Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Escape from the Werewolf Village- Real Escape Game (REG)

You might have heard of the game concept of players being locked in a room and they have to explore the surroundings and solve a few puzzles in order to escape. Such games requires players to be really observant and be good in analytical thinking skills in order to solve the puzzles and challenges in a limited period of time.

There are certainly more and more such game concepts coming up in Singapore like Lockdown.sg, Xscape Singapore and Real Escape Game .

The session that I went to was the Escape from the Werewolf Village hosted by Real Escape Game .

It was a SAFRA halloween event.

A cute Halloween ghost was present at the SAFRA halloween event. =D

Back to the game...

Here's the trailer:

There was a SPH Razor TV feature on the game as well:

When you think about werewolves, it usually comes with the thought of Vampires and pack of werewolves, thanks to Twilight. haha~ but there is NO vampires in this game.

However, according to the rules, I'm not supposed to leak too much of the game information for the future participants to enjoy.

I will share a little about the game though.

We were grouped into teams of about 6. In my case, 3 pairs of strangers were grouped together.

When the game starts, it will be a mad rush of splitting the roles amongst us and exploring the room for clues and solving the puzzles. We were all first timers in this game but worked pretty well to get the puzzles solved. If we were stuck with certain puzzles, we rotate the puzzles for someone else to do (new brains, new thought direction).

Honestly, the puzzles were tough, the time was short and it seems like everything was working against us. You can literally feel your adrenaline pumping throughout the game.

But in the end, we cracked each and every clue and with minor hints from the really nice and helpful facilitators. =D There were about 8-9 groups in my session and only 1 team got to escape from the werewolf village. According to the reviews, only about 8% were able to solve the clues. How cool was that?

And here I end of with a victory photo of me and my teammates.

Looking forward to "Escape from the Bank" REG

Trailer for Escape from the Bank:

My Birthday Celebration 2013

I recently celebrated my birthday this year.

I was contemplating on whether to take leave that day since it was my day afterall.
But with much persuasion from my hubby, I didn't as he was on course and there wasn't much to do by staying at home either.

First thing I received was a call to me to confirm my availability for a courier. I knew something wasn't right then when he asked me to go to work! haha~

It was a lovely set of 12-coloured roses in a banquet. Aww~~ this is the 2nd/3rd banquet I got from him since we were together for ~9 years.haha

And usually, it is not me to announce my birthday to the world except for my closer friends/colleagues, my colleagues got to know about it and celebrated it for me in the afternoon.

Such lovely colleagues right??!?!

For dinner plans, me and my hubby went to Madrina Pizzaria under a colleague recommendation for great pizzas.

Address:
Madrina Pizzaria
3 Queen's Road
#02-141

It is situated under a block of HDB flats in Bukit Timah and has a rundown outlook.

But don't be deceived by the looks of it, once you walk in, the place looks totally different. The restaurant has the look of an underground cellar. FULL of different brands of beer and alcoholic beverage.

The owner of the restaurant was really friendly and recommended us a Anker Boscoli for a sweet beer.
It is a fruit beer by Brewery Het Anker. It is a white beer with added natural fruit juices with 3.5% alcoholic content . It was very light and tasted great.

The owner told us the story of how he had such a vast range of beer. They started serving pizza and pastas a few years ago. He loved to drink so after the operating hours, he would stay in his shop with a bunch of friends to drink and only leave the store at about ~4am. And because of his love for beer, he decided to bring in more and more varieties to put in his store for his after hours drink. That was how the vast range came about. They are also now a supplier to different events that require a range of beer.

Back to the food...

We ordered a half and half pizza (meaning 2 different pizzas on the menu but just half of each on 1 pizza) and a pasta. So glad they have such an option for us to have 2 different pizzas in 1 (of course you top up ~$4 for this). The food is freshly made and over baked in an oven you can observe from the dining area.

THE FOOD WAS HEAVENLY! I'm honest! The best pizza I have eaten here in Singapore.

