Things To Get At Home

Things To Get:

Tomorrow I will be embarking on a 24 hour trek to get to my lovely Welsh homeland. I cannot wait. I want to jump on the plane now but I still have two days left of work. As you may remember from the last few days of school you mostly watched movies and played games. At the time I thought it was because my teachers were kind and fun loving people, now I realise it’s because they were hung-over, stressed out teachers who wanted to sit the kids in front of something silly for an hour.

When I’m not being a fantastic teacher and sharing the joys of Mr Bean (How I love you Rowan for the hours of silence you have granted me) I am at my desk ‘desk- warming’. This is the name given to the Korean school process in which foreign teachers have to stay in school for certain amount of hours whether the school is open or not.

My desk warming for the next two days will consist of old Hollywood movies (currently it is The Seven Year Itch and The Big Sleep) and dreaming of the lovely things I will be buying when I get off the plane. So here is my shopping list:

1. Eggnog Latte….this one will be the most upsetting one if it’s not available since this is the taste of Christmas to me and not something you can find in Korea so my plan is, get off the plane and run to Starbucks.

2. CHEESE – cheese is available in Korea but its expensive and rare so I am going to get a shopping cart and fill it to the top with lots of English treats including blue cheese, cheddar, Halumi, brie, camembert and anything else I can lay my hands on.

3. Underwear – The weirdest experience while shopping for clothes here in Korea was being laughed out of a shop when I told them my bra size. In the uk I am not only average but a bit below average. Some would go as far to say small but here in Korea I am like a Russian Hooker. The only bras I can buy come in a special hidden section and are covered in dust. The other weird edition to the problem is all bras in Korea are padded so when I finally do find one to fit it’s padded up to my ears. I shall be happily wandering into every vintage underwear shop I can find in the UK. What Katie Did on Portobello road will definitely be getting a visit.

4. Shoes – This one will be essential to survive next year in Korea. My feet suffer from the same problem as my brassieres. Very very big in Korea. I luckily have a supply of shoes waiting for me at home since my luggage when I moved here was too full for lots of pairs. I will be like a kid in a candy store (but with the added advantage of knowing they all fit perfectly as I’ve worn them all before)

5. Herbs and Spices – I’ve recently discovered a few places that sell the basic herbs and spices in Korea but since I am hoping to ‘Get my Cook on’ next year I really want to bring a big collection. Ginger, Nutmeg, Chicken stock and Rosemary to name a few. I might also get lazy and just bring ‘Chinese 5 spice’.
   

6. Chinese food – the most ironic item on the list is definitely Chinese and Thai food. The irony of having to leave Asia to get good Chinese food isn’t wasted on me but it’s very true. Koreans have their own version of Chinese food that is probably more authentic but doesn’t represent the type I’m use to at all. It is easily my favourite food so when I get home I shall be feasting on Pad Thai, Black Bean and Chow Mein’s as much s possible. Mmmm

7. Dresses – for no reason other than I want to go to London and buy pretty vintage dresses

8. Tights – While I love a good stocking as much as the next girl I need some tights to get me through the cold winters and the average day while teaching. In Korea tights are a mysterious item that doesn’t exist. It’s actually extremely hard to find stocking too. They only have circulation cutting off stockings up to the thigh. I have seen my leg turn blue more than a few times.  

9. Christmas Party food – Smoked Salmon, Pate, French bread, mozzarella sticks, tomatoes salads, potato wedges, salt and vinegar crisps, chip shop chips, pasties’, scones, crumpets, butter…all of the above. I’m craving it all and can’t wait for my own little party when I get home.

10. Good Coffee – although there are a million coffee shops (and I mean a million) none of them do a good coffee. It’s very rare and expensive to track down a place that is willing to make you a beautiful Dutch drip coffee. Starbucks can give you a good one as well as a restaurant called ‘Butterfinger Pancakes’ in Seoul but apart from that , I’m stumped.

Merry Chilly Christmas

It's a day late but Merry Christmas everybody. This is one of my doodling characters, Doodlezilla.
I hope you all had a fantastic day.

By the light of the silvery moon

After a night of watching my favourite film in the world, It's a Wonderful Life, i'm full of smiles and I will be listening to this on repeat today.
(click the picture for some lovely tunes)

Dear Santa...

Just delete it!

It's about the little things

Before I write this blog post I want anyone reading this to know that this is just my personal feelings on a subject and there are a thousand different approaches to life but this is just how I’ve been feeling.

