Chocolate Research Facility

A week ago, a twitter friend sent me this tweet. Obviously I my eye almost popped that I had a new gourmet chocolate shop in my backyard (almost) and I didn't know about it! I had the duty to make the pilgrimage & report back as told. You've got to check out the dripping chocolate website & you'll know what I mean when I say I have to go, no questions asked. But I was bogged down with the darn 30-pg essay last week and I was finally free yesterday. I got to go down to the Millennia Walk branch today and boy was it like a trip to the candy store! :D I love that the shop is called Chocolate Research Facility and they have, literally a HUNDRED flavors of chocolates split into 10 different categories, from tea, coffee, fruits, local flavors (Durian, anyone?) to exotic flavors!



I'm always amused when lovely florspace customers tell me its so tough to pick any purse from my store. I felt exactly the same in the CRF store! I love that the chocolate bar mould is segmented into small, medium, large & um, xxl (?) pieces! Feelin' guilty? knock off a small piece. ;+) But from how it tastes, I'll need the whole block. :P



The back of every chocolate box. The designs are sort of thematic, but my fav is the cheese flavored one - cow fur print. LOL I have not tried that yet. I'm not about to gorge on the bars that quick.



I hummed & buzzed around the store like a weird bee not knowing which one to pick! I had mom along coz I was taking my parents to lunch. Mom didn't understand what the fuss was about the little white boxes. They looked like medicine to her. teehee There were seats to have a drink, chat & hang around the beautiful store but I had a lack of time and I wasn't allowed pictures instore. If you check out the "our space" link on the main page, you'll get to browse thru the store & chocolate pictures. I say go now. The chairs are amazing repro of Eames stiletto leg chair (Benedict, I know you'll love) & the tables are like squares of chocolate! Talk about an experience! The simplicity of the interior design seriously made me feel at home.



I came out with a bag of 4 blocks for a start. Hazelnut Dark from the Nut Series, Cappuccino from the Coffee Series, Cognac from the Alcohol Series (I'm going for Martini next!) & Cheese from the Exotic Series. I'm keeping the coffee & alcohol blocks from DH. Since I think they'll be devoured soon, I'll have to go back coz I also got a $2 off my next visit & a loyalty card for 1 free block after 10 blocks from a really nice shopgirl to a frenzied choco nut! Thanks dear!

The chocolate ranges from S$8 to S$12. A little pricey for the size, but would be worth the taste & experience! They have really cute chocolate theme goods too!

the lowdown (long)

So, its been about 20 days since I stepped into Sydney. And yes, I have been procrastinating a full-fledged blog post for um, a good 2 weeks now! Things happened, met people, went to markets and learnt to slow down a bit. I have an interesting life. I studied in Sydney for about 4 years earlier so this place is not new to me, even though the inflation rate never fail to shock me yearly. I visit because my other half is here. Nope, he's not white nor aboriginal, he's from SG as I but is currently finishing his phd and pursuing an academic career here. We're both thinkers, thinking too much and talking to death about life during our uni days with our mutual friend over coffee, wine, food was our past time. It was the time of our lives and we still talk about it, miss it. Even though as time runs past, we tend to focus less on those dreamy days and start thinking about mechanical day jobs, insurance and swine flu. I feel as though our existence becomes less visible as our hopes and dreams are shattered by reality. Nonetheless, in some ways, we, or at least I, re-ignite the good old days when I make my yearly trip here. Things start to slow down after I appease my separation anxiety with working like nuts on bags and purses amongst studying and rushing for projects and whatnots. I still miss making stuff. Several things since I got here....

1) DH surprised me the second day I was here, as we walked along Pitt Street. He urged me to go into the Vuitton boutique on Castlereagh Street. I admit I do love Louie bags for their quality and he knew that. I was always a Louie gal, never Gucci, Coach nor Chanel. Funny. He ended up buying a Damier Ebony Neverfull in the GM size for me a couple of days later. It was an anniversary present; we've been together for 12 years now. He said that he should be able to buy me something coz he was drawing a salary. I did used to make him promise he'll finally buy me a Louie when he starts working. Not officially working, but the thought was so sweet and I was obviously over the moon, coz I know it'll last me for 10 years, just like the treasured Pochette mom & Dad bought me when I was 18 holidaying in Europe. Well, the joy didn't last since I found faults in the quality of the bag a couple of days later when I finally deigned to open the big brown box. The piping on the top was uneven, it was puffy on the top not flat when laid down, the interior placement though beautiful in blazing red was crooked in the lining of the fabric across, not to mention the sides weren't aligned. The portion of the handle attaching to the bag wasn't aligned with the squares in the front as well. I was in despair since I did read about some accounts of disappointing quality of the damier neverfulls on the Purse Forum. I didn't expect to be face to face with one. We went back to the store, same SA person, inspected 4 other damier neverfulls and it was the same. The SA said she couldn't find anything wrong with the bags. I had to tell her it was disappointing since Louie bags are supposed to be of unsurpassed quality. Since my other half was paying that much, I didn't want to settle for an ok-quality. In fact, I was more worried of the fact that people might just think its a fake. Eugh. In the end, DH thought I should settle for a classic damier speedy 35. We asked for it, I scrutinized it and asked nicely to see another if possible. She immediately said it was the last one. I thought it looked fine and he requested to have it initialled in gold. The funny thing was that the SA was supposed to call him 3 days later when it was ready for collection but we didn't receive any call. Finally we had to call them back and collected it last Sunday. I'm starting to agree with some folks on TPF that we should deserve better service for the price we pay, not to mention we were quite well-dressed and polite to the people. Anyways, I do love the bag but we probably won't be going back for a while. I think I should make this one last coz its my first official bag from louie. And, oh, I can prolly make myself one if I need a bag. ;+) Who can have enough bags and shoes!? I'm a bag-lady. Yes.

