THE NONNATIVE

This has been stuck in my head for a few days...

Love The Lonely Island!

Last night was a p-p-p-p-partay! I met up with my blonde buddy to dry my clothes (I got caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella) and hang out until we went out for a jazz show at 9. I think I was really tired, because we decided to go for a walk in the flood and ended up with me running through the streets laughing hysterically. I seem to have a TST Indian suit tailor beacon, just about on every corner we stopped at" "M'am would you like a fine suit?" Now... Let me think of how to explain this. I find TST synonymous with "suit", on a quick pass through The Dark Side I'll get asked at least 3 times if I'd like a suit.

Of course an acceptible answer to this question is, "No thank you." But for some reason that doesn't work. "A fine suit for you!" "..No, I don't need a suit." "Yes yes a fine suit for you! How about a watch, a handbag? Rolex?" "You're making me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry" "My shop is just upstairs." "DO I LOOK LIKE I EVER WEAR A SUIT I SAID NO THANK YOU ABOUT FIVE TIMES NOW YOU ARE CREEPING ME OUT!" Does that stop him? No. Never. I mean do they think I've never been asked if I want a suit made? Do I reek of tourist? Am I not saying the right thing? And why do I get followed? Okay it's understood, I do not want a suit in any capacity, nor a handbag - now stay on your corner! Don't follow me halfway down the street. Grrrrr! Anyway the end of this story is that I was so annoyed with this guy following me, patting me on the shoulder (oh you should have seen my face, it was a 'Oh HELLLLLLL no' face) until I finally ran into oncoming traffic and got honked at a few times.

There should be a law about these tailors. Or maybe they should go through a mandatory sales course.

Uh yeah, anyway so I went out later with a few friends to DaDa club at the Luxe Manor (39 Kimberly Road). It was a pretty nice club, a "new gothic" look to it, food that cost an arm and a leg, cheapish beer. We went to see Ifat's friend Michelle Garthe perform a few songs. I was totally jealous, I have always wished I could sing... This woman can sing! She's got a beautiful voice. She thought she was rusty, psh, I could have taken over the mic and belted out Britney Spear's Toxic for a few minutes to sky rocket her confidence.

The beautiful & talented Michelle / A cool oil painting inside DaDa
Ifat and I gorged ourselves on a delicious meal of green olives, peanuts, and almonds - by the time we got around to taking photos I think you could say we were a little faded. Bars/clubs/lounges are so evil, they serve you high fat salty snacks so you drink more. It really was a fun night, I ended up talking to a mutual friend about video games (my other embarrassing vice) and it turns out he makes video games. I love fashion and shopping, but once you get me talking about the Internet and video games... Clothes = FAIL. Sowwy.


Cotton On ribbed tank, Cotton On lace patterned pencil skirt, H&M gold chain belt, "Jimmy Choo" pumps from Shenzhen // Ifat's wearing a vintage tube dress, H&M bracelets, motorcycle boots
I think Cotton On should discover me, see how much I love their clothes, and send me millions of tank tops. Best freakin' tank tops in the world!

I was really preoccupied the past few days, I had a job interview with a style consultant as an admin/assistant - so far so good! It'll be nice to do something every day, I try to spend every day out of the house and on the days when I'm stuck here it creates some insane cabin fever. So that was pretty fun and exciting, but that was yesterday (Weds), this look of the day is from Monday.

Monday I got to go see the movie Surrogates with Bruce Willis, where everyone uses a robotic avatar to interact in day to day life. I think for the most part it was a good movie, the problem with "blockbuster" films is that they have to have mass appeal. I like my science fiction to be really nerdy and detailed, this was sort of as sci-fi/action movie and a little too short. Bruce Willis rocks! He might be getting old but I still think he's an awesome actor, if anyone else had played the role I don't know if it would have even been classified as a decent movie. I'll have to make an embarrassing yet true list of my favorite movies... I always hope someone out there has the same tastes and will turn me onto something new I'll love!

