Savoring my strawberry/blueberry yogurt dessert from Simply Life whilst catching up with a friend and reminiscing our fun times as flat mates back in London during our uni days. Upon leaving a shopping mall at 11pm, I couldn’t help but snap a pic of these beautiful flowers on display at the Agnès b. Fleuriste shop. Discovering art out of nowhere such as this heart made out of paper by Yulia Brodskaya, are one of those things that make life that much more interesting and beautiful.

Adding some lovely smelling “Bath & Body Works” shower gel to my bathroom, that another BFF from New York got me. Excited to try the sun-ripened raspberry scent already. Audrey Hepburn fever in full swing after watching her movie, Sabrina, and spontaneously decided to hunt down books about her. “How to be lovely” is an easy read and great way to look into the life of Audrey Hepburn, highly recommended for those that are fond of her. Enjoyed a Friday night in, skimming through the Cosmopolitan May issue while indulging over Bailey’s truffle chocolate bar, and watching Gossip Girl for the very first time. Yes, i’m a bit late on this American series but as the saying goes, always better later than never, right?

I am blessed for each and every day that was filled with love, fun, laughters, and sharing special moments with people I love and care for. You are my April Love 2013.

As some may have noticed, i have been away from blogging for quite a while, and it just comes down to those moments where i got crazily busy with life as of late. But the main reason due to my recent absence is due to experiencing the so called writer’s block, and it’s been really frustrating for me. However, i thought it’s about time to come clean and update on my status because it would be bad to just leave my blog hanging without any updates. That would be purely irresponsible to my blog and of course, all my lovely bloggers out there that follow me, right? lol

Now this is where i turn to you, my fellow bloggers, and ask for a little flavor. I want to know if there is anything in particular or any area of topics that you enjoy reading or want to see more of on my blog, and new ideas are more than welcome as well. I know this blog is where i express my ideas and thoughts but i thought it be nice to hear what you guys enjoy about reading here or yet, if something  is missing from my blog.

I am all ears to any feed back and i can’t wait to hear your comments! Until then, i shall be back again.

Photo source: weheartit

I remember my very first trip to the states in New York back in 2008, where i fell in love with Bath & Body Works, an American skin care brand. Fast forward 5 years later, BFF is ever as sweet and remembers my love for this brand. Although my love for Bath & Body Works isn’t as crazy as before, surely one should not decline gorgeous looking beauty products, right? There were 2 shower gels that came in the flavors of sun ripened raspberry and cucmber melon, which reminds me of the summer times. I absolutely adore the cute mini anti-bacterial hand gels, and they are the perfect size to put into my bag. Japanese Cherry Blossom is my favorite.

On my lazy days, when i don’t have time or patience to glam up, i always find spraying on a fave perfume or applying a tint of lip gloss is all it takes to feel dolled up without much effort. This is when less is more fits my agenda, where i go for the casual look. So i was very much amused when i found out that BFF had gotten me a multi functional cosmetic piece to add to my collection.  This special make up kit is a wand that has a pink lip gloss on one end and a lovely summery roll on perfume on the other end. Two things in one, it’s the perfect gift for a busy lady like me that always rushes to work every morning. The AVOCA soap bar is an additional piece i added because i felt that it completed the entire look with the whole pink color scheme going on in the photo. I actually bought this soap during my trip to Wicklow in Ireland three years ago. I still haven’t had the heart to use this soap because it just looks too pretty and still smells ever as lovely as the day i bought it. 

One of my fave gifts to receive are jewelries as it can hold sentimental values, where memories are embedded of that certain moment or special person, and a valuable to be kept forever. You can say i’m more of the sappy type, if you like. For my belated birthday gift, BFF got me this gorgeous Swarovski crystal necklace. The simple and elegant design of this gem is very close to my usual style in jewelry, and the size is perfect for me.

What are some of your most memorable birthday gifts received in the past?

Attending my fave J-pop, Namie Amuro’s 20th Anniversary Asia Tour, her first concert ever in Hong Kong. The night was filled with dancing, jumping, along with singing and screaming to her old 90′s classic songs such as “Can you celebrate?”, “Respect the power of love”, “Say the word”, and many more. Celebrating a dear friend’s birthday on a relaxing weekend over Italian food, and surprised her with a birthday dessert platter. Friday night drinks with friends in town from Canada, accidentally discovered this stylish and chic bar, Lily & Bloom, that serves exotic and extraordinary cocktails!

Getting my hearty and healthy breakie back on track at work, with raspberry yogurt mixed with blueberries, strawberries, and pumpkin flax granola. Trying out my new cosmetics, the Jill Stuart custard lip pot (#C4, chocolat custard) to welcome spring time! Gently I blend this in with a clear gloss to give that extra shine. Doing a bit of good deed and contributed to World Vision for charity.

Spotted this cute floral summer dress and knitted cardigan, and got it in a heart beat for my friend’s recent new born baby girl. Started picking up on reading again. My current read is “the kite runner” and the occasional “fifty shades of grey” for my lazy read days. Spring shopping in H&M and got myself this sleeveless burgundy top with gorgeous lace detailing on it.

