A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend our very own local biG Magazine's 5th year anniversary at Radisson Hotel.

I felt pretty honoured to be invited, because it's not every day you get to celebrate an anniversary with one of the longest running magazines in Brunei. 

Some of you might have came across a biG Magazine in Coffeebean, the airport and at Empire Hotel & Country Club. But for those of you who has not picked one of these magazines up yet, those are the places where you would commonly find them.

Now, what does biG stands for exactly? No, it's not a big-as-a-newspaper magazine. :P

It actually stands for Borneo Insider's Guide, and the magazine is exactly just that. It shows a unique and interesting view of beautiful locations of this little island that we live on, as well as, highlight some of the different events held around Borneo.

Plus, you can score some free or discount vouchers at Empire Cinemas or restaurants with every issue. 

On entering Radisson's lobby, we were greeted with a red carpet that leads up to a huge biG backdrop. Goodie bags were handed out and drinks were served while we mingled around with other guests like EmmaGoodEgg, Thanis (Cookie Monster), Marul (Geek in White) and Jan Shim (Shimworld), to name a few.

After a while, we were ushered into the hall where more mingling was done, before we are lead to the other end of the hall to write our names for the lucky draws. And since I didn't win anything, I'm not going to bother to describe the prizes. :P

It was an enjoyable evening, catching up with friends and meeting new people. The dinner buffet was tantalizing and we also had the pleasure of having the first look at the new biG Magazine's website. 

You have a look at some photos of the event below.

One of the items found in the goodie bags is biG Magazine's new July - September issue. And amongst its pages is a two-page spread about my favourite things! :D

biG Magazine has a section called 'biG Favourites' where they invite a someone to share what their favourite things are and why. A few months ago, I got an email from biG Magazine to be part of their next issue.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic as I do know of the magazine. So, it was pretty gratifying to actually see my words in print. :D I did get a little surprise from seeing my name in huge, red, cannot-be-missed letters smack dab in the middle of the spread. Lol!

The spread looks awesome, thanks to biG Magazine! I won't be posting close-up pictures of the article. For that, you will have to get the magazine yourself. :P

I'd like to thank biG Magazine again for the opportunity and for evening at Radisson. To check out other posts by other websites, click here, here and of course, here.

Anyway, that's all for now. I just want to share this long overdue news with you all. 

Til next time!

biG (Borneo Insider's Guide) Magazine is a quarterly-issued magazine that has been bringing stories on the best to offer on lifestyle and travel in and around Borneo since 2006. It is a free publication that is widely distributed in Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak.

Visit www.borneoinsidersguide.com.

Email biG at borneoinsidersguide@gmail.com.

Phone biG at 223 1031.

Like biG on Facebook.

Follow biG on Twitter.

HELLO PEOPLE!!!

Yes, that's right. I'm alive.

I know it's been pretty quiet lately. And I just want to say a few words just to check in with you guys. 

Truth is, I've been pretty busy with work and other stuff. I'm going through a bit of change, which had gotten me working till pretty late at night.

So, I haven't really been paying much attention to the blog. I do still have quite a lot of stuff to talk about, and I'm glad I've got this blog to just talk about something light-hearted and fun to just balance out the serious stuff in life.

I don't know how many of your reading this is a working girl like me. And that whether sometimes, you find yourself spending alot more time on work, rather than yourself.

I know a lot of girls out there that work 12 hours a day, not because they have to, but because they feel like they need to.

There are times when I myself forget the time, and that I worry too much about work that I forget myself. As a result, I've been ignoring friends and family, and also myself.

Which is not good. At all.

No, I do not work to the extent that I fall asleep on my desk. Lol!

But anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, to some people out there who understands what I'm talking about, you should NEVER forget yourself.

Working hard is one thing. But you should always reserve some time to relax and chill, to have a few moments to do whatever you like. In the long run, it's much healthier and productivity will come. 

To add a fashion element to this post, let me share a few pictures of chic office wear I LOVE. Had Googled 'chic office wear' because honestly, I look like crap since I haven't really been paying attention to myself during the hectic times.

So, to all girls working hard out there, here are a few pictures of office attire inspiration. Dress smart!

So, you've played The Game and you've found out about the winners. Now, it's time to set your itching desire to know the answers and find out how far you have actually gone. 