So today I made a very important and big step. I deleted my ‘future’ folder on Pinterest. I love Pinterest with a passion but I think it may have been rotting my brain. When I started on pinterest I quickly started to see a trend. This trend is the future brides, now this isn’t a problem and its nice to play pretend but I think it also gets people staring into their futures instead of enjoying the moment.
I never made one and resisted the urge to look at pretty images of dresses but then secret folders were invented so I thought, whats the harm?
This folder started out almost ironic, just a dress here and some flowers there but it slowly became way too important for me to imagine my future.
I started to upset myself for no reason, I started putting lots of stress onto situations that don’t matter and worst of all I started to already be disappointed with an imaginary ideal I knew I couldn't achieve.

A few years ago, maybe as little as two, if you’d asked me if I’d ever get married I’d have scoffed at you and told you how stupid marriage was. I didn’t have much of a marriage role model growing up and I didn’t know too many happy couples around me so I didn’t see the point. I worried about what that paper and ring does to people. I never wanted to be some ones problem and I thought that marriage was a silly tradition. Then one thing happened:
 1. I changed my mind

Now this doesn’t sound like a well rounded argument I agree with you but suddenly one day I was with someone who I realised I wanted to be a ‘team’ with. I wanted to be part of something more than just I and most importantly I realised that marriage is more about  waking up every day and still deciding that you are committed to this. Yes you can do this without marriage but I finally started to understand.

I read a book called ‘Commitment’ but Elizabeth Gilbert which tells you the history of marriage as well as the different cultural reasons to do it. Its made me realise that marriage isn’t a religious thing (which is a huge discovery)  and also it’s not something that’s trying to trap you. It’s a choice.

So although all of this sounds crazy and like a pointless post I had a horrible realisation today that all of these Disney school ideas had suddenly become an issue to me. Not something I understood but something I was worried I wouldn’t achieve (talk about a 180) 
So today I deleted the secret folder and I said to myself, enjoy now. Stop wishing you were someone in other people pretty photos and look at all of the fantastic ones you have now.
I think woman can sometimes be indignant. They can sometimes (and please remember I’m not talking about all woman) think that its their right to have a big and beautiful wedding but I think the real fear is that the person you are with doesn’t love you.
A few months ago my friend got engaged and when I met up with her to celebrate she was a different person. I’d never seen a person so happy or content. It was if she was transformed and I think that’s what the real problem is. We want to be loved and we want to feel that the person we love picked us. I think I weigh too much pressure on that moment when in fact people choose us every day. They choose to wake up with us every morning and they choose to laugh and be around us.
So ladies, if you are dwelling on a day instead of today….just delete that folder and enjoy the moment.

Pinterest Boards

I've finally got around to sticking my pictures on the beautiful Pinterest. Have a look and see what you think.


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In a grump

This week has been a bad one. Probably the worst since I moved to this place. I hate ranty blog post and I try as hard as possible not to do it but with all of this social media it's sometimes easier to rant than sit on your fingers.

So instead of ranting at you at this beautiful time of year I thought i'd write some of the things that make me happy to cheer myself  up and force myself to remember how many great things there are.

.Yoga


Yoga is something I am completly new to. I tried it for the first time last week and I instantly signed up for a three times a week course. I love the peace and quiet, the potential of flexability and the way it makes me feel instantly fit (even if I'm not). I love aching in the morning because it means I worked hard. I would go 5 times a week if I could. I feel i've turned a fitness corner. I'm hoping to keep it up for a long time.


.Christmas


Of course this makes the list. Its the best time of year and I love the lights, happy faces and excuse to be happy. Baileys, hugs and christmas films are always a great way to cheer people up. I can't explain how sad I am that I can't go home for it but I have my little new Korean family with me so thats all that matters.


.Cameras

My new camera is almost a year old and I love it. I love every day with it and I love all the things i've seen through it. I hope that I can master it even more and  become a better photographer.


.Asti

I can't explain it but I can't wait for a glass of fizziness this christmas. The lack of money and lack of home means it will be the one indulgence this season and I can't wait to enjoy a single glass of Tesco's asti. Thats right, theres even a tesco brand sold in Korea. I might even indulge in a 2000\ champagne glass to enjoy it in.


.These people

Autumn in Korea

As promised here are a few photos from Autumn in Korea...so far!

