Shopping for R&S Presents

  

Lunch at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao.

I bought the kids birthday presents from Mothercare. It's been years since I wondered in here and after seeing Xiaxue's baby post, I thought I would shop here again. Free gift-wrapping.

There was this Gummy Bear Keychain at the counter, it's supposed to light up but doesn't so I guess it's broken. And 1 more top from Monsoon, 70% discount sale now. 

Dropped by Da Paolo's for the Cronut, soo hot in NYC at the moment and Da Paolo has their own version. It's a deep-fried croissant in a donut shape filled with cream, seriously yums!

Crochet a Mesh Scarf

An alternative to knitting mesh scarves is to crochet it. This creates a loose and wavy scarf that is relatively thinner. Therefore, I like to choose a bigger mesh like CATALINA to work with.

You insert the crochet hook into 6 mesh sections and pull the last one through the other 5. Keep going until you reach the end.

To make it wider, you can crochet 2 mesh pieces together similar to knitting 2 together. Or crochet in another mesh to a completed scarf until you reach the desired width.

Alternatively, and I saw this on Lion Brand Yarn website, is to stuff 1 piece of mesh with another piece of mesh in a similar or contrasting colour to create a bulky fabric you can use as a scarf.

Gucci S/S 2013 Fashion

Everyone knows Gucci makes sexy clothes for career women. However recently, their clothes are increasingly structured and covered up. This S/S season, the collection went totally Resort.

Some major ruffles going on in solid colours. I guess it looks more dressy and softer without the fuss.

Big sleeves for drama in an understated way, cute right, I like the black dress.

Gucci Mens this season is all about those same bright primary colours, a few prints and a few interesting black & white pieces.

Bread Stuff

Bread Makers for families who are big bread eaters, I imagine this would be Caucasians who have toasts for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and maybe bread bowls as part of their dinner everyday.

Bread slice toasters are common appliances and there are novelty versions with cartoon burnt-outs on the center like Hello Kitty. We use a regular toaster at home that can also toast bread slices so it's multi-use. I guess this is easy to use as the bread pops up when done.

Sandwich makers that grill and seal the edges of your sandwich. My mom used this all the time as there is no spillage when packing school lunches and you cook the contents at the same time.

Bread Box, such a rustic invention. We usually wrap it in plastic or paper and leave it on the breakfast area. It's the same right, or no?

 Bread Slicer. I've seen soap slicers like this before. To get that machine cut, neat & even look.

Bread Knife, a long blade with serrated edges to get through that crispy crust.

EA Green Tea Cherry Blossom Perfume

Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea perfume has been a staple on my dresser for the last 15 years. It's a fresh, clean scent that perks you up and smells like you just stepped out of the shower. Since then, EA has released a whole slew of remixes - lotus, camillia, cherry blossom, honeysuckle, lavender, tropical, spiced, summer etc.

Cherry Blossom is a pretty good mixture, introducing a light floral fragrance to the clean green tea mix. As you can see, I purchased a new bottle of it for myself. The box it comes in is too sweet and ready for gifting.

Momiji Japanese Buffet Restaurant

My mom's been here a couple of times before and told us the food is good, so we booked Sunday Brunch for the whole family here, that turned out to be a good idea as the restaurant filled up the moment it opened.

Sunday Brunch has all the same items from its dinner menu, including free flow of Sapporo beer. It's actually limited to 1 bottle per customer, I guess you won't finish the bottle like me and there was plenty more to go around as some adults don't want to drink beer in the morning.

Lots of variety and my absolute favorite was the Chawanmushi.

Lots of Snow Crab too, beer and sweet fleshy crab is all you need sometimes.

Large dessert selection, including Haagan Daaz ice-cream and freshly made mochi, the really traditional kind found at Takashimaya basement. Food induced coma thereafter, had to go home and sleep it off.

Buying Yarn Online

I know there are a few knitting specialty shops in Singapore. However, I don't drive so it is inconvenient to visit all of them. The good news is that there are resources online that allows me access to all the limited edition and even rarer yarns that I want for my craft projects. These are some of the sites that offer free or reasonable International Shipping. I spent days trawling the internet for these so please enjoy!

ColorSong Yarns

Free international shipping on all orders, no minimum. However, if you place several small orders consecutively instead of 1 big order, you will be charged shipping on subsequent deliveries.

Woolie brand sale, 10% discount on kits and yarns.

Clearance corner of odd yarn skeins and books.

Website carries Handmaiden & Woolie brand yarns as well as a selection of fleece artists yarns.

The Yarn Co.

International Shipping at USD$12 flat rate. Free Shipping for purchases above USD$175, use code OVER175INT. 

Exclusive Retailer of Buffalo Gold Yarn, 50gm/300 yards/USD$250. Made from Bison down and vintage Japanese real gold threads. Production limited to 40 skeins.

