Mother's Day

My mom and I having brunch at Le Select Bistro with friends in Toronto.

Mother's Day here in the UK is March 18 but in Canada we celebrate mother's day in May. Often times I have to buy my mother's gifts now because when I actually need them, they'll already be in the recyclables for next year.

If your mom is anything like mine, she either says one of two things when we buy her gifts: 1) save your money and don't buy me anything or 2) she is the pickiest person ever. My mom definitely falls in the latter. To help alleviate the stress of trying to find her something, I have searched online and found some worthy contenders:

1. Top of the list, afternoon tea at the Marriott. Can't go wrong because your time / love spent with her is priceless.
2. Foot massager - the older we get, the more massages we need (I love this one so much, I may even get one for myself!)
3. Pampering packages - if you're anything like me, unfortunately we cannot be there in person for the special occasion so what better than to get her a top to toe package (or if she's more into relaxation, they try this one)

No matter what type your mother is, she is sure to fall in love with at least one of the three categories.

Be sure not to leave it til the last minute. I have already seen some afternoon teas going for insane pricing that weekend. Happy mother's day shopping!

Cupid's arrow

Found this unpublished photo from (almost) exactly two years ago. Wearing my then boyfriend's (now fiance!) sweater and hat. I said this when I first met him and I'll say it again now, my soon-to-be husband is the best dressed man I know.

Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Valentine's for men

Mass with his trusty Canadian leather bag from m0851 on top of the Duomo in Milan

Every man is different, every man has different needs. The above Italianese man aka Mass, is one who loves to carry around a murse aka man bag, stuffed with his cigars, iPad, reading material, water bottle etc. etc. The average man may not need to carry around such a heavy bag 24/7, but he may need a great wallet. That's where the ladies come in with a fantastic Valentine's Day present for the men in their lives.

One of THE BEST wallets reign from an Italian (no less) brand called Valextra. Opening their first shop in Piazza San Babila, Valextra is exquisite in their time-challenging trends. They are what classic Italy is made of. I learned of this brand from Mass who, along with another smaller card wallet, has a Valextra wallet in this navy colour stuffed into his back trouser pocket.

For the very practical and pragmatic man, I found this Bodenschatz wallet that separates your coins too! If your boyfriend/fiance/husband is anything like mine, he has so much loose change at the end of the day, he needs a method to organise it.

Finally, for a classic British wallet, these Paul Smith wallets are fantastically made vintage looking leather pieces that won't totally break the bank. Or you could make like James Bond (who had his suits designed by Alfred Dunhill) and get Dunhill's classic black wallet for him. It says elegance and sophistication without having the letters LV plastered all over it.

Or if he's into man bags like Mass, I bought this Mulberry Small Clipper bag at a Mulberry sample sale right before Christmas. Great for an overnight / travel bag.

Whatever his style, you can't go wrong buying him a luxurious necessity.

Happy Valentine's day shopping!

CNY close up

Few picturrres from the CNY outfit you saw earlier. Less Instagram, more Fuji.

Kooples shirt, Brooks Brothers plaid trousers, Calzedonia tights, Roberta Freymann necklace, Cesare Paciotti brogues

Oh and yes, that's my kitchen. And yes I am wearing shoes while indoors. Only for blog photos though. I promise we keep an Asian household.

Ta ta for now!

Engagement Dinner

Greatest friends on Earth

The Ing Women


BFFs

My extended fam

As a final entry to my holiday excerpts, I wanted to show you a dinner my fabulous friends threw for us.

We chose a Chinese resto not too far from my parents house for our 10 course meal which was enjoyed thoroughly amongst some of the best friends I have in this world, missing only a few. It's funny because in London, if I tried to arrange a dinner for 2 weeks time inviting 24 people, it would be next to impossible to have everyone attend. But when your friends love you and have your best interests at heart, everyone is in attendance.

My wedding won't be for another year and a half or so, but these amazing people definitely helped me kick off the planning in good spirits. A very big thank you to my sister, Jody and Kenneth for organising everything.

I read something online the other day that goes something like, 'with true friends, you never have to try to be in their lives.' You just are. Thank you everyone.

Zara dress, Miu Miu glitter pumps, Portobello earrings

NYE 2012

Don't you find it funny that everyone always complains that NYE is so overrated then when it comes down to the day they frantically try to find something to do or their social life will come to an end? We kept it pretty minimal this year too. Went for a dinner at Splendido with close friends and ended up counting down with the restaurant staff.

