Wedding Files- to have or not to have?

Yet another girly chat inspired post...

A friend who is getting married soon is now drowning in her list of things to do and choices to make. All the 5W's and the 1H! While being Asian has its perks in the sense that parents are very participative in all aspects of the wedding planning, this also means that the couple has to appease the wants and needs of both sets of parents as well as trying to maintain their own identity in the wedding planning.

Knowing my friend G as well as I do, she has 2 problems. Firstly, she is extremely creative making it hard for her to choose "her favorite" of everything because she looks at one thing and the ideas just start to run wild and free. Secondly, the same problem which I am cursed with- procrastination (we work well under pressure).

So the fact that she was supposed to finish the invites today didn't happen because she kept digressing and there were just too many ideas to choose from! Then N mentioned something about having a wedding file which would have solved everything if you already knew what you wanted. Which really got me thinking, maybe a wedding file isn't such a bad idea. Maybe N does have a point...but wouldn't the sight of a wedding file totally scare a guy off? 

So I decided to be brave and over dinner I asked my boyfriend (whom I live with btw, hence my fear of scaring him OFF should he find it!) what he thought about the idea, would he totally freak out if he found my wedding files, does he think I should maybe start one for future reference or maybe it isn't necessary because anyways trends change and maybe things may change?

Strangely enough, he wasn't opposed to the idea at all. He even asked if maybe it wasn't better to get an idea of where the wedding was to be held before compiling everything! I explained that I know what I want and the theme I'd prefer but I just don't have the visual aid for it. 

AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID??? 

So, sure, start a file. It may be helpful... 

Fear and joy consumes me at the same time. Joy because this means this is going somewhere. Fear because I am a closet commitment-phobe! On one hand I want to dreams of wedding and carriages but on the other the thought scares the shit out of me! Well, that's a story for another day. In the meantime, I have a file to compile!

Shades of Grey!

Not quite the Fifty Shades that everyone has been raving about- although I hear he is old news and there is a Gideon Cross taking the world by storm! But just one shade of grey and a dash of creativity. 

For whatever reason today I was stuck at Wisma Atria and ended up browsing around Isetan, I came across Holika Holika and ended up buying some nail polish. Since the weather has been grey and gloomy, I decided to go with grey as an Autumn color.

Rather inspired when and I came home (also my nail polish was chipping) I decided to go ahead ad do my nails and try out my new color! Mix a little bit of grey with some other stuff I had lying around and what you get is a funky set of nails

On nails:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 28 Black Out
Holika Holika No 34 (Grey)
Blixz Nail Sticker (Leopard print)

So I got myself a home manicure and it took less that an hour and cost me SGD5 today (since I had the other stuff liying around it doesn't count!). So proud of myself. Below is a pic of the finished work (mind the blurry bits- the bf helped take the pic!):

Feel free to comment!!!

Have a great week ahead!

Saturday Browday!

Today I woke up with a sense of foreboding! Today is the day I chose to go get eyebrows. Get them? (meaning I don't have any?) Actually to make them more visible. I have very light eyebrows and even though it takes less than 5 minutes to draw some on, laziness prevails and it seems like I chose to suffer rather than be a bit more efficient with my time.

I'd actually paid and signed up for the package awhile back but its taken me about 6months to gather the courage to go through with it. The whole process took approximately an hour (which makes me look like a lamer for waiting so long) and I had a very good therapist who despite the language barrier understood pain and made sure my eyebrows were always numb enough for her to scratch on (even going as far as to apply numbing cream for an extra 10minutes)! In the end, after all is done, I can proudly say I survived, now all I want to do is stick my face in a tub of ice cream!

Before & After

Time to start gathering courage for the "touch up" session which is done within 3 months after the first month. In the meantime, to be extra careful with my brows for the next two weeks. I did however think that the after care kit was packaged very nicely. But its such a rip off that they charged me an extra $150++ for it.

Contains 1 anti bacterial, 1 anti scarring, 1 bowl for mixing and 1 small spatula.

