Arm Candy, 2nd one this year

Look what the delivery man brought.. my new MBMJ Natasha Messenger Bag. I got it in desert olive colour and from Shopbop at a fraction of the retail price in Singapore ( must make good use of the favourable exchange rate yah..). There's free world wide delivery and my bag arrived in under 3 days. Am a happie gal.. lurve the supple Italian leather .. perfect for the weekends!

New Arm Candy

A new bag for the new year. Roomy and great for work. One bag less in the bag quota for the year. Starting to lurve bags from the brand. Hee hee.. lookin forward to getting more bags.. ;p

Pressies and Gatherings

Managed to meet up with some of the fres since i'm quite kinda free for these few months. Also to get some free time for myself. Had dinner with the babes and Baby Kayson at a rather good peranakan place in the east last week. Rather pricey, but a good change from my usual choice for peranakan food. Got pretty pressies from the gals. Really lurve the pair of shoes the gals got me for my belated birthday pressie. So very pretty.

Also managed to meet up to celebrate Wen's birthday on the 4th of Jan with Fen and Cecilia. We had dinner at Paradise Dynasty @ Ion. Feels good to take an occasional break away from the demands of parenthood.

This weekend

Most weekends are spent sleeping these days ( more updates on the reason why soon). But I managed to meet Fen, Wen and Cecilia after work on Friday nite for dinner at the Bugis area (Liang Seah St). We had steamboat at Xian De Lai and dessert at a dessert place a few doors down. ( I still like ah chew desserts which is opposite Xian De Lai). These days, i dun eat much for mains, but i sure luv my desserts..Hee!

Also, met up with the babes for dinner on Sat at Orchard Central. The mall's pretty quiet for a sat nite.. i feel its probably due to complex layout of the place. We had dinner at Heaven's Loft. Great place for chilling out..since the restaurant has a outdoor section which over looks Somerset. We ended the meal with dessert at fruit paradise. The fruit tarts are good manz. Will definitely try the tarts at the other outlets. Slurp. Feels good, meeting up with the babes.

Its been a good weekend. Its challenging times ahead .. ;p

Wanderlust 2010: Central Japan

Yup, we've been to Japan and back. 28th April to 5th May 2010. Central Japan to be exact. Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kobe in 7 days. (5.5 days in Japan to be exact because of the travelling time). Japan has always been high in the list of places I would like to travel to, since the teenage days with the popularity of Japanese Dramas. The travel agent had a 2nd pax travel for 50% off, so we decided on Japan instead of our original choice of Korea. Its a good deal me thinks, so its Nihon , land of raw fish, sakura..here we come.

We travelled by Japan Airlines. Another experience i would say. i quite like the Yuzu sky juice provided by the airlines. Ours was an overnight flight from Singapore. We reached Narita Airport early morning and started day 2 of our tour straight. Totally zonked out when we were at Disneyland Tokyo. The place is huge, compared to Hong Kong Disneyland manz. We did some rides although the place was very crowded as it was Japan's Golden week. The entire country's on holidays and travelling. So glurp.. imagine the long long queues for the rides. We headed to Ginza for some shopping. Yup, me luvs shopping. Although i din get any burberry blue label bag in the end as i din like any of the designs. The dearie did get a black label shirt though. We had dinner at Ginza area before checking into our hotel for the night. We stayed at Tokyo's Hyatt Regency. Hee, liked the hotel. Our hotel's within walking distance to Shinjuku. Our guide brought us there for some shopping. We had ramen for supper.

Disneyland Tokyo

Shinjuku at Night

Ramen Shop- Where we had our supper

Day 3 started with a visit to Ameyoko. A local products market. This was followed by outlet shopping at Gotenba Premium Outlet Mall. Hee, the time we had there was too short. There's Coach outlet, Gap outlet, Prada outlet and many many other outlets (i wonder if its be more shiok outlet shopping in the states). We also went to Shirato-no-Taki Falls, where we had our first glimpse of Mt Fuji. Our hotel that night was a traditional hot spring (onsen) hotel. We had a traditional Japanese Meal and the dearie even tried out the onsen. Moi will definitely try the onsen the next time we are in the country (Hokkaido maybe?!) . Is also interesting how the sky is bright and sunny at 4am local time (3am sgp time).. so bright that moi kept worrying about oversleeping. Hee, our days start rather early with morning calls at 6-6.30am local time.. *Yawns* and breakfast at 7.30 am ( imagine eating rice at 6.30 am in sgp .. glurrp!). The locals usually have a full fledge morning meal consisting of rice. So diff from my 2 pieces of bread routine at home..

Goodies at Ameyoko

Our room for the nite

Dinner at the traditional styled Inn

Day 4 was visit to Mount Fuji! The weather was rather good that day, we had a wonderful view of the famous mountain and even went up to Mt Fuji's 5th Station. Very beautiful views (although my fav is still Switzerland's mountains.. opps). We proceeded to Oshino Hakkai with its crystal clear pond and more views of Mt Fuji. We left for Nagoya after that. It was shopping at Nagoya ( at Sakae shopping street near Nagoya TV tower and the Oasis 21 Complex) before stopping at Gifu, where our hotel was located. I rather liked this hotel we stayed at. Out of the way, but nice.

