September is a month of celebration.. because it's my birthday! This means I'll be getting many many treats from my loved ones...

Knowing I love to go out, my dear planned an outing for me. 

We started the day with dear cooking brunch for me. Scrumptious looking right? Dear called me a hungry monster in the morning, because my appetite is amazingly good, and he finds it shocking for my size. Of course, I could finish everything on the plate *smiles smugly*

After which, we went to get my present... *drum roll please* and it's a..... KitchenAid mixer. It has always been my dream to own one, but it's very expensive, and I couldn't bear to splurge on it. It's my dream come true.. and I was really overjoyed when dear told me he's going to get it for me :)

Whipping up egg whites till stiff peaks will be a breeze now...  and I also won't have to knead by hand a bread dough for 20mins... I'm really so blessed!

We then headed over to Chris's Tea House. The decor of the place reminds me of a scene in the movie - where a Victorian lady in her feathery hat, and lace dress would go to for her afternoon tea... slowly sipping her cup of tea in porcelain.

The place has a quaint and English feel to it, and even on a weekday, it is fully packed at tea time. Reservation is greatly recommended, if you want to be sure of a seat.

The teapots used are very exquisite, and each table is given a different set.

The scone with clotted cream is delicious, but I especially love the 3 berry cake. Each bite offers a burst of real fruit puree, layered with soft sponge and sweet cream. Excellent!

After filling our stomach, we headed over to Lorong Halus wetland. It's a fairly new park, and the eco-system is built in a way to remove sediments, and filter the reservoir water which is located beside it.

We ended our day with dinner at Old School Delights. They sell a mix of Asian and Western food. Price is reasonable, and there's also a game box filled with our childhood games. While waiting, I played a game of rubber 'fighting' with dear.

For my actual day, I spent it baking with the students. Made a cake for self, and shared it with the students. *Woo hoo... using my new mixer*

The students were very sweet and prepared presents for me! My ex-colleagues also gave me a surprise.

I love celebrations - people coming together, sharing of food, maybe some presents too... but mostly, to be able to enjoy the company of my loved ones, and to be re-affirmed of how special I am :)

Yippie! I went for an outing today. I think I'm a child sometimes... getting so excited over going out. Especially now that I stay home on most days, I look forward to going out. Haha... and my dear knows that!

We arranged to meet Jieling for brunch, and to take photos at the museum. She brought over some plants for us.

Brunch was at Olio Dome, situated at the Singapore Art Musuem. I like the breakfast menu a lot, as I think it's value for money. The quantity was filling - they served 2 slices of multi-grain bread (toasted), had a large piece of roasted tomato, 3 chipolata sausages (can you believe how generous they are?), and the scrambled egg tasted delicious (with a hint of milk/butter, neither too wet nor dry). The best thing was this only costed $8.90

We had wanted to visit the SAM 8Q musuem, but didn't realize the exhibits had ended. In the end, dear suggested going to Portsdown Road for some photo-taking. The place has a lot of colonial-looking bungalows. The people are real rich, and some of them have their own swimming pools. 

We ended our outing by visiting Kki, a cafe located at Ann Siang Hill. It's a cosy little place run by a husband and wife team. I heard that the baker, whom is also the owner self-taught himself to bake.

warm welcome

 

cake display area

there's a retro store, the little drom room co-sharing the space

Jieling and I had been wanting to try his cakes, but it was closed the last time we visited. We had better luck this time, and this was what we ordered.
 

champagne mousse with wild strawberry centre

dark chocolate mousse with raspberry centre - yummy!

some hazelnut cake - this has more crunch

I especially like the dark chocolate mousse with raspberry centre. It's not too sweet. The mousse is very light, and the raspberry centre, with a bit of tartness greatly compliments the chocolate. I have a chance to meet the baker too. I was looking at a photo of him on the wall, and suddenly when I turned my eyes into the kitchen, he was there. He's quite friendly, and gave a smile when he saw me!

I enjoyed myself a lot today! The next outing would be my birthday celebration! Counting down now...

Over the weekend, I visited the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sand (MBS). I was really excited as we were able to visit one of the exhibits, free of charge, as part of National Day Celebration.

I brought along my Canon Ixus, while my dear used his Olympus PL-2. It's a good opportunity for me to hone up my photography skills, and to have some fun. 

Here's memories of our visit:

angle of MBS from the YOG park

all the iconic landmarks, captured through the photo

another attempt - zooming in on building and the helix bridge

posing with a super gigantic 'branded' shoe

back view of dear

Van Gough and his painting

was wondering very hard how to angle this...

fountain of wealth inside the museum?

artistic shot with Van Gough

dear trying to "sit" on the chair..

reminds me of a fashion shoot - love this pic!

i like this quote

I also learnt some interesting things about Van Gough. Here's 3 interesting facts .

1) He has painted more than 900 paintings over 10 years. However, he only 

    managed to sold one.

2) He has depression. This led him to commit suicide, and he died at the age of 

    37.

3) He is very close to his brother, and his brother passed away 6 months after  

    him. His paintings were inherited by the brother's wife, who went on to 

    introduce his paintings to the rest of the world, bringing him to fame.

Reading this post, you would thought that I actually went for the Van Gough exhibition. Haha... no! But they have lots of wall decorations leading to his exhibit. It's definitely an eye-opening experience to visit the ArtScience musuem. Would love to go back there again :)