poptart

Color-less Beijing

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:24:00 +0000

My recent (company) trip to Beijing, China (and by recent I mean a couple of months ago) was interesting to say the least. It was nice to feel the cold air once again with it being close to winter and all, and with it came the comforting illusion of being back in chilly england. So yes, the weather was glorious. It's also funny how despite knowing the language and being (relatively) proficient in it, i barely uttered a chinese word. I was starkly aware of being in a foreign land, even with my (obvious) asian roots.

Nonetheless, it was a nice few days of soaking in both the old and new world that seemed to so distinctively divide Beijing. So here are some photos! I almost think that Beijing becomes so much more beautiful in black and white.

[The great wall]

[The forbidden city, invaded by hoards of tourists]

[pretty windows]

[touristy tin mugs]

[fake posters]

[a choo-choo train]

[giant Chinese art sculptures at art district 798]

[propaganda posters]

[GIANT tin mug installation]

[my colleague and friend, cheryl with her stick of sugar coated hawthorne berries]

[piping hot sweet potatoes being sold by the roadside]

I'm pretty sure that Shanghai is next on my to-visit (China) list.

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:10:00 +0000

The final week of 2011 was pretty much a blur. Between Christmas, a week off work, one too many golf practices and festive dinners and the new year...i must admit that it was quite the treat to be in Singapore this year surrounded by family and friends.

So here are a slew of photos from that one week alone.

[Cheesy Christmas gift exchange with my best girlfriends. Moustache mug? Why thank you!]

[Family Christmas brunch- couples from left to right, sister+husband, mom+dad, Ian+me]

[DIY Christmas lights nails]

[Ian's new golf buddy]

[Hand-made photobooth props, being a bunny and my very spiffy old man]

[Hand-made hot air balloon ornament to kick off a new Christmas tradition with my girls]

[kate spade gift ball]

[blue lamps]

Here's hoping that 2012 goes even better than the year before, that wedding planning can finally commence, and that the Mayans got it wrong! Have a good 2012, friends (:

Much love,

Favourite things- Instagram edition

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:33:00 +0000

So i've fallen into wonderful trap of technology. It might be super old news, but Instagram is wonderful (and convenient), and so is taking (relatively) decent photos with an iphone. And with life being as busy as it is, i'm thinking this might become a staple around here. So here's a mish-mash of random photos from my life of late.

[christmas tree shopping]

[home-made gingerbread cookies: hand-stamped for good measure]

[bow + horsies]

[pink dinos]

[a little accessories corner i made in my room]

[confetti nails]

[baking- ninja style!]

[vintage books]

[pancakes]

[a little affirmation (that) goes a long way]

[and a random photo of my fiance and i!]

Happy almost Christmas! The countdown begins.

autumn leaves in Beijing

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:25:00 +0000

Even though I'm back to living in a perpetually temperate country, it's comforting to know that autumn is pretty much just a couple of hours away.

I'm alive, i am (:

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:19:00 +0000

Because i've been totally neglecting this space, i present to you a photo that hopefully makes up for it.

[Photo taken with retro partner Cheryl before Retrolicious!, where we watched Belinda Carlisle, The Human League and Bananarama LIVE]

Who knew i could rock an afro.

You learn something new everyday!

I'll be back. pinky promise.

remember the time..

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:25:00 +0000

i talked about baking my friend's wedding cake, but never got round to blogging about it?

so yea, here it is in its full glory.

(although i wish i had photos of the inside, which had layers of cake in colours of the wedding)

And since it was a garden/park wedding, i thought how great it would be to have that translate onto the cake. My favourite part? The giant bush to the left (:

It might not have been perfect, but that's okay because now i get to perfect my cake baking and decorating techniques. Momma would be so proud.

Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:49:00 +0000

The best weekends are the ones you get to spend with people you love doing the things you love.

