#45 - WOODLOOP

Hey eh eh! I made a trip down with my parents to Woodlands Loop/Terrace last Saturday. We heard of this cake shop which apparently was on some Channel 8 show so we decided to check it out. Located in an industrial area, there are many factories who are housed there. We even saw this guy buy off two bean curds directly from a staff in the kitchen. I was like "Wah, like that also can." Yes, can.

Puff pastries, bazhang (rice dumplings), curry puffs are just some of the foods made/sold. Once I exited the lift at Level 5, I could already smell the bazhang. It was a pleasant smell. I like it. really like it.

Eclairs, cheesecakes, cream puffs, pineapple tarts are just some of the food sold. There were so many people in the shop that there was barely enough space to open the fridge. T_T After which, we walked down to Woodlands Terrace where many food wholesalers are. The two more well-known ones are Fassler and Melvados. Fassler sells seafood stuff like fresh salmon and seafood soups whereas Melvados sells cakes, ice cream and more western stuff.

In Fassler, visitors get the chance to be in a cold room where all the frozen seafood are kept for sale. I always look forward to going in because it's like experiencing the North Pole in Singapore. The kids all love going in because its chilling fun. (geddit?) cos it's a CHILLer... -_-'''

I think it was really God that led us to Melvados on that day because it was the only day they were having a sample buffet. Like so many people were just holding toothpicks and stabbing the tiny cakes which ranged from brownies to carrot cakes. IT DOESN'T END THERE GUYS. They have black pepper smoked duck, tandoori chicken, cheese baked rice, clam chowder soup. LIKE YOUR LUNCH SETTLE ALREADY. You can see so many people just queuing over and over again just to eat all the samples. HAHAHAHA I was thinking "just take the whole tray home la." 

I can never forget there was this one dude that was so gangster. Everyone was using toothpicks but guess what he used? SATAY STICK. I was like this dude.... genius man. Don't fight for the last piece with this guy cos his stick is longer than yours. (that's what she said) but seriously I was laughing along with my dad! He definitely has more experience. We went to buy pesto because my bro loves it and we also bought Soursop sorbet ;)

(more pictures @ http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com)

Usually these wholesalers will only open for half a day so try to go before 12PM if you want to explore because there is a lot of walking. Bring along your shades, extra bags (for the goods) and water bottle.If you wanna try the samples from Melvados, go on the last Saturday of every month!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading.

Be blessed, x.

#44 - NIGHT LIGHTS

Hello night owls. I went for a theatre show recently titled #UnicornMoment by Checkpoint Theatre starring Shu An. Now, I entered the room with low expectations not thinking that I'll come out with feeling the total opposite. Like what in the world did I just watch?? That was AMAZING! Let me elaborate.

First, I've never heard of Checkpoint Theatre. Second, I didn't think Shu An could act because I've only ever seen her on TV doing variety programs like Tried & Tested for example. Anyway, the lights dimmed and Shu An comes out re-enacting scenes or moments of her hosting gigs before getting her game face on and brings us on a journey of her story. Not only was the story humorous but it was real and relatable. I felt as if she was acting the story of my life, it was so SO similar. Getting angry at my parents at certain annoying things they do but only to love them even more because of it and laughing it off. Going to my Ahma's place only to speak to her for a while before getting distracted by technology only to realize that it was pointless to make a trip there if I am going to do the things I could've done at home. (In short, I didn't spend time with my Ahma.) The world telling you to be yourself, be yourself, JUST BE YOURSELF only to realize that 'myself' is defined by society. Putting my trust in others only to have trust thrusted back in your face. 

Personally, I found the set so simple but well-used. It was the set, a character, a stage and a screen. One thing I caught was how she opened one of the doors and it showed a warm orange light. Silence descended upon the audience and you can feel the mental gasps like 'wo...wo..woah.' LIKE THAT ALSO CAN. Shu An's acting was really on point. She made me laugh so hard and sometimes making it hard to hold back my tears. Is it okay if I say she is one person to look out for in the theatre scene? (I said it anyways. lol)

All in all, if this were to be ever shown again, I recommend y'all to go watch it. :)

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After the show, me and A went up to the roof terrace 'cos I've never been up there. Again, I was amazed by how beautiful this part of Singapore could be. I was smart enough to have brought my camera but not so in bringing an extra battery. pft. Anyhow, I still managed to capture something.

(photos on http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com)

We had a talk about life, work, people, dreams and relationships. I guess the skyline really does something to you. It just gives you the feels and makes it the perfect time to connect to someone on a deeper level.

Cheers, friend.

Here's wishing you night owls a restful holiday.

Thanks for reading and be blessed, x.

#43 - SUSHI

Hey y'all! For lunch on Saturday, I made myself S U S H I! It was delicious and my first ever experience making one. It definitely is an art form making the perfect sushi which obviously, mine isn't. The ones professionally made are always colorful and so appetizing mmmmmmm... :P

I've always loved Japanese cuisine and I decided on sushi because we had rice in the fridge as well as seaweed on the side. I made 2 types - chicken and veggie maki's. Simple ingredients I used were capsicums, mushrooms, onions, eggs, carrots and pop corn chicken. The maki's are inspired by the ones I ate at Maki San :) Since I'm on the topic of sushi, I highly recommend Maki San for your own personalized sushi and Koh Grill and Sushi Bar for the heavenly, out of this earth Shiok Maki.

