Davis' Mini Cupcakes

Davis made a batch of cupcakes and passed some to me to try. Miniatures as I overdosed on cupcakes at my niece's birthday over the weekend.

The mini cupcakes are so cute and just nice for nibbling. I love the cream cheese frosting, courtesy of Sherie's recipe ;p

Thanks, Davis :)

Cube @ Work

This is my very messy cube at work. I have lots of junk and other stuff to make it personal. Too personal, maybe. Lol. But I have finally gotten rid of those piles of papers. I am such a pack rat. Now I am trimming the folders in the office system, trying to delete those "draft" documents and leave behind the final copy.

It is taking me a loooong time. I am just so bad with throwing things away. Sigh. Back to plodding on before I leave.

MAC Flashtronic 2007

I went to Vivocity so many times last month that I feel I know the place very well now. The main reason for going to Vivo is because my fave MA is based at the Tangs there, so no choice. If I want to buy things from MAC, I need to go to Tangs Vivo. No more Tangs Orchard for MAC products.

So why the multiple trips? A few times it was to buy stuff - MAC Ballonancy and MAC C-Shock Collections items. Recently it was to buy the mineralized stuff from the Flashtronic collection.

What did I get? Northern Light MSF - mid tone pink with rust and grey brown veining highlighter blusher. Mineralize eye shadows in Ether (gorgeous deep aqua with silver, black and gold streaks), Tectonic (yellow gold with lime green, warm brown and black veins), Mercurial (yellow gold with lilac and chestnut veining though it looks more lavender pink on me) and Quarry Sky (light blue with olive, coral and beige veining)

Of them, my favorite are Ether and Tectonic. They looked great when paired together. Quarry Sky was quite so-so for me but as usual I got it because it is LE and I am hoping I can get it to work for me. Lol.

Ladies Afternoon Tea @ Regent

We went to the Regent for afternoon tea on Saturday as a belated birthday gathering for Tanny as Agnes only came back from her trip to Japan the weekend before. It was tea but we started at 130pm and stayed there till 5pm, gossiping the afternoon away.

So it was like a 1-meal affair for most of us since some of us slept in and thus skipped brekkie and 130pm was like lunch time. Regent is always nice for its "quiet" location. I like the cosy feel of the place, which was made to resemble a library in an English home. The fried chicken wings were back and they were so good! Crispy and slightly spicy. I didn't have much this time. And I was pretty good in not trying all the desserts (maybe because I tried them previously already).

It was quite interesting to note the topics for the day ranged from pregnancy (Agnes is expecting her first child, and Davis and Sherie are already yummy mummies) to makeup to bags to clothes to everything under the sky :p It was quite rare to get all of us together and our friendship has lasted since we met in end 2004.

The next gathering will be for my "farewell" next month. Food for the day will be local. We are going to Straits Kitchen. Nice! I have not been there since last year when I was there with Irene to celebrate my birthday. I can start daydreaming about the Indian dishes and the nasi padang stuff. Yummy!

One thing I noticed yesterday was that it seemed like most of us are carrying a designer bag :p 2 YSLs, 1 Prada, 1 Burberry, 1 Le Sportsac Tokidoki and others.

Shopping with Vouchers

Yesterday turned out to be a shopping day! I thought it would just be tea with the girls and then home to rest. But I discovered my brand new cream gloss (Full Kiss - finally bought it after lemming for it since 2002 or 2003) from Helena Rubinstein (HR) leaked. There was a hole at the end of the tube and it stained my gwp bag from HR. The girls said I should be able to get an exchange for the cream gloss and so it was a trip down to Isetan Scotts after the tea. And from there it snowballed into a shopping trip :)

The BA at HR was pretty nice about it. I managed to exchange the gloss but my color was still out of stock. I have a feeling they will not be stocking this any time soon. So after much deliberation and testing, I got another color - Flush (quite neutral, peachy nude thing). The other color I was trying was Bed Red - an orange based fire engine red. It was that bright! Now I remembered the color I was lemming for, it was Carmine Passion which I have not seen in a long while, maybe the reason why I never really buy Full Kiss previously. The BA also gave me a new gwp bag after she learnt that I stained my current one with the cream gloss. I didn't even ask if I could have a new one, she just offered. Now that is delighting the customer. Something small but within her autonomy, but which made the customer happy. More companies should empower their staff with the flexibility to do such little stuff, instead of being very controlling on how gwp/samples should be given out here.

