up the past four years. The serious need for curtains (unless you are a wanna-wake-up-5 am-type person) is also a reminder of how much still needs to be done around the house.

Like … finding a more permanent home to some things I have arranged so far.

Things will take time to take shape in our new destination. Setting up the TV, printer and changing the plugs might make you feel like you are plugged in and connected again….but then comes the more subtle parts of finding your way into the heart of  the new place you call HOME in the broader sense of the word.

New routines need to be established to conform to social schedules and schooling requirements.

We are the new family…but so are many others. And when you are in a big community, nobody does a drumroll everytime somebody is new – it happens all the time and not everybody notice. Not that I expected it. I actually enjoyed hibernating for a couple of weeks having no pressure to dress up, speak up or show up.

There are many differences to each location you move to as an expat. And the difficulty with comparing postings come in when you take into account that with every move, every member of the family is at a different age and stage in life to where they have ever been with the moves before this one. It is thus not fair to judge a place by how you settle in…because YOU are different. And getting along easier might mean the place is easier, or it might simply mean you are more experienced.

There are certain things that are not coming out of your own, but are being imposed on you by the destination. And my first experiences here certainly resonate with my anticipation before coming….and that is that expats are a close-knit society to the extent  in which they need each other. In a place where things are extremely difficult, even those who like doing their own thing, are open for some form of community for the sake of having a support structure for their own survival. If, however, you end up in a place where you can find things easily and do not need to depend on others so much in order to create your own comfort, then people tend to be less interested in others and more mindful of their own business. Every one for themselves and survival of the fittest. None of this tribe business where one goes to hunt and bring in the food for the rest!

These are early days, but if you pay close attention to your new world, you can pick up the signals a society sends, very early on. To some extent there is a certain mould in each place and I feel it very evident here.  One tends to gravitate towards fitting into that mould – again for your own sake of survival and sanity and popularity. Or you can be yourself and be your own – depending how hard and how strong you are and how convinced you are of your own well-being being the way you are.

Those are choices to make. Choices we are now making daily as we figure out who we want to be in this next phase of our lifes.

Every child you take along on your expat rendezvouz also have to chisel out their new “me”…and as a parent you feel for them and what you have imposed on them….. seeing a strong, confident child come home with a tear in the eye when the experience of the day was that awkward moment when you stand in the lunchroom, tray-in-hand, and realising you have no place to go sit and nobody is asking either and reality sets in – I am new, I am alone, nobody knows me and life has been disrupted from the one I knew so well. Breaks your heart when you wipe that tear …..

Luckily that can all change in a day as they have done this before and they push on and work their way into others’ circles…. and a happy smile the next day was proof of that.

But each of them is so different as there is an older child – who noticed a kid by himself,looking all sad and lonely and despite being the new kid, he consoled the “other new kid” by asking him if he is okay and managed  to get the other one’s chin up. Not worried about his own circle of friends, confident that it will come… And then the other side of the spectrum – a 5 year old, who comes home after day one and talks about her two best friends she now has – but when asked what are their names, she has no idea who they even are…..and mommy knowing that those same two best friends a 5yr old can make in a day, might make her cry again the very next day…but that’s ok as she lives for the moment and life is good……and it makes you realise that there is probably a tipping point for children too….. again depending their age and stage. But in the end they will all be okay and they would have again learnt from this experience – as we all do. They will grow and so will we.

Yes – we are savvy expats, but perhaps not savvy and prepared enough to have avoided the million mosquito bites I got in week 1 which then dictated my wardrobe choices for the first week…. or not savvy enough to have avoided the 40 dollar taxi ride to take us to the other side of the street…..or experienced enough to know whether we would find a taxi home from the school meeting while the typhoon signal is hoisted…and realising that you scramble around to find your way between a million forms, mails and acronyms from school, which would soon be such familiar  turf that you will laugh at the mere idea that you at some point struggled to keep it all together.

Early days indeed…some days good….where I simply don’t sweat the small stuff…

And some days not all good…

as there is inevitably a sense of loss that is still very close to the surface.

A loss of familiarity with your surroundings, a loss of order and structure in your life that has not yet taken new shape and mostly a sense of loss of familiar faces and friends who filled your days every day… definitely the loss you feel most severely – and as a small consolation prize facebook has stepped in for that loss to some extent.

Forward we go…

Yes, I can make it now, the pain is gone..

all of the bad feelings have disappeared…la la la 

here is the Rainbow I’ve been waiting for..

it’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day

Look all around – there’s nothing but blue skies ahead

Look straight ahead – there’s nothing but blue skies above

I can see clearly now, the Rain has gone…

 That tune must have rung over and over in my head this week – and do yourself a favour and listen to it while you read this post – it will make it much more fun and you will catch my drift !!

Since as I lie here on my bed, this is what I see..

…nothing but blue skies, sea and blended blue hues of the mountain afar through my glass balcony, after the hurricane whooshed outside this same window this past week ( told you about it  here. )

But more importantly, I realize that I am starting to see the beauty again…of the things around me. I can see them again as individual objects and not just one huge pile of STUFF.

It is my rainbow !

Things that I love – like my Moroccan perfume set that I bought on a trip we had to Marrakesh. Read about it here.

And the fact that I can see and appreciate things again, beyond the Messy Madness of Moving, even though it is not all done yet, made me realize that I have now come a long way….and life is going to be normal soon.

