Remembering our loved ones...

Tomb Sweeping day or 清明节 or Qingming Festival is a inaugural ritual that my family observes austerely.

For non-chinese friends, its defined as below.
Credits to wikipedia (love it) and its pretty lengthy explanation (not loving it).

.. is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar (see Chinese calendar).

... is an opportunity for Chinese to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, (joss) paper accessories, and/or libation to the ancestors.

So at the wee hours of the morning, a semi-conscious I, was not-so-gently awoken by my mom and ushered to grab breakfast, before cabbing all the way to Bishan, where Bright Hill (Kong Meng San) Temple is situated, the serene final resting place for my beloved grand parents.

All important breakfast for surviving the long day

Bright Hill (Kong Meng San) Temple

These days, paper offerings test the limits of creativity.
This is not yet by fare the most outrageous I've seen, but I tell you the car you see is a close replica of an Avante model to boot!

Also,you may not see this but the 3-story paper mansion next to it has a mini-bar, LCD screen TV and bathtub inside, complete with swimming pool. Tenants not included.
Wicked.

Delicious spread of curry, fruits, cheesecake, freshly brewed earl-grey tea and miscellaneous Kueh which I cannot identify.

Auntie in red is major road kill. ARGH.

I'm guessing that pavilion houses the remains of the founders of the temple,
so the lion dance went around once to pay their respects...

Before presenting their main display before devotees....

Finally ending with the presenting of offerings on the altar.
PS: suckling pig looks yummy :P

After, we took a bus down to Junction 8 Mall where we narrowly escaped the onslaught of a terribly heavy downpour that followed quickly.
May and I sought solace at our fave shop Cotton On and test-drive their new denim shorts. They ran out of my size (nay) but we had fun camwhoring in the dressing room (yay).

Damn my shaky hand.

cheers.

Thus concludes this year's prayers, wishes and preparations.

While we only see each other next year, YeYe & MaMa, but I have always held you both close to my heart. All my love.

~~~

Good Friday for me was well, good :P
(sorry could not resist cheesy pun)

Recently bumped into the girls, Shradda and Steph on a random day out with Justin, and we all can't believe it has been almost 2 years since my internship with Right Angle Media, where I was involved in the project,School House Rocks!

Here they are in their costumed glory:

STEPHANIE GRAWEHR as Rosalind D'Almeida

SHRADDHA RAMSUNDAR as Preety Kris Kapoor

Little did I expect the humble production to become such a hit on Okto channel, that it was later made into a TELEMOVIE; and the young cast whom I worked with from casting to film, from earnest acting auditioners blossom to pretty young ladies who can give the High School Musical cast a run for their money. Move over, Vanessa Hudgens!

We met up on Good Friday for KFC dinner and caught up the what I'd missed the last 2 years...

Black vest (double index), top (gift), plaid skirt (bugis), pink leggings (online), chanel cambon tote (gift)

The 2 ladies in question

Horsing about!

As written ;)

Before I end this entry and catch what little hours of sleep I've left, a little shameless plugging for my darling boyfriend.

Justin is now a bona-fide member of the Main Wayang Company, a drama club specially dedicated to the Peranakan performing arts. Besides honing his skills in acting and singing, it is a chance for him to trace back his own heritage.

Also, I don't want to jinx it for him but....a big surprise awaits, stay tuned to find out more.... ;)

Did his makeup and photography. Waddya think?

His picture will soon be uploaded on the performer's list found on http://www.mainwayang.com/. Do support!

So here is all the best to you dear, 'break a leg'!

The 4-in-1 Flea Market Special Edition

Ok so I know that most of you guys are prolly sick of hearing me go on and on and on about flea markets, but deal with it! Its an indispensable part of this shopping queen :P
Good deals must be shared with friends, no?

Flea Fly Flo Fun @ Home Club

I could not make it as a stallholder for the latest Home Club flea, but Terence, who happens to the organizer and my friend made me come down to support their stall :) I dragged Elmy along but am glad to report that he was more enthusiastic than I was. He got a security officer shirt($5) for laughs. SCORE!

Terence helping Christy tend to her stall, guy has an amazing memory for prices.

Vineyard & Co, one of the popular blog shops was there!

Got a skirt from them, and they were so nice that they made me one of their VIP members on the spot, which is great cos every item bought from their site begets a 10% discount, not including other perks! Their stylish yet fun pictorials are lovely to look at and their clothes tend to be one-of-a-kind, and in limited pieces so get them while you still can!

Check them out @ http://vineyardnco.livejournal.com

Quick call to the boyfriend about damages incurred.

.....

Trying to eat it seductively, but failing terribly. LOL

Need I say more?

Steph and Rachael, friends of Elmy, got in to a lil scruffle...

Initially the plan was to Zouk, but later decided that the night was better for chilling out to light booze at the comfort of Steph's apartment balcony. One of her friends, who happens to be a DJ, whipped out a guitar and belted out some mean tunes.

Sometimes, partying is passe and just great company is sufficient ;)

In the end, I walked away with a slight preloved brown 4-inch Charles & Keith heels($17), vintage mint-green pencil skirt ($10) and a ($1.50) leather braided headband. Which voila, I wore through out the night!

Channel your inner bohemian today!

