We attended Karen's Christmas party on Christmas Day, all dressed in red! Well, at least that was what we thought the theme was, until we realized that only those who asked if there was a theme came in red! Haha.

Among the 30 guests, Jun, Yitian and I were probably the reddest of them all. Our red frocks resembled red packets used for Chinese New Year. In fact, we could probably wear these dresses again for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations next year. I'm sure our grandparents especially would be delighted by this auspicious shade of red. LOL.

It was supposed to be a potluck party, but the hostess prepared a feast single-handedly, with some assistance from two men who shall remain anonymous and mysterious in this post. There were two appetizers - a unique sour plum concoction as well as an exquisite smoked salmon and watermelon with balsamic vinegar appetizer. Everything including the sauces were made from scratch! The grilled chicken and grilled ham were so yummy! The guests also brought log cakes, shepherd's pie, curry, bacon streaks, kueh pie tee among other mouthwatering dishes.

Before long, it was time for gift exchange! Unwrapping presents is always a joy, don't you think?

Unlike some of my friends who enjoy tearing up the wrapper, I like to make sure that the whole wrapper is intact. I personally think it's a form of respect to the person who took pains to wrap up the present beautifully. My heart actually aches when I unwittingly tear a wrapper! Oh well, but that's just one of my idiosyncrasies. Haha. What about you? Are you like me too? :P

pink floral lace dress from Clubcouture

How did your Christmas shopping go? I love all the presents that I received this year and I hope the girls liked what I got for them too!

For those of you who are still on leave, enjoy the rest of the week!

Last night, I had a quiet dinner and rose moscato with JW, but today, we're heading to Karen's place for a potluck party. Before that, Jun, Tian and I will be going to the temple to visit our friend, Reyna, who has since passed on. It's been months since it happened but everything still seems so surreal. Whatever it is, we all hope she's happy wherever she is. :)

Top from Hong Kong
Tulle skirt from Korea
Shoes from Korea
Hair clip from Bugis Village

If you noticed, there are green sparkles all over my photos. The amazing thing is, they were not edited at all. I believe they're reflections of the christmas lights on my tree. Kinda magical isn't it?

Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.

Our latest conquest for our home is the Emeco Navy Chair. This is a different version from the original, which is made of aluminum. Emeco 's collaboration with Coca Cola has spun off a new breed of Navy Chairs made from 111 recycled plastic bottles!

I really loveee the pop colours like persimmon, grass and red, but unfortunately, they do not go with our home decor at all! And so, we settled for the charcoal (above: 3rd from left). I think those gorgeous colours I mentioned earlier would go really well with retro, pop art styles.

I was contemplating on getting the Victorian Ghost chair by Kartell instead, but the hubby pointed out that this is ergonomic and scratch-resistant, which means it's likely to outlast the ghost chair.

Erm..I still can't get these lovely colours out of my mind. They kinda put me in a Christmas mood too. Haha.

Let's start with Chocolate first.

We popped by for chocolate pancakes (called "The Druggie") at Strictly Pancakes today and it was most gratifying! I didn't really think the pancakes here were any good previously, but this somewhat changed my opinion.

Although the pancakes are not fluffy, every bite fills your mouth with divine chocolatey goodness. The chocolate ice-cream and strawberries complement the dish perfectly too. It can be too much for one person though, so it's best to share it with a friend. ;)

Truth be told, I've never been to Zoukout in my life because I've never found outdoor parties very appealing. Horror stories about the rowdy crowds and molesters at Zoukout year after year never failed to deter me too. That was the main reason why we were all dressed very conservatively. :P

However, I thought I should attend Zoukout at least once in my lifetime, just for the experience, and I did just that this year! All of us got to attend Zoukout together thanks to Jun!

We spent most of our time hiding at the Singtel tent as Jun had to entertain her client. Of course, it helped that there was a free flow of alcohol before 11pm. The Singtel babes also gave out cute little torch rings which we wore on our fingers and toes!

