#1398.

Hello peeps! I'm very excited because my HDB is selected for housing upgrades. So if 75% of the population agrees to it, we get free upgrades! This is really awesome because my house is very old already (older than me) and ceiling is cracking, pipes are leaking, rubbish chute is malfunctioning etc. All these will be changed for free! Yippee! :D

What's more, if we top up, we get new bathrooms (2 of them) and a new main door too! I think it's a very worthy deal considering the amount of renovation works are to be carried out. I really can't wait because I think my house needs them. Hopefully we get it!

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More trip planning with the boyf this weekend. Looks like I plan a lot more than I expected. Hahahahaha. I think boyf thinks that I'm planning too much (I quote "wah every week also got things to plan one leh") but I can't deny that I enjoy it so much! It is always exciting to research on new places to explore, new foodie places to dine at, new activities to try, etc. In fact, I've been googling so much it felt as if I've been there already fml. And I'm also super duper happy that Ade booked the hotel in Taiwan already! Yayness! Now I can go research on what's good around our hotel teehee.

xx

Outfits!
TSL Ivanna Ethnic Embroidery Top, Fossil bag // Swivelle Smoothie Bib Blouse, TTR Summer Flirt Skirt


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Also went out for team lunch to celebrate Secretary Week. Unfortunately our department's secretary can't join so it's just a normal team lunch. See who are the posers!

Review: Lava Edge at Changi City Point

For $14.90++ you can get a 2-course meal and for $16.90++ you can get a 3-course meal. The portion is pretty small so if you are a big eater, be sure to opt for the 3-course meal. We were offered a free beverage if we opted to sit al fresco so we did!




Free beverage - green tea. Too much ice used hence the drink became diluted after a while.

I shared two 2-course meals with J and it did fill me however J was not the least full /: Didn't help that the service was mega slow and we were all starving in the heat ): Major boo there.

Appetizer: Breaded Fish Fingers
I liked the dip that came along with this dish but the fish was a tad too oily. There was a distinct taste that the oil was re-used over and over again.



Soup: Tomato was soup of the day
I've never tried tomato soup before so it was something new. I liked the sourness of it and not too overpowering.


Main: Boneless chicken leg in apricot sauce with rice and asparagus
What a let-down! The portion was super small so I was a tad disappointed when it came. I liked the presentation though. I felt that the apricot sauce was something unique but it doesn't go well with the chicken. I also didn't spot any asparagus but only 2 sticks of celery?! Or am I wrong in differentiating my greens? /:


Dessert: Apple crumble with ice-cream
Dessert saved the day! I liked my apple crumble. I also managed to try the cheesecake, brownie and mango mousse. They were all good except the mango mousse wasn't my kind of dessert.


Notice that the chocolate on the mango mousse melted even before we could start. Showed how hot the weather was that day! And nope, I wouldn't choose to dine al fresco again /:


Food 4/10
Ambience 2/10
Value 4/10
Service 6/10

Address: 5 Changi Business Park Central 1 Changi City Point #01-72/73 Singapore 486038
Tel: 6636-3226

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What we did at meeting this week. Had team meeting twice this week! /:

Colleague downloaded this super fun app (cinemagr.am) and I can't resist not playing with it.

Met up with sis Meh yesterday for an awesum-posum Saturday at Starbucks! :D Hee we randomly came up with an idea with sis Noi and we're super excited over it now. Can't wait for it to materialize.This is a picture of us after moisturizer, toner, whitening lotion and blemish remover. Hahahaha kidding we just use MTXX!

We were sitting outside Tampines 1 when a guy approached us with the lousiest pick-up line I've ever heard omg! And he kept insisting to buy us a drink or something and I was thinking whether he was doing a dare. Tried to look around but didn't spot anyone else watching so he must be for real! A random stranger trying to pick us up! O:

Thankfully he walked away after repeated rejections. Sis and I were traumatized for a while /:

Wokays see ya next week! :D

#1397.

Conversation today.

Boyf "How many more weeks till you're coming?"

Me "Twelve!!!" :D

Boyf "Omg! So fast! Excited leh baby! :D But... when you come over means I have to go home too..."

Me "Why baby sad?"

