Mooncake

Saw this amazing amazing box of Mooncakes in The Straits Times newspaper on Sunday and decided to actually run out and get them! Didn't keep my hopes up as its not the lunar 8th month yet. I made my way to the restaurant briskly and lo & behold, they had them! I was ecstatic! Yeap, I'm definitely, officially a bagaholic, so badly that I'm after anything that looks like a purse! I'm never much for mooncakes but this one really struck a chord with me! Doesn't it look so much like the Vuitton Epi Speedy purse in red?



Even though its cardboard, its got quite a weight on it and its covered with this textured faux leather that actually looks and feels amazing! Handles & trimmings are in red faux leather as well. The quality is quite unexpected for such a frivolous purpose. And, the handmade white lotus paste mooncakes inside are really good too! The yolk is fresh & the paste is not too sweet for my taste. Pretty good stuff!



This amazing box bag will be good for use long after the mooncakes have been devoured! :+)

I could not find a direct link to the restaurant information, but this box is from Xin Cuisine at Holiday Inn Singapore. I imagine you'll need to go quick!

Nature-inspired Classic Everyday Totes for Autumn

I have a long-standing love with Enchanted Forest. Not just because the fabric was so pricey and rare, but the print is one of those that we'll never get sick of! We use it really carefully for the best projects to ensure its beauty is fully expressed! Paired with special import laces & natural cotton sourced from various parts of Japan, we're pleased to tell you guys that they are all made in Japan! Naturally, quality is guaranteed and we're more than happy since the final product will be amazing for you guys too! The lace on Enchanted Forest is actually a very delicate hand-woven linen lace which matches the beautiful print. There's a little bit of mystery & magic there!



We chose In The Woods for this collection since you guys seem to love this adorable print a lot! Beautiful trees with cute leaves is flanked with vibrant colored animals & mushrooms makes for one unique print! We used a slightly thicker scalloped cotton lace also hand-woven in a natural linen color. Both totes feature vegan leather handles from Japan for a more beautiful & professional look. Handles are hand-stitched & reinforced with double denim thread ensuring you carry all your everyday necessities in style!

Isn't autumn the most beautiful season? :+)
Happy Autumn everyone!

The Rilakkuma Trio!

If I had a character addiction, it might be Rilakkuma. I keep coming back to this adorable yet lazy bear! Yes, Tenorikuma (must be the coffee thing) is pretty close and cute, but this guy, LOL, even DH thinks I laze like Rilakkuma! Remember the first ultimate set back in 07? It was a mod summer yellow version of Rilakkuma! That said, I had to double faint when I saw this print before I left for Sydney. That was back in April, but I can't help reliving the little happiness I felt. Not just Rilakkuma, but a pink version of it! Above all, I pulled out my schedule book for this year and voila, its a perfect match! I knew I didn't have time to dabble with the poor fabric, just begging to be made into something cute for someone nice. It was the day of departure. I rushed it home, kept it nicely together with the rest of my private reserve stash knowing it'll be the first thing I'll go for when I'm back. I did almost, just alsmot forgot about it when I came back but since I was missing DH terribly, I opened my stash and there she was smiling at me. Before long, despite the heat, i managed to do up this trio for some lucky Rilakkuma lovers! We don't have much of this print and apparently its out of print, typical for most fabrics unfortunately. I hate it when good prints becomes unavailable, but well, I guess all we can do is to cherish them!

Anyways, I thought it best to combine this candy-ish pink background with a little chocolate brown. In comes mr. polkadots and miss cottony lace and we have cuteness! The cube is a special edition with the same chocolate polkadots inside too! They just look so yummy together! Best thing? Get all 3 and the 2 purses ships free! Just pay for shipping of the tote!

Look at them here!

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!

More tote sets...

I'm not sure but I suddenly experience tremendous joy in cutting up huge pieces of fabric. Its kinda weird coz in the end, the bag turns out smaller than the gigantic pieces inititally. But really, nothing beats making these tote sets. The amount of work is giving me chronic back muscle pains but somehow, there's something about the exuberance of the images on the totes that seems so enticing to see it in person! On Tuesday, I even found the courage to cut up the half a yard of the blush pink version of Branche. My chest sorta tighten a little when I did but when the tote finally got completed on Friday, I sighed in relief and maybe accomplishment! You might ask, its a pretty simple tote, what's the idea? Well, I relish in simple designs coz I would very much prefer to let the beautiful fabrics I use speak for themselves. Besides, my little impromptu research over the years as a bag user, shows that a high percentage of us actually reach for a frills-free tote as a default everyday tote. Here, I'm obviously trying to convince everyone this is something you'll pick up everyday before you leave the house! ;+)

ps, I am desperately trying to find a way to reduce international shipping. Because of the layers of interfacing and heavy fabrics, a tote set tend to weigh a bit, not to mention some extras I throw in. I might have to find a cheaper source of bubble envies or maybe absorb a bit of the shipping? Hmm.

Update - Shipping recalculated and much reduced. Hopefully the tote sets will get to travel a little further this time!

