Monday, August 16, 2010

Boy oh Boy!


I was invited today by seefilmsfirst.com to watch a preview of a gorgeous Kiwi flick titled Boy. Initially I had little expectations of the movie but was intrigued by it all the same and let's face it, I can never turn down a free movie! However, I did have faith in seefilmsfirst.com after they'd sent me to see An Education before the official release date in Australia, last year.

Boy is set in 1984, Waihau Bay, New Zealand. Michael Jackson is the king of pop and Boy misses his father (Aleimana) dearly. In his mind, his father is a rugby captain, a dancer as good as Michael Jackson, a war hero and a deep sea diver. In reality he is in prison for robbery. Boy is in charge after his nanny goes away for a funeral when his absent dad returns home from jail. Here Boy faces the the confronting truth about Aleimana.


From the hilarious opening scenes to the closing scene, I found Boy to be engaging, honest without overly confronting. This movie is the top grossing movie in New Zealand and it is rightly deservedly so. Boy will be released in Australia on August 26 2010.

Sunday, August 15, 2010


I'm a massive sucker for Chanel nail polish and it all started with the now legendary Vamp (aka Rouge Noir). The above pic is from the Luc Besson's movie "The Fifth Element"; it depicts Zorg's (the baddie) secretary doing her nails as she was answering phone calls. She was using a futuristic Chanel nailpolish gadget where by she'd slide in her fingernail and voila! It comes out perfectly manicured with a different colour.

But what frustrates me about them are the massive chipping issues that I face whenever I use them on myself. I'd be lucky if the polish stays chip-free for 3 days. So as much as I look forward for Chanel to release such an awesome gadget, I also would love for Chanel to fix their nail polish formulation! I read that Chanel has recruited Tom Bachik as their celebrity manicurist, so I hope he'll improve the formulations the way Peter Phillips has reinvigorated the main cosmetics line.

Photo courtesy of: stylefuss.wordpress.com

Monday, February 22, 2010

I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter - The Prodigy


No, I'm not a pyromaniac but I do love a good fireworks display!

This coming Saturday is the start of the bi-annual Adelaide Festival and to celebrate it, Groupe F has been invited to do a 45 minute fireworks display. Who are Groupe F - I hear you ask? Well if you've seen the fireworks at the 20041 Athens Olympics or the millenium celebrations in Paris then you would have seen their creations. If not, then come to Victoria Park in Adelaide this Saturday from 20.45 and check out the fireworks! Btw, if you live nearby Victoria Park in Adelaide and have dogs, remember to keep them inside! Pooches get frightened easily by fireworks.

Picture credits: Groupe F

Friday, February 5, 2010

FiFi

My dear darling cousin put me onto this website - they release a weekly newsletter, detailing what's hot and not. With their fingers on the (fashion) pulse and the right amount of cattiness, FiFi is a highlight of my otherwise mundane Friday. Check them out!

Monday, January 11, 2010

I have been tagged: 7 Things About Me


So I've been tagged by Olivia of The Land of Makeup Obscurity fame to spill 7 random facts about me. Here we go...

1. I've still not figured out on how to wear pink eyeshadow or red eyeshadow for that matter...can somebody teach me?!?

2. My current favourite (Monday - Friday) breakfast is multigrain toast with nutella. The thicker coating of nutella, the better. My fave Saturday breakfast is almond croissant.

3. I have an evil laugh and it only comes out funnily enough when men sustain injuries to their nether regions. It's sick I know but I can't help it!

4. I love my Monday boxing classes, to me it's a great way to channel out my aggressions and frustrations. Besides, I like how impressed guys get when a shortie like me can pull out a mean right hook and a kickarse roundhouse kick!

5. I have a recurring dream where I'm about to graduate from uni but have just been told that I'm 3 points (or a subject) shy of actually graduating! So I run around like a headless chook trying to suss out what subject I need to do to graduate.

6. My guilty pleasure is watching Gossip Girl. Not just watching it on Foxtel, mind you but actually downloading the latest episode so that I'm ahead of Foxtel. Now, you may think so what?!? Did I mention I'm 32?? Sad beyond words...

7. I'm a magnet for mosquitos. It sucks. Every summer without fail I would be covered by mosquito bites.

The 6 blogs I choose in no particular order are:


Picture credit: ellecanada.com


Sunday, November 8, 2009

Top 10 Must do while in Marrakech


1. Drink mint tea! They serve it everywhere! It’s the nation’s drink.

2. This tip is for women only, I personally found it useful to go around the souks in long sleeve tops and sunglasses to reduce the amount of unwanted attention and stares. Now I’m no beauty queen (5ft1, black hair, not amazon, blonde, you know the drill) but I still got a sh*tload of stares and a couple of hisses walking aside Gorilla. You may find it even more useful if you get your male partner/friend to act possesively when walking together, as in get him to wrap his arm around your shoulder. I found that did the trick also. Ladies travelling alone, I’d say to cover up, more so than if you’re going to church/place of worship. I hate to say all this but you’re in an predominantly Arab country now and unfortunately it’s still male dominated here. I won’t even tell you about the time when I saw a boyfriend punched his girlfriend in the face in full view of the public and again in the middle of the street. Gobsmacked (no puns intended).

