Instagram Snapshots ~*July 2013*~

I'm still miffed about my bandwidth issue.

I was researching on free photo host for blogs and websites and came to a few sites where they did comparisons among all the free photo hosts. Photobucket emerged the top 3. I've got no issues with Photobucket at all except the very limited bandwidth of 10GB set for each month.While I wait out the next reset of my photobucket's bandwidth, here are July's Instagram snapshots hosted via my bursting blogger photo host.





~2 July 2013~
I've always loved ash brown hair. The ash tone I like is quite similar to the bottom left picture and that colour could only be achieved by bleaching before dyeing. I'm adamant about not bleaching my hair and hence my stylist did the colour closest to what I wanted and recommended me to use a silver shampoo to tone the colour over a period of time. Silver shampoo contains blue and purple pigment to wash out yellowish tones and preserve a platinum colour in the hair. The bottom right picture shows my hair colour changing to almost what I want during my first shampoo at home. Sadly after blowing it dry, the colour didn't remain like in that picture. I guess I've to be patient and await the results after a few washes.

~3 July 2013~
Soaked off my month-long gelish only to have new ones done. Doing gelish can b quite an addiction. This time I opted for subtle pink an lilac ombré nails. The ribbon art was added on a whim.




~4 July 2013~
Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes, Please colour me beautiful. I heard that you are made with water ballerinas in mind. Hence for SGD33 supported by Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I really hope my eyeliner doesn't smudge anymore. Thank you.




~4 July 2013~
Throw back Thursday. Picture titled "Where's Eiffel?" The Eiffel Tower was shrouded in mist during our lunch reservation at Le Jules Verne 2 years ago. We were dining in mist with no view to enjoy. 😣 Fast forward to now. 3 more days to our next holiday!!! Can't wait!!!




~6 July 2013~
Clearing my photoroll from watsapp photo downloads and other rubbish when i saw this gorgeous flower themed sash. So pretty!




~7 July 2013~
Bye Bye Singapore! Off to the land of Prada, Gucci and Armani and I don't even have a shopping list. This is insanely abnormal!




~8 July 2013~
The beautiful view of the Grand Canal from our room at Hotel Galleria, Venice. The room is very small but the awesome view, impeccable service and complimentary drinks in the common fridge more than make up for it.




~8 July 2013~
I really hope this video gets through the very unstable wifi here. We are putting up at Hotel Galleria, Venice for the night. The room is really small but the beautiful view of the the Grand Canal from the window is the prized catch.

~8 July 2013~
The no-frills hotel we chose --Hotel Ferrucci-- at Florence, Italy is our cheapest accommodation in this Italy trip at €300 for 4 nights. It surpassed our expectations when we saw that our room is the only room with a patio.




~11 July 2013~
We climbed and huffed and puffed to have this visual treat of Florence city centre. Totally worth the sweat and sore muscles. On a separate note, the wifi is so bad that I've to pull a chair to sit by the door and also walk outta the room along the corridor every now and then to get signal.




~12 July 2013~
We skipped the touristy Pisa and drove out to Siena from Florence for half a day. Siena is full of medieval feel with very cool weather. Felt like it was spring instead of summer as it got really cold at times. There we were at Piazza Del Campo with the clock tower in the background.




~12 July 2013~
I love it when hotel keys are actual keys made of metal and not key cards like what most modern hotels have.




~13 July 2013~
Hotel Villa Duse would be where we would be putting up at Rome. The 15 sec instavideo doesn't do justice to this beautiful room. I love the cozy reading corner with Italian encyclopedia.



~13 July 2013~
We reached Rome only at sunset as we spent a lot more time in the factory outlets en route to Rome than expected. The sun sets slightly before 9pm in summer btw. Check out the cute thin crescent moon in the beautiful hues of purple, pink and orange.




~13 July 2013~
These shoes are/ are not (circle the appropriate answer) made for walking the different grounds of Italy, from uneven cobblestone to brick roads to tarmac roads. They gave me so much pain due to the really thin soles but after a few days, I've gotten used to it. In fact, the fashionable ladies in Florence could be wearing really beautiful long dresses and then when you look at their feet-- all sorts of converse shoes! The mismatch look seems to be a fashion statement. I hope these shoes continue to take me through Rome function wise and fashion wise.




~14 July 2013~
Dear Charmaine, It's 12 midnight here in Rome. Happy Birthday Char Char! You would have been 8 this year. I'm so glad you sent your wishes up together with your sky lantern 2 years ago and had a glimmer of hope and faith to press on. 2 nights ago was our last night in Florence and there was a street bazaar. Little Italian kids were letting their sky lanterns with wishes written on up into the cool night sky. I thought of you and the night of your actual birthday 2 years ago. I know you are in a pain-free place looking down and watching upon mommy and kor kor with your cheeky smile and your signature Asian peace sign. Please continue to watch over mommy and kor kor and all who love you. Love ❤ Godma Jolene




~14 July 2013~
Love my newly purchased Burberry scarf at almost half the price of those selling in Singapore. Wore a tank top out today to beat the summer heat and this scarf came in really useful as a modesty cover when stepping into Roman Catholic Churches and during the night when the wind gets chilly.




~14 July 2013~
After going into so many churches, Sant'Ignazio Church in Rome is my favorite so far. Most churches in Europe have a dark gothic feel (no offence to Catholics) which truly overwhelms. This church gives a huge sense of peace. Beautiful organ music resonated all around and then the choir sang just like baritone in operas. The church is really brightly-lit with ornate baroque design and bold paintings on all the domes. After the singing, the mass commenced and we had to move away from the aisle.




