Shiberty

Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-29T02:15:00.019+08:00

I ♥ my family.

I may not spend a lot of time with them, but I cherish their presence whenever they're around and I'm silently supporting everything they do. They have a special spot in my heart. Deep down inside I wish we would all meet up and hang out more often. But I understand that everyone has their own lives to lead. Everyone's always so busy.

When I was growing up, mamma always drills this fact into my head: That if you don't have family, then you have naught.

Chinese New Year used to be all about Ang Pao money and snacks to me as a kid.

Getting teased by my relatives for being chubby. Have my grades compared to my cousins. Watch my elder brother get hounded by aunties and uncles about getting married. And eating so much till I go into a food coma. Somewhere along the way I realized Chinese New Year is so much more than that.

...Things were different this year. I realized that I am 20 now. I realize that my younger cousins, whom I swore were only 8 years old just yesterday, are now teenagers and have grown up so fast.

As for the older ones, they just keep getting older. It breaks my heart to see my old aunties and uncle getting older and more frail. Especially my grandmother, because she is the only grandparent I am actually relatively close to. It makes me think about how some day they are going to be gone, and that Chinese New Year would be so quiet and different without them. In fact, I don't see any point in celebrating it if they're not around. They are all I know of family.

Every other year, I get annoyed by the same thing. By how all my Asian relatives talk in the top of their voices in the crudest language / dialect I have ever heard (Hokkien) and it sounds like a crazy market. They make such a ruckus, it makes my head explode. Then again I guess that's how all old Asian people are. They have no normal speaking voice. It's either not saying anything at all, or shouting at the top of their voice just to get their point across. This year, however, I enjoyed soaking up all that noise. I know I'll miss it when I don't get to be annoyed by it anymore.

That I'd rather a ruckus and being surrounded by kinship while it lasts, than loneliness. Being a kid on Chinese New Year is the best freakin' thing ever. Just eat and eat and look cute and have relatives pinch your cheeks and stretch out your hand to receive your red packets filled. "Gong xi fa cai!" were the easiest words I'd ever uttered to receive free money.

Reunion dinner was at my uncle's place. Everyone was dressed down so I didn't think it was too polite to take pictures, thus this is all I have. It was so good though!!! Grandma's cooking is the best. She makes my favorite dishes that I've grown up eating. The taste of familiarity is so comforting.

The next day, on Chu Yi itself, the celebration was at our place like always.

By 2pm my house was filled with people going "Xin nian kuai le!" and handshakes everywhere!

My CNY outfit!!! I wanted to buy this dress the moment I saw it in the store, but didn't because of the price. I pondered over it for a few days but eventually forfeited the idea. Over lunch one day, I casually mentioned this dress I was eyeing to my mother. "I don't have anything to wear for Chinese New Year!!! D:"

I didn't expect that a few hours later, she'd go all the way down to the store in Orchard Road and buy it for me!!!! Thank you mummy ♥

Super yummeh steamboat that we have every year :D

Tang hoon, fresh veg, sotong balls, fish paste, sotong, pork liver, prawns, mushrooms & more!!!!

I don't even eat steamboat outside but I can't get enough of the ones we have at home because my mum makes the BEST soups and includes awesome ingredients that makes the soup tastier and tastier as minutes go by because it soaks up all the flavors from the raw ingredients.

My aunt and cousin, Ling Ling!

Wah she's fast becoming so tall and pretty. She's almost as tall as me (I'm about 1.7) and she is only like what, 12. I think she's going to be taller than me next year!!!

I was halfway talking when Sam took this shot so I have the weirdest wry smile on my face. :3

A much better shot! After reviewing this shot on my camera, I noticed how the way I was holding the oranges looked like I was going "Oh hey! Take a look at my melons." (or oranges in this case)

So I did a funny pose with my oranges over my boobs!!!! ...But my cousin didn't manage to take the right shot :(

I guess this means he wasn't looking at my chest. Which is a good thing considering he is my cousin lol.

Googly eyes! Me & my cousin Shu Yuan who looked extra pretty that day :)

I've spent the most time with her out of all my cousins. Back in the day, my kindergarten was near her old house, so after school she'd come and pick me up and walk me home. Then I'd bug her endless;y to bring me to the playground, to fly a kite with me, to teach me how to play the piano because she was always good at everything....

I wonder if she still sees me as that lil kid or does she see me as a young woman now? It must be so weird. I sooo cannot envision my little cousins becoming women. That's just... wrong. Lol. I know it's just part of nature but I feel like it's defying the laws of nature!!! I mean, how could my lil cuzzies not stay innocent, young and cute forever?! As you can tell recently I'm having serious trouble copying with the concept of growing up, growing old and change.

