Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

How time flies! We just ended Christmas and now anticipating the onset of another year.

A quick update - I had been very sick. Never been so sick before. Had persistent high fever, viral infection, lymph infection and ultimately, drug allergy that made me looked swollen and like an alien. I am still on medication but I look really normal now.

I seriously had a system overhaul. At least I have to say, my skin is looking quite good even without any powder. This is one of the greatest consolations. And probably not quite sustainable (according to baby), I have lost quite a lot of weight. Haha.

Oh well. I can't say I am proud to be that sick. It was one of the most horrible experiences and needless to say, traumatizing when I saw myself looking like some alien was breaking through my skin. It was horrifying! I had swollen cheeks, hands, feet and itches. I did not have rough rashes but I had scaly-looking patches all over my body.

Now, I am back on my health, I need to do really get back in shape for my MT KK climb. I lost so much muscular strength and even walking in the malls tired me out. I felt shortness of breath and I got really exhausted. So, I need to get my fitness level up so that I could easily scale the mountain.

Till my next post, this is just an update on how glad I am to be well again. For the first time, I appreciate sitting in front of my computer typing things out with a clear mind. :) After almost 2 full weeks of being really sick, being able to sit here is really a joy.

To great health!!!

2010 Holidays Party: Flutes @ the Fort

We had a holidays party at Flutes at the Fort last Thursday. P, C, J and I wanted to go there earlier to:

1. Avoid peak hour and CBD charges
2. Start drinking on our own account first - c'mon... it's a holiday party. We were also in party mood.

So, we left office really early and reached Flutes before 5pm! Yes. We sound absolutely like the KS Singaporeans. But, at least we were punctual. And for the record, J is not Singaporean. But oh well, he's kinda' infused with the culture here.

So, four of us arrived, looking hungry for some alcohol. To our disappointment, the bar was not set up - we only found out when we were there that the company booked even the bar area for cocktails reception. They would only open the place officially at 6pm.

The restaurant staff could not start serving us drinks at the wine bar. So, we made ourselves at home. We switched the lights on ourselves, had a whale of our time taking photos, fooled around with the restaurant's set up and wines and made ourselves absolutely comfortable. With the way we were, I was surprised the restaurant actually trusted us completely.

It was really fun for the four of us - team bonding indeed. Except, it wasn't the whole team. So, here are some pre-party pictures I like. I'll blog soon on the others.

All ready to party!
(Note: Coincidentally, C & I wore a dress from our latest collection. We are true-blue shopaholics who can't wait to wear new clothes all the time. C was wearing Breakfast-At-Tiffany's Dress in Magenta and I was wearing the Bollywood Inspired Dress in Fuschia.)

I love this one. Looks fitting for a magazine spread - with better photo quality of course.

I can't believe how trusting the restaurant was with us. We almost played with their Moet too.

Ha! Mood shot... Fun. Thanks to P for shooting exactly what I wanted.

Festive Season's Collection II: Behind the Scenes

We decided to be creative this time with our photo shoot. Basically, we try to be somewhat different from other blogshops in our style. So, this time round, we explored different angles, shots and props.

All thanks to Lovebug Photography for renting us his studio on a friendly rate. The photos look awesome.

It was great fun... I had a chance to shoot while Baby took a long call. And we three girls enjoyed jumping around, trying out new "stunts". Hope you like our shoot this time!

Give us your feedback please!!! Thanks! :)

Our Stunts

Busy Preparing Winnie (While I stood in for the Photographer)

I love this shot

The Busy Photographer

Sisterly Shots

***So Loving***

Trio Shots

P.s. When you wear the GG<5 Inspired Reversible Tank with the Street Chic Tapered Leg Trouser, please do tuck in more - not slouchy like mine. Mine was the unfortunate consequence of jumping around the studio too much amd not prepping up for this photo. ;p

Preview: Festive Season's Collection II

Yay!!! We are launching our next collection. Yet again pretty (even prettier this time) clothes for our dear dear customers.

We had a really fun shoot this time at Lovebug Photography's studio. We tried to be out-of-the-box and got creative. Thanks to Winnie for being very accommodating and patient with all our demands. And thanks to Baby as well for giving in to our crazy ideas.

Will post the behind-the-scenes photos later on. For now... for your viewing... a preview of what we are launching this Friday. :)

Horrible Cab Driver - Beware!!! SHC3795J (Comfort)

This is a post I must blog. Because, I have never... NEVER met such a horrible cab driver before.

First, he tried to pull a fast one on me. Before I boarded the cab, he already turned on the hired button. And when questioned (I thought he pressed the wrong button), he got defensive and shouted at me. He had a really lousy excuse. He said that he had a call job, which if he didn't accept, he would be punished. Can you believe??? So, he had to turn on the hired button. He even told me to check with other cabbies. So, I said I would. I would check with Comfort Delgro.

By then, I was already stupidly on his cab. I was almost going to do a Charlie Angel's jump off the taxi because we were having a heated argument and I did not feel safe. He restarted the hired button and in the end, I continued the ride. Now that I am writing, I feel quite silly. I could have endangered myself.

Anyway, from then, he took me on a wrong route which I pointed out and almost got me out on a wrong exit from the express way. I think he did it deliberately. After that, he even pretended to not know the directions. Upon questioning, I found out he knew exactly where the place I wanted to go was.

