Top – Stylenanda (Similar). Skirt – Mango (similar). Heels – Gianvito Rossi (Similar). Bag – Kurt Geiger (Similar). Rings – THPSHOP. Watch – Larsson & Jennings. Sunglasses – Karen Walker. Scarf – Louis Vuitton.

Apologies if today this post landed in your RSS reader/Bloglovin’ feed and looked like one hot mess laced with crushed Viagra. Something had launched the draft for this post from the back-end without my consent and I’ve been dousing my computer with bug-spray this whole morning. At this point I’m not too sure what’s caused it, but if it’s a hacker I’d like them to get in touch because I really need some friends. We can order pizza and watch the Sex & the City? or play XBox and throw eggs at passing cars – whatever you want. Dear readers, as a general rule if you see a link that’s does not start with ‘http://parkncu.be’, please try not to click it, and if a blogpost is not accompanied by a blob of rant here + some kind of heads-up  on social media, then it’s an unauthorized post. If you could simply drop a line on Twitter or Facebook I’ll do my best to fix it (with bugspray and a mosquito nets). Although, if the background is black with ‘Di$ S1te H4Z bEEn HAckeD B1Tchez’ flashing in neon green, then most probably I’m drunk on nail polish, or my site’s been compromised and I need some wizardly assistance. Both exciting.

Shot at the Barbican Centre, which may be a perfect location to shoot theatre version of 50 Shades of Grey meets Planet of the Apes if there ever was to be one. Definitely underrated as a destination within London, this is brutalist architecture at its finest (if that’s not an oxymoron, I don’t know what is). Make sure to check out the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition; or the Food Hall, if you’re more like me. Thank you Charlie for helping with the outfit shots!

Images from the previous #MangoDIY in November

It’s that time of year again when you realize just how many inspiration boards you’ve created over the past Winter, yearning for longer, warmer days – each filled to the brim with promise of travel, food and DIY. Although, let’s be honest, this was all done while cooked up at home wrapped in a cosy blanket with much time to burn (#Irony our evergreen hashtag). If this is you however, here’s a great opportunity to kick start summer: Mango is throwing another DIY bash – hosted once again by yours truly. They’re calling on all dreamers and DIY mavens for a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to Barcelona over May 13-15, which includes of course, sexy Spain, glorious Catalan food, and a spot at the #MangoDIY workshop tables. How to enter? Easy – simply share a pic on your Instagram account with with the hashtag #MangoDIY, and a choice of which bloggers you’d like to accompany: @Adenorah, @Clochet, @GoldenDiamonds or @Anouskapb.

Good luck, and see you in Barcelona!

Where? Barcelona, baby! What? Two days of DIY fun, with Mango and captain Stud (me, OBVIOUSLY) How? As above, but check here as well for full details. Winners will be chosen by the four bloggesrs and announced on the 2nd of May, so enter by the 1st! Extra: Open internationally, but full Terms & Conditions here.

The Racha resort; Raya Yai island

Kaarem Wind chime white cropped top, Hien Le embossed alcantara shorts.

Wind chime taupe top by Kaarem, and silk petal grey skirt by Isabell de Hillerin.

Boatneck open back dress by Kaarem

Svilu tennis zipper skirt

Oiseaux lace white top by Bonheur, and suede alcantara surf shorts by Hien Le.

Garden top by Ace & Jig.

Marigold tent dress by Svilu.

All linked clothes available at A Boy Named Sue shop

Not the chic-est duo, Kit and I make. Definitely not the sort of fasshun bloggers seen skipping about the globe in un-creased maxi dresses and perfect hair + makeup, despite our overstuffed vanity cases weighing down the speedboat like cast-iron anchors. ‘OMG Kit, I think I’m blind’, are my first few words at Raya Yai Island – not proud of them, I know – thankfully Kit doesn’t hear over the sound of the spluttering motor and besides, her arms are flailing about trying to comb out the bird’s nest that is her hair. We’d chosen the seats at the very back on the motorboat out of the mainland, silently hoping to role-play an image of two long-legged blondes perched at the back of a Venetian speed boat (think Michael Kors resort)… then the sun-faded orange safety vests goes on + sea wind + water spitting back from the motor… you know the rest. Alas, I’m not blind. My eyes adjust to the new horizon and everything is white, the beach, the boardwalk, the Racha.

A hamlet of white-washed villas and neatly manicured tropics make up the Racha resort, set in a lagoon of the bluest, clearest water I’ve seen in my life. Gatorade Emerald-blue. There are only villas – no rooms – and the interiors reflect the same minimal aesthetics. The facilities encourage an eco-aware stay, a perfect backdrop for our suitcases that are full cute garbs from A Boy Named Sue – purveyors of eco-friendly, sustainable designers and of course, one of our generous hosts in the Far East.