The pasta was an anchovies pasta. They were generous with the herbs, in which some of them I can identify is caper and rosemary. The rosemary stalks were FRESH not the dry bottled ones that we usually see in the supermarkets.

The pizza was thin crust with a-half beef salami and a-half pesto chicken. When you bite into the pizza, the taste of herbs,the warmness of the pizza lingers in your mouth and you crave for another bite.

I had a great birthday celebration this year.

In fact, I had a few other celebrations that my friends treat me to but I didn't take a photo of them due to my ever-so-hungry (greedy) nature. I tend to eat the food once it is served =( so no picture evidence =(

What to do with soon-expired rolled oats? Homemade Granola Bars!

I recently had some rolled oats that were going to expire and had to use it real fast.

I decided that I could make some homemade muesli bars that could be taken for breakfast.

So I searched the internet for great and easy muesli recipes and found this. A really simple recipe.

You can view the youtube video here.

But I had some ingredients (butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips) that I didn't have and I modified my recipe.

2 1/2 cups (230 grams) old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (80 grams) whole almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (113 grams) honey

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup (50 grams) packed white sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup (60 grams) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

I followed the methods given and tightly pack the mixture together.
it looks perfect~ A mega huge muesli bar waiting to be chopped.

After 2 hours of refrigeration, the mega bar was chopped and it looked pretty decent and looked store bought.

But tasting it was the best experience ever............

Because I substituted the butter for canola oil, the canola oil taste was soooo over powering! It was YUCKY! The taste comes to my mind as I am writing this =X

But the areas that I did not mix well- meaning the parts with little oil was yummy!!!
I really should have used butter instead of the convenient oil substitute =x (use a 1/4 cup butter if you are going to use the above recipe)

So the bottomline is, don't be a lazy bum and not use butter if you don't have it at home. Don't even make it if you don't have butter. Go out and buy one before you make your own homemade muesli's. Nonetheless it was a good experience. We were born to make mistakes so that we learn from it. =D

I will try it again soon and post my updates.

Thank for reading!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Review: 3M NexCare Acne Patch

Although this product has been in the market for quite a while, it's not until recently that I decided to try it out.

I'm usually the kind that has dry skin but on the rare occasion get a zit or 2. But as I grow older, I seem to be getting more and more mini zits on my face *x.x* boohoo~

I went ahead to get the 3M NexCare Acne Patch from Watson's at a one-for-one Promo a while ago.

It claims to act like a sponge to absorb oily secretion, fluid or pus. And act as a barrier so that your dirty, itchy fingers wouldn't contaminate the acne further

I had a portion of 3 pimples that I had been trying days to squeezeeeeeeeeeeee out.But of course nothing really works. It is worst that it is at the temple region, where you use your hands to touch your hair and your hair falls onto your face etc~

So I have been trying it out for 3 days and I noticed a hell lot of difference in healing of wound and bumpiness of the acne region.

*The pictures you are going to see might make you nausea/ vomit. You have been warned*

On Day 1 of trying the Acne patch, you can see that the pus from my 3 set pimples were sucked out onto the patch. The patch was pretty bumpy on the underside and I have to admit I was so wowed by this product, I stared at the patch for a good few minutes =P

And on Day 2 and Day 3, a significant reduction in pus could be seen. And the number of acne patches I needed to use also reduced by the day due to the improvement of my skin condition as well.

I'm definitely a 3M acne patch follower! Hope you will be too!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

LINE Cony and Brown

Recently, I'm pretty infatuated with things related to LINE.

LINE is a communication app that allows you to make free calls and messages using your mobile data.

But what I really enjoy about using LINE, is the fun stickers and emoticons that can express your emotions better than just words.

The characters that I really like are Cony, a cute little rabbit that has tonnes of expression and Brown, an expressionless bear.

