the handy rubber-band

i don't have a habit of preparing my outfits ,more like the last minute girl who walks into a shop and just shop off the racks.

so i'll do silly stuff like pin brooches, safety-pin dresses that are too wide and stuff 
cos' it's probably too late to head to Molly's ( our lovely swift tailor auntie at Serangoon Gardens)

but most importantly, 
the goal is to wear the chosen dress  by hook or by crook or by whatever possible means available in my little drawer.
i have even tried using earrings as a substitute for brooches but it's a little painful though.

so with this embellished shift dress which was originally a little too wide & rendering me shapeless,
 i used a rubber band to gather the cloth at the hip area and  tied a knot beneath 

to achieve the effect of an interesting inverted drape detail  :) 

this helped to hike up the length of the dress at the side plus gave me a hint of a waist, 
definitely beats having a sash tied around :)

a close up of the deets

it didn't feel like it was uncomfy cos it was just a tiny ball of scrunched up cloth at my hips.

and oh yes, 

not to mention, the knot was super secured.

 i didn't have to worry abt the rubber band coming undone throughout the night :)

 Hope this tip helps !
<3, S

monday

Hi it's monday! 

doing some work and listening/watching/going gaga over the sets of Vogue Diaries 

watch the one with Natalie Portman, her face is gene perfection, God loves her more!

this is Kristen Stewart in FEB'11's and how cute are the PS designers 

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez

how to pronounce Proenza Schouler :) if you don't already know

plus another interesting blog to gain some fashion inspirasi
http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/proenzaschouler/

it's gd news monday, where i have received news of new items arriving, and now i'm thinking of how to get this video with reebonz on!

<3,
S

♡♡♡Louis Vuitton S/S 2012♡♡♡

eyelets are back.
miu miu had it in 2006 and now it's back on LV's runway.
no complaints though!

<3,S

have a listen

"do you know how to feel" by the Diogenes Club

pretty nice song to wake up to , or take a drive with 

yes, weekend! 

<3, S

midweek!

Today's outfit : a babyblue ASOS cardigan with huge blings around the lapel, 

with the steadily hotter days, i think it makes sense to wear  mid-sleeved cardis :) 

Layered it over a ruffled bib top(oops, wore that ytd as a layering piece as well!) with skinnies and met the girls for dinner.

We started our evening sitting pretty at TWG ( outside Miu Miu) and had some tea and of course, being a dessert softie,

 I could not resist ordering a slice of choc fondant cake served with tea ice cream.
The creme brulee P had was much better though :)

I've been meaning to drag G into Valentino's, & we did just that today:)

we wanted to check out their RTW collection and see if there was a dress suitable for a wedding,

always had the fantasy of a  red Valentino gown being the perfect dress for a wedding dinner but that was a really long time ago when i felt everything had to be done in a certain way.

They had some really lovely pastel lace tops and dresses, it was so pretty and twinkly :) 

there is always something about the lace used at Valentino's

( if anyone is interested at all) a red Valentino gown wld cost approx $12grand , wowwee.

 bow shoes!
green, pink, red, lavender, lacey ones.. aren't they cute? the heels were a little low too, and the patent colours kinda remind me of Prada?
 Prada does them so well :)
the studded ones were available in pastel shades as well..gosh
i love studs and if i have a choice, the studs i'll be wearing at 30ish wld be from valentino's
& no other. :)

after browsing at Valentino's, we headed upstairs for dinner at Paradise Dynasty.

 Our queue number was #53 and it was our first time having rainbow xiao long bao!

p had the cheesey + sze chuan,

i had the ginseng + crab roe,

and g had the truffle + foie gras.

we each got to try 2 flavours and after deciding which was the best-tasting one, 

we would order another basket  and the winning flavours were...

foie gras & the original haha!

la mian in pork bone soup was really yummy too, think i'll head back soon for seconds!