~~~

Wardrobe Raids @ ST James Power House

Wardrobe Raids, otherwise known as the less glamorous sister flea of Fash Bash, was happening at ST James Power House. Elmy was more than happy to join me and Janice decided to drop in as well.

It was rather cramped and poor lighting made it had to scrutinize the clothes and stuff; so rather than make a risky purchase, I decided to forgo it altogether.
The car boot sales, though seemingly diminished due to an unforeseen shower earlier, turned out to be where i got all me good stuffs. The air after was fresher and brighter to see stuff too.

I could not resist.
UOB's elephant mascot was loitering too adorably alone for its own good!

After the rain, the car boot sales were surprisingly more fruitful finds..

I love this car.

The quirky shade of orange just kills me! oooh and the clothes too!

In the end, I got a linen peter-pan collar dress ($5), NEW F21 tunic dress ($7, you should have seen the seller face :P), brown stockings ($3)

Some kinda drama ended this otherwise eventful day, but I guess all things happen for a reason. Anyways, that is a story for another time.

~~~

Flea Carnival @ Taboo

New flea that I came to know about while random surfing, so I decided to check it out one stormy Saturday afternoon. Which was a bad call cause, a) I have absolutely no sense of direction, b) It was pouring like nobody's business, c) long queues EVERYWHERE due to bad weather.

But somehow I overcame it and heart-wrenching forked out 7 bucks to the venue where a comfortable crowd was building up.

Taboo itself was pretty limited in terms of space but the decor was sure pretty, and had quite a diverse choice of vendors, from the people who wanted to clear their stash...to those who DESPERATELY want to clear their stash, and a handful of blogshops I have never came across.

Did not help a single bit after staring at it for like 20 mins (-_-'')

Outside.

Rack after rack after rack............

Disco balls are love.

More of the stalls.

Pretty ok haul I suppose: shimmery gold La Senza dress ($8), black embellished babydoll top ($9), Rachel Pally orange kimono ($7) and white balenciaga bag. ($15)

Worst buy was prolly the bag cause I could not see the quality clearly under the dammned dim lighting. Poor PVC leather began to flake after a few carries, but I hope it will hold out until its successor arrives (refer to bottom).
~~~

Tanglin Flea @ Tanglin Mall

Proabably one of the oldest flea besides the one at Sungei Rd (the latter being pretty literal on the 'flea' part), it boasts probably the largest number of stall holders in one sitting. Just looking at the amount of unwanted gunk is enough to make your head reel, not to mention the droves of people.

If the fight for the treasure doesn't kill you, the heat probably will. Less than 15 mins into it, and I came out feeling like I just fought the Vietnam War, my clothes sticking to my sweaty body and general BO was prevasive, people. There is no escaping, so do bring along a gas mask if necessary.

Speed of light.

They need barricades??!
Perhaps to keep out mobbing fashionistas?

I want that leopard print bag on the top left, which I did not notice until I uploaded this pic.
I've attain IDIOCY-Nirvana.

And guess who I bumped into on the way back...

Natasha!
She looks like an absolute doll with the new haircut :)

Fiddled with effects and got this
Babe! We are soooo meeting up next week!

