Would you buy Korean stationery from me? {A short survey}

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Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend and that your Monday has been off to a good start so far.

After lots of requests from readers, friends and even family I have decided to seriously look into a new business venture. I have been doing lots of brainstorming and researching, and am wanting to start a small business in sending some of the gorgeous bits of Korean stationery we have over here to you, wherever you may be in the world.

I have created a little survey with 10 short questions to help me gain a better understanding of what is is you would be interested in buying, how much you would spend and how much you would be willing to spend on shipping etc. Please click the following link to take the survey:

Click here to take the survey

I am also trying to work out where to host the shop, whether it should have its own blog, whether I should go onto Etsy, or whether to open up a whole online store. If you have any experience from owning your own online store and want to give me any advice, please leave a comment below or do drop me a line citygirlsearchinggmailcom. I'd love to hear from you.

So, this is all very exciting and I hope it's exciting for you too! There is so much gorgeousness here that it's criminal not to share it with all of you.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of this project with you all soon!

x

Happy Friday and {Oh Joy!} blog love...

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I love finding new blogs to follow. They leave me feeling inspired and ready to get out there and make things happen on my little blog.

While searching for a cute 'Happy Friday' graphic on Pinterest this morning for my girls (I am an English Teacher at an all girls middle school here in South Korea) I found this lovely one created by OhJoy!:

Whenever I re-post other peoples work on my blog or Facebook I always try to credit the source. This can be frustrating when people don't credit the source properly on sites like Pinterest and Facebook. So it can take a lot longer than usual to find a lovely image and of course to make sure to credit the creative properly. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this lovely image is from Joy's wonderful blog Oh Joy!

Joy Deangdeelert Cho is a graphic designer, blogger, food enthusiast, and the founder and editor of Oh Joy. Launched in September 2005, the Oh Joy blog covers inspiration and design with a focus on Joy's favorite things: design, fashion and food.

 Her blog is full of inspiring photographs, delicious eats and of course her cute little girl Ruby. Here are some wonderful photo's from her blog for you to enjoy. 

It's because of blogs like OhJoy! that I have my own space here at CityGirlSearching. I hope this little ol' blog leaves you feeling inspired when you pop by.

Lots of love 

Roxy

x

Washi Tape {Giveaway} CLOSED

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As hinted last week, I am very excited to be hosting a giveaway today of lovely washi tape goodies from Sarah at Polkadot & Stripe. 

There are literally hundreds of different ways to use washi tape, and here is your chance to get crafty with your own supply of 5 pretty rolls of washi tape and a lovely wooden washi tape dispenser.

To enter, use the giveaway button below. You can enter through a variety of methods to make things easy for you, and each method is another entry. Good luck!

{I am using trying out a new giveaway platform called Punchtab for this giveaway. Please let me know if you are having any problems with it. There are many ways to gain extra entries ie leaving a comment/following me on facebook/sharing with your friends. It should walk you through each step and be very user friendly. Please do let me know if you have any problems!)

Good luck!

x

Competition closes Friday 30th August. 

{Please note this giveaway is only open to South African readers}

1. Cake Bunting // 2. Power Adaptor // 3. Journals // 4. Glass decal // 5. Tea light candles // 6. Cookies

Smitten with Forever21

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We don't have anything like Forever21 in South Africa. I mean Typo, Topshop, Forever New (and H&M soon!) have hit South Africa's sunny shores and while those stores are lovely, they just don't have anything on Forever21.

I mean, look at all this pretty?!

There was definitely a lot of punk, rock and lumo in the branch I went into here in Seoul, South Korea. But what made my heart go pitter patter was all the pink and the pearl. 

Soft, sweet and feminine. 

Just lovely. 

{Un}Luckily for me I live about a 5 hour journey from the closest Forever 21 so I had to load up on goodies and will have to wait a {long} time before I step foot in there again. And with the huge sale going on, I was able to go a little girl crazy and still have enough for a Baskin and Robbins ice-cream on the way home...oh sale time I do love you!

