This isn’t about clothing but jewelry that accentuates fellow jewelry, created by one of our homegrown jewellers TianPo.

The Fashion Jacket is from their Great Singapore Sale 2010 collection.

[p.s. Our entire city is on a sale frenzy from now to end July.]

Vietnam (Photography book)

Mon Carnet Vietnamien (A beautifully illustrated book for adoptive parents with one of the nicest drawings of Tiger Balm Oil I’ve ever seen.)

Singapore Home and Decor magazines (You can even find backcopies in this bookshop!)

Crafty books

I’ll be back here in full swing next week. See you soon!

[p.s. If you're waiting for a reply from me, I will be clearing my inbox and you should be hearing from me soon!]

Mini-egg bundles

Roses and other flowers

Minh Ngoc green bean cakes

Rice paper

Trang Tien ice cream

La Casa [12 Nha Tho, Hanoi], a lovely interior + zakka shop

Shops I wish I had visited:

• Hanoi Zakka [29 Hang Hom Street, Hanoi]
• Vietnam Quilts
• Craft Link

Greetings from her capital Hà Nôi!

With this being a working trip, the weekend was the only time we had to explore the city. And like always, we like to do it on foot. We walked a lot under a scorching sun and sought refuge in an air-con cafe, if we happened to see one.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

19 May, the birth anniversary of Uncle Ho (who is none other than Ho Chi Minh)

Florist and her cool bicycle

Old City Gate

Polish embassy

St Joseph’s Cathedral

We tried the strawberry cone

Lenin Square, opposite Flag Tower

Dong Xuan Market

Chubby dollies in a toy shop

Some imported items are tagged in shops

Pretty teapot + teacups in an amusement park

Around a residential neighbourhood

Random jots:

• Exchange rate from the money changer:
  SGD 1.00 = VND 13,200 = USD 0.72

  Exchange rate (13,600) offered at the hotel in Hanoi was more favourable.

• Handling money in 10s and 100s of thousands can be mind-taxing! Paying 40,000 (SGD 3) for my daily package lunch/dinner is really something and so is paying 110,000 for a taxi ride. A quick relief from this sudden trauma was to cover up the last four digits on any value to get a rough conversion.
• Rain that fell in the night marks the advent of summer.
• The day brightens up early at 5am. I woke up one day thinking I’ve overslept but it was only 6am.
• Crossing a busy road in Vietnam is liken to entering into warfare. Sometimes I will walk cross the 1-way, or even 2-way (with no clear divider in the middle!) roads like a fearless warrior…not minding about the mingling with traffic at such close proximity. Feels quite cool even. However other times the mere sight of the swam of never-diminishing motorcycles and cars terrifies and hence dreariness + hesitation sets in…
• Some cab drivers don’t like to give way to crossing pedestrians unlike the more disciplined motorcyclists.
• There are several chic and interesting small boutiques on Ba Trieu street.
• Vodka is cheap. And so are roses.
• Some recommended taxi companies: Hanoi Taxi, Taxi CP and Mai Linh
• The conical hat looks very protective against the sun.
• On the plane journey, I watched an episode of Before and After (大改造!!劇的ビフォーアフター) home makeover show. It was truly a fascinating transformation for a really cramp space for a family of 6. Unthinkable!

I’ll sum up my adventure in Hanoi in 2 more posts – Made in Vietnam and Vietnam + publications.

Yep, I’m leaving on a trip. Hope to tell you more when I’m there.

During this long absence, you could peek into my bookshops, and browse through jots you may not have seen, namely:

Hacoa woody stationery
Chopsticks etc
Antarctica sight-seeing flight
Hang-bag, the bag butler
Flower stalk bead assembly
BPA-free drinking botles
Asperand roses and fonts wallpaper
Making a simple paper doily
Blooms unite
Hands-free reading

I’ll be grabbing my books, sunshine bracelets, city guide, teddies, and then off I go…see ya!

Isn’t this little solider (doesn’t he look like one?) too kawaii?! And he’s combat fit you know. He carries 18 pieces with him, consisting of 9 different kinds of tools a young baker would need…to have fun baking.

Spotted at Angers, one of my favourite zakka shops.

By Zaklady Ceramiczne Boleslawiec of Poland. Available at Blue Rose Pottery.

There are easily several reasons why I like the rugs made by Emily Kircher of EKRA.

They are crocheted and made entirely from recycled fabrics, hence washable. The rug can be custom made to suit the surrounding decor, and last but not the least, they’re so cheery + pretty.

[p.s. Do you have a favourite shop or own one at Etsy that I MUST know about? Just send me an email!]

Recently I made some Sunshine in citrus shades as favours for a garden tea party. How befitting isn’t it?

Anyone else like a bracelet or two? Free shipping from now till Friday.

Incidentally if you’re not aware of the story behind the Sunshine bracelet, this intro will help.

What am I to do when faced with a pretty bloom before me?

Take a picture of course! I love to snap especially when it’s next to a drain, road, walkway or in an inconspicuous spot, whether blossoming, or fallen like this one, which had dropped from a towering Queen’s crape myrtle (aka Pride of India) tree.