Arianne T. Ferrer

SHIP'S LOG: With hectic schedules ahead, A poses a question (or three) to readers, reflecting her feelings about blogging at the moment.
All bloggers encounter that ever-present stumbling block to consistent posting (and, one hopes, universal acclaim): Real Life. Just when I was looking forward to writing a steady stream of updates, I find out that my new semester's schedule makes it impossible to commit to anything new or vaguely interesting.

Now I'm confronted with the choice of (a) leaving you high and dry, with stagnant RSS feeds, or (b) writing as many posts as I can manage over the remainder of the holiday, to be published at regular intervals. So what say you, dear readers?

Another thing that's been worrying me is blog content. I know we started A Plus B in the Sea focusing on fashion riffs on our favourite movies and books (boy, do I miss our Play Pretend series) but lately posts have been rather random. In fact, B mentioned that we're so close to turning into a travel blog without enough Manila. That was pretty frightening, the realisation that one might have lost one's way. Ships drifting off course and all that.

Or is it? Is it losing one's way or simply finding a new one? I know, I know, 'way existential', especially after recovering from jet lag.

But seriously, what are your thoughts on the topic of evolving blog content? What do you miss about A Plus B in the Sea t-minus two years, perhaps something we can get back? What would you like to see on our blog in the future? Lifestyle (easier to write) or travel (harder) diurnals or a return to 'fashion'?

Let's go, let's go, I'm listening!

SHIP'S LOG: Snapshots of a Scottish holiday—wet, cold, yet still glorious, with a surfeit of sweets, cherry blossoms, and grave stones. 



I spent my summer hols as a human Baedeker for my siblings' first trip to Europe. Background reading—Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall (lifesaver!) and A History of Britain by Antonia Fraser—map navigating, language interpreting, currency conversion mental calculating, photo taking... you name it, I had to do it. But what FUN.

I'll likely write more detailed travel posts on No Modern Ariadne, but here are some of my favourite photos. Mostly ones on those rare sunny days.

And yes, I think we did spend too much time in old churchyards. :))

















Isn't my sister pretty?!

Post title taken from Norman MacCaig's poem, November Night, Edinburgh.

A wears clothes that weren't warm enough.

SHIP'S LOG: Bloggers United 3 profits in hand, A and B find shelter from the thunderstorms in Makati's most gentrified warehouse and with bowls of piping hot ramen.
Long time no see, old friends. B and I saw each other for the first time in six months (!) last Saturday, which might explain the relative silence on the blog. Manila's a big city—11 million people and counting—but we have to get together more.


Over vegetarian bahn mi and shoyu noodle soup, we discussed fierce Filipino fashion (on sequinned and glittering display at the Bloggers United event held nearby) and bewailed brothers who take 'artsy', a.k.a. blurry,  photos. Oh, and Instagram, that infamous 1 billion dollar Facebook purchase and every twenty-something's guilty pleasure. We the iPhone-less must make do with desktop applications like Flare and Camera Bag (though pretty nifty themselves). Bandwagons, they are made for jumping on. At least until B and I get the hang of our found-or-borrowed film cameras ('But let's save that story for later,' as a Babysitters Club member would say).

A wears her sister's dress, Madewell shoes, old denim jacket. B wears thrifted jacket and dress as well as a trade-in Dooney and Bourke.

SHIP'S LOG: A loves receiving packages from far-off places. After another sleepless night, it was wonderful to find a charming ceramic fox necklace from Lou Mary Lou and Tom Holt's May Contain Traces of Magic in the post. 

I'm off to sleep (at 2 in the afternoon, haha) so you might like to read some Ted Hughes (now known primarily as the husband of Sylvia Plath, but I think he's a much better poet). Voila, "The thought-fox" from the Critical Quarterly, 1984:

THE THOUGHT-FOX

I imagine this midnight moment’s forest:
Something else is alive
Beside the clock’s loneliness
And this blank page where my fingers move.

Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness:

Cold, delicately as the dark snow,
A fox’s nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now

Sets neat prints into the snow
Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow
Of a body that is bold to come

Across clearings, an eye,
A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly,
Coming about its own business

Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox
It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks,
The page is printed.

