Skyving on Lunar New Year’s Eve
I had a craving for some western brunch after church today and remembered reading about the ‘Croque Madame!’ which Skyve served so off we went – although the Bo did ask me to consider Chalk’s Sunday brunch too, but my mind was quite made up.
We arrived at 10 Winstedt Road (location of Skyve) and took a little stroll around the ex-school compounds before settling ourselves in the relatively un-busy and tastefully modern setting of Skyve. Saw the menu and instantly knew what I wanted – Croque Madame, of course! and was utterly pleased that the staff was able to accommodate my request of ensuring that everything, including the supposedly runny yolk on the sunny side up, would be cooked thoroughly well for their pregnant patron. :D
Food arrived in reasonable time and boy was I sniffing my croque like a puppy, asking the Bo to sniff as well. The smell of melted cheddar cheese, tomatoes, sliced ham grilled on brioche bread was just so so so so alluring. It was also then I think the husband might have regretted ordering his usual classic breakfast over mine (I did share eventually). It tasted so good as I devoured morsel of ‘the loafing breakfast’.
And so, we left 2 happy campers, with our tummies satisfactorialy filled, heading home to complete what seems to be the last 15% of spring cleaning to do.
Have a happy reunion dinner everyone!
Skyve Elementary Bistro & Bar
No.10 Winstedt Road
Block E, #01-17
Tuesday to Friday: 8:30am to Midnight
Saturday and Sunday: 10am to Midnight
Public Holidays: 10am to Midnight
(Monday closed till further notice)
Reserve:+65 6225 6690
bobo & me i wore this today people i love weekends yay yay yay!: resolutions
by natasha
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A cozy goodbye to ’11 and first few moments of 2012
Obviously the plan (from NYE 2010) to celebrate NYE 2011 in NYC didn’t work out since baby chungkin came into the picture this year (no flight mandate, remember?). Not that we would trade it for anything else.
Hence this new year’s eve was celebrated with mom and bo over a hearty dinner (thank u mom!) & desserts before we welcomed 2012 under a spectacular display of fireworks amongst thousands at Marina Bay Sands! I loved how ‘em 2 angels were also busy protecting b.chungkin from getting squashed/squeezed/hit in the belly from the crowds. :)
Had a wonderful time bonding with them, albeit pockets of exhaustion hitting me in between dinner & fireworks despite an arvo snooze earlier. B.chungkin was a good boy, or so I thought, responding mostly when we ‘communicated’ with him via talking or light pats on the belly. Just wanted to check in to see if he was enjoying himself too, and I could only assume he was, since his mama was having such a ball of a time.
{graze}
{family}
{mushroom soup & accompanying bread was delish}
{mom absolutely loving her appetizer – and oh those prawns!}
{the bo enjoying his lamb, which was very juicy & sweet}
{my order of baby roast chicken which was sweet, tender and not a wee bit dry}
{a lobster-red looking bo, just after a pint of beer}
{before we head out for desserts}
{mommy & me}
{Marina Bay Sands}
{Just before the countdown to 2012}
{the first of a spectacular display of fireworks to welcome 2012}
Happy 2012!
Here’s wishing you lots more love, joy, laughter, peace, patience, understanding, friendships, relationships, and that your resolutions, ambitions, goals, desires take that one big leap towards being fulfilled. xo.
baby chungkin bobo & me i wore this today people i love weekends yay yay yay!: Christmas
by natasha
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Christmas 2011 round-up
I had the longest nights in the past 3 days – turning in only at near to 3am due to festive celebrations (and sadly still waking up at 9am due to habit) but boy was it worth every moment of yawn & exhaustion; knowing that I had a little party-mate who was enjoying himself in the belly – bobbing and dancing to music played loudly & giving a little punch of acknowledgement each time I gobbled down some lovely cakes and ice-cream.
This Christmas, spending our last as a couple was also made extra special as the Bo took us on little dates & strolls in between; enjoying the last bits of us-time as we reflected how much has happened (for the better) since 12 months ago – when we were still deeply desiring to be parents then and how difficult it was for me to enjoy the festivities because everyone was practically asking when we were going to be parents (which really sucked because I wished they would just say ‘Merry Christmas’ back in response and let me enjoy those few hours instead). And thanks to a very supportive husband who would constantly whisper to me that our time will eventually come and that it would be magical, I managed to survive through christmas 2010.
