YR finally get a haircut!

YR has always been scared of getting his hair cut even since he was a baby.
when he was younger, we got around it by waiting till he was asleep and then let the hairdresser do the job while he was zzz-ing.
but as he approached toddlerhood and getting more vocal with his fear, it was almost mission impossible to bring him for a haircut!
so the last haircut he had was almost half a year ago - im seriously not kidding.
he got himself a crew cut the last time my mum brought him to the barber...

for the past few weeks, we have been trying to bring him for his long overdue haircut.
but before we even step into the shop, the tears already start falling...zzz.
so, we resorted to the expensive choice today. and with a combi of vcd and sweets, we managed to cut his hair!!


look at how crazily long and untidy his hair is!!
very focused on bob the builder LOL.

*tada* my handsome little pumpkin!
he has natural brown hair like papa..

i wonder how will he react for his next haircut....

missing musee dorsay & tasting guy savoy!

had originally applied for leave on fri as the elder son's childcare would be closed for spring cleaning and i meant to take care of him myself on that day.
but he mentioned wanting to stay overnight at my mum's place and she actually agreed despite having to take care of YR from tue to thurs!
SO! the husband took leave on the same day so that we can have a proper date with just each other since both the boys have caretakers for the whole day till evening time!
for the first time, we can dine out at nice restaurants without the boys! haha.

so we started planning our activities 1-2 days before the day:
first thing in the morning, we went to run errands. @_@
our car was due for servicing so we drove it to the service centre after our MIL reached our place to take care of YR for the day.
luckily, leng kee is near our place and there were few people at the centre on a friday morning.
we were out in 20mins time, thankfully.

next stop, cabbed to plaza sing to collect our tickets from sistic.


looking not as fresh as we wanted. haha.

so where are we going?!


tada! to the dreams & reality impressionism exhibition @ national museum of singapore

hubbi and me have been to musee dorsay all the wayyy back in 2003!
it was our first time being exposed to impressionism and i remembered the boyfriend then getting more excited over impressionism works than those classic renaissance pieces by the grandmasters (ie da vinci, botticelli, caravaggio etc). @_@
so, we were both really glad to revisit some of the art works here in singapore again!
though the husband's interest fizzled out real quick DESPITE the 140+ works only being exhibited here. duh!
he was sitting down here and there as we walked through the different sections...... *rolled eyes*

let's take a look at some of more interesting pieces being exhibited here (at least to me..):

one of my favourite artists from impressionism - edgar degas
he was quite popular for his female dancers works. i remember some excellent pieces seen in the thyssen-bornemisza museum in madrid when we were there in 2009.

i like his works - he has a knack of capturing the fluidity of movement in his works.
sadly, there is only 1 piece of his work in the exhibition this time round.

hubbi and i both agreed that impressionist works are best seen from afar.
somehow, the realism is enhanced when you approach the works from a distance.
its really amazing how the seemingly bold careless broad strokes from close-up can translate to such realism of the art pieces from a distance.

some examples:

a well-excuted piece by monet. the couch takes the limelight for this painting, if you ask me.

on closer look, the couch is just made up of some blurred, blotchy patterns. LOL

ooh, ah long's fav for the exhibition. he can even accurately decipher that its night-time for this seaside painting.
hahah, maybe i've underestimated him!
ahh, the waves look so real and you can almost visualise the movement of the waves.

close-up: the waves are just dabbed on in thick strokes of white paint... zzz.

ending with van gogh's starry night over the rhone, undoubtedly the hightlight for the exhibition.
though im rarely a fan of his works. they always give me a psychedelic feel, dont ask me why!
not unlike the scream from edvard munch.... haha.

sigh, i miss paris...
oh well, back to reality. it was lunch time when we left the exhibition.
time to scout for a light lunch since we've something quite heavy planned for dinner.

lunch was at novus at NMS. we share a hearty classic all day breakfast between us and some desserts.
i highly recommended their desserts. quite reasonable at $12 for 3!
and the sizes are just right to be shared with others. :)

we had raspberry meringue, chocolate mousse (which is interestinly graduated from milk to dark chocolate!) and lemon tart. *yummeh*

went window shopping with the husband at orchard road.
bimba and lola was having 50% sale storewide so i bought some bangles at a good price!
and i finally managed to find a specs frame which design i like and fit my flat face to a T after scouring many optical shops from lucky plaza till ion!
placed a deposit to secure the frames so i can come back at a later date to test my eyes' power for the prescriptive lenses. :)

as usual, window shopping with ah long on watches never fail to impress me (the only area he can do so with ease, LOL).
learnt another one or two interesting facts about certain watch features and i discovered another choice for my next watch! *wee*
though the husband said im just a copy cat of him. pui.