I am blessed for each and every day that was filled with love, fun, laughters, and sharing special moments with people I love and care for. You are my March Love 2013.

Christmas 2012 in Vancouver was filled with house parties with friends and families, where eating and drinking was non stop. While this is not as common in Hong Kong, due to the limited living space in most households, I was beyond thrilled to enjoy such a joyous holiday with so much love, joy, and laughter. The greatest thing was also getting to meet a lot of new people via BFF’s friends and families.

We went to BFF’s brother’s new flat for an early Christmas dinner and a giant Christmas tree covered in all silver decor was standing beautifully in the living room, and i could not take my eyes off it. Another detailing i really liked was this giant mirror with this white frame that was laying against the wall next to the Christmas tree. I’ve always dreamed of having a mirror like this in my future home.

Over the weekend before Christmas, we decided to go on a road trip to the states for some shopping at the premium outlet.  BFF’s parents came along where her dad volunteered to drive us there. He warned us that it was a grueling 3 hours drive in the snowy weather, and with BFF’s rusty driving skills due to not driving for almost 4 years in Canada, we accepted his kind offer.

As we drove on the high way, i noticed the spectacular view of these mountains that were covered in snow and an endless row of trees that stacked beautifully together. It was an absolutely breath taking view.

I have heard about Tim Horton’s cafe for the longest time and i have been meaning to try their coffee and pastries on this trip of mine. So when we dropped by a Tim Horton’s cafe for breakfast prior to our road trip, i quickly decided to get a hot latte and my fave cinnamon bun, which I must say, was a good kick start for the day.

Upon arriving to the premium outlet, my eyes could not stop looking from left to right and back to forth. All the well known designer brands such as Coach, Michael Kors, Burberry, Ralph Laure, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, and etc were confined together within the premium outlet, where they were stacked to each other from shop to shop. It was quite overwhelming as we only had around 3 hours to shop but we managed to stick to our schedule, and drove into the night as we headed back to Vancouver. One of my favorite purchase was my Kate spade iphone case and Michael Kors rose gold watch.

After spending so much time with friends and families, my 2 BFFs and i decided we needed a girls night out with nobody but us three only.  We went to the Cactus Club cafe, which is situated in the English Bay. It has a nice wooden design both from the outside and the inside. I really like the earthy tones and contemporary style of the interior decor along with the dim lights. It’s a great place to chill with friends or with your other half.

Now don’t even get me started on the cocktails.  Their cocktails tasted really fresh and BFF explained that it’s due to more access to fresh resources in Canada. Whereas in Hong Kong, i noticed that most of the cocktails  i tried are normally sweet. I started with a Flirtini, where it’s name was derived from the American series, Sex and the City. My second cocktail was the Cohiba, which was just as nice, and it had a really nice flavor of mixed berries to it, very refreshing. For main course, i ordered their creole steak and prawn in cajun spices, which was served with mashed potato and veggies. I wasn’t too impressed with the steak as it was more on the dry side.   

Ms. C and I were also introduced to try Japa Dog, which is a Japanese style hot dog. I though that this was a pretty interesting concept and so we off we went to to find our Japa dogs. We ordered two flavors to share, the Kurobuta Terimayo and Oroshi. I absolutely loved the Kurobuta Terimayo with the teritaki sauce, it was delish! The Japanese staffs were also super friendly and helped us to take a photo with their Japa dog food stand.

We also managed go out on Christmas Eve for some lovely Japanese dinner, where we took it nice and easy. The sashimi served was really fresh and the sake was totally divine!

Towards the end of trip, we did some of the things that we hadn’t managed to do, such as exploring around BFF’s neighborhood in Coquitlam, as we seemed to never wake up in time during day time to see the area, thanks to the late chit chats til 5am! There was one night where a friend drove us around Coquitlam to track down Christmas lights and decorations on people’s houses because i’ve never seen this in my entire life, apart from the time when i saw it from the movie “Home Alone”. We did our last minute shopping in Robson Street and wandered around down town like a proper tourist, and kept looking at street names and maps for directions.

As i had to catch an 11:30am flight to fly back to Hong Kong, my last day in Vancouver was not for long. BFF and Ms. C had already taken off to Toronto the day before to spend New Years Eve there, and so BFF’s dad had offered to give me a lift to the airport. It was a bittersweet good bye as i was not ready to leave Vancouver just yet. But i know that i will be back some day, hopefully in the  summer time.

Have you ever spent Christmas in another country and what were your most memorable moments there?

Photo source: learning petals via Facebook and weheartit

I’m on the bus going to Asia World Expo where the concert will be held at so I’m super excited as I write this post now!!!! I gotta admit, waiting around 17 years to finally see her sing live is such a thrill, just all that anticipation and knowing I’ll hear her sing in less than 8 hours is so surreal!!!

I just wanted to pop in and share this great news of mine and i hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!! I know my weekend will be fabulous with Namie in my agenda!!! Here are some gorgeous photos of Namie Amuro so please enjoy.

