. art jamming at my art studio .

My 1st ever art jamming session with Serene at Arteastiq @ Mandarin Gallery was such an enjoyable albeit stressful (try completing a painting within 3 hrs on your first attempt!) experience that I have been on the lookout for similar deals since then. Fast-forward a few months, I made an impulsive purchase when I found a Groupon deal for an art jamming session at a studio that’s located relatively near to my place for only $28!

While most people prefer to get their friends or partner together for an artistic time, I, however, chose to indulge in some alone time to let my creative juices flow and enjoy a moment of tranquility. Honestly, it’s really not awkward to spend some time doing things alone. My fascination with the ocean and lighthouses (no thanks to childhood storybooks) inspired me to settle for a simple art piece that features a coastal lighthouse. Nothing too fanciful or I fear that I will need even more than 24 hours to complete the painting!

Inspiration

Unlike Arteastiq, there are art teachers/instructors in My Art Studio to provide guidance to both beginners and amateurs who need a little assistance. In addition, there is less pressure on me as I don’t feel like I’m an animal in captivity (With reference to the glass panels of Arteastiq that allow full access view of the “budding painters” at work).  Having said that, I miss having a nice cup of ice gourmet tea for my drinking pleasure as the studio only provides the usual mix of coffee and tea.

My Art Studio also offers a range of art programmes catered to both children and adults, such as workshops on acrylic and oil painting. Good for those who are interested to bring their painting skills up a notch!

Will I be back for more art jamming? I hope so although I would like to bring the boy along the next time round for an artistic date!

source

3 hours Art Jamming session @ $30* include:
1. Unlimited acrylic paints and tools rental
2. 1 x canvas 30cm x 40cm
3. Free flow coffee and tea
4. Lacquer spray paint services
* promo price

My Art Studio @ Midview City
Address: 28 Sin Ming Lane, #02-133, Midview City
Operating hours: 10am – 6.30pm

My Masterpiece!
Not bad at all, right? :p I like the gradient of the blue shades in the sky.

. new year’s eve & new year 2013 .

For the past couple of years, the countdown to the new year has always been a cozy family celebration with my parents. Treated them to a relatively disappointing NYE buffet at Hotel Re!, where we joined hundred of others feasting on our last meal of 2012! To be fair, the buffet dinner was a last-min offer on DEAL so we should have expected a sub-standard quality of food. Fortunately, none of us are food critics so we were able to put the food aside to simply enjoy the company that we had. =)

Spent the last couple of hours of the past year with people from all walks of life in the New Year’s countdown and firework extravaganza at Gardens by the Bay. Honestly, it has been too many years since I caught a massive fireworks display and I can never quite figure out the reason why so many Singaporeans would rather squeeze with the maddening crowd for that fleeting spectacle of fireworks . However, on that special night, the stunning display of fireworks illuminated the night sky over CBD and took my breath away… An absolutely beautiful sight to remember for the many years to come. Nonetheless, it came with a small ‘sacrifice’ as it took us an awfully long 2hrs to get home from the gardens instead of the usual 20 mins! =p

To mark our “half a decade of happiness & sorrow”, the boy decided to surprise me by treating us to a luxurious lunch at Salt Grill  & Sky Bar (ION Orchard) by Australian celebrity chef, Luke Mangan. Perched atop of ION building (level 55), this fine dining restaurant offers diners with the rare opportunity to dine on a delectable menu with a magnificent 360 degree view of the city and beyond (Catch a glimpse of CBD, Chinatown, Clarke Quay and even neighbouring housing estates!). To kick-start our dining experience, we had to take a private lift tucked in a quiet corner of the mall that is decked with visuals of clouds. Hence, the interesting lift ride to the top of ION pretty much made us felt as if we flying through the clouds to Heaven.

Unlike many reviewers on TA, I personally felt that the portions at Salt Grill are not as bite-sized/tiny as compared to the other fine dining restaurants that I have visited previously. The warm and crispy bread, paired with olive oil and a fusion of spices, was definitely one of the best that I ever had and this is coming from someone who doesn’t fancy carbs. Our main course (blue fin tuna and steak) were delicious albeit nothing too special. Surprisingly, the popular crab omelette dish and oyster tempura with wakame salad had a lovely fusion of flavours and were cooked to perfection!

For those who are interested to head to Salt Grill restaurant for the special occasion, be prepared to have deep pockets – It costed the boy about $250 for 3 appetizers, 2 mains and 1 dessert.

