There was a little garden off the side of the hotel that we stayed at.
On the first evening, we walked the local food market, bought lots of street food and ate in the rustic little hut that was built next to the garden.

I brought two (truly magical) wands that I purchased in Bali – you’ll see them a lot more – and a whimsical looking crown to play with. My sister and I did a few silly things in the garden.

I loved that day.

I love her.

The post Magical Wands for a Magical Day appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

The strange part being seeing different people at family reunion lunches/dinners each time
Depending on who’s just come home from/gone away, to some foreign country
There are new babies – cousins, nephews, nieces
And kids who keep looking different as they continue growing up

The tradition in my family is that on the night before the First Day of the Chinese New Year, everyone goes to my paternal grandfather’s house, which is in a village area where my father grew up, and where my grandfather has lived all his life.

It’s all I ever remember doing on the Eve.
When I and all my cousins were still so little (I have a lot of them as my father has six siblings), it would be a like a huge party filled with food, noise, and hundreds of fireworks being played with on the streets with the neighbourhood children, all the way till something like 4am.

But as we all grew past our teenage years, there were less and less fireworks
It just wasn’t that exciting anymore
The magic was sadly gone

This year, the mood was very quiet
My grandfather is in remission from throat cancer
I’ve grown apart from my closest cousins
And.. we just weren’t kids anymore
Well *I* wanted to play with fireworks and run around the streets but I don’t think anyone else felt the same :p

But nevertheless I was really happy to be there
Especially with both my brother and sister together this time

Here are some photos:

The candy platter used for the praying table

Paper pineapples made by my aunt

My mom lights the joss sticks

Umm.. Something
I don’t know what these are!! *disgrace*

Candles? Some prayer thing?

The road on one side of my grandfather’s house

When I was little it was much more quaint
And when I visited I would play here and chase chickens, shoot toy guns, and play with cheap plastic toys

The neighbours’ house
It’s been like this as far as I can remember
The only thing that ever changes is the colour of the paint, once every few years
And the make of cars parked outside of it
The floors are still wooden and supported on stilts
Chickens used to hide/be kept under there (and I used to chase them)

I don’t know what these papers are called
But they get burnt in a pile… for.. something
(I fail at being chinese!!)

Perhaps I should go read up some more or speak to my mom before attempting to write about Chinese New Year..

The post The Eve of Chinese New Year appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Our first stop after being picked up from the hotel was for lunch
One of the traditional Indonesian foods there is called ‘Soto Ayam’ with rice (other places may have it with noodles) which is basically a really tasty chicken broth with shredded fried/grilled chicken and other toppings including shredded cabbage, coriander, and meatballs.

We had a local tour guide with us – found via TripAdvisor – and he brought us to a small restaurant which only sold the dish.. well I would call it more of a food shop as the atmosphere was really laid-back and seemed to be frequented by the local people.

Fizzy drinks
In bottles! With bottle-caps!
These were a part of my childhood.. I missed them
’Garam’ on the right means salt.

Prambanan is a 9th century Hindu temple – currently the largest in Indonesia – and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was a mighty hot and sunny day
Here are some photos!

  

Little Market by the Temple

Some photos from the colourful market nearby

  

A strange three-stringed ukulele?

My beautiful mother looking at ducks – she ended up buying two for her collection
We have an army of ducks from all over the world lurking around the house :p

The post Yogyakarta – Soto Ayam and Prambanan Temple & Market appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

When my 14 year old sister left, along with her went many of my clothes
Don’t you just hate it when your younger sister reaches the age where clothes mattered??
She felt a little guilty so she left me a skirt (in two colours) – one of the only things she thought I would like from her wardrobe.
I think she also felt bummed that there weren’t many things she owned that I coveted, unlike in the reverse situation
She’s so sweet. I miss her.

And I do like the skirt.. thank you, if you ever read this <3>

Top Primark
Jacket Louche Clothing
Skirt from sister
Tights WHO KNOWS
Socks New Look
Shoes River Island

This jacket was in fact an impulse purchase made one overestimated ‘warm’ day
One of many..

Yes, they’re heavy
And yes they make a loud noise
Clip clopping against the ground with every step

So. It appears that Fashion Week is in less than two days..
I may stop by. Will I see any of you there?

x

The post Back to Basics / My Sister’s Skirt appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

We cooked, made a ton of jelly, went shopping, played silly games at the arcade, got wet at Chessington amusement park, played with squirrels, cuddled the neighbour’s cat, drew ridiculous things on the road with giant chalk, stuck glow-in-the-dark stars on my wall, ate ‘magic food’ at Camden market, had regular movie nights on the sofa, slid down the stairs on our bums, made a whole plate of food with Play-Doh, played mindless games on our phones …the list can only go on!

I miss her so much
But I’m glad I spent every moment I had with her
…Instead of updating this blog! Ha ha

One night we sat in my room and painted our nails
Here’s what I did to mine : :

I know it’s just nail polish
But looking at colours like these automatically brightens my day wherever I am

The post Pastel Nails appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.