of the glorious sun

I fell in love with these as I searched Etsy for all things yellow and sunflowers...



I wouldn't mind any of these handcrafted-with-love goodies for X'mas. Check out my wishlist here to see where you can get the above or for more suggestions on what you can fill my X'mas sock with. *wink*

jumpsuits and playsuits

I bought this blue ASOS jersey split leg jumpsuit a couple months ago and absolutely love it. At only $21 due to a special additional 10% discount on a particular weekend, this must be one of my best ASOS buys ever. It can be worn casually with flat sandals or to a semi-formal occasion with a pair of classy heels because of those extremely high slits that reach up to just under the butt cheeks.



It was only with this recent purchase that I learnt the difference between playsuits and jumpsuits. More browsing on the web followed where I added more of them to the wishlist.


ASOS Halterneck Denim Jumpsuit


Left: ASOS Gothic Rose Jumpsuit
Right: Khaki Cotton Halter Jumpsuit Hippie Trousers by yystudio on Etsy


Left: ASOS Floral Culotte Jumpsuit
Right: Miss Sixty Tie Front Linen Playsuit


Left: Vila Chiffon Floral Midi Culotte Jumpsuit
Right: Sister Jane Apron Shorts Playsuit

pressies from myself

I kind of have a relatively new tradition of treating myself to lots of goodies during the birthday month of July. This year, on top of all the showers of love from friends, family and colleagues, I bought myself the below shoes, bags and clothes without much hesitation during the ASOS clearance sale. Half of the goods have arrived and they all look exactly as shown on the website and fit me perfectly. I am quite hooked onto shopping at ASOS now.

I still have several Karen Millens, Ted Bakers, Vero Modas and Kookais in my 'Saved Items' that I am seriously considering getting while the sale is still on even though they are still quite pricey after the discount. I am trying to convince myself that I really do not need that many dresses or shoes since I end up wearing the same old crappy stuff all the time anyway.

Shoes and Bags



Clockwise from top left:
- ASOS Princess peeptoe court show in taupe
- ASOS suede court shoes in blue
- ASOS suede court shoes in pale yellow
- Suzy Smith party clutch bag in light gold
- ASOS pointed ballet pumps in light grey
- ASOS pointed ballet pumps in black


Work Dresses



Left to right:
- ASOS ponti fit and flare dress with boat neck in navy
- ASOS pencil dress in black and white
- Warehouse block print shift dress


Pretty Party Dresses



Left to right:
- Lipsy embellished waist asymmetric drape dress in deep purple
- Lipsy cutwork back drape chiffon dress in kiss pink
- Lipsy Laura dress in lilac pink


Casual Spring/Summer Dresses



Left to right:
- ASOS belted tea dress with orange and white heart prints
- Vero Moda tie back dress with bird prints
- A Wear belted dress with white chiffon top and floral printed skirt


Retro-looking Dresses



Left to right:
- Vero Moda 50's swing shirt dress in burnt ochre
- Pearl colour block maxi dress
- ASOS dress with cherry print dress


Thankfully, the great discounts made the burn in the pocket bearable.

it's all about jackets

Last winter, I was obsessed with buying boots - ankle boots, mid calf boots, knee high boots, thigh high boots (although I had no luck finding a pair that I liked), flat ones, heeled ones, black ones, brown ones, leather ones, suede ones, felt ones etc etc...

This year, it has all been about jackets and coats. In addition to whatever I have already accumulated from previous years, this season saw me buying these jackets - cropped leather biker jacket, suede military jacket and a boyfriend blazer - and getting this current favourite - another military jacket - as a birthday present. And not forgetting this faux snow leopard fur coat I got in Orlando earlier this year too.

Here are some pics of me modelling my biker jacket and the fur coat. I was so excited at finally being able to wear my fur coat out (my first time ever putting on a fur coat in my life!) that I couldn't stop taking pics in it. LOL. And wow it really keeps you extremely warm.





Even though we're now almost at the end of winter, I still can't stop shopping for jackets. I have added all the below to my wishlist knowing that some are just too flashy and impractical for normal daily wear.


Light grey vintage jacket with bronze heart-shaped buttons by Laura Galic on Etsy.


Boyfriend blazer from ASOS - I prefer the raspberry coloured one on the left.


Tamara jacket from Laura Galic on Etsy - I love it for the flattering cut, the discreetly shiny material and the rarely seen colour.


Her Splendid Death velvet dinner jacket by Alannah Hill.


Another one by Laura Galic on Etsy - Ilinca black velvet jacket.


I promise this is the last from Laura Galic again - the Maia jacket.


I've also been looking for a cream/tan/camel-coloured jacket/trench. This one is from ASOS. However I saw another one in a shop in Newtown just recently which is really tempting me to splurge that $250.

I'm never going to have enough money to satisfy all my wants.

impulse buys that burnt a big hole in my pocket

Shoes from GlamRockChic: the Heart and Soul peep toe shootie in both black and beige. I bought them because I love the heart shape cut-outs.



