Prego prego

Met Jane for lunch today, to catch up after her Japan trip and we wound up at Prego, utilizing my FAR card. We shared calamari, eggplant parmagiana and a spinach ricotta ravioli but we struggled to finish.

 

Prego’s calamari portion has got to be one of the most generous out there! And when it’s half price at $13 after the discount, it’s soooo worth it.

 

The funny thing about lunch is that a group of people of walked in shortly after we ordered and sat next to us, separated by the glass partition. I could have sworn Aunty Yvonne from London was in the group but I wasn’t so sure so I showed Jane a picture since she was facing her.

Jane confirmed it looked like the person in my picture and when our calamari arrived, I managed to catch her attention when she turned, and it was Aunty Yvonne with her kids Jessica and Joseph! Small world!

She usually only comes in August for her birthday so I wasn’t expecting to see her and what are the odds of us ending up in the same restaurant? She had come to holiday in Lombok with her siblings and was heading back in a few days. Showed her the bump and told her Swana was also preggers.

I bought a new toy last night at the PC Show….a Canon EOS 650D DLSR camera. I figured with No.3 on the way, it was time to invest in one, never mind that I am not trained in using a DSLR, I just want mainly portraits of the kids and the photo studios are getting really expensive…one shoot with photos returned is the equivalent cost of 1 camera, so I might as well start learning to take my own!

Oh, by the way, Nat’s fever came back and the latest update is that she has HFMD…but I think hers is mainly herpangina because she’s got not visible sores, only on her throat.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

I have seriously got to stop buying dresses! Did a spot of spring cleaning this morning to sort my dresses and even after setting aside about 40 I don’t want anymore, plus not counting maternity clothes and whatever’s in the laundry or due for alteration and dry cleaning, I still have about 180 dresses! It’s a disease I tell you!

Me and the kids stayed home all day since Nick is not around and Geraldine was off. Swana and Gigi spent the day at Chai Chee and in the evening they all came over, together with Kaelash, Jeanette, Kavi and the kids.

I had decided to experiment with homemade pizza today inspired by Nat and Gigi’s recent excursion to Doughworkz and the older girls helped to make their own dinner. It was my first time making pizza dough, found a simple enough recipe online and the crust turned out tasting, well, like pizza!

We used mushroom, zucchini and bacon for toppings and prosciutto for the last batch, made 4 trays in total to feed all the adults. Very pleased for a first attempt, I didn’t get a thin crispy crust till the last tray, I think the trick is not to stretch the dough all the way to the edges.

Everything was baked for 10-12 mins at the highest oven setting, in my case 225 degrees celcius and I used the black tray base instead of the grill rack to rest my tray on to ensure everything is at maximum heat.

Germ's flea market

Germaine and Joanne had plans to sell stuff as part of a flea market at Germaine’s office today but plans went awry due to miscommunication and the two fell out before the event started! Nonetheless, Germaine proceeded with her event and I went to kaypoh since it was just in the neighbourhood at Kampong Bahru.

I brought some stuff to display including a Prada bag and her friend bought $20 worth of tops from me, which I channelled back into buying some stuff from Germs, lol. Nat was with me and she was soooooo clingy.

She was so emo last weekend when Nick accidentally threw away Gigi’s science experiment…they had been growing towgay in school in Yakult bottles. Gigi’s one had turned mouldy and Nick threw it in the bin.

When Nat found out, she was worried Gigi would get in trouble and cried before sleeping. So me and Nick made a new one for Gigi, borrowing some sprouts from Nat’s bottle and tried to make it look as close to the original but we only had a Vitagen bottle and I had to find a sticker label. But all’s well that ends well and since then, we grew some of our own sprouts at home to show her the cycle since hers didn’t thrive either.

In the evening we went to Membina for dinner, to meet Judy and Jayna one more time before they headed back to Sydney. Left the bubs with the grandmas and maids and the cousins had a tzechar dinner at the coffeeshop downstairs. The food was surprisingly decent and the girls had a ball blowing bubbles when we got back. 

New toy!

Sasha woke me up so early that I decided to try out the instant wa ko kueh mix that I had. Made them in pink, purple and blue but the texture was a lot denser than the kind I am used too at the pasar malams…I think I will just stick with those.

Had to bribe the kids with sticker earrings to wear what I wanted…picked out turquoise outfits for them and they complied just so they could wear the earrings!

We headed to town for lunch, having arranged to meet Ben and Wendy at Ion. We got there first and made a reservation at Canton-I as a backup lunch option in case we couldn’t decide where to eat.

Had 20 mins to walk around, and we headed to Wisma for Cotton On and Gap. Showed Nat the latest Gap-DVF collection but she didn’t like anything except for a pink wrap dress so I guess I get to save money because I was eyeing a blue print romper and eyelet dress. Will wait for sale!

We ended up at Canton-I anyway because the other restaurants in the vicinity were crowded and though prices were a little on the high side for dim sum, the food was tasty.

After lunch we had time to jalan-jalan some more, I came across an M1-Samsung roadshow and I’ve been itching to get a new phone and so impulsively I ended up with a Samsung Galaxy SIII.

The promo price was $138 with plan, but after factoring my loyalty voucher and the micro SIM card, I paid about $125. There was an instant lucky draw too and I won a corning ware set, plus helped myself to the complimentary tubs of cotton candy and popcorn!

Spotted a yellow bird perched on a tree below our block upon our return, don’t know what kind it is.

The full moon this evening also had an orange glow, so hard to capture on camera without a tripod and my digital zoom is so blur!

Rock Shopping and Nat turns 5!

The munchkin officially turned 5 today and I had actually taken half day afternoon leave with the intention of doing something for her in school but she refused to let us come! She hates the limelight on her and insisted we not do anything for her in school, although Gigi did let on to the class last week her birthday was coming and they sang her a song.

