Calm Amidst The Chaos

To say that time flies would be an understatement.

A year and 3 months later, I find myself revisiting my old self. But why? Because, life happened.

And now, in the midst of this madness caused by the COVID-19 virus, I finally feel like I have time to myself. After all, the past year and a half has been a total whirlwind, time just flew past. I remember leaving beni, taking a break and then starting a new job at Shangri-la last January which didn’t quite work out. Before I knew it I landed another job and as cliche as it might sound, yes, the rest is history.

I always dreamt about working in the wedding industry, there was just something magical about planning someone’s big day. I finally got the offer to do that, although it isn’t quite as magical as I envisioned it to be, it is worth it in the end.

Due to the current situation, I’ve gained a lot more free time and putting work aside to be creative really helps to keep my sanity in a way.

It may seem like a daunting task at first but once you see what you can create with paper, you just want to keep doing more and challenging yourself to do better every day.

I’ve been going back and forth with the idea of creating a new crepe paper flower section for the online store, speaking of which I have neglected for the past year and only started updating over a week ago.

I’m trying my best to tidy up the site and maybe start building content on the blog again, but in the meantime, go check out my new airpod cosies!

[ SHOP NOW ]

“But the reality is, times are unpredictable.”

How long will COVID-19 last? Until when will we have to practice social distancing? When will life go back to normal?

Amidst the chaos, I guess there’s a silver lining even in the worst situations such as this.

It all depends on how you make it out to be.

The Bigger Plan.

“….I believe everything happens for a reason and is all part of a bigger plan. Everything has its own time and place, and I believe I am where I should be.” – New Year’s Day 2015.

4 weeks later, I am certain that everything that has happened in my life has led me to where I am and where I am supposed to be. Along the way, I learnt many life lessons, it wasn’t an easy transition after working from home for some 8 years, in fact, I never realised that it has been so long. What have I been doing the past 8 years? What if I did things differently? What if I led a different lifestyle and I never left the F&B industry in the first place?

Questions, too many to answer but I know one thing for sure; if I had lived any differently, I probably wouldn’t have met the people I got to meet, and the one thought that makes me cringe, what if I didn’t meet Robin? Thankfully, I did.

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Us during NYE 2011

The truth is, in life you need that one person who doesn’t give up on you even when you’re close to giving up on yourself. Someone who sees your potential, someone who keeps pushing you to be a better person and doesn’t hesitate to tell you that you’re not being the best you can be. It can be hard to take in, but we need that truth.

Thank you for being that person for me, love.

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The lights at Absinthe.

All these years I took so much for granted, that I would get a job easily with my qualifications for one. It turned into a 6 month long journey before I found THE JOB I was looking for. Sure I got offers, but interview after interview, I realised those jobs wouldn’t put me in the right direction, I wouldn’t grow the way I want to, so I kept looking. I always enjoyed doing events, so I decided I would pick up where I left off. There were times when I felt lost and on the verge of falling back into complacency, but I made a decision and I was going to stick it out no matter what. I learnt not to readily accept everything that falls into my lap if it won’t help me grow, I learnt to not let people determine and tell me what I am worth. I learnt that I should never settle for comfortable, and if things get comfortable, it means that it is time for a new challenge. Today, I am in Reservations & Events for the TRE Group, handling reservations and events for Absinthe Restaurant FranÏ‚ais which is located at Boat Quay.

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Absinthe’s outdoor terrace by day. It’s a lovely place to be and especially so in the evening.

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Where will this new adventure take me? Only time will tell, but I will put my best foot forward, every day. No job is easy, but having a job you enjoy waking up to and excelling at makes all the difference.

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My daily view, the office at 46 Bukit Pasoh.

Some of you may wonder, what about the store?

The store is still “operating”. Orders for in-stock items are mailed out on a daily basis since I pass a post box on the way to the office every morning. Customisations will take more time though, for custom orders please email me at jeaninegabrielle@gmail.com.

