The Hallgrímskirkja

Neat, multicolored corrugated roofs

Magical Silfra - diving between 2 continents with 80-100m visibility

Þingvellir

Strokkur

Gullfoss

Keeping a safe distance from Eyjafjallajokull

More Gullfoss

Losing ourselves in the tranquility of Blue Lagoon

Beautiful phantasmagorical Iceland – stunning landscapes, intriguingly barren lava fields, individualistic fashion and music, and of course home of the most fabulous thermal spas. The perfect place to indulge your escapism, where separation from reality is an effortless and sometimes unconscious decision.

While Reykjavik in itself was small, we were adequately captivated by the variety of shops, bars, & cafes that lined the one main street that pretty much made the city. Our daily trek to and fro the apartment and the city square became part of a welcome routine as we repeatedly tried alternative routes in an attempt to explore every unvisited corner of the city.

Can’t wait to go back, rent a proper badass 4×4, indulge in more minke whale & puffin (defo not hakarl tho), and possibly check out the Iceland Airwaves music fest that takes place in October. Perhaps even watch the Northern Lights if time and money allow.

via Hedi Slimane

In honour of shark week which ends tomorrow.

Watch this vid of Anderson Cooper diving with sharks in Cape Town, SA. With no cage.

Insane.

Don’t think I’ll ever be put off lace. It’s classic, and has the ability to look elegant, trashy, sexy or all 3 at once. I may have one too many lacey pieces in my wardrobe, but it’s my go-to item when I’m outta ideas.

2)Rugby weekend

Tomorrow we’ll sacrifice a good lie in to watch Springboks play Wallabies inSydneyat 10 in the morning. Looking forward to crackin’ a couple beers, whippin’ up brek and gettin’ leery at the TV (lol). After which, we’ll take Schedi to lunch at the Narrow Boat along Regent’s Canal – fingers crossed for good weather! – then Harry Potter in the arvo … woohoo. So much to look forward to, as usual.

3) Boom Boom Club

Technically, this happens next Sat but I’m pretty excited about my first burlesque experience so this will feature in this week’s list! Not sure what to expect, just anticipating a good time with the gang. Haven’t seen some of them in ages, plus haven’t had a night out since … Zouk (S’pore)?! Says a lot about my antics (or lack thereof) here in blighty, but we’ve been up to our eyeballs in other equally cool stuff.

4) Ann Demeulemeester

So we were in Belgium recently, but it was hardly a shopping-focused trip. Furthermore, Antwerp is more the fashion capital than Brussels & Bruges, so I didn’t really keep my hopes up. Nevertheless, I’ve promised myself a few rewards IF I manage to achieve some pretty ridiculous goals, and these babies are one of them. A girl needs a pair of kickass boots to make her feel better about sub zero temperatures come winter right?! If we’re gonna freeze, we may as well freeze in style. Ha.

love this girlvia 5inchandup

5) IT girl alert – Tali Lennox

With Annie Lennox in your blood, could you possibly be anything less than rockstar gorgeous with amazing grungy style? Didn’t think so. She’s got an equally hot sister … double whammy!

tali lennox killin' it via Nastygal blog

After what seems like an prolonged absence from work (was on a course earlier this week, andBelgiumthe week before), this week feels like it’s gone on forever. For our midweek dinner date, we visited Melati inSohowhich served pretty authentic M’sian/S’porean food. P would argue that their beef rendang wasn’t up to scratch (expert that he is at S’porean food ), and I’d have to agree, but overall it was pretty damn good. Just appalled at the prices they were charging. I mean 8 quid for beef randang is just outrageous … we could very well be paying 10 quid for the entire meal (2 starters, 2 mains, 4 drinks) at Kampong Glam Cafe around Arab Street! But oh well, it was worth it to quell a little tinge of homesickness every now and then

I’m on cloud 9. Can’t wait for our awesome weekend to begin!

Hotel Pantone - May I check into the Mimosa room, please?

Fries Galore

P's Duvel and my Belle-Vue Kriek

Belgium - An (beer) Education

Tin Tin Mania - lovin' the street art all around Brussels

Frites Phobia

Ze view from the Bruges Belfry - all 366 steps to the top

Au voir to the lovely canals and houses in Bruges

2 days in Brussels and a day trip to Bruges.

The highlight? Tin Tin street art, Smurf Street, the plethora of primo quality chocolates and nougat, aroma of waffles permeating the city streets, climbing the 366 steps to the top of the Bruges Belfry, taking in a grand overview of Brussels atop the Open Top Bus tour, the amazing architecture evident throughout Brussels and quaint small-town beauty of Bruges.

Downers: The fact that I don’t like Mussels or fries (gasp!) – I know, I’m such a weirdo. But honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to really indulge in either – to each their own. The crap weather in Bruges was also a bummer. Would’ve been awesome jumping on the canal tour and spending a bit more time walking the streets in Bruges because it is just so beautiful. It’s made up of a myriad of cobblestone streets that twine this way and that into an intriguing labyrinth of ceramic roofs. Everything in both Brussels & Bruges was also ridiculously expensive. How the fuck do the Belgians live with the high costs slapping us in the face everywhere we went? Surely this exorbitance wasn’t reserved purely for tourists?

It was a wonderful holiday, wish we never had to leave. Did I also mention we went via Eurostar? Sure beats the hassle of airport crap. Checking in, queuing at customs, delayed flights, baggage collection etc. For train lovers like us, it is undeniably the best way to have traveled to and fro. Eurostar FTW!

via ffffound

Carolyn Sewell via Design Crush

 Can’t remember the last time I had a hangover, but being awake from 2-430am last night has taught me a lesson. White wine is my enemy on a weeknight – although, Thurs is technically the start of the weekend here. FYI – The Follie @ Monument is a pretty cool place to have a few drinks after work (I’m so not cut out for the London drinking scene tho). Also diggin’ Lahore Kebab House where Matt took us for dinner – damn, I miss good cheap food!

We have a really manic weekend coming up, so I’m totally looking forward to catching up on some Zzz’s tonight. Good thing we’ll be chilling at Screen on the Green – I’ve got high hopes for “Bridesmaids”! Judd Apatow will deliver, right?

In other news, I’ve revived my twitter. I agree with Barcelonista – it truly is a superb source of bite-sized info and has proven to be quite useful in offering muzak recommendations, health tips, fashion news, breaking news, and loads more.

I could so fall asleep right now. If only U2′s “Mysterious Ways” could stop playing in my head?!

Speedway - a true bogan sport

Speedway is fucking awesome.

Who would’ve thought I’d really end up in Cardiff watching the grand prix for real. The atmosphere was off the hook, and with each race more exciting than the next, we found ourselves lost in the moment. Not to mention superb seats – close enough to get a good view of the race, and near the entrance for multiple trips to get booze. We went knowing the bare minimum of what speedway entails and absolutely NOTHING of the riders, but have emerged true blue fans.

Definitely more speedway trips to come!

jumping off bus 38 on hyde park corner

 Hottest day in London all year – sweet. About fucking time!

We cruised from Hyde Park to Bayswater, had dinner in Notting Hill and finished it all off with some impromptu drinks at The Westbourne.

Bon weekend.