Lemon Chiffon

Taking a sunbathing break from Turkey and heading back to lovely Singapore to do some shopping.

My sister and I love to shop at little boutiques that are off the beaten track. Yes, I love my Zara, Club Monaco, Banana Republic… at the same time, I love what these petite shophouses have to offer.

Many years ago, our favourite haunt was Haji lane - a place full of yuppies and spunky clothes. But my sister and I has since moved out of there because the crowd has gotten younger, the clothes sizes are getting smaller… and the quality has sadly dropped as well.

And there is the all time favourite Antipodean at holland village which we used to patronise almost bi-weekly. That was till we moved pretty far away from that area and we aren’t as motivated to make the trip like we used to.  frequently.

Our new favouite hang out place is this little chic shop at serangoon gardens. It is pretty impossible to find parking in this part of Singapore, but since it’s so near our house, we are still very motivated to travel to this place to sniff out the pretty clothings.

Here was what we got on the last trip.

Cutesy grey top with an equally cutesy ribbon to match.

This is my sister’s phase for the moment. She is into cute little dress. No wonder people always think I’m the older kid.

And she had to buy the top below to match with this dress…

I got this tunic for work.

But this is my favourite find of the day. I love a well cut dress that has a good structure and is made of soft but good quality material.

Oh bless my bank account…

Lemon Chiffon can be found @ 12A Kensington Park Road.

Turkey - Canakkale and Troy

The air in Turkey sure took a toll on my skin. I was breaking out in pimples! But I was loving my tan. And my corn on the cob of course…

An 8 hour ride took us from Kusadasi to Canakkale. By the time we reached, it was night fall.

By this time, I missed the food at home terribly. This was also the time I told myself I’m never going to eat kebabs for a long long long time to come.

We took our dinner at this kebab stall. It was inexpensive and probably the only food shop that was open at that unearthly hour.

There was a dessert stall open though…

I didn’t feel safe walking on the streets of Canakkale. I’m used to walking down streets alone, but the vibe in Canakkale… was strangely eerie and uneasy. So we headed back to the student hostel after we were done with walking the two main streets.

The next day, I woke up in a way much better mood.

We made it to the famous land of Troy!

I finally ditched my tees for a spaghetti top. Which I later regretted because I incurred a very bad burn.

3 of us made it to the top of the horse. We were 3 extremes. My friend Ganny (far right) was ridiculously burned by this time of the trip. My other friend Limin (centre) was avoiding the sun like a plague. She wore this cardigan everywhere she went. And I mean everywhere regardless of the temperature. I on the other hand, liked the sun but totally regretted being burned.

This was probably the saddest part of the trip.

Despite the glorious story of the battle at Troy. Whether it was a myth or not…

This land called Troy was…

Flat land.

Flat land.

Flat land.

You get my drift…

It was so boring, the sight of purple flowers made me smile.

Where are the ferocious men of Troy!?!?!?

So if you are tight for time in Turkey, skip Troy totally. It is not worth the time or effort.

Thereafter, having sometime to spare we headed to Galipoli.

We visited this fort museum.

But we couldn’t snap pictures indoors. And it wasn’t interesting. So we left soon enough.

I had more fun by the seaside.

We managed to convince some kids to take pictures with us!

Er… and here is the head of the horse.

Dinner was delightful. I had grilled fish and muscles. YUM!

See you at the next stop! Istanbul…

Turkey - Kusadasi & Ephesus

I’m deeply embarrassed. But I’ve finally gotten around to blog about Turkey - after reviving 2 external hard disks!

Travelling through Turkey was a breeze compared to the blazing weather in Egypt. Do wear sleeved tops out of respect of the Turks.

After docking at Kusadasi, we took some time to explore the city. Even though the city is really small, the tourist area is rather colourful.

When you are in Turkey, you need to try some of their local “sweets”. Try it with their turkish tea or apple tea. Be warned, they taste really really sweet.

Looks yummy right? I loved this flavour!

And of course, you have to eat the Turkish ice-cream! Cheeky ice-cream sellers - if you know what I mean.

Is it just me or the names of the tea are just queer. Rose hip tea and sex tea?!

Kusadasi is the transit point for most visitors travelling from and to Greece. It will be worthwhile to make a day trip to  Ephesus whilst you are in Kusadasi. My friends and I were exhausted by this point in the trip, so we chose to make a half-day tour around the main sites of Kusadasi. On hindsight, I would have loved to spend another half of the afternoon visiting the Mother Mary site.