For those who may have missed the update, the store is now at http://jeanine-gabrielle.myshopify.com

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Mini Amineko in Mustard $32.90 (London bus not included)

»♥«

Q : Do you still customise wedding bouquets?

A : Yes I do, however due to the limited free time I have on weekends, it is advisable to order at least 6 months in advance.

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A previous custom bouquet of roses and peonies.

Since we’re on the topic of flowers and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, what IS everyone up to this Valentine’s? I definitely won’t be having a Valentine’s date since Robin will be out of town but if you haven’t made plans with your significant other yet, may I suggest you join me at Absinthe Restaurant FranÏ‚ais?

Full details in my next post! :)

Absinthe Restaurant Franςais is located at 72 Boat Quay. Tel : 62229068

Earth laughs in flowers.

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Earth laughs in flowers. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am surrounded by flowers everyday. While they’re not real life living breathing flowers, they still make me happy all the same. It is no surprise I am so in love with what I do.. I’ve been trying to experiment with different types of flowers lately, so I thought I’d share some floral love!

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I tried making some really cute paper roses! I think these would be great for adding a pop of fun and color to a house party, you know, birthdays, baby showers.. or even a DIY wedding party! Strung together I think they would make some pretty rad rose garlands!

Would you use paper flowers around your home? Share your thoughts! :)

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Camellias… Made famous by Chanel no less! I started making these last month and I must say these are quite a popular pick for bridal hair accessories. I can’t wait to see the photos from the weddings, will definitely share them when I get my hands on them. :D

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A quick update!

If you missed the previous Black & Blue V3 remakes, good news! I’ve restocked the fabric and remakes are available, place your order {{ here }} or drop me an email at jeanine@jeaninegabrielle.com :)

Follow me on Instagram {{ @jeaninegabrielle }} for sneak peeks of the upcoming Carnival Collection!

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I’ll leave you with more flowers for now!

Have a great week everyone! xx

The World Through A New Lens.

I’ve been wanting to get a camera “upgrade” for the longest time. I’ve used two Canon cameras consecutively, but since I got the Samsung Galaxy S3 over a year ago, my 16 megapixel Canon digital camera seemed to fail in comparison to the S3’s 8 megapixel camera.

After much consideration and bouncing between Samsung’s WB800 and the Samsung Galaxy Camera for weeks, I finally picked my new photo companion, the Samsung Galaxy Camera! If you’re considering getting one too, perhaps this post will give you an idea of what you’re getting. I am very glad I picked the Galaxy camera, I’m looking for every opportunity to whip it out and snap away!

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( Shot indoors at night, edited with PhotoWonder, saved as medium .png file )

I was excited about the “Beauty Face” mode but now I’m not too sure, mainly because it airbrushes your face a wee bit too much. If you’re looking for a more natural way to even out your facial flaws, you might want to shoot on normal mode and do edits later. PhotoWonder lets you choose different levels of smoothing out flaws, and it packs quite a few awesome filters too. I was about to complain about it reducing my file sizes and image quality so drastically BUT! I just realised that there are actually file-saving options, between saving as .png or .jpg and from small to x-large files. I’m not sure if it would work for edits or only photos taken with PhotoWonder’s filter camera so I definitely need to find time to figure it out.

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( Image quality after going through PhotoWonder edits and upload to Instagram )

The day after I got the camera I went outside to take some photos of some of the pretty flowers Mummy has. If I remember correctly, I used the Smart Macro and Landscape modes for these shots, they need no editing whatsoever, I’ve only cropped and downsized them for uploading purposes. Enjoy! :)

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A close up of a bunch of Hydrangeas, aren’t they just lovely?

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These are just budding and they look so pretty!

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Bougainvilleas got caught in between the Hydrangeas.

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Spotted this little butterfly outside the study window yesterday so I grabbed the camera and took a couple of shots. These were all taken with at least 4-5x zoom and they still came out great! I cropped the photo above to focus more on the butterfly, the photo below gives you a good gauge of just how much I cropped off.

