Review of OhVola Roset Bloom Peplum Skirt, Fairebelle Cutout Peplum Skirt, Love Bonito Cate Cheongsam Top

OhVola Roset Bloom Peplum Skirt (Coral, size M) - faveee!

 Left: Original length of the skirt. Right: Folded the skirt to see if it looked better, shorter.

Close up of the pretty floral prints!

This is the second peplum skirt that I own. I usually avoid peplum skirts or dresses as I feel that peplums that "flare" too much emphasise my hips - I think that they are usually more suited for really skinny girls with unbelievably small waists. However, I decided to take a gamble when I saw the preview pictures on the OhVola blog. Besides the attractive floral prints, the "flare" of the peplum appeared to be fairly moderate. I'm glad I took a chance on this one! Really adore the sweet florals and the peplum feature doesn't over-emphasise my hips. Material is thick enough but soft as well, and comes with an inner lining, so no worries about VPL here. I opted for size M as I believe OhVola's apparels have a smaller cut sometimes. While it does fit me nicely and does not ride up, I think the skirt will look better if it's shorter (on the right picture, folded part of the skirt to see what it would look like shorter). Will keep it if I can have it altered.

Fairebelle Cutout Peplum Skirt (size M)

Close up of the eyelet cutout details.

On the other hand, my first peplum skirt didn't fit me so well, despite it being in size M. I love the eyelet design and the rich cobalt blue colour, the material is decent too. Sadly it rides up when I walk, hence I'll be selling off this skirt.

Cate Cheongsam Top (Fuschia, size S)

Close up of the lace details

This is my first purchase from Love Bonito's string of CNY collections. I've been careful to avoid cheongsams as I would probably only wear them during CNY, and it would be such a waste to do so, no matter how pretty a cheongsam may be. I finally gave in to this one (and the Lorenze Cheongsams which I will review in another post) as it did not come across as being to oriental and festive. While I really like the fuschia colour and lace, it still seems just a bit too festive for wearing on normal occasions. Tried to leave the collar unbuttoned to tone it down. It's a great top with an awesome cut that fits the torso well, the fabric is also of good quality. However, for the above reason I'm still undecided on whether to keep or let this go.. what do you think?

New Year Resolutions

New Year's Day is a few weeks over but it's never too late to make one's resolutions, yes?

I would use to make overly-ambitious resolutions such as, learning 4 new dance genres for the year or eating healthily. Needless to say, they never came to pass. In my mind, to learn and master a new dance genre takes A LOT of time, practice and money to go for dance classes, a commitment which I couldn't fully afford. As for eating healthily, my expectation was having fruits and vegetables in my diet everyday and I don't fervently note what I eat for every meal.

I guess the approach should be to set realistic and clearly defined expectations for our resolutions. By realistic I mean for example, learning 1 new dance genre for the year. Definitely far more possible than learning 4. To clearly define would be to tell myself, I will have fruits at least 3 times a week and a salad at least once a week, instead of leaving definition "eating healthily" open-ended. By doing so, I would be able to gauge how I was doing, and setting a realistic goal is motivating as you know you have a good chance of achieving it.

So what are my resolutions for 2013? Like I've said, I want them to be rational. I've divided them into 'major' and 'minor' goals.

Major goals

1) Get my driving license. However long the process may be, it's undeniably a very useful skill to have. The cost of driving lessons have increased significantly since I last failed my first test in 2011. I have to get that license ASAP before they become any more expensive.

2) Join the O School Recital. I've always wanted to do this, but back in school, it would always clash with my exams. When it was finally scheduled on a non-exam period, I had started working and thought I couldn't commit the time and effort. Nevertheless, I want to have this experience at least once.

Minor goals

1) Read more, 2 books a month. This was inspired by Thought Catalog's 6 New Year's Resolutions That Are Worth Keeping. I do agree that reading is brain food.

2) Gym at least once every 2 weeks. I do need to condition my body more to dance better.

So this is how I made my resolutions - whether I meet them or not will be a clear 'yes' or 'no'.

I also want to find myself and find my dance self. I'm not making these two official because I still don't know how to define how to get there. It's somewhat like discovering what you love to do or what you're really good at, and developing it, especially as a career (because would we want to spend the rest of our working lives doing something that we're not passionate about?). It's something intangible and deep, but I think many people my age want or need to do this. Dance-wise, let's just say I'm experiencing Diminishing Marginal Returns to dance, and I need a breakthrough in this area too.

What are your new year resolutions? :)

Reviews of Amber Avenue Briella Bustier Peplum Blouse (Sunshine Yellow, size S) & Love Bonito Nathalia Dress (Beryl, size S)

 

Amber Avenue Briella Bustier Peplum Blouse (Sunshine Yellow, size S) - faveee!

