Friday, October 19

Afternoon Tea La Palette Zakka

Home internet is still screwy. HELLO SINGTEL?! Despite 3 technicians coming down, countless phonecalls to IT hotline 1800 8486 933 (I can memorize your hotline number, for crying out loud), a change of NEW modem (I only re-contracted under the promise of a new WORKING modem), the DSL light is STILL blinking! And it is especially irritating when the connection is fine when the technician tests it and only breaks down thereafter, usually at night.

GRRR. fix it. fix it. fix it.

aRGHH Back to Japan. How inappropriate to start on sound a snarly note especially for this Martha-esque post. If you love Muji, I don't think we can get along.



Presenting Afternoon Tea, Wonder ZakkaShop!

I first found this amazing cafe/store in Osaka and fell in love with just about anything that had a monogram on it. Matching cup and saucers, teapots, organizers, lunchboxes, tiffin cans, bathrobes... It was like Bree Hodge/ Van De Kamp meets Charlotte York. There were just so many things I never knew I needed, heck, I still don't need them I just WANT them!

Now who doesn't love a nice spot of Afternoon Tea? In a bid to soak up every bit of indescribable girliness, I went into every Afternoon Tea store that crossed my path.. Osaka Shinsaibashi, Tokyo Ginza, Tokyo Roppongi Hills... each time left me with that sinking feeling of not being able to ship back the entire store!







Suburban 1950s housewives, I think not. More like Yummy Mummies and their Maclaren Kate Spade strollers.








From Afternoon Tea website

I love zakka shops! They make me weak in the knees and fueling my super-geeky fetish for cute-with-matching-dimples stationaries. Man, I couldn't get enough of these zakke shops! I mean, why get a plain white semi-transparant folder when you can have one with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar? And while you are at it, get some matching pencils and eraser too!

Kaori Shoji wrote in International Herald Tribune (Not Martha Stewart living?!), "Zakka is the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane..." I must admit these stores have the ability to make me denounce Hot Shot Career plans and veer into Coiffed Bob Wifey mode.


La Palette (Osaka)


La Palette (Osaka)


La Palette (Osaka)

I could barely tear myself away from the pattern-coded wicker baskets and pwetty bedroom slippers. Matching tableware? That's so last Desperate Houswives season! Here we are talking about elephant-shaped watering cans, clothespins with wood carvings and hand painted toilet seat covers. It is about sprucing up the most boring things in life (sorry, they don't sell Interesting Colleagues here). God forbid I ever start liking Muji (minimalist with a *yawn*) or Zen.

6 comments:

The Hungry Cow said...

I used to have problems with Singnet too. An unstable DSL light could be due to the phone line. Fortunately, my problem was solved when I changed my 2wire modem.

3 technician visits sound really ridiculous...Singnet had better have a good explanation for this.

Internet problems aside, afternoon tea sure looks good!

yixiaooo said...

i feel so helpless and the problem's not solved yet.

Anonymous said...

I have had no reason to complain about Singnet's service until recently when they asked me to change modem. The new one just could not stabilise the DSL. Singnet sent a lineman to check everything and he laid the blame on my phone line.

Huh? Years with no probs, and my probs coincide with the new Singnet modem? Reinstalled my old one, everything is just fine, and speedtest.net tells me I am achieving the speed I am paying for (6Mbps plan).

Let me guess: your modem is a Speedtouch? If so, same as my problematic one (now binned).

yixiaooo said...

Mine's 2wire.

They still haven't detected the problem. It's been a month. I'm useless without the internet. =(

Unknown said...

I was there one year ago, and I miss it so much...

Nice blog, by the way.

Anonymous said...

ffff worldwide broadcasts wages stake welwyn jones referring tumbles picked advantages
servimundos melifermuly