SS08: The "IT" Shoes

The other day when I was at the hair salon flicking through Vogue, I came across what they claimed to be the new "it" shoe this season- these Etro sandals below.
The term "it" shoes is apt. Cousin IT shoes that is. First Prada had these fringe things all over the place SS07, and now these shoes. Gladiator sandals with fringe piled on, I really don't see the attraction. They kind of look like sandals pretending to be boots or the other way around. Just not quite right.
No matter how they matched it on the Etro runway, there MUST be other better footwear out there to match these cute printed outfits. More simpler sandals perhaps? Heels? Barefoot??? Just when I thought perhaps it was just a one off random thing, I see the exact likeness on the Zara display window. For a moment I worried that this will become a prominent feature in daily fashion (it IS Zara after all). However, HG has convinced me that this is just one of those fashion items that are picked to featured to look cool (I don't know where they get these ideas from) but not really meant for mass consumption- or so I hope. Fingers crossed!

I mean, would YOU wear this????

Image Source: Elle.com

Albero grand opening challenge - Sakura goodie shrine hunt

Until March 31st ALBERO2 (Cilix (55, 88, 29) is celebrating it's grand opening. They are doing this by having a hunt around the mall area. First collect all the passwords. You'll find these in black boxes with white numbers; touch to receive a note card with the password on it. Then you teleport to the stores that have the 'main store' sign out front. Once at the store you should find a black box with a white number on it (corresponding with the password box). If you've collected that "#" secret password then copy and paste the password from the notecard into general/open chat and press enter. Viola you get a prize. There are more than 15 prizes and a couple for the guys like the hair I'm sporting in the first photo. Collect them all and good luck. (More about the hunt on Sachi's blog here.)

The prizes are shown with Rosemar skin (the slurl isn't exact since these have moved to her freebie section), other freebies that were found at the main stores offering prizes, and First Egg [JPL OSAKA (188, 31, 23)] (black - mules) shoes. Also featured are necklace/tags found in the Sakura Shrine hunt done on the JPL sims & others you can look around for a giant temple while picking up the shoes at First Egg. Just follow the Sakura (cherry) trees around until you find the temples and touch the prize ball machine to receive a necklace.




You can camp for cherry trees if you sit on the PINK ball in the little sitting areas on the JPL sims. You can see the seating area in the background of this photo. ONLY the PINK ball is a camper spot - 20 minutes earns you one sakura tree in one of 3 sizes (sm, med, large).



If you touch the necklace/tags that you win from the prize machines you'll enjoy a shower of particles.



Although one temple is on the ground, most look like the following:



A bit more about the shrines.

Another day Another thief

Via one of my groups I was alerted to another store selling stolen content from at least the following designers: ETD, Maitreya, Last Call, Naughty Designs, Cake, FNKY, Armidi, Deviant Kitty, Agrace, and Dutch Touch. Pretty low. Take a look for yourself: A & F Designs (Airfare (211, 99, 22) The landmark isn't exact as they bounced my arse and banned me lol.



You can see the original Last Call design next to the thief's version in the photo.

ETA: If you'd like to read logs of what was said during the protest head to Eshi Otawara's Omniversing.

How Not To Wear Colour Leggings

First off I must confess I haven't worn colour leggings myself before. I am simply not creative or bothered enough to actually buy them and do the whole mixing and matching thing with the rest of the outfit. Hypothetically, if I were to wear colour leggings, I would probably just do it the boring and simple way: colour leggings with a casual black dress like in the picture above. And yes, I know it's spring now and leggings is more of a F/W thing, but I thought I would share some of my observations here.

As the title suggests, these are my observations of how not to wear colour leggings/tights. A few weeks ago, I saw someone on the streets wearing something like this:

A bright yellow tee (way brighter than the tee in this image,) a green, half-length trenchcoat, a flowery skirt (very popular in UK highstreet stores this season) and bright, solid red leggings. OK, so obviously I am not a colourful dresser, but I'm usually pretty open minded about style. Now I'm not criticising this girl's outfit exactly (-I'm all for personal style), but I do think that she went overboard with the colours. Wearing solid green on the top (the coat) and solid red at the bottom (the leggings) just does not look cool, arguably except for Christmas day. If you wear colour leggings, please refrain from wearing ten million other colours. Really, colour leggings are colourful themselves already.