Boyf "Cos I'll miss the whole bay area, the dance scene, the people I hang out with... Won't ever find any place like this."

Me "Oh... But will you be more happy or sad to come back?"

Boyf "To answer your question baby, emotions is not always a single state. You know like how when you graduate you'll feel proud and happy but you'll be sad cos you'll miss all your friends? Hee same for me. I've grown so much as a dancer here. Singapore is my home and I have so many people over there whom I love. But I know I'll loose the capacity and freedom to go to jams and parties like I do here! I'm gonna miss the lifestyle here."


home is where the heart is X

#1396.

Random dinner date with lovely AK on Friday the 13th. This year has got way too much black Fridays, any relation to 2012 end of the world?!

For those of you who didn't know, Bedok 85 is undergoing renovation now so the temporary market is at Bedok 85A! Just right beside the original location :D We collected $10 per pax and went around ordering our fav dishes - bar chor mee, orh lua, chicken wings, stingray, tang yuan. Happy full girls! :D

Fun fact: We spotted the famous 2 bar chor mee stalls side by side again! So Felina went to ask why they were beside each other. And the stall owner replied "we ballot and got neighbouring stalls!" OMG crazy luck much?! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Couldn't stop laughing.

Sat around after dinner for some HTHT even though the place was noisy, dirty, dimly lit, etc. Guides will always be guides. LOL. Super happy for Sabby dear who found her other half! Shan't reveal who yet cos mutual friends might be reading this. Congrats my dear! We ought to give him an insect nickname too! :D Can't wait for the day where AK + Insects come together. We're gonna be an awesome happy family! ^^

xx

Met up with my favourite Shingzers girlfs on Sunday for a simple dinner on Sunday. I love heartland coffeeshop dinners like this cos:
1) we can wear specs + tees + shorts :D
2) cheap + good food
3) just a bus ride away from home

Review: Spize @ Simpang Bedok



For less than 10 bucks per pax, we got to indulge in a very full meal. Ordered chicken fajitas, nasi pattaya, mee goreng, and fried seafood noodles. Om nom nom. Love the food but the chin chow I had contained too much sugar syrup. Not the best thirst quencher /:

Credits to pretty babe Sha for the awesome pics! Hahahahaha she thick-skinnedly asked for credit so here it is! :P I'm so glad we set up a monthly dinner date so it saves us the hassle of who is organizing the next meet up, when should it be, who is free, etc. Love my girls (:

xx

Celebrated Ash's birthday on Monday. This silly girl actually came to work on her actual birthday!




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On Tuesday, we decided to have our own celebration for her at Cafe Iguana. It happens when the team gets too big and a clique will form within the team. The 6 of us are of the same age group so we kinda got along better (;

Decided to wear green (Ash's fav colour) for the girls and white for the boys. They were not very pleased with my outfit because I picked teal - which was more blue than green. Sorry ladies! /:

Unfortunately I was down with cough & sore throat so I couldn't eat much. My fav nachos & chimichangas!!! /:

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise so I don't overeat. Hehe.

Review: Cafe Iguana @ Clark Quay

Complimentary nachos with salsa dip. Spot AD's Virgin Margarita in the background.
Price: $9.50+

I had grapefruit juice while AH had Shirley Temple.
Price: $6.50+ each

Here comes our all time favourite nachos!
Price: $26.00+ (large)
It's basically nachos base with rice, chicken, beans & greens on top, with generous serving of cream. Oh-so-sinful but deeeeelicious! :D

Mini Chimichangas (Chicken)
Price: $14.00+ each
I feel that this is a tad overpriced but it's super nice so we couldn't resist ordering 2! Each plate comes with only 4 pieces. It tasted kinda like the nachos so if you're on a budget, skip this and opt for nachos instead! :)


Taco Salad (Chicken)
Price: $13.00+
I didn't get to eat the 2 sticks of chicken but finished the entire plate of greens instead. Hahaha nobody really likes to eat veggies so it got pushed to my end. And I licked the plate clean while they looked on in disgust :P

Habanero Wings
Price: $18.00+ for plate of 6
It looked good but I didn't touch any cos of the damn throat ): So no comments on the taste but it seems a little overpriced too. $3 for a wing?! /:

Quesadillas
Price: $15.00+
Nothing to rave about. In fact, the chicken and dough was dry so the dip came in handy.

