Puffy Sleeves

 On the catwalk

For some reason big shoulders are in. Have you seen the sharp shoulders on the like of Posh etc? Its  like a 21st century version of dynasty! Shoulder pads, leg o mutton sleeves etc should be banned! Or so I thought. Until I tried this Stella McCartney dress. It had puffy fluffy sleeves! It makes my shoulders and the back of my back look like they are stuffed with a pillow!!

But for some strange reason.... I liked the dress and bought it! Mum was all for it and when I brought it home the conversation went a bit like this:

Simon: "hmmm... is that a new dress?"

me: "Yes! Its a Stella Mccartney dress, do you like it?"

Simon : you mean to say you actually paid money for this? And since its Stella its not cheap. So you paid a LOT of money for it?

Me: Yes! Mum said it looks good on me :)

Simon: I'd better go and check the credit card statement...

And I wore it to work the following week (this week) I accesorized it with a pink silk scarf as a belt and a headband and that was it! I got a few strange looks, but a few girls at work told me they really liked it, so I liked it more :)

My 1st Shrug :)

I actually knitted my first shrug a couple of years ago, but have yet to take photos till today! :p

It was a pretty simple pattern - nothing more than a glorified scarf sewn at both ends. I never bothered much with it because:

1. I used pretty inferior yarn and its not pleasant to wear at all
2. My knitting was quite a mess- phantom stitches appear and disappear!
3. It was wayyy too huge (or rather it did not look like how I wanted it to)

The pattern is from Jo Sharp Knit 2 - the ribbed mohair shrug - Jo Sharp yarns were pretty expensive for a beginner and I subbed with some horrendous sparkly mohair

Anyway, the shrug was buried deep as a reminder of how time/effort/money is wasted simply by just knitting without caring (I did not care to rip out stitches and start over, told myself that it will all work out in the end) and now I am a better knitter for it.

Fast forward to this afternoon and I am searching for an appropriate cover up for a work dress in the 34 degree heat we are rumoured to encounter tomorrow (the office air conditioning is pratically Artic) and I suddenly thought of the lonely white shrug! After taking a few pics, I think hmmmm not too bad after all! I may just wear this garment in public ;D Don't laugh if you see me!

KL- 30th Oct- 9 Nov 2009

My KL trip post! It was incredible hectic, tiring but lots of fun ( only wished hb could have come along :( )

As expected I did lots of eating, shopping... shopping! Holidays like these are bliss especially with the high AUD!

Mostly pics :)

Foot massage with the girls :) So much cheaper than Perth!!

Visiting the in-laws

My new perm! which didn't last very long- stubborn straight hair!!

Cocktails with Alesia

Mary-Ann's Hen's night!!

 

All my fave food!!

A pair of handmade earrings from my new friend, Lynde!! thankyouu!!!

And of course... shopping!!!

It seems like a lot of shoes (again!) but honestly they were bargains! My mum's a PDI member which gives us incredible discounts. Considering a pair of heels in Australia averages about A$120 = RM360, most of my heels below range from RM22 (yess 70% off!the pink t-strap slip ons) to RM89 (the brown button sides), I bought the lot for the price of LESS than 2 pairs of heels in Australia.

8 for the price of 2? And they call me crazy!

I bought some dresses too, but they are kinda too wrinkly from the packing for show :o Good bargains too, as I went to the PDI fair where my dresses and work clothes only costs about RM23 - RM60 each (from RM109 upwards)!!

And makeup? Everyone knows how much cheaper they are in KL. Plus there are proper MAC stores and not little counters. The Christmas eye bags (Fluidline gel liner, brush, small pigment and mascara) were only RM150, whereas in Australia, they are A$80 = RM 240. Ridiculous! I only wished I bought more to give away as Christmas presents!!

I also bought heaps of clothes for dear HB :) Luckily he loved all the gear I picked out for him!!

And my biggest purchases were probably at these stores (my secret!) I know of that sell designer clothing at a discounted rate. Well, not really, since these stores source them from various factory outlets overseas i.e. Europe, USA. Most of the tags have been slashed, but not completely cut off so I can still see what labels they are (good to know just in case I make a shopping mistake and having to sell it on ebay!)

This round I bought a Stella McCartney dress, Chloe top (with the label intact!) and Joe & Laurie dress. Oh the reason I know where they potentially source the clothing? A dear friend of mine visited the DFO (designer factory outlets) in Italy, and saw one of the store owners buying up DVF and Stella McCartney dresses. A few weeks later, they were for sale at the store!! 

Joel & Mary-Ann Get Married!

I had a wonderful time in KL last week - very sad to have to leave and get back to reality aka work. This was a quick trip, just over a week, most of which I devoted myself to my dear friend Mary-Ann. It was truly a beautiful wedding and I met so many wonderful new friends (Lynde!). Pics of the wedding below and more about my other fave subject (shopping=shoes!) in my next post!!

btw, all my knitty friends- I did squeeze in some knitting time!  

The chee muis minus Lynde :(

 

 Waiting for the other chee muis to complete the tasks for the hend dais

My bestie is getting married! I was supposed to wear the pink dress from my prev posts, but ended up buying another!!!

