Pass It Forward: 3 Expats in Paris

Before I delve into this week's feature, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Anjum, a reader who graciously shipped a huge box of handmade cookies along with all the paraphernalia I need to ice my own. It was a complete surprise. I didn't think answering a few questions on photography justifies such a massive gift but thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. Do check out her exquisite cookies here.

Most of us are mad about Paris including me so it's no surprise that I'm constantly finding blogs about expats who live in the romantic city. I've visited the city on numerous occasions and some of my friends are former Parisians who'd decided to live in England. It's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen but like any big city, scratch below the surface and you'll find faults. Not all women there are stylish or what you'd call (the much perpetuated myth) Parisian chic. They bring up kids no different to most of us and not all are gourmands either.



Carin Olsson of Paris In Four Months

Carin, a Swedish export to Paris isn't a stranger to most of you. We were both interviewed by the lovely Malou of 33 Avenue. In fact, I've heard of Carin in the early days when we were mad about Hermes (and still are) and were actively participating on the Purse Forum. She's an utterly talented photographer. Her photos of Nicole Warne/Gary Pepper are worthy of a magazine cover because they are THAT incredible. If you haven't heard of her, go straight to her blog now and be prepared to be blown away.




Diane Yoon of Diane Abroad

Diane hails from Los Angeles but currently lives in Paris. Diane Abroad is essentially a travelogue of her adventures and the glorious food that she consumes (and never seem to put on an ounce! Yes, I'm jealous just in case you're asking). I'm addicted to her blog! The blog is filled with one breathtaking photo after another along with beautifully written posts that draw you in. I've been progressively working backwards through her archive over the past week which will explain why I'm behind on my emails.......



Milsters of Little Pieces of Light

Milsters is what I call a global citizen. She has lived in 13 countries which is rather mind-boggling in itself. I can't help but admire her courage to pursue her dreams yet realistic enough to be organized and have back up plans. She's of Chinese, Filipina and Spanish heritage and a Canadian citizen. Her blog, Little Pieces of Light has won numerous awards. Her posts are packed with oodles of information that's invaluable to any Francophile or expat. She also covers plenty of juicy tidbits about accommodation, restaurants and off the beaten tracks of any places she'd visited. I call her blog a travel encyclopedia. You'll understand what I mean when you check it out.

5 Things I'm Loving Right Now

What is spring without flowers? The temperamental weather may drive me loco but at least the sight of flowers in town puts a smile on my face. I can talk about weather as well as any Brit these days. Don't get me started on that *&@^!%£¶§¢#!! godforsaken weather. Breeeeeathe, Marlene.... Ohmmm..... Ohmmmm...... Ohmmmmmmmmm.......




I'm gorging on watermelon, donut peaches and cherries while they're in season. Blink and you'll miss them because they're rarely available here.





I've been told by the kids that regularly drop over for dinner that milk tastes sooooo much nicer in these little bottles and cute straws because "normal" glasses alter the "flavor". Interesting.






Dainty floral teacups used to make me shudder and think of old grannies. Well, I guess my age must be showing then because I'm starting to get mildly obsessed about them. At least my saving grace is I don't do matchy matchy tea set. Yet. Watch this space.





This is singularly THE best granola I've eaten so far. I've been eating Lizi's granola since a friend recommended them to me. It has incredibly low Glyceamic Load and releases energy very slowly throughout the day so that my blood sugar doesn't dip that low (wow, I can't believe how intelligent and scientific I sound!). A small serving (50gm) is enough to fill me up. It's the perfect snack if I've forgotten to eat before my workout. My favorite's the Treacle Pecan Granola which is beyond divine especially for someone like me who's allergic to diets.

If you're interested in the nitty gritty details, here's the list of ingredients - Jumbo rolled oats, rapeseed oil, desiccated coconut, pecans (7%), fructose, black treacle (4%), oligofructose*, golden linseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, natural flavouring

*Oligofructose is a natural soluble fibre derived from chicory. As a prebiotic it helps maintain a healthy digestive system).

Things that make me go hmmmmm

Photo credit: Jeff Mermelstein

Applying make up in public places

I once had the misfortune of sitting in front of a lady who went through the whole make up application  (I'm talking concealer, foundation, powder, eye liner.....the whole shebang) on the tube. And the lady who obviously knew she was pretty. She preened and admired her own reflection in the window for 15 minutes. She applied, reapplied her lip gloss, checked and rechecked her reflection yet again on the compact mirror, reapplied another coat of mascara. The whole process went on and on like a video on repeat.

