What if...

The other day over Mother-in-Law's Day steamboat lunch, my brother-in-law was asking me, "So how's things at TFL?"

I paused for a moment, thinking of how to answer.

I have been slowing down, compared to the usual weekly launches. Shuttling between home, suppliers & Vivo is also real tiring. When you go on public transport. Thank Buddha for the Husband who is more than happy to drive my stocks & I around.

The question on my mind the past 2 months is: How do you choose, when you have 2 passions?

2 passions that are not quite complementary.

2 passions that take up just as much time in a day as the other.

2 passions that seem to be telling you, "It's either me or him."

2 passions that when I'm indulging in one, I'm thinking about the other and i never to be able to focus and still my thoughts.

I love fashion. I like the different styles that we women get to play day in day out. Never mind if I'm always wearing pants (hahah, even my supplier's salesgirl notices). Even if I don't get to play Barbie on myself, I like seeing how fashion can make us women go crazy and delirious all at the same time.

I had wanted to be in fashion retail since I was a teenager. And this online phenomena is a God-sent to all of us. Without it, there would be no online stores. No affordable fashion every week. No seeing how others conjure up a myriad of stylish outfits given the limited budget we all have. No booming of online personalities who find advertising for online stores a viable source of income. This whole craze is just so Uniquely Singapore. And it's so god damn fun. 

I don't mind the late nights. I don't mind the long hours. I'm most happy when my customers are happy. And even the 2 hour shoot that I have every week with my models is a happy pill on my down days. Chattering about nothing in particular and everything that I can think of. I just like. 

Without TFL, I would have never be so internet-savvy. Customising my own blogshop, doing up pictures/montages, setting up a Facebook page and knowing what should go on it, moving on to a dotcom and the eventual setting up of this blog which I barely have the time to update, I know, but hey, knowing that it's here makes me happy. I don't have pretty OTDs pics to put up on this blog, I don't have exciting places to share with my readers, I don't do write ups on the latest fad in Singapore, so I guess if you are still reading this blog, you and I must have been the best of the best friends in our past lives. Lol.

You know, happiness is never quite determined by a single thing when you are of a certain age.

And the definition of happiness changes over time. 

I have a strong love for the Dharma. Learning it over the years cleared up so much of my past unhappiness, made me a stronger person, gave me hope when all else seemed to crash and most importantly, set me a goal that defines everything else in my life. Even the Husband said I'm a less grouchy person, compared to the early days when he first knows me. (At that time, he never say I grouchy leh.)

And since 2008, I had wanted to do more. To contribute to the propagation of Dharma, to help others to understand it if they are seeking an answer, to let people know that all can be well, that really Life is can be very enriching when you have a direction. 

I subscribe to the notion that everyone needs a religion, a spiritual guidance. Yes, if you ask me, of course, I would say being a Buddhist is the best because the teachings of Buddha is omnipresent and really answer every single thing in the Universe completely. His wisdom was far beyond a normal person's understanding 2600 years ago and remained so even today.

But no, I'm not the kind who go about bashing up other religions. Because 信好過不信.  And to be honest, no decent religion teaches you to do bad.

Come along TFL, and this little thought of mine got pushed back. 

This year, just as my geomancer predicted, was a year of many changes. Over CNY, I suddenly had this thought of slowing down and focusing on other things in my life. When we are so caught up with daily grind of running a blogshop, sometimes important things get chucked aside and by the time I remember, I can't helped but ask myself, "What if?"

So I took the plunge 2 months back and now I'm getting more involved in translating Dharma articles. 

Not easy, but I am so happy. So happy that I wish I can do it day in day out. I don't mind plonking myself in front of the laptop to translate the hundreds and thousands of articles to English. Years of training from handling TFL emails. I find my mind and heart expanding, as I do the translation and in awe as all these new knowledge flows into my mind, reminding me what an honour it is to be able to help in this little way, to be able to share such profound knowledge with people from all over the world, who had no way to understand this till now, in a language that they spoke. I am deeply humbled and grateful. Grateful too that I'm born in Singapore and that made me effectively bilingual by no choice of mine. Haha.

If my heart has wings, it would be fluttering up and down and doing a little skippy kind of dance. Just to show you how happy I am, even though most people would find it geeky.

The other day, when the Husband accompanied me to the shoot (a nicer way of saying that he was the driver), he saw me fiddling with the camera, ironing the clothes, putting outfits together to 'Barbie' my model and then stuffing the trolley when the shoot ended. He asked me why I seemed so happy doing all that 'rough work'. I told him I did not know how to tell me. It just feel right and I feel I'm in place. Not there, or there, but just here. Right here.

And it's the same feeling when I spent countless hours and long nights to do up the translation proper, so that no one would misunderstood the Dharma due to silly mistakes of mine. I just feel in place. You know, that feeling you get when the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are put together. Something like that. It just clicked.

