it's funny how things happen, and I do extend my sincere apologies

I see irony everywhere, and none more than the fact that I announce I am going on hiatus only to find that I have blogged more in the past month than I have in the last year. It seems like with that one post, and with all the free time I have from my current university holiday, I'm rediscovering my interest in all things creative, all over again. Guess when I said sooner rather than late,r I really did mean much much sooner. So maybe I want to live in both the house and the loft after all.

And then, on a more serious note0 to those who have previously contacted me:

I really would like to extend my sincere apologies for being extremely terrible at replying emails! I feel terrible! I don't mean to, but none the less, I am because I didn't check that address very often. (That is, however, not an excuse at all!) But I have since grouped all my email accounts together, so will be much much more diligent in it! For all those who emailed hoped for a prompt reply, I am sorry. I know some of you (advertisers, fellow bloggers et al.) contacted me ages ago, and as I can't tell who is still waiting for a reply from who has since moved on... if you would kindly email me again, I will reply back this time! Promptly too! Promise!

All my love and sorry again,

K

Out with the old, in with the new

It's been forever since I last posted and to be honest, I had lost motivation so that I was pretty much on permanent hiatus. This is a small project, and I love it but sometimes, I found myself making posts that were less about me and my interests and more about well... everything else. So for now, it's back to basics, and on that note, I'm announcing my move to

http://likeabohemian.blogspot.com

It only seems suiting as I try to figure out my true interests because I've changed so much over this year and a half I've been gone. More likely than not, I'll come back to this place one day- hopefully sooner rather than later! In the meantime, please come take part in my adventures, my take on style and fashion... and check out my forays into photography on L.A.B! Think of it as moving away from the house for a while to check out the brand new and recently acquired downtown loft space! Welcome!

Oh, don't mind me...

Please ignore my hair pulling, I'm just stressed- my finals start on Wednesday! I think it's fair to say that you can expect me back in about a week's time- I'll be finished by then, completely elated and celebrating the start of my 1.5 month long winter break! Got to go cram some more now. Economics might just be a distant cousin of Satan (well, maybe...). I'll be back soon! Kisses and hugs.

Hong Kong x Tokyo. A recap. Part I.

So, let's see. Where to start... (I've got so much to say!) I traveled over to Hong Kong for approximately one month/ month and a half, from the start of February to early/mid March... as well as going to Tokyo from the 21st to the 26th. It was cold- around 9°C when I arrived in HK. I know that's probably nothing to most of you considering that it probably snows in winter wherever you are, but for someone like me (who was traveling super light) it's bad. Especially since HKers walk everywhere and there's no adequate heating system in place in the shopping centers.
The shopping was, of course, heavenly. I bought so much- lots of jeans, shorts, shoes, makeup (I went CRAZY!), scarves, coats, a few electronic items... you name it, I probably got it! If you ask me to name some shopping hot spots in HK, I'll definitely have to say:
Causeway Bay- it's a smörgåsbord of the high and low. You'll find the Lane Crawfords and Louis Vuittons alongside local fashion boutiques in the shopping arcades. This is definitely my personal favorite, along with...
Mongkok- which is completely packed neighborhood and has lots more little arcades. I recommend the Argyle Center- a 4 level something with lots lots of stores selling a variety of goods from jewelry to fashion, hosiery and shoes at affordable prices(The con is that you cannot try on any items of clothing). The shopping center Langham Place is also worth going to- take the long escalator up to the very top and you can wander back down through the little lanes and "cobblestone" paths.
Admiralty /Central / Tsim Sa Tsui- all the brand names you could ever ask for (along with the staples). These districts have a stronger Western influence and it really shows in the culture of the area. Lang kwai Fong / Soho area at Central is a definite mention for bar-hopping

One of the places I was looking forward to going was Elements, HK's newest shopping mall, which opened in October last year. Developed by the MTR corporation, it's situated right above the Kowloon MTR station. The concept of the mall revolves around the five elements of nature- metal, wood, water, fire and earth . Take a look at the interiors here.

Elements houses all your favorite luxury brands. Prada, Lanvin, Cartier, Valentino, Fendi, Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Jill Stuart and Versace just to name a few. Here- I took a few photos of the Lanvin store display- the warped design of the balcony railings on its second storey (it's a 2 level store).
Doesn't everyone wish they live in a fantasy like this? I sure do... I've been staring at the picture for the last few weeks and I'm still not over the beauty of it. It's clean vintage and just major!

