I've moved on...
...to a different domain. Why, what were you thinking? The truth is, I just woke up one day and decided it's time for a change—a metamorphosis, if you will; or, in layman's terms, if Britney can shave her head, then maybe so can I? Nevertheless, it's been a rather handsome 10 years of talking to you, and thank you for putting up with all my moodswings and terrible dad jokes. Fear not! The hormonal imbalance and jokes are more terrible on CUBICLE, see you there.

Leather knot bracelet – COS. Watch – Sekonda. Wallet – Stella McCartney Falabella wristlet (c/o Harrod’s)

Studded boots – Chloé Susan (c/o Net-A-Porter). Shoes – ASOS

Coat – Mango. Jeans – James Jeans. Cashmere sweater- Uniqlo. Shoes – ASOS. Bag – Kurt Geiger Rhubarb rock. Snood – DIY Knitted. Silver necklace – Gift from mummy (Korea)

Sometimes I forget that my ‘normal’ friends have no idea I’ve been blogging for the past four years, and by blogging I mean scrambling around in a hamster-wheel charging for the vague unknown, and generally being occupied full-ish time doing so. I didn’t plan on letting this define my life, and if I still have a say, I’d like it not to, but I’m slowly starting to realise that I’ve subscribed to a very particular brand of lifestyle brought on by this business of web logging. It all became clear, really, when Carrie and I went to Paris for a night (yes, girl-on-girl details if you come back after midnight, you know it) for a small project with YSL Beauté, and all throughout I had this odd sense of comfort. The type of comfort that comes with the fact that I can hand her my camera and then pose as if the camera isn’t there, or the fact that we’ve mentally agreed on meeting at my room in twenty minutes, fully dressed and ready for some outfit shots. She will know exactly why we’re going out on a five-mile walk in 4-inch heels with a pair of foldable flats in our bags, and why I insist on hovering over our rapidly-cooling crêpes that we waited half a frozen hour to get our hands on for the sake of a photo (which, as you can see, didn’t even make the cut). Is this all getting a bit weird? Are we perhaps editing ‘the moment’ and never enjoying it as is? With that said, I had a swell time with Carrie and the YSL Beauté team, and Paris is even more stunning in the autumn.

Write a Comment

72 Comments

  1. It does become a bit surreal when you’re a blogger – the fact that you’re editing your life as you live it. You have to be present, but also aware of the fact that everything you do will have to be re-contextualized for an audience that’s expecting a story! Ah, the internet…

    P.S. you’re very good at this, I wouldn’t worry too much :)

  2. i know what you mean! handing a camera to a non blogger friend is so weird! but with friends who blog or understand that you take pictures of yourself and put them on the internet (in a vain but not so vain way) makes life easier…lol

    http://www.lollihearts.co.uk

  3. Dannielle

    Thanks for giving a perspective of a blogger’s life. Never would have imagined the little details of it. Your pictures make me want to go back to Paris!

  4. great outfit and love your photos!

    http://www.styleandshades.blogspot.com

  5. beautiful!

    Bises,
    monkeyshines
    http://monkeyshines-monkeyshines.blogspot.com/

  6. I really like the photo with “Rosa Luna”. It’s perfect as a backgroung of my desktop :)

  7. Dear Shini, your blog should be accompanied by a guide on how to deal with perfection. Every single picture you take and every single line you write is breathtakingly beautiful and inspirational. Both you and Carrie look amazing (so nice to see two people I admire hanging out with each other ~) and I’m loving the typically parisienne atmosphere of the photographs. I hope you continue to post regularly because it’s a joy to wake up to one of your posts on Google Reader! ~ x

    PS: Your blog’s layout is the greatest ever. I am so jealous and impressed at the same time. (That said you should take me on as your CSS/HTML apprentice ಥ⌣ಥ)