You can read more about Ted Hughes on critic Richard Webster's site here.

So what's your favourite vulpine story? Or are you less fond of Reynard and more a fan of Puss-in-boots?

SHIP'S LOG: What do you want to see under your Christmas this year? A shares her wish list and hopes that everyone will have happy, happy holidays!

• A Humbershoe Jumper, soft and slouchy for chilly December nights.
• A Dress in Merlot, good for twirling along to the Jingle Bell Rock.
• A Mariner's Watch, to navigate time and space.
• A Night Circus, magic constructed entirely in black and white.
• A Flask of and for Cognac, future container of  classic pep-me-ups.
• An Alternative Transportation Tote, for armchair travel and otherwise. 
• Zipcode Boots in Suede, comfort and class at a conscionable price.

Clearly, I'm not yet over the red, black, and navy color scheme that so inspired Anna Karina. :))

SHIP'S LOG: A had an action-packed afternoon at the uber-fierce Bloggers United Bazaar organized by  the lovely ladies Ana, Melai, and Aisa before battling Manila traffic to watch David Beckham lead a five goal-scoring frenzy against the Azkals.

My friend Fannie and I had a booth selling stockings from our online shop Sock & Sole Co. and clothes from my nautical-minded wardrobe last Saturday at the second Bloggers United Bazaar at the Treston International College at Bonifacio Global City. I were so busy that I barely got a chance to look at the other bloggers' stalls (or take decent pictures) but I loved Melai's slick MC-ing and meeting some of our readers (girl who won a prize and said A Plus B in the Sea was her favourite blog, email me?)!

Also, thanks to my usual after-school picker-upper Nail It Salon, I discovered the wonder of matte coral nail polish. It's amazing to have 'frosted glass' nails though, klutz that I am, they were chipped by the end of the day. I think it's time to get one of those loyalty cards that give discounts. :))

All right, I have to admit that half my mind was focussed on the LA Galaxy vs RP national team football match that my brother, Naesa, and I were going to see a few hours later. If you follow me on Twitter or on my meandering micro-blog No Modern Ariadne, you'll know about my obsession with Arsenal FC and Cesc Fabregas' hair. I'm not a huge fan of David Beckham but I can appreciate his skill as a midfielder and a leader, so I was excited to watch him play along with Arsenal arch-nemesis Robbie Keane of Sp*rs extraction.



Boy, what a night.

I ran two blocks to get to the stadium on time, lost my little brother in 13,000-strong crowd, ogled at Azkal #15 (who are you?!) with Naesa, ate hot dogs on the bleachers, saw Beckham get three corners and a goal, and watched a pretty pathetic national team capitulate to LA Galaxy.

Then it was chicken nuggets (mmm, fake food) at a late-night McDo before heading to Bea's birthday party. The theme was a slumber party, and we were the only ones in pyjamas. Dang it, B!

A wears Topshop denim jacket, spring dress and the Leather Satchel Co. bag.

SHIP'S LOG: A presents an in-depth guide to the top satchel makers from the United Kingdom and the Philippines. Of two (or three) minds when it comes choosing between School of Satchel and Cambridge Satchel Company? Let A Plus B in the Sea help you decide! A's pick: The Leather Satchel Co.!

EDIT: I have an updated guide to leather satchels here, with a table for easy comparison between brands. :D

Ever since I was a kid, I loved the beat-up brown leather school bags that the Railway Children and the Famous Five carried around as they went on adventures up and down the countryside, but I had thought that purveyors of the school satchel had died out in the 60s. Then I saw Keiko Lynn's yellow Cambridge satchel back in 2009 . . . Alas, a hefty price tag and a fear of Philippine custom tax kept me far away from online order forms.

After two years of slyly dropping hints into the ears of ancient relatives and bringing bagged lunches to save up, I suddenly unexpectedly got my hands on satchels from four bag makers, the Leather Satchel Company, Cambridge Satchel Company, School of Satchel, and Zatchels. Joy joy joy!

