EDD: 9th December 2014 Gynae: Dr Lee Keen Whye Clinic: KW Lee Clinic & Surgery for Women, Gleneagles Delivery Hospital: Gleneagles
Actual Day: 29 March 2013 Wedding Dinner Venue: Marriott Hotel Singapore Bridal Studio: Julia Wedding News Wedding Bands: The Diamond Atelier AD Photography: Avenue 8 (Douglas Fun)
ROM Date: 20 November 2011 Solemnisation Venue: Poolside, Swissotel Merchant Court Venue Decor and Flowers: Love Droplets ROM Photography: Avenue 8 (Dave Wong) Love Nest: Punggol Emerald (2014) JP: Dr Phua Tan Tee
My mum has been a rockstar this year. She retired after 45 years of working in the same company to help look after Lucas so that I can go back to work, basically sacrificing her disposable income as well as her freedom to allow me to pursue my career. Not many mums will do that for their children, especially in a career driven society such as Singapore. Makes me truly appreciate what she has done for me.
Brought her out for an early birthday dinner on Saturday at Si Chuan Dou Hua at UOB Plaza. The food was great but the view was subpar, largely masked by the hazy weather. But Lucas was very happy to be out, and the curious him kept eyeing his surrounding, trying to peek past our shoulders and smiling at random strangers, which can be very endearing. All in all, it was great fun!
My little boy looks so grown up... *tears*
I really can't help but lament that time is passing by too quickly, especially over these past few months being back at work. It won't be long before Lucas's 1 year old birthday and as I'm finalizing the guest list, it's hard to believe that not long ago, I was watching my belly grow and feeling kicks and nudges from within. I'm just extremely grateful that despite the ups and downs of parenthood, Lucas is a happy and healthy baby.
Christmas is just a mere 48 days away and I'm so freaking excited! I sooo look forward to Christmas, even more so this year because we get to bring him around and take pictures with Christmas trees!
On the topic of Christmas, sales are popping up all over Singapore and the crazy Mother in me went a little mad Christmas and birthday shopping for Lucas. My dear son is very old school. He loves Mickey, the dear old Disney icon from the stone ages, so I went and got him all things Mickey.
Then I went into Gap Kids and picked up some stuff for our family trip next yr. Yes, I am very kiasu.
And here's the cheeky boy at Saizeriya, which is fast becoming my favourite restuarant in town. Cheap food aside, every table has a screaming baby / toddler. I felt right at home and complete unabashed that my own baby is shrieking at the top of his lungs. We took our leisurely time having dinner because there were no nasty glances thrown our way when Lucas decides to let out one of his long screams. Kudos to the Japanese really, their shopping centers and eateries are the friendliest places to bring kids to.
It's that time of the year again! This year however, V-Day and CNY are just a few short days apart and I've been busy rummaging through my wardrobe for something to wear on both days. Even though I have lost over 10kg within a span of 2 months (yay me!!), I am still unable to fit into my wardrobe full of dresses due to breastfeeding. All I can do is gaze at them longingly and settle for more nursing appropriate attire, which makes shirt dresses my new best friend!
But that's not the case for you folks! There are some lovely frocks out there that are very occasion appropriate! Below are my top picks! *Warning, most of them are from my favourite shops L'zzie and Elisa Litz!
Tiny heart shape cut-outs peppering this simple dress makes this a perfect Valentine's outfit!
Loving this cheongsam inspired dress! Uber sweet!
Loving this entire ensemble for a casual date out!
Loving this simple and sexy Asos dress!
I love how this dress is both V-Day and CNY appropriate!
Not forgetting some awesome shoe picks!
I love love love this pair of flats! Pink and bling, my kinda shoe candy!
A pair of dainty low heels if flats are not your thing :)
I'm all about nude heels because it goes with everything!
Ferragamo Vara Heels in Rosso
And if you have the moolah to spare, knock yourselves out with my dream pair of Ferragamo heels! Goes perfect with the little black dress! *droolz*
I'm still feeling a tad sore as I'm typing this post because I'm someone who prides herself for doing ample research before getting the things she wants, especially big ticket items that will save me a lot of money and heartache. I blame it on inexperience and can only hope that I'll wise up next time.