I even had time to lie in the bath this morning and just appreciate the little visitor outside my bathroom window.

It must have something to do with the fact that we had another day out this week…. and oh yes, to my absolute surprise – I realized that life carried on elsewhere on the planet while I got caught up in my little world.

So on the way into the city, we drove past the most beautiful scene that we have seen in a long while. Impossible to capture as I rushed to get my camera out – but a little too late as the taxi driver had no intention to slow down …. but still – it was not only me who noticed.  My kids were so in awe about the Reflections we saw on that drive that they still talked about it around the dinner table – trying to give their dad just a glimpse of what we saw ! It was like a floating earth on a reflective surface which was just incredible and impossible to describe. And here is the best I could do in the passing-by to give you a glimpse !

…but coming back home that evening and having seen so many beautiful things from designers in beautiful shops , I wished that I could decorate this house in a fresh, new, modern style that would reflect the nature and location of this house.

But then I also thought about the reflections we saw earlier that day and how, as in nature, our interior never stand by itself, but  it always reflect something else. What we do to the inside of our homes on the one end, reflect directly on our lives and our decisions that had got us there in the first instance.

And back in my bedroom on the opposite wall , I saw some more of my things that have found a special place in this house again – things that I love and treasure.

And they reflect who I am and where I’ve been. …..the armoire from that same Moroccan trip, artwork from a Russian Street Artist when we lived in Moscow and the old Singer sewing machine that belonged to my mom’s grandmother.

…and so it would be wrong for me to decorate in a way that suits the house and the future and who we want to become.

A few new objects will come, I am sure…as we have new needs and new taste, but it is good to not completely let go of the old and strip naked in front of what lies ahead. So I feel better already for not being able to start from scratch in decorating the house with new, tempting pieces that I saw on our day out, but to have to make do with the old !

There is comfort to have your familiar things around you. And if you buy what you love and which appeals to you, it will do so for a long time – even when the walls around them take new shape and form. And hopefully those things which we end up buying while here, will go with us again from here – to reflect in a new place, how we have lived in this house and what we have loved while living here and what made us happy.

And already – there are things that make me happy – one of them looking out the window and see that some of us have already found the magic of a new beginning in a new destination……while others just go with the flow of what is happening to them ….and just obey to their orders !

And this Sunday is just what I needed too. A little break !

Taking a deep breath and being thankful for the beauty around me, without the storm, the wind and the rain.

Reflecting ourselves in our interior lies deeper than the objects itself. How do you decorate when you occupy a new home? All new….?

And does your furniture show who you are? Even if you think no – it undeniably speaks to who you are – if only just in your choices of the pieces you once chose…or can afford to have…. it all is a definition of us and what we love, care for or don’t care to have. Tell me your story of how you decorate, and what you love to have around you, no matter where you go.

But if decorating is not your thing….just enjoy the beauty of nature out there – wherever you are. Note the reflections and how the object itself can not control the reflection.

I am looking outside my window again, and the calmness is pouring in to make me feel hopeful that soon we will have a normal household with everything in its place. Old and new !

Hope you had a good weekend, ready for the week ahead – whatever it holds !

WOW.

Nature’s Foce is something to reckon with.

I tried to take pictures but could hardly see out the window.

Running around securing items outside took the better of a few hours as my husband kept running in and out to tie down another thing that was flying around…… but eventually we had to just leave it up to the grace of God. No more going out once it had hit T9.

One little piece of trivia here – 3 big sections of glass (table-top of the patio table)  flew straight off the patio table and dropped on the hard floor, so my husband ran out again to catch them before flying away completely (photo on the right) – and not even a crack. Then we moved it inside and the next morning, moving the couch, they fell again and – one more time they all remained in one piece, no crack, no chip..small mercy and little miracle !

I fled the scene for my own sanity…..and a lot happened between that moment and the moment my husband came in and said – it’s all done…

When I came down – rugs were hanging, towels dried out, floors dry and the wooden cupboard on planks in the air to dry.

All I can say – I don’t’ know what we would have done through this storm without my husband. Apparently the worst typhoon recorded since 1999 (I wonder why Russia also had the coldest winter in 30 yrs, while we were there, and Korea the worst snowfall and flooding – also while we were there…. or maybe best not to ponder…).

I looked out the front and the back door…and not without taking a picture off course….

Anyway – I’m still smiling ! Still standing….doing good and always thankful that my problems are still minor compared to those of others.

And oh boy, when I saw the pictures on the Facebook page of Localiiz, who shared the Instagram photos of other Hong Kongers who lived through the storm, was I THANKFUL that it was not MY CONTAINER that got swept off in the docks.

My house might be a huge mess, but we have all our things…they arrived safely…and eventually we will have peace and order again….. Always a lot to be thankful for !

Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who sent me messages of encouragement and support and thoughts on my Typhoon blog post… I now have the energy to carry on and you inspired me again to do something GREAT here !

We took a day off the next day just to get out the house and go get our Hong Kong ID cards and the little break did wonders.

Now just for these non-hurricane related flooding problems in the house and the holes which keep glaring at me…

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON !!

Right now we are under Typhoon warning in Hong Kong – signal 9 is issued – 10 is full-on Hurricane. We moved here  one week ago….. looking forward to the great weather that awaited us, after our 2 expat postings right before this one which reached sub-zero temperatures for long periods…….(does the word Russia explain some of the excitement to move to an island and see palm trees out the window?? )….mmmmm……

This is all I can see out my window at the moment. A very stormy sea.