Had the most awkwardly fantastic time with the literal street randoms at our hotel lobby party. I swear, the stranger people are, the more I gravitate towards them. Ended the night off with my sis coming to join us in what seemed to be the hotel party floor. At least that's the vibe the weed gave off.

Started thinking about what I was going to wear the day of. My sis was trying to convince me that the skirt was too big, probably so she could wear it instead. Who doesn't love a leather skirt? In an almost all Canadian born outfit, isn't life sweet?

Artizia (yes, AGAIN!) sequin top, Danier leather skirt, Theysken Theory boots, Portobello earrings

Christmas recap

My sis took a couple photos for me on Christmas day. Our mom and dad didn't seem to want to eat lunch with us (mom was napping and dad was busy playing was his new ipad) so we trekked off to Starbucks - somewhere we seem to go every year. Then we pick up all the friends we've invited to come along for our big family dinner (I swear every year we bring more and more friends...I say the more the merrier).

We eat, talk, open presents (tradition goes youngest to oldest, one present at a time), and at the end we engage in a long battle of wrapping paper fights. Don't know how this one began, but I do believe it gets more painful every time (perhaps due the increasing scale of Muscles United - see photo above). I wouldn't trade our family traditions for anything.

Wilfred coat, COS sweater, Current Elliot jeans, Theysken's Theory boots, Hermes belt, Johnston's scarf

Holiday Parties

Forgot about these photos we had taken at an annual holiday party in London with some of our friends at the Savile Club. Always nice to get a group of people together, dress em up, and have a nice meal.

This Giambattista Valli dress / top thing has been more versatile than one would've imagined looking at it! Especially to my conservative mother who was already questioning its usage when we bought it together.

I love a good pant suit when everyone else is in dresses. Exudes just the right amount of confidence. Mental note: need to get myself more pant suits.

Giambattista Valli top, Jill Sander trousers, Kurt Geiger pumps, BCBG necklaces

Holidays 2011

I took a huge hiatus from blogging over the holiday season to actually enjoy my time at home and spend time with important people in my life. It was the first time seeing my close friends and family since I got engaged so it was a thrilling time.

I have tons of photos accumulated over the past couple weeks and most of them are of me and the people in my life, rather than strict outfit posts. But, as we discussed previously, this blogosphere of mine has turned into more of a diary of the things I love rather than a documentation of my closet. So for those who are interested, here we go.

Above photos were taken on Christmas eve at my Aunt J's house. It is almost an exact science how we spend our Christmases together. Every 24th is spent there and the 25th is spent in rotation amongst the rest of the relatives. I'd like to say that we have a lot of traditions and though we don't spend a great deal of time together during the year (me especially being in London) we fully make up for it during the holidays.

When I'm around my family I become a bit of a nerd / loser. My jokes are super lame and cheesy and much like my father, I get loud and very sarcastic. They're all used to it by now.

I made my younger cousin flex in a pose with me above because I truly believe he has the biggest asian guy muscles. I even coined a team name for us, 'Muscles United'. Do you see why I'm the team representative? :)

Holidays

Been hit with the festivities and time has become so precious (that and the fact that there is so much to study for before and during the holidays). The time of year where it is impossible to find a reservation at decent restaurant, everyone wants to see each other before the new year, and Christmas parties take up every bar in town from 1pm onwards. My Christmas continues onto Toronto on Friday where I'll be until just after the new year. Lots of things to document this holiday season, so exciting!

These photos were taken waaay back during the American Thanksgiving weekend. Dinner was held, as it is every year, at a Canadian friends place because no one can seem to get their act together for the Canadian one.

My motto this season: effortless effort.

COS sweater, Helmut Lang shirt, Danier trousers, Acne booties, Ca4la hat, Wilfred coat

thanksgiving

I'm a huge family person. I would never be able to trade Christmas in another country other than with my entire family. This used to be the same for Thanksgiving until I moved to London almost 5 years ago now. However this year was different. My cousin Katie came to visit and we 'cooked' our own Thanksgiving dinner. It was not pretty. Aside from the melted meat thermometer and the delay of almost 2 hours, it was decent, at best. haha. To top it off, we were constantly receiving texts and pictures from the dinner that was happening back at home. Apparently they had lobster tails AND a new Maserati was added to the family. Nah, not jealous at all.

In the end, I'm still so happy to have been able to see my cousin for a couple days. Above are the photos we took at afternoon tea at Browns and dinner at Salt Yard.

See by Chloe sweater, earrings from Sardinia

the last of the randoms

That's the end of it. Until next time...

