Singapore Top Travel, Beauty, Food, Lifestyle Blog

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Breaking the Fast!

HELLO!
finally completed the 7-day Neera Detox fast (you can read more about it here cos i've blogged about it previously already) i was doing with YZ officially, this morning!!!
*throws confetti in the air*

and the best part? stepped on the weighing scale and saw this:


:D :D :D

lowest weight i've seen on my weighing scale for a really long time!!! shioks. skinny people, do not judge. i've been 53-56kg for the longest time, and seeing a 51.2kg feels really good! :D even if it's just cos of losing the water weight/food weight or whatever. haha :X

the 7-day detox doesn't sound as intimidating as it actually is, because once you get used to not taking in solid food, the Neera drink keeps me full most of the time, and being conscious that i am not supposed to eat anything helps me curb those cravings that i'd normally give in to.

during the detox, it's hard when you go to bed at night feeling hungry, but one of the best parts of doing the detox is waking up in the morning and feeling good about yourself! definitely seeing the flatter tummy and sharper face, as well as looking a little slimmer generally. even my maid commented that i look slimmer woohoo! #missionaccomplished

the results on YZ are even more obvious cos he's been jogging everyday the past week! his face doesn't look so chubby now as compared to the past few months and his waistline is definitely smaller. however, you wouldn't believe how much you start fantasizing about food when you haven't tasted solid food for a few days, LOL... towards the end, we were so eager for the 7 days to be over and started planning and scheduling when and what to eat once the detox was over!

technically, you're supposed to break the fast with very light food that isn't taxing on your stomach, as it hasn't been digesting food for the past 7 days already, so on the 7th day, i did a fruit juice/fruit fast, and we planned our own "healthy" steamboat for the 1st day post-detox! :D :D :D

waited for YZ to finish his photoshoot for Giant, cos they pay in vouchers, and he got like 900 dollars plus worth of vouchers!!! can shop for groceries like siao with 900 dollars please! super famished already cos his shoot ended late and we were reserving our stomach for our celebratory meal together :D


it's shopping time at Giant Hypermart!

showing off all the vouchers he got. quite good eh, he got almost one thousand dollars worth of vouchers for a 6 and a half hour shoot! D:

$$$$$$$$

we went to the branch at Parkway, which is really very gigantic! we spent a really long time wandering through the aisles to look for the products we wanted!

got a bunch of groceries for our steamboat, as well as some snacks... :X

so much food, and we only used ONE $50 voucher!

yay. hehe. don't need to pay for anything :D

happy me! can't wait to get back to start preparing and eating!

back at YZ's to prepare our sumptuous steamboat! look at that insane amount of vegetables and greens. we got cabbage, watercress, tomato, corn and carrots!!!

and this chicken broth by Heinz is pretty good for a quick steamboat fix :)

oh-so-healthy ingredients for our steamboat! we got fish, mushrooms, tofu, scallops, and this golden mushroom solo thingy that i insisted on having. it's damn nice! it's like a fishball with mushroom/meat filling. super shiok.

good thing we didn't have to wait too long for the soup to start boiling cos it was almost 5pm already and our steamboat was supposed to be lunch! yayness!

itadakimasu!!

and it started pouring heavily 20 minutes into our meal. lagi more shiok! cold, rainy weather is the best kind of weather for a steamboat!

大功告成, we successfully completed our 7-day detox! and our steamboat tasted so yummy too!!!! all the veggies were so sweet and it really felt very healthy!!! ^^

but so much for preparing a healthy meal for post-detox,
guess what we ended up eating after steamboat....


we polished off an entire bag of chips from our "store" after all the effort we took to make a healthy steamboat meal! =_= LOL..

#dietfail

food has never tasted so awesome after not having eaten for one week! so, it's okay. will continue to watch the diet... maybe after we're done satisfying all the food cravings we had during detox. haha! i hope that feeling of waking up feeling skinny (even if it's psychological) can help motivate me somehow!

