Quiet Confidence

Street Art [Penang]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 05:55:00 +0000

Penang was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 together with Malacca for its multi-cultural heritage and European colonial influences. Wonder why Singapore is not recognised as such although it was part of the Straits Settlements? Perhaps because much of old Singapore has been redeveloped? Sad but true?

Many of the streets in Penang remind me of Singapore in the eighties and brought back many childhood memories :)

Penang’s weathered buildings are amazing canvases for art. One such artist, Ernest Zacharevic, was given the opportunity to stamp his imprint on the buildings of Penang. We stumbled upon his exhibition at Beach Street 212 warehouse and there were so so many young people flocking to get an autograph from him. He was kinda like a mini-celebrity!

I definitely couldn’t miss out too!

Some of his artworks exhibited

Some of his street art below and their locations. First up, at Lebuh Ah Quee.

Apparently, some unknown local artist painted in a dinosaur, which Ernest later added on a boy taking the Dino on a walk. Interesting!

Lebuh Armenian

The very popular painting of two children on a bicycle

Check out the video below on how it has captured the hearts of many!

Lebuh Cannon

Lebuh Penang

Chew Jetty

To read more on Ernest Zacharevic’s street art, check out this link.

There are also steel-rod sculptures displayed all over Georgetown, but somehow weren’t as popular.

Click here to find out more about them.

I sure hope there would be more street art in Singapore as well! It would make the streets more surprising and unexpected!

Street Hawkers [Penang]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Something very common in Penang are street hawkers. Very often, they are just a stall set up on a vehicle that can be easily driven away. But of cos, they set up shop at a usual area so that their customers can locate them. Customers pull up a chair and enjoy the food by the roadside. Some just drive by in their bikes or cars and take away. Definitely a sight missing from Singapore!

We had dinner one evening along Lebuh Kimberly, just some streets away from our hotel.

The Char Koay Teow was yummy! The eggs were still runny, adding to the taste of the dish! I liked it more than the Singaporean rendition!

The Kuay Chap was also different in that they mixed all the ingredients into the soup. Do remember to ask them to not add in the pig’s blood, lest you have to slowly scoop out, like we did :( But overall, it was very tasty! It’s very popular and it would be good to reach there before 7pm.

The Yong Tau Foo was different as there was no soup or noodles. Very fresh handmade items!

We had dessert too and it was very good! Cheap and good!

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the good food!

Lots of other stalls to try out!

There are even liang tehs for you to buy, you can also ask for medicine to be included in!

We also tried the famous Chendol along Lebuh Keng Kwee. Really nice and the gula melaka was awesome!

Penang street hawkers are really worth a try, even if you have to eat under the hot sun or sit by the roadside!

Esplanade Area [Penang]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

On our first day in Penang, we took to exploring the streets immediately to orientate ourselves. But of cos, we had to fill our tummies first. Had chicken rice at Tho Yuen, a restaurant with 80 years of history!

I liked the rice, very mushy and reminded me of Malacca’s chicken rice balls. The chicken was a tad salty. Then, it was the start of our little adventure!
Some of the sights we saw…

Kapitan Keling Mosque

St George’s Church – Southeast Asia’s 1st Anglican church

A monument to Francis Light, who was the founder of Penang

Supreme Court Building

Penang Museum

The Koh Seang Tat Fountain at Town Hall

City Hall

There was a Japanese festival going on that day, with stalls set up selling food.

Fort Cornwallis

Il Bacaro [Penang]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:11:00 +0000

Il Bacaro was where we had our daily complimentary breakfasts. It was a la carte breakfast and the wait staff constantly ask you if you want refills of your fruit juices, tea or coffee or more food. You feel so relaxed and pampered you could stay in the restaurant the whole day!

Breakfast was extremely healthy and we always started off with fruits!

Latte, cappuccino or espresso?

The bread was delicious!

Eggs done the way you want it!

We knew we had to try the Italian food there and made time to have dinner there! Starters was fried calamari and prawns with a complimentary serving of garlic flat bread. Yum!

Next up was handmade pasta with prawns! Delicious!