I did not grow up with Typhoons and have neither lived anywhere before where they are part of daily life….so, the gusty winds and neighbors’ facia boards flying over our patio earlier on was quite a show-stopper this afternoon. Wow, nobody can focus on anything else while all that is going on outside. Especially since we have no curtains up yet and live…well…. just about ON the water!  Typhoon Vicente is doing his rounds as we speak and I am keeping one eye on the HK Observatory website while sitting here.

I was wondering whether I should inform the Hong Kong Observatory that they missed the fact that a Typhoon went right THROUGH my house last week. I am not joking. I have never in my life seen a house of mine ever been as big a mess as it has been this past week and still is ! Again….. 5 huge moves and this has never happened – especially not after day 7 already??

This has been the messiest move INTO a country in more than one way !That, after I considered moving OUT of Korea the perfect move – thinking that I have now mastered the skill of dealing with the moving madness. MAIN reason being points 6-8 below although the other points contributed greatly.

“Patience is a virtue”….

“Rome was not build in one day..”

“Keep Calm and Carry on…”

“This will all be over soon…”

“Moves are messy, just go with the flow…”

Yes – whatever little slogan you can come up with, I can assure you that at one point or the other, it has gone through my mind !

Also – the ones that said: “This is insane…moving sucks…..this is the LAST time…. and WHY do we do this??!”

Facebook status updates and short tweets don’t quite give me enough words to explain why I say this, so I decided to jot it down on my blog ! I could probably do 10 blog posts about “How to re-organize your house after disaster struck”, but I am so busy organizing that I have no time to write it down and tell you… I am so sorry for those of you who follow this blog for great organizing tips…. I am failing you right now….but bare with me ! It will get better.

A few downsides to this move so far :

* Before arrival in Hong Kong – gas pipe leak found in the house and handover of the house had to be pushed out with several days. Relief as they did a final handover few days later to my husband who remained in the country, and all were approved to be safe again.

For me and the kids though…

1. A 14 hr flight that was 2 hrs delayed flying in from SA to Hong Kong. Tired and weary before the real work started.

2. Arriving at the  hotel…the room was not ready for several hours. Second time this happened – crappy service, thank you Crowne Plaza Causeway Bay, Hong Kong !

3. Arrived at the house next morning – nanny room and laundry flooded. Too flooded to move anything into those areas. Lots of boxes piled in garage. It appeared to be the aircon but had to be monitored day and night. Nice start on moving day!

4. Landlord came urgently and never left again for 7 days …. investigating and fixing the aircon problem….with a team roaming the house opening several spots – walls, vents and ceilings to locate the leak.

5. As a result of this issue, aircons had to be turned off since day 1 .  We and the packers were dripping in sweat offloading and unpacking. I felt dehydrated, jetlagged and heat exhaustion…not to mention the annoyance I felt for the moving supervisor !

6. Asian Tigers  - I love them, as they have done an amazing job in other countries –  but this time they sent a wise guy with a totally wrong strategy for offloading  and I still suffer the consequences. They offloaded 845 boxes, with no unpacking in-between….. so when it acme to unpacking and assembling, they had no place to turn anywhere….and had to move every room’s boxes out again before they could open them. What a waste of time and energy !!

And I kept wanting to say – I TOLD you so !! I can write books about this actually ! We were not the best of friends by day 3. I suggest, he questions, I explain, he doubts, I get annoyed, he thinks, he does it his way first, I get more annoyed, he ignores me, I demand, he agrees…..and we have wasted another  hour.

7. Day 1 and 2 – purely offloading container. No unpacking staff ?! So, we unpacked ourselves. Day 3 – they sent a “scaled down” team – before they even officially started unpacking?!.  Big mistake – bigger team get called in for the next day.

8. No handyman available untill day 4. which meant  no wardrobes/ furniture into / unto which we could unpack. This one did get nipped in the bud though – handyman rocked up on day 3 mid afternoon……and then could only build the wardrobe the next afternoon anyway – since it took that long for the movers to clear the way and enough space to do so !

He also insisted that I have an exact plan of how each item would be placed in the room BEFORE he would open any of the items??!!  Several calls to their office were required to start solving this problem and the wise ass manager slowly started to comply. A pity that it took him 4 days to start seeing my point?!

9. Our car, our nanny and our dog could not arrive in the first 7 days. Now, we have the dog and that was a highlight…

Still awaiting the car and the nanny….which will come first?? We’ll see….

10. Day 5 and the landlord still here morning, noon and night. Found the aircon leak, replacing and repainting tomorrow. But – New problems arose – flooding in the bathrooms. So, this is also the first time I had to do unpacking “under covers”

11. The landlord and team saw me in my worst possible ….and I did not even care. What I did care about, was when the movers scratched the wooden floor (which was immaculate upon handover!!! ) and scraped off 2 corners of the staircase with a rug they moved in – right the moment the landlord was standing on the step watching it all happen! Not my fault, but I still felt horrible – especially he did not say a word about the movers trampling all over the house making marks on walls and all the rest. Eish?!

12. Differences of Opinions amongst family members on how to conquer the chaos. Let’s leave it at that. Huge stresses.

13. Day 6 and all beds were assembled but due to the loads unpacked on them in one day – no place to sleep still. We play musical chairs and each person eventually found a spot to sleep. Finally on Sunday, after moving for 6 days, we each sleep in (a)  our own bed again.