***

so i woke up at 6am today because my parents' alarm clock wouldn't start ringing, and i spent the entire morning/afternoon replying emails and editing photos for S100! super productive for once, which feels good! i am really SO excited for this 100th collection! it's amazing that we've reached our 100th collection already, and i can't thank all the customers and supporters of TheVelvetDolls enough, especially those who's seen us through from our early "pond photoshoot" days to now!!!

am glad that i no longer have to edit/photoshop myself for TVD photos wahaha! i remember how much i used to complain about it! at least now TVD has chio models so editing/photoshopping aint such a chore! :D so grateful that we are really blessed with lovely models, great staff and pixies who are ever-enthusiastic when it comes to lending a hand, a mad awesome supplier who's always trying to solve all our issues for us, fellow blogshop owners who are around to commiserate together, and last but not least wonderful and patient customers who are super accommodating and supportive! :D

:')

really hoping that everyone will be loving this collection as much as i do! all the previews are uploaded on the Facebook page already, if you haven't checked them out!

i'm adding quite a few items to my wardrobe from Series 100, and one of them is the adorable birdie printed tank! :D kept it in the Mauve color, since i look better in pink tones. paired it simply with highwaisted shorts and the satchel in Burgundy! i'd already kept and wore the Swing with Flair Pintucked Dress in Seagreen (entry here!) as well as the maxi skirt that i posted OTDs of in the previous entry! :X

spot my fat lazy dog in the background!

out of topic, but i love how fluffy and nice my hair looks, lol.

and now, off to bed early so that i can wake up super early again tomorrow and channel my productivity in the wee hours of the morning!!! :) oh, and planning a xiaolongbao escapade with YZ for lunch already. hohoho! next on our foodie list is buffet at Sukiya! all our good ole favorites! we are appreciating our food very much now!

goodnight, all!
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

January happenings!

firstly, i haven't actually posted up pictures proper of my red head that i did at Salon Vim before CNY, so here it is!!! as usual, i entrusted my hair in the competent hands of my favorite hairstylist, Stephanie, and she's never failed to give me mega duper awesome results!!! my first hair color of the year, and it's gotta be RED for CNY!!! :D uh, i just realized that i cannot find the pictures i took inside the salon, but i'm sure you've seen many pictures of the process in my previous blog posts about Salon Vim!

you can find out more about Salon Vim and read my entire hair journey with Salon Vim by clicking here to read all the past entries!

                                                      
over a dark copper red base, Steph did brighter red highlights that peek out from amongst my head of hair, she's always so good at picking out exactly the right strands to highlight, to really bring out depth and a richness in the hair color!
so damn nice :D it looks like it's very red here, but that's actually cos of the flash, in real life it's a slightly darker shade that's crazily chic!
i got my fringe cut as well, and went for a wispy sort of bangs that doesn't look as cutesy as the straight china doll bangs, but i don't know why it looks so weird when my eyebrows can be seen! now that it's grown out, it looks muchie better. (´・ω・`) wahaha! this emoticon awesome.
uber love the strands of red highlights all over! it's so mad chio please. 

the only problem with red hair dye is that the color fades the fastest (something to do with the red hair dye molecule being the largest and hardest to adhere to our hair) so you really need to take care of the color, by using the right shampoo/treatment!
i've been using these two products from Loreal: a color protect shampoo and a hair mask, and i just read that washing your hair with COLD water helps to keep the color longer too! damn... i always use hot water to shower, no wonder my red hair fades so quickly :( never mind, cos it still looks chio!

remember that you can quote my name YINA for 10% off all hair services at Salon Vim! :)

SALON VIM
313 @ Somerset #04-07/08/09
vimsalon@yahoo.com.sg
68847757/68847767


check out Salon Vim's facebook page too, for the latest promos and services available! :)

***
since this was just a few days after i got my hair done, i'm gonna blog a few pictures of the event i attended two weeks ago with Fel, it was a lunch event that was held at Novus, a restaurant/bar located inside the National Museum! shit, i thought it was at SAM (Singapore Art Museum) and ended up at the wrong place, thankfully the staff at SAM were very well-informed (they probably get a lot of lost souls wandering into the wrong museum) and informed me that Novus was at the National Museum instead which was about 5 minutes walk away.

