1920s Birthday Party

30s is the new 20s! Here's a very belated birthday post for my dear friend Pam. Her actual birthday falls on 22 July - sorry Pam!

Her family is always very sporting and threw her a nice party at Ril's in Bangsar :)

Pam picked her own party theme which is the 1920s to say bye to her 20s and hi to the big 3-0. Nice to see everyone all dressed up in vintage looks. It's my favourite era. The party looked like a scene unfolded from The Great Gatsby lol! Kudos to the men who came in dapper suits, suspenders and fedoras.

Here I am with the birthday girl:

There was a Wall of Pam photowall:

Aunty Sue, Pam's mum's birthday was on that same night:

I wore a baroque print Topshop off-shoulder dress with a Zara fur stole. Of course gotta add on some pearls to jive with the era :) Got some makeup artist to do my makeup and old skool hairdo. Found the vintage looking hairclips from Diva.

Singapore & Indigo Pearl Resort, Phuket

If you browsed through my blog, it may seem like I've forgotten that I started this blog. That's the problem with me. I'm lazy to download pictures from my phone/camera to my computer. Throw in the fact that I've been busy at home and office workload has been piling up too.

So that's why this post is a "rojak" post as I am combining my recent travels to Singapore and Phuket, on two separate occasions.

Singapore (26 - 28 July 2013)
The objective of this trip was to do some visiting with family and friends, but I ended up having a food fest. Spent a day shopping and just exploring Marina Bay Sands and Orchard Road with Natasha, who happened to be there too coz of the long holiday weekend. Best part of the trip was the food. Never say no to good food right? We had lunch at db Bistro Moderne at MBS, a celebrity chef restaurant by Daniel Boulud. What was memorable was the dessert - a warm basket of madeleines with a light dusting of sugar :)

Foie gras burger at db Bistro Moderne



At the Louis Vuitton Island Maison at MBS

We had dinner at a restaurant at Duxton Hill which wasn't too memorable so then we proceeded to PS Café at Ann Siang Hill for dessert. We had the profiteroles with ice-cream and the banana butterscotch cake with caramel. What an explosion on the palate!

And then there was PAUL'S, a little French café at Takashimaya. The first time I had the lemon tart at PAUL'S was when I was in Paris. I was so excited to try it again and it didn't disappoint. I even tapau-ed the tarts back to KL. If I had the money, I'd start a PAUL'S franchise here in KL... lol!

Phuket (10 - 13 August 2013)
Went for a short getaway to Phuket with the husband :) We stayed at Indigo Pearl Resort at Nai Yang beach which was only a 5min drive from the airport, so it was very convenient. Indigo Pearl is a resort inspired by tin mine so the concept was very industrial in its décor yet oddly calming.

My favourite part of the resort was our room. It was spacious, cozy and I love the bathroom with its huge tub and open shower.

We just spent our time hanging out by the three amazing pools at the resort. Remaining time were pent lazing around, eating and exploring the resort grounds.

Had dinner one night at the resort's popular 5-star Thai restaurant Black Ginger. Authentic and very nice food indeed - no wonder it's a must-do at Indigo Pearl. Everything is black here, even the plates and bowls.

The resort's quaint bar which was called Tongkha Tin Syndicate. Beautiful steel and metal décor...

Nightlife lovers, be prepared to be bored out of your minds coz there are very few bars and clubs around. The only alcohol you'll get is from the restaurants right opposite the resort where we had most of our meals.

Lastly, here's a picture of our nightcap - a chilled glass of margarita and the yummiest Thai mango sticky rice I've ever had.

Expanding Too-Tight Shoes

I bought this quirky pair of Fiorucci comic-print flats over the weekend and decided to wear them on the spot coz I just love them so much. One hour into walking around the mall, my feet felt like they were squashed in them. If feet could breathe, mine would have died. So reluctantly, I changed back into my old flats. It really bothered me that I bought them to small and would never wear them again... so sad, coz they're so pretty... They were in my size, but maybe my feet expanded just a wee bit.  

So I went home and google-d for tips to stretch shoes. Even went to the extend of going to Ikea to purchase the OMSORG shoe tree. I placed them in the flats for a good 24 hours before trying them again. Managed to stretch them by maybe a minute 2mm. Not good enough. 

I was quite surprised that the internet offers hundreds of tips to stretch shoes. Some involve Ziploc bags, water and a freezer, others require stretching liquid. One caught my mind that doesn't involve stuffing your  shoes in the freezer among your poultry and ice-cream *yucks*, so I decided to try - and lo and behold, it worked like a charm!

Here's what you need - a pair or two or really thick socks, a hairdryer and too-tight shoes. Put on the socks  (make sure they're really thick) and then stuff your feet into the shoes. This will hurt but it will be worth it in the end!

Next, take the hairdryer and heat up the areas that are tight for 5 minutes while stretching and flexing your feet. Let them cool while keeping the shoes on.

When they're cool, remove the socks and check the fit of the shoes. Mine fit like a glove! Repeat the process if they're still tight. It's a tried and tested tip, but only if your shoes are 1/2 to 1 size smaller than your usual size.

Perfect fit

I'm gonna do it again tonight to loosen it a bit more :)