Lorraine's birthday do!

It's been a trying week as the days are packed with so much to do! The hubster has been poorly over the weekend so I've had to do a bit of mothering on top of the usual creative work. To add to everything else, I've been invited to do a 4-part workshop at a local school so that's been taking up some time planning-wise since it's the first time I'm taking a class! The group's mainly 17-18 yr olds, hopefully I can interest them with the basic jewellery-making techniques and that they won't eat me alive!! (too many scary stories abt a teacher's life in the classroom) My first session's this Friday *shudder* but come next week, I'll be off to the Philippines with my gal pals for a much-needed hol! This is the first time I'll be missing the national day parade on TV but oh well we have to follow the holiday schedule of my civil servant (hah) friends so yay! 4 of us will be heading to Makati City for some sun and shopping!

Even though Matt was really ill yesterday, he still managed to make it to Lorraine's birthday do with me at the newly opened Food for Thought cafe on North Bridge Road, just across the National Library. This funky foodstop began with School of Thought that was started by 5 of Lorraine's friends and now they've continued their social enterprise aspirations with this "quirky little indie diner". For instance, tap water is served free but you have the option of donating to international well-building projects so that people in other countries may enjoy free water like we do someday. You can also choose to drop some change into the waitresses' university funds :) The cafe's simple no-frills decor and warm comfort food like their cream-less mushroom and fennel soup made us feel so at home!

David explaining the selection of meats to us


Us mortal folk looking on in awe

The 2 chefs David and Peter had planned a special menu for our party of 10 and we had a little corner to ourselves, smiley face banners, balloons, poppers and all! Much to the amusement of some fellow tourist diners :)

Peter, Lorraine and David


The pretty birthday girl and her pink lilies ~
Happy birthday babez!

xoxoxoxo

Tomorrow's the opening launch party of Maki Squarepatch's: Hello Eco! shop on Emerald Hill so that's something else to look forward to! They've put in so much hard work into this shop so I can't wait to see what stuff will be in store! I'm meant to be working on some exclusive pieces for them as well but oopsie, still have a long way to go :p Chris will be bringing some of her baking goodies *yummy!* It's really hard not to put on weight when you're in my shoes :(

Wild Roses - SGD 45 (No remakes) - Sold

Karin's beads have the most beautiful colours ever and these rose lentils are just proof of that. Swirls of raspberry, chocolate and pale pink on a peachy base ~ yummy! This is my only pair for sale as I'm going to keep the rest of these beautiful beads for myself. On one side, I wired a pink vintage flower that has little tea stains on the petal edges which just adds to its rustic agedness, and included a little bling, pearls and a pale blush brio. On the other side, another frosted pale pink acrylic bloom sits atop a cluster of pastel AB czech drops and beads, ending with a little rose pink swarovski rhinestone "ball" ~ Drop is 5.8 cm and 7 cm respectively from gold-filled hooks.

Odette - SGD 32 - Sold

Soothing hues of subtle blues... a chesty swan cloisonne and frosted blooms with teeny deep blue brios and swarovski pearls ~ drop is 5 cm and 8 cm respectively from goldfilled hooks.

Lyn - custom order

Specially created for Lyn as a farewell gift fr Weilin ~ both of whom are my friends and supporters! :) Hope you like the purple combi babez!

Geranium - SGD 42 (no remakes) - Sold

Bright colours to cheer you up any day! I love how vibrantly red the polymer rose is and oh, that beautiful vintage red heart! With petite tangerine clay roses and layered lemon-tea coloured vintage acrylic flowers, a flitting brass butterfly, paisley charms, brass flower with rhinestone centre, crystal chain, teeny meadow green czech beads and faceted smoky quartz brios ~

Drop is abt 5.8 cm. Picture shows the earrings with brass hooks but you get goldfilled hooks for your lovely ears!

Lotus Myth - SGD 30 - Sold

These quaint rose-pink vintage acrylic flower charms remind me of blossoming lotuses for some reason, maybe it's the soft unfolding of colours... little sashaying rhodium leaves, crystal chain, matt shimmering paisley filigree and czech beads complete this lightweight pair. Drop is 5cm on rhodium hooks ~

Pondering Shea - SGD 35 - Sold

It's been so rainy lately it's put a dampen on my mood ~ Have to brave the rain soon to run some errands so boohoo, sometimes it's just nice to stay indoors and be dry instead of out there in the rain with a brolly too small for me. The serenity of the house put me in a pensive mood and Pondering Shea came to join me in this peace and quiet.

