(All peektures are click-able for larger, clearer views)

Blush peasant blouse from Supre, denim shorts from Abercrombie Kids, Dreamweaver Bag from Spell and the Gypsy Collective, Carmen Harness Short boots in Burnt Red from Frye.

We started off with brunch at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which was awesome. I had the Croque Madame which was absolutely delicious and the serving was so generous I had to leave one piece of toast behind. And I have always enjoyed the side salad they do at every outlet for their breakfast items.

After we were more than adequately fed, it was time to shop. We were barely able to move out of a certain area, because for some strange reason, the cluster of stores around that particular stretch in Ion were carrying many, many clothes in styles I love! You know how sometimes, you are out to buy but find nothing you like? And sometimes, you find a whole lot of stuff when you least expect it? That was what happened, and it hasn’t happened in a while! It was quite satisfying. Loot peekture at the end of this post!

I didn’t buy this Spanish style maxi dress even though I quite liked it. Kate and I were both not sure I would wear these colours very often.

Hours later, we hit Laduree, which has finally opened in Singapore! In case you don’t know, Laduree is my favourite maker of macarons. I was so excited when they opened in Singapore, but due to drowning in work, I wasn’t able to get my little ass there till now.

We went away with a little loot of six macarons. <3

Kate and I shared three macarons and I took the other three home to slowly savour… She found them still a little too sweet for her taste, though she quite liked the dark chocolate macaron.

We had an awful experience at Robert Timms, by the way. Not only did they serve me horrid coffee, the service was terrible. I won’t go into details, but we probably wouldn’t go there again.

And here’s my total loot of the day! Can you tell I am getting ready for my Chicago summer? :D

I also have some exciting eBay news! Last week, I scored my first pair of vintage Frye boots and my first exotic leather anything! These luscious deep red lizard skin boots, vintage and unworn, retailed for $500 back in the day, and I scored them for… $31. Woohoo! These are auction peektures I grabbed off eBay. They are being shipped to Chicago and I will see them when I get there. You can bet your last dollar they are gonna be a big part of my summer wardrobe!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far!

x o x o
bB

My next destination is… Chicago. Departing 1st June. I will either be back in September, or not at all. LOL!

Just kidding. I will definitely miss my mom, so I will be back… at some point. :)

Having gotten the Vienna peektures out of the way, I will try to finish posting Bangkok and San Francisco/Reno/Enfield/Boston peektures from my Sony before I take off again.

At the same time, I’m about to start a new work project. And I will have to start preparing 101 things for my upcoming summer in Chicago, so it is time to go into overdrive (again)!

x o x o
bB

I found a site that had an option of three potted miniature roses, and ordered them promptly for delivery on Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, on Saturday night, they informed me that it would take two days for them to get the plants! Pretty annoying… Why did they not state that on the site? They tried to convince me to switch to a bouquet of cut flowers, which I refused and asked for a refund. Was it just a sale tactic to force people into buying something from them? Not impressed.

So, Sunday morning, I woke up super early to try to make alternative plans. I rang another nursery, and was pleasantly surprised that they not only had the miniature roses, they could even deliver within two hours! I was stoked. The delivery went smoothly, including a ninja mission where I met the delivery guy downstairs to make the payment first, so Mom doesn’t know how much I’m paying. The pots of roses were beautifully wrapped, and Mom was happy.

However! Upon closer look, the pink rose plant did not seem to be doing well. I only noticed it was slightly droopy at first. But after about three hours, it was obviously dying. Every flower and leaf had turned downwards. I rang the nursery and was told to water it. That seemed strange because the soil seemed wet. Mom had gone out for her choir class, and when she came back in the evening, we inspected the plant again and she pointed out that the stems and roots were all dark. The plant was probably sick well beforehand.

The next day, the red rose plant appeared to be starting to droop as well. I rang the nursery again, told them the problem, and said we would be happy to take the plants to them for an exchange, to which they agreed.

It turned out to be a rather fun excursion for Mom and bB. She was like a kid in a candy store. We poked around all the nurseries there, exchanged the sick rose plants for two healthy, happy ones, and also brought home a tiny pot of miniature orchids.

They did not have any more red rose plants, so we picked a dark pink and a baby pink. They are gorgeous! And doing extremely well! So it turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

We also had a lot of fun repotting them into proper, bigger, more comfy pots. Both pots consist of several small plants in each, and the darker pink plants were all growing sideways in their original pot. So it was a bit of effort to separate them and replant properly. Totally worth it though. They are absolutely flourishing now.