I've been really selective of my online purchases so as to avoid over-buying in the midst of so many online shops spamming us with their Chinese New Year collections. This top isn't CNY-themed, but I have so much love for it! Its outstanding features are the sweetheart neckline, bust area padded with an extra layer of fabric (something slightly thinner than the padding found in sports bras), and the peplum cut that is not too pong. I usually avoid peplums as they 'flare' too much around my waist. I think peplums look great on petite girls. For taller people like me, they tend to make my torso look really short (and hence, my legs look really long), thereby making my upper to lower body ratio look somewhat disproportionate. The material is somewhat similar to the Love Bonito Payton Peplum Top, albeit slightly thinner, but still of great quality. Colour is true to pictures too.

If you're still in a dilemma on whether to join the backorder for this, I would strongly encourage you to. :)

Love Bonito Nathalia Dress (Beryl, size S)

Got this using the 20% discount code that Love Bonito offered last month. Another quality buy! The dress comes with a anti-slip sweetheart neckline and boned at the bodice. The inner lining ends around mid-thigh level. I like the light-weightiness of the chiffon too! The end of the fish tail is quite long though (you can see it almost touches the floor even for my height), so it is recommended that this dress be worn with heels.


For your reference, I'm 1.67m, UK8.

The Fabulous Baker Boy @ Viridian Art House

I came to know of this cafe via numerous pictures on Instagram/Facebook and word-of-mouth. This cafe has been drawing an increasing number of raves about its cakes and pancakes. When some of my Caderas friends decided to meet up, I was glad that Jean suggested TFBB for brunch!

 My first impressions of TFBB were,

1) The size was no bigger than a typical Starbucks cafe. It is indeed popular, especially on weekends, so making reservations in advance is highly recommended.

2) It seemed to be a lean business. Saw about 2 to 3 waiters/waitresses and the boss himself. The menu is only available at the counter, order is to be placed at the cashier, and you'll have to get the cutlery from a common tray yourself.

Delectable-looking cakes

We were given a couch near the pavement. Although the sunlight could be shielded by the blinds, it was humid as winds from the fans to bring ventilation to the inner parts of the cafe did not reach that corner.

These were our orders for the day.

1) House Cottage Pie - $14

TFBB Description: Beef mince cooked in country-style tomato sauce with dollops of potato mash and cheese, baked till golden and bubbly.

The combination of creamy and soft mashed potato with a generous serving of mince beef, topped with baked cheese made this dish absolutely delish. The tomato sauce was neither overly-sour or tasteless. I love to eat baked cheese, and a little more of that would have been perfect. Charlotte, Aaron and I shared this while waiting for Jean, and we were actually half-full when we finished it!

2) Chocolate Chip Pancakes - $7.50

These flapjacks were soft and fluffy, and mixed with the right amount of chocolate chips. I have a sweet tooth, so being provided with a bottle of maple syrup for us to drizzle as much of it as we wanted made me a happy girl.

3) Garlic Fries with Truffle Aioli - $9.50

Fries lovers will love these thick, crisp, straight-cut fries that were served hot and fresh from the kitchen. While I didn't taste much of the garlic, I liked the subtle taste of truffle. A few found the truffle flavour too strong though, but to me it's still a good starter to have if you are with a group of friends.

4) Towkay Ng's Eggs Benedict - $10.50

TFBB description: 2 poached eggs served on a toasted brioche, sauteed spinach, roasted rosemary potatoes and an Italian version of a Hollandaise.

Somehow the way the eggs wobbled when being served reminded me of boobies, haha. I only had a morsel of this dish as it was Jean's, but thoroughly enjoyed it. The eggs were done well and the brioche was toasted to a lovely brown. Loved the potatoes which were roasted till their skins were crisp but remained soft on the inside. Jean wiped out her plate, haha. It's great to have a delightful brunch at such an affordable price!

5) Balik Kampung Chicken Wings - $14.00

TFBB description: My Mum’s malay style marinade, oven fried served with a portion of fries on the side.

This was the highlight of the day. We were stuffed by now, but were miraculously able to devour our last item for the day. The wings were served freshly fried. One bite into it and you know it's not your average wing. The burst of a divine mix of spices from the marinade made this such a delectable treat. Whatever this secret marinade is, it will definitely have me coming back for more.

 
We were beyond satiated at the end of lunch. Don't be fooled by the lively expressions, we were struggling to stay out of a food coma. The bill amounted to about $14 per person, which was very reasonable for the 5 dishes we ordered. Would have loved to try the cakes, but we were already bursting at the seams. It gives us a good reason to be back here! Sharing of dishes is highly recommended as the portions were generous.

Events

Canon Dealers' Night @ Shanghai Dolly

Uber cute Santarina outfit and reindeer ears!

I spent most of the time on stage helping out with prize-giving. Oh my, Canon does give out some really good prizes!

Second job in a row working with Emily. Wish I had big and pretty eyes like hers!

Backstage with some of the girls

New Year's Countdown @ Wavehouse

Back at Sentosa for the second time in December. Having a water gun to play and spray party-goers with made this job loads of fun! It was also amusing to have drunk people come up and make random conversation that was totally unrelated to New Year's Day, the party, me, or the person himself at all!

We were given a break and were all rushing to the stage area just before the clock struck twelve. Along the way, I took a quick shot with a stilt-walker!

 

Dazzling fireworks lit the night sky upon the arrival of 2013

XOXO.