Chicken and Waffles and NOT a Cartier Love Ring

After that last post on dupes I went to check out Shea's recommendation for the Cartier Juste Un Clou ("Just a Nail") ring on Amazon. But while I was there I thought I'd look for the Love collection rings instead. I found a few that come in at around the $30 range but because I'm a cheapo charlie I decided to check out Shein too, just in case they had a similar one (to the 8 diamond Love Wedding Band). They did. I bought it. It arrived today.

Top - Cartier. 4mm, 8 diamonds, $4500 USD

Bottom - Shein. 3.8mm, 8 cubic zirconia, $1.10 USD

I'm loving it. I'll be loving it more if BIKSS gets a job there and gets me one for real. Well, let's backtrack. He's looking for a new position and Cartier is one of the places he applied to. I told him that this might be a sign. Cos I got it before he applied and he didn't even know about it. Maybe this is my practice ring, I told him. If you DO get the job, I want a ring. This ring. 

One can hope. 

The other thing that arrived today was the white shirt I ordered. When the lace one didn't work out we went looking for another top. We both liked this shirt so I ordered it. The first one that arrived was a little snug around the arms and shoulders so I sent it back and ordered another in a larger size. It's perfect! And I like the slightly silky fabric too. WIN! And BIKSS has given his nod of approval. Now I can't wait to wear it out.

As for chicken and waffles? We found a place near his old office that for some reason he had never been to before, and surprise, surprise, they have chicken and waffles on the menu. 

The chicken was tender and delicious. The waffles were the best I've eaten so far, short of that original waffle place we loved that closed down more than 5 years ago. We've been on the hunt ever since, and a few came close... but I think I've found it. All we gotta do is go back there for a waffle-n-ice-cream version to see if it'll be just as good. I have high hopes for it. The waffle was sturdy but not too hard or crispy, not overly eggy, which would be a distraction from whatever it was being paired with, either chicken or ice cream, and it kept its form right up to the end of the meal. We'll go again and report back!

Here are today's chips - diamond chips, that is.

Tuesday Toons and Food Updates - The International Edition

Wow I totally forgot that I had a Tuesday Toon tag. So here's me doing a mini revival with these toons... and a pic. 

Now that we're clear on how things work on earth, let's have a look at what's going on in space, the final frontier... 

I giggled. We call it a lift here too. Thank the British occupation.

But seriously folks, if everyone was a little more honest, we'd all get along better. This two sure seem to have figured out the secret of a long and happy coupling!

If he actually has a farm and she, an animal shelter, then well, that would be a hilarious story!

In personal pics, here's a set of socks we saw at Marks & Spencer when we went roaming last Friday - 

We had a quick "business lunch" at a restaurant in the mall where we were going to watch Mission Impossible. They have these specials here, it's called an Executive Set Lunch, meant to be quick and easy, comes in a set, is cheaper than what's on the ala carte menu, and features limited options presumably so the chef can prep the standard soups and salads ahead of time for you to fit a full 3 course meal in the span of an hour's lunch break - do you have this where you live?

Minestrone soup and salad

A seafood plate for me and some oven baked seabass for BIKSS

After our movie we went walking about a nearby mall and were headed to a Vietnamese casual bistro thing when BIKSS got distracted by a Korean hotpot restaurant. So we landed up there instead. It was our first time in this chain and probably won't be our last. He wanted some Korean fried chicken. I must have bungled up the order cos we waited and waited but no chicken came. Halfway thru our pot I said to BIKSS that if they forgot the chicken let's just skip it and not remind them. Cos we were both already pretty full by then. Turns out my chicken order didn't go thru - those online order apps can be a bit of a challenge LOL - so no harm no foul. We'll just come back another day for chicken!