BUT before that, I need to announce the Bonus Prizes winners!

Thann Sanctuary had contributed additional prizes, and because of that, I made a special bonus segment where any readers of Orchid Row can submit a statement about what kept them reading The Orchid Row blog. 

I had THIRTEEN submissions and boy, was it difficult to choose!

Everyone who had submitted had sent in really awesome statements about what they like about the blog. And choosing ONE top winner and TWO consolation prize winners was SO NOT easy.

As I had said here, I'm looking for the ones who gave their most heartfelt and sincere statements about why they love Orchid Row. While all have wrote things about the blog that I truly appreciate, there are some that stood out for me.

CONGRATULATIONS to Nur Nadhirah, Fatin and Jannah!!!

Your entries were some of the shortlisted entries selected by two of my closest friends who were there ever since Orchid Row first started, and who had given me support since Day 1.

For objectiveness, all names were removed from the entries and they were to judge all entries with the criteria I set out. Out of the shortlisted, I made the final decision to choose the above three winners.

I will be creating a page especially to show all the entries, and the winners' entries will be put on the top of the list.

Thanks, all of you, for your kind words; and I will have your comments in mind when I blog in future. :)

Rather than putting the answers in this blog post, I created a cheatsheet where everyone can check the answers. Click here to see the answers.

People visiting the website can still play the game for fun, and then just check the cheat sheet if they were right. I will probably just remove the Game Room later on, but I'll let it be there for now.

Ok, dudettes! Love you all and stay tuned for more blog posts to come!!

xoxo

Give your congratulations here below!

23rd May 2011 is HERE!!! And you know what that means...

It means The Game is OPEN!

You'll be faced with questions that will test your knowledge, dedication and devotion for The Orchid Row Blog.

It's the blog's first anniversary, and this game is organized to celebrate with all of you guys!

Before you begin, remember to read up on The Rules Of The Game. If you really want those prizes, make sure you're familiar with the rules or else you'll be easily disqualified.

See the image above?

To enter The Game Room, just simply click this image. And it will bring you to the respective day's questions. 

If you got the answer, please send it in this format :- 

Question No : *The Question number that you're answering*

Answer : *your answer*

Blog Post Link : *http://www.orchidrow.com/xxxxxxxxxxxx*

Follow the instructions closely, and if you have any questions, you can ask me through the comment box below, on the Facebook Event Page or on Twitter.

GOOD LUCK!!

Questions?

You've been told that it's Orchid Row's First Anniversary.

You've been shown a short video of what I've planned to celebrate the anniversary.

You've seen what the lucky FIVE winners will be getting.

Now, it's time to learn about The Rules Of The Game.

First, to be qualified to join in on the game, you need to be or need to do the following : -

If you have already complied to the above, then this means you can join in The Game! 

The only thing left is to tell you what exactly 'The Game' is. It's basically a simple Question and Answer game. I ask a question, and you give me the answer. 

Sounds simple enough right?

Well, the game is simple. But I didn't say the questions were. *snicker*

A question will be posted each day on THIS website, at midnight, starting the first minute of Monday, 23rd May 2011.

Some of the questions are pretty straightforward, while the rest are not quite. As the week progresses, the questions will get harder and harder. The last three days  (27th May - 29th May 2011) will be the most difficult as you will need to answer TWO questions.

The above are pretty much the things you need to know before starting The Game. To win, you must be one of those with the most correct answers. 

Obviously, this means that someone who just got to know about The Game when it's halfway through will find it difficult to win. But just join in The Game anyway, just for the fun of it!

Or, you can also try your hand in the Bonus Prizes below.

Yes, there are MORE stuff to be given away. 

Thann Sanctuary threw in some extra freebies, that are super special that I think should go to true fans of Orchid Row.

To get these extra special gifts, you need to do something extra special.

What I want you to do is draft an email, talking about 'Why You Love Orchid Row', and send that email to info@orchidrow.com.

I want to know what it is about Orchid Row that keeps you coming back for more. I will personally pick the THREE people who I think gave the most honest and heartfelt statements about why they love Orchid Row.

The deadline for your statements is at 11pm, 29th May 2011. So, you can start sending in your answers now until then.

So, that's all I have to say about The Game. I do hope everyone would join in the fun of The Game and also that, you'll enjoy searching for the answers. 

I really can't wait to start it! 

