Chanel Wallet On Chain (WOC)

I was going through my handbag posts on this blog, and noticed that I had zero posts on my trusty wallet on chain, also affectionately known as the WOC.

I bet you’ve seen them on my shoulder plenty of times, especially when I’m traveling. But not only that, I’ve also completely written off carrying typical wallets; nowadays I only use my WOCs as a wallet. I stuff the chain in when I prefer it as a clutch, or I take the chain out when I’m walking out and about. So convenient - not only does it forces me to be neat and tidy with the limited space that I have, but using it cross body also keeps my hands free. The chain length is suitable for both off shoulder or cross body.

I have two Chanel WOCs which I rotate constantly - one in red Camellia rose lamb skin with silver hardware and the other in black quilted caviar with ruthenium (rusted gunmetal) hardware. I use them all the time, so much so that Hubby barely batted an eye when I wanted to buy the second (black) WOC. He knows how often these WOCs are being used, hence zero qualms about splurging on one. 

The Camellia in red lambskin with silver hardware.

The classic quilt in black caviar.

With ruthenium hardware.

So what exactly can you fit in a WOC? Trust me, it has more pockets and zips than what you’d assume. It is the perfect size for an iPhone, with some spare room for a slim (car) key or a lipstick. If you have an iPhone Plus, then it will fit from end to end but you may not be able to squeeze a key beside it; but perhaps in front of it. It has a zippered pocket for coins and six slots for credit cards and such. There is a front pouch which I use to store my loyalty cards and the main middle pouch where I house my phone, money and receipts. Inside of the flap there is a zipper but I rarely use this. My black WOC also has a secret pocket stitched onto the back of the bag (so typical Chanel!) which I use to keep parking tickets or valet stubs which I need to access quickly during a trip out. 

The zipper inside the flap. Very rarely used - I store the authenticity card here.

Inside the WOC. Plenty of space - trust me!

No secret compartment at the back of the Camellia.

In terms of material, I suggest the caviar. Caviar leather is quite robust and does not scratch easily. Whereas my lamb skin is already showing signs of wear - but that doesn’t mean that I love it any less! Since the lambskin has also softened over time, it is also now more malleable which means I can squeeze more things in the same sized WOC.

As for the packaging, expect nothing less from Chanel. All WOCs come with it’s own classic Chanel box, dust bag and cleaning cloth. For me, the only difference between the two was the colour of the box; the lamb skin has a black box from Chanel in London but the caviar has a special white box as it came from Chanel’s mothership - Rue Cambon, Paris. 

I strongly suggest the caviar leather!

My WOC is so convenient that whenever I need to change handbags, I just stuff my WOC into a different bag - that way I know everything important is carried. When traveling, I put my WOC into a bigger traveling handbag but once I check in, I forget about the handbag and only use my WOC when sightseeing. It is safe too as it’s not easy for pick pockets to nick anything from such a small compact bag, and you can wear it in a way that it’s always in front of you, close to your body. It is also very versatile. You can wear it on a long chain for a casual look with both heels or sneakers, or tuck the chain in and carry it as a clutch to complement your stylish or formal dinner wear. 

Can be used as a clutch too.

Next on my handbag wish list? A Birkin. *chuckles* Oh well, a girl can always dream!

Marching On

I simply must do a recap of March. At the rate I’m neglecting my blog (let’s blame the baby, please); I might as well do a monthly run down instead of forgetting everything completely.

Where should I start? Hmmm... pregnancy? So far so good. I’m in my fourth month now but this night sickness doesn’t look like it’s going to let down anything soon. On some days my nausea is pretty bad, to the point that my tummy berombak-ombak and if I put a finger down my throat I would most probably puke my heart out. I try to stay away from paracetamol (although my boss keeps telling me off for doing that), so on certain days I just give in and douse first one and if needed, a second tablet.

Baby AY at 15 weeks! Simply couldn't resist buying that oh-so-adorable top for her.

Baby AY is growing great. Alhamdulillah she’s approx 100gm now. Which doesn’t explain my nearly 10kg gain but yeah whatever. I only get three licenses in life to binge on food, so heck, I’m enjoying myself. This baby is a baby Melayu just like his brothers, so I’m always game for ayam goreng minyak with rice. Too easy lah baby! If only I can start craving for lobsters or something. Please make it more challenging for Daddy, darling!

