Travel Journal: Japan Trip 2016

Buying funny beauty mask is a must! We actually bought  the mini porcelain masks here in a second hand shop!

So finally I scanned my Japan Travel Journal, and I would scan the rest of my travel journal entries from way back when, last entry scanned was India and that was from 2012, there are some mini trips I did after that before life takes over and I moved to Australia.

Talking about moving, we just recently settled down in our new nest, thus the huge time span between the trip and the posting of the blog. Every weekend we are either packing stuffs, putting them in the garage, and scouring for furniture etc since we moved from a fully furnished into an unfurnished apartments.If you would like to see my freshly decorated nest head over to my instagram, it is @shalindrome. 

Well, anyway at first I planned to do a haul post along with this, but actually I didn't really buy that much stuff when in Japan. I brought home lotsa food though but all got eaten straight away.... And Tadaaaaa here's my journal.....

Wanderlust: My 10 Days Packing List for Spring in Japan

So I will be leaving to Japan in a week! Yayyyy! And this is gonna be our first travel abroad as a couple.The trip to Indonesia doesn't count cause well I am just going home, and eating yourself silly with dang delicious Indonesian food is not exactly traveling, plus my sister's husband is driving us everywhere mostly....

Anyway I think it's about time that I sorta update my travel packing-list, use my own photos to you know, really walk the talk, and just do a short post about it. If you want to check my old and more comprehensive post on what to pack just click the link here, and for more inspirations you could also click this and that. 

I do realized that my packing list does not differ much over the years, but I think this time I am a bit over-packed and sorta got a bit crazy on the outerwear, LOL. I don't really need three jacket, one is fine... But when I started to pack my tops and bottoms I found SOOOOO MUCH BLACK, so to inject some colors I decided to bring along a peachy faux leather jacket from ASOS, because it's Sakura season, and a red long cardigan to match the Torii (Shinto shrine gates). I would love to be all serious and  mysterious and stuff and to just wear all black everything all the time. But it doesn't really work with my personality.
The suitcase I used is just some unbranded standard carry-on as you can see above.

soooooo many pouches

In total I brought along 15 pieces (12 packed and 3 to wear), and here's the general breakdown.
Outers
- Peachy Faux Leather Jacket (O1)
- Red Long Cardigan (O2)
- Black Light Jacket (O3)

Dresses
- Fringe Dress (D1)
- Mesh Dress (D2)

Bottoms
- Black Skinny Jeans (B1)
- Black Leggings (B2)
- Denim Shorts (B3)
- Black Laser-cut Skirt (B4)

Tops
- Black Long Sleeve (T1)
- Black Tank Top (T2)
- White Tee (T3)
- Striped Tank (T4)
- Black Ruffle Tee (T5)

1 Sleepwear

I used packing cubes and pouches to organize my suitcase, you might save more space without the pouches, but this way your stuffs are more tidy and you would have less headache when pulling out or putting in clothes from and into your suitcase. It just feels much nicer for me.
Don't forget to try out your clothes before you pack and make a note on the combinations, you could either take a photo of them with your phone or make a simple note in your journal:
Anyway here's a combos that I'm gonna do:

D1   T1 + B1 + O1
D2   D1 + O2 + Scarf (not in suitcase just gonna be in my handbag)
D3   T4 + B3 + O3
D4   T3 + B3 + O2
D5   T5 + B2 + O1
D6   T1 + B4
D7   T2 + B1 + O3
D8   T3 + B1 + O3
D9   T5 + B4 + O3
D10 T1 + B2 + O1

What I have to consider also is days that I have to spend on overnight bus, so I am wearing the same bottoms and just change up the top/bottom so I feel refreshed (check-in time is 3 PM and we arrived very early in the morning).

Above is the content of my red packing cube that I used for my bottoms and sleepwear compartment. Don't forget to always put your sleepwear on top, so you can immediately change into something comfy when you are arrived in your hotel/hostel. Oh yeah, I also put my mesh dress there, I use it as a layering piece since it weights and folds into almost nothing and a great way to change up your look
And here's what inside the blue pouch.

tops and a dress, plus a  camisole and a thin stocking.

 The basic rule of savvy travel packing is do not pack what you only wear once. But I do like to break them and bring a special something, like this dress for instance, I love it soooo much, but haven't find the occasion to wear it in the hot humid heat of Cairns. So yep, it's coming with me and I must wear it!

Easy Fashion Hacks

Let's say, in avoidance of calling myself lazy, I am pragmatic. I don't really consider myself an out-of-the-box thinker, I merely like to take the easier way out. I just found out recently that few of my pretty obvious solutions, other people would never even think of... So as per Miss Dindie's suggestion these are a few of my life-hacks.