My handsome cousin and my cute grandmother who perpetually has her eyes closed in pictures hahaha

Proud moment for me and Sam when my cousin started talking about Shiberty's Sweets and showed my relatives some of my cake designs on my website!!!

Everyone was singing praises and going, "Wah so talented!!! Wah go set up a shop!! So capable" and I just stood there beside them watching their reaction and beaming away. I think this is the first time they'd ever seen my designs properly coz I started this less than a year ago.

Ruiwen (the dude in the cool metallic purple shirt above above) told me he'd only recently found out about my cake designing, and wanted to order one for his girlfriend's birthday. So out of curiosity, he asked 3 random friends (who were not my blog readers or anything) if they've heard about Shiberty's Sweets. He said surprisingly all 3 of them knew who I was and what I did, one of them have even ordered from me before!!! He was very impressed.

Needless to say, I was very pleased.

Food, food, glorious food! What would Chinese New Year be without an abundance of food?!

Yu Sheng that Sam spontaneously brought home one day! I had never expected him to do that because 1) He's not celebrating with his family, he didn't need to go the extra mile, but he did. and 2) That's just really sweet. 3) I didn't even think of it myself.

He said, "Here, I bought this for your family on Chinese New Year, this will make your mum smile."

GIRLS, DID I GET LUCKY OR WHAT????....

I actually lou hei-ed a long time ago, way before CNY even happened - at the start of 2012. Our family went to eat at Kam Boat's newest outlet that recently opened and my mum ordered Yu Sheng for just the 6 of us. I was like, "You siao, Chinese New Year still got so long, why you so kia su order now??? Got few weeks leh!"

And mama said "I want to lou first!!! Take ALL the luck first, before other people get to it!!!!"

LOLOLOL.

Sam super cute lor. I wore Cheongsams the past few years, so he wore traditional outfits to match me.

CNY 2010

CNY 2011

...This year, I decided to wear white lace for a change.

He also chose to wear a white colored shirt. :P

You think you very cute ah, always wear matching?! Actually couples that wear matching outfits are quite sickening to look at. Guess we are one of them LOL

The lighting was sooooo good in my living room!!!! Shoulda taken more pictures!!!

Mum giving bro an ang pao as he recites lame four-word-prosperity-idioms in Chinese. I say it's lame because his Chinese is as bad as mine. LOL I asked my mum, "Eh, wish you in English can a not?"

She laughed and said "can."

So I wished her.. "Hope you win at MBS every time", "Hope you stay forever young and beautiful and wrinkle-free", "Hope you will be healthy and happy forever!!!"

...Alamak. *face palm* Next time before Chinese New Year, I'd go google some chim Chinese idioms and memorize + recite them over and over in my head, so my mother will be impressed.

Dunno what they saying here. But my mum is probably going "HOPE YOU PUT ON MORE WEIGHT" lol she never stops saying I'm too fat or that Janice is too skinny. Asian parents.. You can never please them.

Fat also cannot, skinny also cannot. "A" for exam also not good enough, must get A PLUS PLUS!!!! O.O

♥

As evening approaches, everyone gathers around the TV watching Reign Of Assassins and Where Got Ghost?" together.

They especially enjoyed the second show, bursting into laughter every other minute. Asians + Superstition go together like Soda + Fries!

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Took some mandatory group pictures before everyone went home at night!!!!

I was singing "ALL THE SINGLE LADIES!!!! Oh oh oh oh oh oh~~~" and swaying my butt back and forth, as I was taking this shot of my aunties. Nobody giggled except Sam. I love that we have the same stupid sense of humor.

Everything is hilarious when you are us.

Handsome boys and the matriarch of them all!!!!

Not enough uncles to take group picture, so just throw in the cousins + my Vietnamese boyfriend who is not even blood related... LOL (that would be gross and illegal)

COUSINS!!! ^.^.. Though it's not totally complete......

I miss you, Linda. Wish you could be here to see me grow up, to see what your little cousin has become. Wish we had the chance to grow up together and eat steamboat with the rest of the family and play ban luck and do silly things together. I will keep the memories we shared close to me and you live on in my heart. You were always so nice to me. I hope that you are at peace wherever you are.

...And that was how I spent my Chinese New Year in 2012.

This is a random fact to end my blog post with.

I am no longer bitter about my family not being the type that celebrates Christmas. (I LOVE X'MAS. And always sulked because we're not Christians so we don't celebrate it much at all.)

