Hedera

our tenth year together

2011-12-28T18:24:00.000+08:00

time flies - very quickly - with the blink of an eye, 10 years have flown by.

matching clark shoes to accompany the event

dinner at amici italian restaurant

one-for-one dinner voucher

complimentary white wine

my anniversary gift :D

admiring my gifts before dinner

a handy mini pouch and a clutch :)

brian waiting eagerly for his food

mixed grilled

cheese baked slipper lobster with aglio olio linguine

heavenly tiramisu

gift box that came with my prada loot

coin cum tissue cum hp cum cards cum keys pouch

v handy indeed!

prada wristlet :)

golden bear

2011-12-25T16:29:00.000+08:00

a golden gift from my mom

:)

i love the sweet bear! it's an additional charm to add to my bracelet... and i love charms :)

thanks mom!

Xmas cum Anniversary 2011

2011-12-21T15:22:00.027+08:00

tis the season to be jolly ^^

hedera says merry x'mas to all!

and a happy new year :D

hope you had a wonderful 2011 and an even better 2012~

some awfully chocolate cupcakes from my mom^^

and a butterscotch cake from her too

there goes my plans for dieting...

but they're really tasty! i guess i should just stop resisting~

DAY 1

this year, we had an anniversary cum mini getaway staycation at goodwood park hotel

a 3-day 2-nights stay and shopping fun

brian requested the room to be decorated for the occasion :)

our room had a mini balcony and a private pool right outside

love the colonial style decor in this hotel and the very natural setting around the pool

cozy resting area by the poolside

i love the swans, reminds me of swarovski crystal

they're gorgeous

did you know i love balloons?

love is 'in the air' :P

sadly, the balloons were all on the ground by evening

if you're wondering if we had to pay for the decor, the answer is yes

they need to get an events company to decorate the room

my gellish xmas nails

my recently upgraded solitaire ring

the setting of gold and square diamonds were from the jeweller while the solitaire in the center was extracted from my original proposal ring

i'm in love with this ring, it's a beauty...

side view of the ring

how my proposal ring looked before - sorry i don't have a clearer picture

with a $30 voucher compliments from the hotel, we had taiwan porridge a la carte buffet for dinner. this mean's we're only paying about $50+ for 2 persons.

the difference between a 'buffet' and an 'a la carte buffet' is the former has all the different variety of food displayed and you can pick and choose the type of food you want on your own. it's all self-service for the former. in the case of the latter, you get to choose the food from the menu which is then prepared by the chef in the kitchen and delivered to you hot.

all the dishes are amazingly good. goodwood park has one of the best food we've tasted compared to the other hotels.

we were contemplating between the 4/5-course selection menu and the a la carte buffet menu and chose the buffet instead due to the variety offered

coffee lounge at goodwood park

i started off with some desserts

and now, the mains - our a la carte buffet dishes

they all went very well with the steaming hot porridge ~ blogging about this makes me hungry lol

as we're only two persons, we're allowed to order a max of 1 fish for this buffet, but it was more than enough cos they gave us one whole seabass

of course, if you have more people eating the buffet, you would be able to order more fish

the desserts

he thinks he's cool like that

chicken and mushrooms beancurd

an anniversary cake, compliments from the hotel :)

a birthday cum anniversary gift, long owed to the hubby

x'mas packaging by mont blanc, only at this time of the year. the velvet pouch and montblanc x'mas decor are an absolute classy style of packaging

pale gold boheme ballpoint pen

the mont blanc motif

my loot from dip drops at 313 @ somerset

the jap lady from dip drops brings in all her clothing directly from japan

and that only means one thing - her clothings are more expensive than others...

this set will be worn on cny 2012

DAY 2

with the x'mas tree at the hotel

dinner at the v famous ippudo sg - it's located within mandarin gallery (this restaurant is a branch set up from the well-known ippudo in tokyo)

but it was the most disappointing dinner ever :(

and it wasn't because the food's not nice

ippudo is famous for their ramen

white bowls represents none spicy ramen and the red serves spicy ramen

as mentioned, it was disappointing as i didn't get to taste the ramen at all T.T .... what u see above belonged to brian

the reason i didn't get the eat the all-famous ramen is because the soup base is cooked using pork bones

those who know me well enough will know i don't take pork...

well... brian says it's nice... :S

black fungus to go with the ramen

we shared the fried chicken which was pretty good

my baked potato mentaiyaki

hot plate salmon

a x'mas artistic display

outside ion orchard

a x'mas tree outside ion orchard - you can climb up the tree - if you wish

more loot on day 2 - a jap style lunch bag from mandarin gallery

room service~~

brian's hokkien mee, which again i can't eat as the stock is prepared with pork T.T *sob*

it was good he says :)

my durian crepe

it's really good, the skin is thin and light, and the durian filling was generous and fresh

very yummy! a must try as goodwood park is famous for their durian ^^

a gift from the hubby - a jap style dress from takashimaya - needs to be altered abit as it's too big but i'm sure it'll look really cute once it's altered heh

my new swimsuit with major discounts - bought it at $89.90 - originally priced at $300++ ^^

thanks to the hubby for sponsoring this staycation and for thoughtfully arranging the logistics of the stay ^^i had a wonderful 3-day stay!

