MY DEARS, it's been a pleasure talking shop these past few weeks.
The Great Singapore Sale draws to a close on Sunday and, my, what an eventful (not to mention bountiful) season it has been.
You'd remember, of course, the early blowout sales at department stores like Robinsons, Isetan and Tangs. The lead-up to the GSS was also fuelled by the openings of new malls like Orchard Central and Tampines 1.
When the season kicked off at the end of May, retailers hit by the recession slashed their prices even further, not just in the malls but also in the heartlands and online.
Fashionistas weren't the only ones going ga-ga: travellers and techies also had the pick of the lot too.
True, not everything was smooth sailing. The season has produced its fair share of kiasu shoppers, and I'm sure many of you out there, like me, have made some utterly regrettable buys.
But just when I thought I'd swoon from sale fatigue, along came the strongest smelling salt of all: the opening of the glitzy Ion Orchard.
This is truly a fitting end to the sale season. All its new stores are perking me up already, and I'm not the only one: you should have seen the crowds at its opening on Tuesday.
Its host of new brands and flagship stores, from Steve Madden to Vivienne Tam, are enough to keep us shopaholics satisfied for the time being, I reckon.
There's been enough natter about Ion's fashion and food bonanza, but I'll leave you with one last tip: Check out its 360 Marketplace supermarket for some healthy premium treats.
I'm liking their range of Naked juice smoothies, Waitrose Organic food and Absolute Organic snacks such as popcorn and beetroot chips.
Vegetarians, you'd be pleased to know that Quorn, a healthy meat-substitute beloved by your British counterparts, is stocked as well. Prices range from $6.95 for a pack of "burger" patties to $8.75 for a pack of "sausages".
But my favourite is the La Fermiere yogurt range, sitting pretty in their small baby-blue sandstone jars ($8.90). Get the honey flavour: the texture is like a velvety yet lighter beancurd, and the yogurt bursts with the sweetness of orange flower honey. Best of all it contains only 132 calories per serving.
It's all good, nourishing food that we fashionistas ought to stock up. After all, we've got only four months to recover before the Christmas sale season starts, non?
This is the last Fash Hag Great Singapore Sale blog post for 2009.