Following up on the last entry of the visit to Entrepot, did I mention that I couldn't resist these as well?
The cupcake is a pin cushion, how cute is that?! (Although I can't sew for nuts.) And the "crate of chocolat" is just an empty box for storing knick knacks.
Would go back again someday soon. When the next craving of Hock Lam Beef hits.
A gal pal aka fellow blogger aka fellow shopaholic sent me this. Given that this passage is on the brink of being blasphemous, she had her reservations about putting this up.
Aside from what its original version should have been, this post, in the name of just a mere good laughter to end the day, is for all you ladies with a love for labels.
WOMEN'S DAILY PRAYER
Armani, Which art in Hermes,
Hallowed be thy Gucci.
Thy Cartier watch, Thy Prada bag,
On Rodeo, As it is in Tiffany's.
Give us this day our Visa Titanium
And forgive us this overdraft
As we forgive those who decline our Mastercard
Lead us not into JC Penney, And deliver us from Sears.
For thine is the Chanel, the Gaultier, and the Versace, For Dolce
and Gabana.
Amex .....
Finally, getting down to the bitching about my supposed SHOPPING trip to New York that didn't take place in the end.
Booked the tickets with some small time Lucky Plaza travel agent (TA) slightly over a month back. When Thai Airways decided to stop flying to New York from 1 July, it took me a while to put two and two together, to realise that I WOULD NOT HAVE A FLIGHT BACK based on my intended dates of travel.
Realisation hit one week before I was due to fly actually.
At first anxious, I called the TA to find out what was happening. The anxiety turned into furor when I realised that all these while, the TA never took the initiative to contact me regarding alternative flight arrangements. I had to personally call them. What if I didn't call, and I stupidly fly there, without knowing that there won't be an arranged flight back??
To make matters worse, the TA started to push me towards accepting China Eastern as the alternative. No way in hell will I be taking a China Eastern plane. And she could actually lie that their tickets are more expensive than Thai Airways'. Come on lady, who are you kidding?
AND if I want to opt for other airlines, I would have to TOP UP the cost difference. If I so decide to cancel the flights, I would have to PAY for the administration/cancellation fees.
I'm not about to go into a tirade of my utmost displeasure against such TAs which provide "service" for as long as till the money is paid up. Unleashing my knowledge of profanities, in English, Chinese and Hokkien I can, but why waste too much of my youth (anger begets wrinkles) on idiots like these?
In any case, with our current work commitment, it would be better if we postpone the trip till later in the year.
In the end, with some help and advice, I'll be getting back the full refund for the cancelled tickets. Never again will I go to small time TAs, never again Thai Airways.
"Thai Airways, smooth as silk" - in the words of one of my friends who's also a victim, "My arse is smoother than your silk!!!!"
So there, I'm still here in Singapore, not 5th Avenue, not Central Park.
On a positive note, I'm really glad that I will be there, for a couple of friends:
Yes, I'm still alive. Have since been getting calls from a number of dear friends demanding an explanation for my lack of updates on this page. Thank you darlings, for all your concern. I love you all too.
Books, SATC dvds and such have been keeping me occupied these days. Other than that, think I'm still pretty much the same.
#1: I still love my bags and shoes. Vive la France, Viva l'Italia!
#2: I still love my food.
#3: And my wine.
#4: My job.
#5: And all its fun.
#6: And of course, family time. Julian's so grown up now, but still as cute! 
Now, that pretty much sums up what I've been up to. Somewhat.
There's still another though - I'm still around in sunny Singapore, and not in New York as planned. That will be one major ranting in the next entry. For now, it's time to hit the Zara sale....
Am looking for a pouch to hold the "ronberry". Found quite a few options online, each more frivolous than the other.
Hmmmmm.... how indulgent should one go?
Spent some time over the last 2 weekends re-stocking re-arranging the Jemej Shoe Loft, aka "The Mothership" by Squarenails. Got more of those transparent plastic shoe boxes from Howards Storage World .
Except for the fact that those with heels higher than 2 1/2 inches can't be placed upright, these boxes are great 3 for the price of $24 - worth every dollar for being able to see my precioussss clearly.
And whilst I was at it, throwing out a couple of pairs of old ones, I decided that balance had to be regained in the Mothership. I mean, you throw out old shoes so as to buy new ones right?
This pair, frivolous, but I love the polka dots!
Heh, I "koped" this headline off from Michelle, whom I bumped into, while checking out Ruth's much anticipated showcase at Maad.
One thing I always found super funny about Michelle is her candid, innocently direct nature. She and Jon had a cute little boy Elijah in tow, and she was carrying him around, attempting to "inspire" us into parenthood. Yeah, she was direct to the point, quite a few times! Hahaha, Mich, I'll let you know whether you "succeeded". ;)
In case the others were wondering, Mich and Jon were only just baby-sitting Elijah. The rest of us are still waiting for her in the "BMW club".