Good luck!!!!!!!

xoxoxo

Questions?

By now, your curiosity must be pretty worked up. And if you don't know why your curiosity must be worked up, click here and watch the video.

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE GAME?!?!

I'm working hard to make this fun for everyone, and to add to the fun, there are PRIZES involved! 

As mentioned, I have B$1,500 worth of prizes to give away to the lucky 5 winners. Each winner will receive a gift basket filled with goodies of worth B$300!

These goodies are from some of my favourite shops, who have so generously agreed to get together to help me celebrate Orchid Row's first anniversary. So, without further ado, here are the prizes!

From me personally, I'll be treating the winners to a movie! In the gift basket, the winner can find TWO B$8.00 movie vouchers for The Mall Cineplex. There are good movies coming up, so I figured you will enjoy the tickets. 

So, there you are. The fabulous prizes that only FIVE winners will get! Each gift basket contains one of all the things above. And all you have to do to be eligible to win one of these gift baskets, is to play the 7-day long Game next week.

Asides from the above, there is a very special prize that will be given to just one person. But I'll talk more about that later. ;)

xoxo

Check out the Orchid Row's Birthday post.

Familiarize yourself with The Rules Of the Game.

Join in the Facebook Event.

Watch the Birthday video.

Questions?

ONE YEAR AGO, there was a girl who started blogging (pretty badly, I might add) about random stuff on shopping and fashion.

There were doubts, secrecy and skepticism all around, but I continued to forge on anyway. I didn't know what was to come out of blogging, nor did I know what I was blogging for. All I knew was that I enjoyed it.

Never would I had expected back then, that Orchid Row would be the blog it is today or even that it would actually last for a year!

And now that it has, there is only one reason why I had kept on blogging. And it is because of YOU!

So, for Orchid Row's First Anniversary, I want to celebrate by having a Game for those of you who had followed the blog this past year.

Now, let's take a little walk down memory lane by watching the YouTube video I made below. The video will also show you the first few steps you need to take to join the Game!

Yes, that's right! B$1,500 worth of prizes to be won! So, you better follow the instructions given in the video because I'll be checking!

Can you believe that The Orchid Row Blog has been around for a year already?! I can hardly believe it myself! It's been a remarkable journey, and I had made many friends along the way.  

So, raise your glass and cheers to an AMAZING year!

xoxoxo

Watch out for details of the prizes for the Birthday Game for the next few days. Full information about the game will be released only on Sunday, 22nd May 2011.

UPDATE : Click here to find out what you can win!

Questions?

A few weeks ago, I was emailed by the peeps from eBunda.org to join one of their eBunda Cafe sessions to talk about the reality of women in online businesses, on our local university radio, UBDfm.

I felt pretty honoured to be asked to be one of their panelists, and how could I say 'No' to such an opportunity?

For those of you who are just hearing of eBunda.org now, it is a portal developed by BAG Networks, as an initiative by women as part of Brunei's contribution towards the world's human capital and diversity agenda. It is also in line with Brunei Darussalam's Vision 2035 towards a modern and sophisticated society through the development of women. 

Their website (eBunda.org) contains articles, insights and posts, by women for women, that talks about issues and topics that we can relate to.

UBDfm is the first university based radio station that serves as a medium for sharing information, discussions and of course, good music. Although it is broadcasted via streaming only, in this age of computers and smartphones, UBDfm is pretty accessible from whereever you are. 

I have also just started to tune in to UBDfm, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed already.

So, it was really interesting to get to see what goes on 'behind the scenes' during the eBunda Cafe session.

Asides from myself representing Orchid Row, there are four other lovely ladies who were there for the session to share their own experiences and advice :-

• Aliya of JustCinful; maker of sinful cinnamon buns 

• Naqiyah of naqiyahishaaq,com; supremo makeup artist

• Sharifah Robani Hussain Assagaf (or simply Bunny) of Bunny's Yummies; baker of healthy yet heavenly pastries

• Farhanna of Na-Forrer; fashionista with an online boutique

It was really great to meet these ladies, and share what we've been through and what we've learnt from our experiences.

We talked about our struggles to manage time, family and friends with our side jobs. We talked about how all that we've achieved wouldn't have been possible if we didn't have the passion and love in what we do. We talked about our hopes and dreams of the future of our businesses.