And just yesterday, I saw a women who looked at least 45 yrs old wearing shorts and bright red leggings. I'm not actually sure of her age, but she certainly didn't look that young from afar. Sure, colour leggings are fun, but isn't it something that is more for younger women? Is it wrong for me to think the maximum age that anyone should wear these colour leggings is 30? And I don't mean to discriminate against age, but I just really believe in dressing suitably for one's age.

There you go: just a bit of how not to on colour leggings. What are your thoughts on my two points?

Image source: www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk, www.topshop.com

The Secret Gardens

There's a secret that Rue D' Antibes (Island: Rue D'Antibes) holds. If you happen to be lucky enough to find those secret gardens, you'll receive prizes.




Outfits & jewelry from Rue D' Antibes ($0)
Shoes from She's so Unusual (Redux NW/131/195/22) ($1)
Skin from {Frick} (Blackmount (98, 137, 64) ($0)
Hair from ETD ( ETD Isle 194/192/31) ($1/style)
Eyes from Bare Rose (lm in entry below $20/4 pack)

Toywatch

Now I'm not one for watches really. In fact, I haven't worn one since I grew out of Swatch and cannot quite afford a Cartier yet. Also I secretly think that I might have been so spoilt by the digital clock on my mobile that I now find it hard to read analogs. But I'm not quite ready to admit that to myself yet. But anyway, despite all that, my interest was peaked the other day when my cousin mentioned that he wanted to get a Toywatch- especially when I found out that it can be found within the stylish walls of Lane Crawford. So I decided to take a look.
For those unfamiliar, Toywatch are known for their lightweight, over sized plastic watches. I was pleasantly surprised by the designs. They are simple and elegant, with just the right amount of fun in the colors and the clear plastic material. I love the colors and designs of the two above. Priced at around $200USD each, they are great a great accessory to match your outfits with. If I was the watch wearing type and had resources to spare (one can always dream), I'd totally get a few!
Besides those fun ones, they also have ones that kind of resemble more classic designs. Like this white plastic one (left) from the Plasteramic collection, which is designed to look like those oh-so-sought-after ceramic watches but is not. And the one on the right looks remarkably like all those watches that I would describe as "elegant, feminine and delicate" from various luxury watch brands.
Naturally, in this day of super luxing everything, even a brand called Toywatch has a super luxe line. They have it in the form of this black ceramic collection (left). Now this is actually ceramic and not plastic pretending to be ceramic. The design is very elegant and sleek looking. Priced at $1500, its not bad for a ceramic watch- if only it didn't so resemble the J12 Chanel watches (right), which are priced at 5 times that price. Now it just looks like a ceramic watch pretending to be a J12. Not that there is anything wrong with that, Zara does it all the time, but this one is not even cheap! Personally, if I was going to fork out $1500 for a ceramic watch, I'd rather save up longer and get the original one.

Image Source: ToyWatch and Chanel

Frick and loving it!

I got a notecard (thanks for the notecard!) from Trinity Outlander and decided to check out her suggestion - Frick. It just so happens that {Frick} (Blackmount (98, 137, 64) is having a skin hunt, but it ends today so run there NOW! 5 eggs are hidden around filled with female skins in addition to a couple free on the wall to the right when entering the store. The hunt ends today (25 March). Finally reasonably priced Another Shop mods starting at $10 - $99/four pack. I'd love to see some darker shades in these!!! ($0)



I'm wearing:
skin:*~{Frick} Peaches - Flourish (Purple Shadow) ($0 -on wall, not in the hunt)
hair: TRUTH, The Manor (Sweet Sorrow (106, 121, 26) Danny 2 Candy ($1)
outfit: ryukia from "Angel Cure" COSPLAY shop (Ferguson (168, 225, 90). ($0)
tattoo: Sweetness, Juicy (183, 96, 24) located in window ($0)
eyes:BareRose (bare rose 29, 51, 34) BigEyes A -red ($20/4 pack)

Checking Out H&M Spring 2008

I've been seeing this H&M print ad everywhere I go, mainly on billboards and in magazines, in London and Hong Kong. I feel like I'm being chased after by this pretty yellow image of Raquel and a wall of flowers telling me that: a) it's Spring! b) Wear yellow! c) Go shop at H&M now! After stalking H&M's website for awhile, they've finally updated their website last week with some of their Spring's offering.