Courtesy of LINE

I'm so in love with this character that I have bought the stickers "Brown & Cony's Lovey Dovey Date" on LINE which I posted a screenshot on Instagram:

They're so cute! So when you are baking next time, you can just send this sticker and say "Hey! i'm making brownies for you!" =D

More and more merchandises have been seen in the stores in the recent months. I happen to chance upon these and they are absolutely adorable! The store is called "Gifts Greetings" unit #04-07 at NEX shopping centre, Serangoon, Singapore.

And this which I saw at Bugis street.

And soft toys as well.

It must have been a worldwide phenomenon cause even the Taiwan magazine had Cony and Brown as models of their magazine! =P

Fan comics were done as well! This comic is done by @ealle. Absolutely entertaining and creative! Do follow @ealle on instagram, you will love it!

The last resort of my craze, I bought a new Samsung Galaxy S4 handphone just because of this really cute and spongy HP cover from the NEX store I said earlier which only had it in the S4 models.

Who can resist a cute bunny like Cony??? =P~~~

Update: I got this when I went to the bird park recently. A really cute Cony and Brown plush couple.

If you are convinced, you can download the app and convert to LINE at the Android Store.

Thanks for reading about my craze =D

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Flea Party Tips

Me and 3 other friends recently did a flea at Luck Plaza Level 6, Opposite Jollibee organised by For Flea Sake.

We sold pre-loved clothes and accessories.

Whilst I was setting up my booth, there was a huge crowd that swarmed in. In the first 20mins, I have already covered my rent!!

I had to leave after 3 hours but I got quite a huge return from my "overdue investments", so did my friends who stayed the full 6-7 hours.

Some tips when you set up a booth:
1) Share the booth with friends- it is cheaper to share and they make life more interesting =D
2) Arrive earlier than the stipulated time - more time more $$
3) Get a good booth location- more space, more visibility, more sales
3) Mess up your store. The messier it is, the more people will be drawn in
4) Consider getting a rack for pieces that are good to draw the crowd.
5) Bring some flu medicine if you are pretty sensitive to dust as it can be quite bad considering you have to stay for 6-7 hours in the same area.

The Flea Party was also recently featured in Qiu Qiu's Budget Barbie:

Flea Party - EP61: Budget Barbie

We will be setting up another November 2013. So look out for us!

Groupon Dim Sum Class

I recently signed up for a Dim Sum Hands-On Baking Class at Oriton School with Groupon.

In this class, they thought us how to make Portuguese Egg Tarts, Liu Sa Bao and Polo Bun.

Portuguese Egg Tarts

The skin was made with dough and saturated margarine, rolled out and layered to create the crusty and flaky texture.

Liu Sa Bao

My Liu Sa Bao was quite a failure =(
When I rolled out the dough, I should have considered that the "closing up of the bun" required layers and layers of dough stuck together. It resulted in the filling seeping through the bun.

Polo Bun

As for the Polo Bun, I think I rolled the dough too many times. It was so hard!

Overall, I had great fun!

You can say that I was busy doing the dim sum that I forgot to take step by step photos!

Maybe that was just an excuse ~ haha~ it's just that my hand had too much flour and it was oily!

I found another blogger that went for the same course as me but with a different instructor.

Thanks for reading~

Skull and Haha Press Conference in Singapore

I'm a BIG FAN of Running Man.

And when I got the news that Haha will be coming to Singapore, I was delighted!

This stage was up a few days before the press conference and I vowed I had to be there for it.

Some of Skull and Haha's lively tunes include Busan Vacance:

and their latest single, Ragga Muffin

On the day of the press conference, I went there about an hour early to find a good spot.

They made their grand entrance down the Square 2 Shopping Mall escalator at 7pm SHARP!

Spot Haha and Skull

I took many fan photos that were pretty unclear..

fan signing

My pictures aren't fantastic.

But for great photos and what went on during the press conference, you can go to this link.

Saranghe~

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

How to prepare a baby shower

My sister just gave birth to a baby boy end May 2013.

