That warm feeling in the tummy

Sorry for my slow updates as I can hardly breathe preparing for my new fashion showcase, upcoming design trip, new collection for fashion design incubator @ Japanese Parco next year and a queue of custom make orders. Not to mention I have to constantly come up with new arrivals before my customers "complain". :P

Anyway, I was so happy that tonight I got to savour Gary's cooking again. Sometimes I think he is a food genie coming up with fantastic creations whenever I wish for it. His seafood soup packs a oomph with the most generous serving of seafood I will ever get. Will be perfect with mussels and pasta. There was once he even served it with toasted garlic bread oozing with garlic goodness for my family. And my whole family was relishing it. So unforgettable.... The dishes he whips up always get cleaned out when served in gatherings!

And he prepared a bottle of milo just the way I like it with milk and not hot water that can last me for 2 days of breakfast. My mum moved to my sis house temporarily to take care of my new born niece. I felt a warm cosy feeling in my tummy as I bade him farewell tonight.

Seafood soup with generous servings of prawns and clams.

Served with meeee...

Romance is ...

As you mature, romance takes on a new meaning especially when time becomes a luxury commodity other than money. 5 years back, flowers and fancy dining in a posh restaurant wld send me over the moon. I even received flowers air flown from London before. Now it still makes me smile but perhaps the impact it has on me is not as great.

Romance now to me is being able to enjoy wine over board games after work.
Romance is exploring recipes and baking cakes together during a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Romance is holding hands in a foreign land like you just knew each other yesterday.
Romance is dancing in each other's arms.
Romance is gazing at the moon together on a beach without having to rush for the last bus.(I even painted this image before on a canvas!)
Romance is about accompanying him to look at fishies and asking him 101 questions even though they are boring.
Romance is writing and reading poetry together.
Romance is falling asleep on his tummy while he watches Discovery Channel. (I like falling asleep on people whom I trust:))))
Romance is painting the wall of your new house with a bear and bunny watching the moon together.
Romance is exploring something new together with a flower in your heart, in this world of uncertainties and insecurities.

Most importantly, romance is being able to face life together everyday positively despite all the challenges. Because romance like companionship should last a lifetime.

Italy

Even at this time, I cant really believe I am going back to Italy again. Well, many deciding factors come into play like finances and my extremely busy schedule. I was invited to participate in a design and art event in Verona Italy by world renowned artist Thomas Diego Armonia. Famous for his figurative art, his works have been showcased in musuems from Milan, Paris to Shanghai. Thomas has also showcased in luxury fairs alongside Porsche and Chopard. The venue for this event is a church in the heart of the city, where international press and buyers will be present. And I will be the only local label out of 11 other European luxury labels.

Verona is the city where Shakespear's characters Romeo and Juliet were based. A city bustling with artistic legacies that when you visit Juliet's house, you can even imagine Romeo serenading to Juliet under the balcony.

Italy is a place of bittersweet memories for me. I once studied in Milan when I was in the university. It was a period of drama, romance, excitement and freedom. I remembered jumping out of a moving train to shut someone up before. Eating gelato in freezing winter. Being pursued over a few streets by an Italian romeo. Visiting a friendly lonely old man in a city's outskirts. Roaming picturesque Firenze (Florence) and the art museums alone with my camera and enjoying being alone doing nothing. Taking a midnight train alone. Mistaking the police car for a taxi. sunbathing at Italian island-Sardegnia. Going to class initially and pretending to understand when everyone only spoke Italian. Working on retail projects with amazingly talented people. Eating my favourite 2 euro pizza after school. I probably came across as a gusty and aloof oriental girl.

All these precious memories are locked up inside my heart. And when I left Italy then with a heavy heart, I always wonder when will I go back and if I do who will I go back with.


Taken at Torino, dreamy river Po.

Asking For Help.....correctly

Many people have asked me how do I get so many press features and how do I manage to get sponsors for my fashion show. Sometimes I get a little angry when I hear this. Because their tone seems to suggest that I was plain lucky and "help" just fell like rain from the sky.

Perhaps I was blessed with abit of luck. But more importantly, perseverance,and wit is essential to getting help successfully. I suffer demoralising rejections too. For every "yes" that I get, there are numerous numerous rejections which people dont see. Asking help is an art itself. Some people dont ask and wish for help so they never get it. Some people ask for help wrongly and they get ignored. Excluding loved ones and friends, people will only help you if there is a reason and usually there must be something in it for them. And you must provide the reason for them to help you.

When I approach sponsors, first I study their organisation and their clientele and find out why they have to help me and what I can offer them. The proposition must be compelling and summarised as sponsors are BUSY. Then when you are ready, the scariest thing is making a cold call. And if you are lucky, they grant you a meeting to hear you out. But this is only the beginning of a marathon. There are many layers of approvals in an organisation and you must pass thru them where each have different agendas. This process will take few months at least and rob you of your strength and stamina. The faint hearted will have given up by now. But the determined will perservere and tackle every meeting with wits till you win the battle. So this is how some people get sponsors eventually and some dont.

Applies to press features also. I have to analyse the magazine and think of interesting news angles to pitch to reporters. I write all my own press releases as I have no budget to hire PR firm which charges arm and leg. And the most exhausting part is follow up, follow up, follow up every few days with the reporters, maintaining a thin line between perservering and pesky. And I do get ignored, chided too. This is reality. But when you get a good feature, you taste the sweetness of success

There was once a film student approached me to sponsor outfits for her graduating work. I asked her why she approached me. And she said she like my outfits and thought I could reach out to the students in her school. And when I asked her what's her film about, she emailed me a script more than 30 pages long. She did 3 mistakes. Liking something is not a reason for the person to sponsor you. My clientele are mostly working executives not students. And I do not have time to read a 30 page script. And needless to say, I did not sponsor as it just did not make sense for me.

It takes 1 second to say I love you and 1 lifetime to prove it.

Recently, my friend wrote that on facebook. The truth of this sentence really struck me.

I have been with Gary for 3 years and now and then I complain that he doesnt do things that take my breathe away. I will complain he should lose some weight and dress more dashing. But whenever that happens, I remember the little things he do which add up to be significant.

When Gary is free, he will cook for me every weekend. When I am in the fashion suite on weekends, he will go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients. He seems to be able to read my mind on what I want to eat. And he will come to fetch me, drive me to my house and start to busy in the kitchen shelling the prawns, washing the mussels, chopping the garlic to the thickness I prefer, all by himself. When I "offer" to help, he will shoo me off to " go and play or watch tv". After 30 minutes or so, the piping hot food will be ready, presented nicely on a plate. I always relish that as it is full of love. He usually finishes before me and then he go about clearing the plates and washing the stove. I try to "offer" help again and Gary will say No need. I know he doesnt want to tire me.

Gary doesnt walk out on me when we argue but prefers to painstakingly explain and calm me down till I can absorb reason in my head. He seems to remember the smallest thing about me even though I cant remember when I expressed it.

I have my fair share of drama-mama relationships, but never have I experienced love that is expressed in such simple honest ways that matter the most. Thank you TTB