Foto Friday 21: Lunch Date at Udders, Mother's Day & other things ^-^

Now that Dylan is a little older, Nian and Ihave been sneaking little dates here and there whenever the both of us are free and while Dy is at the infant care.

To date, we managed to go for two movies date: G.I. Joe and Olympus Has Fallen. G.I. Joe Retaliation was really good! But not so much for Olympus lah. You can read my review here, I was just basically complaining and complaining LOL.

Just three weeks ago, we managed another date again and we went to Udders at Upper Thomson! Quite exciting because Mrs Tan here is quite a mountain-tortoise - I've never eaten at Udders before you know! 

#1

Ordered an Om Nom Nom sundae to share - it had some nuts, choco balls, chocolate and cookies & cream ice-cream and loads of oreos at the bottom. So sinful until my sweet-tooth husband thinks it is too sweet for him can you believe it? LOL

Heng we skipped the whip cream. Mehehe.

I was drinking Root Beer from a measuring cup - super big cup lor!

#2

Apart from the desserts, we also ordered this Udders Beef to share. Initially we wanted to order the chicken version, but I cannot resist the little beef patties so my husband had to give in to me and so we had beef! ^^

Goodness gracious me, it was really pretty yummy. I'm glad that we decided to drop by Udders for a meal instead of settling at the bar chor mee stall beside!

I wanna try the Udders Chicken next time. I read some reviews and it said that both are as good. *happy*

#3

Yet another gym session. It was my 9th week back in gym three weeks ago so this week marks the third month I finally got my ass movin'.

As compared to the first time I went back, it is more manageable now, of course. I can last through the entire high intensity aerobics workout without stopping, but I am still quite a distance off being able to last through the entire weights training.

I always die when my instructor does complex workouts - think squats with chest press simultaneously, bicycle crunches etc. My whole body feels like it is on fire every time! And most of the time, I can't get back home without a slight limp wtf.

But I guess there's some truth to "no pain, no gain" right? I will continue to work hard to a healthier and stronger body cuz there was this lady I saw on Instagram, she was over 210lb (that is like 95kg!) after giving birth to her kids. I think she gave birth to a pair of twins? I'm not really sure but here's how she looks like right now:

Can you believe it or not!??!?!!!

I was showing it to my mother-in-law and she didn't believe how can this lady lose so much weight but I was blown away. If she can do it, so can I! I mean, I'm not like 95KG but my heart skips a beat to know that I *can* actually have a body like this (on the right, not the left one huh excuse me) if I work hard enough.

So I told my mother-in-law to give me three years. 36 months. Not too much to ask for right? :x

#4

Another item off my Evil Wishlist. Now my Chanel earrings has a friend! Next, I really want their pearl bracelet so that I have a "set"... whatever that set is. It's just the obssessed shopper in me speaking right now.

It is not cheap so I guess I'll just wait and see. Afterall, the earrings were alone for a good one to two years before I got their friend this year so I guess a little wait wouldn't harm!

#5

I usually host shows (roadshows, dinner & dance, wedding dinners, community centres block parties) on weekends but this time, I took over the DJ console!

Mixing music is pretty fun I'd say, but I'm no good at it lol. I'm still better at talking and hosting. :p

#6

Nian, Dylan and I brought Mama Tan out for a good lunch during Labour Day - one to thank her for always finding time to stand in for us to take care of Dylan whenever the both of us are occupied and the infant care is not opened, and another is to celebrate Mother's Day.

After much research, Nian and I decided to bring her to Taste Paradise at ION Orchard and it was a great decision, me thinks! I kinda shortlisted a couple of dim sum places, like Wen Dao Shi, Swee Choon, Red Star, Yum Cha Garden and Peach Garden.

Didn't consider the hotel ones because of budget constrains, yet we didn't wanna bring her to somewhere too lok kok, so we decided on this! The food was served really quickly and it was hot too. Overall, I think all of the food were really delicious and done with a really good standard.

However, if you were to compare, I think I still prefer Victor's Kitchen's custard buns (even though I really dislike the rude lady boss - gosh, can someone kick her out already?) & Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao. Other than that, the rest of the 15 dishes are really good lah!

The bill came up to $130 for the three four of us. Dylan actually finished the whole plate of Chee Cheong Fun lor! Very good appetite! Hahaha ^~^

I told Mama Tan when Tim Ho Wan is less crowded already, we will bring her there. Sigh, I really love my mother-in-law very much. I think she is a really capable lady, even though she didn't study much, neither does she work. But who says that the capability of a woman is limited to her workplace?

#7

After a hearty lunch with Mama Tan, we went for yet another hearty lunch with the Chan's the following week - we invited Granny Chan along and we feasted on Peking Duck, Ee Fu Nodles, dimsum (again! I can never get tired of dim sum :D) and Cedele's Chocolate Cookies & Cream cake (that's a whole lot of words starting with C wtf) for my youngest sister's birthday!

