Arm Candy

For every occasion and outfit.
Here are some of my favourites which I definitely hope to bring them into the loft soon.

Happy Friday everyone!

It’s getting hot in Dubai

Going to Singapore in March with baby was definitely good preparation for the coming Dubai summer. The temperatures are climbing, 37/38 deg C in the day and high 20s in the evening. Interestingly, it is not yet as humid here as it is in Singapore. Looking at baby – actually, he is officially a toddler having just turned one! – he is the humidity barometer. In Singapore where it was very humid, he would be sweating his butt off within minutes of leaving an air conditioned room. Here, it probably takes a bit longer, an hour or more although I’m certain this will change very shortly as temperatures and humidity levels continue to climb!
The young man and I are really enjoying our weekly Deustche Mama Kind Treffen. We’ve made some friends that we are meeting up outside of the weekly playdate. TYM also enjoys his pool time and papa and I are making sure that we are having plenty of that!
Papa is away in Doha this week so TYM and I are having lots of quality time together. Trying to ensure I strike the right balance between what I’d like to do and what TYM would enjoy – i.e. not too much mall time for me! So far, I haven’t checked out any new malls but am hoping to make Ibn Battuta next on my list.

Midweek in Schladming

Day 4 in Schladming and I’m having an enforced day off due to a stupid skier crashing into me yesterday. My right knee is in serious pain but am hoping that a rest day and some sauna time will ease the discomfort. It feels wonderful to be in the mountains. The fresh air, skiing, mini breaks at the ski huts and hearty dinners are simply rejuvenating.
Schladming is a pretty and picturesque town in the Austrian Alps and our hotel, – traditional, alpine style – is smack in the middle of town. We’ve managed on average four hours of skiing per day but no après ski yet. The red runs are more challenging than at other resorts so I’m completely knackered after descent. Also having to keep up with the expert skiers – husband and father-in-law. And we are getting older, yikes!
Would really like to become a better skier before baby overtakes me on the slopes and shouts ” schneller, mama!”

Countdown to skiing in Schladming

Can’t you believe it’s already February of 2011. Where did time go? We have been in Dubai for almost 3 months and have settled quite nicely into life here.

We found an apartment on the Palm! just before Christmas, then it was a flight to the in-laws in Frankfurt for a snowy, white Christmas and baby’s first snow!

Since we’ve been back, it’s been cold – by Dubai standards. Who would have thought jumpers and long-sleeves would be necessary here! In fact, I think it’s been colder since the start of the year than in December.

Haven’t been shopping much although it is Dubai Shopping Festival at the mo. The discounts on branded items aren’t great. Still more expensive compared to LDN so think I will hold out until a trip to ol’ blighty is planned. Ahh, London. Didn’t think I would miss it as much as I do. Coffee at the 101 in Notting Hill, breakfast at Vicky’s in Maida Vale and weekly meet ups with the NCT mums and babes. All seems so long ago now.

For now, we have skiing next week to look forward to. We are off to Schladming in the Austrian Alps and the in-laws will be joining us. Hurray! This means the husband and I are going to get some sleep as baby will be in his grandparents room. After which, it’ll be baby’s first trip to Singapore. Can’t wait!

a very Happy Rabbit Year to you!

新 年 快 乐 everyone!

And we hope to bring you even more surprises this wabbit year 😉

[images via Google]

Art on my fingers

I’ve never been a huge fan of nail painting, and the closest that I would ever get to a mani/pedi salon would usually be to pamper my tired feet once every few months or when I couldn’t help but buy mysef new pairs of pretty wedges where having ugly nails to go with it would just totally kill anyone’s appetite. And also only on the eves leading up to Chinese New Year (since I’m already wearing new clothes, I may as well dress up those toes as well).

