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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

2014 in a Post


This year has to be one of the biggest year for me, ever. I have always had a roller coaster kinda life but the things which have happened to me this year were things so huge i can't believe it's true.


This year i didn't accomplish much with Shop OSF because of the pregnancy. Sadly. I couldn't do a lot of things i planned to do for the brand this year and that's probably the only thing which i wish i did. Pregnant women can work but not do the work i do because it is too tiring and everyone around me didnt think it was a good idea to continue working so hard. Also all the traveling and lugging of heavy stuff would be dangerous for me and the baby. There was a small team which took over for a few months but they didn't turn it into what i thought they would have but thankfully, in 2015, everything will change. I can't believe i really actually passed it to a company to run and it was a huge step to let someone else run the business but i know i can never do as well as before as i don't have as much time as before. I hope they'd do a good job and i am really looking forward to what they have in mind for Shop OSF in 2015. I look forward to wearing OSF again!!! Many have asked "not sad meh?", of course it is sad but it is going to be even more sad if i just leave it there hanging and going downhill. I am thankful for the big team who will be changing everything and growing it again. With more people in a team, there's so much which can be done efficiently. Under my management, i'm too lenient and "suay bian"....quite difficult to get things to go up. I wish i had the time and energy to continue doing it but all that traveling, photo shoots, logistics, marketing etc...it's too much for a new mummy. I am someone who wants to do everything on my own and it's difficult to just let someone do bits of it and i do the rest. So i'll just hand it over. Say goodbye to the life of an online store owner and hello to my new life.

And no, in 2015, i'm not just going to bum around. I had to also give up Shop OSF to take on a new challenge. To go into an industry i'm totally unfamiliar with. It has always been something i had an interest in but never pursued due to my commitment to my online store. With that now being handed over to a great team, i can start learning and helping my mother grow the family business. 

And besides that challenge, i also have another which is to be the best mother i can be for my boy.

The whole year i didn't really blog much as i was pregnant. Which meant my blog was pretty stale and had not much content the entire year. I realized i have so much lesser blog posts this year as compared to last year. The contents in my blog have also changed entirely now as a new mummy.


Baby Elroy has really changed my life so much. Never have i ever imagined myself as a mother so soon. The love a mother feels is so strong and powerful, it's scary. I have never been happier with my decision and choice though. He is an absolute blessing. My life has changed for the better. My partner and i have never been happier in our lives. I promised to keep his identity a secret from the social media because not everyone likes to be "known". It is annoying when people ask and ask and ask though but that still that won't change the decision i made because it's a promise. In the past relationships, i never really asked for their permission because i assumed everyone didnt mind the attention but when i saw how uncomfortable my ex felt when people talked about him at work, it made me wake up. Not everyone is the same. Not everyone wants to be "popular". Ok anyway back to my current partner, when i look at how he has changed since the birth of E, i am so glad it's for the better. He has taken up so much responsibilities, looking after his own family and of me and Baby. Definteily someone i will respect always. We may have our differences and may not be the most perfect couple but know we are both trying our best to be great parents. As long as love is present and none of us stop trying to make the relationship work, i believe great things await us. I look forward to an exciting road ahead. May things continue to go smoothly for us. I love my little family. :)



I am also thankful for all my friends and family for being so supportive throughout. From the day i broke the news till today, thank you for not letting me walk alone. I will always hold all of you so close in my heart and treasure each and every one of you. I will be there to lend a helping hand and be the shoulder you cry on whenever you need.

And to the new readers and old readers reading, THANK YOU. I am lucky to be able to blog and have a good amount of people following my space. I actually thought of giving up blogging entirely because my partner doesnt really like the attention i was getting from social media. I couldn't blog about a lot of stuff i wanted to and also couldn't share some parts of my life. Also had to keep my whereabouts hush hush cus he didn't like that i told everyone where i was and what i was doing. Lol. But maybe it's a good thing i still continued (although only sharing just a little) because i really enjoy it. From my own shameless selfies, cute pictures of my doggies and son, yummy food, awesome beauty secrets, expensive things i splurge on, pretty clothes on me...i really enjoy it haha. Some call me a show off and hate me for it but I've been doing this for soooo many years and i cannot stop without feeling empty and weird. Guess i like to be show off lor? Haha. I may not have the most interesting blog nor do i have the best content but still, i have you people coming to this space from time to time. If i feel too irrelevant in this industry and nobody cares about me, i think it'll be much easier to give up being a blogger but...you guys. :) Thank you for the opportunities you have given me because of being a blogger. I am super happy to be able to work with so many big clients. I look forward to sharing more wonderful stuff with you all on this space in 2015. Also, really REALLY hoping to take nicer photos and always have pretty pictures to share. I guess one of my New Year Resolution would be to stop taking crappy pictures and take photography more seriously lor haha.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!