Onwards after that to meet up with Ina for lunch, we had planned to go to Suntec City for sushi until we found out that the place we used to frequent (not so anymore) has been closed for 4 months now! So instead we ended up at Sakae Sushi in Marina Square and what a big mistake that was. They should change their name to Sucky Sushi! Firstly, the menu was rather limited. Secondly, the service wasn't that fantastic even thought it was way past lunch hour and 2/3 empty. Here's the reason why I will never ever visit Sakae Sushi again on my own accord- we ordered the Fried Salmon Skin which was served cold. And everyone knows there is nothing that taste worst that cold oily food. So I asked if it could be sent back to be fried again and the waiter responded that he will microwave it. MICRO-WHAT??!? Was this how our food was being prepared? That's insane! And when I insisted that he either fry it again or get us a new one, he said he had to check. Urgh. Also when I ordered the sashimi from the set menu, the pieces that were served were the lousiest cuts of sashimi ever. Just because I didn't order the regular sashimi, that allows them to serve me gross slices? Sign OFF! Never again Sucky Sushi!

Hilarious motto that they live by! IF ONLY!

The afternoon was not wasted as on the way back, I stumbled upon- TIONG BAHRU BAKERY!!! Smack in the center of Raffles City Shopping Centre! I remember having a conversation with a friend about it just yesterday and I couldn't resist joining the queue to try the flaky pastries on display. I decided to bring home a Pain Au Chocolate, custard and raisin bun and a round swirly thing that ended up being my favorite and I'm gutted I don't even know what its called!!! I'm sure that whatever it is its not good for any diet but then again what good food is? Doesn't hurt that the chef is as yummy looking as his croissants either.

The round swirly thing on the right is my new sugar fix! 

browhaus
Raffles City L1
Facing North Bridge Road
(near taxi stand, outside Dockers)
#01-15 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6333 5875

Sakae Sushi
Unit: #02-207
Marina Square,
Singapore 039594
Tel: +65 6336 8201
Operating Hours: 10am - 10pm (Daily)

Tiong Bahru Bakery
56 Eng Hoon #01-70
Tel: +65 6220 3430

Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-11/12
Tel: +65 6333 4160

Anyone for Korean Beef Stew?

Today started of as the worst day ever, had anyone on of my insomniac nights which allowed me way too much free time to think. At least at the end of 4 sleepless hours, I did come up with several genius ideas. One of which was to travel to a different place be it near or far just to get out of Singapore and perhaps "see" the world a little bit more. Albeit it may end up being within the South East Asian region (more likely just across the borders), at least I will be getting to know my roots. 

So with that decided, as soon as I find make the time, first destination on the list is Malacca!

This morning, dragging my ass out of bed and off to work (I needed to leave early to watch a movie with the girls!) was so hard for me but I'm really glad I did so because now I can sit back and enjoy the weekend in peace. I can feel myself falling sick so I have to take things easy this weekend. I watched Part 2: Twilight The Breaking Dawn which was a really good flick. I don't want any spoilers on this page so I am not even gonna say anything more than "YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT!!!"  Unfortunately, I read a spoiler just yesterday so despite not reading the books I kind of knew what to expect and I don't want that for others!

Since it was such a gloomy, rainy day, initial plans to go back and cook dinner for the sick boyfriend ended up being a trip to my new favorite Korean joint on Telok Ayer. Its called BQ Korea and this is the 2nd time in 2 weeks that I've been back! Its what a friend of mine would call cheap and cheerful. Its located right in the CBD so I wouldn't recommend going for lunch unless you have 2 hour lunch breaks!

On my first visit I tried their Spicy Beef Rib Stew, the Kimchi Pancake and the JapChae (glass noodles). I loved the stir fried glass noodles and the Beef Rib Stew had the meat falling off the bones and was so well flavored that I finished everything. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the pancake as I felt it could have been less flour-y and more crispy. It also was the least flavorful of everything we had. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the meal as it was after a trip to the gym and I wanted to eat a cow! On this trip however I managed to get some pictures of dinner! 

Definitely going back to this place as I really want to try the Andong Zzimdak (Soy Chicken Stew) which I used to gag for every time I visited Korea. And to think that we had it here in Singapore all along! That's for another post but this place is well worth a visit to anyone craving "cheap and cheerful" Korean food. Dinner for 2 costs approximately $50. 