When I told the Husband about the internal mechanisms of my passions, he mused, "Well, I guess you just will never be the normal kind of 9-6 wife, or the chasing-after-kids wife. But remember, it's okay, I will always support you, as long as you are happy doing what you do."

Awesome husband. 

But there are bills that still need to be paid.

And like what my geomancer says, I'm always over-ambitious. So yes, one baby step at a time.

Do you have something that you really like to do, but never found the courage and time to?

I pray for you, that this year would be a year of good & positive changes for you too.

We only have one life. Let's feel right about it.

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu

Snap snap snap!

One of my favourite things to do while planning a TFL shoot is...thinking about what cover shots to take. You know the cover shots that go to TFL Facebook page cover photo, profile pic and of course, the so-important homepage gigantic photo!

I used to be very lousy at doing up the homepage montage. I think I still am. So one of the best ways to make the site look good, I deduce, is by having a pretty photo, preferably taken out of the studio. That makes it tons easier to beautify everything. It's like magic! With a scenic background, the fall of the natural sunlight and everything looking more real out of the studio, it's like you can visualise better how the outfit/shoes/bag will look on you! Well, if dusk falls or if it rains, then it's back to googling for ways to touch up a photo until we can all drown happily in its prettiness.

I love outdoor shoots! But to drag many many bags along for outdoor shoots is no easy feat. Still, I look forward to many such opportunites to do so! I think I've finally found a photographer whom I can better afford for outdoor shoots! *fingers crossed*

After much post-processing

I had always been smitten with The Sartorialist and how the photographer captures real-life fashion. There's the high street fashion, daily wear kind of fashion and people of all occupations and ages. That, I feel, is what fashion is all about. Not about affording the most luxurious brands or only high street fashion, but about adapting clothes to your personal style and looking good and comfortable in it.

From Series 82, the photo above was a street-style shot the photographer captured upon my request. I love everything about the outfit! My model's ombre side braid, the scarf prints (I had always love such prints!), the pastel blazer, the shoes and of course the bags! I thought it was a very un-Singaporean kind of outfit, if you know what I mean. It is an outfit that I would wear to death! Think that was also the first time I put up a launch with a bag that comes in 2 sizes! So cuteeeee! The boys were saying that it was odd for the model to hold 2 bags together, but that was exactly my point! This shot was meant to be placed in the Facebook page as a preview of what was coming up next and I wanted customers to see that there are 2 sizes! 一目了然，you know!

But such simple-looking shots didn't come easy because the shot was done at a public place and it was really 人來人往! This short series of outdoor shots was done at around 630pm. Before that we were rushing some studio shots. Though the lighting is not fantastic, resulting in some blurriness, I'm still happy that we got some nice shots! Kudos to the team! =))

A series of shots done after the street shot, but didn't make it to the site! Thought I would do it some justice by showing them here! It was really getting dark then!

 I thought the fluffy hearts slippers my photographer worn was really cute!

Ever grateful to my photographer for accomodating all my ideas, no matter how impossible they sound at first!

It can takes about 20-30mins to get that one nice shot for the cover. For some reason, my photographer has a tendency to take portrait shots when I needed it landscape. Why, Jenny, why? Alright, actually lucky she did, or you girls won't be able to see how nice TFL shoes are! =))

The shop owner was very nice to allow us to snap away at her shopfront, with permission asked, of course!

I like the bell boy stand thing in the shop! Grand and unique! I had really liked this shot, but ahhh, where are the shoes?? No choice, as there wasn't enough space for us to capture a shot that can show off the beautiful Colour Splash Wedges. =(

It wasn't as easy to snap in front of the shop as I thought. For a while, we ended up catching all our reflections in the glass. But to save our face, thou shalt not show the photos, because we really look silly standing lifelessly under the hot sun. 

Just so you know, I'm not the only one that have wacky ideas. =D That was my photographer's suggestion. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the colours came out! Thank you, Jenny! Kudos to Fran for being so pro to lie on this forsaken bench! When asked to, Fran was like, oh sure, and bam, she laid on the bench! I think I hadn't even answer Jenny if I wish to try out this idea! And really Fran, your face where got look big in the photos??

This was for collection 85, if I remembered correctly. There was this very pretty floral fishtail dress, that I thought would be best showcased in a real-life scenario. The let-the-skirt-tail-fly-in-the-air kind of feel. So my model was to walk across the road, towards the photographer, smiling and with the skirt tail flying. 

I thought it was easy. You should see my photographer's face when I suggested the idea. She knew better. Haha!

This was like the most decent photo after 10 tries. Xuan is so patient to keep crossing the road and smiling! We wasted quite a bit of time waiting for Mr Green man for Xuan to start crossing the road. Xuan came up with the brilliant idea to cross half-way and U-turn back! This shot was captured once she U-turned half-way. Now why didn't we think of that??

One of us thought it would make a better photo, if Jenny was to take the photo 45 degrees across from Xuan. So we ran to the other side of the road but it turned out even more impossible. 

