Polka Dots & Hearts in Haw Par Villa

Yesterday my friend, Prianka and I went to check out Haw Par Villa in Singapore. IT. IS. AWESOME. It's this kitschy park that has elaborate statues & scenes from Chinese religious stories. It took a million dollars to build in the 30's but you can now explore the surprisingly large grounds for the low, low price of free! These pictures don't even do it justice on how weird, crazy, and cool it was. If you ever get the chance, check it out! I can't wait to go back to take even more pictures. 

You are lucky because this post is two for the price of one - my style as well as Prianka's. I'd say in a lot of ways we favor similar things, especially on this day. We didn't even plan to be all match-matchy  but it worked out well! 

Skirt: Modcloth | Shirt: Cache Cache |  Shoes: Mustafa's (similar here) | Sunglasses: Bugis | Belt: Thrifted | Bracelets: Borneo

Blurred Lines

I got this French Connection dress that retails around $100 for $10 the other day! Winning! A backpacker's cafe was having a little flea market of sorts, so of course I had to check it out "for the blog" (my #1 excuse for my shopping addiction).  It looked like it originally came with a belt but I loved it for its effortless casual nature. Even though belts are my go-to, I forced myself to steer clear and embrace the shift dress silhouette. I felt like this was almost too tame a look for me so I really wanted to add a bunch of silver and black modern accessories. I felt very Lacey Maffettone-ish in this outfit. 

One of my favorite things about this dress is that even though it's thicker material with longer sleeves, I wasn't dying of heat stroke it in. Cotton really is the ultimate when it comes to humidity; this dress is so comfortable and breathes so well. Speaking of humidity, it's been so amusing to me reading all my other favorite blogs. I didn't realize until getting to Singapore that most fashion blogger copy is about the weather. Lol. And if you wanna know about what season it is where they are, ask a fashion blogger. The weather and seasons are a big component when deciding what to wear but once you take that out of the equation… Every day for me is hot and muggy. And maybe rainy! 

Dress: Asos (similar) | Shoes: Target | Necklace: Marshalls | Rings: | Lovisa | Sunglasses: Bugis 

Day II in Medan, Indonesia

Here's the second part of my quick little trip over in Indonesia last week. If you don't already know, Indonesia is a Muslim country. Most of the women cover their hair and all women dress conservatively.   I'm glad I planned on covering up when exploring because we attracted a LOT of attention walking around. But most of the attention was from really lovely Indonesians that were just curious about us. We got to chitchat and learn about life where they're from. 

We did most of our walking on day two so I brought out the full coverage, in a manner of speaking. This cotton maxi dress from H&M is one of my all-time favorite purchases. I practically have been living non-stop in this thing since I brought it home; it's so versatile and so comfy in Singaporean (or Indonesian) heat! In fact, I loved it so much, I bought it in blue. 

This kimono is also from H&M, near my work (probably the biggest temptation in my life! And I usually don't show a lot of self-restraint in there). I kept seeing it in the window and could not get it out of my head. Eventually, I just bit the bullet and bought it. I just love the airy, mint ease to it. 

What do you think about the kimono trend this spring?

Dress: H&M | Kimono: H&M | Scarf: Otavalo, Ecuador | Sunglasses: H&M  (similar) | Belt: Thrifted

Mansion Exploring in the Worst City

So if you haven't already figured out something about me, I have a confession to make. I have a disease. I have a bad case of the travel bug. So does my partner. We are constantly thinking, talking and researching about "the next place". To make a long boring story short, we found these super duper cheap tickets for Medan, Indonesia. Right as Stephen's thinking about hitting that "purchase" button, I find this article about how it is the worst city in Southeast Asia. But like I said, I have an illness. So I said, "Let's do it" and then we laughed and laughed about it. 

I'm here to tell you, it was not the worst place I have ever travelled to. However I wouldn't necessarily recommend you go out of your way to see it. Most of the city isn't traditionally beautiful - it's more grit, iron-wrought industries and pollution. There are pockets of beauty though, like this mansion we explored on our first day there. It was built around 1911 by a Chinese business man. It was lovely to see the art deco, Chinese and Indonesian influence all intertwined together. 

After strolling through all hallways and doorways and peeking through all the windows, we played pool in a random local watering hole and had the locals laugh at my pitiful attempts at hitting the billiard balls. It might not have been the most exciting getaway but we had fun! Stay tuned to read about day 2 in my next post. 

Clothes, bag & jewelry: Thrifted | Shoes: Cotton On

Life's a Beach

My boyfriend and I went to Sentosa Island in Singapore last week. I love that an hour on the subway and bam! I'm at the beach. It's heavenly. Sentosa is such a strange place to me. It's like no other beach I've ever been to. It's got a very suburban feel to it. Everything is carefully manicured and there's so much green grass and perfect flowerbeds along the pathways to the beach. I wouldn't say it's got that bohemian feel that a lot of other beach places have, but it doesn't make it any less fun. It's also nice to see so many different Singaporean and expat families from all over the world cutting back and enjoying the sun and surf, sorta speak. 

Wanted to keep my outfit simple for the beach - bikini top and skater skirt and voila! Easy peasy. I added my mom's wooden strawberry earrings she had from the 80's and red lipstick just to give a little extra punch. Wrapped it all up with my cat eye sunglasses to finish the vintage vibe. 

What's your favorite thing to wear to the beach?

Swimsuit Top: Cotton On | Skirt: Thrifted | Sunglasses: Modcloth | Earrings & Bracelet: vintage