Ephesus is also the place where the book of Ephesians was written. I mean it does make sense doesn’t it?

Anyway, in Ephesus the place to visit is the library of Celsus.

After visiting countless of sites with rocks and pillars. I say this library stands out. I like it.

I can imagine it in its grandeur. Imagine the number of books stored here!

Hail to civilisation.

(One of those rare photos of me without make-up)

And I had to take a picture with a statue. There was this insider joke throughout the entire trip of me being fascinated with statues and I had to take a picture with all that I saw.

No. I ain’t kidding. I really did take picture with all the pretty statues I saw.

This is the place where I took this picture as well!

Washroom for the modern man and woman. I like.

Even the cat likes it.

These are evidences of the thriving civilisation in Ephesus - just like how they were written in my history texts.

Oh and Ephesus is famous for being the first in the world to have advertisement.

Unfortunately, it is advertising about the world’s oldest trade. That is a heart next to the hole. That is indeed a depiction of a foot. And the hole is really meant to be there. I shall not elaborate more. Let’s just leave it as it is.

What a way to end my trip in Kusadasi and Ephesus. =D

Next up, Canakkle and Troy!

Universal Studios Singapore is Here!

5 years ago there was a big hoo-ha over whether we should have IR on our home ground. There were protests from the general public and it was much debated in parliament.

Some said that it will breed gamblers amongst us Singaporeans.

Others said, we need it to boost tourism.

The other side won. And here we are 5 years later…

We have to say kudos to the government who came up with the ingenious idea of ERPs…

On the good side of things…

Wearing: Korean top, Uniqlo jeans, Zara heels, Tiffany beanie & 2.55.

It feels surreal to have a theme park in Singapore!

We are so used to travelling 1000 miles to get ourselves tickets to other people’s theme park, it feels a little shocking to have something to call our own.

I mean come on!

Outside the theme park. This reminds me of Hollywood Boulevard for some strange reason.

And we have Hersheys too!

I made it a point to buy a giant chocolate bar to take picture with the Hershey sign.

As much as Mr. Hershey was being awfully cute, I didn’t feel compelled to buy it. Maybe I’ll buy the pillow the next time round.

Over the Casino side, we have our very first Victoria’s Secret flagship store. I was sorely disappointed at the lack of undergarment range. Deeply saddened by how small the store was as well. They pride themselves on the whole notion of “Victoria’s Angels” right? Where’s the fantasy in this particular store? On top of that, I was flabbergasted at the hefty $70 for $5 price tag on the normal range of undies. It goes for US$25 for 5. It would not have been a bummer if they had a nicer range of undies!!! Grrr…

Anyway, over at the Casino side as well. We have this amusing sculpture of Adam and Eve.

This is a definitely one of the first few sculptures displayed in public that shows how Singapore has evolved with time. We are being more accepting of taboo stuff. We hardly see any artistic depiction of nudity around.

I like elephants. How did this big guy manage to support himself on thin bones? Beats me…

And like all good tourists, I had to take a photo with Mr. Merlion, our own mascot.

The theme park has yet to be open, but the place was already buzzing with excitement and shows.

More pictures of Universal Studios soon!

Alice in Wonderland…

In celebration of Alice in Wonderland. This was what I wore to view the movie.

White tee with heart motif from TopShop; Black tulle skirt from 109 Japan (I love this so so much); Pink On peddar wedges; Pearl ribbon ring from Far East; LV pochette.

I heart my blue nails very much! It’s called Absolutely Alice by OPI. A pity the nail colour lasted well for only 2 days.

There were mixed reviews about the show; but I’m a fan of the show anyway. I think Johnny Depp made a hell of a good mad hatter and Anne Hathaway did her fair share of princess floating on the clouds - I was pretty amused; it must have been fun acting that role.

You know… I always ponder about how I would dress up if I wasn’t living in Singapore. Probably always in leggings, tulle skirts, boots and lots of smoky make-up. And if I didn’t have a sister who nags at me constantly on dressing to fit with the crowd, I would most probably be decked out with studs and goth nails on top of the black tulle. Lol.

Gusttimo with Brian

Say hello to my friend, Brian, whom I haven’t met in 3 years!

