Merry Christmas!

We've finally figured out how to divide up Christmas! Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning with my family, and the rest of Christmas Day with Adam's. Then we get to go to both families and get all Peterson traditions in :) Here's how our weekend went. We got off work after 1:00 pm on Christmas Eve and hurried home to shower, pack our stuff, and go over to my parent's house for Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner, we went with my whole family to see the lights at Temple Square. I don't know why the temple is green....

Then we went back to my mom and dad's to hang out and spend the night. The sleeping part was a little tricky, with a small bed and two LARGE people :) We were woken up by the kids and opened presents. Adam got a Rotozip and router table to use in his woodshop, and a fly-tying book so he can learn some new fly-fishing flies. I got new cowgirl boots, a cute dress, and an OLD Nintendo Adam found in his parents basement that I've wanted forever! Best Christmas Ever!
This was a sibling gift exchange for us. We love this flag and have already hung it up at home :)

Here's Mom and Dad, opening presents. She can't wait to watch Mama Mia!

My brother Brant and his cute girlfriend, Shelene opening presents.

Here's Cristl, very pregnant, and very much missing her hubby who's in Iraq. To make her feel less isolated, I put our brother-in-law, Phil, in the pic with her :)

Here's sister Chantel with her kiddos, Baby Brynlee, McKayla, and Parker. Favorite presents? Parker loved his "spinny" things and McKayla love her sparkly presents.

After presents, we got ready and spent an our shoveling ourselves out of the driveway at my parent's (10 inches!!) and finally got out and on our way, running a little late :) The roads were bad until we got to 90th south and then it was dry, like another world! The breakfast casserole at Adam's Aunt Tracy's was great, and we hung out there until it was time to go up to Adam's grandparent's house for dinner. Here's me and my mother-in-law, not moving after we've eaten too much.

Awwww, such a cute couple :)

After dinner, we went back to Mom and Dad's to play games with everyone. We stayed until 11 and got ready to leave, our car packed full of presents! It was so windy, but we only had to drive 5 minutes.....or so we thought. The road to Suncrest was a white-out and after about 35 seconds, we found ourselves suddenly stuck in a snowdrift! Couldn't even see it! After trying to get out, I called my dad to come rescue us. Adam made me stay in the car, it was so cold and windy, while him and my dad tried to see and get us out. There is no tow hook on my car, so they finally got down in the snow and hooked it to my axle. Then I started freaking out because I had to steer while my dad pulled me backwards out of the snow and I could see out of my windows. Luckily, I rolled down the window an inch and Adam guided me (took a lot of trust). We got out of the drift, but as I pulled around to drive back to my parents house for the night, the wind pushed me into a snowdrift! Serious! So, Adam tried to push as I rocked the car, yelled at it a lot, and finally got through. I slowly drove the block to my family, didn't dare park in the driveway all of the way, but as I pulled in just enough to get out of the street, it started sliding towards my sister's van. I screamed out my now open window "I can't stop!" so my dad and Adam pushed the sliding car into a pile of snow before it hit the van. Finally, we were to shelter without any extra clothes or undies. Adam was freezing, standing in the wet snow blowing like crazy for 1 1/2 hours so we got him dry and went to bed around two. The next morning was another "shovel for an hour to get our car out" morning but we REALLY wanted to get home and shower. Oh, we need to get new tires after having to spin them to get out of the snow, and somehow the E-brake cable broke when my dad was pulling us out. But luckily, that's all! Wow, that's a long post and I'm exhausted just re-living it!

finally

after days of excitement mixed with insomnia she is here and i am an auntie.yeah.

JASON MRAZ- I'M YOURS

song that i like so much!!! favourite aku sorang ni nk buat concert kt Malaysia tp aku nk laaa PEGI SGT2 tau...

arrrgggghhhhhhhh....nk pegi, nk pegi, nk pegi!!!!

PRESENTS FROM HUBBY!!!

Finally,selama yang aku dok think...think...think dh pun terbongkar!!! aku dapat perfume BVLGARI OMNIA AMETHYSTE from hubby. i like the smell cozz x kuat sgt bau sbb aku tak suka sgt bau perfume yg terlalu kuat sbb nanti aku gerenti sakit kepala la so bvlgari ni bau dia just nice and i love it!! 

so thanks hubby coz u gave me this great present... really appreciate sgt2!!!

all done...chowwww....

CAMERA HILANG!!!!ARGGGHHHHHHHHHH.....

