Dollhouse or Bookcase?

Pretty much everyone in my family is a bookworm. These days I prefer to buy e-books to save us lugging books from place to place each time we move. The problem with books is storage. Houses in the UK are far smaller than what I'd accustomed to in NZ. I haven't noticed this till yesterday that Little L has so many books that I find myself stuffing them in any available space in our flat. I don't want to buy yet another expensive bookcase particularly for a 5 year old whose fickle preferences change as often as the wind changes directions.

Since it was a Bank Holiday on Monday, I dragged hubby aka pack mule off to get an easel for Little L as well as a couple of much needed school accessories. I chanced upon an interesting idea for a bookcase at John Lewis. It's made of 60% recycled paper but what really intrigued me is the pretty but sturdy dollhouse design. Each cell can hold up to 8kgs which is rather remarkable. It's designed to be a bookcase but I can see how it'll also work as a dollhouse for Little L's growing collection of Sylvanian Families. At £39.99, it's not cheap but it's heck of a lot less expensive than a bookcase which I will end up with the dreaded task of putting it together.

It also comes in 2 other designs, a castle and fire station which are equally adorable for little boys.

Kroom Dollhouse Bookcase £39.99

Kroom Castle Bookcase £39.99

Kroom Fire Station Bookcase £19.99

Comfortable Heels Under £75

I'm still on a look-out for comfortable heels now that I've emptied my closet of any shoes that pinched. I've always maintained a staunch stance that I do not have to suffer for the sake of beauty. Hmm.... I might've broken this rule yesterday since I nearly killed myself during a session of pilates in order to get rid of my batwing arms . I have nothing but admiration for women who can run in their heels. Heck, I will bow to those who can shop in heels. I've decided that the only way that I can comfortably wear any heels would be if they come with a platform attached.

Furthermore, if you've been cursed...... I mean blessed with minuscule feet like mine, selections can be painfully paltry unless you don't mind shopping at the children's section. The best thing about buying kids' shoes is the price. It's always a fraction of the adults'. The bad news is if you're allergic to pink and glitters ..... well then, good luck. Thankfully, these days, most clothing companies are trying to dress our kids like their moms which isn't necessarily a good thing (read: t-shirts with graffiti/skull like designs, ultra mini skirts) but the flip side is I can find a pair of leopard print ballet flats in my size.

Topshop Panama Espadrille Wedges £70

Swedish Hasbeens for H&M £39.99

Swedish Clogs £52.50

These are identical to Swedish Hasbeens but at 1/3 of the price.

Spring Jackets

I've always been a fan of jackets. It's easy to appear effortless stylish with minimum effort. Throw it over a simple t-shirt or a nice blouse or tie a scarf, it really doesn't matter as long as your jacket is well-tailored.

My first entry into the world of jackets was when my mother called up one day and told me that she'd found a good tailor in Borneo and would I like one made. Heck, yeah! I spent the next few days in a daze trying to get the right measurement, picking the color and fabric and even obsessed about that single button on the blazer. I remembered it being a gold button because back in those days, I wasn't as fixated on silver as I am now. I was barely 19 but I'd turned up to the university in my well worn turtleneck top, jeans and my one and only jacket. I kept it for almost a decade before finally replacing it with a pinstriped jacket from Mango, a last minute mad dash into the shop as I was leaving Iraklio in Crete. Years later, a fashionable New Yorker friend of mine, S who not only is light years younger than I but a thousand times more chic suggested I should give Theory ago, I was sold on the brand. It's wonderful to have friends in the US because they inadvertently become my shopper and shipper.

I wasn't an adventurous shopper. I still am not for that matter. I tend to be loyal to brands that churn out clothes that fit me well again and again. I'm far too lazy to dive into the confusing kaleidoscopic world of fashion that metamorphose faster than the crazy UK weather. Now that we're on the topic of unpredictable weather, it's neither hot nor chilly, it's a little in between. After being swathed in mountains of winter clothing and looking like the Michelin man for most part of the year, I'd prefer to go for a simple and plain jacket and add on my favorite accessories, costume jewelry and scarves.




(clockwise) Barbour Ladies Sarah Quilted Jacket £129, Isabel Marant Gable Knitted Boucle jacket £255, Isabel Marant Charley Linen Jacket £260 and Isabel Marant Linen Blend Boucle Jacket £505

Plaid for Spring

Now that my obsession with stripes has abated a tad, I've decided to branch out to plaids, checks or whatever they call it these days. We'd escaped the UK to Greece and Turkey to get a bit more sun only to find the temperature plummeted while we were there. It was back to looking like Michelin man for a while. I'd brought a couple of pair of shorts and dresses which were a waste of luggage space. The weather is still rather chilly but I'm dying to wear my summer dresses. I lasted 2 hours in this ensemble but fingers crossed, the warm weather will return soon.