My girlfriend Deb and I made plans early for a photography date on Saturday. But if i'm to be honest we spent more time shopping for vintage dresses, having coffee and filling our tummies with decadent treats than really taking photos- which is fine by me. At least i got to give ze old polariod camera a little loving, which he hasn't gotten in a long, loooong time.

plan for next weekend: bake, bake, bake!

how was your weekend? (:

dear chai,

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:53:00 +0000

i think i love you.

You have such a distinct flavour that excites my senses,

and i had to find a way to incorporate you into a sweet treat.

I think i've found the perfect cupcake recipe that pays homage to you,

and with one heck of a cinnamon and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream to top it all off.

now the question that remains is, who would like to come by for tea? (;

in the past week or so, i've

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:09:00 +0000

baked 300 cookies for a friend's wedding

made my first 2 tiered wedding cake

did hair+make-up for a friend and bride

missed ian a whole lot

did a whole lot of baking {as you probably can already tell}

and posed with the best vintage van with balloons at a wedding that i was so blessed to be a part of (:

{photo by becky}

that's it for an update for now! photos will come soon once i catch up on some sleep(:

hope everyone had a great weekend.

"Deconstructed" Macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:47:00 +0000

This week my friend jade and i tried our hand at macaron making, with close to no idea of the actual process, and just a simple recipe to follow. But of course with our cluelessness came snarky remarks like how difficult can it be to make macarons? and it doesn't look that hard to do, pfff. We would like to humbly retract our previous statements.

i'd like to preface this by saying that the following photos of a first time attempt at macaron making have a zero-to-none chance of making it on pinterest or anywhere else for that matter. I'd like to call them Deconstructed Macarons, because that's the term they often use on masterchef, plus it excuses the overall aesthetic fail of the dish.

Regardless of how it looks, it did taste good. Not too sweet and with a yummy and simple chocolate ganache filling. And i guess that's all that matters unless you're trying to get your food photos on food gawker or something. The next time i try my hand at making these fussy little pretties, i'll do all i can to ensure that they actually look like regular macarons. that's all for now (; xo

seeya later, alligator

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:43:00 +0000

So i'm pretty sure that by now you can tell how there hasn't been much blogging going on around here. I'm seeing how blogging has fallen significantly down my list of priorities, and i'm still trying to figure out whether i should just stop altogether or keep it running for as and when i feel like sharing something on this space. It's not so much that i've NOTHING to blog about per se, rather i feel like i'm really enjoying living my life, being with people i love and busy with the process of figuring out my "new" life as i settle back in Singapore. So i guess i'll see you when i see you (: I hope all of you are doing well! I am (: til next time xo

Eilean Donan Castle

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 13:16:00 +0000

During our time up North we spent quite abit of time visiting castles. So many in fact that Ian and i began collecting artwork with every new castle we visited. And to give you an idea of how many castles/castle-ruins we visited, we could possibly dedicate an entire section of wall in our future home to pictures/paintings/sketches of castles we've been to. Which is a pretty nice way to remember our time in England (:

But my favourite by far was this one, minus the fact that we had to battle wind/rain/random bursts of sunshine.

So beautiful!

Just a couple of amazing things from my last few weeks in England

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:15:00 +0000

The Eden Project at Cornwall.

gamer lingo ftw!

a whole bag of fresh blueberries just for me {i devoured them all in a matter of minutes}

Sheep, sheep and more sheep in Wales

rock-covered beaches {giant ones at that}

a fairytale castle {with the most insane ornate interiors}

visiting the oldest pub in wales {in the wye valley}

beautiful gardens

more amazing coastlines

i'm finding myself backed up in the blogging department. There are still photos from our trip to Scotland (amongst others) that i've yet to post, i guess you're going to have to bear with me as i look back at some of the pretty epic places we visited. I thank you in advance (;

hello from Singapore!