14. The moving team were still scheduled for today but due to the chaotic state of the house, we have to first make some space to move in here before any more boxes can be unpacked.

15. One more downside is that we simply have TOO MUCH for this house – too much furniture, too much stuff, too many clothes….. we have only ever gone bigger – this is the first time ever we had to downscale – and even our huge efforts before the move was not nearly enough to cram us in now. Need I even go on??!! I am sure you get the picture and it is getting boring – even for me.

Now we are back to Monday and in the middle of a storm. The temporary helper had to go home because of the Typhoon warning and the Palm trees outside that looked so idyllic yesterday ……

….today only blew away my hopes and dreams for the extra pair of hands I had for today.

BUT…..little things kept me going – like the bunches of “fake flower arrangements” I found all over the house, after my daughter found a box of artificial flowers and said that she will make the place pretty – just like mommy always does !!

Good news is – the leaks are being fixed, we can go in the laundry room and start washing !!! 5 people with piled up washing for 2 weeks after a holiday, is no joke.

Good news is – the nanny’s visa got approved and she will be here in a week

Good news is – the landlord is super nice and was pleasant company, dedicated to solve the problem and sacrificed a whole week to be here in person fulltime untill the issues were resolved. Even brought a cheesecake in today as a treat for the kids.

Good news is – I am working my magic and get little areas done. And even the dog is settling in very nicely.

It doesn’t help that our furniture is completely wrong for this house…but that is a post for another day !

Right now – we are in the eye of the storm and I am thankful that we have a home, which I already love living in. Safely sheltered inside with our precious kids…each having a bed and sound asleep.

Soon we will look back and ask – Typhoon?? Which typhoon??….

If you live somewhere  with Typhoons – do tell !! Would love to hear from seasoned storm watchers …or first-timers, like me !

If you have had a chaotic move – tell, tell, tell !!! I will feel better !

If your move has only ever gone smooth – please don’t tell. Not now. It will not make me feel better !

If you live in Hong Kong – tell me what you like here – I can start dreaming about the days when this will all be over !

As I walked down the stairs taking my messy pictures – I also noted these photos and things stacked temporarily in the window sill….and it reminded me of good times in the past….and better times to come..

Chill… laugh…dream…..

Chin up !!! We are going to love this place.

Have a great Monday everybody.

Today while browsing through the shops in the little town of Parys, I saw this…

To me, first thing that came to mind was New Year’s Eve….. that’s just how my head works around disco balls !

Anyway – it also happened to be the 1st of July. The beginning of the second half of the year.

And I was wondering – is it too late to make some “new beginnings” – to have some Mid-Year-”New”-Year’s Resolutions?!

Many good intentions verbalised in January, never saw the light, and discussions around the dinnertable today gave me some inspiration to once again, try and make good on some of them. Starting today.

So, I was wondering – do you ever start something new in the MIDDLE of something else, in the MIDDLE Of the year…

Do you start a new habit immediately once the decision is taken, or do you schedule it for “after the holiday”… starting a diet on “Monday”…… starting to study at 10 am and not 9.43 am.

Are there 2 types of people in this world? One that could start – no matter where or what – they take it from there…. and the Other – having to always be at a MARKED day/ point/ hour before they can take on a new initiative.

I am the latter… had to be July 1st to take a decision to try again – or else it would need to wait for January 1st – which is too far off in this case.

So, which one are you?

One could either say – half the year is gone and I have not achieved….. or half the year is still ahead… there is some time..

HAPPY-SECOND-HALF-OF-THE-YEAR everybody !!

Lots of emotional realities to deal with – a mix of positives and negatives.

Relationships inevitably change and needless to say, lots of farewells, goodbyes and well wishes are the final steps in this journey one starts from the day you hear that you need to uproot, to the day you finally step foot on the plane to leave your “host country” to head on to your new life somewhere else.

Last week they packed up our house.

That explains also the long silence in me posting. It is definitely by no lack of things on my mind to share. Moving to a new country does somehow tend to consume your life for a while, no matter how well you planned it out.

I prepared for the move well in advance and is very pleased that it all went so smoothly and stress-free with packing up.

Being my usual self, I printed these labels for the packers on the morning of the move….

They scheduled packing for SIX DAYS ! – so I  had the opportunity  to prioritize which rooms go first. They could not do it all in one day.

So, I made these labels and they served a great purpose. They indicated which parts were ready to go, which ones needed more attention or was still being occupied by us as a family and what will not be packed after all. Very practical. Very simple.

However, when I stepped back, I knew in my heart that it also had some deeper meaning to me.

When moving, there are parts of you that are ready to move on. Ready for a new adventure, ready to make a change, excited to see new places, meet new people.

And then there are parts of you that need more pampering still… even the day you have to pack up, some emotions are not fully dealt with…simply NOT READY YET…. the part of distancing yourself with the familiar things around you, the breaking out of the social circles you became so deeply involved in, the realities of not being around your dear friends on a daily basis -even though promises of “we will come visit you” is heard on almost every occasion! Parts of your inner self, takes longer to adjust to the realities you face when moving away – and mostly those parts are involving people…but also to some extent places… not being able to walk into your favorite store, or smell the bakery you loved, or enjoy the hustle and bustle of a favorite spot or the happiness I felt when I visited my favorite place – the fabric market.