Beef hotpot with tofu, mushrooms, veggies and sweet potato noodles, and a Korean veggie pancake

(As luck would have it, when I went to the supermarket the following day they had frozen K-pancakes in 3 different flavours on 50% off for members of their loyalty programme, so I picked up a bunch of packets! I told my colleague about it at work today and she was quite keen on getting some - so I went back again this afrernoon to pick up another batch for her. I took the opportunity to take mum out for a quick bus ride to the mall and back, and I think she was happy for the little excursion! The hallucinations she used to experience from what we suspected was over-stimulation seems to be gone now, thankfully, so maybe we'll be able to take her on outings a little more often. This month we took her out twice, besides her daily park visits I mean. I'm hoping to make it a regular event. We'll see. She'd have to be home within 3 hours or so cos we want to keep to her potty schedule, and public restrooms are gross as fuck!)

I digress. Where was I?

Right. More food. We went to catch Indiana Jones last week, and thanks to the movie I had a hankering for some Mediterranean food. So we went back to our little Turkish (?) place for some baba ganoush and a grilled chicken something something. I forget the name. 

It was delish. But I think my tummy's not used to having rice no more. Cos I had me a belly-ache all the way home. And it's not the first time it's happened after a rice-containing meal either. Bleugh.

And speaking of eggplant, we walked into a random pizza place last Tuesday. We had intended to try out a place that I found online, but when we got there we didn't really like the scene (and BIKSS was NOT impressed by the waitress who came out to seat us) so we wandered about a little bit and noticed another Italian place. They're really good. I mean, really good. I think we've found our new go-to Pizza and Tiramisu place. Since our last Italian place closed down, we haven't found a new favourite. Until now. Yup. I daresay the Tiramisu here is even better than the other one!

But I am jumping the gun. We had pizza before dessert, of course, and we almost didn't have dessert. But I'm glad we did. 

We noticed that one of the pizzas on their menu featured a honey glaze. Oh, could I have a 4 cheese with honey instead, you think? BIKSS said no harm asking. So we called the guy over and asked if he would give us honey with any random pizza (not just the one stated on the menu), Pizza 4Ps style (see Vietnam trip post). He didn't bat an eyelid. Sure, he said, no problem. On the side, or dribbled over, whatever you prefer! That was good enough for me. (It's only a thing cos I've actually tried asking for honey at another establishment and they said no. Pfft.)

4 cheese pizza with a side of honey (left) & eggplant parmigiana (right). Both were so, so good!

PHEW! And now I'm done with my food-foto dump. I've been carrying all those pics around for longer than I usually do! 

But that sure was some variety huh! I'm glad I live in a place where it's relatively easy to find decent food from around the world! 

As for today's chip pic - I recently discovered this on an online snack shop! That's Lay's hot pot flavoured chips for you. I can NOT imagine what it would taste like, and I'm not itching to try any either! I prefer my hotpot to be made of actual soup, TYVM.

The Dupes I've Been Waiting For

Hello peoples of Blogland! Has it been 2 weeks? According to the date of my last post, it has. I've been lazy. But here I am with pictures! 

In THIS post I mentioned getting some sandals and a dress and white top. Well the dress didn't sit quite right, the sleeves were too fitting and there wasn't enough space for me to move my arms. And the blouse was a bust too. Same problem. Only, the neckline was too large in addition to the snug shoulder fit. So I returned them. The sandals, tho, were absolutely perfect. I love them! And I'm so happy with that apricot one. It's soft and cushy and possibly the best item of footwear I've ever purchased online. 

I mean, I paid 20 bucks for something that looks like Dolce Vita's $180 Paily Sandal (left) or Steve Madden's $190 Kenley Mule (right) - that's a successful dupe by my standards. 

Or a double-dupe even. These are supposed to be the more affordable alternatives to Bottega Venetta's braided mule which costs a whopping USD $1,200. BV's double strap version features a twist, while the single strap is flat across  - 

  

The white pair of flats is a semi-dupe of the Hermes Oran sandal (left) which costs about USD $1k. It's definitely not the same, but it's got the same vibe, more or less. And that's good enough for me. Not every dupe can be as well done as the Valentino Rockstud Bow Jelly Sandals I found 3 years ago (right).

