LWD at the Beach

Life is always better at the beach, isn't it? The other day we went to Sentosa. Stephen randomly said, "Man, I wish we could go to the beach. That sounds so relaxing…" and I said, "Ummm… but we can. We live on an ISLAND." #coolstatement  

I found this heavenly white dress at the thrift store and it was one of those moments when you pull out an unassuming piece from the rack and in the second you realized you found a unicorn, you instantly you look over your hunched shoulders and scream inside your head, "Miiiiiiine!!!! Hands off my precious!!!!" No? Just me? I mean, if this is you too, you better tell me so we can be BFFs pronto. 

Gollum moment aside, Little White Dress are obviously the *new* LBDs and have been for like, 5 seasons. I have bought multitudes and haven't regretting by a single one (now mixing them accidentally in the laundry hamper is another thing…) This one is great because of the textured fabric (what is it called???) and the huge fluffy ruffle at the end. It's like walking on a cloud. 

And no cloud is complete without a little misty-minty air, as in this dreamy kimono. And then the watermelon purse. I saw it on someone else blog (I'm so sorry, I forget who!) and I knew it had to be mine. And it was only $16! Heck yes! Because it's that clear shiny plastic, I kinda feel like a 7-year-old playing dress-up but in the best of ways. 

Have you had any Gollum moments recently? Or maybe just more relaxing beach days...? Tell me! I wanna know I'm not the only weirdo! :) 

 Dress: Thrifted | Kimono: H&M | Sunglasses & Bracelets: Cotton On | Purse: Abaday

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Cherries & Raspberries: Mix and Match Swim Suit

This past weekend we went to Sentosa in Singapore to check out a beach bar called the Wave House. A few weeks ago I did a post about another Sentosa beach bar, Tanjong Beach Club. Maybe I should do a whole series about all the beach bars on the island…? I mean, if y'all reeeally want me to I guesssss I could. Anything for the blog. 

At Wave House they have 2 different type of wave pools where you can surf. I was too busy enjoying their Wednesday special buy-one-get-one free (for long-term residents & Singaporeans only) that I didn't take any decent pictures of the wave pools. We did enjoy watching folks wipe out though! And of course, they have just a regular pool or the beach to jump back and forth in between pina coladas. 

While at Tanjong I opted for a retro look, this time I decided to keep it more casual. Besides, I was having a good natural hair day and THOSE are rare to come by. 

Y'all know else is rare? When you uncover the most sublime thrift store find, obviously. I saw this top in the $2 bin and squealed in delight. This top epitomizes all that is holy this summer: fruit prints & off the shoulder. To top it off (pun intended) it matches my favorite high-waisted bottoms! A match in mishmash heaven (also pun intended. Man, I'm on a roll… wait, I'm in a swim suit. No one talk about rolls.) 

Okay, sorry. Let's get to the bottom of this. Wearing my Surania high waisted bottoms. If you follow my instagram, you might have already seen the full swim suit. It was my first time getting a custom made swim suit which made me nervous at first but when you have a big booty and a small waist, any custom made bottoms sound like a dream. It was totally worth it! 

What places have you been exploring this summer? And of course, what are you wearing while exploring? 

Swim Suit Bottom: Surania | Swim Suit Top: Thrifted (New2U) | Sunglasses & Bracelets: Cotton On 

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Birthday Girl

It was my birthday on Tuesday and I must say, it was a pretty special day! I'm a very lucky girl woman (I am 29 now after all). My boss had a candle with a huge piece of strawberry cake (Mmmmmm!) and she whispered to all the kids to make sure and tell me happy birthday and how pretty I was. Not gonna lie, I'll take any cheap hit at my ego, haha! I thought it was so very sweet. 

After work I was supposed to meet all my friends out for a nightcap or two-ish… at this inexpensive, great place (we're teachers that live in the most expensive city in the world; these prerequisites are imparative) but the place had closed down last week! Bummer, man. So we moved just decided to move the festivities to my place for simplicity's sake. Even with the hiccup, everyone came with such great energy and I ended up having a great night dishing with my pals. It can be hard being away from home on special days like birthdays so I feel so blessed to have people here that make being an expat fun. 

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Souvenirs

This is one of my favorite outfits I've worn in a long time - it's so colorful and fun and has so many great details. To make it even more fun, each piece is from a different country!

I got the dress for $6 at a resale consignment shop called Uptown Cheapskate in the States - similar to a Plato's Closet where they will only resell things that are from certain store or of a certain style. While the hunt from a regular thrift store or Goodwill is fun, it's sometimes nice to just go through a whole rack of incredible deals and know most of them are trendy enough to take out the guess work. I particularly love the lace detail on this dress - the straps on the shoulders and then the lace panels on the sides. And what a great color combination - mint and navy! 

The hot pink scarf I got in Cambodia. We went on a tour outside the city of Phnom Penh with Grasshopper Adventures - I highly recommend them! We biked on an island in the Mekong Delta and got to take in all the sights - mango trees, farm animals, the children running along side us yelling "Hello! Hello!" Our guide was amazing and she took us a silk farm where we got to see how they make the silk from beginning to end. And of course, go shopping for silk products! 

The earrings I purchases on a trip to the cloud forest in Mindo, Ecuador while studying aboard there. An Ecuadorian woman had the cutest little cafe where she made her own jewelry. When I saw she had cleverly beaded parrots into the earring design, I had to have them! Mindo is known for having a lot of birds and butterflies so it's a perfect souvenir - on top of that, we got to go flying ourselves while zip lining through the forest! 

The purse is from Thailand but I must admit I didn't buy it. It has been collecting dust on a shelf at my work and finally I asked my boss what the deal was - she said I could have it! Score! I know that it was most likely made in Thailand though as I always see similar bags when we pop on over there. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love Thailand! The food, the beaches, the laid-back, kind folks and did I mention the food? And this purse - the colorful embroidery is top-knotch. 

And then the sunglasses and shoes are from Singapore, where I currently live! I wore this outfit to go see the new Mona Lisa exhibit. If it comes to your city, GO SEE IT. It's incredible. The whole exhibit is explaining the history behind the "discovery" of a second, younger Mona Lisa and then all the proof that it is indeed a Da Vinci through and through. That man's genius is astounding, the exhibit was so fascination and best of all - we got super up close and personal with the painting! I couldn't believe it. I've seen the other (older) Mona Lisa in the Louvre and man, it's a zoo there! It was so chill at the Singapore exhibit - we just walked right up to it (it was in a glass case). 

Thanks for letting me take you down memory lane! 

Have you picked up any good souvenirs yourself lately? 

Dress: Uptown Cheapskate | Scarf: Cambodian | Earrings: Ecuador | Purse: Thailand 

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Go To The Beach

You maybe have seen me wear this dress before for work but obviously this time, I've styled the dress a lot different. Thailand is the perfect place to bring a long maxi to throw on. I love how versatile this dress is just by how I can tie the halter. And lemmie tell ya, this thing is so comfy it should be illegal; the last thing you wanna be on vacation is uncomfortable. But even with comfort, I still felt like a goddess wearing it - especially next to these amazing turquoise waters! 

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