Reflections and Resolutions

HAPPY 2014 READERS !!

This is my first post of 2014 so I would like to share with you my reflection of 2013 and resolution for 2014. Blogging is really a good way to get your voice heard, especially for someone like me with not a lot of friends. Seriously I very much prefer animals to humans. ;p

2013 was kind of a tiring year for me, specially work related. I took up a new role in the same Bank due to the merger of 2 departments. A role more impressive and with more visibility, which also means more stress. I put in lots of effort on this new challenge wanting to show my capabilities and also get out of the old role which doesn't bring me any credits. I have to admit that I was feeling proud of my new role, each time I met up with friends whom I have not seen for a long time and even during new introductions. However all these eat into the time I spend with my love ones and also resulted in me being less tolerant to them - where I am already quite bad in this as a person. Hehe... The start of getting a hang on a new role actually makes me think about what I really want to do in life. If you already have the answer, good for you!! If not, hey there is nothing to be shameful about, you only decide on your husband after dating a few assholes right. Sometimes even the final decision might be wrong since we are always changing. Like they say, the only constant thing is change.

For those who know me, I complain a lot - about work, relationship, friends and life. However I am still grateful complaining about nitty gritty things in life, getting upset over the irrelevant things in life is actually a blessing in disguise. Having the time and energy to brood over small little things actually means that the big things are going well and smooth. I am always feeling blessed and grateful for having such a wonderful mom, amazingly cute dog and tolerant bf ;)
So if you are upset over your colleague not lunching with you or your child getting lower grades than his peers, trust me, you have no problems in life !!

My new year resolution for 2014 will be to live it with little or no expectations. No expectations = no disappointments. Every good things coming to me will be even better in the form of surprises. Well this is not easy especially for those with high expectations in life but try it, step by step and you are going to be a lot happier and more appreciative of what you've got !

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
― Alexander Pope

2014 will be a year of giving for me, at least I will try harder. ;) By giving, you'll appreciate more. I have recently signed up with Willing Hearts, volunteering in the collection and delivery of food to the needy in Singapore. Being a volunteer not only help those in needs, it rewards you both physically and mentally. Willing Hearts is a 100% volunteer-run, non-profit organization set up to help provide for the needy in Singapore, regardless of race or creed. Do your part !

I will be starting my part-time certificate in Fashion Design tomorrow!! YIPPIE !! Signed up for a 6months certificate course from drawings to basic apparels construction with NAFA !! OMG, you can't imagine my excitement, first time in my life I will be sitting in a classroom learning what I love! Meeting new friends having the same interest and I really hope to find some good friends here. No more economics, mathematics, accounting.... It's about fashion now, can't wait for it.

I was telling my mom, "hey I might be better than you after". Yeah right, after 6months comparing to her 30years of experience... haha. I hope one day the mother and daughter can create their own fashion line!! Then again, no expectations, this is my dream ! 

If your dream doesn't scare you, it's not big enough!

Here's to a better 2014 !! Lots of love and happiness..

Most important thing in life is to be happy. Giving is happiness. Having the ability to give is already a blessing. Hope I will have better posts coming up for Year2014. Leave me comments to tell me what you would like to hear and how I can improve. Don't be shy lah ;)

Stay happy always my readers and remember being able to complain about small little things show that you have actually no problems in life !

Hey and where are your travel destinations for 2014 ? Before I embark on any trip this year, my aim is to write about all my favorite places so far... So stay tuned... ;)

Yours, 

xoxo....

Festive Sharing and the B Day

Hey Guys,

(Warning: Take your time on this long post since the next time you see me is going to be in 2014. Post on love, food, fashion and the truth! Have fun!)

Festive season is coming to an end soon and how are you feeling right now! For me it's kind of a hate and love feeling, reluctant to let go of the year end holiday mood and stress-free days yet excited to enter 2014 with my list of resolutions and determination to make them happen. Also I can't wait to get rid of this super guilty feeling and start eating clean again. Had enough of me making excuses for myself in front of the food and after hating myself for not having enough determination to conquer each meal. Hey but that's life right, letting go once in a while and indulge in your favorite delicacies!! As long as everything gets back to being in control, who cares ;) For those who knows me, December is also my Birthday month. Which means MORE food!

I spent my Christmas eve being with my dearest in life - Mom and Denver. I always make it a point to stay home when he is not in Singapore so I can compensate for the time spent with bf and friends.
So this year my Christmas gift to Denver is a Durian tart instead of the usual toys which he has more than enough. Durian is his favorite fruit, he goes crazy the moment he sniffs it. I do believe that dogs are like human, spoiling them once in a while just makes the life more interesting. Having said that, I do maintain a very strict diet for Denver ;)

Got my Snowy Durian Ice Cream Tart from SuperDog Kitchen. It is human-friendly too! Seriously, self-made dog food is always healthier than your day to day human food.