3rd Installation - English Rose

This is what it would look like when I go outdoors to look for peace. Vintage flask of tea, fuits, magazines and a trusty shawl. I have a pillow hidden in the tote too. ;+)

My last installation for the Go Big Or Go home inspiration of large totes. Apparently you guys love it so I'm going to try to add that to my inspirational repetoire. I'm running out of the gorgeous cream canvas that I use for the insides (or out if you please), so it'll warrant another fabric run this coming week or so. I get excited when I can go buy fabrics. Oh the feel of cloth on my hands and the sound of scissors running through it...



English rose is a decorator weight fabric, used for home upholstery and curtains, which would be a perfect weight for a sturdy tote. I'm dead-against substandard quality. So often I balk at the prices stores are selling for a mass-produced bag. No offence to anyone but it stinks both in prices and quality. My bags are entirely machine-washable. Got icky? Just drop it into the machine, short-cycle, gentle detergent, no softener and warm iron. Good as new.



I'm loving the muted & chic designer stripes, perfect as a year-round carryall. As its original fabric name suggests, it does remind me of the great England ladies at tea. Great for mums, markets, picnics, travel, school. Holds a ton, has a pocket and comes with a cute zippered pouch for your smaller essentials. At just $59 for the lot, right here.

Etsy Finds

Its jewellery like these that makes my heart palpitate like nuts. I'm not a huge jewellery wearer, usually just one cool piece somewhere and I'm done so its really hard to go past this Vintage Brass Butterfly Cuff from JewelsofLuxury. The cuff is so detailed and vintage it makes it really difficult not to keep staring! She has quite a couple of interesting pieces like the watch part necklace. I go so soft for lost time-esque pieces. All my strict saving rules go out the window, literally.



While we're on the topic of luxury, I nearly fell off the chair when I saw the Voltaire. Its been my lifelong dream to own one of these french historical pieces, if I may say so. Though this one's a plastic version with rubber coating, good for outdoors, where you can show it off, what else! For prices like these, you wanna get all the attention. Not a genuine vintage, but hey, look on the bright side, literally. ;+) From modernfront, with loads of other yummy pieces to lust and drool after.



One more shoutout of objects of lust goes to Satchelman. No more dusty and musty old doc cases from the vintage market. This one's new and made to order! A while back, I was obsessed with the idea of these doc bags. Peeps who know me, well, know that I like everything to do with docs. *eye roll* Its up to your imagination there. But I couldn't find any in decent condition in the markets and antique shops coz they were well, really icky and I had little knowledge on how to clean 'em, not to mention patience. LOL So there, the doc bag I've been looking for. Though, its to lust-for, for now. The man calls it a "swag bag" though. Anyone to elaborate?



Still feeling rich & got pennies to throw? Scoot over to pakokeco for these enfrancais flashcards you'd need when swinging through Paris with your honey. I've got one + a load of her tags! Its so reasonable and of fab quality, makes shopping sooooOOO easy, you wanna just go and grab her whole shop full of yummy things! I warned ya, scrapbookers especially.



Don't forget to "Tell someone you heart them" this holiday season! Gocco printed (Heart Gocco!) by the wonderful Jackie from littlestflower. She's got affordable artworks (limited prints!) in her shop! And that's SO hard to come by at etsy coz peeps like to creep their prices up. Jackie offers these simple yet beautiful white frames with the artworks, perfect for any room or decor. They are light and easy to put up. I've got 2 in my room stuck up with just plain ole blu tack & it works! There's something about the simplicity of her designs that makes me smile everytime I see it. I've got more to come! yaay!



Speaking of simplicity, I found this little girl by accident! Oooops, I mean little dress. LOL I know, I know, I'm not a baby person but if I had one, she'll be wearing this. Isn't that just darling, non? Its so roadworthy, I'd bring her to the Plaza for dinner. I guess most baby clothes we see on the streets just don't cut it. Go shop with babyleila & get your babes decent clothes! They ain't kidding with the handmade for modern kids motto. Thumbs up.



Oh Momma. That's hot. I can't help it but felt that way when I found this couple of days ago. Dang, why am I not a mom yet? Sweet yet sexy~. Moms out there, you have to grab this and wear it! You'll be the coolest momma in town. If the picture doesn't grab you, what would!? From paisley33, its only $20. :P



While you're still shopping for the holidays, do check out Sugarcane's yummy bags! She lists so many grest stuff, its tough to pass up! I know I make bags too but you gotta check hers out. Great wearable sizes, superb quality and interesting constructions, yet afforable for everyone. She's got a great passion for bags so the outcome of her creations tends to be fabulous! I'm loving her slouches, especially Electric Dreams up there. They make perfect pressie for moms, aunts and sis or keep it for yourself like I always end up doing. I'm dying to own one but my vacation/biz trip is looming! Get there before I do peeps.



Isn't that CUTE? I never knew it was possible, well, maybe remotely but there, up on my screen is an apple jacket! Well jacquelineknits do make jacket for pears too and even tea bag holders! Life's precious and don't we all have it covered now? ;+)



I'm still pretty excited waiting on the arrival of my new birdcage, so I was pretty happy to find this on the homepage of etsy. I guess the birdcage fever's not just me. ;+)

Or is that a real fever? Damn those exam papers. Getting distinctions (or As in US-talk) is a plague. Once its attained, its hell keeping up. Torture torture. But we all have finger-shopping to keep us busy and well, entertained. Don't forget my shop, if you're still picking things up for stocking stuffing! ;+)