I’m due for a complete detailed scan in my next gynae visit. Asked my gynae about her opinion on going for a cesarean so that I can tie my tubes, but she wasn’t really supportive. Said that the operation itself is 10 times riskier than a normal birth, so why do it if not needed. Other than that, I’m also opting to get the Tdap vaccination (between 27-36 weeks gestation) to give the baby some form of antibodies even as a newborn. This is to protect her from the many Antivacs in the community spreading contagious diseases. If you’re pregnant, you should probably consider this too.

Ah if only that ~10kg lumps itself altogether at the tummy. But noooooo... my thighs and butt suffer first. *sigh*

Kids? Aiden got his first semester exam results and as expected, BM terus ke laut. It wasn’t really fair though - the last question in the paper involved the kids reading a long paragraph and spotting punctuation and spelling errors, then rewriting it correctly. Why unfair? Cos it was a whopping 30 marks. Memang if you’re not good in tatabahasa and vocab, you have no chance at all. Aiden got a measly 3 marks from that. That itself pulled his marks all the way down. But all other core papers Alhamdulillah he did well, so I’m a proud Mummy as always. A talent scout recently approached us to cast Aiden as a young talent for a drama mini-series. The first thing I said was “Dia tak pandai cakap Melayu. Susah nak berlakon!” *chuckles* Aiden is also very dependable now. I can just wait in the car while he buys nasi kerabu from our local stall, top up my Touch and Go, pick up a takeaway order at a restaurant... you get the idea. Memang emulating the abang character! Senang kerja Mummy, sejuk perut ibu mengandung. *smiles*

Loves extreme activities! Did laser tag for the first time and excitedly went into that round tube thing that tumbles you all over the place.

"Daddy's into fashion", claims Aiden. Little did he know that he's sporting the same swag!

Ian? Still meratib everyday in the car, “I don’t want to go (to) school.” Less crying but still adamant about his stance. Enrolled him (and Aiden) in Fun Camp over the last school holidays, hoping that it would inculcate a sense of love for school - but even that didn’t work. (Although I must applaud Aiden for diligently taking care of Ian throughout the duration of the program; from comforting Ian, to even suap Ian makan!) Despite Ian’s apparent hate for school, he loves doing ‘homework’. He can spend hours just coloring and writing, ignoring the TV. We’ve even resorted to bringing his small desk and chair down to the living hall so he can have a proper area to continue doing so. Macam langit dengan bumi with Aiden who would rather sprawl himself on the couch watching cartoons. I’m currently teaching Ian to write lowercase alphabets (he’s aced the upper case ones) and I can’t wait for him to improve on his phonics so he can start reading!

This little brown bear can spend hours just scribbling, drawing and colouring away. That's his interpretation of Mummy with baby (that odd round shape on my tummy). I wonder why I have spiked hair... Hmmm...

Happy face from Ian - during one of the rare occasions that I get to pick him up from kindy.

They both recently entered a Trunki Easter Egg hunt in Hamleys OU. It involved them scooting around in a Trunki and finding cardboard cutouts of Easter eggs hidden in the store. That experience certainly showed me the ugly side of parenting. It’s absolutely normal for parents to cheer and ‘help’ their kids by pointing out the location of the eggs from afar. But for a mother to snatch one and run to give it to his son, right in front of me while I was pointing to it but waiting for Aiden to scoot over in his Trunki to get it? That’s just ugly. I could have easily done the same so that we would win, but how is that fair to everyone else playing fair and square, scooting their butts off looking for hidden eggs? What kind of example are you teaching to your kids?

Aiden got number three!

Aiden bagged a lunch bag, while Ian won a consolation price of a cupboard Trunki; Fold-a-Trunki.

I digress. Let’s talk about happier things. Shopping? I’m definitely enjoying myself with this. Everything in pink is sooooo cute! To date, I’ve filled in a whole three drawers worth of clothes, five new born shoes and twenty headbands... and counting. Just the other day I saw this cute tutu assemble but unfortunately it was only available in 12-18 months size. Went to the counter to check on a smaller size only to find out that it was the last piece. After deliberating, I finally decided to get it. The cashier, probably empathizing with me, asked; “Baby tuh sekarang berapa bulan, Kak?”... implying that she thought I wanted to buy it as a gift for someone. I answered, “Baby tuh tak keluar lagi, nie dalam perut lagi”, while pointing to my tummy. Her face was stunned... she was speechless or should I say terkedu? It was so funny!!!