We had so many rounds of beer and hard liquor that Yitian and JW were already delirious and high before Kaykay and Eric arrived (the group pic below is taken from Eric's blog). JW even performed some breakdancing moves thrice in a row! Haha but he was so drunk he only remembered doing it once! He didn't even recall taking this group shot below. -_-""

We went from tent to tent, jiving to tunes of yesteryear (there was a mambo tent playing retro hits such as YMCA and the likes) and house music. The maddening crowd drove us crazy as we literally had to squeeze past sweaty bodies just to get from one tent to another.

Anyhow, the happy drunkards, JW and Yitian, kept us perpetually entertained throughout the night. By midnight, they were smiling away and talking nonsense.

Yitian kept telling JW that he had to take good care of me because I'm a good friend of hers. JW, on the other hand, kept insisting he wasn't drunk and stood as straight as he could, chest out and all. At the end of the night, he shone one of the torch rings into Karen's eyes before running away and laughing his head off. But, when I asked him about it the next day, he claimed he had absolutely no recollection of it at all! Such audacity!

Besides JW, there were lots of other merlions at Zoukout, but thank goodness we left way before the party ended at 8a.m. the following morning. It was great fun hanging out together and laughing at the drunks in our group, but I think most of us will not be returning to Zoukout in the near future! Give us air-conditioned, posh clubs anytime! ;)

Detachable collar from Bugis
Socks from Topshop
Leather belt from thesaladshop, Haji Lane
Dress (gift from Lyndie) from Bangkok

Fashion magazines often tell us that in order to look good, an outfit should comprise not more than 3 colours. That's fashion rule #1. However, I'm never one who goes by the book. As long as integrity is not compromised, I believe there are different ways to attain the same goal and rules aside, pushing boundaries often results in unexpected outcomes. You know what they say about going down the path less travelled. Pleasant surprises await. ;)

So here you have it. I went amok with colours in this outfit post. In this ensemble, you'll see a kaleidoscope of colours, namely beige, brown, different shades of green, red, blue, pink and black.

What was I thinking?! Haha I was rather pleased with the final result though. What do you think?

You may recall that I blogged about Cesky Krumlov a while back, under I left my heart in Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov may just be a small town in Czech Republic, but not only is the scenery captivating beyond words, there are also some very interesting sights to behold.

We visited the Mirror Labyrinth, which is essentially a maze lined with mirrors. This temporary exhibition has the largest number of mirrors in Europe and is designed to give you the illusion of indefinite corridors.

It was exhilarating and nerve-wrecking at the same time because it was virtually impossible for us to find our way out! We almost bumped into the mirrors and killed ourselves on several occasions, so it's really important to put your hands in front of you as you walk!

After we got out of the maze relatively unscathed, we ventured upstairs to view the distorting mirrors! Doesn't JW look like one of the characters in the cartoon "The Incredibles" with his huge-ass head and tiny body? LOL!

OMG..check out my fat legs!!! These are my legs at their stumpiest! We look like hobbits from Lord of the Rings right?

After laughing at our ridiculous images, we moved on to the Museum of Torture. It felt like we were thrown from Heaven to Hell instantly. All the funny images that we encountered vanished as we descended into a dark, musky dungeon where instruments of torture awaited us.

Deep down below in the pitch dark chamber lay torture instruments such as the witches' chair, knuckle cruncher and other unimaginable equipment used during them medieval ages. The walls were icy cold and you could hear water trickling, combined with the horrific screams of witches burning in a corner. It sent shivers down our spine!

As if to tell us our nightmare hadn't ended, we returned to our hotel only to see everyone dressed in medieval costumes! Goodness, they looked like ghosts! Haha but we realised soon enough that they were just guests as they were all Asians. :P


Plus, there was one knight in shining armour who came to our rescue!


Haha, he's one of the many statues that the hotel placed around the lobby. He looks kinda creepy up close actually. :S

Both the Museum of Torture and the hotel are perfect locations for haunted houses during Halloween! You don't even need props! Speaking of which, it's time I start sorting out those Halloween pictures! You'll see them in time to come I promise. :)