Friday 14 November 2014

When Would It Be? - Yoon Hyun Sang & IU Duet



Hello friends! I just wanted to do a quick post to say that I haven't forgotten about you and that there will be a post updating what I have been up to soon. I actually started writing it the other day but my computer uncharacteristically decided to poop itself!

The video above is of a song that I have been listening to and loving lately. It features the lovely IU (my favourite) and fellow Loen entertainment artist Yoon Hyun Sang. The song is the first single from his debut album which I will do a "Have you heard of...?" post about sometime in the future; as I have also been listening to it.


But for now, please enjoy the lovely melodies and ethereal fantasy concepts from this music video.


Enjoy and I hope you have a lovely weekend!



Maisy xxx

Friday 22 August 2014

Has Anyone Ever Heard of Sable?

Image found on Sable Facebook Page - Link Below

Well have you?

No I'm not talking about the furry little weasel martens that run around the forests of Russia and Asia. Although the furry creatures are the mascot for this particular artist.


I'm talking about Sable the Bass Music artist who hails from Perth, Australia and would have to be one of my ALL TIME favourite music artists from 2014. On his Facebook page Sable classifies his musical genre as Bass Music, but I think there's also a bit of electronica meets 'kawaii' meets 'gamer' music in there as well. Genre technicalities aside; the all encompassing blend of sound and beats is just pure pleasure to the ears and uplifting for the soul.


So how did I stumble across Sable?


Rewind back to the start of the year. I was driving along, listening to the radio when Sable's song Feels So Good started to play. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was amazing. I don't know if this is just me but sometimes certain songs or music can have such an effect on you that it becomes just so much more than a song. Like the songs that seem to get right down to the bone and make you get up and dance or a song that makes you feel like you can soar through the sky, or have an outer body experience. That was what it was like for me. Feels So Good wasn't just another song playing on the radio; it was a song, sound which was completely leaving the vicinity of my speakers and filling up my car, floating around me and pulsing through my veins. I loved it so much I had to write down the name of the song and artist before I completely forgot. (This is naughty boys and girls, don't text and drive.) I will admit that this song was my 'happy' wake up alarm for a large chunk of this year.


Fast forward back to now and you can listen Sable EP's and a few other singles on iTunes, Soundcloud and Youtube (Links will be at the end). There is also a brand spanking NEW single being dropped this Monday!

 It's a Sable x Kele collaboration and from the teaser it sounds absolutely sick. I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT!

I would definitely recommend...




If you listen to the single of the same name and love it, then you will also love the EP! Totally has the same musical vibe as the single yet each track has its own individual identity. The tracks that I personally love and stand out to me from this EP would be Foolin' and Want U Girl. (Oooh I am so obsessed with Want U Girl at the moment!)

Another EP definitely worth checking out is Hypercolour. You can't find this one on iTunes but you can download it on Bandcamp under the label Diehard Records. My personal favourites from this EP are You Too and Crush with lots of driving clap and deep bass beat love to be found all round. 
For something more on the atmospheric side, I would recommend REUNION which can also be found on Bandcamp - Diehard Records.

Right now however I am currently listening to and loving the Basenji x Sable mixes AKA the Sable remix of Basenji's Speak With A Dofflin and the Basenji remix of Foolin'.



If you're looking to try out something different or just want some new music definately head over to Sable's Soundcloud page and have a listen to some tracks. (There's also some sneaky goodies available for free download as well.)


If you would like to find out more about Sable you can check out any of the links below:


Sable Facebook Page


Sable Soundcloud


Sable X Kele Collab for Jack Daniels


Diehard Records Bandcamp


Feels So Good EP - Sable iTunes

I know I've been pretty quiet on the blogosphere this year, but 2014 has definately been a fun year musically for me. I've been trying out different genres and artists and feel more comfortable in being open about what I like. My musical taste is still pretty eclectic but I'm hoping to be able to share more of what I've discovered and liked with you all soon!


Till next time!




Maisy xxx

Sunday 29 June 2014

Original Source Vanilla and Raspberry



"If you like Strawberry Milkshakes doo doo do and getting caught in the rain doo doo do..."  I don't know why but for some reason this just makes me thing of Rupert Holmes'-"Escape".