We went to the baby fair at Expo on Friday hoping to snap up some great deals for Junior. The baby fair was surprisingly crowded on a Friday afternoon and we spent the next 2 hours jostling our way through the crowd to look at strollers and beds.
We have shortlisted 2 stroller models that we were very keen on and we pretty much set on either of them.
1st up is the Combi Miracle Turn Premier
Research on forums has shown that Combi is a popular choice amongst mummies because of it's make and affordability.
Here are the Combi Miracle specs taken off the internet:
Features:
Auto 4 swivel wheels
One-touch folding and opening
Self-standing when folded
Adjustable Handle - Handle can be adjusted according to mothers height
Dacco seat cushion used to absorb and disperse impact evenly. (Comprises of a head support, back support and hip support)
Egg Shock Alpha provides additional protection to a baby’s head by absorbing and dispersing impact evenly
Extra long seat provides extra growing space and additional comfort
Mesh canopy window maximizes ventilation
Mesh seat-back along with rear ventilation window
Large canopy offers maximum sun protection
Shock absorbing structure -
One-touch 5-point harness with one-touch release buckle
Sturdy wheels smooth out bumps and make pushing easy
Equipped Weight: 7.8kg
Angle adjustment: 125 ° ~ 170°
Opened: W479 x D860~1010 x H843~1075mm
Folded: W479 x D370~560 x H858~950mm
Available Colours: Green Leaf & Purple Leaf
Recommended for ages 1-36 months.
Price : S$559
We were pretty attracted by the price and decided to try out the stroller. It was easy to navigate around and there was no problem switching directions from front facing to back facing. I hogged and rolled the Combi Premier around and meddled with it for a good 15 mins before making a mental list of a few features that I do not like in my head.
1) I do not like the colour choices, really not a fan of the purple and the green.
2) The 2 knobs to change the direction of the handles are located pretty far down which means I have to bend my body 90 degrees over the handles to attempt to change the direction of the stroller.
3) The ventilation window at the back of the stroller is gawd-awful ugly. It looks like an industrial air-con vent and my idea of a comfy stroller equipped with ugly aluminium window strips just doesn't mesh.
4) The one hand fold feels a tad flimsy, likely because Combi used to use the 2 fold technology before the one hand opening and closing became more popular.
All in all, we felt that the Combi IS a good enough stroller and is priced very reasonably, but we wanted to check out the Soraria before deciding.
We walked over to the Aprica booth and zoomed in on the Soraria immediately. There were many parents crowding around the Aprica booth, touching and caressing the strollers but not many were actually trying them out. I strongly believe that the price factor is the reason why many parents were reluctant to give Aprica a chance.
Aprica Soraria 2014 Model
Here are the Aprica Soraria specs taken off the internet:
Weight 6.98 kg
Seat recline angles: 120-170 degrees
High Seat of 55cm from the ground
Full range hood with 99% UV protection
One hand folds and unfolds
Multi-positions reclining seat
Solid belt pad in 5 point to avoid compression of the abdominal area
Reversible and adjustable handle
Ventilation seat system
Medical Growth Mamol, the cushion to support proper position of baby. Consists of four layers - 1-Cool Max, 2-3D-Mesh, 3-BreathAir,4- Soft 3D Mesh
BreathAir seat
Easy Wash
Auto 4-caster wheel function
Ideal product frame designed with pursuit of manoeuvrability
RECOMMENDED USE: Newborn to 3 years of age
Weight Recommendation: Up to 15kg
Stroller size:
Open W48.5cm x D69～ 950cm x H86～103.5cm
Close W48.5cm x D38cm x H85.5～96cm
Available colours: Holy Purple, Midnight Black, Global Red
Price: S$859
Oh man, how I love this stroller. I love the colour choices, it handles like a dream, the ventilation system doesn't look like an air con vent, it is lighter than the Combi Premier but feels surprisingly sturdier and I love the fact that the seat is 55cm above the ground, which means I'm closer to my baby when I'm sitting down and that makes it easier to see and feed him. The direction changing knobs are located near the canopy so it makes switching directions a breeze without bending over. The cushion feels really really plushy and I so badly wanted to sit on it to try it out...
There was only 1 thing is didn't like about this stroller. I really don't like the price.
With both prams, I have no problems closing and opening them with 1 hand but the Aprica Soraria, although lighter, closes with a "thud" instead of the Combi's "piak".
