Let’s hope reality is as nice as the photo!

Spent most of my sunday at home in front of the laptop, shopping for bras. Not at V S, but at Maidenform.com. I have always been a triumph girl and at times Warcoal girl… but just before CNY, I discovered Maidenform! Bought their bra at Robinson and it was soooo comffyyy.  It was soft, silky and just so.. so.. comfortable. And I became a convert! But comfort came at a price, a very high price. Today with a few clicks of the mouse and Mr Goggle… I found myself at the US websites with most of the bras going on 20% sale. So after a frustrating but enjoyable time figuring out how and where to get the best price plus shipping possible,  I was able to score another 25% discount (on top of the 20%) plus free shipping (within US, of cos)!  And now, I am just waiting for the peeps in US to start work on their monday and pack my bras in a nice (but hopefully compact) packaging and send it via Vpost. Hopefully it will reach me in about 2 weeks time. *rub hands in glee*

Yes, I might not be able to get instant gratification of owning the bras NOW, but I am able to get 3 for the price of   1 in SG (and this is after 15% discount in SG!) So even with international shipping charges, it is really super worth it.

Sometimes, instant gratification is over-rated. And oh I get to spend an enjoyable Sunday afternoon shopping in the comfort of my cozy room. heh.

And here is counting down to the next weekend… weekend.. you are just 5 days away!

With such limited time between the festivals ,work (bleah) and limited personal time, I have come up with the top 5 things to do before, during and after CNY.

Okie I just feel like doing a list. Here it goes:

1) Shopping!

This is the perfect excuse to go shopping! Drag the boyfriend around to look for the elusive dress for 初一. Obviously all the other dresses that I bought along the way just don’t seem right hah. Finally bought the dress from IORA and it came in the cutest bag.

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By the way it was pretty quiet in Orchard on Friday night. Guess everyone was heading to Chinatown. The boyfriend felt weird as he feels that he was away from the crowd. Me? I was happy that I didn't need to queue for the fitting rooms! *yeah to that * But shopping is still best done with girl pals. You just need someone to goad you on when you are shopping

But new clothes = ironing.

I almost burnt a hole in my new shorts bleah. I am so not suitable for a life of housework! Point to note in future – Need. a. maid. But finally all my clothes are ironed and ready to wear for the new year (with a slight possible hole)

2) Spring cleaning

I am pretty proud of myself. My room has not be this neat since.. welll.. the last new year i guess hah. There is a reason why i left the cleaning bit till yesterday (CNY eve’s eve) cos bare 1 day my study table & bedside table is getting messy AGAIN. What can i say? I am pretty amazing! So if I did it 1 week before.. can you imagine how much I got pack again today?

As I am typing this, my dad is moping the floor again for the 2nd time. And my brother is bringing the puppy over shortly. So another round of mopping at night. So cleaning? Always leave till the last minute possible. Trust me.

3) Dieting/ exercising (the last attempts & aftermath)

With so many kpo (and mean) aunties around, it is important that one looks the best during the visiting. Hence, the 1 week 3 days desperate attempt to do some dieting and exercising (I still have 2 hours left to do some exercise! bleah) in preparation for the CNY visiting. Been trying to erm, reduce the intake of food for the last few days. Of cos the bak kwa that i have been eating does not count as food. They are in a different universal than the other foods. Ok. Fine. I will just shoot whoever that is going to comment that I look fat. I think that might be easier than exercising and not eating bak kwa. hah.

And of cos after all the junk food/ goodies that went into the stomach during the 2 day of visiting, I will need a major detox session plus exercising. I need to stop typing exercise just as a word and get off my butt and actually do it! Grrl. Does playing with the dog counts?

4) Entertainment

It is a tradition to stay up late on new year’s eve to ensure longevity for our parents. Being an absolute filial girl, I am defining doing that (my brother needs to stop screaming at me to wake up early on 初一. He needs to be as filial as me hahaa) . So it is crucial that one have entertainment during this period.

