Long Weekend! Woohoo!

It's Hari Raya Haji long weekend! Woohoo!!

Alright, it does not really apply to me since I am currently in between jobs ... but I can see the excitement all around including my daughter!

I told her yesterday that we are going to Nyang's (grandma's mom in Malay) house for dinner. She would be cooking her favourite Sayur Lodeh (I think the locals called it 'Sayur Lemak', which is really 'lemak' or 'fat' ... so true rite...) and Serondeng (stir fried spiced shredded coconut?)

I loveeee and absolutely love the dishes that my husband's grandmother cooks... Traditional home cooked Malay dishes! I used to think her dishes are too sweet to my 'Indo' tongue ... (so picky rite!) However, these days I think she adjusted it that it would suited my 'spicy n savoury' Indo tongue more. We never fail to bring back at least 3-4 containers every time we go to her house for dinner.

Although I would feel guilty after that fulfilling meal ... Hey, it's only a few times a year that I can taste these dishes ... Hari Raya, Hari Raya Haji, Oh, well.... there are also those days when we have weddings in the family, and family chalets .. and birthday celebrations ... picnics... Hmm... I guess there are 'much' more than just a few times in a year! Whoops!

Anyway, I am looking forward to tonight's meal .... Yummm.... will take pictures and post photos later on.

Ciao!

Review - Star Vista

Yesterday, I went to check out Star Vista @ Buona Vista .... It is a new establishment just around Buona Vista MRT. You will notice the odd-looking, rock-y kinda shape architecture.  I actually live quite nearby (a few MRT stops away), but I guess just like what they say ... the nearer you stay, the lesser (lazier) you will be. I always have this thought every time I go out and thinking of places to go: "Oh, it is so near, I can always visit it anytime I want." So, I always ended up going to other places (much further) than going to places near my area e.g. Star Vista, or Clementi Mall and instead, I visited J-Cube, Changi City Point, I12 Katong, etc.

View from 1st floor looking at the atrium & water fountain

Back to Star Vista, a friend who lived nearby (really near), said that it has lots of restaurants ... if we go there to eat, there are quite a variety of food choices. She never mention other things.... Just food. I guess that is why I am kind of put off going there on the weekend with my family, as I would have no other things to do there other than 'eating' (not that I don't like eating ..!). However, if I go to Changi City Point for example, it is a family friendly mall that I like. Not only I can walk and shop around ... the atrium is a fave with my 2 girls walking and running around; then I can do some grocery shopping, I can choose to eat at the different food establishments or even food courts (they have Koufu and Bagus), and a plus point is that they have family entertainment area ... there are indoor playground, then just behind Koufu, there is that fantastic and did I mention 'FREE' water play area called the 3House! 

View of the water fountain

What I love about Star Vista is that it is an open air mall. It is not stuffy as other malls, it has a huge open space in the middle, where you can see this two huge pillars and a water fountain which responds to music beat. (although somehow the music sounds a bit weird to me yesterday, it was like they are playing the 'karaoke' version which only has the music and the beats minus all the singing)

Just as what my friend said, it has lots of food establishments ranging from Japanese food, Cantonese food, Mexican, American ... u name it, Coco Ichibanya, Canton Paradise, Boston Shack, Itacho Sushi, Nando's Chicken, Senór Taco, etc etc .... Not much of Halal options though other than The Manhattan Fish Market, Texas Fried Chicken (opening soon). Since I am not in the mood for restaurant dining today, and the restaurants seems quite crowded too (lunch hour rush); I opt for their food court (easy on the wallet) on 2nd level which is called The Kitchen. 

Food Court "The Kitchen" on 2nd floor

The Kitchen which is under Koufu, is almost like any other new food court in Singapore. It has that warm environment, which was achieved by the use of wood laminates all around and the yellow warm lighting. One thing I like here is that it has indoor and outdoor dining option, and I personally prefer outdoor because my clothes won't be so smelly, but when the weather is hot one can opt for indoor seats where it has air conditioning. I would say The Kitchen is quite a typical food court where you have your Asian food varieties such as Japanese food stall, teppanyaki stall, Korean stall, roasted meat stall, vegetarian food stall, nasi padang stall etc. From the looks of the food, they all look great (or was it just me who is hungry!).

After the meal, I strolled down to the 1st floor (3rd floor is off limits) and walked around the shops. Since it is an open air mall, the shops here has glass doors. Somehow it made the shops look unfriendly but I do understand why they installed doors there, so that the air-con would not be wasted. Nothing much to see, so I went down to Basement 1 and again ... nothing much to see or shop since most are restaurants and other stuff that I don't need or I can find everywhere like Watsons. Oh, if you need some last minute grocery shopping before you go off, there is Cold Storage and J-Mart on Basement 1 level. 

Then down to the basement 2 car park, and off we go .... home. So that was it! My whole experience at Star Vista was a brief one ... I don't hate it, but I don't really love it either. 

I would say, go for it when you have free time (1-2 hour is enough if you don't plan to shop). Not really a family friendly mall I would say... the kids are probably can only be entertained with the water fountain. I would come again if I am dining out around the area with some friends, but to specifically go there to eat ... Hmm, I don't think so.. 

