All in a row.

I have officially converted my bedroom into a makeshift studio/storage room for all the clothes to be sold on {Pyng Kitsch + Co}. Its actually not that bad now cause all the clothes are neatly arranged on hangers and a bunch of other stuff are in storage bags. I now own this small corner where i pretty much do my business - be it taking photographs of the clothes to packaging to just about everything.

Other than that, i was half working while watching the Royal Wedding yesterday. Although it was kinda surreal to think we are so grounded in reality with our normal daily lives and right across the world, there is a monarchy still so alive and well with their palaces, crown jewels, titles and customs. The only fairytale i know belongs in story books. But it still makes for something out of the ordinary but i must add that after all that secrecy and speculation i thought that the wedding dress was way too plain. Same goes with the boutique of flowers. I know it's classic but have a little pomp and grandeur. I was in fact loving her sister's dress which was quite plain but it had an amazing cut and elegance to it which was just right.

I don't have to explain the rest of the wedding. It is in every possible mainstream media there is. Anyway enjoy the long Labour Day weekend. Looking forward to having a relaxing one x

Happiness in a cup.

From now till the 6th of May, Starbucks is offering fraps for half the price on weekdays. Quite the awesomeness on their part since my enthusiasm for Starbucks was fading a little since i discovered Spinelli's and how yummy their coffee was. Another plus for me is that it is quite a discount seeing that i get only 10% off my latte with the HSBC card.

But don't go rushing over anytime of the day. It's only between 5pm - 7pm which some people may complain as it's a little late in the afternoon to have caffeine. But a discount is still a discount and i suspect the good people of Starbucks is probably cashing in on the scorching hot weather we had been having by dropping the price of their iced cold fraps. Or if it rains, it will get people to stay indoors somehow and sip merrily on some coffee. I'll probably head over to the nearest outlet later today as i have a uber long day.

Should i get a caramel frap or a vanilla one for a change? Mmm. Will see x

Relaunch

Holla. Come this first weekend of May, i will be relaunching {Pyng Kitsch + Co} after doing a little re-branding of the whole store. Yes, i own a blog shop if you did not know. It was somewhat a side project that was meant for when i had time but it slowly developed into a full bloom labour of love. I handle everything from purchasing, stock take, website design, marketing, accounting, packaging, postal runs, modeling the clothes and replying emails from customers. Even for such a tiny business, it seriously takes a WHOLE lot of time. I am basically a one woman show but it is really something i love doing a whole lot.

At Pyng Kitsch + Co, it started with me selling just pre-loved clothes (which we still do) but i have been sourcing alot more of brand new clothes to be sold too. I have been really keen in expanding further in the future which is currently in the works. Now that i have slightly more time, i am doing some major planning with the hopes to incorporate all the different ideas i have been throwing around for a while now. Hopefully in the next 3-5 months, Pyng Kitsch + Co would be a little bit more niche than now. See, i told you its sheer labour of love. So wish me luck for when the time comes, i would need all that i can x

Scrummy warm rocket salad

Peel, halve and quarter 2 medium red onions, then quarter again, to give you 8 pieces from each onion. Heat a frying pan and fry off 8 whole rashers of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon until crisp. Remove, add a couple of lugs of olive oil to the pan, and add 4 sprigs of thyme, the onions and a good handful of pinenuts with a pinch of salt. Toss around and fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until caramelized and sweet (not black!). Put your pancetta or bacon back into the pan, toss around, then throw everything into a salad bowl with 4 big handfuls of rocket or any nice salad leaves. Drizzle generously with balsamic vinegar – this will make a natural dressing as it mixes with the olive oil. Serve with some shaved Parmesan over the top – you can use a potato peeler to do this. Munch away.

Scrummy warm rocket salad recipe from Jamie Oliver. I love, love rocket to bits. Makes me wanna eat salads all the time x

Ancora

Be still, my beating heart

{Listening to....}

Long story short, i have been looking for John Mayer's "Where The Light Is" live concert DVD for the longest time. I know it was released in 2008 but i never gotten around to getting it till fast forward to the present year. So in my attempts to locate it, i checked with all our local CD Shops but it was either out of stock or just plain non-existent. However only Rock Corner said they would try to see whether they had it in stock but alas, nope. It's all gone.

So where else to turn to but eBay. Yes of course there will always be someone selling something you want but if they are based in the USA or some other far off country, ferget it. The shipping will take forever. A friend swears it depends on the seller and what postage they use but give and take, the DVD isn't worth the expensive shipping cost.

Then just before my trip to Singapore, I realized that i should bring my search over there. You know, just in case Singaporeans either love Mayer so much that they stocked up lots of his DVDs or hate him that much that no one in the island wants to buy it. I tried searching for a HMV store which is equivalent to Rock Corner but i couldn't find one. I gave up and thus having to bring the search over to Bangkok.

However when i was wandering about in Great World City the day that i was flying back, lo and behold i found tucked in a corner was this music store which was literally called, That CD Shop. And i had that twinkle of excitement. The shop btw is like a CD dreamland with rows and rows of Cd's neatly stack on high dark brown shelves, almost kitsch like industrial concept. It's hard to describe but check out the link and see for yourselves.

If you're wondering by now whether i got it or not and why is my long story short long then yes. I found it. Blessed their heart's. And yes, it was pretty much fated because it was on the DISPLAY stand first thing on the first shelf i looked at. Imagine that. No, it was not hidden among the rows of other DVDs or worse still if it's not available. It was just there. You should see my face. I had to play it cool and browse around the other DVDs before swiftly picking it up before it disappears again.

And yes, John Mayer was great. Well worth the buy. Of course, you knew i was going to say that :)

Keep Calm.

My first vacation and i caught on the wanderlust bug. And yes, i have my travel itinerary (almost) planned out which includes blocking out dates for travelling, already purchasing flight tickets (some up to 7 months in advanced) and having a travel budget saving fund. I may not top my last year travelling schedule but i'll probably blow it on one or two major vacations and short trips for the rest. But like an impatient kid at the carousel ride line, i am just counting the days down. Next holiday would probably be in June after i am done with my last semester. Well who knows, i might end up ANYWHERE by then :)

P/S : The poster above is a play on the infamous "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON" posters issued by the British government in 1939 during the beginning of the Second World War, intended to raise the morale of the British public. It went missing for awhile till it was rediscovered in , a second-hand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland in 2000. You can check out a whole collection of other Keep Calm quotes at KEEP CALM SHOP.

Up in the air.

April 4th, 2011.
Awaiting boarding time.
Terminal 1, Changi Airport.