~15 July 2013~
Reflection of the Rome Colosseum through the hubby's LV aviators on me. These aviators are so ME lor. I dunno why he doesn't want to let me have it. Hmmph!

~15 July 2013~
I wished my antique key ring could unlock the secret passages of the ancient ruins of the Colosseum.




~15 July 2013~
Bookish nerd trying to read Italian encyclopedia 1938--1948 from the antique bookshelf in the hotel room.




~16 July 2013~
My apricot drink was too sweet. So guess what I did with his beer? Yummy yummy fruit beer. And yay for free wifi in this humble ristorante just outside Vatican City. Polite wait staff with food served very quickly, quite unlike the 1.5-2h on average meals in Italy.




~16 July 2013~
Could you guess what book I'm flipping? Hint: Try to see the pic on the right page of the book.




~16 July 2013~
On our last day at Hotel Villa Duse, the sweet waitress gave us some love in our cappuccino. It's strange. Cappuccino originates from Italy but we don't get those nice art on our foam. Or are those only for latte? This is our first time seeing art on our cappuccino in Italy so though simple, it's really cute to see those hearts.




~16 July 2013~
Bye Rome! You have been good save for the merciless sun. Now for a loooooooooong drive to Milan.




~17 July 2013~
We decided on Hotel Berna, Milan after seeing the huge discount and raves on Trip Advisor. The room looks small and nothing spectacular for a 4-star hotel. Nevertheless, we were wowed by the double door security at the building, the free coffee and water at the Internet area, the secured wifi throughout the hotel and the complimentary juices at the minibar.




~17 July 2013~
Being very random, we made a detour en route Milan to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa coz that's what all mainstream tourists have to do. All the touristy posing shots are in the camera though.




~18 July 2013~
Duomo di Milano is the only attraction in Milan that is worth visiting. It's really beautiful on the outside with intricate details on the facade. Each spire is actually a statue. The inside is really dark and you need to buy a wristband to be permitted to take photographs. The captivating features would be the elaborate details of the stained glasses. "The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the fifth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory."




~19 July 2013~
Last dessert for the holidays. Pear coated with chocolate syrup. Back to reality after hibernating.




~19 July 2013~
Sexy pasta




~20 July 2013~
Arm candy from @fleurfaerie. 2x3 bracelets on 1 wrist. Me thinks its an overkill of charms and pearls but hubby thinks it's beautiful. For once, the tastes swap places.




~20 July 2013~
First time eating escargot with croissant at La Petit Cuisine. This is more than an appetizer!




~20 July 2013~
Duck Confit with Gratin. Stark presentation but good casual French food.




~20 July 2013~
Time for some atas Bottega Gold wine. Anyone knows how the Bottega Rose tastes like? My mum always can't bear to open any new wine we bring home. The gold one is not bad! Side note: check out my sis @kezel and my reflection in the bottles.




~20 July 2013~
白痴 smiles from my sis and me through the Bottega wine bottles. Photo courtesy of @kezel.




~21 July 2013~
Sunday doodling. We had a tattoo theme birthday dinner for the Vios July babies. Gosh! It's damn difficult to draw on the loose skin of the wrist. I've got an ugly infinity tattoo on my left wrist (with the parts drawn in black pen faded by the end of the night) and some swirls on my right eye. Wrist: 15 min. Eye: less than 1 min.




~21 July 2013~
Sunday doodling. We had a tattoo theme birthday dinner for the Vios July babies and hubby is one of the babies. This was what I drew for him on his left arm. I spent 20 min on this and all he wanted to do was to wash it off after the dinner. So sad. Aside: me thinks he is a closet Beng. Can't stand that expression manz.




~22 July 2013~
Was clearing my photoroll and came across this. Cute @julestbl to come up with the theme for the July babies dinner. And yes it was a joke and no the hubby didn't agree.




~25 July 2013~
Seeing @canloveant 's picture, I decided to download bokeh apps. The app she recommended wasn't free so cheapo me downloaded a few other free bokeh apps to play around with the effects. So here is a self-absorbed picture like what 481039301630272 of Instagram users out there have on their pages. No photo app could correct my big small eyes, even one with the option of enlarging eyes.




~25 July 2013~
Throwbackthursday. Think I was two in this photo. Whenever adults say "Fold your arms and cross your legs", I stupidly obeyed. Then they would coo "soooooo cuuuute".




~27 July 2013~
3 elements I like in this beautiful illustration-- beautiful messy updo, pointy wings butterflies, intriguing melancholy.




~27 July 2013~
Never heard of this Italian brand Fracomina. But I knew I had to get this lovely top. I love the muted colourful prints, butterflies, lace and asymmetrical theme as well as a mixture of dainty and wild.



~28 July 2013~
Craving for seafood simmered in white wine sauce so I ordered Vongole and Cozze for appetizer and Spaghetti alle Vongole for mains. The waiter could not hide his laughter when he took my order. The hubz prefers to substitute "craving" for "crazy". All the soup was lapped up.




~29 July 2013~
Found on a caravan parked beside us at Piazzale Michelangelo.




~30 July 2013~
Lurve social media humour! I was googling for this minion comic up down right left after the hubz related it to me verbally. Finally found it!