The time around, the Diptyque sample sale was heavily covered in detail by Sample Sally and RackedNy so all I need to do is show you guys what I got right? Last year, I had a sad haul but this year was a different story...
[Update: My 2014 haul]
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Did you know Mackage makes bags now? [Coterie International Fashion exhibit 2013]
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A weekend in le city of Montreal...
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| My sister's sexy Poofy cat |
We spent our long weekend in Montreal and it was quite satisfying. For me anyway since Dave did ALL the driving and we were also accompanied by his dad and uncle who wanted to visit some family so Dave pouted that it was all about us and not him :( Our time spent in Montreal was short but sweet. Spending most of Sunday indoors protected from the cold in my sister's apartment just felt so right. I always try to squeeze in so many activities during our trips which ends up being fun but so exhausting. This time, I took it relaxed and enjoyed all of it. I even got to watch the Beyoncé's documentary which I wouldn't have done back in NY since we do not own a TV!
Highlights of my trip:
First and foremost, I got my work permit renewed so mission (of my trip) accomplished. We left New York on Saturday morning. By noon, we crossed the border into Canada and then back into the US to apply for my visa and back into Canada again to finally head towards Montreal.
I stayed with my sister's as always, where two cats and a dog entertained me all day and night. The white long haired Persian is my sister's first cat and his name is Poofy. He's so pretty as you can see in the pictures I took on Instagram. He also likes to chase David and play bite him. In one of the pictures, you can see Poofy waiting for Dave to open the door so he can continue playing with him. On Sunday, after brunch at Evoo, I showed my sister and B how I make caramel popcorn and we ate that while I flipped through bridal magazines and talked about...weddings!
We left early Monday morning and bought some food for the trip home. I picked up a Foumagerie salad which I looooove and also stopped by Chinatown to get some of my favorite Vietnamese sandwiches. I also went to IGA to get some Ketchup chips and a bag of Fairmount bagels. The only thing I didn't eat this time was poutine! On our way back to New York, we stopped by Schroon Lake and Dave was so happy to be walking on the icey lake.
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| Peekaboo |
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| Waiting to play |
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| Poofy cannodling me |
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| Evoo's 'The Full Irish' dish |
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| Caramel popcorn |
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| Schroon Lake |
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| Foumagerie salad from Westmount for our road trip meal |
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In pictures: Morgane Le Fay sample sale...The bridal stuff.
I went to the Morgane Le Fay sample sale after work today after reading about it on Sample Sally. I was hoping to snag a cheapo wedding dress for the Summer under $100! I needed something light, flowy, silky and non-traditional and Morgane Le Fay's sale answered my tiny prayers. There was three racks full of bridal dresses, tops and bottoms. It was hard to find dresses in my size (lots of medium and large and only a few small or X-small) and many delicate silk dresses had snags so look out for that if you care. Maybe the selection was already picked through from this morning but there seemed to be plenty more in the clothing department which was filled with dresses, trench coats, dresses and coats all organized by color but not by size.
Founded in 1982, Morgane Le Fay is a company rooted in New York's Soho.
Founded in 1982, Morgane Le Fay is a company rooted in New York's Soho.
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| Morgane Le Fay sample sale: Something special and feathery for $1440 |
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
happy valentine's day...
