Best of 2011

Hiya darlings! It's 2012 where I'm at! Y'know what that means? Time to look forward to all the possibilities of a New Year!

Before we truly put behind the old and warmly welcome all the good in new, one of my favourite traditions is to recount and celebrate all the wonderful things that brought joy in 2011.

So without further ado, here's some of the books, music, etc that inspired, comforted and/or just made me LOL in the year :D

Favourite author of the year...
I honestly can't choose a favourite book; I've had the great privilege to read so many this year! In fact, one of the best parts of working and having a salary is being able to buy more books ^^

So what I'll do instead is name my favourite author of 2011 - Stephanie Perkins!

Verve

She writes simply amazing stuff! Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola and the Boy Next Door were two of my best-est comfort reads of the year.


Favourite male artiste of the year...
Hands down, Adam Young, also more well-known as Owl City.

Adam has truly inspired me to write, to dream and to trust and have faith in 2011. The year had more than its fair share of rough and tumble periods, and Adam's music has transcended religion to act as a gentle reminder that there still are things bright and beautiful in the world.

Favourite female artiste of the year...

If Adam's music got my creative juices flowing and comforted me in times when it felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, then Taylor Swift got me singing along and was dead-on in expressing the gamut of feelings that I experienced in 2011.

Could you guess that I got sneaky and split the category into male and female, so I wouldn't have to pick one? *shh, don't tell* :P

Most EPIC parody vid of the year...
When I hear Britney's I Wanna Go, the first thing that comes to mind is I'll bake you pies, so yup, this Hunger Games take on I Wanna Go is good, so very badass good :D

Heck, the only reason I bob along to I Wanna Go in the car when the song plays on the radio is that it reminds me of this vid XD

Oh, and also thanks to this, now when I think of Peeta I think of Luke Conard, heee!

P/S: Btw, Luke did a pretty solo cover of I Wanna Go here. Well, IMHO no one can ruin it more than Britney did :P

So that's it folks, tata and all together now, HELLO 2012!

How does anyone bloody wear skyscraper heels and expect to get anywhere?!

I mean, I love doing OTT styles and I'm swooning over this particularly gorgeous pair from M.B.

Kahika, Manolo Blahnik

And this? This pair from Versace's so darn beautiful my heart's doing somersaults.

Versace @ Milan Fashion Week

But surely these shoes aren't made for walking!

I tried on black 6-inch darlings over the weekend at Tangs Empire Subang and my legs looked so fantabulous in black skinnies, but -oh my shoe gods!-my calfs and knees hurt like hell after that :(

So for now, I'll stick to my theory that skyscrapers are only meant for perfectly coiffured, chauffeur driven women who never have to run a mile in another (average) women's shoes.

Yes, that must be it.

Ok, I'm getting musically predictable :P

It's just that I've been listening to a lot of Taylor Swift and Owl City lately. Oh, and also Colbie Caillat... gosh, am I getting too mellow? *gasp!* XD

Anywayyy, the music vid for Ms Taylor's "Ours" is out and awww, what a sweet video. Me thinks she looks pretty with or without curls and the trademark red lips.

Not really feeling the "love interest" in this vid though. I fell more for the redhead who bugs her at work, hehe. What a cutie!

Enjoy!

I'm a simple girl at heart. Nothing makes me happier than a warm, cosy room blessed by good company and lots of love and laughter.

Cuddling up in a soft arm chair, a deliciously aromatic cup of tea on hand, graced by the sun's mellow rays... well, that's bliss :)

Taylor Swift's Best Day is bringing out those yearnings for a quaint little country day ;)

I really love this song; it's so heartfelt and warm. (I love me mom too! XD )

Don't ya think Taylor was an adorable baby? It's cute how her mom called her Ms Taylor ^^

Writers, poets, thinkers, philosophers, auteurs... we're to an extent people who are very self absorbed. I think it's part and parcel of having a mind that's wired that way.

It's just not possible to have quiet contemplations, self reflections and the ilk without the need to retreat deep into our own thoughts, occasionally shutting out the noise from the world, sorting what we've seen and heard.

Day dreamers have that too, the vacant look, that shows we've gone off wandering/wondering.

Yes, Adam Young always gets me contemplating. Yes, I'm besotted... by the Saltwater Room :P

"So tell me darling do you wish we'd fall in love? 

All the time, all the time."

Came across this:

Model: Satomi Kondo

Ooh-la-la! Love the pose! The styling of the outfit doesn't seem too bad as well, but the angle, props and the model's expression? Gorgeous! I can't help but think femme fatale!

It's uncanny how the mood of the picture and this song goes so well together:

Oh oh! And this dress! It's so loveeeely! :D

Sword Fish, modelled by Rio Matsumoto (I believe, gomen ne, relying on my rusty Japanese)

The colour! The prints! Beautiful! ^^

It's one of those dresses I can never wear because the cut's so high waist. *pout* :P

The French Kiss and the Boy Next Door

This post's title is actually more steamy than my love life is, hehe.

Reading bits of Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola and the Boy Next Door.

Gawd, what would the world be like without Stephanie Perkins? She's golden, I tell ya. I fall in love every single time, feeling giddy like I've just had bubbly, hugging my books in sheer glee.

 

Etienne. Cricket. Etienne. Cricket. Dang, I can't choose, both are lushly delish! Anna and Lola sure are lucky gals :P

I did love Anna a wee bit more (both the book and the girl) but I suspect it's my bias for English accents, Europe/Paris, films and cinema, history and literature, and Anna and Etienne's imperfect set of pearly whites (hmm, now who does that remind me of?) :P

I certainly can connect with both girls and they each remind me a little of myself: Lola's love for costumes mirrors my own and Anna's passion for films and cinemas brings back good memories of my time as a pseudo arts student. But, I do think I'm more like Anna.

On the other hand, Etienne seems like the type of guy I'll fantasize about dating, while Cricket is more the type that I'll actually date XD

I see more of myself in Etienne though, minus the cocky personality. We both love history, punk rock (ok, he likes French punk rock but I don't care, punk rock is punk rock :P ), our moms, crepes, and know useless bits of info.

These are fan made covers of Anna and the French Kiss, but I love how romantic both are. Unfortunately, Anna's actual book cover doesn't help much in selling the book based on looks alone.

              

Now, I'll love to see these on my book shelf! 

And... I don't know who this cutie is, but he sure fits my bill of how Etienne would look like - a sentiment echoed by a kindred spirit on Goodreads who first highlighted what a good fit it'll be.

And... also because of Anna, I'll like to visit here one day and make my very own wish:

The song that always plays in my head when I read Anna, or makes me think of Anna:

The great thing is that Stephanie is social media active, and writes an entertaining blog here, posts wonderful tidbits like the official playlist for Anna here, and has a Twitter and Facebook account.

Try leaving a message on Facebook to let her know what you think of the books and sometimes, she may reply :)