It gave me great pleasure during the move, to rip off the NOT YET labels and replace them with READY TO PACK ones, as I finished off rooms to be packed. And so it will be with me as well. I know that some parts of me will become “READY” somewhere in this process as they get replaced with new places to go and new people I meet. And some emotions have to be packed up, even if you are not ready….. time has come when those movers knock on the door  and then you have to go – Ready or Not !

But the STAY IN THE HOUSE labels remain the special ones. Some things will not physically go with me… it will remain in Seoul…just like the firewood and things that belonged to the house …- my friends, my memories, the sunlight  that came into my big windows, the neighborhood I loved, the ambience in the house I loved….

It is sad not to be able to take everything with me on this journey going forward. But it does not mean that I will not carry it forever in my heart and in fond memory of a place and people that I learnt to love dearly.

I will miss Seoul, my S (e) oul  sisters and the life I lived here.

Hundreds of boxes were filled during the packing… as was my heart over the past four years. I leave with my heart full and not empty….and even though it is always sad to leave….

It is better to leave than to have never came…..

Right now in Korea, the weather is just glorious and we are making the most of it in our last month of living here.

On Sunday I took my girls back to Sanmotoonge Gallery & Cafe. It is the most idyllic and romantic coffee shop that my friend pointed out to me one day on one of our excursions around Seoul. Me and her went during the Cherry Blossom Season and no better way to start this post other than showing you the beautiful pink array of blossoms that feasted the eye during the month of April. Yes – scroll back up so you can look again at the pink pictures !!

Sanmotoonge is the filming place of the MBC Drama –  Coffee Prince. It is the house of Han-sung Choi (played by Sun-kyun Lee). Parts of the set has been kept intact, so if you are a die hard fan of this Korean drama, you have even more reason to pay a visit to this picturesque place.

I love the fact that is off the beaten path, because you truly feel like you have escaped the city once you have made your way through the narrow, crooked street that takes you up there.  The stroll up the hill is part of the excursion for many coming here.

There is a stunning view of the  Seoul Fortress Wall from here… and you can read a wonderful article about the Wall plus very good directions of how to get there on Marie W’s blog…found at this link. Many hikers make an excursion up and along the wall and make this either their starting or end point for refreshments after the hike.

The inside is warm and cozy and full of soul.

Oh, how I will miss places like this to escape to….

Their cakes were definitely better than any of the ones I have had in the main street cafe’s…another reason to go !

Kids are enouraged to hop around on the concrete horses and any corner they find, so it is a fun place not only for lovebirds, but also for little ones !

Oh – it is a bit tricky to find the place – but do let me know if you are in the ‘hood and want to go check it out !!

However – the cafe has its own website if you can get some Korean help for translating it ! You can find it here at the Sanmotoonge website

It is definitely worth a visit and I fell in love ! You will too.

Any places you discovered in your neighborhood you feel like sharing with me ?! DO tell !

During those times you think again about your health, your happiness and what life is really all about.

I pass this artwork on the roof of a local gallery near my house, on a daily basis.

It always makes me think. And this week, no exception. It made me think again while driving past…

Of the support structures I have in my life. The people who carry me in times when I am weak or not well.

Today I got a call from the doctor with good news about a result I was waiting on.

It is good when you can breathe again and pick up pace after being a little side-tracked for the past month.

I thank everybody who thinks of me, care for me, pray for me and carries me through your thoughts and actions in times when I need that extra support to cover my back.

I am lucky and blessed to have so many people in my life who care for and carry me.

A big hug to you all today – near and far !!

If you have a support structure, appreciate them and be there for them right back.

If you don’t have a network, start working today on creating one – open yourself up and let people into your life during happy, healthy times…

You never know when comes a day you feel down and out, or life throws you a curveball and then they will be there to pick you up, hold you tight, and carry you through !

It need not even be a big thing. Life is better when shared with special people surrounding you…supporting you !!

Life is good and worth living. Remind yourself every day.

Well, here is one more.

There are tons of them around the city.

Why the one in the Kyobo Building?

I don’t know and well, it just feels so….. PARIS -eeeee?!

Oh no, now I know… the pastries were fresh and divine, the drinks were delicious and the atmosphere was great.

They recently opened up (a couple of months now) and it is situated inside the building on a side where there is nothing else (on the side of the main street where there is only offices)

…so it is very easy to miss if you visit the Kyobo bookstore and enter from the parking or from another door on the backside of the building.

It is not only baked goods and pastries, but you can order some warm breakfasts or even some pastas from the menu.

If your thing is however not so much pastries, there is a fresh deli / another healthy eatery right next to it, connected with a glass door, where you can find fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juices with a healthy sandwich.

So, you can share with your friends who are on a non-carb regime.

I have been there a couple of times and on this particular day my sister and her little one joined us and we lingered around the fresh aromas for hours.

The kids loved it too…and the two-toned Maccaroon was the highlight for some !

Others gobbled up the freshly baked bread….

They open very early (7 am), in comparison to most of the other bakeries for whom you sometimes have to wait till even 10 am before they put out the first batch from the oven for the day.

So it makes for a very convenient place for a early breakfast meet.

If you are a tourist in Seoul, well, then you can not afford to miss this spot, as there is an INCREDIBLE bookshop in this building – yes, Kyobo bookstore is a MUST see for every visitor.

The one in Gwanghwamun, very close to the Seoul Finance Centre.

