high five

Along with a killer chickpea salad, Takeout Drawing also offers great views from their second floor.

boxes

Found here.

I wish moving was this beautifully neat in real life.

takeout drawing

Itaewon keeps surprising me. When I first visited this former expat ghetto last year I took one look around and left in a hurry, deciding that it was so not my scene. However, my most recent visit was filled with delightful surprises. One being Takeout Drawing, a cafe/artist residency, that served up both great atmosphere and a much-needed chickpea salad. I hadn't had a single chickpea since coming to Korea, so when I saw that this was offered (on their take-home zine/menu) I ordered it immediately. Roasted chickpeas, pine nuts, spinach, dehydrated strawberries, garlic - yes please! They also have a dangerous spread of carbs, which certainly won both my boyfriend and I over. As for the clientele, there were plenty of stylish Koreans lounging on the artificial turf, sipping on espressos and Moroccan mint teas, and luring in those passing by (myself included).

festival collection

Proving that the best style inspiration comes from the streets (or in this case the field) H&M recently launched the Festival Collection - a co-ed collection inspired by the creative outfits frolicking around super hot summer music festivals like Glastonbury and Coachella. Think flowing bohemian blouses, tribal gladiator sandals, chunky beaded bracelets and plenty of light washed denim. Affordable essentials for any outdoor music lover. The Swedish uber brand is even going so far as to offer leopard print pop-up tents and paisley sleeping bags to accompany the on-trend festival apparel.

This summer collection marks H&M's third Fashion Against Aids campaign with 25% of the sales donated to HIV/AIDS awareness projects. Which means you don't have to feel too guilty about blowing a portion of your paycheck on these trendy but not-so-timeless pieces. Happy shopping!

jung eun park

Jung is a freelancer illustrator based in Korea. She loves to observe and draw everything from people, trees, cliff, forest, streets, animals to council flat. She captures ideas from everyday life and bring it to drawings.

Speaking of The Book Society, here are some scans from a really sweet little book I bought on Saturday. Illustrator Jung Eun Park has done some darling drawings of herbs, which I will obviously have to display when I actually have a kitchen.

Here are some more of her illustrations that I particularly like:

Animals
Map: Seoul to London
Park Project: Hand Typography
BLINK: Book Cover

antique weekend

The way I see it...you can never have too many beautiful antique treasures. Whether they're inherited from loved ones or discovered by chance it is always more interesting to decorate using pieces with a past. Taking a hint of inspiration from Sarah Richardson's latest project on a lovely country farmhouse I thought I'd try and incorporate some battered and beautiful second hand items into my own decorating plans. Luckily, the Christie Antique show was in town (well, just outta town) this weekend which meant I was spoiled for choice in the vintage furnishings department. Wheelers and dealers set up a patchwork of tents and booths on this beautiful conservative area to hawk their fine wares for quite reasonable prices - assuming you're a skilled bargainer that is.

From rustic farmhouse tables to worn in church pew benches there were large and small scale pieces of all sorts. My personal favourites included the fantastic old storefront signs, vintage typewriters, multicoloured country quilts and oversized apothecary cabinets full of miniature drawers . At the end of the day I was limited a little too much by my square footage (not to mention my budget) to pick up any grand pieces but I did find a few decorative little items to take home. My favourite find of the day: a pair of white washed deer antlers to mount on the wall or place haphazardly on a bookshelf.

Antique aficionados will be pleased to know the show makes a magnificent return at the end of the summer on September 11th. See you there!

vintage postcards

I picked up these postcards from a little antique store in Insadong last week. There were many to choose from, but I so liked the colours in these two.

the book society

The Book Society is a great little bookstore/project space run by Media Bus. Here you can find a well curated selection of small press and artists' publications, along with a variety of self-published books. It's easy to spend well over an hour here fondling the beautiful covers and smooth pages (even longer when it comes time to decide which ones to actually purchase). The store itself has a refreshingly unpretentious DIY feel, which made for a very comfortable browse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's only about a ten minute walk from Hongdae, which means I'll certainly be visiting again in the near future.

Location
The Book Society
서울시 마포구 상수동 331-8
1F(#3), 331-8, Sangsu-dong,
Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea
121-829

ming makes cupcakes

Ming Makes Cupcakes is run by Ming Thompson, who... is really good at making cupcakes (and other things). The design on this website is fantastic - and those photos. Oh, those photos. Up in the middle of the night with sore muscles from my first venture into hot yoga, I was just drooling over Ming's cupcakes. It's probably for the best that I don't have an oven or I would surely be making the Sour Cream Apricot Cupcakes for breakfast!

toast it

Toast It is a cork bread-shaped trivet/coaster from Brazilian design studio Oiti, which is run by Patricia Naves.
- Design Milk

Okay, coasters disguised as a loaf of bread? Amazing.