Overall, the ambience was nice for a good chillout session with your friends + camwhoring but not quite the place for HTHT. Food was a tad pricey and I'm guessing the location plays a part.

Total bill: $155.50 + 7% = $166.40

Food 5/10
Ambience 7/10
Value 3/10
Service 7/10

Address: 30 Merchant Road #01-03 Riverside Point Singapore 058282
Tel: 6236-1275
Website: Cafe Iguana

Camwhoring pics to follow. The entire night was filled with crazy laughters because we teased Ash & Hiz so much! Cute couple :P

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What we did at this week's meeting! :P

On Thursday I was in a not-so-chirpy mood cos my head was heavy and I felt feverish. Ja was also sick but she came to the office and was sneezing away. I was a tad upset cos she should be resting at home and not spreading virus all over so I went home after lunch and told boss that I would be logging in from home. But after taking the cough syrup, I was so drowsy that I could barely work so I took a nap. Thankfully no urgent emails came and I managed to rest a couple of hours. That's one of the perks of working here because the colleagues and bosses are flexible (:

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We celebrated our Director's birthday on Friday. Can't believe I've been on the job for more than a year and counting, and I'm not hating it yet :P I remembered friends betting that I won't stay for more than 6 months. Well, they're wrong!

The secretary spent $300 on sandwiches and snacks for lunch of about 30 pax /: Ughs, we could have ordered pizza or catering, me thinks!

 

That's my Director giving a super short speech of 2 minutes and popped the champagne! :D
This is the card I bought for everyone to write.


Us in TGIF mood!

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Was googling some scrapbooking website and came across this online store based in the U.S. which has fabulous stuff! Super excited and immediately carted out goodies. Will share once I receive them! (:

On a side note, I'm sniffing Vicks inhaler like some drug addict and boyf exclaimed on Skype "omg you're showing me a(n) (unglam) side of you I've never seen before!" -.-

I think I have weak lungs. And I think it runs in the genes ): So I boiled some almond + pear soup for nourishment.

Boyf's trying to stop me from buying more nail polishes, he told me that nail polishes *might* cause cancer, just like hair dye. Grrr.

P/s. Counting down 12 more weeks to my flightttttt to babyyyyyy! :D

#1395.

Met my colleagues at Sun Plaza Park yesterday morning for cycling and it almost killed me! The sun was scorching and there were a couple of uphills. We cycled from the kiosk at Tampines to Pasir Ris Park and back, and it took us 75 minutes. My legs are still jelly now & I fell asleep while skype-ing with the boyf -.-

Had a movie date with the boyf and he chose 'City of God' of all movies! Omg his collection of movies is boring max please! /: Next time I'm gonna decide what we watch hahaha. The movie is based on a true story about young children doing drug dealing in South America. I was trying hard to keep my eyes opened half the time! Hehe blame it on my exhaustion.

xx

Last week I attempted to bake red velvet cupcakes and it turned out more like brownie than cupcakes. My colleagues even joked that they could use it to throw at people they dislike cos it's hard & heavy (like a rock). #hurtmyfeelings

I think I knew what went wrong.

1) I used cold milk to make buttermilk, which should have been at room temperature instead
2) I let the baking soda and vinegar fizzle for super long before putting in the batter (hence loses its effect)
3) I used salted butter because I can't find unsalted one but this is just personal preference

Recipe as follows:

Dry Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sifted plain flour (160g)
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (57g)
3/4 cup fine sugar (96g)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
2 eggs

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1/2 cup milk (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar


or get 1/2 cup buttermilk from Cold Storage

1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

-----

1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 180 degrees.

1) Place butter and sugar in bowl and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla.
2) Make a paste of the food colouring & buttermilk.
3) Dissolve baking soda in vinegar, add to buttermilk. (It will make a fizzy science project-ish sound hehe)
4) Sift flour & cocoa powder & salt.
5) Gradually add in the flour mixture, buttermilk and baking soda into the batter.
6) Mix until smooth.
7) Pour into cupcake cups!
8) Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto cooling rack and to cool completely before frosting.