Both strollers have front wheel steering which makes them really easy to maneuver.
After much delibration and bargaining, we manage to get the 2014 Aprica Soraria at the 2013 model's price. We were over the moon and thought we snagged a really good deal. But it just so happened that Takashimaya was having a storewide 10% over the same weekend and after the baby fair, we headed to orchard for some kitchen shopping and was curious at how much the Soraria was retailing for. Our hearts fell when we saw that Taka was selling the same pram for S$839 plus an additional 10% for Taka Amex cardholders. The only thing comforting us was that the colour we bought at the baby fair wasn't available.
But anyhoo, here it is! Junior's very chio stroller! :)
We managed to get Junior's playpen / bed at the fair as well. I fell in love with this playpen as I was browsing through a celebrity's Facebook page. We got it in a bundle deal together with the pram and got some discount off the mattress as well, and now Junior has a place to sleep!
I love how easy it is to store this playpen away when Junior outgrows it. There are 2 heights to this playpen which will take him from a newborn to a toddler.
Here are some features:
Folds easily with one hand
The only cot with a upper cot that folds with frame
Plush, cushy, better for baby certified Oeko-Tex® fabric
Chic look won’t clutter family rooms
Unique zigzag legs pop cot open quickly and easily
Skid-proof feet keep sleep quiet and still
Padded edges prevent finger pinches
Lush, quilted mattress pad over the cushioned bed
Above-ground base keeps baby draft-proof
Sturdy aluminum frame is easy to transport
Recommended use: birth to 15kg
Product dimensions: 78 cm high x 105 cm wide x 75 cm deep
Folded dimensions: 87.7 cm high x 27 cm wide x 30 cm deep
Mattress dimensions: 94 cm x 68 cm
Product weight: 8.9 kg
Retails for S$249
Only 2 items and $1000 poorer. Man oh man...
We also purchased the silk baby sling from The Birth Shop at more than 20% discount. It doubles up as a nursing shawl when Junior needs to feed when we are out as well.
My thoughts about the baby fair is that, because all the vendors are consolidated there, it is a one-stop shop and definitely easier to figure out what you need and for parents to do direct price comparison between brands.
BUT, if you already know what you want, then I'd suggest calling up other places in Singapore such as Kiddy Palace, Baby Kingdom or Baby Hypermart for a simple price check before you commit at the baby fair because sometimes, these places may be running some promotional offers due to the baby fair as well. The Takashimaya incident was one of them, but we couldn't possibly have anticipated Takashimaya selling a stroller cheaper than the baby fair. But we did manage to call up Kiddy Palace and they happened to be holding a storewide 20% off that weekend and got Junior's bathtub, mattress casing and pillows at a cheaper price than the baby fair. Not everything at the baby fair is worth getting. But the cheap diapers were definitely worth queueing for.
The next up will be the Phillip Carnival Sale which will hopefully happen soon! Junior needs milk bottles!
2 hectic weekends have come and gone with us bringing our family to view the house and popping by the electrical fair to snap up some good deals.
First up, key collection on 16/04/2014 (our carefully selected date!)
We celebrated with a lovely brunch at Tim Ho Wan Toa Payoh.
yay us!
Then it was offering to 土地公 at the void deck before we entered our new home.
Living Hall
Suggested Study Area
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom windows
View from the Service Yard
Kitchen
And so, we have neighbours already... neighbours who territory mark. That's fast.
Territorizing
So exciting that Reno is gonna start!
I'm in over my head. With the upcoming trip to plan, and the house renovations, and the furniture and appliances hunting, I feel as if my head is going to explode. There's so much on our plates right now, I don't even know where to begin or how to go about allocating my time. But what kills me is, with all that is going on, all I wanna do is lie down and take a long long nap. Bonkers, I know.
Ok, back to reno.
We went for dry-laying of our marble tiles and spent about an hour checking every nick and spot and scratch on those pieces of stones. We walked and inspected, bent and rubbed, changed and switched again and were finally satisfied with what was to be our living room. It was so fun! And now those babies are all packed up and ready to be laid. :)
And so, we went to the electrical fair at Expo and got us a fridge! We got it at a great price and it came with a free air purifier.
Our fridge!
the free purifier!