The facilitator of the session was the lovely Rozana Yunos of BAG Networks, who did a great job of making us feel comfortable and leading us into the different topics. Thinking back, she might have done too good a job, because in the end, I think she was trying to figure out how to stop us from talking since we ran out of time. Lol!

And the DJ on air was DJ Ana (@anabubuchacha), who sounded like a total pro! She did our introductions in a string of words for, like, 5 minutes or something. And we're wondering how did she breathe through that?!

After the session, we retired to the UBDfm lounge where we sampled Aliya's and Bunny's delicious desserts. We also had two visitors who dropped by to say 'Hello', namely Puan Haslina Taib, CEO of BAG Networks and Delwin (@BruneiTweet of ProjekBrunei).

All in all, it was a fun experience and I'm glad to be a part of it. And I do hope that those who listened in did learn a few things from our discussion. If any of you do want to know more about running an online business, I'm sure any of the ladies (including myself) wouldn't mind sharing a few tips if you email them.

Oh, the eBunda Cafe session also got covered in Borneo Bulletin's last Sunday's issue. And it wasn't just a small blurb too. That was a nice surprise. :)

Lastly, if you had missed out, I've uploaded an mp3 file of the Thinkin Thoughts session below. Fair warning though, it's a pretty big file. :)

I also want to thank (again) eBunda.org and UBDfm for an awesome time. Both are great initiatives and I urge you readers to check them out soon. 

Til next time!

eBunda Cafe provides a platform in which information can be shared and to create awareness on issues which are important to women such as health, environment, business and finance, career, education and affirmative action in influencing a positive contribution to Brunei.

Learn more about eBunda.org.

Tune into UBDfm.

Comments, anyone?

Check it out! I've just discovered that my blog had gotten tracked and indexed into Bloglovin'!

Bloglovin' is a web service that helps you track all your favourite posts into a single web page. Rather than visiting your favourite blogs one by one to see if any of them has an update, you can view all updates from all your favourite blogs from your Bloglovin' account homepage.

All you have to do is sign up, by simply inputting your email address and password, and start following your favourite blogs found in the Bloglovin' datebase.

You will be spoilt for choice as there are over half a million blogs indexed in Bloglovin', and yours truly is Blog #496848.

Most of the blogs found in Bloglovin' that you can follow are in the fashion category, so all you fashion-hungry people should be signing up into Bloglovin' right now to get your fashion fix!

I even searched 'Brunei' in Bloglovin' and found only TWO other local blogs in the search results; namely the ever popular Ranoadidas and Life in Brunei. So, it's pretty cool that  my blog got picked up too. :)

So, needless to say, I'm now signed up with Bloglovin' and claiming Orchid Row as my blog. To claim my blog, I need to put a certain link in a blog post to verify that Orchid Row really belongs to me. So, here it is:-

Feel free to click it to go to Bloglovin and get your own account. Just don't forget to follow me! :P

Are you already a Bloglover?

A couple of weeks ago, I took a quick pre-Christmas break with Lily and head to Kota Kinabalu for a few days. My main objective of going there is, of couse, to do some retail therapy.

It's been about two years since I've been to KK and if you're an impatient person like me, you'll what I do. Which is to take the 20-minute flight there. I flew on Air Asia, the cheaper choice at about B$90. On a side note, I'm sad that Air Asia will no longer fly from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu. :(

So, it was kind of a shock when we came to our room... Because it was SMALL. I'm not saying it's bad, but just that it's such a contrast from the exteriors!

As you can see, the window on one side of the room has wallpaper behind it. Actually, I think it's wrapping paper! And our city-view window is a view of the Centrepoint's multi-storeyed carpark. And the 'best' thing about this room? The shower!

The shower has SO many knobs and dials, I had no idea how to work this thing!

I wanted to wash my feet, so I took the showerhead and started to fiddle around with the many knobs. And guess what? The knobs? They're NOT knobs!

They were nozzles! And how did I find out? By getting sprayed in the face with a gush of water. Imperial Boutec, I think you should provide an instruction manual for the shower.

How to use the shower: Turn the middle right most knob one notch clockwise, and then turn on the tap on the left.

But all in all, we ended up liking the room alot. It was cosy and homey, and for B$45 a night, we really can't complain.