I skipped the cream cheese frosting cos my colleague hates cheese. But I'm definitely trying that next time!

Credits to Nadia. I usually google for Singapore based recipe so that the ingredients are more readily available!

The process in pictures:

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My gelish nails after 1 week still looks as good as new! It's super lasting! Usually my nail polish chips after 3-4 days and can barely make it past a week. Gelish is awesome (:

xx

Review: Ippudo @ Mandarin Gallery (III) 

Met up with sis Ting, sis Meh, Zirong, Chunhwee and Sharon for dinner at Ippudo! Surprisingly there was no queue when we reached at 7pm. I think the crowd only comes after 7.30pm. Sis Meh wasn't feeling well after dinner so she went home while the rest of us went to Full House (highly recommended by Zirong).

My standard order: Shiromaru with tamago
Price: $17.00 + 10% + 7%

Food 6/10 (a tad salty for miso based soup)
Ambience 5/10 (small place, a lil’ noisy)
Value 4/10 (too pricey)
Service 7/10 (food came fast)

Address: 333A Orchard Road #04-02/03/04 Singapore 238867
Tel: 6235-2797
Website: Ippudo SG

Review: Fullhouse @ Singapore

So much rave by Zirong lao da about this themed cafe so we decided to give it a visit. Indeed it did not disappoint! This cute little cafe is situated beside Hotel Rendezvous, opposite SMU campus. It has a small entrance and is not very eye-catching but the wow factor kicks in when you enter the restaurant upstairs.

Check out the furniture and interior decorations. It's so pretty! I edited the photos on MTXX but they are all white furnishings which gives that clean, luxe feel. The whole restaurant is divided into "rooms" like study room, living room, etc. And it feels like a real house hence the name!

Zirong, being the regular customer, is very familiar with the environment so he gave us a mini guided tour. Feels so weird to be walking around when other customers are eating /: Hahaha. He is also on good terms with all the staff and boss, it's easy to see why. The staff are friendly and polite (as if they're serving customers in a 5-star hotel) and always serve with a smile. Truly impeccable service!

I like how the environment is well-lighted, makes the place so cheery (like eating in an Ikea showroom). If you're opting for a more romantic atmosphere, head to their bar on the first floor. They have candle-holders on each table and the lights are dimmed. Love it (:

Since we already had dinner earlier on, we order some sides to share. The food was surprisingly of a high standard considering it's just a cafe.

Calamari Ring and Onion Ring Set ($10.90++) - love the wasabi mayo

Chicken Chop ($16.90++) - forgot to take pics

Potato Wedges ($6.90++)
Pot of Jasmine Tea ($6.90++)
Pot of Lavender Tea ($6.90++)

The tea is refillable and they even added more tea leaves so it won't be diluted. Thumbs up! Unfortunately we found a staple in the calamari rings so they compensated with 2 slices of complimentary cakes. Love the cakes! :D

Can't wait to patronize them for lunch / dinner to try out their main course. Looks delicious!


Food 8/10
Ambience 8/10 (perfect deco and well spaced out)
Value 5/10 (on the high side)
Service 8/10 (impeccable!)

**15% discount for UOB credit cards

Address: 9 Bras Basah Road #01-04 Rendezvous Gallery Singapore 189559
Tel: 6336-6328
Website: Fullhouse Cafe

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Yesterday was our 23rd monthsary, which means a month more to our 2nd anniversary! I'm really excited about it even though we are miles apart and won't be able to celebrate it together. Probably I know that we're inching closer to the day when we see each other again! ^^

I mailed this over to the boyf - the last of the Little Prince notebooks that I bought for him. It came in a set of 4 so I thought I'd mail one to him every 3 months. Hope they're put to good use baby!

As usual, I scrapped a digital page for him (:

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Saw this on Facebook and just had to solve it! Stared for a couple of minutes before realizing it may not be as easy as it seemed so I sent it across to the boyf. He solved it within a minute! Omg genius boyf?! I asked him for hints but he only said "think like a kid". I took about an hour before figuring it out. Great sense of satisfaction! :D

Go try it! If you really really wanna give up (like my colleagues -.-) just go Google the answer!


xx

Came across this quote which I find really apt - fix things which are broken instead of just throwing them away. Applies for relationship as well, that's why our parents'/grandparents' generation lasts against all odds. Whereas people nowadays run away from problems, choosing to abandon when faced with turmoils. Ganbatte everybody! (:

P/s. what a long update! Happy Sunday all xoxo

#1394.