2) I forgot to pack in WL's orders for when I was supposed to pass it to her here! I was in such a mad rush to get out of the house before I left. Horrible that I had to make her wait! I got mom to rush it to me and I finally met her last Sunday morning and she was so nice! She even bought me yummy Macadamia dark choco Haigh's which DH loves too! And a cute milk choco bunny which I pretty much devoured. Yikes. And also a cute green tea candle! She'd also wrote back to say she loved her bags. Phew! Alls well, ends well!

3) Parkour mishaps. DH does Parkour and I was introduced to it a while ago and love the freedom of able limbs. I had a couple of injuries, nothing serious except... I fell on my face last sunday evening into the bushes when I was jumping on the brick ledge downstairs. Blame myself for being half asleep and the weather for being so cold. I got scratched on the left and it was pretty obvious. Not to mention that injuries to the face can be pretty painful! It wasn't deep but hey, its on the face. No going out til my concealer will at least cover it. I'm not going to be called Two-Face in public. Tomorrow's thursday and shops stay open later and DH has been pestering me to go out. I might just because of the reasons below...

4) 2 things always come to mind when I'm here in Sydney. Camper and Crumpler. I got to know them from DH's long-time friend who also became our mutual friend when we first came over to Sydney. I bought my first Crumpler, a red messenger with a laptop case inside from the Campus utility stores. I carried it for a long time, coz it was utilitarian and comfy. Since then, I've added a red camera sling and the 10th anniversary messenger to my collection. Being here again calls up those needs. Pseudo or not, bags are like Krispy Kreme donuts to you guys, non-negotiable! Obviously, my attention was centered on the headaitch in red, in medium, which is promptly sold out when I checked the site. I was gonna settle for the large one but I'm terrified its gonna dwarf me and look like I'm carrying mommy's tote when I'm 5, plus the prospects of the weight of the kitchen sink isn't gonna be good. DH said no, coz I'll make him carry it. Damn straight. LOL I will have to check it out tomorrow. Yaaaaaay! More bag scouting is fun!

5) Then there's Camper shoes. I LOVE them to bits. Bought my first pairs when there were sale here. Loafer low boots in chocolate, Cream pelotas, black mary janes, beige/gray sandals. I miss them all. Most of them were worn to bits, or sold when I was leaving Sydney. I mostly live in Havaianas in Singapore so shoes were out. So now I obviously miss them. I still love the knee length leather boots DH bought for me last year but the comfort of Campers seem to stay stuck in my memory for good. No sale yet in the stores and no interesting designs, so I looked online. I'm a true Camper 39 and when I found this pair, I am seriously thinking of binding my foot. Its SO adorable in the cute lime and straw and I love the mismatch designs of the Twins range! Still percolating coz its expensive with the shipping and all.

6) Spending most of my days cooking and loitering in supermarkets. Hm, I do miss cooking since mom doesn't like me messing up her kitchen! We just had Apricot chicken tonight. Not amazing, but I blame the sauce. LOL Wish DH's place had an oven for cakes and muffins! But thank goodness amazing scones are just downstairs at bakers delight. Yum!

7) Other random things. Discovering amazing coffee at Pattison's at Chase Chatswood. Visiting the MCA. My favourite exhibit, Mirrored Years: Yayoi Kusama is so amazing. If you're in town, go see it. So intense, provocative, yet innocently dreamy and even juvenile. Besides Narcissus's Garden, I loved the mirror rooms and the super large clouds! I swear if there weren't anyone around, I'll jump on one. It felt like night time heaven! We share the same obsession with polkadots and spherical things. 

Boy is this long! Til next time and hope you guys are having a great summer/winter!

Life updates!

Hey guys, first of all, HUGE thanks to everyone who has been reading my blabberlings here and dropping sweet comments here and in emails. I haven't been exactly prompt with my reply coz its been a crazy week with school. Its not a good excuse I know, especially when I'm late with postings and things don't arrive to you great people who bothered to buy my stuff. Seriously, I worry about the packages not reaching all the time and I worry about not getting them out in time coz I buy all the time too and get annoyed when packages gets late. So, sincere apologies to anyone who's griping because the stuff hasn't arrived. We're really doing our best to make everything nice and smooth. (I still pack orders at 3am and run to the PO before & after school.)



When I get stressed, I go shopping. Its cliche I know, but better than eating. I'm running on alternate days but snacking is always getting me down eventually. I'm breaking my promise to stop buying unecessarily but there are waaaaay too many good stuff out there. The other day I was really mad when I lost a gigantic poet sleeve vintage blouse on ebay. Then again, I scored a couple of good stuff. That super cute yellow enamel pot up there? From RetroKitsch. Also got a vintage sewing basket from JewelsByDesign, a blue vintage woven leaher clutch from junkenvyetsy, another gorgeous foldover blue clutch from vintagerevolver that came super quick, 4 days, baby! And a cute luggage from VictoryVintage. I had actually wanted the red one from her too but she didn't reserve it for me. :P But I got the blue one in the end. Vintage stuff are my ultimate weakness. Sigh.



I woke up the other day revisiting my wish to pack light. I'd always been the bag lady du jour. Bagging everything I think I'll need on the road. Jesus, I wasn't even travelling, or at least that'll be an excuse. So, I brainstormed and fixed up a mini granny-esque bag. Methinks the original grannies are a tad tired hence a cuter style! I managed to carry a scientific calculater, cell, wallet, tissue, mirror, 2 lippies, keys and a mini moleskine in it! I'm not crazy about how it turned out so I'm gonna improve on it before it goes into the shoppe. What do you guys think of this cute new Petite Pochette Accessoires? ;+)

(Management biz mid-sem next week. Eugh.)

Brrrrrrringggg! Early pressies for moi

Sunset on Sunday. I meant to blog earlier coz I had to tell you guys about my sunday but hell, reality always takes over. Work, work, work. Anyways, I had a nice Sunday shopping and receiving early b'day pressies! Wow!



Sungei Road market. I was dying to look for a rotary phone, since time immemorial so I thought I might try my luck there. There were 2 rotary ones but the condition was pretty bad. They were rusted and really icky. Dad found a watch there and he also got me a replica of a Panerai Marina, which I really wanted but can't afford. :P Then the cover came out 2 days later when I wore it to school. I took it off immediately to refrain from any more embarassments. I'm usually not a replica person but a watch is a watch is a watch. And yes, I'm not picky about my watches either. I'm proud of my antique face, traditional silver strap casio.