While I’m not one of those top notch CEO or Director, though I wouldn’t mind the salary minus the stress, I surely do have my impulsive beauty shopping splurges once in a while. As a little treat for myself to celebrate the end of 2012, I purchased some cosmetics from Jill Stuart and Esprique, two brands that I’ve never tried before. My friend’s friend actually works in the cosmetics industry and was able to hook me up on these products at a cheaper price but the down fall is that they’re not the newest collection, which doesn’t bother me at all.

I’ve heard of the brands Jill Stuart and Esprique for a long time, and was always curious about their cosmetic products. So I took the opportunity and bought an eye shadow palette and lip gloss from Jill Stuart and another eye shadow palette from Esprique.

The packaging of the Jill Stuart products has always been quite girly and I admit that I do fall for this trap, I mean, who doesn’t??? The eye shadow colors are really shimmery and I am super excited to try them out. I absolutely love how its palette looks like a jewlery box as well (as shown in the second photo abo

I also got the custard lip pot, which is a lip gloss packaged into a cute pot. Although I normally don’t go for lip glosses that require using my finger for application, due to hygiene reasons, but I found it too cute to resist! I really like the small detailing of the red sparkly crystal like decoration on the lid, it just adds that bit of glamour to it.

The Japanese cosmetic brand, Esprique, which not everyone may be as familiar with, is another brand that has caught my attention a few years ago. My favorite Japanese pop singer, Namie Amuro, is the sponsor behind this brand, and being her fan for more than 10 years, I had to support and try out Esprique.

I really like how their eye shadow palettes have step by step guidelines using English alphabets along with an image, teaching you how to apply the eye shadow. The packaging of this eye shadow palette is less girly but I actually prefer the selection of colors over the Jill Staurt eye shadow palette. I’ve not tried any of these products so i am really looking forward to see what these beauty gems are all about.

For details on the products i purchased, please see below:

• Jill Stuart illuminance eyes, model # CC917A
• Jill Stuart Patisserie collection, custard lip pot, model #C4, chocolat custard
• Esprique Precious dress on shiny eyes, by Beaute de KOSE, model # C-3

What are your favorite cosmetic brands that you turn to?

Exactly 4 years and 4 days ago, i started this little blog of mine, which was a place for me to let my creative outlet come out. Gradually throughout the years with much determination and inspiration from other bloggers, my blog  has now blossomed into a place that i enjoy coming back to again and again and again,  to share my thoughts, travel experiences, delicious eateries, fashion trends, and great treasury finds with you all.

It has been quite a journey and i have to admit, a lot of time, patience, dedication, and love is required in order to maintain a blog. There were days where i was absent from blogging for days, weeks, or even a month or so but that did not stop me. My urge to share my life experiences and thoughts are never ending and i am so grateful for those that come back and read my blog, and to even take the time out of your busy life to leave me a comment. I want to say a big thank you to all you bloggers that have left me comments, liked my posts, and followed me via wordpress, bloglovin, and instagram.  I have met a lot of lovely people throughout the years of blogging and i am sure this year will be no exception!

I feel truly blessed for reaching my 4th year in blogging and i look forward to sharing more with you all in the future.

Cinz

XXX

Chinese New Year celebration was in full swing with colorful flowers and kum quat trees being decorated around the house. Lovely afternoon chill time with friends over cake and tea at the cosy “Zelo” located in Pacific Place Shopping mall, which has a really modern and stylish design to its interior.  Painted my nails in green with some glitter to add some fun as we entered the year of the snake!

Ms. C was in town visiting and had arranged a lovely evening for Ms. S’s birthday and also for my belated 30th, at the Domani Ristorante. She had some contacts and managed to get us a lovely table with the view of Hong Kong island, where drinks were prepared in advance. Drinking the night away with champagne, red wine, and dessert wine, while catching up like old times, was definitely a  great way to spend a joint birthday together. Valentines Day came before i knew it, and being still single, i was really touched when i went to Pret A Manger for my morning coffee and salmon/cucumber bun, and  found a small heart shaped short bread placed inside the paper bag along with my breakie. It is these small gestures that really gets to my heart at times.  Quiet stroll along the Victoria Harbour after a filling meal to burn off some excess calories, whilst taking in the beautiful night view of Hong Kong, never fails to impress me.

Spent a relaxing Sunday evening over a friend’s house party where the fabulous host had prepared delicious food and desserts. A pot of hot lychee and rose tea was served into these lovely looking Wedgwood tea cups, which complemented well with the home made chocolate cake, to neutralize the overall sweetness. Regular visits to the Vibe bar at the Mira hotel as of lately, has proved to be an enjoyable experience where my friends and I sit and talk for hours over wine and cocktails. The circular chandelier at its lobby entrance manages to fascinate me every time i go there and i think i’ve fallen in love with it. Lovely daffodils were welcomed into the house to welcome the Chinese new year and to hope for a fresh and better start.

I am blessed for each and every day that was filled with love, fun, laughters, and sharing special moments with people i love and care for. You are my February Love 2013.