  8. Oh, saying all that. I know im not a successful blog person, i do post and comment on posts, i love fashion photography interior design bla bla bla bla. I even have dreams about westwood and tom ford. I would pay to see fashion show and i do buy fashion. And still i can’t make my blog up i post and i delete. i delete everything i post and start over and over. And i feel all the time if i dont have my outfit pictures no one cares but i can’t do my outfit pictures because my outfit is boring most of the times and i wear same things most of the time and im not ok to dress up just to dress up just…. With all that i just wanted say…. I do feel like something is not like…. Love your blog anyways… One very amazing blog and never feels here u doing something fake…. If undress up to do photos is still so so inspiring just because someone doing that is cool everyone trying to do that not cool at all. Story if too hard maybe to understand the idea i have here….U
    Lovli Lovli pics :-)

  9. Love the pictures!

    http://kittengirlclub.blogspot.com
    http://kittengirlclub.blogspot.com
    http://kittengirlclub.blogspot.com

  10. This post has taught me two things. No. 1? I need to plan a trip to Paris when I move back to Europe. No. 2? I need to log onto the ASOS website right now and buy those beautiful boots…

  11. ahahaha, love your humour when you write. You keep doing your thang. you’re definitely one of my favorites because of your “natural” but posed concept. And the photos with their bright light and crisp lines…and your professional website. It all works with your blogger image, and so keep going with it. no shame.
    ps. I really like how for products/clothes images, you add the credits on the sides like in a magazine. It’s a very cool effect/detail.
    ♥ Diana
    inspiration-elle{dot}com

  12. It must be great to have someone that just ‘gets’ you like that :) I ponder about the same thing you do though… I like to take my camera everywhere but sometimes it just takes away from the memory

  13. The pics are superb, as always, and the edditing is stunning too! The comment below adds in all the sense and is the cherry-on-top to this post. Blogging can get quite weird when you’re in too deep ;)

    xx

  14. You take the most beautiful photos. I can’t tell you how many have been my desktop background over the months… oh, and your style isn’t too shabby either.

    x
    kayla

    http://www.nearlyoldfriends.com

  15. Oh that’s so nice of you! Let me know anytime if you’d like anything in hi-res in case you’d like it to cover your entire screen without pixellating ;)

  16. @Shini, I concur! Your photos have been my iPhone and MacBook backgrounds for… maybe even years now O_O! *embarrassed at having lurked so long ;)*

  17. ayy_ayy

    @kayla,

    i do the same way too. shini’s pictures have been my office desktop background for years. the beautiful pictures help me a lot through the hectic ambiance. :) and plus, make me work harder to realize my dreams. (Paris, Milan, etc) :D

  18. You can say you edit the moments or capture the moments, as long as you love what you are doing.

    I greatly enjoy reading your blog!

  19. Stunningly gorgeous photos! I slowly went through them all and love each of them. They tell a beautiful story.

  20. The pictures are absolutely amazing! It looks so beautiful

  21. I love what you’re saying because it is so true. I sometimes wonder myself if by taking pictures all the time we’re not simply capturing the moment but never really living it. But the aim is to make people dream, and well, for you it works, your blog really inspires me, so please just keep on like that (and for Carrie too, you both make the most amazing and beautiful blogs!)
    Thaïs

  22. Oh My.. Paris cravings!! I am getting married in Paris tomorrow, I am so excited! Looking at these images made me really excited!! Thank you :)

    //Juni <3

  23. OH MY! Congratulations, I bet it will be absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It’d be my dream to be married in Paris. Alas, I’m already married, but perhaps I should propose to my husband again in a few years so we can do it again ;) All the best tomorrow.x

  24. @Shini, I just love this. You should propose and get married all over again. How sweet would that be? And since you’ll be traveling to Paris, you’ll have to post the second wedding on your blog too! ;)

  25. Paris is so wonderful! Love that city

  26. Martha

    Lovely pictures and I adore Carrie’s flats and stockings. In two weeks it’s Paris for me as well, can’t wait to make my own outfit posts! http://madrilicious.com

  27. Amazing pictures!

    xx.

  28. Lina

    Just for the sake of my curiosity, do you have a full-time job as well, apart from blogging? You seem like one of the few bloggers who could effortlessly balance it all!