1. Cuff and Stitch

It used to be pretty hard to find a ladies' version of bands/movies/comic tees that I like. If I found one it will be way too small anyway, so I tend to shop men's tees. But then I often find that the sleeves are way too long, and so I cuff them.... and pretty soon the cuff will unravel so I have to roll it up over and over again. So that's pretty annoying... Why not I just stitch the frekking thing in place instead. All you need to do is roll the sleeves/hems and stitch them with similar color, easy peasy. Make tiny but strong stitches, like you are stitching invisible buttons, around the top of the cuff 6-8 strategically placed stitches should do fine. Make sure it is strong enough by tugging and pulling them, so it could survive a couple of machine-washes. 

If you are stitching denims/pants make it extra strong and check after you washed them to see if the stitches needs mending. I am short so I do this a lot, I mostly get my jeans from the thrift shop or ebay, and having them tailored which is very costly here, is not an option I want to take, cause it beats the purpose in buying it cheap in the first place.

2. Split It Open

So you got this awesome tee/top and it's a little bit tight on the tummy/chest but you don't want to throw it away. Just cut them on the sides with scissors. If you don't want the split to go further stop them by sewing another invisible buttons on top.

 3. Customize and Make It Yours
I tend to customize and put my stamp on almost everything. From the simplest to you-got-too-much-time-on-your-hand-did-you.
Simply changing the buttons of your shirt or cardigan will breathes new life to it. I used to have this mustard cardigan on which I sewed little red mushroom button on, that makes me happy every time. If you collect vintage buttons I suggest you do this right away!

Put studs! Because why not? In my household a constant supply of studs is a must. Stud your stuff while you're watching a movie or tv-serial marathons, and you won't really notice the  numbness of pushing studs through thick fabric. Nah, not really, who am I kidding? I just like to craft/draw while watching stuff to be honest.

Draw stuffs on it! Or if you can't, put patches!

Below is the jacket I wore the most, I would love to wear more of my faux-leather jacket but then again I live in the subtropics and the HUMIDITY oh lord have mercy the humidity! I am addicted to biker jacket, and this one comes in linen and the Uzumaki patch makes it sooooo good looking from the back. 

When stitching patches, you can do just the simplest stitches, but don't forget to knot it every 6-8 stitches so it won't unravel too easily. Even if it is unraveling it won't come off altogether, you would only need to fix here and there.

I hope these hacks will come handy to you someday.... Do you think I should do more post like this? Do tell me what you think.

Capsule Wardrobe: an Adventure in Minimalism

As a plus-sized living in an Asian country where the clothes are tiny, I got overwhelmed by the wide array of plus-size clothing that I could get my hands on once I moved to Australia. Before, I don't even bother looking at clothes at the mall knowing they won't fit me, I have to look in the men section or for 'oversized' with a lot of stretch in the ladies department. Buying online from say ASOS is a hassle cause I don't have a credit card plus I have to calculate the custom in a pretty untrustworthy postal service. And here, I can sourced plus-sized very easily online, and bargains from ebay and even a special section at the thrift shop. So yeah I amassed a lot of clothing quite quickly. Even if I practiced 'before things go in, other things must go out system', my tiny wardrobe still chock-a-block with stuffs I don't wear. Basically, I SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY AND TOO MUCH TIME BUYING CRAP THAT NEVER GETS WORN.

The idea of having a basic/classic wardrobe sprouted, I dunno four or five years ago when I start doing pinterest, you know one of those closet-must-have-list that being repinned a thousands over. Although I never act on it, cause I just take whatever I can get that fits me, besides basic/classic is not really my style. So I never really act on it.

Afer a Labor Day/Birthday shopping binge, I kinda sobered up and have been planning to sort out my stuff, and one day I listened to an Konmari method podcast by my lovely friend Dindie.... then Bam! Eureka moment! Go listen!

However I did not buy the book, just some research on pinterest and youtube, and like my eyeliner and life in general, simply wing it. If I procrastinate a little longer, most probably it will never get done. While doing that I also encountered suggestions of Capsule Wardrobe and really like the idea. What I am trying to do is to combined the two methods together.

A typical capsule wardrobe suggestion is filled with basic and classic pieces like white button downs, breton stripes, black t-shirt, camel trench with a side of serving of black leather or denim jacket for fashion-edginess. Just try to type 'Capsule Wardrobe' and you'll see what I mean.

Free Printable: Agate Slice Valentine Card

Hello, loooooong time no see. It's about three years since my last post, and within that time-slot I ended my long time relationship, obsessed with work, then met someone new, got engaged, quit my job, got married, and moved to Australia.....

Anyway to share my joy in coming back to the blogging world, I decided to do a freebie! I hope it's not too late to use on Valentine's Day, but even so you could just send it anytime. Cause I kept the design and wording pretty loose.

You will get two postcard-sized designs (one sided with blank background), and I also threw in a few more agate slices that you could use as gift-tags. Do print it in A4 or Letter with 150gsm or more paper or cardstock. Follow this link to download.

Please tag my instagram (@shalindrome) if you print and use it. Have fun and Happy Valentine's Day!

PSD card mockups by Graphicsfuel