September & October '18

// Happening in September & October // 
clayart class
nobuo uematsu earthbound papas concert
penang weekend trip
f1 singapore
iceland trip
short hair

I've been interested in clay art for awhile now, but I've only really done like a few items before. Mostly following some youtube videos. I still have a bunch of clay in my drawer from few years ago. 
I saw this promotion for clay art class on Fav app at Flora Clay I thought it was a good idea for a date. Sorta. Since we can do it together with proper guidance and more tools.




Behold, our creation. He was really into though. Like very quiet and just did whatever, and it's like he is in his own world. LOL. 


And on the same day, we went to Nobuo Uematsu Sensei's concert! I've always wanted to attend one especially the orchestra version but since he is personally performing this time, I cannot pass this chance up. The performance was magical although most of the songs played are battle songs. 





Did a short weekend trip to Penang with friends! It's also been awhile since we went on a trip together. Thought it might be a good idea to spend some time for a food trip since we never been there together. I kept a Penang Food List from 2014 but I am afraid it is a bit tad outdated. There's so many new cafes popping up and also many old places that are yet to be explored. But in those short 2 days, I can't possibly review much places.


This picture was taken in a hidden cafe called Whisk. The only thing worth mentioning about in this cafe is that well... it's quite "instagrammable". It's good if you like taking ootd kind of picture. The deco was subtle and homey. Unfortunately, as for the desserts and drinks, it was really bad. They do look nice (even the illustrations on the menu), but it tasted borderline bad. 


Second snack/dessert place we visited was at 92 Armenian Street serving all kinds of food with bird's nest. If you like heritage kind of atmosphere, this is a good place to go. However, it can be quite pricey! Since the main star is "bird's nest". Again, food was also just mediocre but at least they are serving something different. The cafe can be very crowded too but they do have a lot of seats. 



I think the coolest place we've been to is this hidden bar called Manchu. I simply love how they partition and deco-ed this place. It reminded me a lot of the old chinese movies that I watched before. Even the waitress and waitresses are dressed in traditional outfits like Cheong Sam. There's also a live band here. It's quite difficult to get a good place there so I suggest people to go early. I didn't take too much pictures there as I didn't think it would do this place much justice. So, it's really a lot better if you go there and see for yourself!

It was a short weekend trip but I think I needed that short break at somewhere else rather than being cooped up in the house. 


Suprised le bf by buying both of us passes to see F1. He is a big F1 fan. And I sort of bought this because of some argument whereby I wasn't showing enough care for him. HAHAHA. Way to go Joey for remembering the bad stuffs. I have a really good memory in finding faults. 



Our first F1 event I guess. And gosh, Dua Lipa was there to perform. I love her hair that it actually inspired me to cut my hair short. 




Okay, some short random notes in this section. Regarding the muscat that I found in Dondondonki. I was so excited when I saw them. Just looking at them reminded me of the sweet juicy and fragrant smell I once taste and experienced in Japan. It costed like around 30$ for one bunch. And you know what, that was a waste of money. These taste like grapes! It's not muscat at all. I've been conned. *cry* Never ever buying muscat again outside of Japan. 


So, Iceland trip happened in the month of October. And within those 2 weeks that we were there, we only manage to catch the Aurora on one night. Luckily we did, I would be so sad if we didn't at all. I just posted two vlogs so far. I am not sure if I will write a blog post for it. But let's see. Maybe I will just do a master post and put all the vlogs there. 


And this also happened on a random fine day. I have thought of cutting my hair short for quite a long time now. But didn't quite find a suitable time and place to do so. I don't know which saloon to go to. Then, I went along with my boyfriend to his usual saloon for his haircut. And there and then, I decided to chop it off. The hairdresser did made a fuss about it and didn't really want to cut it for me but I manage to persuade her to do it. Well, not persuade, basically just made her do it. The result were great. Even she said so, admiring her own work. 


I think I look really chic right now. Lol. The only downside is that I have to blow-dry my hair if I don't wait it to curl the wrong way. 
Today's cat special, only Grey's photos. Because he is the silly one. Although Bianca is also very cute but I couldn't manage to take photos of her being so adorable. Enjoy!