The instant I saw this colour-block, T-shirt dress in the campaign image (worn by Raquel -not this image but the same dress,) I thought, wow, I really want this! It's such an easy, summer casual dress. I love the colour blocks of black, pink and orange together. It's just the splash of colour that I've been wanting in my wardrobe, and since I'm not bothered or creative enough to actually buy seperate colourful pieces and match them together, it's so nice to have the crazy colours put together in one dress in a stylish, easy-to-wear way.

So the next day (last Thur,) I rushed to an H&M store to check out the dress and they only had one size left, and of course it wasn't my size. It is so hard for me to actually find something I want from H&M (or from any store) and it was sold out -I was SO disappointed! It was even sadder when I found out that the dress is seriously affordable -it costs only about 199HKD (=26USD.) I am a bit annoyed that the H&M store was displaying this dress at the display windows when they hardly had any sizes or stock left. I always thought H&M was all about the volume business so I just assumed they'd always have sizes available. Obviously I was wrong. Lesson of the day: Check out these stores more frequently!

The other thing I liked on the website was this bright pink, silk-material-looking dress. It looks perfect for a night out, and since it's not expensive, I wouldn't feel bad if someone spilled drinks on it or if the place was smoky. Alas, they were also out of my size.

As for this red and white flowery top, it's not that I particularly like or dislike it. I thought I would post it up here because I swear I keep seeing people on the streets wearing it! And when I was browsing through a few online stores, I saw something very similar by Marc by Marc Jacobs. So expect to see a lot of red and white flowery tops near you this summer!

Have you checked out H&M's Spring's clothes yet? What do you think of the clothes?

Image source: www.hm.com/gb (Note that the prices are in Pounds.)

SakuraTown

Celebrate spring by taking a stroll through SakuraTown sim. You'll find lots of goodies and great prices at all of the vendors. And drag your guys along because not only is it a cool sim to sit on a blanket under a cherry tree, but there are freebies here for the guys to.



Skin: Loli Nori's Ganguro Skin (Bare Rose 185,22,30)
Dress: B11 ( SakuraTown 95/84/24)
Pose: C'est La vie (SakuraTown 101/67/24)
Earrings & shoes: *Princess shop* (SakuraTown 120/29/24) -Instructions in store.
Hair: ::Mayamaya Creations:: (SakuraTown 37/86/24)
Nails: Candy Nail (SakuraTown 99/36/24)

(everything $0)

Yet Another Black Blazer

Two years ago when I bought my fitted Juicy black blazer with velvet lapels, I thought I was done with this staple. One good quality one is all I thought I'd need. But then this other black blazer popped up on the rack and it had gorgeous silk mini ruffles on the neck collar and black subtle pinstripes AND it was 70% off. I couldn't resist. Then this summer, there was this super fitted dark gray (with a hint of sparkle), 3/4 sleeved blazer with this to die for fancy double layered collar thing also on sale- I had to have it. So really, one can reasonably conclude that I've reached my quota for black blazers. For the record, I have had great mileages for all of them- so they were all completely worth it. Unfortunately recently, I find my eyes wandering again in the black blazer arena.......
While I have enough sharply fitted blazers that stops flatteringly at the waist, I don't have any more loosely shaped blazers that stops at the lower waist. And thus I cannot achieve the totally casual chic look shown above by the Stella McCartney blazer (left) and the Paul & Joe blazer (right) with the sleeves scrunched up. Loosely fitted yet tailored they are the perfect compliment to the more loosely fitted styles that is the trend of late. I saw Heidi Klum wear such a blazer over a cute dress on Project Runway this season (or I thought I did, since I looked back and could not find it!), and thought, wow I need one of those! I was just facing such a dilemma the other day when I was wearing a dress and couldn't find an appropriate jacket to wear over it. All my other black blazers are simply too fitted and short that it makes the whole look too proper and put together, which totally defeats the current style of casual chic dresses. This more casually fitted blazer cutting neatly solves the problem. The above styles from Tucker (left) and Theory (right) demonstrates my point perfectly. Also note the yellow and gray color theme going on here with the Tucker blazer and the Paul & Joe blazer look.
This blazer also works for a more casual office chic look as seen above from the Zara catalog. They even have a sleeveless version for the summer! Sigh.... I think I've almost convinced myself that I need yet another black blazer with this post. It seems like such an investment staple! Or do I?

