Daddy came! :)

See you at Christmas Dad! :D Don't forget to put up the tree!

Woodbury Common Run #2

Dad's in town during Thanksgiving season - so a must-do is indeed another trip to the outlets to cash in on the Thanksgiving sales and complete my Christmas shopping. So off we went bright and early this morning at 9am.

It started off relatively peaceful and civilized and eventually became madness resulting in my Dad exclaiming how he never wanted to do Thanksgiving shopping ever again. But we left (11 hours later!!!) with a full car trunk and exhausted from the day's shopping, not to mention my Christmas list all checked off. How awesome.

So here's the highlights from today's run (without giving too much away for Christmas surprises):

• COUPONS!!! Thanks to being a VIP at Chelsea Premium Outlets
• Workout gear from Lululemon (the lowest prices I've seen so far!)
• Renewing my love for cardigans at JCrew
• Longchamp (another unbeatable deal!)
• Juicy Couture & Betsey Johnson trinkets
• And finally, an awesome, early Christmas gift courtesy of Dad from Burberry :)

Low lights include:

• Skipping several stores because of the long lines, including Coach, Prada, Banana Republic, UGG (the UGG line was INSANE!!! guess those boots are still very much in demand..)
• Trying on 2 gorgeous Emilio Pucci dresses realising I cannot afford either even at outlet pricing
• Looking old in DVF
• No size @ Nine West!
• Disappointing selection at Neiman Marcus Last Call & Saks Off Fifth
• Not going back to Barneys to get a Marc Jacobs knit motorcycle jacket :(
• Never ever being able to go to every store you want to in Woodbury Common...

I'm exhausted and won't be shopping till Seoul (fingers crossed). Time for bed. Good night and happy Christmas shopping to you all because, I'M ALL DONE!!! Hee hee hee...

Harrroooween!

2 sailors and a table = fun night of falsies, festivities and fotos! :D

My 1st write up

I got a great opportunity to do a review of the newly opened macbar in Soho by partly sunny - one of Vancouver's foremost fashion industry insiders. Check it out! :)

+J

Today Jil Sander's collection +J, at Uniqlo opens and boy was there a line! As much as I've been practicing great self control over my shopping habits - I couldn't say no to a grey woolen pea coat, one out of Jil Sander's 100 piece collaboration with Japanese basics mecca. *Sigh* With prices this affordable, it was hard to resist. My pea coat came in black & grey - Jil Sander's signature minimalistic and monochromatic aesthetic.

The selection was great for basics - cashmere cardis, sweater, crisp shirts, woolen blazers & coats. Apparently according to some line-bloggers, there were more men than women. My co-worker picked up 2 coats for her husband. Great shapes and well-fitted, I slid into the heathered charcoal pea coat and was thrilled at the fit :) I had to get it. It was Jil Sander afterall - probably the closest I'll ever be to the designer :P

I spoke to a salesperson and asked about replenishment - word is they will replenish tomorrow morning and that's it - the collection will be sold until its all gone. Happy Shopping & welcome to October!

ps: those Uniqlo cords that I wanted, aren't on sale anymore...good for me I guess! :P

Golden Shopping Mall, Flushing

Today, my girlfriend & I decided to venture Flushing, NY - famous for good Chinese food, cheap Chinese groceries and all around Chinese goodness. Our goal Anthony Bourdain's featured spot on the "Outer Boroughs" episode on No Reservations - Golden Shopping Mall.

Armed with an empty stomach we made the trek out of Manhattan into the burbs of what is a predominantly Asian/Chinese area. All the signs are in Mandarin, no one speaks English and not a single Caucasian soul in sight. Feels like Asia already! And of course being Sunday, its universal grocery shopping day so Main Street is bustling!

With our iPhones and Google Maps in hand, we find our destination and eventually find the entrance and walk downstairs to enter a bustling, cramped, dirty food court. Ah! At last! & it feels so authentic too. Brought me back to the days in Singapore where hawker stalls are cramped together, while patrons sit on make shift seating consisting of stools and foldable tables and orders are always yelled out. PERFECT!

We do a quick look around and settle with dumplings first. We place our orders and dug in. Note: they aren't any menus and if there are its all in Chinese so if you don't read or speak the language, be prepared to point and pay. I also think its cash only but that shouldn't be a problem, our dumpling feast was $5 with a side of fried chive pancake. Disgustingly cheap for NY's standards but also fresh, handmade and piping hot. Plenty of chilli paste and chinese black vinegar. Slurp and all 12 are gone. Next stop, Xi'an Famous Foods - another foodstall toured by Mr Bourdain. Famed for Liang Pi & their lamb burger. Seeing how I don't eat lamb we went for the pulled pork instead which was well-spiced and seasoned to perfection. Mmm..Mmm...The Liang Pi was a first for me and it was AMAZING! Apparently, the recipe from this stall is several generations old and very authentic. Chewy, tangy, spicy and peanuty all in one - its a flavour that's hard to define and must be tried.