Time to bring out my SIMS 3! I love the Sims and I have missed playing it. It will keep me very occupied for the next few days, hopefully i will be so obsessed that I will stop snacking too. Or I could just watch my HK serials all day long. Hmm… it is sounding better than visiting the relatives!

5) Bak Kwa, food, Bak Kwa, pineapple tart, Bak Kwa, kuah bunggit.

Need I say more? Feasting on bak kwa & chinese new year goodies is the true spirit of Chinese New Year! Cannot let it be lost.. so eat first and do point #3 after the new year. Bear in mind, Chinese New Year has 15 days. And the spirit must be adhered to for all 15 days :p

And of cos this year, we have the cutest thing going visiting with us

Doesn’t he just look like a fluffy fur ball?

He has also won the heart of my mom! Sweetest cutest thing! He doesn’t bark or bite or whine etc. He just loves people and food! Greedy little puppy! So cuteeeee!

(haha this is call blogging smart! =p)

But here’s a photo of the soon to be great chef with her lovely cupcakes!

Aren’t they cute? And pretty? (including the chef! Ha)

I just might go Phoon Huat to get the baking stuff one of these days. But I think my mom will kill me for cluttering her kitchen. It will probably take ages and hundred of cupcakes to finish off the materials! Need to share or my own kitchen! Or I can just bake the cake part of the cupcake portion without the decor. The cake taste pretty yummy on it’s own too! Mommy approves of the cake.

The lesson was quite good, learnt quite a bit of cupcake and the decoration. Nimble fingers required! But the class is quite expensive. Shall consider again whether to go for their other classes. It’s all about the moolah (and time).

All in all it had been a tiring Sunday! With the early morning baking lesson, plus the herbal hair treatment (my hair still stink of herbs. Yucks. shall blog about it next time) and followed by some shopping. I am still recuperating from yesterday. Yawnz.
Time to hit my bed. And here’s hoping that I fulfill my new year resolution of exercising tomorrow. Yeah! Yawnz.

Update – he is really a cutie pie!!! I am in love and off to buy toys for him!

SQ send this image to me the other day. OMG it’s at least 10 years old? N amazingly he still kept it! Those were the days where handwritten and handmade stuffs were in! But it’s so super embarrassing *bleah* And now he is getting married. Not too bad for that idiotic man-boy, 1 gf for the last 10-11 years. Well done! I only have empathy for the wife haha. Mr Ong has been asking us to dig out old photos of all of us. But honestly the last thing I want to see is me in his wedding montage. Some things are just best left in memories or even totally forgotten ha. N i cringe just thinking about my old photos! Urgh. And that’s why I have not been too hardworking in helping him to look for those photos. Probably have some lying around the house from our sweet sixteen cruise. There are actually some pretty fun and awesome memories… of the crazy antics of 1 of guys running down the corridor knocking at all the doors in the wee hours of the night, all because he lost at dai dee or others. And all the rubbish rubbish jokes that were shared at the deck… the relationship that blossomed (and ended after a long while) during the cruise for our friend. N of cos the beginning (or is it growth?) of my very long puppy crush (well youth is always the cause for stupidity. I have long become wiser n outgrown stupid puppy crush ha!)

And that’s why, for those memories and the awesomeness of the 10 years old card, I am going to be $100+++++ poorer in May 2012.

My only friend, you will be going too right?
It’s really horrible horrible sitting at the table with strangers!

Went over to Barnacles yesterday night for my delayed birthday dinner. ( I was supposed to there last sat with flowers & cakes & candles -_-) Barnacles is still really nice. And we still enjoyed our night very much but it was more of a date night than my birthday celebration, bleah.

Back to Barnacles, it is really 1 of the rare places in Singapore that we get to dine right next to the sea.

We love sitting in the outdoors, me sipping my chamomile tea and the bf having his beer after dinner, enjoying the night sea breeze and if we are lucky, we get to see stars. And we were lucky last night! It was a nice clear sky, with stars and a full moon! But I miss Australia; miss seeing a sky full of stars and the shooting stars! Unlike in Singapore, if we were lucky (like yesterday), we get to see a splattering bit of stars across the sky. But oh well.. skyscrapers city girl cannot be choosy.