Meanwhile, over at Ruth's booth, I added MORE to my Sparkle Thots collection, in addition to the lovely "Jaime" set. Very glad that this bazaar has been rewarding enough for Ruth. And that I've volunteered The Boy as the "model" to showcase the launch of her matching men's series next Spring.....
Oh and by the way, we discovered that the Pacific Coffee Company at Red Dot Museum is such a great hideout, perfect place to tuck ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of the mad crowds in town.
Ruth's such a sweet darling. When I lost one of the earrings which she made, she promptly made a new pair, knowing how in love I was with that pair.
And now there's a matching necklace as well!! Thanks babes, they are absolutely gorgeous!!
Spreading the word for Sparkle Thots, check out her lovely collection at MAAD this weekend....
Strange that since the last entry came up, Heng-mummy and daddy were very direct and to the point this evening at dinner, "So are you planning?". It's as if they can sense that I've been blogging about babies, in general.
Ok, they've always been direct before. Not like my conservative mum who went, "Uh, 你们...那个了没有?" I almost fell off my chair when she asked that. 什么这个那个??!! More so, this evening was like grilling more than the usual, casual questioning. It was as if they were really pushing for a definitive answer of when exactly.
So since this is the case, perhaps in this entry, if I talk about shoes, someone will buy me a pair! Yes?! No?!
Yups, decided to wear this pair this morning, one of the "loot" from Italy. As I stepped out of the house, I commented to The Boy, "Wah, no wonder I love F. It's really shiok. Feels as if I'm walking in heaven." 
He looked at me, looked at the shoes, and said, "In this case, why don't you walk to work?"
Husband, you better buy me another pair, for even thinking this way!!!!!!!
Oh yes, even before I confirm a bed for us to spend our nights in Italy, I had to make sure that this is well-locked in first.
Ok, I'm ready for the trip.
I've been so engrossed in checking out our accommodation for Italy, that I decided that I would not further kill any more brain cells thinking of what clothes to pack in my luggage. In fact, for a shopaholic like me, it's quite no-frills for me when it comes to packing clothes for holidays.
I tend to pack a couple of pairs of jeans, plenty of t-shirts, a couple of coats and only 1 pair of walking shoes. No "fashion parade" of sorts. No overloading of luggage - I try to save as much space as I can, so as to accommodate all that shopping. And then I end up looking the same in every picture.
And this I was intending to do, till r@e reminded me that I'm not going to just any country. I'm going to Italy - that is, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan - one of the fahion capitals of the world. A country where it has always been well-known for stylish-chic fashion, a trend-setter, home of Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo and all. In short, the MOTHERSHIP of a true-blue shopaholic/fahionista.
Come on, EJ, what were you thinking of??? IT'S ITALY LOR!!!!!!!!
I was ashamed. To think that I was even contemplating carrying a backpack. R@e thought it was a joke. "I don't think Italian women carry backpacks lor. And you want to carry that into the Prada boutique???" she asked.
That's it. All of a sudden, I decided that just for today, only today, I would break that rule of saving up more money (than usual), just before we set off for the trip. I shopped with a purpose. And I was mighty pleased with the find. :D
Ok, back to tripadvisor.....
It's been a few days since I've been updating my blog entries. It's been a few days since I've caught up with everyone else's blog entries. I've not even been facebooking much. So pardon me for that.
Have been frantically trying to plan the much anticipated trip to Italy. It's going to be a 14-day trip, there being quite a few places we wanna visit, so there's a fair bit to plan for. Have been consulting all the friends who have been to Italy, and I've been so grateful for all their great advice and tips. Especially Beanbean, she has been an absolute angel, giving me some really great help!
That aside, finally checked out the newly opened interiors concept store, Iwannagohome!, at Great World City the other day.
The designer ware they have on display are absolutely GORGEOUS and so droolsome. Thank goodness the Jemej Home is more or less done up, or I would have spent an entire fortune doing up our house with some of the things they have! Imagine a bunch of roses (8 stalks made of silk material) costs about $70, a tiny pot of artificial flowers costs $60!!!
Just then, we saw them. The cushions. Words sewn with diamantes. My favourite at the store. One for me and one for The Boy - how cool is that?! Heh...
Gosh, everything is so nice!!! =p
The Sunday started off with a nice dim sum lunch at Red Star, one of my family's favourite dim sum eateries. Although it doesn't serve some of the finest dim sum in town, the queue always super long, the place always super crowded, we still enjoy the nostalgic and old-time feel to the place. The wait staff are a pretty aged bunch, so service can be grouchy and brash at times. Yet still, the sight of push-cart trolleys with baskets of piping hot dim sum in them is one to appreciate, as not many restaurants in Singapore do that anymore.
