Interior Inspiration: Just Go With the Faux

I love having fresh flowers in the house. After we moved into our house last summer, I'd occasionally treat myself to a bouquet every Thursday or Friday at the flower stall outside the tube station near my office, with the weekend in mind. In the spring, I patiently tolerated the crowds at Columbia Road flower market just to get my hands on some final reduced stems of hydrangea and peonies at closing time.

But as long as roses last, they also, um, eventually die, and sometimes I don't get around to getting a new bunch every week. So, when I popped into Abigail Ahern's new "atelier" in Islington (they recently moved from Upper Street to Essex Road) to pick up a bronze starfish I'd ordered online in the sale (don't ask), I used the last few minutes before closing time to choose some faux flowers for our home.

The hardest part? Choosing between all the different varieties and pretty colors. Finally, I gave up and asked a sales assistant for help - she was lovely and gave me some excellent suggestions, before I left the store with this bouquet.

(The starfish in question.)

Even before I knew that Red Magazine had dubbed interior designer Abigail Ahern, "the Chanel of faux flowers", I'd fallen for her beautiful, realistic blooms. John and I were walking past her concession at Heal's one evening and I stopped to admire the gorgeous arrangements, assuming they were real. Previously, I'd been dead set against having faux flowers in my house; they looked dated and tacky. But these - these were different. The flowers more relaxed than stiff; more rustic than formal.

I chose this gold vase from H&M Home that I featured in this wishlist post for my artificial bouquet because it happened to be the perfect size but also, I wouldn't have to worry about putting water in a clear vase to make the arrangement look more "real"!

What about you? Would you ever "go faux"?

My Favorite Photo Editing Apps For Flatlays, Food, and More

If I'd started blogging in, say, 2014 then yeah, sure - I would have paid more attention to the quality of the photos I was posting and focused on "audience engagement" (shudder, shudder, shudder).

But I started blogging in 2010. And back then, my blog was read by approximately four people: my mom, my mom's friend, my mother-in-law, and me. So I didn't really pay that much attention to my images. Instagram was nowhere what it is today (i.e. all stylized posts and hashtags) and frankly, I didn't really know how to make my blog and photos look more glossy and polished.

Bloggers can be so reticent about sharing their knowledge. On one hand, I kind of get it: it's like, you love your mama's secret bolognese sauce so much, you don't want anyone else to know that a sprinkle of nutmeg at the very end is what gives it that gorgeous umami flavor (I totally made that up, btw. Has anyone tried nutmeg in spaghetti bolognese? Yes? No? What is umami, exactly?).

But I'm terrible at keeping secrets, so here are the two photo editing apps I use on a daily basis ...

Although I have Photoshop at home, I edit most of my photos on-the-go, which means that I depend on apps. I watched a YouTube video the other day of a fashion blogger who edits a single photo in four different apps before posting it to Instagram (I'm sure there are people out there who use more).

I have neither the time nor the patience. Sometimes, I edit a photo so much that my eyes cross and I have to ask John, "Which is better? One? Or ... [swipes to second version] two? One? Or ... two?" After a long pause he eventually offers, "They look exactly the same". Helpful.

So, for now, I mostly use two: VSCOCam and Snapseed.

I really like the HB1 and HB2 filters in VSCOCam for flatlays and food. I used to use the filter on "full strength", but now I prefer a more subtle look as these filters can sometimes zap the saturation out of an image.

I also tend to use the HB1 and HB2 filters for my #fwis photos on Instagram:

For landscapes and architecture when I'm out and about in London, I like to use Snapseed, which is Google's photo-editing app. I feel like I can really "fine-tune" my photos using the tools in this app (there are so many terrific tutorials online and on YouTube), plus some of the filters can make a photo look really sharp.

Unlike other Instagrammers and bloggers, I don't have a set filter that I use all the time. This means that my "grid" can be inconsistent, but I prefer using whatever method I think looks best in that moment.

The HDR Scape filter is a little OTT and crazy, but sometimes, I can't resist it!

We recently visited Aqua Shard for breakfast on a grey and gloomy morning. I snuck a quick pic on my way to the bathroom and, while the view was still spectacular, the tonal contrast of the buildings below looked quite flat and ugly. A few swipes later ...

A little more vibrant and softer, right?