I think that's about it on the HK front. Look out for my Tokyo recap
Photo cred: myself

Just saying hello- I'm back!

So I've been back for a little while now, but the fact is- uni lectures, assignments, tests, work and trying to unpack my luggage all at the same time has me a little behind in my posting! So, before I rush off to go to uni (I'm super late!) I just want to wave my hand and say hi! I had a fantastic time overseas- such a good time that I definitely didn't want to come back to Sydney! Now, despite all the benefits of living in Australia, I am even more certain that I want to move out of the Southern Hemisphere- I definitely feel more at home in a crowded city.

What did I do, you ask? Highlights include: shopping too much and going to the Chanel and Zaha Hadid Mobile Art Museum. Amazing exhibits and all based around the 2.55. How could any girl not love it? The Mobile Art Exhibition deserves a whole another post in itself and by God, I have so much to say about it.

Ok, so now I really really really got to go. Or I'll miss my bus.
I'll update maybe Thursday night/ Friday?

I've missed you!!

Gone for a month.

I'll try to update if I can get my hands on a computer, but otherwise... I will be taking a one month hiatus from now until early March. This time tomorrow, I'll be arriving into Hong Kong- which is where I'll be spending most of my time (with a mini trip to Tokyo thrown in for good measure).
I'm going to take lots and lots of pictures of just about anything and everything, from lovely store displays to elegant architecture to my own purchases, to show you girls.
Until then... I'll miss you all dearly.
Au Revoir!
Photo cred: Hong Kong- The City of Nights (Lights) Photo Gallery

Sorry for neglecting you...

... it's just that I've been super busy! You know, what with:

• extended trading hours at work because of Christmas- just a fyi for you Aussie babes: David Jones is open until 10pm this Monday to Wednesday, and til midnight on Thursday and Friday if you want to fit in some late night shopping,
  
• Christmas shopping for family (I still have no idea what to get my Dad...),
  
• sorting out my timetable for university next year- I'll hopefully be taking a fashion course next semester!
  
• doing some research for places to go and shop in Hong Kong and Tokyo. I'll be in HK for about a month, with a little side trip to Tokyo thrown in there, starting early Feb. My grand shopping plan is to check out the warehouses in HK but anyone got suggestions for Japan? I'm particularly interested in designer outlets- Yohji, CDG, Tsumori Chisato, Junya and all those good Japanese designers!
• compiling a mile long shopping list for said trips overseas,
• and making another (not as long) shopping list for the boxing day sales. That's an equivalent of the Blk Friday sales in the US of A!

But enough excuses now, I've got the cutest little pair of shoes to show you!! They're Tony Bianco- red patent leather cone heels: the style is called "Ravel" and they're only around $100 mark. The design might not be new, but I just love that these are close toe (I'm feeling the oversaturation of peep toes!) and the cone heel won me over (just look at the runway).








Shame that these size 6s are too big for me!
Photo cred: myself

Blogger: my call for help...

Just a quick question for my fellow bloggers out there regarding image placement- it's irritating me no end! For those who use IE to view my blog, you would probably have recognized my problem already: the strange gaps and formatting appearing in my posts between images every now and then because I myself use Firefox.

Take my latest post for example:
I guess my question is: What can I do to, in a sense, standardize the look of my posts between different browsers?
(I'm not even sure whether my call for help makes sense or whether it's just a jumble of words... but if you have just an inkling of what I'm on about, and know a possible solution, I would greatly appreciate any form of contribution!!)

More details on the job...

First off, thankyou for the well wishes! I hope I do alright and don't turn into those stark, raving mad and totally incompetent SAs we've all come across in our lifetimes! You know- the ones who look you up and down when you walk to their department, weighing your wealth in their mind's eye. I have had too many terrible shopping experiences to name...And on a happier note, here are more details on the job for those who asked. I've gotten a little more info now that I've been to the pre-employment session:
- I get a 10% discount off all goods (bar the furniture, electronics and all that jazz, which is 5%) but if I purchase anything that is part of the dress code- meaning I can wear it as part of the uniform- then it's 30% off! Dress code means all black, which is what I tend to wear anyway
- The pay is alright I guess. Slightly above the average McDonalds/Starbucks wage, and time and a half on Sundays. I hope I get lots of Sundays, because there's nothing bad to be said for making more and spending more.
- I've got orientation coming up, and will be starting work after 15/11 (my last day of uni exams).