Consists of: D-24 durian, strawberries, greek yoghurt, lactose-free milk, butter, honey, eggs, garbanzo bean flour and wheat-free & gluten-free all purpose flour.

Oh, Lemon mint stars is a gift to help freshens up Denver's breath. How sweet is that!

Needless to say, he LOVES it

On Christmas day, I got a date with with one of my close girlfriend from France at OSO Ristorante. Italian restaurant with a cosy alfresco area and amazing food! We took the 4 course Christmas menu at $98++. Since I was already half-drunk after a bottle of wine and glass of champagne, have forgotten to take a picture of the menu so I do not have the exact name of the dishes. ;p Here you are..

One of my favorite cheese - Burrata

Mad love for this Ravioli - there is an egg yolk right in the middle

Lobster

Chestnut and mascarpone cream if I remember correctly

The happy girls

Food was really good especially the ravioli, OSO is definitely a restaurant worth your try! Prices are on the higher side though but just good for a special occasion. I especially love their "200 Gr. roasted beef tenderloin filleto with sabayon asparagus and shaved truffle" which is on the a la carte menu.
We had a great dinner and decided to continue to Screening Room for the unfinished gossips.

We usually go out in a group and were both happy to share some intimate moments together. Ended Christmas with 2 drunk girls and plenty of gossips. When was the last time you met up with your girlfriends, especially for working mums? It is good to maintain the friendship by meeting up often even with your busy personal life or family commitments. Afterall, friends are one of the key aspects in life!

As you know my bf returned from France on the 26th, just in time for my birthday. For the past years, he usually comes back after new year so I am really happy that we can spend my birthday together ;) His return certainly doesn't help with the calories when he brought back all what I am missing.

Miam Miam !!

What is your favorite snack or dessert from France? Chocolate, Madeleine or Macaron? I love Madeleine with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Saucisson and rillettes are my favorite appetizers from France, I can finish a loaf of bread with them! He was not able to bring back rillettes due to long hours of flight. ;( As you can see from the picture, saucisson is a variety of thick, dry cured sausage that originates in France. Typically made of pork, or a mixture of pork and other meats, saucisson are a type of charcuterie similar to salami or summer sausage. They actually taste like our chinese sausage "Lap Cheong".

As always, what I usually do during the day of my birthday is to get a new hairdo. This year I decided to try the salon all the top bloggers are raving on, Salon Vim.  Booked an appointment with one of the directors, Gary Chew. He is nice, friendly and sociable. 

Transformation in progress

Despite the rave created by all top bloggers, I was disappointed with the results. Not that the results is bad, it's just not as amazing as what you would have expect. Overall I did straightening to the first half of my hair followed by curls on the bottom half and 1 color only to complete the look. To be fair, the service was good until the coloring of my hair when I felt my scalp burning after they applied the dye on it. This is not the first time I do coloring to my hair and I have bleached my hair several times before. I did not tell them about the burning sensation though, thinking that I can hold on for only 30mins. After the wash, I was told that my bottom part of the hair is not able to absorb the color because I have previously dyed black before and now I have a lighter upper head compared to the lower part. It didn't look ugly but just that it did not turned out to be what I wanted. They told me that I could book another appointment 2 weeks later to do highlights to the lower part of the hair to make it look even. Duh! My curls do look great the point I walked out of the salon after the professionals blowing dry them. I have paid $50 more to become a member so I could enjoy the 15% off + 20% since it's my birthday month, all in all $550 damage to my wallet. In order to not waste my $50, I am going to return for my highlights. Having said these, I do like my new look after it's done but my curls didn't quite last till the 3rd day. Maybe it's because I did not blow dry like how I was taught to do but overall it is not as great as what I imagined. Well, some things you just got to experience it to know it.
Now here's my OOTD and new hairdo for the birthday dinner date with him.

Top-Stradivarius, Skirt-ASOS, Shoes-Charles&Keith

He brought me to Fullerton Water BoatHouse for dinner ;) Our first time there.

I actually missed it until he says look below your menu.. LOL !!

Food porn time again!

Appetizer - Duck confit, salad, green beans, shallots, cherry tomatoes, walnut oil - Mine

Appetizer - Provencal fish stew with shellfish, fresh fish of the day - His

Main - Red snapper pan seared, melted cabbage, sweet corn, merguez sausage and harissa salsa - Mine

Main - Rib eye, Dauphinoise potatoes, buttered vegetables and bone marrow in a red wine sauce - His

For dessert, my birthday cake ;)

Please make me the next TOTO winner!! hehe

For the gift, check it out on my instagram account - engellpeh .. ;)
Happy for all the arrangements he made. Feeling blessed!