I’m also shopping for home! My eldest brother is returning from the US with a big-ass kontena in tow. Other than a new baby swing plus diaper bag for baby AY, everything else I ordered was for home. From solar lights to a KitchenAid blender. Can’t wait! Just yesterday my KitchenAid toaster arrived (separate kontena) and it looks so sleek and handsome on my kitchen counter. *drool*

I am so domesticated!

Work? As intense as ever. I’m currently looking to fill up a vacancy in my team, so I’m diligently having GTKYs (Get To Know You) with interested candidates. Unfortunately for one of them, that morning before the meet we had not one but two dramatic issues which compounded to the headache that I was already nursing. Hence during the GTKY I didn’t exactly paint a rosy picture about the expectations of the role. Scary stuff came out like repercussions and the need to be on-call at all times. Needless to say, she didn’t apply for the role in the end. *smacks forehead* I’ve also finally announced to the team about my pregnancy, and informed my #2 that he needs to step up into role while I’m away (he’s completely freaked out btw *giggles*) so that part is sorted. Now I can proudly show off my bump in the office (instead of sucking it in to hide it).

Hence that’s the end of March. Let’s continue marching on (pun intended) to April.

My Tumi Calais

After writing extensively on my quest for a diaper bag, I’m now inspired to write about my laptop bag.

Remember in this post, Hubby hinted about buying me a laptop bag for my 35th birthday? Well it never happened. (He got me something way better!) But since I already had a chosen bag in sight, I decided to just buy it for myself. Sort of a present to myself in welcoming my new role at work.

After much deliberation with Hubby (who managed to convince me that a leather bag is way classier than everything else), I finally decided to go with the Tumi Calais:

Although I gravitated more towards the Sacha, unfortunately it wasn’t available in the leather option. Hence I went with the Calais despite my reservations about it being very ‘bag sekolah’. (Don’t you think the two side pockets make it look very much like a school bag?)

Engraved with my name.

However, I have to admit that I’ve grown to love it very much. I don’t use the side pockets at all (they are still stuffed with paper stuffings)... but the front pocket is super useful! My essentials such as my phone and car keys are so easily reachable. And unlike the Sacha, I don’t need to unbuckle anything. Everything is accessible via zips. The top zipper houses my laptop while the middle one is for my laptop charger, my work diary and occasionally, my WOC. The leather is super lavish and luxurious, and to top it off, the engraving accentuates elegance. Major love!

Diaper Bag Woes

When expecting a third baby, the number of things that you need to buy significantly reduces.

Thankfully, baby AY is a girl - hence at least I get to buy new clothes. Itu pun we will probably recycle her brother’s swaddles, blankets etc. Baby equipment lagi lah tak payah beli. We are definitely reusing the stroller, car seat, baby chair, bathtub, sterilizer and such.

But my hands are itching to buy something new other than clothes or baby bottles! Something that signifies the coming of a baby girl. Finally I settled for a new diaper bag.

And after some research, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that diaper bags in the market are BORING. I understand that some parents would prefer a unisex colour (I would do the same for my first child so I can reuse in the future) and some would want a bag designed not to look like a diaper bag so that it can be carried by the husband too.

But for me, this is (potentially) my last baby and I simply want to scream to the world that yes, this is a diaper bag, and yes, it’s for a girl! Which means that I want the bag in prints and in pink! Unfortunately, the market doesn’t cater much for prints. And surprisingly, available prints in the market are either neutral colours, or blue!!! Yes blue!!! (So gender biased, sigh.)

I also think that my requirements for a diaper bag are pretty simple:

• In pink and/or pink prints
• Lightweight (so no heavy leather bags for me), preferably a stylish backpack.
• Suitable to be hung off my existing stroller. 
• Bonus if it comes with insulated compartments.