BQ Korea

70 Telok Ayer St

Singapore 048458

Tel: 65367703

Nearest MRT: Raffles Place/Telok Ayer

**Update (April 2014): Seems that they have revamped this place and made it all indoors and changed the name to Star Korean Restaurant. The changes happened so gradually improved menu (looks wise), indoor seating, better air conditioning! But the menu (serving wise) is still the same and still as amazing! The Gal Bi Tang is a must (must must must) try! Oh yeah, the guy at the cashier (who seems to be the boss) gets a little confused when counting cash and splitting the bill so be sure to check your change and the bill before you go. I'll update with pictures in a new post sometime soon.

How BIG is TOO BIG?

Yes you read right! Although I'm probably sure your twisted minds are probably not on the same page. To begin with, I'm sure we can all agree that most of us love it BIG! However, its a very fine line between tasteful BIG and tacky BIG. Yes tasteful and tacky...what were you thinking?

Everyone seems to be caught up in the wedding fever this year end. With December looming I have 3 wedding invitations and more are already "saving" dates for 2013. While all this is happening, the most important thing before the big day is...the engagement? No...the proposal? Nearly but what says it all is...THE RING! So with many friends already past the proposal stage, I've been part of one too many ring-versations with soon to be brides. While I personally love love LOVE rings as accessories- the BIGGER the better, I'm still waiting for "the ring" (no rush-YET). 

With many brides setting their standards at "at least 1 carat, dear!", I recently had a friend who went to a jewelers to pick out her stone and was told to down size! Unheard of- I would have thought they would be out to squeeze customers for all they got! They suggested that she got a 0.8 ct stone as she had very slim fingers and a 1 ct would look too big. My friend had of course done her research and already had her heart set on that 1 ct by hook or crook! This is when I started to wonder...when does it become TOO BIG? Does an over-sized ring mean it becomes tacky or fake looking? 

Well, Blake Lively seems to be wearing a huge ass ring and totally rocking it! But then, that's Hollywood and this is real life!

2.5ct Center stone

2.97ct Center stone

Pardon the "model" with the fat fingers but I totally love the way the center stone for the 2.5ct is more oval and makes the fat fingers look less fat! It's funny what a difference 0.5ct makes. Hence the reason why I have now settled for nothing less than a 2.5ct center stone. Haha! No I AM NOT EXPENSIVE but i just have fat fingers. So to conclude "TOO BIG" is really a matter of opinion...and as long as the recipient is happy and chirpy, no one else's opinion matters!

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,

A church filled with family and friends.

I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,

He said one that would make me his wife.

~Author Unknown

Yet another attempt at this...

So after a long break , here I am again sitting in front of the computer and blabbing about my life and thoughts and hoping that someone may find it interesting enough to keep coming back for more. 

What brought this on?

Hmm...little giggly group chats on Whatsapp. 

THAT'S WHAT!

I have this group chat with my girlfriends which we would randomly start chatting non-stop on for a day and then it will slow down but its like a safety blanket whereby if we ever need to say something to each other, its just a text and a "send" button away. Of late, this particular chat has been getting very busy as one of us ladies is getting hitched (about damned time) and we've got heaps and tons of planning to do before the big day!!!...Ooops I've just gone and made it sound like we were all getting hitched! 

But on days that all of us start chatting, I realize that we are all so uniquely different yet similar. We met when we were in college about a decade ago- all headstrong, stubborn, independent women with big dreams! Fast forward a decade later, we've all excelled in our own ways and have found our footing in life. Sometimes we have missteps but its nice to know that there will always be a hand reaching out to help when you need it. Also, a little hush hush secret but we may just have something up our sleeves that we'd want to share with the world when the time is right.

WHERE IS THE PIC OF 3 OF US WHEN I NEED ONE? (insert pic here)

For now, I'll be busy making plans for an awesome Hen's Night and sharing the joys of the upcoming nuptials (Of course I have a day job!). So with the encouragement of my friends I shall continue to pen down my thoughts and share my peeves and joys with those who can be bothered to read. Comments are ALWAYS welcome...However, if you have nothing nice to say, go find your own space on the www to blab on! 

This couldn't describe it better <3