sweet and sour chicken

2011-12-15T22:01:00.000+08:00

thanks to my dear friend, siti - i successfully created my very own sweet and sour chicken :)

the usual chye sim stir fried with shitake mushrooms and garlic

hubby loved it so much he couldn't stop singing praises!

but this dish made a mess of my kitchen :( the floor was really oily... time to get a philips air fryer, i believe i can create several new dishes with an air fryer!

some told me - 'finally, ivy's food got colour hor?' lol

cranes for peace and joy

2011-12-10T02:02:00.001+08:00

i've always loved origami cranes, even as a child. i've been wanting to string my own set of cranes together, but have never gone round to doing so :) well, 3 decades later, i've finally decided to put my hands to it. and here's the result:

the japanese style origami papers were bought specially for me by my mom :)

sis bought the paper together with my mom from arthouse at buona vista mrt

this set is made for my sister

i went on youtube and tried making my own origami bunnies

a funky origami bunny with an earring :P

i always feel happy after creating my handicrafts

these are not for sale though, they are too fragile to be posted

:S

x'mas 2011

2011-12-05T23:02:00.000+08:00

it's x'mas again! my fav time of the year :) we put up the x'mas tree REALLY early this year.

it has a lot more ornaments than it used to when we first moved in - v pretty!

along with our x'mas tree came a new set of sofa :)

ok, it didn't actually come with the tree; we bought the sofa from king coil at $600++ there was a sale :)

i'm in love with both the tree and the sofa!

crystal jade - holland village

2011-11-30T01:59:00.000+08:00

lunch at crystal jade hv

hubby's lingzhi black plum juice

crackers to go with the peking duck

peking duck (tunglok's one is much better)

fried cod fillet

prawn ball hor fun

steamed fish

sambal potato leaves

verdict? crystal jade hv has reduced its standards by leaps and bounds. tung lok and min jiang beat them hands down any time

we couldn't finish the peking duck meat, so we brought it home and heated it up the next day for lunch with porridge :))

it tasted great and made for a fabulous meal

brian's 33rd birthday 2011

2011-11-25T23:11:00.001+08:00

the hubby's 33 this year; i bought him a tiramisu from delifrance to celebrate his birthday

it's the tastiest tiramisu i've ever had!

happy birthday hubs ;)

we went to takashimaya for some shopping

check out the very pretty swarovski x'mas decor

x-large tree in ngee ann city

yes yes, i know it's his bday, but that shouldn't stop me from splurging on myself - my new tamagotchi id L! the difference between tamagotchi id and id L is that id L has many more pets, it can grow seeds, AND your pet can own a pet!

available only in takashimaya and in japanese

dinner was at crystal jade palace in ngee ann city

i loved the fish porridge

Scottish Bamboo Clam- Fried Garlic Style

Scottish Bamboo Clam-XO sauce style

half golden crispy chicken

Grouper Fish Head in bean sauce

Crab meat and roe broccoli

brian toying with my tamagotchi id L

the dessert was amazing - cool, not too sweet with a strong ginseng aroma - pear with honey & ginseng

hope the hubby enjoyed his 33rd birthday!

i'm thirty!

2011-11-18T23:27:00.000+08:00

it's my 30th this year, and the hubby bought me a prada and a lion king play ticket :) age is catching up fast...

lion king merchandise store at mbs

prepped for the play

generous use of smoke in the theatre

pictures are strictly not allowed...so this is all i could capture

it was a great show to watch and the tickets we got were priced at $125 each :P

sweetspot macaroons from mbs

dinner at tung lok - orchard parade hotel

a bouquet of roses for aged me

we had several dishes, check out the prices here and the actual photo of the food below:)

roast peking duck's my favourite in chinese restaurants

tung lok never fails to meet the excellent quality of their food

lobster prepared in 2 ways

deep fried cod fillet - i love cod

pouched seasonal vegetables with 3 kinds of eggs

pouched vege:)

sharks fin soup

lobster cooked in 2 ways

why not 3? hmmm

deep fried cod

peking duck meat stir fried in ee fu noodles

peking duck skin

and at the end of the day, after eating out with the hubby, i was surprised by mom and sis with the ipad 2 created by legendary steve jobs!

thanks so much!!!

super chio

sleek, light, white everything i wanna be lol

the next day, my dad brought us to crystal jade "dining in" at vivocity

roast duck

beef basket - sis and dad's favourite

grape milkshake

crab and mushroom soup in a coconut

seafood fried rice

beautiful view of sentosa outside the restaurant

my family collecting my cake from awfully chocolate:)

hehehe

dad's 'smiling' because he bumped into his friends

moi awfully chocolate cake!!!

sis playing with my ipad ^^ while waiting for the cake to be prepared.

