Korea // The Final Chapter

Hello! I bet you were beginning to wonder if I was ever coming back, right?!

Well, I am, I've just been so much busier than I could have imagined. Guess I should known moving country would take a bit of work. Anyway, we've made it and so far we're absolutely loving it here. We've spent the first 10 days basically getting our new place organised.  To my absolute delight they have Zara home here. Needless to say, I lost control and my apartment now looks somewhat like an ad for them. Whoops!

Anyway, other than my new home I have lots more to fill you in on, but for the sake of leaving no big gaps I'm going to show you some pictures from my last few days in Korea. All were snapped in a hurry on my iPhone so please excuse the not so great quality!

Pretty, Delicious Things // Ladurée Macarons

When I heard that Ladurée, the famous french patisserie had opened a store in Seoul I was thrilled. Macarons are a firm favourite of mine. They haven't always been though, I remember tasting macarons when I was much younger and feeling bitterly disappointed that the colourful, pretty looking treats were not as delicious as they looked. So, I guess macarons are really an adult treat, even though the colours may appeal to younger children. You probably wouldn't want to waste one on them anyway, especially if they're Ladurée. 

Ladurée is the world's most famous macaron patisserie. It was Ladurée who originally created the macaron as we know it today; two cookies made from ground almond, sugar and egg whites filled with ganache. These days there's a lot of impostors, even Starbucks offers "macarons" but  believe me, they're a poor imitation of the real thing! I've tried macarons from several of the famed french patisseries but Ladurée macarons are, without doubt, the best I've ever eaten.

I first tried Ladurée macarons in Paris some years ago and remember the delicious flavours and pretty colours well. They didn't disappoint the second time around. They were crisp on the outside, light with a delightfully moist and chewy centre. Whilst many other macaron companies invent new combinations each year, Ladurée works on improving and honing the set of simple, mostly singular flavours they have. The result is bold, sumptuous flavours that are a total delight and true treat to eat!

It's not just the macarons that Ladurée is famed for, everything about the brand is whimsical and enchanting, the stores are somewhat like a dream with their soft pastel colours, silk ribbons, sparkling shelves and pretty boxes stacked high. Unfortunately for Korea the store hereis not particularly big but does still carry their selection of teas, jams, recipe books and the cutest key chains I've ever seen. And, of course the macarons, which honestly is all that really matters!

Ladurée  //  Seoul, Korea

Christmas 2012 // Photo Diary

The best way to start Christmas day and get into the festive spirit.

Perfect winter morning  //  Snow on the ground and clear blue skies 

Santa came!!

This one was definitely not wrapped by the Mr!!  //  Nails - OPI Black Onyx and InnisFree Glitter 112

Unwrapping gifts in the morning sunshine :)

Thank you so much Santa, you know me so well!!

My favourite christmas morning tradition  //  Smoked salmon with cracked black pepper and lemon. And, some champagne to wash it down.

Heading out for Christmas lunch  //  Bag & Coat - Zara

Black suede studded bag - Zara  //  Watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs via Nordstrom  //  Tassel Necklace - HRH  

I think the photographer has had one too many glasses of champagne by this point!

Back home to curl up in front of some Christmas movies

Tucking into a late night (second) Christmas feast. Tis the season after all!

A perfect Christmas day.

So, how was yours? I hope you had a wonderful day, leave a link if you did a post about it, I'd love to see what you did and what Santa brought you!


xxx

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Christmas at Everland, Korea

One of my favourite fun places to visit in Korea is Everland. You might have seen it on my blog before, I love to visit especially during their special 'holiday' seasons. We thought a little visit last week would be a great way to get into the festive spirit. The minus 11 degrees centigrade temperature tried to stop us having fun (man was it cold!) but we didn't let it. We just bought ourselves a second pair of gloves and wrapped up as tightly as we could! It's no Disney world but it sure is fun!

Snowdays

Sunday How I Like It // The Mango Quilted Coat

Waffles!!

I think you all know me well enough by now to know that Sundays are my casual and comfortable day. I love nothing more than a lazy Sunday spent strolling round the park, drinking coffee, reading and relaxing with my two favourite guys.

