F1 Weekend, Vlogs

So the annual event is here again, which means only one thing.

Hotel stays and hotel breakfasts.

Just thought of doing a short update before I disappear again. The week right after I'll be busy preparing my students for their examinations. Which stretches and spans intensively for another 2 weeks or so. (I might just faint from lack of sleep by then lol). Thought of flying myself off to Bangkok for a few days right after 29th (or perhaps the weekend before 29th) because that's when Primary School examinations would have ceased. Checked my schedule again and realised I'm locked down for D.Foster's show from 30th to 4th Nov. When can my holiday come! Why oh why.

Celebrated Xw's birthday at Clarke Quay and catching up with the girlfriends.

<3 you. Thanks for being supportive of me all this while.

Caught NUS DE's Next Wave last weekend. I promise to leave time out for dance classes end of the year. I remember the time when I got better and have more or less recovered (even though I have yet to visit my doc for a 3months post surgery checkup :/ ), I made the decision not to return back cos I was drowning myself in work and it was somewhat making me happy. Made the choice to work 7 days a week and I've not regretted it one bit but I know deep down that I wished I was on that stage too. Just that it would require of me too much time and it doesn't bring me income ):

Celebrated Jing's birthday after the concert over Prosecco at Wine Connection. We then proceeded to Em by the River (cos they have all not been there - how can? Love that place since 4 years ago cos it's so chillax) to have beer and their fried chicken wings! I think we randomly had a craving for BKT at 2am so we went to have BKT at 2 friggin am. SO WORTH IT!

 

If you haven't already known, J woke up one day to realise Nugget was bleeding very badly. Nugz apparently got stuck in a nook behind the wheel and he probably snagged his skin on something or perhaps he tried to chew his way out of being stuck, his whole chest area had ONE BIG GAPING HOLE and it was exposing his lungs as the vet have possibly concluded. WTF!? J immediately brought Nugz to the vet at Bukit Timah and it was pretty funny because the vet had like big dogs and cats and then, a hamster lol.

It was pretty serious cos the vet said that Nugz had to do surgery and since he will be under local anesthesia, he might or might not wake up. !?! Thank god he's okay. Nugz lost a lot of weight (or blood) and has about 10 stitches right down his chest. My heart really pained when I saw him and let him crawl on my palms when he got a bit better to come out of the house. You could literally feel the stitching running down your palm. ): We've been trying to feed him medicine and clean his wound regularly but he somehow knows it's medicine now and cleaning of the wound is probably hurting him cos he keeps resisting it.

Get well soon Nugz!

If you look closely, you could see the black stitching down his chest. J has a photo of his lungs hanging out. It's so gross that he didn't send me the picture cos he didn't want me to be sad.

Got sad and binged on food. That is mixed rice with added rice. And I still ordered two half boiled eggs after that. Ate so much.

Last but not least, I uploaded 2 more Vlogs for your entertainment while I'm away!

Spruce

J and I went to Spruce the other day for a nice dinner. Spruce at the Old Upper Bukit Timah Fire Station recently opened its doors to public so we thought of checking it out. Love the tall red doors. It's so iconic!

J got me flowers Awww...

It was a nice surprise and I must say I didn't do a really great job in taking care of them thereafter but I kept some of the dried petals cos they were so pretty. I got him a little something too (:

Only decent shot I took with the bouquet of flowers lol

The ambience at Spruce had a different 'feel' from their outlet at Phoenix Park. It had a more chillax vibe to it with the lighting and island bar in the middle of the restaurant.

Roasted "Pullet" Chicken

served with Broccolini, Desiree mashed potato in Thyme Volute

$23

I ordered the chicken dish because the last time I was at Spruce, I had friends raving about it. The presentation was pretty decent but I took two bites into it and had it sent back cos there was blood in the center of the chicken. Sure enough, I had a major tummyache and diarrhoea the next day which wasn't good cos everyone was rushing out of the house for our Malacca trip and I was sweating and dying in the toilet -_- (I have an extremely weak stomach)

Think they did the chicken a little more well done and reheated the plate before sending it back. I'm not sure if other restaurants simply just use the same chicken and cook it slightly more before sending it back to the table but I wished they had re-done the dish from scratch. Not that I minded it that much cos obviously I didn't abuse the chicken before sending it back so it looked pretty decent when they re-plated it.