Image Source: Zara, Shopbop, Net a Porter and Elle

Fancy Hair Accessories

I used to wonder why accessories stores would sell these fancy hair accessories as if they were popular hair accessories because I had imagined that they were only suitable for fancy daytime events, like for a wedding in a garden or an old-fashioned Sunday brunch, which I supposed not many people attended these days (esp young people.)

But ever since Gossip Girl, I have started seeing hairbands and other similar hair accessories in a different light. (OK, so the huge red bow with Blair's school uniform is a bit over the top, but the others are usually cute.)
So when I went into Accessorize (the UK version of a much better Claire's) last week, as soon as I saw those fancy hair stuff, I rushed over. The first one I held this red rolled sinemay one against my hair. I LOVED it! It was unexpectedly pretty and just so different from what I usually see on myself. Believe me, I've always thought these things were fussy and old-fashioned but I just loved the way the material formed pretty loops on my head.

So I went back to check the hair accessories on Gossip Girl and apparently my preconception that these hair accessories were for brunches weren't completely off -Blair wore one to the grand brunch hosted by Chuck's dad in Episode 102. The one Blair is wearing is so pretty! It's a simple, classic design without being boring.

Here's a similar one to the one Blair is wearing. It's the black version of the red one I tried on. I didn't think the black one looked that great on me because my hair is black -the red one totally stood out more.

Maybe it's the pokka dots, but this one definitely gives off a more dressed-up vibe. It really looks like the ones one would wear to a garden wedding, (where older ladies would wear those fancy hats! Wait, or is it at funerals?)

I couldn't resist including this pink feathers with beads accessory -it's so girly in a non-cutsy way.

This silver sequin and feather accessory looks young and trendy. Perhaps one can even wear it on a fun night out (complete with a 20's styled outfit)?

So yes, maybe I have been brainwashed by Gossip Girl, but if I had a themed party to go to, I would totally try one of these out! Happy Easter holidays people!

Image Credits: http://www.youknowyouloveme.org/, http://www.accessorize.co.uk/

The Bunny Hop - Easter Hunts & Freebies

Merry Easter - Sunday - March 23rd

Retrology (Sim: Retrology) will have a hunt beginning at 11 am and ending at Midnight Tuesday. (more info here) ($0-1)

Vain Inc. is having a Grid Wide Egg Hunt starting point is here(Mangakino 75/210/29). This is one you won't want to miss! (more info here) (28/$0)


(A sampling of the gifts from the Vain Inc. Grid Wide Egg Hunt. Shown with hair from Philotic Energy from the Sim to Sim Egg Hunt. Location: Koreshan Sim)

SLINK (CG Heart 38/50/21/) has a bunny costume hidden in the shop. ($0)

SYD (Granymyr (242, 188, 40) has put out a female skin (spring fresh)- find it in the yellow peep. (Guys take the teleport upstairs for skins.) ($1)

Digital Knickers (The Sirens Grotto (189, 52, 501) is having an egg hunt. ($0)

W&M Designs (WM Dragons Temple (128, 46, 56) has along with it's weekly Saturday gift an additional Easter gift which can be purchased from the red egg. ($0)

G.L.A.M (Viva La Glam (171, 156, 63) has the most G.L.A.M.ourous egg outfit you will ever see! ($1)

Luscious & Lords (Ponden (145, 221, 53) in addition to participating in the Sim to Sim Egg Hunt has also put out a free dress for today only (Iris Confection). ($0)

Ephemeral Creations (Noul (246, 225, 657) is having an 11 egg spring hunt. ($0)

Sexy Catz Fashions(Kaimai (173, 73, 25) has a free basket. ($0)

HopScotch (Doomaekkot (109, 106, 40) has a particle poof Easter bear by the entrance. ($1)

Chez Pat (FRANCE3D Guadeloupe (168, 100, 24) has eggs hidden around her parcel. ($0) They range in size from large empty eggs to smaller with "prizes" in them. You'll also find 7 Easter gift boxes to put your own items in and gift for $1/each. Inside the Chez Pat store you'll find previous holiday gifts to the right when entering ($1/).




