Skincare Loot

Was watching 女人我最大 and so fascinated by the effects… I switched my skincare range to Khiels.

Everytime I purchase, there’s always at least 3 complimentary samples… Look at my collections…

My first-time application:

Gently tapped the Double Strength Deep Wrinkle Filler on my left laughing line and after a minute, I compared with the my right laughing line..woo… Indeed, there’s a difference. Combined with other lotions, my face glowed with radiance.

Super cool.

Filed under: Khiels, Skincare , anti-wrinkle, fine lines

Leia reads Eric Carle

Every month I’d visit the library to get some books for reading.

Last month, I found two great books by Eric Carle.

(Left) Three classic stories in one book.
The Tiny Seed, Pancakes Pancakes and Walter the Baker.

(Right) Leia’s favourite: Bill Martin Jr/ Eric Carle’s boardbook.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?

Even as adult, I enjoyed reading the author’s books.

And today I visited the library again. Grabbed two more picture books.

The Artist who painted a Blue Horse and The very Busy Spider.

Filed under: Book, Leia , 15 months old, Eric Carle, library

Charming Gift

Chairine is back from states and she’s a beautiful mother-to-be.

A surprise from her !

Gonna use it soon!

Filed under: Uncategorized , chairine, kate spade

老伴豆花

The “in” thing in Kallang Airport Hawker Centre. I ever saw a dragon queue even before the stall is opened. And its a norm to see people buying at least 4-5 or even 10 beancurd.

Last week, I saw that there was no queue and I quickly made my move.

There’s Almond & Original flavor.

The texture is unbeatably smooth, instantly melts in the mouth. Reminds me of wagyu beef. For the original flavor, there’s still almond taste… Hmm

But… I’d still buy if there is no queue.

Filed under: Chinese, Dessert, Food , Beancurd, Kallang Airport

Passport for Leia

Started our Friday morning at Happy Train. Leia now has 3 other female class mates.

This is after class…in Bret’s car.

Toddlers can drink and sleep at the same time.

We were on our way to ICA at lavender. It’s a must to arrange e-appointment!

Waiting time was less than 5 minutes. Yuppie! Leia’s got her passport.

Filed under: family, Him, Leia , ICA, passport

Leia at Petite Park

Exploring another mall, Changi City Point. We brought along our pram and Leia was cooperative  Mummy has a surprise for her and Daddy!

Petite Park, located at level 2.

Pretend-Play Corner is an area I’ve not seen in her other indoor playgrounds.

Leia was given a basket to shop at the stall. Strangely, the girl only allowed leia into her “premise”. She gently pushed other kids away, refusing to share her territory with other children.

For 10 minutes, Leia kept herself busy at the stall. The fruits and veggies looked real and it was fun asking her to bring different fruits to me.

I found Xylophone! Finally, from virtual(ipad) to real.

We played drum, shaker and tambourine too. Went back to the kitchen for some “cooking” and then, Blocks Station.

Leia was more keen in getting the boy’s attention but.. he’s more into trains not girls.

No worries, we went to the other station to build our little town together.

My husband took pride in this shot taken by him.. tsk.. My hair looked so “Oba-sang”.

After 30 minutes of Pretend-Play and Melissa & Dough puzzles, time to turn on her Active Mode! Woo hoo!

Bubble Tunnel…

This area reminds me of Sing Play. I have yet to visit, maybe when she’s older..

The slide ….

And her favourite, Ball Pit.

At first, it was crowded with older kids and we waited for a while.. now the pool is all hers.

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves very much.

Weekday rate:  $16 for unlimited playtime per visit. Accompanying adults enter for free.

Weekend / Public Holiday rate:  $18 for 2 hours of playtime per visit.  $6 for each hour thereafter Max. of 1 adult may enter free.  S$3 for each additional adult.

*Remember to bring socks!

Besides playground for children, there are outlet stores for Addidas, Lacoste, Nike, G2000 and etc. Tried to get  anike shoe for Leia but can’t find her size. Hmm..

Not sure when we will be back but I prefer this mall to the new I12katong .

