the blink of an eye

January’s flown right by!

So cute :)

Photos from the Huffington Post

D * s c o v e r y

Have you stumbled upon a blog which you had never seen before (or seen linked up elsewhere) which, at first sight, makes you sit up a bit straighter, lean in a little closer and scroll just a bit faster?

I was recently clicking around on a Livejournal community called In My Bag and this stunning Chloe bag (and the whole color and composition of the picture) caught my eye. Her blog is equally pretty in content and is one of those that somehow convey a certain warmth.

All pictures from Pinkdaze

Eggs Benedict

The Cellar Door
619 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore
Tel: 6463 5296

A presentable poached egg requires skill to prepare as does a palatable Hollandaise Sauce* which is usually served up with the poached eggs on half a muffin bun with ham/bacon/smoked salmon as Eggs Benedict or with spinach as Eggs Florentine.

I love Eggs Florentine. For brunch. When the craving arises.

The usual brunch menus around offer 2 eggs (sunny side-up or scrambled) with stuff etc.

At the Cellar Door, they offer Mr Benedict or Miss Florentine So cute. I don’t know many places in Singapore that do Eggs Ben, in the first place.

I love this place. It’s been totally overhauled since I last went. The bar in the middle of the space has been removed to make room for more seats and the menu has also been modified slightly. It’s now cosier than before.

Miss Florentine

Mr Benedict

Spanish Omelette

Caffe Latte

* I never knew this before but Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice using egg yolks as the emulsifying agent, usually seasoned with salt and a little black pepper or cayenne pepper. It is a French sauce, so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce. Hollandaise sauce is well known as a key ingredient in Eggs Benedict.

Who doesn’t like Sofia Coppola?

Last picture from Dream Smile Design where many more pretty scans of French Vogue featuring Sopia Copola await

Ikea

Check out these new Ikea pieces for 2009! I especially love the mushroom inspired low side table

From one of my daily surfs:- Emma’s Design Blog

I Feel Bad About My Neck

I’ve never been one to give much thought to aging or anti-aging skin care.

For a long while, eye-cream was the only anti-aging step in my skin care ‘routine’. I started with this only a few years back after a friend, while gesturing to the skin around her eyes, remarked “certain things are reversible, but once you get a wrinkle, it’s permanent.”

Recently, after hearing some other friends talk extensively about UV, pigmentation and how these really damage skin, I’ve thrown sunblock into the skin care equation.

My Mother’s always said that the clearest signs of a woman’s age are visible around the eyes, neck and hands. After recently watching the Sex & the City episode where Samantha Jones hooks up with a much younger guy and he tells then her that she has the cutest lines in her neck, I am convinced and quickly fish out a travel-sized ‘advanced anti-aging neck cream’ I just got in a Clarins gift pack. You can bet I’ve been slathering that on.

All About the Pretty says about her neck “The situation is realizing that at the moment it looks great, but the day will come when it doesn’t so I’m slathering on this product to slow down that day. I believe in preventive beauty medicine such as beginning your skincare routine before you see any signs.” Mentions this book called I Feel Bad About My Neck which I’m curious to read – it sounds like it could be a laugh.

I recently sped though both of Khaled Hosseini’s books (Kite Runner and A Thousand Splended Suns), the first of which I thought was one of the best book’s I’ve read in a long time – it had me in tears many times over.

Right now I’m reading Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. After these serious books, I think something titled “I feel bad about my neck” may be in order!

Trigger Happy

The French Woman

There’s something quintessential about the French woman’s style. It’s hard to pin -point what, exactly. There isn’t a formula either. It’s an aura which exudes, somehow. The best thing about it, it appears to be within reach for any woman. Nothing fussy, nothing colouful, no fuschia ostrich Birkin involved, no perfectly lined eyes, no ramrod straight hair. Simple chic, effortless and seemingly get-up-and-go.

The French woman appears to be popping up in many a blog of late. Perhaps now something to cheer for: they pull it off in flats!

I came across this image surfing Jak & Jil Blog (which should satisfy any appetite for insight into the style of the fashion editors, especially the French ones!). It’s a hilarious post which reads

“CUE THE MUSIC FROM THE INFAMOUS PSYCHO SHOWER SCENE…
THE PARIS VOGUE TEAM WAS SPOTTED AT GARETH PUGH WEARING…….*GASP*….FLATS!!!!! ALL THREE OF THEM!!!!!
THE SKY IS FALLING!!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!”

IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, VOGUE NONETHELESS