Not ending the post yet, hahaha.. You have Italian and French food, how can we forget about my roots and the most beloved Chinese food ! Invited mom to dinner on Saturday to thank her for giving birth to such an amazing daughter. ;)

Quote from all moms in the world "Don't go to those expensive restaurants, it's a waste of money! Let's just eat nearby"

Don't judge by the picture cause I was feeling the fullest for this meal. Finished the entire bowl of rice! Love you so much MOM. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this super long post! See you in 2014!
Have you thought about your new year resolutions yet? If not, why not try to complete those which you have missed for the past years ;)

Wishing you and your family a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! To a year full of amazing great surprises and many many happy returns. Great health and plenty of joy and laughter. Bundle of love among your families and friends!

With love, xoxo
(Do give comments on my posts if you liked them) ;)

Sawadikap in Bangkok

Sawadikap guys !!

Finally I have time to blog about my trip to Bangkok. Actually this is our last trip for Year2013 and since we don't have many days of leaves left we decided on a short trip for a pre-Christmas celebration before he goes back to France. Visiting Bangkok in the last quarter will be the best choice since it will be less humid. 

What is important for you during your holiday? For me hotel selection is pretty important, a clean, beautiful and luxurious hotel always makes me enjoy my holiday even more. I highly recommend the +Oriental Residence Bangkok located at wireless road. Price is good and both the hotel and service is simply lovely. Well it's more like a service apartment than a hotel. If I really have to pick on something, it will be the lack of variety at the breakfast buffet. Let the pictures do the talking!

Mango Sticky Rice - our welcome desert !

 First night's dinner at Angelini located in Shangri-La Hotel. This was a surprise arrangement from my bf, I am not supposed to know where we are going before-hand. ;) Food porn time !

Lamb Tagliatelle

Veal Milanese

Tiramisu

Alfresco dining at Angelini is overlooking the Chao Phraya River !! Try it !

Some pictures on my visit to the Grand Palace. Remember to dress appropriately because they are really strict in your dressing and you might be force to join the long queue just to rent a sarong ! I kind of feel that this only applies to the foreigners.

OOTD (Top-Adidas, Jeans and Sneakers-ASOS, Metallic Jacket-Flea Market, Bag-Marc Jacobs)

This artistic picture is taken by me !! haha

For those planning to visit the Grand palace, this is quite far from the city center 45mins to 1 hour by taxi depending on the traffic. Opening hours is from 0830 to 1530, so plan your visit earlier. 

After hours of walk under the blazing sun, what is the best cure ? If you remember me saying that food has to be worth the calories, well this statement doesn't apply during holiday !!

Done with the visiting, let's begin with the retail therapy. My biggest passion and my bf's agony. ;) For ladies who have visited Bangkok, I am sure you have been to Platinum - the wholesale shopping mall. I am really interested to hear your views on this mall cause I always make it a point to shop here each time I am in Bangkok, but I always find myself leaving empty handed or forcing myself to buy something just because I have spent like hours here and I don't want to go home with nothing. I agree that the price is really low but same for the quality as well! I might missed some shops due to the complicated layout ;) Share your experience in Platinum with me ! 

Of course I am not going to go back to Singapore empty-handed. I visited one of the popular Thai designers innitbangkok having heard the rave they created during their pop-up shop in Singapore. Brought home with me an amazing skirt and top. Here you are!
(You can find them in Siam Sqaure)

Top - Zara, Skirt - InnitBangkok, Heels - LK Benett, Bag - Chanel

Top - Innitbangkok, Skirt - from HongKong, Platform Heels - Charles & Keith, Bag - Chanel

Oh and I got a surprise early Christmas gift from him as well. ;)

Highlight of the trip is that I finally get to watch Thai Boxing ! I wanted to see this everytime we are in Thailand but somehow it just didn't happen. So we went to Lumpini Boxing Stadium and I can tell you that the experience was AWESOME! Paid 2800Bhat per person because the night we went was the big fight for champion title. Normal nights should be around 2000Bhat per person, all prices quoted are for the ring-side. Anyway, when you enter the stadium ring-side basically belongs to foreigners. ;) There is a sign saying "No-Gambling" but you can see all the locals shouting and placing their bets in the open like a real-time trading room ! This really brings up the atmosphere. Entire stadium smells like Tiger Balm and you can drink while watching. Fights were really entertaining, trust me, you gotta try it !

My favorite fighter !

Pictures are allowed backstage after their fight ! Only with the winner though !

Look at the big bump he got on his forehead from the fight !

Thai Boxing is a must DO, put it in your list for your next trip to Bangkok. 

Now, let's end the post with the all-time favorite - Thai FOOD ! 

Dining in Blue Elephant

Ta-da !! My durian cheesecake...

He was pinching his nose when I am eating it. Haha..

His boring mango sticky rice again .. ;p

Some MORE pictures showing the hotel lobby ;) 

Hope you like my post and recommendations for Bangkok ! Oh while I am finishing up this post, he is already back from France and sitting beside me ;)

Kisses, Xoxo

The Pad Thai ;)