Saturday - March 22nd


(Clothing & skins: SYD, Shoes: Baby Monkey, Hair: Bewitched)

SYD (Granymyr 234,187,40)- Easter Egg Hunt starting point (read more here). From the preview I received this promises to be a great hunt for the guys (there are skins and clothes for you guys!) and girls. This hunt officially starts Saturday, but SYD already has their eggs out! ($0-1/)

Grims Easter Shop (Sleepy Hollow (17, 235, 401) atop a pink box you will find a huggable egg. ($0)

Rose Petal Creations (Ooohlala Mode (35, 116, 26) has placed a lucky letter egg (15 min intervals) in her garden area. ($0)


Chayenne Fashion Palace (Mount Curl (105, 147, 97) has a White Bunny outfit. ($1)

amplify * clothing (RavKom (103, 124, 24) has an easter egg hidden inside the shop. ($0)

FLUKY (Gateaux Boulevard (95, 133, 24) has 7 eggs hidden around the store for pastel colored goodies until Sunday night. ($1/)

..: Old York:. cute mideval town (Tefnut (201, 81, 67) has a box of bunny goodness including a bunny animation overide. ($0 -Easter Bunny Fun Pack)

KA Designs Island (Fair Isle (239, 110, 22) is having an egg hunt (this is a designer of both male & female items. ($0)

LIX Main Store (Bucuresti (159, 151, 26) is having an egg hunt find jewelry, tops, and sunglasses. ($1 -6 eggs)

miaSofia HQ (Hwang (115, 126, 243) is having a 9 egg hunt for both guys and girls starting at 2pm. ($?)

Onigiri ~ Kawaii style!- formerly Inspired (Sibine (42, 47, 51) has a jewelry set for the girls and a unisex egg cuddle toy on the freebie wall. ($0)

The Naughty Neko Wonder Emp (Cheeneko (110, 201, 22) has a Hoppy Easter shirt in the vendor in celebration of the season. ($1; also 2- $5 deals in the vendor)

Servaside Labs main store & mall (Cabera (204, 203, 138) is having a colored egg hunt. 24 eggs hidden around the area will pay the finder $1 each. Three golden eggs will pay out $5 each. Good luck ($0)

1st Church of Rosedale, & Samantha's Shirts (Caledon Penzance (211, 37, 520) has a Philip Linden "He is Rezin'" shirt. ($0)

Couture Chapeau Flagship Store(Bahati Island (178, 96, 23) has 12 eggs hidden around the store with shoes (Riveria shoe which sells for $299/pair regular) in them. ($1/)

Friday - March 21st


(Clothes & Shoes: from LVS & Co Easter on the Square, Skin:GiGi Couture, Hair: Bewitched)

LVS & Co (Sim: Cassiopeia Square) has started their Easter on the Square. There are posters and giant eggs to look out for. ($1/)

Sweetness (Juicy 182/98/24) has an outfit for girls (Super Silly Bunny outfit) & 4 easter eggs. ($0)

Differ*nt! (Juicy (202, 136, 23) also credited as D!ff has a non-prim jacket layer necklace with an Easter egg theme - it's a wearable demo. ($0)

The following are part of the Sim to Sim Easter Egg Hunt:
*A Piece of Candy (Taranatha (220, 139, 44) 3 eggs listed - found 1 egg with 3 items in it. ($1)
*Sandar's Purple Place (Melungtse (173, 55, 100) 2 eggs ($1/)
*Angels & AlchemyAngels (West Sunset (208, 125, 22) 3 eggs ($1/)
*Spellbound (Tan (2, 75, 22) 2 eggs ($1/)
*Urban Shopper (Dubya City (79, 160, 24) has 1 egg ($1)
*SD Wears (Dubya City (79, 160, 24) in the Urban Shopper Center also has 1 egg ($1)
*Luscious & Lords -Designer Skin (Ponden (146, 218, 53) has 10 eggs ($1/)

