timely reminder

I'm back from my church's YA retreat and I'm spiritually renewed but physically drained. I'm getting old. Staying overnight is not my thing anymore.

DIY Project - Loose Tank

Straight from bed, barefaced, blurry vision, messy hair and lacking of sleep. Before spending $25, I guess I should give this $3 one a try =)

Top: DIY
Denim: 575

yay or nay

christmas part V - Blessed Christmas

Blessed Christmas! I was downgraded from alto to tenor for this Christmas Project to sing alongside Nithe otherwise poor he would be singing solo (he's totally capable of). As always, choir is the best prepared and I don't understand why 'Bay' constantly feels that we will screw up. Where's his faith?

Choir's attire was red/green that's why everyone looked so color coordinated.

Even though it's green/red, it feels like they kinda mixed up Christmas with CNY.

I can totally hide behind Nithe without anyone spotting
I like this shot =)

christmas part IV - Christmas Parties

Christmas is all about love, fellowship with friends and feasting. Oh not to forget presents. I don't receive them anymore =( I miss being a kid. Even a box of sweets or chocolate is suffice. It's the idea of unwrapping a mysterious gift that's fun. Juz looking at the food makes me hungry again.

What's Christmas without the big bird. Even the drumstick is huge. Of coz it's no where close to the one Mr Bean managed to stick his head into but 20 adults were not able to finish it.
And of coz the children need to be entertained. Nothing beats sitting high up and playing catching without the need to run.

Prawns, whose sole purpose was to satisfy Nithe's taste buds.

*****

Second party of the night at Jiale's place. It's all the familiar HCJC guys with their partners. One thing never change, they are hell noisy. I was surprise no security guard came up as we were still screaming and laughing at 1+ am. Totally looking forward to Saturday for second round of feastings.
All you need to girls to gather is a sale and a square table for guys.

DIY Project - Fringe Vest

Of late, I've been really obsessed with fringe. When I saw this vest from Sass and Bide, my jaw dropped.

Obstacles faced

1. Finding the right materials, from the cloth used for the vest, to the beads and sequins for the details. I've combed Spotlight twice, People's Park twice and Arab Street once juz to search for the correct beads.
2. Hand sewing all the beads and sequins onto the vest. Sewing machine is USELESS.
3. Hemming. I seriously HATE hemming and again it has to be hand sewn for various reasons.

And finally after 1 week of hard work

Vest: DIY
Top: Esprit basic
Denim: 575

Now I've to figure out how to wash this thing.

***

Santa, please get me something like this =)

OMG! Seriously???

This feels like some sort of April Fool's prank. I need some time to digest this piece of shocking news.

christmas part III - another crazy christmas

Thanks Uncle for recommending this local production =) I was laughing so hard.

Dim Sum Dollies + Hosan Leong = CRAZY

christmas part II - Brunch + Caroling

Brunch along Orchard, dressed up, sipping coffee, reading newspaper/magazines, observing the rushing people around you. It feels like you are in a time bubble and people outside are living at twice the speed. I like that feeling where time is abundant and there's no urgency to do anything.

*****

A contingent of over 30 carolers, travelling from Chua Chu Kang -> Pasir Ris -> Jurong West, squeezing into CG members homes, eating as though it's CNY and spreading the Christmas Joy.

and now we are down by 2

Little need to be said. Those present would know that we had a smashing good time.

Back when we were freshmen and everybody was merely another stranger

An empty table and a glass of chalk sparked into this vandalism

more diy

Here are some stuffs I've been working on the past week. This is what 2m of fabric ($12) can turn into. I hate the feeling when I'm super excited over an idea but the end product turn out to be something disappointing or when you sit down in front of a sewing machine but everything comes out wrong =(

DIY Studded LBD

Dress: DIY
Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana

******

DIY Exposed Zip Mini Skirt

Top: American Apparel
Skirt: DIY
Shoes: C&K

suburban

I can't believe how People's Park Centre is my new favorite hangout.

3 more days

Freaking UOB Internet banking only allows a daily maximum transfer of $3000 .

DIY Project - Racerback Dress

I have been eyeing on this basic racerback dress for awhile but the simplicity of it doesn't worth that much, so this is my version.

I absolutely adore this row of side buttons. Adds a little something to a plain dress =)

Dress: DIY
Necklace: Island Shop
Sandals: Schu

Conversation with my mum
Me: Is this dress nice?
Mum: Not bad. But quite plain. When are you gonna stop buying new clothes?
Me: Err, I made this?
Mum: Ohh. Actually can tell. The sides not very nice.
Me: =?

my christmas pressie

I bought myself an early Christmas present, Miu Miu Matelasse Leather Tote, black lamb skin with gold hardware =) Was kinda sad that I wasn't able to make it for the first day of the sale due to exams last week but when I dropped by the store today, they happened to stock up some new sale items (40% off) from Paris and ta-dah! I'm gonna transfer every single cent in my bank account to my mum to disable myself from spending any more money. I'm totally serious.

hari raya haji

I've been to this restaurant twice in 3 days and I'm pretty sure I'll be visiting them pretty frequently. Nithe went there last week and was raving about how great their pasta and pizza were and their prices being very reasonable too ($15 each). So we decided we shall go there to celebrate the end of my exams on Saturday. We reached at 830pm and had to wait for over 45 mins for our table. That's how good their business was (PS. we were eating 2 tables away from Fiona Xie). We were not disappointed.

2 days later, we came back, reservations made and stomachs empty =) The boss goes around and takes your order personally. Throughout dinner, he and his other 2 partners will walk around and talk to their customers. They are really friendly people. His wife and sister rule the kitchen.