Filed under: Changi City Point, family, Leia, Thoughts , indoor playground, Petite Park

Her Passport Photo

Planned to travel & its time to apply her passport. And the most challenging part was taking her photo.

Took many many pictures. Here’s 4 of them …

With my mother’s help, I managed to get this.

“Paint” her background & hair accessory white and then submit online.

If everything is well, we will collect after cny.

Filed under: Leia , 15 months old, passport

CNY Feast

Last Sunday, I attended a CNY Feast cooking lesson at The Palatte Sensations.

Chef Shih is cheerful and friendly. Besides guiding us, she would provide useful cooking tips and how to buy good ingredients.

Now the dishes…

Peng Cai: Abalone, Fish Maw, Chinese Mushrooms, Prawns.. Etc. Lots of goodies

This dish will take about 3-4 hours of preparation. I doubt I will cook at home.

Yushang with Lobster

The best taste ever! I will try to make this at home.

The last dish: Lotus seed with corn soup dessert.

Pretty easy to prepare. With chestnut, corn and lotus seed, it’s very crunchy! Looks a bit like Tau Suan but too sweet for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the lesson.

When Bret picked me up from the location, Biopolis, I can’t wait to to let him try. But, no eating is allowed in the car.

Price: $228 (Sponsored by company)
Duration: 10am – 1pm (We ended leaving at 1.45pm)
Participants: 3 (including myself)

Filed under: Chinese, Chinese New Year, Cooking, Fun , Lobster, Peng Cai, The Palatte Sensation, Yushang

City Square with Leia

Happy New Year!

Began my first saturday of 2012 by making a wrong trip to far away place and then returned to paya lebar singpost to accomplish my shopping list:

- Milk Powder
- Herbal Tea & Pearl Powder
- Take away Lunch for hubby and self

Bret picked me up and we went home for 菜贩. About 4pm, we went City Square mall. Our first time and this heartland mall is huge. There’s 9 levels of retail stores! Wow but layout kinda weird though. Somehow I wasn’t attracted to the fashion retails available in the shopping mall.

Leia initiated to take a pic with the Recycling bin “ambassador”.

My parents often bring her out to malls & supermarket. Whenever there’s cute background, both ah gong and ah ma would ask Leia to pose for photo shoot.

Now, my daughter thinks cute backdrop means time for camera. Toddlers recognizes patterns.

Just last week, she was unwell after her jab. And now, so actively walking around busy exploring. Good thing for us, the spacious mall is not crowded & she walked freely.

We had an early dinner at Paradise Inn. Like me, Bret became a fan of Paradise Inn Double-Boiled Soup. In fact, other dishes are good too. Having yummy food kept my 15 month old a little busy too. From her expressions, I could tell she enjoyed the soup.

Next, we proceeded to shop at the supermarket. Being familiar with the environment Leia wanted more independence there.

She whined the moment we carry her. That’s the thing about toddlers & walking.

Back home, Leia wanted to play and play and play. I took herbal tea and kinda drowsy. Glad I have bret

To hubby: Thanks for always being there for us and doting on us.

Filed under: City Square Mall, family, Him, Leia , city square mall, weekend

Sparkling Moment

Bret woke up an hour earlier for work. Being a light sleeper myself, I’m easily woken up by his movement in the room and toilet.

Before he left for work, he came towards me to check if I have fever and kiss my forehead. Feeling irritated with my throat, I tried to siam his kiss but he was fast.

Ok, the gentle peck on my forehead comforted me much

Filed under: Food, Him

Best Friends & Ginseng Soup

It was a tough day at work and motivation of the day: quickly meet my best friends for a good dinner.

Caiyan and I have always patronized Takashimaya Korean Crystal Jade. However we did not make any booking, the restaurant was full. The waitress made a quick check with Centrepoint outlet and reserved a table for us.

Together with Beelian, we walked our way there. Pleasant surprise for Caiyan and myself, the atmosphere was a lot better. More privacy

The marinated meat, seafood pancake wasn’t as nice for us but the come-back reason – $16 Ginseng Chicken Soup! Even better than the authentic soup I had in Korea.

There’s beautiful Caiyan filling our bowls with the delicious & unforgettable soup.

