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Friday, December 9, 2011

節慶症後群 1.01 The Holiday Affairs

image from Vogue.com


Dear Santa,


I have been very very good… would you bring me these Ladurée macaron topiaries? Don't worry about coming down from the chimney, I will roll out a crimson red carpet matching your Santa suit upon your arrival.


Yours truly


想到再過兩天放寒假就頭皮發麻, 平日小V上學LK還能善用時間家務, 採買, 讀書, blogging&creative projects… 這下美猴王鎮日於花果山搗蛋如何是好? 或許母子倆該同上假日音樂班發洩過盛精力腦力, 不至相看兩厭總成仇. 格友Echo留言提及舊金山的冬日早晨抱貓取暖(啊, 我也曾有這樣的好時光!) 週末逛街時看見這張貓咪們簇擁派對女王的時尚海報不禁會心微笑, 想到上了貓天堂三年的Sapphire
心頭ㄧ酸然亦有幾分暖意, 愛貓的人都知道, 牠們美麗難搞十分性格卻也最最溫柔貼心.
image taken of a poster at the Parco department store Marina Bay


This put a smile on my face and made me think fondly but also sadly of my beloved Sapphire whom had gone to the kitty heaven in Christmas 2008. Sapphire was my hand, leg, heart warmer all in one fluffy sweetness. I still miss her everyday… the simple pleasures that we tend to take for granted and really should be grateful.


2011年LK家驚濤駭浪此起彼落, 珍貴的收穫是多份圓融… 少時不懂為什麼賈太君王夫人偏愛溫潤的寶釵襲人, 不喜頭挑人才黛玉晴雯, 飽經歷鍊有感'強極則辱, 情深不壽'時時印證, 蘇軾嘆得妙: 但願生兒愚且魯, 無災無難到公卿(我兒嘛公卿可免, 健康快樂長大吾願足矣 :) 應景買禮物犒賞家人和自己, 小時候迷彼得兔圖文書, 那天經過ㄧ客製家居的櫥窗見到這隻色調雅斂和我穿衣哲學不謀而合的兔小姐愛不釋手, 領回家陪我書桌前塗鴉; 喝茶的習慣記憶裏從不間斷, 家裏那只購自東京某小店的玻璃壺從舊金山跟著我們移居新加坡日沖夜洗, 玻璃濾網的小孔累積些許頑固茶漬, 也該讓它週休二日吧? 瀏覽本地各商行百貨, 第ㄧ眼瞧見Freud UK這現代感中含蘊古典主題兼融合茶道禪意的Mini Teaball壺, 二話不說買單, 我的新茶友就是你啦!!!
My holiday shopping list(it's already done so what am I calling it… 'achievements' as in ipad game app?!)


I met Bunny Beatrice(named her after my childhood heroine, the talented author of The Peter Rabbit) at a decorator's window. The taupe, the white, the gray… bingo, we bonded instantly. Plus, how could a tea lover like me throw tea parties without a rabbit?
After serving us near daily for three years, our pyrex glass teapot needed a little vacation. I fell in love at first sight when spotting this sassy chrome teapot by Lea Denison/Freud UK(why was I getting the sensation of sighting a sleek driving machine?) in Kaffe&Te's showcase. I could not stop thinking about the interplay between its streamlined curves and the zen like wooden handle so I turned back and put my credit card on the counter in a hopeless bow of surrender.
Chic BB reminded me that years ago when I was offered admission to the design school, the committee actually recommended me to the fashion design division likely base on the illustration style seen from my portfolio. Although in the end I chose product design to be my career, I kept fashion sketching as a hobby. A flutter sleeve Valentino jumpsuit pret-á-party… who doesn't like to dream?


小時候最怕被搽濃脂厚粉的母親朋友抱著親, 這些阿姨美則美矣, 粉味香水味讓我窒息… 長大後除非出席隆重場合, 化妝仍是能免則免, 現為人母為確保時時狂親兒子的權力, 更是高呼素顏主義, 這不代表我不熱愛色彩, 每逢聖誕與新年, 研究各Fashion House時尚潮流(包括彩妝)ㄧ大樂趣也! 今年我欣賞植村秀, 竟請到專拍攝另類電影的王家衛出特集, 成品宛如Greta Garbo穿越時空演繹ㄧ場由夜藍和金粉串連的黑白默劇, 眼影指甲油睫毛膏無不是深沈的底色鑲嵌璀燦的重金屬亮粉, 私以為較適合深眼窩高顴骨的面孔, 唇彩倒是輕盈飄逸, 烘托青春豐潤的雙唇肯定懾人… 不過只要個人喜歡又有什麼禁忌? 說到底自信才是最好的化妝品 :)
image from ShuUemura.com