I'm so sick of the movies coming out now, I can get down with a chick flick... But for the most part I feel like it insults my intelligence. I'm sorry, I don't have marriage or babies on the brain & I don't think it's cool for movies to be encouraging that. Let's encourage people to fall in love and get married when the divorce rate looks a little better ;) Ugh and drama movies just make me depressed. I did happen to go see Final Destination 3D... Yeah, real winner. For the entire next day I was about to have a heart attack whenever I heard a sound. Bathroom door gets stuck, I start panicking, body slamming the door trying to get out. Not a highly recommended film

Red jersey dress from Granville Road, black cardigan from Cotton On, "Jimmy Choo" pumps from Shenzhen, vintage gold disc earrings
And in true Lizard form I found something new and exciting to eat. Marks & Spencers has just opened up a BAKERY, a real bakery with bread, pies, cookies, scones, snackssss! SNACKS! My boyfriend and I walked into the bakery (M&S store in central, basement), we literally jumped for joy, did a little dance, and high-fived. Yes, we love food. I mean we love food.


Yummy, yummy, yummy! Shortbread cookie with milk chocolate chips. $9HKD/piece

ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores
porque cantando se alegran
cielito lindo los corazones
I used to live in Costa Rica, and I remember being 10 and learning that song. So when we went out for "Mexican" food (after a few margaritas) the song got stuck in my head. I really like it when I'm alone because it's not like I'm chilling at home softly singing, I download the song and while I think passion flows through my voice it probably sounds a lot more like a dying cat. "AAAAAAAYYYYYY AYYY AYY AYYYYYYYYYYYY" Haha or like the sound the monster from Cloverfield makes, some high pitched wail. I just thought I'd share that, since the point of this blog isn't to tell you about how I rock, or how awesome I am, it's more along the lines of I am a total loser but I love clothes. Thank god for outward appearances!

Anyway we went over to Agave in Wanchai to celebrate a belated dad's birthday. For anyone who is desperately seeking Mexican food in Hong Kong... You are SOL (Shit Out of Luck). There's iCaramba, Taco Loco, and Agave, I used to feel like Agave had more of a "real" Mexican flavor. But to be honest that is negated by the fact that the staff are super rude. iCaramba is way too deep fried and Tex Mex for me. And while Taco Loco is an acceptable quick fix, it's small, uncomfortable and usually crowded. So yeah, if you're looking for Mexican food here... You kind of went to the wrong side of the world.


Only thing I have to say about Agave is yeah, delicious margaritas, Wednesday ladies' night, and some damn good chips and guacamole! I just wish the staff would get off their high horse, because ok... I understand being a waitress in Wan Chai of all places must really suck. But you're working in the afternoon, there's a decent amount of people in there - I'm sorry, I didn't put a gun to your head shouting, "I banish you to be a WAITRESS!". And really, isn't that better than being a construction worker, prostitute, garbageman, etc.? And furthermore I was under the notion that when you serve food and you're nice you get a... what is that thing called? A... tip? No, I must be wrong, that's crazy. I mean you get a 10% service charge added to your bill anyway, who needs tips? We don't need any stinkin' tips.


The weather is bad, I am in a raging some kinda awful mood, but to cheer me up I'm going shopping :) Hellllooooo sexy leather jacket and shoes. Cold weather is on the horizon, I'm bringing out my scarves!

Ok yeah the image of my outfit is AWFUL. I was having so much fun all day that when I got home I realized I didn't take a photo of it, it's not my favorite but I was feeling mighty 80s inspired. Anyway I look cranky because... well, I was cranky. I came home and asked my boyfriend to take a photo of me, there were workers in the hall, I was tired, sweaty, and hungry. Then after I looked through about 20 photos I realized that nothing looked good, and so I said, "Screw it!" and did a poor job editing the background. It's different when I take good quality photos, I put time and effort into photoshopping things in the background, adjusting the colors, etc. But for this one I didn't care. I hate my flat. It's so small I have nowhere to take photos with a plain wall behind me. My kitchen door is glass, not to mention there is a mirror on the back of the front door! My flat is like the anti-christ for photo taking.

