A recycled gift :)

Updated 4/19 – Shortly after I posted this entry, I saw that the hands on the 2 mini ‘clocks’ on my watch came apart ( as seen in the pic)!!Geeez… I sent it back to Fossil to have it fixed…

I was back in Singapore a few months back and was packing my things as usual –ย  so many years in US and still many things in Singapore. My mum found this watch which I totally forgot that I had it!

watch

This is a watch which BH gave me on my 21st birthday! wah.. sentimental value right? However, the strap broke. At first, I did not want it anymore BUT my mum persuaded me to bring it back to the states with me. So I did. I contacted Fossil and was told that this watch had been discontinued…… and…. they are going to give me $125 credit towards a new watch!!!! OMG!! Such joy!! New watch!! It’s like a birthday present – recycled.

Tadah! My new watch!

IMG_9921

Thank you Fossil for the amazing after-service, even though it’s nearly 10 years!!!! Now, I am hoping that a broken Philippe Starck watch is not a collectible item which is worth more than $125….

Tiny’s Organic CSA box

I always wanted to try CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) – just waiting for a good deal. Finally, a livingsocial deal came up! The best part is it is from Tiny’s Organic ( a farm booth I frequent at the Farmer’s Market) and BH’s office is one of the collection points! there is also an additional 20% discount code which can be applied to the deal! Things can’t get any better!! ๐Ÿ˜€ We paid $25 for 2 boxes

The most exciting part about the CSA box is you don’t know what you are getting every week. I enjoy receiving a mystery box – gives me a chance to try new healthy food and cook new recipes!

My first box: 2 October 2013

box1

The box contains tomatillo, tomatoes, carrots, fennel, apples, nectarine, prunes. Large box is supposed to feed a family of 3 but it’s just right for us ๐Ÿ™‚

I have never worked with tomatillo! I spent ALOT of time looking for recipes to include this ingredient. BH and I are not chips&dip people so I was reluctant to make salsa. However, I gave in and made Fresh Tomatillo Salsa in the end. Sorry, no pics for this one ๐Ÿ™ I used the salsa for baking salmon and it tasted really good actually!

Next, I have never worked with Fennel too!

After some research, I followed this recipe ๐Ÿ™‚ Turns out to be pretty tasty!

fennel

As for the tomatoes, I used them for Tomatoes Eggs

My second box: 9 October 2013

box2

This time the box contains apples, nectarines, prunes, huge heirloom tomatoes, kale and 2 acorn squash

haha.. I have not done anything exciting for this box yet but I plan to make the following:
1) Acorn Squash bread
2) Kale pasta salad
3) Tomato eggs ( Gosh.. we are eating tomatoes nearly every day now!)
4) Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella

I really enjoy my CSA experience but decided to stop after these 2 boxes because it is quite costly with any vouchers. Hard to say goodbye and I hope another deal comes soon!

Should I keep this??

Just bought this pair of shoes on 1/2 price!! Lucky me!! ๐Ÿ™‚

The thing is.. I am not confident with peep toe shoes.. but this pair of wedges is soooo comfy.. it’s the most comfy wedges I have ever worn.. and I always wanted to by a pair of Tory Burch!!! Gosh…. now… should i keep this??

Yes or no?

[Edited] Returned the shoes. Figured out that it’s silly to keep a pair of expensive shoes which is not the correct size for me :/

My 1st and last Chanel earrings~~

Did u guess it right?

I have been looking for a particular design of Chanel earrings for a long time.. since April .. and only found it in Sept! It took me 3 countries to find it – France, Italy, Singapore BUT found it in the USA! I didn’t know that it was soooo close to me all the while!

