CNY 2014

Time to blog about Chinese New Year this year else I'd forget everything soon!

How has the new lunar year been for me so far?

Apparently every single zodiac board out there claimed that those born in the Horse Year are gonna have a bad year this year.

Wahlao my last good year was 2009 I think. That was so many years back! When am I going to finally have a good year?!?! 

So yep, it's only less than a month into the new lunar year and things haven't been going very well for me. But I am keeping a positive mindset and still have hope that everything will turn out well! The zodiac readings also said that this year will be a year of change. I presume they meant bad changes.... BUT!!! I am trying to believe that it's gonna be all GOOD changes. I must focus on good thoughts!

On Lunar Eve, we had our steamboat reunion dinner at home! You know how some families have "yongtaufu and veggies" as their main for steamboats and some families have "meats" as main for steamboats, I am glad mine is the latter! Even the yongtaufu items were stuffed with minced meat! Haha. Too much food we had loads of leftovers. But I was the 2nd last one on the table! Only because dad (the last one) paused midway to pour drinks for guests. So actually I think I ate the most!




On Day One, it should be a cheery day so I wore the most floral-ly dress I prepared for Chinese New Year. It was a day of visiting around the island. First from Pasir Ris to Commonwealth, then another part of Commonwealth, then Yewtee, then Woodlands, then Bugis then finally home. Feet was so painful from the new wedges!


I tried to have as many new items on me as possible! New dress, new bag from Earthdoll, new necklace from Femmex, new wallet bought ages ago but not used yet, heels bought ages ago but not worn yet and a pink iPhone cover! The wallet's zip broke within days!



My cheeky cousin wishes you all GONG XI FA CAI! Haha.


At night we had abalone with instant noodles. Shiok! If having a happy day on cny day one means a happy year throughout, does having abalone on day one means I will get to eat abalone for the rest of the year? :D

Outfit for CNY day 2! Probably the nicest dress out of the three days. Love this dress so much I bought it in two colours! I liked the cutting and vivid blue.


Bf came over to bai-nian to my parents in the morning, and then drove me to his father's company where his family and relatives were. He made breakfast because we were expecting late lunch! It's actually sunny side up on toast, plus scrambled eggs sandwiches!


His dad hired a lion dance troupe as usual. To be honest, I've never liked watching lion dance..... Moreover, one that went on for more than an hour! After that we went back to his house for late lunch and right after that we had a last minute decision to watch The Lion Men and bf quickly drove me home and pick up my family to downtown east and we reached just in time when the movie start! Spontaneous!

I don't look good in this photo but it has been quite some time since I took a photo with him so post lor. Haha.



After that was yummy dinner at aunt's place. U know what I love about cny? All the good food!!!!!!


Day 3 was good food again!!!




My family and grandparents :)


Lohei!



Pig intestine which I didn't try at all. Nope, not a fan.


Pen cai! Only 5 abalone on top, they all took one piece each and I almost thought I don't have! But got lah, it's just buried under everything else. Haha.


I LOVE FISH! This fish was very meaty and yummy!



Afterwards we went to watch our 2nd CNY movie!

Outfit for Day 3.


CNY this year was really breezy! Whenever take ootd shots must wait for the wind to stop for afew seconds then faster snap!

This happened while I was trying to take a photo of myself. Sudden strong gush of wind. HAHA They say photo must got wind effect then nice right. This one really got wind effect!!



Love day 3 because it was a packed but not rush day. AND, we didn't have to go visiting. Haha. Guests came over to our house at night for steamboat and gambling and I lost the most amount of money on the table. A grand total of $18! The rest only lost a couple of dollars! The banker won all my money!

A typical date day

So... this post was supposed to be up quite a while back but I wasn't too interested to post this up because its actually just food, my ootd photo, then food again. It was so way back that I don't really remember much of this day too.

I lost my photos of this day when I lost my memory card. These photos were all from bf's camera. Since they looked quite nice, shall post some up and not waste the photos!