Knucklehead's Tattoos & Mall (Dingo (111, 51, 55) has a 23 egg Easter hunt along with free ears, cottontail, & $10 telepoofer. ($

InSight Design - Eyes, Shapes (Carina (194, 172, 21) has a bag with 3 free eyes available as an Easter gift. ($0)

Pannies&Rosedrop Media Circus (Podul (229,11,13) has added bunny ears to their freebie area. ($0)


(clothes & jewelry: Kouse's Sanctum, skin: A Piece of Candy, Hair: Bewitched)

Kouse's Sanctum (Garindan 11/137/264) has 12 eggs hidden throughout the store. ($1/)

Numinous (Kress (230, 84, 147) has their Bunyken avatar specially priced until Friday March, 28. ($1)

Dark Eden (Dark Eden 129,77,27) has 4 bunny ear & tail sets & carrot strap on. ($1/)

Ookami Ningen Furs and Japanese Fashion (Dark Eden 146, 222, 31) has a purple dress up - it's furry and cute. ($0)

Moontan (Starfish 208,219,33) has an Eastern Keychain available (easter egg keychain). ($0)

GiGi Couture (Broadmead (53, 186, 34 -downstairs) or (Cherry Buttons, MoonDoggies (181, 21, 26) has a female skin - Porcelien Doll Easter in celebration of the season. ($1)

Not necessarily Easter related, but ending on the 25th ::69:: (MIYABI 35/218/503)is having an opening celebration and treasure hunt for 6 gemstone rings hidden around their brand new Main Location. ($0)

Ivalde (Sim: Ivalde) & fellow shop keepers are having a sim wide egg hunt ending the day before Easter. (20 - $0)

Violet Voltaire (Peronaut (71, 217, 36) has her mariposa necklace in rainbow on sale for this weekend only. ($1)



Thursday - March 2oth


(Outfit: Crimson Shadow, Skin: GiGi Couture, Hair: Bewitched)

Crimson Shadow (Sim: Crimson Shadow Rezzable) is having a hunt for easter baskets. The prizes include: A bunny necklace, Undershirt and panties "kiss me I'm Irish", Sexy bunny outfit, Leprauchaun outfit, a T-shirt,Miffy (japanese for bunny ;-)) plush toy, Pasties, And of course the Easter baskets :) -info from group notecard ($0) easy

INSOLENCE (Sim: Venom)- "From March 20th until March 23rd, 6 Easter Eggs will be hidden somewhere in the sim at Venom... find them and buy them for 1L to get the prizes! ;)" - quote from group note card (Part of the sim to sim hunt! *not the grid wide hunt* - since I've received inquiries I only found 3 eggs at this location.) ($1)


Harbor View (Brork 143/197/21) has an Easter Egg. This is the kind of egg that is cut out and has a scene inside. $1

Rattle Design (Sky Plaza (128, 181, 22) has a hidden golden egg. Find the golden egg and receive goodies for both girls and guys. ($0)

Neko Store and Mall (Purrrrfect Kitties (220, 187, 101) has 22 bunnies hidden around the stores. ($0)

Rory's on 5th (Tamaqua (46, 114, 23)) has hidden eggs and a 50% off sale going on downstairs. **Make sure to buy the dress because the 50% off signs are priced at $50 each!!** ($1/)


(Clothes from sim to sim hunt: Rory's, SD Wear, Season's, Skins: A Piece of Candy & Season's, Shoes: Baby Monkey, ::69::, Hair: Bewitched & Season's)

Season's (Lythria (20, 86, 81) has 4 eggs which allow you to have a complete Kumiko avatar. Also in this area: Facet's (Lythria (17, 75, 80) has 5 eggs, Annarisu (Lythria (25, 35, 81) has 5 eggs, Flair (Lythria (10, 28, 82) has 3 eggs, and Artificial Intelligence (Lythria (11, 8, 81) has 3 eggs. ($1/)

Baby Monkey (Neuntoter (63, 202, 33) has 4 hidden eggs. ($1/)

Prim Play ( PrimPlay Island (46, 154, 25) has hidden "11 teenie tiny gift boxes are well-hidden in and around the front deck, the fashion rooms and the accessories rooms. The boxes include some of the new items, some best sellers, and a single $500L gift certificate. But, hurry. Once an gift certificate is found, Poof! it is gone. Happy hunting from now until Monday morning." If you're feeling lucky check it out - this place is huge. ($1/)