(oops, i meant to post this last night :)
I hope that on this Valentine's day, know that you are loved and love your loved ones back. It is all that matters! Single or not, just remember that someone loves you and smile :)
xxx
Hsini
P.S. Tonight, Dave fed me so so so well...Wine, fish, oysters, steak, lobster was had... He worked so hard shucking those fresh oysters with a screwdriver and even got a little surprise.... a little living crab! Dave knows the way to my heart is good food :)
I hope that on this Valentine's day, know that you are loved and love your loved ones back. It is all that matters! Single or not, just remember that someone loves you and smile :)
xxx
Hsini
P.S. Tonight, Dave fed me so so so well...Wine, fish, oysters, steak, lobster was had... He worked so hard shucking those fresh oysters with a screwdriver and even got a little surprise.... a little living crab! Dave knows the way to my heart is good food :)
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| Fresh salmon and Ikura, my favorites! |
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| Oysters galore |
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| What's that?! A baby crab. |
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| Lobster tails |
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| Oysters |
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and yes, Pinterest too!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Concert at Madison Square Garden: Passion Pit featuring Matt and Kim and Icona Pop
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| Matt and Kim / Icona Pop MSG |
Sunday, February 10, 2013
In pictures: Prabal Gurung for Target at Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal
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| Prabal Gurung for Target -nykeiko.com |
Saturday, February 9, 2013
At home...we eat
Before dinner, you put stuff in your belly to open your apetite for the main course.... |
| Sweetest blueberries I've had all year |
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| Pate from d'Artagnan and pita chips |
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Thursday, February 7, 2013
An hour at Refinery 29...
Earlier this week, I got a peek inside Refinery29 headquarters when I had the chance to stop by and chat with an user experience researcher who wanted to know about my experience using R29's website. I was really excited just being able to step into the offices and feel the ambiance of a successful running independent website featuring the latest trends, quirky stories, breaking fashion news, lifestyle reports, shopping and alot more! It got real when I saw the recognizable R29 wooden blocks sitting pretty at the right of the entrance when you get out of the elevators. It was just a little bit past 6 p.m. and it seemed like everyone was still working hard, typing away on their iMacs. I wish I could have asked each and every person in that room what they contributed to the website I read on a daily basis. These pictures I took of the office will soon be just a faded memory since R29 will be moving to a new location! Somewhere bigger and better for sure! Will they take the R29 blocks with them?!
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| Refinery29 office -nykeiko.com |
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| Me at Refinery29 -nykeiko.com |
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| Refinery 29 offices |
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and yes, Pinterest too!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I tried on an Alexander McQueen dress and I want to talk about it
How does a $10,000 Alexander McQueen dress feel like? Euh...What about on sale for $3784 + taxes? Ummm....
Well, seeing the dresses in person definitely is better and I decided to try on this one gown that was on sale. The other dresses, on sale or not, didn't fit what I was looking for. The dress I tried on I knew right away was too dark but it was one of the few long dresses in the store so I decided to give it a twirl. It's a drapey deep Aubergine dress and I really liked the color on me. When I put it on, it looked good. When I put on a pair of McQueen heels to give me height (gosh they are tall but comfy!), it looked better. When the sales guy pinned me up from the back to make the dress fit me better, it looked great! When I stepped out of the fitting room and into natural light, I was a goddess (in my mind). The Grecian style dress did lack a wow factor for me but I thought it suited me really well. It flowed nicely, the material was heavy which I liked and the intricate embroidery by the collar and strap was a super nice touch! You can definitely feel the difference in quality in a luxe designer dress versus a dress from say...H&M to pick an example from the other end of the spectrum. But was it worth $4000 (or even $10,000). I don't think so. Remind you we found a beautiful $16,000 Vera Wang wedding dress sold for $3,600 at the last sample sale.
Perks about this dress? It's not tight so I can eat all I want and even have a baby bump without anyone noticing! I AM NOT PREGNANT but IF I had a "bump" from over-eating or something :) during the reception, it will be barely noticeable. I like that! No diet necessary!
Anyway, when I tried on the dress, the sale was on for only one more day so it was too little time for me to decide on it. Even after a 60% discount, it's still a lot of money. If it was $1000, I would maybe have gotten it. Maybe. I don't know. I just want to own a McQueen dress :) Do they have sample sales?!