This place had a limited menu and most of the dishes had beef, which I couldn't eat. Ended up with pasta although I am not a very pasta person. Don't really remember whether it tasted good or bad, but I did feel quite deprived of meat. I cannot live without meat! Any meal without meat just feels..... empty. Bf had some  beef curry thingy sizzling in stone pot and it looked so good, except that it was beef.


Souffle, pretty little thing.




I think things were simple but complete back then.... Things weren't perfect, but it was perfect enough. At least, I was happy with how contented and peaceful I felt.

I learnt that people aren't always what they seem to be, and people you know for a long time may turn out to be completely different from what you have always perceived them to be. I have been observing people a lot more, wondering about everyone's hidden stories. I'm counting my blessings, for things could have been worse.

Many things I achieved in life, I didn't seek out to do it. It all just happened. I didn't have to fight for it, so when I lose things that I did not get on my own, I realize I do not know how to get it back. I always thought I was a strong person, but recent happenings made me feel that I'm actually just as weak as everyone else. I let fate drag me along, I left it all to fate because I have no control. For the first time ever, I understood the meaning of "Ignorance is Bliss".

Perhaps I'm not brave enough to fight this war. Maybe I'm trying to avoid the cold hard truth. Perhaps I'm afraid to face reality. Maybe I just prefer to pretend everything's fine. When it's obviously not. Deep in my heart I know this decision is wrong. I hope it's not.

Thankful for certain awesome people who have been caring and loving to me, for they make my days brighter. Things may never be the same again, but I do hope for happiness, blessings, and peace for every day after.


***

OOTD:
Everyone thought it was a two-piece but it is actually a one-piece dress from EARTHDOLL! I love how pretty the pastel florals go with the bold colors at the bottom. Casual yet dressed up, it's easily suitable for any day. Paired it with my latest favourite bag from HURS. The neutral color and simple design of this bag makes it versatile to match with almost any outfit! I had to make a conscious effort to stop myself from always carrying this bag because I didn't want my OOTD photos to have all the same bag!



I think we went to watch a movie or something. I love watching movies. Movies are gateways to another life, we feel the emotions of the lead characters, and I always leave at the end of a good movie with lots of thoughts in my head.

Afterwards, was time for dinner! We settled at a random Japanese restaurant in Paragon. Photo of gyoza only cos the rest of the photos were quite yellowish.



"Pain is only what you allow it to be.", I kept reminding myself.

We cannot change history, but we can create the future. If every setback is a blessing in disguise, I hope this is one that makes us stronger.

Femmex #1

Wore this outfit from to work on Lunar Eve! Not my usual dressy style but it garnered more compliments than usual, so I guess I should wear such coordinates more often?



Love how the bright pink bag adds a pop of color to the otherwise quite-monotone outfit. You can't see in the photos, but it's the same color as the outline of the Eiffel Tower prints on my top!


In love with this pair of earrings!


I got the outfit from Femmex at Cineleisure! Was really happy to find such a pretty top and black classic skirt that fits perfectly. I liked the pleats and flattering flare too.


Credit:

Eiffel Tower Top, Black Pleated Skirt, Pink Bag, Earrings - www.xfemmex.com
Heels - Far East Plaza
Bracelets - Bugis Street and Hurs

Ito-Kacho

I have lots of food-related backlogs to blog about but I've been trying to space them out because honestly I prefer my non-food related entries! (And then I end up forgetting the taste of everything and then I end up having writer's block when I blog) Haha. I really need to go out and have some fun instead of eating and eating and eating. I have been eating non-stop this Chinese New Year! No control at all!

After our trip to River Safari, bf brought me to have dinner at Ito-Kacho! Never heard of this place before but it had good reviews online. Indeed, it's quite a nice place for japanese grill!

The Audacious Cakery

The Day I Ate Cakes For Lunch.

Was invited by The Audacious Cakery to try out their cakes, so me and bf dropped by the pretty shop at Everton Park one lovely afternoon!