We go way back when I was an exchange student in Winnipeg. We used to chill out - literally - in icy cold Manitoba. He was one of the funny guys whom I enjoyed talking with, because he never runs out of conversations.

I recall ’stunning’ his alarm clock for the good 4 months, because I had ditched mine in Singapore. And I recall us talking about the rivalry between a dog called Mee Pok and a cat called Meowmee on the day of my departure.

Well fast forward 3 years, and look at Brian! All grown up and way much slimmer than before. Good job!

So being a good host =D , I took him around one of Singapore’s latest shopping mall Ion. We had ice-cream at Gusttimos and chatted for some time.

I swear this is going to be my favourite ice-cream parlour in Singapore for as long as they have green apple ice-cream. My face totally lit up the moment I savoured the sourness of the ice-cream.

Heaven.

I know what you are thinking. Who in the right mind loves to eat green apple. It is so freaking sour! Well…  my favourite drink - besides Canadian ice wine - is green apple juice. I love the sourness with a tinge of sweetness. It makes my digestive system tickle with glee.

The green apple ice-cream was like sherbet but even better. I mixed that sour green apple flavour with my all-time love hazelnut and chocolate ice-cream and even it out with sweet mango flavour.

I’m definitely going to eat the same 3 flavours on my next visit.

Even my 2.55 loves the ice-cream parlour!

Thereafter, we walked around the shops in Ion. However, I didn’t think he was as much of a shoppaholic as I am; so, I took him to the food court to try out one of Ion’s best snacks… Takoyaki! No visitor in Singapore can leave without indulging in our favourite pass time - eating.

As much as I do think that nothing beats eating Takoyaki in Japan; this takoyaki stall sells the best takoyaki in Singapore.

Brian liked it!

So did I!

Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye again. Ah, good times surely flies.

Have a safe trip Brian!

300 post - Loving my CC ring.

Hooray to 300! Yeap folks, today marks my 300th blog entry. Just want to thank everyone for reading my blog and showering me with your love. =)

What a feat. I know I haven’t been the most consistent blogger on this planet, jumping from genre to genre. But I’ve since found what I truly love to blog about - Chanel, friends, my nieces, and just about daily life.

I haven’t summed the courage to blog about my daily outfits (with only me, myself and my camera). But I’ll get to that someday.

Meanwhile, hooray to 300! And to celebrate it, here’s what I got =)

Some say, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. I’ll say, “So is Chanel”.

I’m really excited to add this little pretty thing to my collection of Chanel accessories. I haven’t had the opportunity to wear it yet. It is too bling to be worn to work! On the hindsight, it does make a delightful cocktail ring.

On the last trip, I also got my Tsarina ring fixed!

Oh yes, I have a good piece of news to tell you folks. Singapore’s store is now carrying a brand new Tsarina ring. I’m starting to think that it is never impossible to find something that has been sold out because the Chanel stores seem to be buying from one another.

Another good piece of news worthy to be shared. I have crossed over to being a car owner. It sure is costly to own a piece of structured metal that runs on wheels.

Cheers to my CCs, car and 300 posts!

Happy week everyone!!

River Hong Bao

2 weeks ago, I went house visiting with my JC friends. It saddens me that more of my classmates are opting out of such gatherings due to their tight schedules.

But I had fun with those that turned up. Even though there were only 3 of us… Plus two other halves.

We headed to the river hong pao. Which is an annual affair organised to coincide with the Chinese New Year festive. I buzzed around the theme park and slurped up the energy.

2 full months without a tinge of eye make up!

My good pals Mingren (a boss!) and Shan (bride-to-be!). I wore blue layered dress with a sweetheart neckline, 2.55 and a necklace purchased from Japan.

So many people! Thankfully it was not too squeezey.

We made it to the floating platform! It ain’t my first time stepping on this ground, but I like the experience anyway.

Alright I admit, I did gain a little weight from the munching of CNY goodies. But I’ve since lost the weight gain after going on a no rice and plenty of 100 plus diet. I heart my red nail polish.

My favourite part was the carnival. I have no guts to take the thriller ride, but I could tell that my dear pal was all ready to head on board.

Sorry for the rain stains. I have no idea that my camera was so dirty.

Thereafter we took a long stroll to chill at Esplanade Drive.

I really love the scenery.

And the structure that stood in the rain and sun…

Showcasing my beloved 2.55 once more.

I say aye aye. I love my 2.55 so.

Happy week everybody!