I have no problem with a quick slick of lippy but the rest is what I classify as personal grooming. It's a little alarming watching a fellow passenger performing a series of facial contortions just to get the make up on in all the right places.




Coconut Water

Coco what?! 1 liter costs £3.49 or thereabouts. It's the latest fad in the western world. The one that will send my relatives in Borneo into fits of incredulous laughter. That is, if they found out how much it costs. Grandma used to have coconut trees in her backyard. When I was on vacation and stayed over at her wooden house on stilts, I used to gaze out of the window to see if a coconut had fallen on the ground. It was only allowed occasionally because it was apparently too "cooling". The thing is coconut water is rather tasteless. The best bit is the flesh that you get to dig out once you've finished the drink (or in my case, empty the water the minute mah-mah's back was turned).

What's funnier is that in Malaysia, it's far more hip to pay an extortionate RM (Ringgit Malaysia) 15 for an iced coffee from Starbucks. Over here, it's hip to drink coco water straight from the fruit itself which you pay a fortune from the posh Chelsea Market in London. The coconut grass is always greener on the other side.

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Privacy? What privacy?!

You may think I've gone bonkers talking about the toilet but if you're a mom, this is a very important subject, one that's constantly discussed at mommies' round table. The minute you pop out a baby, your child/ren and husband think that your privacy is no longer required. They have no qualms opening the bathroom door, jimmying the lock and standing there to talk to you about something "extremely" important (note the sarcasm on the last 2 words). However, if you decide a little payback, they're shocked, aghast that their very own decency has been violated which in their book, is unforgivable.




On wearing white

I love the idea of wearing white. It's angelic, ethereal, clean and pure. None of these attributes, of course, can be used to describe me. The last time I tried looking ethereal while striding down the street, I ended up stepping on dog poo. I've managed to splatter sauce or something on any white clothing that I own. It's inevitable. I might as well put a sign on my outfit and say, place a mark here and here and here and here.



Children's menu

Call it cultural differences but I've never ever seen a children's menu till I got to England. In Asia, Italy, France or even Greece, kids just eat what everyone eats. While the adults get to eat ravioli stuffed with roast porcini and burata and lightly drenched in butter and sage or fried stuffed courgette flowers with mozzarella, elderflower and anchovies, the kids get.......nuggets or the English version of spag bol. I mean, really?!

Why? Is it because the kids are programmed to think that they can't eat anything save the limited repertoire of food that they've been trained to? I don't think many kids in our parents' generation nor ours ever complained about food. And if you're hungry enough, you'll eat just about anything.

The Isabel Marant Kady is back

The popular Etoile Isabel Marant Kady leather jacket is back again. It was sold out last year. In fact, at £650 it's even cheaper than the one that I'd purchased. It was the most worn jacket in my closet and a lifesaver during autumn/winter/spring, thanks to the abnormally cold year we've been having. It's incredibly warm (well padded), chic, edgy and comfortable. Click here if you're interested in the comparison between the Kady and Keni. There's a choice of black, navy and army green. I'm loving the midnight navy shade from the current A/W collection.

Britmums' Brilliance in Blogging Awards 2013 Photo Winner

You see that woman in the red Chanel jacket standing rather awkwardly in the middle? Yeah, that's me. I'm representing a pygmy tribe from the Asian continent, flanked by my slender and statuesque Amazonian bodyguards, otherwise known as Charlie's Blogging Angels.

Before arriving at the Brewery just in time for the award ceremony, I'd already been wined and dined twice (!) in 4 hours. In case you haven't noticed the protruding stomach in the photo, it was the result of my phenomenal culinary experience. A huge thank you to Colleen and Lois who went out of their way to meet AND feed with me (love how that rhymes).

The Botanist & Wahaca**

I couldn't have wished for better company. I've never ever been to a blogging conference in my life. No wonder the poor man we'd pounced on earlier in the courtyard to take our photo (2nd photo with bulging tummy) looked petrified. Encountering 500 oestrogen filled women who'd been given free rein at the bar with practically NO food would look intimidating to any living soul. It turned out Ben was the winner in Fresh Voice (aka newcomer) category and what a sad story it was.



Photo credit: Panasonic



Now back to my model-esque buddies - Avril, Fiona and Kat. That's Fiona on the left grinning but still looking rather composed while Avril and I giggled uncontrollably. Sadly, if you can't drink (like moi), the only other option available was water. Sigh.

