POSTED ON: Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 6:13 PM | 0 comments
Third swatch from TL Design's The Good Life collection. Glamour is the most sheer out of the whole lot. It took me forever to try to capture the lovely holo bits in the polish, albeit still a rather unsuccessful attempt as compared to the other frequent nail bloggers.
Here's 3 thin coats of Glamour, without topcoat. Extremely sheer, so I guess I will use an opaque base colour before a coat of Glamour the next time. I really love the pink and purple holo bits in the sunlight. They're so shiny and lovely on their own even without topcoat. Falling in love with this whole collection~! Pity it's a Norwegian brand and they don't have it back in Singapore...
***
This week I came across this compilation of inspirational quotes online so I thought I'd share them with you all. I really like the fonts and images for each quote, they'll make great posters! Considering getting them printed out as posters and sticking them in my room when I'm back in Singapore...
I find myself relating most to the one on anger being a waste of time, and the one about being yourself because those who matter wouldn't mind. What about you? Which ones are your favourites?
***
I'm entering this photo into SMU SICS Make A Pinwheel competition. It ends on Monday so I would really appreciate it if you all could click on the link below and like this photo of mine on Instagram.
Do me a huge favour please!! (: http://instagram.com/p/mIoWuolYQo/
Alright, that's all for today. My last two modules have started so I'll be getting a little busier soon.
Take care and stay happy everyone! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Linköping
POSTED ON: Thursday, March 27, 2014 @ 4:29 PM | 0 comments
Took a 2 hour train ride to Linköping over the weekends (Stockholm C to Linköping C). It was a very last minute decision. Our train was on Saturday morning at around 8 plus in the morning, and I only decided on the trip on Friday evening and booked my tickets the night before. Guess I was not in a clear state of mind that evening and I would probably have never done so if my brain/emotions were working properly. So off I go on an early Saturday morning to Stockholm Central Station for a good breakfast while waiting for our train to Linköping.
Here's a photo of my breakfast: Ham & cheese sandwich, a latte, and a banana from Barista at Stockholm Central Station.
We stayed at a friend's place at Ryd Centrum which was a short bus ride from Linköping C. Our first stop was the downtown of Linköping, a lovely place with small streets and many little shops. Linköping in general was a lot quieter than Stockholm, more like a little town instead of a city, which was a great place for a short weekend getaway.
First semla in Sweden! I think this one is voted as one of the best from Linköping! (:
According to our host, this cathedral is a landmark of the town. I haven't visited many cathedrals or churches since I don't belong these religions but I've always admired the architecture and this grand aura about the building.
The weather was great while we were there over the weekend, and yes I love the quiet streets.
We headed to Gamla Linköping next, an old area preserved for it's unique small town Swedish life. It has wooden houses, cute little cobblestone alleyways, gardens, museums and quite a number of quaint craft stores (quite like the ones in Haji Lane in Singapore).
Behind Gamla Linköping was a huge farm (compared to the one behind Campus Lappis in Stockholm). Many barn houses like the one pictured below and amazingly large fields for animals to roam around. We didn't manage to catch any animals while we were there but our host told us that we could ride the horses and get to see all the farm animals in late Spring and in Summer!
Check out the huge fields! Imagine all the animals running around in summer~!
Oh boy, is that a hint of spring I see?? ^^
Our lovely host cooked us a sumptuous dinner that night. Thank you Vanessa Yong! (:
On Sunday, our host managed to find us a bicycle each so we could explore Linköping on our bikes! Bikes here in Scandinavia are quite different from the ones I used to cycle back in Singapore. The bikes here are a lot bigger and heavier, probably made to withstand the cold and the road full of rocky pebbles. So the bike I borrowed was so high that my feet couldn't even touch the ground even when the seat was lowered to the maximum. But the most scary thing is that the bikes do not have handbrakes! How on earth do I stop a bike without handbrakes?! Well it turns out that you would have to pedal backwards for the bicycle to stop, which is really counter-intuitive for me... So every time I need to stop (especially when we come to a traffic light junction), I would be panicking and shrieking and swerve onto a nearby grass patch since I could never stop in time. It's really strange because handbrakes are so much easier to use I don't know why they don't have it on their bikes. Anybody knows the reason?
Anyway, we cycled from Ryd Centrum to the Airplane Museum. They have a collection of mostly military aircrafts used by Sweden. The two pictured below are my favourites out of the whole exhibition.