And of course, we had to take a few shots outside the neon signage, this old dame of a restaurant that has seen its hey days, set right amidst the multi-storey HDB carpark on Chin Swee Road. 
Before we went to the church for Baby Julian's baptism and evening mass, we managed to steal some time to check out a bit of the GSS action in town. Yes, I had to get the husband there, to get him all excited and understand why I went out of control the day before...
Right outside Paragon, I heard my name being called. IT WAS UNPOLISHED GEM & JON!! What a lovely coincidence! First it was Silver-crv on Saturday, then Unpolished Gem on Sunday - everyone's in town to check out the sale? We chatted briefly for a while before the couple had to rush off for another appointment.
In the evening, The Boy and I assumed the role of cameraman and woman for our baby nephew Julian's baptism. When the first baby was held up high, in the buff, just before he was submerged into the baptismal font, the whole congregation went "awwwww". Haha, it was so darn cute!!
Ok, I was going ga-ga over the babies too much, while they were being baptised, to pay proper attention to my phototaking. Clearly, I was distracted at some point in time, and probably missed quite a few moments for the camera! Oopsy!
Dinner was at this seafood restaurant along East Coast Road, set in an old colonial house, with a "long house" that was a huge kitchen. I've always wanted to check this place out, so now, am glad to finally have a taste of it! No regrets! *splurps*
It's not very often that you find everything you set your eyes upon, during a sale, and they have it in YOUR size AND in good condition. In this case, mind you that such incidents have not happened in the longest time, you succumb to the lure of the very word in the English dictionary that can make your heart miss a beat - SALE.
Right from the minute I got off work at 1pm this afternoon, I met up with Heng-mummy (she's an excellent shopping companion with limitless energy) and we combed the malls non-stop (except for a small tea break at HK cafe, Central) for the next 7 hours.
It was a good day for me, I felt as happy as the farmer with a good harvest. I managed to get quite a bit at unbelievably good prices, and I didn't feel one bit hungry even though I went without lunch. We were a pair of hardcore shopaholics, on the loose!
I even bumped into Mr & Mrs Silver-Crv. Mrs was looking very good, one month away from the EDD. It must be so exciting for them!
When I reached home, I eagerly shared with The Boy my theory of sale - the more you spend, the more you save. And that was why i came home with quite a few shopping bags, including some pressies for him. He liked the shirts very much, it's called bribery. Heh. :D
Lunch time came. We hopped onto the cab and zipped down to Orchard, all the way from Marina Square. We've been waiting till today to do this, since the whole of this week was packed with lunch entertainment. It was like breaking free of the prison, and this is what we had for lunch.
Thank goodness, I was STRONG and resisted temptation, emerging unscathed! Except for a small handphone strap lah.... =p
But came evening, the shopaholic adrenalin was still pumping high. And so we went down to vivocity for retail therapy part 2. I kept consoling myself that I won't spend as much come July. So DO IT NOW! Hehehehe.
Bizarre things have been happening to me. Was at the ehem, lingerie section at Takashimaya, wanting to buy some stuff. I picked out some seamless stuff, and asked the sales person what other colours does it come in. She pointed to some, and said, "Here. They got purple, they got yellow."
I looked at the purple and yellow stuff. Right. Firstly, I'm not into adventurous colours. Next, they were OBVIOUSLY NOT seamless.
The Boy has fallen ill, down with a bad sore throat and slight fever. Poor thing. Decided to make him some fish porridge for dinner this evening.
Rushed back from work, took some fish from Heng-papa, "kope" some ginger slices from the cze char auntie at East Coast Lagoon from which Heng-mummy was buying dinner from, and soon the fish porridge was bubbling away in the pot. Confession: This is my FIRST ATTEMPT ever at making porridge, any kind of porridge. And boy, was I pleased when The Boy, at the first mouthful, said, "I'm feeling better already".
He licked clean the entire bowl, and exclaimed that he has never in his life finished an entire bowl of fish porridge till today. Well, I enjoyed cooking it, guess this will be one of the regular eats for dinner from now.
In appreciation for his appreciation, I made him a card. Hey, today's the first day of GSS afterall, and I traded it for some nice together time at home. :D
Dresses in the shops these days are VERY forgiving. So much so that I think all the ladies out there who are preggers at the moment, Lilsnooze included, should have NO problem with finding maternity wear that's really nice! As opposed to the typical maternity wear, the kind that really DOES NOT look flattering at all, it's so easy to look like a chic, fashionista of a mummy-to-be now!
Now, is that one of the reasons why it's Baby Season now? ;)