My ratings!
Food: 4 stars out of 5
Ambiance: 4.5 stars out of 5
Service: 4 stars out of 5
Value: 3.5 stars out of 5

Oyster tempura with wakame salad and wasabi dressing ($36)

Crab omelette, miso and mustard broth, enoki and asian herb salad ($29)

Pan seared scallops, black pudding sausage, crushed peas, red wine reduction ($29)

Blue fin tuna in dijon mustard and toasted sesame seeds, wasabi
aioli ($50)

Ribeye 300g Cape Grim Tasmania grass fed BBQ spice ($69)

Happy 5th Anniversary, my boy!  
❤ 사랑해요❤ 

. For Your Nails Only .

While my bi-monthly facials are seen as a beauty essential; manicures are, however, something of a luxury to me and I usually only get my nails done professionally for the special occasions.

Like most people, I’m pretty particular about the salons I frequent as I dislike going to places where my supposedly relaxing treatment turns out to be a hardcore session of hard-sell. Anyhow, I was surfing the internet for a cheap place to have my nails done for the festive season when I came across a couple of reviews about this neighbourhood salon located in Bishan! Cheap prices. Convenient location. I’m sold!

Fortunately, my 3 sessions with Ira, the owner who runs a 1-man business, have been very pleasant. We hit off like good friends and often spend our sessions chatting about beauty talk among other topics (lol). Most of my previous manicure sessions at other places have left a sour experience for me (nonchalant attitude/hardsell of packages) so it’s a relief to finally find a nail salon where I can feel completely at ease while getting pampered. =)

*Note: This is not an advertorial post as I had paid for all the services.

Tiffany blue french with polka dots and acrylic flower

Purple french with glittering snowflakes 

Here’s what you have been waiting for – The Prices!
Gelish Manicure – $28 ($5 for soak off)
Gelish Pedicure – $38 ($5 for soak off)
Classic Manicure – $12
Classic Pedicure – $23
French – Top up of $2

For Your Nails Only
505 C Bishan Street 11, #01-412
For appointments/queries: Pls contact Ira @ 9238 8558
Click here to check the blog for more nail art designs!

. followed by a trip to hell – USS Halloween Horror Night 2.

Having heard so much buzz about how fantastically horrifying the Halloween @ USS event was, I knew that it was a Halloween affair that was not to be missed! And true to its reputation, the USS Halloween Horror Night event is probably the best place to celebrate a spooky yet fun Halloween in Singapore (sans the clubbing crowd)! Poor KC & Elisa – I was grabbing onto the both of them so tightly throughout the 3 haunted attractions (Dungeon of Damnation, Insanitarium & Death Alley) that I must have been a bigger threat than those scare actors LOL!

Not wanting to miss out on some photo opportunities, Elisa & I sneaked away from the rest of the group and joined the masses in some major photo-taking at Total Lockdown (Awesome shit- It’s exactly a scene from those zombie-infested movies! ) & House of Dolls scare zones!

* All pics credit to Elisa

. we went to paradise first .

An entire afternoon spent with an excellent company out in the open sea, with a stopover at the exclusive Lazarus island. If only cruising to the nearby islands is a leisure weekend activity that’s readily available to us (aka non-affluent), you bet that I’ll heading to work every Monday with a radiant glow.
1 of life’s finest moments indeed.

Alert: Smorgasbord of pictures!
* all pics credit to super Elisa =)

Getting ready to jump off the dock and dive right into the water! Such an adrenaline rush! 

. life in cubes – Nov .

And the month of November is gone in a split of a second and we are now into the last (and my favourite) month of the year. The past 30 days have been nothing short of exciting although I also have my fair share of down moments … kick-start the month with a sponsored staycation at Capri by Frasers with the boy; celebrated my parents’ birthdays with 2 delectable cakes; embarked on a gastronomic journey with family & friends as we dined at HY California @ MBS, Antoinette, Ambush & Kombi Rocks amongst many others;  met up with my bff who’s back from Canada for the hols; pampered myself with fish spa & gelish manicure; attended my first ever outdoor yoga sesh & drive-in movie screening; mastered a wall-assisted headstand; went on a monumental tour and learnt about the history behind Singapore General Hospital and pressed my 1st ever penny souvenir right here in Singapore!  