  29. I do have a full time job! A VERY full-time one that is, which is why this blog suffers a lot ;) A lot of people think I live in Paris or something just because I post only when I get to travel, which is not too often as I’d like!

  30. I love your outfit!!! you have a nice style!!!

    http://www.thestelstyle.com

  31. I love the way you are making images…it`s always nice to reavel with you!
    Yuna

  32. don’t doubt too much Shini,you’re doing such a great job of doing what you do!

  33. i loove your outfit! your pictures are beautiful :-)

  34. This post is too good! Can’t leave Paris without a nutella and banana crepe…seriously.

  35. you are so introspective, intelligent, and awesome, shini. i’ve been reading/following for years but have never commented, but i just want to say that not only is your photography a huge source of inspiration for me, but the way you weave your words is magic, too. :) ♥ keep up the amazingness.

  36. You are way too kind, and thank you so much for following me on my adventures for the past few years! x

  37. love your pics. they are magic!

  38. Love your fabulous pictures of Paris and shoe selection!

  39. These pictures are stunning, and the leather knot bracelet I really wish to own.
    Loving your post as always.

    Much Love,
    Mx

  40. Lovely pics! amazing Paris.

  41. I LOVE this post. The pictures and the story, I love them so much.

    Sometimes I wonder that, too, if it’s ridiculous or pointless, and I don’t even have a that much of a readership. I love sharing bits and pieces of my life, though, and I met so many great people through it. I think that makes it worth it

  42. Beautiful post Shini. I love seeing cities through your eyes. You always capture the most beautiful moments.

    Love your break down of what it’s like to be a blogger. xx

  43. it helped rediscovering my city !

  44. amazing photographies! Paris does look amazing in autumn.. I love the text you wrote, carrying flats around sounds so familiar! haha, the picture of crepes looks amazing, they really look hot! and I love those biiiig jars of nutella which you can see in every crepes place ! :) xx
    http://www.aniacyk.blogspot.com

  45. carrie’s shoes are killah.

  46. I’m absolutely in love with all these photos (plus both you and Carrie looked great) but something just seemed wrong and now I know what- no macarons this time or what?! Hehe.

  47. Sometimes I think my non-blogger friends think I’m nuts. But then when I don’t take photos of everything, they seem to get disappointed. If only I could make those moments look as special as you do…

  48. I’m going to Paris next weekend, second time, first was 10 years ago. Your post got me even more exciting. Gonna see Paris Photo festival.
    Oh and I have to say I always enjoy your pics so much! I use google reader for all blogs that I follow but I always need to see yours on your website with full screen on to fully enjoy your pictures.
    Love form Warsaw x

  49. steffany

    i really love the coat of Carrie, could you ask her where from? Cheeeerrrrs~~~

  50. Shini, you, Kit & Jen are amongst the best photographers in the blogging world. I’m often left inspired after viewing the photos on your blog. Let’s not forget your frank and witty posts. On a day trip to London, my friend was bewildered when I handed her my camera and asked her to take a photo of me for my blog. I haven’t ventured out in high heels yet seeing that I’m often treated like a pack mule whenever I’ve got my daughter and her friends around me. Half the time, I’m running desperately after the little rugrats while trying to look dignified.

  51. I love what you put into words about having a sartorial friend who understands you and who you can count on, always!! Love the photos–especially now that I know how freezing you were when capturing these beautiful style moments!!!

    Love,
    -Lauren at adorn la femme
    http://adornlafemme.blogspot.com/

  52. Haha, it’s entirely reassuring that I’m not the only one wandering around with a spare pair of flats. That said, those shoes are truly gorgeous, and as to your ‘editing the moment’ vs ‘actually living’ question, it sounds rather like you’re living in parallel universes that sometimes interact with each other in the best way possible!

    http://lasaloperie.blogspot.com

  53. Hi Shini,
    Lovely, LOVELY pictures and aesthetics! May I ask what camera(s) you are using and what you would recommend for someone slightly less talented in terms of photography?

    thanks,

    jj

    talesofthetopshelf.com

  54. such beautiful views of paris!

  55. Amy

    Beautiful post!