Bare Rose (Bare Rose 142/43/30)has a unisex egg belt on their lucky chair. (20 minute cycle to next letter)

Bewitched Hair (Lemon Island (126, 124, 23) has 3 hidden eggs as part of the *sim to sim* egg hunt. ($1/)

Endeavour Cove (Earpoint (140, 109, 24) a mall with plenty of places to explore has 36 eggs hidden on their sim for the *sim to sim* egg hunt. ($1/)

HE & SHE Fashion for both (Cheeneko (157, 74, 22) has 3 hidden. Part of the *sim to sim* egg hunt. ($1)

Another participant in the *sim to sim* egg hunt Island Creations (Plush Eta (6, 8, 22) has 5 hidden eggs. ($1)

Hats & more (Ironstorm (175, 140, 62), Sculpted Trees & Plants ( Ironstorm (189, 173, 400), and Nooby's FaR OuT (Ironstorm (240, 177, 56) have joined forces to create a 12 egg hunt. ($0)

Lazy Places (Growl 2 (49, 121, 22) has 7 eggs hidden around their shop. ($1)

A Trip to New Zealand

Usually on a holiday, one of the main attractions for me is the shopping. Even if it is the usual department store stuff I can get back home, I still do it. When it comes to the actual tourist attractions, likes views and such, I am the type to just take a picture with/of it and be on my way. But lately, I've been feeling a need for change of scenery, probably because I've been living in the concrete jungle,where whenever I step foot out the door there is shopping- and they're not even on sale yet!- for too long.

My trip to Auckland, New Zealand was just the retreat I needed! It was all so incredibly peaceful and tranquil being there. So refreshing to not be accosted by shop after shop of merchandise tempting me. In fact, the experience was completely different from my usual vacations. Instead of finding the prospect of being outdoors very scary and frankly rather boring, for once I actually stopped and appreciated it all- and it was nice.
Our first stop on my arrival was a drive up Mount Eden, which is an inactive volcano in the middle of Auckland. Now you can only see the the crater of it covered in grass, with cows grazing in the center of it (left). Tourists are not allowed down into the area, because it is really quite steep (not to mention tourists would errode the grass). Mount Eden also happens to be the highest point in Auckland, and as you can see (right), affords us a very nice 360 view of the city.
The next morning, we went for the America's Cup Yacht Sailing experience as part time members of the crew, helping roll the sails up/down and taking a turn at the wheel- its hard work! And even though the weather had been summer-like all week, out on sea, it was surprisingly cold. Not at all what I'd imagined sailing weather to be- good thing I brought a sweater!
Despite the unexpected weather, it was a wonderful 2 hours. The weather was perfect and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Shown here is the view of Auckland downtown and the view of the Rangitoto Island- which my friend tells me looks like this from all around. How cool! I especially love how the white clouds/ blue sky compliments the scenery (I have a thing for blue skies and white clouds).
Seeing as how I was in the land of the sheep, I thought it was only appropriate that I went to see a proper sheep show (even though one can see sheep/cows practically anywhere over there). It was surprisingly interesting. Basically they put on a show very much like the one in Babe (the movie), except using dogs instead of pigs of course (left). It was impressive how well the dog is trained, it was like a robot! Then we were shown how a sheep is sheared (right). It was really quite cool! And afterwards we even got to feed the lambs and they were just darling!
That night, we then went to Parnell for dinner. Its an adorable old quaint street full of cafes etc. Unfortunately by the time we finished dinner, it was already pass 10pm and the Chocolate Boutique Cafe was closed. It is the most darling-est place ever, luckily I got to go back later for a cup of hot cocoa, which was divine.