Even sans filter, I find the tools in Snapseed really easy to use. It's the best for making photos brighter and lighter without compromising on quality or sharpness.

When I'm taking photos with my Olympus PEN (like the pic above), however, I tend to leave them alone. I have a 45mm lens that I love which produces very clear, sharp, and bright images. For these photos, I typically just push up the brightness and contrast a little when posting to Instagram.

Do you edit your photos or do you prefer an au naturel look? What are your favorite photo editing apps?

Update: Cherie, in the comments below (follow her on Instagram @delicately - she is so lovely!) just reminded me of Afterlight, which I know is super popular amongst bloggers. I've just downloaded it and love it!

How To: Organize Your Wardrobe

How was your weekend? We had a Bank Holiday on Monday, so John and I took the opportunity to purge our house of all the stuff we didn't need and ... it was hard. Hard to part with some things I'd been hanging on to for a while (but I was ruthless); hard to find the motivation to get to the bottom of that box, if you know what I mean.

I'm not going to lie: I'm the messiest person ever. I have a bad habit of leaving piles around the house (piles of paper, piles of jewelry) and I never, ever hang up my clothes. But walking into our messy room at the end of the day (because of my clothes piles, oops!) was making me angry and anxious - and I was the only person who could do anything about it.

So, I went to H&M Home and bought these felt boxes for £14.99. They're perfect for storing my small handbags, scarves, and other winter accessories. To avoid piling up clothes in that area of my wardrobe, I made a pact with myself to always either fold what I wasn't wearing in my chest of drawers (like t-shirts or sweaters) and to hang things like coats, jackets, dresses, and blouses. It felt so satisfying to open my wardrobe doors and to see order, rather than chaos!

Then there was the issue of my accessories ... during the summer, my sunglasses are strewn everywhere (mostly at the bottom of my handbags, which is why I never buy expensive sunglasses) and I forget that I own half the costume jewelry that I do because it's hidden in boxes and drawers.

So, I bought two jewelry display cases from eBay (they were something like £7 each) and put all my sunglasses and costume jewelry in them. At the end of the day, I realized that it was about having a "home" for everything - it's much harder to misplace things when you return it back to its place (easier said than done, I know!).

Finally, I decided to tackle my fragrance collection. I love wearing perfume, but it cluttered up my small vanity table, so I tended to keep the bottles out of sight ... and promptly forgot they existed. On that same trip to H&M Home, I bought this gold tray (£6.99), which comes in three different sizes (John bought some as well for his cuff links and collar stays). It's just the right size for my small perfume collection, and it's pretty to boot.

Do you have any great storage suggestions? I'd love to hear them. I miss places like Bed, Bath & Beyond and The Container Store in the States, which are so handy for storage solutions like these. I find that buying things like storage and other home organization tools in the UK involve a lot of trial and error, which can be frustrating (especially when you're carting them home from work on the tube or having to stay in for a delivery to your door!).

Interior Inspiration: Homeware Wishlist

I was supposed to "spring" clean AKA Marie Kondo our house, but then spring turned into summer and I'm still sitting amidst a pile of books stacked around me in the living room, eyeing up skirts I haven't worn for years that are threatening to topple the lids off of clear Tupperware containers and walking past random pieces of paper that are too important to throw away yet not important enough to put away (you feel me on this one?).

So, even though I should really be minimizing, these are the five items I found online this week that I've been drooling over and just can't quite get out of my head:

1. Mint green enamel bowls - specifically, for ice cream. I've been eating so much ice cream since my jaw/sinus operation (and a subsequent abscessed tooth on the opposite side - don't even ask) that I think I'm going to turn into a tub of Madagascan slow-churned vanilla. Then I became unsatisfied with scooping ice cream into the plain white bowls we use for soup and am now convinced that I need these mint enamel bowls from Postcards Home, specifically for ice cream.

2. Gold glass vase - for my new Abigail Ahern faux flowers. So faux, yet so realistic. You'll see.

3. Cotton throw - just to, you know, drape casually across our West Elm garden sectional and wrap around myself for evening movie nights that are inadvertently cut short by mosquitos biting every bit of exposed skin. Sad face.