Analyzing themes and trends by fashion brands during the holiday season is a legacy from my profession turned personal enjoyment. This year my vote goes to Shu Uemura for the zesty holiday collection collaborated with director Wong Kar Wai. Being an ardent fan of Wong's earlier work like 'Chungking Express' and 'Happy Together', I was surprised at his rather tamed 'Mask' short film but still loved the mysterious union of old Hollywood glamour and stylized macabre intonation. The products however dance on the light notes of jubilee in frosty, shimmery colors starred with glitters. The press eye shadow palettes are even named after the poem by Charles Bukowski such as 'Burning in Water'(for the blue and silver) and 'Drowning in Flame'(for the gold and rose)… I need to start reading Charles Bukowski before making judgements but I have the inkling this seemingly profound association might just be unceremoniously far fetched.


近來迷上臺灣特產微熱山丘土鳳梨酥, 於萊佛士酒店的門市部寧靜優雅如私宅, 還有噴香的烏龍茶招待, 買回家自配花茶卻遜色多了(鳳梨酥ㄧ樣好吃, 糟糕的是我的花茶) 現在的花茶是怎麼啦? 莫不是這幾年blossom tea大為流行, 各茶商專攻造型(捲心形名茉莉千日紅, 花開三盞名步步高陞...)卻忽略茶葉品質, 茶味不如茶香, 茶香不抵茶姿… 還我血汗錢來! 新加坡就算冬天還是熱, 艷陽與雷雨交織聽聖誕組曲總覺得怪怪的, 所以調出ㄧ首我非常喜歡的情歌'夏夜晚風'(看不出我是台客搖滾歌手伍佰迷吧 :) 預祝佳節愉快!!!
Besides Bunny Beatrice and the Mini Teaball, my latest tea pal is the pineapple cake(a Taiwanese local delight!) by Sunny Hills Taiwan. Thankfully the ingenious entrepreneurship has a retail shop at the Raffles Hotel here. The friendly staff serves guests fragrant Oolong tea to go with delicious pineapple cakes at its airy and artsy salon. At home, I was getting more disappointed with the blossom teas that I used to enjoy every much. These flowing 'tea leaves tied into a cluster' became a novelty in recent years, therefore most tea merchants seemed to focus on the superficial designs wowing the customer and neglected the essential quality required for any brand to stand the test of time. After seeing another bulb of ethereal peony unraveled its mesmerizing beauty in the steamy water, sipping the tasteless tea was… acrimonious. Sigh!


ps. 聖誕節買禮物的另ㄧ個好選擇: 雪中送炭給世界各角落更有須要的人!!! 以下的幾個慈善機構我正評估中, 看看如何分配LK2011雖然微薄但有ㄧ分力出ㄧ分力的小小慈善基金, 也供大家參考:


The Holiday Season is also a season of giving, a wiser choice indeed! As humble as my charity fund for 2011 is, every penny counts. I am in the process of allocating my resources to the following charities and hope they inspire my dear blogger friends, too:


American Red Cross
World Vision International
The Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift(這項或許等小V放寒假ㄧ起參與採買貢獻Wish Tree)

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Takashimaya 4th fl, there is art studio have children's art class, Natasha used to go there on Saturday for 2.5 hours, I think they are very good, making so many fun things and children love it, at least Natasha likes it :-) so, when your son in the lesson, you can have good time walking around in there :-) just a suggestion.

Happy Holiday
Monica

Silvia said...

哈哈哈,MissLK, 大概是因为无时差吧,我竟然又是第一个留言的读者~

好精致的茶壶,看到"台客摇滚歌手"的时候我差点笑翻了~

Silvia said...

Oh no,一瞬间我变成了第二,看来真有点"强极则辱",下次讲话还是不要这样快了:P

material girl said...

雖然小 V 在家有如美猴王,但是能夠家人團聚還是幸福的事!今年 S 預感我又要加班,已經未雨綢繆地提前慶祝聖誕節了!

我們也好喜歡這鳳梨酥啊。S 在新加坡沒有當機立斷買下,回到台灣才奔波了三小時提回一大袋微笑山丘鳳梨酥,連少吃甜食的我都覺得啊啊啊啊真是美味啊。

P.S. 今年度捐款我決定要貢獻給維基百科 -- 知識就是力量!^o^ (其實是我已經習慣有事沒事就讀 wikipedia 當消遣了 :P)

Rice Bowl Tales 有碗話碗 said...