3. Stay in a riad. Riads are traditional homes that have been renovated and turned into bed and breakfasts. What so cool about these place are the décor. As you enter the main door you’d normally find yourself in a courtyard, the living areas and bedrooms surrounds the courtyard. Not always but in most of them there will be a plunge pool in the courtyard also. I’m not quite sure as to the purpose of pool. Is it a plunge pool where guests could go in and cool themselves or is it merely a decorative pond? I didn’t bother asking to find out as I didn’t bring swimsuit with me anyways. www.zenithya.com

4. Visit Jardin Majorelle; it’s amongst the prettiest gardens that I’ve been to. It’s owned now by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge. You’ll see that the place is painted mostly in the gorgeous cobalt blue (so in season with Australian summer 2009/2010 right now). www.jardinmajorelle.com

5. Buy a caftan from Kasbek, 2 Sydney expats that have made the move to Marrakech and found that they love caftans but can’t find any gorgeous slinky ones. Think Talitha Getty’s photograph on Le Palais du Zahir's rooftop and you’re there.They also do alterations on the spot for free www.kasbek.com

6. Have lunch at Café d’Espices, their sandwiches are just the thing that you’d need after a morning of walking through the souks.

7. Eat pigeon pastilla; this dish is basically sweet pancake type pastry, wrapped around egg and pigeon. Sometimes you’d get almond and syrup drizzled on top of it but other times you’d get icing sugar and cinnamon. Good places to eat this is at Chez Bahia and Restaurant Argana.

8. Eat lamb tagine. The meat just rolls off the bone. This dish was surprisingly difficult to find. Chicken tagine? Right this way sir! Beef tagine? Of course! Lamb tagine? No sir, we don’t do lamb tagine. So I was all disappointed when most of the restaurants that we’d frequented did not serve this succulent dish. Luckily on our last night, we did find it and it was at Restaurant Argana.

9. Like their South East Asian cousins, the concept of queueing and lining up for their turn is a totally foreign and alien concept. So the tip here is to be assertive and push right back! Otherwise you’ll get nowhere. This is true for when lining up for the cash registers in supermarket buying your water supply. By the way before crying foul and not all South East Asians are like that, 1) I’m a South East Asian girl, Indonesian infact and has travelled extensively thoughout SE Asia in her youth, so I can say this with much authority and 2) you’re right, there are exceptions to the rule and they are Singaporeans, but then again they’d modelled their country state and constitution on Switzerland and also where the possession of chewing gum is punishable by law. I love Singapore by the way, the food is great and the shopping is amazing! But that is another top 10 list.

10. Do take a Hop on Hop off bus. It may sound like a copout for all you serious travellers out there, but after going through the souks and getting stared at and because we’d only stayed in Marrakech for 2 nights thus, time was of the essence, this bus was a godsend. It’s 130dh (dh stands for dirham by the way not dinar) and the ticket lasts for 24hours.

Photo credits: Patrick Lichfield's portrait of the Gettys at 'The Pleasure Palace', 1969

Top 10 must do’s when in London



  1. 1. Pay homage to my mothership Selfridges a great blend of high street brands (ground floor for ladies and 1st floor for guys) and high end labels. Other motherships include Liberty (the scarves department are to die for!) AND Harvey Nichols. All three are droolworthy.
  2. See a ballet at the Royal Opera House; depending on the season, they will always a ballet show on! Tickets range from GBP6 (standing room only) to GBP110 (right bang in the front middle section in front of the orchestra pit). We’d chosen the wallet and bottom/feet friendly tickets of GBP40 which gets you seats up on the ampitheatre middle section. Also remember, cast/act lists are free but programs are not (GBP6).
  3. Try book yourself to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant for lunch (or dinner if your budget allows it). Use the following link www.gordonramsay.com as they have an online booking system which then gives you instantaneous confirmation via text and email.
  4. Instead of catching the tube (Mind the gap!); catch the bus to get to places! Sit on the upper level of the double deckers and enjoy the view! Who needs to breathe in the stale underground air anyways??
  5. Go get a haircut at Pimps and Pinups! Okay gratitious name dropping time! The owners are a couple of friendly rAdelaidean expats that has made a name for themselves within the Spitalfields set. Besides, they’re Gorilla’s mates from high school! www.pimpsandpinups.com
  6. After your haircut at Pimps and Pinups, check out Spitalfields market! Okay, maybe the stall rent prices has gone crazy high so that the design/fashion students are not really there anymore, but the atmosphere still can’t be beat!
  7. Do NOT in any circumstances set foot within Harrods unless you’re a Diana/Dodi fan or a European tourist or into all general tackiness. If you are a Diana/Dodi fan, for gods sake, do NOT take a photo of their “shrine” (a used wine glass does not make a shrine by the way). An exception to this rule is if you are going to the food hall and that’s it. They do killer palmiers there. Oh another thing, those hideous army green plastick-y vinyl Harrod bag things do not say classy souvenirs by the way! Yes they’re reusable but that’s about it.
  8. Make your way from Big Ben to the Millenium walk along the Southern end of river, especially when there is the Festival of Lights on during September and get yourself a plate of jerk chicken with rice and peas! Grilled/barbecued chicken in barrels and then doused in the yummiest sauce known to man! Drool incoming!
  9. For free entertainment, see a museum! Or two, or three! All of London’s major museums and art galleries such as the British Museum, Natural History Museum, V&A museum (the best by the way!), Science Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Tate and Tate Modern are all free! What better way to see other countries’ treasures that British has plundered/stole/borrowed?
  10. Walk along Sloane Street to see how the other 20% are living; where else can you seen an anorexic 14 year old strutting about in her pony hair leopard print Christian Louboutin 11 cm high ankle boots? Yes I sound bitter but she is only 14!?! She has no right strutting about in those shoes!!
  11. Okay the title said ‘Top 10’ but Gorilla said the real number 10 should be taking note of the blue plaques scattered around London stating where various historical figures has lived during their time in London. Historical figures include: Jimmy Hendrix, Sir Isaac Newton, Franklin Roosevelt and Ho Chi Minh. I’m still working on convincing the blue plaque board to let my ex landlord at Stockwell to have our names up on a blue plaque. :P
PS - this awesome photo was taken by E01 of flickr. See more of this talented photographer's works here!