Since Lily and I arrived in KK in the early afternoon, we had plenty of time to get started on our shopping spree around Warisan Square. The first store we bought something from is Lemon 03, that's on the second floor of Warisan Square, near the escalators.

When Lily saw the kitty cat pouches and totes, she was like, "Oh my God, we have to go in here!" And I was like, "Meh."

The store sells this cutesy bags and cutesy tees, and other clothes, imported from Japan. And Japanese stuff can be quite expensive. Just the simple tees with, admittedly, really cute drawings cost at an average of RM165! No way I'm going to buy a T-shirt for that much. But Lily was soooo enamoured with the kitty cat bags (because she loves cats) that she just had to get one.

Ok, I admit that this bag is cute. Lily got it from Lemon 03 at RM199, and I also got myself a pair of bra straps, but they're fashioned to be used as halter straps. Basically, you just hook them up to your bra, and tie the straps behind your neck. Best worn with a sleeveless or strapless casual top or dress.

I have no idea when I'm going to wear them, but they're awfully cute and they only cost RM8.90 each!

Oops! Sorry, as pointed out by Tiger Lim, it's iPod Touch, not iTouch.

Anyway, asides from the yummylicious drinks, Starbucks also sells their collection of tumblers and mugs. And Lily and I can't help but buying one of the 'design-your-own' tumblers.

As you can see, it was night-time when I saw the store. So I didn't have a chance to have a look. But no worries, there's another Sasa store at 1Borneo, where I did visit.

But my shopping haul from 1Borneo will be shared in another post. But until then, here's a sneak peak....

Kota Kinabalu is one of the most visited locations by Bruneians throughout the year. Due to its close proximity and inexpensive flight fares, it is not a rarity for us Bruneians to hop over for quick weekend getaway.

December 2010 saw Kota Kinabalu swarming with Bruneians, who either flew in or drove over, due to the Christmas and New Year's festivities, as well as it being the Bonus month and school holidays.

Were you in Kota Kinabalu too?

If you guys had checked out my Twitter and Facebook earlier this week, then you'd know that there was an 'incident' that was on everyone's feeds.

What happened?

A Bruneian blogger was caught plagiarising to win a Skin79 Brunei contest!

This was how I found out.

• When : 16th December, Thursday.
• Where : Twitter
• Doing what : Happily browsing the #Brunei feeds, finding stuff to retweet.

Then....

'Oh my, I wonder who it is," I thought. Of course, I had to click on the link to check out what it's about.

It lead to a Singaporean blogger's (Dblchin) blog, where she posted about how a Bruneian blogger had copied some of her content. Then I saw the screenshot of Skin79 Brunei's Facebook where the third winner of the recent blog post contest was announced.

I thought,"NO WAY!!!"

Not only did Cupidbabe87 stole her pictures, she also copied sentences and replaced some words to make it less obvious. Well, girl, you didn't do it well enough because you still got caught!

After this news got out, Cupidbabe immediately privatised her blog. So, now we can't access it anymore. Darn it!

You can read about what exactly she copied at Dblchin's blog post, where, luckily, she managed to screen-capture some portions of the blog before it got privatised.

Then, I remembered that she had inboxed me before. So I quickly went to my Facebook to take another look.

As you can see, it was just a few days after the winners were announced. She inboxed me because I was one of the winners too (Thanks Skin79 Brunei!).

I remembered thinking why was this girl so impatient. Well, NOW, I know why!

Apparently, she wasn't very polite either when she picked up her third place winner B$50 voucher. She literally walked off after the voucher was put into her hands. That's right, no 'Thank you's.

Oh, and I saw this in the Comments section of Dblchin's blog post too.

Nice, isn't she?

Looks like someone else had the misfortune of encountering one of Cupidbabe87's 'mischief' before. I wonder how many times she has stole people's pictures? *Tsk tsk*

Copying someone else's work and passing it as your own is bad. Copying and submitting the article/post to win a contest is despicable!

I don't really like to touch on negative subjects, but this one, I can't let go.

I find the act insulting because those who participated in the contest had put in effort to come up with original posts. The other bloggers actually bought the products, tried them, took the time to take their own pictures and write up a post.

So, that's my piece of mind on the matter. Share this with anyone you know who's a blogger, because we all can learn from this.

And to 'Cupidbabe87', I hope you learnt your lesson. But somehow, I don't think you even regret what you did.