Anyway, done with rant. I will just remember to make someone take a photo of me. Like I've said, I do hate having my photo taken - I'm a great model huh?


This was last week during the week, I met up with some friends to go to the Kowloon Cricket Club for lunch, the photo above is me taking a picture of my greek wrap. It was really good, lettuce, feta, tomato, hummus, cucumber - yumm. The other great thing was that the weather was beautiful, a nice breeze, sunny, and a swarm of cute little kiddies running around "playing" soccer. Kids playing soccer essentially means kids running around the field back and forth from the goal, but the ball is nowhere to be seen. I forget what that's like, it'd be fun to be a kid again.

I forgot to post these! D'oh!

They're sort of outfit shots since the top of the dress is the only thing worth looking at :) It's a cute little leather bustier with studs and just a loose jersey "skirt" that hits right above the knees. Ok maybe it's a little shorter...

Crucifix from Mong Kok (someone told me it's very Dolce Gabbana), leather & studs dress from Mong Kok, and Guess pumps

Ifat & I have rekindled our strange blonde twosome, it's nice to hang out with her again! It's nice to have friends from all different backgrounds, interests, statuses, etc., but it really is a relief to have a blonde friend. Someone who also doesn't get jokes, walks up the wrong escalator, gets mad at being confused - whew! We're working on trying to get a group of girls to hang out once every two weeks to dress up, go out for dinner and an event, and perhaps drink. As you can see we did really well the other week on the drinking part :) Or actually, we did well on the "drinkeating", since a jello shot is kind of like eating and kind of like drinking. Word to the wise: every other flavor of jello shot is nasty, if you're going to be doing a jello shot go with the overpowering citrus flavor of lime.

I was busy all weekend doing some fun stuff with my boyfriend, going to a belated birthday dinner with my dad, I'm beat today. I took a bunch of photos (as you know out of 100 photos like... 1 turns out) and I'll post them up today. I know this is supposed to be a blog about fashion and shopping, but I love taking photos of food! Haha, I am such a loser. Every restaurant I start taking pictures of things I'm about to eat. Screw it, I'm no model - I'm going to be an aspiring food photographer ;)

It's nasty outside today, perfect excuse for sitting on my ass and playing on blogger!

I finally found a spot with some of the new looks for winter, it's going to have to stay a secret though. I mean, I have to have a secret place for myself haha. I was really excited, though. It's a little bit more expensive than Mong Kok but it's definitely better quality, newer styles, and actual samples.

Winter clothes are popping up in all of the stores, but it's still insanely hot outside. It's so lame, I just wish it would get cold so I could wear leggings, scarves, layers, jackets. It won't be actually cold here until the end of November - sigh. So I spent the morning looking at girls on Chictopia, envying the colder climates. Thanks a lot global warming!

So after musing on these fashionable thoughts I decided to make up a little collage.

I bought some new books since I'm feeling the pain of True Blood being over, my Sookie Stackhouse books finished, almost two months until the new Twilight movies... I can't wait for it to be cold enough to bust out dark lipstick, black eyeliner, darker clothes. I know some people wear dark colors all year but I just can't, I see the sun outside and I'm just too excited. Plus, I have made the mistake a few times this summer of wearing a scarf or pants and ended up drenched in sweat. It's way too hot in Hong Kong to wear winter gear until it truly is winter.

I want clip in colored extensions. Purple. And I want a vinyl pencil skirt. Oh well, I guess really I just need an unlimited cash supply haha.

Whew what a long weekend. Remember how I mentioned a week or so back that I wasn't feeling so hot? Well, it caught up with me. I thought I kicked it but on all Thursday night I couldn't sleep, I ended up rolled into a fetal position - my stomach hurt so much. All I could do was just pathetically lay in the bathroom with the dry heaves. The cause was apparently "bacteria", which I think could probably have come from... oh, I don't know, gallons of bubble tea, curried fish balls, and other street treats. The answer is pro-biotics, natural yogurt, etc. So I guess all in all it's my own damn fault for being an indiscriminate eater.