Pretty keishi freshwater pearl clusters, white czech flower, garden cloisonne charm, deep blue brios and a little faerie deep in thought ~ drop is abt 5 cm fr 14k goldplated hooks.

Pluck & Emerald Hill

Yesterday was Hui Ling's actual birthday "day" so she'd taken the day off and we went a-gallivanting! She heard me gushing abt the brownie & ice-cream at Pluck so I had to bring her there of cos and she loved the place the minute she stepped in! Must be something to do with the myriad of colours and prints and beautiful things that makes you want to cosy with everything you pick up. It was still early so there were just 2 of us in the parlour enjoying our rum & raisin and baileys ice-cream (potent stuff) with a nice cuppa cappuccino. Tammie the young lady manning the shop revealed that the brownies were handmade by her dad while she helps run the shop which her sister opened. Isn't it heartwarming when a family comes to do something together? My family runs our own business too (minus moi now) and though it can get difficult at times (for us) , I liked that we were able to see each other quite a bit. Think I miss my family more now that I've moved out of the coop. Sniff.

I was hoping to check out Xin and Enqi's new store, Makisquarepatch: Hello Eco!, located snug inside the tranquil quaint Emerald Hill as I knew they'd just opened their shop on Monday. We'd never been to this part of town before and we were so pleased we did cos the whole atmosphere was just so surreal. It's almost as if you're transported back in time with all the conserved 1920s -30s two-storey straits chinese shophouses... their low saloon doors and little stone steps and frangipani trees and white flowers strewn everywhere..... sigh.... it was really romantic, esp. when it started to drizzle lightly. We felt like we were in a scene fr one of Qiong Yao's novels!!

Unfortunately I made the boo boo of forgetting to jot down their unit number and they had turned off their phones cos of a TV shoot. In the end we popped by The Oppt Shop for some vintage therapy where we (christine the sassy shop staff and I) did a little vintage makeover for H. She was still in shock at what we convinced her to get but trust me girl, you sure look fab in them! Xin called soon after so we trotted back up the hill for more exercise.

Check out the photos of their lovely studio shop! H was so fascinated with the 3 Ho-Ho-Ho reindeers cos her family name's Ho and she has 3 sisters so she felt a strong affinity with the 3 plushies. I loved the colours and spaciousness of the place! There was a little painted house in a small corner at the end of the wall which said "1-eyed jack". Xin shared that 1-eyed jack was a stray cat who passed away at that spot when they were setting up the shop. He had only one eye and was very sick and skinny. He was supposed to rest in their shop for one night but he never woke up so she painted this house for him, hoping that he's now in a much better home than the one she painted. For some reason I was very touched when I heard this story, maybe it's cos I'm in my missing-home stage and though I've moved out for 2 years now I still wish I was a little girl tunneling between my parents on their bed watching TV and dozing off and being carried off to bed by my dad... at least before I became a little chubby kid!

Sadly I learnt during separate moments yesterday that the 26 yr old guy who passed away fr dengue recently was more connected to me than I would have expected. We were from the same school, he was well-related to a church friend and teacher, he was also a good friend of another. As Nat puts it, "how poetic it is that the death of one person can draw so many connections in the lives of others". If there was to be consolation or comfort or hope, it would be that my friend and teacher who knew him and was much affected by his demise said this of him, "he was someone who had lived life to the fullest without any regrets..." I hope that when my time comes, this will be true for me too.

Paige & Paisley - SGD 45 - Sold

These paisley charms are so intricate and detailed I had to use them! With a piece of rose motif lace, white swarovski crystal button, faceted white brio, it is really brings attention to the wrist. Frosted czech beads, freshwater pearl coins and a crystal chain complete this ethereal piece ~ I'll try and capture a photo of me modelling it later today :)

Muse - SGD 39 - Sold

These pale white cloisonnes with shades of pale lemon and salmon pink remind me of pretty clam shells a la Venus. I've used czech flowers with pistachio and raspberry swirls, mocha polyer rose, pale pink glass brio, round freshwater pearl coins and ruffled gold filigrees with tiny clusters of rose quartz and metallic bronze czech beads.

Drops are 6.5 cm and 5.5 cm respectively fr goldfilled hooks.

