Yeah right! London is so fantastically awesome that almost eight years later, here I still am. It didn’t happen overnight, but after all this time I’ve come to realise that ‘damn, I love this place!’

It seems not everyone is a fan of London.. and yeahhhhh I admit, there was a period when I wasn’t too fond of it either. From the stories I’ve heard from my many fellow immigrants (haha), most start out hating it!

BUT. Here are the three big things I LOVE about the city I now call home. This is the stuff I blab on about – very animatedly and very loudly – whenever I get asked why I live here

London has no nearby sandy beaches, but we have some of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL parks and green spaces! A multitude of them too, despite the city being so dense with concrete.

In the summer, I pretty much live on the grass. Some of my friends in Europe think it’s silly to wear a bikini at the park. But do Londoners care? Nope! We need all the sunshine that we can get and if the sun’s blasting then.. all plans cancelled; we’re having a picnic. And when you find long grass to lay on, your bed (and life) is made.

^I like my picnics colourful. Photo taken in leafy Richmond, where there are plenty of picnic spots by the river.

Being ever-so-fortunately born in the summertime, my birthdays in London are also celebrated with a big picnic at the park.
Photos above taken at Hyde Park in 2013 😉

Speaking of Hyde Park, there is this AMAZING UMBRELLA/WATERFALL TREE that you can climb all the way to the top. I love it and always make a stop whenever I’m there skateboarding as it’s near the Serpentine lake, where a lot of people skate ‘cos it’s flat and wide.

Anyway, the tree. Enter the curtain of leaves and it’s like a maze of old twisted, warty branches going upwards.. like something out of The Enchanted Wood! It’s magic. The view from the top of course is delicious. You can see my friend Luis poking out in this pic:

^And this is what the tree’s like during the cold season..  just.. bare branches. Haha! And squirrels! I LOVE the squirrels of London.. some of them are so bold and have no qualms about walking all over you like a mat and trying to steal your food. I really enjoy that.

Of course, I enjoy other things outdoors as well..

..Like playing with my ukulele on a tree. This was at Regents Park.

Sometimes I sing, too. Or fly a giant kite with friends. Or.. swim in the Thames and get sick subsequently. Do not go swimming in the Thames.

^Playtime with the lovely Emma. Last winter we spent an afternoon at Hampstead Heath. It’s my favourite natural space, after Regents Park/Primrose Hill as they’re my local ones (local bias, right?).

When the leaves fall, the Heath is a feast for all your senses. The ground is thick and the air rich with the smell of fallen leaves. Crispy leaves! Ohhh how I would love to be rolled around on that crunchy bed of autumnness.. like a sausage being tossed around in a pan of sizzling chopped garlic. But without the heat. Or the oil. Sorry I’m so weird.. let me get back on topic..

No doubt maximum park enjoyment is during the summer.. when there are loads of festivals, and other events/pop-ups going on.
For example, Rekorderlig built a Swedish summer house in Victoria Park once, and it was superb:

You could get food and cider served by cute boys dressed in shorts and suspenders 😀

Other than these huge parks, there are also smaller, more intimate places to enjoy some greenery. E.g. the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, nestled between the two Dalston overground stations. In their garden they have soil beds for local residents to plant food! There is a kind of hippie, chilled-out vibe to it. And if I remember correctly there was a quirky old rocking horse at the back, too.

^The wooden pavilion is sometimes used for creative workshops, food markets, or kids’ programmes. I’ve created some rad crayon art there myself..

There’s always stuff to do in London’s bazillion open areas, even during the freezing winter. There are the obvious Christmas markets and fairs. Then there are the less touristy activities too, like climbing up to Parliament Hill (at Hampstead Heath) to set off fireworks on Guy Fawkes’ Night (SO MUCH FUN), or trekking south-west to Syon Park to see the Enchanted Woodland (SO MANY LIGHTS). The low temperatures don’t stop people from swimming in the icy park lakes, either!

As for the summer.. hmm, this could take ages. Let’s skip to Thing #2.

