Singapore Inspired Gift Guide

Magazines and blogs I read are all abound with gift guides at this time of the year, so thought I'd come up with my version of a Singapore inspired gift guide. Here it goes:

1. An evening of sipping Singapore Slings at the Raffles Hotel http://www.raffles.com/singapore/

2. A massage at Botanica Spa, considered to be Singapore's best http://www.spabotanica.com/

3. A ride on the Singapore Flyer for the view. http://www.singaporeflyer.com/

4. A colorful umbrella to protect yourself from our tropical storms http://www.amazon.com

5. A mug from Chinatown, just because...

6. A swim at Marina Bay Sands, you may have to spend a night there, but it's worth it just to take a dip in this unique rooftop pool. http://www.marinabaysands.com/

7. A yearlong membership at the zoo. My kids never tire from going there again & again. http://www.zoo.com.sg/

8. The ultimate guide to Singlish, so that you can be a native on the streets of Singapore. OK lah? http://booksactually.com/

My new summer shoes

I think I may have found the perfect shoes for my eternal summers here in Singapore. A little more sexy than my Birkenstocks, not as flat as my Havaianas and way more comfortable than a stiletto. Plus they remind me of my mom and her eternal Dr. Scholls.

Note to my favorite store, NOA, you definitely need to order these for next summer. I'm sure you girls will be loving my peep toe clogs as much as I do.

PS. I bought my Swedish clogs from here. Great & fast service. www.lottafromstockholm.co.uk

Christmas Countdown

This pocketed-numbered (does that make sense?) piece of fabric is the reason that my children for the past 2 weeks have not complained once about waking up. These days they run down the stairs excitedly to see what the "Christmas Angels" have brought them during the night, so far they have received lots of silly bandz, chocolate santas and candy canes. Need to thank www.kikki-k.com for this year's advent calendar. Kikki K's creator is  from Sweden, hence the little Nordic flair to her stationery, but the company is based in Australia, hence the snowfree Christmas catalog. Check out her website - my current favorite is the "3am" notebook. Store locations in Singapore: Ion, Tampines Mall and Changi Airport - in case you have not finished your Christmas shopping head to one of these locations and you'll wrap up your list in no time.

My little elf this morning before he went off to his Christmas concert

"Petit Papa Noël..."