Horus and his Consort - SGD 28 - Sold

The last of my owls, this is similar to the black Toot Toot Goes the Owl. Thought I'll manage a final white version yea? Drop is 2.5cm and 5.5cm respectively from 14k goldplated hooks ~

Serene - Private Order

Green is such a serene colour, esp. when coupled with cool blues ~

Sage and Magic

Among my group of food-crazy girlfriends, we like to go somewhere fancy for dinner to celebrate our birthdays and though usually the birthday girl gets to choose where, sometimes her right gets usurped which was the case in Hui Ling's birthday celebration on Saturday. I'd been really wanting to try Sage at Robertson Walk for aeons and the last time we planned to go, they were closed for renovation so now that I've waited 3 months for another dinner excuse, we simply had to go!

It's such a nice cosy spot on the 2nd level (it was football night so the decibel level went up a bit and we had some intermittent heartstopping cheers) and we liked that they provided free corkage with the dinner set menus since the sets were worthwhile anyway so Val brought her 3 euro (sigh) sparkly rose fr norway which surprisingly lasted quite a while! I'm not much of a food blogger, cos usually I'm so hungry by the time the girls arrive I don't like to wait to start eating but I think it's a good idea for me to remember the food places I've been to so that the next time the hubster wants a night out, I actually have some places in mind!

The food at Sage is good. Really good.

Starters:

Escargot & Prawns
A risotto of Burgundy escargot and tiger prawns flambéed with pastis,
Parmesan crusted poached egg and Italian parsley foam

Tuna
Tartare of lightly cured yellow fin tuna loin with oven dried Roma tomatoes and olive tapanade, avocado coulis and crispy Parmigiano Reggiano

Valerie and her Mushrooms

Cappuccino of wild mushrooms

*I loved this one!

Mains:

Yorkshire Pork

Charcoal grilled Yorkshire pork rack with William pear and seeded mustard compote,
braised purple cabbage and tarragon veloute

Beef Cheek
Terrine of slow cooked beef cheek and roasted celery root gratinated with a truffle sabayon, fricassee of wild mushrooms and natural jus

* This was my main, and it was so so so rich this tiny portion was just the right size.

Threadfin
Fillet of threadfin coated in almond crumbs with pomme pont neuf and almond foam,
a tian of tomato confit and sweet basil – lemon emulsion

Lamb Loin
Australian grain fed lamb short loin with vanilla infused yellow corn polenta, a salsa of Provencal vegetables, pine nuts and olives on a bed of vine ripe tomato coulis

Pudding time!

Baked Apple

Oven baked Granny Smith apple wrapped in filo pastry with
apple cider caramel sauce and peanut butter ice-cream

Crème Brûlée
White chocolate crème brûlée with blood orange sorbet on
redcurrant jelly and Navel orange meringue

Chocolate Fondant
Manjari chocolate fondant topped with fresh raspberries and vanilla bean ice-cream

Blueberry Pudding
Blueberries, rum and dark chocolate pudding with
brandied mascarpone ice-cream and gingerbread biscuit

Kimberly the restaurant manager and lady owner was really nice and helped arrange a cake fr Canelé the Les Amis group-owned Pâtisserie Chocolaterie nearby so we could surprise H after dinner.

Yes that's me looking on in B-grade horror as the cake nearly slid off the board

Being the ever thoughful friend, I got her this pair of furry birthday bunny ears as courtesy after she got me the super small and ultra tight fairy wings for my hen party. I only found out on Sat that she had gotten them from Kiddyland!!!

That's her holding the journal i had custom-made for her with the front page that I doodled, scribbled and basically vandalised so that she had no choice but to remember me everytime she used the journal. Ha!

Ann Marie wanted to check out Bar 84 at Gallery Hotel where they supposedly had an inhouse magician and after popping our heads in the wrong bars a couple of times we finally managed to get to our destination. Where's the signboard people??!! At first we thought the place was closed, cos 1) they had white napkin towels hanging out to dry on the railing outside the entrance 2) boxes of mineral water stacked at the door 3) the waitress stood bouncer-like at the narrow entrance making us think no-entry. We were a little put off by now, esp. when she only moved after we asked if they were open and she said, yeah but there's a cover charge of $10 (which we already knew). The lounge redeemed itself when it turned out to be really small but super cosy with fluffy seats and jazzy lighting reminiscent of the old Somerset bar.

