Explorers to Taiwan Wanted

Here's good news to those of you planning a trip to Taiwan this Summer. The Tourism Bureau of Taiwan is hosting a contest to give away USD$225 daily for each day you're touring on this island during a 4-day trip. And you get a shot at USD$25,000 if you can beat out all the other contestants. And your chances are better if you're already a savvy blogger and are good with editing videos, and also know how to have fun! Click image below for rules to enter.

Shopping Diary: Peachy Pink Checker Ruffle Top

I thought I'd let you all in on the fun I have shopping in Taiwan. Going back a few years, Gap/Express/Banana Republic used to be where I satisfy my shopping cravings. But being an Asian girl, shopping in Taipei should be way more fun than the malls in the States, right? I'll attempt to blog more about the many fantastic boutiques and shops I go here, while at the same time trying not go broke..ha!

"Chocolate", conveniently located near hubby's work place, is a clothing boutique specializing in Korea imports. Here's a view of the strip mall nearby. This is one of my favorite areas of the city because of the strip mall.

The storefront with its display window: This is what I got a few weeks ago from there. A very romantic peachy pink checker ruffle top. "Chocolate" tend to stock very feminine, very girly, semi-formal pieces, mostly from Korea. I paired the top with a pair of denim short shorts from my own eBay store. I'm carrying a Powder Pink Bowtie Dumpling Tote. And you're not seeing my feet because I had on my flipflops coz I was intending to walk a lot and do some shopping - a pair of high heels/wedges would have been a better choice for my look.

Hidden Boutiques & Shops

I came upon these two different stores while shopping for a pair of shorts for myself over the weekend. I couldn't resist taking photos of their store fronts! Both are examples of how scarce(expensive) the retail space is on the streets of Taiwan. The first is a tiny (barely there because it's so small) accessory shop nestled between two buildings. There looks to be a stairway that leads to a 2ed floor, which I think houses a hair salon. The space down those staircase is so tiny that only 3 or 4 people could remain inside at a time. But the store offers some of the prettiest selections of hair clips, necklaces, bracelets in the city though.

The second one was even easier to miss! I think I mistook the metal cage for a decor effect/decoration of some sort when I walked by several times in the past. The cage was right there on the pedestrian sidewalk, in front of a tea shop. Then out of nowhere, this girl emerged from a staircase beneath the metal cage. So I walked in the cage and down the staircase, and discovered a very cozy, very fashionable clothing boutique. The name of the boutique is "blush", the cage is there to draw you in, and the tea shop where the cage stood is appropriately named "ZOO".

View from the Window

This is the view from our apartment window. I took this on Saturday while waiting for hubby to come home.....

Head Home

Hubby had to be out of town for another photo call with this friends all day. He left home at 6:30 am. I couldn't sleep anymore after being woken up by the alarm at 6. So I decided to get up and head home to my parents' house. I grabbed one of those ready-to-go sandwiches from Laya Breakfast, then hit the highway for the 30 min drive home.

[SOLD]: Light Apricot Ruffle Button Down Chiffon Top

Up next for your shopping pleasure and also previously featured in a Ganguro Find post is this Light Apricot Ruffle Button Down Chiffon Top.

Ruffles, ruffles, ruffles! It's what brings volumn/drama to this unique top. This would be gorgeous with denim shorts or just any shorts you already have lying in your closet. Or it can be dressed up with skinny pencil skirt and heels for work. (Can you already see the potential it has!) Note that the back side is plain with no ruffles except for the ruffled collar, hence the back is sheer. A like-color layering cami is recommanded, unless you put on a really pretty bra underneath.

Another way to make this top work for the office, is to wear a light-weight cardi over this. Be sure to unbutton the cardi and let the ruffles show. Denim pants would go perfectly with this top also. Details on the shirt:

• Sizing: Fits US Women XS, 0, or 2
• Chiffon, no stretch
• Measurements taken laying flat unstretched (in inches): Total Length (shoulder to hem) 21.25", Bust (pit to pit) 16"
• Condition: Brand new w/o tag. Never worn.
• Price: USD$22
• Shipping (worldwide, takes approx 7 business days in transit): $5
• Please note that payment is accepted via PayPal only. Item ships the next day payment is received unless it's the weekends or a public holiday.

That's it! The only two items being sold in blog format! First person to contact me and complete payment wins! Contact me at chitown5445@yahoo.com or by commenting.

CLICK CLICK CLICK on the image for an enlarged view. You'll see better how pretty it really is.

[SOLD]: Chiffon Floral Ruffle Tier Mini Dress

Fellow fashionistas, you are going to like what's coming up! Woohoo!! This darling mini dress/tunic was just featured in an earlier post. And it has been chosen to be the first item to be put on sale in the blog format!! I'm super pysched! This was purchased for USD$40 from a Korean clothing boutique in Taipei. It's the only one available. So don't ask me if I can get another. Here're the details on this super gorgeous tunic/mini dress:

• Sizing: Fits US XS, 0, or 2
• Measurements taken laying flat unstretched (inches): Total Length (shoulder to hem)29", Bust (pit to pit) 14.50", there's no restriction at the hip area
• (Built-in elasticity at the empire waist seam, other than that this has no stretch as it's made of chiffon. )
• Condition: Brand new w/o tag, Never worn.
• Price: $22
• Shipping: (any worldwide destination, estimated transit 7 business days): $5
• Please note that payment is accepted via PayPal only. Item ships the next day payment is received unless it's the weekends or a public holiday.

