Vegemite.

So I was invited up to my friend Tanya's house for the inaugural meal in our new apartment high-rise. Tanya is Australian. She--like the rest of Australia--is a huge fan of Vegemite. It's like peanut butter in the United States. I hadn't ever tried it before, so I decided to give it a shot.

Here's how our meal started out: banana cake (deliciously made by Lucy), cherries & grapes, and bread. It looks relatively simple, no? Except this is about the point when both of us realized that neither of us had a knife or a knife-like item. How were we going to get the Vegemite onto the bread?  And, how were we going to slice the cheese?

Remember how I had two swipe cards for my apartment? Well, one of them works double-time quite well as a knife-like item.  

Spreading the Vegemite proved a bit more difficult. Luckily there was lots of cardboard laying around . . . (Added protein.)

Time to eat, here goes nothing . . . Verdict? Salty goodness.  Tastes like barley. Now, if I could just get her to bring me a kangaroo, a wallaby, or even a koala bear the next time she goes home . . . Not for eating of course, but as a pet.  I could totally take a kangaroo for a walk around the neighborhood.  I wonder if they are leash-trained?  

Home . . .

Picked up the keys to my new place today . . . I'm on the 22nd floor instead of the 5th, due to my August 1st move-in date. (Count down 6 floors from the top, in the above image.)  

Just look at all of the keys! I have two keys and swipe cards for the apartment:  one for my future visitors, one for me. I have a key for each of the bedrooms (potentially odd). And, a key for my letter box.

This is my front door. The white pad to the left is my doorbell:  it's quite loud for such a tiny place. And, check out that door handle . . . Modern. Clean lines. (Who's living here again?)  

I realize that my security system in my previous homes was Charlotte.  But, in leu of the Charps, I now have this. When visitors stop over, they ring my bell in the lobby. A video of their face pops up in the little screen: I can talk to them and then I can buzz them in. Or I can just watch-them-without-them-knowing . . . for a while. Creepy.

This is my kitchen. Contrary to popularity in Singapore, I will not be eating out every night. I love cooking! And, I'm excited to get back to it. Look how clean and white this kitchen is: it's so beautiful!! That's all gonna change. You'll see lots of video posts from here, as I attempt to cook new and exciting area-specific dishes. Come over and eat!  

Why hello, random glass room in living area. Just outside of my kitchen is my living area. Inside the living area is my own personal glass elevator. (Or at least that's what I'm calling it.)  It's really my "study". I'm making it a reading space:  with bookshelves, a chair/ottoman, and a small desk. It will also house my computer. I'm most excited about the artwork that will hang on the walls in this space . . . It will be fun to curate, too, since it can be seen from the outside.

This is my living area. The couch, coffee table, and chair came with the apartment. I've moved the furniture to face outdoors. I won't have a television, so it frees up my space a bit. Behind the couch, towards the glass room, there will be a table full of books and lamps. This will also couple as a dining area for when I have guests. (Or at least I'm hoping at some point over the next three years that I do--in fact--have guests over.) The image below is taken from the door to the balcony.  See my glass elevator towards the back? It is glass, so I wanted to make sure you could see it.

The balcony! My favorite room in the house. There is a plant store just down the street I will be frequenting heavily. I'm so excited to have a space for plants again! I'm going to be spending lots of time out here . . . Possibly fingerweaving.  Definitely making things. There will be a little sleeper space out here for naps. It will be wonderful. And, leaving the door open creates the most amazing breeze, which will help keep me from running the air conditioner all of the time. Check out the views below. Yay!

This is my studio. It has a large window and a huge storage wardrobe. All of my sewing items will be in here: two large tables, an ironing board, and mannequins for fittings. I'm really happy about this space. My sewing machine arrives in shipment on August 18th, just in time to start creating items for Buoyant Echo. None-too-soon, either. I'm going stir-crazy without my studio things here . . . Happy I thought to bring my watercolors on the plane!         

So I live in a small space, right? Yet there are two (1, 2) bathrooms. One for guests--the common bathroom. And, my bathroom: in my bedroom. The one pictured above is the common bathroom. Tiny shower time . . .    

Here's my bedroom. Or--what did they say on Cribs, back in the day--where the magic happens? Um, sure. So there are two gigantic windows in this room, each with a window seat.  And once my bed is delivered, it will take up most of this space. The curtains are black-outs, so mornings won't be an issue. At night, the city provides great ambient light: coupled with a small lamp, I probably won't even use the overhead light. There's a huge wardrobe inside the bedroom and my bathroom--even with a bathtub--is off the hallway! See images below.    

Once it's furnished, I'll give you another look. It will definitely look more Lindsey at that time . . . Sans extraneous paint or nail holes. But more Lindsey just the same. (Rugs: I need rugs!)  

Hooray! I'm officially yours, Singapore!

About Town . . .

Yelle: Because of The Boys . . .

Crossing Traffic . . .

Yep, That's About Right . . .

Everywhere, Color.

'Round The Way, Girl.

My grandfather's middle name is Ferris.  I don't know if he was necessarily named after the man who invented the Ferris wheel, but we'll go ahead and dedicate this post to him anyhow.  

He and my grandmother traveled all of the time.  And, they kept little handwritten journals about everywhere they went.  I can only imagine that I get my obsessive need to document everything from them.  My grandparents would be so proud to know that I am living in Singapore.  And, they would more than likely be the first to come and visit me, if they were still around.  But, they see me and they're loving every second of my madcap adventures . . .   

Oddly enough, the picture above is not called a Ferris wheel, but an observation wheel.  And, Singapore has the largest observation wheel of all time:  the Singapore Flyer.  Inspired by national icons such as the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye, the Singapore Flyer was conceived by Dr. Kisho Kurokawa of Japan and DP Architects, and opened for business in 2008.  


There are 28 air-conditioned capsules, each roughly the size of a city bus, and each wheel rotation takes about 32 minutes.  On board the Singapore Flyer, you can see up to 45 kilometres away:  that’s 3 kilometres more than the entire length of Singapore!  You can see Changi Airport, Sentosa Island, and even parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.  Incredible!

It really changes up a landscape to include an observation wheel.  It's playful and engaging, and makes me think that Singapore has a pretty great sense of humor.  I'm excited to be living in such a contemporary city:  everywhere I turn is something progressive and intriguing!  


Three cheers for innovation . . . 

Jetsons Beware: Super-fantastic Trees Ahead . . .

"Stand in awe of the amazing Supertrees. These uniquely designed vertical gardens of 25 to 50-metres tall have large canopies that provide shade in the day and come alive with an exhilarating display of light and sound at night."