This is the beauty of London.  There is SO MUCH COLOUR in its inhabitants. You’re free to express yourself creatively no matter how ridiculous it may look or sound and I LOVE THAT. The variety of characters you can find here is immense.. The whole world is here! Whatever language you speak, you’re quite sure to find someone else who speaks it. Whatever weird, obscure activity it is that you enjoy doing, you’ll find a club for it. YOU CAN BE WHOEVER YOU WANT. 

Most importantly, freedom of expression yields… crazy people. My favourite kind of people. Why do I love being in a city full of crazy people?
Because..

I can walk into a theatre and meet a bunch of smurfs:

^And get photobombed by a ‘normal‘.

I can wear this hideous, freaky, big-nosed mask that I got from Venice (it’s actually part of a plague doctor’s costume worn in centuries’ past), and prance around Piccadilly Circus at night like a mad tourist:

I even managed to get my caricature drawn!

We also went into a busy McDonald’s to see if we could successfully feed each other fries through the gaps in our beaks. It was not a success.

^The real tourists loved us 🙂

I can get on the tube wearing my fox onesie:

^No one gives a shit!

I can have a picnic with a bag over my head (and walk around the park chasing strangers with it on – I have a video somewhere) and have fruits as my guests, but hey it was my birthday:

I did have human guests too but they weren’t quite as exciting as the fruits.

And then there’s this scary clown putting down his newspaper to have a conversation with a cyclist passing by:

^Oh and me traipsing around Oxford Street with a guitar and balloons tied to my bag.

You can find restaurant menus like this:

^And end up in places where they teach you how to crochet… a sperm.

Now THIS is how you ‘Boris Bike’:

Oh I love that mask. It still sits in my desk drawer now. I do like Boris (for those unaware, he’s our Mayor) – he seems to enjoy getting involved with the community and isn’t afraid of looking silly. I don’t have enough knowledge about politics so I can’t say much more than that..

>>

But YES, being surrounded by so much creative energy, openness, an eccentricity in London has helped shape who I am today. I can be ME! I can be as silly as I like. Strangeness is mostly embraced here. I could start a one-person dance party on my street with no music wearing only my underwear and it’s fine. I could pull out a potato from my handbag and have a dance with it next to a street jazz performer – I have, in fact, done this (video is also somewhere..).

This freedom of expression was particularly instrumental in my personal development. I grew up in Malaysia, where society was a lot less accepting and less.. exposed. I felt rather limited there. Being in London OPENED UP THE WORLD TO ME.. It was like.. the drug of life (does that even make sense?).

Onto Thing #3!

When there are so many wild/crazy/creative people.. there will be special occasions for us all to be crazy together, OBVIOUSLY.

My favourite?  LONDON SANTACON!
When else can you have a Christmas dance party on the streets, dressed as Santa, with thousands of other people also dressed as Santa?

Just look at these weirdos! I love them:

You can read about my first Santacon experience here.

My second favourite? WORLD ZOMBIE DAY!
It’s pretty much the same as Santacon, except you dress up as zombies instead, and the music is less cheerful..

Some of the costumes you see on the day are freakin’ AMAZING. I really need to up my game next year, man..

^What a beautiful bunch of dead mimes!

The kind of things you can see at an East London club on Halloween weekend:

^A super cool bloodied fox. And then there’s me, with two My Little Ponies and.. a box of Pocky. Haha!

There are SO. MANY. EVENTS. There’s a day for you to ride the tube with no pants. Race people while flipping pancakes (next month!). Run 5k in an inflatable sumo suit. Get your dance on at a silent disco festival. Cycle naked. Go to the Science Museum to be a cockroach. You can even smash stuff up for fun. 

And here, play with a insane amount of coloured powder at one of London’s Holi Festivals (there seem to be a few now – Google will disclose details):

^THAT was so much fun..

In Sweden and other Nordic countries, they celebrate the crayfish harvest season by throwing a Crayfish Party. So why not have one in London too, right? I went to a Swedish Crayfish Party last year organised by Ocado and it was hilarious!

Basically, everyone gathers to eat mountains of crayfish together. Along with other stuff, like a delicious selection of herring, salmon, cinnamon buns, and Swedish candy. Washed down with cider. And schnapps. You also have to wear crayfish hats and bibs, and sing some funny Swedish songs!