I really liked this cockpit simulator too! Although I crashed my plane into the sea... :/
We headed back to downtown again for some last minute shopping (chocolate-grabbing) before catching the train back to Stockholm. Lesson learnt from looking for our train platforms on the boards: watch whether the trains are ARRIVING or DEPARTING. We stood in front of the boards for ages and wondering why our train was not on the list. Thank goodness a helpful couple pointed us to the correct board.
Yes that's all for now. Linköping really is a nice place for a short weekend getaway if you're here in Sweden. If you need more details on any of the places I've visited or any other information at all, do feel free to leave a comment on the comments page or drop me an email. I'll be more than glad to help you out! (Paying all the kindness I've received on exchange forward~)
Love,
Lorraine
Gamla Stan + Tekniska Museum
POSTED ON: Sunday, March 16, 2014 @ 4:35 PM | 0 comments
Back again for another post on my life in Stockholm, Sweden. Two interesting places to visit if you're here in Stockholm: Gamla Stan and the Tekniska Museet (National Museum of Science and Technology).
First up, Gamla Stan (T-Bana: Gamla Stan). The old town of Stockholm, consisting of medieval alleys, cobbled stone streets and archaic architecture. Here you can find the Royal Palace, the Noble Museum, the Stockholm Cathedral, a few churches and of course numerous lovely quaint shops.
We headed to Gamla Stan for the second time after a game of pool on Wednesday afternoon. It was already late afternoon by then and the sun was starting to set. The first photo here was our first visit in January, when it was still cold and snowy. The weather has improved so much now and we're seeing the warm rays of the sun almost every day!
Gorgeous old buildings at Gamla Stan that surrounds the square. Don't forget to take a walk down the alleys and discover those little shops by yourself. Some hidden gems maybe?
And little ducks bobbing along the river (:
We spent our evening sitting by the river, taking ten thousand photos of ourselves and watching the sun set before our very eyes. It was beautiful.
I've never loved and welcomed the sun so much all my life (considering how scorching hot and humid the weather is in Singapore all year round). It feels like a blessing to wake up and see the sun shining through my bedroom window. People are so much happier and friendlier as the weather gets warmer. I can't wait for Spring to arrive!
***
Next attraction: Tekniska Museet (National Museum of Science and Technology).
As recommended by our Ideation professor Greg, we visited Tekniska Museet two weekends ago. 80 SEK entrance fee and we were free to roam around and view the 100 Innovations exhibition as well as the Game On exhibition. It was a great place with many things for curious 'kids' like us to see, feel, touch, learn and experience.
Here's a photo of us in front of one of the 100 Innovations. I believe that is some sort of vehicle?
There were many other interesting innovations there too, the the evolution of the telephone, different types of sewing machines over the years and a really cool machine to pit our mind power against our friends!
Old school pinball machines at the Game On exhibition. My favourite!
The Game On exhibition showcases some of the old school games from the 1960s till today. They have early arcade games for us to play as well, like Pacman and Space Battle. Of course more modern games such as Super Mario, DDT and Daytona racing games (as seen below).
Our dear friend Tai Wen Ping concentrating hard on his race with a little Eurasian boy teehee.
Pikachu~!!
Three of us after a long day at the museum. Dear Blanche was wandering off alone most of the time so no pictures with her that day ):
Addresss: Museivagen 7, 115 93 Stockholm
(We took Bus 69 from T Centralen and alighted at Museiparken)
More photos of the four SMU kids together next time!
We have lots on our to-do list when Spring arrives so watch this space!!
Love,
Lorraine
TL Design: Laughter
POSTED ON: Friday, March 14, 2014 @ 9:40 PM | 0 comments
Second TL Design swatch here - Laughter.
A lovely sea green holo polish that reminds me very much of beautiful mermaids with their swishy scaly tails sitting on a rock by the sea. It has little holo glitters that shimmers in blue, purple and pink. I wish I could capture the holo effect as well as they looked like in real life. Pictured here is two thin coats without topcoat. The formula is rather thin so I think three coats would have looked a lot better.
Application is good and easy I like the formula pretty much. I would personally prefer a wide flat brush instead of the normal round one though, but no big issues with that.
That's two polishes down and six more to go from TL Design's The Good Life collection!
Stay tuned!! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Grocery Shopping in Stockholm
POSTED ON: Monday, March 10, 2014 @ 12:06 AM | 0 comments
Being a typical Singaporean, I am dearly missing the cheap and wide variety of food back in my country. So ever since I've been in Stockholm, I've been searching high and low for Asian supermarkets, hoping to find some familiarity in this foreign land and recreate some of my favourite Singaporean dishes.