So my weekend was literally all about staying in, eating liters of yogurt and sleeping. On Sunday I went up to my parents' house and we had a BBQ, I wasn't really up to taking any photos. I didn't start doing anything much until today, when I bought Dead and Gone at Elements mall. I'm already dreading what's going to happen when I finish this book... What will I read? What will I watch? I need a new series, something with 20 books all of about 1,000 pages - that would be the only thing that curbs my reading appetite. It has to be fantasy or science fiction, and I don't like first-person narratives.

I will never find something to occupy me. Shit.

Wearing ribbed tank from Cotton On, silver & jewels necklace from H&M, black rosary from Mong Kok, ombre scarf from Ladies Market, skirt from Xhilaration (Target), pumps from Guess

Casual look for once...
Plaid shirt from Maple, ribbed tank from Cotton On, white crucifix from Mong Kok, old DIY cut off jeans from Hollister
I think I should complain about typhoons more, last night we got a mighty T8 that ran all the way into the morning. I had quite an evening... T-Trifecta of Thrills evening as I was calling it. Tim Tams, True Blood, and a Typhoon. It was like someone triangulated my life with the letter T. I had a pretty uneventful dinner, though... I was pretty much saving all of my calories for the right to house a pack of Tim Tams haha. I'm not talking about those bullshit dark chocolate Tim Tams either, I'm talking like double coat TTs.


So long story short I watched the season finale of True Blood in bed, in a state of utter euphoria - until I got to the end. I won't spoil it for anyone but MAN I am not happy. I have devoured 5/7 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and I quite like them. I know that the show is based off of the book, but... My god, if they stray too far from the storyline I will probably be unable to watch the show. Whatever, Vampire Bill is very gentlemanly but Erik is so much better looking, he's so tall, he's so angry, he runs a bar, he wants to make Sookie a vampire - what is her problem? The show appears to be taking a very wide turn away from the books. So, my advice to anyone who loves the show: don't read the books, you will feel violated & sad.

My friend Nat who runs Hong Kong Hustle just posted up a video from being out in Lan Kwai Fong (our overpriced party street in HK) during the Typhoon 8. What a dedicated man to be out there reporting on our weather... At 2am ;)



RIP Patrick Swayze 1952-2009

Octuors made me think of octopus... The other night I spent at least an hour watching octopus videos. I had no idea how cool they are, check out this Indonesian Mimic Octopus!

The Indonesian Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) Sulawesi @ Yahoo! Video

I just can't get over how they not only change their color to adapt to their environment, but they also mimic the behavior. I don't know if octopus are actually intelligent or if they're just very complicated instinctual animals... There was a documentary of a guy who came across a giant octopus and when it approached him it literally checked him out. Ran its feelers all over him, touched him, and then decided he wasn't a treat and left. How crazy is that? I now love octopus(es).

On another note I went out today with my boyfriend and my parents to the Marriott for lunch. They have a buffet that's pretty nice, not as good as the JW Marriott on HK Island but still pretty good. What I like about the Marriott spread in Admiralty is their organic/vegan section, last time I was there I had such great tofu-chocolate tartlets!


My dad was pretty gung ho on taking a photo of the Marriott's sign, so I took a special picture of just the sign. And then one of me & my dad.

The weather has been so bizarre here today! It went from being beautiful and sunny to shitty and foggy... Apparently there's going to be a typhoon 8 tomorrow, I'm not going to hold my breath this time. So far this typhoon season has really sucked, so if it is an 8 it's going to be a drizzly, windy 8 that rocks on through for about an hour. Thanks typhoon.


Wearing "BCBG" dress from Shenzhen, yellow freshwater pearl necklace from Shenzhen, "Marc Jacobs" studded slingbacks from Shenzhen, random bangles from Cotton On and H&M