Fashion & Style Diary
It took quite a long time, and it was a somewhat painful journey fraught with many delays and unforeseen challenges, but it’s finally done. Welcome to my home! Special thanks to Home & Decor for the feature. Get the mag which is out now on newsstands if you want the full story. =)
If you would like a full 3D walk-through, check out the video house tour here!
Photo credits: Home & Decor magazine (April 2014)
Welcome to my home – again! You saw it before (in case you didn’t, check it out in its pre-renovation state here), and this time, you get to see it all dressed and done up.
This project took almost a year to complete as there was major renovation work to be done. A loft level was built from scratch; the piping had to be re-done; many electrical points were out of whack, plus old pieces of furniture (some call them junk) had to be restored, and still other pieces were lovingly sourced and shipped back from all over the world. Then there was major unpacking and arranging – special thanks to my partner for doing most of that!
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Cheesecake, ice-cream and banana smothered in fresh cream and caramel, all wrapped in a freshly-made, warm crepe. Died (from diabetes) and went to dessert heaven with this Harajuku baby.
Super Sanger at Burnt Ends. The pulled pork shoulder, coupled with the tangy coleslaw and chipotle sauce was a winner.
I think (if I am remembering right!) this was some beef at Burnt Ends as well. I only recall that it was delish!
Red kakuni ramen at Menya Musashi. Mmmm…
Duck confit at Pidgin. I don’t even like duck (grey meat; long necks – ewww), but this was pretty stellar. Skin was perfectly crackly too!
The humble Sushi Tei, and one of my go-to places for easy and decent Japanese.
More sashimi, this time from Akashi at Orchard Parade Hotel.
Steamboat at home!
Tea for three at The Audacious Cakery at Everton Park. Wasn’t bad, but wasn’t outstanding. The blueberry cheesecake was the best of the lot, imho. I like how the cakes come in mini sizes though – so cute! The cafe is really small and chill too, which was nice.
In a slightly hidden bar/pub in Hong Kong (the name escapes me!), near Lan Kwai Fong.
At a restaurant in Narita Airport. enroute to Chitose.
Set dinner, including the famous handmade duck soba noodles at Rakuichi in Niseko.
Super fresh sashimi at a restaurant in Niseko (that for the life of me, I cannot recall the name of, sorry!).
Appetisers to start at Moritaya, which is near the Palace Hotel (and hence the palace, haha) in Tokyo. This was before the mad amount of kurobuta pork and wagyu was ate with the shabu shabu and sukiyaki that followed…
Divine burnt miso ramen at Gogyo in Roppongi. Only other branch is in Kyoto. I dare say one of the best ramen I’ve had the chance to have!
My packed lunch is better than yours…enroute to Shigakogen in Nagano for some snowboard action!
Prime roast beef at The Royal Mail.
International Pillow Fight Day happened on 5th April, and Singapore held it’s own edition of it along Haji Lane. I went down hoping to have a good time (albeit with some apprehension, I admit). I certainly didn’t expect the mayhem and the kind of crazy fun we all had that day – having a go at complete strangers like children; laughing and shrieking like a mad person till I got a mild asthma attack; feathers flying all over Haji Lane. Made some new friends, shared many laughs, and had an altogether great time. My birthday was the next day on the 6th, and this was the perfect pre-party.
Thanks everyone for the fun!
#pillowfightSG #SG50
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More fun HERE.
Check out the Orchard Road pillow fight HERE.
It’s been so warm lately here in Singapore! Not complaining (well, not really) as at we’ve had some rain and the haze is no longer a huge problem (till the full wave comes mid-year *gulp*). When I look at my photos from my travels to places like the US when it was cold there, I am especially grateful for the eternal summer situation we have here in the tropics. Sure, you can’t layer as much, and my favourite beanies don’t get to see a lot of wear time, but I’ll take the warmth and sunshine; being able to run out in shorts and a singlet; supple skin that’s not parched from the cold; days spent hanging at the beach – over that any day.
That said, here’s one of my slouchy get-ups from NYC in spring when it was finally starting to get a little warmer. This was in front of the Roman Catholic church, St Peter’s, in the Tribeca area where I stayed. I attended mass here the whole time I was there, and I liked how the priest was very inclusive – he made it a point to welcome everyone and to make mention of the fact that regardless of race, nationality, financial situation and sexual orientation, all were welcome and encouraged to come seek peace and solace there. =)
Last fall, I took off to road trip around the South West of the USA for a month. Road trips mean many hours spent in the car; for this trip, the shortest drives averaged about four hours and the longest ones went on for more than eight hours. I’m not the most calm or ‘chill’ person, so you would have thought being on the road for hours on end like that drove me mad. On the contrary though – with the right company and armed with an arsenal of good tunes, snacks and drinks, I actually really enjoy ‘enforced chill time’ where I am forced to relax.
Similar situations would be on planes; while I dread being stuck with bad air, not-great food and cramped legs for hours (24-hour flights to NYC, hello!), there is some simple pleasure in being forced to sit still with nothing to do but to find ways to pass one’s time – watching endless documentaries and chick flicks, finishing books and spending good time on my guilty pleasure, fashion magazines.
So while having to sit still for hours demands comfortable attire, the vain ones (like myself!) still want to look good. Packing for this trip proved challenging; outdoorsy stuff for hiking Yosemite and the Grand Canyon; catching shows and checking out nice restaurants in Vegas; chilling in Big Sur and Napa Valley; plus I don’t do well with cold so I had to make sure I packed sufficiently warmly – all this while packing light as we were on the road the whole time!
I found the trick was in bringing a lot of versatile pieces that I could layer and switch around, plus some lightweight outdoor gear and some warmer things to make sure I wasn’t miserable from being cold. That meant things like denim shirts, gilets, scarves, fitted tees (long and short-sleeved) to serve as a first layer, lightweight jumpers I could layer over my shirts, fuzzy jumpers for warmth (and texture!), leather pants, jeans, beanies, hats, woolen tights and cute skirts (they don’t take up much space and it can’t ALL be practical stuff; how boring!).
In this post and in some of the ones before (here, here), you’ll see some of the outfits I put together with all these separates. Please share how you pack when you travel!
Singaporeans are a fun bunch! I hit the streets with a bunch of pillows, and hit a bunch of people with them. Some responded to the challenge, some hit back like a lady, while others were pretty hardcore.
Get in on the fun! It’s International Pillow Fight Day this Saturday, so come down for the Singapore edition and represent!
Venue: Haji Lane
Time: 5pm
Dress: Code: Red and White
Bring: A pillow and a sense of fun
Ready, set, fight! #pillowfightSG #SG50
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More fun here.