View of Mt Fuji

We headed for Kyoto, Nara and Osaka on Day 5. We visited Kiyomizu Temple which was a temple built in 1633 in Kyoto. We had lunch and shopping at the street next to the temple. I luv Kyoto, which provides a glimpse into the rich cultural history of the country. The next place we headed to was Nara. We visited Nara Deer Park where many deers roam freely . Todaiji Temple which housed the largest bronze Buddha Structure in Japan was housed within the park. We ended the day at Osaka, whereby we had time to do more shopping!

Osaka Castle

Day 6 was Kobe City tour. We opted for the city tour instead of going to Universal Studios. The entire tour went for the city tour as those who opted for the amusement park were not able to get tickets due to the long queues (golden week mah). We visited Osaka Castle, followed by Kobe Chinatown, and Kobe Harbour. Did more shopping and ended the day at Osaka again. More shopping and eating at Shinsaibashi (Osaka's shopping and eating paradise).

Really Oiishi Peach Jelly.. Expensive but good

Kobe Harbour

Shinsaibashi's food street

Day 7 was for last minute shopping at the shopping complex near our hotel before we catch our domestic flight from Osaka to Narita and subsequent flight back home. *Sighs* time passes when we are travelling. The wallets are lighter, but the mind is rich with the sights of the places that we've been to the past few days. Feels great, finally being able to visit Japan. We'll definitely be back, either Hokkaido or a free and easy trip within Tokyo. Hee hee, moi is a happy donkey. Such trips light up my life.. i heart the sights, the cultural, the food. Till the next long trip next year (hopefully Korea or Australia) =)

Osaka Airport

Lunch at Osaka Airport

The shopping loot!!

Shoe Obsession

Yupz.. the shoe collection is growing. So much so that the shelves in the shoe cabinet is stocked chokeful of moi's shoes. From the 5 pairs gotten from the overseas trip and 5 pairs this month.. hee, i have to consider getting clear boxes to stack up the pretties.. Looks like moi will bust the shoe quota for the year ;p

Quiet Christmas After the Whirlwind

Been busy with work, so much so that I've not have time to do many things in the whirlwind workdays of mine. We did manage to sneak in a short trip with the dear in-laws and sis-in law's family. This year, the Christmas pressies were brought so last minute (Well, it was also quite last min last year). This moi was still buying and wrapping pressies on the 23rd till about 1.30 am! So tiring!

Pressies, finally wrapped

Aiz..I resolute to start pressie shopping a month before Xmas 2010..okies. And to bake some yummies, organise a little gathering or watnot.. And put up a pretty tree in the homeland. Yes! I must! Next year.. ;p

The blessing, is that moi finally gets to enjoy the type of workplace Christmassy feeling which has been lacking the past 5 years in the old workplace. There was a furry of peeps busy handing out gifts to other peeps! And we did a gift exchange for the unit.. Before handing for the big unit's Christmas Eve Buffet early afternoon. Very Holiday with many emails 'unworked' on, peeps eating together. I like! Something I've craved for the past work years! It was half day at work, and i got to enjoy the mad rush to leave office mid-day. Well, I managed to leave office at 2.30pm. Late by normal standards, veri early by mine.. (compared to the full day work of the old place.. ;p

Gift Exchange Corner

It was a quiet Christmas Eve this year. And I'm glad. It gives me time to catch up on life. Late Lunch with the dearie, more shopping for pressies and dinner with the in-laws. Only thing is i din get to meet up with the mommie. Maybe I'll do a mini family dinner for the in-laws and mommie next year. :)

Seasons greetings, enjoy this Yuletide season with your loved ones, family and friends. Of great food, giving, sharing and making merry.

New Scent

Look what Santa brought.. hee, its the dearie's christmas pressie for moi. A new perfume from Armani. The brand's fragrance is the dearie's favourite. He cannot do without his Mania. Its different from my usual Anna Sui Perfumes, which I lurve. But, surprising, the strong sensual floral notes of the perfume.. fans out well with the hours, leaving an elegant base note. Yup, its gonna be a staple in the perfume wardrobe. Thanks dearie.. for the gift.. :)

Prettie Pressie

Isn't this pretty? Pressie from the dearie, for our five years anniversary come 1st Dec. 5 years of togetherness, as galfriend and boyfriend. Hee, i noe.. we have many anniversaries. The dearie's poor pockets.

Wife's Biscults

I have an old lady's palate. i enjoy traditional food. Like Wife's Biscuits ( Lao Po Bing in Chinese). The mummie's friend got a box back from Hong Kong for her, and she gave the entire box to me.