Monday, December 29, 2014

Culottes







Loving the culottes i got from Far East Plaza (shop name is Cherrie i think?)! Perfect fit and length. Think imma get em in all the colors soon hehe.

The past days were really exhausting dealing and following all the "drama" on the internet man! I even DREAMT of it.

Oh, went to the Jay Chou Opus 2 concert and i was sooo happy he sang sooo many songs that night. Wish the sounds system was better though. Oh but even though i bought pretty expensive tickets, felt that the seats were way too far from the stage lor! Totally not worth the amount i paid for....moreover i got em off a seller on Carousell whom i paid extra $200 to. Sian. Haha.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Stripes Espadrilles






Had to reject some Blogshop ads the past few months due to my busy schedule but am glad all the busy days are over!

Open to taking ads for Blogshops now to fill my January schedule :) email tammytay@hotmail.sg if you are keen!

Xiaxue V.S Gushcloud

The past 2 mornings, my Whatsapp was flooded with messages regarding the post on Xiaxue's Blog "The Big Gushcloud Exposé". I didn't fully agree with every point she posted but i was honestly shocked at some of her findings. I started having doubts about the company i was part of. As a Gushcloud influencer, i had to take their side on this and not just jump to the other side when shit hits the fan right? So despite it all, i chose to have #faithingushcloud and gave them the benefit of a doubt before any statement was released. Bearing in mind that XX took a year to gather evidences so i can't expect GC to churn out a rebuttal post in such a short period of time.

So here's the official response from Gushcloud if you are keen (link).

Here are some more articles to read on the whole saga...

KayKay's Post
Althea's Post
LimpehFT's Post
Lukeyishandome's Post
Grace's Post

One thing though, whichever side you are on is really up to you but if this doesn't involve you directly, don't need to have so much hate and be so mean? Chill....


I like what @Darryl_Yong wrote

(Read this from non-biased standpoint before commenting.) 
When two worlds collide, you can expect mass destruction on both sides. As with Apple and Samsung, the saga between @gushcloud_sg and XX has already seen casualties all around; mostly innocent ones. I might be an influencer under GC but I have and will always stand on my own ground, with my own understandings, to evaluate anything; so you can be assured of an objective post. 
Being very new to social media, I find that XX facts are spot-on with regards to research and background work. Though the tonality of the post seem very personal, it did create some questions in my head that I thought needed answers. Falsification of numbers, regardless of revenue or followers, and masking ads to deceive consumers are mitigating reasons to have this company closed for good. 
Vincent (CEO of GC) replied in a blogpost that I feel is substantial in answering those questions. In a nutshell, no man on earth is perfect. Especially not so for a young start-up company that is venturing into a new market. You can expect accounting mistakes, mis-quotes and misinformation. Everyone who has tried setting up their own business knows how hard it is to take that first step and keep walking without falling once in a while. But I believe, at the core of their mistakes, is a genuine error and nothing malicious. Not to hurt, deceive or malign anyone. I will not say I see them as a family like some GC bloggers feel, but I know that they are good people, trying to make an honest living, to fulfil their dreams and wishes for both company and clients. It’s as simple as that. 
When the dust settles and the truth comes clean, and should Gushcloud survive this ordeal, I’m sure they will not only gain back more trust from current supporters, but also rally and build new ones with their heightened credibility. Thus, this might actually be the best Christmas gift a company can have. 
What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
@darryl_yong

Oh and about Yilin's incident, oh gosh please stop bashing her! She's a really nice girl. It's not correct lah, maybe this is a punishment but a bit too severe, no? Think about it, if you were her, and told to share about something good to your readers which will only take a few seconds and also get paid for doing it I think many wouldn't mind leh? Say real one, so many people in Singapore are so money-minded. Just look at all the bo liao people posting on Stomp just for $50 vouchers. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree and i don't think it's right but i feel that some people are really being way too mean to the poor girl. People make mistakes, give her a break. XX already exposed her and that to me is something embarrassing and as a blogger, it's a big punishment. Don't need ya'll to scold her anymore lah.

