Jakarta was amazing. This first set of pictures mainly consists of the interior of The Goods Dept, and our outfits for the Nikicio show. We spent most of our time in Jakarta at Plaza Indonesia & Grand Indonesia, 80% of which was spent at The Goods Dept. Curating art, lifestyle & fashion, it is apparently one of the hippest place of the moment – you could tell by the sheer volume of individuals coming in & out of the store. Maisha & I were enthralled with the wide selection of Nixon watches they had, as well as how huge and well thought out the interior was!

In case you were wondering, Maisha’s white toga dress & Black Scalloped Metal bag are both Topshop, shoes by New Look; you can also sneak a peek at the Rivera ring from The Project Madness, which will be stocked on ERIIN.com in December! As for me, my black sequined blazer & mini satchel are both from Zara, leather shorts by H&M, Aida tank by Monki, and those INSANE sequined wedges are from New Look! Spot the huge The Blue House ring by The Project Madness on my finger as well, available this December!

We were spotted by Jakarta Style Journal, and below is a collection of images we grabbed from their site – they noticed the same details we did, & we love their shots! Note worthy? Nikicio created their own customized skates, and we will DIE to own them, amazing!

Here’s our Instagr.am diary of Jakarta – we went trigger happy with the iPhone, and loved every minute of it. We resided at Hotel Nikko Jakarta, if you were wondering, with glass for walls & an amazing view. The couch & flat screen TV were delights for us! Also, Silverbird taxis are such great options to travel around Jakarta.

If you aren’t following us on Instagr.am yet, I really don’t know what you’re waiting for! @shoperiin awaits.

My love affair with New York City started around the Christmas season in 1992. My parents piled my then-baby brother and I into the back of a taxi to a movie theatre one evening to watch Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I left the theatre not only with the knowledge of how to take on crooks, I also was in wide-eyed wonder: I had to visit Duncan’s Toy Chest (which in actual fact was shit Rookery Building which is no where near New York) and buy turtle doves of my own, I wanted to walk into Plaza Hotel and order three scoops of ice cream, I wanted to meet the pigeon lady, I wanted to ice skate in Central Park and look up in awe of the Christmas tree at Rockerfella Center.

Of course the love affair didn’t stop there – from Where The Sidewalk Ends, to The Godfather, to Eyes of Laura Mars to When Harry Met Sally – and to every single episode of Sex & The City, I grew up with New York City, even though I may have been 15,336km away. Thankfully, I’ve been to New York City several times now, and the city is nothing short of intoxicating. From the most beautiful people, to the most exhilarating experiences to restaurants, diners and random “open secret” foodie haunts that are to-die-for, New York has something for everyone, which is probably why there is nobody I know who has been there has not not fallen completely in love.

Enough rambling… here’s my top five favourite spots in New York City. They change, from time to time, and they develop the more times I’ve been there. But for now, here are my favourites.

1. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

If you think the building is pretty on the outside, the public library’s interior is even more beautiful – it’s breathtaking. Being a book nerd, I have spent hours sitting in the library browsing through old, old books, randomly picking up things to read, or idling away time, writing up a storm on my Mac. Have I mentioned how surreal Bryant Park and the library looks in snow?

2. HALAL GUYS

From 8pm to 4am on the Southwest Corner of 53rd & 6th Ave, magic happens. My love for spicy food makes me douse a lot of my food in hot sauce. There are some places that I savour the goodness of the food as it is – but let’s face it, a lot of the things in the world would taste much better with mega spicy sauce on the side. When I’m in New York, I get my dose of spicy from the Halal Guys – it’s simple gyro food: lamb and/ or chicken over rice, some salad and a few pieces of baked flat bread:

The best part is when you pour all the good garlic yogurt sauce, and the killa red hot chilli sauce. It’s the spiciest hot sauce I’ve ever had in my life – and trust me, I’ve had plenty. If that’s not enough, it’ll only set you back $6. There’s always a long, long line, but it’s worth the wait.

3. STRAND BOOKSTORE

I believe I have already established the fact I am a book nerd, so putting a book store on a pedestal can’t do any more harm to my cool cat rep [or the lack of it!]. I love Strand Bookstore  – 18 miles of books that you can get lost in, caress, breathe and fall in love with – and occasionally look up to perve at the cute nerd reading in the corner [unfortunately, not the one in the picture!]. Why the hell would you not do that?! It’s chaotic in an incredibly intoxicating, swallow-me-whole, come-take-me-to-the-fairytales kinda way, and no visit to the city is ever complete without it.

4. BROOKLYN FLEA MARKET

On top of being an undercover nerd, I am also a junk collector. It’s the Cancer part of my Gemini-Cancer Cusp horoscope. I have sentimental attachments to physical objects that remind me of times of my life, and places I’ve been to. I’ve carried a pair of vintage rollerskates that I found in Ghent on and off trains through Europe, I begged an old woman to sell me a pair of 1920s mother of pearl opera glasses that she had in her shop window [and she ended up giving it to me for free!], and many other random stories I have had in my travels collecting things that I imagine would go into my home one day. And every time I find myself at the Brooklyn Flea Market, I’d find myself collecting more stories, and more sentimental attachments. You’d have to go there to know why.

5. FAO SCHWARZ

I may not have found Duncan’s Toy Chest, but FAO comes a close second. Being in FAO makes me wish I were a kid again – not that not being a kid stopped me from squealing over Barbies, freaking out over Harry Potter memorabilia, and wondering what gummy strawberry-favoured bacon might taste like.