This stuff smells absolutely scrumptious! It is amazing and if you are the type of person who loves strawberries or pink things you will love this!

I know that it says Vanilla and Raspberry but it honestly smells like a very yummy sweet strawberry milkshake. Almost like you could taste it!

They're both fairly gentle products on the skin, not overly moisturising and not terribly drying. The scent of the shower gel doesn't linger for very long so I would go for the handwash if you would like the scent to linger. I just love the design of the packaging as well; it being true to form with the other Original Source products.


Just remember that it's not edible!




 Maisy XXX

Wednesday 11 June 2014

You Gorgeous, Gorgeous Person You!

Start Your Day With Some Hoops & Yoyo...




Hope you have a great great day!


Maisy xxx

Sunday 23 March 2014

It's not Just About Girls... /Love146





His Name Was David. from Love146 on Vimeo.

I chose this weeks Love146 video because I think that sometimes it is easy to associate and stereotype particular genders with particular sexual crimes and acts. For example causing the stereotype that it is only men selling girls for various trafficking reasons. In reality this is not the case, as females can also participate in trafficking children and males and young boys are also targeted by trafficking for the same reasons as young girls; but for some reason awareness of this seems to be limited in the general public. 

I remember watching a documentary, years ago, about street urchins AKA homeless children in a European country, (which unfortunately I have forgotten the name of), that told the story of young girls and boys who were targeted by older men and women and would often accept propositions of sex just so they could have a warm bed to sleep in for the night. When these young people were interviewed it could be seen that accepting an offer once, made them targets of unwanted harassment by these people propositioning them night after night and in some cases resulting in rape and abduction. Most of the children and teenagers interviewed about this were boys.


This is why I chose this video as I think it is great that they were so readily and willing to accommodate the needs of the young people requesting help, without discriminating against gender. Although to be honest I don't think that many organisations like this would actually discriminate against gender...


Anyway I think it is great that they are helping young boys as well. I haven't had the chance to do any extra research this week so if you, my lovely readers, know of any other wonderful organisations that fight against human trafficking, I would love to hear about them and check them out as well.


Till next time!




Maisy xxx

Saturday 22 March 2014

Doki Doki Manga // Mishounen Produce



It has been a long, long time since I can last remember reading a doki doki manga!


Last night I started to read a shojou manga by the title of Mishounen Produce written and drawn by Kaoru Ichinose. I may have "accidentally" read it in one sitting instead of actually sleeping... but I guess that means that it's not too long of a series, there's really only 18 chapters that make up the whole story.

The story is about a boy (Kousei) and a girl (Ka-ako), who have been best friends since they were young children. (It is made clear several times in the manga that they really didn't have much choice in this as they were the only two children living in their small country town.) Growing up in such isolation it's only natural that they bring their interesting and colourful personalities with them as they enter high school, (as boarders of course), only to be met with teasing and criticism on their first day. Ka-ako, a self-confessed lover of a shojou manga about a Prince called Lawrence, vows to show up their bullies by transforming/producing her best friend Kousei, a 'country bumpkin' with a wild side, into the most popular guy in school. She does this by modelling Kousei into the mold of Prince Lawrence including his princely charms and feminist ideals, only for it to start getting out of control when Kousei finds inspiration from other sources and starts creating more characters to play and appeal to more girls. The humour pursues as Ka-ako constantly tries to keep the reigns on an obviously out of control Kousei and his even more out of control increasing popularity.

This wasn't the best manga that I've read. The plot was predictable, (if you read lots shojou manga you soon learn that there are particular formulas and stories which get used and re-used quite a lot), the characters were pretty standard shojou and it felt like the manga abruptly ended in a spot where there was potential for the plot to really start developing some interesting story arcs. However despite that I really enjoyed the story, the characters and artwork. It's cute and the manga is chock full of doki doki scenes that will actually make your heart go doki doki~!


STUDY NOTE: For those unfamiliar with manga or the Japanese language: the term "doki doki" is Japanese onomatopoeia for one's heart beating. I guess in English it would kind of be similar to "ba-dump ba-dump" only with romantic connotations attached to it.