Outfit: Great Plains dress, Gap cardigan, Just In Case belt, Chanel sunglasses and K Jacques Picon sandals

Travel: Sirince

Sirince was originally a Greek settlement before the population exchange between the two cultures transpired in 1923. Very little traces of the original heritage remained these days. It's a picturesque village nestled in the mountains. It's certainly a very popular destination judging by the numerous shops that lined the main streets catering to tourists and the busy thoroughfare packed with buses. It's a short drive from Selcuk but a car is a must if you choose to use Sirince as a base.

This was the last leg of our trip before heading back to Izmir to fly back to London.

Notice the original version of floral harem pants. They bear little resemblance to the Uniqlo harem pants I was wearing at the time!

Elderly women sitting under the shelter of their shack styled shop knitting and selling their needlework.

Travel: House of Virgin Mary

Ephesus, Grotto of the Seven Sleepers and the House of Virgin Mary are all within a 5-10 minute drive from each other. I didn't bother trekking up to see the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers as the kids were knocked out in the car. Lil Bro who made it up said the kids are too young to manage the uneven uphill hike anyway. It has an interesting legend which goes something like this. During the Roman times, approximately 250AD, seven young Christian men refused to denounce their faith and was eventually chased into a cave where the Roman Emperor, Decius sealed it shut. They soon fell asleep and woke up 150-200 years later and was astounded that centuries had passed. They died a shortly after and was buried in the cave.

I knew practically nothing of the House of Virgin Mary which just goes to show how much reading of the guide books I'd done. We thought it would've been a sin to leave this last tourist attraction out without at least taking a peek.  How they managed to find the ruins and restored it is indeed a miracle. A young nun Anna Katherina Emmerich (1774-1824) from Westphalia (west-central Germany) suffered greatly from stigmata. In one of her visions, she was able to describe in detail the persecution in Jerusalem and  then the journey of Virgin Mary with Jesus' apostle, John to Ephesus. She recounted the exact location as well as an accurate impression of the actual house which St John had built for Virgin Mary. It wasn't until the late 19th century that H.Jung, a Lazarist priest was successful in locating the house.





It was a rather surreal experience walking into the house even with what little knowledge I have of it. In fact, I would describe it was feeling rather emotional, comforted and loved. It wasn't much later than I found out it was a place of pilgrimage where even the popes had paid visits there. I'd also filled up my bottle with the water from the spring which I promptly tossed out as it tasted slightly metallic. This was a DUH (!!) moment because when I looked up the place when I was back at my hotel that this water apparently has healing properties.



Messages were tied onto the cloth just outside the house.

Travel: Selcuk & Ephesus

Due to time constraint, we decided to take a flight rather than subjecting ourselves through a 700km drive between Uchisar and Selcuk. Internal flights are surprisingly cheap, just a tad more than train and easily more affordable than hiring a car for the duration of the drive. In our case, 2 kids and an adult that suffers from extreme motion sickness, frankly, it wasn't an option we would even explore. I'd used Sun Express and Pegasus airlines which for the price we'd paid, was tremendous value for money. They were efficient, professional and okay, I have to admit, really rough with their customers' luggage but that was the fault of the airport baggage handlers.

I chose Selcuk as our base as it's a mere 2km from Ephesus. It's approximately an hour's drive from Izmir, the closest airport. If you're not traveling with kids, I would recommend getting shuttle buses to Selcuk from Izmir as car rental is quite expensive in Turkey. We stayed at Hotel Bella which actually provided transfers to and from Ephesus. They're happy to take their guests to the location anytime and when you're done with Ephesus, all you have to do is walk to their designated pick up point, a stall that sells souvenirs and tell the owner to call the hotel for you. Very efficient indeed.



Selcuk is a small and friendly town. I didn't see a lot of tourists there at all. However, what we did see a lot of are storks with nests built on top of pillars or lamp posts.

 

Lil Bro was excited about seeing the Temple of Artemis as it was once deemed as one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.  We went round and round the area until finally admitted defeat and asked a local. The friendly guy extended his middle finger and said, it looks like this and is right behind you. We just cracked up and were in hysterics. Don't mind us. We're easily amused :)  There's only one single pillar left standing complete with a stork. The Turks are justifiably bitter about having their important archeological treasures being carted off mostly to the British Museum. A number of the excavated sites that I'd been to were personally funded by wealthy foreigners so in some ways, it's also the case of finders keepers.



Ephesus or otherwise known as Efes in Turkey was an important city in its heyday. The entire restoration which was quite feat considering that they had to put together hundreds of thousands of pieces like a jigsaw puzzle back again, only took them a mere 4 years (according to the signboard at the site). I couldn't help compare this to the snail speed restoration at the Acropolis which after 15 years looked exactly as it was along with the rusty scaffolding when I first visited it in my 20s. It was also noted in the Book of Ephesians in the bible.