Warning: Long post ahead.
This post documents all 11 supermarkets I've been to so far and aims to help lost souls in Stockholm (like I initially was when I first arrived) find good places to shop at. All the photos are taken by me (unless otherwise stated) and the addresses are those that I've been to. Of course there are many other outlets for the bigger chain supermarkets so I hope you'll find one nearest to you. (:
ICA
This chain supermarket is almost everywhere too, and it's the most convenient one for students staying at Lappis since ICA Lappkarrsberget is right smack in the middle of our Campus Lappis. The stuff here isn't at all cheap but the location makes it extremely convenient. Good enough for me to run down wearing a coat with my pyjamas underneath to grab a bottle of milk or other random stuff I suddenly need. Oh and there's the post office inside the supermarket too so that's where I collect my packages or mail stuff to my friends and family. (:
Address: Professorsslingan 15, 104 05 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Universitetet
Hemkop
This was the first ever supermarket I visited in Stockholm. A mad rush to get some basic necessities on my first day in Stockholm at 8pm when everywhere else was close. Similar to Singapore's NTUC Fairprice, with a good selection of stuff but a little bit on the pricey side.
Address: Mastersamuelsg 57, 111 21 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana (or what we Singaporeans call the MRT station): T Centralen
Pressbyran
This is everywhere, every single corner, every single station. It's a convenience store just like Cheers and 7-11. Limited selection of products, good for snacks and drinks. I usually buy my transport card and top up card for my phone here too.
Coop
One of my favourite chain supermarkets since the price is rather reasonable and the variety is good. It's pretty convenient for me too since I'm staying at Lappis and the nearest one for me is either at T-Centralen or at Bergshamra (another area with student housing by SSSB).
Address: Centralplan 1, 111 20 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: T Centralen
and here's the one at Bergshamra (Coop Konsum Bergshamra)
Address: Radjursstigen 3-5, 170 76 Solna
Nearest T-bana: Bergshamra
Kista Grossen
Recommended by a friend but I didn't like the atmosphere of the supermarket very much. The variety of spices and sauces is pretty good and the prices are cheaper that those chain supermarkets. They have Indian, Iranian, Chinese, Vegetarian and Halal selections on the shelves. Kista is quite out of the way for me though. Anything that requires more than half an hour of travelling time isn't worth my effort.
Address: Torsnasgatan 4-6, 164 40 Kista
Nearest T-bana: Kista (blue line)
Asian Market
Mostly Thai products and some Chinese sauces too. Not exactly as cheap as what I can get in Singapore but a good place if you're looking for Asian products.
Address: Olaf Palmes Gata 12, 111 37 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotoget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Mai Mai Asian Market
Just across the road from the previous Asian Market (above), Mai Mai Asian Market is very similar to the previous Asian Market too. Mostly Thai products with some Asian products too. Prices are quite similar in my opinion but one thing that strikes me about this one is that they have quite a large selection of noodles to choose from.
Address: Hollandargatan 9A, 111 36 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Hong Kong Trading
My favourite Asian supermarket thus far! All things familiar here!
Look at the rows and rows and sauces and spices and pre-mixes! I can cook chicken curry, green curry, chicken rice, laksa, chicken rendang, korean bbq pork etc. with all these! They even sell char siew (Chinese roasted pork). The instant noodles here are really cheap too, at only 4 SEK per packet. The other sauces are a little bit on the pricey side if you'd ask me, but I think it's worth the money for a taste of home.
Address: Olofsgatan 5, 111 36 Stockholm (perpendicular to Sveavagen)
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Oriental Supermarket
The biggest Asian supermarket I've visited so far, with products ranging from Thai, Korean, Chinese to Indian and even Japanese.
They even have a counter selling steamed dim sum and meat (chicken feet, pork knuckles, pig trotters etc.). The prices are reasonable too but remember to check the expiry dates on the products!
Address: Sergelgatan 16 - 18/ Sveavagen 17, 111 57 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Sergelgatan)
Lidl
One of the cheapest chain supermarkets in Stockholm (comparable to Willy's) and it's quite big too so they have all the basic things I need. I really like the layout of this one. It's similar to the supermarkets in Singapore so I find it easy to navigate around. Prices are definitely cheaper than ICA and Coop.
Address: Folkungagatan 51, 116 22 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Medborgarplatsen (about 130m away from the exit)
Matrebellen
Another cheap supermarket hidden at the corner near the T-bana exit. Not everything is cheaper than the usual chain supermarkets but they have really good offers on different items every week. I once bought a bunch of 5 bananas for only 6 SEK! So I make it a point to drop by to check out the offers whenever I'm in the area. Call me a cheapo auntie but that's how a poor exchange survives in an expensive city like Stockholm!
