Season's greetings!

DAAAAYYYYUM my friend Samson makes me look good. Check out all his amazing work at www.7braidstrong.com or follow him on instagram @7braidstrong.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I absolutely love the holiday season for all the shopping, lights and decorations, Christmas tunes and FOOD!

My sister, her husband and her baby will be flying back to Singapore for Christmas, as will my two favouritest cousins and I'm excited for the reunion! There's really just so much to be happy about and thankful for, so it's hard for me to indulge in my usual snarky 'tude. Is it super old-timey that I referred to "attitude" as "tude"? GAH.

Before we get too caught up in the festive season, do take some time to think about the less fortunate. I hope you will be stirred to take action to help those in need. Even if you don't have much to give, don't forget that kindness is free. Treat people with respect and courtesy, and stand up against hatred and injustice. Okay now that I've gotten the preachy-ness out of the way...

WHAT'S UP FRIENDZIES!?!

Speaking of doing good, I'm totally heading into brag town today but it's adjacent to actual-message city:

I was at the gas station buying some milk, when a young boy, maybe 8 years old, wearing dirty ratty clothes with holes in them, comes up to me and asks if I have $2. I reply "yes" and he asks me to give it to him. So I say "ok, but why?" to which he responds, "I'm hungry". So I give him the $2 but think, what could he possibly buy with just $2.

So I walk up to him, I ask him if he's been fishing in canal and he says "yes, but never catch any fish, that's why I'm hungry." Feeling unusually charitable, I offer to buy him a sandwich. He gladly accepts, then asks if I'll buy one for his friend. I agree. Suddenly 1 boy turns into 3 boys and each boy wants 2 sandwiches because I guess they are hungry and growing. I buy the 6 sandwiches. In the meantime, they are choosing the sandwiches like "hmm eww this one is fish, I'll change it for chicken". I think, 'beggars (not that they are beggars per say but he did ask me for $2 right?) can indeed be choosers.'

I go off on my way, having spent $20 bucks at the gas station on 6 sandwiches and a carton of milk. I feel good but also a little silly for spending so much. Plus those kids kept calling me "auntie". Amazing that I didn't just throw their sandwiches on the floor and say "AUNTIE?!? I'll show you auntie!!!!"

However, the kicker is that I saw them again recently - they were fishing by the canal and as I walked past, I glanced at their fishing rods and gear. That stuff looked high-tech and pretty fancy! And they were fishing with a guy I assumed to be their older brother who most certainly didn't look dirty, ratty-clothed. They most certainly weren't beggars as I had so quickly assumed. So the moral of the story is, while it's nice to buy sandwiches for the less fortunate, it is also really nice to not be totally punked by some hungry free-loading kids with amazing fishing gear. Also, I guess 8 year old boys' clothes will get dirty and ratty and holey because they are 8 year old boys after all.

Happy holidays and thanks for reading!

Presidential

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I've taken quite the hiatus from posting because I've lost my photographer, but I met up with dear Samson who I forced to take some photos of me and I gotta say, I LOVE HIS WORK. Not just because it's of me. Check out his stuff at www.7braidstrong.com or follow him on insta @7braidstrong.

So okay, so much has happened and I've really missed writing so this may come out kind of long and rambly.

I was watching the U.S. elections like a hawk, I pretty much devoured any liberal leaning news (yes, I like my opinions to be validated by like-minded news - totally biased!) so as you can expect, I was disappointed when HRC wasn't elected.  I had hoped the U.S. would elect its first female president, and also because the civil rights causes that HRC champions are near and dear to my heart - Women's rights, equality for the LGBTQ community, and rocking pantsuits. Like come on, GO HILLARY! I actually teared up quite a during the 3 days post-election but life goes on!

Over here in Singapore, our parliament just passed a bill to amend our constitution with regard to our presidential election to propose racial representation. It seems a little forced to me, considering we're a meritocracy but I do believe in fairness and equality for all. And since I think our President tends to be a symbolic figurehead, k whatever. However, I can't wait to see the bill evolve into ensuring women are also equally represented. How about it eh?? WOOO GO CRAZY ANGRY FEMINIST!! Maybe I could be Singapore's first female president. VOTE FOR ME! My slogan will be "I'm with her (because she has pizza)".