As for the side dishes (小菜), portion is small & refill maximum 3 times.

Still, we will go back again.

Filed under: Friends , beelian, Caiyan, Crystal Jade Korea

Leia’s 2nd Christmas

Christmas was spent with people close to my heart.

On the eve, we celebrated with Mil’s big family and friends at her restaurant. Leia displayed her spontaneous personality, approached the dance floor and danced openly to the fast-pace songs.

Actual day, we visited my family for gift exchange and festive meal. My mum prepared a warm cozy Christmas atmosphere

My parents were looking forward to see Leia.

We let our little girl stayed over at Tampines as Bret & I have a meet up session with our friends.

Present at Beach Cabana:

- Bret’s Vball friends & best friend
- My Vball friend & v. best friend

Its really nice to have our friends coming together for a happy & fun night that lasted till 5.30am!

Filed under: Christmas, family, Leia , 14 months old

Xmas with Vball girls 2012

Last Saturday night was my volleyball girls Christmas gathering. Just as previous year, Bret would invite his guy friends.

When everyone arrived, Leia was at first a little moody. After she warmed up with the crowd, my little girl began to do baby-funny stunts such as pretending she’s talking to someone on the phone. So real…. Haha

Back to party, we did potluck this year and i love the pine garden Christmas tree cake ordered by my lovely Caiyan. It’s lychee martini fillings.

It’s a DIY cake and Caiyan did an amazing job. A meaningful cake that tastes delicious!

Here’s a group shot of us!

We had fun taking the shots below.

When it was the guys turn, they felt very stressed because all the ladies took out their hp camera to shoot them. Lol

Most of my volleyball girls are pretty shy and the best game to warm them with bret’s guys friends… The Polar Bear. The best game for 10-15 pax. What I didn’t expect, this game was enough to last till 3am. So fun that we arranged another session on Christmas night.

Look forward

Filed under: Christmas, Friends, Holiday , Polar Bear, Volleyball girls

Lovely Moment

Finally, I did my Lasik yesterday. Painless & fast surgery however the ultimate discomfort kicked in pretty badly in the evening.

A big thank you to my hubby for the sponsorship and the all-night tender care after my surgery

Today I had Day 1 post-op consultation. Then worked for four hours… and me-time at Plaza Sing.

1430: Picked up GV movie vouchers for tmr’s party

1500: Shopped at Times bookstore & window shopped around the mall.

1600: High Tea for one

I love the peaceful alone time with a pretty book to read while enjoying Foie Gras & pastries.

1700: Hair spa at Jean Yip

1800: Dinner with hubby at itacho

1900: Shopped for his mum’s Xmas gift

2000: Delivered gifts to my client’s place.

Previously, he wanted to get me a Tiffany & Co. necklace and I said “No jewelry”. Then we talked about casual-working bag. I was surprised he suggested Miu Miu. This evening, he asked again about what I want for Christmas. Not firm about bag and pretty clueless too. My man stunned me by saying, “Omega watch”? …I can’t bear to spend his money, every cent is hard-earned.

Hubby have been very kind. Shall end my night giving him a good rub to show my appreciation.

Filed under: Him , hair colour, High Tea, Me-time, plaza singapura, times bookstore

Emotions from Leia

At 14 months, Leia is able to point with her finger. And tonight it’s her first whatsapp experience with daddy.

I let her express herself with emotions.

Really resembles her usual expressions.

And because of Leia, I saw Japanese characters. Lol

Filed under: Baby, family, Him, Leia , 14 months old, iPhone, whatsapp

Dinner at Long Beach Kallang

Bret’s Payday and we decided to have about dinner at Long Beach Kallang.  As we brought little Leia along with us, we skipped the famous Black Pepper Crab.

I had the Fish Maw Soup ($8) … Served with premium quality fish maw, crab meat, black fungus and bamboo shoot. The creamy broth tastes similar to Shark’s Fin Bisque.

Like her mother, Leia likes the soup very much.

We also ordered Stir-Fry Deer Meat, Minced Beancurd with Vegetable Hot Plate and Steamed Seabass ($25). This branch is known as King Seafood. The only branch with barbecue fish – very yummy but we went for Steamed.