As for the food, apart from the grilled seafood platter, the rest are decently priced(about $20ish to $30ish). But to me, the food is secondary; I am a sucker for dining by the sea. The sea breeze put me in my happy lala land. It gives me a happy calm feeling. As we were leaving the place and my happy lala land, I promptly fell into depression. I was experiencing Sunday night blues on a Saturday night. Sigh this is how much I dislike my work/everything about my job right now. My 2 bosses have left and now I need to adapt to 2 new bosses from other teams and my new direct boss does not seem to have much clue what our team has been and is doing. And not to mention the 2 juniors in my team, put it this way, if I have a choice, I will NOT have employ either of them. So work pretty much sucks. I am not too sure what to do next. Hitting a career crisis here. Maybe I should take this chance and and actually think of setting up my flower shop! Or do some side-line baking etc. Afterall Daphne and I have signed up for a very expensive baking class next Sunday! I should get some returns from it hah. Baking should be fun. And I get to spend time with my only friend! haha

Another thing, I need to stop procrastinating and get my lazy butt off my bed and start exercising. Need to get healthy and stop falling sick. Yi Hua is determine to celebrate her birthday proper this year! But so far, I have been watching Friends online. Okie I am old-school (or just old), but I still love Friends after all these years. The bf is going for his 10km run next Sunday and he is going for his training run this afternoon. And I am going for a massage plus facial -_- Here is to a better 2nd week. Need to exercise. Wish me luck determination!

My birthday present from the boyfriend! Cannot wait to read this. I am still a kid at heart. And think how cool is it that I can pass it on to my future kids! I will just kill them if they destroy the books or *horror* dun like Winnie-The-Pooh! hahah.

And the next thing should be new year resolutions. I guess the biggest resolution I have for 2012 is to get Healthy! Been falling sick way too much and for way too long each time. This year (ever since I join the company) I been falling sick almost every month and each time the illness is hitting me for 3-5 days. Like this round, I started to feel unwell on friday.. and now it is already sunday and I am still sick. Need to lead a more balance and healthier lifestyle. Bring on the coastal walks, cycling and swimming! Going to incorporate these activities into our dates, no more ” I am too tired from work” reasons, need to balance things out. And this can then help me achieve my next goal.. losing weight (what is new?) Per http://www.shape.com.sg/ideal-weight, I still have quite a lot to lose before reaching my “ideal weight”.  It is a super depressing (for me) to read on first day of the year. Oh well, healthier lifestyle = less fats? But honestly, need to exercise.

And here is hoping that I will find my dream job in 2012.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs

Brunetti is in town!!!

The dear bf  was surprised that I wasn’t aware of the opening of Brunetti  in SG(has introduced this to him on our last trip to Melbourne). Apparently he has passed by this place a few times WITHOUT telling me about it! Grrrllllllll! This (and of cos the brunch) brighten my weekend by quite a bit I can’t wait to go there! Anyone!?

I love Brunetti; love to stare at the cake displays, thinking  how delicious each and every one of them looks and fyi they also taste delicious!  It makes me happy just staring at the cakes. I hope the branch here will not let me down. But I guess, no matter how great the cakes here might taste, Melbouarne’s will always be teeny weeny better. Difference experience, different stage of life – It won’t be able to replace the kind of feeling that I have when I was in Melbourne *wistful feeling*

Anyway, there i was enjoying a nice hot cuppa of hot chocolate with a piece of the cake in the cold winter weather, just before the flight back home.

A part of me wishes that I can go back there to work and stay again for another 1-2years. Going back for holiday is just different. But… SG and the bf is my reality now. And apart from going to work every monday to friday, I am blessed to be daddy + mommy’s little girl + the bf’s princess (most of the time ha) here. But once in a while… I still miss those days..

Oh by the way… I still have a hot air balloon with champagne breakfast over yarra valley to sell away.. please help me ask around. Willing to go up to 25% off listed prices on the website. Great discount!!! heh