we reached MBS too late, i just realised more shops are opened there now and i could've spend more time shopping there. :(
well well, there is always next time since i worked so nearby right? ok, new venue for lunchtime shopping.
window shopping, that is! haha.

we were decidedly excited with our dinner venue - guy savoy @ MBS!
this would never be our preferred dining choice given the steep price, michelin stars or not!
BUT, with the reward i just got from work, i was able to treat hubbi to a fine dining experience. :)
we opted for the cheapest (still crazily ex!) set menu - TGV which came with an appetiser, 2 main courses and desserts.
but we soon find out there are alot of "complimentary" dishes from the chef....
anyway, the TGV menu changes everyday so you won;t know whats on it till the day itself.
and so, we started our meal with no inkling what will be served to us. cos not like we can dislike the menu and opt for other more expensive set menus! wahaha.

i try my best to recall what we had...
1) a bite size foie gras with toast (above left)- to me, the taste is exquisite but ah long found it akin to ya kun kaya toast. zzzz.
2) a bite size hand-made waffle with parmesan cheese melted on it - soft, warm and very good.
3) free-flow bread with salted and unsalted butter (to choose from) - good but not the best. we made the right choice of eating half of what was offered.
4) Palate cleanser - a small drink made of carrot, orange juice with some bits in them (i miss out bits of what the waiter was raving to me...haha)
5) appetiser is........ chestnut (gao lat! LOL). its 3 chestnuts on top of a chestnut pudding swimming in a plate of foamy chestnut sauce. it was very good but the asian in us were thinking about how cheap the cost is!!! but i think credit must be given to the chef for a basic ingredient like chestnut to something so delectable, esp the pudding.
6) 1st main dish is cod fish (above right) - its one of the best ive tasted in my life though i do think forlino's one is slightly better.
7) another complimentary dish - a bite size meringue with orange syrup in it (this is fantastic!) and a shot glass of slanted 3 layers - calamansi syrup (if i didnt hear wrongly), hazelnut jelly, hazelnut mousse. very interesting presentation.
8) 2nd main dish - game bird. by that, its a pie with truffle and foie gras added to it. the meat in it was made up of pigeon, quail and duck.....
again, the dish was nice but we were getting rather stuffed by then and the husband kept insisting he cant taste any truffle nor foie gras in it. again, i felt happy that im not paying the full price of this meal. hahah.
9) desserts was dark chocolate cake - nothing too special
10) *surprise* the waiters pushed out a trolley full of desserts and ask us to choose! (below)
misunderstanding our question on how many different types we can choose, they said up to 3/4 pieces for each type!! haha SIAO! how to eat when our tummies were already bursting at the seams!
still, we chose 9 different desserts (thank god for their bite sizes) and managed to finish them somehow.
11) AND, when we thought its all over, they presented us with the last palate cleanser for the night - earl grey sorbet which was totally refreshing and light.

it was really a wonderful experience overall despite the rather hefty $180++ per pax.

the food was actually very good, the service was excellent as well (though im still not v used to waiters "introducing" the food to us each time they served us - that will be 11 times for this dinner!) though ambience is so-so to be truthful.
when we looked back at what we've eaten, we noted that we have the opportunity to try a good variety of food. also, the food was prepared in a different way from most restaurants.

i guess, thats how guy savoy earned their stars for their paris/las vegas restaurants.

thumbs up for the experience! :)

i had the most lovely day/evening with the husband.
until he kept whining at night when he stepped up on the scales.... haha.

work - never my cup of tea

due to an unexpected promotion/transfer of my colleague, im forced to prematurely take over her job scope.
just like that, 4.5 mths of honeymoon came abruptly to a halt.
ok, not really. she was still hanging around during the transition month so i was still in safe hands in Oct.
THE CHALLENGE came when she transferred out of our team start of this month and i've to "hold 住" both our roles meantime while taking time out to train the newcomer too. @_@

the past 3 weeks flew past in a frenzy if you ask me.
so much things to do during work (cos i try my darn best to leave by 6+ most of the time) and with the boys coming down with coughs one after another....
finally, things more or less settled for this week and i actually have time to take a breather or maybe two during office hours! :)
BUT, month-end closing is here again in 1.5 weeks time!! *puke*

apart from learning (albeit a steep curve) more so in this 1 mth+, the most notable postitive thing that came out of this busy period so far is that my efforts didnt go unnoticed.
apart from positive feedback from my bosses, i'm able to treat hubbi to some fine dining. *wee* :)
thats what we are planning for this friday. i totally deserved this coming break!! to lose myself in work for extended period of time is such a foreign thing for me!

week 1 of nov: new bedroom!

