Halloween 2015 - The Party

Phew! What a night we had!! This year's Halloween was extra special for 2 reasons. First, we were the hosts and I had to make sure all the decorations were up and the little bits and pieces were ready before the big night. Thanks to Nicola and Matthew the place looked very good. I was glad the kids managed to make some decorations earlier in the week so I could use them to add extra touches to the finish too. Second reason was very obvious, the RWC final game was on. NZ vs Australia!!! Even tho it started just before midnight we must all watch it together LIVE!!

I decided to decorate the place in two separate areas. The dining area was looking more Halloween like and the living area to be more All Blacks. It worked out very well. Somehow I was busy running around and forgot to take pictures of the rooms... Oh well it looked good anyway.

Last year we were very happy with our family themed Halloween costume so I made sure I was well prepared this year. I knew Merryn wouldn't be here to help me sew!
Oliver and Luca:

The Star Wars Family - I was very happy to be able to recycle Oliver's old Yoda costume I made when he was 2, with Ashley. And she didn't mind wearing it!

Our spooky dark entrance:

The spooky food:

Unfortunately some of our friends couldn't make it but we had more than enough scary/crazy friends to make the party absolutely perfect!

The Albrecht family:

The Smiths:

The Low family:

Nicola and James:

The kids:

Ashley with Tetsuo:

I loved everyone's efforts for costumes and make up. Very well plane for the later rugby viewing!

Another great night with you guys! Thank you all for coming. I wonder who will be hosting the next Halloween!?

Halloween 2015 - Trick or Treat

The kids had a great time Trick or Treating again this year. Like last year I made a list of places we can visit. This year I had 14 kids with me. We moved tower to tower, up and down lifts and got lots of sweets! The kid's buckets/bags were all full - they couldn't fit any more!!

Our youngest treat or treat participant this year - Alex with his mummy Gabi. 

This year Luca and Ashley chose to be little spiders. Oliver was determined to be a knight. I found this cool costume on Amazon Japan for him. Our kids already have enough dress up clothes but I thought it was a good costume to get as we can use it when we watch Super 15 Crusaders games too! He was also very happy with his brand new trick or treat bag that arrived timely from NZ. Hand sewed by his wonderful grandma Merryn :)  And he really needed a big bag like this to fit all the goodies he got. Luca decided to take his little pumpkin bucket but it got full halfway through and maybe too heavy as the handle came off!! 

We are not accustomed to Halloween in the same way as American kids but we are definitely getting the hang of it. As long as the kids are happy and smiling I am happy :) :) :)

Last day at Mana Mana Beach Club

Luca had a great outdoor playdate with Rafi and Ansel. Since the haze has disappeared all the parents are keen to take their kids out into the fresh air. We decided to have lunch at Mana Mana then a scooter ride around the ECP. It was such a perfect day for it.

The boys had a ball picking up rocks and sticks and being loud. The only problem we had was we found was that the beach club is ending their operation at the end of the week (!) and had not much food and drink available. I managed to have my frozen mango margarita though! 

I really hope someone will buy the place and start up operations very soon. The location and the facility is perfect they just need much better food! We will miss our Mana Mana lazy weekend...

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!

Snake puzzle

The best toy ever! And she is so good at it!!!

Birthday dinner in Arab Street

Gabi and my birthdays were both in late October so we decided to do a couples' night to celebrate both birthdays. Nicola and James joined us too. When we were deciding where to dine, we came up with a wonderful idea - going out for a casual dinner on Arab Street. 

This was the very first time I visited the area. I had no idea this fascinating place existed. The area is called Kampong Glam. As you know Kampong means village and Glam apparently is a particular kind of tree that at one time grew abundantly in this area. 

I read more about this area and found out that in the early days, it was set aside primarily for Sultan Hussein and his family and for Malay and Arab people who were mainly merchants and traders. 

The area was filled with fabric shops and some funky looking cafes and restaurants. There are some basketry(!) and handicraft shops. I already had my eyes on some of the beautiful looking lamps when we walked passed the other day. Hmmm... I think a shopping/lunch trip with my Japanese friends will be happening very soon. 

Nicola and I standing in front of The Majid Sultan Mosque. This mosque has more of the Arabic Muslim influences compared to the ones in Chinatown, whose styles originated from India.  

I couldn't believe the number of restaurants there were. Luckily Gabi got some recommendations from her friend and booked us a table at Alaturka Restaurant. We found the place slightly warm i.e. the air-conditioning was only on mild but other than that, the food was amazing and the service was very good. Definitely going back! 

Unfortunately James had an early start the next day so Nicola and James went home after dinner. The rest of us went to this popular cafe/bar called "BluJaz Cafe" I've heard good things about this place and was hoping to hear some live music but... the live music comes on from Wednesdays onwards (we were there on Tuesday night). Oh well at least we did enjoy our drinks and each others company :) There were lots of people who were having shisha too. 

We didn't end up staying long but it was a fun night, thank you Gabi for organising it! 

We shall explore more dining destinations, Matthew and I both love Arabic food :)