Outfit Sharing: Casual Khaki Series + At-Home Photo Shooting Ideas

Are photos considered beautiful only when there are nice backgrounds? No location is perfect. A location is perfect only when you know how to fully utilize it. You can actually make full use of the spaces and corners in your house for a photoshoot. 

College Casual - Khaki Plaid Top + White A-Line Skirt

These photos were taken at the balcony of my house. Sunlight is a yes for balcony photo shooting. So, let's begin with this summer Korean version of khaki plaid top. This is one of the casual college outfits that I wore to classes during my degree study. 

 

You can make your hair wavy to look elegant but I had chosen to braid my hair and wear a white beret hat, a little playful feel to match this outfit. I also put up a pair of khaki furry earrings. 

I matched this top with a white A-line skirt to look younger and fresh, and also a white knitted sling bag and white floral sandals. 

Kawaii Casual - Khaki Oversized Jumpsuit + B&W Striped Tee

Oversized jumpsuit is a casual and lazy outfit and is suitable for gathering with friends. Khaki colour makes you look slim and sophisticated. In this outfit, I've matched with black & white striped tee to create an unmissable feature. This series of photos was taken in front of my parent's built-in wardrobe. This creates some at-home feeling. 

I did double ponytail with some braids in front so that my hair looks fuller. White fur ball long drop earrings were chosen in this outfit. 

I've matched this jumpsuit with big ribbon khaki rattan bag and a pair of lovely white sneakers. The shoelace of the sneakers are replaced with ribbon so a beautiful bow will be formed when you tie the ribbon. 

Smart Casual - Khaki Canvas Jacket + B&W Striped Tank Top + Long Black Pants

This khaki canvas jacket or other outerwear are suitable for formal events as well as leisure activities. This is such a comfortable and stylish outfit to wear for many occasions. I matched this jacket with a black & white tank top and a long black pants. The shooting spot for this outfit is the entrance of my house. I like the tiles design on the wall. 

For my hair, I made it curly and added some gold hair pins. I also selected a pair of long fish earrings to look cool in this outfit. 

I selected a black canvas bag with khaki strap instead of a handbag and a pair of khaki flats instead of high heels so that I won't look over mature. 

Dressy Casual - Khaki V-Neck Knitted Top + Checkered Lotus Leaf Skirt

This background is my room's white door. I like this kind of clear and bright background. The last outfit, this khaki V-neck knitted top is a mix of sweet and sexy feel. It is more suitable for a date with your loved one. 

I've matched it with a checkered plaid skirt with lotus leaf edge and a beige round sling bag. 

In this outfit, I selected the same color of accessories so that it won't look messy, such as a beige pearl pin and a pair of beige ruffle slippers. 

That's all the outfits I'm gonna share with you guys. Try these beige outfits whether you're a modern traditionalist or trendy fashionista. You will find that the key to achieving a polished, sophisticated look is actually quite easy. 

Baking Diary: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Salted Egg Cookies

I have been told that any food that is made with salted egg yolks has been the latest in-thing in Singapore and Malaysia these days. Hence, I have been seeing food like salted egg yolk potato chips from Singapore, salted egg yolk fried chicken and salted egg yolk fried mantis shrimp from night market! No doubt that the list will go on and on. 

So, I decided to make something with salted egg and salted egg cookies successfully attracted me. Sweet, buttery, a little salty and melty... Ops! In this post, I'm going to share my experience on making this yummy one. 

Firstly, the ingredients needed are:

• 4 salted egg yolks 
• 125g salted butter 
• 40g castor sugar 
• 20g icing sugar 
• 180g all purpose flour 
• 20g corn starch 
• ¼ tsp baking powder 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• 1 egg yolk 
• 1 tsp milk (optional)
• Handful white sesame seeds 

Firstly, separate egg yolks from the salted eggs then carefully place them on a metal plate. Then, steam them with boiling water in a wok for 15 minutes. 

You will be able to see these shiny ones if the salted eggs are fresh. 

After 15 minutes, take them out from the wok and smash them into crumbs with a fork.