We popped over to see the bags and Nine West is on sale, 50% off on selected items. I bought a bag which I was eyeing previously. So yay, I managed to use my Isetan vouchers for that. Then it was to Topshop where I spent again, using my voucher there. Lol, I have too many vouchers to use. Instead of 1 undies, I bought 2 cos they were so cute! It said "You Rock" on 1, and "Groupie" on the other. And there was a picture of a skull for "You Rock" on the front, and a picture of a guitar on the front for "Groupie". The end season sale is still on, and I also picked up a bikini which is so spring/summery with its bright cheerful candy stripes.

It was to DFS after that and over there I was a good girl. Didn't buy anything at all :p Final stop was La Senza at Paragon where the end season sale was still on with 70% off. I remembered I still have my Style$ to spend at Paragon so I picked up a few stuff. In a total purple mood with 2 bras and 3 undies - all in purple!

Oh and at the tea, Agnes passed me the Old Navy bikini bottom which I ordered to match the top I already have. So now I have the complete set of the stars and stripes bikini :) Also got the Stila Pretty Pansy and Pussycat Doll palette from her.

A total shopping day. I love spending with vouchers :D

View from the top

We organized a press conference last month for a client which was held at Equinox Private Dining Room on Level 69 of Swissotel the Stamford. The view is amazing but the service/support staff could be better. I doubt I will ever recommend the place for events in future.

The Singapore Flyer looks pretty good from the top. I always thought it could be an eyesore to have something huge jut out from nowhere but it all seemed to meld together. Plus after the IR is built at Marina Bay area, I think it will all fit perfectly well.

You can see the construction of the barrage at the mouth of Singapore River. Afte the barrage is completed, the entire Marina Bay/Singapore River area will be a reservoir. A huge reservoir. I wonder what it will be like, especially since they have started introducing water sports in reservoir too.

I stopped wakeboarding now because the water is so polluted, and they use detergent to make it easier for people to slip in and out of the wakeboard "boots". Imagine detergent in reservoir! Killing all the fish and sea life underneath. Maybe it is bio-degradable?

In the picture, you can see the barrage at the top, the right hand side is the construction of the IR, but there are so many more cranes now than before, all working furiously to meet the deadline. And there is the floating platform opposite it. The floating platform is made up of 15 pontoons which were designed and constructed by one of our clients, hence my knowledge of the barrage and other stuff :p (the whole reason for taking the pic)

PersonalDNA

I am a Benevolent Creator.



You are a Creator

Your imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty make you a CREATOR.

You are independent, and you enjoy your self-sufficiency.

Defying convention, you are very innovative, and you have a vivid imagination.

The look of things is important to you, and you have a keen eye for aesthetic beauty in multiple arenas.

You have a strong interest in what is new and exciting—and that includes forging ahead with new ideas, not simply discovering what is already out there.

Your eagerness to seek new and varied experiences leads you into many different situations.

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you are creative when it comes to finding novel solutions to complex problems.

You trust yourself to be innovative and resourceful.

Your confidence allows you to take your general awareness and channel it into creativity.


If you want to be different:
Appreciate the earthly, practical elements of things—there is beauty in form as well.

While you are good at thinking abstractly, focusing on details a bit more may help you discover things about the world.

You are Benevolent

You are a great person to interact with—understanding, giving, and trusting—in a word, BENEVOLENT

You don't mind being in social situations, as you feel comfortable enough with people to be yourself.

Your caring nature goes beyond a basic concern: you take the time to understand the nuances of people's situations before passing any sort of judgment.

You're a good listener, and even better at offering advice.

You're concerned with others at both an individual and societal level—you sympathize with the plights of troubled groups, and you can care about people you've never met.

Considering many different perspectives is something at which you excel, and you appreciate that quality in others.

Other people's feelings are important to you, and you're good at mediating disputes.

Because of your understanding and patience, you tend to bring out the best in people.


If you want to be different:

You spend a lot of time taking care of others, but don't forget to take care of yourself!

Sometimes you can get overcommitted, and when you sacrifice spending time with those close to you, it can make them feel unimportant.