I am now shopping for a dress/gown to wear on the day of my wedding reception which will not be the same day as the day we official wed (date unsettled as of now but will be during late Summer) and my dress won't be white nor puffy. Since I won't be spending thousands on a gown nor a wedding, I am splurging on a designer dress and there is no budget for it so far. Ever since I decided that I won't be wearing a white wedding dress for my wedding, the first website I have stalked was Alexander McQueen. I want to marry in an Alexander McQueen dress just like Kate Middleton (minus the custom deisgn, hand-sewn lace and veil)- I chanted in my brain. Anyway, I wasn't too impressed with the gowns selection online so I thought there would be more offerings in-store. (The sales associate told me that there is in fact more things on the website. However, the dress I tried on was actually NOT on the website. I wanted to say HA! to his face but refrained myself and just glad I made it to the store and was being helped and not ignored). I went to the Alexander McQueen store in the Meatpacking district. It's only a 20 minutes subway ride away from our place so I don't know why I check it out earlier. We were actually at a gin tasting event before that and had one too many drinks. Slightly tipsy we went to shop and joked that Dave was tipsy enough to whip out his credit card to help by my dream dress at Alexander McQueen. That, fortunately for him, did not happen.
Well, seeing the dresses in person definitely is better and I decided to try on this one gown that was on sale. The other dresses, on sale or not, didn't fit what I was looking for. The dress I tried on I knew right away was too dark but it was one of the few long dresses in the store so I decided to give it a twirl. It's a drapey deep Aubergine dress and I really liked the color on me. When I put it on, it looked good. When I put on a pair of McQueen heels to give me height (gosh they are tall but comfy!), it looked better. When the sales guy pinned me up from the back to make the dress fit me better, it looked great! When I stepped out of the fitting room and into natural light, I was a goddess (in my mind). The Grecian style dress did lack a wow factor for me but I thought it suited me really well. It flowed nicely, the material was heavy which I liked and the intricate embroidery by the collar and strap was a super nice touch! You can definitely feel the difference in quality in a luxe designer dress versus a dress from say...H&M to pick an example from the other end of the spectrum. But was it worth $4000 (or even $10,000). I don't think so. Remind you we found a beautiful $16,000 Vera Wang wedding dress sold for $3,600 at the last sample sale.
Perks about this dress? It's not tight so I can eat all I want and even have a baby bump without anyone noticing! I AM NOT PREGNANT but IF I had a "bump" from over-eating or something :) during the reception, it will be barely noticeable. I like that! No diet necessary!
Anyway, when I tried on the dress, the sale was on for only one more day so it was too little time for me to decide on it. Even after a 60% discount, it's still a lot of money. If it was $1000, I would maybe have gotten it. Maybe. I don't know. I just want to own a McQueen dress :) Do they have sample sales?!
Follow me...
Instagram: @nykeiko
and yes, Pinterest too!
Monday, February 4, 2013
nykeiko eats: Flushing NYC eats- Biáng! ..from the people that brought you Xi'An Famous foods!
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| Biáng! on 4-10 Main Street in Flushing |
The same owners that brought you Xi'An famous food (made popular from visits by Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern) in New York have opened a new restaurant called Biáng! which has a liquor license and everything to serve some finer authentic populat street foods (they serve Liang Pi cold skin noodles!!) from the city of Xi'An. What I was most surprised about was they served a famous local staple food from Xi'An called Biáng Biáng noodles which I have only tasted in Xi'An before. But now, I can get some here in New York! Godamn! If you love cumin then this is the place to go to. Your hair and clothes will also hold cumin stench after you leave so you can remember your meal for a couple of hours (or days)!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Freemans Sporting Club 2013 sample sale. For the boys!
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| Freeman's Sporting Club sample sale haul |
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| Freeman's Sports Club sample sale price list day 2 |
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| I would have gotten that duffel bag if it was $10 |
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| Freeman's Sports Club February 2013 sample sale price list day 2 |
Dave being reminded that sample sales are not only fun for women but men can "score" too :)
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Instagram: @nykeiko
and yes, Pinterest too!
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