More market shots. This is basically a place for picking up really cheap stuff. Its really hot out in the open so we had to make a brisk trip. In fact, I think my present flu-symptons has something to do with this trip. It was fun nonetheless. :+)



Ahh.....my early b'day pressie from mum & dad. Where did I finally find this, you ask? It was at some old department store. They only had blue and green. I made my choice. Its a new phone, made in Japan, no less! Its mine, finally I have a phone in my room and its a new retro vintage rotary. Yaaaaay! Makes a great loud ringing sound too!



Then I grabbed this pair of rubber slippers for my Saturday morning swims. But they were so cute and comfy, I've been wearing them everywhere. I'm bringing them to the sydney beaches next year when I visit DH. Bye bye Havaianas! Ok, I was kidding. I'd always love Havaianas.



I found these Yo-Yo makers from Clover in AMK while having dinner. Who said the burbs didn't have good stuff? Look closer, people! I think I've been affected by Wendy's need to make Yoyos. I haven't used them yet, but hope to soon!



A really really yummy Korean pizza snack I got from the Korean Grocer's among a whole bunch of supplies. I think I bought it because of the box, and maybe because I was hungry. I like how they point out the different ingredients on the cute pizza itself. Isn't it fetching? Low calories & yummy!



My new patent flats. I don't buy shoes often but my mum insisted on these coz she was buying the same pair in white. They look kinda nice with the perforations. In reality I live in my white birkenstocks. Maybe thats why reality sucks? The weather here takes away all my motivation to look nice. I'm a different person in Sydney. Really. I get stopped in the streets by people who want to know where I got my top, bottoms, shoes etc. Nothing happens here. LOL



People were asking for large deco tape rolls. These were what I can get my arms on. $5.

Tune in next time for more pointless stories!

p/s: My canisters came today and they really made me smile ear-to-ear!

Less talk, more pics - Weekend + Boxy Pursuits

God, its Tuesday already. Where has the time gone? I spent Saturday edging people around at Tampines Ikea. That place is like a huge warehouse but its still crowded. What gives? But I'm a big fan of Ikea anyways. I finally got around to buying shelving for my room and loads of odds and ends can finally get off the floor. Maybe the mess was giving me nightmares. Its still a tad messy but there's room to walk now. I'm starting to wonder why would I need so much physical possessions? On the upnote, I've packed up my wardrobe and gave away some stuff to the salvos, but I've retained quite a pile for fabric and recycled crafting. Wait, did I just come up with that word? Whatever.



Sunday was hell. I was up early and was working all day. Dad was a great help. He drilled in my new curtain rod. The old one barely covered 3/4. Yeah, I was living in shame all along. LOL. And he did my shelves and wall hooks. They all had a vintage look to it which was what I was looking for. I'll put up a picture of the wall hooks later on. ;+) Then it was shifting time. I had a new space beside my bed for the black drawer chest. DH bought me that vintage bird cage I was looking for so that goes up there. I'm planning to have pictures on the wall. That'll come later again.



I spent Monday doing a bit of sewing. A whole pile of purses was laying around for days. I got a little bored as usual so I did experimentation on 2 of them. I gave them bases, one of them had a squarish base, the other was flat, but with some puff on the sides. There they are. Mum thinks they look classier. Or maybe she was getting tired of my flat Minis. I personally prefer the flat ones, or at most the puffed up sides. Somehow the boxed sides' kinda generic, non?



Finally, boxy pursuits Tuesday. I started figuring out this design on Monday since I got an order from a Flickr friend. I love boxy purses but I've been too lazy to actually figure this out coz I've had one too many failed attempts. Somehow I couldn't get my head around it. I wanted the inside to be as well sewn in as the outside. It proved impossible without hand sewing, taping of the exposed seams or simply leaving it exposed. :P It's technically only 2 days but I spent all my time thinking about it, in the shower, during my evening walk, during my sleep. Its that feverish! I tried and re-tried until the seams could take no more on my prototypes. I was plain annoyed and angry. I think I had migraines last night. Can't remember now! Anyways, I woke bright an early Tuesday (today) to give it a go again. This time I got it. And I made several versions for the prototype viewing. I'm happy to say my client is pleased! *whew!* The green/blue circles came from an old vintage tank dress, I made the ladybug one for my pen case and the country mint stripes with red flowers for my mum coz I know she'd want one when she saw it!



I also made this cute box/dice shaped one for fun. Its really tiny, 2.5" square with a cute yellow big gingham inside. Yaaaay for boxy purses!

I've got limitations

If you haven't heard, my paypal has been limited, actually since June 4th when they sent me a notification that someone has tried to break in. I wasn't really using it at that time but nonetheless annoying, especially now when I need to make transfers. I'm actually a bit confused on why would they limit the person's account when they suspect a break in, instead of looking for the culprit. I mean faxing documents and waiting for them to restore the thing is a serious pain the ass. It actually sucks, big time. I know that coz in the 10 years that I've used paypal, I've been limited twice. This is the 3rd time. There's virtually nothing to do except sitting on my ass and wait. (I also wanna say that I'm using them because I'm forced to and that they're a bunch of sleazebags who charge a shitload of money without giving decent service. So sue me.)