The magician performed his tricks at the bar counter there were only 2 other people in the bar before us and they were being entertained so we had to wait our turn. Half an hour later, we were told we could move over to the counter so we sat the birthday girl in the middle, and the japanese guy aka magician did a whole load of usual card tricks, sometimes we could see his sleight of hand sometimes we were AMAZED. Must admit we had problems understanding his english at times which resulted in a whole load of jokes but it was still pretty good fun!

In his finale, he told H to write down her name and the date on a playing card before placing the card down on the mat in front of us. He then asked where we thought the card was, and to our horror he opened the cabinet door behind him and said the card was in the bar fridge. We were still disbelieving as he pulled out this bag of 3 lemons. He told H to eliminate 1 lemon, then another, until there was only 1 left. He then passed a knife and told her to cut it open, lo and behold, the card was rolled up tuck into the flesh! It was such a mondo magic moment i tell you. Though I've seen this trick on TV before, it was still quite incredible when you were part of it. That's H up there with her soggy card heh.

We'd been stuffed and sufficiently entertained, so it was time to go and then that's when the REAL surprise showed up. That teeny weeny little lemon cost us a whopping $15!! Before taxes too. We were really unhappy about it and made a hooha but in the end we didn't want to ruin the wonderful night and H's birthday so we paid up and just so very nearly grabbed the other 2 lemons with us. Still it was fun and though we aren't sure we'll be back, at least H had a memorable bunny magic birthday so yay! Mission accomplished :)

Apricots - SGD 34 (no remakes) - Sold

Fruity tangerine apricots with flitting butterflies on curved flowery filigrees, made even more chirpy with orange clay and vintage flowers wired together in a symphony of orange burst! Turquoise czech beads, opalite white drops and rhinestone drops add a dash of colour and bling.
Drop is 5cm fr goldfilled hooks ~

Peacock Blues - SGD 36 (no remakes) - Sold

More white vintage flowers!! This pair of Peacock Blues has the petalled pretties wired to mottled blue donuts (wish i had found out what the name of this stone is fr the shop!) with more of the funky shaped freshwater pearls I am so into at the moment! Drop is a versatile 4.5cm fr goldfilled ear hooks.

A kind soul just told me this stone could be sodalite and I think so too! Thanks dawne! :)

Ditsy Daisies - SGD 29 (no remakes) - Sold

Cheery vintage daisy cabochons on wooden hoops, oh so sunshine! Little brass filigree hearts and pretty pearls & frosted czech beads add dollops of whipped delight ~ Drop is a sprightly 4.5 cm fr brass hooks.

Silver Lilies - SGD 32 (no remakes) - Sold

Still in my wired phase! Silver Lilies is such a gleaming fairy pair of vintage white rose cabochons on wooden hoops, with little sterling flowers, freshwater pearls, cream swarovskis and AB clear czech beads wired thru them. Drop is a lightweight 3.5 cm from sterling hooks ~ you can see the earrings on a white background here :)

pilgrimage to haji lane

Hehe it's been such an indulgent day today! Daniel came over and we treated ourselves to the famous and super yummy "kong kong" mee near my place before heading out for some exploring around the quaint Haji Lane. Boy, were there many hidden treasures!! I especially dig this 2 storey shophouse clothing boutique called Collage, which has little secret corners filled with ponds, rattan chairs and old retro armchairs that are so reminiscent of old peranankan houses with high open ceilings and creakety old wooden boards. I've been there before, and I never fail to go home with something from this cosy shop that has a wonderful range of both vintage and new clothing.

There are many many other cool finds, but I simply have to mention Pluck, which stocks many local labels like Kookii:Kooky and Little Odd Forest... and their own in-house line of "deadly sins" tshirts which are majorly funky and comfy, and Daniel couldn't resist a "Slovenly" for him and his babe. Oops! Hope she isn't reading this now or I'd have spoilt her surprise!! I got a Kookii owl mushroom wrist clutch (told you i've got an owl fetish) and a different one for a friend's birthday and was fancying one of the brilliant owl brooches when Daniel was suddenly overwhelmed with a I-found-sth-fabulous! shopping esctasy which I used to think only applied to women. He'd found this beautiful vintage pleated almost pin-stripe skirt in green, blue and red that not only did not make you look fat but was in mint condition! I found the price tag a tad pricey even though it was really really really very very very pretty with great personality. Let's just say that at the end of the mental pros and cons process this Bordello Princess baby is now with me at home. It's really Daniel's fault for being the "little evil shopaholic" voice in my head!! And oh did i mention the ice cream parlour in Pluck that serves divine brownies? I chose lychee martini ice cream to go with mine and it was just so so so so good. The parlour is really small there are only 4 little round tables but it's still a very quaint place to hide on a warm afternoon. Pls don't hate me for being able to chill while you working folks are slaving in the office!