4. Marble salt cellar - when we stayed at an Airbnb in Bordeaux, the owner had this effortlessly chic way of storing salt in her kitchen: in a little glass dish with an impossibly small spoon. It was simple, irreverent, and totally French. This OTT beauty from Att Pynta is my way of paying homage to this way of French cooking.

5. Ikat bamboo placemats - for outdoor dining. They'd look great on our garden table.

What's on your wishlist?

London: 5 Things To Eat This Weekend

So, I'm off to a wedding this weekend (yay for getting dressed up, watching my friend walk down the aisle and crying all the good, happy tears when she does!) in Norfolk, but if you're around in London, you might want to grab a bite to eat at one of these five fabulous places ...

Brisket fries at The Old Crown Public House, Holborn

Slow braised beef on fries, topped with melted cheddar cheese, served with The O.C.'s (that's how they refer to themselves - I'm from the West Coast, where that phrase conjures up a whole other kind of meaning. You CA kids know what I mean.) special sauces. I tried these with a bunch of friends after work on my way to another event and I was pretty sad to have to leave these fries behind. Share or have all to yourself: they're worth it.

Brioche French toast for lunch at The Black Penny, Covent Garden

The Black Penny's breakfast menu is served well past traditional "lunch time", so I came here with Julianna Barnaby of Barnaby & Co. (check out their amazing homeware!) and did not regret ordering the brioche French toast with stewed rhubarb, vanilla ricotta, salted pistachios and honey. Not one bit. It looked so tasty, the well-to-do ladies at the table next to us leaned over and said, "Excuse us - we don't mean to be rude, but that looks absolutely marvellous. What is it?" Fact.

Burger, crinkle-cut fries and a shake (and a concrete) at Shake Shack

John and I went on this insane shopping spree at Westfield Stratford a few weekends ago. As if that wasn't gluttonous enough, we stopped at Shake Shack on our way out and had the dreamiest burger and fries, washed down with a Black & White milkshake for me (vanilla frozen custard hand-spun with chocolate fudge sauce) and a concrete (dense frozen custard ice cream with goodies like peanut butter, chocolate, etc. mixed in) for him. I don't know what took me so long to try Shake Shack, but it lived up to the hype. Completely. "What the hell were we doing before Shake Shack?" John exclaimed as we left. I don't know, husband, I don't know.

Cotton candy-encased matcha and hojicha soft serve ice cream at Milk Train Cafe, Covent Garden

I posted this photo in a local foodie Facebook group I'm part of and the observations were: "Looks like someone sh*t on a cloud" and "A good way to ruin candy floss. Smells of hipsterism to me". Oh the poor, sad souls who feel threatened by new food inventions. Too bad their tastebuds will never be tickled by something that isn't a sirloin steak or bag of salty vinegar chips. I cry for them, because this ice cream was one of the tastiest soft serves I've ever tried, and the cotton candy was fun (albeit a bit messy) to unravel from the cone it was attached to. Worth a visit.

For those who are frightened by anything more exotic than vanilla ice cream, however, there's always spaghetti bolognese at Spaghetti House, which, despite being a chain, ranks high on my list of London haunts for one reason: tradition. Every month, I have lunch there with a friend from work and we always order the same thing: spag bol for me, a simple spaghetti with pecorino and olive oil for her, a side salad, garlic bread to share and - if we're feeling celebratory - a glass of red wine each. It's our "comfort" lunch, really, where we catch up on life outside work and talk about everything we can't at our desks. The food isn't Michelin-starred or trendy and not much more can be said about the service or the atmosphere, but it does what it says on the tin.

Where have you been eating (or cooking) lately? I'd love to know!

(p.s. a really weird thing just happened: I typed in the title of the post and suddenly realized, I live in London? That's so crazy/totally cool!)

Current Favorite: The Camden Watch Company

When I was in high school, I had a summer job as a sales assistant at a now-defunct department store in my hometown. Low points included hanging up returned men's underwear and selling store credit to customers I knew probably couldn't afford to make their payments just so I could keep my job (we had to meet a certain quota every week, otherwise our hours were cut). High points included gazing at the jewelry counter ever-so-often and using the store discount, which came in handy. I had my eye on a particular watch, so I saved up for it all summer long. On my last shift, I came home exhausted and turned over the covers in my bed to find the watch sitting there, in a box. My dad had bought it for me - not wanting me to spend my hard-earned money, but meanwhile teaching me a lesson about saving up for something (it didn't work, by the way, I still anxiously eye my bank account the week before every payday).