On the other hand, as I itch closer to being 25 *gasp*, I cannot help but to start feeling like I’m being stuck in a rut (yet again) and suffer from the occasional bouts of low self-esteem. Been feeling relatively lousy about my appearance, health, job, direction in life and I guess, a general sense of worth. It’s tricky to live a positive life with a negative mind and I’m at that phase where it’s easier for me to dwell on the depressing bits than to remain optimistic.

. green yoga: yoga in the park .

Waking up early on a Saturday morning for an outdoor yoga session in the park isn’t exactly on the top of my list (weekend = sleep in) but it sure sounds like a refreshing way to kick-start the weekend! These days, there’s an increasing number of people who wants to add a new dimension to their yoga practice by immersing in nature and doing it the al-fresco way. After all, why settle for the confines of the 4 walls when you can have the real great outdoors?

While I embraced the new experience of pairing yoga with nature, I think I would stick to indoor studios for my regular yoga practice as it is less of a distraction for me ( all the stares from the public and countless of mosquitoes).

*Join Green Yoga for a free 90-mins session of outdoor yoga at MacRitchie Reservoir every last Sat of the month. The next class will be held on 29th Dec so mark this date down on your calendar! =)

source

source

. kenko fish spa .

There is no better way to end a challenging hot flow class, than with a visit to Kenko for a mini pampering session! It has been more than 3 years since my first & last fish spa at Tempat Senang (Batam) and I have been looking forward to getting my feet nibbled by these little but feisty fishes since then. After all, no other pedicure or scrub can do such a fantastic job of getting rid of my dead skin cells! 

Saw a great deal on DEAL that offers a 30-mins fish spa session at Kenko for only $10 and purchased it without any hesitation. Enjoyed dipping my feet into the pond with the bigger fishes as the sensation was stronger albeit more ticklish. The place is very well-maintained and beautifully decorated (like you would expect of a spa) thus making my fish spa experience even more enjoyable. However, the normal price for each session is a tad too expensive ($30/30 -mins) so I’ll probably drop by the popular Qian Hu Fish Farm for a cheap fish spa treatment instead!

. review: green yoga .

I have received a couple of email requests from readers to blog about my yoga experience with Green Yoga so after much procrastination, here’s the promised blog review!  

source

+ points: Due to the small class size, you can rest assured that the instructors are very attentive and will modify the poses based on your level (beginner/advanced). My fav instructor, Suraya, might look petite but she’s one tough cookie! My power yoga classes with her are nothing short of challenging but I love that she really makes us work out (hello abs!). I always love a hardcore class! :p  In fact, it was her who encouraged me to perform my first assisted-headstand!

Class-wise, they do have a moderate range of classes for students to choose from – Basic yoga for the beginners to Power yoga for those who love to push themselves even more. To be fair, I only attended 4 classes as I was on a Groupon package but I really enjoyed the power and detox flow classes with Suraya. Best of all, it only takes me 10 mins to get to the studio from home and this makes it very tempting for me to sign up as a member with them after my membership with Real Yoga expires.

- points: The cost of the membership! I understand that the premium price is due to the personalized training that they provide but I can’t afford paying $85/mth more than what I’m paying at the moment for yoga. Would also prefer them to turn up the temperature for their hot classes as the current temperature is relatively milder than most of the other studios that I have visited.

Class Size: Green Yoga is perfect for those who are looking for a relatively personalized session as each class is kept to a max of 10 students. If you’re lucky, you might even have the instructor all to yourself during an off-peak class!

$$$: Unlike some commercial yoga studios, the class prices are fixed for Green Yoga. $2520/mth for 1 year membership. Interested? Why not swing by their studio for 1 week of unlimited classes at only $30? Alternatively, you may also sign up for their free 2-hrs outdoor yoga session which is held at MacRitchie reservoir every last Sat morning of the month!

Click here for more details about Green Yoga!

. gardens by the bay at twilight .

The newly-opened Gardens by the Bay is definitely the most talked about attraction as of late although the large crowd is 1 of the reasons why I have yet to visit the garden and its conservatories. Decided to take an impromptu albeit lovely midnight stroll with the boy last Sat to experience the magic of Gardens by the Bay at twilight. 

The garden is absolutely enchanting and stunning as the beautifully illuminated  Supertrees lighted up the night sky! Indeed, it is a breathtaking view not to be missed. In fact, I can’t wait to make a return trip sometime soon to walk the OCBC Skyway and soak in the panoramic views of the garden and city!
* All pics taken using mobile camera

source