3 big candles, been a decade since i last had so few candles

with my mom and sis

and the dog that attempted to bite me:P

my hubby - the one on the extreme left

an awkward video of my family singing me a bday song

i've always wanted to do black nails with nail art

sis advertising for ipad2

a gift from john and siti :))

precious moments figurine!!!

a gift from a colleague :))

sweet white and gold gift from a sweet kawan, yati

jasmine body mist from mages

i had a wonderful 30th thanks to my family and friends ^^ thank you all!!!!

Buzz Fairy

2011-11-14T23:28:00.001+08:00

This is how I've been feeling lately - buzzzzzy!

But now I have her here with me ;) to carry some of my load ^^

intricately made with gray and yellow details on the dress

i love her wings ^^

she's thinking about her day's work

like her? like my page in FB! :))

find me at http://www.facebook.com/HandicraftHedera

japanese cultural festival at waseda shibuya senior high

2011-11-11T22:16:00.000+08:00

my sis asked if i wanted to go along for the japanese cultural festival at waseda shibuya senior high. it's really close to my mom's home at west coast

and so we went for the festival in the morning :)

at the entrance of the school

lamps decorated with aluminium birds

a stage at the front of the canteen for guests to watch while performances take place

a decorated hall in the middle of several classrooms

buy a four leaves bread and the money goes to japan earthquake victims

luigi, asking for donations

games room - shoot the cups, fish for balloons and hit the animals

our student guides. guests are encouraged to participate in the school tours organised by teachers and led by students to help improve the students' spoken english

they made good effort at speaking english, though we couldn't quite understand the guy when he spoke :P

found a cute hello kitty along the way ^^

we had lunch at the school canteen, and as you can see, the food's not that cheap :S

oyako don - chicken with egg rice at $5

strawberry custard and custard pudding at $2 each

it's yummy :&

guests are asked to leave a note before leaving :)

drama club

dragonball characters

people queuing up for the haunted house

we found mario!

their version of jack sparrow

a room showcasing singapore's cultural items

a singaporean playing a very singaporean game - five stones

pick them all up and win a mystery price!

i won myself an applause from one girl and a sweet lol

an emo pikachu

the senior high's emblem

an artist painting his version of singapore

halloween 2011

2011-11-09T23:09:00.000+08:00

halloween at the centris

pumpkin by the pool

my fav dress up - the reaper

exit or enter the haunted house? i chose to exit - scaredy me

Handicraft by Hedera - Fanpage

2011-11-03T09:50:00.001+08:00

Handicraft by Hedera now has a fanpage on FB!!! Like us there if you do :)

supernatural and the cranes

2011-10-29T10:07:00.000+08:00

the long awaited supernatural season 6 is finally here!

i've seen only the first 6 eps so far

i'm sorry to say this, but supernatural is starting to disappoint me :(

they should've ended the show when it was at its peak.

now, it just appears like the script writer has no idea how to continue the story and is just randomly writing illogical scripts... simply to keep the series going.

it sux

i've always enjoyed making cranes when i was in sec sch

decided to pick it up again

strings of cranes made out of precious moments magazines

a string of cranes and the back of my teru teru bozu (rain doll) ;)

handicraft by hedera

2011-10-23T23:14:00.002+08:00

very recently, i picked up a new hobby - bead weaving.

it's rather difficult to learn, but once i figured out how to go about it, it got pretty addictive!

i've posted many of these creations in my fb, and some of my friends have expressed interest in buying them - so here i am, selling them :)

my dolls are handmade purely with swarovski crystal beads. they cost $25 - $28 depending on the number of beads and the type of beads used.

email me if you're interested at hederahelixis@gmail.com! :)

introducing, the first of my bead weaving dolls - pudding dog

tigress

$money god aka cai shen ye aka 财神爷

SOLD - REMAKE POSSIBLE (S$25)

strawberries!

santa's pretty little helper

she's offering you a wishing star...

santa claus

sweet sheep in pink

SOLD - REMAKE POSSIBLE (S$25)

green snake babe

SOLD - REMAKE POSSIBLE (S$25)

double coated swarovski beaded sheep

this one costs twice as much to create since it's double coated :)

a day out in orchard

2011-10-20T00:17:00.000+08:00

dinner @ ion orchard's 'taste paradise'

a mix of dragon fruit and something else, i can't quite remember :(

it was good though :)

asparagus and clams

sharksfin soup with onion crisp

scallop + fish roe and noodles

crab with noodles

birdnest with almond soup

easily the most expensive restaurant we've been to... all the above cost us $200 and that's only for 2 persons

while in orchard, i simply couldn't resist pradaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

XD

my loot for the day... delighted!!!

