checking out the new darling quarter

The stretch after the Chinese Garden of Friendship leading up to IMAX around the Darling Harbour area had been under construction for the longest time. Then all of a sudden Darling Quarter appeared! I had the chance to discover it with shock when I attended a lunch appointment in the vicinity sometime late last year. When I went back again one evening for a stroll under the Jacaranda trees, I spotted these musicians playing delightful music. Nice area to dine in a casual alfresco environment! There's even a Fat Duck cafe that serves great gourmet sandwiches. Yums.





outpost project at cockatoo island

I finally dragged my lazy ass for a day trip to Cockatoo Island after wanting to visit for 5.5 years, thanks to a strategically planted poster in the neighbourhood publicising the Outpost Project.

I am too lazy to write much so just please enjoy the photos ya? :)































of the glorious sun

I fell in love with these as I searched Etsy for all things yellow and sunflowers...



I wouldn't mind any of these handcrafted-with-love goodies for X'mas. Check out my wishlist here to see where you can get the above or for more suggestions on what you can fill my X'mas sock with. *wink*

creating symmetrical clones of me

From original pic...

































to this...

surfers

I frequent Maroubra beach because Pawpaw loves the surf there. I've tried on a few occasions to capture some great surf action while lazing on the beach but this is the best I could get thus far with my 90-300mm lens. Gotta try harder and also to get a better vantage point.

jumpsuits and playsuits

I bought this blue ASOS jersey split leg jumpsuit a couple months ago and absolutely love it. At only $21 due to a special additional 10% discount on a particular weekend, this must be one of my best ASOS buys ever. It can be worn casually with flat sandals or to a semi-formal occasion with a pair of classy heels because of those extremely high slits that reach up to just under the butt cheeks.



It was only with this recent purchase that I learnt the difference between playsuits and jumpsuits. More browsing on the web followed where I added more of them to the wishlist.


ASOS Halterneck Denim Jumpsuit


Left: ASOS Gothic Rose Jumpsuit
Right: Khaki Cotton Halter Jumpsuit Hippie Trousers by yystudio on Etsy


Left: ASOS Floral Culotte Jumpsuit
Right: Miss Sixty Tie Front Linen Playsuit


Left: Vila Chiffon Floral Midi Culotte Jumpsuit
Right: Sister Jane Apron Shorts Playsuit

it's remembrance day...



Lest we forget.

*Photo taken at Gallipoli on exactly this day last year.

the boy and the girl's happy house

My virgin longstitch project was from a dummy proof kit of the girl with the balloons. I was then inspired to create a boy to keep the girl company and to also make a happy place of love for them. So ta-dah! Here's my latest completed set exclusively designed by yours truly.



A close-up look at the happy love-home for the cute couple. I searched high and low for those flower buttons which I think greatly enhanced the piece!

bag, shoes and dresses

As I go through my wardrobe time after time to try and decide what to keep and what to get rid of, I find myself feeling really sad every time I add an item to the 'To Clear' pile. So much time has been wasted in transferring these items to and from the pile all because I really can't bear to part with A SINGLE ITEM! All of them are so under-utilised and in such perfect condition that I can keep them for a lifetime. Darn the space constraints and the urge to buy more and more.

After much deliberation, on top of the books to sell, I have listed the below items on Gumtree. Would appreciate if anyone who sees this page can help to spread the word so all lovelies can find loving owners.

I have 2 more suitcases of stuff to sort out, photograph, take measurements and to list online... so more to come...


Nine West Oriental Style Shoulder Bag - click here to view details




Vintage style wine red chunky heels - click here to view details




Dresses left to right: (click on each item to view details)
Left - Esprit floral dress
Middle - Beautiful brand new retro style tube dress
Right - Colourful Striped Retro Dress


book sale!!!

Bad news! The bookshelf I picked up about 2 years back is so full it's in danger of toppling over!

The good news is: I'm having a mega book sale right now, right here to try and get rid of some of my extremely loved, well-taken-care-of and near-new condition books to make way for new reads.

Here's a list of the great books on sale. You can click on each of them to get directed to a synopsis of the book. Strictly for self collection only at Alexandria or Mascot (or any nearby suburbs within a 2km radius). Please email me if you are interested or have any enquiries. Please help to spread the word too so I may find loving owners for my babies soon okay?

Email: monkey.crab[at]yahoo.com


Selling by the set:
- The Sandman Series Vols 1 - 4 by Neil Gaiman: $40
- The Left Hand of God & The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman: $8
- Books 1 and 2 of Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series: Hush, Hush and Crescendo: $6
- The complete Twilight series (4 books) and the Official Illustrated Guide by Stephanie Meyer: $20

Individual books: $2 each
- Diana: Her True Story in her Own Words by Andrew Morton
- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
- Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty
- Australian Short Stories - various authors

Individual books: $3 each
- Ferney by James Long
- Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
- Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst
- The Stars' Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry
- The Golden Nineties by Lisa Mason

Individual books: $4 each
- The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde by Neil McKenna
- Magician by Raymond E Feist (2 books in 1: Apprentice and Master)
- Mistress of the Empire by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts (Book III of The Empire Trilogy)
- Maalika by Valerie Browning and John Little
- Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
- Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
- Nine Lives by William Dalrymple
- Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan

Individual books: $5 each (they are big books!)
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- Helen of Troy by Margaret George
- The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

my very mild halloween

I missed out on the girls' Moulin Rouge halloween last year and tried to make up for it this year, but without spending too much. In the end, my only investment was a grand total of $11.50 on a pair of black wings and dramatic false eye lashes which I failed to put on due to my lack of eye make up experience. I even had an epic fail moment when I couldn't even put on eyeliner and eyeshadow so I had to give up on my plans of appearing with dramatic gothic make up!

Here's my black angel of death outfit where I simply wore a blank tank top with my only pair of leather hot shorts, with laced up combat-looking black boots and miscellaneous black jewellery that I can find in my closet. When I whatsapped these pics to Tudi, she said I looked more like a baby death angel. Not fierce enough! And I look like I'm playing scissors, paper, stone with myself in the pic below. Haha.



Here's with some chilli red lipstick on to make up for the lack of gothic eye make up face and trying to give a deathly stare. I love my black wings but wished they could be bigger, like... human height... that'd be cool.



Then while we were enjoying some red wine at home before departing for the real party, Pawpaw suggested we do some scary vampirish shots and went to put on some scary music and dimmed the lights. The shots still turned out with a very low scare factor. Boo.



Here, I tried to tackle my first victim - a doll.



And so we started the fight of the century.





Even though I had the upper hand for a while...



That bloody doll still thrashed me!!! I'm a very dead angel here. LOL



Then we were off to Argyle to meet the rest of the otherworldly gang where I failed to take any pics. Here are 2 shots I stole off their FB pages (:P) - a cute Munchkin, a cool pirate and a sexy genie.



No pics of the 2 boring IT guys who went as mortals!