Bought: Two American labels

My Shopbop purchases are finally in my possession! I practically leapt out of the plane to the office to get at them. You've seen them before in a previous post where I mulled over whether I could justify the purchase. A $100 dollars off with a discount code really sealed the deal for me.

This Rebecca Minkoff Quilted Affair is gorgeous and such a fantastic mix between fun and elegant that I have no regrets choosing this as my very first Rebecca Minkoff handbag. Check out the fun interior that matches the dustbag. The linen lining keeps the bag young, but what wins me over is the quality of the leather and the weight in the solid metal chain strap. If you think the studs are a bit much, wait till you see the STUD I found in the side pocket, a signature token that accompanies each flirtatiously named bag. After all, Rebecca Minkoff did rise to fame with her Morning After bag.

So that's the impressive part. What's not so impressive is that the tag on the bag says the suggested retail price is $395, and I paid $395 for it only after a code discount, which meant that I really never got a discount to begin with. What a let down, that fact, and not something I had ever experienced with ShopBop.

This Tory Burch red skinny patent belt is true to size and it is brilliant in quality. I can't wait to rock this and take modelling pics! Oh and I did pay the suggested retail price for this, so no problems there!

Tai tai for a day

Heard on Fly.fm this morning in KL: reason number five for why girls dump guys,"You don't earn enough money to support the lifestyle that I want to lead"

I comprehend. There is a term for this particular lifestyle. And it is 'Tai Tai' Chinese for the Lady of the house. The woman is married to a house of good wealth and she does not work. Life is generally indulgent. If the lady proves her worth by keeping the house in order (instructing the maids that is), and making sure the children are well cared for (ferrying them to and fro school and tuition), and if her time management is spot on, she'd find time for activities such as these:

1) Getting French Manicures and Pedicures:
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RM120 from Soong Ai Ling's Chic Nail Spa at Bangsar Village II

 2) Getting a lovely facial purge of all the impurities from the polluted air in KL, comes with a heavenly Neck, Shoulder and back massage:


$190 Ampoule Facial by 128 Faubourg, Salon by Sothys


3) Shopping! For clothes at Boutiques, cheap and cute pumps from local shoe stores, cosmetics and food. A sneak peek into my Malaysian Haul so far:

4) Catching up with relatives, friends and the news and then transmitting advice, information and gossip to update those you care about, usually over tea and food, savoury or sweet.

If this is the lifestyle you want to lead, I am not sure how much it would cost to upkeep all the time in KL, but I have budgeted about AUD1,000 for these activities for a week's stay here. I think most expats will find it comfortable if they are earning USD or AUD, but you'd have to have a fairly successful career/business otherwise if you are a guy aspiring to have your beloved indulge in a TaiTai lifestyle.

For the rest of us, holidays like these are a blissful treat of pretence and indulgence. Next week, it's back to the slough of working for dough and bringing home the bacon with my perfectly manicured nails. More blog posts to finalise when I get there!

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Trustee - A night out in Perth

Friday night out in a new city and I was in the queue of a newly opened bar. How chic of me. Trustee, hosted in a lovely heritage building on 135 St George Terrace, not far away from many office buildings aspires to be the typical bankers' watering hole on weekdays. A large selection of wines and a cocktail drinking crowd made for a bustling opening. After being promised a twenty minute wait in the queue but let in after five, I gratefully sank myself onto the plush leather couch in a corner of the bar with my newfound Perth friends.

We ordered wine, because it would have been a terribly long wait for cocktails, and the Dry reisling we had was really yummy. To be honest, I don't remember enough of the night for a detailed post, and trying to remember details still brings about a dull throb from the hangover I had to endure the next morning on a 5 hour flight back to Kuala Lumpur (Not recommended btw). But, I do remember what inspired me to take the few pictures I found on my phone the next afternoon.

Clockwise from top left:

1) The expansive brass and glass wine cellar-vault that sits in the middle of the bar floor.

2) The old world charm decor of the place with the iron-wrought lamp stands and old chests for coffee tables


3) Fat chips. No, seriously fat chips almost the size of a non-smart phone.

4) More of the decor, this one we deduced is themed to match the place's name ~ the Trustee.

Alcohol-induced revelry made it impossible to believe that my visions of freaky babies popping up in our drinks wasn't a mere hallucination, but there were some tipsy cajolling and tossing around naked toy bubs and placing them in compromising positions. And I swear they found their way with me on my trip to Kuala Lumpur.

I beleive that we all had a great night, despite, the hazy memory, the waitress that kept removing our full beers, the long waits for alcohol and despite the cancelled credit card the next day because I thought I had misplaced it.

Fantabulous place to hang out and I'd go there again one day I think, just to try out some of that french food they are supposed to also serve in their bistro.



Trip to Perth, the Pan Pacific

I had the fortunate opportunity to be sent to Perth for work last week, it was my first time being here and it was certainly refreshing to be in the other half of our two-speed economy I'll tell you that. For starters, there were no talks of doom and gloom. China was the focus, not Europe. And with the wealth, the biggest issue was coping with growth and not so much the sustainability of the business.

I stayed and worked at the Pan Pacific in those two days. And whilst the rooms weren't anything much to write about (the story is there is so little supply for accommodation in Perth that hotels can't bear to miss out on the revenue they are still able to command with these nineties styled Mod rooms).

What the hotel lacked in style and room facilities, it didn't exactly make up in the in-room dining either. I ordered the most indulgent dish on the menu, a squid ink linguine cooked in a white sauce with scallops and prawns. Whilst it presented really well, and the scallops and prawns weren't overcooked, the cheesiness of the sauce masked the freshness of the seafood. Furthermore, the linguine wasn't al dente and the whole dish was really just a cheesy mess.

 The White wine poached pear that I ordered was comparatively heaven with its chopped topping of strawberries and mint. The delicacy of the refreshing favours acted as the perfect palate cleanser, ridding my buds of all that nasty cheesiness.

Where I worked however, where the conference rooms had been refurbished merely a year or two ago, it was an opulent world. Black chandeliers and luscious leather chairs dotted the halls where we were to hold our cocktail function.

 It was gorgeous. I thought of writing too about the things I got up to in Perth, but perhaps will save that for a different post.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Is it wrong (borderline evil) to hope that that's the tune the Husband will be singing whilst I am doing my epic work/pleasure SYD - PER - KUL - SYD - ADL - SYD trip?

When we were doing our premarriage course, the priest had said that he might not know what it is like to be married, but he knows that women certainly know how to bring the little things in life to make more it all the more comfortable.


This is what I have left behind for the poor hubby of a busy travelling wife:




A packed lunch, frozen homemade lagsana dinners, a stock of ironed shirts, tulips on the dining table, and loads of social events with mutual friends to make sure he doesn't turn into slush on the couch whilst I am gone.

Poor babe... He won't survive a day without me. That's what the narcissist in me thinks. But he seems excited enough that I am on my way... Maybe his helplessness in domestic affairs is just an act to show that he needs me... Real or not, I am sure he will put on a good show when I come home, letting me know that he hasn't eaten healthily and that I have a load of laundry he didn't know what to do with and how much he missed me...if some flowers are involved and the toilet-seat goes back to staying down then he'd be the perfect Stepford Hubby! Haha


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