Dior F/W 2013 Fashion

Dior brings slight variations into the classic black and white suits this Fall/Winter and a tribute to Andy Warhol with a series of soft flowy dresses.

For those looking to keep warm and mix up their wardrobe with homestead pieces, there are these crochet clothes that are totally refreshing and original.

A throwback to those old days of haute couture, do you remember this look?

 Dior Menswear this season seems to be inspired by Star Trek, Raf Simons even replaced all buttons with zippers.

 Those triangle-circle emblems are really something else, making the overall look very futuristic like a movie set.

Halloween Food Stuff

 

photos from Williams Sonoma

I can't believe how creepy food ware has taken off with Halloween. I don't celebrate it and think its really for the goths or horror movie night really. As Chinese do we even celebrate Qing Ming this way, after watching Kungfu Panda's Qing Ming special I am totally spooked. What are the odds of meeting a real creepy person on this night?

I lean more towards celebrating Autumn's harvest and the delicious produce that come out of the grounds before Winter hits. The time of the year when nature starts changing colours is truly magical and the weather starts getting cooler too.

Meyson Jewellery

Meyson Jewellery sells mostly diamonds set in gold or platinum. You can find coloured diamonds here and their perfect cut is Hearts & Arrows.

Occasionally, other precious gemstones like Sapphires and Rubies make an appearance.

Mellben Legends Seafood - Crabs

Mellben Legends Seafood Restaurant, not exactly the best locale but the food is still good. These are 2 signature dishes that I have yet to try - Creamy Curry Crab and Laksa Crab BeeHoon. Takeaway is an additional $2 per dish.

The creamy curry crab is actually Malaysian Butter Curry sauce that I love, it's even better with a 500gm crab and fried buns (5 for $3).

The woman that took my order insisted I order their Laksa Crab BeeHoon as well that had a really sweet crab infused broth. This meal was absolutely blissful and now I am all crabbed out, I can't eat another crab dish for the next few months. 

1 non-crab side dish of fermented beans tofu, oishi! Why must all the good food come in just 1 meal.

All Hallows' Evening Knits

A celebration of Autumn in a really scary yet fun way - Halloween. There are tons of knits for this day and this day Only! Would you like to knit a pair of mittens from bloody eyeball yarn (Etsy) or a pair of claws (Lion Brand Yarn)? Turn yarn into fancy wigs, candy corn decorations or a too adorable teapot warmer in the shape of a pumpkin.

Most of the Halloween knitting projects are meant as costumes but these are actual items you can wear, especially if you are a goth. A black bat pattern shawl, spider socks and a candy corn pullover.

Rainbow Roses

If you think this is a CGI image, think again. These rainbow hued roses made its debut last Valentine's Day and quickly sold out. A 2 dozen bouquet retails for around $200 and each bloom is about the size of your fist, big enough to showcase all those colours.

For the longest time, I thought it was the treatment process that rendered this Playdoh effect. I was proved soo wrong when I found the seeds to grow these roses from scratch. No need for fillers as a dozen of these will brighten anyone's day.

Some of the flowers from my Brother's Clinic Opening, we brought the rest home. Artificial floral arrangements can last forever so you'll still be seeing some of these in the clinic.

Diagonal Lace Scarf - Part 2

I am determined to make this scarf, so I bought a cone of Merino/Silk bulky yarn from Cherry Tree Hill, called Fall Foliage that reflects the season now. This hand-painted yarn comes in a kaleidoscope of colours, can't wait to see how it knits up. 

Changed the knitting loom used from 16 large pegs a space apart to 26 small pegs spaced next to each other. Works like a dream with this new bulky yarn as the holes are now square shaped instead of rectangles.

After knitting about 30 inches of fabric, you will realize the scarf slants naturally to form diagonal edges that add to it's charm.

Saint Laurent F/W 2013 Fashion

Lots of moody adolescence in the air as this season Saint Laurent shows off clothes for the younger LA boy and girl. Oozing grunge cool in leather and oversized flannel/knits.

 Effortlessly chic in cute babydoll dresses and leather separates, of course there is glitter thrown into the mix and I love those sparkly black stockings to ward off the winter chill.

Menswear is pretty much the same, featuring extra long scarfs that are almost Harry Potter-ish.

Garden Paths

Beautiful pictures from 900house.com. Paving a garden walkway need not be mundane as you can personalize it, even display some artistic flair to bring your standardized housing unit to the next level. A great way to make a house your home and show some personality while you are at it.

Taka Jewellery

  

Taka Jewellery is the first no frills jewellery store in Singapore that sparked the affordable jewellery trend. I am guilty of purchasing plenty of gold, diamonds, gemstones and pearl jewellery from here, I won't deny it. Whatever you are getting from this place will be the best value for your money.

When I say no frills I mean it, the shop spaces are often white with bright fluorescent lighting, plenty of sales staff camped outside the shop to pull customers in to have a look, jewellery pieces stacked tightly in the display cases and best buys individually wrapped in plastic piled on the counters (crystals, stainless steel, shell pearls). If you see something you like, it's definitely not one-of-a-kind and there are plenty more from where that came from. Roadshows are loud, noisy events at MRT stations. You never knew fine jewellery could be sold this way.

Old HK Restaurant Steamboat

I made a booking when I heard Old HK Restaurant included steamboat dinners into its menu. A chance to try really traditional Chinese/Cantonese steamboat using double boiled soup bases. That dipping sauce is tasty and almost Thai-ish. 

The steamboat dinner starts with some raw oysters on ice, not traditional and actually quite western. Then starters of pickled cucumbers, seasoned black fungus and century egg chicken, my mom really loved the chicken that is served cold with a thick spicy peanut sauce.

Then the actual steamboat, our waiters were nice enough to put everything into the pot for us. That buttery soft Wagyu beef was amazing, as was the amaranth leaves. Everyone needs to try this.

BTW sharing some vending machine love at work - fresh juice, dried fruit and hot sandwiches!

My Yarn Stash

I can't believe how a year into a new hobby and now I have a sizeable yarn stash.

A cheery yellow IKEA pail to throw all my leftover yarn bits into. It also includes all the old yarns from my family members who have lost interest in knitting, not much really, less than 10 balls. When I have time and the right mood for it, I need to go through what I have and use it up.

All yarn cones get stored in its original plastic bags in a cardboard box, the biggest box I could find. There isn't a bag big enough to store all my yarn cones in so this will have to do for the time being. *updated* I moved all of it into an orange XL size Samsonite luggage bag that clips close.

Yarns purchased online, go into my Longchamp Le Pliage XL travel bag. I used a nice bag to store some really nice yarns. Can't wait to get started on them.This bag is large enough to keep everything in and zips shut to keep all that yarn dust free. Travel bags don't get used that often anyway and when I need it for a trip, I can just transfer the yarn into the cupboard or box until I get back.

My current knitting projects go into this A4 size cotton tote from Accessorize. Spotlight yarns from the many sales and coupons are held in here as these are the ones I have to finish using first. Prioritizing my hobby-work.

 Knitting bags need to be soft with clean edges so the yarn doesn't latch onto it. Putting everything into a bag makes it easy to move stuff around the house to knit with. It's too hot outside so I will be knitting indoors at various places and hopefully with my friends next to me.

 This new bag is a slightly smaller size, almost an oversized lunch bag. Marc by Marc Jacobs drawstring nylon tote in fluorescent orange, S$90. I envision it will be for smaller knit projects.