When we reached Grace's place, I refused to pay him the full amount. He tried to give me very little discounts, but I refused. And I demanded for a receipt. I think he realised what I was going to do. With the receipt details, I could lodge a complaint against him. So, he refused to give me his receipt. And even pretended to press the print button several times. I told him I had a lot of time to wait for the receipt.

Susan was standing outside to watch over so he couldn't pull any more tricks. Finally, the receipt was printed and he wrote the discounted amount on the receipt.

It was a really pissed-me-off cab ride. My goodness.

After talking to Baby at home, he said I should have just opened the door of the moving cab. Because he would stop.

1. If he didn't, I would have jumped and injured myself. This would not be beneficial for his license.
2. If he continued to move, his taxi would get into an accident - his door would crash. And cabbies are afraid of getting into accidents as this would cause his license to be revoked.

So, yes... now that I thought back, I should have. At that time, all I thought about was, I would not really jumped because I didn't want to injure myself. I hadn't thought that he would stop for me eventually.

So, now you girls (especially) know. Some cabbies are really crazy.

And yes... I  am going to lodge a complaint.

Festive Season's Combo Specials & Feedbacks Received

I am so filled with the Christmas mood that if not because work is forcing me to, I would really wish to just take the last two months of the year off to simply soak in the ambience of the impending holidays.

Actually, my initial plan for Moda Shoppe was to do a Christmas meet-up sales or members' Christmas party. But, somehow, things are not going as planned. So, Celeste came up with the brilliant idea of Festive Season's Combo Specials. This is in conjunction with the joy of giving and we just want to spread the Christmas joy around.

Aside from giving gift vouchers to Moda Shoppe's members, customers who have been supporting us relentlessly and customers who supported us when we were just starting out, we have also planned a combo specials.

Basically, we put together combination of our extras from backorders from our previous launches and yes... generously discounted on these combinations! Indeed... We cut the prices down by a lot - as low as S$18.00 per bundle. Although we would not be making profits for some of the items, we don't mind selling them off at low prices just to get the satisfaction of making someone else happy for getting a good deal. :)

So, we are looking forward indeed to this Festive Season's Combo Specials.

Here's a preview.

Feedbacks on Testimonials Page

Also, we have received some comments on our testimonials page. These comments were more like feedbacks instead of testimonies of our services and products.

So, I would really urge those who have left comments there to contact us directly at modashoppe.enquiry@gmail.com. (If you are reading...) We would really wish to be able to respond to you. :)  We would like to assure that we are listening to you. But not everything could be published on the testimonials page. If you want, you could even comment on our personal blogs. We could somehow establish some connection with you this way. Really appreciate that you took the trouble to provide us feedbacks! We are indeed working on improving Moda Shoppe in everyway we could as we progress.

And huge thanks for everyone for the support for Moda Shoppe. Really appreciate it. We are awfully touched by those who really wish for us to succeed. We will continue to provide the best we can for you!!! :)

Lastly, want to thank my business partner for putting in a lot of effort in planning the combo specials. It was not that simple pulling things together from past launches and combining them together especially in editing the photos.

So, that's us...

Celeste was wearing the Beaded Tank Top in White with a H&M Vest and Levi's Skinny Pants. I was Wearing a Long Spaghetti Strap Top with Knitted Striped Long Cardigan and Braided Belt in Charcoal Brown over leggings. 

P.s. I am so thrilled H&M is arriving to Singapore. Celeste - please get a hold of yourself and don't buy down the whole store (she adores H&M... adores being an understatement). ;p

Handwashing Clothes Tips

I have been asked how I wash my clothes, especially those from Moda Shoppe because it says "hand wash" on the website. I know it can be quite tiring having to bend over a pail. And after that, there might not be enough space to hang or drip dry.

I have to confess, I am not that discipline about handwashing. :) If some clothes look sturdy or hardy enough to go through the machine cycles, I'll just machine wash with them in laundry bags.

For the more fragile looking ones, especially chiffon, satin and viscose, I usually hand wash them every other day with my lingerie. This is how I do it.  

1. Fill a shallow pail with slightly warmed water.
2. Pour in a little laundry detergent. You do not need to pour in a full cup or even half cup. Just pour in an amount that is soapy enough but doesn't cause you to rinse 10 times to rid the soapiness after that.
3. Rinse through your clothes - starting with the lightest colour. I usually go with white first.
4. If there is a stain, use a stain remover (I use Kiwi Stain Remover Spray) and leave it on for a few minutes. Then rinse through and gently rub the stain area.
5. Separate dark colours after the rinse.
6. Pour away the foamy water and rinse the pail. Fill it up with water again and repeat the rinsing process 3 and 5, two times.
7. Take the lighter colour and place them in laundry bags.
8. Spin dry in machine.
9. Hang them on the poles. Viola! You are done with the light colours.
10. Repeat step 7-9 with the dark colours clothes.

Hope this helps! It sounds like a long process, but it's actually not!

I have requested for a standing laundry basin at the service yard in my new home. This would be so useful. I used this when I was in Australia and I loved it. Have been dreaming of having one. So, can't wait for it to come true! Hopefully my new home has the space to accommodate.