Navarathri

Its day 2 of Navarathri celebrations at the Temple of Fine Arts and it was also our performance day. After weeks of practicing this bollywood dance choreographed by Mr. Vijay our Bollywood teacher, we finally got to perform live on stage. It wasn't at all easy getting here... but we managed somehow.

We had extra classes during weekends, beside our usual classes to perfect our steps and co-ordination, also to make sure our group formations were at the very best. 

We danced for 2 songs

1. Badtameez from the movie - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewan  ( In English : This youth is Crazy)

2. Lungi dance from the movie - Chennai Express

Since Badtameez song was a retro, we decided to have a retro theme to our costume, hence the polka dots. We had a choice for blue, purple and red polka dots chudithar pairing with white pants. 

I got my hair done a few hours before at a nearby saloon. Decided to go with a pouf hairstyle.... from the 18th century era. The lady at the saloon had to use quite a bit of the hairspray just to make sure the hair stays in place with all the movements and 'jumping' that we will be doing later. 

You might be wondering what this is all about. Well, Navarathri is celebrated in India and world wide by the Indians. Its a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity called Durga. The word Navarathri means nine nights in Sanskrit. 

Nava - means nine and Rathri means - night. During this 10 days and 9 nights, the nine forms of Shakti is celebrated.

In Temple of Fine arts, this celebrations is at its best. A lot of performance is lined up to entertain the guests for the 10 days. From classical dances to bollywood dance and from instrumental to fusion dances are planned to keep you entertained for the period. So if you're free head on to Temple of Fine Arts to watch and learn a bit of the culture here.......

Its Tiny Wild West at Guess Kids

I was checking my mails as usual and replying my usual work related e-mails until I stumbled upon a mail that said 'You and your lil one are selected and will be introduced to GuessKids Fall Collection 2014. I was super excited....   I called out to my boys, ''Guess what.... we get to see the GuessKids's new fall collection 2014'' !! The lil ones scratched their heads and went back to playing, they weren't sure what I was saying.

Guess has always been my favourite, not only because it was started in 1981 the year that I was born but because it caters for everyone in the society. You will aways find something that catches your eyes here. 

It was started by the Marciano Brothers -  Maurice Marciano & Paul Marciano. Their first ever design was slim fitting jeans, 3 zip Marilyn. Since then it has evolved dramatically over the years and it has become one of the notable brands in this era.  

The Marciano Brothers

It was to be held in KLCC GuessKids. So a week before the event I went to check out the place. It's at the second level in  Ramlee mall. Their store number is 213B and 213C. On the left hand side is Crabtree and Evelyn and on the right is Ralph Lauren and Burt's bee. Now you know the exact location of the store.... So its far easier for you to pop in anytime when you are free.....

Guess Kids KLCC

If you look into their store you can already see some elements that will describe their fall collection 2014. Noticed anything unusual?! You may want to know what the Cactus and Hay doing there ? Read on to find out further. 

213 B and 213 C at Ramlee Mall

On the left is Crabtree & Evelyn

On the right is Burt's Bee and Ralph Lauren

On the 13th of September, the day of the event, my lil ones and I were there on time, well maybe slightly earlier. The Guess Staff were getting ready for the event and doing their last minute touch ups. More and more guests were coming in with their lil ones. Some of them were bloggers and some were from the media. I also noticed a few celebrities such as Malayisan supermodel, Amber Chia and her son Ashton, Belinda Chee who is a famous host and emcee along with her daughter Danielle.

The event started sharp 10am as scheduled. We were all invited in to see their collections...... it was free and easy ! Something that I like........ you get to see, touch and feel their collection on the spot.  