Because I now acknowledge we have a different tradition of our own. And it's just as good, and in some ways, even better. Who needs presents, when you can get straight out cash???

Lol I joke.

Us Chinese people have Chinese New Year, that one time of the year that will bring us all together, no matter what. Although I don't really get why it's called "Chinese New Year" or how it's a New Year at all for Chinese... I am more than willing to tolerate the DONG DONG DONG QIANG music for a month everywhere I go, just to spend quality time with these people I care about.

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Oh yeah, P.S mandatory vain pictures before I go.

I hope your Chinese New Year was fabulous too!!!

Now the question is... how do I lose all that weight I've put on from stuffing my face the whole of past week?????

xoxo,
Jess

Is it a Pokemon? Is it a Shaolin Monk? Or is it...

2012-01-20T22:25:00.009+08:00

So I was creating this customized cake today, and after putting the chopped up cake pieces together to create the basic shape, I thought to myself..

"Dude, this looks like pang sai. LOL wtf is this?! Damn ugly!"

Looks like a cross between a deformed teddy bear and an obese baby! Then out of sheer boredom, I decided to post this photo on Twitter...

And I was all like

LOL.

...So I said

Just for the heck of it!! Wanted to see what people's abstract perception of it is.

And to my surprise, a lot of Tweeps actually joined in the fun!!! Why people so bo liao, like me ah? LOL. Or maybe people liked cupcakes more than I thought. I received over 70+ guesses, and some of them were SO HILARIOUS and random, I thought it'd be a waste if I didn't share. :P

Here are some of the funnier ones in screenshots!!

Hahahaha a Squirtle is a really good guess! But it's not a Pokemon. I can also understand why people would say "Doraemon" and "Gingerbread man".. The answer is hiding in plain sight, in this screenshot somewhere ;) Use your imagination. Which one do you think it is?

Some of the guesses are like wtf... What's a Golliwog, Mina No Tabo or Anpan Man?!?

More guesses from others!

"Is it the monk from Shaolin Showdown?"

HAHAHAHAHA WHAT!!! I also love how peopled answered "astronaut", "dragon" and a "chick". Oh, and a fat baby. I wouldn't wanna be the parent of that ugly child!

"Teletubby" and "penguin" also got me giggling. Hehehe.

But I think my FAVORITE of all the answers (that really got me bursting out laughing) has gotta be.....

....LAUGH DIE ME!!!!!!!!!!

WHY on earth would that be Sam?! LOL. The last time I checked, my boyfriend doesn't look like an obese infant or like Squirtle! To me anyway. Hahahaha. Maybe that's what he looks like to other girls.

So anyway, if you want to know what the real answer is....

IT IS.... ...... ..... ......DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

Dun dun dun.... *bangs on drums*

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Say HI to Scrump!!!!!! :DDD

If you don't know who he is, he's the rag doll character from Lilo & Stitch. His colors look a bit faded here due to Instagram's filter but he's more blue-ish toned in real life.

xoxo,
Jess

Soleil

2012-01-18T18:58:00.009+08:00

Having a lift that opens directly into the apartment made me feel like Blair Waldorf for a day.

.....What's that? Delusion? Perhaps just slightly.

Love that black coffee table and carpet!

Chandeliers make any home look instantly more welcoming and classier.

Ugly ladder beside me coz cleaning for the new place is still in the works...

Awesome huge balcony in the living room that lights up the whole place beautifully. Too bad there's nothing particularly interesting to look at, though I do like the openness and it brings in fresh air and windy breezes.

I take one step out of the house & into the lift, and take another step out one floor above to find this sanctuary!!!

Every new age condo has to have this - a private jacuzzi for your residents to lounge in!!! All the more reason to invite your friends over :*

*over excited dorky smile*

Bahahahhahaa Nicholas you are so stupid ♥

Because best friends small each others feet like it's the normal thing to do.

We all have that one spastic friend who spoils our otherwise-pretty pictures......

There we go. LOL

When it got wayyyy too hot in the jacuzzi due to Singapore's awful weather, we sought solace in the equally gorgeous pool instead!!!

Boys will be boys!

I thought Sam's exposed nipples looked rather offensive so I photoshopped them away. LOLOL. I called him over and asked, "Hey, notice anything strange about this pic?"

And he's like... "Why is my chest so fair and wide? o_O"

......":O!!! WHERE ARE MY NIPPLES?!?!?!"

"Jess... you look kinda big in this one, and I don't think you can photoshop this."

