8 Simple Ways To Good Feng Shui In Your Home

Posted on 13 September 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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Our home is where we want to feel at home. Practicing the art and science of Feng Shui is one way we can make this happen, possibly bringing around peace, wealth and overall positivity to our lives.

Feng Shui, pronounced foong shway, translates to wind (fēng, 风) and water (shuǐ, 水). It is a Chinese means of creating harmony and balance within our personal and professional spaces through design, centring around the flow of energy (Chi or qi, 氣) and the yin and yang. The practice is closely aligned with the Five Elements of Chinese culture: wood, earth, fire, metal and water.

Practicing Feng Shui is about finding balance | Lens-Artists Challenge #12 – Path.

My parents always lived by the traditional Chinese mentality, and they’ve always been keen on aligning the places we lived in Australia and South East Asia with the elements of Feng Shui. For them, rooms and furniture have to be laid out a certain way. Although I learnt why my parents are meticulous about Feng Shui, it’s not something I’m sold on today. At least not completely.

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Australia’s Coffee Culture: How We Drink Coffee

Posted on 16 August 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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Coffee and drinking coffee is something Australians are all too familiar with. Australia’s coffee culture is unique, with different ways of drinking coffee and different kinds of coffee drunk throughout the day.

No doubt Australia has a strong love affair with coffee. Melbourne has time and time again been voted as having the best coffee in the world. In 2017, the quest to find the best coffee roaster in the world was held in Melbourne. Coffee is a favourite non-alcoholic beverage for many Australians among most age brackets, even more popular than tea.

Some of us love coffee | Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #7: Everyday Moments.

Although I’ve lived in Australia for half my life, I don’t drink coffee. Certainly I’m no where near a coffee connoisseur and my tastebuds aren’t fined tuned to suss out the finest of coffees and Arabica beans.

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Sweltering Hot vs. Freezing Cold Weather: Which Do You Like?

Posted on 19 July 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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Warm weather. Cold weather. We might prefer one or the other. Or we might not have a preference and love both.

The weather is different all around the world. Some countries have four seasons. Other parts of the world especially countries close to the equator don’t have four seasons and pretty much have a steady temperature all year round.

Hot or cold weather. Different climates, different temperatures.

For as long as I can remember, I never liked cold weather. Never like it when the temperature dips below 20’C (68’F) in Melbourne and any place really. Summer is my favourite season and a day 30’C (86’F) or over is something I love. When I lived in Singapore, I loved that each and every day was a tropical, humid balmy 26’C (78’F) or more.

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10 Differences Between Eastern And Western Eating Habits

Posted on 21 June 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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There are different ways of dining all around the world. Different cultures, especially eastern and western cultures, have different ways of eating, cooking and serving food.

Eating both Eastern and Western cuisine was a part of my childhood in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Growing up I had many friends and family from Asian and Western backgrounds and we constantly ate each other’s cuisines. Evidently there were noticeably different eating habits and food preferences between each other’s cultures.

Different foods, different ways of eating.

When we speak of Eastern or Asian cuisine, we usually think of dishes originating from the Asian region, maybe rice and noodle dishes. When we speak of Western cuisine, dishes such as bread, potatoes and pasta commonly come to mind. That said, for each cuisine there are a multitude of varying dishes in between as this world is so diverse.

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7 Reasons To Not Celebrate Your Birthday

Posted on 26 April 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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Our birthday comes around once a year. Our birthday, that one day usually reminding us of another year gone by. Not all of us are keen on celebrating this so-called ‘special day‘.

I’m one of these people. Never have been keen on celebrating my birthday, which is coming up next week. Every year I try to keep this day as quiet as possible, going about the day as per normal and sort of forgetting that it’s my birthday.

Birthdays and cake. Time for reflection | Weekly Photo Challenge: Unlikely.

It’s not that I have anything against celebrating birthdays. Last year I wrote a post on 7 Unforgettable Ways To Celebrate Your Birthday. I’m all up for celebrating other’s birthdays. Just not mine.

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Oversharing: 8 Things I Will Never Post On Social Media As A Blogger

Posted on 5 April 2018 by Mabel Kwong

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Oversharing online is something some of us are guilty of.

It’s tempting to share a big part of our lives online these days without much thought. Social media is such an easy way to engage and keep in touch with each other. Think platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, blogs and more.

For those of us who are regular bloggers, at times we might wonder if what we publish – or are thinking of publishing – is ‘too much’ and relevant to our audiences.

To share or not to share ourselves with the rest of the world. Evanescence, Synthesis 2018 Tour | Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines

As a multicultural blogger, often I find myself being careful of what I say on this blog as the topics I write about are quite sensitive. In fact, I self-censor myself when I craft each post – some things I just will not publish online.

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