Dome Head

We had a late lunch at The Dome today after picking up first-born from school. Is it just me or is that restaurant hot? And I don't mean the outdoor downstairs area. Unless I have really thick skin, The Dome has some serious a.c. defiency problem. Can someone please sponsor them some high horse-powered a.c.? I would but I have other priorities, like, er, handbags.

Speaking of handbags, my B Bag made it's maiden debut yesterday. Yes, I am coming to terms with the colour. Oh did I tell you that my online purchase is still being rejected after correcting my billing address yesterday. Bye-bye my other B Bag. Guess it really wasn't meant to be. *Sob*

I bought a pair of black flip-flops today at Bata. Then I realised it was Havaianas. Cool! What a bargain! Although Laukong will tell you "au contraire" at B$29.99 a pop. Now I have footwear to match my new Sab55 black dress. Question is, where to shall I wear the outfit?

I was feeling rather generous today - payday might have something to do with it - so I bought my 2 sisters an iPod Nano each just because.

B Bag - so NOT maroon!!

Laukong arrived last night and brimming with excitement unpacked my B Bag first thing. Oh the pain! The agony! The bag is soooo NOT maroon. It is brown!!! Those people in Fendi must be colour blind! Snap, crackle and pop goes my effing heart!! Not a hint of red in sight. (Hey, that ryhmes!). At first I thought it must be the lighting in our bedroom.

Well, now that it is daylight - it's even browner than last night. Oh the pain! The agony! This must be the most expensive mistake of my life. Well. Actually my car is the most expensive mistake of my life. But that's another story. It has since found a new home with my mum.

Pffffffft!!!! Well, what can I say? Anyone wishing to buy a brown Fendi B Bag, please leave a message on the comment section. Grrrr!

B Bag - so YES!!

Laukong called from Fendi to tell me that he has the Spy Bag right in front of him. They only have the dark brown one and a lighter brown one. Hmmm.....decisions, decisions, decisions. How desperate am I for the Spy bag? Do I really want another brown bag? The shade of brown is the same as my Dior Gaucho and Chloe Paddington. ANSWER: Not really. No, I don't need another brown bag. No, my first choice is still the off-white Spy Bag.

So, do they have the B Bag instead. ANSWER: Yes! Loads! Which colour?

Me: Do they have patent yellow?
Laukong: Yes.
Me: How about pink?
Laukong: It's too 80's. It makes me want to sing "Pop Goes My Heart".
(Sales Girl in the back ground: How about navy blue?)
Me: Yuck! No. And no canvas. It gets dirty easily. Tell you what, let me call (GF) and I'll call you back.

A frantic S.O.S. call to a dear friend followed. At times like these, I was not in the right state of mind to be the sole decision-maker. Indeed, life is full of tough choices. VERDICT: Red. Yes, it will go nicely with the black and white dress that I bought yesterday.

They don't have it in red but they do have maroon. So what does Laukong think? VERDICT: He likes! Apparently it matches the gold hardware and doesn't quite make his heart go "pop".

ENDING: SOLD!

p/s Cannot wait to hold my new possession in my arms. Laukong will be back tomorrow. Will post pictures soon. "Pop! Goes my heart!!!"

B Bag - so NOT! + My Road to Redemption

I got an e-mail notification *ahem* notifying me that my online purchase cannot proceed because my billing address does not match. Grrrr!!!! Today conveniently is a public holiday (thanks to National Day. Happy Indepence Day Brunei, by the way). So this means I am completely helpless in trying to rectify my God damn billing address with the bank. ARGHHHH!!!

Good-bye, B Bag. The thought of holding you in my arms was good while it lasted.

While I was in my mourning period, the mother-in-law invited me for dinner at the Airport Restaurant along with 2 aunts-in-law, a brother-in-law and my first-born. I have redeemed myself after this morning's hoo-ha (see previous post).

Unfortunately I have nothing much to say about the food, except it was really awful, awful, and awful. However, I must confess that the renovation has been er, tastefully done.

p/s I saw "a blast from my past" - let's leave this at that.

Puteribelibelah on a roll - kerchiiiiiing (with flapping wings)

Met up with a friend and her kids for lunch and ended up spending the whole afternoon together. A friend of hers joined us mid-way. I so *heart* her friend. He is just so hilarious. Makes me miss my "girl" friends too. It just goes to show what a Fag Hag I am at heart, if you catch my drift.

We practically trashed Le Orient boutique after lunch. The owner happened to be there so we had fun for hours playing dress-up. Of course, yours truly living up to her namesake went out the door after spending almost B$600. Who said playing dress-up was a cheap thrill?

We went for drinks at Vintage Rose - yes, I forgot how much hard work shopping is. By the time we were done it was already 6pm. Then I realised it was too late for me to go home at the in-laws and freshen up for my dinner date with another friend at 7:15. So I decided to stay until dinner.