Then we headed to our next stop (yes it was a LOONG day)- the Minus 5 Bar. Basically it was a small room made of ice, decorated with ice sculptures that is very very cold. Even the cups they served drinks in were made of ice! It was VERY cool. I absolutely loved it. Way better than the little "ice room" we have here at Balalaika in HK. Unfortunately even with borrowed uggs (they have hygiene socks- thank god!), gloves and coat, it was still very cold, so we didn't stay for too long. Kind of reminded me of my days waiting for the bus to come during the Chicago winters. Haha.
The next morning (Sunday), we woke up at 7.30am and participated in the Round the Bays charity walk/run! This is definitely not something I'd usually do in my home town. Definitely unique. I heard that so many people on the streets at once is not a common Kiwi sight. Luckily the weather was really good, cool and cloudy- perfect for a walk. We completed the 8.4km walk in 1 hour and 33 minutes!
After THAT we recovered with a 3 hour nap and a few further hours of laziness at the Piha beach, munching on pizza, reading and waiting for/watching the sunset. Its a truly beautiful beach a hour away from the city. The sand is supposedly volcanic dust or something, so its darker than usual. Not a swimming beach though, cause the waves are too strong. But its fun to walk along the shores. It was soo nice, I actually wanted to stay there forever- and I'm not even a beach person! I do believe I am now a newly converted beach at sunset/out of direct sunlight person!
And on my last day in Auckland, I jumped out of a plane. It seemed the thing to do in Kiwi land. Once I got there of course I started freaking out. The idea of defying years of well trained instincts and jumping out of a plane seemed like an insane idea. What if the parachute doesn't open? What if I die? But then I figured that I've come half way across the world for this and its now or never. If I do it when I get older, I have a higher chance of dying from a heart attack! So I paid and before I knew it, I was strapped and was on an one-way plane that will take me up to the height of 12,000 km. One way because it wasn't designed for landing with passengers (no seatbelts!). 20 minutes later I was up there. And then, before I knew it, the door was opened and I was pushed out into the sky. After the initial shock/scare though, I realized that I was falling down in the sky and the feeling was INCREDIBLE. I'd imagined it to be like one of those things in the theme park where they drop you down from a height x 100, but no, this was nothing like that. Your heart stays inside your body and there's just this RUSH coursing through you as you fall. And too soon, the parachute was opened and I was floating comfortably down to land. It was AWESOME. I am so glad I did it. The experience was totally worth all the nerves and scare going up!

Sigh I wish I was back there! Now I think I know what "retreat" means and why people want to go to the middle of nowhere and just relax and enjoy the scenery and be away from the hustle bustle and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the city from time to time.

Ps. Click on the images for a better look!

Sun Dresses For A Sunny Day Out

OK, so my title is misleading: obviously you can wear sun dresses on non-sunny days too, but it sounded catchy. Plus, in some ways it does make more sense to wear sun dresses on sunny days because the skirt of the dress is so full and volumous that you would probably get yourself (or at least the skirt bit) wet from the rain, since as well all know, umbrellas don't cover us up 100%. Oops, I'm rambling. Moving on...

Isn't this such a cute picture? I'm pretty indifferent to Sienna Miller (as an actress or suppsedly style icon,) but I can't help but think that while Sienna and her dog certainly look cute, her dress really makes the whole image even more pretty and complete. I mean, imagine her in skinny jeans -the picture wouldn't look as pretty right? Since I've seen this picture, I've started noticing sun dresses around. They just seem like a nice S/S08 staple to one's summer daywear selection. Check these out:

Sienna Miller is of course, the Miller sisters' fashion line, Twenty8Twelve's best PR + walking manequin. And since I'm mentioning this, it's only fair to show this pretty front frill dress by Twenty8Twelve.
But since I'm not willing to pay that much for a sun dress, I move onto high street stores. Top Shop's got this simple sun dress for 25 pounds. The bright blue is very 'in' for this season and perfect for those of you think a white sun dress is too basic. (Although note that Top Shop does make a white version.) I like the button details in the front because those little buttons just seem to make the sun dresses less cutsy.
And for those who don't want plain coloured dresses and want some details, the new Kate Moss Top Shop collection (-so new that it was just released today,) has these black or white lurex dresses available. To be honest, from my past experience of seeing the Kate Moss Top Shop stuff in the stores, the clothes tend to look a bit cheap -maybe not cheap looking but probably not worth the premium they added for Kate Moss' name.

Anyways, don't sun dresses just look so cheerful and perfect for a sunny day out? I blame the full and swirly skirt.

Image Credits: www.topshop.com, www.asos.com