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There were two! I tried to capture a slow motion video but they didn’t stay around long enough, maybe next time! xx

Untrodden Territory

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Dress from ASOS

On Saturday, the family gathered at Marina Barrage for an early double birthday dinner. I was looking forward very much to a seafood dinner, but the food at Sembawang Eating House Seafood Restaurant at Marina Barrage was quite a disappointment. $5 for a small basket of french fries, $50/kg of chilli crab which did not impress at all, you get the idea.

The only thing that made up for it was to be in good company, and the lovely scenic view of a part of Singapore I have yet to explore.

Enjoy my random weekend snaps!

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We managed to catch the national flag flying by since the rehearsals were ongoing, this is the closest I’ve ever seen it as they were flying just overhead.

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The view just before 7pm.

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The view at 930pm.

All photos were taken with my Samsung S3 using the Pudding Camera application, edited with Fotor for Mac.

Spencer, my first Amineko!

You’ve probably met Koko the koala & Emmy the holland lop bunny, now meet Spencer, my very first amineko! Which also happens to be my favourite of the three. (Shhhhh) It took me about 3 days to complete cos I didn’t really work on it all day long. After I completed it the muscles in my hand were sore for 2 days, but it was well worth it and I’ll definitely be making more aminekos in future if time allows. :)

20130506_112617_Fotor_20130510Spencer’s favourite thing to do is taking cat naps!

spencer_Fotor_20130509He’s pretty good at expressing himself, don’t you think?

20130509_172437_Fotor_20130511Spencer enjoys the occasional car ride…

20130509_172655_Fotor_20130511He finds sneaking around behind the cabby’s back very amusing!

20130507_120459_Fotor_20130509_Fotor_20130511He really wants a pug for a pet. Which I will get down to making, eventually.

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I hope Spencer’s first “adventure log” perked up your day! I’ll definitely be doing more posts like these, so follow my blog, and check back soon! :)

Happy Weekend! xx

Four bags in a week.

This week I went bag crazy, it started with this.

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Ted Baker Apcon Bow Tablet Case from ASOS $82.82

I may not have an iPad, but I figured if it can hold an iPad, it should fit my phone, some cards, cash and some makeup so I bought it with the intention of using it as a clutch. Who knows, maybe down the road I might end up with a tablet? The day after I bought this on ASOS  I received the “ADDITIONAL 10% OFF SALE” email, I almost cried. But I’m glad I snagged the last piece in pink on ASOS, because it retails for $99 at the Ted Baker store in Ion. *gasppp

With the additional 10% off sale code, I couldn’t help it and found myself on ASOS. AGAIN.

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ASOS Scallop Double Buckle Across Body Bag – Lemon $53.09
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River Island Aztec Print Buckle Front Cross Body Bag – Pink $53.09

I paid $95.56 for both bags after the 10% off. Definitely a good deal for two bags! Can’t wait to start adding some bright colors to my outfits!

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Straw bag from H&M $19.90

While shopping with Robin yesterday we spotted this straw beach bag from H&M going for just $19.90 and he got it for me! :D

It was the last piece in white, but they also have it in a dark blue.

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We also got this Cookie Monster plushie from H&M for $9.90, he’s just too cute to resist! Obviously not very happy about being put into a bag without his cookie stash. ^-^

Happy weekend! xx

5 days into 2013.

Time flies really fast these days, too fast, perhaps?

It feels like just yesterday that we were preparing for Christmas, but the 12 days is almost over and we’re already 5 days in to the new year; not to mention it’s already the first weekend of 2013. Really?

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I’ve been trying to make the most out of everyday. I want to live in such a way that, if my life were a novel, there won’t be a single boring day. Saturdays are meant for sleeping in just a wee bit longer. :)

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“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.” Neil Gaiman, The Sandman vol.9: The Kindly Ones.

