It's been a while since my last home decor inspiration post! (Refer to my past entries here and here.) Things haven't changed much since and I still love all the pictures saved for inspiration purposes after looking through them recently. Colour palette still consists of the same few colours - black, white, grey and with wood accents.

After paying a couple of interior designers a visit, we finally learn that the theme we want to have, in ID's jargon, is a mixture of Scandinavian, industrial and loft. Sounds just about right!

Basically, what we love is a clean and bright home that gives off the feeling of warmth and cosiness. Scandinavian home designs give off that vibe but some of it tend to lean towards minimalist bare which feels a little too empty and cold for us.

Disclaimer: none of the photos that I am gonna post below belongs to me. I found them on Google.

This is one such example. No clutter, very clean but it doesn't look as if anyone lives in this house. To make it more cosy, I think we'll add a carpet, some paintings/pictures on the wall and maybe a vase or two for some colours.

What I like though, are the windows and the built-in cabinets on the wall. This is an idea worth exploring since we have a pretty huge living area and the space behind the sofa is gonna be left empty. I guess we can make do with some cabinets/shelves!

Since our walls are just gonna be white, white and eh, white, I suggested to H to have a coloured wall at the entrance (black or grey or cream) but he wasn't too keen on having a distinct colour difference in the living room.

Ooohhh I love this! I've always knew that we'll have latches on the wall but this just shows how incredible it will look in life when we do have it! And the cabinets at the bottom? Perfect. No curtains for us though! And this is a little too white haha.

The Scandinavian theme seems to have this love for brick walls going and even the interior designers suggested having one as a TV feature wall but no thank you. It IS nice and it will be a fantastic spot for picture-taking but what if one day I get bored of looking at it?

Since we cannot destroy anything in our new (BTO) kitchen, we'll have to make do with overlays and I love this glossy rectangle tiles! Only qualm is that we don't intend to have top cabinets in the kitchen and we only want half the walls (the area beneath the hood) to be tiled so I'm not too sure if it's gonna look weird...

Lastly, a monochrome theme bedroom. Love the absence of a bed headboard but probably no legs for the bed frame 'cause nobody got time to clean the dust underneath the bed. We will have a latch on the wall but not directly above our heads... Probably on the opposite wall.

We intend to sell/rent our first home after 5 years so we were advised not to spend too much on renovation and built-in carpentry works. I guess it does make sense since we cannot bring everything with us when we move, the new owner might be hacking them away so it's gonna be a waste if we spend so much now.

Hopefully my next update will be on our new home already! *SUPER EXCITED*

#throwback to Perth + Fashmob outfits

Okay, after 2 months since my first entry on Perth, I suddenly feel like I've to get Day 2 out in public haha.

As mentioned, we rest and wake early every day we were in Perth and we ate breakfast daily! Portions are huge (which are totally up H's alley because he is rarely full after eating a portion in SG *roll eyes*) and average price of each main dish is approximately 18AUD.

Because it has been 3 months since we were there and I don't have an extremely good memory... I've forgotten what's the name of this cafe we went to for breakfast lol!

OH YES, H tagged the cafe on his Instagram! So this was at The Tuckshop! Highly recommended on Urbanspoon hence we drove ourselves there :) H enjoyed his Moroccan Meatballs with hummus topped with a fried egg. In his words, they were "Damn good". I did like my smoked salmon but I guess I'd very much prefer hot food 'cause I'm a typical Asian hahaha.

It was gonna be a long day and first, we drove down to Cottesloe Beach! The weather was perfect for driving with windows down but gosh, the sun was burning.

We loved it there so much!! It was void of sunbathers at the beach since it was still winter after all but there was quite a number of surfers out in the sea and we spent a large chunk of time watching them. We saw a couple of them changing into their wetsuits by their car parked by the road, did some stretching exercise on the beach and off they swam into the ocean with their surfboards to join the pack of surfers already practising in the waters.

It was all very new and extremely interesting to me because I cannot even balance on a paddle board on still water hahaha.

We reluctantly left Cottesloe Beach after an hour for Caversham Wildlife Park to say hi to my friends, koalas and kangaroos.

Erm, very coarse fur there.