 

Pretty? ๐Ÿ˜€ Extremely thankful for having a doting hubby who bought this for me. The weekend we came back to Seattle..BH offered to bring me to Neiman Marcus= Chanel! I was shocked… after spending so much $$$ .. I thought I won’t be buying anything for a long while… BH was like “Just go and see… no need to buy…”

At the store, I didn’t see anything I like. I took out a picture of the earrings which I was searching high and low for… and the SA told me that she could order for me!! OMG!! It’s available!! Without a 2nd thought, I told her ” I WANT IT!” She ordered the first pair for me ( haha.. yes.. first pair), it arrived a few days later. As i happily went to the store to collect, I noticed the obvious difference of the size of the pearls on each side of the earrings! I know.. I am so picky.. but i just can’t take such imperfections… so I told her that I want to see another pair just to be sure. Another few days later… The 2nd pair arrived… and it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT – I wore it on the spot! Happy!! Then.. I realised… I was too focused on checking the size of the pearls that I didn’t notice a slight.. just very slight tarnish on 1 side of the hardware ( the small part which is holding onto the double C design and the pearl) Gosh! well.. I am just gonna keep this pair of earrings – it’ll tarnish anyway.. it’s a matter of time..I still love it ๐Ÿ™‚

How to remove white residue from Hunter boots?

White residue is also know as ‘Bloom’

As the weather gets a bit cooler, I took out my rainboots which I adore dearly. I was shocked to see white residue on the boots!! At first, I thought it was dust/mould/dirt.. so I cleaned it using wet wipes and air dry the boots. However, the white marking came back again! I was devastated!

Did a search online and it says I could clean it off with a cloth and mild detergent. I tried it and…. the white markings still appear after boots were dried! ๐Ÿ™

Finally.. found the solution on PurseForum! Initially, I wanted to buy the Hunter sponge ($5) and spray ($12). I went to Neiman Marcus and they did not sell them ๐Ÿ™ No choice.. I got to use Armor All, which also works. I was hesitant to use Armor All as I felt that it might be too strong and it could damage the boots. I went to Target and there was only 1 container of Armor all Protectant wipes ($4.50) left – bought it and tried on our car’s wheels.. WORKS!

Spent the evening cleaning my boots… BH was teasing me – saying that I’m in NS and the sergeant just told me to clean my boots… heyhey! cleaning boots is quite therapeutic ok!

Dull with white residue
Shiny and new!
Armor All saves the day!

hahaha.. in the end… I not only cleaned my Hunter.. I also cleaned the rest of the shoes! I am just amazed by how good these wipes are!!! No wonder there’s only 1 container left! Phew… luckily, I didn’t buy the Hunter sponge and spray – Armor All works and it’s cheaper too!!!

Prada Outlet (Space)

20 April 2012

I am not into Prada .. but I don’t mind MiuMiu ๐Ÿ˜€

Since we are in Florence, we decided to visit the outlet. I didn’t do any research on the bags/wallets before the trip.. so I was not sure how cheap/expensive things were…

We only had like 1 hour to shop because we needed to get back to Florence for our train to Rome , departing at 1pm. It was a very short trip – we kinda speed shopped. Not a good idea :/

—–

BH and I took public transport to space outlet (train then share cab) Once you reach Montevarchi station, you will see a no. of people running towards the taxi stand – all going to the same place. Sharing a cab to the outlet cost 3euros/person while taking a cab entirely to yourselves cost 12euros

We left Florence at 9am and reached the outlet at 10am. The outlet only opens at 10.30am ( we went on Friday morning) BUT there was already a line. Do take a number ( we were top 30) as you will need it when you pay at the cashier

Maybe we were the earlybirds – I personally feel that the selection of items were WOW!! There were many items which were still selling in US stores and it is in this outlet already! Amazing! the prices of some items were more than 50% cheaper than US price ( after 12.5% tax refund)!

There were also a huge selection of MiuMiu accessories like wallets, card holders. However, there were only a handful of MiuMiu bags – Grab them fast!

Some items I bought – styles are still on the US website!