The massive library

The tomb of St John, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus who honored his promise to the Lord and brought Mary with him to Ephesus.

Before my mother admonishes me for not including photos of her darling grand-daughter, here it is.



The Agora. To my horror, Lil Bro thought it would be fun to film himself sprinting down the stone paved road. I would've expected the two little rascals to do something like this, not a man in his 30s. *sigh*


 
A shop outside the main entrance of Ephesus selling Genuine Fake watches from Cartier, Breitling, Chanel, Tag Heuer etc. Yes, just in case their customers don't know, these watches are genuinely fake with a certificate to prove that yes, they are GUARANTEED fake.

Travel: Avanos, Cappadocia

Avanos is a 10-15 minute drive away from Uchisar. It's also famous for pottery making and ceramics. I was adamant about bringing a souvenir back from Turkey. Admittedly, I've developed a strange fixation for hand painted plates. Lil Bro randomly walked into a store while we were in Goreme to ask for a recommendation. There were a couple to choose from in Avanos. Prices are rather subjective. If you're part of a tour, you get a 30% discount. However, if you came on a recommendation from a local, you get anything up to 65%. Interesting.

A lot of these ceramic houses are owned by families where generations after generations have been making pottery. Internship begins at the age of 10. It takes at least 20 years to be considered a master. Some of the owners I'd talked to said that they were the 6th generation to take over the business.

Lil Bro and I admire the salespeople. They were patient and explained each process of ceramic making in detail. We were shown the workroom where individual item was painstakingly hand painted. It takes anything from 3-9 months to complete one single item. The trainees, on the other hand use stenciling on cheaper ceramics. This is evidenced by the uniformed horizontal strokes which is glaringly different from free hand painting.  I have a tendency to veer towards the most expensive plates (!) which I can't afford. These aren't cheap. Some of the larger bowls cost at least £300, bearing in mind that this is the discounted price! I couldn't justify forking out such a large sum when there are constantly little kids at my place. 

Making a sugar bowl.

 

I'm told this is called free hand-painting where the artists use their own imagination to design the ceramic.

 

This is the "cheap" ceramic room where most tourists tend to be taken to.

Travel: Uchisar, Turkey

Uchisar is one of the first villages one encounters upon entering the Cappadocia region. The tiny township is located on a hilltop with a 360 degree view of the cave houses. This has got to be the highlight of our trip. A big thank you to my friend, L for the recommendation! Unlike the ridiculous car rental company we'd used in Greece, the agency in Turkey was professional, punctual and friendly. What a vast difference! We flew from Istanbul to Kayseri which is the closest airport to Uchisar. The car was ready for us outside the arrival terminal with a near full tank of petrol (bless them!). I used Argeus Travel Agency who came very highly recommended by many. The drive was remarkably easy with clear signposts and wide roads. Thankfully, there were no crazy daredevils trying to overtake at blind corners.

Our accommodation, Kilim Pension  was rustic and delightful. As for our hosts, I couldn't speak more highly of them. They were gracious and accommodating to the hilt. I wasn't keen on my room which was rather dark so they promptly reorganized things around and gave me another room upstairs with an incredible view.



Kilim Pension

Kilim Pension

Kilim Pension




The Pension is located right in front the Uchisar castle where one can see the hot air balloons just before sunrise.




Uchisar Castle




Most of the locals are small scale farmers or entrepreneurs. The cow and its calf were led to graze in the fields on the castle grounds.




 If you disregard the pair of jeans, this shepherd (with his turban and staff) is a throwback from biblical time.






The view from Uchisar



Old fashion pitchers such as these are still in use today.



Turkish viagra anyone?


 Little L and I noticed a group of soldiers shadowing our steps. Needless to say, the sight of uniformed men clutching their rifles made us very uneasily. It turned out that they were trying to drum  up courage to ask if they could have a photo with Little L! We ended up having a nice long chat about life in Turkey. These soldiers were conscripted for 5 months as they were university graduates. Those who only finished high school must join the army for 1.5 years. I was told that Turkey has a young population but jobs are scarce so many try to join the immigration bandwagon.


Cappadocia was once an important Christian centre where references of the place were made in the bible (Act 2:9). This is evidenced by the ruins of dozens, if not hundreds of churches inside the rock formations. I was told that one of Jesus' disciples, John actually came to Cappadocia.

Icon inside one of the abandoned churches

Fairy chimneys inside the open air museum (which in fact is a large settlement)




An entire city with churches, mosques, houses, pigeon houses etc are all built inside these soft rocks.



Inside one of the cave houses





We saw a couple of tortoise and  a prairie dog (seen here) who came up close to check us out including hundreds of bees buzzing around hard at work.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat. These Gözleme pancakes were tasty.

Whew! That was quite a climb!