The transition from being in a hopeless holiday mood back to work is not an easy one, I’ve been trying to come up with new designs every day to beat the holiday bug. And if you haven’t heard, I’ll be launching The Perpetual Spring’s “Luxe Editions” next week! :)

My first paper flower bouquet is sitting pretty in my room, with a slight hint of Vera Wang’s “Princess” fragrance. Wouldn’t you want these in your home? They last a lot longer than fresh blooms, and have a softer, warmer feel than artificial flowers. Did I mention you can use them as fresheners with a tiny spritz of perfume? *grin

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“Someday”, she said. “Someday, I’ll meet you in a pretty white dress & a bouquet of pastel flowers in my hand.”

A league above paper bouquets, the satin blooms. I’ve wanted to go into weddings since like forever. It’d be great if I could use my own wedding as a try out but no, not anytime soon for me. If you know anyone who needs anything at all for a wedding, and would like to try something different from store bought bouquets, please feel free to drop me an email. (jeanine@jeaninegabrielle.com)

Corsages, bridal bouquets, money boxes, ring pillows, floral hair accessories for the bridesmaids, I’d love to try them all! Really!

Teal bouquets for a Tiffany-themed wedding, perhaps?

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We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them. We say we love trees, yet we cut them down. And people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved.” – Brandi Snyder

This week tons of stuff arrived for me! (Partly cos I’ve been OD-ing on retail therapy) My latest online order from Cotton On, sponsored products from Bioré and Organix, and then there was this mysterious package that was oddly light. To my absolute surprise, it was a bunny from one of my regular customers, Ronelle.

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The package arrived when I was working on this fabric flower, so naturally I had to pin it on the bunny for a snapshot!

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She even wrote me a thank you note; to be honest I was on the verge of tearing. It’s just the little things like these, you know? It makes you feel like you are actually appreciated for what you do, even if someone else doesn’t. There will always be people who will stand behind you and be that push you need sometimes, there are people who will always have faith in you even when you’re at your lowest. We just need to believe it, and more importantly, believe in ourselves.

To others it might be just a stuffed toy, but it’s really the thought and the effort that counts. I guess working doubly hard through the festive period to meet all those orders paid off after all. Which reminds me of another bunch of customers, but I’ll save that for later. I’m just thankful to have such warm customers to work with.

LOVE YOU ALL! And for that I promise even more awesome stuff in 2013! :)

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The harshness that is the reality of life. Admit it, we’ve all felt hopeless at some point. If you noticed, Snowy’s heavy paws actually do a pretty good job keeping the page down! Who said stuffed toys are only for kids, huh?

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And of course, Fifi. Resident cutie pie and my “in-house model”, occasionally. What a face, I still wish toys could come alive. Oh, imagine all the fun we’d have! Imaginary friends, they never leave.

2013 has been pretty good so far I reckon, apart from stabbing my finger yesterday and burning myself two days ago, everything else is looking rather peachy. I’ll be doing another post soon about how to get the most out of your shopping, DIY style. Now let me go hunt down some new shoes to match all my new threads! Later! xx

Goodbye 2012, a year of hits and misses.

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As yet another year comes to an end, I believe all of us go through the same motions. Was it a good year? A horrible year? A not so bad, I got through it kind of year? Perhaps after you’ve established that the year practically flew by without you accomplishing very much you start asking why, and what-if you did something differently. By the time you’re done with all that, you realise how much time you just wasted thinking about it cause there’s really nothing you can do to change the past year.

Well, 2012 was a real roller coaster year for me.

