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Fenny reporting from Kuala Lumpur

**report written by Fenny from F for Fabulous

Shop tour in Kuala Lumpur : Poco Homemade – Kitchen & Zakka

I live in Malaysia for almost 7 years, and what I love most about the country is the diversity of food. Malaysia is one of the countries to visit if you would like to have a culinary experience. From the gourmet dining to street food, you name it – they have it all. I dare to say you will have a comprehensive gastronomy by visiting this country. But what I love most is to visit dining place in the neighborhood area. They are normally more intimate, cozy and less commercial.

Recently I went to dine in the very sweet lifestyle cafe nested in the fast growing area in the suburb of Kuala Lumpur. And I think this place is worth to share and to visit (if you live/or ever visit Kuala Lumpur). 

Sandy reporting from Bangkok

**report written by Sandy from the Cookie Cutter

If you live in this part of the world, you might have visited Bangkok over a long weekend or for a short getaway. Due to the proximity, I’m fortunate to have visited this vibrant city quite a number of times. Recent trips this year saw me steering away from the usual shopping haunts and street food (they are still awesome, of course). I've been uncovering interesting cafes with beautiful decor that are off the beaten tracks. I’m happy to be sharing two of my favourites from my recent sojourn with you.

Away from the maddening traffic and smell of deep fried street hawker food, I discovered a little oasis called Parden Cafe & Zakka. Helmed by a friendly Japanese lady who has made Bangkok her home, this cafe is such a gem I almost wanted to keep it under wraps! Once inside, I forgot temporarily that I was in Bangkok.

    

Fenny reporting from San Diego

**report written by Fenny from F for Fabulous

I was in Los Angeles last month joining my husband to a conference. While being there I got a headache of how big LA is. It is way too big or maybe I am just not so city girl :) While I was having a headache in LA I suddenly thought maybe it's better for me to do road trip to smaller city, I saw San Diego brochures and they caught at my eyes, the town that rich with color and influence of Mexican culture. I love colors, I love spices and I love cultures, so here we (me and my husband friend who turned out to be a good buddy trip) were, drove our rented Ford to the big freeway to San Diego.

Well, we got lost and end up parking our car at Target and we took red trolley to the San Diego Old Town, our first spot.  My daughter wasn’t traveling with me, so we skipped the famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World and Lego Land. You may opt for this if you have a vacation with family though, and definitely need more days to stay at the town as the Zoo alone is huge to explore. We only did a day trip and me being my self, I always love to explore the old town part, so we skipped downtown and few touristy places. ...................READ MORE>>>

Marie reporting from Hong Kong

{image above, A building in Causeway Bay area & world-famous Pacific Place mall}

 

**This report is written by Marie from Etincelle Creative Studio

If you live in South East Asia {I live in Singapore}, Hong Kong is a great getaway over the weekend... I happened to spend three days there last month {without my two children}and I loved it!

I had been to Hong Kong once beforehand so I didn't feel the urge to visit all the great touristy spots {aka Victoria Peak, Lan Kwai Fong etc....}{but do include a trip to the Victoria Peak if the sky is clear}. Instead I focused on exploring various areas in both Hong Kong island and Kowloon {mainland} which I will share with you here. But first beware that Hong Kong is very chaotic and has a dense population of more than 7 millions people!

Street sign and a fabric shop in Sham Shui Po

On day 1 I went by myself to explore the Sam Shui Po area as I had been told I could find fabrics there. #1 Sham Shui Po Mtr {Kowloon} What an amazing place! Streets after streets with shops selling everything from beads, lace and ribbons to sequins, fabrics, leather, metal parts and much more... a creative heaven!

Kilometers of ribbons at the Flying Dragon shop

92 Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon

It's completely off the touristy path so expect to see mostly locals and not much English spoken there, but if you are into that stuff, it's well worth a visit {and it's very manageable}. Explore the following streets: Tai Nam St, Nam Cheong St, Ki Lung St and Yu Chau St. * Tip: It's worth knowing that shops selling fabrics mainly have samples in store {feel free to grab as many as you want}. If you wish to purchase a couple of yards, expect to come back the day after to pick them up. Warehouses are not located nearby shops...                                                                                   READ MORE>>>

Judith reporting from the Nordics, today .. Norway

This report is written by Judith de Graaff from Joelix and all images are by Judith.

