Remembering the Last Day in Singapore

So as you can probably tell from the lapse in blog updates....I am back at home. Right now I am actually at the store trying to catch up on all the orders I need to ship. Why is it that you always pay the price for vacation when come back home to a mountain of work?

Our last day in Singapore was wonderful! We relaxed at the Sentosa Resort Spa and had massages. The spa grounds are like a tropical oasis...complete with 2 waterfalls, a Koi pond, a zen garden, 3 pools, whirlpools, and a mudbath. We lounged by the pool and noshed on organic treats from the spa restaurant. I even convinced Zealous to get in the mudbath. The resort is located about 20 minutes from Singapore on the island of Sentosa. It was the perfect end to a great trip. I definitely hope to come back to Singapore and would love to explore some of the neighboring islands.

Our flight back passed so much faster that the trip to Singapore. I guess the tailwinds were in our favor because it was 3 hrs shorter. Upon arriving at home, I headed over to the store and tried to get some work done. I didn't feel jet lagged at all....however, when I finally did go to sleep I ended up sleeping until 1pm the next day!

Now I am finally back in the swing of things and trying to catch up on orders. I will post spa pictures soon.

Singapore Day 5

First of all, let me mention something exciting that happened back in SF. I was featured in the Style section of the San Francisco Chronicle. The article ran on Sunday and I was able to see it online, but I am looking forward to seeing it in print when I get back. Here is the link http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/21/LV2O1869DA.DTL to the write up.

Now back to the trip : ) Today we headed over to Chinatown, which is a very interesting and vibrant area. I finally had a chance to see a Durian stand...Singapore's national fruit. I felt like I should try it, but the smell alone made me avoid the stand all together. After walking the markets in the area, I purchased some green plum tea. Then we decided to explore the area of Ann Siang Rd. This is a newly renovated area that is young and hip. Full of wine bars, restaurants, and trendy shops. We grabbed some lunch outside at a pasta restaurant and I found a juice stand that sold my new favorite drink, "soursop". It is this delicious sweet and sour juice made from a fruit that is kind of like lychee. I have got to find this stuff back home.

We ended up walking back to the hotel from Ann Siang Rd. It was a great chance to see some area's we hadn't seen before. I even found a cute little store that wants a linesheet for Frolick.

When we got back to the hotel, the weather was great. Not too hot, so we hung out at the pool for a couple of hours and then got dressed for dinner.

We decided to have chili crab again, but we tried a new spot called Jumbo. I think it is a local favorite because it was packed. We ate outside on the riverfront and then walked through Clark Quay, which is filled with themed clubs and eateries.

The most interesting club we passed was a place called Clinic, where you sit in gilded wheelchairs, eat on surgical tables, and drink from IV's. We stopped for dessert at a cute cafe where I had an amazingly delicious pear strudel. Next we walked over to Chjimes, which is an old church that has been converted to restaurants and shops. I took some photos and we headed back to the hotel.

Singapore Day 4

Today was a more leisurely day, since we have seen most of the sights we wanted to see. We started out with a trip over to the Merlion Park. It was so very hot with the full sun exposure at the park, that we were barely able to take pictures before heading for the shade. Next we went to a very cool shopping center called The Heeren Shops. It was filled with local Singapore designer goods. I purchased a really cute dress and belt which is made in a unique style that sort of reminds me of origami. Zealous purchased a cool shirt too. The entire mall had an edgy style to it that was really different from American stores..however, there was an Ed Hardy Store (of course).

After The Heeren Shops, we decided to head over to Tashikiyama shopping center again, where I fell in love with a store called Shanghai Tang (think Asian version of Kate Spade with brightly colored accessories). Also, after days and days of browsing...I broke down and bought these 2 purses that I LOVE from a purse store called Hiroshima. I will be sure to post photos of them later. Below is one of the pretty little decorative enamel boxes from Shanghai Tang.

After all of this walking around, we decided to come back and take a nap to be rested for the Night Safari. Our big adventure of the day. We had heard so many amazing things about it and were so excited to go. We left the hotel around 7 pm and took a long cab ride to the outskirts of the city. We arrived at Night Safari and it was a humid rainforest climate (different from town). Torches were burning, there were all sorts of huts and jeeps everywhere for atmosphere and photo ops.