Jackets from Bardot because there was a mega sale going on when I stepped in!
- full leather cropped biker jacket
- cream coloured military jacket with a fold-back collar and a suede texture
- charcoal knit boyfriend blazer



Dresses from Victoria's Secret because there is a summer dress clearance sale on now!
- deep aubergine drop-waist dress with slightly off the shoulder sleeves
- black knot-front babydoll dress with leopard prints
- camouflage print twisted-front tube dress
- uniform navy embellished open-back dress





I checked out two items at ASOS and am still trying to decide whether or not to check the other dozen items in the 'saved for later' basket. These are all from the outlet clearance <£30 category with free international shipping.

- one shoulder black cotton dress by Religion featuring a wrap-around three row eyelet panel with laced up segments and asymmetric pleating to the waist.

- a tunic top by Traffic People featuring a scooped neckline, short batwing sleeves and an open back with tie detailing in a longline style with a ruched gathered hem.



And other non sale items I got from Myer simply because the dresses looked too flattering when I tried them on.

- a black and white abstract print dress from Cue
- a one shoulder dress from Review
(The pic in the middle shows me wearing the Cue dress - I've worn it twice now!)



I blame this excessive spendings on the work stress I've had to face lately - retail therapy urgently required. >.<

update on project clean-out wardrobe

I have just made my first sale on Gumtree - the Habitat skateboard. I feel sad having to part with it but sincerely hope its new owner will give it the due attention it deserves rather than just remain stuck in a corner of my wardrobe.

I have also updated my FOR SALE page and there is now a vintage Polaroid Cool Cam, a brand new never used Giro Bad Lieutenant ski helmet and a pair of K2 inline skates up for grab. More to come! Bags, shoes, dresses up next. :)

the search for new parents

Since before X'mas last year, I've been wanting to dig out all the long buried items - clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, toys and what-nots - in the wardrobe to do a one-time clean up of anything I haven't used in the last three years in order to clear some space for all the things I bought recently that had been piling up in a corner in the bedroom due to lack of storage space.

I finally got my hands onto it last week post the Orlando trip out of desperation as all the new Kate Spades and Victoria's Secrets need a home. A week into this cleaning and sorting frenzy has seen me re-discovering forgotten old favourites, being pleasantly surprised at how I now can fit into some (sadly not all though) clothing items that had been relegated to the I've-put-on-so-much-weight-now-I-can't-fit-into-these-anymore list and putting together an entire suitcase of clothes and bags to sell among other things, and I'm only halfway through this Project Clean-out Wardrobe.

As a lot of my beloved possessions are in near new condition and many others only used/worn once or twice in their lifetimes thus far, I am reluctant to just chuck them in the bin. I hope many of them can find new owners who will make them proud of their existence in this material world so they don't have to stay hidden in dark corners of the closet like they have for the last decade.

Thus you see the new link that now appears on the nav bar under my blog header banner now - FOR SALE. I have put up only 2 items for now - my K2 inline skates and Habitat skateboard - to start with and will slowly add to it. Please pop over regularly to see if there is anything that catches your fancy and do help to spread the word too. Unfortunately, for bulky items like the skates and skateboard, I am accepting cash upon pick-up only for people residing in Sydney as there's not much point trying to ship them anywhere due to unpractical shipping cost. However, once I've catalogued the smaller items - not easy! got to take photos, make measurements, research on market rates for similar products, set the price and tag them - especially the accessories and clothes, they will be open to potential new parents from anywhere on the globe.

I may also make an appearance at one of the markets - Glebe most likely - and will keep you posted if and when I do.

outlet shopping in orlando

The work trip to Orlando was planned in such a way that I had a day before the conference to rest after the 24 hours journey to the other side of the globe and to do the necessary event setup. Not wanting to sleep through the day and hence worsening the already bad jetlag, the guys and I decided to go outlet shopping. After consulting my two comprehensive travel guides bought in Kinokuniya and the hotel concierge, we took the i-Ride Trolley at the stop conveniently located right in front of our hotel to Orlando Premium Outlets just a 20min ride up north along International Drive. Second stop was to Florida Mall as one of the guys had a whole list of comestics he had to get for a sister.

Here is showcasing a bit of what I got that required some muscle help from the guys to lug back to the hotel. I shudder at the thought of compiling the stack of receipts to calculate the total spending on this trip although the fantastic exchange rate (1AUD:1.1USD) and 60% discount deals made a lot of the purchases extremely worthwhile to the extent I would have kicked myself if I gave them a pass.

A quick trip to Victoria's Secret where I almost didn't survive the throngs of people and only managed to grab a handful of cotton bras.



I finally got myself the Clarisonic set I wanted so badly at Sephora, saving myself the shipping cost if I had purchased online.



I was pleasantly shocked to find that the Dermalogical products cost only 60% of what I usually pay for in Australia so I decided to stock up on the cleansers as they tend to use up very quickly. The Very Sexy body mist was a $10 impulse grab at Victoria's Secret when I was queueing to make payment.






