 SAKITNYE HATIKU BILA CAMERA LAKIKU HILANG!!!! AKU PUN X TAU LA APE PUNYE SUWEYY LA. 

sebab camera hilang aku kena marah ngan lakiku kaw2 la. sampaikan handfon pun kena tarik balik,dia kata nanti aku hilangkn fon tu lak!!! arrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh... mmg sakit hati+otak semua la sakit! bukan murah nyer camera dh la mahal,grrrr grrrrr....

so now hanya tinggal kenangan je la!!! abis semua picture yg aku amik hilang!!! sumpah kalau org yg jumpa camera aku tu mmg aku x halalkan.... I MEAN IT!!!


ok lah chowwww...

Home for the holidays

my flight home is tomorrow morning at 9:45 a.m. i've just finished packing, and have never packed so light for a week-long trip. well, light in terms of clothing that is -- i have two large plastic bags full of presents for family and friends, and that was my biggest motivation to keep my outfits down to a minimum. the presents also serve as placeholders in my suitcase -- for all the things i plan to shop for and bring back to singapore!

i've been in holiday mode since yesterday, a condition allowed by the surprising lack of activity at the office. this year's batch of clients, miraculously enough, celebrate christmas and are thus all on leave. apparently last year, the company was deluged by hindu and muslim clients, forcing everyone to work through the holidays. luckily, this year has allowed me to pretty much bum off. anticipation for my trip home has been building steadily throughout the day -- an anticipation that i've never ever felt before. after all, this is my first year away from home. the rush of excitement is a new and welcome feeling. 

marlon and i exchanged presents this evening after a very lazy dinner care of mcdonald's. i know, we should have some kind of elaborate christmas dinner, us being such foodies and this being our first christmas together, but i guess "holiday mode" has taken over at home as well. nobody wants to cook and clean -- not when there's a flight to catch tomorrow!

anyway, we agreed to do our gift swap (i hate it how they say "swop" here, hahaha) tonight because we were both giving each other something heavy and bulky. i want to do a show-and-tell with pictures, but suffice it to say we both loved each others' gifts! and marlon is playing with my gift to him right this very minute and has been doing so for the past hour. :-)

right now i'm a teeny bit apprehensive about the weight of my check-in luggage, and an itty bit sad about leaving rogue by herself for the next seven days, but all in all i am happy, content, at peace, and sort of full and buoyed up inside. just the way i want to be the day before christmas.

and so before i disappear into my internet void (i'm leaving the laptop here since all we have at mom's is a crappy dial-up connection), i just want to say: merry christmas everyone! i hope we all have a joyful, loving and peaceful christmas!

"Some people never go crazy,...

...what truly horrible lives they must live"

Charles Bukowski

multitasking x)

so, nothing new here kidos.
rain.cold.nose blowing.catmadness.sober.sleep.

everything is fine.

and yes multitasking rules.

British Design Awards

Check out the fashion shortlist here

More to be added, I believe.

Adios amigos

The Thoughtful Dresser decamps tomorrow first to Washington DC, then to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where I will be obliged to spend many hours in our villa, lying by the infinity edge pool and having delicious meals prepared by the chef. I will not be taking my laptop.

The collapse of Lehman Bros in September forced upon us this act of economic compassion. Personally, I would rather have stayed at home, but rental villas were lying empty, so what could we do? We must save the world economy.

See you in January.

i would part 2

sweeties, mommy is ill as shit and therefor in bed.i am bored.normally i wanted to post the 09 collection which is wicked.but as i have looaaads of time now, for first lovepieces from fall08.here we go.

The tree tour!

it's time to take a mental break from work... which means it's time to take a tour of the paul-plazo christmas tree!

this is one of the first ornaments i made when i was still pretty clueless and just getting warmed up with the christmas spirit. i cut out little chinese children from a vintage - placemat that i shook-ed spirited away from the mint museum of toys cafe many months ago. i glued the cutouts on green paper, drew curlicues around it in gold ink, and stuck it on fuzzy red felt. i'm not too happy with how this turned out, so it's at the back of the tree.


next i wanted to make felt ornaments like the ones i saw on design*sponge, but i couldn't find felt that was thick or stiff enough. (moment of silence for all the "thick and stiff" jokes that are going through my head right now.) i tried, anyway -- they were cute, but i still wasn't too happy.


then i found an english-chinese dictionary in my paper collection -- and made word nerd ornaments! i used silver ribbon, glue and the words joy, reindeer, happy, celebrate, and Christmas.