Went to Yishun SAFRA's Pin Si so we offset the entire $148 bill (initially it was $160+ but SAFRA members have 10% discount!) with Papa Chan and Nian's NS45 vouchers. Shiok!

#7

Finally got some of tthe remaining 7-11 Hello Kitty x Tokidoki figurines since my last FF update. I know I've ranted about this probably a thousand times so can I rant just one more time? Wouldn't make a difference ain't it lol.

Ok, here we go: In order to get ONE figurine, you are supposed to either get 6 stamps + $3.90 or exchange one for free with 18 stamps.

To get one stamp, you need to spend $4. That means you will need a minimum of $27.90 for ONE figurine, and $72 if you were to exchange for free. WTF RIGHT $72 WORTH OF MERCHANDISE FOR A KITTY.

Well, actually it is pretty normal for a Hello Kitty lover to spend money to collect these figurines. What makes it harder is that this is completely tikam-based, which completely made no sense at all!

Tikam means you CANNOT see what you're gonna get, and that means the chances of repeats are very high. Honestly, I don't like this marketing method at all cuz it is simply too evil ok. Think about it again: $72 worth of merchandise for a kitty YOU CANNOT CHOOSE.

What logic is this? How much money you want us to spend huh excuse me?

But because I'm such a fanatic, I have no choice but to beg, steal and rob for the stamps. Thankfully, I've got very good friends who will chin chye go into 7-11 to buy $4 worth of stuff to help me with one stamp or two. Special mention to my Vibes kids, who really kept patronizing 7-11 and helped me collected like 15 stamps.

FIFTEEN. Do you know how much money that is? $60 worth of stuff.

Other times, I stand in front of 7-11 after I made my own purchases and then begged people who bought stuff but are not collecting these kitties for the stamps. But because 7-11 doesn't give out stamps to people who purchase cigarettes, coupons, cashcard top-ups, bill payments and god-knows-what-else, many of them couldn't give me a stamp at all, even though they would love to.

Anyways, long story short, I managed to scrimp up 60 stamps after a month of begging - not so much of spending, I probably spent about $40 on ice-cream and junk food -__- - and topped up $39 for ten kitties at one shot.

Nian had the liberty to choose all ten kitties and he actually got 8 different ones, out of the 10. 80% success rate, I'd say it's super awesome la!

I now have two extra kitties (Sunshine and Moo), hoping to exchange for the Rocket kitty. I will not be going back to 7-11 for a long time now, so if anyone of you has an extra Rocket and looking for Sunshine or Moo, I'll be happy to trade! Just drop me an email at jaccyy@gmail.com and we will discuss from there ya. :)

#8

Because of my obsession of boxes and compartments, my kitties have a new house. Bought them at $2 each at Daiso! Daiso sells all sorts of ingenious stuff, really. I can never get bored of it and I will always find something to buy home lolol.

#9

Ending my post with my little monster at 38 weeks back then. As we talk, he is already 41 weeks! They say 52 weeks make a year, right?

My baby is turning one. How time flies. :)

My Mother's Day Edition VanityTrove!

A fortnight ago, I received a set of Mother's Day edition VanityTrove and I was pretty excited to rip the vacuum seal apart as soon as I set my eyes on them. *eyes glistening*

When my husband picked up VanityTrove for me from the delivery man, he was like, "What's this thing? So cute one." If you're like my husband who doesn't really know what VanityTrove is, in layman terms, it is like a tikam box.

I know I should've used a nicer sounding name than a "tikam box" but as you know... men probably wouldn't care for a nicer sounding name LOL. As for the ladies, the tikam box is called the fukubahluku.

No, just kidding, not bahluku lah hahaha it's fukuburuko, which is a mystery grab bag filled with surprise products. At $25/month, each VanityTrove will be filled with specially picked surprise mix of beauty goodies (think hair products, makeup, bodycare, skincare and fragrances etc) and delivered right to your doorstep!

Check out the range of products I got for my May edition of VanityTrove. ^-^

My favourite item in this month's Trove has to be the JapSpa Sea Salt.

This Aroma Bath Sea Salt helps to exfoliate dead skin calls and it is not only suitable for use in a bathtub, it is also good for shower use too. I love how soft my skin feels right after a hot shower with the Aroma Bath Sea Salt.

Personally, I prefer the Rose Bath Sea Salt more, because I smell so romantic (can you actually smell romantic? Hahaha!) and sweet after the bath, it makes me feel like I'm on a holiday! Both of these sea salts are available in coarse and fine salt version, so take your pick.