While looking at some other offerings online I decided to pick up these Fendi-esque slides too. ($16)

My thongs are almost dead and I need a pair of run-around slippers for going to the shops etc. These are not exactly dupes, but they do have a very obvious Fendi vibe, can you tell? LOL. As far as I know, the closest Fendi ever came to making something that looked like this was their velvet double F slides, altho they do use a very similar print on their track pants -

I also have some lookalikes for Chanel slingbacks and those kitten heel Bottega mules on my wishlist. But that's a decision for another day. 

(Do I get one? Do I get both? Oh decisions decisions! That green is spot on too!)

Just look at the quality of the Chanel dupe-ness!

Now that the shoes have been sorted out, I went to take a look at my bag collection. I could do with some dupes there too. The days of paying full price for named bags are well and truly over. I sold off one of mum's shoulder bags, the Aigner that she hardly wore, and decided to have a look at some smaller bags for when I run out for quick dinner dates with BIKSS. I've taken to just bringing along my phone, smokes and (sometimes) wallet, instead of lugging a whole shoulder bag filled with face mist, tissues, brolly and other necessities a girl might need as she travels on public transport by her lonesome. 

I found a Cult Gaia dupe, thanks to Shea Whitney - she linked a version on Amazon but I found an even cheaper one on Shein! 

So this is the original, coming in at a whole half a grand and on the right is the $10 version. Will anyone be close enough to tell the difference? No. Will anyone think it's an original? Also no, because Insta and Tiktok are both flooded with all the fashionistas showing off their dupes too! Is it still glam enough for a Friday night date? Definitely!

 

The other thing I got was a quilted crossbody ($5!). For those casual supermarket runs - 

And also thanks to Shea, I found a Gucci-esque strap ($6) on another platform... which I haven't bought, cos I'm waiting for the bag to arrive before doing anything else - but doesn't this look totally glam? It comes in frosted or matt black, gold or silver hardware options. I'll take a closer look at the actual bag before deciding which one to choose. 

I'm hoping that from a distance it might give off the same vibe as this Gucci camera bag.

And now I think that's all I have for you. I'm gonna have to mosey on out of here cos I have a date with the mama at the park! 

Have some chips! Unsalted!

Fashion Hacks

1. If your jeans or any button-closure pants / skirts are a little too snug, consider getting button extenders. They have them on Amazon and look like this - 

I have a couple of the blue rubbery looking ones and they've come in very handy. (I don't tuck in my tops anyway so this works great for me!)

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2. I have a floppy hat that was just a little TOO floppy. It was totally blocking my view, so I flipped the front flop up and sewed it down with some black thread, and stuck a pin over it for a cute look. I don't know what to do with all the pins I have anyway!

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3. Aside from being a hat person (I wish MORE people wore hats where I live) - I'm also an earring person (fish hooks, not studs). I love earrings, and I love rings. And I love anything diamond / pearls.

I got this earring "rack" some time ago (there are many different types on Amazon) and it was the best thing I ever got for my dresser. I also recently acquired 3 pairs of (faux?) pearl earrings from someone on a local buy/sell/give-for-free app for 10 bucks, including postage. Good buy huh?

 

(my costume earring collection - the gemstones / diamonds live in a different place)

Do you have a fashion/organising hack to share? Leave a comment!

And have some chips!

(Dayum that looks really good!)

Shein and Dubai (And Breakfast This Morning)

Yup, I've been hitting the online stores. OK. STORE. Singular. You know the one. 

Aside from daily household cleaners, fresh produce and specific brands (mum's diapers / supplement etc) I pretty much get all my stuff from there now. Bought an oil spray bottle, some air fryer liners, baking paper, and clothes and shoes of course. 

Besides a bunch of basic black tees, I also got a pair of bright orange sandals that turned out to be so comfy I actually went ahead and ordered another pair in white. 

That's me wearing them for the first time this morning to breakfast with BIKSS. (Pics below). 

The upper is very soft, not at all stiff - which was my worry - and there was no issue with the straight edges cutting into my feet when walking. 