as i was flipping through magazines for pictures to collage, i noticed that there seemed to be a surfeit of red shoes. so, with a bit of red felt and green paper, i made his and hers shoe ornaments! i was obviously not taking myself very seriously at this point.


so you think everything i made was along these nutty, kweng-kweng lines... think again! ito, career na!

following a how-to from the domino website, i made my absolute favorite and most labor-intensive set of ornaments. i started by printing and cutting out the handy template from the domino website, then gluing each piece on to thicker card stock for more durability. then i cut those pieces out and covered both sides with yellow and red-and-gold handmade paper that i bought on insa-dong street in seoul -- gorgeous, gorgeous printed paper that i've been saving for months. i only made eight of these, but with all the double-siding and reinforcing, i must have cut each individual piece eight times!

and here they are... the reindeer and the dove! i'm already thinking of how to unassemble and pack them so that they survive till next christmas...






we rounded off the tree with store-bought baubles and wide swathes of wired ribbon, as you can see from the photos. the store-bought ornaments are nothing to write home about... except for this super adorable ditzy angel. when i saw the completely clueless expression on its face, i knew our tree wouldn't be complete without it...


and that concludes the tree tour! which one was your favorite?

now let me see if i can get a good enough photo of marlon's masterpiece tree-topper...

Invitation from Cocoa

I wrote a couple of days ago about my Sonia Rykiel bag bought from Cocosa, the membership only designer sale site at a 50 per cent discount

Cocosa have contacted me and have created an exclusive invitation code for Thoughtful Dresser readers.

It's free, you don't have to buy anything, and the items they sell and the discounts are very, very good.

Click here to jump the waiting list and join

Kamustahan

i liked toni's cup-of-tea questions. napaisip talaga ako. i thought it would be a nice quick update for one on things that i don't normally blog about -- or even really think about too often.

now let's sit down for a cup of tea, for what paolo would call kamustahan...

1. Now, would you like chamomile, jasmine, Earl Grey or English Breakfast?

i'll stick to my mug of milo powder. when it comes to milo, i am the papak queen.

2. How’s your health?

i may actually be in better shape than i have all year, thanks to muay thai. i can do at least ten pushups now before stopping to rest, and i survived robert's hour-long grueling circuit training last friday as the only girl among guys, with only four one-minute rest stops. but right now i feel a tickle in my throat which i hope will not turn into a cold or fever.

3. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?

happily, yes! marlon and i did our christmas shopping in one blitz at plaza singapura and the cathay yesterday. i just have to get a gift for my sister, sir jojo, marlon's dad, bitchik, dada and binky.

4. How are you dealing with the economic crunch this Christmas?

honestly, i don't feel it. as i said to marlon and a few friends recently, we're lucky to be high enough in the corporate ladder to afford some of the things we really want, and low enough to not to really be affected by any retrenchment plans or salary cuts. if anything, we seem to be recessionistas in reverse -- we finally cleaned off the credit card debt, have the enough to help out family members in sudden emergencies, and even had a brief shining moment this weekend when we felt like millionaires. we spent sunday evening planning a budget for 2009 and it was a fun exercise. the challenge now, i guess, is keeping to that budget and saving smart.

5. What Christmas tradition are you carrying through this year?

in a year where marlon and i begin to find our own christmas traditions, one thing i am keeping from my family's traditions is having lots of little gifts to unwrap... and giving basic necessities like soap and shampoo!

i think that's a tradition we picked up from my mom's ex-fiance uncle david, who would literally put mountains of gifts under the tree on christmas day... even if they were just little things like toothpaste and soap! i only realized that this could be seen as a little bizarre when marlon gave me this funny look when i said i had to go to carrefour to buy soap for my tita.

my own spin on this tradition is that the maid's gifts can't look better than my tita's gifts... and that all the toiletries have to be terno!

must not forget: elaborate giftwrapping... something that i have enjoyed every christmas since i was nine. that year, we spent christmas in brussels and i fell in love with how salesladies at the department stores wrapped packages with scads of gorgeous curling ribbon, feathers, the works!

it's not part of the question, but i have to say it anyway: my most-missed christmas tradition is singing with acs! i've been so desperate to sing, i sang along with the video of the nordic chamber choir singing lauridsen's o magnum mysterium that gp posted on facebook... more than once! i also miss acs's fantastic and totally out-there themed christmas parties where everyone is so game.

answer these questions! it'll be fun!

p.s. yes, that's our finished and fully trimmed christmas tree!