Me: "Nonsense! I can photoshop anything."

*looks at the picture* ...Oh.

/End of picture spam from yesterday's happy day!

xoxo,
Jess

If I Were A Boy... even just for a day.

2012-01-11T19:18:00.014+08:00

Ok, first of all, you need to see THIS cool video of a make up guru on Youtube showing you how to turn into a man. Or more specifically, Drake.

I can't remember how, but I stumbled across this Youtube vid randomly and I wuz all like "Wowwww, that looks incredibly funnnnn. n__n"

You can skip through most of it and just watch the general progression. I was giggling endlessly at the transformation.

The Before and After!!!! Isn't that awesome? :D LOL.

And THEN, out of nowhere... I was all........

:o :o :o... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

"IMMA BE A MAN FOR A DAY TOO!!! *pokes Sam who's sitting next time* Baby, I'm going to turn into a man!!!!!!!! Are you excited?"

Him: -____-

I don't think he thought I was serious, but I was dead serious. I don't know what possessed me. In a coupla minutes, I was gathering all the make up I had, rubbing dark eyeshadow onto my face, trying to look as un-feminine as possible. In about 30 minutes or so, I was quite done with my job. I just had to find some of Sam's clothes to wear. It was awfully amusing, really. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror without doubling over cracking up. I think I did a relatively convincing job for a spontaneous effort.

I went on and took a SHIT LOAD of epiccccccc photos that looked like I was on crack, they were so epically epic, I dressed up as a guy and had a fake boner in my pants, me clutching my fake crotch and making gross sexy faces at the camera and there was about 100 photos on there that would make you piss your pants laughing. BUT because all good things ALWAYS come to an end, unfortunately when I tried loading the pics into my computer at night, I found out that my memory card was faulty. T_____T None of my laptops or computers at home could read it (we have 3 computers, 2 laptops and 1 macbook in total).

It was weird because the camera could still display the pictures however according to the computers, the data wasn't formatted properly. I'd also misplaced the cables to my camera, so I couldn't hook it up to the computer via the camera and get the info off. So I thought to myself "WTFUCK is this shit. Please don't die on me now. I'm only a man for a day, and I just washed all my make up off, I'm not putting it all back on again!!!" so the next day I went out to Challenger (a hardware store) and bought myself a new memory card reader in hopes of making it work.

But when I wanted to try and see if it worked today, I realized that THE memory card has gone MISSING. .................... I've searched high and low, flipped my room inside out, no sign of it. It literally disappeared into thin air because it's just not here anymore. Don't ask me how or when or why because I don't know myself. All I know is, it's gone. So I bought a new memory card for nothing, and completely lost the pictures FOREVER. Needless to say I was all like FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU big time because those pictures were priceless!!! I'd rather lose twice the amount of vain, normal camwhore photos and have kept the boy ones instead. Why do I have the worst luck?! :(

Luckily (not really) for me, I still have some lousy iPhone quality photos yet. So... enough rambling, you're probably wonder "Wtf is this girl on about", so without further ado, I'll show you some photos. Pixelated photos that don't compare to the ones I took on my other camera at all, but photographic evidence that I WAS a man for a day after all. *le sigh*

So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.... Me. As a man.

.....Everyone, meet... Jake. (I've always liked that name. I told myself when I was a kid that if I had a son next time, he'd be called Jake. And I don't know why I was a child thinking about having children herself, something obviously went wrong somewhere.)

"WHAT'S UP NEEEEGAAZZ, IT'S J-LO IN DA HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And that was one embarassing name I used to tell people to call me, when I was a kid. J-Lo, as in Jessica Loh. HAHAHA GEDDIT??? #loserkid #foreveralone

Sam: Are you trying to look like a man, or a hobo?

Me: A hobo man!!!! :D

So what do you think? DO I MAKE A HAMSUM BOI?! :DDDD. I've heard the eyebrows are a little too slick, too perfect, but I think that is a forgivable make up flaw. Well how do you suppose I could will myself to grow real bushy eyebrow hair in an hour?!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

According to everyone else who has seen me in this state (my family, Nicholas and the people who work at Bedok's Selegie Tao Hway joint coz I went out at night like this to buy beancurd.) I have a really "qian bian" face. I think it's quite true lah I also feel like punching my own face lololol.

Sam said, "Why do you keep snarling? That's not what all guys do."

Me: "I can't think of any other way to pose, or another facial expression to give that is relatively manly! Coz all my normal photo-taking facial expressions range along something like

this...."