I think that about covers everything...
Photo cred: the Sart

"Welcome to David Jones, Ladies Shoes, this is Karin."

So it seemed like I bluffed my way through the interview: I got the job! A two to three month gig in Ladies shoes at a nice department store seems like a pretty decent way to spend the holidays- Can't you just see me befriending all those shoes? I mean- "Hello Manolo!" "Hey where did Louboutin go?" I think I've died and gone to shoe heaven. Kind of reminds me of this quote I once saw on a shopping bag:

Heaven is closer when you are in high heels.

I think I could probably find something delicious to toast to that!
Photo cred: google

Are the kids of today growing up too fast?

A number of very strange and rather shocking conversations between myself and an 8yo girl, the daughter of a family friend- let's call her Anni, occurred when they were visiting last week and I was absolutely stunned:
Topic 1: Fluoro pink is the thing to be seen in, said she.
"You know, you really should buy some fluoro pink. It's very popular these days." kicked off the first conversation. I think I was staring at Anni, mouth open half the time. Wait, what? Come again? I'm not trying to be elitist but it was shocking to realize how different 8yo girls a decade ago (aka moi) were from the kids of today. I think I was watching Sailor Moon and playing with yoyos in my tomboy jeans-and-Tshirt outfits.

Topic 2: She recommends Payless as the place to source your black flats.
Because Anni just got her first pair of blk ballet flats at Payless, she recommend I get mine there too (sorry hun, I thought, I've already got a few pairs too many...)

Topic 3: It's all about layering, dahling!
"I really like these- points at her plain long sleeved blk Tshirt - it's really good for layering. Because we're in Spring so it's still a bit cold. An outfit kind of like what I'm wearing now..." For your information, she wore a blue and white patterned mid thigh baby doll over the Tshirt, with blk leggings and those flats. By God, she's trendy for someone who's not even a tween yet! [The photo was the first example that came to mind, a tad bit old- Marc by Marc Jacobs SS06 RTW]

Topic 4: What do you call them? Pencil jeans or skinny jeans?
Anni really really really wants a pair. Enough said. Apparently, I'm somewhat "uncool" because I don't own a pair. Does that mean I'm a nerd? Does it?

I sound terribly bitchy, don't I? I don't mean to, but I guess I still haven't gotten over our "enlightening" conversations yet. I say enlightening, in quotation marks no less, because it reflects the strength and power of advertising on the child and the tween in my opinion. Ever since a few years ago, it's suddenly become all about the tween- they're a huge market because they're aware of what's hot (and what's not), they understand the importance of one's appearance... but don't have a job yet. So to me, what the tween does is spend extravagantly on luxury goods with their parents' no limit credit cards. I'm not against the concept of either spending lots on luxury goods or the use of my mom's credit card per se (God knows I do it a lot)... it's just that if they're spending so much at a stage when they're not truly aware of the value of money, how much debt and card bills are they going to run up as an adult? And are they really aware of what's good quality, what's worth the price... and what's not? Is this in fact going to be the catalyst that will eventually lead to a First World debt crisis? [Shhh- I know I know. I'm being melodramatic...]
Since everything is growing so much more accessible, and as children's fashion is becoming more like adult's fashion just shrunken in size, kids seem to be growing up so fast- at a glance, they appear to look better, act wiser- in an almost adult like manner- and it's such a foreign idea to me. Sure I was a city girl (no doubt I always will be) but I remember my childhood fondly- days spent in the local park playground, playing with the neighbor's kids and trying to beat the boys at handball during school recess and lunch. Anni seems to spend her days applying nail polish, reading numerous fashion magazines (she namedropped Harper's and Vogue at various points in time) and listening to Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani.

I don't know what to think.Are they being deprived of a childhood because of the commercialization, and materialization, of everything? Or are we simply redefining what childhood means?
Photo cred: style.com, NYT, some blog I found through google

What in the world...

Just a side note because this is just amazing. Boring old unemployed me, with absolutely no proper retail experience, have been called in for a group interview at David Jones (one of the two dept stores which dominate Australia. Personally, I see DJs as more of an upper class thing than Myer) this Thursday. A miracle I tell you. A pure miracle. That and my friend's genius CV which I used as a template for my own.

I'm hoping against hope that I'll get the casual SA position that I want- I want that discount!Oh... and it's Christmas, my summer holiday, so I can practically work FT! Here's to more money, because 1. one can never be too rich or too thin and hence 2. I am an absolute casholic:
Photo cred: TFS