Happy Lunar New Year

My buddy Samson aka @7braidstrong (www.7braidstrong.com) shot all these photos and rushed to edit them in time for Chinese New Year because apparently I'm a slave driver. Poor dude has a wife, a kid, a full-time job, a side gig in photography, and here I am bossing him about to give me awesome photos. Muchos gracias. I wish I could feel bad but I don't because I love all his work. If you're looking for a photographer, get in touch with him.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

I hope the year of the rooster is an auspicious and prosperous one for you and your loved ones! I personally have never been all that traditional but as I grow older, I definitely have begun to appreciate this festive season more, and care for what it means - MONEY. LOL.

I had to lead the lohei at my family's reunion dinner (which is definitely not like any other reunion dinner - we had tortillas and tacos, and we invited a whole bunch of random non-Chinese folk) and while I'm pretty sure reading it off some page I found on google is kind of lame and my Chinese accent was all off, I felt this need to show off my Chinese-ness while also realising that basically every step in the lohei is about money, wealth, valuables, gold, more money, more wealth, and prosperity. Duuuuude we need to get a grip.

Nonetheless, I had a great time sharing a part of my culture with people who might have been largely unfamiliar with this aspect. I hope they left dinner with some new insights ("we LOVE money") and yusheng is delicious.

Thanks for reading, may it bring you big money.

Pregnant

Top: Old (Similar here) | Skirt: Kookai | Shoes: Pedder Red (Similar here)

Bag: Pimkie (Similar here) | Hat: ASOS

So I'm NOT pregnant but I've been asked twice this year. I don't really mind though because I'm of that age where it would be common to assume I could be pregnant, and in both cases I was wearing a droopy sack dress and flats. 

However, my point isn't about me (shocking I know since I'm usually so self-absorbed). The point is that my sister, the best sister that anyone could ask for actually IS pregnant and is due to give birth within the next 10 days. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. I'm going to be an AUNT! Lol there we go, back to me again. 

OMG I'M PREGGERS!

 Mousie has always known she's wanted kids and it's so great because I know she's going to make for a super rad mom. Like disciplined but also like kind of dorky and maybe will tell lots of mom jokes. Anyway, let's not forget her baby daddy aka her hubby Micky*. 

Baby daddy extraordinaire!

He probably won't be doing dad jokes because he likes to pretend to be super cool but I know he's also a super dork which makes them MFEO. 

I think my sister is pretty awesome because she's kind of always been like a little mom to me, helping me navigate my way through life. 

 

"This is how you totally nail wedding photos, little sister"

Mousie has been a role model and inspiration to me because she isn't just a pretty face...

Phweee phweet!

She's also really smart (Harvard masters yo), has a kick-ass career, is really sure of what she wants from life, while still managing to be humble, down to earth, and genuine. Also she looks really good in hats of the animal variety.

Dontcha wish your gf was hot like me

Dontcha wish your gf was a freak like me

She's also a compassionate and caring human being, who aside from wanting to save the world, also wants to share all the love she has. 

Loves Nacho almost as much as I do

Truly, Mousie will give this baby all the love she can give, and impart the ways of the world to this wee baby, teaching le baby all the finer things in life. Such as how to enjoy a good meal. 

DONTCHA?!

The way she taught me...

Thank you for introducing crepe cake to me

Although life is going to change - maybe she won't have as much time to mother me, and her interests and topics of conversation may change, and maybe we'll be a little too busy to keep in touch as often as we'd like...

SOB

But I think at the end of the day, we'll still be awesome sisters. And when we meet, it'll be like nothing has changed.

Phew!

Except we'll have one more person to love and adore, to do fun stuff with, and to put funny cute hats on.

I can't wait to meet you baby Mungbean**, and I can't wait to discuss all the gross things that happen during birth.

Congratulations to Micky and Mousie!

Not the baby

Thanks for reading!

*Name changed to embarrass Sir Micky
** Name TBC but Mungbean is a strong contender because why not?

LIVE UPDATE! She's in labour NOW!!!

Nailed it

T-shirt: Banana Republic (Similar here) | Skirt: Chicwish (Similar here) | Shoes: ASOS (Similar-ish here) | Sunglasses: Pieces (Similar here)

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here) | Necklace: Twentyeight Lane | Ring: Glebe Market (Similar here)

So I have a freak hand. It's no big deal really. I was born with a left hand that is lacking a muscle. I guess it might have been a big deal if I was like, really musically gifted and had the potential to be a world class guitar player (my hand is too small so I can't grip the guitar well and my thumb can't hold down the necessary chord... Or something). Although, there are people without limbs who do tons of crazy awesome stuff so maybe I'd have just learned to play it with my toes... But that is not the point and I digress waaaay too much. Seriously, where was I?

