Rock it Balenciaga

Nope. I haven’t quite changed allegiance.

But at the rate Ms CC is increasing its charges, I think I can secure an Hermes bag.

Thank God I’ve purchased my precious 2.55 and classic accessories way before the price hike!

While lamenting at the exorbitant CC prices, I thought I shall have a fling with…

Balenciaga.

My new found love in biker chic accessories.

Did I mention that I’ve like 20 other stud bracelets to match it with?

It’s not a phase I swear.

The attack of online shopping

In the midst of the busy week.

My long awaited parcel arrived. And for that matter, my long awaited many parcels arrived.

Stay tuned…

My favourite scents

Part of my morning ritual is to spray a spritz of sweet perfume. I feel naked without it.

These are the treasures in my little acrylic box.

Clockwise from left: Night jewel by Jill Stuart, Marry Me by Lanvin, Petit Cherie by Annick Goutal, Eclat D’arpage by Lanvin, Chloe perfume.

I’ve always felt that it was too personal to share my favourite scents; but good things are meant to be shared.

Night jewel is my current favourite. Sweet, yet not overpowering, with a tinge of mystery. It holds special meaning to me, having successfully hunt the stand-alone boutique in Shijuku. I only wear this on special occasion or days when I’m feeling really awful and need something soothing to put a smile back on my face. A pity that it requires a spritz every two hours.

Petit Cherie is the first perfume that I purchase and it will always have a special place in my heart. It’s sugary sweet and can evoke the girly person in you.

Chloe’s perfume was introduced by my sister. I wear this pretty much on a daily basis. It has lasting power; the flora whiffs stay with me till mid-day. It’s a romantic scent.

Lanvin surprises me all the time. They are able to churn out fragrances that I fall head over heels with. I currently have 3 Lanvin perfumes. The original, a spring edition and now Marry Me.

I recently read in an article in a magazine that our brain registers notes that we like and dislike. Perhaps that’s why all my favourite perfumes are flora, sweet and purplish!

I left my heart in Vancouver

As I fight off these mounting piles of work, let’s tour one of my favourite cities in the world - Vancouver.

I’ve grown up in a city state so I enjoy the buzz and the hype of a cosmopolitan town. Vancouver is all that plus fantastic weather thrown in. I can run around in boots all day for all I care.

The moment I step off the plane and have dumped my luggage, I started my mini tour at the harbour.

I do think Toronto’s harbour looks way much prettier. Vancouver’s harbour look strangely similar to the one in Hong Kong.

A short walk thereafter, I enter the historic gastown. The streets were pretty empty.

Terribly shaky picture I know. But yeap, touristy picture… checked. Strange how I really liked the whole denim skirt with black tights combo then. If only I can ditch the fur jacket for a long coat.

There is just something amazing about the traditional vibe in gastown that made me smile. Cluster after cluster of shops that reminded me of cowboys and horses.

Adjacent to gastown, one should check out the Sun Yat Sen garden that lies somewhere in Chinatown. It is said to be really pretty with awesome botany.

I didn’t stay too long to linger in Vancouver’s chinatown and headed straight to the city centre.

Unlike Singapore’s orchard where you have to jostle with the crowd, Vancouver’s city centre is busy yet has a tinge of calmness to it all.

Taken from Banana Republic’s flagship store in Vancouver.

Until you see a car like this.

Just like our local sunflower motorbike, this has become Vancouver city centre’s resident car. Everyone takes a snap shot with the car.

Well you would have thought that I would have gone crazy shopping, but I realise that I wasn’t as shopaholic as I was a famished girl in the cold winter. After digging into Kebabs for breakfast, I had the most delicious nutella waffles along the street at Cafe Crepe Express. So delicious that I do think about it ever so often.

Ah, and with that I leave you with one of my favourite moments in Vancouver.

Calm, serene, beauty.

If only.

The Hectic April

I’ve always been warned that April is a hectic month.

And it has been so busy that I’ve left my blog stuffed somewhere in the drawer! Even my repaired Chanel accessories have been sitting comfortably in the MBS oulet for *Gasp* two weeks!

Seriously, someone please take me for a shopping trip.

Ladies, I promise I’ll be back in action in no time at all.

Happy Good Friday!

Canada: Winnipeg in the Winter

First November 2007 is a day to remember. It was the day when I experienced my first snowfall!

The start of a -40 degrees Celsius winter.

I did warn you that Winnipeg’s winter is crazy right?

So crazy they need bulldozers to cart off the thick snow.

But the snow does make my school campus look really beautiful.

That winter, I learned the new definition of a refrigerator. It is to keep your fizzy drinks warm from the cold harsh winter. They will explode due to the coldness, if left in the open.

That winter, I also learned that it is wise not to hang your clothes outside of your home to let it drip dry. It will be frozen.

That winter, I also tried my hands at many things that I can never do in Singapore. It was the first time I made a snowman. I was super duper happy.

I also attended my first ever ice hockey game.

Boy, was it violent.

And snowboarding!