Staff's doing their last minute touch ups before the event

You saw the cactus and the hay earlier in their stores, and now you see it here again ?! Can you put two and two together ? Yup.... this fall collection is all about the Wild West ! We are transported back in time, A time where cowboys and cowgirls were ruling the town, It brings back history and legends alive and so does the unique style of clothes worn in the 19th-century. The new collection was mainly inspired by this. The collection is very elegant, stylish yet comfortable with western accents to it. They had real hay on their sets....... no joke ! You could smell the freshness and it transports you way back in time, the wild west era. ( you must be wondering why in the first place I smelt the hay.......... hahahaha........ cause why kids wanted me to do so ! )

Real hay

You could feel the freshness that transports you way back in time

As you look around the store, you are just spoiled for choices..... they have wonderful pieces. As you move from one section to the other, you will fall in love with the collections even more. From petite denim dresses to graphic sweatshirts, from denim skirts and jackets to chambray tops, from distressed denim jeans to floral print dresses.... and I can just go on and on. Indeed a beautiful collection. They have divided into sections based on age and sex. This makes it a lot easier for you to choose what you want without having to go around and around the shop. Most of these clothes will also give you that vintage look that you've been longing for. The also have some of the new collection displayed right at the centre of the store.... so you have no chance of missing it. The colours are so vibrant and bold that you will definitely stop by to look.

These are some of the new collections displayed right at the centre of the store 

Girl's Jacket

This is a girl's jacket that comes with long sleeves and some cool buttons on both sides. This design definitely gives you that vintage look for your young one, at the same time adding some style and boosting her confidence to another level....... Bring on the Cowgirl.... YEEE HAAAAWW !!!

A lovely pink dress 

This is a another lovely piece that brings out the style in your lil toddler. A light pink dress with buttons right at the centre and a white ribbon at the waistline.

As I've mentioned earlier they have categorised based on age and sex to make shopping a little easier for mummies and daddies. First stop is the new born collection which is from 0 to 9 months. They have beautiful body suits, denim skirts and dresses for newborns.

                           

                                 Sweet white and
                                  pink bodysuits that comes in floral design 

Bodysuits that snaps at the bottom
that makes diaper sessions much easier 

Next section is the infant section. It covers ages between 12-24 years. Here you have baby suits, shirts and denim overalls. Your lil boy will look extra cute in this beautiful detailed denim overalls that can make head turn his way whether he is sitting comfortably in a stroller or running around the malls. The brand takes an extra effort to make sure these denim gives your babies extra comfort while giving them a cool yet classy western look...... Welcome on-board Lil COWBOY !!!

Denim Overalls

Beautiful collection for infant aged 12 to 24 months

                              

While I was admiring the collections, our lil guy spotted the goodies !! He was jumping up and down excitedly, tugging on my jeans....... 'Mummy can I have the lollipop'. I wasn't sure if he could and hence I told him to wait a little but he got a lil annoyed. Seeing the scene, Rachel Lim the senior divisional manager who was very friendly & down to earth came to my son's rescue. She spoke to him, gave him a balloon and asked him to help himself with all the goodies........ you should have seen the grin on his face as soon as he heard that !

The friendly Rachel Lim, Senior divisional manager 

Lollipops and Sweets..... YUMMMmmm............

Cowboy Chips.... flowing with the Wild West Theme

Jelly Beans

 I continued checking out their Fall collections. The next section is for boys which is divided into 2 to 7 years & from 8 to 16 years. Here its all about plaid button-down flannels , denim jeans and graphic tees and long sleeves shirts. The plaid shirts have a very unique colour combination that I love and that would stand out unlike any other common shirts. And their graphic tees.... are such a stealer !! I couldn't get my eyes of them...... 

Plaid button-down flannels and denim jeans 

Next is Girls from 2 to 6 years & from 7 to 14 years of age. Here the denims take a lead as well. You should check out their wonderful patched, ruffled denim skirt. When you look into this piece closely a lot of detailing is incorporated in it. Its full of patchwork and has a ruffled finish..... giving your girl an adorable look..... now if only I had a girl, I would certainly get this !

Denim Jacket

A staff holding a ruffled denim skirt that i truly Love !

Rachel Lim was kind enough to introduce the new Guess Kids Fall collection and also gave us a lot of information that I was not aware of regarding their clothes and denims. I will try and share what I've learnt from her and her team.

 Some of you would have noticed, as soon as you enter their store, right in the centre they have these red bar - which is called the Red Denim Bar. It features basic boy and girls denims.