"Jungle" Cats

I took the pictures some time last year when I was waiting for the bus. It was interesting to see the way the two cats interacted with each other. Waiting...observing...pouncing.

Animal instincts.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

They look so yummy and pretty. The recipe seems quite do-able too.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
Prep time: 15 minutes
Makes 16 servings

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
16 (about 1 pound) whole stemmed California strawberries
8 graham cracker squares, finely crushed (about 2/3 cup)

Directions
In mixer bow, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel until smooth and creamy; set aside. Using a paring knife or small melon baler, partially hollow-out tops of strawberries to a depth of ¾ inches. Gently fill each with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Roll tops into graham cracker crumbs. Arrange on serving platter.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 65 calories; 3 g fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 85 mg sodium; 7 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g protein

Tips:
* To prepare recipe ahead of time, fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture; cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours. Roll in graham cracker crumbs just before serving.
* For a chocolate cheesecake variation, melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels as package directs; stir into one 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened). Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Proceed as recipe directs, rolling filled strawberries into finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies.

Recipes and photographs provided courtesy of the California Strawberry Commission. ©2007 California Strawberry Commission. All rights reserved.

Too Honest

This is hilarious! Sometimes a little honesty can be too much? Lol. Refreshing.

A Game of MahJong

A bona fide tai-tai I can never be as I totally sux in MahJong (MJ). I vaguely know the concept of being able to exchange for tiles if you get the "flower or animal" tiles, and to have 3 of a kind or in a row (straight). The rest I totally don't remember or don't know at all.

So today I spent today at a colleague's (VL) place where we played MJ. It was supposed to be a fun session, with some money involved. BUT.....due to mine and another colleague's (JC) incompetence, the other 2 decided to just play for fun instead and to let us learn through trial and errors.

They thought they were bad...until they met us. Lol. JC has only played a few times but he improved lots at the end. While I did manage to "win" some games, some were horrid and I made mistakes where if we were playing for money, I would have to pay out to everyone a few times. It was still a fun and good learning experience.

We took so long just playing 1 round. I think we started around 5pm and only ended around 1030pm, with about 30mins break for dinner. Yes, we took more than an hour to complete just 1 "wind" direction. I am still pretty clueless about how the "wind" works and what can be used to keep as a pair and the "credit" to get before you can even win. So many rules.

But I must say there is something quite therapeutic about the clacking tiles and then stacking them and trying to strategize the next move.

Wicked - A Nail Salon

I tried Wicked, which is at International Building next to Isetan Scotts, in late June on Davis' recommendation. The place is tiny, but has tasteful ambience. The seats are like a long bench with sinks at the bottom. That is good as I am quite fussy about that. I prefer to have actual sinks rather than a portable basin or those footbath thing. This is for hygiene purposes.

It is not very comfortable but still ok to sit for an hour. Magazines provided are international and quite recent and service is good. I like that the tea is served on nice tea cup and with a mini tray.

I think it is fairly new and is operated by a Korean as it also has Korean facials and waxing services in another room off the main nail area. The staff is also fairly new to the trade, you can tell they are not very experienced.

In the 2 times I was there (yes I signed a package as it was a good deal but now I thoroughly regret it), the nail technicians were not very good. I am still hoping I can find a good one for my remaining sessions.

The first one cut my nails too short and it was not straight for one of the toenails. About a week after that, I discovered there was a tiny nick on the 3rd toe on left foot. I was concerned and so made an appointment to get them to re-paint the nails (cos the colors have chipped by then - very fast for an OPI. Less than a week).

I went back and got a different nail technician. She is very new (I didn't know that in the beginning) and didn't seem to know what to do. I told her about the nick and just to change the nail colors and not to file or cut them as they were already so short. Then she discovered there is another nick on the 4th toe on the right foot. Seriously, I have never have spilts on nails before and right so close to the cuticles.

The warning bells should have rung in my head when the technician didn't even offer to repair the tiny nicks. She just allowed me to tell her to change the colors. Usually at other nail salons, they will ask you or tell you that you need to glue it back or something. But at Wicked, nothing at all.

