If there’s one thing Coach has finally done right in the recent years  - the revival of the  legacy collection is probably it.

I first fell in love with Coach more than a decade back when I was introduced to their leather duffle. It was simple, unassuming and elegant – with a simple Coach label affixed on. The way I like my leather bags to be. No gaudy prints susceptible to fading. No needing to try too hard. Just the accessory I could complement my first work outfits with as I transitioned from teenager to young adult. And still being able to chuck in a whole load of ‘barang barang’ (a colloquial Malay term for personal belongings) without anyone needing to know what was really inside (*coughs*gummy sweets & plasters & 3 different types of lip floss *coughs*).

What I didn’t fancy though were the newer designs that started appearing in varied styles of monogram & prints, whatever happened to the simplicity of a luxury leather bag? Why wasn’t it kept as a classic range amidst the newfangled collections? Couldn’t they have attempted on making the leather range lighter for everyday use instead of shadowing other whimsical brands? Plus, I didn’t have a good impression of the quality of fabric bags as few of my ex-colls owned them and some gave way within a few times of use.

Anyway.

Being the momma that I am now, often dressed in black these days as I work on losing the remaining stubborn 10kg (I doubt it’s ever going to go away), I was stopped in my tracks last weekend when we walked past the Coach paragon store, surprised to be greeted by the cheerful hues of pop colors displayed. (p/s: somehow when a kid comes along, you’re just that much more incline to add on pops of bright shades to your outfit. Or at least that’s me). The Legacy collection was back with a vengeance – with tastefully hued colors to boot!

And as I exclaimed to the husband “the good ole Coach that I fell in love with is back”, he couldn’t agree more how lovely the mens Legacy range were too.

So here are some of my favorites pieces. Not that I’ll be getting my hands on any soon since the diaper bag will probably be my IT bag for a long while to come…

But isn’t walking into a store with things you fancy always a treat? :p

Source | Coach

The good people at ASOS continue to treat and tempt us with goodies for the holidays! From now till 9am Friday, they’re giving 25% full-priced items. Hooray!

Here’s some of items that caught my fancy in case you’re wondering, for the preggers and non. :)

The only thing that’s stopping me from purchasing this is lack of a hot body. This will definitely make one a hot-looking mama!  

I absolutely adore the colour & flow of this dress except that I have a serious lack of height to pull this off. Which means I may just end up looking like a potato sack. :x

A girl can never have one too many  LBDs, even during pregnancy. This one ticks all my boxes because it somehow exudes an ‘Audrey Hepburn’ kinda vibe. I figure, if I can’t go looking ‘hot’, I’d settle for elegant. :) 

Okay, I’m seriously considering this one for CNY because of how sweet it is, not to mention its flowy chiffon material! We’ll see!

This is another yummy one which I like. Maybe its because of the way the skirt swings. Can you tell that I’m very into ‘champagne’? Hah!

I like drapes done tastefully and I adore the colours: white,off-white & cream; which is quite a refreshing change from the usual black that everyone will probably be dressed in for the festivities.

Midi dresses can be relatively difficult to pull off especially if you’re not so tall like me :p That said, finding one in the right cut and length (like this one) can make a lot of a good difference.

A dress that can be easily transformed from day to night.

 Don’t you just adore the green on this one? 

I hope you manage to find what you’re looking for! Happy holidays :)

For most years, apart from recent ones when I’m feeling blah (partly due being exhausted from all that trying), I tend to make an effort to dress up for Christmas & the New Year.

Mainly because I would usually have a few parties to hop to and there will usually be a dress code added for good fun, plus it was Bo’s & mine favourite time of the year; and I did feel it was a pretty good way of summing up an awesome year and ushering a even more fabulous one ahead – short of pampering myself and the wardrobe for having made it through another year ;)

So with a good friend’s wedding just a week before Christmas (which makes even more sense to get more miles for that dress) this year, I’ve been on a bargain hunt of late for dresses only to see myself clicking on a particular style of silhouette site after site; knowing that there is no possible way me and baby would fit into that no matter how much we tried – not that I will ever consider trading a bump to fit into a dress. Never!

