Goodbye Dubai.

I left Dubai in September, my home for the last five years!!
I miss it already but I'm glad to be back in my hometown, Melbourne.

On my last night in Dubai, my girlfriends and I spent the evening out at Armani Hotel.

Mabellie and I in the foyer of Prive.
I'm wearing a dress I had tailor made in the Satwa souks of Dubai (blogged below) and that cute pink 'Allanah Hill-ish' purse is a thrift shop find!

This is my favourite photo. Dee took it on her blackberry but it turned out pretty magic. It's the background of my phone screen actually, I love it that much!

Made in Satwa.

For a few years, my sister and I have been going to a tailor off Satwa Road. We picked him at random, just to get some alterations and zips fixed. Every time we went in, he'd be measuring up people for dresses. And he was constantly busy. I thought I'd take this as a good sign that he was a pretty decent dressmaker, also taking into consideration that his customers were of many nationalities.

I found some black cotton and grey cotton fabric from one of the fabric stores called Srour and brought it over to my man and asked him to make me two dresses for work. I came back one week later and have to admit he did a pretty amazing job.

 Photos (and post-production werk lol) thanks to FrankiV.
I'll get better photos of the dress soon!!
***
Future Tailors +97143498723, Opposite Regal Shop, near Emirates Bank, Satwa.

At The Top of the world!

This is me sitting on the observation deck of the tallest building in the world, looking over my lovely city of Dubai.
Philippines thrifted skirt - Tshirt from Bangkok Weekend Market - Sandals from random guy selling shoes on a street in Bangkok!

Ski bunny!

The other week my friends and I went to Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope and snow park in Dubai's Mall Of The Emirates. Five years of living in this city, it was the first time I actually visited the place... it actually opened a couple of months after I arrived!

I'm originally from Australia and I have to say, I'm not a winter person - I love to be in the summer sun (which is why I avoided this place for so long!) but it was so much fun. We had skiing lessons and a bit of a play around in the snow park with all the kiddies.

 Overlooking the indoor ski resort. In the background there you can see the glowing yellow lights... that's the shopping mall! 

While you're shopping you can stop and watch people playing in the snow.

(PS sorry about my facials... it was cold! I can't be accountable for my facial reactions, I'm not used to it ;))

The mini slope where we took our first ski lesson. I was actually quite surprised and it was easier than I thought it'd be. 

I think I'll be taking more lessons before I leave Dubai. What a story to tell people... 

"So Cathy, what'd you do in Dubai?" 

"Oh I learnt to ski!"

"You learnt to ski in the middle of the desert?!"

 Avalanche Cafe, a place to escape from the -2 degrees chill.
The chill is a nice change from the outside temperatures of approximately 48 degrees though.

 We couldn't resist... Fashion blogger poses. ;)

Sporting our ever stylish (and borrowed) snow suits courtesy of Ski Dubai.

We've both been terrible bloggers, Mabellie and I, with such infrequent posting, but the blogger in us still lives.

Gothchic.

Last week I was given the opportunity to work with three amazing and talented people.

Makeup artist and stylist Gene Ginno Alducente, and fashion photographers Tinayums and Mahryska.

Not only was this an exciting experience, but the outcome of the shoot was pretty amazing. 

Makeup, styling and accessories provided by Gene.

It's so inspiring to work with such creative people. Thank you all for the fab experience!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Ps- this is a pic I took from my blackberry - I LOVE the makeup and will only dream of going gothchic full time :-)

iFly Dubai!

I had a pretty interesting weekend. Shopping and watching football, but the best part was when I got to experience indoor skydiving! In Mirdif City Centre, they have this centre called 'iFly' which is a skydiving simulation tunnel where you get in with the trainer who helps you on body positions and techniques. It's pretty fun. I'd like to do the real thing but after feeling so uncoordinated in the tunnel, I can't imagine how it'd feel thousands of feet up in the air! Anyway, If you're in Dubai and interested in the experience, go to their website.

And now, random cupcake photo! There was a parade at the mall and I couldn't help but take a photo with the cupcake (or muffin)! How cute is the cookie too. Dubai is so random sometimes - one minute you're shopping, the next thing there's a marching band with jugglers, stilt walkers and sweets following behind.

 In our super stylish skydiving outfits - the wind tunnel is in the background.

Some pics of the instructors up to their tricks. They're pretty amazing, and super nice guys!
I'll definitely go back to iFly while I'm in Dubai - it's a great chance to experience the thrill of skydiving without jumping out the plane (and also a good chance to learn a few new tricks) ;)

Grazia and vintage Cathy (ok, just one year ago).

Oh, hello! I was featured in Grazia Middle East's June issue in the Style Hunter section from last weeks Bloomingdale's event at Dubai Mall. Also on the same page was fellow blogger, Mahryska and these cute, young twins (I'm so jealous of her huge Bottega Veneta bag). I love how Mariyah and I are on the same page. Small community, we are.

In the April 2009 issue of Grazia, I was also snapped while out at the Dubai Polo Desert Challenge at the Desert Palm Hotel. Can you guess who my main inspiration was last year? Lol, I think it's pretty obvious... (ie. a bloated Blair Waldorf).