Whatever happened to

That thing you bought at Primark?

I have only once been to this emporium, the week its megastore opened opposite Selfridge's, and unable to stop myself buying something I purchased a bronze green anorak thing which I wear in wet weather to go to the shops. It cost £10.

As far as the eye could see was a top. In every size and every colour. The same top. A whole room of one top.

Where does that cheap crap from Primark go when no-one wants it anymore? A long and informative piece in the Times today tells the depressing tale.

In his textile recycling factory on the industrial outskirts of East London, Lawrence Barry wades across a floor feet-deep in other people's discarded clothing. Above him, precarious fabric dunes lean against the walls and reach up to the corrugated iron roof. The air is heavy with mothballs and the sweet, cloying stench of stale sweat.

There was a time, 58-year-old Barry says, when the clothes coming into his warehouse reeked of love, instead. “People used to buy a good-quality suit and that was it. That was their suit,” he says. “The clothes that ended up here were worn to death, treasured, loved.” Now the 100 workers at LMB Textile Recycling spend their days sorting through the detritus of our addiction to throwaway fashion - cheap, synthetic, often unworn, rarely loved. And Barry and his employees have unwittingly found themselves at the cutting edge of British eco-policy.

Textiles have never been a great concern for keen-to-be-seen-to-be-green governments that get more brownie points from an easy tonne of glass or paper. But the textile problem has become too vast to ignore.

In February the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will launch a “sustainable clothing roadmap” to try to reduce the environmental impact of our clothes. In preparation, it has commissioned a series of studies in which the true extent of our shopping habit is revealed in stark detail.

In the past five years, with the rise of “value retailers” such as Primark, H&M and TK Maxx, and supermarket fashion ranges, the price of clothing in the UK has plummeted by up to 25 per cent. At the same time, the amount of clothes we buy has increased by almost 40 per cent to more than two million tonnes a year.

Instead of two annual seasons for clothes - winter and summer - we are now offered, and can afford, new apparel every few weeks. We buy fresh holiday wardrobes, which we wear for a fortnight. Our style icons are celebrities who are never seen in the same outfit twice. And as our high street stores reel from the credit crunch, still we are cashing in - packing out the shops, desperate for discounted clothes.

As a result, textiles have become the fastest-growing waste product in the UK. About 74 per cent of those two million tonnes of clothes we buy each year end up in landfills, rotting slowly (or not at all) in a mass of polyester, viscose and acrylic blends.

WEDDING OF THE YEAR??????????????????

 SAD BUT TRUE!!!!

why am i saying like that??? it's because there's one incident yg baru2 ni je berlaku yg boleh aku kata wedding yg x jadik wedding. bukannye aku x suka si dit dot(bukan nama sebenar) ni nk khwin,aku suka sbb ye larr nk mendirikn "masjid" mesti la everybody happy!!! but at the same time da whole family cam curious skit bila si dit dot(bukan nama sebenar) ni nk khwin.


ok lahhh senang citer si minah ni nk kata lawa xde la lawa klu tgk GHOPENYE(rupenye) yg seperti monster ni mmg  korang xkn percaya si minah nk khwin,dgn perangai yg buruk rupenye yg buruk segalanye buruk(cukup package utk buat org cabut lari nk dekat ngan minah ni) membuatkn kitorang semua x suka sgt ngan si minah ni.  so jejaka yg dikatakn ingin mengahwini si minah ni pulak hanya utk mempermainkn si minah ni(ye larr rupekn buruk),just utk jdi tukang kikis duit si minah ni sbbnye si minah ni mmg la suka memberi wang ringgit kepada si boyprennye!! tu la dia pompuan senang sgt nk jual maruah smpai sanggup abiskn duit utk si jantan. 


nk dijadikan cerita si minah ni patutnye bernikah pd hari sabtu tghari klu x silap tp telah ditunda ke hari jumaat lepas org semua smbahyang jumaat!!! makanye setelah tiba harinye tp x tiba2 gak pd hari yg sepatutnye bernikah rasanye hari jumaat selepas smbahyang jumaat aku mndapt message yg mengatakn hari nikah nye ditunda pd hari sabtu malam lak. so dgn senangnye jari aku membalas message dgn mengatakn,"ni dh 2 kali x jadi lepas ni gerenti x jadik terus nikahnye"...