You know how you begin the year thinking your life is as close to perfect as it can get? Like everything has finally fallen into place, and you have everything you could possibly ask for, and you just can’t wait to wake up every morning with an idiotic smile on your face. Sure, everyone goes through rough waters, but at some point all that pain is finally justified, and it’s all worth it, you know? :)

But as with any roller coaster ride, there are tons of ups and downs, and it’s the down points that really kill you. I always say, there’s a way to get around anything, as long as you want to, I still want to believe that, but this year life has thrown me more curved balls than I can possibly deal with. I’m usually someone who hangs on and tries until the end cause I hate giving up and I hate losing a fight, but for me to reach a point where I actually give up and walk away, is totally new to me. 2012 definitely saw a record number of misunderstandings. Being misunderstood is one thing, but being misunderstood and put down before you’ve had any chance to say anything, that takes a hell lot of calm to deal with. I guess at some point I just lost that calm. After all I’m one person who cannot stand being misunderstood and called things I’m not. And amidst all the tears, you realise you’re actually fighting for what you want, and it should be something worth fighting for, but what if self defense kicks in and you unknowingly start fighting against it?

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We go into every new year telling ourselves it’s the best time to leave the past where it belongs, to bury grudges, to forgive people who have wronged us, to reconcile with family and the people we love; but is that possible for everyone? Don’t we forgive others in the hope they do not do us wrong a second time? Do we keep forgiving? Or do we draw a line somewhere? It’s true what they say that holding onto grudges hurts the one holding the grudge more than the one who caused the grudge to be. But why is it so hard to let certain things go? I wish grudges and all the bitterness that comes with it could magically disappear at the stroke of midnight, like some new year magic with fairy dust. Obviously fairies don’t exist, I guess that’s what life is all about, putting us through tough times to learn how to love and to forgive. And until we can untie all the knots in our hearts, we will forever be a tangled mess, completely incapable of loving someone else, or so I was told.

 Amidst all the drama, I’m happy that I got to experience love again, the feeling of loving and being loved, knowing that you could mean the world to just one person. It feels like a privilege, but it’s a birth right. It’s just a feeling that nothing else can replace. At least I know I AM capable of feeling despite how hard I try not to, and that my heart is not dead. But I guess you simply can’t hold on to something that isn’t meant to be yours, or force something to work out, and learning to let go is a part of life, nothing lasts forever, anyway.

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Perhaps a part of me died when Baileys passed. My bunny of over 2 years, I still miss him everyday, and talk to him as if he’s right next to me when I’m feeling frustrated. He was always there to listen to me, make me smile, no talking back, no dissing, just a patient listener; even though he threw bunny tantrums at times he was still the cutest bunny ever. I’m glad I had him for that short time, and I’m sure he’ll be patiently waiting on the other side. :)

No, I’m not going to sit in a pool of tears and cry, I’ve done more than enough of that. Despite all the pits I’ve gotten stuck in over the past year, I’m determined to get out of them in due time, but right now,

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Life is a gift and it’s a fragile one, every day lives are taken against their will, every day people are struggling to survive. There are so many people less fortunate than we are. Somewhere out there, a teen has probably never used a mobile phone, much less a laptop or iPad. We are so lucky to have what we have, we are lucky to be where we are. While we complain about fighting with a partner, somewhere in the world someone is all alone just hoping for a warm embrace. While we are deciding which steak house to dine at, so many children out there are rummaging through garbage looking for something that will fill their stomaches. 2012 has made me realise that there’s so much more to life than just what we see. We set goals, we plan for years ahead,

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We plan the future, we spend every other day talking and worrying about the future. What if something happens tomorrow? Can we keep leaving everything for tomorrow? Why not now? We try to live our lives so fast that it just flies by, year after year, the same cycle over and over again, it’s almost as if we are living our lives on auto-pilot. Something’s missing, we’re not making the most out of this life, or are we? That’s for you to decide!

As for me, I’m going to take some time out to rethink this life and what really matters before I attempt to make any resolutions at all.

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cupcake image courtesy of http://muffin-fluffy.tumblr.com

It’s going to be a countdown with the parents this year, since I’ve spent the past few new year’s out of home, I guess it’s time to hit home ground. :)

See you all in 2013! xx

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