Desire to Inspire

I do make it a point to only upload photos that I snap, those taken by close friends or catalogue photos from boutiques.

But I really have to say… these are just too gorgeous…

I wish my house looked like that!

Or this!

But knowing that I can’t exactly live in the minimalistic way.

I think the closest I can model after… Is this.

So very pretty.

All photos are taken from Desire to Inspire.

Earrings Trove

Some collect antique, other collects cars.

I collect jewellery.

I’m a squishy jelly when it comes to accessories.

It all began when I was in secondary school. Being heavily influenced by rock music, I was kind of geared towards the bohemian mix with a pinch of punk - an odd mix you might say.

I loved anything with a touch of ethnic; it must be unique.

Over the years, I’ve collected many one-of-a-kind pieces.

Some treasures from my trove.

Way before Slumdog Millionaire hit the screen.

Indie inspired earrings.

Missing some glass findings make this piece quite a character. Purchased it in a shop along Haji Lane. The shop owner told me that it was made by a local designer. Unfortunately, the shop has since closed down. I’ll never find out who the designer is.

Juxtaposition.

Made by Woon Hung.

I’m not one who love simple beaded earrings. After all, unique is the word I go for. It’s either exquisite design or semi-precious stones. So I thought it odd that I was that attracted to this seemingly simple pair of earrings. Over the years I’ve cleared a lot of fashion accessories that I’ve outgrown, but this has stayed in my trinket box. The second bead is dark red more than black.

Would you be my sweetheart?

Handmade silver earrings in Korea with crystal beads.

Purchased on a whim at a cart in City Hall when I was still in University. Being a poor student, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to splurge on this $50 earrings. I’m glad I did. This has fast become my favourite pair for girly days - it goes with everything! It also compliments the shape of my face.

Lemon drop at the Flea.

Peridot on gold filled earrings.

I’ve always loved browsing at Flea markets. It’s a great way to meet new talented jewellery makers. Purchased this at one of the artsy flea market. It was on sale at $50.

Since these good old days, I’ve moved on to collecting designer jewellery - explains the growing CC collection! Blame it on the lack of time to shop, but I just don’t browse in Flea markets anymore. But, once in a while, I’ll catch myself drooling at new babies from promising designers.

So what is in your earrings trove? =)

OH! Open House.

In between shopping at malls and being busy with work, I sneak out from time to time to chill at artsy events.

The latest was OH! OpenHouse @ Marine Parade.

I missed the first OpenHouse @ Mount Sophia, so I really had to get a spot at the second OH! event. Even if it means… reaching 1 hour earlier and to be told that the tickets would only be sold 15 minutes before the first tour start.

DANG.

But it didn’t stop me from hovering around the ticketing booth 15 minutes before that said time.

Thank goodness I did just that. Look at the queue 5 minutes into the sale of tickets! (It was twice as long as this. The queue snaked into the library.)

I was in the other queue, ticket in hand; eagerly waiting for my tour guide.

To prepare myself, I made sure I wore walking shoes and very comfortable clothes.

What i wore: CK inspired Topshop tank, Pleather pants, Ferragamo shoes, Korean leather bag, and CC earrings.

So, what is OpenHouse?

It is all about turning people’s home - or for that matter, common space - into an art gallery for a weekend or two.

Breaking the gated barrier, you get to interact with the homeowners and artists.

Here are some of the art works.

The tv is watching you.

Getting out of the wall.

I really liked the kitty.

There was this one series of art that weaves fiction into reality.

Do you know that Singapore had Dolphins once upon a time?

Really… this is a piece of dolphin bone picked from Marine Parade’s beach.

These are the dolphin boys.

Are you fooled yet?

I was, for a good 5 minutes. These old archived photos looked so realistic! I should have known better given that this is an art exhibition.

Moving on, art is not confined on canvas.

Which world is the right world?

My favourite art work though, has got to be this.

I’ve no idea why, but I started laughing the moment I saw it. It sums up how I feel sometimes.

Valentino

He is truly a legend and a visionary.

For $9, I got to see the best of his works.

Remarkable.

The first piece that caught my eye, was this flora motif silk dress. It is as relevant today as it was in 1966.

On the same note, Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown was completed with the same simplicity and chicness.

Due to Jacqueline’s highly publicised wedding, Valentino became an overnight hit with the international media.

A women dressed in black and white is for me a sort of sign, a writing, a calligraphy - Valentino.

Now, I was swooning over this gown worn by Julia Roberts.

Call it the chase for the perfect silhouette. The back of Julia’s dress draw’s one attention to the arch of the back. That’s really sexy.

With the same designer instinct to bring out the best in women, this yellow dress worn by Cate Blanchett tugged the heart-strings of many.