Now all bloggers can learn something from this, ALWAYS make sure you try the product first before doing ads and reviews. If it doesn't work for you, be honest and reject the job. I know it is difficult as a blogger to reject jobs from clients especially on months when you don't get a lot of assignments but you will lose credibility in time to come and nobody would trust the product you promote if you yourself don't believe in the product you advertise for.  

Next, i was a bit disappointed to read that GC inflates our numbers but then when i read Kaykay's post, i understood it a little more.

Honestly, i don't know my blog stats and when people ask me, i'll give them a rough estimate. But trust me when i say this, readership fluctuates like MAD all the time. Not everyone visits the same blog everyday. Unlike in the past, it was way more consistent as there was no Twitter and Instagram. But nowadays, people only go to the blog when the blogger mentions on Instagram/Twitter that they have a new post up.

So example, on a normal day when i do not have any new post up, i only have 4k unique hits. (eh eh figures i anyhow one hor don't use it against me) But if i post something on Instagram/Twitter directing people to my blog, i know i can get 10k hits. When clients want to engage me, i would give the latter number (double the number i get on normal days), because i know it is the number of readers i can get to read the post. Every blog has good months and bad months. Gushcloud did not give updated figures for the month but GC did not make up the initial numbers for sure. If KK did direct people to her blog all the time and had a lot of interesting posts that month, i believe she can easily get 10k hits/day. The banner itself isn't enough to determine KK's potential to get people to read her blog post. Nowadays, many clients request for us bloggers to do an Instagram post directing people to our Blog so when clients do that, the hits on the blog will definitely increase...but when there isn't a post/tweet directing people to the blog, not many people will bo tai bo ji go see the blog for fun one lah?

Remember i had a post on the announcement of my pregnancy which went viral? I think i had like over 30k unique hits on that one day. If a client wanted to engage me the following month and asked for my stats (and i'd give the stats of the month before), would i be lying if i sent a screenshot of the hits i had the month before? Then say if the client engages me and then that month we suddenly see a drop in the numbers, how leh? Considered cheating the client? Sometimes we have to be more understanding also la. As a blogger, we don't even know the things which are going to happen and what we are going to blog about. See ah, imagine a client placed a banner on my website on 1 Dec, and suddenly i blog about something like I GOT PREGNANT AGAIN and my blog hits sky rocketed, the client who has the banner up is damn lucky because more people would see the banner. Zhuan dao lor? I cannot possibly go tell the client "eh this month my post went viral and more people viewed my blog so i have to collect more money from you". Then those who placed a banner last month leh? Also paid the same amount but last month no viral news so lesser ppl saw the your banner. Not fair right...

But ok la, bloggers can learn another thing from this. If you want to charge people for placing ads on your blog, try your very best to maintain your numbers and not let your blog go too dead for too long. As a blogger, it is our responsibility to keep the blog alive. If we can't do it, then we don't deserve to make money from it.

If you look at things from both sides, it's really not so jialat la...

The past few days were tough for the people working in GC as well as the influencers under GC. Majority of the people in GC are how sweet and lovable, walao, you really think everyone in GC is fucked up and cunning just because of that one post? You think we are all Devils meh? You really think every single review we have posted is falsified meh? I know there are a lot of XX's fans out there, yes go ahead, love her with all your might! Loving her doesn't mean you have to hate us GC influencers though?

And seriously, think about it from a GC influencer's point of view. Especially bloggers who have been with GC for 3 years. In 3 years, we've build amazing friendships and great memories in the company. The people have taken really good care of us which is why we are still in the company. When shit hits the fan, and we walk away *just like that* after reading XX's post without hearing our company's explanation, wouldn't that make us shitty unappreciative people?

Christmas '14


Hope your Christmas is well spent with your family and friends! 

Wishing all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!















Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Carrislabelle




Strappy Cutout Slit Maxi - SGD$24.00







It's Carrislabelle's first birthday this month!




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Monday, December 22, 2014

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Friday, December 19, 2014

SHOPSASSYDREAM






Latest Lookbook featuring SSD Ruffles Romper and SSD Veronica Cut Dress




New arrivals





There will be a storewide 15% discount off all regular-priced items at their retail store from 19th Dec to 21st Dec.





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