So speaking about potential jobs for me... My dear friend Char suggested I start a vlog to talk about stuff I'm good at - like cleaning, being insane about dogs and being a strange dingbat. How fun would that be? Me droning on endlessly about cleaning products and how difficult it is balancing having a dog and being Singapore's first female president... SMASH HIT BABY. Unfortunately I don't think it's likely to happen since I'm bad with technology and I don't think anyone I know can bear following me around and videotaping me for long stretches of time without going batshit cray. But one can dream I suppose.

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I put that line in between because I'm now totally jumping to a new thought because it's kind of past my bedtime (10pm, yes I am a baby) and I'm feeling like there are a few things I have to just talk about.

1. I had an epiphany today and I think it's super valid and important - We women may all be one half mermaid - the top half! Slap on some shell bras and be your best half mermaid self my sexy lady friends.

2. If your name was Frank, would you use the phrase "I'm gonna be Frank with you" before dropping some truth, and would you smirk each time?

3. I am supposing in this scenario that you, like me, say 'excuse me' to the people around you when you sneeze. When you're alone, let's say in a room by yourself, maybe your dog is there. And you sneeze. Do you say "excuse me?" Asking for a friend.

4. Have you ever trolled a scammer? I had my first experience doing so. And it felt great after the fact. Apparently there are these scams going on where you get some call from "UPS" or "DHL" or some delivery company and they ask you to maybe transfer money or give them your kidney or something. So what happened was I receive a call from what appeared to be a local number, I answered and one of those automated voices come on and say something about a package and press 1 to be transferred to an operator. So I press 1 thinking "hmmm maybe I bought something I don't remember?" and some dude answers in crisp China style mandarin. He says a bunch of words and I say "I can't speak Chinese, can you please put me through to an English speaking operator" to which he responds "No" and hangs up. I was like WHAT KIND OF SERVICE IS THIS??? I wanted to call back and yell! Then it dawned on me. How annoying, what a waste of excitement over the fact that I might have been the recipient of some drunk online shopping I may have forgotten buying (it happens).

5. Did you know that I have magic words? I wrote this post on 2 July and it was dedicated to my sister who was pregnant. She had told me she was due between then and 10 July. And guess what? Less than 24 hours later, she went into labour and gave birth to a super cutie. I'm not saying I'm amazing or anything, but I may have the power to induce labour. I should most definitely be President of something.

Okay, thanks for reading, if you've made it all the way here, congratulations and what's wrong with you? Love yewwwww.

Dope stuff

Top: Forever 21 (Similar here) | Skirt: Paul Smith (Similar here) | Shoes: Charles & Keith (Similar here)

Clutch: Kate Spade (Similar here) | Necklace: Nichii (Similar here) | Ring: Jessica Buurman (Similar here)

First up, my deepest thanks to my friend Samson aka 7braidstrong who does cool stuff like take photos of me drinking coffee. It was, in his words, dope. 

I'd like to follow up this post with my usual ranting and raving but I think it wouldn't really do justice to his photos so I'll just let you soak them up and enjoy the tall drink of water that is yours truly. LOL.

Follow me on instagram for daily shenanigans at alexwearsstuff. And follow him on instagram for super dope artsy stuff at 7braidstrong.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

T-shirt: Gap (Similar here) | Skirt: Nichii (Similar here) | Shoes: Converse

Bag: Mango (Similar here) | Necklace: Gift from Mousie (Similar here) | Bracelet: Old (Similar here) 

The Good

After loving the Glam Glow Thirstymud hydrating treatment that Leo bought for me, and hearing Mims rave about the Glam Glow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate treatment, I knew I had to try it. It is after all, one of Glam Glow’s bestsellers. Mims had warned that it would sting a little so I was expecting my face to be on fire or something (I feel like my skin’s pretty sensitive), but it really wasn’t so bad. It did sting, but when I moved from applying it in the bathroom, to sitting in front of the fan (blasting cool air directly at my face), the stinging feeling went away. I left the black gritty mud mask on my face for about 10 minutes and then washed it off in a slow circular scrubbing motion for that exfoliating effect. After just one use, my face felt tighter (I imagine a mild facelift might feel like this) and it felt so clean and soft. I love it but now I’m surfing the Glam Glow website and I’m pretty convinced I need the Supermud clearingtreatment for stubborn blackheads on my nose. Help! 