unfortunately, with my new mega tall wedges, it took me like maybe 10 minutes instead to walk to the National Museum LOL price of vanity :/
so i was attempting for a different look that day, and i'd just recently acquired a very cool pearl sequined collar! decided to match it with a simple black chiffon dress for that i'm cool-but-minimalistic look hahahaha :X
oh yea, my dress has got damn nice back details too, i'm really into unique details like this! 
front view: it's a balloon sleeved chiffon dress that's all floaty and nice!
naaaissss right. it's a piece that's currently in the midst of being manufactured for TVD and i mad love it! probably will take another 1-2 months though. the factories are still all closed for CNY!

back to the event: i'm just gonna blog about the food HAHAHA. will share more on the actual event and what we were there for, in a future post!
impressive interior, it's not very big but due to the high ceiling, it looks really posh and has a very nice, elegant ambience to it.
our special menu for the day... NOM NOM. 

out of topic.. i think i really eat a lot. sometimes i ask YZ "Baby do you think i eat a lot?? Actually not a lot right?" (in denial) and he is freaking honest and he replies me "Actually... you eat a lot, for a girl." uhhh. then i start sulking at him and trying to make him say i DO NOT eat a lot for a girl. of course he refuses to take back his words and i end up trying to defend myself "No what, i where got eat a lot? i always don't eat carbs mah!" blah blah blah... 

but OK i admit it. i can really really eat ALOT. last time when i was fatter, i ate even more. like can eat one UPSIZED Double McSpicy Meal with large fries and coke. tell me i'm a pig. wait, i already know. why is my appetite so humongous??? i was seated at a table with three other girls, and they all didn't finish their food, while i tried my best to leave a small bite or two of every single course served so i looked more normal lololol. sad max :(
with skinny Fel, who is always trying to gain weight! such irony. 
ran into Melissa at the event too!! *waves* this girl is so sickeningly photogenic, i don't want to take pictures with her anymore =_=
appetizer: Mozzarella cheese with watermelon! quite a unique combination, and interestingly presented on this rectangular slab. this was the only course i left mostly untouched, only because i don't eat cheese. i ate all the watermelon though!
Carrot and Ginger Cream soup with Grilled Tiger Prawns! i finished every last drop cos it was so good :D and the grilled prawns were hidden inside the soup, and the well-seasoned, crunchy prawns really set off the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of the cream soup so delicately!!!
our main course: Red Snapper with Broccoli and Lemon Risotto! this was good! i liked the fresh fish and i'm actually a huge fan of risotto. all-in-all, the heaviness of the risotto was balanced with the broccoli and fish, and i almost finished every last grain of rice (had to tell myself to leave a few, self-restraint)
and finishing off with dessert: Lemon Tarte with Pistachio Ice Cream! ooh, love the pistachio ice cream though the tart was almost sickeningly sweet, but i like anything with pastry so my standards aren't too high :X all the other three girls at the table couldn't finish it while i *almost* finished mine. told ya, had to leave a little to make it seem like i was less greedy :X

overall, i really enjoyed the food there! it's a nice place for a date. perhaps i'll bring YZ there some time! :)

Novus Restaurant and Bar, National Museum,
93 Stamford Road #01-02
http://www.novus.sg/


Hours: 
Mon-Sat: 11:30AM - 2:30PM 
Mon-Sat: 6:30-10:30PM 
Closed on Sunday


***

another event that happened in the midst of CNY was a movie screening organized by Nuffnang, for the movie "孩子不笨"!
i've been wanting to watch this movie, because i've always enjoyed Jack Neo's movies.. honestly, i think his movies are all very good because they are so close to home, they really strike a chord with the Singaporean audience, and this movie is no different! his movies never fail to make me laugh, and cry, and every other emotion in between. 

also... guess you might not know that my singing mentor and teacher 黎沸揮老师 also debuts in this movie, as a uncouth and coarse mouthed Ah Being, and he is SO GOOD at acting his role in the movie!! i really really laughed damn hard at some of the scenes and wise cracks, while other scenes threatened to unleash the floodgates. the two lead male actors, Joshua Ang and Shawn Lee (child actors from 小孩不笨 but all grown up now!) also did an excellent job, and i was pleasantly surprised to see Daniel Chan 陈晓东 act so well too. SPOILER: you get to see Daniel Chan's hot bod in the film too!!! HAHAHA. ok go and watch yourself.