Now, we are haze prepped! :)
Will update when I can when renovations is underway! Lights shopping next! :)
Valentine's Day this year was pretty low key and we spent it like a typical Friday date night.
Date night after work!
We had dinner at Tenkaichi and I think we ate a year's worth of wagyu that night. The wagyu quality is pretty decent, and at $59.90 per pax, it was really awesome to know that you can eat as much wagyu as you want, or so we thought. By the 2nd round, we were so stuffed that seeing another piece of beef made us ill. So we concluded that at this day and age, it'll make more sense for us to go for quality instead of quantity.
Wagyu galore!
My dear hubby cooked for us throughout the whole dinner. What would I do without you? :) heehee~
My wonderful chef ^^
Tenkaichi is definitely worth a visit, but don't expect top notch quality wagyu at this joint! This place is for those who wishes to down lots of wagyu but won't wish to spend a hefty sum on their meal.
And I thought it was high time I splurged on something for him rather than the other way round. Tadah! Hubby's first leather watch! :) I think I pretty much hit home with this.
Pressie for the baby!
Our weekends have been pretty slammed furniture hunting and appliances scouting. So many bits and bobs around the house to find and buy. Its really overwhelming with the tons of choices to make and budgets to work out but also extremely exciting at the same time shopping and building a home together. I can't wait for key collection and reno works to start! (/^▽^)/
My apologies for being delinquent with weekend updates that only gets published mid-week instead of a Monday because you see, Mondays are busy days for me and Tuesdays are "why is it only Tuesday?!" whiny days where I'll spend a good portion of the day lamenting on why Friday is so damn far away. This usually dies down by Wednesday and that's when I'll settle down to start blogging about the weekend. Very very bad I know... I'll strive to rid myself of this nasty habit. Monday shall be blog days, or at least I'll try.
so damn full...
Hubby (yes him again) had a thai craving to satisfy so we went to good ol' Nakhon Kitchen along Bedok North for some yummy and affordable thai fare. I'm a bonafide tom yum connoisseur and I am very picky when it comes to the sweet, spicy and sour concoction. I'll rate this soup a 7/10 because halfway through the soup became cold and I am seriously pissed when that happens. Who likes cold soup!? I give high commendations to restaurants who bother putting soup in a claypot or on top of a tealight or something that will keep it hot throughout the meal. But the taste of the soup was sublime. I always go for the chilli oil version as opposed to the more popular clearer base because I fancy the extra oomph in my tom yum :)
The rest of the dishes were equally yummy and I particularly liked their rendition of the Sambal Kang Kong. Delicious and spicy! The pandan chix could have a tad more pandan taste to them, but the chicken thigh meat was tender and moist. I love the pineapple rice, although nothing beats my absolute favourite from Nam Sing in Bangkok. Hands down, best pineapple rice in the world! The fish with thai chilli was nice but unnecessary seeing that we were dying from the over-ordered amount of food on the table. *a hungry man should NVR be allowed to order food*
Saturday saw us waking up waaaay too late when we had so many errands to run. We made our way to Philips to collect our free coffee grinder that came as a GWP with our spanking new coffee machine. I am so proud of us for investing in a manual coffee machine although I don't actually drink a single drop of coffee. But owning a machine like this makes me feel sooo grown up! Can't wait to have guests over at our new place! :) Then off we went for a suit fitting for some hiao pok who wanted a new suit for work. We then headed to MBS to try on some new jeans. Premium jeans are so blardy comfy! Sliding on a pair of buttery 7-for-all-mankinds makes you regret ever buying Levis from the beginning. Like omg why have I been torturing my poor legs? But they ran out of sizes and we left sans new jeans for the hubby but with 3 new bottles of perfume!
They were on sale and he had been wanting them for ages so he finally caved and bought them. Then because I gave him puppy eyes for watching him shop the entire day... he got me my Hugo Boss Jour perfume. Now I have both the Jour and Nuit. Been loving them since my first whiff. Happy puppy! :)
We settled for dinner at Ichiban Boshi at Suntec after deciding that restaurants in MBS are meant for occasions only. Much too pricey for an everyday meal.
we are getting fatter by the minute...
Hubby was really cheesed off with the pathetic piece of unagi in his set but I was pretty pleased with my Sukiyaki set because I was given really thick slices of salmon belly sashimi! Yums max! Really really stuffed.