I heart Autumn

Just a quick post but I am in love with Korean autumns. The slight chill in the air, the changing leaves and the lovely sunsets. It's all so beautiful. I've gone a bit autumn crazy and have been visiting everywhere I can think of that will look suitable 'autumned!' so I'll post some photos soon. Happy Autumn everybody! xxx xx x

Things That I Really Don’t Like That Everyone Else Seems To Like.

I really try to see what all the fuss is about Macaroons

I saw this fantastic post on one of my favourite blogs SometimesSweet

I can completely sympathies with the stigma of not liking the things everyone else is talking about. When I love something I love it with every part of my being so I feel really odd when I don’t like something the world has put it’s stamp on.

Here are a few things that I’m not a fan of:

Pumpkin flavoured things ……(I’m with Danielle on this one, but it’s mainly because us British aren’t a pumpkin nation)

Jelly Beans

Anime or Manga

Macaroons

Aniseed or Licorice

Red Wine

Tea …….(this is the most sacrilegious one for a British person and I am scared to tell my friends sometimes from the rage they show me)

Reality TV

R&B music

Handbags 

Nicholas Cage

Mash potato

It’s really odd to me how some people can love something with such a passion where as I’m just sat around going ‘meh’!

What about you guys? What do you like to loath?

Have a good week lovely people xxx

Don't go to default

I found this speech given by David Foster Walace and it made me really sad.

It's a speech highlighting how easy it is to be negative by default. It is telling people to try and make kindness your default.

I use to think like this everyday (I was more Disney character than human being). I use to try and see the best in every person and situation but as work days got longer and I got older (and the kids I teach made me want to rip my hair out) , impatience and frustration did become my default and I do think we allow ourselves to just drift into default mode.

This has been happening to me so much over the last few years. I'll get annoyed at someone walking to close to me in the subway. I'll be angry and the person talking on their phone and I'll become actually angry and someone who makes me detour on my path as I walk to work, how very dare they cross my path! These things have added up to the point I'm angry at myself and a little scared i'm only a few days away from becoming an evil villan who steals childrens candy.

This speech is insightful and brilliant. If you have a few minutes I suggest you have a listen. It reminds us that every person around us has their own problems. Each one of us is dealing with stress and different life frustrations so maybe I should see people as people instead of barriers.

I use to be the person that would say a bad driver probably had an emergency to get to or the person on the phone talking loudly was excited because maybe they hadn't spoke to their friend in years. I want to think more like this again and I think this speech is really inspiring.

We are all just people. We have bad days and good days. Don't let your mind default to annoyance.

SPEECH

Downton’s back!!!!!

Living in Korea can sometimes feel like a million miles from home. This has never been truer that today when I discovered that one of my favourite shows ‘Downton abbey’ has returned to the British shores. I spent a long time avoiding it as I’m not one for period dramas but oh my I fell in love!

My vintage fetish is normally for the 40’s and 50’s but the more I research and look at different eras the bigger my love grows. I’m already falling in love with the 60’s, 30’s and 20’s so Downton abbey only fueled the fire.

It makes me want to drink tea, dress like a sophisticated lady and be in love.

Anyway I’m already caught up with the two episodes and I eagerly await the rest.

It’s lovely to have you back ladies and gentlemen.

London Calling

Lately I’ve been dreaming of London. Korea is a fabulous place but London has always felt like home and I’m just missing it.

In December I have ‘almost’ confirmed some holiday and I can’t wait to go back and see everything and my family.

My family is all in Wales but I am making sure to take a few sneaky days to get reacquainted with one of my favourite cities.

The rough plan is:

. Hair cut and dyed blonde at Rockalilly cuts

Something like this I hope!

. Clothes shop at Vivian of Holloway and Collectif (sigh so much prettiness!!)

. Lunch at Konditor and cook

. A wander around the national gallery and waterloo

. Savoy for a sneaky celebration cocktail before getting glammed up

. Then it’s off to my favourite bar in the world Gilbert Scotts for a jubilee cocktail and some free BBQ popcorn (sounds disgusting but its heaven).

. Proud Cabaret (of course!)

And ending the night at best piano club in town (but I’m not telling you where that is as it’s small and my secret!)

Sigh!

The perfect day. The only thing that could make it better would be to sneak on the wheel as I’ve never fancied going on it for some reason, until I left of course and now its on my list of ‘to do’.

 

The chances of this happening are slim to none since I have a lot of family and friends to see in Wales plus maybe a sneaky trip to Edinburgh to see my brother and his gorgeous finance but a vintage girl can dream.