Life in London to me has been extremely enriching. There is an endless amount of learning and experiences available. So many different cultures and people to EMBRACE! Oh and the diversity of food that that comes with..  we really are spoilt for choice. If I had to narrow down London’s best quality to one word, it would be OPTIONS.

THANK YOU LONDON for being such a fantastic playground and classroom. I have grown so much while living a such a vibrant, full life. So obviously, you’re my favourite city 🙂

The post Three Things I FREAKIN’ LOVE about London appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

It’s really a very simple song.. “complete with bird sounds and wind effect”

This was the first full song that I learnt to play! I don’t think of myself as a great singer at all.. but I do enjoy it and I guess for the most part, I don’t care how I sound. Which is why.. this video.. is here….

The grass was SO GREEN I wanted to EAT IT. Sometimes I get really tempted and put a few blades near my mouth. But mostly I just put my face really close to the grass and smell it. It’s so good. I love grass!

The scarf I’m sitting on is vintage.

MY WEEKEND

I spent the weekend getting super messy (read: messed up) at the London Holi One Colour Festival. It was a giant heap of FUN. At one point, my entire face/neck was blue and people called me an alien. Or Oompa Loompa.

Besides that, I’ve been enjoying the company of my friends and ‘doing nothing’. Reena introduced me to this new Netflix series called ‘Orange is the New Black‘, which is about a mid-thirties woman who surrenders herself to jail for a decade-old crime she committed with a a drug-dealing lesbian lover. I’m hooked! It’s been MONTHS since I sat in front of a screen and watched something that’s not YouTube.

NEED MORE HOURS

If I had more hours to spend in a day, I’d be finished with other shows I started (but never had the time to complete) – Revenge, 2 Broke Girls, Modern Family, etc. Maybe even play some GAMES! I used to enjoy my Nintendo DS (sorry baby I haven’t the time now) and Little Big Planet or Guitar Hero (I LOVE THIS) on the PS3.

When I was at uni, there was a period when I’d get through a few hours a week playing fun computer/pc games with my male flatmates. If you click the link you’ll be able to see what’s new these days.. There’s gonna be a new Sims coming soon! Back then I played with stuff like ‘World of Warcraft’ or ‘Counter Strike’.. totally geeky (and kinda embarrassing). A friend recently told me that he’s been hooked on some new title called ‘Darksiders 2’. I googled it and all I saw were pics of an angry-looking horse..

Though.. if I REALLY did have extra hours in a day.. I reckon I’d be a pro at electric guitar, have learnt a new language proficiently, and will have properly manicured nails (not these horrible chipped things I currently have growing wild on my fingertips). The most likely scenario though, I hope, would be that I’d have so much more time to dwell and plot and plan that I’d be travelling even more frequently.

Hmm, y’know what, I loved Orange is the New Black so much that I think I’m gonna have to MAKE TIME to watch it. I’m also gonna try out some games from the app store (iPhone). Hello less sleep and puffy eyes!

Please do tell if you have any recommendations for TV shows or games n stuff. Other than Spongebob. Cos I already have that (obviously).

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On a sunny day, all the colours – from the canal boats and kitschy decorations – come to LIFE. I am in love with it. Do you sometimes feel like you can SMELL colours? I think we’re all capable of experiencing colour in every sense..

Here are photos from April, when I introduced the walk to one of my best friends in town, Reena.

At the start of the walk, there are rows of parked canal boats.. I think some people actually live in them. I’m not entirely sure. But outside on the sidewalk you’ll see an assortment of items.. benches, chairs, tables, lamps, flowerpots, etc.

^Just chillin’ out under my blinged-out tree with my laptop and wellies, yknow.. normal

^You must never forget to notice the little details!

^Sometimes you’ll see people picnicking or reading or napping atop their boats..

I picked this set of photos to blog about because, despite it having been sunny and VERY HOT in London over the last 30+ days, it was a bit on the chilly side yesterday and for the first time in AGES, I had to wear a cardigan. I don’t mind the occasional thin jumper or scarf (I have a quite-large collection of scarves.. mostly lightweight or silk or vintage ones).

