Your Cup of Tea, Your Scene

 I was never the kid who carries her own little bottle to school. Well, let me rephrase, I was never the kid who enjoys bringing one. Somehow I always tend to leave them somewhere, it could be in the school, the zoo, just anywhere that a kid would bring a water bottle. They seem to have trouble coming home with (sorry, mum).

So when did I bought my very first one (remotely)? ⏤ 2018. aka, this year.

老實說，我小時候不是個習慣或是喜歡攜帶水壺的小孩。這對家裡的吳小姐來說，實在是非常頭痛。身為一個充滿少女心的媽媽，她常常用盡心思到處搜刮的可愛水壺啊、餐具等等，但每次都會被我遺忘在某處。在學校的話還找得回來，但如果是出去玩或動物園那種地方，就真的是一去不復返了。欸是的，所以小學還沒畢業，她就已經放棄幫我「治裝」，直接發點零花錢讓我在福利社買瓶水就好。

那麼我與攜帶水瓶的淵源是什麼時候開始的呢？⏤ 答案是今年。

How it happened is that Australia is quite eco-friendly, and my workplace is no exception. I'm not just talking about recycling properly, I'm talking about ordering food and asking for dine-in plates cutlery, and we would wash and send it back afterwards. Also, whoever is taking coffee orders for the team, they have to collect everyone's thermos & water bottle before they go. Point is, when you work in an environment like this, it makes more sense to ditch your takeaway cup and get yourself a tumbler. A nice looking one.

時間倒轉到今年年初剛開始上班的我。澳洲是個環保意識頗強的國家，我的同事們與老闆也不例外。說的不單單只是回收，包括訂午餐會跟餐廳要求要跟內用的客人一樣的餐具、餐盤，吃完在工作室洗好後再請人送回去。身為菜鳥員工的我，到附近的咖啡廳幫大家外帶飲料也是常有的事，不過出發前，都要先把每個人的保溫瓶、水壺等等收集好帶去裝。耳濡目染之下，我決定把桌上的突兀的外帶紙杯更換掉。這次，換我開始物色心儀的水瓶。

THE SCENE TEA BOTTLE 

About a month ago, I received these beautiful SCENE tea bottles from Toast Living. And after using it almost daily for a month, I'm so excited to introduce them to you. They come in two different sizes, the 500ml is for you to carry around, and the 1000ml is meant for the house. Even though it's named as a tea bottle, it comes with both a tea & coffee infusers (only for the larger size), and plus, the glass part has heat resistance, so it's tailored for any kind of beverage needs. For instance, in warmer days I would use the 1000ml one to make ice tea the night before and pour it into the smaller size for work in the morning.

一個多月前，收到 Toast Living 來信介紹他們新推出的「The SCENE 玻璃茶瓶」，看資料的時候心裏就醞釀了不少好感，畢竟比起整個遮蓋住的保溫瓶基本款，我更喜歡帶有點玻璃能透出裏頭飲品的，覺得這樣比較時髦些。收到後開始使用，更加確信這是我的命定款（笑）。The SCENE 分為家用與隨行兩個尺寸，材質均為耐熱玻璃，所以冷熱皆宜；雖然名為茶瓶，但家用款附有咖啡與茶葉濾網，能完全依照個人喜好來使用。舉例來說，像我愛茶勝過咖啡，前陣子這兒依舊挺涼的，所以就直接帶著 500ml 的隨行款到工作室泡熱茶；這兩週墨爾本已正式邁入春夏，便改成前一晚用 1000ml 居家型沖泡茶葉放入冰箱製作冷翠茶，隔天一早倒入隨行款帶出門。然後，如果吳小姐來訪，就會拿來沖泡他愛的咖啡。

My favourite part of their design is definitely the glass bottle. I love seeing my drink rather than having it all covered up, maybe its just me, but this somehow makes it a lot more stylish on the table. And for someone who doesn't just stick with one kind of tea, I'm happy to say it doesn't store any sorts of smell, even though it sounds like a simple essential but honestly, a lot of bottles do so, and it doesn't matter how many times or how hard I've washed them.

Colours are mainly in neutral, like grey and white, along with an elegant plum. Nothing too vibrant, perfect being a day-to-day essential. Now, this might not even come in anyone's mind when looking for a water bottle, but having one that goes with all your outfits is such a bonus, at least for me. I love the purple one for the home, it brings in just enough shade for my minimalist decors.

根據心情更換茶葉與咖啡口味的時候，並不需要擔心瓶身吸附味道。我自己愛喝的茶很多，從經典的紅茶、日式綠茶到玫瑰茶都愛，也裝水加入過藍莓、薄荷與檸檬等做加味水，正常清洗過後都沒問題。氣密式的瓶蓋設計，正好適合跟我一樣喜歡到處爬爬走的你，不用擔心會飲料或水流到包包裡（我常常回家後發現它居然在包包裡呈現平躺狀，但也都完全沒有滴漏的情況）。

顏色上共有象牙白、大象灰與藕紫三種選擇。隨行款我挑了大象灰，簡單俐落，出門比較好搭配。低彩度的藕紫，作為居家款特別合適，不管在任何空間都能巧妙的融合，替我清一色極簡木調的小公寓增添一點溫柔的色澤。正好如同 Toast Living 這次的設計理念，The SCENE 玻璃茶瓶會成為我們桌上最迷人的景色。

All about the little things

This is my third collaboration with Toast Living, and yet they never cease to surprise me with their thoughtful design. Their products allows me to add more life to my home and setting. For some, spending so much time on ordinary stuff may sound silly, but to me all these little stuff adds up to a bigger picture - it's a life that you know you'll love living. Your very own scene.

越是日常的用品，越是該精挑細選 ⏤ 幾年前與 Toast Living 第一次接觸，這是他們給我的第一印象。現代人時常因為長時間專注於事業與學業等大目標，時常忘了一些生活上的小細節。或許是忘了，或許是覺得不用在意，就像我一開始費盡心思在找適合的水瓶的時候，身邊就有人出聲表示不過是個水壺何必那麼執著，買那麼好天天用還不是一下就要換。欸不對啊，就是因為知道會天天用，才要挑好的，因為好的質感設計可是能夠陪你好一陣子呢。

As I am getting into my later 20s, the idea of  'the ideal lifestyle' is becoming a lot more apparent. I'm not talking about living in the biggest houses, cars, shoes, limited edition bags, and makeup etc..I mean to some that's their goal, and it's okay, but not everyone wants the same thing. To me, the ideal lifestyle is about how you feel, it's to be genuinely happy when you come home. To be grateful when you  look around and saw all the little things you've done to make this place a little cozier and enjoyable for yourself. This is what I want. And these Toast Living Tea Bottles are definitely part of it. x

後記：「花時間自我投資，把費盡心思討好別人的心態用在自己身上。」是我一直以來生活小宗旨。給自己多些照顧，多些用心，這不是自私，反而是對所有愛你、喜歡你的人的一種體貼。畢竟一個人生活舒暢了、心態好了，整個人散發出來的氛圍也會不同，帶個別人的影響也會更溫暖正面。當然，此刻的我們，或許（還）沒能替自己做大規模的投資，但在日常的瑣碎上花點巧思也是種方式，因為有誰的質感生活不是這樣一步一腳印搭建起來的呢？好比這些玻璃茶瓶，實用又賞心悅目，喝起茶來真的更享受了（笑）

IN COLLABORATION WITH TOAST LIVING
SHOT ON FUJIFILM XH1 WITH 35MM LENS