new arrivals - camomile tan

valarie blue S$109

leaves S$109

valarie green S$109

tre blue S$39 (great for x'mas gifts!)

pearl tassle S$99

emily from camomile tan uses mostly 925 silver, 14k gold-filled, & swarovski crystals.

new arrivals - shumoo shoes

check out shumoo's latest quilted designs! prices range from S$100 to S$120 for a pair.

yokoso - tokyo

we had grand plans for this trip. day 1 - imperial palace and ginza, day 2 - aoyama, meiji shrine, and thereafter, shibuya... day 3 - nikko and so it goes... however, we didn't make it to meiji shrine because we got so caught up with shopping in aoyama, we didn't go to tsukiji cause i was afraid the typhoon would blow us away (you never know!), neither did we get to daikanyama cause i got us lost in nakameguro : P and you know, it's true what they say about age catching up on you! oh bother. i guess we'll just have to pay tokyo another visit! = )

here is last of my tokyo installments! i promise! enjoy... ; )

imperial palace

ellen degeneres once said that she reckons black & white cats are the smartest, and i think she might be right! this cat refused to pause when i beckoned... as though on a deadline! little did i know, it was just on its way home ; )

hehee... the neko is bigger than the chihuahua!

at asakusa temple

asakusa nakamise shopping street - a tad too touristy for my liking...

aoyama at night

i stayed in 2 different suburbs whilst in tokyo. this is the first - arietta hotel in gotanda for 2 nights (http://www.thehotel.co.jp/en/arietta_gotanda/index.html), and 5 nights in cityhotel lonestar in shinjuku (http://www.thehotel.co.jp/en/lonestar/index.html). our room was very 'compact', but at about S$150 a night, i can't really complain. plus, the japanese are very thoughtful - a simple spread of breads and cereals is available in the lobby each morning, and they provide free water, green tea and coffee via their infamous vending machines, 24/7!

the toilet at arietta hotel (pictured) is a lot better than its branch in shinjuku - imagine a slightly larger version of an airplane toilet! however, cityhotel lonestar is definitely better for its location - there are heaps of bars and places to grab a bite at its doorstep, the train station is just across the street, and my favourite departmental store, isetan, is a mere 10 minutes walk away!

the cats in japan are so big and fluffy! i couldn't resist snapping a pic!

love this ad!

at my friend's persuasion, we caught a canadian indie rock band, metric, in tokyo. mmm... what can i say? i love the band's energy! and er... the lead singer, emily, is very pretty! muahahhaa

harajuku

meguro river - amazingly clean! there are lots of multi-label boutiques along the river... it's just too bad we went the wrong way : P remember, print maps before you go! superfuture is your safest bet ; ) (http://www.superfuture.com/supertravel) luckily for us, japanese people are incredibly friendly and kind - one lady i stopped to ask for directions walked with us for a good 20 minutes! thank you! i hope you're reading this!

yokoso - japan on film

new arrivals - something else

once again, something else successfully unites high fashion with street edge, resulting in a wearable yet striking look for girls who are unafraid to experiment with their style...

streaky knot dress

streaky stripe tee (skirt - not available)

decoupage placket tank (pants - not available)

mystical castle tank

ubiquity drape tee

celestial bird tee (only available in size 6)

celestial bird dress (only available in size 8)

slouchy rolled shorts (blazer & top - not available)

twisted shirtdress (sold out)

space dreams tank (only available in size 8)

zip back dress

lucid dream tee

zip shoulder dress (only available in black and size 8)

oishi!

like most singaporeans, i’m a huge foodie and i will wait patiently in line for great food… as i did for more than 30 minutes for umegaoka sushi no midori in ginza! i highly recommend it for fresh, well-presented and affordable sushi – i had the ultimate sushi assortment which came with a small serving of salad, soup, and chawanmushi for ¥2,100. unfortunately I don’t have any pictures as my camera ran out of battery : P but this local blog has got a great write-up (http://skinny-epicurean.blogspot.com/search/label/tokyo). the thing i found with tokyo, however, is that it’s not enough to be armed with an address or telephone no – i’d still get lost! instead, it takes a lot of patience, perseverance, and planning (print a map of the restaurant’s surroundings)!

sadaharu aoki - recommended by chubby hubby and lots of friends, we chanced upon the patisserie in marunouchi and gave our legs a well-deserved break! they have 3 branches in tokyo: http://www.sadaharuaokiparis.com/boutique/tokyo-en.html.

okonomiyaki at yai yai - 6-8-7-1F, jingumae, shibuya-ku, tokyo; tel: 03-3406-8181 (http://www.opefac.com/). one of my favourite meals in tokyo and it wasn't even on my list of must-eat places ; ) it's a definite must to learn a few japanese phrases, and "chikai oishi desu ka?" is one that i probably use the most, even though it's wrong grammatically! loosely translated it means: "where can i get good food in the vicinity?". what can i say? at least it got me here ; ) heheh

scallops with butter and spring onions galore = YUM!

our japanese friends brought us to afternoon tea for... er... some afternoon tea! (http://www.afternoon-tea.net/main.html). besides being a cafe, afternoon tea has a huge range of products under their label... from cooking utensils, towels, umbrellas, etc. - you'd love it if you're into the 'kawaii' look (or 'cute' in japanese).

my strawberry sponge cake was so yummy that i ate everything! yes, including that heap of cream!

thanks to meiyan for the great recommendation, we got a chance to eat affordable sukiyaki in a comfortable ambience. nabezo is indeed sugoii value for money!

our spread! we had the set lunch, and it was more than enough!

the little chateau in yebisu garden place, where the michelin starred joel robuchon restaurants are housed. the yebisu garden place is like a quaint little town within tokyo and in the area, you will also find the yebisu beer museum and departmental store mitsukoshi, amongst other offices - think shenton way, but french!

there are a few concepts under joel robuchon - a private dining concept on the 3rd floor, a more formal restaurant on the 2nd, a casual dining concept on the 1st, and lastly a boutique bakery in the basement. our choice was the very purple la table de joel robuchon.

first up! le foie gras de canard.

my friend had the l'asperge verte, which tasted like a tomato jelly soup.

my main course - le porc (very tender!).

friend's main - el arroz bomba, paella plus amazingly good chicken wings!

my dessert - le pomme caramelisee (i wasn't a huge fan of the desserts as i like them simple - i had expected an apple tartin or apple crumble... instead, i was greeted by a multitude of flavours!)

my friend had the le marron - chestnuts with chestnut cream & lightly flavoured jelly. it's marron season in japan and it's in most of the menus! we also had the marron cake at harbs in roppongi hills (which was layers of crepes with marron and cream ; ) http://www.harbs.co.jp/harbs).

our one and only attempt of supper at a roadside stall (actually we didn't manage to find any other stalls!) . ¥1,000 for 3 yakitori sticks and a can of asahi (not that cheap if you ask me : P). that's me alone, beside a drunk man who wouldn't stop rambling to us in japanese!! ._.

new arrivals - kirstin ash handmade jewellery

kirstin has now branched out into rings and cuffs! aren't they pretty?