These koalas sleep 18 hours a day (!!) and we were told they only wake up when they smell food at feeding time. So we were advised to go back again just before feeding time to catch these animals awake but ahh, no hugging/carrying for visitors; that's only limited to their keepers. >:( 

We headed for the farm show after that and I found it rather enriching! We are city dwellers after all ya... We were introduced to the shepherd's dogs, sheep shearing, the horses, got to milk a cow, learnt what's lanolin and a ton of other knowledge!

Of course we couldn't leave without popping by the kangaroos residence which occupies a huge stretch in the wildlife park! Initially I was a little afraid of them because they seem to be hopping towards me, this intruder, at an amazing speed and I thought they will punch/kick me or something!

As soon as I got some food in my hand (provided in the park), I chose the friendliest and most harmless looking roos, stooped down, stretched out my hand and I waited for them to trust me and head towards me apprehensively... Hahaha. It was actually quite fun till I got a little addicted and I couldn't stop feeding them!

We left the wildlife park near closing time and headed to Ciao Italia for dinner! Online reviews warned about the long queue time so we decided to head there early. At 6pm, there was already a crowd outside and our expectations were pretty high 'cause it must be good right?? Thankfully wait time was short for a table of 2!

We had the recommended chilli mussels, carbonara spaghetti and italian sausage penne (smaller size which was still crazy huge). Chilli mussels were small (not in season maybe?) and not spicy but it was the best dish of the night. The pastas were nothing to rave about and I strongly advise 2 to one pasta else there will be a lot of food wastage.

Overall, I think this restaurant is overrated. Yes, it's run by Italians but the diners are mostly Asians... We stepped out of the restaurant with questions marks in our heads because we cannot understand why this is one of the top restaurants in Perth (sorry guys!).


Before I end this entry, I want to show you my new full-length outfits I recently got from FashMob!

What attracted me to the Bondi Lace Maxi Dress is the lace detailing at the hem. I always find myself turning to black lace because it never goes out of style, it is always classy, always elegant and black is a colour I wear again and again.

Next up is an upcoming pantsuit with beautiful bust embroidery detailing. I actually love wearing pants/jeans but it's not easy to find pants with smaller thigh/calf cutting in the market so thank god for FashMob. I love pockets, I love blue on white, I love the cutting and the non-slip silicon trimming at bust to prevent slipping.

Definitely loving the monochrome series that FashMob designed, and I'm sure you'll be as pleased as I am if you see what they have to offer on http://shopfashmob.com ;)

Charity Donation

I assume a lot of us have a lot of another man's treasures (read: clothes that no longer fit or things we no longer use) accumulating in your house and you don't actually know what to do with them other than

1) Throwing them away (WHAT A WASTE!!)
2) Giving/selling them to the garang guni man, or
3) Dropping them off at Salvation Army

These months I have been decluttering my house (I'm not kidding when I say my things are all over the house) and I find myself with a lot of unwanted belongings even after offering them to family/friends and selling them online. I obviously need avenues to get rid of my stuff which are in mint condition and some are even brand new! Dropping unwanted items at The Salvation Army is the most convenient method since they have several branches across the island but I like to be "fair" and spread my donations across as many charities as I possibly can. So after some research online, I realised there are many other such organisations which accept donations such as clothing, newspapers, magazines, books, shoes, toys, curtains, etc and I was thrilled! Here are a few organisations I've personally donated to:

New2U Thrift Shop

Singapore Council of Women's Organisations has a thrift store call the New2U Thrift Shop which sells pre-loved apparel, shoes, accessories and household items, with proceeds going to Star Shelter. Star Shelter provides a safe temporary refuge for women and their children who are victims of family violence regardless of race, language, creed or religion. I dropped off some clothes from Tippyjess there a few months back and I hope that managed to help them earn a little!

Singapore Tzu Chi Foundation

Every second Sunday of the month is the monthly recycling day for Singapore Tzu Chi Foundation. You will find volunteers between 9am to 12 noon at designated areas so you can deliver recyclable materials to the recycling points. H brought 2 bags of my relatively new clothes to them for donation but was rejected because the clothes are new. So remember, they only accept old/secondhand stuff!

MINDS

There are relatively fewer MINDS Shops around Singapore as compared to Salvation Army and the former only opens for a couple of hours for 3 days each week so it might not be as convenient for most of us who work office hours. Luckily there's one not too far from where I stay so we dropped off some stuff there when H was on leave from work!