yang si pengantin lelaki ni pulak katanye accident masuk ICU tp bila cri di merata hosptal still gak x jumpa da groom(ni bukan la aku yg pi cri jantan tu tp org kampung)!!! finally rupe2nye si groom ni dh ada kt labuan for 2 months. dh nmpak sgt si groom ni x nk khwin ngan si minah ni sbb klu dia khwin dh gerenti si groom ni kena tanggung si minah yg makan byk dan pemalas dan buruk dan gile mcm monster dan lain2 lg.....


untuk meneruskn citer ni,lg sekali aku dpt call yg mengatakn xde langsung hari pernikahan sbbnye org kampung cuba selidik hal ni pd pak imam yg pd masa yg sama pun masuk hospital(x tau la sakit ape aku x amik tau),pak imam kata segala surat2 nikah xde langsung kt tangan dia,dh jdik kecoh 1 kampung hal ni!!! disebabkn segala preparation dh pun dibuat maka si minah yg nk khwin ni nk gak meneruskn majlis khwin dia(mesti korang yg baca dh rasa si minah ni GILA). 


dgn khemah yg smpai 10 khemah(2 pun nk tambah lg 4 khemah),ngan brg2 nk masak utk kenduri x disediakn dan mcm2 lg hal lah!!! yg bestnye lak segala rancangan ni atas rancangan si minah ni yg nk khwin without discussing anything with the father. ape la salah bapaknye tu smpai sanggup membelakangkn org yg akan mewaliknnye!!! semua rancangan ni hanya pakatan si ibu dan anak, si minah ni mmg kaki memerintah mak bapak dia supaya ikut ckp dia klu x ikut dgn senang hatinye dia memaki hamun mak bapak sendiri,yg parents ni ikut je la sbb takut anak kesayangan tu lari dari rumah. aku pun x sangka dia boleh buat mcm tu skali kt parents yg membesarkn dia. sanggup dia memalukan semua kaum keluarga dia!!


jdi hari yg sepatutnye bernikah terpaksa teruskan gak sebab dh jemput org kampung tp ye larr dgn nk cover malu giler babi!!! bila selesai sudah kenduri yg x serupa kenduri org mati bermulalah adegan yg x diingini bila si aunty2 minah ni mula x puas hati sbb sanggup memalukn family. ye larrr aunty2 dia nk ajak berbincang tp telah di back up oleh si ibu dit dot yg x jdik kahwin ni! setelah aunty2 nyer 'attack' si ibu(bukanlah adegan berkuntau sbb adegan tu sebentar saje lagi),bising2 skit nk tau ape tujuan sebenar si minah ni buat situation camni dgn tiba2nye si minah ni yg telah berkurung dalam bilik dri pg smpai ke ptg(dgn x mandi) mula mengamuk kt aunty2 nyer!!! 


oooppppsss,utk pengetahuan semua ni la adegan yg ditunggu2 oleh semua org tp aku la yg dpt exclusive nyer cover story.. ok teruskn citer, si minah ni mula la mengamuk kt aunty2 dia dan menyuruh aunty2 dia jgn masuk campur hal ni,cuma dia ngan ibunye sahaja yg berhak brcakap!! tp bila aunty2 dia mula mengamuk ngan sikap kurang ajar yg melampau-lampau tu,aunty2 dia mula la ringan tangan menampar pipi si minah ni(minah ni badan besar dan kulit mcm buaya so bila tampar dia rasa cam x sakit)!! si minah masih lg nk kata diri dia yg betul, si aunty2 mula la geram ngan perangai anak buahnye yg macam anak pistol(son of a gun,hehehe!!nina aku pinjam ayat ko ye) maka bermulalh adegan tendang-menendang dan tampar-menampar( aku masih lg ada dlm situation ni sbb aku tgh merekod perbincangan mereka,wuiiishhh keje giler ni mcm reporter lak) si minah ni mengamuk dan memaki hamun lagi kt aunty2 dia,suka ati tok nek jiran sebelah kampung sana,dia dgn sedap mulut panggil aunty2 dia BABI DAN P*K**AK.. bila ayat tu terkeluar je kt mulut dia,i feel like wuiiiishhhh sunnguh x ku sangka dia boleh cakap those words yg x sepatutnye dia cakap kt org2 yg telah membela dia sejak kecik lagi!!! masa ni everybody yg tgk scene ni mula menangis termasuk la aku yg sprti reporter x bertauliah ni... dh tu pulak dia boleh bgn gi dapur ambik penyapu nk perhambat aunty2 dia(nasib baik x amik pisau,klu x dh jdi citer FRONTPAGE lerrr: 8 terbunuh pengantin x jadik berkahwin mengamuk dan membunuh org di sekelilingnye) astaghfirullahhalazim,mengucap aku!!mintak simpang malaikat 44 jauhkn benda2 yg x elok berlaku kt family aku. 