So back to this year’s roundup, I totally enjoyed feasting on the spread (as always) being prepared although I was reminded to limit my quantity on prime ribs, beef & lamb (but they were just soooo good) and desserts (instructions from the gynae). The Bo also allowed me a sip of his cloudy bay – which was all I wanted anyway. It was extremely heartwarming receiving gifts mostly for b.chungkin from the usual suspects (I did receive a very beautiful box of baby shower bingo and maternity-styled dress from the cousin for myself though :p) too. And too hilarious when some started asking the Bo if we had really decided on baby’s name to be ‘chungkin’ (along with a puzzled look) – due to my sign off in the card. (p/s: chungkin is really more of a term of endearment for us and yes, he will have a proper name).
{family shot}
{pre-christmas dinner with mom}
{christmas dinner with the BR}
{posing with BR’s gift to me}
{after a midnight tea with BR at the hotel lobby}
{iphone candid with mom}
{iphone candid with the Bo}
{group shot with the godparents}
{just us 3 by the tree}
baby chungkin preg-o shopping bag weekends yay yay yay!
by natasha
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Taka sale attack! and adventures of the shopping monster…
I’ve never been much of a Takashimaya departmental store shopper due to the perception that things sold in there cost more than they should and would at other departmental stores. Perhaps it is the way the brand name has always been marketed, or the presence of many established luxury boutiques and labels available within the store; or that they do not have attractive sales/discounts as often as their competitors such as the likes Robinsons, Isetan and Metro.
Hence when I do spend at Takashimaya departmental store, it is usually food related (because they have an entire basement dedicated to sell a range of food inclusive of those with an exquisite packaging and price) and event related (they also tend to organize relatively good baby/christmas/lunar new year/mid-autumn festival fairs in a huge atrium where you can purchase everything ‘under one roof’).
So when my cousin and a friend told me to consider signing up for one of the Takashimaya members cards now that I was expecting, and how I could enjoy an additional 10% off discounted merchandise during baby fairs and members sale (their baby fairs though far & few between usually have lots of big ticket & heavy items available which you could purchase all under one roof inclusive of free delivery with purchases over $150) – I knew we had to sign up for it (considering this was coming from 2 people who were already mommies & whom I had similar purchasing patterns with). I figured that it would also be the start of many ‘baby’ cards (i.e.: Toys R Us, Mothercare membership cards etc.); now that baby chungkin was on the way = additional expenses – every little bit of savings helped.
This weekend was Takashimaya’s members sale from 1 – 4 Dec and boy was I in much of a delight. The model of breast pumps that I had been eyeing on was going at $699 before an additional 10% discount (that would bring it down to $629), as compared to what was usually being sold at retail stores ($899) and at the ongoing baby fair ($768) – inclusive of a 1 year local warranty – thanks to another friend/mom-to-be who had called me days earlier and shared with me her research on prices and reasons for getting one with a local warranty. I helped her purchase a set too :-)
Amongst other things purchased were also wet wipes, some infant clothes, bundles of stretch mark cream, other knick knacks and a lovely Christmas/early Birthday present from the Bo :) We were 2 very happy campers, and were pleased to know that we could redeem $180 worth of Takashimaya vouchers due to our recent spending. Nice!!!
Somehow shopping during this festive season made the entire exercise more joyous. I was practically on my feet for hours walking between malls – got myself some paraben-free cosmetics & new brushes from Sephora and some very affordable miscellaneous items from Daiso, gourmet & delicious smelling bread from Bread Society, shopped for even larger sized underwear (sad yet happy affair) et cetera.
I hear the next Takashimaya baby fair (the big scale one where other vendors will come in to sell their wares) will be held in Mar 2012; just weeks before baby chungkin greets the world in person. Till then, I’d just have to do my best to curb the shopping monster in me.
What can I say, shopping makes me a very happy person. They don’t call it ‘retail therapy’ for no reason! :)
Hope your weekend was just as fruitful.
weekends
Ahh. Work (regardless how temporary it is) has started taking its toll on me this week after a fabulous 5 months break and me-time these days has basically shortened to dinner time-an hour of tv watching-sleeping routine.