Source: http://klapp.co/portfolio/matrebellerna/
Address: Gotgatan 17, 116 46 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Slussen (exit at Gotgatan)
Willy's
Source: https://www.google.com/maps/
Another cheap chain supermarket just like Lidl, but the only one I've seen is very far away. Chanced upon it while we were at IKEA (which was half an hour free shuttle bus ride from T Centralen). The supermarket is huge huge huge and prices are very reasonable too. They have great weekly offers as well, like 4 2 litre bottles of soft drinks for only 49 SEK. I would visit Willy's more often it was nearer to where I live though. Hopefully we'll find one that is nearer to us soon...
Address: Dialoggatan 2, 141 75 Kugens Kurva
Nearest station: Alvsjo (commuter rail I believe?)
A few differences between grocery shopping in Stockholm and Singapore:
1. Almost all products in the supermarkets have their price per unit listed (bottom left hand corner in smaller font).
2. The cashier does not pack your groceries for you after you pay for them at the counter.
3. Every plastic bag you use to pack your groceries in cost money. ):
4. There are barely any sales assistants in the supermarkets to assist you with anything at all.
5. PET bottles are meant to be recycled. And for every plastic bottle recycled, you'd get a slip of paper indicating the amount "refunded" and this slip of paper can be used to offset the stated amount from our grocery purchases.
Happy shopping! (:
Love,
Lorraine
TL Design - Dreamy
POSTED ON: Friday, March 7, 2014 @ 5:22 AM | 0 comments
First TL Design swatch - Dreamy. A dark blue holo polish with mostly purple and blue glitters. Didn't manage to capture the holo effect here it really looks much prettier irl. Pictured here is three thin coats of Dreamy, without topcoat.
Application was a breeze, loved the formula. It's been two days and everything is still intact! Pretty unusual since they usually start chipping after 24 hours... :/ Not the problem of my usual polishes, but probably because I'm just too violent and careless with my nails.
Can't wait to try them all and play around with different colour combinations too!! *excites* Too bad I left all my tools and other stuffs back home in Singapore...
Oh and did you notice? I finally got rid of the opacity effect on the pictures so you can see them clearly without clicking on them now (: #ProudOfMyself. Yes that's all for today, a very short post to share my excitement on my first bottle of TL Design polish from a giveaway. Will be back with more updates on my life in Stockholm in the next post! Sleep early and take care everyone!!
Love,
Lorraine
@misscelinas giveaway / TL Design
POSTED ON: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 @ 6:25 PM | 0 comments
About a week ago, I entered myself into a nail polish giveaway hosted by @MissCelinas and @ToneLiseAkademiet. And surprise surprise, I was chosen as the lucky winner! This is my first time winning nail polish from giveaways and I'm really glad to be the lucky one this time! So thank you so much @MissCelinas and @ToneLiseAkademiet!! (:
I received a slip from the postman yesterday morning and dashed to the post office to collect my package. How excited I was the whole day! All the sadness and hatred from a bad incident the previous night instantly disappeared for that moment. I've never tried polish from Tone Lise before so this is my first set from TL Design. According to their website, TL Design is a Norwegian brand of polish with natural crushed peals in their products for added flexibility and durability. They also use unique minerals from the Dead Sea as their key ingredients in their products. That sounds pretty cool and healthy to me. Apparently they come up with a Spring/Summer collection and Fall/Winter collection with 8 seasonally appropriate colours for each collection, and also special collections such as neon colours and glow in the dark collections.
I won TL Design The Good Life collection that was released late last year. The collection consists of 8 colours (from Left to Right): Glamour, Sparckle, Energy, Happy, Girly, Dreamy, Crazy and Laughter.
And below is a closer up shot of the bottles.
The sunlight was great today so I'm quite glad with how the photos turned out. Very close to true colour. As usual, click on the photos for a larger and clearer version. Note to self: need to find out how to remove this effect from the photos I post to the blog. And the lovely @MissCelinas included a lovely little card in the package too! What a sweet girl!! (:
Will try them out one by one, can't wait to swatch them all! Watch this space ladies!
Layout: The grey bunny hops away ★ Ever since: 2011
I have a fetish for unicorns and whales, I live in Narnia. Do not fret, dear friends, for I have candy for all of you. Okay, you get the point. About you, wish list, your gallery, Tagboard here.