lepas tu si minah ni menarik tangan ibunye yg takut2 nk marah anak kesayangan dia masuk ke dlm bilik dan bangg booommmm dia menghempas pintu yg dh nk roboh tu!! lg sekali mencabar kesabaran aunty2 dia,bila aunty dia yg sorang mula mengangkat kain dia dan bangggg lg sekali menendang pintu tu(x padan ngan pakai baju kebaya nk tendang pintu)!!so luar dalam la dok bantai pintu yg x bersalah tu..(kesian cik pintu x psl2 kena tendang )


setelah masih gak x dapat jawapan dri si minah kenapa dia sanggup memperbodohkn semua org dan memalukn keluarga sbb dia asyik fikir diri dia gak yg betul,maka semua org membuat kesimpulan dgn melabel si minah ni dh giler mental. sebab semuanye dirancang guna imaginasi dia(tp dh mcm gatal nk khwin sbb tau je la rupe x seberapa sapelah nk kt dia yg mcm monster tu)!! and finally kami semua memutuskn klau dia nk buat ape2 kenduri ke kami dh x mau datang lagi,cukup la kami ni muka dh tebal berpuluh inci(termasuk make up yg tebal) nk cover malu yg si minah ni lak dgn senang hatinye aje dok dalam bilik siap guling2 atas katil.. 


kesimpulan citer di atas ni suka ati korang la nk kesimpulan camner!!! to me,aku mmg rasa si minah dit dot ni dh gile,sakit mental dan sewaktu dgannye.. tp aku xrasa kesian langsung kat minah nisbb dia dh menyusahkn semua org!! 


dgn akhir kata....wasalam!!!!

Graduates leave fashion schools with no basic skills

I'm sure Greying Pixie will have something to say about this piece in the Independent (perhaps this is why they don't know how to make sleeves)

While British designers dominate the world's fashion houses, the skilled artisans needed to translate the designers' visions into reality are becoming scarce. More than 3,000 fashion students graduate from UK universities each year, yet only 500 can expect to get jobs in their chosen field, with designers claiming that they could employ more graduates if they had the requisite technical skills.

"As a luxury goods manufacturer, craftsmanship is what sets us apart from the high street," said Ian D Scott, supply director at Mulberry. "There used to be a big pool of skilled labour, which has gone now. We did some research a couple of years ago and found that 50 per cent of our workforce is over 50, which shows that there are fewer young people coming through."

So concerned are the designers that they are lobbying the Government, with the aim of drawing attention to what they call a "growing education crisis" in fashion.

"If graduates do not have pattern-cutting, computer-aided design and production skills, they can't put their creative ability to use in the industry," said Linda Florance, chief executive of Skillfast UK, the sector skills council for fashion and textiles.

Bah humbug, etc.

Courtesy of George, the New York Times explains that we love It's A Wonderful Life - because we actually live in Pottersville.

weekender

have a nice weekend yall!thanks for your interest.i will check out all your blogs this weekend!

big smooch to the wonderful knightcat.

thanks for the mention babe,i loooove your site!

UPCOMING BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

only 2 weeks left for me and my sister buat list utk birthday party my kids and my dearest daddy!! saje nk buat sekali terus senang x payah nk susah2 buat byk kali.  this time nk buat barbeque party utk FAMILY aje. ni pun birthday party just for my special person in my life,of course my ashraf yg nk masuk 2 years old and my lil baby sofia yg baru nk masuk 1 year old and last but not least my dearest daddy yg ke-7??? (alamak x ingat la pulak)

so tadi mmg asyik berdiscuss nk beli brg ape and segala preparation so that this party looks happening. lgpun ni untuk mengeratkn lg silaturahim. at the same time aku nk buat pulut kuning untuk sedekahkn kt masjid!! itu just niat aku sebab anak2 aku yg semakin membesar and journey diorang yg masih panjang aku bersyukur pd allah S.W.T sbb bg lg peluang untuk aku bersama2 ngan family aku.


pening kepala gak la sbb nk kena beli 2 present untuk anak2 aku!!!! and until now i still don't know what am i gonna give them as a present! nk bg toy dh berlambak...**SIGH**... so x tau la aku nk bagi ape utk anak2 aku ni!!alahai,botak & beruban lg la kepala laki aku.. hehehe..


oklah until here...chow...