I was thinking the birdie scarf by Hobbs would be a nice one to add to my collection.. from afar it looks like little stars against a night sky, and then as you go closer, you can start to see that they’re actually tiny yellow birds. I like it.

ANYWAY..

^Patrick Star and my musical toy from Porto

^We stopped by my favourite picnic bench along the way and had some.. fruits.

Did I tell you that I LOVE fruits? I know.. kinda lame but I do. We sat there for a good while listening to Jack Johnson, looking through my kaleidoscope, and laughing at nothing.

If you know me well then you’ll know what I was REALLY doing..

^I really do love Reena! We were born in the same year, only a couple of weeks apart.

^Approaching Camden

CAMDEN MARKET / PEOPLESPACE

At the lip of Camden Market, we stumbled upon this totally hippie set-up called Peoplespace.. a sort of market/community. There were people sat on the ground, singing/playing guitar on the boat, and homemade cakes and biscuits for sale (for v cheap I might add!).

Everyone was enjoying the sunshine.. enjoying BEING there. It was just amazing.

There was a lot of handmade art to be seen and bought too.

And a lot of LOVE 🙂

^Above is my favourite place to sit down with some stall-bought food from Camden Market..

By the water, under a big tree, with lots of happy people. Isn’t it great?

As it happens, the forecast tomorrow is set to be 31 degrees Centigrade and I’ll be heading to Camden Beach with some friends. No doubt I’ll be walking out in my bikini and sunscreen + beach towel in tow 😉

PS – do you like the smell of sunscreen? my favourite is Coppertone as it reminds me of swimming training when I was growing up (I trained as a competitive swimmer) x

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Wore this outfit to Regent’s Park. I brought my sticker-infested ukulele along and wrapped up some PB&J sandwiches (did I tell you I’m addicted). I played two songs there 😀

That was after I found THIS TREE.. it’s like the best tree ever. It had loads of branches, and all very climbable (I checked with Google, that is a real word ok). You must be able to swim though, cos it’s quite near the water and you may fall in.

I wish I could take the tree home and decorate it with balloons, tinsel, lights, stickers, and some baby red pandas.

I walked up and down the biggest lowest branch several times. Tried to swing off one of the higher ones and hurt my hands.. *note to self – next time bring GLOVES*

This was to show you the colours in my hair and how they actually MATCH my jumper.
But it turned out to be a pic of my face looking DUMB cos it was so sunny and bright, hence I couldn’t open my eyes properly!

Sigh.. I miss my clothes.

It’s a real bummer I lost all that stuff, especially all my MAKEUP. But as my mom says, at least *I* wasn’t stolen. I’m still here and healthy and intact. And happy.

I try to take what happened as a reminder to not place too much importance on material items. I am a lucky person! I mean look.. I can see, smell, hear, and taste. I can walk and talk and sing and dance. I can feel the cold of the snow and the heat of the sun. I have food and friends and family. So really, as long as I have my iPhone (kidding!), I’m fully equipped to be the best that I can be.

The post OUTFIT – The Beautiful Tree at Regent’s Park appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

I was daydreaming about the sunshine while packing my bag.. at 2am on a rainy night. Sadly it’s not gonna be too warm where I’m going, but I wanna share with you some happy colourful photos from last August when the temperature rose to something like THIRTY degrees (centigrade). It’s almost mid March now and summer is a-cominggggg!

Anyway, my friends and I spent that ENTIRE day eating and lounging about next to the Thames in Richmond (if you know me you’ll recognise immediately that it’s a place close to my heart and about which I always talk).

^With Emma (L) and Zorro (R).. back when my hair was pink.

Yeah don’t die of shock.. it was ACTUALLY warm enough to hang about in a bikini.. 😉

^We had heaps of things to eat.. Will & Aysha came with one of those proper picnic baskets!

Now I’m going to tell you about THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED THAT DAY.

The water level rose SO HIGH that people were wading in the water on what was meant to be the walking path!

After a few seconds of contemplation, we decided that it was a good idea to jump in for a swim.