a little something for a great friend

fragrance from prada

hubby's fragrant buy

hub's eu de toilette

v light, v soft

very nice after bath addition

has a powdery smell to it, my favourite scent.

mine =D

hubby sponsored part of it... xie xie!!!

large tote ----> prada tessuto gauffre

i'm soooo in love with prada

it's da brand for me

Raymond's Bb - 1 month old

2011-10-17T21:49:00.000+08:00

"Us-attending-hubby's-kolik's-baby's-1-month-old-celebration" try saying that real quick ;)

l

t'was held at hans restaurant in great eastern building

with brian's office colleagues

sakuraya at west coast plaza

2011-10-11T21:37:00.001+08:00

our buys from sakuraya.

my sis and i love shopping at sakuraya in wcp. they've got the cutest imports from japan and they've got the friendliest saleslady :)

my sis' buy - kimono-lined bag

hand-made by a japanese lady named kaori

and a kimono decorated pouch

i got myself a 'afternoon tea' pouch that comes with a tissue holder at the back

afternoon tea is a famous brand in japan as well as other parts of the world. check out their webby here - http://www.afternoon-tea.net

my handmade pouch by kaori :)

prettily wrapped by the sales lady :)

cookie jar!

beuatiful english design

no cookies in there yet :P

Hedera - Heretic

2011-08-24T04:19:00.000+08:00

POWER UP!!!! LOL

tonari no totoro totoro! & cinnamoroll ^^

2011-08-16T23:48:00.000+08:00

the cutest cinnamoroll i've ever seen ^^

mom bought it for me from seimon-cho

it accompanies me to bed and accepts me the way i am ^^

another buy from seimon-cho

large sized grey totoro and small white totoro

the big one's $135 and the small one's $37+

seen the cartoon? you should if you haven't :)

mom's birthday

2011-08-09T00:10:00.000+08:00

it's mom's xxth's bday this year:) decided to get her a bouquet of roses to make her day...

6 pretty pink roses

paid extra for a 'bridal' bouquet

improvise

2011-08-04T23:57:00.000+08:00

was told to improvise a beautify my food a little more. hmmm does my dinner look prettier this time? ^^

chicken soup with golden cucumber, chinese wongbok, carrots and shitake mushroom

the staple for the day was germinated jasmine red rice

we like our soup with loads of pepper

and here's my usual 'claypot rice'

but with spring onions

does it look more appetising this time?

new pc table :)))

2011-07-27T01:00:00.000+08:00

finallllyyyyyyyyyyy.... after 1 year+ of 2 persons to one table. we now have a customised pc table for two!

At SGD650, this table is custom-made with gloss laminate from germany. it also has 4 drawers and 3 lockable drawers.

freedom! finally... space to play comfortably

this is the 2nd time we've customised a table with them, they never fail to impress us.

this table took 3 weeks to complete and is of great workmanship.

abit of homework needs to be done though... you gotta have an idea of what you want and give them the exact measurements before they can customise the furniture for you. they're just carpenters, not designers; so come up with your own design and get them to do it for you:)

if you're interested, contact mr yeo :)

yeo lee heng furniture decorations
blk 431 clementi ave 3
#01-320
tel: 67755065

this is not an advertisement! :)

practise practise practise

2011-07-20T00:58:00.001+08:00

doesn't-look-good-but-tastes-good-steamed-fish:P

long time no see chawanmushi

tada! dinner...

loots!

2011-07-13T00:48:00.000+08:00

been hooked on hayao miyazaki's productions lately

my tin dvd collections

seimon-cho at imm had new stocks :) and so i went shopping there

sentimental circus coin pouch

white kutusita nyanko cat mirror

kutusita nyanko cardholder

cinnamoroll tissue box holder

SGD30

it's named cinnamoroll cos its tail is shaped like a cinnamon roll

rilakkuma cushion seat, rilakkuma stands for - relax bear

SGD28 - not a very good buy :( it flattened out after i sat on it twice... or am i too fat...?

whitie

2011-07-03T00:37:00.000+08:00

my lovely pet dog. he's 12 on 14th june 2011 this year.

but he still looks sooo young

distracted by brian

forever young, i wanna be, forever young...

food! gimme gimme!

i wanna go in...

please...?

mother's day 2011

2011-06-20T22:05:00.000+08:00

for mother's day this year, we had dinner with my maternal extended family at gim tim restaurant in ang mo kio.

my uncle's bao bei son, ye bo :)

uncle, aunt, cousin, grandma, mom and sis - you decide who's who

a nostalgic happy birthday song for the grandma

brian with one of my closest cousin, renjie

aunt collecting money ^^

and a rose for all mothers that day

on the way home, brian was asked to drive

i'm not a mom, but i got a rose too o.O

it's lovely :)

at dinner

2011-06-14T22:20:00.000+08:00

the usual dishes while cooking at home...

chicken mushroom tomato sauce spaghetti

boiling the linguine

and there we have it, 2nd attempt :)

on a separate day, chicken soup with fried chye sim

a new fragrance lamp for our room

2011-05-20T10:24:00.003+08:00

bought this fragrance lamp from takashimaya

it works like a candle

first, pour the oil into the bottle

next, light it, and wait for 30 secs

blow out the flame and let the fragrance dissipate :)

we've tried 'country garden'. will try 'fresh linen' next time.

maids in singapore

2011-05-09T02:14:00.000+08:00

Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. As a busy mother, I need someone reliable to help out at home.