It is an experience in itself to go browse around in the bookstore and Koreans often make it a family outing on a weekend night to take the family and simply go be around the books and experience the magic of a bookstore…even if it means they sit for hours on the floor  to read to their children. It is worth a visit !

If you have not heard this before… I have a bit of a stationery fettish..so no need to tell you why I go visit the place so often ! Just love it.

Have you been? Do you like it?

What is your favourite bakery in your town? Do tell.

Off to bed to dream of the lovely croissant and coffee that will call me in my dreams to wake up to in the morning  !

Mmmmm.. I can still the fresh smell of Paris Croissant. Go try it !

Got great news that our kids all got into school for our next destination !!

But I decided to let Deb do it on my behalf…..

Some people just have such a zest for life, don’t you think?

So happy things are working out…

To help you organize and de-clutter your home?

I haven’t done it lately, especially since I have discovered how much I have to learn still.

But, ok – maybe I tell you something that I do know has worked for me.

If you live in a country where small change can pile up heaps on a daily basis….to the point that you can’t carry them all in your wallet…but you can also not throw it away since it all adds up to a substantial amount….. you gotta deal with it right?

Looks familiar to have these nasties all over the house on every countertop where somebody emptied a pocket or returned from the shop? Well, we do…

So what do you do?

Yes – keep it ! but DO NOT throw them in the nearest drawer… that just makes for a whole other clean-up exercise and they get lost !

Okay – so I haven’t told you anything you don’t know already.

Here’s a newsflash !

Piggy banks are not only for kids collecting pocket money in their bedrooms !

Yes, therein lies the trick !

Buy one and….

1) Place it somewhere central within easy reach – this one is on my kitchen countertop

2) Let it be pretty – so it is pleasing to the eye and not a clutter object in itself !

3) Go  one step further – let it be special  - mine is from a trip to London to my sister…so, it is a constant reminder of good times past, every time I drop a coin in.

4) Let it be the real thing – a coin bank. As soon as it has a “lid” like an old jam jar you think you will just use for the same purpose?? Not gonna work. As soon as you have to open the lid first… too much work !  Need to do it as easy as you would throw a tissue in the trash..meaning pick up and drop all in one go needing one hand only.

5) Do not put it inside a cupboard – again… won’t get used.

6) Give it a purpose – so the cleaning lady and the family will all have an incentive to also drop the loose coins in there.

What to do with all the coins in your little bank once it is full?

Well, here is an idea !

You can use it as…

1) A  reward system for the children – whoever did best on their week’s chores, gets to empty out the family bank end of the week and it goes to their own piggy bank.

2) The milk and bread money for one shopping trip on the day it gets full and needs to be emptied out.

3) An incentive for the cleaning lady/ house helper. I empty it out once full and sometimes give the money as an extra bonus for work that was well done. It encourages good relations in the house when people feel recognition.

And the version my husband somehow sneeked into the house – which, trust me … you don’t want in your house !

Well, no need to save up here for a rainy day anymore. Sun is out and it is a glorious day !!

But – keep that change.. you never know !!

HAVE A FUN FRIDAY everybody.

Tonight I am going to see Lady GaGa in concert in Seoul.

I have to go work on my meat dress now…

What are you up to this weekend?? Let me know.

Would love to hear.

Three times in three weeks.

I get that.

I do it all the time.

Last week I had to cancel a party that I was really looking forward to host.

But this mind-changing seems to be especially true for property owners in Hong Kong.

The result – no new home yet…..

So, today I feel a little flat.

Thinking you got somewhere and then you are back to nowhere is a little deflating to say the least.

But, I have not lost hope.

There is a home somewhere out there for us… remember this post about a HOUSE and a HOME ? ……

Just need to find it !

Hoping that a wonderful house will open up in the Stanley, Hong Kong Area (or surrounding)

And hoping somebody might read this who happen to know somebody who knows somebody who will be moving and has a house…..just waiting for some lovely souls to come fill it…with all their STUFF …. that’s us !!

Drop me a line and I will be on it before you know it !!

Will be in Hong Kong first week of May – happy to go check out any cool shack !

Like Today.

But I love starting a Saturday Morning with my husband having a Tea Latte.

Like Today.

Actually, I just love my husband. So the weather does not really matter that much.

Hope you have a super  (maybe even sunny)  Saturday where you are !

Lately my posts have been dwelling on places in Seoul to visit because leaving the city soon is now top of mind for me.

I have been to many, but I have not shared any.

But it is not too late…..

Pity if you don’t live in Seoul to go to these places in person..but let your mind wander…and be inspired to go out in your own neighborhood to explore and enjoy places like the one I show you today  - Blute.

Oh, how I just  wish I was back there now for another dose of flowers, fun conversation with my friend, sipping our coffees and taking in the soothing sunrays !

Nestled in the heart of Hannamdong, Seoul, is this little cafe/ flowershop combo that just lures you in…

….and then makes you too lazy to leave.

It is a 2-room affair and very easy to just drive past and completely miss it…..

What beauty you then miss and what a pity that would be !

SO, be on the lookout for their sign on the side of the building.

You will not regret going in and treating yourself for an hour of bliss…just sitting around.

This was the perfect ending to a day of strolling the streets of Garusogil (told you here), followed by a fabulous lunch at Allo Papergarden (remember? –  here).

I do need to go back there one more time before I leave this beautiful city.

Hope you tell me if you’ve been, or plan to go !