Then it was off to a date with The Hunger Games - Catching Fire. I found the ending really abrupt am now really tempted to get the book to read just to clear my confusion. What do you think? Is the book better than the movie? Will I regret reading it?
Another fun-filled weekend coming up, featuring "My Best Friend's Wedding Part 1". Excited much! :)
This was no easy feat. As I'm writing this I can still feel my head reeling from the repetitive motions of lying down, and getting up, and lying back down and getting up. We started the hunt hoping to try out the 3 S-es of reputably good mattresses, Simmons, Sealy and Serta and are now pretty well-versed in the differences between the 3 brands.
Was it that much of a pain in the 'S'? Not so much surpringly, due to the simple fact that all our conversations and negotiations with the different sales people took place while we were sprawled on extremely comfortable beds and having a conversations with them as though it was boring pillow talk. We were lying in the most heck-care of positions because we wanted to replicate how it was going to be like in real life. I even had the tiniest urge to ta bao some macdonald's ice cream to the showroom to complete the 'feel'. But no, that didn't happen :)
Simmons
Simmons was amazing. Beautiful showrooms, amazing beds, welcoming sales staff with warm lightings and lush carpeting. It was like coming home. Man... and what an expensive home it'll be. As we lay down on bed after bed, our backs started to groan against the cheaper mattresses and purr against the more luxurious ones. The longer we wanted to linger in bed, the higher the prices climbed. Madness. $12,000 for my dream mattress. Bye bye to a nice sofa, a coffee table and a dining table. We shall eat, sleep and watch tv on the mattress till the end of time. I was pretty set on a Simmons in the beginning. But we decided to delve further into mattress research and continue the hunt in search of slightly more affordable ones.
Individual Pocketed Coils
Sealy
Our first encounter with Sealy was at Courts Tampines right after our talk with the Simmons salesperson. We tried out "Quiver" from the Knights Collection which was just right! Gosh, not too hard and not too soft. Cushy yet immediately supported when you first rest on it. Comfortable and within budget. KIV-ed. Next up was "Yarrow" from the Spring Collection at CKTangs Vivocity. Ooooahhhhh... Mad comfy! Semi-firm yet soft enough to keep us lying down on the bed, refusing to get up. All the sleep angles felt right. I wanted to cave in right there and then. But we were adamant not to be rash, so we pushed on. A thing to note; shopping for Sealy will be a pain. Different sleep clinics or shopping malls carried different models. There wasn't any Quiver in the boutiques and no Yarrow in Takashimaya. It was individual boutique exclusives. I named "Obsession" to the salesperson at Courts and she shook her head immediately and told me "Only Taka". Not good! We wanted a side by side comparison which was definitely not gonna happen with Sealy. Really very annoying.
Serta
Serta was at the back of our minds to be honest. I first heard about Serta when Samantha, our wedding coordinator mentioned the cute Serta sheeps they were giving with every mattress purchase. I remembered viewing some Serta ads before movie screenings in the cinema but that was it. Here are some of my favourite Serta ads.
Anyhoo, we were over at IMM and were lucky enough to bump into Kelvin, the store manager of Serta Sleep Clinic IMM. In the beginning we were slightly put off by his 'don't bother' attitude towards us because we walked in for abt 5 mins and he ignored us. But as he warmed up to us, we realized that he was really well-versed in his products and very welcoming of neighbouring competition. So much so that his ultimate goal was for us to come to our own conclusion instead of pushing us towards liking what he has to offer. He was concise and quick, non-pushy and very professional. He told us about his 2 best selling models, Serta Sophistication and Diamond Suite (used in many hotels). We tried out Diamond Suite but felt it was too soft for hubby.When we tried out Sophistication, we felt as though we hit jackpot. The pillow top was luxuriously soft, yet firm enough to support our backs after a long day. It was amazing. Most importantly, because we are both light sleepers, any movements on either side would most likely wake us. Kelvin explained to us that in our situation, we could only go with Serta or Simmons' as Sealy's springs are interconnected hence a small bounce on one end could definitely be felt by your partner on the other.
Kelvin then told us about how he was formally an employee with Simmons and how the employees are treated really well with benefits and bonuses. This explained Simmon's high priced mattresses. I did some googling and discovered that Simmons filed for bankruptcy September of 2009 and was bought over by Serta's management Ares and TPC. They plan to operate Serta and Simmons Bedding as independent entities that will continue to compete with one another. Just a good to know in case anybody's interested..