Apart from the above reason for the candid title of this post, I need to say this even when I've said it before, The Dumb Weather Is Too Darn HOT! Its not even bearable anymore! 35degC means we can't walk outdoors. My migraines hit 3 times as often, not to mention dehydration and stress-causing shingles on my back. And after a day of retail therapy, we're supposed to feel good about all that stuff swishing at the bottom of the bag, not feel utterly crappy, with urgent need for a good shower and heading for the airconditioned room. I know, I know, there's nothing I can do about the weather here except move. But that prolly won't happen for another couple of years. Being at home daytime is my perfect time for SSBs (Secret Single Behaviors), when I can have free time to live in my little quiet world, creating and thinking about new things to make. OK, I admit it right now, I caress my fabrics and smell them to feel good. There, I said it. :P

Anyways, today's shop loot include some seriously cool cram cream deco tapes, cute animal clips for my fabulous customers & of course, fabrics. ;+) And ps, I had brunch with the ladies. Ok, its Dim Sum with some family pple. Hearing them complaining about their lives and how rebellious kids are. I bet I can hear my mum's sighs of relief that her ordeal with me's over coz I've finally learnt to cherish time with them. We've all got parents and they won't be around forever, you know.

p/s: Apologies for not going to the PO as often as I should. Promise it all goes out tomorrow, hell or high water. I'm hungry, gonna go grab a burger.

My buttload of fabrics. This is like 1/4 of what I actually have? LOL

Cute frenzy!

My dad's gonna kill me when he receives this month's credit card statement. I've spent an indecent amount of money on fabrics already and now this! I've been dying to collect them for a while but I didn't know what to do with them. Its utterly cute in theory but impractical in real life. Not anymore! I have my Blythe so I wanna make a kitsch kitchen diorama. This is the inspiration and this! How cool is that?!




Ok...besides hyperventilating about Re-Ments, I've mailed a whole bunch of things today including my girlfriend's birthday pressie, which I pray it'll arrive soon enough not to be indecently late. :P There's the Monogram plush made for her. Her name's Angela. I forgot to snap the back. Its really cute, with an X for the butt. hee!

Bought a bunch of tiny glass bottles, a gigantic pasta bottle for my origami tama (balls) coz I've no where to stick them, and 90 boxes of matches! Intended for the Matchbox Drawers but I've got to think about using the matches too. :P Hmm...I looked like I was gonna set fire to something with that many matches in hand. I had to get them coz the fatter drawer types are hard to come by. I'm not crazy about the slimmer ones. :+)

The fabulous Barbara has just started on her tutorial for the drawers so do pop in to learn how to make these cute and functional things! And she has a cute shop on etsy too! One very lovely patchwork bag in gorgeous fabrics is up in her shop for about a month now so do grab that if you love it! My lousy paypal account has been limited and I need to do some bozo faxing which is gonna take a while, if not, I would have grabbed that fab bag. :+(

I haven't been out much yet, plain busy with making a ton of minis for the shop! Lookie out! I'll be posting an email notice to everyone when it happens this weekend!


Minis in the making...



p/s: I know some pple have been hankering for deco tapes. This is what's available now, small ones are $2.50, large ones are $5, tiny ones are $1, before shipping! Let me know if you want some. :+)

Where's kawaii?

I heart my chicken schnitzel
Originally uploaded by florspace.

I admit, I'm still mildly bored being here. I want to do loads of things with my fabrics but can't at the moment. Feel like I'm stuck in a nicer version of hell. Where's the kawaii heaven I used to know for a while?

Granted, I have the cool weather all day and night like I've been yearning for, for a year but everything else seems to have wrenched away from me. No more kawaii things to find in the stores or stashed in my drawers somewhere, I feel kinda lost. Not to mention DH is rather busy and I've been looped into attending seminars and lectures at my uni because I "got caught" one day by my linguistics lecturer when I went by the uni. I was used to be known for a knowledge enthusiast, very keen to attend my linguistics and psychology classes, clocking in extra time and all, getting credits for being interested and making efforts. But now I simply feel exhausted having to go to any classes at all. Good in theory/paper. I can feel myself getting lazy in that sense but I spent 4 years in uni being inquisitive about the mysteries of life that I feel I wanna stop and be for a while. I answered many things about myself and my own perspective on life so it gets kinda boring when I have to go through that again. I think I'm kinda jaded in that sense and it takes quite a bit to shock me.

Anyways, I'm kinda stuck to shopping and consuming for now. The worst thing is, I used to be that way and the more I consume, the more I need to consume and it ultimately makes me feel empty, in every sense of that word. Well, except when I find my clothes getting snug and rings around my tum. Thats bad news, but what?

Bad stuff aside, I had a wonderful day at the Kirribilli Markets on Saturday. I bagged 4 vintage dresses, 1 glomesh wallet and one vintage suitcase in fab condition for next to nothing! And those were things I always look out for and never get! Pictures to come!

um, who said buying stuff didn't lead to happiness?

Oh, I did. Because we had to lug the stuff around town after that. :/

Augusto is coming...

For lack of a better title for this week's update. Couple of days ago, I told DH "Augusto is coming..." after Supahfunk sent me a flickrmail telling me Augusto is asking to be adopted by me. He was bewildered. Eyes wide open, he asked me curiously, "Uh, who is Augusto?". I was hoping he would think that its my new Spanish boy toy. LOL Eventually after bouts of supressed laughter, I showed him who Augusto was. I could tell he heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. I however, still look forward to Augusto coming. I'll let you know.



I was at North Sydney Markets on Saturday. Thats me with too-shiny-hair, wearing the brown beret from nimblefingers. She makes one of the best berets around, to your specific color & size, even for my um, super large head. You don't want to miss her.
Anyways, I had to drag DH out coz he was wacked out by a series of academic stuff that render his brain mushy for the weekends. I was glad to be there. This quiant little market happens only once a month, and its a great place for unearthing the great stuff. I found this Paul Frank tartan gum boot for A$15, condition new with tags. SOLD.


Apart from a myraid of interesting stuff, they also have great food. DH bought this plate of mini Dutch pancakes called Proffiterjes, correct me if I'm wrong. Warm mini panckes bathed in maple syrup and dusted with icing sugar plus strawberries on top. What could be better for a Saturday morning breakkie? YUM city, population ME! ;+)




I'd also caught sight of this gorgeous dandelion at the market after breakfast. I love them because they are so pretty, eternally round yet fragile and short-lived. I don't see them much in Singapore yet I've always known them them thru fairy tales, when you blew the petals off and you get 13, it'll be the witching hour. Hmm....I didn't blow this one though.