Not the ambassador for Super Mud unfortunately

Magic in a pot

The bad

So I saw this Makeup Eraser cloth on a Buzzfeed article and I thought, “Ooh a cloth that I can use and reuse and will magically remove all my makeup with just water”. Sounds too good to be true right? And yup, it is too good to be true. So disclaimer: I was in a rush to remove my makeup so I’m not sure if I was doing it right and I didn’t read the instructions. I ran some water over it and the cloth appeared to be magically not absorbing* much water, then, I rubbed it on my face.  The cloth is soft to the touch and feels gentle being smooshed around my face, and the powder and blush I was wearing seemed to come off (but I don’t think my face powder and blush are really that resilient) but my mascara and eyeliner took much more rubbing. And even then I had panda eyes! I’m not one to call it quits though – I’m going to dedicate a bit more time to letting it soak up water (maybe have to try warm water because that’s what other people seem to be using) and then try it again. But so far, I’m MEH about it. 

*Update: So I used it again (this is an edit from my initial post a few days after) and it seemed to absorb more water, and my makeup came off clean enough (some eyeshadow sparkles appeared to remain though) but I really wasn't wearing heavy duty makeup so still on the fence. Double MEH.

The ugly

Me with Youthmud on.  Sweet dreams tonight. 

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thanks for reading!

Noms!

Top: Zalora | Pants: Gift from Manman/Misguided | Shoes: Charles & Keith (Similar here) | Sunglasses: Nichii (Similar here)

Necklace: Gift from Cyn (Similar here) | Ring: Gift from Cyn (Similar here): Bracelets: Diva (Similar here)

I’ve been trying to eat a little healthier lately – this is tremendously difficult for me because there is not a single fried or super processed piece of food that I don’t like. Also, whenever I’m grumpy (which is probably 80% of the time), I crave sugary carb loaded processed food. I also barely have any discipline – If you put delicious food in front of me, I will eat it.

Nonetheless, as I’ve matured, I’ve come to see the value in a healthy balanced diet, or really, a healthy balanced everything. This isn’t just for the obvious vain reasons, but also for my general well-being.

Because I have the appetite of a bear that’s just woken from hibernation, I pretty much always need to snack and I’ve found a delightful healthy snack to curb my midday munchies. 

QUINOA CUPS!

I first found the recipe from here (I was trying to find a breakfast substitute for my normal Nutella but let’s be serious here, I am NEVER giving up Nutella), and I tried it out using spinach and it was good but tasted a little too healthy, so now I use ham and mushrooms and that’s much yummier, but seriously there are so many options, I might try broccoli one day although it may give the quiche a kind of moldy appearance. 

You can mix up the proportions but I guess you'll need a proportionate amount of eggs to glue it all together

 The Alex style recipe:

• Three quarter cup of uncooked quinoa – this will become about 2 cups when cooked
• Half cup of diced up ham
• One cup of chopped mushrooms
• Three-quarters cup of chopped onion (it really depends on how much onion I have and feel like chopping)
• One cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
• Two tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese
• Three to four eggs (the original says two whole eggs and two egg whites which probably would be healthier but I don’t know what I would then do with two leftover egg yolks and also I don’t know how to do that fancy egg separating thing using the shells)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Get cookin':

1.       Cook the quinoa and let it cool

2.       Chop the ham, mushrooms and onion, shred the cheese, beat the eggs

3.       Put everything into a bowl and mix it in evenly

I chop everything quite finely so it sticks together better

I use mixed quinoa (black and white) but all white probably would look nicer and less like it has ants

4.       Pre-heat the oven to 175 - 180 degrees Celsius 

Sweet Breville* oven of gloriousness

5.       Put the mix into an oiled muffin/cupcake baking tray

Carefully scoop the mix into the tray - Don't drop a single grain, quinoa is EXPENSIVE

6.       Bake in oven for 15 – 20 minutes

7.       Enjoy the deliciousness (actually, might be best to remove it from the tray and cool it a bit or risk burning your mouth. True story.  

Swivel and scoop 'em out

Get in ma belly!

Not only are they healthy, they’re easy to make (chop chop chop mix mix bake NOMS), easy to store (in mouth like a hamster, or in a fridge/freezer for another day) and obvs easy to eat (pop in mouth, chew, hot or cold, it tastes good!)