Today's Skype session is one of the most productive yet! The boyf and I decided to finalize some details of our my upcoming trip after hearing that the Taiwan apartment (his kor picked) was fully booked within a week! And it's only April now - more than 3 months before the trip.

So yes, I'll be going over to the States in mid-July for 12 days, followed by Taiwan for 4 days. Will be flying over with his parents and I'm very touched when the boyf told me he wanted to plan a very relaxing and fun trip to show his gratitude for all that they've done to bring him up. Wish I could do the same for mine.

The rough itinerary includes San Francisco, Napa Valley, Yosemite, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Seems like a lot to cover in 12 days! Hope we have enough time! (: Really can't wait for summer shopping spree! Hehe. Thereafter we'll be departing for Taiwan where we'll be meeting up with kor & Ade for more food & fun! The entire 4 days in Taiwan will be fully planned for by kor & Ade since they will be backpacking around Taiwan prior to meeting us. Initially they picked out a 3-room apartment just nice for the 6 of us but it got fully booked when they wanted to reserve a week later (after consulting his parents). So his daddy said "when you see something similar in this price range, just book first don't wait."

I got scared by this incident and hurried the boyf to settle our accommodation in U.S. too. Since it's summer in July, there's bound to be a lot of tourists. We were so lucky to book our air tickets at Natas too! The first booth we visited told us that there were only 4 seats left on the departure date. Omg! Insane or what! /:

So today I extended my passport, applied for Visa Waiver Program, and together with the boyf on Skype, booked 2 hotels and purchased a deal on Living Social! Planning the itinerary was easy-peasy! We did it like 3 months ago. But booking of hotel and sourcing for the best tours/ deals/ packages was sooooo difficult! There were a million considerations like prices, distance, rating, etc. His parents made a smart move by leaving the entire planning to us :D

Ok enough of the trip, will update more soon. Now to picture spam!

My new favourite snacks! Yam flavoured pillows & jalapeno flavoured pringles!

I'm so noob I didn't know of the existence of this life-saver till today. My colleague introduced it to me while we were shopping during lunch. I was skeptical at first but after 2 colleagues claimed it worked, I decided to give it try. Omg it actually works!!! Say 'no' to blisters forever! Wish I'd known this earlier so I wouldn't have to stock up on boxes of plasters at home /:

 

TE Bona Shirtdress, F21 cardigan, Mitju flats

 

My first gelish nails at only $17.50. Thanks Aimee for bringing me along for the 1-for-1 promo. Gonna see how long my nails can last! Too short for fancy designs so I opted for plain bright pink (: Didn't expect the whole process to take so long; we were there for about 3.5 hours!

  

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Max is back for a month before heading back to UK again. What a pleasant surprise! :D The easties decided to meet up for dinner on Thursday. Din Tai Fung serves relatively affordable and delicious food!

  

 

And we visited Kyushu Fair at Tampines Mall because Max wanted to get some mini taiyaki for Michelle. Aww so sweet this boyf! Love the custard one.

We were so full from dinner, Zirong suggested we go to the arcade. We were all agreeable until Zirong started dancing on the Para-Para machine! #FacePalm Totally embarrassed all of us. Chunhwee was a sport so he went up to dance 1 round as well but the rest of us refused. We went onto the basketball machine next. Sis Meh and I vs Zirong & Max. Our machine was spoilt so the points jumped like crazy! We played all the way to level 4 and got more than 999 points so the machine was reset. Hahaha can you believe it?! Sis Meh and I were laughing so hard it was so hard to throw the balls but we still beat the highscore :P


Michelle joined us at Starbucks after work and we sat there with our coffees till closing. Love talks more than any other activities actually (:

xx



Oh happy Easter to all of you! XOXO with a pack of pastel shades M&M's!

P.s. Hate the new Blogger posting, it's screwing up my blog posts when I edit them! ):