Finally we had turkey ham pizza! They have a charcoal stove so the pizza was fab!

That was all our tummies could stuff but we were so so satisfied! Bill came up to around S$40 so it was really affordable too! If you are in Penang, you should try the food here! Something different from the local delicacies!

Campbell House [Penang]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 04:21:00 +0000

One of the highlights of our Penang holiday was the boutique hotel we stayed in – Campbell House. I really really loved it! Not just because it was a wonderfully done up place, but also because of the friendly and personal service rendered by the owners, Roberto and Nardya, and their attentive staff. We felt welcomed and hosted like family and everyday there a complete delight!
First up, the beautiful hotel…

Night view of the hotel

It’s located at Campbell Street, a convenient location to access the attractions of Georgetown. But you must like to walk and be properly armed with a good map!
On the second floor, there is a library cum lounge area where we spent time chilling, in between our exploration around town and after dinner.

There is a total of 11 suites, each done up in a different style. Ours was the Sari room, the only room with a private balcony. Even the key holder was so stylish!

Our lovely room!

The private balcony

There are lots of modern amenities to make us feel right at home, an iPod docking station, flat-screen TV and DVD player, a Nepresso machine, iced lemon tea in the fridge, and a daily treat waiting for us when we returned back to the hotel each evening!

Even the corridor was beautifully done up with art by local artists!

You can read up more on Campbell House here on Tripadvisor. Their in-house restaurant is worth a visit, more on it in the next post!

Angry Birds Cable Car

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:40:00 +0000

It’s amazing how Angry Birds has evolved from an iPhone game, to appearing on every conceivable merchandise, from plush toys, clothes, stationery, utensils and the list goes on! And now other than its very own theme park, we have our Singapore Cable Car emblazoned with Angry Birds characters! Knowing how big Angry Bird fans Calvin and Henry were (and my hubby too), we brought them to enjoy the cable car ride! At Jewel Box, there were many cable cars well-decorated for your photo-taking pleasure.

Ticket prices cost $29 per adult and $18 per kid. There are Family Packages too at $55 for 2 adults and 1 child, and promotional top-up prices for more people. Don’t forget to get your free masks and mocktail in a collectible cup that comes with the ticket!

In every cable car, there’s a huge Angry Birds plush toy you can hug to your heart’s delight!

And we’re off!

It was a great time and ALL the boys enjoyed themselves! :)

Only Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:58:00 +0000

There's a song that's inside of my soul.
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold.
But You sing to me over and over and over again.

So, I lay my head back down.
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours, I pray, to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope.

Sing to me the song of the stars.
Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again.
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again.

So I lay my head back down.
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours, I pray, to be only Yours
I know now, You're my only hope.

I give You my destiny.
I'm giving You all of me.
I want Your symphony, singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back.

So I lay my head back down.
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours, I pray, to be only Yours
I pray, to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope.

Inspirations from Nature

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:09:00 +0000

Spring is one of my favourite seasons due to the newness and freshness it brings. Ps Paul Scanlon declared in one of the services that a new season of Springtime had come for our church. I want to declare too that Springtime has come to my life and my family too!

“There is a movement inside the people toward the future, toward a new beginning…Start cultivating different ways of thinking that create different habits, look for new circles of relationships that are future-oriented, have less negativity and more creativity and more faith.” Ps Paul Scanlon

Just simply love jogging in parks! On May Day, Joe and I went jogging at the newly revamped Bishan Park and I love it! There is a beautiful river flowing through it with such peace and calmness in the place.

A lovely terrarium from an angel – my dearest sweet fren Cheong Jun Er :) I hope it will outlive 3 months!

This tree around my neighbourhood has leaves that have turned orange! So pretty!

Songkran for the Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Of all weekends we picked to go for a holiday in Bangkok, we chose the Songkran weekend. In case you didn’t know what Songkran is, it is THE wettest festival of the year as it is also the HOTTEST three days of the Thailand calendar! It was definitely not deliberate and completely unintentional and we only realised a few days before departing! Reading online about how some areas would be a splishy splashy mess of water-crazed revellers didn’t help much. Getting all wet (drenched, soaked!) wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. Especially not with my parents-in-law in tow, looking to shop till they dropped (more for my Mum-in-Law… Dad-in-Law asked if we were visiting any places of attraction, does Platinum Mall count?)