But all that recently changed last December when I met a friend of mine who just seemed to have the prettiest set of nails I’ve ever seen. Strangely it wasn’t acrylic (the kind I’ve heard too many horror stories about) but it was gel-based (a new fad that has already taken Japan by storm) where the manicurist would buff your nails and paint gel over your nails. So this meant, technically you could have pretty nails (with all the fancy art done on the gel base) without having to fake it! How cool was that.

Plus coupled with the fact that I was going to Japan, the land of all things pretty & adorable for the 3rd time. I also wanted to dress-up a litle for my husband since we were going to celebrate New Year’s and his birthday there…

So I made an appointment at my friend’s nail place, and in an hour, my nails were all pretty & shimmery and the best part of all? It was dried instantly! No more 2 hours of cautiously monitoring where my fingers & hands were going post-manicure.

This was the result:

Well, the husband loved it when I showed him. Said it added a touch of class & woman, whatever that meant. Received compliments from relatives & friends over the Christmas period so you could say I was rather pleased with the result. It was also interesting to witness a Japanese guest relations officer getting a similar design done 2 days after I checked into the hotel too. 🙂

And the nails did last for a month as promised, until I couldn’t resist getting a touch-up the moment I got back from Japan and while I was there, the lady offered to create some adorable designs in the Chinese New Year spirit…

Have yourself a very merry Christmas

Its Christmas time, loft.28’s favourite time of the year.

We wish all of you a very blessed Christmas, and thank you for your encouragement & support over the past months.

We also look forward to improving your shopping experience with us with a new site launch in 2011!

Here’s to more joy, health, cheer at work and play in 2011!

xoxoxo,

loft.28

Mall count: 4

Week two in Dubai and one thing that Dubai and Singapore have in common is its love for all things shopping. We have been to four very different malls – Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall (my absolute fav!), Dubai Marina Mall and today, Mercato Mall. I love the Dubaians over-the-top mall interpretations. Mercato Mall is an Italian styled mall, from its architecture to the in-door “street names”. Compared to the other ones I’ve been to, Mercato Mall is positively cosy and relaxed. But let’s move on to Dubai Mall. Situated next to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, Dubai Mall is a mega-mall that has simply everything – all the designer brands you could ask for including a floor with designer kiddies’ stuff, an ice rink, an aquarium and underwater zoo, a nightly fountain display (very nice!), a cineplex, a SEGA Republic, food… the list goes on. Baby loved the aquarium, you should have seen his huge, huge eyes staring at the sharks (baby hammerheads!), sting rays, eagle rays and schools of reef fish! And I can see that my sister, brother-in-law and three nephews and once niece can happily spend a week here 🙂

But there is more to Dubai than shopping. Over the weekend, we visited the historic old town, Bur Dubai. Like Singapore, Dubai has been in a building, developing and growth rush so much of Dubai is brand, spanking new, save for Bur Dubai. The sprinkling of old buildings with its windtowers in the Iranian quarters, the souks and the creek made me feel that there is another side to Dubai.

So, as we continue to clock up our mall count, I’m sure we will be exploring more of the city and soon, the region! Can’t wait as I hear June and October are the months for whale shark sightings in Oman! – HCK

Goodbye London, Hello Dubai!

After 10 years in London, we have finally moved on to pastures new. Amazing how one can wrap up one’s life in  two months – house sold, car sold, all our possessions in a container. Having a seven month old baby has made the move process a tad more challenging. No more spontaneous trips to Paris, Rome and Munich. But in exchange, T & I are excited that we will get to see a whole new region, the Middle East. Weekend trips to Petra in Jordan, Beirut, diving in Oman will be the order of the day. For now, it will be apartment hunting and it’s back to Europe for Christmas, and it looks like a white Christmas is on the cards, hurray! – HCK

Too cute

Burberry did it again. This time with Children’s wear.

I absolutely love the music. Would like to have children as adorable as them. Love seeing the happy smiles all over their faces.

And am definitely a huge fan of the lovable clothes they’re wearing.

Time to hit the nearest Burberry store!