Anyway this means I have to work doubly hard to make up for the crazy spending (except for the birthday present bit) so watch out for a few new earrings tmr ~ customization will take a while for those who've placed orders and those who're thinking of doing it. I have a daily quota of 1) private orders to finish 2) pieces for sale online and 3) possibly new pieces for the next Maad. This helps in making sure I don't go nuts stocking up for the fair! Hope this also explains why private orders take quite long to fulfil, but I'm doing my best yea!!

Lastly I just have to share these goodies from Fiona who's based in Palembang with her husband ~ just check out the cute owl sunglass cases that she made! I like how her quirky creations are infused with a somewhat local flavour :) I've been bugging her to come back and join us at Maad so let's wait for Nov! Or Dec! Or both!

And now back to work. Sigh.

Alexandria - SGD 45 (no remakes) - Sold

I am so proud of Alexandria!! A huge pack of vintage flowers appeared in the mail yesterday after 2 long months of no-news, I thought I'd lost them for good! But thank God they survived the journey from Providence to reach sunny (and dengue-infected) singapore safely!! I thought these vintage white flowers would look fabulous against these beautiful shimmering lavender lentils fr Karin so I layered and wired these flowers with pink swarovski pearl centres and other pale lavenderish beads. This mismatched pair ends with little freshwater pearls ~

Drop is 7 cm from goldfilled hooks. You can check out a picture of Alexandria taken on a white background here.

Katina - SGD 60 (no remakes) - Sold

This is another little trial started on Saturday which I finally completed!! I twisted these vintage plastic flowers together with swarovski pearls & crystal chain, black czech leaves & some moonglow beads, a little moonstone and black cameo, vintage silver hoop earring, czech glass drops and faceted labradorite rondells. This is my 2nd attempt and I'm quite pleased with the final result so I'm sharing it here! :)

Length is 16" on a 14k goldplated chain. It will come in a pretty little box yea!

beautiful monday!

For some reason, the past week has been sooo exhausting!! I'm not even sure if it's just "sympathetic" exhaustion that I'm feeling for the hubster, he's been working like 12 hr stretches and crashes straight after dinner at 10pm. I just keep on working while waiting for him to come home so I guess that sort of explains my fatigue as well haha. Anyway I decided that I would use my weekends to play with new stuff instead of just slaving over orders non-stop, and this is my trial from Saturday ~ I've always loved these vintage flowers and I found this cute little pink lampwork birdie which I used to layer and collage over a gold plated filigree base. Unfortunately it's very raw and i really need to work on my wiring technique! Not sure if it can be used as part of a necklace yet, maybe I'll turn it into a dreamcatcher or hanging mobile instead :p It might look decent hanging by the window!Still working on another technique at the mo, will share it once I've finished it hee hee. Trying new ideas is always exciting but very taxing in the beginning cos you have to spend lotsa time and patience and probably quite a bit of materials in the process of learning. Not to mention the mountain of orders waiting for me to finish. Sigh. Maybe I should hire some little elves to help me out here so the waiting time won't be so long!! Have a great start to the week folks!

Where Fairies Rule - SGD 55 - Sold

Ok at first glance the price tag might freak you out, but oh well the parts in this pair are insanely ex once you add everything up ~ "new jade" carved hisbiscuses for one - these are a beautiful translucent green. And these vintage retro rose cameos which have a nice aged rustic feel to them. A little fairy charm, large 3D butterfly (which i'm running out of boohoo), copper wire mesh bow, swarovski crystal chain, cherry quartz brios and little seed beads on brass & 14k goldplated chains.

I love how the earrings turned out ethereal and wispy with colours of red, pink and green ~ as all my melange earrings are unique, Where Fairies Rule is another keeper! Drops are 7cm and 6.5cm respectively from goldfilled hooks.