Stuffed and sweaty, we decided to pop outside for a breather and some bubble tea and before venturing home. We swung by for cheap groceries and hopped back on the 7 to return to the city. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday!

Fashion Week begins!

The end of Summer is commemorated by NY Fashion Week and to begin the festivities: Anna Wintour's brain child - Fashion's Night Out. A celebration of fashion where brands and retailers all over the world in fabulous cities come together to encourage shopping :)

Being fortunate enough to live in the ultimate city of fashion and work in the heart of a fashionable neighbourhood, I strolled the streets after work with some friends and checked out the festivities which involved freebies, appys, lotsa cocktails and champagne and apparently celebrities - which I was completely oblivious to :P Boo. I think I left Tory Burch a few minutes after Russell Simmons arrived. I missed Anna Wintour at Bloomingdales and I did see the crazy line-up at Bathing Ape which must've had some sort of celebrity (it was Kid Cuddi - WHO?)

Of course, I was also following the tons of live play-by-play tweets as I roamed the streets. But an early day of work the next day prompted me to retire early and head on home at 9pm. I do hope this is repeated every year - it seemed like a great success and apparently Jason Wu alone, moved about $30,000 of merchandise so I hope it did the retail scene a little good this slow back-to-school/fall buying season.

It's a Friday night, I'm exhausted from work and chilling at home with Willi and am in dire need of catching up on NYFW's first shows & my September books, doing my laundry and general apartment cleaning/tidying up.

Ah...it's nice to be home :) Happy Housekeeping!

Highlights of The Highline

The Highline

A fairly new addition to NYC's parks. Take a stroll above the fray from the pedestrians and traffic and settle in Meatpacking for a lovely meal. That's what we did :)

He's home...

Just for a while...but its more than welcomed all the same.

It's good to have you back, babe.

Woodbury Common Run #1

Two fifth's of the Lee clan are staying with me and we decide to hop into a zipcar and drive to Central Valley, NY - home of the famed Woodbury Common - designer factory outlet mecca! We clearly did not estimate our time correctly and ended up forgoing several stores but that always means we'll be back again. Nevertheless, we did quite well for ourselves.

Woodbury Common is quite overwhelming - with hundreds of stores both high-end designer like Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga etc to Chelsea Premium Outlet regulars like Banana Republic, GAP, Nine West etc. We planned a strategy of attack and at the end of the day, we did pretty very well for ourselves and scored awesome deals.

The highlight? A fabulous pair of DVF peep-toe patent pumps from Saks Off Fifth (with additional 30% off thanks to the VIP coupon book! SCORE!) - and they make me smile when I wear them & actually are quite comfortable.

I'm looking forward to my next trip there already! Thanksgiving sale perhaps?? *wink*

Let me see if I can stay away from H&M tomorrow

Matthew Williamson's capsule collection for H&M is available starting tomorrow at select New York locations. Thankfully, none of the Soho stores will feature this vibrant collection which means less likely a detour for me.

For those of you who aren't trying desperately to save money, go splurge at the following locations: 34th & Broadway, 51st & 5th and 59th & Lexington. Happy shopping while stocks last!

Lego Perspective: NYC

Whilst browsing my usual list of blogs I came across these wonderful photos by Christoph Niemann, who reminisces of NYC in this delightful way:

Rockin' Rocks!

Shopping update amidst finals week: Scored 2 Rocks & Republic's for less than $200! Sa-Weet! No more jeans shopping for 2009. Hahaha!

Spotted: Ja Rule

in Soho yesterday, in front of some restaurant/bar in the afternoon on Mercer Street I believe. J took the photos, so I'll post them when I can. He was signing autographs and taking photos with a small crowd that had gathered around him - those lucky enough to spot him and take advantage of the opportunity. J and I stood across the street and snapped some photos of our own.

Spotted: Anne Hathaway

Sitting at the table next to my friend & i while we painted ceramic pieces in Tribeca. She was super nice and down to earth. Even gladly obliged an autograph for a shy little girl who hid under the table and my friend, who wanted a photo. He was in heaven. Ah, I love it when celebrities are nice and human.

damn i miss my car...