We stopped for starbucks in the afternoon. Yum rocky road crunch slice with Venti skim latte. Its already showing as another layer of fat on my tum. Its gonna be bad! Winter's the perfect season for hiding fatness but come swimsuit season, it'll be so much to cry for. No more skimpy yellow polka dot bikinis! :+(


Last but not least, I came home to find my ipod radio wrapped in the muffler I made. Looks like its getting cold...

Everywhere Internet isn't everywhere....

Hey girls and boys...

here I am again! LOL I'd just came back from another mini battle with the Everywhere Internet guys. I had a username and password at the Chatswood outlet but apparently the city outlet doesn't recognise it. :+( I jumped from computer to computer thinking its the comp not working and in the end, had to waste another $5 to get a new account. Funny how things work here. I should've known though. Singapore's waaaaaaaay too efficient and we get so spoilt that everything should be working all the time. People here shrug when things don't work or when they simply have to go without. I remember the time when DH and I was at the Blue Mountains. It was winter, sun sets at 4 but we decided to be explorers and walked all over the mountain town. By the time we got to the train station, Katoomba, the trains had stopped. Excuses, tons of them were made by the train drivers that this train was going back and that train was ..... suffice to say that none of them wanted to take a train back to the city with a handful of passengers stranded at the quiet station. We were upset, tried to call and cab but none would come so basically we either had to wait and beg a driver to take a train to the city or find a motel for the night. Eventually we were taken back to the city, on the train. This would obviously not happen in Singapore but it is a very cosmopolitain city with cabs anywhere and everywhere anytime. I told DH, if we have to migrate, get a car already. Funny how we take for granted things for ourselves all the time.... especially being in Singapore when our asses get covered for us and um, even wiped. LOL

In the other news, I'm experiencing serious withdrawl symptons of not sewing, creating, packing, posting and all the other shop knick knacks. Jez louise, I am going nuts pretty soon! I keep hallucinating and um, thinking about sewing in my sleep. Before this, I spent everyday running around doing stuff so not being able to move as often feels "itchy". I am slightly agoraphobic as well so going out alone without some purpose feels pointless and um, naked. And, DH is kinda busy with his presentations and classes, I chose to mostly sit at home watching daytime TV like Dr. Phil and Oprah, Judge Judy even. Don't know if I should post about this. I'm kinda worried about my taste recently. LOL Yesterday I spent 4 hours uploading couple of sydney pics and food pics on my flickr. I might have more so keep checking! :+)

And the very very nice Ella sent me my Bag of Treats April swap which I received 2 days ago which really really cheered me up! Thanks Ella! She's a fabulous swapper! ^___^

Anyways, to keep sane and my more money from flying out my wallet, I bought some yarn to keep busy. I'm not entirely sure what will come out of them yet but I'll let you guys know! If anyone's doing fund raising, I'll be happy to donate my works. I'm pretty good at crochet. ;+) Though I prolly won't be selling any. I know you people prefer the cute fabrics. hehe

Ok, I'm gonna go before I start sprouting nonsense. (I had a creme brulee espresso)

I love you all! FREE HUGS! *hugs*

p/s: I just got a message from mum - her colon cancer check thing is CLEAR. *phew!* woohoo!

So lucky....

Well, I'm in Sydney! Sorry for not uploading any pics yet coz I'm actually using the internet at a public mall and there are no usb jacks on the station. :+( DH's internet is uh, dial-up, hopelessly slow and he's busy doing his presentations this week. No computer use for me at home. Boo. And I was too lazy to bring my own. The flight - I was actually proud to do a Jackie-O spin for my flight. Black trench, oversized glasses, skinny pants, brown balenciaga handcarry. Until I realised I forgot a good amount of things like my LOMO fisheye camera. Double boo.

Anyways, the flight was delayed, again and again. I met someone at Changi airport on another Qantas flight that was delayed too. See? Its not me anymore, its Qantas. I wanted SQ but it wasn't for me to choose. My budget did the math. It got delayed again in Adelaide during the connecting flight to sydney. It wasn't funny coz I was very tired and cranky. They changed my seat too, to make way for the 1st class passengers. They couldn't be in 1st class coz the door in first class won't open. Anyhoo, its a real stupid long story. I was rotting in Adelaide for 2 good hours when I could've reached sydney, or well, my place already. Quarantine was smooth for once and the nice china cab guy was nice too though the cab fare came up to be more than usual. Sigh.

THE SURPRISE. I told DH to stay home coz I needed him to "wait for something to be delivered". Well, I was late, so I guess he couldn't wait and he went out to get stuff before the shops close. I knocked on the door and nothing. Suffice to say I had to call him and told him to get his ass back. He thought it was some flower guy coz it was our anniversary and I used to send roses. His eyes, almost popped when he saw me! LOL It was priceless...best anniversary gift ever.

I went down to the city yesterday for a while, picked up some tops and walked all the way to the Circular Quay with a starbucks grande latte in hand, I felt warm and happy. I sat on the bench facing the opera house, watching life go by. A guy was singing and playing on his guitar some outback Australian tunes and with the sunset in the background, it couldn't have felt more real. It was so beautiful, so surreal. I was finally able to "be" for a while. I took time to watch the clouds go by, to watch a baby's reaction to its surrounds, the tunes to sink in and the birds to walk by....

Today's even better, shopping wise that is. DH is real busy these 2 days so I decide to make good of it going shopping. Guys are well, never really good at that and they get tired to easily and um, tend to drag us down, non? I found 2 black tailored pants, one black scooter mini dress and get this, a Stella McCartney Cashmere Bell coat! It was just hanging in the back and no one thought it exists anymore after that mad rush months ago. *phew!* Fits like a glove, feels like heaven and on discount too...what better way to end the day!

Stay tune for more! ;+)

Plush for Pup & today...

I'm making Mini Zippereds for Plush For Pup's raffle! Those poor animals need our help. So PLEASE, go buy their raffle to win stuff! Raffle tickets are only $5 to PlushForPup@yahoo.com and you could win baskets full of swell goodies!