Please please click on the image of the dress for the enlarged view!! It's toooo gorgeous!　I would have put up a larger photo if not for the constraints set by this blogspot template. If you need additional photos, please don't hesitate to shoot me a line at chitown5445@yahoo.com. Or you can ask by commenting.

Japanese Kawaii Stationary

My friend whose family runs a toy & stationary store gave me these super cute/creative/kawaii/..(dunno if there's a word for them) gifts!! You wouldn't believe what some of these cute things actually are!! I'm addicted to these wacky, strange stationaries now, I think I need to go shopping for some more this weekend.

Put some clothes on your key before you leave house with these cute key covers. They are made of rubber, with tiny openings at the sides so that you can insert your key in it:
Hungry, yes? Chocolate covered waffle cookie! No, it's a fluid corrector!!
Delish cake-shaped candles! Makes for nice B Day presents, too! Hope they smell as nice as they look.
And don't swallow these vitamin pills just yet... they are erasers!!

Video of Jolin's May 09 Concert

Here's a short clip of the Jolin concert I went on Saturday. It would have been nice if I left the camera on longer, but I was too far away from the stage and I am too short. My feet and arms were sore from having to hold the camara high enough to shoot.

Jolin Concert + Cow Parade in My Neighborhood

Hubby armed with his DSLR, and I with my Canon G7 went to the free outdoor Jolin concert at the nearby Citizen Square on Saturday. (For those who don't know, Jolin is probably THE hottest pop songtress in Taiwan.) In fact, this was my first concert in Taiwan! I'd never been into Mandarin pop much. But hubby is a fan of Jolin. She is his favorite when he goes to KTVs. I enjoyed the show very much because I was with hubby LOL.

We got to the concert venue late in the afternoon, 2 hours in advance. Hubby wanted to claim a good spot at the park so that he can capture photos from a good angle. But I got hungry while waiting so we ended up waiting at a long line to get Indian food from a vendor. We weren't able to get really close to the stage by the time we finished our food.

I also took time to take photos of the concert venue and its surrounding area while waiting for the show to begin.

A view of the concert stage from afar:
The stage just prior to the show:
The media: At one of the sponsor tents, hot young show girls show off Yamaha's new scooters:
Jolin finally opened the show at around 7 in the evening. This is Jolin singing and sitting on a butterfly theme chair in mid-air. She would be shuttled by the chair from one end of the stage to the other in mid-air. Hmm..not very impressed with her shoes in this photo though.
She's wearing a gold shimmering bubble cape mini dress at the opening of the show:
And some photos of the cow parade which recently just moved into our city from a finished tour in Taipei. These cows are adjacent to the Citizen Square right by a shopping center.
Food porn!!! Hubby took me to TGI Friday's on Mother's Day.

Breakfast from Laya

For as long as I could remember, my mom never made breakfast in the morning ... nope, not once. Actually the few times she did was because the weather out was so bad like a typhoon passing through or such. That leads me to think that probably the only family that still makes their own breakfast on this whole island is my BFF Sherry & her family. This is all due to the convenience of living on this island named Taiwan. The breakfast take-out business is a multi-billion dollar industry on this island. Everyone is either too busy (or too lazy ^^) to prepare and eat their own breakfast at home, hence the mushrooming of breakfast parlors on every corner of streets. From private mom & pop breakfast vendors selling steamed buns & soybean milk to big name breakfast chains with Western style taste, there's endless choices to rotate from. It's said that Taiwan has the most number of breakfast parlors (and tea stands! More on that later) per square mile than any other place in the world.

This place called Laya Breafast just recently opened near our apartment. They make the best take-out sandwiches & burgers. (Taiwanese tend to eat Western style for breakast then go on to have bento & Chinese foods for lunch/dinner. I'm not sure why. But who cares as long as the food is good.)

Just reading their menu on the wall is enough to make my mouth water....

This was my breakfast from Laya on Tuesday: a tuna salad burger and a cup of fruit tea. Yum yum!

You're supposed to eat the burder with the half-open paper wrap it came with. Neat huh?

Ganguro Spotlight: Camouflage Romper

In the spotlight today is this super adorable camouflage romper! Normally camouflage print gives off a tough, macho vibe, but this romper is surprisingly girly in an unique way when tried on. It has super stretchy elasticity built in at the bust and waist for an amazing fit. And it also comes with detachable/adjustable shoulder straps. I also love how the camouflage print really compliments my fare skin tone :-) It will be hard for its colorful print and the gorgeous fit to not draw any attention on a sunny day!

Click on photo for more view.