Archive for Shopping

A Nifty Gadget for a Cooking Foodie

April 12, 2009 · Filed under Baking, Cooking, Food, Shopping

I adore browsing through food and recipe blogs and have bookmarked a gazillion, of which I probably will never find the time to actually try out all of the places and recipes. But it always feels good to know they’re there, safely and neatly put in a bookmark folder and categorized in case I ever suddenly have the urge, or extra cash, to re-create someone else’s edible masterpiece in my own kitchen.

Well, I have tried some out (including the now infamous brownie that I made for Jim’s birthday cake last year but have never ever found the exact recipe till today) and one big problem is getting the recipe from the screen of my laptop into the kitchen.

Strange problem? I’m sure it happens to many of us budding internet cooks and bakers.

For me, because I really try not to waste printer ink/paper and in my small bid to save the world, I tend to copy out the recipes into pieces of paper, and more often than not, scrap paper. Not only is it small, the hastility scribbled handwriting (due to impatient excitment to get cooking) makes it difficult to decipher, especially when one is juggling a measuring cup of flour in one hand, closing the fridge door with the other and trying to read what is the correct temperature to preheat the oven for.

So…you can imagine my excitment when I found this really useful kitchen tool from my favourite all-in-one browsing foodblog tastespotting.com.

Behold the Demy Kitchen Safe Touchscreen Recipe Reader!

(picture credit to Amazon.com)

New from Amazon (in fact, so new “This item has not yet been released.
You may pre-order it now and we will deliver it to you when it arrives.”) this nifty thing features a comfortable 7-inch sized touchscreen which is splash-resistant and a sturdy plastic exterior which can be cleaned with a damp cloth. It also comes pre-loaded with 250 so you can whisk it off (pun intended) to the kitchen and start straight-away. Or, simply plug it to your PC or laptop via a USB cable to upload all your bookmarked and saved recipes.  This little high-tech kitchen-helper stores up to 2500 recipes so you’ll have something new to make everyday for the next 7 years!

Sadly, like most other high-end counter-top appliances, this one too comes with a price. Retailing for USD$299.99 (about SGD$454.88), this price doesn’t even include shipping all the way to Singapore. With this same amount of money, I probably could buy a good set of knives and pots and pans – things I’d probably use more often!

But of course, if anyone would so kindly want to give this to me as a house-warming gift (you have about 2 years to save!), I’ll be more than happy to receive with a big fat smile and invite you for dinner!

(:

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Anyone interested?

April 8, 2009 · Filed under Shopping

I’m not exactly sure how worth it this deal is but if anyone is interested, we could collate the orders, do the math, then decide if its worth ordering.

So do let me know!

(:

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Saving the world…One bag at a time!

April 7, 2009 · Filed under Amusings, Shopping

(pic credit to coquette)

I suppose, just as the celebrities have been wearing tshirts with the slogan “Green is the new black”, being environmentally conscious is increasingly becoming popular and tres chic.

I’ve blogged about the first Anya Hindmarch enviro-bag (way before the whole shebang and hoo-haa and not forgetting all the fakes which exploded and infiltrated the pasar malams) and then about my lovely Cole Haan market bag, and most recently the really cute ones by Marc Jacobs.

Today, here’s another one (or a few, its really a series) by our dear Anya Hindmarch who started the entire craze. The whole collection of 6 (as shown above) is the latest and, in my humble and not particularly fashionable opinion, is a lot prettier than the one that proudly proclaimed it ain’t a plastic bag.

The clean  design of the off-white canvas bag matched with sturdy leather handles embellished with pale gold hardware and the enduringly simple printed graphics in front makes it a timeless and practical bag for everything from your NTUC groceries to household items from Ikea.

But after all that praise and raving about the bag, one thing that really annoys me is the price. Retailing at £55 on the website, plus £10 for delivery, the final bill comes up to about a hefty SGD$145. However, given that fact that I paid about $109 for my bag from Cole Haan, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised at the digits on the price-tag.

Oh well. Looks like my groceries won’t be having the privillege of riding home in a luxury bag anytime soon!

(:

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Fashionably Green

February 18, 2009 · Filed under Random Babblings, Shopping

First it was the Anya Hindmarch bag, then the Cole Haan Market Bag, and now its Marc Jacobs!

I suppose it is fashionable to go green, or at least to be seen as green since I don’t really know how much these designers really care about the environment (or the amount of paper they waste while scribbling down their ideas and designs…) but I do know that the enviro-friendly bags they make are pretty sweet.