It has been such a long time since I last remember reading a manga that constantly had scenes and situations that make you smile or swoon, your heart beat or whatever it is you do or feel when you read a doki doki manga. For me it's like a tugging sensation somewhere deep in my gut and feelings of excited anticipation for what happens next or wondering how the main characters are going to respond.


I guess this is the kind of thing people refer to as a guilty pleasure/read? Something that's not particularly sensational or spectacular but still deliciously enjoyable!

If you have some time and would like to try something a little bit different give Mishounen Produce a try. If you google the title I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will lead you to it. *wink!

I'd love to know what your experiences with doki doki-like manga are, as I'm sure it's not just me who has experiences like this. If you have any recommendations for manga to read or would like to let me know what your favourite doki doki manga is leave a comment below.


Till next time!



Maisy xxx

Saturday 15 March 2014

#Remember The Girl / Love146

"...As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others..." Marianne Williamson


This is a little bit of a different post to my usual ones... I don't normally share viral things, however I feel that this is something worth sharing.

As I was packing and cleaning my room today I was watching various makeup tutorials on Youtube and came across this video by Michelle Phan.



It reminded me of my first experience being confronted by the reality of human trafficking. Before your imaginations get ahead of themselves, no I wasn't kidnapped or anything but I was young and naive. Maybe it's something that comes with age or maybe more education I'm not too sure myself but I know that when I started high school, as each year went on I would gradually discover that the world is not always the host of lovely wonderous things, that people can do cruel, terrible things and that even for some of my friends, school was a safer place to be than their own homes.

This "awakening", call it a gradual lifetime learning experience if you will, only intensifies when you move out of home, start going to university/college and are taught to questions things, challenge more things and to change your way of thinking.

It was during my second year of university, I had a friend who wanted to change the world and was determined to start off that year by actively participating in clubs that would help her do that. I was invited along with my Japanese language partner, to attend one of the clubs events with my friend. I only had a vague idea what would be happening and that it involved free pizza an outdoor movie and something about human trafficking, little did I know at the time what human trafficking actually involved. 

The movie shown was called The Jammed, (<--- Click on the name for the link<---). Based on actual events it follows the story of a girl named Crystal as she was travels to Australia under the impression that she'd be working as a dancer only to arrive at the airport and be handed over to a hmmn I can't remember what it's called but we shall call him a 'prostitute handler' as I don't intend to watch the movie again. The movie follows her and two other trafficked girls as they are forced into prostitution and kept as prisoners in an illegal brothel, which looks a lot like an abandoned building, in the city of Melbourne. There is a lot of swearing in the movie as well as nudity, graphic sex/rape, humiliation and abuse. It is definately not for the feint of heart and I could only really recommend it for those who wish to be shocked or see something gritty, dark and 'real'. THERE ARE THINGS IN THAT MOVIE THAT CANNOT BE UNSEEN!!! Such as the when Crystal gets 'broken in' by her handler when she first arrives in the country. For those of you who don't understand the lingo, when people talk about 'breaking in' a girl/sex slave it involves that girl being raped multiple times, sometimes by one person and sometimes by a group of people, until all of the fight in her has fled and she submits. It is a painful horrible thing for someone to go through and horrifying to watch, even though I know it was actors playing a scene in a movie I will probably have the imagery haunt me now and then for the rest of my life.



 "A choir is made up of many voices, including yours and mine. If one by one all go silent then all that will be left are the soloists.
Don't let a loud few determine the nature of the sound. It makes for poor harmony and diminishes the song." Vera Nazarian

Watching The Jammed was like a slap in the face. It is all too easy for many people to associate serious issues like this with something that only happens overseas, far far away in a distant land. This is simply not true, it happens everywhere, hidden in the most unsuspected of places.

And while we can't all go running around saving escaped prostitutes, (the movie makes you want to do that), we can be informed and accept the reality of this issue. 

We Are Love146 from Love146 on Vimeo.


I felt inspired to write this post because I believe that by not turning a blind eye to this issue, by being informed and by sharing this information with others, is a way that we can all help to improve the lives of others, regardless of whether you have skills, money or time to donate. I know I certainly don't have those at the moment but it doesn't mean that I don't care! My heart really does go out to those affected by human trafficking and literal tears were shed in the lead up to writing this.

Please check out <<LOVE146 HERE>> as they have a really great and informative site.