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:07:00 +0000

{polariod taken while in Wales}

Hi friends! Apologies for the disappearing act, but i'm now finally settled in Singapore where i'll be staying awhile. Thank you all for the love and well wishes on our engagement, it does mean a whole lot (: I cannot wait for my ring to be resized (it was 4 sizes too big!) and ready for collection so i can finally put it on for good. In between settling down into a new routine, job hunting, catching up with friends and helping a girlfriend prepare for her upcoming wedding, i shall resolve to continue blogging as much and as best i can. In the mean time, you can find me here on twitter (:

Thank you for sticking around and for being patient (: I'll see you soon! xo

an announcement (:

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:40:00 +0000

so i apologise in advance for those of you who either 1. follow me on twitter and/or 2. are my friend on facebook for sounding like a broken record, and an excited broken record at that.

But i have good reason to because as of today, i have a fiancé!

There is no crazy proposal story, of candlelit dinners or fireworks exploding in the night sky with my name written in it. Rainbows didn't appear nor did a rainbow colored butterfly land softly on my shoulder when it happened.

It was just him and me, in our home, as we are always.

and it was perfect (:

but he did get down on one knee and that's all i really wanted anyway!

this portrait of us was lovingly painted by the superbly talented Samantha (: (this seemed like the perfect time to share it!) She was a dream to work with and managed to include all the elements that encapsulate ian and myself, especially our love for food and my slight obsession with leopard (don't judge)!

i love it so much, and couldn't it make one heck of a good wedding invitation?!

promise this won't turn into a wedding blog, i pinky promise. {we have about two years to plan anyway}

all the madness will be catalogued with the help of pinterest, you can find me here.

i think that's enough excitement for one day, goodnight friends! xo

Exmouth instants

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:20:00 +0000

I'll be leaving England for good in less than a week, and i can't help but have my heart ache a little. This move back to Singapore will be as much bitter as it is sweet, reuniting with best friends is the great part, but having to adjust my daily eating/living/dressing habits is something that i have to give myself some time to get used to. I'm glad ian and i got to visit what has probably become my favourite part of living in the south west of England (the beach), for the last time when his parents were here visiting.

Here are a couple of instant photos i decided to take to bring back to Singapore with me, so i'll always have a little piece of the south west with me.

Ian and I are spending this last weekend I have left in England in Wales, since we've never been before. And after this roadtrip i'll be heading back to Singapore, while Ian stays in England for another 3 months to work on his dissertation. Well, long distance, here we go again! (we just can't catch a break, can we?, haha)

red like blood

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 30 May 2011 11:32:00 +0000

i tried out a roll of red scale film for the first time while in Scotland, praying that despite the severe lack of bright, sunny days we had while being there, that i'd get a couple of good shots at least. You'll see a little bit of edinburgh, some beautiful castles and a couple of trees as well (:
I like how creepy red scale film makes everything look, and i have Rhianne to thank since the first time i laid eyes on red scale photographs, they were hers! You can find the rest of my red scale lot at my flickr here (:

favourite things

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:14:00 +0000

Fun polariod magnets i made out of some of my own photos. Plus silhouette ones (:

this hilarious photo of ian and i. i had to BEG him to take this photo with me.

it was worth a couple of laughs!

bows+colors+mcqueen

the few silly moments i had with highland cow related toys. i really like highland cows, especially the hat, the hat was epic.

the most adorable baby fur booties! so warm and cosy.

experimenting more with braids (it's hard taking a photo of the back of ones head without any help)

funny polariods

wise words

pretty Bed and Breakfasts we stayed at while in Scotland (:

a new eatery opening up just minutes from my doorstep, with the best orange cupcakes to match!

what are some of your favourite things this week? (:

a ruin or two

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sat, 28 May 2011 21:03:00 +0000

i've been quite rubbish at posting lately. Apart from packing up what feels like my life into boxes (12 to be exact) and basically clearing out my apartment, i was busy playing host (again, i know it's a reoccurring theme of late) to a friend who was visiting for a couple of days. And now that my boxes have been collected for shipping and i'm living out of a suitcase once again, i shall try to return to blogging as regularly as possible! (:

While driving around in Scotland we visited a couple of amazing historical castles, ruins and the like. I quite liked the feeling of being in the very places where battles were fiercely fought and where royalty regularly lived and visited. The Scots sure were serious about protecting their homeland (from the english mostly), and seeing the remnants of such a turbulent past sure was intriguing (:

i have so many other blog posts planned and i'll try and be as diligent as i can with getting them posted (:

thanks for being patient, friends! i've missed your blogs!

walk with me

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Sat, 21 May 2011 21:18:00 +0000

We stayed in the lake districts for a couple of days, in one of the cutest B&Bs we were lucky to find! The sudden change in pace of life from being in a city to waking up one morning surrounded by nothing but green pastures, grazing livestock, pretty houses and bodies of lakes is refreshing to say the least!

Since the number one activity to do in the lake districts is walk, we ventured out for one (the shortest one available that is, none of us were prepared for a 10mile route). It was surreal navigating through pastures, avoiding the landmines of poo courtesy of grazing sheep and their young who were wandering around us minding their own business and not the least bit startled at the intrusion. But oh just to behold the view from the hilltops, breath-taking!

happy weekend, friends! (: xo

oh hi there!

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:38:00 +0000

hi friends! i'm back from the highlands, thoroughly relaxed and missing the fine fresh air that Scotland had to offer! Thank you once again to the fabulous ladies who guest posted while i was away, and to those of you who are new here, I look forward to reading your blogs (:

Apart from the amazing scenery you get from just driving through Scotland, hearty breakfasts in cosy Bed and Breakfasts and Gaelic radio channels (that Ian was OBSESSED with), what we treasured most was the time we got to spend with his parents, who flew all the way up to England from Singapore to go on holiday with us (:

I've just gotten 2 rolls of film developed, and can't wait to share them with you!

In the mean time, here's us and our happy faces, just seconds before the rain came down again, and not long after a sunny spell. That's Scottish weather for ya!

As of now, we are incredibly pleased with English weather, no matter how temperamental she might be at times (:

See you all tomorrow! xo

Guest Blogger: Rhianne, A Betty's date in York

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Tue, 17 May 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Although it's been a couple of weeks since that epic weekend, i still think about how amazing Rhianne is and (mentally) kick myself for not meeting up with her earlier! She's so genuine, sweet and i am SO grateful to have a blogger friend turned real life friend that i know i've made for life (; If you've missed any of the posts we both did on the weekend together, you can click here, here, here, here, here , here and here. And because there aren't enough posts on that weekend together already, here's another (; Afternoon tea is one of the best things you can do with friends! And betty's would be THE place. Thanks so much Rhianne, i heart you! xo

Hello Poptart readers!

My name is Rhianne and I blog at For the easily distracted... and as some of you may know last month I had the absolute pleasure of meeting our lovely Adele and we took her to York for the day. As well as taking a lot of photos together, we also went to Betty's for afternoon tea!
(it's a terribly English thing to do...)

It was delicious and we had such a fun day together, it was great getting to share some of my favourite things about Yorkshire with Adele too. I know shes going to love Scotland!!

Have a great day!
Rhianne

Ps: a BEEEG hello to new friends who've dropped by the blog lately! i'll be sure to respond to your comments and check out your blogs once i get my hands on my own laptop in a couple of days (: xo Thanks again, Rhianne! xo

Guest Blogger: Chelsey

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 16 May 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Today we have the adorable Chelsey who's been kind enough to write a blog post for me despite being oh so very pregnant! Chelsey is down-to-earth, talented and so very beautiful, even more so now that she's about to become a mommy (: Thanks so much chelsey and i can't wait to see that beautiful baby boy of yours real soon xo

Hello lovelies!