Do not remove credit, for I have a dragon that can eat you up. Thank you!
POSTED ON: Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 6:13 PM | 0 comments
Third swatch from TL Design's The Good Life collection. Glamour is the most sheer out of the whole lot. It took me forever to try to capture the lovely holo bits in the polish, albeit still a rather unsuccessful attempt as compared to the other frequent nail bloggers.
Here's 3 thin coats of Glamour, without topcoat. Extremely sheer, so I guess I will use an opaque base colour before a coat of Glamour the next time. I really love the pink and purple holo bits in the sunlight. They're so shiny and lovely on their own even without topcoat. Falling in love with this whole collection~! Pity it's a Norwegian brand and they don't have it back in Singapore...
***
This week I came across this compilation of inspirational quotes online so I thought I'd share them with you all. I really like the fonts and images for each quote, they'll make great posters! Considering getting them printed out as posters and sticking them in my room when I'm back in Singapore...
I find myself relating most to the one on anger being a waste of time, and the one about being yourself because those who matter wouldn't mind. What about you? Which ones are your favourites?
***
I'm entering this photo into SMU SICS Make A Pinwheel competition. It ends on Monday so I would really appreciate it if you all could click on the link below and like this photo of mine on Instagram.
Do me a huge favour please!! (: http://instagram.com/p/mIoWuolYQo/
Alright, that's all for today. My last two modules have started so I'll be getting a little busier soon.
Take care and stay happy everyone! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Linköping
POSTED ON: Thursday, March 27, 2014 @ 4:29 PM | 0 comments
Took a 2 hour train ride to Linköping over the weekends (Stockholm C to Linköping C). It was a very last minute decision. Our train was on Saturday morning at around 8 plus in the morning, and I only decided on the trip on Friday evening and booked my tickets the night before. Guess I was not in a clear state of mind that evening and I would probably have never done so if my brain/emotions were working properly. So off I go on an early Saturday morning to Stockholm Central Station for a good breakfast while waiting for our train to Linköping.
Here's a photo of my breakfast: Ham & cheese sandwich, a latte, and a banana from Barista at Stockholm Central Station.
We stayed at a friend's place at Ryd Centrum which was a short bus ride from Linköping C. Our first stop was the downtown of Linköping, a lovely place with small streets and many little shops. Linköping in general was a lot quieter than Stockholm, more like a little town instead of a city, which was a great place for a short weekend getaway.
First semla in Sweden! I think this one is voted as one of the best from Linköping! (:
According to our host, this cathedral is a landmark of the town. I haven't visited many cathedrals or churches since I don't belong these religions but I've always admired the architecture and this grand aura about the building.
The weather was great while we were there over the weekend, and yes I love the quiet streets.
We headed to Gamla Linköping next, an old area preserved for it's unique small town Swedish life. It has wooden houses, cute little cobblestone alleyways, gardens, museums and quite a number of quaint craft stores (quite like the ones in Haji Lane in Singapore).
Behind Gamla Linköping was a huge farm (compared to the one behind Campus Lappis in Stockholm). Many barn houses like the one pictured below and amazingly large fields for animals to roam around. We didn't manage to catch any animals while we were there but our host told us that we could ride the horses and get to see all the farm animals in late Spring and in Summer!
Check out the huge fields! Imagine all the animals running around in summer~!
Oh boy, is that a hint of spring I see?? ^^
Our lovely host cooked us a sumptuous dinner that night. Thank you Vanessa Yong! (:
On Sunday, our host managed to find us a bicycle each so we could explore Linköping on our bikes! Bikes here in Scandinavia are quite different from the ones I used to cycle back in Singapore. The bikes here are a lot bigger and heavier, probably made to withstand the cold and the road full of rocky pebbles. So the bike I borrowed was so high that my feet couldn't even touch the ground even when the seat was lowered to the maximum. But the most scary thing is that the bikes do not have handbrakes! How on earth do I stop a bike without handbrakes?! Well it turns out that you would have to pedal backwards for the bicycle to stop, which is really counter-intuitive for me... So every time I need to stop (especially when we come to a traffic light junction), I would be panicking and shrieking and swerve onto a nearby grass patch since I could never stop in time. It's really strange because handbrakes are so much easier to use I don't know why they don't have it on their bikes. Anybody knows the reason?
Anyway, we cycled from Ryd Centrum to the Airplane Museum. They have a collection of mostly military aircrafts used by Sweden. The two pictured below are my favourites out of the whole exhibition.