If you don't have too much time to spend on the site I would recommend <<THIS PAGE>> and the story written on the home page; it sheds some light on the video - take say 5 to 7 years off the girl in the videos age and the impact becomes a whole lot more powerful! 
I think that the reason Michelle Phan made the hash tag "Remember" the girl is because when the raid was conducted they tried to look for 146, the girl with the piercing eyes, but were unable to find her. No one knows what happened to her, all she left was her memory and a strong impression of what she stood for.

In support for Love146 and spreading awareness, I have decided that I will post a Love146 related video every week for the rest of the month!


Remember that you each have a voice, that you can use for good if you allow yourself to.


Till next time,



Maisy xxx

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Little Things That Make Me Happy...


Here is a random list of things I like, in no particular order.

Why??? I dunno, I just feel like it and maybe it's because I have pajamas on my mind!



      • Pajamas
      • Rain - Heavy rain when I'm inside / Light sprinkles when I'm out
      • Lanterns
      • San-X plushies - my ultimate favourite is Mouton-san!
      • Baths
      • Books
      • Scented Candles
      • Small Puppies
      • Coloured pencils
      • French styled furniture
      • Glossy magazines
      • Music
      • Foreign films/TV
      • Perfume
      • Crisp White shirts, walls and curtains
      • The Internet
      • Make up
      • Stylish Stationary
      • Konpeito (A type of Japanese sugar candy)
      • When book spines just seem to go well together on the shelf.
      • My new Fuji Instax Mini
      • Small sized language classes
      • Handwriting
      • Happy snapping - even if I don't know how to use all the settings on my camera
      • Afternoon sunsets
      • Balloons
      • Cake
      • Friends
      • Trying out new things
      • The warm tingly feeling your muscles get while doing the after work out stretch 

It's not a complete list of everything that I like but I think there's enough to leave as is.

Let me know what some of the things are that make you happy!


Till next time!


Maisy xxx

Monday 24 February 2014

A Dabble in Drama: City Hunter

Image courtesy of koreandrama.org

So I have been watching a lot of drama shows lately...
For those who don't know I ABSOLUTELY LOVE watching Asian drama! Usually there's an add capped on to the end of a drama I'm watching, or a poster picture that catches my eye and I can go from drama to drama. However, every so often I find myself in a bit of a slump not knowing what to watch next. This is what it was like for me when it came to the end of the season for Bel Ami and Prime Minister & I. Sometimes, (I have to stress it's not always like this), it's like having a gap in your life that needs to be filled. I know that sounds sad but I don't feel bad as I like to watch them when they come out before I go to bed, (or after work), as a way to relax.
When faced with this dilemma and nothing seems to draw me in, I like to look back on drama's I started and never finished or ones that I planned to watch and never got to as well as one's that seem to be pretty popular.

Enter City Hunter center stage. This drama absolutely b l e w . m y .  m i n d .

I've known about City Hunter since they [Japan] handed the project over for Korea to film, it's a few years old and definately falls into the planned to watch just never got around to it category.

City Hunter is based on the popular Japanese manga of the same title by Tsukasa Hojo. I hadn't read the manga before watching the drama and have since started reading a few chapters as I was curious to see how similar the stories were. Most of the manga based drama's I have seen have been pretty close to the stories or at least keep the integrity of the characters. It might be too early to make a judgement yet but from what I have read so far it seems that the drama is just loosely based on the characters from the manga. I also think that in this particular situation it's a win win scenario as the drama has a pretty kick ass story line.


The drama follows the protagonist Lee Yun Seong as he attempts to carry out the 'cruelest revenge' ever as plotted by his adoptive father. What I loved about this was that from the first episode to the last this drama delivers and is consistent with it's action packed scenes. The choreography is really appeasing to watch and is shot in a way that just makes it look damn cool.

There is of course a romantic aspect to the story but I really enjoyed how this didn't dominate the overall theme of revenge, corruption and good vs evil. 

A lot of the 'actiony' dramas I have watched always start off strong and then somewhere through the course of the story the romance aspect overpowers and it's like all of the purpose and strength that was delivered in the first episodes becomes muddled and lost along the way, and so that's why I really appreciated the integrity the writers had for City Hunter.