It also goes to show that I love watches. They serve a practical function, sure, but I treat them like any other accessory and - depending on what mood I'm in - I might wear my rose gold bracelet watch from Kate Spade on days I'm feeling fancy or my minimalist black, leather-strap Cluse watch on days I'm feeling cool (note: I am neither fancy or cool).

This summer, not unlike that high school summer I described above, I pined after (very specifically) a watch with a white face and a light grey leather strap.

Then I saw the No. 27 by The Camden Watch Company (named after the No. 27 bus in London) and I got the same feeling I had when I was seventeen and looking through a glass jewelry display.

A modern take on the classic vintage dials seen on Victorian clocks and pocket watches, this watch spoke to me. A little oversized (but not too clownish on my bitty wrists), it has an industrial feel to it and is evocative of London's streets, markets, and history. The light grey strap makes it easier to wear with my lighter, pastel-palette summer wardrobe and it's something I'd slip on for a wedding or for a casual weekend picnic.

It's a beauty. It's also wonderful to see a London-based, British watch brand thriving in the indie watch-making scene. Although The Camden Watch Company's roots are in Switzerland (which is famed, amongst other things, for its luxury watch industry and design), its place is firmly in Camden, where its two founders, Anneke Short and Jerome Robert, currently live.

Each watch is named after a bus route that runs through Camden Town and each is designed at The Camden Watch Company's offices in Camden. In fact, the watch is so Camden-centric, the back is stamped with the motto found on the crest of Camden: "Not For One But For All".

All these little details make the watch so special, and the design is actually very similar to the one my dad gave me all those years ago. I'm getting all sentimental.

I'm a fan of the other watches in The Camden Watch Company's collection, including the No. 88 (it's so simple and classic!) and the No. 24 Northern Line, which I think would look great on John. Which one would you choose?

I'm always surprised by the number of people I know who don't wear a watch. Do you? Do have one or several to choose from, depending on your mood? (Fun fact: speaking of my dad, he alternates between wearing a Rolex and a plastic Dragonball Z watch he bought for HK $8 in a random side street in Hong Kong ... he actually wears the Dragonball Z watch to meetings at work and thinks it's hilarious when people comment on it!)

My No. 27 watch was generously provided by The Camden Watch Company. I look at it longingly most days and wear it on others. Shop the entire collection here. All opinions are my own.

Would You Treat Your Friend This Way?

Last week, and indeed, over the weekend, when I was recovering from this pretty-freaking-intense operation I had in my upper jaw/sinus (I still can't eat "normal" food quite yet), I found myself feeling guilty for napping outside in our garden; for watching back-to-back episodes of Gilmore Girls on loop until I passed out in front of the TV; for eating ice cream followed by jello followed by more ice cream.

Still tired from the after-effects of general anaesthesia, I pushed myself to do laundry; to iron; to tidy; to clean. On more than one occasion, I felt guilty for not writing and publishing blog posts, of all things. I tried to sit down and write, but my brain was too fuzzy from painkillers to formulate a sentence that I was happy with.

And then I thought: what the actual f*ck? I'm recovering from an operation - not skipping work to chill out at home. Where my left cheek joins my gumline, I have stitches that run from behind my last molar to just under my nose. I do not need to feel guilty for resting and relaxing.

A couple years ago, I suffered a terrible, devastating loss. I remember grieving this loss nearly eight  months later and crying to my friend on the phone, "Why can't I just get over it?" Her answer was quiet, but measured: "If this happened to me, would you tell me to get over it?"

Folks, it was a lightbulb moment - no, more like a lightning-strike moment.

Of course I wouldn't tell my best friend to "get over it". I'd tell her to take all the time she needed; that she should be kind to herself; that she could call and we could talk and laugh and cry whenever she wanted to.

So why couldn't I extend the same compassion to myself? Likewise, if my friend had just had an operation, would my first thoughts be, "She should really be using her time off to catch up on blog posts" or "She should really stop wasting her time napping and get her second bedroom in order - yikes, it's a disaster in there"?

Hell. No.

So, next time you put yourself down or critize how you're handling a situation, ask yourself: would you treat your friend this way? Chances are, the answer would be a resounding "no".