There was the faint beating of drums partially drowning out the squeals of excited children waiting in line for the tram that would take us around the park. After about 25 minutes of waiting in line, we were headed on a 45 minute tram ride that would take us around the park to see over 1000 nocturnal animals in their natural habitats. We saw hippos, lions, giraffes, and many other creatures roaming around. Afterwards we watched the fire dancing show and headed back to the hotel for some tasty room service.

Singapore Day 3

Today we got an early start and headed over to the Bugis Shopping Center. I have been trying to find some local emerging designer boutique, just to see what the Singapore design scene is like. So far I have only found a bunch of European stores like Topshop and Massimo Dutti. There are also many Western stores like Guess and Banana Republic. Anyway, the locals directed us to Bugis. They said that on the street next to the mall, there were rows of outdoor stalls with little emerging designer boutiques. We never saw the emerging designers, but we found a very cool outdoor market filled with every kind of knock off and cheezy souvenir you could imagine. The market itself was very cool looking though, with lanterns hanging above and colorful statues everywhere.

After walking through the market, we came to Sim Lim Square, a huge 4 story building full of electronics dealers (which made my husband very happy). After going through the seemingly endless stalls of wares and comparing prices, I ended up buying a new Fuji camera that isn't even available in the US. So that was a pretty cool find : )

Next , we decided to head over to the famous Raffles Hotel. It is on of Singapore's most luxurious places to stay. The grounds were amazing. The beautiful colonial style building looked surreal surrounded by the tall swaying palm trees and tropical greenery. We headed upstairs to the Long Bar for a famous Singapore Sling. This is a tasty tropical drink made with gin and fruit juices.

Afterwards, we checked out the Raffles Mall. Which is another huge 4 story shopping center. We went to a delicious lunch spot called Canali, which is known for it's famous desserts, but also serves an extensive well rounded food menu ( think cheesecake factory).

Then we headed back to the hotel to lay out at the pool and go for a swim. The evenings are a perfect time for it because it is cooler, but the water is still warm. After a swim, we headed over to the riverfront for dinner and to listen to the live entertainment going on for the festival.

Singapore Day 2

My second day in Singapore has proved to be no less fun or interesting than the first. After crashing yesterday around 4:30pm "nap"...I ended up sleeping the rest of the day away. I am told that is the effects of the jetlag. Anyway, I started the day much more rested and mentally prepared for the intense near equator heat. I had breakfast with my husband, Zealous in the hotel...then he was off to work and I was off to Arab St This street is known for it's beautiful and exotic fabrics. I also came across a great bead store where I found lots of unique little charms. I took lots of photos of this colorful street. I also stopped by this huge tented food market, just to check out the exotic foods and wares. Afterwards I hopped over to the famous Orchard Rd., which is like the Rodeo Dr. of Singapore. After walking through miles of shops, I can truly say that I am shopped out. Too bad my husband is just getting started..he has been working the whole time, so now he wants to do a little shopping. Below are from left are pictures of Arab St. and Orchard Rd.





He was done with work around noon, so we headed over to the Singapore Flyer, which is a huge Ferris Wheel type of ride that gives you amazing views of the city. Afterwards I wanted to check out the "spa fish". These are little fish that nibble on your feet to make them smooth (sort of like a living pumice stone). I didn't try it, but I wanted to see them in action. Then in the evening, we headed out to dinner with some friends for a local specialty, Chili Crab. This dish is very messy, but amazingly delicious. After dinner we walked along the beautiful waterfront and took in the sights and sounds of the River Festival. Decorated boats filled the water and illuminated lanterns floated over head. Below from left are the decorated river boats and us out for Chili Crab.

Singapore Adventure: Day 1

Today was my first full day in Singapore. I got here around 1:30 am after a long 18 hrs of flying and a 3 hour layover in Tokyo. There were a few hiccups, but overall it was a pretty smooth trip. For example… the man in front of me at the security checkpoint hit me in the leg with his huge backpack and now I have an enormous bruise on my thigh (a great accessory when lying out at the pool). Also, I got jipped at the Amex Currency Exchange counter…totally my own fault. I gave the teller $140 ( two $20’s and a $100). For some reason she thought I gave her $60 and that is what she gave me change for. I was so tired I didn’t really look at the receipt and didn’t notice the error until I was getting out of the cab at the hotel. So I had to go back to the airport this morning to straighten it out. They are investigating it, but we will see if I get my money back. So I am out of $80…which sucks.