1) Prada Shopping Tessuto (This bag is commonly seen in Singapore! I only saw this colour and there was only 1 pc left… so I grabbed!!! you shld have seen how ‘jealous’ the other ladies were when they saw that I found this GOLD)

There’s no defects on this bag.. I think it’s just an off season colour!
Price tag: 550 euros
Price paid: 440 euros
After tax refund: 388 euros = US$496 (see how much i saved!!)

2) Miu Miu Bauletto Vitello

This bag have some minor scratches BUT I am cool with it. I got it and it’s my first MiuMiu bag!
Price tag: 370 euros
Price paid: 296 euros
After tax refund: 260 euros = US$334 (Look at the difference in the cost on the website!)

3) Prada Nappa wallet

This buy is probably my BIGGEST regret.. The wallet looks perfect outside BUT inside it has some glue stains which had been removed, leaving a stain ๐Ÿ™ It’s not obvious unless i point it out to you.. would love a more perfect wallet though. It also didn’t come with the authenticity card ( I know it’s authentic BUT no proof) This is an example of a type 4 defect by the way

Price tag: 215 euros
Price paid: 150 euros
After tax refund: 132 euros = US$169

The men section was also packed with great deals! wallets and belts are much cheaper than boutique price!

The wallet BH bought –

Price tag: 140 euros
Price paid: 140 euros ( no additional discount)
After tax refund: 123 euros = US$158

BH also bought a belt which cost 60 Euros

Our loots –

I love the MiuMiu passport holder which I found in the outlet (68 Euros) to match with my MiuMiu wallet ๐Ÿ™‚

[IMPORTANT]
1) Some bags/wallets come with some minor defects/scratches. They will be priced differently – this means the REAL price could be lesser than the price on the price tag. The no. on the price tag will indicate if the item is on additional discount or not. The no. range from 3 -5. ‘5’ being the worst. The SAs are more than willing to point out the defects to you.

2) After you decide on the items, the SA will hold it at the counter for you – That’s when the no. which you took earlier comes to use. Rem your no. else you may create a lot of confusion when you pay!

3) If you are rushing off to the train station, do get the cab company’s no. to call a cab! We were panicking when we didn’t see any cab in sight after we shopped. Fortunately, a cab came in the last minute – else we would have missed the trains

All in all, it’s a great place to shop if you are into Prada + MiuMiu! Would love to go again! ๐Ÿ˜€

BUONGIORNO Roma + Chanel PST reveal!

Every city we go to there’s a story ๐Ÿ™‚

Rome April 20-23

It’s unbelievable that we were FINALLY in ROME! I looked at my surrounding.. breathe in the air (not very fresh.. alot of smokers)… and can’t help but to give a little ‘scream’ inside me… wah… I have been waiting to come here for soooo long… and finally… not in June or December.. we are here! I must have said this countless times but it’s such a blessing!

We stayed at this Airbnb It was a modern apartment with great furnishing! wished that was our home! ( The place was generally nice and clean. However, i found the comforter dirty as I saw blood stains on it! )

Believe or not.. BUT the first place we went in ROME was CHANEL – The SA in Paris checked that the bag I wanted is in ROME! wah.. and I can’t reserve it :/ We put down our belongings in the apartment and ‘chiong’ to Chanel. Chanel is sooo crowded… OMG.. u got to wait for someone to serve you…. As I was waiting, i saw another lady who came into the store with the picture of the very bag I wanted. I panicked! BH too! haha.. so BH approached a SA and told her firmly that we had waited for a very long time and was still not helped ( This was one the rare times that BH is not passive! haha) Yayness… we were served shortly… and the lady.. who saw that we were both asking for the same bag panicked! haha… fortunately the store had 2!!! It was ‘hidden’ at the back and not displayed in store!!! Love love!