To Daddy King

My sis and I wearing matching United Colors of Bennetton sweaters. Even though we are 6 years apart, they still managed to dress us identically

Like most asian parents, my relationship with my father is very business-like. We talk about careers, which car to buy, how to raise a dog, property prices, and politics. Rarely do we touch on our emotions, that is mostly reserved for my mom.

When I was around 6, like the photo above (taken in Joburg when my dad lived there and we visited for the summer), I used to write my dad letters because he traveled a lot, being away for months at a time. He was based in Boston but he would come home to Toronto between projects and I, not knowing how to verbally express myself, wrote him letters which I would leave in his 'spots' for him to see. He would write back and leave it on my pillow and this would soon become our form of communication.

One time, after years and years of constant travel, I couldn't bear my dad leaving us again for another few months so I wrote him yet another letter. Only this time, the letter asked him to stop traveling so he could be home with us all the time. A couple months later, my dad resigned from a well paying job, sold his Boston apartment and came home. And this time, he stayed.

Sometimes, even in the best relationships you don't need to hear 'I love you'. Sometimes, you just know.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Happy Easter!

Easter, 1979 (?)

For your Easter enjoyment, I have provided a picture from a long ago Easter.  This is me and my older sister, Rosey, on Easter morning in what I think was 1979.  Every Easter we would get a new outfit and an Easter basket.  We would put on the outfits to go hunt for eggs and then root through our baskets unearthing such treasures as Cadbury Creme Eggs, pinwheels, Silly Putty and Babyland paper dolls (shown above).  

In 1979, our Easter outfits consisted of some rather fabulous jumpers.  I love this picture because so many of the things that are true in this photo are true today.  For example, spring weather in Oregon then was similar to what it is now, so we had to layer turtlenecks under our jumpers.  I clearly did not shy away from color, even then.  And yes, my hair has always looked much the same as it does today.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, filled with new outfits and naked-baby paper dolls or at least Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Gracey

fur, stables, and the rain

LISA:
PORTOBELLO MARKET fur hat
RALPH LAUREN sweater
THE ART OF THE BASIC silk dress
BURBERRY PRORSUM shearling jacket
WOLFORD rights
MICHAEL KORS booties

MASS:
EMPORIO ARMANI leather jacket

Some final pics from our weekend away in Coworth Park. The hotel had renovated old horse stables into hotel rooms and on the property you could go horse riding or play polo. We will definitely be back when the sun is out I reckon.

Hope you have a fantastic week ahead.

take 2

LISA: GIAMBATTISTA VALLI dress, BCBG necklackes, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes

MASS: DUCHAMP bowtie, ALESSI by VELLO jacket

I know I've been lackadaisical with my blogging (I have a newfound appreciation and respect for those of you who blog and work and live all in one) but I'm sure it'll spring back into gear once I have a season to shoot in.

Anyway, this is a repeat of my new years post but I didn't feel it was done proper justice last time so I decided to re-wear and re-shoot it. This was at the Coworth Park restaurant a few weeks ago, great weekend indeed.

Don't you love Mass' jacket? He wore it with a pair of three quarter length pants (with pony hair trimming) and high top boots.

Hope you're having a good weekend. It's raining in London (yet again).

the puffy vest

ADIDAS vest, FILIPPO CATARZI hat, ZARA blazer, DANIER leather pants, PRADA bag, GAP BOYS sweater, FRATELLI ROSSETTI boots

While away last weekend I really got into the 'country side' mood. It felt fitting with the barn and stable landscape. We stayed at the beautiful Coworth Park Hotel, a prime accommodation spot for Ascot attendees. In a separate building was their very well-lit spa which we spent a lovely afternoon in. I highly recommend it if you need a weekend away from the city.

Anyway, I was reading on fellow bloggers site Karla's Closet about puffy vests and I could not agree more. The poor puffy vest gets such a bad rep, especially in Canada where we all need them on top of our parkas to keep warm in our igloos. I, however, have had this adidas vest since...2006? and I think it was one of the most well-worn purchases I have. That, and I saw Alexander Wang's take on it from NYFW f/w 2011.

waterside inn

ASOS BLACK dress, KURT GEIGER shoes, BCBG necklace, VINTAGE ROLEX watch

As mentioned, this past Friday we stayed at the Waterside Inn and ate at Michel Roux's restaurant. I think it is the added personal touches that make it a repeat visit for us. Needless to say, we were quite satisfied.

It also gave me a chance to wear the above dress (no need to step outside means I didn't need to wear tights - thank goodness). Got this dress from Asos for £39 (sale!). For the quality, it was definitely good value. I think it is still available!

Hope you had a great valentine's day.