July & August '18

// Happening in July & August // 
perhentian diving trip
blonde again
rainforest lumina
keto + detox diet, after diet
taking up journaling and calligraphy
games & books
the lion king musical
broga hill
sam at 8q


Without realizing it, I am making this as a bi-monthly update.

Hong Kong | Food Trip, mostly

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Trip date \\ 31st May - 4th June 2018
Destination \\ Hong Kong
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'Tis was my first time in Hong Kong this time. Honestly, I do not have a strong desire to explore Hong Kong because of it's notorious culture of being rude to tourists. Though I have to say, it was so much better than I have expected, maybe time has changed HK and it has mellow out? We didn't experience anything bad in our trip. No bad-mouth waiter or waitresses scolding us, but maybe just a friendly banter with one or two. The city itself, it has a certain character I have to say. Tough gangster-ish vibe that I often see in Cantonese movie. Other than that, it is quite similar to Singapore I feel. The bus and MTR.. and of course the crowd rush.

I didn't take much photos on this trip, therefore I can squeeze my whole 5 days trip in one single post today. But I did take a lot of videos and I made vlogs out of it. Vlog is kind of like my new thing that I am doing right now whenever I am travelling but I don't talk in these videos. I still feel quite uncomfortable talking and explaining to air while holding my phone out. And I think I sound funny, not nice to hear. HAHAHA.

Amigurumi Tutorial | Eevee Marshmallow Edition


 

imageimage

Materials

2.75mm hook (or any hook size that suits your yarn)
Minlon acrylic yarn (or any sport yarn)
# Brown 
# Light brown
6mm Safety eyes 
Felt cloth
# Dark brown
Black embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Fibre fill
Fabric glue
Hair spray
Dog slicker brush (optional)

imageimage

May & June '18

// Happening in May & June // 
hisho
long weekend in thailand
games & books
luge sentosa
a day with the girls

I think I don't even know how to blog anymore. It feels like I'm going to leave out a lot of stuff that has been happening for the past two months. Or maybe not..? There's only a few major interesting events to talk about anyway. I think I am mostly at home with my PS4 even when I am free or even in the weekend. Anyway, who is still reading my blog? Wait, the better question is, who still read blogs? I don't even read blogs anymore, to be honest. More or less, I will occasionally search for blog post if I needed some information for my travels. Other than that, I really do not care (mostly about how other bloggers live their lives). If you are reading this, I am not even sure why you care about how I am living mine??? Oh, funny thing it is, innit? And yet, here I am writing a public blog post that can be accessed by a million others on the internet (if they know how to find my blog). The irony. 
I'm not sure what I am on right now. I always go off track and trying to sound like I have really deep thought, when the truth is, it's just random stuff flowing out of my brain that doesn't mean anything. Not really deep, maybe, just random, mostly.

Right right, I digress.
I'll continue on with my... stuffs. I'm sure the total number of words in the paragraph above far exceeds the one that I am going to write in the sections below. I guess picture tells a thousand words, or so I've been told. 

Batam weekend Getaway

Planned a short weekend getaway for the weekend to celebrate puddin's birthday. Batam is just a short 45 mins away via ferry. I thought it would be an inexpensive trip, but I was so wrong. Most probably because it's more touristy than the other parts of the country.

Okay, let me breakdown the main expenses.
$ = SGD

Turi Resort, Riani Deluxe Beachfront (Agoda) - 238.99$
Ferry to Batam through agent - 85$ for 2 person round-trip
Majesty Spa 3.5h package - 194.57$ (IDR 1, 980, 000) for 2 person

I think overall, we spent like 74.25$ for food at Turi Resort and 100$+ cash also for food outside and snacks. So the total damage is around 750$ for two person for that one weekend. It's bloody expensive for a short weekend but, I did indeed booked a more luxurious resort for our stay, so by right, I shouldn't be whining at all. It's just a bit painful for my wallet.

