I broke the gym.

Yesterday, at approximately 2:45 p.m., there was a massive power outage at the Emerson gym. A massive power outage that I may or may not have caused.

Before I explain exactly what happened, let me just say that haplessness seems to be one of my core personality traits. I fall down sometimes for no reason. I once cut myself with a spoon and no, it was not a serrated grapefruit spoon. I have locked myself out of more cars and apartments than I can count. Once I have managed to lock myself out with the added bonus of having left my cell phone and wallet locked inside my apartment as well. That was an adventurous day. I guess I'm just accident-prone. So what happened to me at the gym is par for the course. Quite simply, it couldn't have happened to anyone else.

I worked out and then took a shower. Then I got dressed and decided it would be nice to blow-dry my hair with one of the hairdryers provided (and anchored to the wall). All I did was plug the thing in and all of the sudden, the lights went out in the locker room. Ooops, I thought. Hope no one was showering. Then I discovered that the lights were not just out in the women's locker room, but in the entire gym. The machines had all stopped. I cringe to think about the poor souls who were running on the treadmill when I decided to dry my hair.

I waited a few minutes to see if the power would come back on, but no dice. They evacuated the gym and lots of people were grumbling. I was, too -- I mean, I had to go to class with wet hair!

There's a fun little game involving how to come up with your "Viking name." Basically, you combine the first syllable of your hometown with your favorite drink. Then you follow that with "the" and then your worst quality. My Viking name is Winesaint the Hapless. What's yours?

And what of boudoirs in bathrooms?

sred-kitty wrote in saying she was keen on creating a boudoir in her bathroom... what a great idea for those who can't afford much space elsewhere! I thought it would be fun to gather some inspiration and add some ideas/thoughts:

The easiest way to create a boudoir-experience upon entering your bathroom is, of course, to paint the whole room in some totally different, totally fantasy, totally unexpected colour:

go for a lush magenta


or a bright cherry yellow


Tip:
Make sure you actually look good surrounded in that colour + lighting! Some of us just don't look good in/around yellow (especially if your complexion has tones of pale green/blue)... if you're more on the ruddy side, a pink/red/purple room will do you NO wonders. How to decide? Visit a paper store along with a large mirror (not compact sized). Ask a store assistant to hold the mirror while you hold two pieces of paper of your favourite colour choices on either side of your face. Walk around and see your reflection in different lights (sun, halogen, incandescent). Hey you will look silly, but at least you'll give said store assistant a story to tell ;) and your efforts will repay itself in a bathroom that will reflect the best in you.

or super gloss, almost mirror finish aqua


or gloss pink


I love chandeliers in surprising spots (got one in Hannah's room!)... where more surprising than in a bathroom? LIke the purple one above?

even love it more when the chandelier is hanging low.


Furnishing it with exquisite mirrors, chairs and shelving. Don't you like the charm of the simple, white shelving above? Perfect place to show off gorgeous bottles and soaps. Instead of going all white tones like the one above, what about going jewel like what I did in my small restroom?

I love the oversized mirror here. Ornate and pretty and very girly. And oh to have the luxury of a pretty chair!


Don't you love the small chic painted ballerina in that corner? Or you can go super large, like the one below:



Painting the bathtub also instantly adds appeal and beauty to a space that normally isn't large enough for extra pieces of furniture. Tangerine? Lime green? Cheery yellow?

Bringing in some bling into the bathroom boudoir is a must. Check out this extravagant mirror!



I love how the sharp lines of the mirror exudes a bling and formality that is dressed down by the warm red tones of the cabinet.

Or go totally formal in feeling.. yet still totally feminine:



What about wallpaper? Easy way to add instant "ooh-ness" to a normally plain, oft-neglected space...

A more dramatic feel... punchy.


A softer feel...


And I have to add one of my favourite wallpapers here from Thibaut.


Btw, while I love love love wallpaper in here, not too sure about it with all the moistness in the air!

So maybe tiling?



Of course, any Bisazza job is luxury in itself!

Fun, fun, fun! Wish I had the budget, let's see what you do sred-kitty! Let us know :)

introduction space...

segera launching....

Produk kami...

kreasi-kreasi anak muda masa kini....hehehe

yangn dikemas dalam wadah...

KREASI APIQ!!!

just wait for us..

Pick Your Top Five!

