friday pic & pin

Happy Friday, guys. Today is a holiday here so we're headed to Bali for the weekend (even after a year I still can't believe that words like that come out of my mouth!). Specifically we're going to Ubud so if you've been there and have any recs, please send them my way!

Now for the giveaway winner from last week's post....drum roll please...bbbrrrrrrrrrrrr......Kendra Nordt, the Sapa zip pouch is yours! Congrats, expect an email from me soon. Thanks to everyone who shared what they'd use it for, I'll see what I can find for ya in Bali ;)

Have a great weekend.

(image left: Cooling Off, Singapore by Ana Maria Muñoz, right: Pin)

weekend, we

Hi guys, how was your weekend? We started ours with no plans but with a last minute Monday AM flight out of Singapore for Joe, we decided to make a quick trip out of it. We spent most of our time walking around Chinatown, eating dinner and trying new-to-us Chinese desserts (where has snow-ice been my entire life?!). It was interesting to see how Singapore does Christmas, too. The main shopping district, Orchard Road, was exploding with decorations sponsored by Visa and other big brands and companies. Are Christmas decorations sponsored in the States? I can't recall but it definitely felt more tacky than festive. Blatant commercialism of Christmas aside, I love that city. It's so easy to enjoy, even if for 24 hours. The sunflower garden deck at the airport doesn't hurt it either.

weekend, we

Hello, how was your weekend? Our was pretty uneventful so I figured I'd share something really awesome from last weekend in Singapore: Kinetic Rain. We learned about this art installation after clicking around the Vimeo feature on Apple TV and were completely in awe. On departure from Changi Airport we made a beeline to Terminal 1 to see it in person and wow did our jaws drop! We stood there for twenty minutes watching the silent dance...completely mesmerized. It's the coolest art installation I've ever seen. The. Coolest.

colors, patterns, and textures, oh my! {singapore)

    Singapore has incredible modern architecture but of course, I also found a ton of inspiration in an older part of town called the Arab Corner (I think that's it, please correct me if I'm wrong). The neighborhood's pride is evident by the impeccable upkeep of their old shop houses, vibrant colors, and collection of traditional fabric stores and cafes mixed in with new indie boutiques and bars. I loved seeing bits of the local art community, too. From artists at work in a tiny gallery to graphic murals on the street, it's amazing how much art can bring a street or neighborhood to life. If you're lucky enough to be there during Ramadan as we were, be sure to take advantage of the food stalls in front of the mosque. Devotees lined up to buy their post-sundown meals but there were plenty of tourists like us taking advantage of the offerings. We weren't sure if it was acceptable to eat in front of others who were fasting so we tucked into a side alley and chowed down in semi-privacy.  It's a good thing that the streets in Singapore are so sparkly clean ;)

weekend, we

Hi how was your weekend? We had so much fun in Singapore, I absolutely loved it. It was so nice to be back in a pedestrian-friendly city and just pop in and out of shops and stop for drinks and food along the way. Singapore couldn't be more opposite from KL in the overall safety factor and well-thought-out city planning. After my first venture out by the river I thought "oh man, can we just stay here and not go back?". It's awful to compare but for the first time since we left London I felt 100% safe and comfortable being by myself. And while there is still a mall on every other block, unlike KL there are a lot more street-level storefronts and walkable shopping/dining options.

The only obvious negative is that it's not the cheapest city to play and live in so after a shamefully pricey and touristy dinner at Clarke Quay, we resolved to finding more reasonable spots (and thankfully we did). The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out in the Arab Corner and checking out the big flashy sites of Marina Bay. On our last day met up with Tanya, a blog reader who lives in Singapore with her family. We connected over being LA Expat girls and we've been in touch via email and instagram ever since. She showed us a different part of town that only further solidified how great the city is and then Joe and I took a rest at the gorgeous and historic Raffles Hotel before heading to the airport.

I didn't want to leave but on the drive home, with miles and miles of palm tree groves and native forest, I realized that Malaysia is a great place to be, too. It may not have all of the western comforts and perks that Singapore does but that's okay. We are in South East Asia, after all, and I want to experience all of it.

photos taken with iPhone using VSCO Cam