I do have to say that I found Lee Min Ho, (who plays Lee Yun Seong), particularly attractive in this drama, enough to make me officially a fan. I've seen his previous dramas' including the latest The Heirs or Inheritors, (which FYI is also awesome), but there was just something about his character and style in City Hunter which I found really cool and... there's no denying it, he's hot in this drama.


What makes this so good for me though is that it takes me back to the moments in my life where I watched my first asian dramas'. The feeling of newness, excitement, anticipation and just all round love of a good story, is something that I find can be absolutely soothing to the soul and a cleansing antidote to a bad day/week/month. Now this doesn't mean that I only find great drama's when I'm sad, it just means that I enjoy being able to relive those feelings and emotions from a time in my life where everything was new and exciting, happy and carefree, and it takes a good story to get me there.


I know this is a bit different to things I normally post, but I'm hoping this year to blog about more of the things that I really love and hope to be able to share more about my experiences with asian drama in the future.


I'm currently on the look out for more interesting shows to watch and would love to know if you have any suggestions? I love learning about cultures and languages so it doesn't matter what country it is from, leave a comment with your suggestions.


Till next time!



Maisy xxx

Monday 3 February 2014

Happy CNY!!!

Kung Hei Fat Choy / Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Chinese New Year Everybody!

Yes I know it is a bit late but traditionally Chinese New Year celebrations would last for 15 days so I'm just going to believe that I chose to leave it mid celebration and was fulfilling my filial duties over the first few days. Buhaha excuses I know, but did you see my New Years post? Exactly.


2014 ushers in the Year of the Horse. (I was going to post a link to a site that you can use to find out what Chinese zodiac sign you are however it appears to be a little bit broken at the moment. I might just re-post it in another post.)


Chinese New Year for me usually entails family, lots and lots of food, the annual trip to China Town, kung fu demonstrations and the dreaded pre-new year 'spring clean'.

This year was no different to that formula. I've learnt that if I want to avoid the slave labour of washing grimy windows and the next week of coughing up dust, to make the perfect timely arrival. Just before Dinner time hahaha! Of course even when arriving at the specified time for dinner nothing is really actually ready.

This year's pre-new year meal was Steamboat. For those who don't know I guess it's kind of like the Japanese Shabu-shabu or a Korean hot pot except the flavours are different. My family generally tend to use an assortment of beef, chicken, barramundi, prawns, beansprouts, cabbage and whatever Chinese vegetable is in season. Noodles are optional and so is broth (water however is not optional, steam boat wouldn't work without it), although the cook for the night kept adding some strange spicy prawn broth, despite the protests of the rest of the table.


New Years dinner was a table filled with steamed and stir fried buk choy, tofu pork, watercress fried with chilli and steam boat for those who wanted seconds. (I have to chuckle at that one.)


Our visit to Chinatown always always means having Yum Cha at the King of Kings restaurant, my mums favourite. I love eating the steamed BBQ pork buns, and a lemon shaped pork dumplings, which I can never remember the name of. My family is also a really big fan of the mango pancakes that they do there as well. It's kind of like a dumpling X burrito X wrap like desert consisting of crepe, whipped cream and mango pieces. I opted out of the mango pancake this year as the vast amount of cream, whilst very delicious, can sometimes leave you feeling quite sick.


Dinner is always an interesting affair as you never know what you'll end up getting. I remember some years we would just get bread for dinner and would eat it while watching the various live New Years shows. This year we had Malaysian for dinner, as most of the other places were either booked out, had a 2 hour waiting period, only offered banquets (they are EXPENSIVE) or were Vietnamese - which my mum didn't want to eat. You see even though you might be asked for your dining location preference, whether friend or family, if the head of the family does not want to go there your opinion is basically not needed. It's probably for this reason why the question "What do you feel like for dinner?" and "Where would you like to go to eat?" are so laughable and yet frustrating questions to be asked for the children in my family, as you know there's no point answering.


Photos to come later! I didn't bring my camera with me this trip but I did bring my Instax Mini, (my new toy - so much fun!). As I don't have a scanner I'll take some photos of them when I end up going back home.


My family is not very traditional when it comes to these things so I'd love to know: 



What do you do for your Chinese New Year celebrations?

Have you even heard of Chinese New Year before?




Maisy xxx