And these are the things I'm waiting on... (plus laundry bag, not shown). 

The black dress looks simple and elegant, so I picked one up for $5.50. I mean, it's a black dress. Duh. One can never have too many of them, amiright?

The white lace blouse was a BIKSS pick. He likes that white shirt blue jeans look. Only I don't have a white SHIRT. I only have tee shirts... so I asked him to take a look and see if there was something he liked. Surprisingly, he picked a lacy top. I wasn't expecting that. (And I think his selection surprised him too!) I'm not complaining tho, I'm pro-lace so it's a win for me. $8.50.

White sandals - $9.50. See note above on orange sandals.

Apricot braided strappy block heel sandals - $20. The most expensive item of the lot, but I've been wanting something like that for a while and I had a white pair sitting in my shopping cart for.e.ver! I prefer the white, cos it's a lot more "statement"-ey but I'll probably get more wear out of this one. As it is I'm not usually in heels, so I really don't know how often I'll be pulling this one out of the shoe cupboard. But I do like the braided straps. We'll see. 

And now, this morning's breakfast. Which was at a fancy place that bakes their own bread.

It was absolutely delicious, and very very satisfying. We had cheddar cheese waffles (yes, the cheese is baked into the waffle) with bacon and sour cream, shakshuka with baguette slices, and coffee, of course.

It came with a hefty price tag tho. Can't do this every week for sure! Maybe once a month, or once every two months. It helps if I think of it as using the money we save from picnics and eating home-cooked food, so it's not an extra expense. (We've had dinners that were cheaper than this!) Aaaand, it really bugs me that service charge and tax come up to almost 20% ! Grrr.

On an entirely different note, here are a couple of videos from BIKSS' stopover in Dubai - at the spice shops when visiting the souk, and a camel ride (below)! He went on a desert ATV drive too.. but that video was a bit of a mess LOL. 

Maybe one day I'll get a chance to visit. Looks like a place I might enjoy!

And now, some weekend chips :

(funyuns are chips too right?)

BIKSS is Back, Treats and Dramatic Plants

He bought me a bunch of chocolates. So far I've tried this one - it is absolutely the best praline/chocolate I've ever eaten. I look forward to popping a square everyday, and I don't even like chocolate tbh. Not as a general rule. I'll eat it if it's really good but otherwise the chocolate that lives in my fridge ends up in baked goods. Granola mainly. This one won't end up in baked goods. This one is for eating as is.

I also got a couple of magnets for my fridge - a most adorable doggo with bouncy head from Switzerland and green Arabic door design from Dubai. 

More treats - chocolate covered dates with a whole almond centre - a specialty of Dubai, costs about half the price there as it does here (I mean, you can get ANYTHING online these days innit?) - a very yummy treat. And a box of assorted Kambly cookies! Yes, we can get those here too, but it's just a bit more exciting when it's brought back from the land where it's made! 

Since I'm still house-bound, with mum needing assistance to go potty every 2 hours or so, BIKSS popped over a couple days ago for a little picnic nearby. We had a ham, egg and mushroom wrap each, and veggies / soup with chikuwa (type of Japanese fishcake) on the side. 

On the topic of cooking, I was craving MAKING some yorkshire pudding yesterday. I wasn't craving HAVING some. Just cooking some. 

So I went online and found a recipe for air fryer and made a tiny one.  (I halved this recipe.)

1 cup flour + pinch of salt

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

Mix well and chill for 20 mins

Heat the pan or baking dish with some oil or leftover meat drippings, then pour chilled batter into hot fat, enjoying the sizzling sounds as you do.

Cook at 190° for 12-14 mins, turning over once midway through if needed.

On an unrelated note, here are my peace lily and "mini monstera" (aka Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma) being overly dramatic when I forgot to check on their soil for a couple of days. It worked tho. I panicked, shoved some water into them and the next day they both perked right back up.

Tsk. Dramatic much? 

I'm off to continue planning tomorrow's breakfast with BIKSS. Meanwhile, have some chips!