Tri-coloured Jade Necklace

I recently found time to complete this necklace. I had found this beautiful tri-coloured Jadeite pendant that must have been carved by a master artisan given the depth and detail. Lavender clouds, light green on the animal leading to a slight navy blue on the animal's thighs.


I seriously need to get a proper website up and running. Which is difficult as I am lacking appropriate software. Work in progress, hopefully, it will be functional soon. Wish me luck.

Chandelier Earrings

Popped out 2 more chandelier earrings using 14k gold wires.

Comfort Food

My comfort food is Sashimi. No surprise there. I have to have Jap food at least once a week as it's almost a habit. Which isn't difficult in Singapore given the huge numbers of quality Jap joints around. No contest, my favourite haunt is Sushi Tei. Authentic seasonal menu, offering high quality for the price range. Next up is Aoki, consistent high quality. Prices are steep but to be expected for the Le Amis group.

All I want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is ...

A mushroom coral

More consumer traffic on my jewellery business http://sites.google.com/site/preciousbaubles/home

A book on beading techniques

Donation to the World Wildlife Fund http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/singapore/

Peace, love & joy to all!

Jade Petal Earrings

I have progressed onto small items. The thing about starting out on big projects first is that it allows you to accumulate surplus that you can use for other projects. So now I have started making earrings. Beautiful yellow-green Jade petal with Aventurine beads finished in 14k goldfill.

ShoppingLifestyle.com WIN

I won another contest! This one is from shoppinglifestyle.com. It's a ladies wellness online magazine, so it's all lovely care products. Chocolate bunny soap, tinted primer, spa creams & tonics and Massage & Gym vouchers.

Black Bow Tie Necklace

An artisan carved this luscious Bow from a hunk of natural black Agate. How Victorian & sweet right... So I made an equally drool-worthy necklace to showcase it.

Handmade Stuff @ Etsy.com

This is my kind of site: http://www.etsy.com/. No need to travel to Australia or to far off lands to obtain lovingly made couture items =) It showcases all things handmade! I can buy, connect & share with other hobbyists (some are self styled designers). Incredibly proficient at what they do, some are better than professionals. You can buy clothes, accessories, household items and decorations, all the things girls love.

My favourite designer is BellaBeadjeweled. Impressive handiwork and envy-worthy talent (see pic above). Wish I had money to give her a prize. Check out her work: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22819981&ref=sr_gallery_2&&ga_search_query=carnelian&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=price_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

I won Movie Tickets!

I finally won a contest! I have been trying all year. It's GV movie tickets from http://www.wishever.com.sg/

Pearl & Jade Necklace

Natural Freshwater seed pearls in white (natural colour) & blue (dyed) with a removeable butterfly Jade pendant.

Philadelphia Fish & Chips

I have learnt from my many jaunts to American Restaurant chains that "Philadelphia" means coating in a layer of melted cheese. Is this your experience as well? For example Philadelphia Steak Sandwich has a layer of melted cheese in there. Philadelphia Fish & Chips is fish wrapped in a layer of cheese before it is dipped in batter & deep-fried, etc

Pixiu Jade Necklace

Made another Jade necklace today with the Pixiu carving I got from Shanghai.

FRAUD =(

Made my first major eBAY sale today only to realize later in the day it's just another fraud case *sign*

At a time when the spa I frequent has closed down illegally too. Hope they get the owner Lia Meyrina. She shut down her facebook page when news broke late this week, suspicious right ;)

Anyway, I will be filing a claim next week against them. Looks like it might be a class action suit with over 200 registered claims so far. The government should bar permanent residents and foreigners from setting up shop here. These individuals with no commitment to our country can just close up and go home. Even the landlord & staff were not informed.

My Birthday!!!

It's my Birthday today!!!

iL Lido Cafeteria

The cheaper cousin of il Lido. Deco leaves much to be desired except for the beautiful lamps hanging on the ceiling. The interior decorator must have spent the whole budget on these lamps leaving nothing else for the other furnishings.

Prices are very affordable at approx $10 for starters and $15 - $25 for mains. I read online that their thin crust pizza and pasta are amongst their better offerings. I have to say the fried shrimp is pretty tasteless. No flavour of the ocean, sweetness of the meat or tang of spices.

Luckily, the minute steak turned out flavourful. Freshly minced herbs and garlic sauce that is drizzled onto the 1 inch thick steak and crispy fries atop a bed of shredded lettuce....refreshing to the taste buds...yumm.

XO Herbal Steamboat

My favourite steamboat joint. Old HK Street Restaurant's XO Herbal Steamboat at Balestier Road. The queues start early so come early or make a reservation. They also have XO crab beehoon, XO fish beehoon in milky soup. Their Zhi Char is also not bad.

The stock is so rich you can drink it on it's own like double boiled herbal soup. Extra shots of XO or booster of herbs can be added on for $2-$5. They start you off on a set (pic above) so you don't have to think about it. Thereafter, you can order additional portions of whatever you want.

The meat & seafood are fresh, so no worries here. Reminds me of the claypot sharksfin soup in Thailand.

We usually order some cooked items to have while waiting for the steamboat to boil. Cuttlefish with sambal kangkong is good, so is their Ha Chong Kai (fried prawn paste chicken).

Taiwan Porridge

Taiwan Porridge is code for Chinese food buffet.

People usually think porridge is a light meal. Something you have when you are not feeling well or not particularly hungry. That is until you step into Taiwan Porridge outlets.

The most popular joint in town to have this meal is at Suntec City Convention Hall area. You can spot it by the winding queues during lunch-time and dinner-time. It serves a variety of roast meats, soups, claypot dishes, cooked dishes and preserved condiments to compliment the humble porridge.

These pictures were taken at Oasis Restaurant (Taiwan Porridge alacarte style) at the heart of Toa Payoh gardens.

Laksa

Laksa is white noodles in spicy coconut gravy. An all-time classic dish. My favourite is the Nonya version or more famously known as Katong Laksa that you eat with a spoon instead of chopsticks and they grind dried shrimp when making the soup stock.

Ennio Marchetto

Finally caught the Ennio Marchetto one man show at the Victoria Theatre tonight. Tomorrow's the last day. He comes by every year, so I have been meaning to watch it for some time now. The 2nd star of the show are his props, larger than life! Quite funny & entertaining, gotta watch it at least once. Only problem is the location has no food options, what's up with that!

Lavender & Green Jade necklace

Finally found time to set this unusual pendant properly with gorgeous, vibrant gemstones from Brazil. Lavender & Green Burmese Jadeite is quite a collector's item. The one here is a carving of a peach with animals. Quite happy with the overall end product that looks rich and modern.

Zhu Chang Fen

Kopi-tiam auntie making my Zhu Chang Fen. This freshly made version from young rice flour is done on the spot after you place your order. Just the way I like it. Not really a fan of the normal Zhu Chang Fen they sell for breakfast at the market.

The auntie steams the rice flour mixture then transfers it to a cool metal tray where she places freshly steamed prawns in a row.

The mixture is rolled up and chopped into bite-size pieces before being transferred to a box where the delectable HK dimsum style sauce is poured over the Zhu Chang Fen.

It's translucent texture all rolled up makes it look like pig's intestine. Hence, the name "Zhu Chang Fen".

Baroque South Sea Pearls Set

I bought some vermeil chains yesterday to cheer myself up. Spent the entire evening making a set of earrings and necklace using baroque South Sea Pearls purchased from a retailer friend.

Red Coral & Turquoise Necklace

Made 1 more necklace. This one was in the works for 3 full years, since the last time I did any beading.