Oh yes. Freak hand. No big deal. So aside from not being able to do a few things here and there, I also have the related freak nails. Teeny tiny nail beds on short stumpy fingers. It's clearly very attractive. Because my hands aren't exactly an attraction, among various reasons, I don't usually do my nails.

Freak hand

Buuuuut. I did my nails recently! I met a lady called Zoe and she owns a nail parlour called Thumbelina so I thought I'd check it out and I'm so glad I did because seriously my hands and feet needed some TLC.

Thumbelina is a cute little place that's on the second level of a row of shophouses along Bukit Timah Road. It's a blink and you might miss it place which might really add to its charm since its namesake is a blink and you'll miss her kind of fairy.

A signboard so you won't miss it

 The parlour is quaintly decorated with cute and girly accents - a perfect home for the little fairy.

The rows and rows of nail polishes are from O.P.I. and Chanel so you know this means it's fancy pants. Seriously made it hard to pick a colour.

I sat in the chair by the window so I could look out when I was bored but I ended up chatting my Nora, my manicurist who was really a delight. She told me that she wanted to be a flight attendant when she was younger but couldn't meet the height criteria. She said, "I stopped growing tall but kept growing sideways".

I was given 3 huge books filled with nails, which made me think of a great idea for an episode of Criminal Minds. Like a killer with a penchant for keeping fingernails in a book. How creepy right??? I should be a screenwriter.

Nora helped me pick out complimentary colours for my fingers and toes. I ended up choosing a glittery pink because I thought I should girl it up all the way.

Tch tch tch tch - the sound of filing 'em talons down

It was a very pleasant experience to be pampered by people, although it feels a little weird to have people touching my feet (and scraping the dead skin off it... EW!! Sorry!) 

Freak hand after pampering

Well, the hand is still freaky, can't do anything about that. But now they are SHINY freaky. So YAY!

So if you feel like your freaky hands and feet need some help, check out Thumbelina and ask for Nora. She is the bomb-diggity.

Thanks for reading!

Leopard love

Top: H&M | Skirt: Chicnova | Shoes: Pedro (Similar-ish here) | Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here) | Ring: Jessica Buurman

I'm an animal lover, in case you didn't already know, and my not-so-secret retirement dream is to go live on an elephant sanctuary so I can... I dunno, shovel elephant poop... But also so I can make the lives of those gentle giants better. I would also love to run a dog shelter so I could hang out with Nacho all day and maybe he'd be less cray around other dogs and just chill out and be awesome. 

In the news lately (or not so lately depending on when I post this), Cecil the lion was killed by a hunting enthusiast from the USA.... Not cool man. I don't understand hunting for sport. It doesn't seem very sporty to shoot at animals that are just like, wandering about being chill and majestic and letting the wind blow through their gorgeous manes.  

And prior to that, there was the annual Yulin dog meat festival. I mean, I love dogs, I would never consume dog meat, and I know it's hypocritical of me to be all up in arms about dogs when I eat other types of meat for subsistence, but the inhumane ways people steal, store and kill the meat they eat... That's just horrible business. Plus the fact that dogs are such good companions to humans really makes me wonder what's up in Yulin. Surely some changes can be made.

But not to be a huge Debbie downer... Some super news I read lately about the ending of the mass slaughter of animals in Nepal (and strangely, also Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab fame). Through Ms Lumley's efforts, the mass sacrifice of all animals, big and small, was halted because they mad respect her for her work to champion the recognition of Gurkhas' place and contributions in UK. See? Change can happen. COME ON YULIN. STEP THE HELL UP. 

Thanks for reading guys, go on and hug your dog/cat/hamster/cow now! 

Velvet love

Dress: Gift from Steph (Similar here) | Shoes: Karen Millen (Similar here) | Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here) 

I am obsessed with this Korres shower-gel that my friend Angie got for me. It smells SO delicious because it's a mix of velvet orris, violet and white pepper (so says the label but I'm really just guessing here) and it's the kind of scent that lingers on the body so it feels like body wash and perfume all in one, but minus any fake and yucky chemicals that can actually cause your skin to be dry. Korres originates from Greece and the products are made from natural ingredients in recipes passed down through the generations. Another great thing is that they don't test on animals!

You smell so good

Of course Korres products are a bit more expensive than regular supermarket/pharmacy brands so being a cheapo, I squeeze just a little bit of the body wash onto my wet loofah and work it into a lather. This is great because I slough away dead skin cells while ensuring I'm not overusing cleanser. Expert saving tip lor!!

So if you're looking to pamper yourself with some awesome body wash, I seriously urge you to give Korres a try. Thaaaaaaaaaaanks.

Thanks for reading!