Joy

'Tis the season to be jolly! So I must muster up a jolly post to uplift myself and you, my dear reader.

It is the time for us to count our blessings, no matter how small. To remind ourselves the source of smiles, laughter and joy. So I thought I'd try to come up with a list of the little and big things that bring a smile to my face and give me that warm fuzzy feeling one.

• Seeing and playing with cute little kiddies
• Giving and making loved ones happy
• Cooking and baking and being in the kitchen (not washing!)
• Flowers - be it receiving, buying or arranging
• Being appreciated and loved
• Zooming along on a long uncongested road

What else is there? I shall try to think of more to add to the list. Speaking of lists, I haven't been able to draw up a Christmas list yet, as I've been lacking in inspiration. Find it a tad contrived to just buy random gifts for people as I believe gifts should be meaningful.

So what gives you joy? And what joy are you bringing to people around you this holiday season?

Little Katherine

The Cutest Kiddie Ever!

 

Pretty Things

Last week, my house turned into a floral warzone as I busied myself with preparing the bridesmaids' bouquets for a friend's wedding. I had volunteered to help make 8 bouquets to help her save some costs plus I wanted to hone my floristry skills :) After the experience, I can officially testify that being a florist is not easy as there is a lot of work that goes into making sure the flowers turn out right and pretty.

Other than the flowers, Eugene and I were sort of the wedding planners for the day. Woke up at 6am (having stayed up till 3am the night before making the bouquets) and was basically up and running around until midnight. Phew. But the wedding went well, everything was great! Pretty bride and handsome groom :) Don't have that many pictures from that day, still waiting for the official photos to come out!

Apologies for the lack of news. It's been a pretty whirlwind couple of weeks - winding down my previous job and settling back here. Physically pretty wiped out from early starts these days. Have to get used to the new routine, though I've never been much of a morning person. Bah. Oh well. Can't believe it's almost the end of the year already!

Back From A Long Hiatus

Wow it's been nearly a month. Guess the past weeks have been kinda hectic - i.e. travelling. Let's see, I was in 6 different countries in the last 3 weeks (Sg included). First week - to the Pinoy land of Manila (hopefully it's the last time already) to finish off a project; second week - to HK and Macau for the annual conference; and this past week - Cambodia and KL for leisure. Well, this will probably be the last of my travels for a while since I go back to the mothership in 2 weeks' time. Actually, less than 2 weeks. Sigh.

Phnom Penh and Siem Reap were great. Despite the short 3 days we spent there, I think we managed to squeeze in most of the key sights. Stayed at the Raffles in Phnom Penh and Hotel De La Paix in Siem Reap, both of which were excellent choices. I'd recommend the latter to anyone who is going to Siem Reap. Great new boutique hotel run by the Bed Supperclub people.

Angkor Wat and the other temples were impressive to say the least. Actually my favourite is Ta Phrom, which is the temple in Tomb Raider, with all the overgrown trees amidst the ruins. The temple is situated in lush greenery, with great big fig trees, which I suppose are not really good for the temple. Nevertheless, there's a sense of tranquility and you feel like you've just stumbled upon a lost ancient city. We caught the sunset on Phrom Bakheng, a temple on the hilltop, which was overrun with Japanese and Taiwanese tourists. Actually everywhere would have been so much nicer without the busloads of tour groups. Luckily, we woke up early enough (5am!) to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat and walked around the temple before the hordes got there. However, it was very disappointing that we couldn't climb up to the third (and highest) level at Angkor Wat as they closed it for restoration works last month.

Sitting in a tuk tuk and traversing the vast expanse of old Angkor city was really enjoyable. The weather was really pleasant, and the sprawling fields, forests and lake, dotted with temples and ruins, made for an amazing backdrop. It won't be hard spending a week in Siem Reap just to chill out at the hotel and take in the sights slowly.

Spent an enjoyable weekend watching squash, which was surprising since I (and probably others) thought I'd be bored. It's back to the grind tomorrow. Time to pack up my mess, tie up loose ends, and psyche myself up for what lies ahead. It ain't gonna be easy but let's just take each day at a time.

Dempsey

I really quite like the new Dempsey. Yes it is atas and gentrified and somehow I just feel like I don't belong there, yet it gives a sense of calm and peacefulness. Set amid the lush greenery, the low-lying buildings create a sleepy village feeling. Only the parking situation and the expensive cars give away the demographics.

It was fun though. JW and I were at Barracks, the restaurant bistro in the House complex, which consist of a spa, restaurant and bar. Ecletically outfitted (think vintage meets MASH), the restaurant was pretty full for a Thursday night. There were no free tables and we had to sit at the counter (which was a kichen island and had 2 sinks fitted in it, yes house theme remember?) for the most part of our meal. We spied many celebrities (ok 3 but that's still many to me) and the food was surprisingly good. I didn't have high expectations for these new concept cafes, usually their food turns out s0-so with nice ambience and decor to compensate.

I had the Wild Mushroom Risotto, which was cooked to a nice consistency, with french beans (and not fava beans like described in the menu), tomatoes and of course mushrooms. It wasn't too cheesey (which is how i like it) and the veal sauce that was served with it complemented it well and cut the richness somewhat. Picture not very good below.

JW had the Ahi Taki Salad, which was seared spiced tuna chunks (very yummy and juicy) with avocado and arugula. I really liked the way the tuna was seasoned, definitely Asian touch with soy and ginger, and I don't know whether it was the size of the chunks or cut of the tuna but it tasted like really tender meat and not flaky like some cooked tuna, nor raw and fishy. The side of sweet potato fries were good too, tempura-fried and seasoned with sugar and sesame seeds. We also shared a Green Tea Tofu Tiramisu, which was alright, kinda grew on us haha. I thought the mascarpone cheese part would be substituted with some sort of tofu topping, but it actually was just sponge, with a piece of tofu and topped with mascarpone cheese. It's not as bad as I make it sound haha. But others have told me that the desserts here are great, will go back and try the recommended Chocolate Almond cake the next time.

I took a random picture at PS Cafe when Peirui and I had brunch. The nice setting of greenery and flowers always speaks out to me.

No Reservations

Caught No Reservations last night with FY and Evan. FY wanted to watch it for Aaron Eckhart and Evan for Catherine Zeta-Jones and me? I wanted to watch it for the cooking heh. It was a so-so show, just kinda brainless but with few good moments. Anyway, after watching the show, I really feel like I wanna move to NYC and/or cook good food! I realise I really like to watch cooking shows, no surprise that one of my favourite channels is Food Network haha, though I don't really watch much Discovery Travel and Living now.

But watching is one thing, doing is another. I doubt I'll have the perseverence to actually learn how to cook properly in a school, or apprentice in kitchens where a common sight is pots and pans being thrown at you by the chef. I guess I'll just stick to being super amateur hobbyist.