Though the satchel has become an IT bag and sadly ubiquitous on the fashion and blog scene, I'm really glad I got one (two!) at last, so I thought my fellow dreamers would like to hear about the similarities and differences between the satchel makers, so here's my first product review!

Caveat.—the photographs come straight from my camera because I don't trust my Pixelmator editing skills enough to capture an accurate depiction of the leather material's colour consistently from photo to photo.


Design
The school satchel is such a British classic (The Leather Satchel Co. has been using the same traditional design since 1966!) that it is almost impossible to tell the difference among bags made by the Leather Satchel Co., Cambridge Satchel Co., and Zatchels. They all have silver buckles, a front pocket, and an ID holder. I've read that the Leather Satchel Co. makes bags for other fashion houses and brands (they remain nameless) so it is possible that all the UK-based satchels are actually made by a single manufacturer!

Zatchels has its embroidered logo sewn on the right hand side of the front pocket while the others have their logos blind embossed at the back of the bag. Zatchels also stitches all around the top flap while the others do not.

School of Satchel is a little different because its bags do not have the ID holder nor silver buckles. Its buckles are made of a brassy metal that has a more vintage stamp. I also noticed that the front pockets are larger and the gussets are deeper compared to the other brands, which means that School of Satchel bags have the most space to put your things in.

All companies offer initial embossing and handles. The Leather Satchel Co. and School of Satchel offer optional Magnetic closures whilst only The Leather Satchel Co. also offer longer straps, deeper gussets, shoulder pads and what they also call a Tallboy design (a taller satchel with a longer top flap) for people who want to use their satchel as a laptop bag.






My mother bought the Zatchel so I have nothing good or bad to offer about customer service with respect to that brand, but I can say that Leather Satchel Co. and School of Satchel offer TERRIFIC service. They both have an active online presence on Twitter and Facebook, and it is so easy to order bags from them. The owner of School of Satchel, Chi Donato, goes out of her way to get the bag you want to your door as soon as possible while I had a super time ordering from the Leather Satchel Company who kindly changed the colour from red to blue when I asked, and even offered to ship leather samples to me for free!

The Leather Satchel Company also delivers its satchels wrapped up in brown paper packages tied up in string ;P with a handwritten note addressed to the buyer! I think it is so sweet and old school of them. If you'd like to see pictures of the unwrapping of my Loch Blue satchel, check this out.

This may be hearsay, but I've read on other blogs and forums that Cambridge Satchel Company has slow and unresponsive customer service. I've heard of three-month long delays (just check their Twitter stream) that have even induced people to cancel orders. Again, I have NOT experienced ordering from the company, so I can't say with certainty that their service is less than impeccable.

Size

• Cambridge Satchel Company.—11/13/14/15
• Leather Satchel Company.—11/12.5/14/15/15 Tallboy/bespoke sizes
• School of Satchel.—11/13/15
• Zatchels.—11.5/13/14.5/16 

Zatchels (14.5 inch black)*


Cambridge Satchel Company (14-inch red)


The Leather Satchel Company (12.5-inch loch blue)

SHIP'S LOG: A catches up with her reading list and shares her favourite sites to brush up on local life and style, photograph lessons, and holiday ideas. For the benefit of all you armchair travellers, here's her  map to internet exploring. 

Sometimes it seems that this blog is entirely composed of hellos and goodbyes, but what can we do? The three inch piles of homework and those hour-long commutes take us away from our dream world and into the real world. So those glorious days of Doing Nothing, haphazardly scattered throughout the year, are treasures to hoard close to our hearts.

Oh, hello hello, sembreak.

I've spent the last few days lolling about my house in pyjamas, baking red velvet cupcakes with friends, putting the finishing touches on my Halloween costume, marathoning episodes of Community and Modern Family, beginning on that bloggers' favourite, the retro Pan Am, and, of course, reading all your blog posts.