My maid is from Profits Agency Pte (PAP) and she has worked for me for a long time. Her mother worked for my parents and did an excellent job, so I had faith in her. For several years her performance has been very good, but recently she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making lots of mistakes.

For example:

1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked (she was supposed to clear it once a month but didn’t). Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year!

2) She didn’t close a window and my terrier dog escaped. I was so worried cos he is dangerous and could bite lots of people. After the incident, she didn’t apologise and just shrugged her shoulders saying “What to do, it has happened.” Fortunately my neighbor found the dog and we locked it up again.

3) Without consulting me, she has been bringing in strangers for my house's maintenance work. She says they charge low wages and keep costs down, but they eat my food, make a lot of noise and rest on my bed. I think they even tried to seduce my husband. It stopped feeling like my home, more like a cheap hotel, and I don’t always want to come back at the end of the day.

4) When she first came to work for me, I instructed her to clean the different parts of the house at least once a week. But for some time she has stopped taking care of the bedrooms of PP and H; they are now dirty and messy. I asked why and she told me that the kids had been disobedient, so she was neglecting their bedrooms as a punishment (she has forgotten that she is paid to clean all the rooms).

Even though my maid has worked for me for many years and I value what she has done in the past, I think she is now getting complacent. Her attitude is imperious and dismissive. She ignores my comments and basically treats my feedback as "noise". I wrote to the agency about her behavior; they assured me that they are the best agency around and all their maids are “Commited to Serve” – but I think it is just rhetoric and I don’t see that in her actions. Her salary is much higher than maids in other countries, but the agency say this is to keep her honest and stop her moving to another employer. They say there is a limited supply of maids, and Singapore isn’t big enough for more than one good maid agency, so I should not trust their competitors.

I have to decide whether to renew my maid’s 5-year employment contract. When we discussed this she said that she is now part of a team, and if I want her I must also accept her friends doing part-time work for me. One friend is very inexperienced, can't do basic tasks or explain what she intends to do. I suspect that she is actually underage. When interviewed, she only seemed interested in her days-off and visiting Universal Studios. When she couldn't answer my questions she stomped her foot and exclaimed, "I don't know what to say!" But I am still expected to pay her a high salary.

Now there happen to be a few other maid agencies - Workhard Pte (WP), New Solutions Pte (NSP), Super Personnel Pte (SPP) and Star Domestica Pte (SDP) - that offered me some helpers who seem sincere, genuine and intelligent. They are keen to work, willing to assist me and have a good attitude. I know that they may take a bit of time to learn how everything works, but frankly I am inclined to give them a chance.

People say that the devil you know is better than one you don’t. But I feel that I can’t tahan my current maid anymore. Do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? Appreciate your advice.

variety - finally :)

2011-04-27T03:21:00.002+08:00

a colleague of mine wanted to know what type of brown rice i use. in general, people don't like brown rice because it's not as soft as ordinary white rice. my husband is one of those who hates brown rice and so i bought organic brown rice by origins healthfood. it can be found in any ntuc :) this brand of brown rice is very soft, and tastes similar to normal white rice.

i, on the other hand, love brown rice or red rice that has some bite to it.

ok, here's a flood of photos showing what's been on for dinner the past few weeks ^^

day 1

fried vegetable with pesticide free brown button mushrooms and chicken soup

chicken soup with golden cucumber

does the rice look like fried rice?
it's actually brown rice :)

day 2

yong tau foo mee sua with scrambled eggs

day 3

dark soya sauce ginger chicken

brown rice with broccoli

honey lemon juice to go along

day 4

cp fresh shrimp wanton with koka maggi noodles and eggs

a lazy meal for a lazy weekend afternoon :P

day 5

chicken and mushroom tomato linguine

was my first try at making spaghetti ^^

success!!! woohoo!

husband loved it.

day 6

yong tau foo soup mee sua again to cleanse the system

looks normal, but it's not ^^ the soup is made from anchovies and abalone stock

yong tau foo mee sua accompanied by abalone courtesy from my mom =D

chicken and me

2011-04-20T04:56:00.000+08:00

tried my hands on teriyaki chicken one weekend. but it turned out looking like soya sauce chicken, though i assure you, it tastes more like teriyaki than soya sauce chicken!

i added too much water to the sauce :( so the sauce was quite diluted...

