settling in

After 1 and a half years of things just totally being mad,
I am finally happy.

Really, things have settled down to an acceptable pace.
We have established routines that actually worked out ok.
Job's going great... bosses are recognising me, i don't feel as green, i feel a sense of ownership & responsibility at work.
I have managed to kinda juggle whatever was tough, be it the stress/long hours/colleagues etc and emerged ok.
In other words, the crinks of the first few months have been ironed out and i'm into Phase 2.

Baby is nearly 6 months old, and he finally has a rough routine to his day/night.
He is extremely playful n active in the day, but now sleeps thru the nite.
He seemingly understands his world a lil more, and cries less.
He has learnt to demand thru subtler ways like growling, kicking or fussing.

Husband & I have settled into our family life finally.
The fighting & frustration has ebbed a lil, and we have come out of this intact & still in love.
The stress, fatigue etc are now expected, rather than a bad surprise.
So i guess we are coping better.
We have figured out time n space for each other too, amidst the madness.

Personally too, i have come to terms with many things.
I am back to my fashion-craves and shopaholic ways...but this only means i'm happy!

For the moment, i am grateful for all i had and have.
The trials only made the triumph sweeter.

penelope cruz at the Oscars 2008

Wow, does Penelope Cruz look smokin' hot or wat at the Oscars?

what a lovely dress, albeit in black.

and she looks very good too... cuts a great figure in that dress, with perfect hair + makeup to go.

Save for her, the Oscars was a big yawn.

styled

One of my favourite looks from the season.
That, plus a lemon-yello Calvin Klein cocktail dress which I can't find a picture of online. Saw it in Vogue -- it's gorgeous.


Anyway, my real groan of the day is spotting all the fashion mistakes that go on around Shenton Way.
These working ladies -- you'd think that dressing to work everyday would make them wiser.
But no. It's like: spot the boo-boo everyday. THe biggest taboo is:

- Not wearing the right bra.
Pls hide the straps unless your bra is really gorgeous.
That lil beige thing peeking out is really a turn-off. And use the right support for the right top you have on. There are semi-cup bras, push-up, seamless, T-shirt bras and bras in diff colours. Match it to your top correctly.


ON another note, i'm still very into the jeans-mode.
Just collected my FCUK dark denim. And I spotted another gorgeous pair at Armani Exchange. Also a perfect shade + the cut looked great.
Gotta try it on.

lookbook

days gone by

today i met an old uni mate S at city hall.
For a split second, i wondered if i should call out to her, cos she obviously didn't spot me.
of course i did --- how can one resist fate like this?

We chatted for a gd 15 mins, with the hustle and bustle of the train station all ard us. It was kinda surreal.. cos the last time we spoke, it was probably amidst the peace & tranquility of UQ, Brisbane.
She didn't let on much, or probably nothing dramatic had happened in her life.
She is still studying in UQ, going from Bachelors to honours and now, Masters in Applied Linguistics (whatever that is!).
That seemed an awful lot of studying to me.
And she's nv held down a full-time job, going from one part-time/temp to another.
Said she hates office politics, and one way to stay out of it is to be a temp.
I was surprised.

Isn't that kinda like a cop-out?
To stay in school and avoid full-time employment cos you hate office politics?
It is kinda a way of life, isn't it? Something everyone gotta learn to deal with.
I hate it too, and it is rampant in my workplace.
But i have to deal with it, all 9-10 hrs everyday.

Different strokes for diff folks, i guess.
Anyway, looking at her, time seemed to stand still.
She hasn't changed one bit from when we were in school.
Look exactly the same, and most interestingly, dressed exactly the same.
Slack pants, plain tee + plain bag.
Not going at this from a fashion perspective...
It's just odd to me that time can actually, really stand still for someone for 4 years.

But it was nice seeing her. And reminded me of good times in school, and in church.

So, the wkend has arrived.
This week has been horrendous, and i dragged myself to work today despite feeling sick.
I feel like, subtly and discreetly (to his credit), terence seemed to be encouraging me to quit.
I can tell he much prefers me to stay home w Marco, and take on some part-time job or freelance assignments.
It is tempting...
but i cannot justify it within myself.