Website offers weaving, spinning, patterns, accessories and selected yarns from mostly yarn artists.

The Yarn and Fibre Co.

Free international shipping for some countries and special discounted rates for others. I ordered a dozen skeins of yarn and shipping to Singapore came to USD$10.

Website carries everything you need to knit, crochet and weave, including samples of completed projects for sale. Large selection of yarn brands and kits.

Fabulous Yarn

Standard International Shipping Packet costs USD$24, there are more expensive express shipping options and a cheaper 4 month shipping option.

5% discount if you signup for their newsletter.

10% to 30% bulk buying discount.

Deals of the Day offers small discounts on certain yarn skeins. 

Black Sheep Wools (UK)

International Delivery is £10.

Website has a clearance bin that offers good discounts, I know coz I bought some.

Stash Fine Yarns (UK)

International delivery to Singapore costs about £10 for 10 yarn balls, varies with order.

Website has a Clearance Sale that offers some discounts.

I am still serious about purchasing industrial yarn cones as I hate tying all those yarn skeins together. Especially on higher end stuff like Plymouth's Angora yarn that are sold in 10gm skeins! What can you knit with 10gms? (baby booties)

Western Digital My Passport External Hard Disk

Western Digital is actually a well known name in the hard disk area, I was surprised to find out because I have never heard of it before. The WD external hard disks have received some press coverage recently because of their new My Passport 2TB hard disks. The ones I have purchased are the 1TB versions because it is on sale at just $99, usual price $209. It's about as much memory as my computer has so it should be enough to provide backup.

This particular My Passport version is about as big as a passport and lightweight making it ideal for travelling and transportation. It also supports USB 2.0 or 3.0 depending on the version you are using at the moment. Non-slip pads underneath so it stays in place. WD hard disks also comes with password protection, continuous updates and faster downloading times.

I am a basic user so those features are good but the reason I bought an external hard disk is to backup my computer. It is a lot faster than the days it took to copy that same data onto piles of CD/DVDs. It also has an interface that allows me to manage and select the data I need, really user-friendly.

Half & Half Ruffle Scarf

String Theory Fibre Works came up with this interesting ruffle scarf adaptation. She basically used the mesh as yarn to knit a drop stitch pattern then switched to the usual ruffle scarf stitch pattern. Now to try out the same but with again 4 skeins of Annie Mesh as I like my ruffle scarfs to be wider.

The first pattern is knit throughout to create tighter ruffles and 2 mesh section between each peg to create more flounce. 

The second pattern is drop stitch, knit, purl.

The resulting scarf when worn. It's almost couture ~love~ 

Loewe S/S 2013 Fashion

This brand works leather and especially suede soo beautifully, lots of intricately perforated leather that looks like lace and embossed leather. This season we also see hoodies worked into the collection, but the clothes are still elegant and charming.

Coffee Makers

These new capsule machines are positively the best way to enjoy coffee. The crux of the matter is that the longer the coffee grains have been exposed to air, the more sour and acidic it becomes. Simply put, the longer the coffee has been left on the counter or in contact with the coffee grains, the worse it tastes. Here, coffee grains are processed at the plant and packed into individual capsules that are only punctured on use. By controlling the temperature and flow of hot water, you get the perfect cuppa with just a push of the button. It's quality and convenience all in one, so my whole family uses these Nespresso Citiz at home. That barrel at the back is a milk frother that also works with a push of a button.

Most city folks remember this high-end espresso machine contraption that coffee houses also use. The top of the line machines will grind the coffee beans before preparing each cup of coffee and this was really the way to get that great brew. Alas, it was pricey, big and bulky that took up lots of counter space.

Most folks will probably have one of these more conventional coffee makers, by the pot or cup. You have to put in water, coffee grains and change the filter with each use.

A more traditional way of getting that great brew is coffee percolators that are filled with water and coffee grains then placed on the stove to make those delicious siphon-brewed coffees. You might remember those fancy glass percolators Japanese coffee houses are famous for, this is the same thing. I love siphon-brewed coffee!

Vietnamese slow drip coffee is one of its greatest charms, you can buy it at the local markets or buy the disposable version at Marks & Spencers called Coffee Cup Filters.

Grinder for coffee beans to turn it into powder. You can buy coffee beans from source if you are very particular about the quality of your brew. Most coffee sold in stores are already ground up, ready for use.

Milk Frother to make those gorgeous cappuccinos and lattes. I have a few at home because sometimes it goes missing, we all love foamy milk in our morning drink. It can also whip up other items like eggs.

A local cup of coffee is nothing without Condensed Milk or Evaporated Milk, whatever your tastes are these 2 milk products are the greatest culinary inventions. I can't do without my Kopi-C, it's almost a comfort food for me.