Here’s are two  I came across while surfing around from Mr MJ:

Tada! How cute are these two? Especially the penguin one! The one of the left is the “Miss Marc Goes Green Pole Shopper”  and the other is “Miss Marc Goes Green Earth Shopper”.

But unlike the one from AH and CH, this one takes the cost of going green to a whole other level – it costs a whopping USD$128, which roughly translates to about SGD$197.

Gosh. With a price tag like that, I hope that some of the proceeds are going into helping some green movement or campaign.

Looks like this is one bag I’m gonna have to give a miss. There are definitely a million and one other and much cheaper ways to care for the environment!

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Hey ho! Its the Weekends!

November 29, 2008 · Filed under Dinner, Shopping, Work

But I’m feeling a little under the weather. Bah. Hum bug.

Nonetheless, its the weekends!

Kicked it off yesterday with my parents, brother and JY at MOF for my parents’ 34th wedding anniversary. Looking at them, it really seems easy to make a marriage last so long but I know it comes with its fair share of hard work, patience and God’s love shared between them to make it work, and make it worthwhile. Even after 34 years of being together, they still crack jokes about each other (especially my dad, who sometimes makes the lamest comments which everyone else except my mum understands. go figure.) and have lots of fun moments together. Here’s wishing dad and mum many more happy years together!

Company was fun and the food was good. Portion-wise and taste-wise the food was above average and after discount (I’m an MOF member!) the bill came up to $137 for 5 people who each had a main course and dessert + 1 serving of salmon sashimi + 1 serving of soft shell crab. Value for money no? And there was a $10 voucher as well!

So its Saturday today but I’m be stuck at home with a runny nose and because JY is off for the whole afternoon at some church meeting. Boo. But we’ll all be going to the airport tonight to see my mum off – she’s going to Israel with 33 other church members! Sigh. So fun. I really wanted to go too but I just started work and have no leave to take, unless of course I take no paid leave which I really don’t think I can afford (no pun intended) to do. Oh well. Hopefully I’ll be well enough, or at least whine enough, to be allowed to eat Popeyes later. Heeheehee. I hope they finally have the biscuits!

Work-wise, I’m still trudging through. Well, it’s ok I guess. *shrugs*. I feel bad that I’m only doing it because the economy is a mess right now. But I guess journalism will still be my first love. Guess one should never start by working with a magazine as one’s first job and be spoilt by the fast-pace, crazy-deadline-driven but filled with fun and perks job scope of being a writer with a lifestyle magazine! Doing the food section was just the final sweet-chocolate-dipped cherry on the top.

The week definitely did have its little highlights though. Tuesday night I met JY for dinner and managed to score a pair of pants and a shirt on sale at Esprit. Especially exciting about that was the pants which I had already eyed previously before the sale, but they didn’t have my size. But now, it was on sale and in my size! Haha. Cheap thrill I know, but every dollar counts!

Another highlight would be buying JY his really early Christmas present – UM1 earphones + govibe martini headphone amp. Its just a really expensive and high-class pair of earphones for the budding audiophile in JY. Haha. But the good news is, I got myself a free pair of PINK bijou in-earphones! It was a gift from the shop owner, “Uncle WIlson” who says my good deed should be rewarded. Haha. But hey, it came at the right time because my ipod earphones are peeling and God knows I wouldn’t spend a single cent getting a replacement pair, much less on a pair of $70 in-earphones!

(:

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Everythingismessedup.

August 1, 2008 · Filed under Personal Quirks, Random Babblings, Shopping, Work

Pardon the emo title. Haha. It’s not life that’s messed up. Rather, its my thoughts. This post is gonna be nothing but random babblings hence the title. Hurhurhur.

Work – Who do the clients think they are huh! causing delays and refusing to revise impossible timelines. Geez. And the minions at the bottom are the ones who have to do all the work while those on top are so eagerly nodding their heads in agreement to these ridiculous deadlines without standing up for their minions! *grumblegrumblegrumble*. Then again, we are their minions for a reason.

iPod – Whoever said 4gb of space was enough. I constantly forget to charge my iPod, much less have time to keep updating and changing songs and playlists. Why didn’t I buy the 8gb. *grumblegrumblegrumble* Then I could have gotten the pink one!

iTunes – Scrolling through my iTunes, and recently hearing “there’s nothing in your iTunes I want to listen to”, I think it’s about time I went CD shopping. Yup. I’m gonna do the right thing and contribute to the already bursting pockets of these rich and famous artistes. They need to eat too right?