Hmm, maybe I'll get a 'pakkkkk u!!!!' comment for this blog post too. LOL!

Til the next post, dearies!

Plagiarism on the internet is not only the mere copying of text, but also the presentation of another's ideas as one's own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea.

*Source : Wikipedia

Have your say on the matter.

When you hear November, most people think autumn leaves, chilly winds and moleskin boots. So NOT the case in Brunei!

Merciless heat and monsoon winds sounds more like it as we approach the end of the year.

But, anyway, it's just a passing thought on November.

It's just that I've realised that Orchid Row has passed the 6-month mark recently and I can't believe how fast time has gone by! I'm planning something fun for everyone to do for next year, most likely some time in May, for Orchid Row's one-year anniversary.

In the meantime, please continue to visit the site! :)

Got my goodies in the mail, since Manisha is living in Singapore at the moment. So curious about what's inside the small brown package!

Stuck my hand inside and pulled out the goodies! Hehe, it may not seem much to you. But I absolutely LOVE gifts, and no matter what it is, I think the REAL gift is the surprise.

Thanks, Manisha! Will be trying out the lip gloss tomorrow. :)

So, people, go and visit my friend's, Manisha, blog. She grew up in Brunei for 17 years and is currently studying in Singapore. She also runs a blogshop (Cloz8 Collections) AND recently opened a storefront at Grandlink Square, Singapore, which I think is really cool.

Ok, people, gonna go try out the lip gloss now. Toodles!

Tell me if you'd join a blog competition on Orchid Row.

To access the shop, just look at the tabs above the 'What's on your mind?' box and you will see the tab 'Shop'. I know these tabs are usually overlooked, but sometimes, you can interact more with some of the tabs available. For example, there are Discussions, Reviews and Notes tabs in most Facebook pages.

Anyway, back to the Facebook Shop. You'll find a Price range and Categories boxes on the left of the Shop. So, if you're looking for products within a certain price range, just click on your preferred price range and the shop will filter those items for you. If you're looking for a new bag or earrings, just click 'Accessories' under the Category section to view all jewellry.

This 'Request for Permission' box will pop out during your browsing. It's a standard procedure for all Facebook applications. And if you have played Facebook games like Farmville and such, you will know this.

Just click 'Allow' to continue your browsing. This box will only appear once, so you won't have to deal with this when you browse through the shop again.

When you see something you like, clicking 'Buy Now' will lead you directly to the product page at the Orchid Row site where you can complete your purchase. If you're not quite sure on how to order, just take a look at our 'How To Order' page. Ordering an item is very simple, and with our shopping cart on the site, you can purchase multiple items in one sitting. :)

So, that's the latest update, so far. If you've got Facebook (which I'm pretty sure you do), head over to our page and click 'Like' to catch our latest updates. If you got something to say, feel free to comment on our page because I like to chat wih people online.

To all my Muslims friends, Selamat Berpuasa!

Any comments?

It's been five years since I've been to KL and quite a bit has changed! Anyways, we stayed at Hotel Imperial, which is a budget hotel (because we need all the money for shopping) in Bukit Bintang just right off the food-laden Jalan Alor. Excellent location, with KFC, Starbucks and Sungei Wang just around the corner.

At Mid Valley Megamall, we spent about five hours at a super shopping event at one of the mall's exhibition halls - Malaysia's Online Fashion Entrepreneurs Weekend. There were over 80 booths selling clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, you name it, they're there! We walked out of the place with hands full of shopping bags and some of the stuff are for you people. ;)

I think one day, we should organize an event similar to theirs for our own local fashion entrepreneurs eh?

*Pictures from yours truly and sisinshopping (A Shopaholic's Den)

You'll be able to see some of those cute bags and earrings in our store very soon. :) I didn't get a whole lot of stuff for the store because, well, I was too busy shopping for myself!

Anyhoo, we also visited Vincci and Charles & Keith to see their latest shoes. In Vincci, I came across these pair of ballerina flats (first pic) with Kooshballs for ornaments. How cute are they huh?

In Charles & Keith, I looked across the room full of heels and these pair of grey gladiator-like, four-inch platform heels caught my eyes. It's made of grey jeans material with rubber soles. Tasselled zip at the back, decorated with bronze studs. But it cost RM230+ or something like that, and I still had more shopping to do so I reluctantly tore myself away. I did visit them again in Pavilion though, oh so lovely...

