candles - burn me baby!

candles - a studio apartment's best energy-giving friend.

i discovered my love for candles many years ago when i started living on my own since college days. having (owning) your own apartment is one thing, but when you are renting; you tend to realize that it's not a permanent thing, hence you won't buy too many fancy items because, hey, let's face it - you won't be renting that place forever.

however, being in transient doesn't mean you have to live on 'less'. whether you're a renting local, a renting outstation or a renting expat; and especially when all you have is, well, a room (studio!), you need to create a soothing, relaxing environment to dwell in because it's all you have after a day's work, or after a night's out. no other rooms - just one space.

decorate your studio with candles - place them in corners that will light-up the room and make it look cozy and if you're good with lighting, spacious.

i for one, have not less than 30 candles for decorative purposes in my studio; and not less than 15 that's constantly being replaced because i use them every day. my favs are the vanilla-scented ones from Ikea. i have maybe 300+ in 'stock' at home... ha!

bathroom counter, bed stand, kitchen island counter (i have a fabulous tiny island counter)... and many other places. i even have one right next to my main door - and it's close to a mirror. oh, lovely.

of course, make sure you're always careful on where you place it and make sure you blow-out every single light before you hit the sack!

the joy of whipped cream

(image source)

every studio-er's must have in their refrigerator!

what joy is it when you don't have whipped cream to top everything? thing is, whipped cream (halt those calories thoughts for one sec) is like a pretty accessory. it makes your snacks look good and when it looks good your appetite automatically shines-in!

occasionally you find yourself bringing home some muffins from the local bakery, or you brought home a bag of tortilla chips and forgot to buy the salsa or cheese. whops! what's to the rescue? whipped cream baby.

whipped cream - put that on your next shopping list!

p.s. i use my whipped cream to top my chopped-up fruits... and dip my strawberries. yum, yum.

bran + milk + mixed fruits

if you take an hour to get to work, it means less sleep, less time getting ready, and of course, less time for a full-on breaky!

everyday i come to work stuffed, because i'm into the whole "heavy breaky, lite-lunch, and ultra-lite-dinner" living. so, here's what i eat, and how it really keeps me stuffed:

bran with raisins, milk, and add a tablespoon of mixed fruits.

just one tip

• dice/chop-up the mixed fruits (it's easy to get Mariani in Beijing), and store it in the fridge!

it's my favorite, thought you'd like to try something out of your ordinary =)

digestives + yogurt + mangos

i came up with this when i looked at my container full of digestives and went, "yuck, so much left, and i'm sick of eating it with milk!" so i kept staring at it and thought, "well, wouldn't it be nice if i crushed it all up and mixed it with yogurt? which i have like gallons of it stored in my fridge?"

fyi, yogurt is aplenty in chinese grocery shelves, it's amazing. so, here goes:

all you need:

1) yogurt
2) digestives
3) mango or your own fruit of choice (mangos work magic on this)

what you only need to do:

step #1
shopping!

• yogurt: flavored, natural, fruit, probiotic - your choice! i prefer natural though, brings out the yummy taste of digestives + mango
  
• digestive: with/out chocolate - whatever makes your mouth water. personally i prefer McVitie's
• fruits: go for mangos!
• ziploc bags - it comes in real handy... trust me (step #2)
  

step #2
crushing the digestives

• my favorite tip is, use a Ziploc bag, place the digestives in it and crush away! use a tablespoon's 'behind' to do it. or use a roller if you have one
• (of course, i used a spoon... it's hard to even 'need' a roller when you're living in a studio!)
  
• tip: leave some mini-chunks for maximum crunchy-yummy pleasure!
  

step #3
other fancy tips

• my yogurt-loving cousin suggested to freeze the yogurt for 10-15 minutes, why not?

store the crushed digestives in an air-tight container (recommend: korean brand Lock & Lock), and happy eating!

studio living tips is finally here!

hello and welcome! a quick introduction here...

i've lived in 3, 2, 1 bedroom apartments before, and right now, i've been living in a studio apartment for 7 months and today i finally decided to start a blog about studio living, tips to food, goods, and what nots.

a little background about my studio. it's 47m in size, and it's located between the 3rd and 4th east ring road of beijing. i rent it for RMB2,600 p/m, very cheap thanks to a local friend who bargained that price for me with my not-so-nice landlord!

here are some images of the studio which i took few weeks after moving in last october (2008)- it's different now, more junk, but still pretty. i can't wait to write my next post, which is about a new recipe i came up with! anyway, here goes:

The Entrance -All under one glance
(closet on the side: mirrors)

The Living Area

The Kitchen Area

The Bathroom

So there you go - just to give you an idea how my studio looks like. or looked like a couple of months back. i guess it's still pretty much the same, just add more dvds and books to the images!

i hope to share more tips on quick bites (eating habits) than living, also i hope to add recipes i deem fit from my friends! ha.

welcome and stay tuned!