Too many pedestrians and too many vehicles crossing into the photo! But 人漂亮就是漂亮! Xuan definitely still stands out in the photo!

This shoot was for the National Day week and I had wanted to bring a Singapore scarf my in-laws got from the NDP preview goodie bag, but I FORGOT!! So we made do with the national flag. 

Ideas come to me randomly. 

This was one of the latest ever we had our shoot. It started from 8pm till 11pm, but one of the best things about photoshoots is having a team that won't compromise on photo quality and yet fun to work with. Times flies during a photoshoot!

Xuan looking like a doll, with the floral dress, hot pink clutch and big wide eyes. A patriotic doll. =D

We had to move away the mirror and cupboard, so that we could get a full length shot, landscape style. I thought the black satin curtains makes a great backdrop for the contrast of colours! It was an impromptu idea at 10pm!

Sometimes (actually, very often) I'm so caught up with the idea of having a nice cover shot that I underestimate the difficulty in getting a shot right. Like in this case, it took us 20 tries before a suitable shot was captured!

More failed shots! Xuan was supposed to do a shout-out happily kind of expression, with one leg raised. In some shots, we got the model's expression right, but the flag went down on us or went in the wrong direction. No crescent, no stars! Flag, why you no cooperate??

I remembered it was nearing 11pm, and I got a bit anxious when we couldn't nail the right shot. It was like a oh no, should I fuss over a right photo and hold everyone back or just make do with whatever shots we got. Thankfully, the girls were really cooperative and the last shot was IT! Thank you, Jenny! Thank you, Xuan!

One good thing about blogging is it reminds me that I have nice people around to help make TFL work! No, it's not about buying them with money. It doesn't work that way. It does take a bit of luck (and fervent praying, haha!) to get the right team together and I'm grateful for the models & the photographers I've met! 

You can check out TFL Series 89 album on TFL Facebook Page to see it! I love that shot!

Coming up for next launch! The white skater dress is such a lovely & comfy piece! See! Under sunlight, it is not sheer at all! Xuan & Jenny were so nice to agree to my wacky idea of Xuan standing on the road for the cover shot! I like the curve of the sidewalk , the rustic-ness of the road, the upward sloping of the highway and the big strong trees, almost forming a canopy over the vehicles.

At 5pm when traffic was getting heavy, it was no easy feat! I was doing 把風看車! But the girls are getting more and more adept at this! It took us only 18 tries! I really think that was lucky! You gals are angels! =DD

I look forward to having more fun with such cover shots! And when my budget (and energy) permits, I hope to do some outdoor shoots too! 

Thank you for all your loves, my dear customers! The 2nd half of 2012 is going to bring about a lot of new growth opportunities for Tian Fen Lan. I'm a bit nervous, honestly. Because doing it all alone also mean I got to bear all the good and bad of whatever decision I make, with no one to tell me how to. (The Husband makes a lousy advisor, shh, don't say I say.)

That aside, I'm really thankful that for the people who email TFL, giving me the chance to grow TFL! I don't know how you get to know of TFL and why you think TFL can make it (because sometimes I don't during my PMS moments.), but really, thank you thank you thank you! =))

I want to keep improving TFL, better photos, better operation system, better quality stuff, prettier bags, prettier clothes & shoes. And yes, I want TFL to grow bigger too! It is always so heartwarming to see new customers telling me they are introduced to TFL by their sisters/aunties/nieces/colleagues/friends. Thank you so much for sharing, girls!


I wonder how you girls start sharing, like, "Eh, you know this shop that sells bags?" or "Waaaah, where did you get your bag/shoes/dress from?? 很美!! Tell me NOW!!" =D

This really takes the cake, when asked on how the customer knows of TFL!

Awww.....so sweeeet!!! Thank you, Rong Xuan!!! =DDD 

I'm truly flattered! I'm unsure if TFL is that known, judging from the FB likes on TFL Page, but this is really a great encouragement! I hope more customers will 'like' TFL for it to cross the 1,000 mark soon on TFL Page! Maybe I need to put more nice updates on TFL FB page!

Ending off this post with a back view of Xuan's gorgeous tresses! You should see it in real life! The hair that has both my photographer & I admiring! Clumsy me can never tong my hair like that!

Happy Sunday, my dear readers! I'm gonna work like mad to grow TFL!! *muacks muacks*

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu

看臉色 @ SingPost Paya Lebar

SingPost staff are not known for being warm and friendly on first contact, unless they know you better. Maybe the staff at Changi Airport are slightly better but that's about it. Of all the Post Offices that I have done parcel posting at, my least favourite is the SingPost HQ at Paya Lebar.

At SingPost HQ, there's only one dedicated counter for postage services, besides the SpeedPost counter. Now the problem is many blogshops do parcel posting at the HQ. So we are talking about easily 50 or more parcels most of the time. On top of that, there are also organizations who do bulk mailing at that same counter. Bulk mailing like 300 letters. All registered, no less. And of course, there are mailing from random customers. So many a times, there's always a queue at this counter. Other counters provide postage services together with other services, and the queues are even longer.