Anyway, I’m going to share my research to prove my point, but I’ll start with what I finally ended up with:

Jujube BFF

Jujube probably carries the most extensive number of diaper bag prints in the market. And the only few I found online with pink prints. Jujube has multiple models so you can choose for a satchel, backpack, over shoulder, etc. But I love the fact that the BFF is convertible to both satchel or backpack. Very convenient! Comes with insulated pockets too. Love the matching changing mat, the small front pocket for my phone/camera and even a pocket for my sunglasses! My only qualm with it is it's quite bulky... I seem to think that I can pack light. But anyway here’s my choice - the Jujube BFF in Blooming Romance:

Storksak
Very popular amongst Hollywood stars, probably because it doesn’t look anything at all like a diaper bag. With the luxurious leather option, it can pass off as a handbag or even a laptop bag. The Poppy Convertible Backpack is in a quilted finish and also comes with a matching food and bottle bag. Some other options include an insulated bottle holder and fold out changing mat. No prints sighted.

Petunia Pickle Bottom
The Petunia Boxy backpacks are so awesome! Why? Because it comes with a clever built-in zip-out changing station! Creativity at its best! Convertible to both backpack or cross-body, plus available in sweet prints too. There was an adorable pink print available too but since it was more expensive than the Jujube, I settled with the latter.

JJ Cole
So many options to choose from - satchel, backpack, knapsack, bucket tote, off shoulder cum tote and even backpacks designed for daddies (Papago)! The bucket tote option even comes with a coordinating pacifier pod and single bottle cooler, and the backpack and satchel feature insulated side pockets and coordinating changing pad. Love love love the classy prints but unfortunately only available in neutral colours or BLUE. Le sigh.

Babymel
Mostly shoulder bags/totes. They have some pretty classy prints but again, in neutral colors. No pink prints backpack sighted. One interesting feature in their backpacks is the Easy Wipes side pocket with a dispenser slot. Means you can directly pull your wipes from the pocket. So novel!

Skip Hop
Multiple models available. Their prints are mostly in neutral colors i.e grey, navy blue, cream. Only one backpack model came with insulated side pockets. There were ~3 pink bags in solid colors but nothing in particular attracted me.

Oh here’s a bonus: Young Versace
Simplest of the lost but obviously the most expensive. You’re paying for the brand, not the practicality! Lovely sweet pink Baroque watercolour print and a matching changing mat. *drool*

So that’s my rundown of diaper bags! Hope this listing helps. *smiles*

Women Business Laptop Bags

And so I've been hunting for my own birthday present for this year. Hubby is giving me the free reign (but not an endless budget boohoo) to choose my preferred present, with the condition that he will refuse any requests for funding yet another handbag *rollseyes*

Since I can't buy any handbags, and I don't want another pair of shoes (he bought the latter last year), I'm really struggling to think of anything! The initial plan was to drag Hubby into Chanel to look at accessories but I don't think he'll appreciate his hard earned money being spent at something so small. Perhaps something from Tiffany and Co? Or a watch? A new camera for better photos for this blog?

Anyway, Hubby proposed a laptop bag. The first time he said it, I laughed my head off. Like seriously. Why the heck would he spend so much money on a bag for my laptop, which will most probably end up on the floor or even in the boot of my car.

However, slowly but surely I started warming up to the idea. Honestly, my current laptop bag does not compliment my work outfit which I meticulously choose every morning.

Hence here are my shortlisted choices:

Top 3 choices of the Voyageur from Tumi. Far left is Calais (looks very school bag like) while the middle is Sacha (buckle type; very classy). 

This is the one on the far right and made from some coated PVC like material (not leather). Sturdier than the other two which are made from fabric. Tumi also offers complimentary monogramming!

Top 2 choices from Coach. Both from the men section (cos the ladies backpacks are so small!)

Anyway, I've sent my preferred choices to Hubby. He's refusing to tell me which one he's going to choose, so I guess the surprise is on me now!

MY CyberSale

Oh my oh my oh my.

I am sooooo glad that today is the last day of the CyberSale. Kesian my bank account, dah nazak sangat nampaknya. Not only that - I am so obsessed with the sale, that I keep refreshing the page every half hour to see if they added anything new on the website. In the morning, the first thing I do before I step out of my bed, is to reach for my phone and refresh the Duck page. Crazy mazy.

This year, all of my online purchases are from FashionValet. Zalora didn't offer much, and I didn't bother hunting even further. (I did buy a top and a pair of jeans from Zara but shipping was a bomb hence I drove over to the store to pick it up instead.) Anyway, it has been raining parcels since Wednesday, to the point that my maid actually took a photo of the packages and sent it to me via whatsapp while I was at work. (She has never done that, ever!) Nampak sangat dia pun terkejut beruk with her employer's shopaholic ways.