Unfortunately for us, the temperatures here in Korea will plummet to well below freezing in the coming weeks, so whilst this new down coat is a pretty purchase for now, it's also a necessity for later. Last winter my thick wool coat just didn't cut it and I was just about frozen to death on a couple of occasions. This year I knew exactly what I needed, a long and thick layer of feather padding with a fur lined hood! Mango delivered the goods and trust me when I tell you that I'll be bundled up with at least three layers under it, a thick woolly scarf and the fur hood pulled tight around my face in no time at all. Yep, it really does get that cold here! Last year went to minus17.8°C!! 

For now though, we're happy to make the most of the much milder afternoons and my new coat is keeping me so toasty. I find something so enjoyable and satisfying about being able to snuggle up in big puffy jackets like this one when there's a chill in the air. We had a lovely Sunday, as always, and man were those waffles good!!

How's your weekend been? How cold does it get where you are and what do you wear?

xxx

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Saturday Shopping & Speedy Snapping

Ladies, how was your weekend? Mine's been pretty hectic! Dressed casually and comfortably (the only way in my opinion when facing an entire day shopping) I headed to Seoul on Saturday. I went to try and find sandals and the bits I'd mentioned in my previous post but of course, because it's what we brits call 'sod's law', I couldn't find any of those things. Not one!

We actually began the day by going to get my diamond set in my engagement ring. My fiancé proposed with a stand in ring (maybe he knows I'm fussy) and then we chose a diamond and had a setting custom made. As such, it's taken a little while to get it sorted but now it's done and I couldn't be happier! I absolutely love it! I'm thinking of doing a little post sometime if you guys would like to see it properly?

We followed that with a pit stop for coffee and cupcakes at my favourite cafe in Seoul. Yummy! After, we took a short stroll along a stream in the city then on to the shops where, despite not finding anything I needed, I picked up lots of other things. 

Come on now, you didn't think I'd be leaving empty handed did you?!! 

I snapped some shots on my phone whilst on the go through the day. So here you have a day shopping with me:

One thing guaranteed to get me excited - cupcakes! Far too excited in fact!

Three of my favourite things - my ring, cupcakes and my nails.

Walking at Cheongyecheon in Seoul.  Beige Linen Blazer - Zara.  Orange ruffled vest - Dorothy Perkins.

You haven't seen busy until you've seen Myeongdong, Seoul's main shopping district!

Purchase 1 : Lime green bag, my nod to the neon trend - On&On

Purchase 2 : Hot pink blouse - Zara. I also picked up a couple of tees and a rather snazzy necklace too!
 I knew I should have stuck to my new rule of avoiding Zara! Dang it! 

See that cute bear in the middle? He'd have been Purchase 3 if the fiancé hadn't got in the way of things. 

Taxi to dinner : I'm happy because I got new things, he's happy because he made it out alive.  

A Sunny Sunday At Mine // First World, Songdo

Yesterday morning was one of those blissfully peaceful mornings. We ate poached eggs for breakfast with fresh white toast and sat on the couch sipping hot coffee whilst the sun streamed in our apartment windows. I wish every morning was Sunday morning!

I remembered that I promised I would give you a sneak peek of  our new place soon, so I took a few pics to share with you now.

 

 

We're still getting settled into the place. But we're already in love with the views over the park below, something that we really love about Songdo is the abundance of outdoor space.

My fiance and I both have quite similar taste when it comes to furnishing our apartment. He mainly leaves it up to me though. His only request was that this one was more 'manly' than our last apartment. I guess I'd inadvertently made the last one quite feminine, ooops!

We already had the couch and TV table so I'm planning to base the colour scheme around those things. I prefer a neutral look of creams, black and brown. I've already added some touches of silver I had from our previous apartment (and the flowers) to give it just that hint of girlyness that I love. I'm still looking for a big floor lamp for this room and something to fill the walls but apart from that it's just small trinkets and soft furnishings that it needs. They're something that can easily be accumulated with time though.

At about 3pm we started to feel guilty for not doing anything! So, just to keep our consciences clear, we got ready and headed out for a walk in the park. We'd been deceived by the blue skies though, it was minus five degrees centigrade! We weren't dressed for that so the walk got put on hold and we headed for coffee instead. Not very exciting but still a perfect relaxing Sunday for me.

What's your perfect Sunday like?