There are a few cons to making this of course, mainly the price of quinoa (but with my cupcake try of about 2 inch diameter per cup, I make about 24 cups so it seems reasonable I think) and the fact that the things need to be chopped up, which can be a little time-consuming. I’m considering getting a processor because I’m committed to making these babies.

Anyway, I urge you to try it out, and go crazy with the variety of fillings you could possibly use then let me know how it turns out.

Thanks for reading! 

* No seriously, this toaster oven mousie bought for momster is DA BOMB. It cooks so evenly, is so easy to use, have a ton of cool settings (like reheat, warm, bake, toast, grill, roast, zumba... ok maybe not that last one) is large enough to roast a chicken. It's a really great addition to the kitchen for those who are oven-challenged. My regular stove connected oven sucks. 

I knew I loved you before I met you

Top: ASOS (Similar here) | Skirt: J. Crew (Similar here) | Shoes: Romwe | Bag: Gift from Cyn (Similar here)

Necklace: Gift from Wens (Marc by Marc Jacobs) | Hand chain: Nasty Gal (Similar here) | Ring: Gift from Mellie (Twentyeight Lane)  

So fresh out of the shower; wet hair wrapped up, I sat at my desk typing and realised there are a few things in my life that I really didn't know I needed until I got them. I'm sure you have these things too, things that make your life so much easier but you really never would have thought of it until it was given to you or you chanced upon it. Kind of like a coffee sleeve, so basic and so brilliant. 

Introducing... The things you didn't know you needed until now: 

Head wrap thingy - This pink terry cloth geniusness sits atop my head and prevents my wet hair from drooping down my shoulders, thus wetting the t-shirt I'm wearing. Plus it keeps the hair away from the face so it's also great during makeup application time. My momster bought this from Japan when she was on vacation and at first I thought, 'what kind of rubbish is this?' But I use it everyday now. You might say, 'that's what a towel is for', to which I reply, 'You foolish human being.' I was like you once, a towel turban wearer but this is great for Singapore because it's basically a snood for the head so it lets the head breathe through the open hole at the top. Much cooler, and there isn't that extra fabric swinging around (for bigger towels). Plus it's better than the small towels they wrap around your head at salons and clip because duh, no need for the clip (economical!) and it doesn't run the risk of falling off. BRILLIANT. 

Body wrap thingy: Ok this is like a sarong towel. It's the more cooling, waaaay more unglamorous version of the bath robe. With its elasticised top, it kiaps on tight to the body so no risk of walking around your house semi-naked only to become fully naked. I throw this on whenever I'm applying a face mask, or while putting on my makeup before I get dressed. I first chanced upon this at my facial place and I was so hellbent on getting one I stole it (Just kidding... Or maybe not... But of course I'm kidding... Maybe...)

Aladdin bottle: A group of us were wandering inside Mustafa shopping centre and my friend and I got waaaay too excited when we saw this. I recall it being kind of pricey but come on, it keeps your water cool for longer while not allowing condensation to form and drip all over the place. That is just pure sorcery. I know Bodum cups are basically the same thing but this is a plastic bottle (safe for kids!) and doesn't cost an arm, leg, spleen and maybe one eyeball. It came with attachable plastic cups but after a few days of pretending to be a dainty lady, I gave up and reverted back to my crass bottle-swigging self. Aaaahh refreshing!    

This nail-clipper: You think a nail-clipper is just a nail-clipper right? No. You are wrong. Please get with the program. This nail-clipper is the bomb. It is super sharp and collects all the nail clippings inside its little nail-clipper body. I know, there are others out there that you can buy at the dollar store with the plastic bit. But no. Trust me. This nail-clipper is not messing around. It is the Michael Jordan of nail-clippers. The boo bought it for Christmas for me from Tokyu Hands. And before you start thinking, 'What??? Nail clippers for Christmas?? Is he the grinch??', well, yes, but that's not the point. Because I am the female grinch and I absolutely love a good functional gift. (Although I also like things like clothes, shoes, purses, and jewellery which are slightly less functional). 

Alright, I've gone on like a rabid dog for a while about all these things that you didn't know you needed. Go forth and acquire.

Thanks for reading!