How to make a lunchbox from cd spindle. Random surfing brings out the best in life! I can't believe we missed this idea entirely. I love bagel sandwiches. But wait, are we supposed to dig a hole thru the inside stuff as well? Oh well. I still love this idea anyways.

I finally get my lazy ass onto updating the zakka section on my website. Its annoying how procrastination can really get the better of me. Though, I've been working non-stop and time is still somehow flying. Hm, maybe I'm just tired.

Stuff I really want, after sneaking into some stores today. - Flip Flap, the big one with the white pot. I've been wanting this for a long time but never got around to buying it and I figured a plant can't be worth paying that much for? We'll see. I also need a black satin cocktail dress, like those from the 1950s. Good for weddings, operas and concerts. Yes, I watch operas and classical concerts ever since high school. I'm kinda sick of wearing black pants and floaty tops. No dress off the racks seem to please me. They are either too small, too frilly, too complicated, to lousy.......God, I'm picky. I'm just short of visiting bridal salons for fear of pestering me about bridal packages. Do people in the states/UK/rest of the world get this problem? DH used to enjoy the attention and teases me. I do so much eye rolls, its funny how my eyes still stick around. I kinda like this one, but worried about the material & workmanship as usual. Sigh.

I'm in the process of making a really really cool Bag starter set with the Rillakuma (San X's Relax Bear) fabric I scored. Its a really decadent set so keep your eyes peeled!

Some stuff about me...

I got bored with posting and thought I'd do one that's totally illogical and pointless.
Wait, this list is prolly for me to reminise when my hair's all white and my teeth has fallen out.

Some stuff about me...

My shampoo is squid ink black. My hair was in weird colors through my teens coz school didn't allow us to do any weird stuff at all. Yeah, we were all against the law at some point or other. Now my hair's black, jet black and I intend to keep it that way. Isn't asian beauty coming back?

I work better at night (10-4am). I'm very very cranky in the morning and I refuse to take coffee. Coffee gives me an existence of about 4 hours and after that I am out. I used to take it only in the late afternoon or evening to get through the last hours of the day. Now I work at the comp at night so no need for coffee, the internet's as exciting as a rollercoaster.

I type better and faster than writing. I used to have penpals til I was grossed out by my own handwriting. I have a friend who had the same problem as me when we were in junior high. We were famous. So I now type. No penpals. Good writing, good fonts and easy erase. Best thing since sliced bread.

Grammar mistakes drives me nuts. I spend my waking hours scrounging for them. I swear any such mistakes made on my blog is totally unintentional and its due to lethargy. This place (Singapore) is a gold mine for them. I often tell sales people I refuse to buy their products because they can't articulate. Sue me.

I'm Sensory-Defensive. I get very upset when people unintentionally has sudden contact against my bare skin. All my neuro senses rushes to that area and I can't think of anything else for 5 minutes and I have to slap or scratch the area. And yes, it gets worse when I'm in Singapore. Its like being in India. I can't turn around without knocking into people. I need space.

I like lavender, lilacs, eucalyptus, sandalwood for smells. I don't do vanilla & sweet scents. I'm partial to fruity & woody notions. DH wears Chanel Allure, courtesy of me.

I'm not into kids and the usual family type stuff. I think I had my fill of it since young. And I can't deal with myself & my life, I refuse to bring someone else into this world to share my problem. My friend Aaron says, "Can't solve the problem, share it out". And I've seen waaaay too many parents who can't handle their kids. If, I ever have a kid, the kid will the center of my universe. No offence, but I think I can't handle a career, a family, a husband, parents and myself all in one lifetime. I'm a perfectionist and doing a half ass job on everything isn't me. Somehow I'm also not the marrying kind. I'm still single but DH is almost already DH so its like that for now.

I'm a visual and sensual person. I like lomo photography, art installations, craft, poetry. I visit museums & old places. I feel things, take it in and breathe it out in my own way. I like jazz for relaxation, classical sometimes & chillout for music coz they give me space to think a lot. Sometimes I think too much. Permanent radio station for here is Lush 99.5fm.

My imagination runs very wild. I don't watch anything remotely scary, unless I'm sure DH will be around 24/7, or at least at night. I can't handle things like showering alone after a scary movie. I can't be told things halfway coz I'd imagine the possibilities of the rest and settle on the worse case senario. I was notorious for mystery/supernatural essays in junior high. My teachers still talk about it. They tell me I have to stop when I get to high school so I did. But I still blame Agatha Christie.

I hate white flourescent lamps, bulbs, tubes. Neon ones too.

I like most colors as long as they fit the theme. My room is in black and white only. Somehow I dislike purple a lot and have no idea why.

I read magazines over lattes at cafes. American & Australian Vogue, Harp B (A&A), STYD (Aus), Cotton Friend, Cotton Time, Style (SG), Sometimes architecture magazines, Her World & Elle (SG) too.

I can't stay away from Blue Potato chips & ganache truffles. I like Prestat's handrolled ones. I also like really good mud cakes, krispy kreme, cupcakes & fresh brownies. I'm partial to milk chocos with nuts or fruits in it. I don't do much of dark and I hate white. No liquer chocs. I also like ice-cream from Haagen Daz's, Ben & Jerry's & Andersen's of Denmark. I have to finish the whole bag or tub when I open one. Its bad.

I love fresh raw salmon. I eat a ton of them when we visit the Fish Market in Sydney. Although I won't mind a fresh grilled on in olive oil or Japanese style, with skin and all. I adore a good Sashimi salad, a smoke salmon salad, greek salad with fresh goat's cheese, grilled chiken salad or a caesar's salad if I'm in a rush. I also like squid ink spaghetti with carbonara sauce.

I can cook. I love to use good chunk of beef skirt for a teriyaki & garlic pepper steak. I know its unconventional but its soft, totally juiced up & oh so yummy. I'm a medium rare fan. I paint the surface with thick teriyaki sauce then fry the outside on slightly lower-than-usual fry heat, then simmer it slightly with virgin olive, loads of fresh garlic mashed, fresh grined Tri-color peppercorns & chopped pasley. Try it. The flavor is a total explosion!
Of course I do other usual stir-fries, baked chicken in a myraid of flavors, Japanese dishes like onigiri, noodles & fried spam rice, recipe courtesy of my friend, TC. I bake as well, cakes, cookies, tarts, etc. The only thing I can't make is creme brulee & chocolate.