Vlog


Food Review | Bulldog, Miyakori Jonker, Samfu, Burger & Lobster, Gyunami

// Food review //
Bulldog Cafe, Melaka
Miyakori Jonker, Melaka
SamFu Nyonya Restaurant, Melaka
Burger & Lobster, Genting
Gyunami, Singapore
////

I know it's kind of here and there, and it's been awhile since I've done these food reviews. Heck, I don't even remember the price for half of the things I've eaten anymore. I guess this is not a formal one. I'm just doing it for the heck of it. For my own satisfaction. Well, here goes nothing

1st Quarter of 2018

// Happening this month Jan - Apr // 
new year bunion surgery
valentine day souffle
chinese new year 
pottery day
i light marina bay & prudential carnival
shin nihon beef tongue
eric's wedding


4 months has passed, and nothing much has happened. I'm living quite a quiet life this year. Hah. 

Japan | Things to buy back, Snacks and souvenirs

Please note that all of the items below are tried and tested by yours truly and it's my personal recommendation. These are just my personal reviews and experience. 

What triggered me to write a post on this is because I, myself, don't know what to buy exactly from Japan. Well, I know some personal favs in general, like those Tokyo banana, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory biscuits, Shiroi Koibito, Calbee, Ichiran Ramen instant noodle (which is not really good, the fresh one is definitely much better) so on and so forth. These are all very common snacks that people usually buy back (from what I have seen from colleagues and friends). So, I thought, maybe it' a good idea to introduce some other things that are not from the "popular" list which are worth buying or trying.  


Snack List

1. Muscat

Okay, I know it's weird to start off with a fruit.. and it's not even a "thing to buy back" but yet it's on my list. At first glance, it looks like grapes, but it's not. It taste very very different from grapes and it's super sweet! This is a must try fruit when you are in Japan! There's also a hint of mango aroma in it (at least that is what my mum describes it). I'm not good with describing it but I reckon it's better to just try it yourself and judge. Hahaha.

Japan | Kansai | Day 9 & Day 10, Universal Studio Japan and Osaka

...previous post on Japan...


Day 9 // Osaka
*************
/ Universal Studio Japan

Finally, D-Day has come! Universal Studio Japan Osaka! I think this is one of the must go-to place if you are ever in Osaka. Well, at least once I must say. Especially if you are a Harry Potter fan (oh, me me me!)!

I bought my ticket beforehand on Klook, I also bought Express Pass 7 for the three of us so that we would save time, and it did save a lot of our time but unfortunately we did not really took all the rides that was included in the express pass because we were feeling quite nauseated after 2 rides.
Out of all the rides, I would recommend:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ in 4K3D 
  • Flight of the Hippogriff™ 
  • JAWS 
  • Space Fantasy

There are also a few more hardcore ones which are the Hollywood Dream Backdraft and The Flying Dinosaur. I was hesitating to take them but since both my family members are not big fans of super scary ride like these, I gave them a quick pass also (easier than admitting that I don't like scary rides).

If you are planning to buy the Express Pass, I would advise you to check your Express pass ticket properly as there are a few rides that will only let you use the Express Pass in a certain timing which is written on the fine print. Unfortunately, the ticket will be in Japanese, so you might need some help from Klook for the translation. It will look like this:





As for me, I know how to read some Hiragana and Katakana, so I kind of guess the rides name. Learning a new language comes in handy from time to time.

Japan | Kansai | Day 7 & 8, Koyasan, Arima Town, and Kobe

...previous post on Japan...


Day 7 // Koyasan
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/ Kongobuji
/ Kondo Hall
/ Daimon Gate
/ Okunoin
/ Torodo Lantern Hall
/ Shinsaibashi for dinner

Japan | Kansai | Day 6, Osaka Kaiyukan & Namba

...previous post on Japan...


Day 6 // Osaka 
************
/ Kaiyukan
/ Namba

I know, it's a particularly short day cause we spent quite awhile in the Kaiyukan. I think if I were alone, I could have stayed longer, just to stare at the whale sharks as this does not get to happen everyday. We also got some shopping done at night at Don Quijote in Namba. 


I think this was the best OOTD I wore during my stay there. I got a new *fashionable* shoes (cause my sneakers were killing me, and it got my bunion worse, so bought a roomier one to lessen the pain). And my outfit matches my coat (which I wore every single damn day).