Unfolding May's Folder - friends and food are the finest balm for the overworked soul

I've got a total of 14 folders of photos for the month of May. That's far too many events to be updated in one post so I would be updating them by parts.

In the merry month of May I learnt that...

friendship & food are certainly the finest balm for the pangs of the overworked soul



I'm sure some of you Jane Austen fans or literature buffs could see where I got my inspiration for the above quote from.

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Long lost friend

On the labour day holiday, I met up with tf, whom I've not seen for a looooong time. We had so much fun chatting, bitching, gossiping and bimboing and laughing our heads off!



Babe,
I was looking through my folders to see when was the last time we met save for that very brief moment when you went up to my suite on my wedding day. Guess what? It was in 2007 2009! (Bah... can't believe I made a typo in the year and left it on my blog for a few years) Gosh! Was it really that long? It certainly didn't feel so.

I'm really thankful for this friendship of ours. We're those who needn't meet for a few years yet able to connect like good friends each time we meet. Also with each meeting, we would completely fill in on each other's lives and there was never a moment of awkward silence since both of us have so many common topics to share. I think it's every boy's nightmare when gals talk too much, don't you agree? *LoLz*

Ater catching up on what happened in each other's lives over lunch at Din Tai Fung, we hit the malls with a full day of crazy shopping.



Even when it comes to food, we have more or less the same taste which was really great for sharing!


Here are my shopping hauls for that day...

LV eva clutch for myself



and LV mini pochette for my mum



girlish blingbling Korean necklace/choker



I told tf that it was only the first day of the new month and here I was happily swiping card like nobody's business.


After a long time of shopping, we had to replenish our energy for more "cheonging" in the malls so we wound up having a quick bite at Yoshinoya which was the only eatery with seats and without a queue. Glad that this gal eats Yoshinoya coz so many of my frenz don't like the food there.




As if spending the entire day with each other wasn't enough, we had to prolong the day past midnight with some drinks and chatting about the more serious aspects of life.






What I wore that day -- butterfly sleeves top paired with good old denim shorts.




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Brunch @ Riders Cafe & shopping in town

Offdays are extremely precious to me. Most of the time when I coop myself indoor, I would be frantically marking compsitions, drafting my backdated blog posts and doing lots of other bo liao stuff. Hence when I go out, I tend to pack my day to the brim.

First activity lined up for the day was brunch at Riders Cafe with reg, jw and karen. The gals have been talking about having brunch there for the longest time ever and we finally made it there on a resplendant Sunday morning. Midday to be exact.



I love the lush greenery of this place which seemed so far away from the city. The city girl and the country girl coexist in me equally.



It was sweltering inside the cafe despite the relentless whirring of the ceiling fans which only seemed to be swirling the heat around. Nevertheless, the food and the company made up for the stifling heat.



I heard from reg that the chocolate drink isn't as good as it looked.

Jw and Karen had pancakes. The fluffy pancakes arrived lightly dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with blueberries compote. There was a little slab of butter to top it off. The pancakes sure look delicious and I could attest to that after getting a bite off karen's. However, I made a mental note to request for 2 slabs of butter for each layer of pancake should I ever order it the next time. Sinful, but I'm those who love to drench my pancakes in butter.

Reg and I ordered the Riders Breakfast set; Reg opted for sunny-side up while I went for the scrambled eggs. I love the buttery milky taste and the smooth consistency of my scrambled eggs. I have a strong inclination towards savoury food for my mains. Hence, eggs and bacon are my ideal breakfast!

You could see we really enjoyed our breakfast!



After that, I suggested we check out Parco Marina Bay at Millenia Walk as I was intrigued by the "Tokyo Pop Up Store" there. I read from 8 Days magazine that the store was a carefully-curated space which served up quirky knick-knacks from 33 hip Japanese designers. The items there were limited in quantities and the shop would "pop down" after 33 days in 2 May 2010 which would make that day the last day. I wanted to go there before that slice of knack disappeared.

Another good reason to visit the place was for Parco Next Next, a hip enclave which houses 25 budding local designers. The stuff runs the scale from the avant-garde to eclectic. While the clothes and accesories there were indeed enthralling and unique, I couldn't help feeling if I would ever wear such designs out.