*blows kisses* AM I KAWAII? ^__________^!!

(I asked Sam this question, and he replied "You look like Nicholas." I BURST OUT LAUGHING.)

Through this experiment, I have realized that manly photo taking angles = display your side profile to show off your jawline, give slightly slitty fierce eyes, and to grit your teeth. No pouting or SMIZING or risk looking retarded like the above.

Really though, after inspecting these photos again & again, I honestly think I make a not-bad male specimen. I wouldn't go as far as to say "good", but.... come on. A lot of guys I know are worse looking than that. HAHAHAH. Ladies, would you date this guy?

*hears a resounding NO!!! .....but ignores it.*

Sure, a little too snarly and dirty looking.. but nothing a shower and a shave can't fix. -nods-

I think I look more like a boy than the Youtube make up guru, to be frank. A marvelous job if I do say so myself. *beams for all the wrong reasons* I feel like making my own video now, so people can see MY transformation on video.. But I'm not sure if it's something to be proud of as that may also mean I was just born with exceptionally manly and coarser looking features for a girl.

....My boyfriend refused to kiss me the whole night.

Who wants to guess why? Lol. I guess my make up's too convincing, because after awhile he was so repulsed, he actually told me sternly to "GO AWAY". Da fuq.

I don't blame him though, I was splayed on the bed, full on looking like a homeless man and repeatedly asking for "cuddlesssss!" in a high pitched baby-ish voice. LOL.

This is about the most sexually awkward picture I've taken. ♥ I know you still love me deep down inside Sam.. remember how you said LOOKS aren't everything???

2 things funny about this photo: 1) Me, duh. 2) Sam's gut.

Well, that's all I have for my man photos, unfortunately.

I am especially motivated to record my Girl to Boy transformation ever since I've lost the HQ photos. Ughh. I'm still so cut up over the loss and malfunction of that memory card. :( Y'all would've loved the stupid pictures on it. ...Should I do the video then?? I think I might, one of these days... when I feel like being a man again. (I hope I don't get these strange urges too often) Or when Beyonce's singing moves me enough.

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And with that, I leave you with pictures taken yesterday that reek of outrageous femininity to remind you all that I actually AM a female at the end of the day.

As hard as it may be to believe now, my vagina is still very much intact and alive and flapping. (JK about the flapping part. Or maybe not.)

xoxo,
Jake

(...Thumbs up for you sir, if you saw what I did there.)

Baking tutorial:The BEST brownies ever!!!

2012-01-08T23:31:00.016+08:00

Hi. I like brownies. ^___^

Brown, chocolatey goodness that feels like it's melting in your mouth!!! Don't we all? If you don't..... what's wrong with you?!

But the problem I find with most brownies purchased outside is that:

1) It's wayyyy too sweet

2) It's too fudgey. More like a chocolate block than a brownie.. I like slightly cakier types.

3) It's got nuts in it. I hate nuts in my food.

4) It's hard / stale / dry / just tastes like shit. (Hence why it usually tastes better with ice cream)

So some time last week, I woke up with a MAJOR craving for brownies. I got out of bed and I was like omfggg want to eat brownies omgg must eat or I'll die... e_e -googles recipes- .....But the recipes found online were not really to my liking, so I decided to come up with my own.

And IT WAS SO GOOD, I decided it was a bigger sin not sharing it with you guys than if I had the whole 8" sized brownie chunk all to myself. I took one bite out of it when it was freshly baked and I was like "OMFG BEST brownie I am a freaking genius." Then Janice (my bro's gf who lives with us) was like, "Oooh smells good can I have some? :)".... 5 minutes later: "Omggg I don't even like brownies in the first place. Last time my ex-bf bought me brownies and I scolded him. But this is VERY GOOD!! :o"

SO!!!!

I'm going to show you guys how to make your boyfriend / girlfriend think you're a gem in the kitchen even if you're really an idiot in the kitchen. No previous experience required! This will impress ANY chocolate lover. And even people who don't normally eat chocolate, like me. (I swear by white chocolate and vanilla flavored stuff, but yummeh hot brownies are one true exception)

Honestly. Monkey see monkey do, just follow my recipe exactly and you can't go wrong. It's not as difficult or cumbersome as it looks. I even give you permission to lie to whoever you're baking this for and say you were the genius who came up with this recipe on your own. *cough*

Let's get started.