Rachel Lim showing us the Red Denim Bar that features basic denims for boys & girls

 In front of this denim bar, you have some denims hanging at a much lower level.... for your lil ones to reach, touch and feel it for themselves. It has labelling to show the different cuts of denim. The cuts are slightly different for boys & girls

Denims hanging at a lower level

For boys you have 

1. Relaxed boot - its a relaxed fit and its slightly wider through the leg

2. Skinny - sits low at hip and skinny fit all over

3. Slim straight - its slim through the thighs and has a narrow leg fit

4. Supper skinny - its very skinny fit all over

For girls you have

1. Skinny boyfriend - skinny fit all over and it sits at the hip

2. Brittney skinny - supper skinny fit and skinny legs

3. Daredevil skinny - skinny fit all over and sits lower on hips

4. Highwaisted skinny - skinny fit all over and sits above hips

5. Capri - skinny fit all over and sits lower on hips, has 14'' inseam

6. Legging - super skinny fit all over and very narrow leg opening 

She also shared with us what makes Guess denim so different from the others in so many ways.

1. First of all, it has elements of Fabrication, Washers and Detailing. You can see some destroy elements on the denims, stitch overs, some patches at the back of the stitch overs and crystal blings.

Denim with destroy element and with crystal blings 

2. They have added techniques for example raw edges, thick stitches 

3. When you look into each pieces, there are a lot of detailing for example the cut, the fit and so on. You need to try it on to try their fit

4. It comes with various colours of washers - dark washers, lighter washes. 

5. Some comes with a bit more stretch and some are lesser in stretch

6. In finishing, some denims are coated. You can have blue coating or blacking coating. This gives you a little punk and edgy look

7. Some denim have different leather patches 

8. Jeans cutting for infants are on the bigger side, to accommodate the diaper. For bigger kids the cuttings are much slimmer

9. There is elements of adjustable at the waist. The kids grow very fast and so you can increase the life span of the jeans by adjusting it

10. Lastly, when you look into each piece, there are a lot of creativity within each piece. A lot of work is done on one simple piece of denim that brings out the style while giving them the extra comfort that they need.

She finished off by giving us a tip which I would start using for my boys immediately ! If your child is 2-3 years old, you can buy a denim with one size up. If its too long, then just style it by folding it up.... so you basically can wear it shorter or longer. This increases the life span of your denim !! 

At GuessKids now there is an on going promotion. You get to take a photo at their Tiny Wild West photo set and the photos are given to you immediately with a frame. You not only get their best fall collection clothes and denim but you also get to take home a free photo souvenir too.......... how cool is that!!! This comes with every purchase of RM 400 net spent at their stores.  

There is more ! 

20% off with minum purchase of 3 items

30% off with minimum purchase of 4 items

RM 100 rebate with the spend of RM 400 

An additional 10% off for Guess list members

 SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ?! Head on to the nearest Guess Kids store for this excelllent bargains !! 

The photo set will be available 

At Guess Kids 1 Utama 

From September 20th & 21st 

From 12pm to 6pm 

We were all given a gift card hence everyone gets to take home a new Guess Kids fall collection which was on display. I was super excited..... I liked most of the collection so it was difficult to choose. We were invited by Jaslene to take pictures at the Photo booth as well....... the kids were having a marvellous time posing with the props at the Tiny Wild West Photo Booth. These are some of my boys favourite props !! They loved it.... and couldnt stop posing with them  

My Cowboy in the making 

I chose the graphic tee for both my kids. I just love the design. It was made from cotton so it was so soft, machine washable and gives that vintage look that my husband will love. The very next day, the kids wanted to wear it out........ and so they did !! The kids felt very comfortable in them. My husband loved it and he said ''We should get more of these, the kids look good in them'' !! 

Graphic tee

The kids posing with their new Guess Kids graphic t-shirt

This is the FREE PHOTO SOUVENIR that I received on the spot

Amber Chia with son Ashton & Belinda  Chee with daughter Danielle dressed in Guess Kids Fall collections 

Source : From Guesskids

Here I would like to thank The Butterfly Project and Guess Kids for giving this wonderful opportunity to join this event with my little ones. We had great fun here and it was indeed an excellent experience for me & my kids.............. 