the movie is a little long, so get some popcorn and snacks to seat back and enjoy it in its entirety! i promise you, you won't regret watching it. 
YZ accompanied me for the movie as well :)))

the two lead actors, Sean and Joshua, as well as 梁导演 and 沸揮老师 attended the movie screening as well, and it was an honor to speak to them and have a picture taken with them! 
with the Nuffies as well as Jack Neo, Joshua Ang and Shawn Lee!
YZ and I with 梁导演!

please watch the trailer, and then go and watch the movie. that little boy from the beginning of the trailer is SOSOSOSOSOSO cute i tell you. and there are lots of funny scenes! really laugh until peng! :O

***

an update on my last detox plan: i did the Neera Detox for 4 days this time round, and managed to lose all the CNY weight! phew! weighed 55.1kg before detox, and 52.4kg after day 4! this time round, it feels easier as compared to the first time we did it, and YZ even managed to do it for 5 days (even though he ended up eating a lot on the 6th day hahaha) and as usual, i feel a lot better after the detox, physically and mentally! tummy's flatter and i feel like my system's more cleared of all the junk i took in over CNY :X which is really good!!! still attending Pilates classes so i get some exercise in as well. healthy lifestyle! (づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ

okaaay. i need to go and edit pictures now! new launch just in time for Valentine's Day :D pictures are up on Facebook already! wanted to launch a couple more items, but we didn't have enough time to shoot them all :( so, next launch instead! all sorts of exciting things happening this week, yay!!! i'm going to the orthodontist to adjust my braces again on Thursday, and i've got a special dinner planned for Friday!!! OMG cannot wait :D :D :D

(ノ゚ο゚)ノミ★゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜
be back soon! (found a website with all the really cute Japanese emoticons. so awesome. hahaha)
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Friday, February 3, 2012

CNY 2012: Day 2!

tooooo many pictures from CNY day 2!!! so i just picked like 1/3 of the photos to edit and upload! :D
the entire family went visiting at 大姑姑's place on 初二! after which i went for buffet dinner with YZ's family D: CNY is seriously the best time to get fat!

what i enjoyed most about CNY this year was spending lots and lots of family time, with my family as well as YZ's. seriously, i'm really appreciating my family and especially my parents more and more every year, and being able to spend this festive time with them is really precious!

my own family culture is rather strict and not exactly very loving, my parents never pampered us the way we saw other kids were. of course they love us, but they just express it differently, especially with my surly, 大男人 dad who's the epitome of stoic man. as a result, we're all pretty independent emotionally and don't do heart-to-heart talks cos it feels awkward.

the first time i got to meet YZ's family, i got quite a culture shock, and vice versa for him too, cos his family's all very loving, encouraging and supportive vocally and they put in quite a fair bit of effort to maintain good relations amongst the family. while for us, we generally all mind our own business and don't take any special care to show our care and concern for one another. sometimes i don't even see my parents for 2 or 3 days (they work early and are already asleep when i reach home late) even though we're all living in the same house. my dad never asks me much when it comes to showing concern, never encourages me when it comes to work or even studies, he only lectures us! he won't ask how my relationship with YZ is going or stuff like that, he only asks me when i'm giving him his 家用 or (lately) he'd randomly ask me when i'm getting married. (but not in a concerned i'm-excited-for-my-daughter-to-get-married-tone) =.=

Mummy's more affectionate when it comes to showing us love cos she's the one who cooks for us and asks us what we want to eat, or calls us to remind us to come home early for dinner, but she also doesn't really go into depth about the specifics of our lives. i guess in short, we all just kind of mind our own business despite being a family all living under the same roof?

i don't know how to describe it, i'm sure there are some of you out there with similar family cultures as well. the older i grow though, the more i've grown to appreciate my parents and understand their love for us, despite the lack of verbal and physical affection, i know my parents show their love in different ways and having brought us three up is no mean feat possible without them loving us :D i'm trying to show more concern and love for them too even though it felt awkward and unnatural for me at first, at least i want them to know that we appreciate and love them for being our parents. blood is thicker than water, after all. 
 