===========================================

now for the real dark soya sauce chicken

after i learnt the technique of cooking without causing the floor to be oily, i started frying chicken for dinner on normal weekday nights as well :)

the secret to frying without having an oily kitchen, is to get a pot that's wide enough and not too deep. then cover the pot quickly every time you throw something in to fry. open the cover quickly to stir, and quickly close the cover again

sounds easy?

it is...

i wonder why i've never done it before -.-

boiled broccoli

dark soya sauce chicken with shitake mushrooms fried with ginger

broccoli with organic brown rice

yayy additional dishes to the menu now that i can fry stuff ^^

hubby loves it

war of the in laws 2

2011-04-13T04:21:00.000+08:00

ever since my 1st attempt to buy a dvd on amazon.com. i've been a fan of amazon.

orders from amazon are imported directly from the states and the amazing thing is, they only take 2 weeks to reach me. lol amazing amazon...

my first buy was supernatural season 5. lately, i've bought a hongkong drama/comedy series - war of the in laws 2. i've been searching from them on the shelves of laserflair and tcs, but they've all got no stocks :( and then, amazon came to mind. so i dropped my groceries on the floor, sprinted home and made my order, before coming back down to jurong point to pick up my groceries.

arrival of my goods after a 2-week wait.

generous amount of bubble wrap used i must say... they went through extreme means to protect my dvd

as the self-explanatory title hints, this drama serial is about the constant fight between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law; how the poor husband/son is always trapped between these fights and how they ultimately conquer their differences

life is short and stressful enough as it is, so i've always preferred comedy to violence and sob stories. this show is a great source of stress relieve. very good show :) watch it.

kuromi

2011-04-06T03:33:00.000+08:00

i've always liked shopping in sanrio stalls and have always wanted to go shop at the hello kitty shop at novena square

and then suddenly, i realised that we have one sanrio shop smack in the middle of level 3 of jurong point -.-

i forgot all about it...

i didn't have to go all the way to novena

and so i happily went 'window shopping' at the jurong point sanrio shop "toyee" on a boring thursday evening.

what was supposed to be 'window shopping' turned out to be shopping for a pillow o.0 how did that even happen .... doh~

my $29 loot from toyee - kuromi^^

eggs and rice

2011-03-30T21:37:00.000+08:00

we had claypot rice for dinner again.

it looks the same, but it's different =) can you spot the difference?

sliced fishcake with mushroom and rice

i've added eggs to my rice this time, to add to taste. ^^ that's where the difference is, if you haven't already spotted it.

i've also learnt to add the eggs only towards the last 5mins, when the rice is almost cooked

i used to add the egg right from the start, when the rice is still cooking and it turned out dry...

this time, i put in the egg at the last 5 mins, stirred it in, and let it cook for 3-5mins

yong tau foo =P my usual

our fruit for the day, papaya

i just had to take this random picture of the star-ry cross section of the papaya ^^

complete notes from singapore

2011-03-23T02:20:00.000+08:00

have you seen neil humphreys' column in today newspaper a few years ago?

if you have, and liked his columns, you might be interested in his book - complete notes from singapore

this hilarious angmoh writes about his life in singapore and compares life here to life in britain and australia.

i'm only halfway through the book now and am already comtemplating buying his other book 'be my baby'

highly recommended for the all singaporeans who has a sense of humour and can laugh at themselves ^^

apple bracelet (from ivbelongings)

2011-03-18T01:54:00.000+08:00

i've always loved products from ivbelongings =D some of my closer friends probably already know.

this time, i've fallen for one of her bracelets coated in 14k gold

apple bracelet by ivbelongings

i love this bracelet, been eyeing it for the longest time... but the reason why i haven't bought it? fashion jewellery tarnish on me :(

i haven't been wearing fashion jewellery for eons, by eons, i mean easily a decade .... yea i noe, shocking.

i used to love fashion jewellery, buying perlini silver and moshi moshi etc. but all the 925 silver i've tried so far, tarnishes beyond repair within 2 weeks. by my definition of tarnish - the entire bracelet/necklace turns black, like charcoal black. :(

i've brought my jewellery back to perlini silver to have them try to fix the problem, but it can't be fixed... apparently the entire coating has come off so badly that it has to be re-coated -.-

and did i re-coat it? of course not... it'll turn black again in 2 weeks, so what ever for right?

this time though, i decided to give it a try again, because ivbelonging's jewellery are soooo fantasy-like and mesmerising ...

i'll be wearing her jewellery when i'm in long sleeves, so that it doesn't come in contact with my skin. and if i'm not wearing long sleeves, i'll wear the jewellery for a v short period - i.e. at night, when i'm out for awhile and in air-conditioned places.

ok back to ivy's jewellery

as i was saying, i love the apple bracelet at the top, but i also like this one!

so how?

i decided to combine them :)

here's my guide to ivy on how i'd like the bracelet customised

this lovely lady, who's ever so jovial, happily did it for me at no additional charge ^^

i love you ivy and ivbelongings!