Mary-Ann & Joel 7-11-2009

On the way to the church! 

Tossing the bouquet!

My other bestie, Niki caught the bouquet!!I am waiting for a wedding announcement!

The newlyweds making their 2nd entrance @ the reception

Met up with one my oldest friends, CE

My dress for the reception!

 

 Time to partyy after the reception!!

 Another wedding dinner the next night

With Lynde and Mary-Ann :) I flew home the next day

shop shop shopping!

ahah everyone knows how much a love a good shop, and this week (and last week) has been a good shopping week(s)!! I am meant to be saving money for my trip on Friday-  but what can I do when there sales sprouting right, left and centre? A bit of a long post , but it'll be my last until I get back!

First stop was the Diva sale. Honestly, I only meant to go in for a peep and maybe get some new pearl dangly earrings for Mary-Ann's wedding... who knew they would be having a massive sale last Fri,Sat and Sunday?? I went sort of crazy - but don't worry, most of these are presents! Now I've got quite a bit of Christmas shopping done...

Essie and I made our way to the Spring Home Show (, no I did not buy a house on impulse!) I had free tix and Simon was working so we had a girlie day. As typical it was of the both of us, we only got up at about... 11am (early on a Sat!!) We had a yummy lunch @ The Pantry door. I had a breakfast tart and Essie had a sarnie, then we shopped for organic and gluten free goodies in the store! I had the best organic beetroot crisps! Never knew beetroot could taste so good!!

Then we hopped on next door via a connecting door is a cute lil boutique. I refrained :) They sell MinkPink and other cute brands here (can't remember the name of the store but its connected to The Pantry Door.

Then we made our way to the home show. Nothing great this time, the same ppl. The recession is hitting the housing industry somewhat as there are not many people around and a lot of hte exhibitors were just sitting down chatting. I did find some incredible tiles (they look like silver foil!) but Simon would kill me if I want to re tile the kitchen or bathroom!! They were really expensive too. I was careful not to enter any "Freebie" competitions as we got caught the last time. There is no such thing as a free air cond/pot/paint job/insulation/rollershutter/home. These companie, once they get hold of your details, you'll be pretty much annoyed and hassled day and night. Look at the entry form below: You can't even answer "No"!!!

Next day Simon and I went to Milkd for great coffee and brekkie (he felt left out I went with Essie ytd) mmmm vegetarian grill and iced choc for me!They supposedly serve one of the best coffees in Perth, but I wouldn 't know since I gave up coffee about 8 years ago... Simon liked the iced coffee though (hot day!)

 

And yes... almost everyone I know, knows that I was hunting for a pink dress. You know, how once you stop looking, they appear everywhere???? I went to Valleygirl for an insta fashion fix and what do I see?? At least 5 pink frocks staring back at me... I tried them all and bought one! I am now selling the other dress I bought on Ebay. I hope I get good price, coz I did pay quite a bit for it and it was brand new with tags still attached.

I bought this one!!

This was a close second!

This one was on sale... nah...

Happy Halloween everyone! xoxo

Pressed flowers

My very old snapdragons! Snapped in the bathroom!





I have been working at my garden over the past few months, so I'm very pleased that everything's growing so well. I pick some to put in the house, but its so hard! hehe I feel like I've worked so hard over the winter, only to pick them , and they last a week in the house?!?!
Stock, Lavender and snapdragons from my garden!!
As usual all my snapdragons look good :) I've added more varieties and tried to grow them from the seeds from last year's dried up pods - am happy to report that they do really work!! I'm trying taller varieties this time round

And I've added stock! I can't believe I've never tried this flower before!! Great big bunches heady purple, white and magenta flowers yay!!
purple stock
The disappointments this year?? The foxglove (no sign of any florals yet, and the seedlings have been planted for 6 months now...) star jasmine (a sllllooooowww grower - put them in LAST year!!) and poppies - 1 flower at the time?? no thanks


So, anyway Simon bought me another craft book (like I need anymore ;p) and thought I will try doing some pressed flowers. Eeasy enough, and a few months down the road I can have my hard work preserved for a long time!!

I'm trying out with this bunch of pink snapdragons (which I accidentally snapped off whilst pinching out the old blooms whooops!)
The pink snap which i accidentally "snapped" off!

And sandwiching it between two peices of tissues within the pages of.... Simon's 2004 MIMs haha! We have so many copies lying around!! Luckily this year MIMs is in digital format - that's a lot of trees saved!!!
Good old MIMs

Happy Birthday Aryeh!

Aryeh, the birthday boy!


It was my nephew's first birthday today! We celebrated at a children's playground @ Belmont and had a picnic brunch with some of his friends (well, kids of Judy & Warren's friends)

I made scones and Judy made heaps of goodies (sardine and chicken puffs, biccies etc) including the birthday cake!!

Happy 1st birthday, Aryeh, from Uncle Simon and Auntie Pet :) xo xo




The birthday cake! All baked by Judy - with 2 kids and 1 more on the way!!

Happy Birthday Aryeh!

Judy, Ari & Simon

Aryeh, Ari and a friend playing in the tent