EN Community/Green Bags

Recently, we spotted plastic bags from EN Community left at our doorstep and the volunteers will go from floor to floor in the block to collect anything that's not bulky. So if you have too many bags of stuff to donate and you don't drive, this is fuss-free! In fact, there's another organisation (forgot the name) that makes it convenient for us too - green bags are left on doorsteps and they will state the date of collection for the month. My neighbours are very green-loving and I always see their green bags filled with bottles, milk cartons, cans, cardboard packaging, newspapers, etc!


Just thought this would be interesting to share because Chinese New Year is just a few months away and I'm pretty sure we will be throwing tons of stuff! That's all from me today, have a great week ahead! :D

Shopping at L'zzie

Helloooooo!
You might have seen this picture on my Instagram about this interactive fashion event I went with my readers/followers at L'zzie located at Central Mall, Clarke Quay! (L'zzie has another outlet at Bugis Junction by the way!) It was so much fun, guys! Getting to know my followers from reel to real and
learning a little more about them as persons other than an username, I really liked that!

We bonded over a dainty tea party, pretty apparel, a makeover and had tons of girly fun!

This glorious dessert table was baked and set-up by Temptations Cakes!

L'zzie had customised cupcakes that were in line with the themes of their new collection, namely Tokyo, London and Paris! Sooo cute, especially love the Japanese sushi ones!

After getting my hair and makeup done, I shopped around to look for clothes to dress myself in, and at the same time check out what they have in store because I was gonna be dressing my readers!

Anyway, a little about L'zzie the brand: L'zzie is a prominent representation of feminine executive wear in Singapore and you can find a wide range of work wear that is inspired by the romance of Parisian country side. Their designs speak of understated elegance and you can find lots of timeless pieces in the boutiques!

Like this piece I'm in ;)

Probably not suited for work since it's too sweet and dreamy with a layer of mesh but you cannot deny that this piece is romantic, girly and timeless. Did I also mention that all their apparel are self-designed and manufactured?!

The concept of the brand is feminine and romantic and you can see it everywhere in the store.

Lots of sweet pastel coloured apparel and appropriate display pieces

that will make you go ooh-and-ahh.

I met the owner, Liz herself that day 

and she's a total advocate of her brand - very lovely and demure lady!

Expect to be taken to the major fashion cities as your browse through the racks in L'zzie!

With Melissa and Qiuting before the event

My invited readers - Tricia, Joyce and Michelle!

(Thank you so much for joining us that afternoon!! :D)

After learning a little about their professions and favourite colours to wear, I got down to work! Tricia was in a pinkish-nude top that day and I guessed that was one of her favourite colours to wear (colour looks good on her too!) so I decided to choose something in a similar shade for her. Thankfully L'zzie stocks a lot of neutral shades like this so that wasn't too tough a task!

One of the coordinates I put together for a casual look

Jackets in sweet pastel for something more professional looking

Joyce likes being in dresses and after trying on a couple, she decided on the same piece 

I was wearing and I think she wears it better with her slim silhouette!

(Above picture is of me acting like I'm doing the makeover for the ladies but no lah, 

was just applying lipstick hahaha wouldn't want to ruin their looks!)

Michelle has fair skin and apparel in a darker colour complements her very well.

After that day, I realised how fun it is to be a stylist/personal shopper.

It's like a dream career come true!

After our makeover!

L'zzie has recently gone through a revamp for their website (http://www.lzzie.com) and I promise you will love it.

Not only is their new layout a joy to look at, the entire shopping experience is seamless and fuss-free. 

Look forward to receiving your order in a beautiful box with your clothes wrapped in a pretty packaging! Not only that, L'zzie also offers FREE next day delivery for all domestic orders (extends to selected countries as well)!

As a start, you would want to check out L'zzie's Bundle Special: Buy 2 Items and get 1 Free Top (Free Top is the lowest valued item, and bundle is exclusive of sale items/accessories).

And and and, the generous lady boss of L'zzie is offering a whopping $20 off your purchase when you check out with LZTIPPYTAPP20! (Voucher expires 31 October 2014 and is valid on regular-priced items/bundle special, and excludes basics, accessories and sale items).

HAPPY SHOPPING! :D

Follow L'zzie on social media:
Instagram: @lzzieofficiel
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lzzie.officiel
Website: http://www.lzzie.com