hehehe

after 2 days wait, the package arrived, nicely taped with pretty scotchtape ^^ ivy always pays attention to intricate details and that's why her belongings are always so gorgeous

the bubble wrapped box in my parcel

she placed the jewellery in a lovely box without me even asking for it! and the box is so sweeeeeeet. thank you ivy

ok ok wait for it, it's coming... the customised bracelet... *drumroll*

tada!

gorgeous!

nice or not nice or not??

ivy never fails to impress me with her workmanship

i'm in love with the bracelet

a close up shot of the classy clasp she picked for me^^

i like this bracelet so much because it's v fantasy-like. the leaf/star/imagine pendants - v elven.

i can only pray hard hard and keep my fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't tarnish

by the way, it's a gift from the hubby ^^ hehe thank you!

this pretty hand-made jewellery, lovingly packaged and customised cost only $26.

coupled with the great service, ivbelongings is on the top of my list of recommended online stalls

it's always a joy buying from ivbelongings

*disclaimer*

i don't gain anything from publicising her products on this post, i'm just sharing good things with anyone who's interested^^

vday 2011

2011-03-07T01:45:00.000+08:00

we celebrated vday this year on the 19th feb as we refuse to be spending tons of money on the day itself. vday is wayyy too commercialised :P

the hubby highly recommended watami japanese restaurant in ion orchard. he's gone there once and found the food cheap and good.

we took a special set for 2 at $49

the set includes a main dish, a side dish, one nabe (steamboat), 2 specialties and 2 drinks

that's a lot for $49 at a restaurant in orchard road!

where's the catch? you might ask. well, no catch. the food has great quality and sufficient quantity, and the service is excellent.

here are the items you can choose from

the set meal doesn't include desserts though

chicken/egg salad, very yummy! the salad was very tasty and juicy. it doesn't make me feel like a rabbit chewing on dry vege ^^

potato and corn in a hotplate

this dish is only all right. everything else was wayyy better

yuzu soda. a very refreshing drink with actual chunks of yuzu skin in there.

this drink complimented our meal very well - it helped to clear the system and it wasn't too sweet. i loved it :)

tori karaage with special sauce

salmon and fish roe in stonepot

the salmon was very fresh, no fishy taste at all. and it's not actually sashimi, after some stiring, it becomes cooked

my stirred salmon rice in stone pot

salmon nabe

1 of 2 specialties - mixed tempura

hubby's katsu - pork with egg

i don't take pork, and so i didn't try this dish, but it's his favourite :)

the hotplate came only with the fried pork, and you get to pour the raw egg over it on your own. it was fun watching the egg cook :P

and that's everything for $49. very worth it, it's a must try! however, they don't allow reservations, so you'd have to be patient and queue up, or go there really early.

people dancing and celebrating in orchard road

an artist along the streets of orchard

donate - to the species close to extinction

an interesting sign at a resting area in mandarin gallery

no food, no sleeping and no kissing?

here's my loot for the day ^^

i've been eyeing it for more than a year

walked past shops, stared and it, and left

i've waited so long till this watch is almost no longer in stock

went to several places to look for it

and finally found it at wisma's longines :)

a vintage piece...

a beauty - i love the roman numerics, off white dial and rectangular face

the links that were removed

it's been a wonderful vday celebration ^^ thanks hubby!

have an oven? use it

2011-03-01T05:28:00.000+08:00

but was i good at baking? not really :(

i tried baking a few items over the weekend. nutella bread pudding, cheesy mayo toast, and honey baked chicken. whether i'm a success? i think not.

(1) nutella bread pudding

spread nutella on white bread, roll it up, and cut into 4 pieces.

lay the bread on the baking tray and pour egg-sugar-chocolate milk mixture over the bread

bake at 170 degrees for 20-30mins

drizzle some nutella on top of the bread

the mistake i made for this one? i should've drizzled nutella on top AFTER baking. not before.

see nutella on top is burnt T.T

it tasted good though :) just scrape off the burnt parts on top

(2) cheesy mayo toast

this one's for brian's breakfast on a sunday morning

nice and soft in the centre, crispy at the sides, and easy to make! just spread some mayonnaise on the bread and sprinkle mozerella cheese on top; bake at 170 degrees for 10mins. i love it ^^

(3) honey baked chicken

honey baked chicken with baked potato and broccoli.

marinate for the chicken? salt, chili sauce, tomato sauce, black pepper, and honey

marinated the chicken overnight and baked at 200 degrees for 50mins-60mins.

the chicken skin turned out burnt :( any idea why? is it the honey?

i had to scrape the burnt skin off the chicken before eating

the potato was good though, its skin is very crispy and has a fluffy interior

i've also added cheese and honey to the potato for more taste

our lunch

i've gotta try baking the chicken and the bread pudding again. i'm sure it can be done!