APE AGAKNYE YEA????

almost 2 weeks hubby aku asyik dok cakap nk bg present kat aku but until now x dpt ape lg!! so this afternoon dia call tiba2 kata ari ahad ni aku akan dpt present from him...  ((sorry ye bahasa bercampur aduk lak))  but my sister tau present ape yg hubby nk bg tp my sis ada kata yg aku akan suka hadiah tu. APE AGAKNYE YE?? pening kepala aku mikirnye. 

so sepanjang ari ni aku still think...think..think...(cam cartoon my friend tigger & pooh). since last week hubby ckp psl present,ingatkn nk suruh aku balik wangsa since i'm lepaking at my sister's house for a week,tp bila balik sana dgn muka selamba je mcm xde apa2 pun hadiah nk bgi utk aku.. arrrgghhhhh!!!!


aku bengang sgt sebab aku still gak x dpt cari maxi dress yg aku nk sgt2! ada tu mmg la ada tp biasa arrr aku suka buat survey dulu mana yg elok,murah or kain yg cantik tu la yg aku beli.  nk beli online selalu sgt abis cpt so xpe la aku pegi la cari kt mana2 dulu. 




till here...chow...

Cocosa, for when you just have to buy something

The dreadful events since Mumbai have sent shopping and fashion far from my mind (which has been focussed on certain scumbag freelance journalists quick to make a buck out of others' misfortunes).

But at a certain point, life has to return to a semblance of normality, a scrap of reality. And since I currently am reading 112 books for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, an element of superficiality has to enter my day at some point, in the form of the Cocosa site.

Cocosa is a membership-only fashion sale site. A couple of times a week it offers a small number of sale items from major designers. You get advance notice of the sale, then the date of the sale, then the sale preview, and then the sale opens for three days. With some items you have to very quick off the mark. The mark-downs are significant, usually 50% or more.

For some time I had been brooding over the Sonia Rykiel bags and yesterday at noon I pressed click and bought one. I bought it because I have long wanted a Chanel 2.55 without wanting to buy an actual 2.55 (my sister has one, and that would be copycat) and this is a version thereof.

All went smoothly. I bought an £800 bag for £399 plus £6 postage and this morning it arrived at my door less than 24 hours later exactly as described.

Cocosa keeps its membership numbers limited but you can join the waiting list. It doesn't cost anything and from what I've seen since it launched a couple of months ago, it has some spectacular bargains on very very good (mainly British) designers. There are sales coming up from Beatrix Ong, Luella, Jonathan Saunders and Richard Nichol. And they opened with McQueen and Lacroix.

Pear shaped women with bad legs are in fashion (with a caveat)

in days of yore

The 70s maxi-dress is definitively back, according to the Telegraph, which says that the iron rule that economic austerity goes with long skirts cannot be overturned, and this is not even a recession but a Depression.

According to designer Sonia Rykiel, the new longer lengths are there to lift us up above the mundanities of daily life, and on to more ethereal planes. "The thing about the long silhouette is that it is an intelligent way of dressing – light and powerful, hiding what needs to be hidden, and showing what needs to be shown," Rykiel tells me. "But long dresses this autumn and winter should be worn in different, cheery, colours: bright and pale."

Excellent. Avsh Alom Gur at Ossie Clark (see following) told me it was fine to wear my Booker dress at a lunchtime event as long as it was styled differently.

The new long dresses are best suited to pear shaped women who will not mourn being unable to show off their knees. But of course only tall pear-shaped women.

For pear-shaped British women the look may be heaven-sent, but there is one body type ill-suited to the drowning pull of drapery. "If you're short, this style will only shorten you further," says celebrity stylist Hannah Bhuiya. "So the best thing to do is wear a very well cut panelled long dress, say by the newly relaunched Ossie Clark label, one that accentuates your waist, Pierre Hardy clunky shoes and a large winter hat which will help you alter your proportions."

Can anyone explain what are the styles which make pear-shaped women's hips look smaller and which simultaneously elongate them? Stylists are strangely silent on this topic. I am 5 feet five inches, which I would describe as average height and always looking to make myself seem taller and slimmer. Perhaps it cannot be done (except, of course, by becoming slimmer, but that's a subject for new year's resolutions.)

