Queen Victoria Market & A Picnic

After a delicious cup of coffee, we headed for the Queen Victoria Market. Markets like the Queen Vic is becoming less common in Singapore, with supermarkets taking their place, and I do wish it wasn't so. Being able to see the long rows of fresh fruits and produce in natural light rather than sterile indoor lights makes food seem so much more delicious and wholesome. I feel like I could be a good cook if I wanted to, with all these wonderful ingredients.

We left the market with a plastic bag full of cherries and strawberries, and made our way to the nearby Flagstaff Gardens for an impromptu afternoon picnic.

It was one of the most peaceful afternoons in recent memory. Basking in the sunshine and the cool winds, munching on sweet juicy berries, watching other park-goers read, walk, play with their dogs. The very essence of a holiday.

Wednesday Links

2 Reads that had me engrossed
1. Work-Life Balance from Braid
2. Productivity, Baby from Twelve by One

4 Black & White Photographs that had me enthralled
1. Monochromatic gorgeousness from the sweet light
2. The Dublin Botanic Gardens from City of Blackbirds
3. Black & White Landscapes by Christian Villacillo, discovered via The Fox is Black
4. Fashion Snaps from Shine by Three

5 Blogs that I added to my Google Reader
1. Still Hearty, discovered via Twelve by One
2. Sannah, discovered via Twelve by One
3. Cabin Porn, I want to escape to any one of these little spaces
4. Nubby Twiglet, I used to bookmark her blog the old-fashioned way but after I switched to a Macbook, I somehow forgot about it. Not sure how that happened.
5. The Fox is Black, check out their Desktop Wallpaper Project to refresh your screens.

The League of Honest Coffee, Melbourne

I first read about The League of Honest Coffee on Happy To Serve You, a blog that all coffee lovers in or going to Melbourne should read. As a lover of the colour green, I was instantly attracted to the colour scheme of the cafe, lime green, yellow and wood, with the espresso machines, coffee grinders, wall paints, cups and chairs all colour coordinated. The second point of attraction was the address, 8 Exploration Lane. It makes me feel like that there could be all sorts of opportunities and adventures waiting as we walk down it!

The League was at the top of my list of coffee places to visit in Melbourne, so by hook or by crook, we would have to get to it somehow. Imagine my excitement when I found out that Space Hotel, where we were staying was just around the corner from the cafe! It's fate, I tell you! Immediately, after we put down our luggages, we made our way down there for our first shot of Melbourne coffee.

Being part of the Padre Coffee family, The League serves Padre Coffee. It was such a beautiful cup and I truly enjoyed every sip of my cappucino. It also woke me up properly after an early start flying from Sydney to Melbourne. We loved our coffee so much that we made a return trip later that week for a morning cuppa before heading out to the Mornington Peninsular. The only cafe to have the distinction of a return trip.

Oh hey! I just checked back on Happy To Serve You, and guess what! The League of Honest Coffee now has a custom built green shipping container from which they are serving coffee at the new People's Market in Docklands! I didn't think they could get any cooler but they just did.

First Moments, Melbourne

After a bit of an unofficial LC-A+ week on the blog, it's time to pick up the pace for the posting of my Melbourne snaps. Lest you think I just came back from Australia, all this pictures were taken last November. It bears repeating, I hail from the planet Procrastination.

Looking at this pictures, I am so missing that lovely, sunny spring weather. It's been frighteningly hot and rainy in Singapore these few days. Maybe all travel photographs should only be posted a few months later so that relieving the memories is that much sweeter.

Happy Monday, my friends.

Twilight

I just had to share these beautiful colours, all from a single roll of Agfa CT Precisa. It's pictures like these that keeps me continually excited about film. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface!

25

I consider this my 25 year old portrait because I shot this on my birthday earlier this month. I played around with colour flashes, the LC-A+ Splitzer, fingers, toes and a self-shot (which was accidentally layered over). I really like it.

My Everyday

Scenes from my everyday, using the LC-A+.
When you get the focus right, the pictures are so good!

Chinese New Year 2012

The nature of film photography means that to post about something that happened, it usually happened quite awhile ago because we have to wait for our rolls to accumulate, to be sent for processing and perhaps scanning. When this process is combined with my procrastinating nature, it means some photographs have to wait a really long time to see the light of day on this blog. So this is how it is with my snaps from Chinese New Year, a holiday that happened two months ago.

We had our traditional feasts of yusheng (a salad of sorts), popiah (wraps) and steamboat (hot pot). My extended family gathered at my house on the first day. We visited the temple and an exhibition of the Jade Buddha to pray for good luck and prosperity in the new year. On the second day, we visited another temple and visited with my mum's aunt who lives nearby. Chinese New Year follows the same routine in my family every year, it's kind of comforting that way.

All photographs by the LC-A+. I love how they turned out! More photographs from there soon. (Like maybe, this week!)

Look Up, Sydney

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbows." - G.K. Chesterton

Walking Around Sydney

Bondi

Haymarket

CBD

Redfern

Some snapshots of Sydney as we walked from place to place.