Hi there. You’ve reached the voicemail of Mmerci Encore. Sorry we can’t come to any means of telecommunication right now, as we’re working on our tans on a working holiday at Niyama in the Maldives for the next 10 days.
If you are on the sunny isle from Saturday 19th May to Saturday 25th May, do visit our humble little pop up at the Lime Spa for some witty banter, good cheer, and an organic sugar hand scrub. If you’re on the mainland and in the great beyond, follow our journey on Instagram then book your stay tout de suite.
*sings* Things that make you go ahhh! Things that make you go ahhh! *awkwardly Moonwalks away from computer*
Beeeeeeep.
xx,
@mmerciencore
”I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy - I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.“
I know we’re mid-way through January but does anyone else feel like Christmas break never happened?
Back to Paris in a heartbeat for Ninja Buying™ .
Took one look at the weather forecast and made a beeline for Uniqlo only to discover that they didn’t buy cashmere for Singapore this season. Guess where they all are? Uniqlo Opera. Hope we get an hour before the store closes on one of the days to stock up.
I like my routine in Paris. Suddenly life shrinks to one street. We land and head to the little provision shop around the corner and buy a six-pack of Badoit. Church on the Left Bank on Sunday and the market to buy fruit. At night, scurry across the street to inhale pho with a glass of Orangina. Ok, sometimes I have a banane beignet with cinnamon ice-cream for dessert. Ok, I have one every night. Fall asleep frustrated that CNN do re-runs of completely un-newsworthy items, and wake up bright and early at 6 to prepare for work. Maybe this time I will walk around the corner to play with Elton, the French bulldog.
Amidst all this is the fact that Mmerci Encore’s Aromatherapie Atelier going to launch real soon… Getting all the bits and bobs sorted when you’ve 1,000 other things that top your priority list has meant this love project has been set to cruise control for some time now.
Cool cats from Esquire, Wayne and Farhan, came over during the weekend and captured this for an upcoming feature*.
I don’t know where it’s all going to go. But I’m passionate (and batshit crazy) enough to think that if I don’t try, I will never know how awesome it could have been. Maybe is the best time to go out on a limb. I’ve spent my whole life chasing dreams. Why stop now.
Famous last words, don’t you think.
* No, it wasn’t for their Funny* Joke from a Beautiful Woman page 
Hello from my Melbourne home and sorry for the radio silence. Recharging only happens when you’re running, as I have been for the past month, on incredibly low batt.
What an incredible Christmas and holiday season. It’s been a treat being back home rediscovering Aussie warmth & hospitality, Melbourne sunshine, and marvelling at my little brother cook anything and everything from crackling pork roasts to lobster and homemade lemon tarts.
While my parents torture themselves watching an ABC programme on Singapore/Hawker food, I’m busy scoffing down lamingtons, buttered cumpets, and every mango dessert I can get my hands on.
The older I get and the further away I travel away from home, the more I appreciate the rituals and roots that make us us. There are too many to list, including the quirks and idiosyncrasies that are simply divine. For example:
Mum: “Darling, I want to post a picture on Instagram but there’s always a box that says ‘Crop’.”
What. A. Legend.
Years ago, my friends and I were busy planning for lives outside of home. Between us, we’ve done Singapore, Sydney, London, Tel Aviv… you name it. Where we’d live. How we’d ply our trade. How we’d survive the minefield known as work. I turn on the tv and watch any number of my good mates anchoring or reporting the news. Flip through magazines and see their names on bylines. With dreams relatively ticked off, conversation is all about Rolexes and freezing eggs. No doubt, topics are set to change as time creeps up on us, but it’s incredible to do life with these wonderful people.
Wishing you a blessed 2013. Eat, laugh, and make a joyful noise. x
READING A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
PLAYING Thrift Shop by Macklemore
BURNING An essential oil blend of French lavender, Roman Chamomile, and manuka.
Loving the rad work of designer, Stephanie Jovski. Lyrics of Relient K set to print.
I love having a little down time. Accidentally discovered a place that sells Baklava (love! Reminds me of home!) in Singapore, grabbed a vintage copy of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, attempted to perfect pasta making, made pizzas with Alex, and managed to spend time both in quiet and in good company this long weekend.
I love when things are bright and quiet.
Pat returned from London this week with a surprise, a Smythson Panama notebook with the declaration: Make it Happen engraved on it.
“I thought you could write down your blending recipes inside,” she said, but it gave me an even better idea… even though a part of me feels like journals as beautiful as these are too good to be written on.
Unlike my black Moleskines which are filled with emotions and war plans, in this book, I shall start a wishlist of all the places I want to travel in my lifetime. Coincidentally, they all relate to intense hues and bathing (either with physical water or tree bathing) or crystals 
Here goes. Places I wish to see:
If you make any wondrous discoveries, you’ll tell me won’t you?
Why the random posts dissecting life’s happiest moments? Gratitude’s in our DNA. Merci encore = thank you again.
With the Aromatherapie Atelier being the greatest time-suck over weekends (in the best way… we were just in Her World!), it’s such a luxury to sit in a coffee shop and catch up on all the TED talks I’ve missed in the past several months.
Played Amazing Race KL with this parcel last Saturday. Hopped on a flight at 655am only to return on a 250pm flight the same day to run errands and have lunch with my dear genius friends, Kimm & Derek.
Returned home to read in the park until dusk, eating the most gorgeous apple crumble ever. The light was amazing and there were so many funny kids in the park learning how to ride their bikes, playing with bubbles and catching guppies in the stream. It was almost as if I were back home in Australia. My brother and I used to feed horses and catch tadpoles in the creek as kids.
After a glorious sleep-in on Sunday, Cecilie and I had brunch and before meeting the guys for The Dark Knight, I started work on a new custom parfum (four hundred limited edition pieces, to be precise). And after a stint in Barcelona, Melbourne and Bangkok while I was in Paris, ATC met me for pizza, chicken wings and beer. It was divine. Us in a total dive bar, catching up on our four lost weeks. The conversation went like this:
“Wanna freelance? There’s an ed who needs a story about rolfing.”
“You mean rolling-on-the-floor-and-laughing?”
It’s back to work after church this arvo. The best weekends are a mix of good company and solitude, don’t you think? Grateful for all these things.
Images via Adieu-Tristesse, FFFound & Mmerci Encore Aromatherapie Atelier