Various items

I spent yesterday at the hospital with 'Harry', Will and Kelly. Please be patient, there will be more to report.

I am very pleased to have it pointed out to me that Helen Mirren is now so exasperated by the struggle to find sleeves that she's thinking of designing some herself.

"Dresses With Sleeves," is what she'd call her range. "There are no dresses with sleeves and we need to bring back the sleeve: fine, see-through ones, long or short," she says.

"There are so many wonderful things you can do with sleeves that people used to do, and then they stopped."

And bizarrely, The Thoughtful Dresser has been shortlisted in the British Design Awards in the fashion category. Er, I 'designed' this site myself.

Fashion
Helen Storey with Tony Ryan, Wonderland – biodegradable materials
Italian Vogue: A Black Issue, July 2008
Linda Grant, The Thoughtful Dresser blog
Louise Goldin, Spring/Summer 09 – Knitwear
Basso & Brooke, Spring/Summer 09
Alber Elbaz, Creative Director, Lanvin, Spring/Summer 08
Miuccia Prada and James Lima, Trembled Blossom, Fashion Film
Duckie Brown, Spring/Summer 09 – Menswear
Maison Martin Margiela, Spring/Summer 09 – 20th Anniversary Collection
Barbican Centre and Siebe Tettero, The House of Viktor & Rolf Retrospective
Prada by Miuccia Prada, Spring/Summer 09

i would

r.owens spring 09

exitus

wer bin ich?und wenn ja,wieviele?

dear blog, i am really not sure where to go with you right now.i will think about it.i promise. dont think that i didnt love you, although you never completed me either.i will rethink our situation.some things have to change.yes.

yrs sincerly

eszter

Fabric care from the Bagpuss mice

On the sad death of Oliver Postgate, aged 83

This was voted the most popular children's television series of all time by British viewers. Note the state of the art animation.

The Bethnal Green Bambinos and some reflections on Englishness

While matters proceed on the Harry front, in the meantime here is a little something going on at George Szirtes place. A clip from one of my favourite films, Passport to Pimlico, with a little light music from the Bethnal Green Bambinos. Stick with it so you can see what life was like buying a dress for Miss Pimlico at the Palais on the ration.



As George says:

Much of the film is a recap of post-war conditions, but the core of it is about state versus locality, not so much who is who, but what is what; the small versus the great. Your first ties, the film firmly states, are to your neighbours and to history.

I loved it the first time I saw it, for much the same reasons as I loved Frank Capra films. They were instinctively egalitarian, democratic and generous, a kind of idyll. Tribal? Yes. Sentimental? Yes, that too. But it was a broad tribe and the sentiments were, it seemed to me, good sentiments. Such sentiments were what, I suspect, the war was popularly thought to be about.

Meanwhile, "... the most remarkable thing about the bream is when he's courting...

"

I came along with a piece I wrote some years ago about this very film:

Passport to Pimlico’ is a comic investigation of Englishness. Not Britishness, which is rarely mentioned. Britain is an institutional entity, it’s government, Home and Foreign Office; it runs the Empire. Englishness is what the characters feel themselves to be inside. The film’s most famous line encapsulates how people felt about their country in the immediate post-war years, after a struggle against both fascism abroad and the dreary restrictions of living entirely by the rule book. ‘We’re English,’ a woman says, leaning her head out of an upstairs window to shout to the Whitehall bureaucrats below, ‘we always were English and it’s just because we are English that we’re sticking up for our right to be Burgundian.’

balmainmineminemine

finally found a jacket on ebay.com.
i look hung over man.woha.
today was such a beautiful day.i miss the sun.

Trey's Blessing

This past weekend, we headed down to St. George to go to Trey's blessing (Eric and Brittany Jensen's baby). It was such nice weather and we definitely enjoyed the small break from the cold! We love hanging out with Britt and Eric and we LOVED going to Dogfather's :) Yum!
Here's Pete with Trey on his blessing day. Isn't he just a natural? Going to be such a great dad!


This little doll is Parx. She got to come over to play with Katie and Chris a few times while we were there. We love Chris and Katie, they're so fun, but we instantly fell in love with Parx. So cute and sweet :)

After sleeping on an air mattress and staying up all night, I took a little nap. Britt luckily lent me her new little guy to get my "baby fix" so we both fell asleep on the couch while Britt hurried to clean up a little before everyone came over for the blessing. Such a cuddler!