Obviously, I looked forward to driving home and opening my packages, like a little girl on Christmas morning. Or rather, macam celebrate birthday hari-hari. Anyway, here's my loot that arrived on Wednesday and Thursday. More will continue trickling in cos I was still purchasing Ducks on Thursday morning, and still waiting for some scarves and lipsticks to arrive. Hopefully I don't find anything else to buy today!

Broke a record. Six packages in a day!

Ducks in the first day.

Took the opportunity to try out the new Duck Cosmetics. I tried the Nude palette, a lipstick in Dreamy Nora and their #NoFilter makeup remover.

Loving the colour palette. Sooooo pretty! I heard they're really pigmented too. Can't wait to try them out.

Second day's loot. Terkejut tengok siap kotak bagai this round.

More Ducks, some inners, Melba top and Verus pants from Aere, and a pair of Sera low block mules from Nelissa Hilman.

I'm literally sitting on my hands to stop myself from clicking the 'Place Order' button. Wish me luck, fellow shopaholics!

Update: The packages from Friday arrived and my helper surprised my yet again with this photo below. Broke the old record; this time it is 9 packages! But before you get any ideas, this loot is mostly for my fellow neighbours who wanted to join in the shopping madness. #PStakberbayar *giggles*

Text from my helper: "Iya minta d ambil gambar. Ohh so many.. kata Ian.. Pastu d kira dengn Ian... No one sampai nine.. betul la Puan.."

"Ohh so many", says Ian!

Batik

I was in Jakarta for a day trip just last week, and I went batik shopping at the airport!

It was just a day trip for an important meeting, and with all the macet in Jakarta, there wasn't much I could explore in a day. I effectively took the morning flight in, battled the traffic into the city in time for lunch, had my meeting and then rushed back to the airport to catch the last flight out.

Traffic in Jakarta, and the only Shell station I saw during my short day trip.

I was hoping to be able to catch the earlier flight out but I missed it by like 15 mins. Blessing in disguise because then it turned out that I had an hour to spare. Walked around hoping to do some window shopping. The only reason why I stepped foot into the shop was the fact that it sold batik.

Why batik? During my meeting earlier, all of the locals (even the ladies) were wearing batik! With the men it was easy enough to just slip on a piece of batik shirt. But one of the ladies actually had a batik top with laces and all, and a slightly low cut modern collar, and she paired it with a very simple long skirt. Such a classy look! I was impressed at how the Indonesians valued batik as part of their everyday wear. Back home, we only wear batik for formal occasions!

Anyway, I walked into the shop and found some adorable kids batik tops going for about RM50 per piece. I've never seen a child batik top anywhere in Malaysia. I remember we had to get one custom made for Aiden years ago. In the end, I bought matching ones for the kids, one for Hubby and of course, one lovely one for myself. Although hubby said the batik pattern of my chosen batik top was slightly old school, I loveddddd the modern collar and cut. Interesting mix of an oldies print with a modern twist.

These are the child batik tops. They even have matching one for girls!

Anyway, thought I'll share with you my loot. All in a span of one hour. Told you, put me anywhere and I can still find something to buy! Such is the life of a shopaholic. *giggles*

The men range - they came in slim fit options too!

Hubby wanted the one on the extreme left, but they didn't have matching ones for Aiden and Ian (no size), hence I had to choose another blue batik in a similar blue hue for the kids.

Matching for men and woman. Hubby still preferred his initial choice so I didn't get the woman top.

The top that I finally chose. Old school batik print, but I love the quirky collar.

Now it's just a matter of searching for the right occasion to wear it then!

Viral

Just last week, Harith Iskander was at an event in my office. Something he said resonated in me. He said that nowadays, people 'celebrate' idiots by making them viral.

Let me clarify. Have you noticed that most things that have gone viral are typically things that are done by fools? In the past (way before we had Instagram or Facebook Live), everyone acknowledged that there were idiots that lived amongst us but we chose to ignore them and live peacefully. But now, we celebrate them by taking videos of them, which in turn instigates keyboard warriors which in the end promotes negativity and chaos.

We can always agree to disagree, but heck, food for thought.