YOU WILL NEED:

An 8" circle baking tin for baking the brownies in

Non-stick cooking spray

♥ -- 2 eggs
♥ -- 1/2 cup butter (melted, salted. if you do not have salted butter, use 1/2 teaspoon salt)
♥ -- 3/4 cup white sugar
♥ -- 3/4 cup self-raising flour
♥ -- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
♥ -- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
♥ -- 3 tablespoons chocolate milk (or only 2 tablespoons if you like it fudgey!)
♥ -- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

The last part is optional. You can add milk chocolate chips, or dark choc, or white choc, or nuts (yuck!) whatever floats your boat. I chose to use just milk choc chips and they turned out nommilicious. If you use something else and they don't turn out as good, that's not my fault. :P

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Spray your non-stick cooking spray over your 8" baking tin, or if you don't have cooking spray, grease it lightly with butter.

Step 2: Combine the vanilla extract, sugar, and butter in a big bowl. Mix well.

Step 3: Add the eggs in, one by one while mixing thoroughly.

Your mixture should look something like this now!

Step 4: Carefully combine the cocoa powder and flour to your previous mixture. This will thicken up the batter a lot, so don't freak out if it's really dry, we'll be adding milk in a bit.

Step 5: Pour in 3 tablespoons of chocolate milk and lightly stir in the chocolate chips. It will take a minute or two of constant slow stirring for your batter to absorb the chocolate milk in, but once it does..

You will get the wonderfully rich and gooey batter as seen above! ^.^ If your batter is still too stiff (due to incorrect measurements of previous ingredients?), you can try adding more chocolate milk, bit by bit, till you get a batter consistency you're truly satisfied with. At this point you can taste-test the sweetness to see how you like it too! You can always adjust or tweak this recipe to your own liking. But don't do it if you're a total noob coz then you might screw it up, lul.

♥ Note - If you like heavier, fudgey brownies (which is what is served outside most of the time), 2 tablespoons will do. Or if you want like a block of chocolate, use 1. LOL. I prefer slightly lighter texture so I used 3.

Step 6: Pour the batter evenly into your greased baking pan and set the timer for 40-50 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick / chopstick and it comes out clean.

....Now THIS is the tricky part, and I advise to read carefully. This is what other baking recipes don't tell you.

If you use a different shaped or sized pan, cooking time will be different, and I can't tell you how long it'll take because I don't know what size you'll use. I strongly suggest using an 8" circle pan like I did. If you use a bigger baking pan and your batter is thinner, reduce cooking time, and vice versa.

Everyone's oven also works differently, so cooking time for your brownies may differ even if you do use an 8" pan. My oven is old and battered, from the hundreds of cupcakes and cakes I do on a daily basis, so I don't think it's working as well as it used to anymore. Stuff that used to take 20 minutes to bake, now takes about 30.

So my timing of 40-50 minutes is a rough estimate for you guys.. mine actually took almost 50 mins, but your new swanky oven may take only 40. If your oven is even older and in worse condition than mine, perhaps it takes 50+ minutes. I advise to start checking on your brownies when you're nearing the 40 minute mark. Check back on it every now and then, and poke a toothpick through. Once it comes out clean, you can leave it in for another few minutes for a slightly crispy top if it hasn't already formed yet!!! :)

Just don't overcook it, or your brownies will be hard / too crispy / dry instead of moist and gooey / fudgey like it's supposed to be. Once you're sure your brownies have cooked perfectly, take it out of the oven, let it cool for awhile and then remove from the pan.

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Hopefully, yours will turn out to look something like....

THIS!!

Ok hahaha I know that doesn't look quite right sitting there like that because 1) It's circle shaped, and brownies are meant to be square-ish. That's not a big deal to me, but if it is to you, feel free to use a square shaped tin of a similar size instead.

And 2) It has a lot of wholes on the top. I used fat chopsticks to poke it instead of toothpicks so they're kinda obvious.

But other than that, can we please focus on....

HOW GLORIOUSLY CHOCOLATEY AND MOIST IT IS??? ♥ ♥ ♥

And look at the perfectly crispy top!!! :')

The bottom part sorta melts in your mouth (you'll never find a softer brownie that is still quite fudgey and rich) while the crispy part gives it a nice bite! It is very dark brown in color because the chocolate explosion in your mouth is like omggg.

Obviously not for diet-watchers haha. YOUR LOSS!!

Sam and I reckon they're the best brownies we've ever had, and we're crazy dessert lovers. I won't be surprised if he marries me for culinary skills alone LOL.

Cut into squares / rectangles to serve, and always remember to serve warm!! Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Told you anyone could do it.