So we worked out a strategy in this “Water Games” – keep as inconspicuous as possible, never bringing attention to ourselves in any way, keep calm and keep away from groups of people armed with water guns bigger than any I have seen before, stay indoors in malls as much as possible, tightly seal up all our possessions, take cabs to all our destinations,…. Well, I guess our battle plan worked!

We survived unscathed with only a minor squirt of water to our tummies from a by-passer who wanted to share the joy. We were peaceably making our way to Central World and I just thought to myself when would my first experience of getting Songkran-ed occur and splish, my t-shirt was wet at the belly area. What you think is what you get?! Hah! Thankfully I kept thoughts of getting wet completely off my mind and I didn’t get wet anytime anywhere the next two days! Yay!

All in all, I would rate this maiden holiday trip with the in-laws a relative success! It would have been much better shopping without half the shops closed for the festivities but it was good and simple quality time spent together :)

Sorry no pictures, we kept our camera securely in a ziplock bag the whole time and it was a real hassle to take out. And I swear the moment we train our camera lens on any colourful party animals, we would be attacked front and centre!

It’s been one year…

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:29:00 +0000

(Sorry one week late too! ;)

To my dearest nephew Nate,

It’s been one year since God brought you into our family
And with you much joy and delight
Seeing you grow each day from a cute little bunny
To an energetic playful sonny
Our hearts are filled with so much love for you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAT NAT!

It’s about our culture, heritage and roots

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:27:00 +0000

新年快乐! Before the 15th day of the Chinese New Year approaches, let me wish you all 心想事成, 事事顺心! If you do not know what those words mean, time to brush up on your Chinese! Hahah!

I read a tweet that said that CNY isn’t about buying new clothes, munching on goodies or even exchanging ang paos! It’s about celebrating our culture, our heritage and our roots! So true! But of course, part of our CNY culture includes those aforementioned customs that we practice year after year! :) And I think, one of the best customs of the CNY is gathering with family and loved ones! Thinking back on the CNY week filled with home visitations at our dearest family and frens’ homes, my heart is filled with so much gratitude for dear ones I have in my life! Although the time spent together may be short, but the sense of belonging and the feeling of family togetherness warms my heart! :)

Having 面线together! As my mother-in-law says, having this traditional dish (which I love so much, my bowl is always wiped clean!) is a wish for us all to 长命百岁!

Yet another bowl at my granny’s! Yum yum yum!!!

Exchanging kum and 新年贺词are also important customs to the Chinese! This year, I decided to make a point to really memorise some auspicious 贺词to greet my elders and they were really happy! If you think about it, saying such 吉祥话is having positive affirmation and confessing the best for others! :)

Steamboat and yu sheng are also must-haves during CNY! Makes all of us come together! 团团圆圆!

It’s a wonder I din put on much weight over the New Year! :)

Other than these usual customs, my family shares some special customs that must be practiced on 初一! Like having my Auntie’s delicious curry chicken and chap chye!

And after years of “leaving out” my Auntie, cousin & family from our 初一late night movie, we got tickets for all of them and it was a blast watching “We Not Naughty” together! This must be a new annual affair!!!

Till my next post, 我祝大家身体健康, 龙马精神! :)

The Office Lady Style

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

I love reading blogs, especially style blogs (refer to my previous post here). But most of the style blogs are skewed towards casual style, yet I spend most of my week and waking hours at work. So I have always been hoping to find blogs featuring formal workwear. And thankfully, I stumbled upon some really good ones that I can’t wait to share with all of you.

Extrapetite

Came across this when my fellow petite fren, Liping, liked this blog on her Facebook wall and I decided to check it out. Immediately, my eyes were opened to a whole new genre of style blogs – petite-size! Which suits me just fine since I am only slightly over 5 feet tall! I really like Jean’s style – professional, feminine and classy. I also love how she constantly mixes and matches items in her wardrobe to come out with fresh new looks. One of my fav sites!