B and I are planning to show you a little more of Manila in time for Christmas (teaser: Juan Luna's Spolarium, playing Ferris Bueller at the Ayala Museum, and maybe a bit of Chinatown/old Binondo) but until we get those photographs processed, I want to link to some bloggers whose hometowns I always enjoy reading about. The beauty of armchair travel is that it's free. ;P

Viva La Manika—retro gothic, lo-fi goodness, an artistic eye and a truly nationalist sensibility—Afianne Cope on her hometown:

I live in a small young city mostly occupied by residential and industrial establishments. It’s nothing luxe and is far from being the best place I could live in. It is in fact a very simple life down here. No frills and fancy thrills, no sir. Not even a town perya or many intricately designed buildings and daringly dressed people to take pictures of.  

I used to frown upon all these because I’m one to look for boldness in almost everything. This place seemed boring and it did not have much to offer. But as I grew older, I catched on. Yes, it lacked furbelows and artistry and all that but there’s one thing I’ve grown sure of - its homeliness was irreplaceable. At the end of the day, there will be nothing like the vendor’s holler waking you up in the morning, the bumpy jeepney rides, the simultaneous karaoke singing in the neighborhood you hear at night, the quiet parks and, I admit, the malls where almost half of the town’s population head to on weekends and season sale and so much more. It’s all a classic case of hometown glory. 

 Local Favourites 

1. The Parish of the Five Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ, a city cathedral with a rather interesting modern structure designed by our very own Arch. Joseph AdG Javier basing the concept on a nautilus, a marine organism with claims to the perfect natural proportions, the golden mean. 

2. BF Paranaque. There are innumerable eating (and drinking) places in this area. Whether you like a cozy night -out with your loved ones or a frisky one with your friends, you will surely find a rightful spot. 

3. The Phil-Am Village Private Park. I know it’s a bit funny but yes, I come clean about going to parks at this age. I get a lot of that feeling of wanting to flee from daily hustle-bustle and just appreciate serenity through the sight of trees and old-fashioned lovers. Guess I’m just an old person trapped in a 20-something body. :D

Green Tea Fields—Southeast Asia up close, film experiments, looking at home from that belle-laide  angle—Michelle Kuek on Singapore:

This may sound weird but I really like that my neighbourhood is a remote, little backwater in Singapore, almost unchanged for the last 20 years that I have lived here. Well, there are political reasons for it but let's not get into that! My neighbourhood is lit slightly dimmer than most neighbourhoods but lesser lights mean that I can actually go star-gazing, something almost unheard of in a city! Many a nights, I walk home with my head tilted up to skies, trying to figure out which constellation is up. :)  

Local Favourites  

I would have to say Tiong Bahru. Tiong Bahru is a neighbourhood situated slightly outside of Singapore's city centre. This neighbourhood is quirky mix of the old and the new. Make your way through the quiet, leafy estate of apartments built in the 1920s and 1930s, and then choose between having a quiet cuppa at a cafe, visiting art galleries or having local food at the local market!

A Fine Day for Sailing—vintage classics comfortably and freshly styled, biking down streets on sunny days, and the friendliest smile ever—Isla Bell on San Francisco:

The best part? The people! San Francisco is full of such inspirational characters young and old. Everyone is so open and friendly. It did not take long for me to feel right at home here. There are so many amazing places in California it's hard to pick one. The Pinnacles national park is pretty magical, the hike there takes you through caves and up mountain sides, it's so majestic.

Olive, My Love—lots of love for historic sites (kindred spirits!), hanging out with friends (ditto), and a little link to our homeland via vintage emporium Dalaga—Liz on New York City:

My favorite thing about Brooklyn and my neighborhood (Bushwick) in general is the sense of community you feel when you live here. It's like everyone is banded together in this burrough and because of that there is always something going on. Farmers markets, free art opening and movies playing in parks, river front concerts and parades in Coney Island... All of these things are at your finger tips and you just have to go out and take advantage of it. It's so hard to pick just one place to visit while you're here (there's so much to do and see!) but some of my favorite places are naturally ones that take you away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  

1. The Museum of Natural History: I could spend a full week walking through the halls and exploring all the exhibits. Artifacts, fossils and taxidermy, oh my! This place is great because you can walk across the street afterwards and have a picnic in Central Park!
2. Ft. Tryon Park at the Cloisters: This park and medieval art museum are waaay up north in Manhattan. It's a serious trek (at least and hour on the train), but it's 100% worth it. It's like a sanctuary up there. I didn't even go into the museum when I went because walking around the surrounding park and gardens was enough for me. Bring a snack, a blanket and a book and you're set for a relaxing afternoon.
3. Greenpoint: When I first moved to Brooklyn, I lived in Greenpoint and I still miss it to this day. Luckily I work there, so I still get to reap all it's benefits! Besides, what's a trip to NYC without a little bit of shopping and exploring?  