Anyway, here's something viral that is nowhere idiotic at all. Viral plates or more affectionately called #pingganviral.

I am quite the perfectionist. I love things that match, which translates to matching sets of plates, saucers, serving dishes, cups and even teapots. I only have two collections in my house; my Corelle Simple Lines/Sketch for my daily use. And my Noritake Crestwood Gold for my formal dining use.

So when this pinggan viral thing came about, I wasn't hooked at all. Mismatched plates??? Not in my books!

However, slowly but surely I started warming up to the idea. I found myself admiring the distinct pieces that people scored and shared on their Instagram feeds. I started loving the contrasting pieces and the quirky flat lays. In the end, I couldn't deny myself anymore. So here's my catch:

Despite my excitement to embrace mismatched designs and colours, I somehow still gravitated towards matching sets. See how the orange saucer has a blue rim which matches the blue rectangular platter? *I am such a freak*

I told myself that I would only get a set sufficient for ONE Instagram flat lay. No buying for the future possibilities of "Oh I need this bowl in case I want to serve Tomyam" or "Oh I need more plates to cater for additional family members". And Alhamdulillah, I kept to my word. Damage for the day? RM60.

See, one Instagram square!

Update: OK, I did not keep to my word. I did a second round today, and discovered that I can still fit more pieces into one Instagram square. I promise, no more!!!

See?? Still one Instagram square!

Now I can sleep peacefully at night. No more viral shopping for me, please!

I'll just continue expanding my Corelle empire... *giggles*

Such a soothing thing to see for fellow OCDs.

A Walk-In Wardrobe For My Shoes

I think I'm going to take a break from all the holiday posts. (Although I must give myself a pat on the back for persevering!) The act of shortlisting photos, editing them, resizing then, thinking of captions and of course, writing the post... is so draining!

Let's talk about happier things, other than holidays. Let's talk about shoes. Yes shoes.

I've never been much of a shoe person. I don't get gugu eyes over a pair of Jimmy Choos. Although I have to admit my Ferragamos are quite comfy, I really wouldn't mind wearing an equally comfortable pair of Vincci either. Heck, they're going to end up at my feet anyway!

Because I've never been much of a shoe person, I've never made it a point to keep track of the shoes that I own. I do buy shoes to match my handbags, so those I remember very well. But all the rest are really just a blur in my head. My helper lectures me quite a bit, especially when she has to hunt for a pair of shoes in the store. "Puan ada banyak kasut tapi tak pakai! Stor ini sampai tak boleh jalan, sudah penuh!" Ok ok I get the hint. The store bawah tangga is filled with shoes. The shoe racks near the kitchen is also filled with my shoes. And yet I keep wearing the same trusty comfy shoes day in day out.

Inspired by Vivy's shoe racks, I decided that I needed one too. Because the shoes were displayed prominently on open shelves, I deduced that it will lead to two things. One, it is visually accessible so I can easily choose one to match my outfit. And two, I will stop buying new shoes because now I know exactly what shades of shoe colours I have at home.

But the hard part was the execution bit. We have zero space for open shelvings shoe racks! Hubby doesn't want shoes in the bedroom, so I can't erect shoe racks in the master bedroom nor the guest bedroom downstairs. I can't put it in the living hall, cos as much as I would like to believe that I have good taste in shoes, they would never be visually appealing enough to suit any deco. We wanted to put up those racks in the aisle near the laundry room, but that would cramp the narrow aisle.

After much deliberation, I finally found the perfect spot. Remember the windows upstairs that we had to wall up due to the high ceiling dining hall renovations? An empty wall, just screaming for a home improvement project. Absolutely perfect!

Not really a walk-in, but rather a walk-through! That door you see is the door to my master bedroom.

Three IKEA Lack wall racks later, it was ready! I was sooooo excited to house my shoes on the empty shelves. Lo and behold, I occupied 98% of the space with my shoes. If I buy anymore new shoes, I'll have to banish Hubby's shoes to the store bawah tangga! *giggles*

A family project! Thank you boys, for doing this for my shoes.

My current mantra is, "No more shoes, I have enough!"

Now I have no more excuse of forgetting the shoes that I own. And it is so easy to choose my shoes for the day. I simply have to walk out of my bedroom and choose a pair to match my outfit. Major love! (Now, time to organize my handbags???) *chuckles*