Wendy’s Lookbook

Ok, so this blog isn’t really on formal wear, more like smart casual, great for dress-down Fridays. But Wendy is really really stylish and she has really great style videos as well, such as the very popular “25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!”.

Shentonista

The catchy name definitely got my attention! It features stylish people caught around the Central Business District. (Btw, read my previous post about working in Raffles Place here!) I really love how they zoom into the details of each person’s outfit as well! Yours sincerely will be featured on the site soon, I hope! :)

All pics from respective sites

I’ve been doing it wrong all this while!

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:09:00 +0000

My love affair with BB cream started after I bought a tube in Korea. Read my previous post of BB cream here. I really love using BB cream as it acts as a foundation, but with built-in skin care! However, recently when I was in the search for a new BB cream to try out (after The ODBO one, I bought The Face Shop Face It HD Perfect BB Cream), I realised I had been applying it wrongly all this while! Since it provides coverage, I thought it should be applied on the face by spreading it over your skin. Apparently not! I seriously flipped when I watched the video below! And it really makes a difference when I applied it correctly! Sigh… well, better late than never! Please look and learn!

And also introducing, my latest BB cream haul – the Rachel K CC cream. I chanced upon it when I went to Watson’s and it was after researching on it online that I found the video above! It’s called CC (for Colour Control) cream but it really works the same way as a BB cream. Best of all, it’s mineral-based with lots of additional ingredients like white tea extract, green tea leaf extract, deep sea water, and macadamia nut oil to nourish your skin! It comes in 3 shades – fair, neutral and sun-kissed and I got the neutral one. It’s very light on the skin, yet giving a smooth finish and considerably good coverage. I really love it! It’s retailing for $35 at all Watson’s outlets. =)

Heels that DO NOT Hurt (that much)

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:22:00 +0000

High heels and hurt toes are almost synonymous! And that’s bad news for a petite working gal like me (with a tall hubby)! After constantly abusing my feet with a certain local brand, I decided enough is enough! I had to get better made shoes that were comfortable, yet not compromising on style. And on a fren’s recommendation (thanks Hsu!), I decided to get a pair of Heatwave shoes. Although the styles are very basic and simple, they fit so well and seriously, how flashy do you want your shoes to be? I feel that the classic styles give me more mileage, especially at work. My feet hurt a lot less and they are thanking me every day for that! =)

Heatwave has also recently launched their online store (click here) and delivery is now free for a limited time only! I ordered a pair – easy-peasy one rainy evening and I received it the next afternoon (hand-delivered by Speedpost)! What’s more, they have a daily promo of 15% off a selected shoe style right now! I really hope one of the shoes below will be on promo soon! =) My shoe size is 37 btw if any of you feel led to bless me! Did I also mention that the prices are very reasonable? =)

Images above from Heatwave Shoes

2011 Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:26:00 +0000

On this last day of the year, I just want to pen down my reflections for the year that has just passed. It was one tough year, the toughest I have experienced all my life. I wondered many times if I would ever make it through. But I am glad to say that I did, growing stronger and wiser, tapping inner strength that I never knew I possessed. Also, for the family members and loved ones who were there supporting Joe and me, praying for us and standing by us, THANK YOU!

I am really thankful for a new start in 2012 yet also grateful for the various highlights of 2011.

Definitely blogged a lot more in 2011, so one of my resolutions got fulfilled!
Promoted to an Ah Yi with the birth of Baby Nate, my darling nephew!
Church moved into Suntec, which is a momentous milestone!
Finally rebonded my hair, after resisting for many many years, a new look to welcome the new year!

What will 2012 hold? As the saying goes, I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future and I know He holds my hand :)

One resolution I have made for the new year is to improve my Chinese and I even bought myself a Chinese book today! I really hope to fulfill this resolution so if you have any tips or ideas, do let me know! And maybe the next time you see me, speak to me in Chinese instead! Haha!

Happy New Year! :)

Family Christmas Party 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:43:00 +0000

Thanks to Charles and Aileen for hosting the annual Family Christmas party! :) Their place was all decked up for the celebration!