Maki San: [ $10 > ]

2 Handy Road, #B1-17/18

Singapore 229233

Mon - Thu: 11:30 am - 9:30 pm

Fri - Sat: 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Sun: 11:30 am - 9:30 pm

Koh Grill and Sushi Bar: [ $10 > ]

435 Orchard Rd 

Wisma Atria Shopping Centre #04-23

Mon - Thu: 11:30 am - 9:45 pm

Fri - Sat: 11:30 am - 10:45 pm

Sun: 11:30 am - 9:45 pm

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Thanks for reading and be blessed, x

#42 - MAKE YOUR OWN STICKERS

Hey y'all! I've got something creative to share today. Since it's restful day ('cos I prefer rest over labor), I thought I would do some stickers for myself. I've actually done this for two of my friends and I figured it's a great way to give. Why make stickers yourself when you can buy them? Personally, I would like to receive handmade stickers since time and effort has been put in to create them so it's really from the heart. Same thing goes for why would you wanna bake a cake for someone when you can buy it easily right? Anyway, let's get sticky....

- - - 

You can get these at Popular, Art Friend, craft stores or selected stationery shops. I'm using the cheap matte paper ones which costs $3.60 for 10 pieces.

I love having music playing to keep me going and sometimes, it can also give inspiration. One music player I go to is Spotify. Spotify is unique because it has different playlists for the mood you're in. It also has quite a big database for music which includes top music chart artists as well as indie bands. You can also check out my Spotify account for my playlists; here I am listening to my The One with the Chill Jam playlist ^ ^

I turned to my hard drive for my own pictures to use them as my background. Alternatively, I went on Tumblr/Pinterest for really nice photos. After finding the photos I liked, I saved them to one file where I will then work from. Simultaneously, I search on Google images for tumblr quotes for inspiration on the typography and design.

Personally, I used illustrator to do all of my text designs. One perk is when the image is being blasted to a huge size, the text will not turn pixelated. I also used Photoscape to crop my images into a circle. Alternatively, here are some free photo editing applications that are available for use/download: pixlr | photoscape

For one of my friends, instead of having a background, I used plain colors instead which turned out really classy and it has a clean edge to it. So, use a blank canvas if you run out of pictures! On illustrator, I use these settings: CMYK in 300dpi and in 16bit/32bit.

For unique fonts, I go to Dafont which has a bunch of free downloadable fonts in many styles!

The fun part is getting to design! It doesn't need to be super profesh. Just treat it as a blank canvas and design as how you feel! It can be anything, really. A name, a word or even an alphabet. After designing, I put the templates onto a word document before converting into a PDF file. 

Before printing, I made sure that the print settings are in color (if I want them in color, but you can print in monochrome as well.) and the size of the images. I've wasted ink almost 5 times just because I didn't print in the right settings so I hope that this will not happen to anyone else. Ensure that the back of the sticker paper is facing upwards so the images get printed on the blank side. 

- - - 

I hope this might give inspiration to those who are in need of one and helpful to those who plan to do something like this! Here are some shots of my end product :

Have fun and be blessed, x

#41 - The One with Good Friday

Hei! Blessed Friday! Today was a really restful day for me and my family. Not only did we sleep in and ate our meals at home but we also spent most of our day together. (talk about not leaving the house like, ever.) We just talked about current issues happening in the world today and how truly blessed we are to have someone we can count our lives on.

I mean there have been so many unfortunate events which nobody deserves to be facing with and death is one of them. My heart is saddened whenever I flip on the TV and watch the news as lives are lost, families in mourning, countries at war; and the list goes on.

As world events happen around me, I am grateful and blessed that someone has already died for me so that I can be safe, protected, healthy, happy.... I believe that Jesus will heal broken hearts, protect lives and be a companion to the lonely :)

If you're reading this, know that Jesus loves you forever no matter what you've done or what you're doing now. You are His beloved child and because He has already taken your place at the cross, you don't have to. Whoever He is, whatever He has, is YOURS.

Be blessed, x.

#40 - miniBEAUTY

I bought a few beauty products in the recent months which I've been meaning to share. Disclaimer: All products are bought with my own money. 

Maybelline's Dream Matte Powder

SilkyGirl's Skin Perfect CC 2-Way Foundation

Maybelline's Dream Liquid Mousse with AirBrush Finish

Maybelline's Clean Express Miracle Oil-Gel
Maybelline's Clean Express Total Clean!

Essence Eyebrow Style Kit

Revlon's COLORBURST Matte Balm
Revlon's Super Lustrous Lip Gloss

Revlon's Nail Enamel
Revlon's chroma chameleon Nail Enamel
sasatinnie Sugary Heart Nail Color

I really love Revlon's COLORBURST line and I've recently been using the matte balm whenever I'm out. I use it in combination with the lip-gloss and it becomes this pretty coral color that goes well with a darker shade on my eyes. I've also been loving Aquamarine on my nails because of how it changes into a metallic purple shade under different lighting and with a different perspective. Together with the Aquamarine, I paint Lily on top of a black coat on my ring finger. What are your faves?

Thanks for reading, x.

#39 - Did you say food?

Yknow, after taking my last paper, I somehow don't get the feeling that I am on a holiday. I mean, I sleep in late and wake up when the sun has risen past the buildings but I don't feel free. I figure it's because I have interviews coming and meetings for FYP thus the feels. Anyhoo, I really miss Tiong Bahru and all the great spots that are so picture perfect. oh, not to mention the FOOD; 'cos like helloooo when you're Singaporean, food is essential and food is life. Here's part II of the trip!

Books Actually
No. 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru

Tiong Bahru Market
83 Seng Poh Rd
the place of feasting for local food - Hokkien Mee, Lor Mee, Chwee Kueh, Rojak, Fishball Noodles & more

More photos @  http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/

Thanks for reading, x