Crazy 7 days

It had been a crazy 7 days.

First, I fell sick, followed by the girls, and followed by dar. Being sick at home with 2 kids is no joke. They become whiny and require more attention, which was the case for Kerri, and they start to fight and bicker more over their toys, their books, everything!

So, was I glad when Kerri finally went back to school today in the afternoon, and I had some time to myself and switch off while Kae was at her Berries class. I took the time to switch to my reading mode, and I managed to finish my new book.

Yay! Now I need just some time to finish my next book.

New Shoes

I am always on the lookout for good sales online, and in Tory Burch's case, I got just what I wanted.

It so happened that the few designs that went on sale were just what I needed. Yes, the exact 2 pairs that I loved were on sale! And so I bought. For just $380 including shipping! That's more than 50% savings if I compare the retail price I would have paid in Singapore!

I'm a happy mama!

Nylon Coffee Roasters

While the girls were sleeping in the car, we drove to Everton Park for a cuppa from Nylon Coffee Roasters. It was our first sip of their caffeine drink.

Though dar ordered a double shot, I thought that the coffee was easy to drink. It didn't have that bitter sour aftertaste some coffee has. A must go again!

Nylon Coffee Roasters

Add: 4 Everton Park, #01-40, Singapore 080004

Tel: 6220 2330

http://nyloncoffee.sg/

Party with the Horses

Kae partied with the horses today!

We were invited to a first month party held at Paisano Polo Academy located at Turf City.

It was Kae's very first time on a horse. And even though she only sat on the horse for like 3 rounds, she was so happy! My little girl is really grown up!

Kerri didn't want to try, she kept saying she was scared! She didn't even dare to sit on the wooden rocking horse, which Kae loved too!

Paisano Polo Academy

Add: 100 Turf Club Road, #01-04, Singapore 287992

Tel: 6467 4766

http://www.paisanopoloacademy.com/

Dinner and Drips

We tried out a new Zi Char place for dinner today. Okay, it's not new, but it was our first visit, even though it's just a less than 10 minutes drive away.

Two Chefs is located at Commonwealth Crescent and it was super crowded when we were there at 630pm. Maybe because it was a holiday. Luckily for us, we managed to get a table in less than 5 minutes as we were not a big group. Good thing too, because it started to drizzle soon after.

Since it was just the 4 of us, we ordered only a few dishes. Their sambal kang kong, their fu yong omelette, their hor fun for the girls mainly, and their honey ribs.

I won't say their food is bad, just not that fantastic for me to go and wait for a table if the queue is long. Their prices are pretty decent and their food is above average though. A choice for dinner if we can reach there early before 630pm.

Two Chefs 

Add: Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129, Singapore 140116

Tel: 6472 5361

https://www.facebook.com/TwoChefsEatingPlace

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After dinner, we drove around and I decided it was time to head to Drips Bakery for after dinner coffee. Parking at Tiong Bahru area is a bitch, coz the area is now bustling with eateries and cafes. We managed to get a parking lot after driving 2 rounds thankfully!

Compared to cafes like Forty Hands, Drips Bakery is very big and spacious. I like!

And I love their pear tart! Okay, actually I love their tart! The bottom part is so soft and crisp at the same time. Their coffee is average, nothing to complain about.

And the girls love the chocolate brownie along with the space they get to roam around free.

Drips Bakery

Add: 82 Tiong Poh Road, #01-05, Singapore 160082

Tel: 6222 0400

http://drips.com.sg/

Good Food and Books

And we are into the second day of Kae's long weekend. Mummy dearest has been craving for wholesome good breakfast food at Food for Thought, and so we went.

The boring me ordered the usual, which was Basic Works plus garlic mushrooms, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The portion was seriously huge for me, and even though I never finish the food, I keep going back for more.

And Kae was just contented to do her coloring that morning. She didn't make full use of the empty playground!

Food for Thought at Botanic Gardens

Add: 1 Cluny Road, #B1-00 Tanglin Gate, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259569