I'm okay with queuing. I don't expect people to give way to me, just because they are going to take a longer time than me. The ridiculous thing is posting at this Paya Lebar branch also require us, the customers, to sometimes  看臉色 from the staff.

The Post Office closes at 9pm on normal weekdays. Last week, I reached the PO at 845pm. The lady in charge of the Postage counter told me to try to come earlier next time and not to come in the last 5-10 minutes.

I was slightly surprised by the remark. Was that to knock off work earlier or a SingPost rule I wasn't aware of? Or another reason I should know?

Yesterday, I reached the Post Office at 855pm. No, ladies, I wasn't trying to make things difficult. But earlier in the day, I was battling the emails, did restocking, parcel packing and took a train with trolly in toll to the Post Office because at peak hours, the train is much more efficient than a cab!

The same counter staff recognised me and rolled her eyes at me, with a 'tsk'.

Guess what I did? I actually apologised and said I came as soon as I could once I was done with my work. Why am I apologising when I was there before the official closing time? It wasn't like I bang on closed doors and beg to be let in. And if your branch is still open, do you have the right to tell customers off this way?

She was serving another guy who was mailing at least a hundred parcels. It was balant that she wasn't happy, with the loud way she threw the parcels on the floor.

A female SingPost staff: "See lah, ask you come earlier! You come so late make her angry!"


Male customer: "I also don't want to come so late! But there are many parcels to pack!"

And my transaction only took 10 minutes. In all honesty, even if I have reached earlier, I would probably be queuing for even longer. Past record was up to 35 minutes, when I was there around 7-830pm. On the contrary, going later also mean shorter queues.

If we can, of course we would go earlier! Do you know it's such a huge burden off the mind once posting for the day is done?! We all wish for our customers to receive their parcels on time and safely so that they will be happy to come shop with us again! It's not fair if you expect us to pack less just so we can be there earlier to....queue.

I'm gonna write in to SingPost to ask if there's such a rule of customers should not come at 855pm or even 845pm, when closing time is 9pm. If there's such a unreasonable rule, all of us should be aware of it, instead of getting reprimanded this way.

Hello, we are not kids.

On a sidenote, I'm gonna make sure my parcels are not passed to this particular staff over the counter. Would rather drop the normal mailing parcels in the postbox myself. Just in case, you know.

我顧客的郵包不是給你拿來閙小孩子脾氣的。

When I was leaving, the poor male customer was buying stamps from the SAM machine for his 3 sacks of parcels. If I remember correctly, we can only buy up to S$30 worth of stamps in one transaction on SAM. I wonder how many times he would need to perform the transaction and why he couldn't didn't get the stamps from the counter.

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu


沒有人在刁難你，你又爲何要爲難你自己呢?

Presents for a blogshop owner

I spent a lot of time in front of my laptop. Like, really, a lot of time.

My family must have noticed too because recently, I got a lot of unexpected gifts from them. No, not diamonds or Chanels, haha! But affordable little gifts that make working for TFL much easier!

A foldable bed tray table from Ikea! The Husband bought it at S$9.90 in early May! What a good deal! It's not some filmsy plastic but of sturdy high-impact polystyrene plastic! I only saw it in hot pink though. I like the amount of space under the table top. It's wide & tall enough for me to sit cross-legged underneath or change to stretching my legs straight, without having to push away the tray table to do that. The table is very stable during usage. Its legs don't collapse under the weight of my 2kg laptop and my hands, even when I used it for 5-7 hours straight.

The Husband has taken it upon himself to stock up my snack pantry when I get hungry in the middle of the night, replying emails or doing up launches or watching Kang Xi Lai Le. I didn't like the Lays chips he bought because as much as I like chips, I don't like them too salty. Meiji biscuits packs are very yummy when paired with Laughing Cow cheese! And of course, with Coke! Heavenly!

So the other night, I randomly grab this packet of chips because there's none left. It was of a ailen brand that I had never heard before. Was telling myself if it did not taste nice, I would get the Husband to finish up because I don't like throwing away food. But SURPRISE SURPRISE!! This is the most delicious packet chips I had ever had!!! It's not as salty as most chips and tastes very real (not sure if you know what I mean)!

It's a bonus that the chips are free from cholesterol, gluten & trans fat! I didn't even know that till I was almost done! I thought the chips were made from potato till the next day when I was gushing to the Husband how different & yummi-licious the chips were, the Husband enlightened me that the chips were made from cassava, otherwise known as tapoica! 番薯片! It was written in bold on the packet but I was literally eating blindly! Lol! 

And guess what?! It's manufactured by Tai Sun! I was expecting a US manufacturer because of the taste. My mum-in-law tried looking for it in Malaysia when she was in Johor, because she saw that the chips were made in Malaysia but couldn't find it there. Yes, she likes the chips too! 