It has always been difficult to get Mom any pressies because she has always lived simply and doesn’t like luxury goods. It is even difficult getting her to go out for a meal! But now, I have endless options of gorgeous plants to get her!

x o x o
bB

I’m sure there will be many of these posts because I just love Spell and the Gypsy Collective! My second package arrived from these wonderful ladies from Byron Bay and they are as fab as the first items I received!

I bought the Woodstock Backless Maxi Dress in Blush, which has sold out a second time now (but you can buy the Cream dress here), and the Dreamweaver Bag in Antique Brown.

(All peektures are click-able for larger, clearer views)

Blush cap-sleeved tee from Cotton On, denim shorts from Abercrombie Kids, Carmen Harness Tall boots from Frye.

The Dreamweaver Bag is much larger than my Voodoo Crochet Bag (which is also sold out in Cream now, but you can still get the Antique Brown). There is a fair bit of extra room, which comes in very handy. The leather was just as silky soft. The bone detailing was carefully wrapped and the entire bag was beautifully constructed. I did have a small problem with it though – after using it the first time, my Molang rabbit iPhone jack (a white bunny) became stained in brown from the dark brown lining inside. Strangely I have yet to observe any colour transfer onto my Balenciaga wallet and coin purse, but I am absolutely unable to clean Molang up. Could this be some sort of a reaction between the type of plastic and the dye? Or did humidity have a hand in it?

I still love the bag, regardless, especially for its awesome size and intricate boho detailing. I will observe further for colour transfer issues.

Below is an outfit I wore the second time I took my Voodoo Crochet Bag in Cream out. Now that I have seen how gorgeous the Antique Brown leather is, I may get the Voodoo Crochet Bag in Antique Brown as well. Then I would have options for a smaller or bigger size according to my needs for the day. Maybe I also need the Dreamweaver Bag in Cream? Options are always good to have. Right, girls? :)

Floral sundress (so old I can’t remember where I bought it), Carmen Harness Short boots from Frye.

I can’t wait till they release some new stuff. I hope there are new bags coming! I just adore their bags!

The Mother’s Day 20% discount on selected items is still on! Use the code lovemum at the checkout. Have fun!

x o x o
bB

(All peektures are clickable for larger, clearer views)

My little loot of Laduree macarons.

The kind Chinese couple next to me offered more tissues when they noticed what I was doing. I cleaned all my stuff and transferred them to my Envirosax, and tried not to think about Sorbet and how I was going to clean her. Had a nice chat with them and took peektures of my Laduree macarons.

With some rather nasty airplane coffee.

So I had the intention of snacking on them during the short flight.

But I realised I would leave a gap between them and cause them to bump around. So I didn’t.

I took peektures of them, and then wrapped them up again. LOL!

It was a beautiful day.

I was really happy to leave Paris for Vienna.

Good Samaritans sitting beside me.

Upon landing, my friend W was right outside the gate waiting. What a relief to see a familiar friendly face, and I was in good hands from there. We grabbed my luggage off the belt and took a cab to the hotel, which was near his apartment. It was a business hotel, very clean, efficient and inviting.

The hotel that W checked me into.

Lovely bathroom and wall heater.

I loved this thing about Europe (so far). They seem to understand that a heater in a bathroom is essential.

Clean, comfy bed and warm details.

Poor Sorbet, looking forlorn after her accident.

A nice large space where I could open my luggage.

And we were off to explore!

There was a lot of art in the city.

Many little streets like this.

Cute mini clocks in a window.

And horses are a big part of the city too.

Loved the horse sculptures on the roof.

I loved all the buildings I saw.

We took a peek at the stables.

Zoomed in through the glass windows.

Didn’t get to see a performance but at least I saw the horses!

Beautiful little details like matching flowers in the planter boxes.

There was a sense of orderliness and beauty that I appreciated.

Cannot remember the names of the buildings.

But they were majestic and absolutely gorgeous.

The detailing was just amazing.

Excavation display.

A simple snack stop.

Salad and soup to tide us over till dinner.

I took a million peektures of buildings.

Beautiful churches.

Restoration going on for a grand old dame.

It was breathtaking inside.

Dancing flames.

I have a thing for spiral staircases.

With the light streaming through the tall windows, it looked almost magical.

W showed me his office at the UN.

I never expected to ever enter a UN office.

Teehee!

Beautiful view from his office window.

It was so serene and wonderful.

The glow of a sunset over the city.

Doing the tourist thing!

Art is embraced everywhere.

We took a walk through a carnival.

I love ferris wheels, although I’m afraid of heights.

And I love carnivals, although I can no longer stomach the rides.

Carnivals just feel magical somehow.

I also like trees.

Balenciaga moto jacket, Alexander McQueen cashmere blend scarf, Nobody Denim skirt,
Frye Carmen Short boots, Balenciaga Mini Pompon in Rose Thulian.