What colour accessories are you into at the moment?

{DIY} Washi Tape your computer cord

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DIY Washi Tape Your Laptop Charger and Cables CityGirlSearching

I'm feeling rather inspired with my latest washi tape collection, and after reading this lovely post by Design Love Fest I thought I'd try something similar with the power supply part of my computer cable. 

The white parts of the MAC cables look really spiffy, but being white in colour they aren't very practical. The washi tape should keep the power house clean now.

It was really easy, and took literally 3 minutes to do. Let me know if you try something similar, or better yet, upload a picture to the blog Facebook page  to share with all my readers. 

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.

x

Anna Inghardt Photography

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Lately I have been developing a deep appreciation for film photography. There is something special about film. Although the film effect can be reproduced through various editing programs, the feel of holding your very own roll of film, patiently waiting to get them developed, and finally holding the finished photographs in your hands is something that digital just can't beat. 

I'm not sure if these images from the very talented Swedish photographer Anna Inghardt were taken on film, but they do have the light and whimsical feel associated with it. 

I am in love with each and every one. 

Do you like the white on white colours? How do you feel about the grainy texture? Do they make you want to whip our your camera, find some white percale linen and get snapping as much as I do?

x

Pretty in Pink, Cream, Lavender & Mint

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We have been here in South Korea for just over a month now and are slowly starting to settle into small town life. We've met a great bunch of other teachers, found some local food that I can eat and actually start to crave at every meal, and found that the beach is only a 30 minute bus ride away.

What we haven't gotten used to however, is the 100% humidity...all day...all night. We are dreading our electricity bill for this month as our aircon has become our new bff. 

This week I'm attempting a hair cut at a local salon (although I use the term 'salon' very loosely to describe the hairdressers here). 

Wish me luck!

x

A few snaps through Instagram (@roxypearce). I'm really into my pastels and creams at the moment, can you tell?

Watercolour Inspiration...

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Lately, I have been feeling very inspired by local South African blogger Fathima over at {HappiessIs}. Her illustrations are beautiful, her freelance design work is oogle worthy, and her doodles are just so gosh darn cute. You should pop on over to her blog and say hi!

Here are a few of my Pinterest pins from my {inspiration} board. I am in a crafty mood, and seeing as South Korea seems to be the heart of all things stationery, I am contemplating getting myself a set of watercolour paints and just going bananas. 

Well, until something starts to resemble art :) 

Do you like watercolour paintings/drawings/illustrations? Ever tried to paint anything yourself?

Growing your own beautiful, strong nails

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After posting this photograph  on Instagram I received a number of questions from ladies asking me how I get such 'nice' nails. I've never really thought about my nails very much until now. I mean, I always have them looking neat or painted in a pretty colour, but when it comes to achieving long, strong nails, well then I'm no expert. All I can do is tell you what I do, and then you can try it out and let me know if you get results.

First I have to tell you, although you may not believe me from looking at these photographs, but I used to be a biter. Not a dainty little nibble here and there nail biter, but a proper when-I-chew-all-thats-left-behind-are-stumps-flayed-cuticles kind of biter. So how did I get my nails to look like they do now? Whats my secret? Well, to be honest, I don't have one. Instead of spending a fortune on supplements and OPI nail treatments and manicures and the latest cuticle oil and hand creams, I started eating lots of yogurt. The chocolate chip kind. An increase in dairy for my little body, meant a huge increase in calcium, leading to stronger nails. I used to have a nasty habit of rubbing my nails over my teeth until they would become so weak, they would inevitable break and peel. Then I would just bite them as they looked so terrible anyway and so the vicious circle began. When my body started to respond to the huge injections of calcium two or three times a day, my nails started to grow, little by little. Even a little bit of nail looks better than stubby fingers. Slowly,  my nails were given a chance to strengthen and lengthen. No amount of funny tasting 'bite proof' nail polish could help, and no amount of bribery from my poor mom could get me to kick the nasty habit. It was the good old choc chip yogurt that finally did the trick.