Tastes the best on it's own so no ice cream required. When you pop them into the mirowave for just a bit, the chocolate bits melt all over again and it tastes like a chocolate lava cake of sorts. :D

....So that's the end of tummy-growling-inducing pictures!!!! If you do try them, let me know how they turned out for you! I'll be damned if it's not fantastic, hurrr.

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Happy nomming!!!

If you have a request for another type of cooking or baking tutorial, let me know and I'll see if I can come up with a good one for you :)

xoxo,
Jess

19 things I did when I was 19

2012-01-06T00:09:00.006+08:00

Seriously I think I'm a bit lagging behind. A week after 2012 has started than I do this list lolol but it's okay, better late than never.

So I finally decided to sum up my 2011 into one blog post, sorta like a "flashback" on the year, just revisiting some memories and noting down the more prominent ones.

Nothing like a walk down memory lane to remind yourself of the lessons you've learned and what your goals should be next year. At this point in time I haven't actually reviewed a list of things to blog about yet, so I'm hoping I don't get stuck with this blog post halfway coz I ran out of interesting events to talk about. Now that would be quite sad. My memory is so bad that I can't remember a lot of what happened last year wtf. -_- I even forgot what I had for lunch yesterday.

And this is why I need a blog. I need my own space on the internet to keep track of all the things that have happened in my life ♥ Because I swear, I'm going to have Alzheimer's disease when I'm older... I already have it now. Now I'm mostly only going to blog about the nicer stuff coz obviously a lot of the shittier stuff I keep to myself and don't pollute this blog with.

My 2011 in a (really summarized and brief overview) nutshell..

19 things that happened when I was 19!!!!!!!!!

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1) I permed my hair. (January 2011)

WAHAHAHAHAH talk about a bad start to a new year. Fucking ugly. Looks so year 2000. FML.

Pls pls pls pls never perm your hair again Jessica. You look something like a 2 cent china whore. Nothing wrong with spending an extra 30 minutes styling it when you need it!

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2) I saw Taylor Swift live on her Speak Now Tour. (January 2011)

Thus beginning my healthy obsession with her. I say healthy because she's a great role model for girls all around the world and everyone can relate to her songs. Nothing wrong with looking up to someone like that! I liked her before this, which iswhy I went to see her in concert.. but NOWHERE near as to how much I like her now! During her concert, I didn't know a few songs she sung so I went back to Youtube them.

The more I listened to her other songs, the more I really liked them. Even as I am blogging this now I am listening to her songs. So yes, it's official, I'm a fan girl.

Speaking of which, I bought standing pen tickets to see her live in Perth in March. I can't wait LOLOLOL me and Sam are going nuts over it. I've officially poisoned him with her music cuz I listen to it everyday and he knows all the words to her songs now.

It's going to be so fun dancing to her song with him during the last leg of her Speak Now tour ^______^

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3) Spent Valentine's Day with Sam. (February 2011)

Bubbling hot spa with an open view of the sea.. A pretty unique experience.

We had a relaxing 2 hour massage, chocolate fondue, a dip in the pool, and alfresco Italian dining at night! Definitely one of the highlights of our year. Utterly romantic. I'm hoping 2012's Valentine's Day is going to top 2011's. :)

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4) Baked and decorated my Mum a birthday cake. (March 2011)

Coated with fresh cream and adorned with fake flowers. :P

Now this event is really important. I've always had an interest for baking but I constantly failed at it. My cookies would turn out charred black and my cakes would be uncooked in the middle. However I watched HUNDREDS of Youtube videos online, read tutorial after tutorial and finally took the plunge.

Went bought several hundreds of dollars worth of baking equipment, and made my first cake. Put the theories and methods I learned about online to the test in real life.

I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm not so bad. This is quite fun. With enough practice, I might get good at this."

And that was THE moment baking became a real possibility for me.

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5) Chopped off my hair. *gulps* (March 2011)

Because it was a tangled mess beyond rescue. Thank goodness it's slowly growing back now...

If someone held a pair of scissors near my hair now, I'd scream!

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6) Attempted buttercream decorating for the first time. (March 2011)

This was my first ever piped rose. HAHAHAHA that's quite pathetic even for a first timer.

But hey, look at what I can do now! People are always like "Eyyy how did you get so good at baking omg I'll never be that good blah blah."

You're wrong. My first ever attempt at cake making was in March 2011, merely 7 months ago. That is a little over HALF a year. You just have to be determined enough!!! I would say baking is 40% talent, but 60% skill. It's learned, you're not born with the knowledge.

Put your heart to it. Anything is easier once you are actually willing to learn. Your attitude determines you from being the dude who has "potential", or the person who enjoys great success.