I’ve never had so much bruises on my knees before. Pain aside, it is really so exciting to snow board down the never ending slope.

I can’t wait to jump at the chance to go snowboarding again!

Summer in my backyard

Hello ladies, how have you all been? It has been a while, hasn’t it?

It’s cool to have a shopping boutique somewhere near your backyard. I say somewhere, because it ain’t exactly near, but ain’t exactly as far as downtown.

I have been obsessed with frolicking laces and maxi dresses of late.

My favourite purchase of the week?

It has got to be this ivory lace tower tank (bottom, right) as seen on Anthropologie (bottom, left). I paired it up with the same blue tank as presented by Lemon Chiffon. But you can always pair it up with a cream-base inner wear.

Heavy lace is a must for spring / summer 11.

The other dress that I fell in love with, is this casual tank dress.

I know, it looks like yet another plain simple black dress that blends well with my other 20 odd LBDs. But what I like about is that it is so light to wear and it fits my petite size to a tee. And it has pockets! It is reversible, but I really won’t try to wear the inner cream version.

Last but not least, yet another black top. I know, I have a gazillion stashed at home. But there is no harm in adding just one more black laced top to the collection is there?

Photos from Lemon Chiffon and Anthropologie.

Coco Mademoiselle

Guess what popped into my mailer the other day.

Hello Chanel.

“It” girl Blake Lively scores high on Lagerfeld’s chart and is inked as the new muse of Chanel.

I had a lukewarm feeling when CoCo Cocoon hit the shelves. It was too sporty for my build.

But hello, hello Ms Coco Mademoiselle. You look pretty fine indeed.

I like this very much. But it’s $9000! Exotic skin. If only Singapore’s weather permits.

The larger size.

I find it ingenious that someone thought it wise to pair their classic clutch with a handle and charge $2000 more.

One of the many reasons Chanel is calling my name despite my protests in stepping into the NAC store.

Mademoiselle retails for SGD$4000 and up.

Canada: Winnipeg in the Summer

I’m so swarmed with work of late, my wander lust soul is aching terribly. It has been a long time since I did a travel post!

One of my favourite place on earth is Canada. This was where I spent a good 4 months studying and touring the Northern Hemisphere.

So let’s start with the place that I bunked, studied, camped and froze…

Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I’m pretty sure you drew a blank at the name.

Facts about Winnipeg…

1) Unknown to many, Winnipeg was the place where Winnie the Pooh was born… or would you rather say, created.

2) It is also one of the coldest city in Canada- thus the nickname Winterpeg. You get so used to the cold, 5 degrees is summer.

3) It is in the same state (Manitoba) as the polar bear capital, Churchill.

On the day of arrival at the University, I was dead tired. Almost 48 hours of flight and transit was driving me nuts. I remembered that my roomie and I knocked out cold for the next 12 hours or so, sleeping through our very first and only hail storm during our stay.

If you were wondering about the cold. It’s really a serious business.

This was were we stayed.

Days before I was acquainted with Chanel. It’s band tees and jeans.

A really cosy on-campus apartment to lodge in. Loved that it was insulated well to beat the cold! The best part was that we stayed on the second floor, right next to the emergency exit. It’s just a 400 metres dash across the street to the cafeteria. 400 metres is all it takes for you to get your butt frozen (beyond the van).

Taken from my room.

Besides the occasional pool night-out with friends, toony tuesdays, clothes and grocery shopping, there is really little things to do in Winnipeg during Winter.

To make full use of the ending summer, my roomie and I made it to the forks.

At the forks museum. I did say that Winnipeg is closely related to the polar bears.

My roomie and I at the Esplanade Riel. Doesn’t the bridge structure look vaguely familiar?

I also made it to 2 major malls in Winnipeg - St Vital and Polo Park to stash up on winter wear. If there are a few lessons that I’ve truly learnt from my stay in Winnipeg, that is 1) buy all your winter wear in a winter prone country. The clothes are much more affordable and better to combat the harsh winter. 2) It is not necessary to buy thermals. Layer, layer, layer is the way to go. I was a true camisole convert. But, you need to 3) invest in a good outerwear / coat. Shielding yourself against the windchill factor is important.

Unlike the stark winter, the malls are inviting.

This little shop was selling chocolate coated apples!

Care to adopt one?

Fi Fi the fashionable rabbit

I thought it wise to collect coffee table books, but I ended up with yet another fashion inspired book.

Remember the fashionable rabbit, Fi Fi?

Well, I finally decided to buy her debut book. There were tons of these books being stocked at Borders late last year; but when I finally got around to getting one - it was, well, the last in stock at Borders.

Peppered with fashion bites and cute drawings of Fifi, this book teaches you how to dress according to the seasons of fashion and trends - or blend it with your style.

I’m honestly surprise at how much this fashion bunny knows about the fashion world.

Here are some pictures from the fashionable bunny’s blog.

From sassy lady, to draped chiffon, to hello fusion.

Seriously, what is there not to like about her?

Photo Credits: Fifi-lapin