Then, start making the dough. Beat the butter with a mixer until it is fluffy. Next, add castor sugar and icing sugar into the butter then beat it well. 

After that, sift in the dry ingredients, which are the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Slightly mix the mixture with a spatula. 

Then, stir in salted egg yolks to form a crumble mixture. Fold the mixture with a spatula as well to gather the crumble to form a dough. 

Tada... The dough is ready. Wrap it with food cling film and chill it in the fridge for half an hour. 

The dough is ready to roll after chilling! Roll the dough to 0.5cm thick and cut it into flower shape with a cookie cutter. The dough is pretty easy to handle and there is no problem at all rolling and cutting the cookies into shapes. Place the flower pieces on the baking tray neatly. 

Lastly, glaze the surface of the pieces with egg yolk. You can add a teaspoon of milk to the egg yolk to make it smoother. Then, sprinkle some white sesame seeds on top to add fragrance to the cookies. 

Bake it in a convention oven with fan force at 170°C for 15 minutes-20 minutes. 

Tada... It's time to enjoy these melt-in-your-mouth salted egg cookies now. This recipe can bake around 80 pieces. Every mouthful of these salted egg cookies are so yum that it is very hard for us to stop munching these... So within one to two days, all these cookies are all gone! 

 

I had received a lot of good comments from friends and relatives. So, if you wanna find something to do during this MCO period, try making these and you will not regret! 

Home Away From Home: Three Different Hostels in My Degree Life

Time flies. It's already the third year of my Bachelor degree studying actuarial science and finance. I have changed hostel three times in as many years, and this gave me the chance to experience different kinds of living environment. All of them were private rooms. Hostel is usually a place where you stay when you are away from your families for studies or work . You need to be stronger and more confident than before when you are staying on your own.

So, let's start with my first hostel. 

Room 1: The Warm Room

My first hostel during my first year was a room in a double storey terrace house. There was a big window which I could feel the sunlight in every morning. It was furnished with a bed with bed frame, a desk, a wardrobe, a three tier drawer, and an upright lamp. One of the advantages of this room is that the room has an attached bathroom. I could use the bathroom freely and i didn't need to walk out from the room when I need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. 

   

The plus side of staying here is that the maid will come to clean our rooms once every two weeks, including the bathroom.

Having an electrical stove in the kitchen allowed me to prepare some simple meals.. 

 

A mirror selfie with my favorite cardigan!

Room 2: The Memorable Room

Next, my second hostel was a room in a condominium unit sharing with my friends. This room was air-conditioned, slightly bigger and furnished with a bed with metal bed frame, a big desk and a wardrobe. I brought two 3-tier wooden racks to help organize my books, accessories and skin care products. My friends and I had to clean the unit by ourselves as we did not have any cleaning service. 

 

 A selfie taken on my bed. Teehee :)

I like this hostel as there was a living room, a dining area, a kitchen and a laundry area. My life was more sociable as I could stay in the living room to play games, do revision and complete assignments with my friends at night. There was a small television in the living room. 

The gas stove in the kitchen allowed us to cook meals together. 

My friends and I also organized a steamboat party and invited some course mates to share the fun with us. That was a memorable one. 

Room 3: The Superior Room

My current hostel is a room in a three-storey student hostel unit, a more 'high-class' one. This unit is newly renovated and the furniture are all new. It is also air-conditioned. There is a kitchen but I rarely cook because I am currently busy most of the time with my thesis and events in university during my last year. 

 

There's a dressing table and a half length mirror in my room. I like to organize each pigeon hole with same theme of cosmetics, skin care products and accessories. 

 

There is a corridor between rooms. My window is facing the opposite room when there are no curtains. 

 

The bathroom is nice and with new and modern design. The heaters are centralized. So, it's just like a hotel!

There is a sky garden with nice view for the residents to do laundry and relax. There is also a study corner in the sky garden. These are the reasons I like this hostel so much!

In conclusion, I have three different experiences of hostel staying in my university life. Each of them has left me with a lot of different sweet memories. The midnight group studies, the late night parties, the challenging game battles, the endless talking, fighting, shouting and laughing. These are memories. These are unforgettable hostel stories. These are the best part of my life.