Information about Star Vista

Address:  1 Vista Exchange Green
                      Singapore 138617

MRT : CC22/EW21 Buona Vista Station

Opening hours : 10:00am to 10:00pm Daily

Mounting bills!

Looking at the pile of bills that I need to settle and not forgetting to file (neatly), I need a strong coffee and a nice cheesecake to go with!

The wet weather doesn't help as well ... I wish I can go and take a nap ... I am in dire need for extra sleep since my itchy coughs at night has been waking me up (and the husband + daughter).

Hmm... I think I really have to dedicate 1 day every 2 weeks to sort all these bills and statements. What do you guys do usually? Any suggestion?

Cauldron in the making II

I was busy over the weekend, and did not have time to continue the cauldron.  However, I managed to get back on track and continue the cauldron design.

Previously, it was just a 'roundish' (sort of) shape, which then I papier maché to make it stronger. To make it to look more like a cauldron, I added the side handles, and then created a lid with a handle as well. Not forgetting, the legs at the bottom. Then Ta Daaaa....

I would say, I am quite happy with the result ... it is not perfect, but I think it will serve its purpose at the Halloween Party next month :)

Oh yeah, I decided to make a last minute big spoon out of leftover cardboard and a cardboard tube I found at home. And here is the finished product!

So, what do you think?

Cauldron in the making

I am so excited about this project but it was not an easy task!

Did my homemade glue ... and I placed it into an airtight container that I got from IKEA quite sometime ago.

To start of the project, I was trying to figure out how to make this round shape big enough for the kids to play with. I decided to base my cauldron design on a ball shape. At first I wanted to find a round shape balloon to start with, but I have none which can accommodate the size that I want.  Then I remembered a ball sewing project that I did a few months back. Although I was not sure on the result, I decided to experiment on it and hope for the best haha! I was not so sure on how to calculate the size of the curves and all, so all of these are based on a rough estimate of the base and height of the cauldron.

First, I cut 2 circles, one will serve as the base, the other as the lid. As I would have a base and a lid, I didn't cut a pointed ellipse like the ball design, instead I have a slightly inverted curve at the end, so that it can be pasted onto the base.


Then I curved the sides along the horizontal grain of the boards to help shape the cauldron


(not perfect as you can see in the photo)

Then with the help of some glue and (lots) of masking tape, I assembled the shape!

Did not turn out as round as I want it to be ... I guess it is kind of hard to shape the thick cardboard.

Then, it is time to papier mache!!


Somehow, for now, it looks more like a lantern than a cauldron ha ha ha ...

But, wait and see for it to evolve k!

Halloween project

Loving this homemade invitation card!

My daughter has been invited to a Halloween party at her classmate's place! It is so exciting as we've never been to a Halloween party before ... and of course, I would not want to miss an opportunity to get my daughter to dress up!

The invitation card is very cute ... and creative, don't you think so?

So, anyway, I asked the mother whether she needs any help in the party preparation and she said she's having some problems sourcing for the cauldron that would be use to cook a 'witch soup' at the party (how funny!!). She tried to find a plastic one, but it's not big enough ... and she wanted to make it out of papier mache, but she's not so sure how to do that.

So, I offered to make it since I love making things and after making variety of stuff using card boards and papier mache, I am actually quite confident that I am able to do it. The mom was very thankful and kept asking me whether it's taking a lot of time etc etc. I said I would be glad to help since I'm currently not working too. I thought, since she is already busy organising the party and I don't want to come empty handed and not contributing anything; I should help whatever I can to my ability right?

So... the Halloween Cauldron project has begun! I've found enough cardboard from a box I found a week ago that I can use to shape the base and the side. Next, I'm going to make enough glue (since I'm gonna need a lot, I should make it and it'll be cost efficient). Then, I"m going to start to construct the shape ... hmm it's going to be challenging as I've never made a 3D round shape object using cardboard before. I'm gonna post some photos and maybe you guys can give some comments and advice later on :)

Off to the kitchen now, to make some glue!

Family is the word!

I just celebrated my 33rd birthday yesterday... coincidentally falls on the same day as Mid Autumn Festival, I feel very blessed that I could see the full moon last night. 

Seeing the calm night, with clear skies, the night lights glimmering away and to see that perfectly round moon has a calming effect on me. With everything that happened for the past few weeks, I finally feel that I could get plenty of rest and start anew.

Today, is not just another Monday to me ... yes, I do still have to wake up early, bargained with my 3 years old girl whether she needs to go to school or not, have breakfast and then run some errands ... this and that ... but today ... I start my life as a thirty-three, double three ... 33 years old woman! Gosh, I feel so old!

Looking back at my 33 years of life ... I achieved quite a lot (I guess); made mistakes (quite a number); made big decisions (hard n difficult ones); learned lots of lessons (from making many mistakes); made friends (and sadly lose some too); discovered new hobbies (and spent lots of money on it!) but .. that's life right?

I do admit, I may not have made the best decision at all times, but I am glad that my family has been there with me in good times and bad times. Through all these, one will realise how important 'Family' is ... and you should never neglect your family either. Do the best you can to help, and they will do the same to you!

So on this first day of October 2012, 'Family' is the word of the day for me! How bout you?