Hobo Chic

The broke traveller (or for the traveller that uses her budget on her addiction to watches) will:

1. use a grocery bag as a laptop bag

2. live off beauty samples (there is a soap shop near work that ALWAYS give free soap samples - I now ensure my route includes walking pass there, I just hope she doesn't notice - though she probably does - see no.8). Having connections at Saks 5th Ave is also handy for beauty/perfume samples. No need to buy toiletries

3. have huge holes in her shoes coz she's too attached to throw away her only traveling companion

4. make pizza last more than a week

5. make great meals out of $3 10-pack of 2min noodles

6. (more lazy than broke) - have no make up

7. have crazy hair - damn those free samples

8. (more due to the weather than being broke) - wear the same thing practically everyday because stuff she'd bought are spring/summer items (therefore soap lady noticing)

9. have a beaten up bag with bits falling off coz its been dragged everywhere - I actually really like this said bag.

10. have cuts and bruises that she doesn't remember/know how they got there

The lime green one is mine

Proof that NY is so fashion-forward. Before you know it, chain stores will be stocking these wonderful puff of fabric magnificence and your local street fashion victims sporting these latest clown upchucked meringues.

Actually, being the dutiful M.O.H that I am, they are my suggestions for Mel's bridesmaid dresses.

Actually, these were taken in the prom section at a department store, do anyone actually buy these?!!!

Unfortunately I couldn't get a shot of the whole rainbow wall, and these snippets don't really do much justice to the blinding eyesore, how handy to be colourblind at this point.

Immagini di NY

PS: Bah.. no matter how exact I crop my photos, Blogspot just resizes the photos to all uneven widths and messing with my layout. You know i'm anal with alignment!!

Messages from Home

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been sending me emails and sms', they keep me sane and connected to home. They also make me laugh and cry and I miss you all terribly. Thank you for the random checking up on me and worrying if I hadn't replied/contacted you for awhile (because of my on/off internet in the apt). Thank you for giving me US/NY contacts when I felt alone and thinking about me. Thank you for reading and commenting on my ramblings-on on this blog. You all know who you are and I appreciate it with all my heart and feel blessed to have you all in my lives. I can't wait to be back home and see you all again and to be 'stupid' again hahaha.. gotta stay young at heart eh eh eh.

Yo, check dis out yo! I want to make a special shout out to mah sista Michelle, who sent the above postcard. I opened my mailbox expecting another bundle of previous tenant's bills and Papa John pizza coupons but instead on this rainy monday I see this cheesy, garish AUSSIE AUSSIE postcard staring back at me. It made me laugh out loud and really made my day. Shame on me, since Im the one who's meant to be sending the postcards (they're coming.. ) but this was a really nice surprise. Thanks buddy for taking the time and effort to send a little cheer my way, it may seem like nothing much but considering my whinges, it was really thoughtful.

Thanks again and see you all soon :)

Found my Alessi

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, as per previous post, I have been on the hunt for this Alessi watch (the grey one) since I saw the white one in Tokyo. To be honest, part of my decision to do a second stopover was to hunt for this watch (struggling with the language barrier and crazy numbering of Japan streets) but who knew it would be as easy as just walking less than 5 mins from work to the Soho Alessi store? And with English speakers, what a bonus.

They also had this coffee bar in there that served semi-decent expensive coffee but i must say, the barista knows his art.

So, much to the relief of my new Tokyo travelling buddies, I will now not need to drag them allover Japan for this watch.

That now brings my watch haul for this trip to 3, and i have two more i have my eye on (not counting ones i may stumble upon).

Whingey McWhinge shall whinge no more

'allo gov'ner!

Tis seem this 'ere blog 'ave been sounding a tad bit down and whingey... but funny how something so simple and little can really turn things around.

All those 'horrid-ness' mentioned below has been redeemed by a discovery of a pair of sneaks over powerlines. Well technically, cardboad shaped sneakers hanging over traffic lights. To those that know of my Shoefiti Project (pics on MySpace), know how excited I can get upon discovering an instance of shoefiti, so to have stumbled upon this by myself and in another city other than Sydney, I was a quabillion-ly more excited than usual and it put a smile on my face for the rest of the day and turned my (only sometimes) surly outlook right around! This one is particulary special as well because the shoes are cardboard. Unfortunately the angle this was taken doesn't show the pair too clearly, I may have to go back and reshoot, though it kind of goes against the fun of the spontaneity of the moment.

I have one more yet to take in NY that I know of, it will also be a 'special edition' one so stay tuned!

Simple Pleasures

When feeling beaten down nothing cures better than:

1. Repeatedly watching snippets of Arrested Development on You Tube, ah.. Mrs Featherbottom.

2. Listening to The Strokes

3. The Fratellis - Flathead

4. Shopping

5. Harrassing friends/family on email while they are at work

6. Talking to my Pnut

7. Beard Papa/brownies/gelato (not all at once)

8. Reading trashy online celeb news

9. Cleaning (clears the mind and quite therapeutic)

10. Sleeping

Second Impressions

1. Everything is "AWESOME"!!!!!!!

2. Cheese is a fluorescent yellow, rubbery thing.

3. Everyone seems to hate their jobs or have never heard of customer service.

4. The 10 cent coin is smaller than the 5 cent coin. Confusement!

5. There is such a thing as marshmallow spread. WTF?

6. I haven't seen a Krispy Kreme anywhere, nor a 7-11.

7. There is a Starbucks on every corner.

8. Alot of people on the streets talk to themselves or just shout out questions/comments to noone in particular.

9. The subway system is more confusing than Tokyo.

10. Everything has about 10 bags of sugar in it. Even the salt. (Who's that? Is that you, diabetes?)

Food-skis

I have been dying for a meat pie so thanks to my friend the inter-mah-net, I was able to hunt down an Aussie meat pie shop near work. It was actually pretty good. The cafe was also selling lamingtons, tim tams and caramello koalas! Hoorah.

As you all know, brownies are my achilles heel. These I found at Chelsea Markets and I must say is THE BEST I have ever had! Dry and crumbly on the exterior and an intense, chewy and moist center. That's right Syl, better than the cheesecake brownie I had at Surry Hills. Mmmm.. brownies.. luckily the shop is not across the road, otherwise I would be there everyday. Whoa, did the seams of my jeans just rip?

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this one. It was a little organic pizza cafe I stumbled onto on the Upper East Side. It was pretty yum, .. oh yeh it had a nice crust.

This photo is dedicated to Stef and Neen, both who share my obsession with peanut butter. Anyway, peanut butter AND Jam in the one jar?! Pure genius! Apparently there is also a peanut butter cafe here, must hunt that one down too.

PS: ¿qué sucedió a mis hombros? las cosas guardan el caerse .

Cuadros del NY