I kind of cringe when I look back on the photo - although it was just a year ago (a year is not very long), I couldn't get away with wearing that huge headband anymore, and even though the heels are about 3-4 inches high, I still have them but don't wear them.. they're not HIGH enough for me now :-)). Also, everyone keeps telling me my hair looks better darker than this strange metallic brown look I had going on (I agree).
And somehow within the year, I changed nationality from British to Australian...

Ha! Well at least one thing's stayed the same - I'm still into my florals!

Paranoid ballerina android.

Hey everyone, how was your weekend?  My weekend was fun. We had a friend from Australia in town so spent a lot of time outdoors at the beach, the markets and the Aquaventure water park at Atlantis hotel (SO FUN). I went for a very casual look - but not so casual (erm tutu anyone?) but there is definitely something about tshirts that take years off any age. I looked like a 17 year old school girl apparently!
What I wore yesterday-

Radiohead shirt - Ebay / H&M skirt / Rubi ballerina flats / Beaded headband as anklet / Soto Smith purse
(they even have an online store, check them out: http://www.sotosmith.com/)

 Me waiting in the air-conditioned car while my sister and Nicole were out taking tourist photos with the Burj Al Arab... :-)
It was probably 37-40C degrees yesterday!!

We had breakfast at Saladicious in Jumeirah, which is my favourite restaurant in Dubai (Foursquare mayor hell yeah!). I could eat here every day.
It's located just around the corner from The One furniture store, next to Jumeirah Mosque.

Our breakfast of massive pancakes and delicious nutella and strawberry crepes. SO YUM. 

I love the cool and eclectic interior of the restaurant, and the male/female bathroom 'signs' are also pretty cool!

When bloggers meet: Blooming wonderful!

Summer in Dubai not only means uncomfortable scorching heat and sweaty foreheads, but also SUMMER SALES.
And to kick start the Dubai Summer Surprises offers, Grazia magazine teamed up with Bloomingdale's department store to host a beauty party with massive makeup trials, goodie bags and free Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.

Myself and fellow bloggers Mabel, Meho, Mariyah and Tina took this opportunity to catch up and talk  clothes, shoes, and of course, take plenty of photos!

Reiss top / Philippines thrifted shirt / SM floral wedges / Reworked vintage clutch

Everyone was given the chance to test out the makeup in the whole department store and draw out our preferences. They later put them all up on display - it was like a kindergarten colouring contest for make up lovers!;) In the Little Brown Bag of goodies we received great products like Chanel mascara and Coco Rouge lipstick, salon and beauty bar vouchers and perfumes - I got Bvlgari and Mabel got Gucci! They definitely spoiled us so a big thanks goes to Bloomingdale's Dubai Mall and Grazia Middle East!

Me, Mabel and Meho with our little brown bags of treats!

Colourful rings and a red velvet cupcake. What more would you want in your hands?

My necklace was a custom made purchase from cbtscloset.com. I've mentioned her shop in a previous post and definitely recommend you check her out if you're after custom made jewelry! I love her to bits! She can make pretty much anything for you!

The bag was a birthday gift last year from my friend Karen from Sydney. Next time I'm in Sydney I will beg Karen to the shop that she bought it at!! It's a vintage purse which has been spraypainted with this beatbox design. It's my most awesomest and favourite purse. You should be very jealous.

***
UPDATE: The bag is from a Sydney Designer called Soto Smith - I probably should have realised this sooner, since there IS a tag inside the bag. But... here's their website: http://www.sotosmith.com/)

Belated happy birthday to me.

My gorgeous friends organised a surprise dinner for me on the weekend to celebrate my 25th birthday (which I was out of town for).
They're so sweet (and secretive!!). I was so shocked and the tiniest bit annoyed because I really hate surprises!!

The venue was absolutely amazing though. On board the Bateaux Cruise, which is a 2.5 hour journey along the Dubai creek, we had a beautiful 360 degree panoramic view of the city since the boat was made almost entirely of glass. We had an amazing three-course meal and went up on the deck to take photos with the lovely city we currently call home.

 Me and some of my friends who all looked gorgeous in their summer florals.
I wish I knew about the party, and that I was going to be on the Bateaux Dubai!! If I knew in advance, I definitely would have dressed up more. I was just wearing a Zara embroidered shirt with a long woolen vest over, and the oldest pair of crappy flat sandals I own! 

Note to self: when living in Dubai, make sure you ALWAYS look fancy!

Very full after a three-course meal of salmon for starter, sirloin steak for main and raspberry creme brulee for the dessert. Then the chocolate cake of course (couldn't eat it - too full!)

Thank you to my dear friends for such an unforgetable evening.

***

I'd definitely recommend dinner on the Bateaux if you're ever in Dubai.

For more information, visit their website here.

Sunset on Jumeirah Beach.

We managed to get to the beach in time for the 'golden' hour of sunset, which created different light effects as the day drew closer to its end. These are kind of a teaser of the final product which will be a short fashion music video.