Goodie bags for all the kiddos!

Superhero Super Boy made a guest appearance too!

But had to take a nap cos he was so tired saving the world!

Lots of toys and games to occupy the young and the young at heart!

Presents Time!

What a great way to celebrate Christmas! :)

Christmas Lightings 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:29:00 +0000

True to our promise to make this a yearly affair, Joe and me made a trip to Orchard Road once again to capture the Christmas lightings! Felt that this year’s light-up faded in comparison to last year’s, but here goes the pics!

Started at Plaza Singapura and made our way down Orchard Road

Just outside Istana

The same blue and white lighting all along the stretch of Orchard Road

Orchard Central

Loved the Paragon one! Very edgy!

TANGS’ one always has an apt verse from the Bible!

Orchard ION

Till next year’s!

The Angry Bird Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Calvin and Henry in Angry Birds’ T-shirts playing with Angry Birds’ plushies!

Lighting Up Suntec

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Light shines the brightest in darkness. When all around you is bleak and dark, remember the light shining ever so brightly inside of you.

One of the most highly anticipated services every year is the Candlelight Service and this year is extra special as it is our church’s very first Candlelight Service at Suntec!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! :)

Christmas Party Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:27:00 +0000

Every year without fail (though we sometimes feel lazy to do so!), we will “resurrect” our trusty Christmas tree and decorate it for the upcoming festivities!

This year’s theme is red and silver – nice? :)

And the best part of having a Christmas tree? Having lots and lots of presents under it! :)

Love it when the whole cellgroup comes together for a fun time of Christmas celebrations! With lots of yummy food to fill the tummies!

Truffle Royale Log Cake from Pat’s Pastry! Delicious!

Time for gift exchange!

Everyone (generally) happy with the gift they got! Hee!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :)

Live Colorfully: Multi-Color is for November

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

The festive season is here and I’m sure many of you must be busy with gift-buying, gift-wrapping and gift-giving! It can be tiring at times but it always feels good to get a good gift that you know the recipient will appreciate! :) Be inspired by the colorful video below and inject a bit of color into your gift-giving this year! And also ending off with my pics for the month!

More Live Colorfully posts can be found here

Rasa Sentosa Staycation

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:39:00 +0000

Had a mini get-away with my Mum, Nis and Baby Nate at Rasa Sentosa. Bringing Baby along means that most of the attention would be on him so lots of the pics you see are of darling Baby Nate!

The hotel has a dedicated play area for kids, and what’s best, a playroom for little toddlers!

Doing what he loves most – putting things in his mouth!

Having fun with colourful plastic balls!

We booked a Seaview Room so the view was awesome!

The moment Baby Nate was placed on the bed, he didn’t want to get up!

He sure knows how to enjoy life!

Doing his fav activity – with his hands! See how happy he is!

After a nice leisurely swim, we went to Vivo for dinner and shop shop! Then we made our way back to Sentosa.

Preppy baby!

Playing with water!

When Baby Nate was sound asleep, we were enjoying the Crane Dance!

Then it was time to call it a night! Till the next!

Always There

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:01:00 +0000

Been a while since I blogged! =) Hope everyone is well!

Recently I bought myself a small little Carebear that now “resides” in my bag. Love it cos it’s such a cutie with its hot pink colour and intertwined hearts on its belly. It’s the “Always There” Carebear and I guess it serves as a reminder to myself.

That when I feel all alone, that I really am not.
That when all is bleak and dark, God is always there to shine a light for me.
That even when I don’t sense it, I have loved ones who think about me, who worry for me, who care for me.

Take care everyone and know that there is indeed One who is always there for you!

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:20

Live Colorfully: Chocolate is for October

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:13:00 +0000

Warm, rich, melt-in-your mouth, comforting chocolate

More Live Colorfully posts can be found here

Streets of Malacca [Malacca]

noreply@blogger.com (Em) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:50:00 +0000

We walked up and down Jonker Street many times and even had time to explore the adjoining streets! It’s fun to explore!

And that marks the end of my Malacca posts! :)