I'm never going back to the usual potato chips!

THIS is the most most most most most most most useful present I had ever received as a blogshop owner! My mother had never saw how I work for TFL. 2 Fridays ago, she came to meet me to pass me homemade red bean agar agar. That was her first time seeing me carrying so many bags of parcels & stuff. I was lugging a big China bag of shoes, bags & clothes, all packed, with several other smaller bags. Mum saw me and throughout the 2 hours we met, she kept asking me why I sloughed this way. I presumed she was referring to why I opted for such a laborious job instead of a corporate career. 

Then, last Sunday, when we went back for lunch, my Mum surprised me with this trolley bag she got her friend to buy from Bangkok! I had never seen this selling in Singapore. The bag, yes. There are tons of variations, but not with an ATTACHED trolley! The trolley is really sturdy and stable and because it's attached to the bag, the bag base is of strong metal + plastic and not waxed paper. It is still light enough to be hand-carried if necessary. This also means I don't have to worry about the bag falling off from the trolley and no more torn bags and no more holding on to 10-12kg worth of stuff!! The usual cabin bags don't work for me, because selling bags & shoes mean parcels can be of all sizes & shapes. So bags with slightly flexible shape works best!

Back in SQ days, I had always used cabin bags with attached trolleys. I didn't fancy using a separate trolley, because many times, the bag would fall off when the crew gets on/off the escalators, makes a turn or navigating through the plane's narrow aisles. In short, it's just irritating. I gathered I must have a 不解之緣 with trolley bags because I never thought 4.5 years after hanging up my kebaya, I would still rely on a trolley bag for work! Hahahah!

Such China bags (is there a proper term for them actually?), despite their size & ability to store, break rather easily when they are made from wax paper. Canvas is the best bet if you have heavy stuff to put in. But I can't find canvas China bags in Singapore. I asked my mum if there were plain ones because I'm so not a cartoon prints person. Hope to buy a bigger one with attached trolley too! I'm very adept at pulling trolleys! =D

Metta, 

欣雨 Xinyu

My month of Happiness!

I'm not a born optimist henceforth I'm a natural at pessimism. If not for my religion that gives me a strong holding, I foresee myself pulling my hair all the time. I'm a closet drama queen. But I read from someone's Twitter that if we spend too much time counting our troubles, we would have no time to count our blessings. So, today thou shalt attempt to quantify my happiness!

April is my birthday month and just being in that month alone makes me a happy girl! I declare to the Husband that everyday is my birthday in April, so he has to sing a birthday song to me as and when I want to hear it! Haha! *princess mode kicks in*

Here's my Happiness month summarised!

Happiness is...

Discovering a newly renovated Marks & Spencer store at Wheelock Place, with a huge and spacious Food Hall to boot & my favourite snack in stock! Gosh, makes me miss my London flights! I used to spend hours wandering in M&S stores whenever I'm in London. Almost all their food, including takeaway, are so yummy & well-presented! It's the best thing about UK, okay next best thing after Primark!

Receiving a birthday discount card from TCC (because I'm their member) that offers a whooping 50% discount for my 1st consumption in Apr, and subsequently 30% for 2nd consumption! And discovering their new Teriyaki Salmon pasta is yummilicious!

Realising my 2-year-old dream of dining at Ikoi again, a day after my birthday! Can be so hard to get seat reservation even when I call 2 weeks in advance! But I have learnt a way! If you don't manage to get reservations earlier, call around 8pm on actual day and you might be lucky to get counter seats! Only applicable for 4 or less people tho! The Ikoi chef was nice enough to make salmon in broth (that pot with a flame beneath), using the salmon meant for sashimi upon our request. We had 30 slices of salmon sashimi cooked. It was a one-off thing. The taste was out of the world! Very very yummy! The broth is so delicious and no msg overload for me! I miss Ikoi so much! The soba soup, the sushi, the salad, <3 <3 <3

Seeing very pretty flowers at Orchard Hotel! Hotels always have such beautiful floral arrangements! They look like orchids up close, but their petals are so soft and delicate! I wonder what the name is.

  

Glam-ing up a plain exercise book with a wrapping paper I bought from Prints some 6 years ago but never used! So that I will be more motivated to write on my self-declared positive thinking journal! I still have 5-6 more rolls of that wrapping paper!

Having a new place to store all of TFL's stocks! Like finally!! 

Although the Soon Seng Transport guys were punctual, strong & efficient, I won't be getting them again if I need movers next time. The In-charge blatantly refused to wrap my chrome racks with cling wrap, saying there is no need to. When my Husband insisted, he only wrap the bottom legs with cling wrap. 好敷衍哦！ Now, if cling wrap is cheap and they can wrap my stocks with so much of it, why not my S$500+ chrome racks??

Or maybe, I will just request for that IC not to be one of the movers if I need their service again.

Still, getting a new place for my stocks is pure bliss!!