Biggest snake I have ever seen.

He asked if I would like to go on the ferris wheel.

Exhibits in the ferris wheel waiting area.

Lots of intricate miniatures.

This was my favourite.

Hot air ballon!

I was more calm than I expected to be.

Glorious night scene.

The cars were very rickety though.

I only had to grab the rails a coupla times.

The dining car.

This is my favourite ride to look at. I doubt I would ever get on it.

Eerily beautiful church at night.

They were starting to put up Christmas decorations.

My birthday dinner! This whipped butter was soooo goood.

Was this bacon soup? I can’t remember, but it was awesome.

First time trying meat jelly, not too bad.

Excellent duck confit.

W, a fellow foodie, happy to help polish off anything I couldn’t finish.

We were lucky to score a table from simply walking in.

Massive gingerbread house!

Birthday coffee.

Birthday cake!

No candles but at least I had good company.

I was starting to fade at this point.

I slept really well that night! The next day, I had complimentary brekkie at the hotel. As instructed by W, I found my way to the back restaurant, that most other guests did not know about. They were mostly in the front lounge. The back restaurant was lovely and exclusive, with a wider rage of brekkie items.

Hotel brekkie rocked!

Hidden gem in the hotel.

I like a well-lit room and a massive mirror.

Balenciaga moto jacket, Alexander McQueen cashmere blend scarf,
dress from Revolve (can’t remember brand), Frye Carmen Short boots.

More buildings! This one was a school.

They like to paint the domes in green?

Beautifully intricate gold ball thingy.

I would love to live in one of the corner apartments with the round balconies.

More horsey details.

A simple building with visual impact.

More restoration going on.

Classic arches.

Lines and columns.

Wide open spaces.

Even my panoramic function wasn’t long enough.

We gave our two cameras to a lovely couple, who snapped random shots of us.

I rather like the candid ones.

W, my awesome friend.

Thank you for hosting me at the last minute!

Another sculpture of guy on horse.

I loved these bare trees. They looked a little Tim Burton-ish.

Tree-lined avenue.

Me in a tree-lined avenue.

Mugshot of the trip.

They say Paris is the city of romance. I disagree. I think Vienna is more like it.

Can’t get over the scale of the buildings here. So awesome.

A Christmas market! But we were out of time.

Last building peekture.

A final meal before I was off to the airport!

I was a little nervous transiting in CDG. Paris seemed to be a bit of a jinx for me. Thankfully, nothing major happened although there was a massive line at the check-in due to disorganisation (of Air France). Took a seriously long time to check in for my flight to Singapore. My spirits lifted when I saw a Laduree counter.

Laduree takeaway counter back at CDG where I transited to go home.

After having a rather awful time in Paris, my short 1.5 day visit to Vienna more than made up for it. I was so glad I decided to do it, instead of staying in Paris for a miserable birthday. Regardless of company, I found Paris gritty, harsh and unfriendly in general. I could not feel the romance that everyone speaks of. In contrast, Vienna was peaceful, orderly, safe and happy. It was almost like a European version of Singapore, but with a rich cultural heritage and plenty more character. People there seemed genuinely nice. Parisians seem to be all about themselves (no offense to any Parisian who happens to read this, this was merely how I felt, from the vibe of the place. I’m sure there are nice people there too, but I did not meet any).

So that was my little adventure in Europe. There are many other places I would like to explore in Europe so I don’t know if I will go back to Paris. It is a wonderful place for high-end shopping, but that isn’t really a priority for me anymore. I know there are wonderful little suburbs around I should still visit, so I’m not totally writing it off. We shall see.

I still have peektures from Bangkok last year, and more peektures from the US after that, all of which are in my Sony NEX, still unprocessed. So stay tuned for those!

x o x o
bB

Will start posting either tomorrow or the day after!

I know… I have not posted any good Sony peektures, but just crappy ones from the iPhone lately. To anyone still holding on to their panties, thank you for your patience! :D

x o x o
bB

Thankfully, my face is holding up. I will do a post on Mario Badescu products soon… Just need to get on top of work for now.

I am so in love with my patchwork quilt I brought home from Reno, NV. <3 So glad I decided to cart it all the way back!

Someone sent me this in the morning. :)

Have an awesome day, everyone! :)

x o x o
bB

My first order included the Woodstock Backless Maxi Dress in Cream, currently on sale from AU$169 to AU$119! Nab it quick! And I also bought the Voodoo Crochet Tassel Bag in Cream.