Yums. Not fresh-from-the oven-goodness that you get in Hong Kong ( i think they have retail outlets in the Sogo Supermarkets..i got mine there the last time i was in Hong Kong ) because of the time gap and the carrying/travelling part which causes the flakey biscuits to crumble. But, I'm still loving it.. ;p

So so wanna travel................................. Hong Kong.China.Vietnam (Hoi An & Danang).Thailand. Wanderlust bug biting again. Uurrggghhh

Life Is

Life is.. being able to sit down alfresco-styled at any old cafe with an iced-cold coffee drink. With a book in your hands, reading and watching the world go by. Soaking in the late afternoon sun ray.

Wonderful Drama

I confess.. i love my Korean, Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Japanese Dramas. Currently absorbed with the daily broadcast of Moonlight Resonance. Great fuzzy warmly drama at its best. Moi needs my daily dosage of the show manz.. :)

Gifts from the Dearie

Advance 1 year anniversary gift from the dearie.. Classic pretty pearls. :)

Plus, my lovely pinky roses in full bloom. It's coming close to a year of wedded bliss. God bless, for many more wonderful years to come. He makes me think all's not lost even if moi career's a flop.. coz there's more to life than work, like family and luv. Its a choice, i guess, in taking a leisurely take on life from the onset..rather than to wait for sunset to reap the rewards of one's labours.

Dinning @ Togi's with Fen

Met up with Fen for my birthday meal.. at a restaurant i've been wanting to "share share" with her, coz she appreciates Korean Food way better than the dearie. Its one of my favourite hole-in-a-wall-hidden -out-of-the-way kinda restaurant which we happened to chance upon one day.

Kimchi Pancake

It lacks the gloss of major restaurants in terms of ambiance and service, but i quite like the friendly lady boss. Togi's is hidden in chinatown and serves up simple homely-styled Korean cuisine, complete with the requisite small side dishes. It does a rather good bbq grilled streaky pork with lettuce which the dearie like. *Yums*. Ahn-Nyong-Ha-Se-Yo.. Gahm-Sah-Hahm-Ni-Da without going to the land of Kimchi.

Spicy Bean Seafood Soup, Rice cake with Yellow noodle and dumpling

We had the kimchi pancake, spicy bean paste seafood soup, spicy yellow noodle with rice cake and dumplings and stone bowl mixed rice. *Glurp* Happie, with the great meal and great company. Life can be so simple, yah.

Every year this day..

Yupz, its a practise of mine not to work on my birthday. So, moi is off on 30th Sept, this birthday of mine. I hope to be able to uphold this practice. Happy Bithday to Moi.. :)

Its a simple day. Waking up to home delivered roses from the dear dearie. He's a man of few words, so the wordings on his card touched me loads. The roses were a tad expensive, but oh so pretty and lovely. Thanks my dearie.

Flowers from the dearie

Cake from the sis-in-law

It was lunch with the in-laws at Crystal Jade. Followed by shopping with the dearie at Tampines Mall and Ion. The day ended with a birthday feast at " The Line". Treat from the mummie.. a total indulgence and oh so very expensive that its gonna be just this once. (too bad the camera battery went flat, sobs) The bill was a heffy 400 bucks for the 4 of us.. for oysters, crabs,seafood, sashimi, sushi, indian station, asian cuisine, italian and a wide variety of other items. There was even rock melon with parma ham and sun-dried tomato. *blurp* totally used up the calories count the past few days. Hello 29! Goodbye 28 ;(

Allo 29, in advance!

We had a lovely feast in the homeland. The babes and the partners, with baby Kayson. In early celebration of this donkey's birthday.

Lovely ice cream cake

Han and Malcom brought yummy giant Sri Lankan crabs from little red house. Hui and Richmond did great deep fried buns. Jinny and Noven got wonderful ice cream cake (the exact same cake the dearie got moi last year). Moi, i did my roasted lemon rosemary chicken and mango with pomelo (or yang zhi gan lu)

Chix drumstick before roasting

Its a jolly feast alrightz, in the comfort of the homeland. With cute kayson keeping us all entertained. Its a great advance birthday celebration..simple, yet festive..its great having the babes with moi, along with dearie and baby kayson.

Pretty in Pink

Oh, and i really heart the pretties gift the babes got moi.. can't believe moi is turning 29 in a few days time. 9, the last year of my glorious 20s.. urrghh.

High Tea with the Babes

Moi met up with Han and Hui for High Tea at The Regent's Tea Lounge today.. Tits was great to meet up with the babes for girly chats. The babes who share a great portion of my uni years.. the happie years of uni and pre-uni are memories that i cherish the most from the growing up years. With work, family and many other commitments.. we seldom have time to meet up. I so wish we could meet up more often.. Plus, makes good reason to splurge on nice food at great places ;p

Our table

Luv the berries loads

Compared to Rose Veranda and Goodwood Park's Tea Lounge, I like The Regent's ambiance, selection and quality of food the most. Although the selection of Tea is limited compared to Rose Veranda's. Hee Hee.. its definitely my place of choice for High Tea..quiet, and the air con is non too cold. A great Sat with the babes.