The chicken was decent but nothing to write home about. J didn't like the sauce at all and I guess I would have preferred a cream sauce with the dish. There was a whole portion of breast meat in the dish which I didn't like so J helped to finish it.

Baby Back Ribs

Marinated in homemade BBQ sauce served with Tomato and Corn bread

$33

We ordered the Baby Back Ribs as well which were pretty good. It was a half rack of ribs and a good portion for one serving. (It wasn't stated in the menu but we counted the bones and did our math lol) The BBQ sauce was very flavorful and the ribs were well-marinated. Wasn't as great as some of the other ribs we've had, (especially the one I had at Sydney's Hurricanes) but it was decent enough. The meat was tender and it didn't stick to the bones, which was really all that mattered.

Spruce Mac and Cheese

$10

I believe we ordered the Mac and Cheese portion for our sides cos whenever we eat together, we always order 3 mains -_- We swapped the 3rd main for 2 sides instead, a Mac and Cheese and a Green Salad ($6)

The Spruce Mac and Cheese has got to be the best dish that evening haha. It was extremely cheesy and the dish was piping hot when it got to our table. I had the Mac and Cheese the other time at Spruce Phoenix Park but they served it in a longer and shallower dish. I think this method of serving the dish was far better than the shallow dish because it managed to retain the heat very well throughout our meal, especially for dishes like sides.

The breadcrumbs were really crispy and the sauce really packed a punch. Macaroni was cooked perfectly and there is really little to fault about in this dish. Definitely one of the best Mac and Cheese I've had. Will revisit for more of this. (:

 

Here's one extremely blur photo of us in front of the bar area.

If you're looking for an out-of-the-city hangout spot, Spruce will be great for that. You could grab a drink, some light snacks and maybe a serving of their awesome Mac and Cheese!

SPRUCE (BUKIT TIMAH)

260 Upper Bukit Timah Road #01-01 Singapore 288190

Tel: (65) 6466 5582

Opening Hours: (Mon to Fri) 1130am - 1030pm (Sat to Sun) 830am - 1030pm | Bar opens till late

Beauty | August Favourites - MAC Paint Pot in Nubile, Benefit's Flatter Me

For this month, my MOST-WORN products on my eyes have to be these 2 products. I literally use them every single day without fail. My favourite makeup products have definitely got to be paint pots or cream eyeshadows just simply because they are extremely fuss-free and on days where you are running late, you can just swipe them on your lids with a finger and go.

On the left is MAC's Paint Pot in Nubile. This paint pot is a limited edition paint pot from the Posh Paradise Collection sometime late last year. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Look at how much use I've gotten out of it. It comes off slightly nude and has a slight sheen of sparkle to it just to add dimension to an otherwise 'boring' color. To some, it may seem like money wasted, but it's an absolute gem to any makeup lover. It's a staple and I will swear by it. Gonna be so sad when I eventually run out of it. Then maybe it's time for me to try out MAC's painterly or hope that MAC does a re-promote on it so I can stash away 5 of it lol.

On the right, you have Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in the shade Flatter Me. It is a warm pinkish hue with gold and silver sparkle in it. The color payoff is amazing and the formulation is great. It has a very creamy consistency and not drying at all. Definitely shows up opaque on eyelids. I also have two more of Benefit's Crease Cream Eyeshadows in the shade Birthday Suit (Taupe with shimmer) and Skinny Jeans (Dark Brown with shimmer). I used to wear Birthday Suit to death as well. As you can tell, I'm clearly in love with their cream eyeshadows.

I really like both their packaging as well. The Nubile paint pot has a net weight of 0.17 oz and Flatter Me has a net weight of 0.16oz. Both are stored in a glass container with a plastic cap. In terms of size, Benefit's crease cream eyeshadows are definitely flatter and more compact but it does not really make a difference if you eventually throw them into your makeup purse. Both of these have great staying power. I have extremely oily lids and the combination of Nubile paint pot underneath Flatter Me makes for a great combination. I'm usually out the whole day sometimes since 8am and will only come home about 11pm and I'm so amazed cos it just stays on like magic and does not crease on me at all.

Highly recommend these 2 if you love paint pots like me.

Have been DYING to try the Maybelline's 24hr Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze but I currently only have the shade in Pomegranate Punk which is a dark raspberry color cos my friend grabbed it off the shelf for me in the U.S without checking lol. Also, it has not hit our shores in Sunny Island Singapore yet so I guess I just have to wait before snagging my hands on one.