Clothes – It’s not fun always having to shop for work-safe clothes (even if my office wear is kinda like smart casual) and I want funky tshirts to wear during photo shoot days (covered up with a nice cardi or casual blazer if I have to go into the office first)! I work in the creative industry right. So I should be cool. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. *ahem* Gimmie gimmie gimmie Johnny Cupcake and Threadless tees!

Mobile Phone – Dear all, this or “cellular phone” is the correct term for that annoying gadget you carry with you everywhere you go. Not “handphone”. (Ok. End of English class.) With an increasing workload, I think its high time I made the switch from red to green. I would very much like to be a loyal reds-supporter but I need the free incoming and extra smses lah. Besides, dad gets more discounts for cable tv so its a win-win situation! I probably should get a new phone too, since mine is a grand old dame of 5 years old!

(:

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Frivolous Indulgent Shopping Post

May 26, 2008 · Filed under Personal Quirks, Shopping · Tagged

I really should be blogging about something more substantial and less frivolous (like my recent press trip to club med ria bintan. then again, a holiday post is rather self-indulgent isn’t it.) but I can’t help it.

One thing always leads to another and it all started with me surfing coach.com. Haha. Pretty things to buy aplenty but alas, the bank account will not allow for such over-indulgence. (anyone going to the states?) And then I surfed on over to amazon.com, then to toryburch.com, then to vpost.com.sg, then to charlotterusse.com, then to Mandee.com and random Taiwanese auctions.

Ok, so here comes the super frivolous and dare I say it, expedient, part of my post. Anyone out there wanna order from these websites toooooooooooooo?

Especially charlotterusse.com which has adorable stuff at relatively cheap prices. For example, a dainty little plaid blouse is USD$19.99 (about SGD$28 according to xe.com). With the sale going on at the website, take 30% off and its USD$14 (about SGD$19 again according to xe.com). $19 for a top isn’t too bad right! And if more people order, the shipping cost can be split, making it well worth it (i think. heh.)

Alright. Enough of this weightless talk. Anyone who’s interested leave me a comment yar. I’m still checking out shipping prices from vpost and CGW and Borderlinx to see which works out to the cheapest.

Heh.

Pictures of Bintan in the next post! Promise!

(:

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Spanish Sensation

April 21, 2008 · Filed under Church, Food, Friends, Personal Quirks, Shopping · Tagged , , , , , ,

Saturday night was pretty fun and hot hot hot!

Us girls from the office were supposed to meet at 7.30pm at city hall but not so surprisingly, everyone was late, except, surprisingly, Lili. Haha. When I arrived at about 10minutes late, she was already there. Shiqi said she was “on the way”, Karen was still at the Esplanade after her rehearsals, Charmaine was on the way too and Tracy totally forgot we were meeting for dinner (despite being the one who set the timing, according to Lili).

After all the waiting and indecisions over dinner, I finally got to put something in my tummy at about 8.45pm at Cedele. Not very fantastic food actually. The focaccia was lovely but the chicken was crumbly and dry and my avocado was a measly 2 slices (as you can guess, I ordered the chicken and avocado sandwich). To make matters worse, the iced tea was left un-syruped but we, including Charmaine and Lili who also ordered drinks, were too lazy to walk over to the counter and get the syrup. Haha. How lazy could we get…

But all the time wasting and passing had a good thing come out of it – JY was about to cab down from Orchard to meet me! Yay!

Mel was fantastic during the dance. I’m not exactly being biased here, just ask anyone else. I think she was the most into the dance, most intense (you should have seen her killer expression!) and appeared to have the most passion for it too. But ok. Perhaps it helped that she does have Spanish blood and is ang mo. Haha. The other dancers were Japanese and locals, so I guess it seem relatively strange to see them doing such a forceful and sultry dance. And overall, kudos to all of them from the dance class!

Unfortunately, I had to leave early (it was already past 11pm) as I had church the next day. Also, it was my turn to teach Sunday School. The teaching went ok, despite my disrupting cough and Uncle Alex handing out Prize Giving photographs to the kids (which I got too! Sadly, it’s also my last…) which was really PRAISE GOD! No doubt I was nervous, especially about potentially teaching the kids wrong things about God and what the bible passage was saying, but thankfully all went well. I did stumble here and there because really, I’m not used to talking to small kids much less teaching them. I found it tough having to think of ways to phrase and structure my thoughts into a sentence that 3 primary 4 kids could understand. Well. One lesson down, 5 more to go!

