Bon Anniversaire!

Happy 2 years anniversary to Nigel and I!  Finally took some time out together after weeks of rushing deadlines and tests. To spend our special day together, we went to see the Dreams and Reality art exhibition.

This is the interior of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris:

(source)

I feel privileged to see so many masterpieces in the National Museum of Singapore (Ticketing details here) without having to fly all the way to Paris. 

"The exhibition explores the reaction of man towards modernity at the turn of the century from 1848 to 1914. The changing social and industrial landscapes of Paris in early modernity forced artists and photographers to rethink their approach to the visual world around them. Their varied responses generated new ways of depicting reality and a proliferation of styles."

The exhibition is divided in themes such as war, solitude and mythology. France went through many upheavals including industrialisation, the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and the start of first world war. These influenced the artists of that period, who sought to express their worldview or escape from it through their art. Majority of the paintings were done by oil on canvas. Here are some of my favourites:

Venus at Paphos by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (source)

Sorry for the nudity. At the first glance this reminds me of Eve in the Garden of Eden. According to description, the artist intentionally drew her back more arched than it should be (pay attention to where her left shoulder is positioned) for an erotic effect. I also loved how the blurred features of the child gave a dream-like quality. Some sources mentioned the artist drew the stolen 'head' (daughter of a wealthy client he painted - with clothes on) with an imaginary body and scene. Talk about photoshop in the past...

Young Girl and Death by Marianna Stokes (source)

This painting was originally shaped this way; I can't help but to notice those arched wings and arched bed frames too. The two main colours red and black represents blood and death. Perhaps I have an obsession with arched things (that explains my JC Lana Fabs). A young girl is taken by surprise in her sleep by 'Death', flowers on the side table are withered and this painting shall remain vivid in my memory forever.

The Engima by Gustave Doré (source)

This painting was based on France's defeat by Prussia in 1870. The background shows France fumed by its enemies canon. Under the dark sky a winged woman, probably the embodiment of france is asking the sphinx for answers but it remained silent. I was so visually shocked and overwhelmed by this particular art piece.

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Be sure to make a visit ASAP before it's gone on 5 Feb 2012! Try to avoid weekends if you want to really enjoy because the crowd was massive. I think it rekindled my love for paintings as a child! I'm still learning to appreciate art but I'm definitely seeing more this year.

Outfit of the day :

Maxi dress - Forever 21, blazer - Cotton on, sandals - Charles & Keith

I'm wearing Rimmel's Moisture Renew lipstick in 640 Coral Chic in case you're wondering.

Arm party! - feat. metal cuffs and beads. Bag from Shanghai.

Later in the day, Nigel brought me to this high- end furniture store named SPACE located near Sunshine Plaza. Didn't take any pictures because we were way too engrossed in the ridiculously well designed (and priced) furniture. I also discovered this furniture line called, MOOOI; I love it so much that I unknowingly used some of them in my interior design assignment.

We spent our night dining at an inexpensive food court in Sentosa. It's right where the USS globe is. The indoor food court offers traditional local cuisine in an olden street concept, pretty cool if you ask me! Saves money too.

Dulcecandy's Office/ Closet tour

I love seeing people's interiors and nosing into their possessions. I love to see the kind of environment people live in day-to-day.

Dulce Candy (yes, her real name) is one of the first few people I followed on YouTube in attempt to learn makeup. She used to be a female soldier who fought for Iraq! Three years have passed, she's now happily married, a mother of one, studying as a fashion student, a freelance makeup artist, fashion blogger and designer. Makes me wonder how does she even have the time and energy to film and record videos for her loyal audiences. The most amazing part is, she's only in her early 20s and has laid out her life in such perfect manner. She constantly mentions in her videos that she doesn't let her height (4 ft 9") get in the way at all when she dresses up.

What an inspiration. <3

Apartment Gaga

Just one week ago, I completed my interior design module over a time span of half a semester. Never looked back! In case you're wondering what I'm doing as a business student, my polytechnic allows us to take up certain modules that's completely irrelevant to my course of study.

I have always loved designing, drawing and customizing so the module was for me. Interior design is like playing Sims 3 on a whole new level - you get to customize every single inch of your apartment and furniture to the way you want it.

The final assessment of the module was to design an apartment for Lady Gaga. Here's what I came up with!

A very fake looking 2-D Gaga in her living room waving Hi.

I assumed Lady Gaga is not a good cook....so that explains all that booze!

"She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on in the glass of her boudoir." 

*so proud of my work*

I'm nowhere close to pro la okay. So fascinated with how advanced computers are right now. You don't have to be a designer to create a model of your room with Google Sketch Up. All the furniture (and Lady Gaga figure) are pre-made and readily available for download!

Meanwhile, I'm finally getting my name card ready...printing it tomorrow! 

In A Girl's Room

{ Stash of current most-worn items that I refuse to throw into the laundry }

{ Never wish to leave this bed }

{ E-learning week - meeting the class on Elluminate }

{ Favourite bracelets at the moment } 

{ Meeting essentials }

{ New in :) }

{ All planned out - a peek of what I do other than....blogging. Yep. }

I realize my problem isn't what they've done, but instead that they have the ability to do so. I am extremely controlling when it comes to my emotions and my relationships. Everything is a choice, every statement is an option, and every action has a reaction- all of which I analyze before making any form of assertion. Any words I say are true, any emotion I express is real, and anyone I spend time with I care about. I put extreme effort into each and every relationship I have, so I am extremely offended when the same care is not given back to me. It's a sign of true nonchalance, a display of indifference so belittling because I wasn't even worth a moment to consider how it could hurt.

- Carly Cristman

Hello new header!

For months I have left my header empty because I simply didn't know what was there to display. How uninspiring. I don't like changes. But now that I'm picking up a Photoshop, I came up with this... Still a noob though. Hope you like!

Photography by Holly Macaroni.

Barbie & Ken

Committed to chronicling the more sinister side of Barbie's picturesque life, self-taught photographer Mariel Clayton's body of work is a collection of images depicting the doll as an aggressor of a number of gory scenarios.

Complemented with tongue-in-cheek titles, the outlandishly gruesome images often include Ken, Barbie's on-and-off-again boyfriend, in the unfortunate position of victim: decapitated with a box of chocolate in hand, hung upside down and drained of his blood, scrubbing the floor with a sponge while naked on a leash, and many other unlucky roles.

The below images are not for the faint hearted!

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Source: Designboom
Photography by: Mariel Clayton (see more)


Oh my. My childhood is ruined forever.

What disturbing pictures. As much as I cringe at the sight of Barbie's I-just-killed-my-boyfriend-grin, I can't help but to look into the details over and over again. Did anyone else notice that there are rats in almost every setting? Ew! I love Barbie dolls. I still keep the ones I love with me till today. But Barbie as a serial killer? *shivers*

I still prefer Barbie in her Fairytopia suit. You decide!

Design Your Dorm

Design yours at http://designyourdorm.com/

This is my current room layout!

Hahaha well it's not to scale, neither does it resemble much in terms of colours, furniture etc. I am intrigued by how interior design creates 'invisible spaces'. My dad always tells me that beautiful spaces are not built solely with things we see - sophisticated furniture, stacks of organized junk etc., but rather, with spaces we create. Don't make sense? Browse through IKEA catalogue and notice how their showrooms are never too packed, yet there's a place for everything.

Anyway if you're like me who enjoys nosing into people's bedrooms here's some links that you might enjoy:

{Geeky scientist guy's room}

{Girly girl's room}

{Dreamy room in attic}

Have a great week ahead everyone! :)