The One with the Ultimate Chocolate Muffins

Domestic goddess in the making :)



Double Chocolate Goodness!



The One with the Bridal Nail Selections

Some men say, "Huh nails? Who notices them?" They are obviously oblivous to how much women adore pretty colours on their nails, and on their wedding day no less. How else to show off the beautiful diamond ring you painstakingly selected for us?

I've selected a few designs, will decide when the date is closer. But aren't they totally to die for? ^^

French Lace with Roses

French Lace with Ribbons



Cystal ball, Pearls and Roses



Crystal, French Lace and Flowers

Loves loves loves!! OUT with the boring french manicure! In with cutesy 3D nail art!

Images from Cynful Nails

The One with the Top 5 BTOs of 2010

Was quite excited to chance upon this article in http://www.h88.com.sg/

Here are the Top 5 BTOs of 2010. Ready?

Number 5: Punggol Crest


This BTO is next to the expressway and nowhere as close to the MRT as the other BTOs but yet they were heavily oversubscribed, with an average of  9 applicants vying for a 4-bedroom unit.

Number 4: Punggol Emerald and Punggol Waves

These two BTOs were launched at the same time in April, with a total yield of 1,429 units. They were both 6 1/2 times oversubscribed, especially for the 4-room ones. Only 1 out of 7 got a chance to own a flat there

Number 3: Treegrove@ Woodlands

Launched at the same time as Punggol Crest, Treegrove@Woodlands, was also oversubscribed. The 372 4-room units received some 2,523 applications!

Number 2: Limbang Green

This quiet little Choa Chu Kang BTO hit a record 13 times oversubscribed for its 4-rm HDB flats. It's proximity to Yew Tee MRT and low price made Limbang Green a hit with first-time buyers.

Number 1: Punggol Waterway Terraces

Surprised? Not at all! Waterway Terraces set the record for the priciest BTO in Punggol, with prices of some units hitting $500,000. Plus, it also had the most number of applicants. A total of 1,072 units were available, for the poor 14,279 applicants who tried their luck. But eventually only 1 in 17 got a chance to successfully get the 5-bedroom units applied for. I personally feel the layout is too congested. And a rooftop playground for children? *Shivers*



Huge pats on our backs for E and I! Top 5 babeh, so proud of us! :)





The one with the Chiffon Cake

Baby was in Phuket over the weekend so I busied myself with baking class at the CSC and attempted to transform flour and eggs into something yummy on Sunday.

Did I poison anyone or come up with some lumpy goo of uncooked dough?

Orange Chiffon Cake

Of course not ;)

The One with the Bali Trip

Checking in at Kuta Seaview with a welcome drink and a sigh of relief from the heat

Beaching along Kuta Beach while doodling in the sands

Yummy BBQ ribs at Naughty Nuri's which we CLEANED out due to sheer starvation

Beautiful rice terraces on our chauffeured one day tour



Our very own private pool cum jacuzzi right outside our bedroom!

All in all, a great weekend getaway for two! xoxo



The One with Our Future Home

After many months of waiting, we finally went down to sign the lease of our new flat. Since we haven't been working long, the payment nearly wiped out our CPF. :(  But purchasing a house is a good investment and I'm certain we will build an extremely comfy home for the two of us and our children. The CSO expects the delivery date to be set around 2Q2014. But through the experience of many others, building HDBs in Singapore is equivalent to building a lego set and that we can assume key collection to be brought forward by a year. Which means less time to save to our desired sum! *horrors*

There goes short trips and weekend binge-ing out the window.
But nonetheless, she got us really excited! Wifey's thinking of turning our home into a showflat and I seem to need to increase budget every week. Here's keeping our fingers crossed that everything will turn out perfect!

The One with the Solemnization Venue

Deciding on the venue wasn't easy. We wanted cozy, poolside / garden, non extravagant and classy.
Hence we shortlisted a few venues which we thought best fit our criteria.

1) Grand Copthorne Waterfront
I'm not a fan of the location of GWC. It's not near any MRTs and quite inaccessible for people without cars. But I've heard wonderful things about the site and decide to give it the look-see it deserves. Beautiful promenade I must admit, affordable prices but beautiful setting overlooking a big fat drain?
I want a poolside wedding, not a 'long gang' side wedding. So probably not.

2) Swissotel Merchant Court
As we stepped out of the lift sharing the poolside garden with the spa of the hotel, we breathed in the amazing aromatherapy and instantly love the place (without even looking at it). The elevated pathway leading up to the poolside is beige pebbled and opens up to the beautiful site like a revelation. I said to baby,"Wow this is absolutely gorgeous!" The little downside to this place is that the pool will not be sectioned off for the wedding so we MAY have screaming kids canon-balling into the pool during our solemnization. The venue is in the midst of a romantic canopy of trees but overlooking hotel windows doesn't necessarily give us the privacy we need. But the buffet lunch that follows is popular, supposedly delicious and once a year. So we gave this place a thought.

3) Labrador Park Poolside
Eugene had a friend who held his wedding there and raved about the place. The place is idyllic, with the poolside that we wanted, a cozy setting and a great big lawn for the guests to hang out. But I worry about the grass and how it's not women shoes friendly. I'm not absolutely thrilled about having to decorate the place myself. We are fuss free people! The glasshouse fits 40 pax with most of the guests standing while dining which is not too nice. Nonetheless it was beautiful and deserves a place on our KIV list.

4) Amara Hotel
We had high hopes for Amara hotel. Excellent reviews and convenient location, we had to check it out. The location was beautiful, with a nice walkway of seated guests along the aisle I'll be walking down to the curtained canopy where the solemnization will be held. I can just visualize it... saying my vows, looking to my right at my groom and seeing an auntie attempting to sun her undies on a bamboo pole just across from the rooftop? Yes that's right. This magnificent location is right opposite HDB blocks where sticks of laundry protrudes from peoples' window sills. What a nice wedding backdrop. Sighs... maybe not.

 5) Changi Village Hotel
The set up was gorgeous! With the sitting area for guests and the aisle housed between the solemnization table and the entrance of one of my fave restaurants La Cantina in Venezia. The downside to this location is the distance from the general Singapore population and once again being inconvenient for car-less people. We were nicely alerted by the planner that we may have potential sound effects coming from the planes taking off at the nearby Changi Airport. So as much as the location is beautiful, I prefer not starting our lives together by screaming our vows at each other. On the other hand, it may be amusing to the crowd. :)

And so...our decision
The beautiful, stunning and aromatic...

Swissotel Merchant Court for our ceremony on 20 Nov 2011

Loves it! xoxo