讀你這篇文章,不禁被你輕柔閒逸的情緒感染。看來這年之前的噩夢陰影已逐漸淡遠了一點,替你開心。
小孩學校放假,做媽咪的心情我最能明白。當時也是惆悵( 我兒子小時屁股不會坐下多過 1 分鐘,女兒還聽話,但總也要照顧來玩的朋友等等)。現在倒希望大學早點放假,左擁右抱的日子,是我最緬懷的。
Red Cross, Oxfam, Cancer Rearch & Save the Children are our chosen charities.
也預祝你和家人聖誕及新年快樂,身體健康 :D

Miss LK said...

Great idea, Monica! I will check it out next week :) Little V likes drawing very much, one of the few activities that can keep him engaged for hours.

Happy holidays to you and your family, too!

Silvia,
LOVED 伍佰! He is a legend, Taiwan's Bono/U2 :)

敝格要爭第ㄧ留言非難事吧? 不過聽來還是很窩心, 謝謝支持!!!

ps. 很高興你喜歡Oasis Stamp Set.

Miss LK said...

MG,
Whew! ㄧ時眼花以為你要捐款wikileaks - free Assange or was he free already?
過節要加班也代表MG乃公司不可或缺的猛將啊!!! 還是要適度休息, 叫S準備愛心便當 :)

微熱山丘的鳳梨酥台北買應該較划算, 萊佛士店定價其實小貴, 不過基於支持MIT精品農業只好忍痛囉!

Jane,
I like to believe that tough times don't last but tough people do... 長的是磨難短的是人生, 挑戰依舊無處不在, 能調適的只有自己的心情和看事情的角度.

說的好, 小兒屁股真似有三把火, 別說乖坐, 成日扭來扭去蹦蹦跳跳... 十二生肖有屬蟲的嗎?

Happy Holidays!

Anonymous said...

Dear LK,

不好意思我好像來的有點遲...看到你說的美猴王,噗哧笑了出來,小男孩大概都屬蟲吧!那隻兔子好優雅.對我來說,兔子算是很親近的小寵物.因為有位好友養兔多年.她愛兔成痴,痴到只要有"ㄊ"字出現,就會敏感的找尋兔子的蹤影呢!:D.

還有那張貓女王,我該想像圖中的女王是LK吧,被溫暖的群貓所簇擁..至於伍百,嗐~我家大J也是愛戴者,每天都要唱"你是我的花朵"...

PS.素顏很好阿!我也是素顏一族的..:D
(sorry!剛剛留言出些狀況,所以重留一次!)

Echomiao said...

我也很想左擁右抱的與兩貓來個合影 不過已經貓去床空 加上貓兒天生不服從的性格 好像沒有留下過任何合照

那只茶壺線條俐落簡單 也讓我一陣心動手癢。買給自己當聖誕禮物吧。

Miss LK said...

Fish,
小V頑皮的讓我抓狂,他還吵著要弟弟... 誰敢再生啊!

在貓咪面前我只有當女僕的份啦! 對胖嘟嘟毛茸茸的小寵物完全沒抵抗力 : )

原來大J是天天對老婆唱歌的情聖呢!

Echo,
有朋友來家,一見Sapphire躺在客廳牠專屬的座椅和牆上的貓玉照就對我們說I can see who rules the house...

買啦買啦... 這叫桌前沏明壼,天涯共此時 : )

V said...

不知近日Miss LK頭皮發麻的程度如何,亦或已痲痺了?:)此趟回台,在父親書房看到本人小學閱讀的紅樓夢(少年版?),見著書頁上的筆記和highlights,驚覺自己曾是黛玉迷?!忍不住倒退幾步,一片疙瘩。想當初,自高中起,最看不慣的便是林黛玉和藺燕梅。P.S. 友人熱愛Laduree,畢業後實現任Laduree公關之夢想,那macaroon pyramid tower把她電得不省人事,平日不僅吃個不停,也趁機收藏了好多免費週邊商品。

Miss LK said...

Welcome back!

近來和小V就是懶惰母子二人組... LK先生見了不知要嘆娶妻不賢還是生子不肖:p

我熱愛紅樓夢煙塵百色的描述和眼看它樓起樓塌的餘韻飄渺,卻很難對人物有認同感,十二金釵中比較喜歡的是活潑直爽的史湘雲,丫環群中則是不動聲色卻剛烈無比的鴛鴦讓人印象深刻,可能她倆性格上的特點反應我對那個時代女性的期許吧?黛玉有一種纖敏的才情和對純粹愛情的渴望其實相當動人,但從一開始讀現實主義的我早認定這第一女主角必不得善終所以忍著不愛上她...
慚愧!未央歌我竟沒讀過,真要找出來研究一下!
Laduree的公關that is the dream job!!! 日日與美好的食物事物為伍V的朋友是位幸運兒呢!

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