Perhaps after baby’s out and for our 4th wedding anniversary in June, maybe? Dependent on whether the belly stays or goes too.

Here’s some of my faves, just in case you know, you’re shopping to dress-up  too. :)

Love, Bonito’s Dusseldorf Dress in gorgeous fushia, not to mention at a very affordable price for style.

Rory Beca’s Jones Fishtail Wrap Gown from Shopbob . Absolutely adoring the shade of Blue Ribbon

Alice + Olivia Lauretta pleated silk-blend maxi dress from net-a-porter. In a classic colour combi no less. 

I’ve been a huge fan of The Coveteur & The Selby for a while now, always delighting me with a tease & glimpse into some of the world’s most coveted homes & closets (I so wish to own one someday!).

So when I chanced upon The Glow recently (thanks to blog links on my reader list), I was too excited and in awe that it featured wonderfully photographed moments of fashionable & stylish moms (coupled with fascinating & fab snippets of their little tricks of the trade or their thoughts of the moment). I’ve always wanted to be a stylish mom when the time comes (or at least an inspiring one to my future bubs) – and hopefully this will encourage me in some little way or another :) …or at least motivate me that its possible to still have lots of fun on days when I’m all weary from feeding, cleaning & crying :x

Loving these lovely moments that are being beautifully documented. Can’t you just see the glow on the moms’ faces (pun intended)?

Gorgeous Painter Jemima Kirke & her bub, Rafaella enjoying moments together – bliss!

Designer Consultant Laura Garcia getting a lovely kiss.

Lovely inspiration for future bub’s room

Absolutely loving & secreting coveting designer Lynn’s apartment & Marc Jacobs dress.

And absolutely fantastic preggy advice from Meredith on beauty…

“Use your natural glow to your advantage and reduce the amount of make-up you wear while pregnant. The most radiant you will ever be is during pregnancy so don’t waste your time covering it with make-up. When you become a mommy, make-up becomes last on your list; the quick application of foundation and under eye concealer is key. Then, all you need is basic blush, lip moisturizer, and mascara.”

I’ve always had a soft spot for all things moms and bubs, so this will definitely be on my blog radar for a long time to come. :)

[Source: The Glow]

I’ve recently fallen in love with wearing flats (ballets or slip ons alike), thanks to re-wearing a pair that hubs bought me some time back…which has also led to my online shopping & researching now including soles as well.

Here’s some I’ve shortlisted at the moment – thanks to the recommendation of sis Helen, whose actually the ‘shoe guru’ in the house (she’s a huge fan of Hobbs & LK Bennett and owns many beautiful pairs of shoes, boots, heels, flats…)

The only contemplation I have is not being able to try them on physically first since some styles come in really narrow fits…

1. French Sole

2. Repetto 

3. Hobbs 

While I’m aware that Taka carries a limited range of Repetto (which I  may make a trip just to get the sizing right before ordering), does anyone know who & where carries the other 2 brands?

[Source: French Sole, Repetto & Hobbs]

For most of the weekend that past, the husband whisked me into shops of bags & watches & shoes asking me if I liked anything enough as his 3rd wedding anniversary present to me.

The usual me would have jumped at the opportunity. Especially when chances of me getting anything new, now that I’m unemployed, 40% annually namely wedding anniversaries, christmas & my  birthday.

But apart from taunting him that I would lurve to have the iPad2 when I knew that it was sold out islandwide, at least for the 3G model, which I wanted it more for him ironically when I was the one who lost his iPad 1 (nevermind that) some weeks back, I was totally out of it.

Nothing really caught my eye or mind as we mall hopped from Shaw Centre to Wheelock to Ion Orchard to Wisma, Takashimaya & Paragon. I know that the husband really tried his best, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

But today while browsing some online sites, I chanced upon these some YSLs and wished that they weren’t sold out so that I could add them to my shopping cart. Well, maybe not :X

I did appreciate the husband for coming by the comp. to check out these bags though and asking how much they cost. Then I shoo-ed him away to continue listening to his new audio set-up.

Perhaps the best present is spending quality time with him and the thing that did ‘crack’ me up was him taking an entire day off tomorrow just to do us-things together. Who knows, shopping may be on the agenda!