 After a week of Swedish countryside and Norwegian fjords, we reached Oslo where we stayed in theComfort Xpress Hotel. A so called "Social Media Hotel"... which meant so much as: cool lobby & brekkie hangout, with super fast internet. And nice staff too!

Oslo is a big city with quite a compact city center. Some of my favorite stores were Elm Design(Icelandic fashion design, in the same street as Acne and Filippa K) and Clas Ohlsen. The latter is a part of chain store where you can buy everything from a lightbulb to a fridge. They mainly sell electrical stuff, hardware, everything for your home, leisure and multimedia. Not a very special store, but it's so complete that I liked it. 

The area we explored outside the city center is called Grünerløkka. Here you'll find small shops and lots of great vintage stores as well.

I simply LOVE the Granit stores. We already visited a big Granit shop in Stockholm, but again the Granit Grünerløkka store didn't let me down. Granit sells basic storage solutions and other functional products for home, office and garden. There is nearly any branding on the products (which reminds a bit of Muji) which makes it super easy to personalize the products in your own way.

Judith reporting from the Nordics, today .. Sweden

This report is written by Judith de Graaff from Joelix and all images are by Judith.

When heading to Stockholm we stopped at Gränna. This is where the typical Swedish candy is made. It is a bit of a tourist trap, however it is so nice to see how the peppermint rocks are actually created. Great for kids too! Of course you'll have to treat them (and yourself) on some red&white polkagris afterwards.

 
Stockholm is often referred to as the Venice of the North. And, indeed, there is water everywhere but... you don’t need a gondola to get around. The underground system works perfectly well and gets you everywhere. It is a very green city too; there are lot of parks which fill up rather fast when the sun comes out. At the end of the day we were so exhausted by the extremely extensive exhibitions at the Moderna Museet that we decided to go on a refreshing boat trip. Unfortunately there were no boats going to the Stockholm Archipelago (Skärgården) anymore. We were told by many Swedes that this is one of the most magical places of Stockholm.

Instead of starting our day in the city center, we decided to walk through the Södermalm area, which was very quiet when we visited. You'll find another hairdresser on every streetcorner. Which makes sense when you see all the well cut Swedish people around. Some of the shops we visited were Acne(of course! Nytorgsgatan 36), 6/5/4 (Nytorgsgatan 27) and Regn (Högbergsgatan 30). At Regn you can buy an updated version of the traditional Swedish raincoat. A very very good looking raincoat.


When you visit Stockholm you should absolutely drop by Kon-stig (Åsögatan 124). It's the very best art bookshop I've ever been to. Here you'll find a superb collection of art books, limited editions, one-of-a-kinds and out-of-print books. It is one of this places you don't leave empty handed.

Judith reporting from the Nordics, today .. Denmark

This report is written by Judith de Graaff from Joelix and all images are by Judith.

During the month of may, my husband and I travelled through Denmark, Sweden, and Norway for 3 weeks. We had a wonderful stay in the Nordics including reindeer, elks, tasty kanelbullar & Danish pastries, fjords, supercute red Swedish cottages, Legoland, great weather, excellent design shops and so much more. In this report I will take you along with me to the 3 Scandinavian capitals: Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo.

 

But our first stop will be Odense on the island of Fyn in Denmark. Odense is a small city which is mostly known for the Hans Christian Anders hus, where the famous fairytale writer was born. It has now been turned into a museum. Of course we also visited Brandts, the Art Center which houses the Kunsthallen, Denmarks Mediamuseum, and the Photography Museum. After the visit we had coffee at Cafe Biografen at Brandts, which also houses a cult cinema.
 


In the city center you'll mostly find big chain stores. The store of the Grene Sisters (Vestergade 25) is no exception to that (you'll find many of their shops throughout Scandinavia) but it's still a cute and inexpensive shop for tiny decoration goodies, candles, storage boxes, notebooks and so much more. Definitely worth a visit.

Copenhagen is a great city for shopping. It's home of some of the best shops we've seen in 3 weeks. Vintage (genbrug) shopping is big too, there are a lot of second hand shops and fleamarkets everywhere. We were lucky to find a Fog & Mørup lamp for 50DKK (10USD) on a flea market in Nørrebro, near the apartment we rented through AirBnB.
 

One of my favorite shops in Copenhagen were Liebe (Kompagnistræde 23) and Stilleben (Læderstræde 14). Both shops carry contemporary handmade table wear, vases, door knobs, stationary and so much more. The styling of the Liebe shop is really amazing. You will absolutely find the perfect gift for a newborn baby in here. Susan Liebe really amazed me.