This has inadvertently affected lots of plans on my plate of late, especially with renovation plans coming up and everyone (contractors, roof guys, IDs) wanting a piece of our time even if only weekends are available.
I almost also sort of double-booked us for this weekend even…thanks to husband’s alertness to flag out the boo-boo. What was I thinking!
Here’s how today’s schedule looks like:
9:30 – get to the tailor for some alteration works
11:30 – appointment
1:00 – lunch
2:30 – appointment
3:30 – appointment
4:50 – off to pick mom up from the airport
5:30 onwards – appointment-free!
And the appointments continue into Sunday…
-exhausted-
Mid-weekend
Hello folks, its mid-weekend and I hope you’re having a good rest doing what you enjoy best.
I had a really fabulous start to the weekend, a hearty italian lunch at Capri Trattoria with good company. The squid ink ravioli was amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever tasted squid ink this good (the chef even came out to share with us his recipe and method of cooking) and the stuffing oozing of generous minced lobster, prawns & crabs was to ‘die for’.
There was just so much heart into the cooking, and all the pasta dishes we ordered to share (total of 3 different types of pasta and sauces) had a distinct and authentic homemade flavour to it which made it absolutely addictive & delicious (Note: If you love food with truffle oil, you’ll be pleased to know that they cook their dishes with generous portions of it.) Sorry that I also didn’t manage to capture any lovely photos of the food nor place. I was too distracted by the aromas and eating…
After lunch, the husband & I headed to town for an afternoon cuppa coffee as we people watched and play scrabble. The husband only started playing scrabble after I introduced it to him recently, so it was hilarious and bruising to my ego at the same time as I watched him form words after words (gaining as high as 30 points for a word), leaving me open-jawed most of the time as I struggled to form as many 4-letter words in my attempt to catch up in points. All in good fun. :)
The evening ended up with good ole’ delicious Thai/Indian food which we took-away, as we watched 2 DVDs of laughs back to back. Oh how I enjoy couple time so much.
We’re so looking forward to some formula 1 action tomorrow – hope Vettel wins again!
One of the better…
I had quite the weekend.
FRIDAY: I spent the entire day with a group of very good friends (we used to be ex-colleagues & team mates) for some high tea, catching up & shopping.
SATURDAY MORNING: started off with a breakfast/brunch gathering with another group of girlfriends. These girlfriends are quite the foodie so we went all the way East (to Tampines) to enjoy really cheap & good Yong Tau Foo (8 items + noodles & soup cost me about $2.90!) followed by some coffee & cakes back at Tampines One mall. I was laughing too hard most of the time that I forgot to take photos of them so here’s the cakes we gobbled instead. Got a little too carried away that the husband called me twice later on to ask if I had ‘forgotten’ about him. It almost slipped my mind that he needed to go suit shopping & get a new hair cut in order before his event later that evening. Oops.
SATURDAY EVENING: I met up with my Queens – Spanky & Jas to watch One Fighting Championship at the Indoor Stadium. Spanky had compliment tickets and asked if we were keen to accompany her to a testosterone filled event. I didn’t know what to expect initially as I’ve never watched any sort of professional fight matches (WWE doesn’t count!) on the tele nor live before, lest Mixed Martial Arts, - which was what the championship was based on. Turns out it was quite exciting as we took sides for every fight (almost always cheering for the underdog cuz we felt so bad for them) and the 2 single ladies enjoyed looking at the bared, toned abs of almost every participant that was on display too. It was quite the eye-opener for me, and whenever there was a very intense round of fighting going on, I suddenly felt like I was in a scene of ‘Rocky.’
SUNDAY: finally caught up on sleep by waking up at 11.30am. Decided to take the day nice & slow so after lunch, we headed down to one of the malls for coffee before buying mooncakes and paying my godparents a visit. It’s been months since we last caught up with them, and I was glad we did. It was great knowing what each family member was up to, and updating them on our lives as well. I love my godparents. They are such kind, down-to-earth & loving folks.
Ended the weekend by playing a new xbox game with the husband. Nice to know Luke is a patient partner while I went about doing don’t know what in most of the story scenes. I’m too used to FPS games! :x
Hope your weekend went well too.
Packed packed packed!!