Well, since she didn’t want me hanging around and she spent the afternoon in school, I made use of the opportunity to shop in town, with the purpose of finding my rock. Went to Tiffany’s, Lucky Plaza and Paragon, saw a few potentials but they were loose stones.

My dream ring is the Tiffany Legacy but the 1ct size H colour was going for over $18K. No way Nick would spend that much and I had to find something in the 8-10K range. My plan was to buy a loose cushion stone and replicate the Legacy setting but all the shops I went to had no loose cushions and Nick was uneasy about buying online from James Allen or Blue Nile though I feel they are legit.

H Sena also didn’t have anything in stock and their prices were on the high side but then I walked past Larry and saw they had some weekly specials, including a gorgeous cushion diamond ring. When I went into the shop and asked about cushions, they said they only had the one in the display. I knew the price was WAY, WAY over Nick’s budget, about double in fact but I was lost and in love!

Considering the specs and size i.e. G colour, VVS2, 1.44ct centre stone and surrounding diamonds I thought the price was a fair deal compared to all the Lee Hwas and Goldhearts which mark up exorbitantly then offer you 50% off. Plus it was bigger and cheaper than the Legacy ring I saw.

The salesperson Angela was really patient and a bad influence, lol. I promised her to talk to Nick, I was willing to top up whatever difference because I just wanted one solid ring and I would never bug him again. It’s meant to be for our 10th anniversary plus push present in advance so it’s 2-in-1.

Anyway, after Larry’s I met Nick to pick up our new helper, Geraldine….she seems really sweet so I hope we all get along!

We had another cake cutting for Nat, courtesy of Swana. She said she actually preferred this small celebration compared to a big party so I think next year, we’ll keep it small!

Happy Birthday Munchkin, Mummy loves you!

Anyway, I told Nick about the ring and received a flat out 'No'! Even if I offered to share, he didn't want to consider it! Bugger. 

Shopaholic binge

Met JGR for lunch at Jai Thai, Purvis Street today. was in a Thai mood after my cough of the last couple of months seems to have abated and we had a trip to discuss!

What good value for money their sets are. For $8.80, I had pineapple rice with pandan chicken, green curry, spring roll, deep fried fish with chilli sauce plus a drink and small dessert.

We added on a mango salad, tom yam soup and some prawn cakes and there wasn’t a bad dish on the table. Everything was nice! Am so bringing Mummy!

I’ve been very naughty of late, splurged on several dresses over the last week and there was a Shopbop sale I couldn’t resist.

Bought a DVF Zarita dress and some Tory Burch flats, which arrived today. I also bought 3 lace dresses from Forever 21 and 4 dresses on eBay…can’t wait for everything to arrive! Think it was pent up energy for the lack of purchases in London, LOL!

I’ve put on some serious weight though in the past couple of months, time to eat salads and yong tau fu…need to shed 3kg at least!

1) Tory Burch Reva Nappa Flats at US$158. Fits me but need to season them so they expand a little. Not as comfy as I hoped, think it will cause blisters in some places. 

2) DVF Zarita Dress at US$260. Retail here is $510, couldn’t decide on black or navy, went with classic black. 

3) F21 Lace Dress at S$45. Loved it so much, I bought 2 different colours. The white is a little bridal but I have a 10th anniversary coming up!

4) F21 Lace Dress at S$25, loved the colour but will have to ‘suck it in’!

5) Donna Morgan one-shoulder colour block dress at US$58…loved the colour combi.

6) Studio by London Times Stretch Shift Dress at US$19.99…it was cheap, ‘nuff said. 

7) Red ¾ sleeve dress at US$15…again, it was cheap!

8) Herve Leger ombre dress at GBP 91. A bit too good to be true at this price, not sure if authentic, I highly doubt it but we’ll see. 

9) Michael Kors Webster clutch at US$78…been looking for a black clutch!

Happy birthday Swana!

It’s the big sis’ birthday and last night, Kavi, Manju, John and I surprised her at Membina, hiding in her kitchen when she came home from dinner with Kevin…classic shocked expression!



We took the day off today to utilize the birthday presents we ‘bought’ each other…massages on Groupon! She borrowed our car since Nick’s away and we headed to Goodwood to redeem the vouchers we bought at Spa Rael.



We each had a 90 min session comprising a scrub and massage. I don’t have an appreciation for spas and massages, they do not relax me, and the last massage I did was probably 2 years ago.

The experience today didn’t change my mind, I found it painful more than anything. The scrub was alright but the painful pressure made me tense up which the masseuse mistook as knots in my shoulder which led her to press harder and me to tense up further!

At last the ‘ordeal’ was over and they tried to hard sell us some packages which we politely declined and scooted out of there!


We had a late lunch at Arteastique at Mandarin Gallery, love the blue floral wallpaper. Ordered their tea for 2 set and had ourselves a relaxing afternoon sitting by the window and eavesdropping on the brainless conversation next door between a pretty girl and her groupie best friend. Basically she was torn between 2 men!



H&M was next, Sham was off and came to meet us. I bought a few things including terry cloth robes for the girls. Then we headed to Wilkie to pick up cousin Jean from Malacca and her 2 munchkins Matthew and Megan. Her husband was in town for NATAS and she decided to tag along and surprise Ma and Aunty Sarda.

And boy were they pleasantly surprised when we showed up with Jean!





Sasha was anti-social towards her Malaccan cousins but Nat and Gigi played and ate with Megan and Matthew. The kids whacked the macaroons that topped Swana’s Centre Ps cake.



I’m well on the way to being sick, been trying to fend off a sorethroat and cold since Thursday afternoon but with the kids sneezing and coughing into my face, it was only a matter of time…