One of the items on my planned shopping list was a big Samsonite hard case with four wheels (they call them the 'spinners') as my own suitcase that had served me faithfully for six years was damaged enroute. But I got distracted by this baby pink Tumi carry on case at their shopfront display. At close to USD300 with no special discount, I only convinced myself to get it after returning to the store three times to gaze longingly at it by reminding myself that 20% of the sales proceeds from that case went to some breast cancer support foundation. Thankfully I got a great deal at Samsonite subsequently where this particular case that met all my requirements was going at 50% of its usual retail price of $600. These two purchases assisted greatly in getting all my shopping loot around while I shopped some more.























I bought lots of clothes too but I soon tired of photographing them so here's a sneak peak at just two of my favourite buys. I love the tops for their retro stripes, colours and fit and because I have never owned a fur coat in my life and this XXS sized snow leopard faux fur coat fitted me so well and it was a steal at only USD40, I got it despite not knowing when the weather will get cold enough for me to ever have a chance to wear it out in Sydney. Other great clothing bargains were a pair of black velvet jeans with sparkly diamantes on the back pockets that made my legs look 50% longer and slimmer, a petite work jacket and some Calvin Klein underwear.






















I went into Kenneth Cole hoping to get a wallet as a gift but was distracted by their timepieces instead. I spent the better part of an hour staring at the many men's watches on display and convincing myself not to get anything as I have stopped wearing watches altogether since 2006. Then I spent another better part of an hour repeatedly trying on a cream coloured slightly above knee length trench coat and finally deciding not to get it as it was missing a belt. Well I did try to negotiate the price down and would have gotten it if they agreed to drop the price by 60% but the furthest they were willing to consider was a 40% discount. Too bad. A consolation was this pair of black sandals to replace the current pair that had its soles flapping open after a day of hard walking at the outlets. And as you can see from the series of handbag pictures below that I am a Kate Spade fan, just like the young Tin Pei Ling who's running for MP in SG now.






















All these handbags were going at 60% discount - how not to get them???






















There was no need for yet another toiletry bag or purse so I'm not sure how these came to be added to my shopping bag too. ;p






















Here's all the Kate Spade stuff I ended up with at the check out. I would have gotten at least a couple more if I had the means to carry them back to Sydney and if I haven't already owned a hundred other bags sitting idly in my wardrobe without ever getting to see daylight. I think I need to somehow either sell most of them or start using them!



I also got a Juicy Couture bag, not for myself, but as a belated present to a dear friend who was recently saddened she had to throw hers into the bin after it got ripped a big tear at the side.



And of course I had to get some Disney souvenirs for the girls at work. I also got a nice little Mickey with the American flag badge to add on to my flag collection of countries I've visited displayed on my camera bag.






















Next, I need to check my bank account to see how many days of air and water I have to survive on before the next pay check comes in.

highlights of my sg trip: shopping

Because:
1. The Australian dollar was so strong at 1AUD = 1.30SGD;
2. Everything is so cheap in Singapore even if you don't take into account the favourable exchange rate;
3. The sizes and cuts of clothing and shoes fit my Asian build so much better than most of what I can find in OZland;
4. There is an abundance of everything iPhone related in Singapore that I find severely lacking in OZland;

I let loose and went all out to splurge. Below are pictures of only a few items I remembered to photograph. Besides these, there were also lots of clothes - both for work and for party, bags, accessories, an entire year's worth of hair products, sanitary napkins, deodorants, cosmetics and other toiletries. I didn't buy books as originally planned as I went over the baggage allowance and had to leave a bag of stuff behind. I'll have to make do with whatever free e-books I can download onto my phone for now as I'm really reluctant to pay so much more for the same book here in Sydney as compared to SG.


I love the light blue denim flats I got for only about $20 from Bata! Left pic shows me wearing them and you can take a closer look at these comfy flats in the right pic.


Obviously these boring looking ones are for work. They are exactly what I want - flat or at most one inch high, soft, simple and easy to match with any attire, and comfortable enough to wear everyday.


One for dollar notes, one for cards and one for coins. The one on the extreme left which is my favourite was actually bought 2 trips ago. I went back to the same shop to look for another of the same design for a colleague but it's no longer in production so I got her a coin pouch in the same collection as the card case in the middle.



I was particularly amazed by the entire streets of pushcart stalls - in Tampines, Bedok, Chinatown, in fact just about everywhere, even shops in the malls - selling iPhone covers and accessories at cut-throat prices! As you can see from the last pic above, I went overboard with the cover purchases due to deprivation of choice here; I hunted high and low in Sydney for a funky unique cover when I received my iPhone 4 from Santa Claus as my first Christmas present for last year but the only one I found that I liked was an original Speck cover from the Apple Store. The A$39 I paid for it could have bought me four Speck covers (maybe even eight if I bargain hard enough) of way cooler designs from any random store I step into in SG!

And believe it or not, I paid only $1 each for the phone socks! I especially heart the black sock with those cute little white cloud-like creatures floating around. I even got a spare external battery for about $20. Looking back at my iPhone case collection now, I actually regret not buying more. There were many more designs that I liked but had to force myself to stop the impulse buying.

The aim now is to save more for splurging again on my next trip home.