After living in NYC for approximately 2 weeks or so, I would never dream of driving or owning a car in this city. Parking rates are exhorbitant. Traffic is insane and manouvering around the city is suicide. The ridiculous amounts of noise pollution generated from the incessant honkings of taxi cabs and cars can drive one mad - although I believe most New Yorkers are either deaf or have mastered the art of tuning out traffic sounds such as ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, taxi honks, subways and loud pedestrains. Everything here is loud, Loud, LOUD!

I live close by to a hospital/medical centre - so the sound of ambulances has become a natural occurence in my neighbourhood. Around my school, right on 5th and around Union Square, taxis and cars alike insist of using their horns on every living or non-living moving object. I bet you they even honk the pigeons.

However, this morning, I found myself wishing I drove a car. The inconceivable amount of supplies I have to carry to school is bordering on refugee status (if that is at all PC in this day and age) Today, I had to lug my school bag (which by the way is in no way large enough t hold everything for risk of breaking my beloved bag's straps), my portfolio which is 18x24" and a plastic bag of textile textbooks (with fabric swatches) which were far too heavy to put into my school bag. (It DID NOT HELP when the plastic bag chose to rip 100metres into the subway..##%Y%U@*!)

To make matters worse - the subway was taking a million years to arrive, with more and more people streaming in by the dozens only to make the subway station 5 times hotter and muggier than it normally is. I gave up - I decided to take a cab. But in the typical Murphy's Law fashion - there were no cabs to be had. By this time, I had bumped into 2 fellow school mates of mine and we decided it might be best to walk to school, bag, portfolio & broken plastic bag in tow. I wasn't the only one with a ripped bag - nor was I the only one who looked like a fool walking down Union Square looking like a homeless fella without a shopping cart. Thankfully, the rain which was pouring earlier had stopped...for now.

I made it to school in time, in tact and utterly unglamourously, with all my stuff and a very sweaty polo t-shirt. I was not alone. Some poor girl in my class got caught in a subway stall from Jersey because the SWAT team decided to hold it up for no apparent reason, well, not really, the reason was it is 9/11 today. I vowed I'd get myself a bigger school bag, with the capacity to hold all my textbooks and notebooks. I happily picked up a art box today to keep all my art supplies - paints, markers, pencils, palettes, brushes, rulers, etc rather than stuffing it into my school bag at risk of staining it.

Why the hell do we need to carry so much sh*t? I am a Fashion Marketing student, not Design damnit! Don't let me even begin to harp on how much I have spent purchasing the supplies and the amount of running around New York finding art shops that sell a Liquid Expresso pen specified by my prof! Sigh. The madness continues.

he's here!

NYC Weekend Highlights: Jordan bussed down for a visit - we spent the glorious weekend eating, sleeping, walking, sweating in the subway and checking out Times Square, 5th Ave & The new Apple Store.

jackpot!!!

Good God - I am truly blessed.

Yesterday I managed to get into the 3pm Fashion Industry Makreting class AND score a chance to go to NY's most coveted Fashion Week. My prof is taking our class to the tents at Bryant Park today - although I'm not sure what show we're seeing exactly - Nevertheless, its an awesome opportunity and I'm stressing as to what to wear as I type this! Whoppeeee!!!

Photos to come soon and Jordan's coming to NYC today! *YAY*

how the hell do i get into Fashion Week?!

apparently, its like finding the Holy Grail.
New York Fashion Week opens today and i have no idea how to go see one of the shows?!
perhaps, i could resort to just hanging around the tents...
getting into a show is one of the hardest things, unless you know someone or you're in the industry. which is why i'm in Parsons - so i can get into these things...*argh*

Labour Day Long Weekend

The long weekend is here and thus far, I've had an eventful one. Met up with a couple of friends for some meals, did some art supplies shopping and went to the Mac Store on 5th Ave.
Most eventful was the MoMA PS:1 Warm Up i went to with an ex-JC schoolmate and some newly made friends. Here's an excerpt from the website as to what it really is:

"Warm Up is P.S.1's critically acclaimed music series and has become one of the most anticipated summer events. The series is housed within the architectural installation created by the winner of the annual P.S.1 and MoMA organized Young Architects Program . Together, the music, architecture and exhibition program provide a unique multi-sensory experience for music fans, artists, and families alike."

PS:1 involved much of the following: walking around aimlessly in Queens, lining up for beer, seeing house appliances get mutilated in the name of art, live funky music bands, trying to find a decent diner in Queens, getting lost whilst trying to find the after-party in Queens' industrial area, Manhattan's skyline by night & taking the New York Water Taxi. Not too shabby for my 1st official long weekend in NYC huh?