Anyway, back to pretty bow shoes :)
i really like carven, especially their 2011 collection
2012's collection looks like a mix of missoni and miu miu to me so im skipping that.

 the above shirtdress -smooched- and will arrive soon!
below are some pics from carven's spring 2011

gotta love those whimsical white and black shoes

& for this year, they kept the velvet bows and dipped the front and back in fluro colours.
i'm toying with the idea of some shoes-DIY since i have quite a bit of time till the next launch:)

or hold on.. in the parallel universe ,here's one for less than $100USD:

http://www.endless.com/dp/B005A37RLC/182-5031802-4242034?ie=UTF8&creative=395033&suppressRedirect=1&linkCode=asn&tag=endlesscj-20&creativeASIN=B005A37RLC&ref_=asc_df_B005A37RLC1820894

<3,

S

my crazy artistic friends

i've got some really awesome friends who are very active in this computer game called second life. the following photos are all done from scratch on 3d programmes and they spend tons of time on it starting from nothing. their skills are absolutely out of this world and i've seen the process from step blank paper.

its the ravenclaw dorm part of the whole harry potter world

the charms room

their latest project called Art of Escher... ode to the artist Escher and the portal to their new cafe which i suspect will be awesome

xp

panda lips

have yourself a lazy sunday!

s

sketchy goodness

a snippet of a comedy series from the bbc. a little happy tree friends morbid humour for friday!

xg

designer collabs 2012

Not so secret anymore but I've been secretly 

looking at marni necklaces on ebay next to vintage chanel premier watches in gold+black :)

cos i'm so envious of people who can carryoff a tshirt + skinnies + statemental necklaces 

( read: need to be skinny to pull the above off)

During CNY, my aunt was like " you mean you didn't shop karl for netaporter?" in disbelief cos i'm the kind who would proudly wear a net-a-porter shirt just cos i'm in love with the whole netaporter world

 felt like a real mountain tortoise cos i was so swamped with pre-CNY sales and still,

 that seemed such a lame excuse..

so right about few minutes ago, i checked out  his range and 

that sequinned collar + cotton poplin cameo collar half called out to me

and those color block black and white asymmetrical wedges too..

but i think i can save the $$ and be fine without it 

Above is  Marni x H&M video: directed by Sofia Coppola

love it? love it!
( spot the acrylic chunky must-have bangles & fantastical plastic necklaces yet??)

Behind the scenes: Liuwen is so gorgeous

10th March ( save the date!) is the happy day where we Singaporeans get our chance to queue for circular prints by Marni & H&M
hmmm

i should  bribe pris with my mom's siewyuk to queue with me ;)

J. Crew x Manolo Blahnik

the pointies are heading back!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/j-crew-manolo-blahnik_n_1277203.html#s696741

love them in pastels, glitter, prints, shiny metallics, toe-caps... j crew covered all their bases!

 pic credits: from the huffingtonpost link above

-above pic credits from fabsugar's video -

just did a search and apparently glamour loves the shoes highlighted above as well!  

& here's a pic from glamour.com

Yay to Manolos cos we're SATC fans haha
i first knew about toe cleavage from this wonderman

"the secret of toe cleavage, a very important part of the sexuality of the shoe" is that "You must only show the first two cracks."

whambam!

  good night :) 

<3, S

more about him here from design museum: http://designmuseum.org/design/manolo-blahnik
“I have the advantage of study,” he told Colin McDowell. “I’ve been studying the art of the shoe… for over twenty years. I know every process. I know how to cut and cut away here (the side of the shoe) and still make it so that it stays on the foot. And the secret of toe cleavage, a very important part of the sexuality of the shoe. You must only show the first two cracks. And the heel. Even if it’s twelve centimetres high it still has to feel secure – and that’s a question of balance. That’s why I carve each heel personally myself – on the machine and then by hand with a chisel and file, until it’s exactly right.”

moonrise kingdom

i'm excited about moonrise kingdom

aren't you?

xg

Happy Valentine's Day!

happy valentine's day to one and all!