Ok, so aside from those two things, it has been a great trip so far. Even the layover in Tokyo was fun because they have cool airport stores and I ate these delicious frozen strawberries filled with vanilla cream. Even breakfast this morning was a fun experience. I had a tasty ham and cheese roll from the “bread cafeteria”. You just get tongs and a tray and then you can select your bread from dozens of little clear boxes. Next stop was Little India… It was very colorful and fragrant with open air markets selling fresh jasmine and all sorts of spices and teas. I also stopped into Mufasa which is a huge 24 hr. department store in the area. After that, I headed over to Clark Quay which is a waterfront dining and entertainment area with a mall. I had lunch at, where I tried healthy pasta made from fish protein. It really didn’t taste any different. It was topped with chicken, mushrooms, and cream. Afterwards I had some frozen yogurt topped with Kiwi. The food here is actually very good. It has Asian, Indian, American, and Malaysian influences. Below are pictures of Singapore's modern cityscape.



After the mall, I headed back to the Marina area where our hotel is. I walked through about 5 connected malls to get from the train to the hotel. After looking at hundreds of shops, I noticed key themes. They are obsessed with youthful looking clothing (on countless occasions I mistook adult clothing stores for kids ones because of the clothing styles and store décor).Also, they LOVE toast here. There are toast shops of every corner offering toast more ways than I thought possible. They even have adorable couture toast boutiques (think something like a cupcake store). There are also tons of trinket stores with adorable little keyrings, ink pens, gifts, etc. I have got to get a Monchichii while I am here. For those of you that remember...they are cute little brown thumb sucking monkeys : ) Below is a picture of the symbol of Singapore...the Merlions statue. The image on the right is of a large installation at the domed theater pictured above.



I have been taking the train around all day which is extremely easy. I didn’t get lost at all. Also, because of the heat, most buildings here are interconnected so you don’t have to go outside. It is so clean and organized here and everyone is generally very polite. There are tons of rules and fines here. Eating in the subway comes with a hefty $500 fine and eating durian in public (the national fruit of Singapore) is punishable by arrest because it is has an offensive odor. The government also mandates a city wide sale 2 times a year. It is actually going on right now, so all the stores are really bustling. I hope to find some good buys, especially because the dollar is strong here ( woo to the hoo!)

After a day of great culinary treats, I made a mistake with the fresh star fruit juice. It sounded like a great idea, but it’s a little bitter and weird as a juice. I also passed a place called Yuki Yoki where I was watching though the window as guest sat at their tables, boiling things and sautéing them in 2 pans inset into the table. It was like a new take on Korean BBQ. I was tempted to go inside and investigate, but the smell told me I was better off observing from the outside.
Singapore is a late night city…malls are open until 10pm and restaurants are open very late. So I am going to take a quick nap and then get ready for the evening.

At Market

I'm sitting here in Atlanta at a tradeshow and I started thinking that there is no better time that the present to update my blog. Lots has happened since my last post. I opened a retail boutique in San Francisco. The store is called Covet and I opened it with a designer friend, Liza of Ofina Jewelry. After a few weeks of hard work remodeling the space, we opened for business the Friday before Mother's Day. We were also lucky to receive alot of great press surrounding the Grand Opening party last week. Publications including Daily Candy, 7x7, and the Guardian. We had over 100 guest at our party ( I'll be posting pictures soon.) We had Bellini's, cupcakes, goodie bags, mini makeovers, and special savings. You can learn more about the store by visiting www.covetsf.com . Also, come check us out at 391 Arguello Blvd. @ Clement St. We are located in the heart of the Inner Richmond.
I'll be blogging from Singapore over the next week. I am headed there to meet my husband who is there on business. So I'm looking forward to a fun vacation week. I also hope to find some great new stones and pieces for the new collection.