So it was repainted and I left, hoping my nails will grow fast enough and the nicks will not get worse. But 2-3 weeks later, they spilt further. So the cracks on the nail and the reason why the one on the left foot has came off. And now I am seeking emergency treatment on the right foot as that is in a precarious position being 3/4 down the toenail.

I don't trust any nail technicians to do it. My boss recommended super glue but I am hesitant to do it on my own. I called the person recommended by Yolanda and she said I will need to put on fibreglass nail. WTH is that? Anyway, she is traveling today and won't be back till next weekend.

So I called Flair Nails where I usually have my waxing done. Spoke to my long time therapist there and she recommended the technicians there and that they are all trained and experienced. She said I will probably need the silkscreen (??) or gel nail or whatever. All these terms just went above my head. So I shall try it out today and hopefully it works. The spilt ends will hold till the nail grows out.

I did a silkscreen thing once at Snails for a tiny nick before. It didn't work and came out after a couple of days. Hence I am quite skeptical on such stuff.

Bottomline: I don't recommend Wicked at all. I think only the owner is experienced, so it is only good if you managed to get her for your appointment.

Nasi Lemak - Old Chang Kee

Nasi Lemak from Old Chang Kee? Yes, besides the usual curry puffs and other deep fried snacks, the Old Chang Kee cafes also served up hot dishes such as nasi lemak, beef stew in bread bowl, grilled fish, etc. It is called Take 5.

I tried the nasi lemak as I was not sure what to have and the fried chicken wing looked tempting. Actually I went to the wrong store. I wanted hor fun but went to Take 5 instead of Killiney Kopitiam at Square 2 :p

Verdict? The rice could be more lemak and fragrant but still quite ok. The chicken wing is good and warm. The chili is pretty good. The sausage is a surprising touch. Average nasi lemak, I would say.

Barbie Tee

I want this! This will complete the Barbie collection and it has rhinetones for the tiara, earring, hairband and necklace. The shape of the tee doesn't leave much to desire but who knows? It might look good when worn. Pricey at US$28 from 80tees.

Spree, anyone?

Broken Nails

Another unsexy post.

My toe nail broke into half and came off today. It is quite scary to see the flesh instead of nail. It chipped a couple of weeks back and I noticed there was a spilt in the center from the side. Today, it decided to come off. I hope it is nothing serious and with no full nail to protect the nail bed, I won't get any infections.

Then I noticed the toe nail on the other foot is also going to come off. The pedicurist did mention there was also a spilt on that toe but I didn't see it, so I didn't bother much. But now it is so obvious and it is even worse. The spilt is about 3/4 down the toe so if that comes off, only 1/4 of the toe will be covered with nail leaving the rest exposed.

I have never had this happened to me before. So on the left foot, the 3rd toe is 1/2 covered with nail. And on the right foot, the 4th toe might be left with only 1/4 of nail. I am hoping my nails will grow faster so that when it eventually falls off, it will be at least 1/2 covered.

Anyone has any suggestions on how to protect nails?

Change of M1 Plan

I was talking to the girls last night and the conversation went on to phone subscription plans. Oh, cos I finally found out M1 has started selling the Blackberry Pearl. It is priced at $198 (2 years contract on BB and Voice plans) or $498 (2 years contract on BB plan) or $698 without any plan or contract.

That is so darn expensive!

So the girls found out my current plan is very expensive too as I typically pay around $80-ish per month, lowest ever is around $60-ish. I was quite loathe to change my plan 3-4 years ago when free incoming calls were the rage as I didn't feel the plan was attractive enough. Then time just passed by and I just forgot about it.

I am currently on the OK Flex plan which is no longer in existance (another reason why I didn't want to change cos I can never switch back after that). So what is the OK Flex plan?

The subscription is $50 (minus 45% discount making it $27.50) per month and I get $45 worth of SMSs and talk time. But the reason why it became higher than the $27.50 per month is because I always exceeded the $45 and had to top up. Based on last month's bill, my talktime was $52.12 and SMSs at $27.65, so I incurred additional charges of $34.77. Then I have my roaming subscription and caller-ID display charges. But I think the reason for the high talk time was due to the events I was handling in June and July - lots of calls from suppliers and clients and colleagues.

So yeah, my friends were all telling me last night I need to change my plan cos they are paying around $30+ on average and most people receive in-coming calls more than calling out (well, except when I have events and need to contact people).