xoxop

ticking off the restaurant list

if anything, birthday weeks are meant to be spent going out to restaurants either for the good ol' comfort food or as a reason to try out new places. since le bistrot du sommelier has been postponed for g to get better, i decided to risk it and try out 2 new restaurants this past weekend.

first up was kilo on friday night with fellow foodie lance. since i refuse to change to an iphone, lance has the pictures of the night though with the lighting, or lack of it, they never came out nice so i've trawled through the internet finding complimentary photos. since i'm a fan of loysel's toy, finding kilo wasnt a problem, and fortunately that night was nice and windy.

since it was a friday night, the place was packed and once everyone was seated, the noise level goes up due to the low ceiling.
as i've been to the original raw kitchen and enjoyed food there, i had high hopes for this place and unfortunately, the food was rather meh. lance and i basically have the same tastebuds so we ordered the ceviche which came out on a salad bed and their famous steak tartare to start.

after much apprehension, we dug in to the ceviche salad and to our surprise it was really good! but for me the high kinda stopped there. the beef tartare was disappointing, with the cognac taste wayyyy too strong for my taste and totally musked the beef taste.
for our mains, lance had the pork tenderloin with crackling while i had their take on the mentaiko pasta. the pork was decently done, not overly cooked but the crackling wasnt that great and it came with a side of purple mash which i thought was rather good. my mentaiko pasta was a little dry for my taste, it could have done with a little bit more cream. after sanshui, i'm still on the hunt for good mentaiko. though i really should just get down and make it myself.
after the meal, we took a look at the dessert menu, which wasn't too appealing, we decided that we were too full and could only try their homemade icecreams, well 3 scoops to be exact - red apple&carrot, basil, green apple. unfortunately, it was a total disappointment and after about half a scoop of each, we let the rest melt. i think i shall stick to iberry for fruity sorbet/ice cream in the future.
official verdict: i wouldn't bother going back there as reservations have to be made in advance, and i'm terrible at planning anything more than a week in advance. and truthfully, the food wasn't great sans the ceviche salad

next up is Lukes oyster bar and chop house
raveen's been raving about this place for the longest time and since we had no dinner plans, i decided to drag s there. it worked out coz g's not an oyster eater so with her qurantined at home, both of us wont feel bad gorging on them.

set in a tiny street off club street, it was s' and my first time parking the car in the automated carpark. it was quite fun i have to say. very cool. then it was off in search of our dinner.
set up by chef travis, i've always been a fan of his especially from his spruce days where i would be there nearly every other weekend for their once fabulous brunch. now looks like i have a new spot... im a stickler for great service and this place does not disappoint. i think we've even managed to terrorize a few poor unsuspecting waiters. now to make friends with them.... hmmm i give myself another 2 visits. haha
s and i could not make up our minds for the longest time! but finally settled on a dozen oysters, mixed origins, an order of crab cakes, steak with foie gras and a lobster mac and cheese side. the meal started with a serving of homemade corn bread with cream cheese and paprika. the bread was warm and crumbly and has inspired me to try making it for this year's thanksgiving haha
the oysters were fresh, succulent and were just simply lipsmackingly yummy
the crab cakes came with a side of coleslaw and covered in dijon mustard cream. i think there was not one drop of cream left on my plate.

by the time we were done with the very crabby crab cakes, s and i were ready to stop eating. but we still had the steak to get thru. i personally didnt quite enjoy the steak as much. dont get me wrong, it was good steak, just a bit too much pepper for my liking.
if i had space in my tummy, the mac and cheese would have been heavenly. large chunks of lobster in the midst of elbow macaroni swimming in cheesy creamy sauce was just yummy, the only thing i'd have to remember next time is to tell them no crackers on the top as texturally, it didnt make sense to have soft crackers in the midst of all this goodness.
verdict: i heart heart heart luke's. food's great, there's more on the menu i'd very much like to try, service was flawless - they even took the initiative to split all our orders into 2 plates! when was the last time that happened in singapore?

xp

bunny bombay toast

bombay toast* (more commonly known as french toast), is a dish of egg-soaked bread that is then fried. 

ingredients

cut one

cut three

perfect ears

(three from one) x2

egg, sugar, milk

come together

stove station

egg soak

browning bunnies

a little sweetness

goes a long way

tea time

ready?

one

two

three!

