Might have over done it

I normally order things online before Matthew does his Osaka flights. Sometimes I click on too many items... This is the entrance way at our Japanese house. Mum and Dad are currently living there and truly wondering what on earth I am purchasing!

On the bus

Maybe this was the first time I took a bus into town all by myself. I have done that with the kids and some friends but I am usually lazy or rushing.  Somehow I felt like taking a bus this morning. It was a beautiful day.

Marina Bay Sands and the CBD:

Singapore National Museum:

It took almost an hour but it didn't feel like that long. Once I got to Orchard, I went to some of my favourite shops and had a nice Japanese lunch alone. Even though it was only 2 hours of "me time" I felt quite refreshed.  

Christmas shopping and lunch date

It was a very rainy day and it even felt cold and Christmasy. So Matthew and I decided to leave the kids with our helper Gini for the day and go into the city for some Christmas shopping just the two of us.

We started off checking out the Christmas bazaar at the Pan Pacific Hotel on Orchard. There are about 30 little stalls selling all sorts of Christmas gifts. Unfortunately I didn't see anything I wanted, can you believe that? Me at a Christmas fair??

Then we walked along Orchard Road. The famous street lights have been up for quite some time Every year they been put up earlier and earlier, and I hate it! Christmas atmosphere should be for December.  I think they were up as soon as Halloween finished this year. 

Tangs Christmas shop:

Inside Paragon:

Well the main reason we went out was for me to find a new watch and some gifts for the family. We completely failed in our mission. We didn't end up buying anything on our list except for Matthew's new sunnies. I gave up halfway through. So we decided to have something to eat. We were at the right place when we decided to call it for the day.  Our friend Meisha recommended this place called Luke's but I never knew where it was exactly. It was in Robinsons department store in The Heeren which is the one I visit the most (but I didn't know?) It was very well tucked away in a corner of women's clothes section. If you didn't know about it you wouldn't think there is a restaurant behind the black doors.  

It was slightly pricy for a casual lunch but the service was excellent and the food was amazing!

We had three different types of oysters to taste:

Then for the main, two different burgers to share. Shredded pork and their signature dish - chunky beef burger - OH MY it was the best beef burger I have had in my life!

Since we kind of gave up on our shopping by this stage, we didn't have to rush. We ended up just enjoying our "just us" time - a perfect lunch date - thank you Matthew xx

New look for Bayshore minimart

The minimart in Bayshore Park has been taken over by a new owner - one of the big chains in Singapore. We now have a fantastic range of products. And their opening hours are 8am to 10pm. Yeah!

Extra fun at IKEA

Now that Ashley is tall enough I am happy to take Ashley to IKEA and leave her in the playground. This time her best friend Sakura came along so she was so excited! It is such a great system, leaving the kids happy running around while parents shop and spend more $$$.

Silver fern dress

While I was shopping for my special birthday dinner (my 40th!) I found this cool fern dress. The prints were slightly bigger than I prefer but still my type of dress. So I tried it on. Unfortunately they only had one size bigger than my size and it didn't fit well :(

Then the shop lady showed me this short dressy top. It was very cool and fitted well but my mission of the day was to find a dress so I walked away. I still think I should go back and get it...

Kids shopping excursion

The kids got some Hari Raya money from our friends the other day and we promised them we will take them to a department store so they can pick what they want. Of course Oliver wanted to just save the money and not buy anything. Ashley and Luca? wanted everything and anything!

However, they learnt most of the things in the shops need so many more dollars for them to buy. They looked and looked everywhere to find something they wanted within their budget. They were definitely NOT leaving until they bought something.

Finally queueing up to pay:

Ashley was extra nervous - making her own purchase.

In the end Luca got three bath fish toys and Ashley pink princess hair clips :) Very good exercise for them.  

Converse Love

While we were in KL we managed to visit one of the Japanese owned outlet malls. They had very well priced Converse shoes and I just couldn't resist them. The boys got a cool pair each :)

Christmas shopping with Merryn

While Dennis kindly looked after the boys at the park playing cricket, Merryn, Ashley and I went for some Christmas shopping.

I really enjoy visiting NZ building up to Christmas. So many lovely shops and lots of Christmas goodies for me to take back home.  

Ashley was very content with a pink iPad and headphones watching Peppa Pig :)  

Le Creuset sale

I love buying plates, cups and kitchen items. Just adding a couple of new things makes me smile when I go and spend time in there. Now we have an airy-bright-spacious kitchen I can add more things right??

So off I went with my friends to this famous Le Creuset family sale. They had items up to 70% off. We were expecting to see lots of people but wow! there was a huge queue by the time we got there.

Why is this cookware so famous? The most popular item in their product line is their cast iron. The product information states that the thickness of the whole pot and weight of the lid has been designed to spread heat evenly throughout the pot, which keeps the steam and condensation trapped inside, pulling out the flavour and nutrients of the original ingredients.

I went there having in mind to bring one of the cast iron items home but when I got there I was kind of overwhelmed by the people around me buying so many things. To be honest I felt they were still overpriced. It must be because the products were priced for Singapore market which must be much higher than other places, like Japan? 

4 of us still did well I think...  

Here are the things I bought. A new cereal bowl each for the kids and a new tea pot and a stockpot in gorgeous matching colours!

Breakfast with my little princess

After the school drop off Ashley and I went to Bedok Station for some grocery shopping. When we got there I realised I hadn't fed Ashley as she slept in slightly this morning. So I took her for a special treat :) We shared a pancake meal at McDonalds.

 

Of course I couldn't leave with only pancakes. Ashley instead on the SG50 special Hello Kitty soft toy to be added to her collection.  

It is always nice and easy to shop in the early morning without two extra kids. We were home within an hour!

Lunch out in Orchard

Kei, Hiroko and I went to Orchard to do some shopping today. We all love kitchen/household nicknacks. We went to the Crate and Barrel flagship store. There are 3 stories to look around and yes! we came out with some goodies in our hands.

After the shopping we met up with Azumi who also lives in our condo, for a lovely German lunch. For these two, the beer is always more important than the food. 

We went wild and got this huge dessert platter - YUM!

More time in the pool

The weather has improved a lot since last week and we are having more no rain/hot days. Tomo and I thought it would be a perfect day to take the kids down for a swim and lunch by the pool (We had a sneaky plan to go last minute shopping for Tomo in the afternoon and had to make sure they were all exhausted!).

When we got there we found the perfect person by the pool - Stefan! He is so good with the kids. Such a great help especially when I don't want to be in the water!

It got so hot that we had a squall. Luckily we were under cover feeding the kids! I guess it doesn't really matter for them as they are all dressed accordingly and wet anyway...   

Matthew came home from a flight in the early afternoon. He took our boys for the last holiday treat - to watch BIG HERO 6 at the movie theater. 

While our boys were entertained I took Ashley, Tomo and her boys to some more shopping (No, I don't mind at all!) She managed to pick up more stuff and we both found good shoes for our boys. They are actually exactly the same. We got two pairs of the blue and two pairs of the yellow. With no doubt all the boys were crazy about them. Especially when they found they are matching!

Vacuum cleaner

Someone was very keen to get a new vacuum cleaner. Wouldn't let it go!

Yes and it had to be the most expensive one in the shop - Dyson.