I bought it immediately!!! Finally putting my hard saved money into something i really wanted! Happy girl!!! ๐Ÿ˜€ I finally acquired what I pined for w/o burning/perishing

Reveal~~

Petite Shopping Tote (PST)

For records –
Cost: 1300 euros OR US$1712.04 (as reflected on credit card)
Tax refund in cash: US$219
Total cost in USD: US$1493.04
Cost of buying in US: US$2000
Amt saved: US$506.96+tax!! (25% cheaper)

PS: My WOC which BH bought cost US$1595+tax .. look at how much I saved for a bigger bag! That’s why the PST is HOT! AND it is going to be discontinued soon… BUY IT IF YOU CAN! Btw.. my WOC had increased price by US$100!! By the time PST becomes extinct…. I will be holding an antique!! ๐Ÿ˜€

Enough Chanel talk… heh… other placed we visited..


Very crowded.. we didn’t get to sit on these steps

well.. I rem watching a movie, When in Rome and I told myself that I must go there and mk a wish at the Trevi Fountain! I’m so glad.. I have the chance to.. haha… and my wish is….. *not telling you*


Very crowded too! we were lucky that this man volunteered to take this picture for us ๐Ÿ™‚ Don’t u love helpful strangers?

Next.. Vatican City! Do you know that VC is a independent country?! It has its own guards + postal service + radio station!

Everyone was taking water was the fountain.. so we assumed that it was Holy water? haha… BH was coming down with a running nose – I could have spread it to him.. so I told him to drink the Holy water… and guess what?!! The running nose went away! Amazing!

ok.. we can’t take pictures at Sistine Chapel BUT it was a TRUE highlight.. luckily we got Rick’s book from our host – it was a 2001 guide BUT it explained the paintings! Sistine Chapel is a HUGE WOW! DO BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE IN ADVANCED 38 euros for 2 person – the line to buy tickets is extremely LONG! we are glad that we can skip the queuing and go straight to security checks then enter the museum


It was another huge WOW for me! It’s hard to believe that we are looking/standing on such a famous historical landmark!


Roman forum was kinda boring… maybe I’ve got overload of roman stuff… geez… even Rick’s guide can’t excite me.. haha

For the Colosseum + Forum, 2 day admission fee $11euros/person. Opens from 9am-7pm


We got to see this parade!! How cool to see gladiators marching towards the Colosseum.. even cooler that I managed to take a pic with one! hahaha

last but not least…

Overall… It was a great vacation!!! Oh… tax refund in Rome airport T5 was extra easy for me ( no long lines + the lady at the customs was only interested to look at my Chanel.. haha) I mean.. I read many horror stories about how long the lines are and how people nearly miss their flights.. I guess… flights in T5 are US-bound + fewer asians.. so.. the refund was very fast and easy – make me so kanchiong go airport early.. haha..

Alina + Jo picked us up from the airport!! It was so nice to see both of them after 2 weeks!!! It was already late at night and Jo made Salted duck soup for us!!! ooo… such a sweet gesture… we were very touched… It’s great to have friends like them ๐Ÿ™‚

How to buy Happycall pans on Gmarket Korea? (Part 2)

THE PANS ARE HERE!! ๐Ÿ˜€

Date ordered: 2 May 2012
Date received: 8 May 2012

It reached Singapore slightly less than a week! Amazing! Pictures courtesy of my sister ๐Ÿ™‚

Pic 1: The HUGE box delivered by the postman. Just to let u know, once Gmarket ship out your package, you will receive tracking information which could be seen when u log into your a/c. It will look something like this –

IF you are staying in Singapore, you can check the status of your parcel using the tracking no. on Speedpost Usually, delivery by EMS is very fast and reliable. However, if you miss the delivery, you can contact Speedpost directly for redelivery or for transfer to post office for pick up

Pic 2: This is how individual box packing looks like! Neat and nice! Fit snugly in the bigger box

Pic 3: The pan inside each smaller box and extra silicon seals (which i added) for my order

Pic 4: Interior of the pan – comes with a Korean Manual. However, the English and Chinese manual can be found here and here respectively

FAQ

1) How much did you pay for shipping?