I really liked this cockpit simulator too! Although I crashed my plane into the sea... :/
We headed back to downtown again for some last minute shopping (chocolate-grabbing) before catching the train back to Stockholm. Lesson learnt from looking for our train platforms on the boards: watch whether the trains are ARRIVING or DEPARTING. We stood in front of the boards for ages and wondering why our train was not on the list. Thank goodness a helpful couple pointed us to the correct board.
Yes that's all for now. Linköping really is a nice place for a short weekend getaway if you're here in Sweden. If you need more details on any of the places I've visited or any other information at all, do feel free to leave a comment on the comments page or drop me an email. I'll be more than glad to help you out! (Paying all the kindness I've received on exchange forward~)
Love,
Lorraine
Gamla Stan + Tekniska Museum
POSTED ON: Sunday, March 16, 2014 @ 4:35 PM | 0 comments
Back again for another post on my life in Stockholm, Sweden. Two interesting places to visit if you're here in Stockholm: Gamla Stan and the Tekniska Museet (National Museum of Science and Technology).
First up, Gamla Stan (T-Bana: Gamla Stan). The old town of Stockholm, consisting of medieval alleys, cobbled stone streets and archaic architecture. Here you can find the Royal Palace, the Noble Museum, the Stockholm Cathedral, a few churches and of course numerous lovely quaint shops.
We headed to Gamla Stan for the second time after a game of pool on Wednesday afternoon. It was already late afternoon by then and the sun was starting to set. The first photo here was our first visit in January, when it was still cold and snowy. The weather has improved so much now and we're seeing the warm rays of the sun almost every day!
Gorgeous old buildings at Gamla Stan that surrounds the square. Don't forget to take a walk down the alleys and discover those little shops by yourself. Some hidden gems maybe?
And little ducks bobbing along the river (:
We spent our evening sitting by the river, taking ten thousand photos of ourselves and watching the sun set before our very eyes. It was beautiful.
I've never loved and welcomed the sun so much all my life (considering how scorching hot and humid the weather is in Singapore all year round). It feels like a blessing to wake up and see the sun shining through my bedroom window. People are so much happier and friendlier as the weather gets warmer. I can't wait for Spring to arrive!
***
Next attraction: Tekniska Museet (National Museum of Science and Technology).
As recommended by our Ideation professor Greg, we visited Tekniska Museet two weekends ago. 80 SEK entrance fee and we were free to roam around and view the 100 Innovations exhibition as well as the Game On exhibition. It was a great place with many things for curious 'kids' like us to see, feel, touch, learn and experience.
Here's a photo of us in front of one of the 100 Innovations. I believe that is some sort of vehicle?
There were many other interesting innovations there too, the the evolution of the telephone, different types of sewing machines over the years and a really cool machine to pit our mind power against our friends!
Old school pinball machines at the Game On exhibition. My favourite!
The Game On exhibition showcases some of the old school games from the 1960s till today. They have early arcade games for us to play as well, like Pacman and Space Battle. Of course more modern games such as Super Mario, DDT and Daytona racing games (as seen below).
Our dear friend Tai Wen Ping concentrating hard on his race with a little Eurasian boy teehee.
Pikachu~!!
Three of us after a long day at the museum. Dear Blanche was wandering off alone most of the time so no pictures with her that day ):
Addresss: Museivagen 7, 115 93 Stockholm
(We took Bus 69 from T Centralen and alighted at Museiparken)
More photos of the four SMU kids together next time!
We have lots on our to-do list when Spring arrives so watch this space!!
Love,
Lorraine
TL Design: Laughter
POSTED ON: Friday, March 14, 2014 @ 9:40 PM | 0 comments
Second TL Design swatch here - Laughter.
A lovely sea green holo polish that reminds me very much of beautiful mermaids with their swishy scaly tails sitting on a rock by the sea. It has little holo glitters that shimmers in blue, purple and pink. I wish I could capture the holo effect as well as they looked like in real life. Pictured here is two thin coats without topcoat. The formula is rather thin so I think three coats would have looked a lot better.
Application is good and easy I like the formula pretty much. I would personally prefer a wide flat brush instead of the normal round one though, but no big issues with that.
That's two polishes down and six more to go from TL Design's The Good Life collection!
Stay tuned!! (:
Love,
Lorraine
Grocery Shopping in Stockholm
POSTED ON: Monday, March 10, 2014 @ 12:06 AM | 0 comments
Being a typical Singaporean, I am dearly missing the cheap and wide variety of food back in my country. So ever since I've been in Stockholm, I've been searching high and low for Asian supermarkets, hoping to find some familiarity in this foreign land and recreate some of my favourite Singaporean dishes.