If you're thinking I'm insane to let these pair of heels go, don't worry. Once I was back in Brunei, I came to my senses and had asked a friend to help me get them when she goes to KL next month. I cannot wait! :D

Our last visit in KL was to Beryl's Chocolate Kingdom, which we didn't even plan in the first place. We were actually on our way to the airport to catch our flight back to Brunei and our taxi driver insisted on bringing us there. He actually carried on a long monologue on the types of chocolates available.

Uncle:

You all like chocolates? I know you all like. Because all girls like chocolate wan. I bring you go chocolate factory. Very nice chocolate. Many, many chocolate. All types of chocolate. Got dark chocolate, milk chocolate, durian chocolate, tongkat ali chocolate, pineapple chocolate, strawberry chocolate, peppermint chocolate...

Me:

Uncle, when again got sales in Malaysia?

Uncle:

Yeah, sales. Also got apple chocolate, banana chocolate. What chocolate you like? Got coconut chocolate, papaya chocolate, chilli chocolate...

True story. Anyways, there WERE lots of types of chocolates there and I got a box of assorted peppermint chocolates and dark chocolate. They were delicious. :)

All in all, it was a really good trip, taking time off to indulge myself. KL can be such an exciting city with those huge malls full of beautiful stuff. And I definitely plan to visit KL more often in the future.

Fancy a taking a break yourself? The Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival will last until 16th September, so you may want to book yourself on a plane to KL before it ends.

Ta!

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So, some of you might notice some changes on some of the pages of the site. One of the things that was added were the Advertising Spots that are scattered through the site. These spaces are offered up for rent for those businesses who wants a little exposure. So, for any entrepreneurs out there, if you believe to be a match for Orchid Row, feel free to drop a message for enquiries.

Popular Posts

This is mostly for the new visitors to the site, in addition to the Blog Categories page. I have selected 5 of the most popular blog posts on the site and compiled them under a new category on the Blog Categories page. You want to know which blog posts the readers read the most, check out this page.

Incoming Stock

We're expecting new merchandise to come in by the end of this month. If you had read our previous post, then you'd know we were expecting Forever 21 items in the store. However, annoyingly, our package had decided to take a detour through Central Europe. Thank goodness, now it's en route to dear ole' Brunei.

Other than that, we've got exclusive makeup brands that's coming in; namely Smashbox. I'm pretty excited about that because I'm such a fan of Smashbox cosmetics. I won't talk much about it here as I'm planning to do a full and thorough write-up on Smashbox cosmetics once the items arrived.

I guess, most of all, I want to thank those who has supported Orchid Row for the past few months. Those who said such kind and encouraging words, you know who you are. It means so much and just encourages me to improve this blog.

I'm hoping to update the blog more often but it's hard to find the time sometimes. If there's any topic or issue you want me to talk about in the blog, feel free to let me know! I welcome it, in fact. :)

I'll end this with one of my favourite quotes that I just came across:-

Until next time, everyone!

xoxo

Have something to share?

Our new items will include:

• More Forever 21 items!

A new selection of tops and dresses that we have chosen based on customer feedback. To mix it up a bit, we couldn't resist ordering some Forever 21 jewellery that were so cute!

• Handmade unique bracelets and earrings

We've stumbled upon these beautiful and unique pieces that are designed and handmade by some very creative people. We hope you will like them as much as we do.

• More affordable tops and dresses

The grey sweater from the previous stock was such a hit with most of you and so, we are ordering more similar items! Yes, we have listened to your requests and have tailored the new batch order to your wants.

BUT, before we get too enthusiastic about the incoming items, we can't forget about the current ones in stock. The first batch has gotten lots of attention as well and we've still got a little bit of them left. Among those remaining are the edgy studded wallet, the cute white star shirt and the gorgeous silk butterfly dress. So, check these out at the marked down prices!

We offer 10% - 20% off on our current stock for a limited time only. So, grab them while stock still lasts! Just select the discounted price from the drop-down menu on the product page and click 'Add to cart'. If you need help ordering, please read our Customer Service page or drop us a message, and we'll be happy to help you out.

Until next time, shoppers!

xoxo

** Added note : Clearance Sale ends on 18th June 2010.**

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