Checked M1 website for the various plans - there are so MANY now! And I have decided on the SunTalk Plus IDD 80. It is at $28 per month and here is what is included:
*Free incoming calls until 31 December 2009
*Free local calls on weekend (max 100 mins)
* 5 for 5 Global SMS daily
*Free IDD 021 calls to 15 countries (residential and mobile line in Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and USA) but exclude outgoing call charges at $0.15/min.
*Free 80 mins local outgoing calls
*500 free SMS

The new plan will be in effect starting tomorrow and hopefully this will cut my phone cost to below $50 and that I do not exceed the outgoing call charges. At $0.15/min, it can add up too. But I guess it is marginally better than my OK Flex as the charges were at $0.20/min (weekdays) and $0.05/min (weekends and weeknights) and I think my calls tend to be during day time due to work.

Next stop: Blackberry Pearl (still considering)

My Dream Car

I found my dream car. I was traveling in a taxi on the way back to the office after a meeting, when I saw it. The perfectly rounded curvy bumper. It is so darn cute. Even better than the Miata, which is quite small.

Being ignorant of cars and its makes, I didn't recognize the logo. But managed to see the word "Crossfire" and googled it earlier and tada! It is the Chrysler Crossfire Coupe. I am really stunned to see it is from Chrysler. Sure didn't expect it at all. Lol.

Isn't it the prettiest thing you ever seen? I would love to have this car ;p You can read more about it here.

Chez Clarke Nasi Lemak

I was at Irene's place yesterday and she cooked nasi lemak. I was supposed to learn how to cook it from her. But as there were so many "chefs" in the kitchen yesterday, I decided to observe first.

So now I know (theoreotically) how to fry pomfrets, white baits, over-easy egg with the crispy edges, sambal prawns and sambal squids and eggplants with dried shrimps. Lots of side dishes to go with the nasi lemak (coconut rice).

Squids, Prawns and Eggplants

Fried Egg

Whitebait

Fried pomfrets

It was a lip-smaking delicious meal. The sambal chili goes so well with the rice, and the whitebait was so crispy and tasty. The squids were just right, not rubbery chewy and the prawns were fresh and sweet. The eggplants were a great mix with the dried shrimps.

India Hicks Collection - Crabtree & Evelyn

In recent months, Crabtree & Evelyn has been introducing new items almost every month now. It took my willpower not to buy every time I received the promotional flyer. I have been good - I more or less kept to my shopping ban of 6 months (Dec'06 - May'07) for not buying body products.

I only bought the "Lost" and "Found" shower gels - all because I love the packaging. Blue and pink heart-shaped box and 2 bears. Sweet. Then 2 shower mousses - foamy moussy, only because they were on promotional price. I doubt I will pay full-price for them. In fact I seriously doubt I will re-purchase again as I didn't like the foamy feel. Like shaving cream.

And my last purchase from Crabtree is the shower gel, body scrub and bath salts from the India Hicks Collection. They smell good - fresh, clean scent of the spider lily. Not too sweet or floral at all. I quite like it. I am such a sucker for shower gel and bath products.

The diffuser was so nice - I was sorely tempted to buy that but at over $100, it is crazily expensive.

Kaz Bar

This is quite a long overdue post. My 3rd visit to Kaz Bar last year together with Celest so that I can utilize the voucher I won for coming in 2nd in a Middle Eastern/Bellydance costume thing. And even that was a fluke. Nobody really went there dressed in costumes and the organizer got me to wear a headset veil thing and for that I won 2nd place. Haha.

It serves middle eastern food and the decor is reminiscent of a lady's boudoir or a pasha's harem. There are intimate alcoves with beaded curtains, wispy silky drapes and numerous cushions. Or you can also sit by the bar counter or at the regular tables.

The highlight for me is the drink - Lambrini. A light bubbly. Nice.

By now I don't really remember what we ate, but we ordered an appetizer sampler thing. I like the hummous with the pita bread. The mashed eggplants and the falafel were good too. The place is well known for its lamb too.

On Wednesday and towards the end of the week, there is a bellydancer performing 2 sets from 9pm onwards.

Location:
Kaz Bar

25 Church Street, #01-03

Capital Square 3

Tel: 6438 2975