Sweet Adele asked me to throw together a little post so you don't all suffer from her going on an amazing trip to Scotland! I mean, no big deal but I'm 8 months pregnant, stuck in Tennessee and about to have my little city invaded by Cicadas... So, I hope she is enjoying her wonderfully magical vacation that I'm not jealous about at all...not, like, at all. So, because I'm not jealous of her travels I'm going to show ya'll a little outfit I put together for me...If I wasn't pregnant and if I were in Scotland ;)

Adele, I hope you are having great time on your trip and I can't wait to see all your photos and hear all about your adventures!

xo! Chelsey - www.misschelseymeyer.blogspot.com

Guest Blogger: Kate {reposted because blogger ate it up!}

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:53:00 +0000

For those of you who don't know Kate, well, you are missing out. Apart from having hair that i am constantly wanting and a wardrobe that's pretty much every girls dream (think pastels, dresses and lots and lots of pretty coats), Kate is one heck of a talented lady. I'm such a fan of her work i've purchased a couple of her original paintings and illustrations for my home. Just check out her etsy shop here, and read her post below (it's genius and fun) for just a glimpse of her creative mind (: Thanks so much kate! xo

Hi! This is Kate from Scathingly Brilliant. I'm completely in love with these cat shoes I found on tumblr, but I know they're definitely not in my price range... and I also prefer flats, so I decided to make my own! I'm not the neatest embroiderer, so they're not quite as perfect as the original pair, but I think they're really fun! Depending on how fast you can embroider, it takes only a half hour or an afternoon -- either way, it's a fast, easy and inexpensive cute project! :)

such a cute and easy DIY! can't wait to try it (: thanks again kate! xo

Guest Blogger: Alyssa

noreply@blogger.com (Adele) — Fri, 13 May 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Having lived in Australia for a little makes me love this lady alot more! Alyssa is hilarious (her comments and emails tend to make me giggle alot), sweet and the brains behind Project You. And although we've only been friends for a short time, she's pretty much won my heart (: And her guest post is pretty amazing as well! (: xo

Hello Lovely Ladies! 

I’m Alyssa from Just Putting It Out There. 

On the passport it says I’m Australian – but a huge part of my heart lives in the UK and i have not even been there yet! I hear you scream WHY ALYSSA, WHY!? Ok i’ll share! 

I guess we should start with the most obvious reason – the people!!
These three are 3 of my most favourite people ever - I would travel to the UK just to hug them all! 


Next most important?
THE SHOPPING!!!
90% of my wardrobe at the moment is from Asos.com, i seriously freaking LOVE IT. Great clothes, great prices and FREE SHIPPING! At least once a week a package turns up on my doorstep from the lovely people over there. 
On the days I don't have a delivery from ASOS I will generally have something show up from book depository - my other great love. Actually i think i may love book depository even more than ASOS! I ADORE book depository. They have the hugest range of books, the best prices and once again free shipping! 

The royals! 
Ok. so I claimed i would not watch that wedding. Ranted about how boring it would be and I would not waste my time... but when it came down to it i sat there mesmerized with the entire wedding. I cried as Kate walked down the aisle, I cried as they walked out of the church, I cried when they had their first public kiss. It was all just beautiful. I think what got me was that one couple united the entire world for that small moment in time and brought everyone to celebrate one thing - LOVE. 

You may judge me for this point... but the MUSIC! 
Who was the greatest girl band of all time? SPICE GIRLS! Where did they come from? THE UK! Is this an excellent reason to love the UK? ABSOLUTELY! 
Who's the other great UK performer? UMM MR ROBBIE WILLIAMS!! 

Want a cuppa? YES! Another love that the UKians and i share is lots and lots and lots of cups of tea! 


The accent. I think everyone just swoons at the thought of an english accent... sigh.... oh ed westwick when you speak your english accent I just fall in love more and more! 
I think this list sums up my UK loving for now - it seems like an amazing land and I cannot wait to one day visit and buy lots of tacky souvenirs and visit all the places in the spice world movie and stand in a red telephone box and take a corney photo and stalk down the queen and try and have coffee with her and high five price harry and find elton john and ask him to sing to me and to shop in top shop and to find out what on earth a high street is and to have an english breakfast tea whilst in england and eating breakfast! Oh the plans I have! 
What makes you love that country over the pond?