If you are looking for an afternoon of walking around, window shopping and delicious food without the insane crowds of Manhattan, then Greenpoint is the spot for you. Franklin St. is littered with adorable shops (including Dalaga!) and yummy places to grab a bite.  

I love Cookie Road for coffee and macarons, Paulie Gee's for the best pizza in town and The Pencil Factory for a drink after work. Alter is a quintessential Brooklyn store and they have both men's and women's locations on Franklin. In God We Trust has fantastic hand made clothing and jewelry, which is all created in their work space behind the store in Greenpoint! Kill Devil Hill is like a modern day general store and the owner is so sweet. If you're shopped out you can walk two blocks to the waterfront and take a ferry ride across the East River to Manhtattan via the India Street Pier! 

Odd Socks & Pretty Frocks—Georgette Heyer novel reader, wonderfully Wonderlandian shoe collection, and a shared taste in coats, old suitcases, and National Trust houses—Alex on Liverpool:

My favourite thing about Liverpool can't be narrowed down to one place or thing. The city as a whole is utterly unique and wonderful. It's an amazing mix of modern attitudes and very tangible history. We've got two cathedrals, more Georgian buildings than Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage waterfront, loads of museums, galleries and such a great sporting and musical heritage, all in one fairly small city! If I'm being biased then I would say come and visit the place I work in, because it's beautiful and has survived amazingly over the centuries. In terms of Liverpool generally then I think just an hour's stroll around the city centre and the back streets is the one thing that all visitors should definitely do. You don't get the real feel for a place until you've walked round and discovered all the quirky little things about it.

On Dressing Up—seaside walks and cherry blossom trees, pastel and pattern, superb prose, and that feeling of quiet happiness—Ana B. on Wellington:

It's got the buzz, activities and energy of a city, but the warmth and heart of a small village. You can't walk down the street without bumping into someone you know; and everywhere, strangers smile at you. I've never tasted coffee as good as it is here. Even gas stations have barista service. It's a land of milk and honey and rolling green hills and crazy street parties with people spilling onto balconies in the heat of summer nights. I love to travel but more than that, I love to come home.  

Local Favourites Cafe-hopping, people-watching, thrifting and seeing gigs along Cuba Street; the street where I live in the centre of the city.  

Dream Destination Iceland! To see the fire and the ice, the Northern Lights, and maybe an Icelandic elf or two. A friend told me of being in Iceland during Christmas. As the sun went down, one by one, people lit oil lamps and put them outside houses and shops, dimming the electric lights. She said the street was like a giant string of fairy lights.

I seriously need to read more blogs from South America and Africa! Can anyone suggest a great lifestyle blogger from those continents? :)

SHIP'S LOG: This is a scheduled post—A cramming for Criminal Procedure finals and B working nights behind the camera and in the editing room for Storyline—but promises glittering goodies and history through rose-coloured glasses, i.e., Downton Abbey.


So most of you know our obsession with British period drama from our posts on Glorious 39 and Cracks and on the critically acclaimed An Education, but I can't believe I haven't shared anything about the ITV series Downton Abbey which just won a bucket of Emmys. Written by Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park fame, the series follows the story of the Earl of Grantham and his household as they deal with the problems of class and succession with the backdrop of turn-of-the-century Britain and the First World War. Very Upstairs, Downstairs except BETTER.