I'm allergic to tobacco & I can't drink much. Though, I'd love sips of Wolf Blass's Grey label red, or other slightly aged sauvignon. I seldom do whites, though I like dom perignon & vodka lime when I'm dragged out to clubs. Reason for why I don't club - tobacco. DH likes brandy & the grandad port. I much prefer green tea, wheatgrass & lemon or strawberry Pellegrino please.

My life is re-runs of Sex & The City, The Simpsons, House & a ton of other movies. I can't watch the programs here; they are Singlish loaded and wrecks my head. It was better in Sydney though I mostly grew up in American pronunciation. I read chick-lit now, had too much mystery & thrill in my earlier days. I do pick up things like Freakonomics & Affluenza by Oliver James.

I'm spoilt & hate generic wearables. I either try to get interesting designer pieces because they fit better & last or I make my own. I don't like T-shirts that say the designer name in big words on them. Though, I am forced to get basics from Bonds & Muji. I like quirky things & black shirts.

I'm allergic to mohair. I tried to put one on but after putting one arm into the sweater, I had to stop. My arm was red and horrid for a week after. I have to wear natural cottons, baby merino wool or cashmere. I don't do fur much. Its murder and its trouble coz they fall out. I want to shave my head because of the same reason.

I have to sleep on pure egyption cotton.

I choose bookshops & libraries over clothing stores for shopping. They are quieter, or at least people are forced to be quiet. New books and magazines get me excited. New clothes often smell funny. I do shop for my swaps at the usual cute places though. And I like Jason's Marketplace for groceries, Meidiya for Japanese ones & Liberty Market near my place for a quick in and out. Though, I can't visit the grocer's when I'm hungry. It gets disastrous.

I like vintage. I collect dresses from the past. I have 2 leather suitcases from Sydney's vintage shops filled with very old books and a very old leather hatbox from Glebe Markets which I had to fight someone for. I also have an American Tourister round hat case from a lady in the states which I absolutely adore. I like altered vintage jewellery and get them from talented etsyers. Naturally, I own bags and shoes from the past as well. I have a funny tendency to believe things were better in the past. I got over the funny smell from vintage things when I got a really pretty pink nightie from a store in Sydney some years back. It was my first vintage buy. I make it a point to visit markets & vintage stores in sydney when I get back there every year.

I miss my 29th floor apartment at Forum Tower in Sydney. DH still lives there, albeit at 11th. That apartment was the holy grail. We faced the north & the view was virtually unblocked for miles. We could see mountains and rainbows stopped in front of us. It was THE view, not a view. Reminiscing about having a drink on the balcony and soaking up the night skies really hurt.

I get upset when people tell me I'm cute. This translates as childish to me. Isn't it why I couldn't get the important jobs? They just won't believe I can do it if I look cute. But somehow it looks like there's no way in hell I can ever look sophisticated. Just doesn't happen.

I'm partial to french and japanese things coz IMO, they make the most effort at what they're doing, therefore yielding the best results. I learn from them as well.

I'm addicted to fabulous cottons and canvas fabrics from Japan and mangle linens from the west. I empty my pockets for them. Its insane.

Running around for my shop drives me nuts but I still love it. Somehow spending time on my shop really makes time run like hell. Its already April 07 but I don't feel it at all. I might need a marketing manager and secretary soon. Maybe a new studio and 2 seamstresses?

I dream of being an artist with solo shows in museums. I still want to own a massive white washed gallery in a prewar shophouse with a studio at the back. I'm partial to static and performance installations. Though, I won't mind Aleksandr Petrovsky's whole-floor thing in satc. Yum.

I'm also dying to do an installation with sound and touch as the theme.

Webpages I have to visit everynight. My shop, Flickr, Wikipedia, The Superficial, Google. Webpages I frequent. YouTube, Etsy, ebay, LOF, website, movie mistakes & a whole load of other crap.

**Edited 209589473298583 times because I have ADD and perfectionism.

Surprises are so nice....

I was working hard at my machine today when the door came a-knocking. A package came with no return address. The smoke from the postman was annoying but a surprise package! I wreck my brains for recent purchases. None. And this one seems to be mailed locally. My trusy blade opened the box and I was so surprised and happy to find that its from Joseph! We were supposed to do a collaboration project which I sent him some fabrics for. The note on the very cute box of cookies said he was in Japan and couldn't work on it. You shouldn't have Joseph! Though I'm a huge fan of Japan-anything and with memories of the delectable cookies from Osaka-Universal Studios, I know this one's gonna be just as great! I love the cute tin box too! I was actually going to buy a vintage tin robot and seeing a cute print of it on the box just totally clicked! LOL I was delirious coz I'd always had the impression that anything this fab has to be bought myself and missing a trip myself to Japan this year is heart-breaking.
Anyways, its Yum City. Population: ME!

Yup, socks. From my fav Muji Store in my suburb. They were closing, though these socks weren't on sale. I realised it only after I grabbed them and skipped over to the counter. They were too cute and soft to miss. I think I had a long day. They seem to scream comfort to me at that time. I'm going to miss them. Now I'd have to make a longer trip to the city for Muji.

Beads and Button Matchbox fill swap on swapbot. I'm joining a ton of swap over there coz some of them are really meaningful to me. This one's too cute to miss. Its my first matchbox swap and its going to Ella. Hope she likes it. Loads of beads & buttons. Mostly pink, as usual!

Its been raining rather heavily these 2 days. I'm going to the PO tomorrow. Have to send DH's Hinamatsuri package too. Its a girl's day thing but I couldn't not send him those goodies I found from the supermarket. They were flown in for the event, pink and cute! I'm not taking a picture coz its a surprise. ;+) Off to read for now. Classes start tomorrow + more enquiries for other degree. I hate to even think about that one. Hope you guys are having a better time!