*does not always come bunny-shaped

xg

Happy Birthday Pris Piss !

An unexpected twist for this year: G's fallen ill and could not join us for P's birthday :(
I was pretty crushed cos in our many years of friendship, a dinner's incomplete without all 3
and i was even more hurt when p called on friday to say she wanna cancel bistro du sommelier's reservations cos having dinner with me was pointless *roll eyes* 

so both girls were upset, one was ill and started questioning if it was a bad omen

& the other was turning a year older and wondering what a shitty birthday weekend lays ahead :<

i hope gina gets better & we owe p a good belated dinner :) 

the weather's quite a scorcher these days without the usual 2pm showers, donned a

 shimmery embellished tank top and a white skirt on saturday to get myself in a trippy mood for p

accompanied her to her first fitting at jessica cindy 

after a good chat with Jess, we headed down to the usual LDF: P.S Cafe (Dempsey Rd) where I stuck to a carrot cake drenched in butterscotch and P had her tomato soup

but of course, i couldn't resist ordering truffle fries
actually s ordered banana cake so that i wldnt have any :( and we would be the ones having dessert first then fries

wished P would just stop making silly faces haha

it was also the first time we didn't finish the fries 'cos we were expecting a really good dinner later at night at 

Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House

I was P's date and designated driver :) loved the interior of the restaurant particularly the huge vase of fresh roses at the end of the bar counter, we were seated pretty near the door 

as fellow oyster fiends, we had ordered a full dozen

5 types from Massachusetts & 1 from Canada & can i say, they were heavenly

I didnt even need tabasco sauce cos the oysters were so fresh and had a sweet after-taste 

 AMAZING SELECTION

can't wait to head back for Oysters Happy Hr soon!

 their "jumbo lump crab cakes" were excellent, way better than what I had expected from a crab cake

it was mostly all crab meat ( as seen below) & we kept very silent finishing this dish as realisation hit us  what an awesome seafood place this was  

 our main( tenderloin+ fois gras)  & lobster in mac & cheese side took a pretty long time and i was panicking cos i had planned the night ahead with some other friends and i didn't want to spend midnight at the restaurant :X
 another correction, the food was served as how it is usually served... appetizers, secondi and main... s was just nervous about the surprise so she hurried the waiters up! haha the poor people didn't know what to do! and i tried to worry her even more by asking for the dessert menu :D xp

when it's just 1 on 1, pretty impossible to text yr fellow partners in crime discreetly , i  had the audacity to semi-ruin dinner by requesting the kitchen to hurry with our orders :P 

again, luke scores really highly in my opinion for the tenderloin , it had a grainy peppercorn crust with a succulent beef centre which melted so beautifully with every bite , soon i was almost done! 

behind the wheel, i drove past filter & kpo to fake our next destination :X haha 

but she probably already had a hunch it would be at nektar bar off scotts road

past 12am, jeanette , jan and i were trying to light up alll 27 candles and it so happened that Franklin   showed up just in time to be our cake presenter..yay!

 14 thin candles from canele and jeanette's 13 sparklers

cake was home-made by jeanette, it was chocolate torte + blueberries and a hint of lavender

gosh it was a dream!

 Happy Birthday P!!

the party continued at Pangaea where it was pyjamas night so everyone else was decked in bath robes and lingerie ,quite a sight indeed! hehe

  loved how Pris finished her waterfall with such finesse

the end of an awesome night.
many many thanks to Anya, Jeanette, Janice, Ivan, Ky & his super cute sister for making this night possible!
27, 21, 18.. age is but a number hun so please don't be depressed about it :)

p.s: i hope you know this blog is part of my bday gift to you!!!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 
― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!