JY came to church to meet me after class and it was fun just hanging around before we left for lunch with my family. Glad that we managed to drag my brother along too. Initially JY planned to treat everyone to Carl’s Junior but interestingly enough, my mum wanted Cafe Cartel. Haha. The menu has changed considerably since they first started, but more or less remains the same in terms of what sort of food they offer. Not too fantastic though, considering the prices, but not that bad or inedible either.

Since we were at Marina, we just had to stop by Gloria Jeans to pick up a cup of $2 coffee. Haha. So cheapo. But honestly, for a non-coffee drinker like me who would not pay $5 for a cup, this $2 gimmick really works. Then again, I’m sure it works for most bargain-hunting Singaporeans.

Oh and I also picked up a pair of shoes from Primavera! Bright and cheerful in yellow, perfect for spring!



Anyway, enough talk and on with the peektures!

Mel and her husband, Cuong


My (un)lucky draw stub.


Ladies dressed in an assortment of colours and polka dots!

Finally, after waiting for an hour, Mel’s performance starts…



(:

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I spoke too soon…

April 12, 2008 · Filed under Friends, Shopping, Travel · Tagged , , , , , , ,

*bleah* Just when I thought everything was finalized, set and all ready to go to Club Med Bintan, the PR emails to say we can’t go next Wednesday. Why? Because the executive chef we were supposed to interview is on LEAVE. The first thing that came to my mind was “what are the odds man”. So yes. It’s been postponed yet again to sometime in May. I wonder if the PR feels bad about it. Geez. And, we won’t be able to photograph the kitchen because it’s undergoing renovations. So ridiculous. They know full well our story angle and our requirements, they know what’s going on at their resort, and yet they still want to invite us over to do the story. What utter rubbish! Lousy PR skills. Lousy lousy lousy. Pfffttt.

But ok. The good things that came out of it is that I will have more time to plan for my Sunday School lesson and I won’t be so tired when I go for the Flamenco Festival on Saturday at C.H.I.J.M.E.S. Can’t wait for that actually. Looking forward to seeing Mel do her Spanish thing and meet up with the girls. Should be an absolute blast. Two other colleagues are coming along too. Haha. It’s always interesting to see your colleagues (behave) outside of the office environment. Hmm. Which reminds me, I need to get a dress for the event! Mel says that the girls usually come in pretty dressed with frills and flowers. Shopping time!

Actually, shopping time isn’t as exciting or fun as before. Many many many many countless times I have gone out shopping with JY only to come home empty handed. There just isn’t anything to buy, or rather anything that fits me and comes with an affordable price tag. Sure Mango, Zara and the other generic staple brands have smaller cuts but one glance at the price tag and I immediately put it back. It’s annoying really. Can’t wait to go to Perth where they have Supre (i.e size XXS)!

Speaking of Perth, I’ve been bugging JY for the longest time about the exact dates which we will be there. Being in the magazine industry, taking leave requires a lot of planning due to the strict deadlines. However, he has yet to tell me. Bah. Absent-minded. Hurhurhur. Another thing I’m worried about Perth is getting air tickets! Might be easier since we’re going during an off-peak period and when it’s winter in Australia but you never know. My parents have already booked a flight to Sydney and it’s all full despite the flight taking off only in September! That’s a good 5 months ahead! And it’s not exactly cheap mind you….

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diamonds are a girl’s best friend…

February 24, 2008 · Filed under Shopping · Tagged , ,

Forget Lee Hwa, Soo kee, Gold heart or even Tiffany & Co.
For the ultimate in luxurious and exquisitely crafted diamond pieces,
it’s got to be Van Cleef & Arpels.

There are wayyyyyyy too many pieces I adore so I can’t possibly but them all here. I can’t seem to find any pictures (other than on the website itself) and it’s too time consuming to fn+Prt Sc them all.

So. Click on over to http://www.vancleef-arpels.com/ and feast your eyes on their charming yet modern offering of glittery indulgences.

But but but. I couldn’t resist and just had to put up one of my favourites:

Van Cleef & Arpels Jeux de ruban Ring
Jeux de ruban Ring

Isn’t it pwetty!

Unfortunately, at least from what I gather from the website, there isn’t anywhere in Singapore that sells the jewelry, only their watches.

Geez.

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