When I picked up my friend she told me she needed to make a "pit stop" at The Mall to have something done to her shoes. Our so-called pit-stop turned out to be another shopping spree for me. I ended up with 2 pairs of shoes and a dress, and we our planned dinner only took place around 10!

Of course plenty - and I mean p.l.e.n.t.y. - of gossips ensued. Gosh, this is what I miss when I'm abroad. Just good, old, home-made gossip. Yum!

Got a slap om the wrist by mother dearest for coming home late - 01:30 in the morning. Apparent my mother-in-law called her to ask if I was staying over in Bandar. Haven't been in this much trouble with the parents since my single-mingle days! Haha!

Wanker of the Week: KE1110

To the 2 wankaaaaaarrrrrrrs in the silver skyline pretending to be GTR - F U C K Y O U. Keep driving like that, I will see you in hell.

To B or not to B Bag

After much contemplation and a rather long extended mental debate with the voice of reason - I have decided to take the plunge in buying the Fendi B Bag. Of course, preference would have been the Spy bag, but sod's law would have it that the one that I want (off-white) is no longer in Net-a-Porter. To think that the last time I saw it was 2 nights ago.

Anyway, too late now for I have just pressed the "proceed to payment" button for a yellow patent leather B Bag. Yes, I have been known to be a self-confessed 80's lover.

Carrot in my throat and wag flaving

I woke up with a sore throat. Must be the carrot cake for it was oh-so sweet. Note to self: Must reduce the sugar next time.

Sent Laukong to the airport. He's off to KL to get his Nigerian visa sorted out. Hopefully all will go well. First-born insisted on seeing his Datuk after the airport send-off. He got overly excited when he saw the Brunei flag on Gramp's car and insisted that he wants one as well. Gramps took pity on him and managed to "kikis" the flag off his car. Poor Gramps - he sheepishly confessed that he has been meaning to take the flag off anyway so just as well. Unfortunately Gramps is not a good liar.

Brought First-born to Euro Classic (yes, the staff still follow you around like you're the next shoplifter). When we went back to our car - lo and behold we found a flag stuck to our car! Imagine! First-born was well pleased and commented some poor guy had been so kind to stick a flag on our car while it was raining. Ah bless. I see Obi-Wan has taught you well.

The world this week:
Harry Potter naked? Britney bald? What is the world coming to? Or am I just getting old?

Carrot cake at the end of the stick: Brunei style

Went over to my aunt's house for a long-overdue carrot cake making session. It was fun spending time with my cousins. Happy to say that the carrot cake's life was short-lived. Meaning to say that it was a big hit - -especially Laukong who had absolutely no shame - nor remorse - in stuffing himself.

It's my party, I'll bitch if I want to!!

Second-born had his birthday party at the in-laws yesterday. Gazillions of people came but not a present in sight! Poor baby. Luckily he's too young to notice everyone coming empty-handed. I remember when first-born had his last year and he asked me where all his presents were. How do you explain that to a 4-year old? So I told him people don't necessarily bring presents to a birthday party. So the smarty-pants retorted "but how come people in Bandar (my side of the family) give presents?" I was lost for words at this point and told him to be happy with what he's got instead. Harummph!

Not one to be an ingrate - but really. First-born's got a point. It's a children's birthday party for God's sake, why can't people have the decency to bring presents? There are $1.50 shops aplenty in Brunei - those will do. Point is, if it was an adult's birthday party then it's ok not to bring presents - in fact people normally expect the birthday boy/gal to be the one to "belanja" their family and friends on their big day. But when it's a children's party? Please! Have a heart!

Gave Laukong feedback that next time we won't bother having 2 parties each for the kids (one in Bandar and one at the in-laws). We will just have one next time. READ: only at the venue where the invitees give the kids presents. Otherwise "inda muleh model!!" - birthday parties don't come cheap, you know! Birthday cakes; goody bags (shouldn't have bothered); catering; the lot! Luckily we didn't bother with the bouncers (luckily also first-born doesn't like it).

How do these people sleep at night?!

Tea, photos and a movie, dahling?

Laukong and I had the Dorchester Afternoon Tea at The Empire. For B$25 a pop it was worth it. Since The Empire opened it's doors to us mere mortals, I can count the number of times we've been there using one hand. We've never felt compelled to join the bandwagon to dine nor stay at The Empire. But I must say the Tea was lovely and I will definitely go there again before I leave.

Laukong was in a photo-op mood today, so we went to the Taman Rekreasi Hutan Berakas (that was a bit of a mouthful) and Tungku Beach. The highlight was when we stopped by NBT. So touristy were we!

We watched Music and Lyrics which was a barrel of laughs. I so heart Hugh Grant, he has never failed to make me laugh. I never thought Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore would make such a good couple. Of course my opinions about the movie might be biased. I have been known to be quite partial to the 80's, you know.