Lisette reporting from Barcelona

This report is written by Lisette van de Graaf from cute suite and all images are by Lisette.

To be invited by Irene to share some of 'my' Barcelona on Bloesem is a tremendous honor and definitely a challenge for a someone who has only just started blogging. Thanks ever so much, Irene! For seven years now, I have been living in Barcelona, and to this day, this wonderful city continues to amaze and surprise me.

I am inspired by its beauty and the many artful and architectural details that surround me everywhere, and delighted to discover new things in places I have passed lots of times before... I thought I'd take you on a bit of a wander around the area where I live, and show you the various places I like to hang out, shop, eat, or just people watch.

Let's start at Olivia Cafe (on the corner of Carrer Notariat and Carrer Pintor Fortuny), where I usually have my mid-morning coffee and sometimes one of their delicious rolls or home-made cakes or muffins.

Sometimes, I'll change my routine and treat myself to a scone at Buenas Migas, and sit on their terrace, on the lovely Plaça del Bonsuccès, to watch 'the world' go by.

Other great places to do that, while having a drink or enjoying a snack or meal, are any of the café terraces on Plaça Vicenç Martorell,

Irene reporting from Pulau Ubin in Singapore

Another Birthday in the family this week... Happy Birthday Love of my Life! It was a wonderful day today and I hope you enjoyed it too? We went to a small island here in Singapore, calles Pulau Ubin. Yes for you who didn't know Singapore has a couple of islands and some of them are absolutely worth visiting.

Pulau Ubin is known for it's bicycle tracks, so DUtch as we are we had to go and see for ourselves. We start by driving to Changi Village, but taking a taxi is a very simple alternative. At Changi Village you will find that brings you to the island, only 5 minutes away but a nice little adventure, especially for young kids :) see the image of the ferry here below. 

Pulau Ubin is an island North East of Singapore where often said as the last “kampong” (village) in Singapore. When you arrive at the Island you are warmly welcomed by lot's of Chinese decoration and a world of bikes... bikes, bikes and more bikes... al for rent... that's what we did too of course :)

Everything at the island is simple and easy, you just follow the path... what I liked during the day, was being outdoors in the jungly forest and of course all the details in the small village. Lot's of chinese temples and offerings. For lunch we went to one of the fish/crab restaurants and after spending around 4 hours at Pulau Ubin we decided to go back home. Of course there is much more to explore on the island but the heath and two very young boys were ready to go back home.

There is an intriguing story about a 'German Girl Shrine' at Pulau Ubin that I first heard about via this wonderful blog by jeffrey and flora,  two Americans living in Singapore. Some people really worship this ghost from the past.. today we did see the sign of a small road leading up the holy place, but we are saving this little adventure for our next trip to Pulau Ubin. If you are already curious than click here and read Flora her wonderful story about the German Girl and her Shrine.

 

All images were taken by me, Irene, you can use them for your blog but please give credits via this link. 

Ana reporting from Fortaleza, Brazil

This report is written by Ana Degenaar from Live & Enliven.

Fortaleza, Brazil is a medley of culture and beauty, from natural resources, man-made creations and a variety of people living together and keeping their traditions vibrantly alive. This relatively small space in the world is a dream. It is located in the North East of Brazil, just 3 degrees South of the Equator. We see the sun 350 days a year and during the hottest days of Summer there’s a characteristic breeze that unmistakably lets you know you’re in Fortaleza. 

My family and I have been living in Brazil for the past 3 years and it has changed our lives. There are many things told about Brazil, some true, some not so true, but there's one I fully agree with and it is that Brazil is paradise. Yes it is! Whether you are here with the sole expectation of travel or you are planning to settle down, Brazil will offer you the best and more often than not, it will change you.

Before I came to live in beautiful Brazil I had only spent holidays at the beach and there was that sense of detachment in me that knew it would be lovely to stay yet I had a home to go back to. After living here for 3 years the though alone of leaving for a short break makes my heart ache, there's an incredible sense of freedom that comes from looking at the sea everyday and even when you don't you know it's there. This is the same view Brazilians have - to them the sea plays such a key part of their lives and that's the reason why they fully embrace it and transform places like this into home to welcome those who have yet to understand their love  for the sea.