Serta' Nested Pocketed Springs
The "honeycomb" construction of this spring allows full coverage of sleeping surface, resulting a firmer and more responsive support to body contour. A pocket spring coil system is used in Serta's Sophistication mattresses. These springs are separated into little fabric pockets, which helps you to be less affected by your partner moving around at night. Hubby tried bouncing on one end while I snored on the other. Minimal movement was felt. Excellent.
The affordability, perks and mattress comfort quickly put Serta on the top of our list. We were really
excited about our new find but wanted to sleep on it to digest all the information that we have. We must have slept on about 20+ mattresses so far. Making a decision based on something we rested on for 10 mins spread over a period of 3 weeks is really not easy.
So finally on Saturday, we headed down to Plaza Sing's Serta Sleep Clinic and had the pleasure of being served by Steven. The Plaza Sing's branch is the largest sleep clinic in Singapore currently and had the 2 mattresses we were deciding between. Serta's Sophistication and New Sophistication. Steven was really no nonsense and professional. He was not as charismatic as Kelvin was, but he was definitely knowledgeable about his products. That in a weird way, gave us a lot of confidence because we knew he was serious. Serious about helping us, serious about giving us a good deal and serious about helping us make the right decision. We alternated between the Sophi and New Sophi mattresses and after about an hour, we still couldn't decide. Hubs love the New Sophi for that added firmness whereas I enjoyed diving into Sophi for the lush plushness. Steven then told us that we need not decide on the spot, and that we had till the week before our delivery date to confirm our choices. So we could deal with Sophi and indicate on the contract about an option to upgrade to the New Sophi mattress before delivery. We were thrilled by this and paid the deposit immediately.
Serta Sophistication with Meh-Meh saying "Gimme five!"
Serta New Sophistication with Meh-Meh saying "baaahh!"
New Serta Owners!
Our Sophistication package came with
1 x Sophistication Mattress
1 x Bed Bench
1 x Long bed pillow
1 x Mattress protector
2 x Nano gel pillows
2 x Comfort pillows
2 x Long bed pillow covers
2 x Signature Serta Sheeps
Price: S$3499
I think we drove a hard bargain. Steven was really nice.
The New Sophistication Mattress package came with a Bedframe or Divan ($100 cheaper) at $4208. We'll have another 5 months to decide. In the mean time, any suggestions on affordable and beautiful divans would be great!
For any other information on Serta mattresses, do drop by their showroom for a visit. What I've said is solely our point of views and can never beat lying down on different mattresses and finding one that suits you and your partner.
I was requested by a reader to do a review of my Serta Sophistication mattress and how it go on after sleeping on it for almost a year now. I think this request couldn't come at a more appropriate time seeing that my wedding anniversary is just around the corner :)
Firstly, it has to be said that while I LOVE the idea of a luxurious plushy bed, the husband suffers from a spinal fracture due to an old basketball injury and has since been dealing with backaches for the past 12 years. Hence, it was important that we attempt to find a mattress that would suit both our needs.
And after experimenting for a year, we conclude that we cannot have the best of both worlds.
I love my mattress to bits. I can lie in bed all day everyday and swim in the luxury of my 1000 threadcount Egyptian cotton sheets till my hubby blares the alarm in my ears or flood the room with glaring white light to get me out of bed. The question is then, why is he up before me? How can he stand to leave the luxurious comfort of his bed behind? This is because prolonged lying on this plushy goodness is not doing wonders for his back. The first few hours of sleep is absolute bliss for him, but lazing in bed for more than 9 hours will cause his back to ache. So this is classic case of, 'too much of a good thing is bad for you'.
I wish it wasn't so, because when I see his mild agony, I wished I had given up plushy goodness for a firmer mattress. Such as Serta's New Sophistication, or Simmons's Backcare series. But we gave ourselves a 5 year expiry on the mattress before we upgrade to an "old folks" mattress which will benefit our backs more in the long run.
But without his injury, I can vouch that this mattress is perfect is many ways. Much more affordable and extremely comfortable because it is both firm and plushy at the same time. Just not firm enough for someone with a bad back.