I've landed something really good.
On the other hand, i have my son's childhood +upbringing to think about.
Is my career worth his childhood, the 'key foundation years'?

But i will lose out on a great great job.
A great progressive workplace.
Good money.
Good colleagues (some, at least. I've found friends in a dog-eat-dog world).
Job that i've worked hard to be good at in the first few months, and am now slowly getting recognised for it.
Relatively alright hours - i get home by 2pm, although i need a nap till 4pm to keep sane.
And most importantly, a good place.
A place that will lead to better things.
And i haven't reaped the best yet....being here for only 4 months.

What about Marco?
his childhood...is priceless.
Blink and it may be over.
If i don't spend time nurturing him, will i forever feel guilty?
Hate myself? battle with the guilt?

Lord, lead me to the right path.

Love of my Life

Marco at age 4months plus.

All pictures taken Jan-Feb 2008.

DENIM DESIRES

As you can tell from the pictures, I'm very very into Jeans now.

I think it comes from the euphoria that after 4 months, i finally can fit comfortably into ALL my jeans.

During pregnancy + confinement, it looked like Mission: Impossible.

Then as the months crawled by, even as I slimmed bit by bit, the hardest to fit were still my jeans.

At one point, i was so depressed when i couldn't button up.

Now, thank the Lord, it fits just like before!

Very Shallow yes...but this makes me SUPER HAPPY!

So right now, i'm on Jeans-hunt mode.

Spotted a beautiful dark denim pair for $159 at FCUK this week.

I am so gonna get it.

And i'm looking for one in a lighter wash.

Maybe Seven or Miss Selfridge.

Tangs + Isetan Scotts have started a new cult jeans corner, with the usual cult suspects like Citizens for Humanity, Tsubi etc.

Really pricey, and I've never tried any on personally before to give an honest verdict.

So we shall see.

old shallow me

The GIORGIO ARMANI-SAMSUNG phone.

What a true beauty.

I hardly ever get excited with gadgets...but this is truly a

real black beauty. Oooohhhh, when is it coming to Singapore??

Tech Specs:

Triband GSM
Bluetooth with A2DP
2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen LCD
3-megapixel camera
microSD expansion card slot
87.5 x 54.5 x 10.5mm

Arriving: Sometime this year.

Meanwhile, i'll just hold on to mine till it arrives.

Ooooh.... i soooo want it.

I think i'm popping by Samsung to go pre-book it!

In case it sells out.

The last time I liked a phone so much was that pink slim Moto clamshell.

But Terence broke it.

I hate strictly functional phones.

Where's the fun in that?

It IS an accessory, after all.

So, I collected my silk Ted Baker dress yesterday.

I am sooo LUCKY.

When i was pregnant + fat, i lusted after it despite its $369 price tag.

Now that I'm back to my normal size, it's on sale at $220.

What a steal!

I went major shopping last wkend and got myself the lovely FCUK dress.

I resisted its $269 price-tag a few weeks ago when i first saw it...

then presto, last week, it was marked down to $155. Perrrr-fect!

I know, i know...patience is indeed a virtue.

And since the FCUK sale was so darn gd, i got a silk top for just $70 too.

Plus a grey lovely leather wallet for only $49 - seriously a steal!

Incredible sale!

And that's that - i blew like $600 in 2 hours just between Ted Baker, FCUK + Tangs at Vivocity.

All in the name of good ol' CNY shopping.

The other day, i was talking to someone about finances.

She's very thrifty, by the way.

Running from place to place by bus/MRT.

And she told me, what's the point in having so many material stuff?

Life's simpler without them.

She said she was like that too when she was younger.

But she wised up in her 30s.

She gave a lot of things away and pared down her lifestyle.

She felt that, at 30, she had nothing to her name.

Just a whole load of junk.

So she quit her job, started working for herself, and streamlining her life.

In the end, she says, cash matters most.

It doesn't matter what you have or how you live -- it's how much is sitting in your bank, and how smart you are about it.

Will I feel like this one day too?
That I have not much besides a beautiful wardrobe + shoe collection?

I've got a stinky feeling it may be so.

I desperately want to save more.

Ironic, when i just spent most of the time blogging abt shopping and desires.

Why am i shallow?