In Singapore, we usually celebrate the baby shower when the baby is 1 month old. And during this 1 month, for the mothers they are called a confinement period, in which the mother will stay indoors to recover from the delivery and there will be lots of confinement food from the timeless braised pig's trotters with black vinegar tto the homemade chicken essence with wine. It is usually low in saly and fat and packed with goodness and great nutritional value.

Back to the topic! I was tasked to help out with the baby shower with a $50 budget =S, specifically the gifts to the guests and the decorations. In fact, it is my first time decorating for a function!

It wasn't easy working with such a small budget. I started with the gifts as there were no big inputs I needed from my sister regarding the sweets. I went to Phoon Huat to get a pack of 100 cookie bags and the twister to tie the bags.

Next was the titbits. I went to the value dollar store that sells sweets and chocolates at considerably value-for-money prices.

value dollar store

It took a while, trying to work within my budget before I narrowed down to these:

Next for the packaging~ I needed some inputs from my sis whether she would prefer the packaging to be neater or prettier. Personally, I preferred the neater option (as it was easier to pack, of course!). Lucky thing ,she too, preferred the neater option. It just requires some folds, 2 punches from a puncher, twist with decoration wires and tadah~ job done.

prettier

neater

The titbits were individually packed ....

..and sealed with love!

Now for the decorations~ in fact it took a while to understand what my sister really wanted. The colours I can/ cannot use, the fonts that she would prefer, motifs that she would like to include.

These are some that she has commented on:

I like the owl and the colour scheme.

I like the elephant and the colour scheme

I like the bear and colour scheme.

OK I LOVE THIS FONT AND COLOUR SCHEME! And that whale.. super nice!
Can you do "Yuan Kai's Baby Shower" in this scheme? Difficult?

This is a lil similar to number 4. Can follow this colour scheme if 3 is too difficult.

The way they string this is very beautiful. But i am not a fan of the zig zag pattern colour scheme here.

I don't like this colour scheme so don't use yellow. I also don't like the duck coz no eyes and not cute.

Cute elephant! Nice colour too:D

i don't like this.. very cheapo looking

WOW! I usually don't like green but this colour scheme and layout is simple and nice! The blue thread is beautiful too! Plus the turtle is cute! AND best of all.. the font is so beautiful! Nice combi D:D

After I looked at these photos, my jaw literally dropped. I only had 2 days left to do the deco, plus I was a normal working adult that hold a 9-6 job, plus I had after office activities that I couldn't miss and I HAD to go i.e. hubby's grandfather's bday. You get my dilemma =( =(

And most importantly, I didn't have the tools to do it! The only few miserable craft tools are a paper cutter, an edge-rounder and a scissors! I didn't have time to buy craft paper to do this project as well. But since I promised, I can't back out can I?!?!

Disclaimer: so if you see my end product, do not be too disappointed as they are NOT as pretty as those above! hahaha~

I managed to get some scrap (literally) craft paper from my colleague. And from the font that she has specified in the ideas list above, I choose something that was really close to it and printed on an A4 sheet.

Then, I snipped it out of the sheet and taped it onto plain craft paper. On colours that probably could match the colours that she has not condemned =P

And on some alphabets, I cleverly used the existing patterns to create something more unique.

Once, the alphabets are cut, I tried to match it with the patterned papers I had. Ultimately, I want to achieve a baby block look for each of the alphabets.

Done with the matching~ now with the "S" .

i'm the chosen one! =D

Next, I matched the background. I made it in a way that the background lines were downwards and

Round the edges~ and ~ this is the final result! told ya ~ it doesn't look as fantastic as those seen earlier. hope you didn't have too high an expectation haha~

Next~ what are baby showers without balloons? Due to budget constraints, I bought a pack of 100 balloons and 2 masking tapes for the sticking. The balloons were separated by the colours for easy mixing and matching. Make sure you buy extras in case the balloons burst or has holes during the pumping process!