Tel: 6338 4848

http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/fft/

~~~~~

And while the books have been arriving in the mail over the past few days, the bulk arrived today. Well, there is one that is still not here yet, but these are the girls' new books! 

Well, I ordered 3 books for myself too! Haha! I am really running out of shelf space. I need new customized book shelves for all my lovelies! Sorry, I am a geek. Books are my kryptonite!

If you still do not know, you can actually order books online, and they are cheaper and comes with free shipping! Though you will need around 2 weeks before the books are delivered from overseas. Maybe this is why the bookstores in Singapore are closing down one after the other.

Book Depository
http://www.bookdepository.com/

Fishpond
http://www.fishpond.com.sg/

Kae's Happy Day

Today is the 1st out of the 2 days this week Kae is exempted from school. I'm not including the Friday public holiday. St James' annual school concert is this Friday, and only the K1 and K2 students are involved. And these 2 days are the rehearsal days for the kiddos. So, Kae need not go to school.

Which is not good for me. I need to find things for her to do, aka find places for her to go and have fun. I don't usually leave her at home when she's having these days off from school and grind her to do any form of homework. Lucky her yah?

And so since it is not a public holiday and hence there will not be many many screaming kids running all around, I brought her to Hokey Pokey.

She has been asking to go back to the indoor playground ever since I brought her there in April earlier this year. Her favorite is of course the slide, where she can glide down with glee into a pool of balls!

Though I think the playground is more suitable for kids 4 years and below, well Kae is 4, but somehow Kerri will be better suited to this place. But my first born just loves sliding and scooting around the whole area.

And see how empty the place was when we were there! In fact, we were the only ones there when we arrived at around 130pm. The place got a few more customers when we left at 3pm. 

Hokey Pokey
Add: 3 Temasek Boulevard, #03-027E/F Suntec City Mall, Singapore 038983
Tel: 6884 5385
https://www.facebook.com/sghokeypokey

Yay and Nay Day

I thought I would head back to Tea Cosy today for a slice of my happy food, foie gras.

The last time I was there, I remembered the standard dropped. The foie gras was cooked till too hard, and the portion had shrank. So I thought to myself then I had to find another place where I could indulge in my favorite food of all times.

Today, I decided to give them another chance. Was I glad I did. Thought there was a $1 price increase, though less greens accompanied the liver, the liver tasted great! And the portion was acceptable. Yay! But one bad thing was, for the first time in my life, I felt queasy when I finished my finger licking good liver. This was a first for me. I think the main reason is that I have been trying to steer clear of carbs for the past 1-2 weeks.

And I badly needed my caffeine fix. I didn't get to sleep much as the 2 girls kept waking up at different times of the night.

Tea Cosy

Add: 68 Orchard Road, #05-10 Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839

Tel: 6341 9318

http://www.teacosy.com.sg

~~~~~

Dar and me visited Timbre at The Arts House later in the evening for dinner and beer. I can safely say that I won't be returning to this place anytime soon. First, their promotion for Pizza and 2 beers was just $1-2 cheaper? Secondly, I thought that the staff seemed rude. And the place was not that crowded. Thirdly, the pizza was not good, just average tasting dough. And lastly, the cashier didn't even know that we were entitled to a 10% off food when we paid using a OCBC credit card. Lucky for us, we checked the bill before we signed for it. And they didn't even do a reverse credit slip, they just reimbursed us the discounted amount. Faint.

Timbre at The Arts House

Add: 1 Old Parliment Lane, #01-04 The Arts House, Singapore 179429

Tel: 6336 3386

http://www.timbregroup.asia/timbresg/main.asp

Maniac Monday

With nothing planned for the day, and with Kerri finally back to school after being at home last Thursday and Friday due to diarrhea, I decided to give myself a treat and head to Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe at Wheelock Place for a well deserved lunch.

Of course I had to ask if the chef can prepare my favorite Hotate in Spicy Cream. Super delish!

And instead of the usual sashimi and sushi lunch set I always order, I decided to go for their grilled mackerel and salmon instead. What I love about the dish is that the mackerel is boneless! 

Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe

Add: 501 Orchard Road, #03-15 Wheelock Place, Singapore 238880

Tel: 6733 6636

http://www.sunwithmoon.com.sg/sun-with-moon-wheelock.html

~~~~~

After a satisfying lunch, I decided to walk around Orchard and find dar the shades that he has been looking at, the Ray-Ban Tech Sunglasses with carbon fibre frames. 

After 2 failed attempts at Paris Miki (313 Somerset and Takashimaya), I headed to Alexis at Paragon and finally managed to snag the last piece for dar. Yay! Now he can wear this to Aussie land!

Ashputtel - The Story of Cinderella & The Little Red Hen

Before buying any tickets for any plays/dramas/musicals, I will ask Kae if she is interested to watch them. I'm trying to give her a choice here, and she learns to decide if she wants to watch the act. In this case, as she is not familiar with the Cinderella story, she said no. But I thought I will share this here anyway.

Ashputta - The Story of Cinderella says it all. The Grimm's Folk tale is re-told as a brand new musical with music, song, drama, comedy, adventure and shoes by i-Theatre. Tickets can be purchased through any Sistic outlets or online here.

Ashputta - The Story of Cinderella
Venue: Alliance Francaise Theatre (Add: 1 Sarkies Road, Singapore 258130, Tel: 67378422)
Runs from 25 October to 17th November 2012

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i-Theatre will also be putting up another performance The Little Red Hen next year at the Drama Centre. This story is a beautiful story about friendship, helpfulness and perseverance. For your information, they performed this in years 2007 and 2008, and the shows were a sell out! Tickets will go on sale 29th October. Get yours then!

The Little Red Hen
Venue: Drama Centre at the National Library 
(Add: 100 Victoria Street, #05-01 NLB, Singapore 188064, Tel: 6837 8400)
Runs from 28th February to 16th March 2013

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Okay, I am a bit kiasu here, but for my mummy friends who are reading this, you may want to bring your kids to watch Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, by SRT's The Little Company, come next year during the March school holidays.

Mind you, the tickets are selling like hot cakes even though I booked mine today, just 2 days after the ticket sales started. I only managed to get the Circle seats as the nearest Stall seats available when I browsed online were at the 3rd row from the back.

Tickets can be purchased at any sistic outlet, online here, and at the SRT's box office.

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Venue: DBS Arts Centre - Home of SRT

Runs from 8 March 2013 to 21st April 2013

Saybons French Food Factory

I had a quick lunch at Saybons French Food Factory today. I brought Kerri down to Bishan to see a doctor (she's been having diarrhea these few days) and left her at my place with my dad while I head down to Junction 8.

I was walking around, looking for a quick bite and chanced upon Saybons French Food Factory. I  always walk by their branch at Plaza Singapura straight towards Tea Cosy. Heh. Oh yah, I miss Tea Cosy.

And so I tried their lobster bisque and smoked salmon cucumber salad.

For the price of $8 plus, I thought the food was alright. Please note that the portion is not huge, quite small, definitely not enough to share! I want to try their mushroom asparagus salad next!

Saybons French Food Factory at Junction 8
Add: 9 Bishan Place, #02-27A Junction 8, Sinagpore 579837
Tel: 6258 3138
http://saybons.com

OOS!

My re-contract date is 22nd October 2012, which is next week! But the phone which I want is always out of stock! Argh!

Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre

We went for dinner at Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre today. Since the girls were not with us, we thought we could do with some hawker food. It is so difficult to eat at such places with the girls.

As it was our first time there, we ordered from the 2 stalls with long queues. I tried the lotus with pork ribs soup at Hong Kong Yummy Soups. The other soup (mushrooms with pork ribs) I wanted was sold out.

Frankly speaking, the soup is nice. But I wouldn't queue just to drink it. The best part about the soup I felt was the pork ribs. They were boiled till very soft.

Dar queued for Hokkien Mee (surprise surprise). I didn't take any photo of his food. This stall uses flat yellow noodles, and together with the distinctly different tasting chili paste, it's no wonder there's a queue for this dish.

Any recommendations on what to eat there?

Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre
Add: 116 Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 588172

Swimwear hunting

Ever since Kerri, I have not been wearing my bikini.

I do not know why, but after having Kae, my whole body shrank. My hips shrank, my thighs shrank, I lost weight, everything shrank except my boobs. I was so happy. In fact, I was at my skinniest 8 months after giving birth to Kae. So I was delighted to finally look good in my bikinis! So much so I bought 2 at a go!

Sadly, my euphoria didn't last too long. After having Kerri (my 2nd child), I gained weight. My hips are now bigger than even when I became pregnant with my 1st child, my thighs look thunderous now, my arms are wobbly. Basically it's now the opposite. Everything expanded except my boobs!

Argh!

Sad, but true. So I now have to search for the perfect swimwear for our impending trip to Aussie land. And I am happy to say that I've found it! Okay, I still don't look that good, but it's good enough for me now.

I bought a halter tankini (brand Tommy Bahama) and a pair of skin shorts (brand O'Neil) from Ocean Paradise at Paragon Shopping Centre. Love the range they have, though I suspect their branch at Tanglin Mall will have more since the store seems to be bigger from what I remember.

Okay, I need to lose weight for the Aussie trip!

Ocean Paradise
Add: 290 Orchard Road, #05-34 Paragon Shopping Centre, Singapore 238859
Tel: 6836 2672
http://www.oceanparadise.com.sg/

Time off

Me and dar headed off for a afternoon date without the girls, as my mum came over to care for them.

Basically, we just walked around Orchard area and window shopped. Dar was looking to buy a pair of sunglasses for the upcoming trip to Aussie land.

And of course, we ate and drank coffee. First stop, Oriole Coffee at 313 Somerset. I love their Citrus Sin, and thought I would try their other competition coffee today, the Chilli Chocolate Mocha. Let's just say I prefer the former.

We snacked on chicken quesadillas while sipping coffee. 

Oriole Coffee

Add: 96 Somerset Road, #01-01 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, Singapore 238163

Tel: 6238 8348

http://www.oriolecoffee.com/

~~~~~

Dinner was at Tampopo located at Ngee Ann City. We always ordered ramen while dining there with the girls, as we would share our noodles with them. As the girls were not with us today, we ordered something different. Dar had their Tonkatsu ramen, since they are more known for their tonkatsu, and I ordered their shabu shabu! My first! No kidding!

I loved my shabu shabu! Yum!

Tampopo at Takashimaya
Add: 391 Orchard Road, #B2-33 Ngee Ann City
Tel: 6235 2318
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TPPSG