When Facebook's Scrabulous application vanished due to Hasbro's lawsuit, it created a vacuum. A vacuum of...productivity, since we could no longer waste time playing online Scrabble. But thankfully, that void has been filled by an even more pointless time-wasting enterprise: the Top 5 surveys. You can create Top 5 lists of all sorts: Top 5 Movies of All Time, Top 5 Beers, Top 5 Vacation Spots. Because obviously, how you and your friends compare on Top 5 surveys is a clear indication of compatibility.

Here are the Top 5 "Top 5" Surveys that you are unlikely to ever see (and my answers)

Top 5 Celebrities I Don't Look Like:
1) Mickey Rourke
2) Pamela Anderson
3) Shrek
4) Queen Latifah
5) Derek Jeter


Top 5 Cities Where I've Vomited:
1) St. Louis, MO
2) New Haven, CT
3) New York, NY
4) Dublin, Ireland
5) Lindau, Germany


Top 5 Books I've Lied About Reading:
1) Gravity's Rainbow
2) Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
3) Maus
4) Speak, Memory
5) The Da Vinci Code


Top 5 Winners of Top Chef:
1) Harold Dieterle
2) Ilan Hall
3) Hung Hunynh
4) Stephanie Izard
5) Hosea Rosenberg


Top 5 Places I Hope I Never Go:
1) Prison
2) Cancun during Spring Break
3) Fat camp
4) Jesus camp
5) Hell

What type of boudoir are you?

the Beach Studios

It's been a lovely lovely rainy weekend (we need it). And as always, my thoughts turn inward: who am I? And on my head is the topic of dressing tables/boudoirs.

We all need a spot to place our beauty jars, perfumes, pretty hair things, brooches, rings, earrings, nail polish.

Daron Chatz

And depending on our lifestyle and personality, we all need different "boudoirs"... (i.e. dressing tables).

Some of us need a pretty with capital P (and capital P for price)

Now defunct Domino

Mi Casa Revista

others need a simple furniture piece

Lucyina Moodie

Lucyina Moodie

others yet demand for drawers and drawers
some of those need their stuff spilling out those drawers and drawers

James Tse

others like their drawers but like their surfaces clear.




Some of us who can afford it like a dedicated dressing alcove...

Madeline Stuart

Some of us who choose to splurge on a luxurious dressing table and place it next to the bed...


Some of us like it in the bathroom!


I'm not talking presentation (i.e. colour, finish) but the style or type of boudoir-ing one needs to put on one's face in the morning.

Flickr: rockymountainroz

While I would LOVE to be the sit-down-and-pretty-up-in-a-nice-dedicated-table-on-a-yellow-and-white-stool-type... I realise I'm not that type.

I'm more the simple type. The hoarder type. hehe
The stand up at my boudoir and throw stuff on and rush out the door type.

But I still like a pretty space.

So I repurposed a pretty white cabinet I got off eBay 2 years ago that used to be my craft cabinet and then bookcase.

A white cabinet much like the one in this gorgeous bedroom...





One day I might become a sit down one... like at Miss Pettigrew... but for now... this cupboard will do me just fine. (Pardon the super bright blue... t'will become a lovely watermelon soon.)

In defense of Allston

I'm just going to say it out loud on the interwebs: I like my neighborhood, Allston. Allston gets a bad rap for being too noisy and saturated with college students, but in my opinion, this is worth putting up with in exchange for what you get. And what do you get? An affordable area that's always bustling with activity, with a bevy of ethnic and inexpensive food options (does your neighborhood have two Korean restaurants?) and every convenience you could possibly want within walking distance. Liquor store with decent wine selection? Check. Diner where you can get breakfast all day? Check. Used clothing store? Check. 24-hour grocery store? Check. Coffee shop with comfy couches and free wifi? There are five of them.

You can also do all of the following, within a few blocks of my apartment building: get a tattoo, drink bubble tea, mail a package, get your laptop fixed, buy a mattress, get a $10 manicure, eat a hotdog at 1:00 a.m. and rent a truck.

But a picture tells a thousand words, so here is a little photo essay that I put together in honor of my humble neighborhood.

Typical apartment building (though not mine)

So yummy.

Really? 'Cause I can be pretty cheap...

Second Cup Cafe

Dress in the window at Pixie's

The Sunset Bar and Grill has 112 beers on tap

Whew! Thought I was going to have to look on eBay.

Cool window art at LAB

Lunch and martinis at White Horse Tavern

No idea what this is...a generator of some kind?


Blinged-out Uncle Sam in front of Mike's Cheap 'n Chic

As you can see, my 'hood has got a lot of character. I mean, even the trash cans are works of art:

Allston, I *heart* you. Keep on keepin' it real.