Visiting at Victor's Kitchen for the first time, and there were plenty of empty seats for the taking! It was 4pm on a weekday afternoon. The place was more run down than I realised. Felt a tad embarrassed because I had a guest with me and was telling him how this place had nice and affordable food as raved by netizens. Gaah, if I had known about the bad flooring condition, Swee Choon would have been more ideal! Thank goodness he loves the porridge there! Well, so do I! It's almost like home-cooked, without those usual msg and saltiness! I like all the dim sum shown above, except the custard lava buns. Sorry I'm no fan of those buns!

Getting a new solid pinewood bed frame from Seahorse at S$109 & my dream mattress! Queen-sized! The original version comes with storage drawers underneath, but I'm no fan of such storage. So while shopping for a new mattress at Seahorse, we casually asked the salesgirl if this bed comes without storage drawers (the showroom version has 6 drawers underneath and retails at S$390+). Imagine our joy when she told us the price! Even cheaper than Ikea's version which is untreated wood by the way!

My in-laws have been using Seahorse mattresses for their room and so does my brother-in-law. Once while the Husband was talking to his brother, I sat on his bed and fell asleep in the midst of their conversation. My first time sleeping on a Seahorse mattress and boy, it was such good sleep! I'm loving my new Seahorse foam mattress! It's so solid hard, which is great for our problematic backs! Took us a while to get used to it and I'm never going back to those spring coil mattresses! At S$399 for ours, it's really affordable and value-for-money!

Buying takeaway 奶黃千層餅 from East Ocean at Ngee Ann City and gobbling them while standing! Because I love them so so so so much! Much prefer them than custard lava buns, which can be too salty for my liking. Think this is healthier too! It's almost like Kueh Tutu, but much tastier! You should try if you have not!

Finding a new way to eat foccacia with cheese, without slicing through the bread! Because I was too lazy on a busy work day. Hahaha!

Watching carnations bloom from buds to full-blooms! How pretty in pink! These were from sister-in-law to Mum-in-law for Mothers' Day. So this is for May! I didn't know carnations can last for more than a week. Then again, Mum-in-law used to run a florist shop. Maybe she has some magic formula to keep these flowers pretty. Must ask her someday!

Finding a pair of pretty shoes that looks good on my big feet, light & uber comfy to shop in! The piggies + the Husband say they are pretty too! It's pretty rare that the Husband notices what's on my feet. Hehe. The flatforms are of a great height, don't cut my feet (I don't have sensitive feet to begin with though) and go with almost everything! Plus, the shoes have really great friction in the soles!

Best of all, I have gotten them in 4 gorgeous colours for TFL customers in the next launch!! Deep red (so sexy!), Peach & Nude! Good things deserve to be shared! =D Can't wait to show you gals when I get the pics tonight!

______________________________________

You know, it's actually harder to stay happy. Being happy for a while is easy. When we get a payrise, when a piece of good news come in, when we get to eat good food, when we go on our dream holiday etc. But staying happy continuously? That needs constant practice. Silly as it sounds. 

It seems easier to be bitching about this, gossiping about that or just plain ranting about things. I don't think I will tell my gal pals about how happy I feel seeing pink carnations bloom or wrapping exercise books with pretty wrapping paper. It's just not common to talk about things like that. Has it become more socially acceptable to be ranting about things/people than revelling in the joys from simple happiness? Or even when we don't talk negatively, most of us don't speak positively or in an upbeat manner either.

When I meet people who jumps at the chance to rant about everything under the sun, it is unnerving. I hope I never forget how to stay happy. I don't want to grow old and grumpy when Life has already given me a lot, really.

Start by saying thank you for all you already have. If you don't know how, read this book "The Magic" by Rhonda Byrne. I strongly recommend this book! It is available at Popular at less than S$20.

May we all never ever forget how easy it can be to stay happy! =DDD

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu

Your wedding is one of the best days of your life. Because it’s the day you realise I finally have the thing I need to be happy. And then you forget. So then what happens is instead of waking up every morning and shouting Somebody loves me!

You start looking around and thinking, "What do I want now? What’s the next thing I need to be happy?" So, you look and you look and you keep thinking that you found it. But nothing works because that hole in your heart that you’re trying to fill is already filled.

You just forgot. Don’t ever forget. Always remember how much you wanted to be loved and how much you are loved. And I think if you can do that, you will stop looking and realise you already are happy.
~ Lynette, Desperate Housewives

Back in Singapore!

I'm so so so so so HAPPY that I made it to Grandmaster's puja in Jakarta! It is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences and no-matter-what-must-make-it kind! As with all good things in life, there's always some struggles and setbacks before we made it to Jakarta! I'm glad we all pulled through!