I've also tried out the range of NUXE Skincare and the cleansing gel is surprisingly good at removing make-up as well, so I didn't need to use a make-up remover on my lazy days. The Gentle Toning Lotion is non-alcoholic, so it doesn't dry your skin out, yet provide immediate freshness.

If you have oily skin, the Clarifying Cream Mask can deliver a clear, matte complexion after usage. All of these products have a gentle rose scent to it, which I really like!

You don't need a huge amount for these NUXE Skincare, so with these sample sizes, it was enough to last me for a week.

The Bach Rescue Pastilles is both alcohol and sugar-free, which makes it a better alternative to soothing throat discomfort as compared to other lozenges in the market. When I first opened it, it reminded me of those Ricola pastilles, except that this is significantly less sweet.

I'm sure Sebamed is not a stranger to many of us ladies. This intimate wash is specially formulated to set the female hygiene area at an optimal pH of 3.8 and it is also effective against pathogenic micro-organisms.

 

Apart from a Trove of wonderful products, I also like the palm-sized Vanity Magazine that comes along with it.

Apart from the usual product write-ups, I also like these interesting features below... such as these:

PowerPlate gym - quite interesting, it is supposed to work much faster as compared to traditional gym!

A feature story on how to take care of your hair, with some home recipes included!

Dunno what nail designs to get for your next manicure session? Vanity magazine has got some features on the popular nail arts that is on trend.

If you like whatever you've sampled in the VanityTrove, there are also vouchers for you to use when you purchase retail sizes.

So there you have it, aallll of these for $25/month! 

June's edition will be Summer Crush - look out for exciting beauty stash suitable for sunny brunches to sunset parties. If you sign up by this week, I think you'd still be in time to receive June's Trove!!

CLICK HERE : you can subscribe it for yourself or as a gift to your girlfriends, sisters or mummy cuz good things are meant to be shared. :)

Dettol Radiance... & the winners are...!

Hello super-readers! Thank you for taking part in my Dettol Radiance giveaway. I'm happy to be announcing the three lucky winners who will each win a set of Dettol Radiance! The winners are...

Comment #9, Shirley!

Comment #6, Sze Min!!

And finally Comment #4, Jing Ting!

I will be dropping you guys an email by the end of today, so look out for it! ^-^

Fret not if you did not manage to win yourself something because I've got another two more giveaways below that you can try your luck with!

Bepanthen Giveaway

RETAIL SIZE Bepanthen Ointments are up from grab, they are not just an ordinary nappy rash ointment because they are useful against these common boo-boos:

- dried, chapped lips
- craacked nipples from breastfeeding
- fresh tattoos from scabbing
- minor burns and cuts

Just go to bepanthen.com.sg and click on CLAIM YOUR FREE SAMPLES HERE. Key in promo code hellomrstan.

It's a sure win, so do take part as there are limited Bepanthen up for grabs!

Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion Giveaway

I have ONE retail size Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion worth $21.90 to give away.

Simply follow me on Twitter, look out for my giveaway tweet and retweet it to take part! Contest ends TOMORROW, 2359 hours.

You can also redeem a 20ml sample of this Arbutin Whitening Lotion & a sample of Hada Labo's Cleansing Oil from Hada Labo's Facebook Page. While stocks last.

Foto Friday 20: Frolicking Around With My Family

Here's another #throwbackFriday photos (I know, #Throwbacks are not supposed to be used on a Friday but... whatever right? Hehehe.)

Again, these are photos a couple of weeks back, basically a little compilation of my happy pills - Dylan, le husband, manicures, bright colours, Manchester United, friends and food.

#1

Did a really superbly colourful set of manicure a couple of weeks back and I think this is my favourite set so far! Just simple, solid colours, but they make up to such a vibrant spectrum, I keep flashing them to Dylan because it makes him keep wanting to grab them!

 

#2

Met up with my happy Vibes kids for lunch one day and Nian and I made a trip down to Telok Ayer again, after so long! After working in Jurong, I've grown to appreciate working in the CBD - nearer to town, lots of food variety and sometimes, if you're really lucky, you get to do some shopping too!

In Jurong Industrial Area.... all we get are trucks, canteen food and tiko peks. :(

#3

We decided to have lunch at this quaint little restaurant called Flying Squirrels along Amoy Street, but you have to actually make a turn into an ulu alley before you see this cafe. I think they serve pretty decent Japanese food.

Nian had the sushi set which took really long to come, but according to him, most of the sashimi are rather fresh, except for one. I can't remember if he said was the salmon (unlikely, cuz I ordered extra portions of salmon), but my Ebi was good! I like the curry and wafu salad too. :)

#4

Tried out Bangkok Jam at the new Plaza Singapura extention when Nian brought Dylan down to look for me while I was hosting an event. The husband was really cute lah I tell you, he wanted to bring Dylan to surprise me but he realized that he won't be able to reach in time and he was worried I will chiong home in a cab, he texted me to wait for them.