If not – tell me about your favourite place to go re-charge your batteries !

For more on Blute – a fabulous farewell that was hosted by Yvonne and friends.  Feast your eyes on this, my friends !!

(photo: Moline)

One more sleep and then it’s Friday !!

What a wild, crazy week this was. I am looking forward to the weekend with our great friends flying in from overseas. Can’t wait !

What are you up to?

It’s not always a good thing. So I am trying to be less of  that and more of this think-about-ME-FIRST kind of person.

But that is hard to do, because for me – it is truly important to see people happy. Especially if I can make them happy !

But being frustrated and stressed about a lot of things lately, having a lot to deal with……made me this person on facebook who started venting on my wall instead of enlightening people with lovely updates…

so, I figured it’s best I leave my fb page tonight for a while before it gets really ugly with all the bad things I want to say about the people who had upset me so much this week….

and rather go pin a few things on Pinterest.

Pinning and Blogging are my outlets for turning frustration into creation.

It works for me.

But before I left Pinterest to go to my blog, I spotted this one…..

A-ha !! See….

I always think I will have a bestseller blog if I could just speak my mind and put it ALL OUT THERE !!!!

Telling a few people exactly what I think of that stupid or inconsiderate thing they did.

As in “you watch your step, girl” or I will BLOG about you !!!

People would love to read all the saucy details of the things that make our blood boil.

Uuurrggghhh… I was ready to wring somebody’s neck today

…..and yesterday….

and the day before ….

and the other day…

and the other week….

Yes. That is not nice language.

So, I hope our relocation smooth out a little bit before this state of mind becomes a permanent persona of mine !

Sometimes I had the mental clarity to come up with a more sensible solution.

But some things were still a little hurtful and not so easy to just simply let go…

But.. what can you do….??

Why do some people choose nasty over nice?

Oh, I get it – they are all just trying to be helpful and put us up for success….

How nice.  Well, I have something to say to them too….

Remember I said I am a people pleaser and I also like to help people.

Yes – I found all these images on my Pinterest Board called Say It.

I just had a field day going through all the “advice” I pinned up there for myself to go pull up on a day like today .

My  friends had been a great support and cheering me on through this trying time and I do hear what they say…so I take their advice and I trust

But I’m a faithful girl and I know where the answers lie, too….

Do I even need to tell you the answer??

So, I had to accept a few things that are beyond my control…that in itself is a tough thing for me to do, but I know……

I already had too many candies tonight that I picked from the kids’ leftover Easter baskets !

Happy Pinning Everybody !

Sometimes it comes in SUPER HANDY !!! to get your thoughts and your ducks in a row again !!!

And to go take on life with a new perspective from the teachings through the journey !

The original sources for all these pins are on my board that you can find here.

Actually, why not talk about that for the next few days ?!

In my previous post about Garusogil, that you can find here, I promised that I would tell you about the place my friend suggested we went for lunch. She had been before, loved it and could highly recommend it. I trust her opinions and now even more so, as they did not disappoint.

ALLO.

There are 2 levels but both has a cool vibe and cozy atmosphere.

(photo moline)

(photo moline)

(photo moline)

The kitchen is semi-open and it is quite fascinating to see the kitchen staff hard at work…having an amazing co-ordinated effort without hardly saying anything to each other.

So, when in Seoul and you take my advice on visiting the Soho district of Seoul, being Garusogil – do look out for Allo and stop by.

Everything made fresh and certainly a worthwhile stop for weary shoppers’ feet.

For more wonderful photos from my friend’s flickr account, peek here at Moline on Flickr.

You can find their address here.

When in Seoul, get some SOUL. This is one place where to find it !

Today is crappy.

Ask no questions. Hear no lies.

No, I am not trying to put it out there to attract an audience to lend me an ear for attention.

It is way too complicated anyway to explain.

So, let’s just leave it at that.

But.. last night when I came back after our night out, me and my son watched this video…
and it perfectly suited my happy mood.

So, I figured, maybe watching it again and sharing it with you out there, might turn crappy into happy again !

Hope you have a happy Sunday !

Tomorrow is another day….

Soon it will be time for me to boogy too, as we have many parties and gala dinners coming up in the next 2 months.
Oh, happy days to come.

And to celebrate I found these on Etsy today.

Spring Flora by skippydesigns on Etsy.

Can’t wait for the Cherry Blossoms to appear here in Seoul.

How nice would this print be to have always in a room in dark winter days.

Spring Love Letter 10 X 10 Fine Art Print by BornBarefoot on Etsy.

or this one..

Urban Blossom 11 X 14 Fine Art Print by BornBarefoot on Etsy.

Isn’t this just too beautiful for words ?

Whisper Sweet Nothings Fine Art Print by BornBarefoot on Etsy.

oooh…and while we’re at it on ETSY FINDS ….

Passionfruit Marshmallows by whimsyandspice on Etsy.

A little sweet treat will also go down quite well on this Monday afternoon !!

Let’s hope Spring is finally in the air…and no Snow Surprises anymore.

We need to lighten our loads, lighten the mood and no better way than with the hope of Spring in the Air !

(photo taken in FIKA book and coffee shop, Doota)

I have many, many ideas….to my own dismay. So many that I make myself crazy trying to figure out ways how to carry out some of them.

I have many, many opinions….to other people’s dismay. Sometimes saying things that I don’t express well enough to make sense or place in context and might leave a feeling of discontent with people having not understood my intent. I apologize if I did that to you.