    Could you kindly tell me where the knotted black bracelet is from?

  56. Probably it is everything around the blog now…but I believe that as soon as you can still enjoy the moments and not get stressed about it, your life is still in balance.
    It’s life mixed with work, so I think it’s only in your hands the ability to still live it for real.
    And enjoy it!I think it feels incredible!

    A very big fan of yours

    Marica

  57. […] Shini over at Park and Cube questions whether or not as bloggers we’re maybe missing living in…. I must confess, sometimes it is nice to just stop, put the camera down and enjoy my surroundings. […]

  58. lillian

    I was an aspiring food blogger but it never worked out ‘cus i never remember taking pictures until the plates are empty. Glad I have a desk-job to fallback on.

    I’ve followed you for quite some time. Really love your photos. Keep doing what you do, Shini, you are one of very few fashion bloggers who do have a perspective on things and, more importantly, are not delusional. Also, love your humor.

  59. Babble

    Rather than an ‘editing of the moment’ I would see web logging as a meaningful way to reflect on the moment, once it has passed. Sure, carrying a camera around and hoping to get a good shot or two can make things feel a little superficial at times, but I think that’s the sacrifice one makes and is expected to make when creating a piece of art. I see bloggers as a new generation of journalists. We report the truth, or at least, our version of it. It makes up for everything.

    churpu.blogspot.com

  60. Such beautiful pictures. I can understand why bloggers many sometimes just want to leave the cameras at home and not have to worry about taking pictures but guessing if you did you would probably feel lost without the camera.

  61. So beautiful shoes! Like this post! Nice photos!

    xx
    biskvittka.blogspot.com

  62. Hi, Shini! I found this blog post very interesting! I know what you mean and thats how i feel like all the time: non of my friends know really that i have a blog and i don’t know pesonal any bloggers, so i feel qiute alone sometimes in this huge blogger space world! Actually everything is sometimes not that what it seams: i wonder always how some bloggers can live just from blogging and afford themselfs design clothes, some of them are traveling around the hole world, become own collections for famous brands or are models for them! Girls like Andy and Ciara looks like are living the perfect life and all this thanks to their blogs! How is this possible? Today i found a blogger who starts her blog for only a month ago and has already so many readers! My blog is since july and i have 6 readers by google+ and i don’t get any comments! Thats makes me sometimes very sad, because i feel so lonely. Of course i did it for myself on the first place and i love it so much, but we all do it online: to share it with other people. To inspire them! To get inspired! That is what all the famous blogs like yours do: show us that dreams can come true, that you can do what your love and have success with it! But is this real? I still dream and i hope that my dream will come true one day! Keep beeing our motivator Shini! Even if we are sometimes jealous :)

  63. […] an occupational hazard of sorts […]

  64. […] Paris in November with travel buddy Carrie and again a week later with Kit […]

  65. That photo of the flowers in the window that looks like a painting. That is ALL! x

  66. […] an unrelated note, and I’ve spoken about this before, there it was again – the odd sense of comfort when travelling with a bunch of bloggers where […]

  67. I am so very much enjoying your blog! I love seeing your perspective on the world and reading your balanced mix of sincerity and sarcasm. I can tell that you don’t take yourself too seriously and it’s so refreshing. Also, your Paris posts melt my heart. I used to live right by Le Solférino from the beginning of this post!

  68. […] was back when I was in Paris for a night in celebration of a particularly silky and sensual YSL lipstick range called Rouge Volupte […]

  69. […] We’ll always have Paris. […]

  70. Its not my first time to pay a quick visit this web page, i am browsing this web
    site dailly and obtain pleasant facts from here everyday.

  71. Open the present – don’t live in the past,
    don’t live in the future, focus on what is happening now.

    While much of the population give their envy, jealousy and rudeness,
    we have believe that honest, genuine congratulations are in order for completing one of life’s
    great achievements. You could use it with a data plan from the cell
    phone company, but you would have to do more
    work to get the Skype cell phone application to work.

  72. Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was
    wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my
    comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one?
    Thanks a lot!