Esprit

Esprit has collaborated with supermodels (Erin Wasson, Gisele Bundchen) on capsule collections in past years and this Fall/Winter 2013, it features Astrid Munoz, Photographer & Model.

In a beautiful photo shoot up in the Scottish Highlands, featuring Esprit's luxe line of euro-casual clothes.

4 Fingers Chicken

4 Fingers Chicken is another Korean inspired chicken fast food place that is pretty ex at $10 a meal. It's definitely got more herbs & spices than the average chicken place, not to mention that crispy crust. 

Chicken wings are a Singaporean party food staple and here they are again as the most popular item on the menu. I didn't have it as I wanted to try the other stuff like salads and burgers this time around. Yummy! Now I understand the long queues.

Christmas Presents under $15

British or American Literary Classics are always being published. If you haven't read one before, you are in for a real treat. Jane Austen writes mostly for the female audience, so you might want to get a F. Scott Fitzgerald or Oscar Wilde for a guy.

Taylors of Harrogate makes good tea, I am mighty fond of that Christmas blend. Add an additional $2 to giftwrap it in a custom box & bow. Purchase from Takashimaya basement.

Lip Balms are always appreciated and something not everyone buys for themselves. Use when travelling to countries where the air is drier or if you sleep/work in an air-conditioned environment. 2 Christmas back, I received an assortment of Burt's Bees lip balms that I really like, acai berry is yummy and tinted lip balms are used in place of gloss sometimes. Buy from Sephora.

Get a holiday frappucino with your friend and catch up.

Seed Packets.
It can be meaningful like Lavender from your last trip together to France.
It can be unusual like multi-coloured corn or heirloom green tomatoes.
It can be pretty like perfumed florals in vintage packaging.
It can be delicious like gourmet herbs recommended by michelin star chefs.
It can even be interactive like DirtGirlWorld's seeds with matching phone app.

Lush Bath Bombs, actually just 1 but 1 is all you need! I lovelove Lush, especially their bath bombs or shower bombs if you don't have a bath.

Junk food hamper or snacks hamper so it sounds more acceptable. A big bottle of coke ($3), a large packet of potato chips ($5), some biscuits ($5) and chocolate ($2).

Yarn Ball Gift Wrap

A new gift wrapping trend to appear on the internet. You wrap several small items with yarn until the final product resembles a ball of yarn, starting with the biggest item. As the recipient unwraps it, several surprises will fall out. Pictures from whipup.net.

Early Christmas presents from my colleagues, the one above is from the receptionist next door and the black cotton bag from my bro's nurse for my knitting.

My office chair broke, is it from all that additional holiday weight?

Some of the holiday hampers sent to the clinic this week (just the ones I managed to take photos of).

Sewing Christmas Stockings

  

I am planning to gift wrap presents in Christmas Stockings this year, like a pinata only you don't whack this one. Sew the opening shut, maybe add a name and it's ready to hang on someone's door.

It's these sewing panels from Spotlight again, they have a whole series this year (stockings, tree ornaments, bunting, advent calendar, wall hanging, soft toys and even apron/mitt/hats for kids).

To make the hook, the instructions recommend you use a ribbon, I just cut the excess fabric off the panel that works just as well.

You can sew this without lining but it makes soo much difference to do so, you know. I happen to have this satin fabric in a mint green colour so I used it as lining. Simply arrange the layers of right side stocking facing each other, then right side lining facing away from the stockings.

I like to tack everything together before sewing, as satin can get quite slippery to work with. It was done in just a couple of hours... I like to take my time.

Ferragamo A/W 2013 Fashion

Ferragamo plays it safe again with black, white and a hint of navy blue in superior structured looks. Time to give your wardrobe a boost.

Christmas Meats

With Christmas drawing near, most of us are already planning the Christmas menu. Primarily, what meat to eat! I am starting this list with the usual suspects of beef, mutton, chicken, pork and duck. Most of which you can find at your neighborhood roast meats stall.

Pork is classic, but, if you are looking for something a little more out-of-the-ordinary you might want to consider wild boar. Singapore still has a few wild boars roaming around.

Chicken is more of a white meat but for a tasty quick fix we always have KFC delivery, even on public holidays.

I prefer duck over goose even though it's a smaller bird. The meat is more succulent and delicious. If you are preparing a traditional Christmas goose, don't forget to render the fat. OMG, goose fat is sold by itself at gourmet stores/supermarkets, you don't know what you are missing.

Another prized bird is the quail. It's teenie-tinyness makes it soo fancy. That and it's itsy-bitsy eggs that always make an appearance in fine dining. If you are planning a fancy dinner party, you gotta feature this.

 From a small bird to the biggest, the Turkey weighing as much as a newborn child, maybe even more. American traditional Thanksgiving dinners feature this amazing roast that makes an impressive appearance. Ranging from the heritage breeds to the new mass-produced species (pic below).

Another American Heritage meat is Bison. Less fats and hence healthier than the other red meat beef.

Rare-bit..it's actually cheese toast. Coz I can't bear to feature rabbit meat, a game meat that makes an appearance this time of the year.

Since it's Christmas, would you consider eating Rudolph? Maybe Dasher or Prancer? Venison is a leaner cut of red meat and oozes plenty of jus, perfect for a stew, I love this fried with hor fun.