Seamstress... moi???

One bad thing about being a 'petite' Asian girl here is that the clothes sometimes need altering. I got this long dress a long time ago but didn't have a chance to wear it...and then when I tried it on a few days ago, it's sooooo long (for me) it kind of sweeps the floor when I walk. Bad, bad, bad.

The original dress - great for (most) Caucasians but doesn't do it for me... :( 

I spent the whole afternoon working on it... cut the dress (outer), dealt with the fraying parts with my mum's good ol' method (nail polish), and sewed in the inner part. It took me ages coz after sewing it in, I realised it's longer than the outer part... (duh...) so I had to do it all over again. @_@

What did I do with the bits I cut out? :)

They don't look too good together me thinks... the patterns kind of clash! 

Also tied some on a necklace...

Not too bad, huh? 

 Sewing's definitely not for me...I'm not creative and I'm not good at it! Though I like unique pieces, I think I'd  rather have something designed and then have it made by someone else...

A tech idiot's thoughts on Google+

I FINALLY got invited to try out Google+! Have been hearing so much about it, but no one I know had invitations before today. Anyway, I immediately tested it after setting up an account... and here are some pics and my thoughts - as a Facebook addict and a tech idiot.
* edit: Let me apologise for the poor quality of the pics - and the fact that they aren't screen caps! I'm horrible  - I use Windows on a MacBook so it's very messy and I always forget how to cap screen. That proves what a tech idiot I am! *

This is the layout of Google+ on iphone. Everything's quite clear, and I personally think it's better than Facebook's iphone app. Note that this is not an app, as Google+ doesn't have an app for iphone yet (there's one for Android phones), but this on Safari is quite impressive already! 

The stream - easy to read... (I don't have much there yet as I only have a handful of friends there)

Like with Facebook, you can check in with Google+ 

Sharing on-the-go

This is how it looks on the 'Home' page of Google+. Quite like Facebook, actually...but one thing I like about it is how you can choose your privacy options for every single post, unlike with Facebook where all your posts have a default sharing setting (so you must share everything with the same group of people). 

There are some default groups - friends, family, acquaintances, followers. I love how they differentiate friends and acquaintances - what you share with these two groups of people are indeed very different at times, and this allows you to share different things with one single account! I know quite a number of people who have multiple Facebook accounts because they don't want to share everything with their colleagues / clients / students... THIS, I think, is very handy! 

One thing that's new in Google+ is 'Sparks'. Basically, it's like a built-in Google search, only that it's more systematic.  I've been told it supposedly has a recommendation function too, in that it would, over time, recommend things to you based on your interests. We'll see how successful this is then! 

With your search, you get results like what you get on Google...but I have a feeling that things are 'filtered' and the stuff that shows up here is more useful and relevant to the topic. 

I have to stress that I'm a tech idiot and I haven't read much about Google+ yet, so these are just my personal thoughts after using it for one day! It's a shame that at the time of writing, the invitations have been stopped...so if you haven't been invited yet you may have to wait a while!

*Edit: some more observations... I like how with G+ you can easily see with a click what you have shared with a particular group, and this function's not available in FB. Also, I like how unobtrusive G+ is - it allows you to share something (photos, comments, basically all your updates) with people who are not on G+, or people who don't want to open an account with Google but would still like to receive updates from you (think older relatives who have difficulty just checking their email every day). This is lovely. *

Random picture post - June 2011

Phew, a month's passed by...soooo quickly! I made a very important decision this month but let's not bore you (and myself) with the details. Just thought I'd post an assortment of pics taken this month! I'm such a snap whore, I take pics of everything!

Cute ay? Taken @ Hackney

Made soba one hot afternoon... we had a few of those this month! 

This month also saw me (well, us) making lobster for the first time! 

Lovely flower in a Vietnamese restaurant in Soho

Random sculpture on Old Brompton Road

Looooove tomatoes on the vine!!! 

I also made bread for the first time in my life... :) 

I've made up my mind to start blogging more seriously from now on, so look out for posts about food, cooking, girly stuff (moving my girly chamber fb mini-blog here!) and more...!

Brighton trip

I've been to Brighton quite a number of times...and it was S's second visit. Last time we went (in November) it was cold and raining all day long, and most shops were closed... was a bit worried a few days before going coz it was still chilly in London, but the weather was fine the day we went (Saturday), just not very sunny...oh well, can't complain too much, ay?

I was quite excited about it coz the previous week was Brighton Japan Festival - from the programme I was expecting a lot! When we got there around noon, however, we were soooooo disappointed...there were only a handful of booths next to the sushi place Moshi Moshi, and most of the booths sold random knick knacks that I don't care about... it's like the poor part of Portobello Market with (often broken) bric-a-brac if you know what I mean! Anyway...maybe I was expecting too much.

Picture time!

Some girls dressed up as Lolitas...and some other cartoon characters

Hmmmm...seriously?

These girls shared their experience of dressing up as Lolitas on stage

They're the best I think!

Some snacks...not particularly good to be honest. Just stuff you can buy from Japan Centre

The Royal Pavilion's a much nicer surprise compared to the Festival. Didn't expect to see so many interesting 'Chinese' elements there - I actually kind of dig the Anglo-Chinese stuff they have in there, it's actually a lot cooler than 'authentic' Chinese stuff! Was told by a 80-year-old staff member there (we chatted a bit) that the Chinese characters on some doorways and the newly painted Chinese wallpapers were all done by English people - I was thinking they must have hired someone from China to paint all that! The yellow wallpaper (pictured below) is my favourite!

We went to the Royal Pavilion as well - didn't have a chance in my previous visits. It's impressive!!!

These are all secret snaps :P No photos allowed!

I sooooo dig the wallpaper!!!

Some seaside fun...and the rocky beach...

Seaside

Oh dear...poor Thomas!

We didn't have crayfish, just oysters :)

Call me a country pumpkin but this place sounds scary!

Was quite surprised to see this Alice shop there - I think it's quite new coz I didn't see it in my previous trips! The stuff they sell is quite nice, but of course, the Sheep Shop in Oxford has a lot more... but I quite like the decor of this shop in Brighton!

An Alice shop in Brighton! Really cute decor...

Love the texture of the 'bar table' on the 2nd floor - they're really cards! Creative!

Cheshiiiie!!! :)

Playing tourists... @ M&M London!

It's been there for a while, the site that is, and today we went to the Empire to catch a film (LUURRRVVVE the Empire...) and saw it's finally open!!! Well it actually opened on 13 June...I just hadn't been to the West End for a while! M&M London - with four floors full of everything M&M...

A few pics before anything else!

At the entrance you see this double decker...so lovely :)

The store's HUGE...a lot more impressive than all Disney stores I've been to and even better than Hamley's!

These M&Ms have wrinkles :P

Lots of London-themed stuff!

I love my eye for detail. LOL

You can see how M&Ms have evolved throughout the years!

This machine's for you to check out your 'M'... well, basically you stand there for a while and a colour will be generated, with a description of you at the mo.

This guy...he got a BLACK one...and the description says 'You're thinking those nasty thoughts again...aren't you?'
ROFL!!!

Fiona? ;-)

They have so many such M&M 'sculptures'...everyone was busy taking pics!

Target's clear - mainland Chinese tourists?! (This flagship store's right next to Chinatown)

Ohhhhhh the Beatles...

Isn't this cute??? 

You really wanna get every single colour in your bag!!!

So we spent quite some time in the store...it's huge, and there are so many different products and photo snapping points! Really worth visiting if you're in town... :)