Speaking about colour. Red is Valentino’s signature.

Stunning.

The detailing is impeccable.

Likewise for this thoroughly embellished black-and-white dress.

I did say impeccable right? Can you imagine painstakingly stitching every single bead onto this dress?

It would probably take me 5 years to get this right. Or maybe a lifetime?

Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Moving on deeper into the gallery.

Valentino was truly a man before his time.

This was made in 1961? It’s so Old Hollywood glamour.

And this little black dress? 1961.

Seriously this man deserves the praises he is given.

And what better way to end the gallery with my favourite dress. This was made in 1959. Can you believe that?

Boeing Boeing

If you have yet to watch Boeing Boeing, you better do before September 4th.

If it’s not for the love of wanting a good laugh - from start to finish, mind you - do it for the eye candy on set.

Adrian Pang’s delivery of Bernard takes the show to a whole new level. It’s the added swagger and smirk that makes the role shine.

And who doesn’t like a girl in uniform? These girls are really hot! Even though I’m pretty sure that their legs were sprayed with Sally Hansen’s leg makeup, they had gorgeous slim legs that go on forever! My favourite character has got to be the kawaii japanese air stewardess played by Emma Yong. Her dramatic antics scores a 120 out of 100 on my score chart.

What makes this show so hilarious is that these 3 ladies present the three different air stewardess to a tee. Chermaine Ang does Miss Cathay Pacific with death stares and spurts of Cantonese phrases. Wendy Kweh hits it home with a heavily Singlish accented speech. And my favourite japanese air stewardess, Emma Yong, breathes so much live and cuteness into her character that you would be left wondering if she did watch too much anime when researching on her role.

The other 2 characters - Robert (played by Daniel York) and Minah (played by Siti Khalijah) also added much flavour to the performance. York added a little more drama into the orginal role, matching Pang’s energetic portrayal of Bernard. I have to say I also loved Khalijah’s take on Minah. I kept repeating the line “it’s not easy you know” for a few hours after the show. It was hilarious.

I was happy that I had chosen an extremely good seat - 11th row centre seats! From where I was seated, I could see all the expressions so clearly!

Long live the theatre in Singapore!

Naomi meets Safari

It’s rather unfortunate that I’ve fallen sick… Even though the doctor says that it is the seasonal flu, I’m still feeling pretty bummed.

So, in between taking medication and snoozing away, I spend some time flipping through the stack magazines on my table. And came across these awesome pictures of Naomi.

A cheetah and a croc? No wonder Naomi is one of the reigning models in the world, despite her reputation as a diva.

All pictures were taken from Bazaar Magazine Oct’09.

F-e-i-r-c-e!

Art Singapore 2009

2 weeks back, my sister, gwyneth and I attended an art exhibition. We were dressed for the occasion, with gwyneth looking the prettiest.

A couple of art pieces caught my eyes. With so much creativity to spare!

But of course, gwyneth was acting all grown up about the event.

Hey Mister!

Some random photo that I shot sometime back when I went to catch a movie at Sinema Old School.

When my hair was long and straight. =)

With me: Chanel 2.55, Chiffon Top from Far East, Zara Jeans, Guess Shoes, Diamante Earrings.

White on Black

Photos by Reuter. Sourced from telegraph UK. Click here to see the rest of the gallery.

My Home

No matter where I go, Singapore, will always be my home.

Other countries have natural resources, we make it up with close family ties and community spirit.

Take a look at these snippets of Singapore, captured by photographers for the “My Home” photography competition hosted by URA.

A common sight to see grandpas sitting at the void deck playing chess for leisure. They will sit and play whilst sitting their cup of tea, for hours.

How sweet can that be, the same bird line as the one that I shot. It is a rarity to see an open field dedicated to the fading hobby of bird singing.

Swimming classes - a norm in Singapore. I remembered being thrown into the 1.8m pool at the tender age of 11.

Singapore is known for its high rise public housing. We hang our clothes on bamboo poles, placed outside our windows.

It is difficult to capture children, much less capture children in action.

Vivo city is a place for shopping, and a place for kids to waddle in the pool on the roof.

Gone are the good ol’ days where kids play in sand playgrounds. Kids play in foam playgrounds that are supposedly safer.

Who doesn’t love dumplings? The art of making dumplings is becoming a lost tradition. My grandma makes them annually for her children and their families.

And I love this photo…

Simply because, it is nostalgic. Old barber shops are being phased out. I’ve never really cut my hair at one, but I always love how the barbers carry out their jobs using the old razors and scissors.

*NB: All the photographs were not taken by me. They are obtained from the URA website. If you are the owner of the photograph, and you wish to have the photograph taken down, please contact me.