^I love the pic on the left!! ’twas so funny to catch that boy throwing himself in.. and then there’s Will on the right who tried to dive in backwards..

The water was ICY COLD by the way. But I was so happy that I went in.. loads of people were swimming around and it was a nice escape from the heat. Everyone was so HAPPY in the sunshine.

Later on, I proudly told my friends about my little swim in the river.

“YOU WENT INTO THE DISGUSTING THAMES??”

Horrified by their reaction, I quickly went on Google to find out WHAT was so TERRIBLE about swimming in the Thames.. and ok, fine, my friends were right.. it IS a disgusting river full of disease and germs and dirty things. You should’ve seen my face when I read that article about comedian David Walliams trying to swim the length of the Thames for charity and then got struck down by some sort of parasite that laid eggs in his intestines (giardiasis) O_O.

In fact, they were so right that the following day.. I had a terrible stomach ache in the morning… but let’s not talk about THAT.

^Aussie babes Aysha & Emma.

We had a little contest to see how many cherry tomatoes you could stuff into your mouth.. it was soooo funny. I was a bit ambitious and the tomatoes ended up popping out onto the ground in various places. We scooped them back up and ate them. Well I did anyway. MAYBE this was why I got a stomach ache….

^Aysha, Emma, Me, Zorro

We hung around until it got dark and watched crazy people hurl themselves off the bridge into the river.  It was almost like being the audience in a circus, as everyone was cheering these guys on to jump.

Just a couple more months until summer.. I’m counting downnnnn! Do you have a favourite summer activity? x

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We had a glamourous lunch of Maccas on the sidewalk as a means of sustenance for the rest of the afternoon.

We had initially wanted to Boris Bike it (for non-Londonders, this is the city’s cycle hire scheme) to the park, but we were stupid enough to think that the Boris Bike rails extended into Zone 4… so that was THAT.

In the end, it was the trusty 65 bus that took us to the green green grass just by Nightingale Lane. Well, us minus Alby anyway, who trailed the bus with his trademark blue bike.

It really was a spectacular day.. especially by London’s standards. Haha.

The air was cold though.. about 5 degrees (centigrade).

Whilst the rest were busy setting up and pumping air into the kite frame, I took the liberty of having a go on Alby’s bicycle. His very HIGH bicycle. I don’t know WHAT made me think that my legs were long enough, cos within 10 seconds I had banged my crotch on the bar twice..  I ended up cycling it standing up.

The kite is up!

Also, now I know why I’ll never really get into kitesurfing. Just SETTING UP that thing is SO much work. After pumping up the kite, you still gotta untangle the millions of strings that connect the harness to the kite. Then lay it all out. Have someone hold the kite while you wait in the harness. Make sure you’re facing the right direction in relation to the wind, and time it correctly so that the kite can take flight when it’s released.

At one point, we would be getting everything ready and JUST as we were about to go, the wind direction would CHANGE, as if to spite us. This repeated like a vicious cycle for about 4 – 5 times. It’s good exercise, though.

Jeremy was getting a kite-flying lesson from Alby that day, so he was very excited.

VERY excited ;p

In this photo you can see Jeremy holding the kite, waiting for the right moment to release it, a.k.a. when Alby shouts the order at him.

Controlling the kite is tough work! You really gotta know how each movement of your arms affects the way the kite behaves.

We were lucky it was windy enough that day for the kite to stay in the air for a while.. although I was mostly watching. And being yelled at to get out of the way….. :p

Jeremy, Izan, Me, Alby

Hmmm *refrains from comment*

All photos in this post were taken using my iPhone 5. I took a few hilarious Vine clips as well (find me @smallcrazy) but I haven’t figured out a neat way to share it in a post yet.. boo 🙁

A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

We stayed till sunset. And it was a magnificent, golden orange sunset.

I couldn’t help but take a two million photos as the group walked ahead of me towards and along the river in a quest for… food.