The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, long sweeping views of the Highclere estate and loving and lingering close-ups of ancient books in the library and silverware & crystal in the dining room. Downton Abbey is history viewed through rose-coloured spectacles, all things beautiful and good, with the added bonus of Coronation Street-style drama. Oh, the British. :))



There's a ton of style inspiration to be found in Downton Abbey. It's set in the early decades of the 20th century, after the horrendous bustles (no one could ever look good sporting a false bum) but before the days of flapper dresses (flat-chests a requirement, full bosomed girls, away with thee!), so the clean lines and almost empire-cuts look fantastic on every kind of body type. I really love the white lawn dresses that Lord Grantham's three daughters wear to tea and village fetes as well as the tailored riding habits complete with horsewhip that the eldest daughter Lady Mary wears. Even on the television, I could see how fine the lacework and filigree on the collars and the gowns were, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to keep them pristine. And the hats!



My two favourite characters are Lady Mary and Lady Sybil. A lot of people dislike Lady Mary for being a little spoiled, rather bossy, and very mean to middle sister Ethel (HATE HER), but I love her to bits. She’s clever, common-sensical, and cosmpolitan, and Lord Grantham sees her as the son he never had. Unfortunately, by the laws of primogeniture, Lady Mary can’t succeed to the title, so she must choose between marrying well into the aristocracy or her distant cousin Matthew, a middle class solicitor from Manchester who is heir presumptive to Downton Abbey. It is so much fun watching silver-tongued Mary cutting up Matthew, who she initially sees as an upstart bumpkin, before realizing his essential merits—one of which is a kindness that she does not possess. She has the most divine dresses, I would go out in her nightdress!



Then there’s Lady Sybil who is so gosh-darned sweet. She is very progressive, helping their maid find a job as a clerk-typist and discussing communist tracts with the Irish chauffeur Branson, and by the start of the second series she’s convinced her parents to let her attend a nursing course to aid the war effort. The scene where she fails at filling a kettle with water and making porridge is hilarious! Her fashion sense progresses from pastel smocks reminiscent of the nursery to peacock-inspired harem pants before settling on a very practical blouse and skirt uniform.



Totally shipping Sybil/Branson.

Kranich’s gave me a $150 gift coupon to spend on its website and I thought it would be fun to feature some of the possible future purchases in Downton Abbey sets. I swear, Polyvore is so addicting.


I’m really looking forward to the second series, and I am willing to put on record that if Matthew doesn’t end up marrying Lady Mary, I will eat my Sales textbook.

This is a sponsored post for Kranich's Jewellers, purveyors of Simon G, Ritani and more! If you're looking for some fancy bling or a hope ring, check 'em out!

SHIP'S LOG: A really wants to see Anne Hathaway return to her ugly duckling roots in One Day but has been bogged down by schoolwork, so instead here's an Oxfordian inspiration post!


Apologies for the month-long hiatus (curse you, school/work!) and I'm afraid B and I are likely to be missing in action for god knows how long, but before I head back to the books I want to share two things with you dear, dear readers: (1) On Dead Man's Bones, a superbly macabre, Hammer Horror-inspired travelling band whose back-up children's choir are always dressed up in Halloween skeleton and ghoul costumes and (2) an outfit inspired by the new film One Day.

Now, Anne Hathaway has been the bees' knees ever since I saw her frizzy-haired and buck-toothed in one of my favourite movies, The Princess Diaries (ignore the existence of its sequel, there is no way that Mia Thermopolis would chuck Michael Moscovitz for some Euro trash aristo—Michael plays in a indie rock band and invents a robot that helps save cancer patients, hello?). She's a class actress (Rachel Getting Married) except for one wee little thing—she can't pull off a British accent to save her life. Ever since Nicholas Nickleby, I've avoided films where she plays a British character, even Becoming Jane where she plays the best female author ever across James McAvoy for that particular reason, but now I'm dying to see One Day. She's guaranteed to mess it up, it's a Yorkshire accent for heaven's sake! Tough.

SHIP'S LOG: Manila was inundated for the better part of two weeks and A spent a lot of time looking out of raindrop-splattered windows thinking about clear skies on a summer day. 



When trees outside are bent in half by gusting winds and local news channels are filled with talk of cars turned submarines it's only human to think back on better, sunnier days. As I was replying to Mirella's email about convenient blogging, it was only logical that those sunny days were Swiss in nature. So I thought I'd share some more photos of Zurich in the spring time. Witness pastel painted houses, winding cobblestone streets, teenagers reliving mediaeval history, shops with kettles and coffee cups arranged by colour, and a river as clear and turquoise as any tropical sea.