We also watched Ghost Rider last night. Not really sure what I thought about the movie though. I got suckered into watching it because of Nicholas Cage - yes, I do have this weird fascination for Nicholas Cage. Suffice to say that it was sadly not quite The Prophecy.

My second-born turned 1 yesterday. We had a little do on Thursday at my grandparents' and one tomorrow at my in-laws.

p/s I can tell Laukong is feeling rather inspired by Music and Lyrics. He is currently experimenting with his Reason 3.0 (which he reasons is miles better than Pro-Tools - excuse the pun).

pp/s Met someone whom I thought was quite rude. I'd rather have not said hello.

I blog, therefore I am

An observation: Interestingly I have noticed that the bloggers are starting to turn on each other. There has been too much bitching on the increase in the blogging world lately. And I thought blogging was supposed to be a"siok sendiri" journal/past time/website/whatever you make of it. But I guess, in true Bruneian-style, bloggers too are being judged in cyberspace by others who think they know better/blog better/blogged longer - "inda dapat liat orang sanang" is back with a virtual twist.

Lock, Frock and 2 Smoking Barrels

At the last minute I decided to join the mummies' morning coffee. I don't know why I almost took a rain check (it did rain though - no puns intended).

Spent over B$300 after the coffee morning at the new Redd Boutique at Q-Lap Mall. It was still early as the poor girl was still wiping the shop windows clean. Managed to find some tops that fit me (finally!) as the owner normally buys clothes that are only fit for Hongkie avenue princesses. I also bought a pair of Miu Miu-esque flats (so adorable) and I couldn't resist this red clutch bag (I'm still thinking about what/where/how I will be using this. Small bags are not normally my turf). I also saw the Stam Bag look-a-like. I admittedly comtemplated buying it, but since net-a-porter delivers to Brunei - no excuse not giving Marc Jacobs some money)! Besides, I risk getting urticaria if I don't have the genuine article on my arms.

Much to my shock/horror - It was only when I got home that I realised 2 of the tops had a crucifix (-ish) symbol on the chest. Grrrrrr! Why didn't I see that part of the logo!! I think I got too excited with the fact that the logo reminded me of the Vivienne Westwood symbol...hang-on a minute, didn't that one has a cross at the top of the orb too?! Doh!

Anyway, I think I have figured out a way to fix this problem without having to return the goods (I so love those tops!). I shall wear them without being struck by lightning.

p/s I can't stop thinking about this long black dress I saw. I'm so tempted to buy it. Laukong (ever the "realist") asked if I was expecting an invite to some award ceremony or prom (READ: where the hell are you going to wear that frock?) I think I might just buy it, if only to let it hang in my wardrobe. Itchy hands, itchy wallet.

We're S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G. - Brunei Style & Random Ramblings

Bought 2 tops, 1 pants, 1 pair of shoes (finally! And at Bata too!). Most of the other stuff are for my first-born - his study desk plus stationery accessories.

Some random thoughts:
1) Why do Bruneians like to stare? Ok so "ada mata" you might say, but at least smile at the person you are staring at rather than look with that not-so-discreet once-over look.

2) Why do Bruneian couples like to sit side-by-side when they eat at restaurants? Is it so that your date won't be able to see you tomota sauce moustache?

3) Does the "Kadai Komunis" shop really play the same song on "repeat 1" since its opening God-knows how long ago that was?

Found my favourite Japanese magazine Vivi at Grand Utama of all places - who cares if it was the December 2006 edition. I haven't bought the magazine in years since HMV, Singapore stopped selling them. I remember my maiden purchase at a Japanese book shop in Piccadilly Circus very well. There were so many magazines to choose from but alas, in true Best Eastern Bookshop-style they were all wrapped in plastic. I recall shyly asking a Japanese lady standing next to me which magazine she recommends - my criteria was very specific, which magazine had the most articles on handbags - the designer kind no less.

We're S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G. - Brunei Style: Puteribelibelah Strikes Back

It's been a while since I last blogged. I've been busy and too lazy to blog. The Sims 2 has taken over my life.

On the other hand much shopping has been done here in Brunei Darussalam - would you believe? Countless DVD's, more than a dozen shirts and tops and a watch (convinced Laukong that 1) I needed a dress watch - surely my Chanel J12 does not go with a baju-kurung? 2) Have not really been much of a watch person. Last watch purchase was more than 2 years ago. 3) It cost less than my dream watch - MUCH). No shoes though. Laukong surprised me with a Nikon D80 a couple of weeks ago though I have yet to fully realise its potential. Laukong also bought a car which we are hoping to be relased early next week before we leave for Nigeria.

First-born has also started school last week. Suffice to say that he enjoys it and has comfortably found a new best friend. I have also been invited to a coffee morning this coming Monday. One of the mummies has opened a cafe.

We went to visit a friend in KB yesterday. We only arrived home in the wee hours of this morning around 3:30. But it was good to catch up and spend time together.