Some of our food including crab and lobster ravioli in tomato sauce, mushroom ravioli in cream truffle sauce, gorgonzola pizza and the guys had brazilian churrascaria.

After dinner, I casually asked one of the boss what's the drink that many people are drinking (it's this white liquid in a champaign glass). He explained that it's their lemon sorbet and the next thing he said, 'I'll give you some, complimentary.' He brought over 8 glasses, one for each of us, FREE! See, ask and you shall receive. Their lemon sorbet is really refreshing. Nithe kept stealing mine.

Donna Carmela & Caipirinha
2 Greenwood Avenue

***

For the second half of my dinner, I rushed to town to meet the NYGH babes for post dinner. It has been forever since I last met up with them.

Desserts at Canale. We were all satisfied =)

DIY Project - Sass and Bide Beaded Top

Exams were juz over on Friday and I'm gonna lock myself up until I've tried all my DIY ideas. For the past few days, I think I've worked harder than studying for exams =) Anyway, I LOVE this Sass and Bide beaded top. There's juz something about it that drew my eyes to it at first sight.

So I've spent many many many hours, beading thousands and thousands of beads by hand. It's really damn tedious. I think I've beaded over 10m of it and my eyes are pretty dead now. But I guess it's worth US$140.

Top: Topshop basic (DIY Beads)
Denim: Rock and Republic
Shoes: Pedder Red

It isn't perfect yet and the beads are not as close as I wish. Maybe I'll have to bead another 10m to obtain the original look. This is my favourite t-shirt now =)

christmas part I - Alleluia Sing Noel

Even though Christmas is still 3.5 weeks away, I'm kicking start it with Hallelujah Oratorio Society's Annual Christmas Concert - Alleluia Sing Noel. A friend was singing and Nithe's brother was in the mini orchestra so we had VIP box tickets =)

The singers comprise members from Singapore Lyric Opera, vocal majors from Singapore Bible College and non-professionals with a heart for choral music. I developed a better appreciation for choral music after our choir did a short presentation of Handel's Messiah for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday earlier this year. The pieces were tough and we practiced so hard that every time I hear the tune, the lyrics comes automatically.
Something that turned me off during the performance was the audience.

1. They applauded after each piece. Mistake. They should only applaud after each set. If unsure, don't clap unless EVERYONE around you claps. Still they might be wrong.
2. They started clapping before the song ended. The basses were sustaining their decrescendo and before they stopped, some smart few started clapping and the rest followed.
   
3. People who have heard coral music before will surely hear of Handel's famous Messiah. People started clapping a full 3 bars before the piece ended. I mean it didn't even sound like the piece was over and clapping? Obviously they don't know what they are watching. I was like 'OMG! This is so embarassing.' Luckily some knew they had to stand for this piece and most followed even though they were clueless.

Nithe said the audience were 'uneducated'. I guess it's not entirely their fault but it doesn't really reflect well on our 'artsy culture'.

I love my maxi dress. It's almost floor sweeping and walking in it with heels can be a real challenge. I stepped on my dress while walking up stairs and nearly fell. Nithe was like 'later you ripped off your dress then you know'.

Nithe trying to make fun of my dress

***

Most of my non-BIE friends are done with their exams. I'm determine to make these last few days as painless as possible. Ay, I thought it ended 1.5 weeks ago and vacation started. Crap, I still have 2 more papers =(

DIY Project - AA Dress

I've decided to buy this dress from American Apparel (not!). It can be worn in so many different ways and looks pretty versatile.

Ok. I borrowed the idea and made my own version =) Why would I want to buy a dress that cost US$38 when I can make it in less than 1hr for less than S$10.

Dress - DIY
Shoes - Aldo

benefit me (black friday)

I don't usually use Benefit Cosmetics (I'm a MAC and Bobbi Brown fan) but since there's a sale, no harm giving it a try since the prices are comparable to MAC's sale. I didn't check out the counter prices so I'm juz comparing based on online US prices, which are already cheaper than SG's counters.

Top left to right. Boi-ing - S$10 (UP. US$18), Lemon Aid - S$10 (UP. US$20), Show Off - S$10 (UP. US$12)

Bottom left to right. Silky Finish Lipstick S$15 (UP. US$18), HollywoodGlo S$16 (UP. US$24), Hard Angle Brush S$12 (UP. US$12)

****

Also, guys who are fans of Calvin Klein underwear and missed the previous sale 2 weeks ago (briefs and boxers went for $10 each), there's another one at Isetan Scotts now going at 50% off. Nithe has a total of 7 now =) I love love love their band. Would have bought for myself if I could wear it.

happy thanks giving

Since my sis's A Levels was over, she has been so free and in a shopping deficit. I grabbed her to the Charles and Keith Warehouse Sales to see whether we can find any good buys. There were shoes ranging from $9-35 and bags from $15-35. Not lacking of shoes (my sis juz bought 2 pairs of pumps the day before), we settled for 2 pairs of $9 shoes and a $15 basket bag. People around us bought tons of shoes and bags, which made us feel pathetic. We quickly got our asses out and rushed for our next appointment.

My mum was kinda free at work so she decided to sneak out for an impromptu lunch at Au Petit Salut. A month ago, I was here and I said I'll be back =)

Some of our yummy food. The desserts were so good that by the time I remembered to take photos, they were half gone =(

My sis and I were complaining about how this year will be the first year end in at least 5 years which we are not traveling. Now that my sis is out of JC, we can travel during off-peak seasons. We were reminiscing significant places we once visited like safaris in South Africa, our first snow encounter in Turkey, how we were robbed at San Francisco etc. Those were like eons ago and I can vaguely remember. Almost at the end of lunch, I realized that today's thanks giving. What a wonderful way to spend it on a random Thursday, in the midst of exams.

Do we look alike?