so, the story goes like this:
when we first got the keys to our new house, ah long and me just wanted a simple master bedroom with minimal furniture.
so we came up with the idea of doing a raised platform for most of the bedroom area and do away with buying a bedframe.
back then, our dependable contractor did all the necessary and ensured that our renovation works complied with HDB laws and regulations.
and SO, the requirement then is the between any raised platform to the bottom of the window pane, there must be at least 90cm gap. to which we did better, ours was a 95cm gap.

so when the HDB officer came our house to do the routine check to ensure everything is in order before our HDB 1st appt to sell the house to our sellers, we were berry confident that we will pass with flying colors.
which we did. WITH THE EXCEPTION of the raised platform in our master bedroom. @_@
apparantly, the regulations changed in the last 2 or 3 years that the distance between any raised platform and window must be at least 1metre now............
*pui*
so we just went from legal to illegal unknowingly.

nothing too terrible. or so the HDB Officer said.
you just need to remove the platform soon and let me inspect again - he said. @_@

and so we did. :
luckily, our contractor was able to help us do so at a nominal fee.
but the bare cement floor thereafter rendered our master bedroom no longer one......

so we did a 乾坤大挪移。 hahaha.
so for the next 6-8 weeks, our master bedroom will become our study/store room.
and we have shifted our mattress to the study room since.
we are surprisingly zen with the new arrangement and actually think its fun to do so!
well, im now blogging away in my master bedroom ... haha while ah long is zzzing away in the study room.
new set up can be fun, i suppose. :)


tada, our master bedroom became a makeshift study room cum storeroom. *messy*


our new "bedroom". the boys dived onto the mattress once we laid it down. tsk tsk.

they never fail to brighten up my day!

fifi's hen party - cooking @ cookyn Inc

had a blast yesterday with my peeps!
it was fi's hen party and we've organized a cooking class (yes yes, i do think its mild for her too haha but we did have tons of fun!) for the bridezilla. hehe.
the class was at cookyn inc which is a short stone throw from my house near queenstown area.
majority of us reached 15mins earlier than the hen.

yan and me in the berry nice open-concept kitchen

before long, fifi arrived!
she was actually blindfolded in the car already, so she absolutely had no idea what awaits her. ha.


dressing her up in hen's gear . :)

she was more than pleasantly surprised to see the gang when she took off her blindfold.
she really didnt expect most of us to be there.


a group photo before the "hard" work starts. :P

with all the ingredients prepared and a chef on standby to guide us on every step, suddenly whipping up a gourmet meal is chicken feet. wahahah.
appetiser: we had hokkaido scallop salad garnished with truffle oil & caviar! *woot*

us with our salads!

next up: roast chicken with feta cheese!

after marinating, before roasting

tada! super juicy and yummy!

the whole cooking process took us around 3.5 hours - not short lor.
but we had so much fun fooling, ahem i meant cooking, that the time just flew past!

me with my main - pesto spaghetti with prawns
putting the final touch on our dessert chocolate mousse - dusting sugar on it.

it was almost 7 by the time we were done with the dinner - *burp*.
next stop - to wine company @ dempsey for more wine and merry-making!

but by 10pm, i've to make a move - meeting dan they all for more drinking. @_@
it was almost 3am by the time i reached home. @_@
very long but fun day lah!

im really very very happy for fifi who will be marrying love of her life - RC - in 3 weeks time! :)
may them have a very blessed marriage!

furniture hunting @ sungei kadut

today, the ng family went sungei kadut for furniture/furnishings hunting!
its really farrrrrr.... just next to the mandai zoo. @_@
but ah long and me enjoyed such excursions (definitely beat shopping trips with me, haha) as we get to go new places. :)
so we drove, see see look look at one place before zooming off to another showroom/warehouse.
it kinda feel like our perth road trip when we went navigating around swan valley area.

anyway, we stumbled upon this interesting place where there is a Tiny cafe on the ground floor and furniture shop on the 2nd floor.
we got a cute lamp from the furniture place and settled our dinner @ the cafe.


the kids fooling around in the furniture shop
@ the tiny cafe - which has a very retro setting and nice yummeh food!

and we bought a bed frame for our new place! :)
for so long, we have lived without one. same for the boys.
hope we can get some measurements soon and buy their bedframes too.

and for tonight, hubbi and me sleeping in our study room.
more on why we are doing so in another post.
haha, so fun. new arrangement can be pretty fun.
i remember we used to "camp" in the living room with YZ when he's 2m+ and suffering from bad colic.
so much so that we still chose to sleep in the living room (3 of us) when he's older just for the fun of it. :P

ok, ending the post with our new lamp.
its meant for our new study room. you will see why. ha.