Source | Yves Saint Laurent

Today when I looked at Andy’s blog to gain some inspiration, I was blown away by not only her (always) lovely choice of outfits but by the destination she is currently at right now : Santorini, Greece

I’ve been lusting to give the European cities another visit since our maiden one in Oct 2008, but when I saw the backdrop of Santorini in Andy’s I couldn’t help but go ‘WOW’! and kept clicking for more photos of the place.

The blue skies, the Aegean sea, the tall cliffs, volcanic remnants.  Something we’ve definitely not experienced (yet) and (I) would love to for a 2nd honeymoon perhaps?

If not this year, probably in the next 2! Perhaps another big motivation to get me considering job offers again and to take my mind off some trivial worries I’ve been having of late. After all when you get to go to a paradise like that, you want to excite all senses and taste buds without constantly worrying about budget, right? Ideally.

Source | Style Scrapbook

Never been a fan of Fendi, except when I spotted a beautiful Fendi Silvana on fashiontoast today, I just had to click away to find how much it would cost.

This was what I got:

“Sold out due to popular demand”

I can’t stop starring at the red. And Rumi’s doing such a perfect job making it look like an ad itself.

Source | here & here

Some time ago, the husband showed me a photo of the ‘to-be-unveiled-in-2011′ Fujifilm Finepix X100 and tried tempting me into waiting for one when I was looking to purchase a semi-pro compact camera as a back-up to my trusty DSLR.

I gawked at the photo for a good few seconds, before telling him that I  wouldn’t mind considering it solely for its good looks but couldn’t wait for another 6 months because I wanted to ensure that we did have a back-up camera for our 3-weeks Japan trip in Dec.

Fast forward 5 months later, I saw someone post a photo of this beauty on his Facebook Wall last evening and couldn’t help but click on the photo and admired it for a while. I even went on to read reviews of the camera (what was I thinking), short of going to eBay to click ‘buy’.

I didn’t, because I found out that the battery life along with other knacks of the camera such as response time, screen display especially when attempting street or kids photography was lacking at least in my needs. I am quite the impatient shooter. I need to everything to respond quickly, to makeup for my clumsy hands and feet.

But as I looked at the beauty more, I entertained another thought. Maybe if I could train myself to be more technically savvy with the camera, I could make up for the camera’s slower response time…no?

Definitely something I’d be considering for a while.

Bo & I went to shop for a tiny accessory for our entertainment room today but ended up ogling at gorgeous furniture at Dempsey instead. -_-

Discipline, when it comes to furniture shopping, we have not.

And since extra finances to spend, we have not as well…we met up with Alv for a cuppa at Gardens and chatted mainly about ‘ideal home plans for the next 5 years’ instead.

The husband had some wild ideas swimming in his head though. I was laughing too much to take him seriously too.

So here’s sharing what’s currently fueling my home/decor lust instead (if I can’t have my own home with my hubs, I might as well learn to make the best out of my current one before hubby’s crazy ideas steam in).

Clean, spacious bedrooms. Note to self: clear my clutter. Lots of it.

its a b**th to be cleaning glass, but ideally the husband & I would like to live in a house like that some day

ideas & ways how I can stack my piles of magazines and not having to throw them away

Don’t think I can ever work with such a tiny space for my study but its good to at least try keeping it neat…

I can only hope that I walk the talk next.

That would be exciting.

Source | here , here & here

TANGRAMARAMA ROCKY, $478.00

OR

TANGRAMARAMA ANNA CLUTCH, $328.00

Source | marc by marc jacobs

Helps that…

a) I’ve no money to spare granted that our forecasted expenditure in the next few weeks will increase 3 folds due to the unforeseen and unanticipated

b) Neiman Marcus (source) only ships within US and Canada

Boo.

Eye candy to share nonetheless:

Chloe June Bow Clutch, Dune – $725

Yoyo Dot Shift Satchel, Marc by Marc Jacobs – $258

This being the favourite of the lot because I’m just so in love with Cobalt Blue…

Preppy Hayley Tote, Marc by Marc Jacobs – $498

Now. Where is fairy god-mother…