Currently Loving: French Musical Jewellery

從去年 想到現在 一直捨不得買

終於 昨天 Peter竟然說要買下來 送給我!!

感謝 金主!!






from Couverture

London據點開張

恭喜Nicole, Imogen, & Kai搬家大成功

我跟Peter據說 是他們完成搬家清掃工作後的第一組客人

只能說 是我們的榮幸啦

New found!

I just found this cute blog called "Judysmile Experimental Blog." The lady has some beautiful paintings and creations! I just emailed her to ask if I can put some of her paintings on my blog! So you should see them soon!

so here is the website address: http://blog.roodo.com/judysmile

Currently loving: Home-made Salad and peppers

I love the salad that I made the other day for some friends (and sure! my friends loved it too!). Pepper is our favorite ingredient lately and Peter and I use them to make all sort of dish!!




p.s. my very first PhotoShop work! I hope those who are experts of this software are not gonna laugh at me too hard!!

遙遙無期的美國之旅

終於鼓起勇氣跟媽媽提起 想要下個月去美國一趟

媽媽也很同意我的想法

結果呢

又是簽證 簽證 我恨簽證

打電話去美國大使館預約簽證的面試日期 結果竟然要到10月才有空檔

天

我不能再等那樣久啦

busy...huh?

過去幾天 好像突然間好忙碌

15th Wednesday -
Nancy生日 很高興今年能跟她一起渡過一個很奇特的生日party
(主題派對 : 睡衣 火鍋 蛋糕)


16th Thursday -
early appointment with Career Office and afternoon appointment with International Office both at University of Warwick
THEN, our good friend Mark threw a farewell BBQ party!
(To Mark: congratulations again for your completion of PhD! I am sure you will have a great time in South Korea with Jin! We hope that we will see you soon!)


17th Friday -
(Again!) A farewell dinner for Kenny and Winnie in Birmingham!

18th Saturday -
A birthday party for a friend from Peter's college and then straight after that a "Mid-summer love Bop" at the college bar!

19th Sunday -
Peter and I invited some friends to have dinner at our place! We were just so busy cleaning all the mess in our flat for the whole day!

生日快樂 to my baby sister - Nancy

To my baby sister - Nncy

Happy Birthday!

I am so happy to be around with you!!

希望你能一直開開心心

希望我們兩隻花栗鼠 能夠能一起再英國 一起採松果

Women change the rules of business

BBC NEWS
Women change the rules of business
By John Byrne
Producer, BBC R4's Changing the Rules
______________________________________

Women are succeeding in business in greater numbers than ever before by changing the rules of engagement. But they still face an uphill struggle both in the US and the UK.

In the United States, nearly half the private companies are owned by women. Women's companies are creating jobs at twice the rate of all firms, and employ more people than the top 500 companies put together.

In the UK, it's estimated that there are now more than 600,000 women-led businesses, contributing some £130bn to the Exchequer.

Risky business

According to one female entrepreneur, writer and business guru Margaret Heffernan, the motivations that drive businesswomen in Britain are different from those of men.

Women are willing to take bigger risks with their careers than men
Margaret Heffernan, women entrepreneur

"These women were driven to look for a place where they could prove themselves on their terms," she says. "There is some evidence that women are willing to take bigger risks with their careers than men.

"This is not because they are stupid; it is because they are desperate. So often they can see no other way to find work, and a way of working, that suits them."

She argues that women have a different management style.

"These ways of working suggest that the old corporate notions - of business as war, of companies as machines, and of leadership as command - don't work for women, who are more interested in orchestration, empathy and relationship management."

Call centre boss

These are the skills that Chey Garland, chief executive of Garland Call Centres on Teesside, has found useful.

It a company with an annual turnover of more than £43m, that employs more than 3,000 people in eight call centres located in Hartlepool, Stockton, and Middlesbrough.

They offer back-office services such as telephone sales, customer support, and technical assistance for major financial service, telecoms, and internet companies.

She believes that her company's success is down to its investment in people.

And her own personal management style stems from a belief in getting relationships to work for you.

"I remember in the early days one of my male colleagues said to me 'You know, you could talk for England on the phone - I could do a dozen things in the time you take.'

"But he was so wrong. I was doing a superb account management job at very low cost - not driving everywhere, not doing lunch, just getting to know people on the phone.

"And by knowing the person, when things go wrong you can find a way through the bad times."

Ability to empathise

The skills found in women bosses - good radar, intuition, an ability to empathise, conducting not commanding and multi-tasking, not getting lost in the detail - are also the values that drive their companies, according to Ms Heffernan.

"Of course it may be that these are just business skills - skills that have nothing to do with gender and everything to do with talent," she says.

"But historically, women have been low in social power in the workplace for a long time, and have learned how to read signals to ensure their survival.

"Lacking institutional protection, their careers depended on being attuned to shifts in mood and attitude - and what better preparation could there be for the unpredictable, irrational world of 21st century business?"

Divine business

But for some, the pace of change is painfully slow.

Sophie Tranchell is managing director of fair trade company Divine Chocolate, which sells chocolate bars made from Ghanaian cocoa to UK retailers.

She works with some of the most powerful retailers in the country and feels very much in a minority.

"Currently the top ten powerful people in retail are all men," she says.