I ripped this photo off reg's blog and this is the description that goes with the photo:
"This photo encapsulates the essence and intensity of shopping as an activity. When girls shop together, they virtually enter another realm and become totally oblivious to their surroundings as well as how much they have in their pockets."

I agree on oblivious.

I was completely oblivious to my suroundings and was unaware that jw snapped this.

After that, while reg, jw and karen popped by Octa Hotel for tea, I bade them goodbye and met up with tiffy for more shopping and our usual catching up.



We ended the day by sitting in TCC sharing a healthy plate of smoked salmon salad with tofu. Tiffy scribbled furiously on her notebook to prepare for her work while I flipped fashion magazines and disturbed her ever so often with my occasional outburst of "This is so beautiful!" and "What do you think of this?"

Being meanie tiffy, I swear she wanted to shoot me dagger stares and roll her eyes each time I disrupted her train of thoughts. However, she actually replied and showed interest in whatever I was commenting on without asking me to shuddup.

Outfit for the day




White grecian inspired top from Diva with shorts... yeah like what's new? Singapore is so hot!
For accessories:
- On hair... a bow ribbon brooch from Green Petals. I slipped the safety pin under the elastic band making it look like a hair ribbon
- On neck... necklace which I bought the day before
- On feet... bling sandals from Pretty Fit (pardon the ugly toenails)


Have I ever mentioned here before that I'm constantly on the hunt for the perfect white buttoned shirt?



The definition of the perfect white shirt is elusive; it's different for everybody.

Search as I would in every shop, I just could not find the perfect one I was looking for. It's been years.

A bespoke shirt sounded intriguing however, I didn't think for a minute that it would be worth it.

I know Jennifer Aniston has a perfect one on her in The Break Up. It's from Calvin Klein but I can't find my perfect one from there. =(

I know so many other celebrities have their perfect white shirts too.






Ashley Tisdale goes all casual in a translucent patterned fabric shirt with brightly-coloured bra top underneath




Eva Longoria looks so yummy in her crisp white shirt and lovely waves




and so effortlessly chic in a casual one while shopping with Victoria Beckham




Jennifer Aniston has a fitting one for the office




and a boyfriend white shirt to tease us on GQ







Jennifer Love Hewitt has one that seduces




Rachel Bilson has a breezy flowy one worn with a black spag underneath




Even racequeen Nam Eun Ju has a perfect white shirt


This looks just like a man's shirt but if you look as hot as racequeen Nam Eun Ju, that would be the perfect white shirt and because she's so hot, I will put up more pictures of her.







Now back to the topic... where's my perfect white shirt?

I was about to give up until I stepped into Banana Republic and saw it:



I think I've found my almost perfect white buttoned shirt [see left].

Not too translucent, not too loose, not too tight and stiff, not too manly. It is soft and comfortable with rolled sleeves and a relaxed fit. The buttons at the back lent a hand to its structured fit without feeling too stiff. It can be worn tucked in for a tapered look or tucked out with a belt for a breezy feel.

Thanx to tiffy for suggesting BR! She also advised me to buy the silk and azlon tube dress [see right] which looks immacutely and effortlessly stylish in its simple design. I took her word for it and I'm so pleased with my purchase. I could hear the cash register go Kerching! Kerching! on the 2nd day of May.


A floor laden with shopping bags and other rubbish while the hubby shakes his head and goes, "Again?"




What's printed on the Banana Republic carrier



Um... of US materials?

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Chicago The Musical



On a fine weekday night, reg, karen and I caught Chicago The Musical. It was good but not mind-blowing like what I expected. I would catch the broadway one when the opportunity arises.

After the musical, we had supper at Xin Wang Cafe where jw joined us. It was the only place opened at that time that served proper food.



I've never liked the food at Xin Wang Cafe. Kh says the food is fine and that I'm too picky. I'm so glad to find more friends who agree with me.



Outfit for the day





Simple black dress from Forever 21
For accessories:
- simple faux leather jewelled clutch
- Chanel-looking earrings from Green Petals
- Juicy bracelet from Parco Next Next (which looks like it came with the earrings as a set)
I didn't wear the bib becklace out in the end as it kept shifting around my neck.

More of May's updates coming soon...

Watch this space.