While waiting for the presenter to announce the winner in each category, I made Avril play the "Spot the Asian" game. "Err.....you?", Avril muttered after having a good look around. We never got to play the "Spot the Irish" game (Avril's from Belfast) because they started to announce the Photo category. I was still daydreaming when I heard my name being called out amidst pretty impressive hollers from my Charlie's Blogging Angels. My jaw hit the ground. I'm not a mommy blogger (I'm a mom but still not very kid friendly) or British (New Zealand's in the commonwealth so that counts for something, eh?) but nonetheless I'm so very thrilled for this accolade from the biggest blogging award in the UK of its kind.

Photo credit: Avril

This is what one of the judges, a professional photographer said about my blog - "Her sense of humor really shines through which makes her blog fun to read. Her photos are interesting, well executed and tell a story. She has a great variety of posts on her website. I particularly like the way she blogs about other bloggers." Okay, enough of tooting my own horn. I couldn't have gotten thus far without a) my faith aka God  b)  Avril's sneaky nomination & your vote and support  c) the judges. I couldn't thank you all enough for your support and encouragement which have helped me reach this point today.


**big thanks to Ammu for recommending Wahaca. It was sooooo good!

My Uniform This Week

Outfit: Rick Owens leather jacket (similar Rick Owens 70% off here and here), Helmut t-shirt (50% off), Etoile Isabel Marant sweatpants, Repetto flats (40% off), vintage Coach Court bag.



Outfit: Rick Owens leather jacket (similar Rick Owens 70% off here and here), Alexander Wang t-shirt (Europe, here), Zara jeans, ankle boots (similar here), Hermes Cape Cod watch and Chanel WOC.



Outfit: Rick Owens leather jacket (similar Rick Owens 70% off here and here), Uniqlo silk shirt, James Jeans Twiggy, Hermes Cape Cod watch, Repetto Camille pumps and vintage Coach Court bag.


I remember reading in a fashion magazine where the writer described her perspective of having a "uniform" look as a kiss of death. I can't argue with her there seeing that I envy those who enjoy experimenting and trying different looks. My idea of "experimenting" is sticking to one piece of garment and wearing it throughout the week in various different ways.

Notice the common denominator in all 3 photos? Yes, my favorite (and only) spring leather jacket from Rick Owens has a naturally slimming effect. It's even better when you zip it up because it rearranges all the jiggly bits around the torso and forces them upwards, thereby creating the optical illusion of a waistline.

The second part of my uniform involves a plain shirt. I've tried digital prints, florals, small prints etc etc but heck, I never know what to do with them. Some people have an eye for colors. Say, mixing orange with cerulean. I managed as far as getting a rouge Chanel bag. I consider putting black and grey together a triumphant moment.

And pants. ALWAYS pants. Especially after accidentally flashing the poor workers on the roadside yesterday in my ruffled Isabel Marant skirt. Sorry, guys. It wasn't on purpose. I swear. You see, you'll never ever have to worry about showing your underpants if you're squatting, doing the lotus position or running. Ah yes, the cross body bag. It's a relief knowing that I no longer have to hold on to my bag. Being hands free is revolutionary. As is a smartphone (phone + camera + mini laptop + map = the brilliant invention ever!!).





Lately, I've been checking out various pubs as part of an ongoing "research" that I'm doing. Note that I'm using the word research loosely here. This has got to be THE weirdest pub I've ever been to with eclectic decorations ranging from bunsen burners, old fire pails to taxidermy. I'm talking about stuffed baboon, giraffe head, African cow (check out the photo above. The cow was staring at me while I was sipping my drink) and even a hog. The owner painstakingly glued hundreds and hundreds of doll eyes onto the ceiling in the ladies toilet. Totally freaky to say the least.

An English Town

Outfit: vintage Coach Court bag, Alexander Wang t-shirt, Etoile Isabel Marant Sandrine skirt & K. Jacques St Tropez sandals or here

For the first time in a year or perhaps years, the temperature hit 26˚C in England. That's cause for a celebration on this part of the European continent. There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to enjoy the warmth and sit in front of my laptop. Sure it was cloudy but it was pure joy wandering down the little lanes that meander here and there without the sun beating down on me. The cobblestones, terrace houses, market and blossoming flowers in spring, all add to the charm of a quaint and picturesque English village. I've always been drawn to villages instead of beaches. I've explored my fair share of villages around the world but I've concluded that the little towns of Hampshire are a slice of heaven on earth.

I'm wearing a skirt for the first time in years. I bought this Etoile Isabel Marant skirt ages ago and have only just removed the tag. Gorgeous skirt but the ruffles nearly gave me a Marilyn Monroe moment when a sudden gust of wind blew up my skirt. I felt sorry for the guys working on the road. I don't think they've recovered from the shock. They would've had a different expression on their faces had I been a 20 something nubile young girl.