 

Jonas pants from PolkaDotPigs. An upcoming bag on Tian Fen Lan! Next next collection in 4 colours! I have a penchant for yellow/mustard bags! Even if they outright-ly clash with my outfits. Don't care! Still love! I mean, can't be yellow match with yellow/creams/browns only right? Sounds boring. Mad love the suede fringe and bucket effect at the opening! I think this colour will goes well with dainty frocks too. It's like adding a bad-ass bag to a pretty outfit!

Sometimes customers will email me saying that TFL bags are all too nice and wish I didn't bring in so many colours for them to choose. They say it's always a headache choosing a colour to buy. I know how that feels. For my case, apart from a black bag for down days, I like my bags colourful, no matter what outfit I'm wearing!  In fact, TFL is one of the very few bag blogshops that offer such huge variety of colours!

Hmm, looking at the photo above, I think I stand better for photos when I wear heels. But my 2-inch heels have a been a pain for my legs! So I wore my G2000 oxfords whose shoelaces are now officially missing. No idea where they went!

On hindsight, I think I should have tucked in my blouse. But I was just feeling too tired from all the parcel packing after my luggage unpacking. #nonstoppackingunpacking. Almost wore the outfit without the satin blazer actually. I was prepared to look unkempt till I remembered Mum asked her friends along. And knowing how my Mum always has a thing for looking polished. =___=

Wore this outfit to my mum's steamboat birthday dinner yesterday night. Had wanted to bring her to Ikoi at Miramar. In fact, I had wanted to do so for the last 2 years, but everytime something will crop up. This time, Mum said she had ulcers and wanted something soupy. So it was off to Rangoon Road Fish-head steamboat...again. 

Guess where am I seated? *grins*

Mum invited 2 of her long-time friends and their husbands. When I say long-time, I really mean long-time! One of them was Mum's primary school friend and the other was the elder sister of that friend. They knew one another since Mum was 8! That's like 50 years of friendship! 

Guess what kept them together for so long? Mahjong. Hahaha!

Rangoon Road's Whampoa Fish-head steamboat is really yummy by the way! I love their broth! With so many of us yesterday, I didn't get to eat as much fish and vegetables as I would like. No big deal, as long as Mum is happy! 

Reminded her not to eat those herbal jelly made from powdered turtle shells after the steamboat. I really think some delicacies can be done without.

Only thing about such gatherings with Mum's friends is I get a lot of unwelcome questions & comments thrown my way. 

What are you working as now?

Selling bags? Branded bags? No?

But you studied so much and are still so young, why don't you work for a big company?

You can get CPF and won't have to slough so hard physically to earn that amount of money!

Auntie has 2 grandsons, so when it's your turn to make your mum a granny?

I tell you, it's very important to have CPF in your a/c.

 You looked like Gigi Leung when you were younger and had short hair!

Actually you also look like Daniel Chan! The mouth part!

Right after the last comment, the Husband commented I resembled Michelle Chong too. Then the auntie said, "No no no no! Michelle Chong is not as pretty! More like Daniel Chan!"

*takes a deep breath to calm down*

Maybe my outfit is too androgynous. @$^#%*

Nah, it's not like I'm offended or miffed. Just, well, you know...

It's a tad tiring to prove to others why online retail is just as feasible a occupation too. Next time I will just say I'm a housewife and that I'm an expert in scrubbing toilet bowls and keeping my toilet clean with perfect white grout. Try beating that. 

After dinner, we drove my mum back and amidst the usual squabbles between my mum and I, Mum said her heart didn't seem to be working well recently. We walked over to Tiong Bahru Plaza, wanting to get Really Raw Honey (it works very well for hearts with no strength)  from Guardian, but that branch was too small for a botttle of this really good and premium honey. Gonna try buying it later at Compass Point.

I gave my parents a 护牌 each that I bought from the puja at Jakarta. The 护牌 have been blessed by my Grandmaster. 坐飞机回来的! I lug almost 2 kg of new purchases back!

It's a strange and yet heartwarming feeling of deja-vu being the giver of such accessories with divine protection, because when I was young, it was my dad who would give us, the children, such stuff, telling us the benefits of wearing them and reminding us to wear them no matter what. Now it's my turn. And the reason for giving? No less than the love my dad has for us.

That's Domino's Pizza takeaway at Blk 111, Jalan Bukit Merah! Near my parents' home!

To save some waiting time, we called to place an order through the delivery hotline before driving over. #sosmart

Best discovery of this week is finding out that Domino's Pizza in Singapore is just as great as back in LA, albeit with a slightly thicker crust! And you know what! A personal pan pizza with a can of Coke/Sprite is only S$7.80! 

I love Spizza for its thin crust! But Domino's has the usual Hawaiian range, less expensive and like what they claimed, you can really taste the freshness in their ingredients! Both beats Pizza Hut ANYTIME!!!

Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu

It's a small world after all

Recently, I have an unexplained fascination for small boxy handbags. You might have noticed if you are a regular at TFL, even if just 'window-shopping'. Don't underestimate the size of such bags. Unless you are trying to stuff your Ipad inside, the bags are more than enough for our daily essentials!