Oh Lord, its March!

Time is flying. Still nothing.


"A caterpillar
this deep in fall--
still not a butterfly"

--Basho


This pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I'm gonna come clean. I failed my accountancy papers I sat for last Dec. There, I said it. As usual, my mum's bugging me about my path again. That course means absolutely nothing to me. Its just an avenue to get migrated to Australia more easily, better job, higher pay, the whole nine yards. Thing is, I've tried the high power jobs, having high pay and a view from where I sit. Did I feel better then? Nope. I was pretty much braindead, everything in my head I used to have went to mush and stuff that got my interest was consumerism. The new bag, the Hello Kitty bazaar at the office block.... Yeap, I earned more, I spent more. I was still left in debt, waiting for my next paycheck. Plus, I had a job that was scarily black and white. They yelled at me when I tried to inject some colors in the Excel spreadsheet. Thinking of the prospect of bedoing this for the next couple of decades rock my socks....in a scary way, very scary. I need mind stimulation and creativity. I have ADHD and can't sit still for long. I wriggled in my seat far more times than DH's brother who watched Epic Movie with me today. I think they tried too hard; it wasn't funny anymore. Just sad. :P
Truth time? I do get jealous of high power executives every once in a while, clad in silk/wool suits, crisp white shirts, designer totes, patent leather shoes. But looking back at what I faced and what they are still facing makes me heave a sigh of relief. I suspect I was a hippie in my last life. I'm born to create and live life as a tree hugger. Ok, maybe not that sacrelicious, but I fear commitments. Having a job is like having a kid. No wait, a kid is worse. 24/7 for 18 years at least. Thats no kidding matter, pun intended. I'm thoroughly enjoying my extended adolescence, though I know that can't last for long. I leech too much on my parents even though I work very hard on my shop. I'm not complaining because I love what I do and thats priceless. To me. Still, I do get stuck. And people hounding for my blood makes it worse. sigh.

Cotton Friend and Cotton Time is my 2 best friends right now. I just wanna chill out so bad. DH was here the last 3 months and I never had enough sleep. Yes, I sleep too much, 9 hours, but I need that much to function. And 3 months of that was bad enough. I did appreciate DH being here though. Its hard not to miss his snores. Now its plain cold and quiet.

Ribbon swap on swapbot! I received my 1st package from swapbot ever! LOL Its a pack of real gorgeous ribbons from someone coz someone threw out the package, together with the name and address so.... yeah, it can be silly sometimes. I loved the ribbons though. Can't wait to use them! :+)

Next up! Lotus's birthday package. This girl is amazingly nice! She bought the tote from me for her own birthday so that I could have a flickr pro account. Its like 2 birds with one stone! So, since its for her birthday and she did something so nice for me, I decided to return by making her tote more fun - add loads of nice things! There was also a pencil set, sent to me by the lovely Christine but I'm not making use so I passed it on and a handmade birthday card. Hope she likes it! ^___^

Last but not least, before I have to rest my fingers (!!), my 1st summer tote! I made this in winter (eye roll) coz I couldn't resist the utterly adorable french fabric. I was contemplating keeping it but my bag collection can form mountains! Hope someone grabs it and help my horrible financial state. Here!

(I heard my dad say he wants me out soon.)

Its tradition for asian kids to live with their parents til they get married. hee

Ok, I have to go.

Procrastination is a bug

10 days just passed by like that! I've not yet learnt how to beat the procrastinating bug flat but at least I managed to get custom orders out. Stuff flying off my shop again! I'm so thankful for that coz my visa bill is off the hook. Thats what you get for too many daiso shopping trips, postage, fab fabrics & related materials. No restaurants & gucci for me. Though I do indulge in really fantastic creations from other etsyers. :P

So....Sentosa trip was fun, very hot, stinky, but great overall! We went by the new monorail thing. I ended up on a purple train. I hate purple, don't ask why. Actually I'm beginning to think its genetic. :P Anyways, we had breakfast that was full of traditional chinese snacks & went around the island. 4D pirate comedy, History trip in Images of Singapore, exciting luge rides & chair lifts, beach walking, Cafe Del Mar, lunch by the sea, fantastic evening view on the Carlsberg Tower & the musical fountain. I couldn't ask for more! I should however spare you from the ugly side of it. Like screaming kids, head-whirring hot weather, stinking sweat & fatty pictures. I thank DH for putting up with me. I get really upset when I have to be in the sun for too long. Though I really enjoyed everything esp the luge ride coz I did that once in New Zealand like 10 years ago. I liked that one more coz it was winter and I was thinner. LOL

Made some stuff! My Au Jardin trio looks kinda cute in the pink basket. :+)

I'm also listing my last & perfect little Classic Hello Kitty Mini Zippered,

And created this fabulous tote from lots of things my dear sweet swap partners sent me!

French linen mangle cloth with a cute pink stripe across from Isabelle (isazappy), trimmed with grosgrain embroided hearts ribbon from Kellie (tvstar1), buttons from crafthings.com, blue flower button from Hazel (I think!), tea-stained linen tape (by me!) & pink trimmed grograin ribbon on handles, blue felt leaves, pink linen tape ties from me! I washed the bag in gentle detergent to get rid of the mangle linen smell so now its really fragrant & soft! Perfect for market trips! I'm letting this go to fund my flickr account so the owner will be on my "honor roll" at my flickr profile! I'll be listing this soon! ;+)


I've also dropped by the bookstore and found some great books.... Affluenza which I've been waiting on forever (just reached the shelves!), Blame It On Paris, not about PH but a great chicklit & yes I read chicklit coz its stressless & fun, in fact, I've just finished a great book Weekend in Paris which is a great beach read or toilet if you're not planning to go that far, & a bargain French dictionary! French is tough but I'm going to learn it. Even if its half-ass eventually. :P


New Stationery! This time its an irresistible elephant & his apple! $2.50 at my page. ;+)

Thats all for now. I'll still be creating in the meanwhile so its back to work for me!