Very tasty and Leia loves fish the most.

During dine-outs, I always request for kiddy set for Leia to play or “feed” herself. For her bowl, I would give her a plastic spoon from home. Its good to bring spare. Toddlers like to throw spoon or fork.

Through trials and errors, I realized having some rice in her bowl helps to keep Leia occupied for at least 30-45 minutes. As rice sticks easily to the spoon, its easier for my 14 month old to feed herself. When she feeds herself, she probably feels that she is doing something with us. However if she is too hungry, she will resort to using hands.

The restaurant is child-friendly because of the staffs. They were smiling to Leia from time to time and talked to her. And my girl likes to say “Hi~” to people walking around her. She would say “Hi~” until the person acknowledges her. Leia’s way of entertaining herself.

All in all, we had an enjoyable quality dinner.

Thank you, Hubby.

Filed under: Him, Leia , long Beach kallang

Leia & Paint

Today my work ended at 2pm. Took a cab home to play with Leia. I decided on Melissa & Dough paint.

Leia wondering about my plan…

Let’s start with the primary colors!

I pressed her little hand onto the gooey texture – yellow paint. Showing her what paint can do.  However she was hesitant to try…

Time for Blue paint!

Brand new experience for us but… not quite interesting to her. She prefers water play.

When Leia is older, I’ll get her an easel

Filed under: family, Leia , 14 months old, Finger print, Melissa & Dough

Level 33

Last Saturday, Bret and I chilled out with our Vball friends at Level 33, Marina Bay Financial Centre.

Indoor - Dining & Bar area
Outdoor – Dining & Drinks

This is Fish & Chips.

Delicious Small bites!

They have their own brewery which I do enjoy. Bret and I love their cocktail, Mojito.

And then, the spectacular city view.

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Feels great to explore different places with friends & hubby. And beside being a mother to Leia, I have two careers that keeps my brain working non-stop.

A good way to unwind, meeting people I treasure.

Filed under: Chill Out, Friends , Huiting, Jacky, Melissa

Home-Cooked Dinner by Mr & Mrs Glenn

Have been wanting to visit Glenn & family, finally I arranged a last min drop by. His lovely wife, Peony invited me to join them dinner.

I introduced the prettiest toddler among the 2 years olds, Levonne to Leia. The two little strangers smiled to each other and became friends.

As time ticked, the little girls giggled & laughed louder.

The home cooked dinner was sumptuous to me. There were prawns, own-grown veggies and stir fry pork. What’s more thoughtful was, Peony prepared Thread-fish for Leia! Wow.

During dinner, Leia ate quite a fair bit and enjoyed herself

Occasionally, they would look for the latest arrival, Baby Geron!

I like this scene very much.

We left around 9pm when Bret arrived. Leia behaved well and I thanked her for the enjoyable evening.

Have been a warm-hearted evening and excellent hospitality from Glenn & family. Gonna arrange another Xmas visit

Filed under: Baby, Friends, Leia , 14 months, Geron, glenn, levonne, peony

Waterplay at Home

Leia have been gloomy and likely to be teething. She refused the normal plays and doesn’t seem to smile as much.

An idea struck me! Making use of her pink bath tub (she no longer uses it), I put some colorful balls, toys into the water.

This is her first time having so many toys in her bath tub. Since she was not it, I let her play a little longer than usual. Toddlers always like new experience.

Leia showed me several new ways of playing and when I had to end her waterplay, she was cranky & whining in tears. That’s when hubby came in to be a hero. He comforted her and distracted her focus with iPad 2.

Leia knows how to meddle iPad 2 now. She recognizes her fav apps and knows what’s YouTube. Understood the functions of “Play, “Skip” As for apps, she finds the arrow to turn to next page.

Experts discourage exposing gadgets to babies and toddlers. Reasons being the radiation affecting eye/health, children not interested in other toys except iPad or iPhone … Etc

With all these being considered for, I will let Leia play the ipad for maximum 45 mins a day; if possible. Not relying much on gadgets because I want her to let her explore sensory activities where we can play together and water play is one of them.

Filed under: Fun, Leia , 14 months, Toys, water