thanks kawan very much for the recipe! ^^

old friend - dear friend

2011-02-25T13:20:00.000+08:00

met up with dear old friend of mine last week. never been happier :)

we had so much to talk about, so much to catch up on... a pity we didn't have more time. but fret not, we'll arrange more of such meet ups! right kawan? :)

a gift from my long time friend, haven't had her baked goodies for a long time. love the box, the decor...

and the card >w<>

and finally, for the main of the day, white chocolate chip banana muffins!

it tastes wonderful.

you're supposed to first heat it up in the microwave oven, then eat it warm. the muffins were moist (as there were plenty of banana chunks) and soft; i love the white chocolate chips, it went very well with the banana muffins.

brian was full of praises for the muffins!

kawan, go open a bakery ok? i'll be your loyal customer ^^

a card for my new home - this show how long we haven't met up :P

let's meet again soon! i had a great time!

x'mas 2010

2011-02-21T09:03:00.013+08:00

~ an outdated post - x'mas 2010 ~

expensive cupcake from takashimaya - cedele

dinner at olio - marina square

the menu

side orders

drinks

nice ambience

hubby signalling to the waiter

warm water

black cod fish with soba noodles

grilled fish with mashed potatoes

lychee drink

rodeo wings

my xmas gift ^^

any idea what it is yet? scroll down :)

us at marina square

checking out the pretty xmas decor

hubby's xmas buy from takashimaya - a mini corn tree

my xmas gift

from takashimaya too :)

if you haven't already guessed the gift earlier in this post, it's this preserved flower

i love it, it's got a very mysterious feel to it.

the rose will last for about 3 years before it begins to wither

another xmas gift from precious moments

i've always wanted this special monsters inc figurine from precious tots!

it's sooo adorable... love boo's face ^^

meaning behind the figurine - what would i do if i didn't have you

my xmas loots!

and here's brian's

a vintage designer police car

check out the details

this car is bought from a designer shop in mandarin gallery

scaredy police ^^

nice? $360 for the very intricate details

that ended off our x'mas in 2010....

i'm tooo lazy to type -.- since they say a picture says a thousand words, i'll let the pictures do the talking... tata!

something fishy

2011-01-15T14:43:00.000+08:00

another day of cooking at home...

our usual staple now, brown rice

red grouper with japanese dried scallop and tomatoes

all courtesy from my mom :), she bought the fish for us from the wet market and the scallops for us from japan

vegetable from the food court since i strictly don't stir fry anything at home

day 2

similar dishes, but with black codfish this time

very fishy :( someone tell me how to get rid of the fishy smell and taste while steaming?

chawanmushi

a fishy week, since there's ample supply of fish from my mom ^^

priya's wedding

2010-12-30T02:31:00.000+08:00

it was lovely priya's big day, we were all really excited to be part of this day in her life :)

the 'light bearers'

we're somewhat similar to what you'd call, flowergirls lol... we walked down the aisle just before the bride made her grand entrance

sweet sweet suzanne and her boyfriend stephen

they're the sweetest, most humble, matured couple i've met. they're a match made in heaven ^^

brian and i

this temple is standing right next to the famous katong laksa stall

the beautiful bride...

she looked absolutely stunning!

the procession on stage

vignesh in white on the left, the groom

bride and groom

the couple going through the wedding procession, doing prayers with the help of a priest

the couple walking in a circle around the fire. in front of the groom, is a boy from the bride's family, and behind the bride, is the groom's sister. they would walk around the fire, hand in hand. this symbolises the union of 2 families

you'd see a lot if fire during the ceremony, as fire represents the most powerful god in the hindu religion

mages and rachel :)

may the bride and groom be blissfully married!

our 3rd year wedding anniversary

2010-12-15T21:01:00.001+08:00

to celebrated our belated 3rd year wedding anniversary, we chose orchard to do so this year.

why is it belated? because we had our rom on brian's birthday ^^ and so, we celebrated brian's birthday on 1st nov, and celebrated our anniversary later.

orchard stars

a citibank promo - men (and women) in blue

i don't quite understand what they are trying to illustrate

zoom in to their faces and you'd see that they're blue and gloomy... i'm not quite sure why... do you?

xmas decor along orchard road

tiffany and co xmas tree

interesting old man promoting his exercise equipment...

paragon... pretty in gold

xmas decor on the railings

litted up decor at night....

pretty lights in orchard road

cosplayer outside *scape

singapore game fest 2010

our stop for dinner

raindrops cafe among the trees

ceiling decor

their main menu

drinks menu

we had cosmopolitan martini

there was a 1-for-1 promo

blue and white theme

our pink cosmopolitan drink

random picture of brian behind the drink

portobello with chicken

chicken leg, lemon grass with pumpkin risotto

crispy salmon with asparagus

i loved the cream sauce that came with it

his

mine

too much martini

loved the food there, but i can't say the same for their service. there was one malay lady with the gloomiest face ever... but the rest of them were fine.