I like to use such small bags during the weekends when I can be away from work temporarily for that precious 2 days. To breathe fresh air and to charge my brain.

Most people I've seen tend to sling it long at the side. I like to shorten the strap to the shortest possible and carry it like a handbag. Feel damn vogue that way. Hahaha!

Back in my SQ days, my colleagues and I were whining about how the company should update our blue handbags. It felt so old-fashioned to be using that bag. Yes, we all agree it looked good with our kebayas. But surely we can have a more fashionable bag, right? I was smitten with those sand-coloured hobos the SilkAir gals were carrying. Well, fashion comes in a full circle and now I'm eating my own words.

Sometimes I hide the strap (if undetachable) and use the bag as a clutch.

Work has been weighing heavily on my mind since the beginning of the year, when the workload has intensified. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy doing all these. =)

But I have to say I feel overworked recently. Keeping up with weekly launches, all the late nights, the endless packing, the emails-battling, the need to keep renewing TFL to stay ahead of competition. Since last week, I have been battling with work phobia. Somehow I got a bit hesitant to start work on the emails everyday. No, it's not that I have difficult customers or what. I just felt mentally very exhausted. It was like there's nothing more I can give to my passion. Packing the parcels took longer than usual. My body was constantly aching from all the heavyweight moving I do daily. Imagine 30-50kg packing every work day. I felt uber worn out everyday. The laptop virus slowed things down and got more frustrating for me. The Husband was some few hundred thousands kilometres away in Pakistan and no one was quite around to hear my ranting (well, except my Twitter followers =P ) or rather solve my laptop problems for me. 

So it was a head-on battle alone. I think I should get back to my routine of having Coca-cola with potato chips at night while working. That will cheer me up loads!  #badexampledonotlearnfromme

I think using small bags over the weekend is my way of carrying less with me. Literally & figuratively. You know, less things, less burden, less stress, less burn out? I tried explaining to the Husband but girls' mentality are kinda too complex for the average man.

This is one of my current favourite outfits! I love the brown pants! I love my 12-year old denim jacket! I love my jacket so much that I only send it for drycleaning, so that the colour will stay true! I don't even handwash it myself. It is not too thick or too thin and has travelled round the world with me! You won't be able to tell that it's 12 years old!

TFL does not usually bring in canvas bags, but this one caught my attention. The factory made this design in a huge order placed by a Japanese store and there were extras. This has happened to TFL bags before too when the factory wants to use up the remaining fabric and makes a lot more than what was ordered. 

I used to have a fascination for Japanese style bags when Muji first came to Singapore. They are always so clean-looking, stylish and can be so versatile if you know how to! This comes in Orange too in the next collection!

About Japanese retailers, I recently discovered that the best place for plain tank tops is not Cotton On but UNIQLO!!! I bought my white tank top at S$15.90 from Uniqlo 313 and because there's lycra in it, the tank top does not turn 'giam-chye' that easily! Cotton On's version are pure cotton and not as durable. Best of all, Uniqlo's version is longer and the neckline does not get lower that easily after washes. LOVE!!! I am a size S, but bought M for the tank top so that it will not be too tight. #nolongersweetyoungthing

Here's a non-touched up photo for you to see the length of the tank top! Can still pull down somemore. No lah, I didn't pose for the photo like that. Was pushing away my irritating fringe.

Back to my favourite jacket! It originally came with white fur trimmings and looked really nice when I wore it during cold weather overseas. There's even a detachable fur collar! I got it from a now-defunct shop at Tiong Bahru Plaza for S$60+. Back then, I was still an undergrad, working to pay for my school fees. S$60+ was A LOT to me. Was loitering around that boutique for days before I pluck up my guts and decided that it was now or never to buy this jacket!

After I stopped flying, this jacket was dumped to the back of my wardrobe for so long that I had forgotten all about it. When I dug it out one day and tried it on, I decided that there's no way I can wear this in Singapore with all the fur trim, so I brought it to my favourite alteration seamstress at Metro to remove the fur trim. Paid S$6 for it. I don't trust myself to do such time-consuming delicate job. =D

She did an excellent job! You couldn't tell that there were fur trim sewn on it before! There was another time when I brought my black pants to her because all the 3 frontal buttons fell out (it's not my waistline that causing it!) and her stitching is so much stronger than the original version.

BIG HEART! Albeit a bit skinny. =D

So difficult to find a nice denim jacket of the right wash, fade, detailing & fit! I'm gonna hold on to this jacket till it disintegrates into shreds! It's just as lovely when worn over dresses or flowy skirts!

Maybe next time I will post up some beautiful skirts that I have kept for years and have maintained them very well because they are so precious to me! Those were the days before online shopping got hip!

Do you have any clothing that you love to death and have kept for years? I'm not the only clothes-hoarder around, right? Haha!

Have a fabulous Sunday, my dear readers! =)

Metta, 

欣雨 Xinyu