The links that you might be interested in 

1. Guess facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GUESS

2. The butterfly facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ButterflyProjectMalaysia

Define Tastemakers

DEFINE TASTEmakers

                                                                                      

The Define invitation was very unique and it was sent personally by their staff a week before the event. It definitely couldn't have arrived in the mail.... it was huge with two coffee cups ! Yup.... you heard it right.... it did come with two coffee cups.

You are given almost two weeks to come up with something that describes you best..... then try and doodle that onto the cups given. Hashtag #DEFINETASTEmakers on instagram with your cup and the top 10 entries will receive Define - worthy prizes.

Each coffee cup gives you one entry to the Define event 

It comes with 2 markers for you to doodle straight away - no exceptions 

The two coffee cups

Doodle here to show your creative side 

The invitation really captured my attention. If the invitation was this unique, Im sure the event will be even better. I get to take another person along since I have two coffee cups..... I approached my husband but he was slightly reluctant till I showed him the invitation & he agreed.

Registration 

The event was held at Avenue K just opposite KLCC. Its starts at 6pm onwards till late. We were given some drink coupons at the registration for some Beer and soft drinks and  a little briefing about the event.

As you enter the venue, the first think you stumble upon is the Painting area !! Yup.... painting !! I didn't expect this and was kinda excited so was hubby. We decided to check out the whole place before coming back here to paint.

The had a lot of different varieties of lollipops at the center area to trickle your tastebuds..... some where made fr strawberries, vanilla and chocolates. Yeah you might say these are just some common random lollipops......... but wait till you hear this !  Some of them were made from Tea ! And some had lil whiskey and chili to challenge your taste-buds.

Strawberry and Vanilla Lollipops

Lollipops with honey 

Tea latte lollipops

You can also custom make your lollipops there. Just choose the flavors you want and they will mix it for you on the spot. We went safe with a vanilla and honey lollipops but she recommended dark chocolate lollipop with a lil whiskey and chilli.... it sounded pretty interesting and so we decided to try it out...... and it turned out great ! I decided to have another one.... cause it was supper delicious. Watch how it's done step by step

The ice block - to freeze your lollies immediately

The lollipop stick is first kept on the ice block - then pour the dark chocolate onto the stick

Keep poring the dark chocolate till you get a nice circular shape... then she added the whiskey & Chilli
Slide the lolli a few times on the ice block to freeze it.... and there you have it ! Your very own customed lollipops 

While enjoying the spiced up lollipops, we walked out to the garden where the main stage was. The view was just breathtaking........ From where we stood, we could see the majestic Petronas Twin Towers. At a staggering 452 meters in height, this twin towers dominate our Malaysian skyline. The whole venue was filled up with cozy chairs randomly facing the stage

Overlooking the Petronas Twin Towers

The Main Stage 

The Define Booth was definitely a hit that night. They were constantly people taking photos around it an inside the booth, whether it was a group photo or selfie Im sure it would be popping up as their Facebook profile photos for the next week or so. I got my share of photo taken with the Booth too.

Got my share of photo taken with the Define Booth

There were many performances lined up for the night. A lot of solo songs, group band performance, and dances. I personally was impressed with the dance. A bunch of young and enthusiastic dancers stole the night by bringing art to live right in front your eyes.......... They danced while painting on the stage & on an actual car which was draped in white cloth.

A group of young and enthusiastic dancers

Painting the car while dancing 

A short video on the dance performance 

It started to drizzle a bit, and so we thought of going indoors for a bit till the rain subsides. We decided to put our creativity forward and become Van Gogh for the night.

 Painting can 'Define' your emotions and thoughts on canvas.... and I think thats exactly what my husband had in mind. He was pretty excited and immediately decided to paint without thinking twice. He grabbed a few paint brushes, a few acrylic colors and a canvas. With the help of an artist who was there to help all first timers, he started painting & painting & painting.......  

On of the artist helping out all the first timers

Canvas is all set 

The painting essentials 

The artist at work :) 

Once the background is completed 

The next level is completed 

The final outcome - not bad for a first timer 

The other artists at work 

All in all, it was a great event. My Saturday night was well spent here. I would definitely make it a point to participate in the next DEFINE event. Thanks to the Define team for organizing and putting up a great show