(All peektures are click-able for larger, clearer views)

I absolutely love them! The bag is just darling. The leather is extremely soft, and is meant to have the vintage look, so I don’t feel like I have to baby it. The dress is super soft cotton, very slightly sheer but there is crochet detailing at the bust so you can go bra-less with it. I have to take it for slight alterations on the hem and back, so I will post proper mod shots later on.

I haven’t been going out much at all, so I only have one outfit to post. I might as well combine it here because I took my Voodoo Crochet bag out for the first time. I just love how easy it is to wear and use! It is smaller in capacity than my Balenciaga Mini Pompons, but that’s fine. I can easily downsize the stuff I carry. I just love how carefree and easy it feels and looks.

I also love how my hair is settling in. This is how it looks when I wash and wear it on my own.

A few days ago, I saw that they restocked the Woodstock dress in Blush, a colour that had been sold out previously. I jumped on it immediately! And since I loved the Voodoo Crochet bag so much, I also bought the Dreamweaver Bag in Antique Brown.

I can’t wait to get them! The Dreamweaver is quite a large bag from what I can see of the dimensions, so I am curious to see if it would work for me. I very nearly bought the Antique Brown version of the Voodoo Crochet bag because I love the cream one so much, but I decided not to be so boring. LOL.

They are having a Mothers’ Day sale right now, 20% off selected items. Click through the banner on the main page to see which items are on sale and use the code lovemum at the checkout. Have fun!

x o x o
bB

As many of you know, I have had (very) long, (very) straight hair for the longest time (something ridiculous like 20 years). I have always loved having straight hair… but as age creeps up with me, my hair has been thinning. Sigh. And when it’s straight, it looks that much thinner. I toyed with the idea of changing my hair strategy for a while, did a bit of research (okay, a lot!) and settled on Japanese stylist, Sio at Cleo Hair and Make, based on his reputation to be able to create big, gorgeous waves that are usually only achievable with temporary tonging.

Quite a while ago, I did try a perm but the curls turned out pretty tight. While my friends all loved the change, I did not actually like it very much until it grew out some and the curls ended up at the ends of my hair. This worked well for me because I like to be able to run my fingers through some of my hair. And I like to blow-dry the roots and fringe straight.

So… Off I went, on a Saturday arvo. Samantha, their interpreter was there to help with any communication problems, but Sio was mostly able to understand what I wanted (he is very observant and awesome at guessing what you want even with a language barrier, just by reading your expression and gestures). I told them I didn’t want tight curls, but big waves to make my hair look fuller, and didn’t know if the waves would go straight after a while if the curls weren’t too tight. I also needed to touch up the roots for my white hair, and some of my fringe wasn’t behaving well due to my natural curl. So it was decided I would do all these in two sessions, because it would take too long to do everything in a single day.

My first session included a hair cut, and the colouring for my white roots. Sio also tonged my hair afterwards, to give me an idea of how the curls were going to look at the next session. I was impressed with the way he handled hair. When you have very long hair, it is quite easy to tell a stylist who is experienced from one who is not. I’m not sure how Sio did it, but I could not detect a single tug or any sign of force when he was untangling my hair after washing. That, in itself, was a miracle. He was very meticulous, sensitive, and extremely polite. I couldn’t wait to see the final result at the next session.

My second appointment was on a Thursday arvo. After a short discussion, where I told him I didn’t want my fringe too flat, yet I needed a way to get it to be smoother, he proposed to let him use the perming solution on it without actually curling it. This would save us one step (and S$100 for me). I thought it was an excellent idea! And perming commenced…

As you can see, he is also quite funny! :)

And I must say… Sio is brilliant. I believe I have found my hairstyle for the next 10 years. Maybe 20 years. Dammit… This means if I leave Singapore, I’m going to have to come back every 6 months or so to do my hair. His idea for smoothing my fringe worked like a charm. The curls/waves on my hair ends turned out beautifully. It was a little curly at the salon, but not so tight that I had anything to complain about. When I walked out, I felt absolutely fabulous.

And when I got home, my hair had a chance to settle for a few hours, and became the big waves I had asked him for. Sio is a hair genius.

It has now been a few weeks since my hair was done, and I’m happy to report my waves are not straightening out. I wake up with fabulous hair every morning. Loves it! <3

Goodbye, flat hair! :) Thank you, Sio! You are my new hair saviour!

Cleo Hair and Make
9 Raffles Boulevard, Millenia Walk
P2-09/10 PARCO Marina Bay
Singapore 039596

6338 5250

x o x o
bB

I must be the last person in the world to find out. LOL! I am so friggin amazed.

Within one day, they have grown an entire bulb’s length. <3

After two days, they grew to this…

So I gave them a little trim.

I love the spirit of the tulip. It is my favourite more than ever!

x o x o
bB