Breakfast @ McDonald's

Nothing beats breakfast at McDonald's, always makes my day.

Knitwell Haul

I simply adore Sublime yarns, those prettily packaged donuts of luscious yarns say it all and it even comes in metallic shades. This time around I found a bargain on Sublime Silk & Bamboo DK packs of 10 at just £16.95 a bag. That puts it at just £1.70 a ball when it is normally priced at £5 per ball of yarn.

Hence, I bought 2 packs of lemon-lime colour called "Juicy". All colours still available and an offer like this cannot be passed up on. Normal shipping charges apply but no tax for overseas orders.

Passport Photo

These instant photo booths are for you to take official ID pictures. This is the first time I am using it as I always have my official photos taken in the studio.

Just a quick colour touch-up at the hairdressers before I get my picture taken. Colouring used is Lendan an aussie brand that surprisingly gives an even colouration with different processing times. The hairdresser applied dye to half of my hair before running off to make more, time difference was 5-10 mins and the colour still came out the same.

 It's $7 for 4 shots, no negatives as it's supposed to be the latest picture of you. Just 18 seconds to process.

Singer Knitting Machine - Round

I bought the Singer Knitting Machine for about S$70. It knits in round or flat and is pretty much ready to use out of the box. Just click on the tension holder and thread in your yarn to start.

Starting with the standard knitting in round, you can make baby hats, socks or arm/leg warmers that measure 5" across. Just place the threaded yarn into the circle and turn that crank.

I made a baby's hat by knitting an extra long piece, folding it over into half and sewing the top section into a floret. Really fast and simple.

Valentino A/W 2013 Fashion

Valentino's collection for Fall is demure like a school-girl. The clothes are neat and precise with lace doily details, making it all very sweet. In the middle, the designers introduced China Blue and Silver into the clothes and ended with several colored dresses with scalloped edges.

Valentino Menswear A/W 2013 has that throwback to the 1800s feel in mostly black with a few tweed pieces. The black pieces don't feel dated mainly because of the shiny/matte contrast in fabrics used. I guess if you like that era you would like these clothes to wear now, anything more authentic would be costume-y.

Baskin Robbins Pink Wed

1 for 1 scoops every wednesday at Baskin Robbins.

Tianpo Jewellery

Tianpo is a big name in the local jewellery scene, priced at the higher end of the market.

Tianpo carries the Hearts on Fire perfect cut diamonds.

Exclusive retailers in Singapore for Marco Bicego and Yvel.

High Tea @ Lao Beijing

High Tea at Lao Beijing, its all dumplings and noodles so Shanghainese or is it Beijing-nese. Vettel won the Singapore leg of F1 this year and the safety cars only came out once, not as exciting as previous years but there were lots of celebrity appearances at the pit. Don't miss Justin Beiber's closing concert today 7:45pm at The Padang, tickets are on sale only today at Raffles City Convention Centre and The Padang entrance. Race goers get a discounted price of $98, usual price $148.

Jelly Yarns

Jelly Yarns are plastic yarns made for knitting. It comes in Opaque, Glow-in-the-Dark, Metallic and the usual Jelly colours. Perfect for kids and a new challenge for experienced knitters.

Barbie @ Mattel.com

Did you know you can order custom Barbie dolls from the Mattel website called "Barbie styled by Me". Barbie always had friends of every colour (Marisa, Raquelle, Grace, Chandra, Kara, Nikki, Summer, Theresa, Midge) and her 3 sisters (Stacie, Skipper, Chelsea), not to mention the new Fairy/Princess/Mermaid personas from her latest line of DVDs. 

After watching Barbie Live! I decided to share the love with some girls I know who are of that age. This configuration I put together at Mattel.com costs just under USD$100 including taxes. It doesn't include the doll of course, I assume the little girls already have their own. That's for shipping to USA & Europe. Locally, you can buy Barbie dolls from any department store or even at the Comic Convention.

If your little girls don't have any dolls yet, than swap out that convertible for a jeep complete with Barbie & Ken dolls, at just USD$10 more.

BTW this is the new Dreamhouse, watch it all on Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse webisodes.

Other Uses for Mesh Yarn

Mesh yarn is fairly versatile and you can use it to make or as a decorative trim on clothes, bags, cushion covers and throws.