Is intention good enough to justify things?

I know exactly where I want to be in life.

I am not at that place right now. And I have not figured out the means to get to that place. Yet.

I live every day by itself. Take it as it comes.

Is that a good way to live? Do people rid themselves of all energy trying to always make it to another place than where they are?

Or is that the way to go?  Everything focused on tomorrow and never just letting it be for today?

Or maybe the danger lies in thinking you are fine where you are and not worried about tomorrow.

Or does the answer lie somewhere inbetween,…content with today, striving better for tomorrow. Is that possible?

Life is short. Live for today … or tomorrow?

I wonder about that today.

Are you at the place where you want to be in life?

End of the story.

That was today’s post.

Seriously. I keep telling myself – it’s not that bad. How can it be listed as one of the top 4 stressors in life?. There is SO much more going on out there, that you feel almost silly being all tense about not finding “heaven” again – just in another country.

But somehow – even if you have experienced a few moves…it never really gets any easier. In fact, sometimes I think it gets harder, because …who knows….maybe because you grow older and different things become more important each time.

We had another house hunting trip this past week. Oh,the joys… NOT !?

Having my desk look like this for days…..Searching, filtering, considering which ones to view, was already exhausting. …..

How do you know which house is right?

When I moved the first time ever on our first expat assignment, a good friend wrote us a letter…I read it on the aeroplane as we left our home country and remember the tears flowing down my face. It was so honest and heartfelt..and at that point I did not yet know how true !

But one line in particular stood out…. “I hope you find a way to turn the new house you found, into a HOME” .

I always reminded myself about that….and the advice has been golden. I have loved every house we lived in since, because my mission in life as an expat was turning every house into a home.

I went looking for that letter again… in case there was some other advice I had forgotten.

So I got my old letter box out.

It was like finding a bag full or surprises …

I kept on digging and digging – reading feverishly through them…

untill they were all out on the floor…

.many of them in my mom’s handwriting…irreplaceable anyway since she passed away…

…so many from her… consoling me, congratulating me, encouraging me, being proud of me….

And then those old faxes from far off destinations from friends exploring the world…

A lot happened between that first letter from my friend on the aeroplane as I left my home country, and this one, 3 years later, and now 13 years ago, as I was about to get onto a plane again, leaving an expat destination…. with a friend pondering on how she felt about me moving….

And I discovered again the reason WHY we move….

…it is for the PEOPLE we meet…. changing worlds that would have remained the same had we not come into each others’ lives…

And that gave me the courage to pack up my letter box again… go back to the 60 plus pages of houses and face the frustating part of not knowing the outcome of the house hunting we did and the offer hanging in mid-air……and to not let the people in the process who work on my nerves get the better of me…..but to rather let the stress subside into a more positive realm of expat life…being the reasons why we keep on choosing it.

Did I mention that I never found the lettter I was looking for.

But instead, I found this one…yet another farewell note…as I was about to leave Moscow 3 1/2 year ago to move to Korea…. from where I am now about to depart again….

Thanks Ingeborg ! We did not keep in touch…but your note touched me today. And that is what those connections mean later on…

Reminders, lovely thoughts, sincere gratitude, well-wishes upon departures… That was my THERAPY today and it was a wonderful solution for a very stressful situation I feel pressing on me at the moment.

So, my advice to you…. when feeling STRESSED…. EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED and disillusioned with some facets of expat moving….

Get out a box of old time memories – old letters in this case. And you will be reminded that in a time of lots of uncertainties where you try to find a new house…..you will re-discover that moving house and being an expat  is actually all about the people. The ones you will meet… the ones you will leave behind..

But I am pretty sure that reading through old letters….. will sooth your soul, even if you are not moving.. it must surely be a stress reliever in any situation. Just the thought of so many people caring…

We will find a house.

We will turn it into a home again.

We will make new friends.

We will not forget old friends.

If even sometimes just by an old memory box. Keep those memories !

I was going to throw my letters out in my scaling down efforts, but after this…decided to keep. I am just not ready yet.

For me, it was a Solution in a Stressful time !

If you are an expat moving – what things did you find that helped you relieve some stress during your move?  Let me know. I don’t get much letters these days. But I still love comments !

And if you are one of those not ready to throw out old letters and cards – check out this blog post from Simple Mom with a fun solution of what to do with them !

Happy Saturday Everybody!!

I love receiving your messages…. and again this week – so many wonderful messages received from friends, fans and family… be it about my blog, my health, my life… via comments here, a phone call, a text,  the many many e-mails and facebook messages on my wall as well as via my blog’s inbox.

And sometimes I wish I can share them with the whole world… like how this guy hangs out his messages of appreciative customers outside his restaurant in Hywha dong, Seoul.  Telling them that what they said, mattered…..

…and if this was My Life Wall this week, it would have looked like this too….

So, this post is simply to say – thank you all your feedback and input and support and love.

I totally love hearing from you. Keep telling me what  you think. I always love hearing from each and everyone.

It keeps me going !! Keeps me blogging.

The most public of them all is still via commenting on the blog right here…but if not, I still see them, and that is what matters.

Each message is special. Each message is individual. Each message is appreciated.

I just LOVE IT !

Now – do remember to check back for that post on the Fabulous places to eat and drink that I said I was going to share. Remember here.

Till then – keep well my friends !