Gap

New year, new wardrobe and Gap has it all. It's truly a one-stop shop that sells clothes, shoes, underwear and accessories for Men, Women & Children. Featuring Diane von Furstenberg for Baby Gap.

Tomi Sushi

It's not exactly kaiseki, just lunch sets ($24 to $38) and dinner sets ($42 to $80).

The fish is fresh and the food served hot.

Small details make all the difference, like different soya sauces for sashimi and sushi.

Yarn Organization

Yarn storage can be any large bin or vase. If you have a sizable stash then you need to get a piece of furniture to store it in or use an existing piece (like this wine rack). I read a few blogs and they all love the pegboard idea as all the yarns can be seen and are free to rotate as you knit so you don't have to take it down to use. Check out Vanna White's antique knitting pedestal.

Homemade Multigrain Bread

Using up these packets of milled grains that are usually sprinkled on salads, soups and quaker oats. I had a lot of it left so I decided to make multi-grain bread, recipe from Martha Stewart.

It's all about the yeast and these work perfectly every time.

Mix ingredients, leave for 1 hour, punch in and leave for another hour, then pop it into the oven for another 45 mins. The whole house was filled with delicious aromas of freshly baked bread.

Neon DK Scarf

Using up some leftover neon yellow & green yarn, time to plan new projects.

Zuhair Murad Couture Fall/Winter 2013

Zuhair Murad is a common name on the red carpet with good reason as the designer churns out entire collections of evening gowns and suits, season after season. This Fall/Winter 2013 showing, we see Kirsten Stewart on the front row wearing the designer's Fall/Winter 2012 catsuit and corn rows in her hair.

This is what celebrities wear on special events, it is also the wardrobe of trophy wives and Lido Palace KTV girls. It encapsulates everything evening wear should be: glamorous, daring, sexy, beautiful.

This season we see a coral themed print and geometric lines in the beading & lace work. I like the way he cuts that burgundy dress, accentuating a woman's curves.

The dress of this collection, a nude and gold sparkly number that provides just enough coverage and really reminds me of Britney Spears outfit in <Toxic>.

Pret-a-porter now looks soo tame. Still glam and feminine, definitely less risque.

Check out JLo barbie dolls with outfits by Zuhair Murad, her real-life go to designer. Launched in Dec 2013, in time for the holiday shopping season.

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas bag is Anya Hindmarch's TWINKLE clutch and I just love the soft leather lining inside.

Lots of Starbucks Holiday Frappucinos at work.

And more presents from my peeps!

MotherCare

Mothercare has 2 celebrity clothing lines for children in addition to their usual clothes and cartoon tie-ins. Baby K by Myleene Klass with lots of leopard prints and shiny metallic stuff. Little Bird by Jools Oliver, that actually has lots of adorable baby stuff and I did buy some.

Mediterranean Food?

Grilled brie on toast, sprinkled with pistachios. The nuts on top make it so I think.

Squid Ink Risotto using fresh and preserved tomatoes that really make up the flavor of this dish.

More presents sent to Dr Bernard's Clinic, he is going to OD on chocolates and wine.

Christmas Gifts Wrap-Up

Finished wrapping Christmas gifts for friends and family. This year's gifts are pretty boring, mostly knits from my new hobby and vitamins from Holland & Barett. Thanks Zalora.com for the amazing affiliate discounts I got for shopping on their site. Hope everyone likes what they are getting.

Store wrapped presents for neighbors & friends (couple of new additions to the family). Yankee Candles and Toy's R Us to the rescue, and almost forgot about these Tangs Orchard purchases for Secret Santa this year.

Precious Moments figurines for my Christian friends.

Took a break from shopping at Bakerzin, tiramisu cappuccino and strawberry shortcake. 

Korres Makeup Remover Wipes for my new found colleagues. Luxola.com even gave me freebies with purchase, how timely as I need a new lunch pouch.

Ordering stuff from RueLaLa.com for my friends overseas. This sample sale site doesn't offer international shipping anymore and I really have to use up remaining credits. Happy Holidays!

Nutrilux Hair Colour

An organic dye for the hair, filled with natural oils to treat the hair and colour it at the same time. I was excited to try it out and just a head's up, it's pretty pricey compared to other hair colouring options.

Check out that high gloss, the rose oils smelled pretty lovely too. No nasty salon/chemical scents here.

After a wash & blow-dry, my hair is smooth & coloured. No further hair treatment or products used. I wouldn't mind stocking up on this for home use. Like my hairstylist said, they dye their hair with Nutrilux every 2 weeks in an effort to maintain their coiffed locks. As for quality, I notice the roots have more intense colouration so I think the dye was not evenly absorbed, bummer.

Christmas presents have arrived from Betty who sent along her fave Trader Joe's holiday treats, a monogrammed Disney blanket (LOVE!) and a sugar plum fairy stocking kit (that I also just purchased last month!) so now I have a pair to wear. We share the same tastes.

Making Christmas Bunting

Another ready made Christmas Sewing Panel from Spotlight. It's such a joy to work from this as you can just cut and sew according to the instructions on the panel. All made in machine washable cotton. 1 panel makes 1 line of bunting, $14.90. I bought the whole roll, sorry everyone, I think I need quite a bit for my staircase.

I have to mention that Buntings are really quite traditional and seems to have experienced a revival recently. Cloth buntings (as opposed to plastic or paper buntings) are machine washable and fold up for easy storage.

My buntings are double-sided so it looks good front and back. I had to buy more Christmas fabric to sew it all together. The effort was well worth it! Now, to finish sewing a dozen more of this.

Balmain A/W 2013 Fashion

For the woman that wants to be noticed, Balmain sends out exaggerated shoulder pads, turban skirts and harem pants in heavily bejewelled fabrics. A wardrobe befitting this festive season.

Menswear is less elaborate but still rife with eastern influence and texture.

Christmas Kitchen Ware

The only person I know who owns a full set of Christmas service ware is my aunt and she is Christian which explains why. They do a lot of entertaining and bible study groups around this time of the year. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to keep an entire crockery set just for this 1 occasion a year. An alternative would be a solid colored set in festive red that can be re-used for Chinese New Year and National Day.

I think I am like most other Singaporeans, who have a few Christmas themed pieces like candy bowls, serving tray and cake stand. We've got just one foot in and not much commitment to this day.

I love the festive bakeware. Sweet treats make such an entrance during meals and these are perfect for gift-giving as well. I don't know anyone who doesn't like food gifts.