You know... the best way to end a hectic day of work is always dinner with your family. Doesn't matter how is the food - of course, good food is a bonus but I really appreciate eating with my two boys. It makes me really very contented and happy! :')

#5

Talking about the food at Bangkok Jam, unfortunately, it is pretty average. I won't say that it tastes bad, but it's not fantastic either. In fact, for the amount we paid, I was expecting some decent fare from the kitchen.

But nope.

The service was also really, superbly slow even though we went at about 8.30PM? Peak hour has long passed and the restaurant was not even crowded, yet I had to request for a menu when I sat down - the waitress left us there with nothing for a good whole 10 minutes!

Then when my Phad Thai came, I started eating. I ate and ate and after I finished the whole plate of kway teow, both Nian's Pineapple Rice and our appetizer was not even served! -__-

I thought appetizers, like its name, are supposed to whet your appetite before your main dish. In the end, it came even later than both mains. And by then, they had already cleared my fork and spoon and I had to request for another set. Took them another five minutes or so when the cutlery area was right behind us - I'd have helped myself if I had known!

Saw another table of ladies who eventually went to the serving counter to help themselves with the iced water because they've asked for a refill so many times, it was not given. Another ang moh lady didn't finish her chicken because it was served cold and hard. (She complained to the waitress and I kpo so I eavesdropped. Hehe.)

Overall, I think the speed and service really need some improvement. If I were to fix my Thai food craving fast, I think I'll fall back to the reliable Thai Express.

#6

Another random makan session with my family, this time at Ichiban Boshi, one of my favourite Japanese restaurants. I really love their Hotate Cheese I tell you. Every time I go, I eat the same thing. LOL.

Dylan is eating all sorts of food that we eat, as usual. And in the picture above, his dad is feeding him chanwamushi, which he LOVES, I tell you!

Don't you think that the two of them in father-and-son matching clothes are extremely cute? :)

Nian bought three sets of Man Utd rompers for Dylan as soon as we found out that we were pregnant and of course, little boy couldn't fit into European sizes until he was 8 months old.

Can you imagine as you are reading now, he is already nine months old? Time definitely flies. Another 3 more months the little one will be ONE YEAR OLD!

#7

I don't think Nian and I can ever resist these awesome sashimi and sushi. How did I manage to tahan from eating these during pregnancy!?!??!

 

#8

The Man Utd away romper that he wore for our weekend lunch, and below is the home romper, complete with a ski cap. Hehehe.

#9

When we posted pictures of him in jersies on our Facebook, we had a couple of friends who told us to "give him the freedom to choose his favourite team".

Gosh. 说到这里我就生气！

Really hor, last warning to all these people who try to tell us what to do okay. What do you mean by giving him the freedom to choose his favourite team? You mean he can actually make a choice now?

That he can watch a soccer game and decide that he will screw Man Utd and decide to support Chelsea* instead? That he will actually be happy/sad that we dress him up in a Man Utd jersey?

Obviously he can't right, so WTF DO U GUYS MEAN BY GIVING HIM THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE? He can't even choose now. So stop harping on it like we're forcing him to support Man Utd just because we got him to wear the jersey okie?

Just look at the photo and enjoy how cute he looks! Look at his smile! Why keep harping on the "lack of freedom to choose his favourite team". Siao one. -__-

*If I can help it, please BE a Man Utd supporter. Mummy doesn't wanna fight you when we watch a game together. :) I love you, son.

#10

In other news, I cut my hair short, again.

Well.......... I wouldn't say it is super-short kinda short, but short enough that I won't have to tie it up. I think I've been tying my hair so much these days, it makes the top of my head very flat and ugly.

Anyway, the weather had been really bitchy so far so I don't think I can survive for long with shoulder length hair so OK BYE SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

#11

It doesn't look really short here but it actually falls just right under my jaws. So yes, it is really pretty short lol.

#12

Ending this week's FF with a picture of Nian and I! If you've noticed, we very long time don't have our photos together liao.....................

Anyway, you can see how short the hair is in this picture right?

I know I keep talking about the hair but I really like how cooling it is now lah. And I *think* I look younger with shorter hair, no?! I always tell Nian I wanna cut my hair but this conversation always happens:

Me: Honey, I wanna cut my hair short! Okay?
Him: Dowan lah. Nice meh?
Me: Why not nice?
Him: Cuz... cuz... your face quite big mah. Then short hair cannot cover.

I cannot take this shit. Other people can say my face is like ham chee peng I don't care BUT MY HUSBAND CANNOT SAY LIKE THIS OK.

So to prove my point, I cut my hair right in front of him while we were at the salon together.

I think I look prettier leh. Hor?

The end.