Totally in love with their white and clean decor! Simple and serene in a quiet neighbourhood, it's a perfect place for afternoon tea and a book!






So many cupcakes on display, so difficult to decide which to have, so excited to start!


Nicholas chose a variety of cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts for us to try!

Here they are! Every single cake is so pretty!


This is Zen, their fresh new yuzu creation on the day we tried it! The flavour is light, perfect for people who do not like their cakes too sweet or too thick.


Chocolate Cream Cheese! The cream cheese and chocolate cupcake makes a great combination! This is one of the must-try if you like chocolate.


Lemon Meringue - This dessert is many's favorite so how did this one fare? It was super sour initially but I got hooked after the first bite! The sweet meringue complements the sourness of the filling really well!


Foret Noir - Dark chocolate cake with alcohol in it, as well as cherries soaked in alcohol. Definitely a must try for people that love alcohol. Haha. Bf loved this although he doesn't really drink alcohol. I think he liked the thick chocolaty taste!


Strawberry Shortcake - My first choice! The white sponge is soft and fluffy, layered with luscious vanilla cream and strawberries, which was extremely yummy. It is not too sweet too, which is good because I prefer light taste!


Lemon Raspberry - This has a raspberry jam surprise core! Another classic cupcake done well. I really have to say that the cupcakes at Audacious Cakery is audaciously delicious! The different flavors went well with the texture of the cupcakes!



Other two desserts we had:

Earl Grey Creme Brulee - Creme Brulee is one of my favourite desserts due to the burnt caramel on top and soft pudding-like insides. This one at Audacious Cakery takes a step further by using TWG Earl Grey Tea leaves in this custard dessert for another taste dimension!

Matcha - This one needs no introduction, green tea cake topped with matcha buttercream on top!

Ordered coffee to go with the cakes, while bf ordered tea. Perfect!


As if what we had wasn't enough, Nicholas add these lovely macarons on our table! I liked their macarons very much! It had the right texture and chewiness to it!


Irish Cream Alcoholic - Even more alcoholic than Foret Noir, here's another alcohol-infused cupcake which Nicholas brought out just when we thought we were almost finishing! This one is a Guinness stout cupcake with whiskey genache filling and baileys irish cream cheese frosting!


Was super full after all the cakes Nicholas placed on our table, I felt extremely lucky I didn't have lunch beforehand else I am sure I cannot finish all that!

Do drop by for tea some day~!

The Audacious Cakery
Blk 2 Everton Park
#01-61 Singapore 081002
http://theaudaciouscakery.com

Bridesmaid Staycation - Day 2

Hello people! Happy Lunar New Year!

I'm back with the 2nd part of our Bridesmaids Staycation. This entry was supposed to be earlier but the past few days was extremely busy for me!

So on the 2nd day of our staycation, I woke up super early although I slept the latest because I was feeling super cold! Went to use the bathtub and had a shiok time soaking in it. I thought I was in it for only awhile, but when I was finally done, I had a shock when I looked at the time. Haha.

Breakfast time~!!! My fave part during hotel stays are the hotel breakfast spread! All of us agreed that the creamy mushrooms at Grand Park Orchard is really good!




Photo together!






Pool during the day~




So tempted to exercise my breakfast away because the machine is right in front of me! Too bad I was not wearing the proper attire for it that day. The treadmill was facing the pool, so it's a great view!


We went back to our rooms afterwards and had a mini karaoke session on MTV. Hahaha. It was so much fun!

Carrie and Fidelis left around noon, and I set off with the rest to have our favourite SHIOK MAKI at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar nearby!






You MUST order the bento (only available before 6pm).... the grilled chicken is awesome.



Went back to the hotel to pack up and I couldn't bear to leave :'(


Took the chance to take some photos by the window with natural sunlight!


Thanks Nadnut for inviting us over, and Grand Park Hotel for hosting us! We had a great time <3

More of these girly staycations please!