outfit for day 2: decided on a lace top + maxi skirt combi cos lace more CNY-ish to me plus my skirt is wine color!!! :D :D :D love both the top and skirt when worn separately too. damn nice. 
 
got a row of non-functional gold buttons at the back so pretty!
 
and since i did the ANG GONG GONG look the day before already, i decided to go for something more neutral! pink lips and did my eyes up with the Urban Decay Naked Palette.
 
walao, if this picture had any thought bubbles, QQ's would be like "..... yawns. what is SHE trying to do???"

she's so not a camwhore lor! i think she only looks happy in like 1 out of maybe 20 pictures. 
 
another picture to prove my point. QQ is like "i'm looking but i'm not interested kthxbai"
 
first family photo of the year!!! :D :D :D along with Princess QQ (prime spot in Daddy's arms) and poor Baby (spot her behind Lina's feet HAHAHA) anyway, asked our domestic helper to take this photo for us, and.... i gotta say.. she really very noob at taking pictures LOL -.- 

the original looked like this:
#familyportraitfail hahaha! don't know why we were so tiny in the picture and skewed to some side some more! nvm, saved the picture with some simple photoshop :D yay!

a shot of my lovely Daddy & Mummy with QQ and Baby! and QQ's looking happy for once!!! Baby just looks sheepish. hehehe. Mummy is so pretty in this picture ^_^

with my midget sister Gina whom everyone thinks is like my younger sister or something. cos she's short :X picture is not accurate because Gina's on killer stilettos!

Gina drove so Lina and i get to camwhore at the back! :D

at 大姑姑's place!

Lina with Nelly and Oreo! our whole family loves dogs and my two aunts have a chihuahua each too. LOL. so every CNY is like... dog gathering!!! all sit around trying to make the doggies do tricks to show off.

i guess it's cos all the children are all grown up already :S so the "adults" don't have anymore babies and kids to entertain themselves with anymore!

QQ on her favorite daddy's lap. see, she looks so happy. wtf. every time i try to take a picture of her, she doesn't even look remotely close to this =.=

this is QQ doing her favorite "gai-gai" trick as demonstrated by Daddy! HAHAHA. it's really cute. you just say, "QQ, gai-gai!!" and hold out an open bag to her, as long as it's big enough for her to fit her butt in, she'll scramble right in and won't want to get out cos she super loves going gai-gai! lol she looks so silly with her head sticking out of the bag like that. i've brought her out around in my sling bag like this a couple of times, and she's always so comfortable being carried around in the bag!

mumsy with Lina. i really think Mummy looked extra pretty that day! :D

and with me! Mummy doesn't like to smile cos 1) it'll show her crooked teeth 2) don't smile got less wrinkles.
my mother is actually very bimbotic like that. hehehe. but that's why we love her too!

me!

with 三姑姑, supposedly Lina resembles her the most hahaha

YZ came over to 拜年 too ^_^

oops, cut off YZ's head! :X but nvm, still shuai :D

with Nelly and cousin-in-law Paul along with their precious Oreo! they just got married last year so this year is our first year getting a red packet from them. HOHOHO :D 恭喜恭喜!!!

all seated cozily in the living room while trying to work the DVD player.

and we had our very first Lou Hei of the year!!!!! huat ah!!!!!!!!

Lou-ing in progress!

faster pick up all the 黄金满地!!!

super cute Oreo! he's majorly in love/lust with Baby. eww. they're always kissing and he's always trying to go after her!

hehehe can't miss out on the gambling :P didn't have much luck this year though! boo.

Gina with 大姑姑!

and me with 二姑姑 whom i kind of resemble the most too! Daddy has got 3 sisters and he's the alpha male. hahaha. so all the sisters dote on him quite abit! we're close to our aunts that way.

had to go off to YZ's to join his family dinner at Carousel, at Royal Plaza on Scotts, so YZ and i went over to his place first.

say hello to cutie pie Zavier! he's YZ's nephew, and is the love and joy of the family. and he's damn cute and mischievous! i really don't have any particular love for kids, but even i think Zavier is super adorable and very very lovable! lol.. this is him trying to transport all the mandarin oranges from the paper bag into his "car"

stun face. lolol. so cute!

he's really precious and very cheeky!

