Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Christmas Baking



Nowhere to squeeze it in earlier so here it is. I did some baking before Christmas, my sis bought kits for the kids as usual and I decided to join in by buying 1 kit for myself as well.


But, first I need to make gingerbread trees. I bought this cookie cutter set last year and didn't get around to baking so I really had to do it this year.


It's simple enough with cardamon and ginger the spices of choice this time around. Freeze cookie dough for half an hour then roll out for cutting.


Stack the different sizes into a tree and hold in place with royal icing. I gave out these cookie trees to the neighbors this year.


Now onto the melty snowman kit that uses a sugar vanilla cookie dough. Same cooking time and temperature as the gingerbread cookies.


 My 4 year old mixer shorted out with smoke coming out from its sides mixing this final batch (luckily for me it was the last batch). So I guess I won't be doing much baking for a while.


The kit is comprehensive and yummy, however, the icing provided isn't enough. I had to whip up more royal icing to complete the cookies.



Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Elizabeth Arden Refining Toner



Part of the old Elizabeth Arden range of products that had Clarifying (oily skin), Refining (normal skin), Hydrating (dry skin), to suit different skin types. It's still widely available in stores and online. I have been using these toners for ages so am happy to continue. Toners remove lingering traces of impurities from the skin while soothing it and providing slight hydration. A nice touch to complete your daily skincare regime.


Monday, December 29, 2014

Ichiban Boshi



I was surprised at the new Ichiban Boshi, with revamped decor and e-ordering from Ipads placed at the tables. Payment is directly at the cashier. All this makes service fast and accurate that is really amazing, I hope all places are like that now.


All this just for me! My friends ordered as well but I didn't take pics of their food. I think they will mind.



Friday, December 26, 2014

Candy Crush Soda Saga



The popular Candy Crush gets remixed in this Soda spinoff. Pop soda bottles to raise the liquid levels, eat all the chocolate, race pass the candy string finish line.



Thursday, December 25, 2014

Balmain A/W 2014/2015



Another exceptional quality collection from Balmain this season, Safari themed!


The excessive usage of hardware in Balmain clothes is turning into a signature. The use of macrame in this season's clothing is unusual and sexy. If all else fails, khaki and animal print always go soo well together.


The same theme runs over to mens-wear, with the addition of camo gear.


2 jackets to watch out for this season are the white macrame zip-up jacket and the metallic tiger stripe evening jacket.



Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve



Krispy Kreme breakfast, Christmas doughnuts in classic glaze, marshmallow choc, strawberry and mystery fillings.


New Christmas decorations for my place.


Mostly handmade, mostly from Spotlight.


My Christmas tree this year doubles as an advent calendar and baby's blanket!


Presents from everywhere. I always hope for a uniform look with matching wrappers and equal presents. But, every year it turns up like this, just stuff I get from everywhere (BHG, Sephora, Luxola, Reebonz, Toys'r'us, Neiman Marcus, Kinokuniya). 


Hanging a stocking on all door knobs, hoping Santa will fill them up by tomorrow morning.




Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil Hermes Perfume



Inspired by a voyage to Eygpt and created using the natural vegetation of green grapefruit, green mango, lotus, calamus, sycamore and frankincense. This refreshing perfume reflects the green and ochre tints of the Nile marked by the citrus twist of preserved fruits. A unisex fragrance, $173 for 100ml.



Monday, December 22, 2014

Arossa Grill & Wine Bar



You can never get a seat at Arossa during lunchtime, it's because of the great value lunch sets that has the lunch crowds cooing. What I'm really interested in is it's Jap-Italian fusion, so I met my cousin here for dinner to exchange Christmas presents. 


We started with the Chef's antipasti platter that came with pickles (who knew) unusual and a little spicy.



They gave us a seat at the big windows looking out onto Orchard Road so we could enjoy the Christmas light-up, a nice bonus.



Not everything is available tonight, so we had lobster ravioli and rack of lamb to share. The lobster ravioli is like cheese wantons in lobster bisque and the lamb was nicely roasted with a crisp exterior, almost no fat.


For dessert we had tiramisu and ice-cream trio (jasmine, mango, pear). The liquored up desserts had us feeling really jolly. Thank goodness we had mocktails or we would be too drunk to take public transportation home.




Friday, December 19, 2014

Jelly Glutton



Kawaii Overload! Travel through different food worlds, my fave is deep fried foods world. I am now at level 150 and waiting for my friends to unlock my next new world. Beware of that little baby voice "oh...lose!" every time you don't complete a stage.



Thursday, December 18, 2014

Badgley Mischka A/W 2014/15

  

Badgley Mischka makes dressy ladylike clothes for everyday wear. This season we see a touch of leopard print, mostly black & bronze colours.


Things get more interesting as we go into evening wear. Jacquard fabrics for winter formal wear.


The colours also get lighter into sage, tan, white & gold.