So now that's the growing part done, how about the strengthening part...

Whenever I apply polish, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use a base coat on my nails. It doesn't matter the brand (although I have always loved Rimmels Stronger Double Duty base coat ~ click here). Even if its a clear nail polish colour if you don't have a specified base coat on hand, use it! Applying a base coat not only helps to lengthen the life of your nail colour, but its protects your nail bed from the chemicals inside all nail polish. This means you won't be left with yucky yellow stained nails too.

Then, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS apply a top coat. Not only does a top coat seal in your colour, but it prevents your nail polish from chipping. Your manicure will last longer, you wont be tempted to fiddle with pretty looking nails, and your nails will be protected everyday wear and tear we subject our hands to. 

Lastly, I keep a cuticle oil on my bedside table and rub it in whenever I remember to (I am quite fond of Sally Hansen Vitamin E & cuticle oil which you can pick up for R80 at Clicks & Dischem in South Africa). Keeping your cuticles soft and moisturized can help strengthen your nails.

Lastly, make sure you take care of your hands. Your nails are a lot more fragile than our hands, but get subjected to a lot of rough treatment everyday. Wear gloves when you wash the dishes, use a mild cleansing soap when you wash your hands, massage your cuticles when rubbing in hand cream, and drink plenty of water to keep your body healthy and hydrated.

I have tried hair, skin and nail supplements before, but to be perfectly honest really saw no results. You might have better luck, but they can be pretty pricey and if you aren't looking after the actual nail bed by wearing a base coat, using cuticle oil and wearing hand cream, you're probably undoing the internal benefits of them.

Anyway, I hope you find this helpful. Please know that I'm no expert, and am merely sharing my personal experiences with you. Do drop me a comment if you know any more tricks and secrets for growing beautiful string nails.

xxx

Our {Le Creuset} plunger gets a photoshoot!

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After getting my new camera {a Nikon d300s} and needing to get to grips with all the new buttons and levers, i decided to try it out on our favourite new kitchen piece. 

I now present to you, our Le Creuset Coffee Plunger. 

Coffee will never be the same again...

I also had to squeeze in a few shots of the rest of our collection (thanks mainly to the very generous guests at

our wedding

last year!)

You can get your paws on other lovely Le Creuset pieces online directly from the Le Creuset online store by clicking here, or through Yuppiechef.

 And they both deliver for free...score!

Happy shopping!

xx

Stationary Giveaway {WINNER}

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And the winner of a gorgeous collection of South Korean stationery bits and pieces hand picked by me is...

Well done Nicola! Please drop me a tweet/email/comment below with your postal address and I will get your goodies off to you right away!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

xxx

{Baking Pinspiration}

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Some pinspiration to get you back into your kitchen, and to the oven! 

Aren't these images just so beautiful too?! For more like these, pop on over to my Pinterest boards  and feast your eyes.

Happy Baking!

xxx

Letters from across the sea...

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This parcel arrived for me from a very dear friend in South Korea. Claire and I first met while waiting to board our plan for the start of our Teaching English in South Korea Adventure. That was in 2010. 

We have been friends ever since, and even though vast amounts of oceans separate us, whenever we do chat over Skype, we pick up right where we left off every time. I miss you Clairebear. Thank you for the wonderful package!

{Flowers} from Freshly Found

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After reading Nadia's lovely House & Leisure post on Freshly Found last week, I just had to do a post on the gorgeous paper roses Denise (the brains behind the brand) created for our wedding in September  last year. Denise has expanded her paper flower range which began with roses and lilies made from vintage books, to now include recycled paper proteas and strelitzias. Every single one is lovingly hand crafted, with exquisite attention to detail.

 And here are the gorgeous paper roses that Denise lovingly crafted especially for our wedding, photographed by Jacki Bruniquel...

Visit Freshly Found's blog here and their online shop here.