What can I say...I just really like bread, ok?
Hope you liked this post and I'll be back with more soon! x
Nothing feels fresher than teaming an old silk shirt with new pieces. I recently acquired these strappy bow flats and the flippy skirt on one of my shopping trips, and it's safe to say that both of these pieces have been on high rotation in my wardrobe. The punchy orangey-red hue is really all that was needed to update this look, and it made getting dressed so easy... Lately I've been trying to buy less, but better; and I feel like it has helped me to develop a more fun approach to my style. I now have fewer items, but they are items that I love; and I've found that the process of getting dressed is so much easier when you're working with key pieces that you genuinely adore. I wore this on my last day in Melbourne to pick up a loaf of bread from my local baker (here's looking at you, Baker D Chirico). I like their baked goods so much that I handcarried it through customs for my family to try. What can I say...I just really like bread, ok? P.S - I'm back in Singapore at the moment! Just flew in this morning and am enjoying a bit of time off with the family :-)
Hope you liked this post and I'll be back with more soon! x
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Hello all. My online presence of late has admittedly been patchy at best, and that mostly has to do with me feeling conflicted about putting myself out there on the virtual sphere. I'm talking consequences - consequences of revealing information about yourself that people otherwise wouldn't be privy to, consequences like the effect of this on one's career prospects, and consequences like strangers forming pre-conceived notions about you. In this day and age where a simple Google search can pull up a dossier's worth of information on one's public and private life, I believe my concerns are not completely unfounded. But I also believe that in order to establish a connection with someone, one must first offer up a slice of yourself that is honest and true. Honesty encourages honesty, and what I want, more than anything else, is for this virtual space to be one that is real. So here I am today, offering a honest, unfiltered post with content that's a little more on the personal side - slightly more personal than I am comfortable with, but damn it to hell - I'm done obsessing about the repercussions of disclosure. This is me shouting into the abyss - the infinite black hole that is the internet - in the hopes that someone out there will feel this honesty, and be encouraged to share their own. Here's looking at 2014 in the rear view mirror. PS - this is going to be a chatty post, so grab a drink and get comfy, because this will take awhile. For me, 2014 was an uneventful year. It was a year of stability, a year of calm, to wind down from the rollercoaster that was the year before. But it was also a year of unfeelingness - I wasn't happy or sad; I was just 'okay'. I was neither high nor low - I just was. I played it safe for most of the year, never wandering too far beyond my comfort zone; and while the stability was incredibly reassuring, it was also uninspiring. As good as stability is, I found that I should never stop pushing for growth. I want to keep moving, keep trying new things, and pushing my limits.
If there was one word that could sum up the year, it would be 'sobering'. 2014 was sobering in more ways than one. For starters, I came down from my high of being in love with Melbourne. When I first moved to this city, I was head over heels smitten. It was love at first sight - the booming arts & culture scene, laid-back Aussie attitude and wonderful and friendly people had me convinced. How could I possibly move back to Singapore? This place is awesome! But, as with any other romance, the honeymoon period had to end; and I started thinking realistically about my future here. I had set my sights on staying in Melbourne and acquiring a PR here, but would I feel just as happy, once my friends had left? Will my love affair with this city, bearded-hipsters and all, fizz out faster than a bottle of day-old champagne? But, most of all, what is home? You cannot make homes out of people, because they will disappoint; yet - is home where family is? Is it possible to one day feel at home in a place where family isn't? It was also sobering in that I began to understand the reality of growing up and being an adult. For a long time, I confused being an adult with being emotionally mature, but make no mistake - those two things are not one and the same. Being an adult means having the responsibility to do the things you have to, even if you don't want to. That means dragging your feet and going to work, even when you've had a rough night and the last thing you want to do is to talk to your colleagues. Because people do what they have to to survive, so quit moaning and get on with it. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating a life of playing it safe and not pursuing one's dreams - I am talking about people who already have jobs they are passionate about; but even people who have dream jobs have off-days too (because everyone does), and on those days I'm saying that one should remember the responsibility they have to their families and to themselves to hustle and crack on with the day. It's not a very exciting prospect to look forward to, but it is what it is, and tough people don't allow what they feel to dictate what they do. I learnt that driven and successful men seek women who are just as driven and successful as them. Women who are their equals, and that only makes me more motivated to achieve greater things in work and in life. My greatest experiences of self-abandonment have come within the context of relationships, and I spent much of this year trying to find out who I was, so I couldn't ever abandon myself ever again. Yet, what I discovered was this: I am whoever and whatever I decide to be. I don't have to be defined within a sentence; a paragraph, or even within the limitation of ideas (i.e. "Rachel loves communicating, does not exercise, is interested in politics and issues related to feminism, etc"). My identity is ever-evolving, and hence there is never a one-dimensional method of canvassing my identity, so I should really do away with labels altogether -- after all, what use is it to self-identify as a "fashion-lover" or "humanitarian activist" or even a "chocolate enthusiast"?? (Who the cares?????) I am as fluid an entity as I want to be, and perhaps one day I shall have more concrete ways of identifying myself; but for now, I am in my twenties, and I can be whoever I choose to be. Above all, I came to accept that I have more questions than answers at this point of life, and that is okay. Hope you enjoyed reading this slightly more raw and unedited post, and I would love to hear your reflections of 2014. x Hello all! I am alive, and I am well. I realise I have a bit of explaining to do, after having been absent on this space for quite a bit. I haven't even realised it, but it's been a month since I last spoke on this space...how time flies. Well, much has happened. I concluded my second-last semester of uni, which was the toughest semester I've faced yet -- at one point I honestly thought I wouldn't make it through this semester, but I did, and for that I'm so incredibly thankful. But I also got a job, which has been keeping me suuuuper busy lately. My absence was just a combination of these things, along with some issues I've been having with writing lately. Perhaps I will write a separate post on why I've been experiencing a creative block, and my perpetual dissatisfaction with my writing one day. But for now, I am back, and will be doing my best to post regularly. I'm not sure if people still read this space, or if my short hiatus has resulted in the loss of some followers, but I do feel that the break was one that I needed to have, and one that I'm glad I took :-) For now, here's a glimpse into what I wore for a day of wandering around the museum. As the year comes to a close, I've been thinking about 2014 as a whole: lessons learnt, challenges faced and my personal growth. Have some thoughts to share on that, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. x
As the temperature progressively rises in Melbourne, it's time to turn our eyes to the hot-weather saviour that is gelato. My current favourites are as follows: Il Dolce Freddo for the best damn Roche-flavoured gelato (they do a really authentic Durian and a punchy Pandan, too), Gelato Messina for rich and creamy options, and Spring St Grocer for all-round, can't-go-wrong icy treats. Spring St Grocer is my absolute favourite, because they do the most incredible and interesting flavour combinations. Everything across the board is good. So, during a recent weekend in Northcote, I decided to see how Il Melograno measures up, in comparison to the big boys of the gelato game. The flavours change, and are based on seasonal ingredients, so there's always something new to come back to. We were mostly attracted to the richer, creamier gelatos than the fruity sorbets, and on the whole I'd say it was a bit of a hit or miss situation. Now, the flavours you will find here aren't quite as innovative as the ones you'll find at Messina, for instance, and when we visited we sampled some gelati that really fell flat. That said, there are a few odd flavours that do hit the mark, like the ones we ordered - hazelnut, pistachio and coconut. All three were delicious. These melted pretty quickly, in comparison to other gelatos I've had, but I was happy to see that they had the type of ice cream cones that I liked. Are you a waffle-cone fan, or a wafer-cone fan? I am all about the wafer-cone, for sure! Nothing beats the light and slightly chewy wafer, and these were perfect - strong enough to hold up the gelato, without going soggy in your hands. We couldn't resist ordering a slice of the apple cake, too, and were sorely disappointed with the size of it. The slice more or less registered the width of three fingers, and it was a dinky, deflated looking cake. While it was small in size, it was big on satisfaction, and quite possibly the lightest, fluffiest cake I've had. It was almost like a chiffon cake, with bits of apple filling here and there, which was such a treat to bite into. I was thoroughly impressed with it, but I couldn't help but wish there was more of it to go around.
Il Melograno 76 High St, Northcote VIC 3070 Tel: 03 9482 4971 Hey guys! My friends and I drove down to the Peninsula over the weekend, and for this I wore the no-fail, ever comfortable t-shirt and jeans combo. Lately I've been into basics with a twist - think plain tees with unexpected cutouts, stitching or fabrics...and knotting every thing I own. Shirts, skirts...I want knots on it all. It's freakin' Britney, circa 1999 all over again, folks. (Who remembers what I'm talking about??) We spent the day driving by the coastline and strolling around Sorrento, a seaside town at the Southernmost tip of Victoria, before tucking into a seafood feast at sundown. I'll be sharing more pictures from our trip sometime this week, so make sure to look out for that!
Hope everyone has had a kickass start to the week. x Follow me on Instagram: @paintingrachelred for more updates. |
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