"And you're left thinking, well, this is 2007 - how can all those people be men? I mean, how is running a supermarket a particularly manly activity?

"Maybe women just don't like the look of those jobs - maybe they're just too horrible to do!"

But change is nevertheless on the way.

And when it comes, the transformation of the British boardroom could be profound.

_________________________________________

"Changing the Rules" will be broadcast on Monday 13th August at 1100BST on BBC's Radio 4.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6939372.stm

Published: 2007/08/10 23:26:15 GMT

© BBC MMVII

one nice sunny day; one great cafe and one frustrated Peter

因為一些原因 我們今天早上10點半左右就在Oxford的市中心 又因為處理好事情後才11點多 天氣又好得不得了 Peter和我也就決定再來一次午餐之旅

Grand Cafe
餐廳賣像好 服務人員賣像還有態度也很好 食物賣像好 重點是 口味也非常好 很滿意 (我可悲的寫作方式.....)




好天氣的驅使之下 我跟Peter就這樣漫無目的的繞了Oxfrod一下 也無意間走進了古老的New College


對我們來說 一走進那裡 剩下的只是對每個經典角落的震驚

Shanghai 30s - in Oxford

Peter說的 很難想像 我這樣一個個頭小小的(肉肉的)女生 卻每天想著吃 而且還是這一分鐘japanese food, 下一分鐘korean food, 又再一下是cheese cake....我每天晚上一定會至少花個10分鐘 躺在床上 幻想我想要吃的食物

at any rate..今天 終於 決定要去牛津city centre的一家 據說挺有名的上海餐廳 - Shanghai 30s來個簡單的午餐之旅(其實是因為 我吵著要吃....飲茶 而無意中知道 那家餐廳有serve)

菜份量不是很大 但是 我跟Peter倒是 只吃了幾道就覺得很飽 特別喜歡那個麻醬的手工刀削麵 麵條很粗 口感很Q(我很愛硬的食物) 還有 最後那道餐廳特製的甜點 - 荔枝脆冰 點的時候 還沒有特別有啥感覺 等到吃了第一口 思念台灣的感覺就全上來了 真的 好多年沒吃過荔枝 縱使每年回到台灣 我也因為覺得荔枝熱量高 又火氣大而絕對是 荔枝不入口 沒想到今天這道 超迷你的荔枝脆冰 卻是帶給我全心的滿足與感動

特別提一下 這個小小的餐廳 佈置也是很古典 很有意思的

Currently loving...

So cute! I found this cute book rack from one of the many websites that I always visit! Just hoping that I will have a chance to OWN it one day!!

Multicolor Rack designed by Karim Rashid found at Made in Design

Always get ready for shopping!!

Here is more about "W. LIKES".

I further added (and will keep adding) some British websites. They were discovered while I was searching for inspirations for my wedding venue. They are super cute and the best part is that they are based in UK and do deliver cute little things (well, BIG things too, if you are willing to rub your bank to pay for them) to any UK addresses!!

Always get ready for shopping!!

Some super cute blogs & websites to share

I came across a very nice blog called "Oh Joy!" the other day and have been reading every single post Joy (yes! Joy is the owner of the super cute blog) has. From her blog, I discovered more adorable blogs and websites.

I will only put some of my favorites under the "W. LIKES" collection on the left hand side and put a lot more within this entry!! All you have to do is to click on the "Here are more!!"


USA-based (blogs) -

Mighty Girl - http://mightygirl.com/

Juniper Designs - http://juniperdesigns.typepad.com/juniper_designs/


USA-based (shopping) -

Modishoppe - http://modishoppe.com/index.php

Figments - http://www.figmentsdesign.com/

Conran Shop - http://www.conranshop.co.uk/Default.aspx?language=en-GB

Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/index.php

UK-based (shopping) -

Luxeville - http://www.luxeville.co.uk/

Couverture - http://www.couverture.co.uk/

Basking Cod - http://www.baskingcod.com/index.htm

The Perfect Pad - http://www.theperfectpad.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

Modern Furniture online - http://themagazine.info/_Home.html

On the Table - http://www.onthetable.co.uk/index.php

Amy Forster - http://www.amyforster.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index

EcoCentric - http://www.ecocentric.co.uk/index.html

Greener Style - http://www.greenerstyle.co.uk/

Susie Maroon - http://www.susiemaroon.co.uk/

I must keep an exercise regime

I finally made a trip to the gym this afternoon after several weeks (or shall I say, months?!?) of mourning the wasted membership fee that I keep on paying...oh...and I really really feel guilty as well....

Everything looked the same in the gym: machines were still there; skinny people were still there; annoying kids were still there....the only difference is that they shut the tennis court. The info I got is that they have invested some £80K just to RE-built / RE-decorate the ALREADY posh tennis court....honestly, I did NOT see a point at all...I guess the only thing they thought about is that they will be able to find more people to join the gym by showing them how super good the tennis court is.

at any rates....Now I am at the library, feeling all tired...TIRED....

best BEST friend

Some photos of me and my best BEST BEST friend - Vanessa while she was here around two weeks ago!

To Vanessa: hey, girl, thanks for coming to see me here in UK twice! I promise that I will be back to Chicago this December...well...with Peter, of course! I can't wait to spend the X'mas with you guys!




Here are some photos of us punting at Peter's college....