Warning: Long post ahead.
This post documents all 11 supermarkets I've been to so far and aims to help lost souls in Stockholm (like I initially was when I first arrived) find good places to shop at. All the photos are taken by me (unless otherwise stated) and the addresses are those that I've been to. Of course there are many other outlets for the bigger chain supermarkets so I hope you'll find one nearest to you. (:
ICA
This chain supermarket is almost everywhere too, and it's the most convenient one for students staying at Lappis since ICA Lappkarrsberget is right smack in the middle of our Campus Lappis. The stuff here isn't at all cheap but the location makes it extremely convenient. Good enough for me to run down wearing a coat with my pyjamas underneath to grab a bottle of milk or other random stuff I suddenly need. Oh and there's the post office inside the supermarket too so that's where I collect my packages or mail stuff to my friends and family. (:
Address: Professorsslingan 15, 104 05 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Universitetet
Hemkop
This was the first ever supermarket I visited in Stockholm. A mad rush to get some basic necessities on my first day in Stockholm at 8pm when everywhere else was close. Similar to Singapore's NTUC Fairprice, with a good selection of stuff but a little bit on the pricey side.
Address: Mastersamuelsg 57, 111 21 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana (or what we Singaporeans call the MRT station): T Centralen
Pressbyran
This is everywhere, every single corner, every single station. It's a convenience store just like Cheers and 7-11. Limited selection of products, good for snacks and drinks. I usually buy my transport card and top up card for my phone here too.
Coop
One of my favourite chain supermarkets since the price is rather reasonable and the variety is good. It's pretty convenient for me too since I'm staying at Lappis and the nearest one for me is either at T-Centralen or at Bergshamra (another area with student housing by SSSB).
Address: Centralplan 1, 111 20 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: T Centralen
and here's the one at Bergshamra (Coop Konsum Bergshamra)
Address: Radjursstigen 3-5, 170 76 Solna
Nearest T-bana: Bergshamra
Kista Grossen
Recommended by a friend but I didn't like the atmosphere of the supermarket very much. The variety of spices and sauces is pretty good and the prices are cheaper that those chain supermarkets. They have Indian, Iranian, Chinese, Vegetarian and Halal selections on the shelves. Kista is quite out of the way for me though. Anything that requires more than half an hour of travelling time isn't worth my effort.
Address: Torsnasgatan 4-6, 164 40 Kista
Nearest T-bana: Kista (blue line)
Asian Market
Mostly Thai products and some Chinese sauces too. Not exactly as cheap as what I can get in Singapore but a good place if you're looking for Asian products.
Address: Olaf Palmes Gata 12, 111 37 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotoget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Mai Mai Asian Market
Just across the road from the previous Asian Market (above), Mai Mai Asian Market is very similar to the previous Asian Market too. Mostly Thai products with some Asian products too. Prices are quite similar in my opinion but one thing that strikes me about this one is that they have quite a large selection of noodles to choose from.
Address: Hollandargatan 9A, 111 36 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Hong Kong Trading
My favourite Asian supermarket thus far! All things familiar here!
Look at the rows and rows and sauces and spices and pre-mixes! I can cook chicken curry, green curry, chicken rice, laksa, chicken rendang, korean bbq pork etc. with all these! They even sell char siew (Chinese roasted pork). The instant noodles here are really cheap too, at only 4 SEK per packet. The other sauces are a little bit on the pricey side if you'd ask me, but I think it's worth the money for a taste of home.
Address: Olofsgatan 5, 111 36 Stockholm (perpendicular to Sveavagen)
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Olaf Palmes Gata)
Oriental Supermarket
The biggest Asian supermarket I've visited so far, with products ranging from Thai, Korean, Chinese to Indian and even Japanese.
They even have a counter selling steamed dim sum and meat (chicken feet, pork knuckles, pig trotters etc.). The prices are reasonable too but remember to check the expiry dates on the products!
Address: Sergelgatan 16 - 18/ Sveavagen 17, 111 57 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Hotorget (exit at Sergelgatan)
Lidl
One of the cheapest chain supermarkets in Stockholm (comparable to Willy's) and it's quite big too so they have all the basic things I need. I really like the layout of this one. It's similar to the supermarkets in Singapore so I find it easy to navigate around. Prices are definitely cheaper than ICA and Coop.