We may be champions of un-chic but Kit and I have got some serious unpacking skills, one of the first signs of tiger mumhood, I fear – within an hour we freshen-up and make homes out of both villas. The energy spills into the rest of the day and by six thirty we wrap up shooting the remaining lookbook images. Kit charges out towards the ocean with her snorkelling gear, I give my private pool a dip and then join her at the beach, hair smelling faintly of Jasmine. The air is different and the sun set into the… cluster of palm trees behind the resort – not sure if it was East or West, it could’ve been Kanye West for all I cared.

Photography and editing by Park & Cube, photos of me by Kit Lee; Huge thanks to A Boy Named Sue and Mr & Mrs Smith for hosting us and the outworldly getaway! 

My collection of auction & buy-it-now bests over at eBay

There was a time not so long ago, when even the most deafening fire alarm could not stir me from deep slumber, but a low-pitched ‘doink’ could have me jumping out of bed and into the most lucid state of mind within seconds. Said doink, would be from eBay, notifying the broke 20-year-old the ‘barely used Chloé block heels’ was ending in ten minutes and basically initiating intranet war between myself and three strangers across the country. The ensuing nine minutes I’d be a general, brooding over the red missile launch switch while the others paced in their own respective war cabinets and waited. Then one novice player would put in the first bid and all hell would break loose, and we’d battle, 5 pence at a time, until the very last second when I’d take the plunge of bidding way over my budget and win a new, old pair of Chloe block heels. I’d say yay, maybe cackle, and go take another nap before the ‘used-once Alexander Wang bucket bag’ would doink me up.

Point is, it was my pre-loved goods haven – high street or designer, my post-adolescent pocket money was put to efficient (?) use. Plus it taught me life lessons (don’t mess with Celine ‘watchers’). While over the years I’ve ventured into more current-season goods, eBay has always been my refuge for timeless pieces like Burberry trench coats… and more so these days, knitting supplies and home DIY solutions. My barndoor-cum-tabletop originates from eBay, par example, which cost me a fraction of what I’d have paid for one at a store. So I thought I’d share some of the things I always keep tabs on, and with their new Collections functionality it makes it much easier to sort them into little squirrel stashes… although, prepare to fight me for a couple of these – you’ve been warned.

A few suggestions:

I’ve also added collections with themes: Travel, first date, gadgets, fashion DIY tools, and seasonals so do check those out as well!

Indigo Pearl resort, Phuket

Bonheur ‘Serenite’ lace dress

Thu Thu Carbon cobblestone shorts

Isabell de Hillerin silk petal skirt

Thu Thu Orangina blouse; Zoobeetle Paris-HK pouch

Svilu Gardenia pocket tee

Kaarem Phi sleeveless top; Thu Thu majorelle Sapa skort

Kaarem Phi sleeveless top; Thu Thu majorelle Sapa skort; Zoobeetle Paris-HK pouch

Feral Childe ghost shift dress

Thu Thu khaki culottes with sapa

Feral Childe ghost shift dress

Thu Thu khaki culottes; Bonheur Oiseaux lace top

Svilu Gardenia pocket tee

All linked clothes available at A Boy Named Sue shop

Say Thailand to me and I’ll still roll my head back and gurgle ERMAGHERD IT WAS AMAZONG at you. It’s been a month now and words still fail me when I try to describe the whole experience. Well, words fail me specifically today because it’s the time of the month and all I can do is pirate noises, but you get my gist, one hardly needs vowels when describing paradise…etc.

I know the timeline on this blog is completely off as we venture into yestermonths and tick off events from bottomless backlogs, so let me explain: last month Kit and I had a brief stint in Asia with e-shop A Boy Named Sue and Thailand was part TWO of this (Hong Kong being part one -watch this space). We arrived in pitch-black Phuket on the last flight out of HK, still trembling from the stress of barely having made it in time for the plane. Our suitcases – a hodgepodge repacking job done an hour before the flight – rolled us out of the airport. At 28 degrees (82F), the air was sweet, and I felt the knots in my shoulders melting away – my first Thai massage, right there.

Technically, Indigo Pearl Resort is not so dissimilar to many European resort models (i.e Forte Village Resort in Sardinia) in the sense that it’s a closed-off compound paradise, but essentially even the air was completely different, and the sun rose from… the East. OK maybe not that different. Over our two nights’ stay we routinely got lost within the resort, discovering magnificent little corners which we couldn’t find again unless by accident… but the way to breakfast was as clear as if we’ve been staying for months, and by the end of it sawadee ka was rolling off our tongues as if natives. All the while, the A Boy Named Sue resort lookbook was shot, between all the wrong turns, the random dips in various pools and whatnot. Stayed tuned for part two at the Racha!

Photography and editing by Park & Cube, photos of me by Kit Lee; Collaborative project with A Boy Named Sue.