I've had several messages from readers (yay!) about what to wear when travelling abroad, and my usual answers involve checking typical weather conditions, crawling street style blogs, and making sure that all your clothes can be mixed and matched. For Zurich, my khaki Zara jacket and cream t-shirt and floral skort combo were my go-to pieces, if only because they were the only clean items in my luggage by that point. Mirella told me I looked simply Parisian in them, which was extremely gratifying to hear coming off a five hour train from France.

So today's travel tip: pack a lightweight tailored blazer for May in western Europe. :P



A wears Zara blazer, thrifted floral skort, DP t-shirt, thrifted belt, and Dooney & Bourke backpack. 

SHIP'S LOG: 'Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity,' said Coco Chanel. Here's a quick post about what I've got in my (tote) bag. 



I've always admired people's dedication to aesthetics on websites such as Pinterest and Things Organized Neatly. Pencils in arranged by height, sea shells according to colour, dresses hung by pattern and print . . . So B and I thought we might have a go at it, and we discovered that great what's-in-my-bag photos are really, really hard to take.

I had to climb up on B's piano seat and half a dozen sofa cushions, trying to get wallets, headphones, a tube of lipstick into a properly framed shot. It was hard to balance on my little princess-and-the-pea structure while laughing my head off. The things we do for our blogs!




So, what I've got in my bag (clockwise from left):

• Red leather wallet.—present from an aunt, and much better than my old trick of stuffing bills and coins in my back pocket.
• Samsung Corby.—about to die, several months after I dropped it into a bathroom sink at a late night party. Mixed drinks, baaaad.
• Mr Darcy tote bag.—bought in Bath for my friend Naesa but could not be brought to part with. And yes, Jane Austen's much loved hero has ruined me for any other man.
• Kindle.—not mine! but I thought it would be a good substitute for my usual companion, an iPod Touch named Chuck. I usually never leave home without it (and the 300 novels loaded into Stanza) but I suppose there's a first time for every thing.
• F21 sunglasses.—cheap and cute (isn't the little bow to die for?) and Bea's! If you haven't noticed, B and I love exchanging things when we feel like our own wardrobes are suffocating us. Before I let for Europe, I traded my full linen skirt for her paper baggy black one and we were very happy about the switch!

Thought you all might want to know that we've finally got a Facebook page. If you enjoy reading our posts, would you be so kind and like us here or on our sidebar? :D You can also get updates at my Twitter @tfarnique.


A wears thrifted striped shirt, B's Topshop skirt, tights, aunt's Cole Haan tasselled flats, and a canvas tote bag.

SHIP'S LOG: It's been a rainy few weeks in Manila, perfect for the Shins and endless cups of Whittard's spicy chai tea. If only A had galoshes!



I've never been a huge fan of music. Whenever I'm out with B and friends I never know any of the songs that the DJs play. It's a sad thing really and I resolve to watch more MTV (my little brother will see to that)!

Generally my tastes run toward what I call Topshop music and what Chantal calls songs-that-don't-make sense (Los Campesinos! anyone?), and when rainy season hits Middle Manila I like to put in mix-CDs on my ancient Sony player. I don't know why but only then do I find it very calming to stare up at my ceiling while listening to Badly Drawn Boy, the Shins, the Smiths, and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Does that make me a hipster? I greatly fear it might.





Tumblr and Blogger posts with rather treacly lyrics tend to be the bane of the (un)civilized worldwide web, but I figure there's a first time for everything. And selling out to the Shins is probably the best way to go. :)

A stronger girl would shake this off in flight,
And never give it more than a frowning hour,
But you have let your heart decide,
Loss has conquered you

You've won one too many fights,
Wearing many hats every time,
But you wont win here tonight . . .

—The Shins, Girl Sailor



What sort of music do you like to chill out to?

A wears cream T-shirt, navy Zara heels, H&M coat, Topshop skirt, and thrifted bag.