Combined with sewing projects, mesh yarns can be sewn into decorative details like these flowers.

When you are done with complex projects, you can just wrap mesh yarns around vases and jars to create a unique homemade look.

* all project ideas from Spotlight *

Ralph Lauren A/W 2013 Fashion

 
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!

Ralph Lauren delivers a Russian winter with all the winter classics. Autumn colours of burnt orange, deep green and burgundy purple mixed with Winter colours of black and white.

 Lots of complex structured suits, velvet dresses and stylish gowns with fur capelets & caps. A testament that the classics never go out of fashion.

It's soo beautiful, once again Ralph Lauren has done it. It must be the go to brand for rich ladies.

Boiling Water

I use a whistling kettle at home. Not all kettles whistle but I like to know when the water has come to a roaring boil.

I was actually looking at electrical kettles that are mostly transparent so you can see the contents. It heats up when plugged in, so no need for a stove.

However, both types of kettles have the same problem of storage. The hot water has to be transferred into a thermos flask or jug to keep warm. At least its portable and you can bring it to work or around the house as required.

The solution is an electrical airpot. A remarkably handy appliance that boils water, keeps it warm then dispenses it as and when you need. No need to transfer the water here and there or move it from sink to stove to counter and so on. However, it doesn't look soo nice, maybe even dated. I hope designers can come up with a nicer version soon.

Soo Kee Jewellery

Soo Kee is another homegrown brand with quite a presence, I love their coloured gemstones and always take a look at their displays for new pieces.

Soo Kee's perfect cut diamond is Brilliant Rose. A popular engagement ring choice amongst Singaporean couples.

Soo Kee also carries several brand name jewellery in addition to their own pieces. Most notably, Versace fine jewellery. There is also Nanis, Korloff, Mine to Mine private collection by Roni N. 

Barbie Live! & Pre-theatre Dinner

This time I got a seat inside CUT restaurant as it was early, first time trying the pre-theatre dinner menu. Apparently, you can order the dessert & drink with dinner and adjorn back to the restaurant after the show for it and some chatter.

Sitting in the restaurant has some perks like those ultra thin & long cheddar sticks along with spicy cheese gougere. So you should really make a reservation if you can. Today, I had the cocktail Mother's Little Helper.

Sides of salad and chips were um...I prefer the usual sides from the menu. After that amazing crab starter, this was such a downer. Beef was delish though. Awesome petit fours, love that butterscotch one. 

Before rushing off to get seated for the Barbie Live show. 1 week run only for the school holidays and totally worth it as she performs her recent hits. Gift shop was a little girl's dream - stocked with all the Barbie favs like her beach house, pink convertible, dolls including collector's editions and lots of other paraphernalia. I got a hair beading tool as I don't really play with dolls anymore. 

Black Sheep Wools Haul

Black Sheep Wools is this really cute site that sells designer yarns at really good prices and even better discounts. International shipping is a flat rate of  £10.

Louisa Harding SIMONETTA is this lovely yarn that makes accessories and clothes look gold dusted and I just had to get some. It's priced much cheaper on the UK sites as opposed to the US sites and here it costs just £4.99 per skein after discounts. I purchased 5 balls of yarn in COCOA and 2 in BAROQUE.

Louisa Harding also has a range called SARI RIBBONS and I got a couple of skeins in JAM colour. Not sure what I want to make with this but I've been looking at ribbon scarves on the internet and it creates a totally new look on an old knit pattern. 

Rowan KIDSILK HAZE in RED was also on sale at £3.39 a skein, after 59% discount on the colour and another 15% discount on Rowan yarns. I have been looking for mohair yarns to make a wrap and this 70% kid mohair and 30% silk is even better as it is super soft. So I bought 20 skeins, enough for a blanket  or 2 wraps (1 for myself and another to giveaway). 

Sublime Bamboo & Pearls DK yarn in a lovely gold SAFFRON colour. This yarn is 70% bamboo viscose and 30% pearl viscose, another real pearl yarn so I am really excited to get ahold of this. Doesn't the vibrant yellow remind you of golden south sea pearls. £2.08 per ball of yarn after discounts.

Twilley's Goldfingering in GOLD. This is such a popular item amongst English knitters especially around Christmas time. Going to need it for my red Kidsilk Haze Throw. £2.08 a ball, no discounts on this.