The shipping cost seen above is for 3 pans (about 8kg!) The excess amount paid for shipping will be deposited into your Gcash [Read How to use your Gcash here]

2) How much does each pan cost when I buy direct from Gmarket Korea?

I paid SG$175.69 ( EMS shipping+ 3 ocher deep pans+ 3 sealers) Each set only cost SG$58.56!! Personally, I think it is cheaper than joining sprees or buying from department stores ๐Ÿ˜€

3) Have you tried cooking with the pans?

Not yet ๐Ÿ™ I’ll blog about it when I did!

4) How to buy HCP on Gmarket?

Read here

Enjoy!! Happy shopping! ๐Ÿ˜€

How to buy Happycall pans on Gmarket Korea? (Part 1)

*These are solely my opinions. Do give me credit if my guide helped you OR share your thoughts in my comment box. Tanks everybody Tanks!! ๐Ÿ˜€ *

Who should read this?
1) Asian living in USA who wants to get a Happycall pan
2) Singaporeans who want to buy a Happycall pan
3) Anyone who want to buy a Happycall pan

Ok, fine. Basicallyโ€ฆ everyone!

Have you caught the Happycall pans (HCP) craze yet? I know.. it is so popular now and I see a lot of people talking about it on Facebook and on various cooking blogs!

I thought it was just a so-so pan BUT J (my Singaporean bachelor friend living in Seattle) is talking about it! haha.. he was boosting about how he cooked delicious medium rare steak.. the kind of steak which is cooked to perfection and not โ€˜hard like rockโ€™ heh.. I giggled in disbeliefโ€ฆ Still, I wanted to try out the pan for myself. I was also hoping that BH will cook more (for me, or when Iโ€™m not around) if we get the pan

Living in a US apartment, most of our stove is โ€˜electrical coilโ€™ (electrical coil is NOT induction) I was worried that even if I buy the pan, it may not work. However, since Julius could cook steak in his HCP on the electrical coil stove, the pan should work! I also emailed a food blogger, H L, just to confirm and she assured me that it works! Yay! So now.. where should I buy?

Amazon and Ebay are selling these pans BUT they are quite expensive compared to my favorite and trusty website, Gmarket! I know there are many versions of Gmarket now BUT I am talking about Gmarket Korea (English site)

Personally, I feel that the prices of HCP on Gmarket Singapore are not as cheap as I could get it from Gmarket Korea directly. The last time I checked , merchants on Gmarket Singapore are giving freebies with the pan (for slightly higher price) โ€“ I didnโ€™t go for those as freebies are not important to me. I just want to buy the pan cheap! In the end, I choose Gmarket Korea (English site) Nothing beats buying HCP direct from Korea

I do not read/speak the Korean language. I depend on Google translate to help me with my shopping on Gmarket Korea. On Gmarket Korea , though it is a English site, most of the words are still in Korean language. IF you canโ€™t read Korean, Google translate is your best friend.

Another thing, DO NOT use your mobile phone to load/shop Gmarket. Gmarket is picture intensive. Sometimes pictures may not load or takes too long to load. To have a better shopping experience, use a computer preferably with IE browser โ€“ Firefox works fine too!

I apologise for my bad sizing of images. Please click on image to see clearly ๐Ÿ™‚

Step-by-step guide
1) Go ahead and open a new window for our best friend Google translate

2) In another new window, go to http://english.gmarket.co.kr/ To search for the pans, type โ€˜Happycallโ€™ in the search box

3) There you go! The results! Choose the merchants which offers โ€˜worldwide shippingโ€™ + good rating. Usually, I buy from the โ€˜Powerโ€™ seller

4) Click on the link and it will bring you to the store. The price indicated on the store is the base price
Different type of pans will have different top-up/option price. Another thing to note is the picture may only show 1 type of pan but do scroll down, the store have other pans to offer

5) Look at the images below to be familiar with the store details

6) Ready? The pans! Option 1 shows the different pans (scroll down to see pictures of the pans). For your convenience, I listed down the pans with its Korean name below (Warning: Please DO NOT fault me IF I indicated the pan images and names wrongly. Double check on your part and let me know if I made a mistake)


Items are listed from 1st item on the drop box to the last

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

7) Option 2 โ€“ To select if you want the pan to be individually wrapped(Top up of 900 won). I choose to have the pans wrapped individually as I ordered 3

8 ) Select add on (optional)

9) Click add to cart and check out!