Jeremy brought along his classic Penny skateboard.. I’ve always wanted to get a skateboard for myself, even though I haven’t actually skateboarded before. But I’m confident I’ll pick it up easily.. and after seeing Jeremy cruise along on it so effortlessly and awesomely, I’m really wanting to buy myself a hot pink Penny! Maybe for the summer…

I love London. Do you? <3

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I was on the way to Baker Street to meet a friend for lunch, when a bazillion snowflakes started pouring out of the sky. I was SO impatient to finish lunch and RUN to the park.. and then when I got there, I realised.. that I had left the memory card for my camera at home. In a moment of snow-insanity, I darted off back to the main road to buy a new one.

Here are a selection of photos taken that afternoon:

I wore two pairs of woolly tights, and two layers of UNIQLO Heattech tops under my jumper.

I’ve been wearing the SAME THINGS every snowy winter it’s so boring.. zzz :p

It was such a challenge to use my camera that day. Everything kept getting wet and my lens kept fogging up. But I’m so glad I went to get that memory card because Regent’s Park was a picture of magic that day! Like something out of a fantasy world. The boating lake was partly frozen on the surface. The resident birds hung out on the ice, or otherwise slipped and slid around fighting for food whenever someone threw any towards them. I bet they wish they had ice skates!

I braved taking my coat off for a photo.. it wasn’t too bad. I think I was HOT from the excitement of snow that day.

The white parts of my jumper is angora wool and is super soft to touch. There are also some teeny pearls lining the design but.. I’m sure some have fallen off by now : /

The post London Snow 2013 – Regent’s Park (Part 1) appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Wearing Topshop playsuit

<3

Have been extremely busy
But hope to post more this week i have LOTS to share!

//

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Managed to find cheap proscuitto there.
LOVE it, I’ve been having it nearly every day, along with my other obsession which is fresh, perfect-looking cherries from the fruits guy downstairs.

Cream chiffon top Primark
Pink full skirt Topshop
Shoes Zara
Gold bracelet vintage (from mom)

The skirt feels quite heavy but it’s extremely comfy
Except that it flies upwards a too easily with the wind!

Can’t believe this was from Primark! For £10!

HA ha ha

At Portobello Rd Market we saw..

A big blue house with lots of windows

A very flowery house

Expensive, colourful houses

Normal colourful houses

These remind me of the beach houses at Brighton Beach (Melbourne)
Which can be seen here

Lots of antique jewellery

Old records

Antique swords

And other old.. weird things

Also had the most delicious ice cream there
Sifted through lots of vintage coats before finding mine
Listened to some really good street performers

Heard great 50s music along the way – I am a big fan, I LOVE 30s, 40s, and 50s music, big band, swing etc
Spent the evening sprawled on the grass at a tiny park nearby
Took photos of my accessories!

The ring’s also from my mother
It’s one of my (many) favourites – most of them are from her

//

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Over Saturday I had my legs waxed, eyebrows threaded, picked up a pair of shoes at Topshop, spent the afternoon slow-walking at the Church St Market near Edgware Road tube, and had tea with Roro + K  by the river

Weather was glorious!
But the wind was kinda chilly so actually I still felt mainly cold..
I suppose it wasn’t so glorious after all..haha

But I wore happy colours 😉

[outfit photos further down the page]

Came across this little stall and where an old lady with her husband (I think) were selling lots of lace, ribbons, and other sewing stuff. I bought some lace and fabric glue – which I later LOST – and 10 little rosebud thingies to sew onto ..err things. Sorry.. and a sewing beginner.

Best chicken tikka

We sat by the kerb and picked at this
I also packed a soft pear in my bag which I ate right after the chicken – yum

Roadside covered in spring

Took some happy photos at Paddington Green
The trees were beautiful
The grass looked like plush green carpet

Blue top no label (thrifted)
Skirt Topshop
Red tights JOY
Deep purple suede shoes Topshop

Really a simple outfit

No neck! Haha!

The next two photos were taken using the ‘pinhole’ function on my camera!

Being an idiot

Again!

The cafe where we had tea was located on top of the river
Best to refer to photo
If you live around London you should pay a visit, it’s really lovely (nearest tube is Edgware Rd)

I had an apple strudel with ice cream!

Cafe Laville

View from inside

Me on an empty tube platform – RARE

Post about my Sunday coming soon

It’s been raining all day and I’m sitting next to the radiator – I’m sleepy!

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