Address: Folkungagatan 51, 116 22 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Medborgarplatsen (about 130m away from the exit)
Matrebellen
Another cheap supermarket hidden at the corner near the T-bana exit. Not everything is cheaper than the usual chain supermarkets but they have really good offers on different items every week. I once bought a bunch of 5 bananas for only 6 SEK! So I make it a point to drop by to check out the offers whenever I'm in the area. Call me a cheapo auntie but that's how a poor exchange survives in an expensive city like Stockholm!
Source: http://klapp.co/portfolio/matrebellerna/
Address: Gotgatan 17, 116 46 Stockholm
Nearest T-bana: Slussen (exit at Gotgatan)
Willy's
Source: https://www.google.com/maps/
Another cheap chain supermarket just like Lidl, but the only one I've seen is very far away. Chanced upon it while we were at IKEA (which was half an hour free shuttle bus ride from T Centralen). The supermarket is huge huge huge and prices are very reasonable too. They have great weekly offers as well, like 4 2 litre bottles of soft drinks for only 49 SEK. I would visit Willy's more often it was nearer to where I live though. Hopefully we'll find one that is nearer to us soon...
Address: Dialoggatan 2, 141 75 Kugens Kurva
Nearest station: Alvsjo (commuter rail I believe?)
A few differences between grocery shopping in Stockholm and Singapore:
1. Almost all products in the supermarkets have their price per unit listed (bottom left hand corner in smaller font).
2. The cashier does not pack your groceries for you after you pay for them at the counter.
3. Every plastic bag you use to pack your groceries in cost money. ):
4. There are barely any sales assistants in the supermarkets to assist you with anything at all.
5. PET bottles are meant to be recycled. And for every plastic bottle recycled, you'd get a slip of paper indicating the amount "refunded" and this slip of paper can be used to offset the stated amount from our grocery purchases.
Happy shopping! (:
Love,
Lorraine
TL Design - Dreamy
POSTED ON: Friday, March 7, 2014 @ 5:22 AM | 0 comments
First TL Design swatch - Dreamy. A dark blue holo polish with mostly purple and blue glitters. Didn't manage to capture the holo effect here it really looks much prettier irl. Pictured here is three thin coats of Dreamy, without topcoat.
Application was a breeze, loved the formula. It's been two days and everything is still intact! Pretty unusual since they usually start chipping after 24 hours... :/ Not the problem of my usual polishes, but probably because I'm just too violent and careless with my nails.
Can't wait to try them all and play around with different colour combinations too!! *excites* Too bad I left all my tools and other stuffs back home in Singapore...
Oh and did you notice? I finally got rid of the opacity effect on the pictures so you can see them clearly without clicking on them now (: #ProudOfMyself. Yes that's all for today, a very short post to share my excitement on my first bottle of TL Design polish from a giveaway. Will be back with more updates on my life in Stockholm in the next post! Sleep early and take care everyone!!
Love,
Lorraine
@misscelinas giveaway / TL Design
POSTED ON: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 @ 6:25 PM | 0 comments
About a week ago, I entered myself into a nail polish giveaway hosted by @MissCelinas and @ToneLiseAkademiet. And surprise surprise, I was chosen as the lucky winner! This is my first time winning nail polish from giveaways and I'm really glad to be the lucky one this time! So thank you so much @MissCelinas and @ToneLiseAkademiet!! (:
I received a slip from the postman yesterday morning and dashed to the post office to collect my package. How excited I was the whole day! All the sadness and hatred from a bad incident the previous night instantly disappeared for that moment. I've never tried polish from Tone Lise before so this is my first set from TL Design. According to their website, TL Design is a Norwegian brand of polish with natural crushed peals in their products for added flexibility and durability. They also use unique minerals from the Dead Sea as their key ingredients in their products. That sounds pretty cool and healthy to me. Apparently they come up with a Spring/Summer collection and Fall/Winter collection with 8 seasonally appropriate colours for each collection, and also special collections such as neon colours and glow in the dark collections.
I won TL Design The Good Life collection that was released late last year. The collection consists of 8 colours (from Left to Right): Glamour, Sparckle, Energy, Happy, Girly, Dreamy, Crazy and Laughter.
And below is a closer up shot of the bottles.
The sunlight was great today so I'm quite glad with how the photos turned out. Very close to true colour. As usual, click on the photos for a larger and clearer version. Note to self: need to find out how to remove this effect from the photos I post to the blog. And the lovely @MissCelinas included a lovely little card in the package too! What a sweet girl!! (:
Will try them out one by one, can't wait to swatch them all! Watch this space ladies!