10) Before paying, click on โ€˜Coupon Boxโ€™ to make sure that the best discount coupon had been applied. Discounts are allocated by memberโ€™s level OR if you won lucky draw for coupons. Double check that the items purchased is correct.

I actually ship my items to Singapore since the pans are meant for my mum, my mother in law and me. Since there was a promotion for shipping fee to Asia, the shipping cost to Singapore is much cheaper than shipping to US. I can only collect my HCP when Iโ€™m back

11) I checked out and select โ€˜Foreign Credit cardโ€™. Enter your credit card details and you are set!

12) To view order, go to โ€˜My Gmarket and click on โ€˜Overseas orderโ€™ > โ€˜View allโ€™. Your order no. and details should be there! Confirmation email may take up to 15mins to reach your inbox

Warning: Since I am residing in the US and shipping to Singapore, my credit cards were declined. Sigh! I guess itโ€™s our US credit cardโ€™s way of detecting faud โ€“ cancelling the transaction. Anyhow, I tried 2X with different cards and orders didnโ€™t go through. In the end, I got my sister to pay with her Singapore credit card and it went through flawlessly

Tip: For Singapore Credit cards, you just need to enter the OTP sent to your phone and the order will go through. For US credit cards, do call and inform the credit card company BEFORE you make a purchase from Gmarket, so that the order will go through.

Hope this helps! Happy Gmarketing!

Read Part 2 โ€“ Pans reached Singapore! ๐Ÿ˜€

I burn, I pine, I perish

If I achieve not this… Petite Shopping Tote (PST) OR Petite Timeless Tote (PTT)








hahaha.. it’s a new year and I got new target already!!! ๐Ÿ˜€

On the second day of the new year, BH and I made a trip downtown.. just for fun… well, I had to walked into Chanel and I saw the PST in RED!!! OMG!! It’s so hard to find RED chanel bag ( the BRIGHT red!!) It was love at first sight. The PST is not too big and it’s just right for me – The size is perfect!! I don’t like big bags anyway. It fits the kindle, my vapur waterbottle, wallet and handphone. Nice! I think i can still fit a magazine!

The thing that I didn’t like is.. it doesn’t have the little feet at the bottom of the bag to protect the base of the leather :/ It has a snap closure. Then again, the price of this PST is probably the most reasonable ( considering the cost of the other bags) among the rest of the bags.

Seriously, I NEED TO GET THIS! PST price in the US now – $2000 ~~~

I came home and saw the PTT online ( didn’t see it in the store) – It has all I want! Feet at the bottom and zippered closure. I can probably put everything except the magazine. hahaha… PTT price in the US now – $2250 ~~~

*gasps* I WANT!!!! Now, I am just hoping that when we get to Europe – the bag is sitting on the shelves ( or at the back of the store) waiting for me… wah…. the smell of caviar… the touch of the exquisiteness of the bag.. is such a turn on!!

As for the colours… 1st choice: LIPSTICK RED OR GREY ( very rare ๐Ÿ™ ), 2nd choice: Black with GHW, 3rd choice: Black with SHW

At first, I told BH that we are just going sightseeing in Europe and we can skip France or rather Paris altogether… but looks like… we can’t.. hehe… I am so excited!!!!

[Edit] Then again, if I go to Paris and didn’t get a classic flap.. isn’t it such a pity??!!! how now blue cow?