Zavier all ready to go out in a smart little shirt and hair styled nicely. he's a 小帅哥! with YZ's mummy, his Ah Ma!

and three generations of 白家族,三代同堂! the resemblance is uncanny right. strong genes!!

family portrait on YZ's side! ^_^

oh, YZ's wearing yet another Merrymen.com.sg ensemble! i love the smart but stylish checked shirt together with this pair of pants! heh. quality and fit are both fantastic.

arrived at Carousel, but i was so not in the mood for a buffet cos i've been eating non-stop since the week before CNY! i really felt like i didn't even know the meaning of the word "hungry" anymore. LOL. cos i kept on constantly eating all the time, my stomach didn't even have time to feel like it was hungry! =.= that's not normal right.

Japanese selection at Carousel!

and the fresh Seafoods selection. too bad i don't know how to appreciate raw oysters!

at the Chinese food selection, and that's Edwin, YZ's cousin! nice, humorous chap, single and available. LOL. any takers?

fresh sashimi and lobster! nom nom.

and some meats/fish dishes!

food there is generally quite good for buffet style, and there's a wide selection too! too bad i wasn't hungry to begin with, so i couldn't enjoy the food more. it's a good place to try for buffets though! i think i'm not cut out for buffets anymore, cos i don't know how to eat the expensive stuff like raw oysters and all that and i'm full after 2-3 rounds :X not worth the money for me!

YZ with his younger sis, Glynise!

Bro with sister-in-law and Zavier boy trying to stuff a sushi in his mouth hehe

Gly with Andrew!

and YZ together with me :D

the desserts selection at Carousel is mad awesome though! i think it might be the best part of the selection for me. LOL. chocolate fondue that comes in white, dark and milk chocolate!!!

lots of mini desserts too, like creme brûlée, tiramisu, shortcake, and many more! super satisfying for the sweet-toothed. the ice cream there is yummy too!

YZ's family + some of his relatives! :)

full length picture of my outfit! love it even though my mother/aunts don't like -.- they don't know how to appreciate! bleh.

the 14 days of CNY officially ends this weekend, but YZ and i decided we had enough of the feasting and we're currently halfway through the Neera Detox again!! today's day 3 already, and this time we're gonna go for a 5 day detox! :D i honestly like the feeling of doing the detox fast, it makes me feel like i'm cleansing my system thoroughly! gotta break fast properly this time round instead of binging after the 3 days D: i just went back for Pilates sessions after missing 2-3 weeks due to work and CNY too, my muscles are aching from all the hard work! feels damn rewarding afterwards though it's a torture during the class!

SO..... if you follow me on instagram, you'd know that i just succumbed to camera lust and bought myself a new camera... AGAIN @_@ i only got my Olympus E-P3 in September last year..... i'm so terrible! this time round though, it's not an "upgrade" but an addition to my camera family! :D am still gonna use my beloved E-P3 which has been serving me pretty well ever since i jumped onboard the Oly E-Pen ship with my E-P1 in January 2010.

i've gradually gotten more and more interested in cameras and taking pictures (especially during my travels! click to see all the previous blogposts on my travels) and even for TVD's photoshoots cos i'm usually the one behind the camera during shoots!

oooh... so excited. shall post pictures of my new baby up in the next post!! :D i really really really really really really really love it! *jumps around in glee*

in other news, TVD's currently on a short hiatus cos we're doing some physical organization of stocks, inventory, spring cleaning the new office, going through a complete operations overhaul and getting everything in order to serve customers better! we might also be hiring more help soon.. we will be posting an announcement on Facebook when we do! i haven't been active on Formspring lately as well... but i'll probably log in soon to delete all the older/no longer relevant questions and start replying some questions again.

hope everyone enjoys the last two days of CNY! love love!!
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