How can we ever forget the oh so important outfit pics? I wasn't dressed my best but the boy sure knew how to work it like a pro ;)

Now that's my boy.

'Fundamentals of Thrift-dressing'
by June. F

Finds? Zilch this time. Had my eye on a leather bag but the price did not agree with me. Still worth a second shot, though perhaps not in the peak period.
Will consider the book idea though hahaha.
~~~


Ok my shopping confessionals again.
Online cleocat shopping has did me (and most of my dear friends) in again, and am not so patiently waiting for the goodies to arrive. Keeping fingers crossed and prayers on lips for a successful delivery and hopefully good quality. x(*_*)x




And here are some other NOT so cheap buys from the annals of internet shopping.
Click, click...

Hello, it was a Balenciaga knock off.
I HAD to get one, period.

If sex could be personified in a shoe, it most probably looks like this.
Studs + 4 inch heels + matt black leather
= major droolage

Ditto the above, except the sex got reincarnated into sandals.
Still hot :)

I am so excited for the upcoming Home Flea on the 25th April. Hopefully, my kakkis in crime, Mena and Connie, will be able to bring something fresh to the Home Flea scene. Mena just came back from her india trip and boy do i have major wardobe haulage to do.

That and well....

God KNOWS I need to start 'atoning' for my retails sins. :(

We had a recent reshuffle in some of our business teams, hence we welcomed Jaslyn,one of the senior staff into our team. To commemorate that and celebrate her birthday, we brought us to this cozy bistro near Kallang Leisure Park.

Le Bistrot is a cozy french bistro that is tucked neatly in Kallang Leisure park area. At a first glance, its cool white exterior may not seem all that promising but as we later tucked into our orders, the dishes proved more than just your average 'Atas' expat eating place.

Reading the menus,which were in wordy french however, proved to be a challenge...

Service was lovely and the manager was eager to know if the dishes met our expectations. Soft music tinkled overhead as I relaxed and soaked in the lazy afternoon vibe.

Natural soft lighting enhanced its welcoming atmosphere

Central serving area

Nope, can't drink on the job lol.

Lars, my director's dish:
Rumpsteak 200g, medium-rare. Served with pommes frites and mesclun salad.

Siew Peng, my manager's choice:
Poulet à la Moutarde de Meaux, Pommes Byron aux Duxelles de Champignon, Tomate Confite
grain mustard and white wine fricassée of chicken leg, served with Byron potatoes layered with
mushroom duxelle, and Roma tomato confit

Jaslyn's:
Can't find her exact dish, but it was succulent lamb chops on a bed of soft golden potato mash

Last but not least:
Crevettes à l'Armoricaine :
tomato and fennel fricassée of jumbo tiger prawns served with
bourbon vanilla scented angel hair pasta and Roma tomato confit

I have died and gone to culinary heaven. Oh joy~

The good thing about it is that they occasionally change their menus from time to time, so there is no worry about having the same boring dish all the time. Downside however, is that your fave dish may disappear just like that, so savour it when its still avail.

check it out @ http://www.lebistrot.com.sg,
2 STADIUM WALK - #01-03 SINGAPORE INDOOR STADIUM - SINGAPORE 397691
~~~

After work, I met up with Jon, who just came from Australia for a short term break. Been about 4 years since I last saw the bugger! We met on the IRC, which back then was the in-thing. Thankfully, he was not a perv slash fuckwit and his sarcastic humor made for great verbal sparring.

Did I also mention that he is a whoooopping 1.92 METRES TALL?

We sure made quite a sight whenever we met up. Became fast friends but sadly lost touch after awhile. Amazingly, he called me the last few days before returning, and we met for dinner at Pizza Hut @ Marina Square, followed by quick round of hardcore LAN gaming at Bugis.

I was surprised that he had changed so much! he used to be kinda anti-social and his intimidating height did not help add points to his nonchalant poker face. Now, he smiles more than I ever saw in the last 4 years, and is quite the joker now wor!

Anyways, sad that you have to leave so soon, but was great to catch up after the longest while, and boy the change! So much gossips and so little time, alamak.

Can't wait too hang out again... Be safe bro, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do! :P
Peace out!