Attention! I’m giving out a free Easter card when you buy 3 or more items from my shop at Etsy. Just leave me a note when you make the purchase that you saw this on Production Road, and tell me which Easter card you’d like (single or triple). This will go on until Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012.
I’m also participating the Poppytalk Handmade Market this month. Go check out all the handmade stuff in the market!
I remember that I used to hate history class. Back in the junior high school years in Taiwan, we had to study the history of China, Taiwan, and the Western world, as if five thousand years of the Chinese history wasn’t enough. To me, history was only about memorizing the year, people, and human achievements in certain eras. I had to try very hard not to fall asleep during the class because it was very dry to me. I hate it so much that I even destroyed all my history textbooks after I passed my final exam.
I didn’t appreciate history at all, until I went to London in 2007. When I was living there, I started to appreciate old buildings, antiques, and even the old pavements. As I visited more old cities and places in Europe, I began to picture what it was like few hundred years ago at the same place, what people wore at that time, what they ate, and what they talked about…
Yes, I should’ve appreciated history more. When I was wandering around in the city of Rome last summer, I regretted that I didn’t pay enough attention in the class. I could barely remember the Roman history… But I guess no matter how much you read about history, it’s just text printed on paper. You really have to see the remnant of the past to understand how amazing history is, that ancient people could build something grand like this. It is so strong that we can still see parts of it after more than two thousand years.
Carl Jung said, “Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?” It is in our blood. We don’t exist without our history.
Do you see anything in the picture?
This was taken last summer when we were wandering in Montmarte, Paris.
I like how street art like this can be overlooked so easily, yet it always sparks a little bit of surprise when you look closely.
Climbing up (or down) Haleakalā volcano in Maui was one of the toughest activities I’ve ever done. Not because of the trail condition, but because of the high altitude (10,000 ft.) that made it so hard to breath. Going down was not bad, but coming back up was killing us. The slope didn’t seem steep at all, but when you have a very low oxygen level in your blood, every little step would make you feel exhausted.
On top of the high altitude, there was also wind chill. It was super sunny that day, but it felt colder than snowboarding in Whistler. Part of that was probably because we didn’t wear proper clothes, but who knew? We were in Maui…
Thinking back, it was totally worth the effort. The scenery wasn’t like anything else we’ve seen before. It was like another world – the moon perhaps. We couldn’t quite tell how far the crates were from where we stood, as if we lost the sense of scale completely. Very bizarre but fascinating at the same time.
where to get: 1. Orla Kiely blouse / 2. Kate Spade bangle / 3. Rag & Bone hat / 4. Marc Jacobs flats / 5. Paul & Joe bag
It was such a treat whenever I found a nicely designed signage in Barcelona, and there were many of them. Even in the Cathedral, the signs were plain lovely. I just love how different typefaces are mixed on the same sign. The style is so bold, fresh, and Spanish.
Sometimes we all need to let go something that’s holding us back.
Last year, I gave Poan a Zoolander-theme birthday party. This year, it’s just two of us, but with a treasure hunt that I planned specifically for him. I used to do this for my parents and my sister, but haven’t done it for quite a long time. I really had fun watching him running around my place looking for the clues.
Next time I’ll make it harder. I promise.
I miss the pizza in Italy. After my trip to Italy last summer, I don’t think the pizza we have here can compare with the authentic Italian pizza. I love that their pizza can taste so good with just a few simple, non-fancy ingredients. And normally you can find a pretty good pizza in a random, low-profile pizzeria.
This pizzeria is located close to the beach in Lido di Ostia near Rome (I even found it on Google Street View). It seemed to be a popular neighbourhood pizzeria. We had to take a number first and wait until the number was called before we could order. We were all sitting outside in the warm breeze, nibbling on our pizza. Unpretentious, just pure and simple.
I miss Italian pizza.
I love chocolate packaging (and chocolates). Sometimes when I buy a chocolate bar, I’m not sure if I want it because of the packaging or the chocolate itself…
When I found the chocolate bars from Chocolate Orgániko in DeLaurenti – a local gourmet store in Seattle – I was instantly attracted by those vivid colours popping up from the shelves. I couldn’t decide which one I wanted because there are so many colours and flavours! I wished I could get all of them! Some of the flavours are very unique, such as olive oil (really?), green anise, and lemon/pepper. The colours actually correspond to names of the flavours. Isn’t that interesting to interpret tastes in colours?
This is a closeup of our macrolettering project in Boisbuchet. See that big balloon? That’s what we used to fly the GoPro camera up and film the work from above.
In the evening after we completed the project, we lighted a candle on top of every stick. We were hoping to capture that from above, too, but the result wasn’t ideal. But it looked amazing anyways. Such a beautiful ending.
When it comes to selecting gifts for guys, it’s always the hardest. Let’s just face it, most of us don’t have the money to buy the luxury car or the expensive camera that he’s been dreaming of. My guy likes cameras and related nerdy gears, but I don’t even know their names. How about just simple stuff like these?
where to get: 1. print / 2. laptop sleeve / 3. Swiss army knife / 4. book / 5. shaving set / 6. coffee mill / 7. chocolate membership
I spent my birthday weekend in Seattle, attending a workshop – Blogshop – that Poan gifted me :) The workshop took place at FRED Wildlife Refuge, a super cool art studio. I’m not sure if I was really there to learn Photoshop (since I’ve known 90% of what was taught…) but it was still a nice experience to see how the workshop was run and get inspired by other people.
And of course, gotta show off the swag bag:
Love them all!
Aren’t these hidden gems? Sometimes they’re just around the corner, or underneath you. You just gotta look carefully.
Here’s a small project I did for a wall in my bedroom last week. If you’ve been to Anthropologie, you can probably recognize what these “hooks” are. Yes, they’re actually knobs for cabinets! Don’t you just love all the door knobs they have?
I didn’t intend to replace any handles at my place, so I thought, why don’t I use them as hooks? I have this thing for hooks – hooks for keys, for accessories, and bags – my landlord will hate me for drilling those holes on the wall.
I wish someday I can buy enough knobs to cover my entire wall. Something like Douglas Coupland’s home.
* See more knobs here.