Our first batch of nicely-ish frosted cupcakes. Sam said my pink flowers looked like vaginas, LOL. But still I didn't give up!!!!!

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7) I launched my business, "Shiberty's Sweets" at shibertys.blogspot.com (March 2011)

Today, it is my main source of income. Nowadays, I'm known as "the cupcake blogger" - LOL. Imagine that. Hobby to occupation in an instant. A week after my first batch of cupcakes, I decided to set up a simple website with childish looking graphics and sell them online. Daring, if I do say so myself.

Thinking about it now, I was taking a huge risk. I was BARELY considered a beginner baker and already I wanted to sell it to other consumers. What if they got food poisoning and died? Omg. And to the first few people who bought cupcakes from me, if you're still reading this little blog, THANK YOU.

Thank you, thank you thank you thank you.

You didn't buy from me because everyone else was doing it too. You didn't buy from me because I was an established or popular bakery or because I was better than others. You bought from this crazy blogger who had a passion for baking because YOU believed in me! I wasn't even that sure of myself. I dunno what made you do it, if I were you I wouldn't buy from me (AHAHAH) but I am really thankful for being given this opportunity. :')

I think, if I didn't have silent but strong supporters out there, I'd just be another girl who likes to bake but never quite made it anywhere. Because of your ever changing demands and support that never falters, I strive to improve. I have no time to sit around and be complacent. I'm pushed everyday. Pushed to be better for you, to come up with nicer designs, to work on my techniques and exploring new methods because at 7 months I am still learning.

I am honestly sorry to those I have genuinely disappointed during my time of operating Shiberty's Sweets. If I didn't reply your email in time, if your cake didn't quite turn out the way you imagined it to be, etc.... I know people order cakes for special occasions and I hate it when I don't deliver. It's my first time running a business, albeit an online one, and I make mistakes. Sometimes my laziness or stubborn attitude gets the better of me, sometimes I don't try as hard as I could've. But most days, I try until my bones ache and my back's about to break. And I promise I will be even better this year. Just watch me.

/end of dramatic speech

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8) Traveled across the border to Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia. (Technically Jan 2011 but only blogged about it May 2011)

It was... a rather disappointing trip.

I had fun, but definitely not as much as we all predicted. Sunway Lagoon sucks, and whoever ever said it was fun sucks too. And this is coming from an ardent theme park fan.

Managed to squeeze in some Spa time still. Yay.

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9) Got my blog revamped and moved over to Shiberty.com (June 2011)

A much needed change!!! BYEBYE Pedophaelic moniker. To all of you perverts who have landed on this blog after searching "underage girls having sex with a monkey on mum's bed" or something as twisted as that (I still get it till today), BEGONE!! SHOO!

For you new readers out there, this was my old website, hosted at www.underage-girl.blogspot.com. Please resist the impending urge to put your palm to your forehead. :P

My web designer was a friend of a blog reader / cake customer. She offered to do my design for my for free and I was sooo glad because she did such a good job! And I'm loving the much more mature domain name. I used to hate it when people asked me for my blog link lol. I like how the new layout represents me. But until now I haven't done a proper "About Me" page yet, omg epic fail... I've been meaning to write up a more interesting one. I swear I'm going to get it done before January ends. I CANNOT drag it any longer.

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10) Escaped to a short getaway at Bintan, Indonesia. (July 2011)

Only 45 mins away via ferry! Already so much more idyllic. Ironically in Singapore, 45 minutes is the amount of time you'd take to get to the City / Town if you're lucky and there's no jam on the roads.

Stayed at a nice hotel...

...and soaked up some sun.

Went jet skiing around the neighboring islands and didn't fall off it into the ocean this time. Yay! Well I did jump off my jet ski into the water but that was by choice, I didn't get knocked off by a massive monsoon wave like I did in Phuket in 2009. Amazinggggg fun.

My jet ski did break down halfway though (or ran out of petrol) and we had to be dragged back to shore by another jet ski. Why do these things always happen to me?

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11) Screamed out lyrics as Lady Gaga performed meters away from me live. (July 2011)

She is an incredible live performer!!! Sam and I rocked out to her hit songs for more than an hour.

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12) Made our first Proposal cake. (August 2011)

So this... should probably be big on the fiance's list and not mine, but I thought it was awesome how we could be part of someone's proposal!! :') How often do you get to be part of a stranger's big day? Getting married is such a big deal and only happens once in your life! (Well hopefully only once)

The sweet lady even emailed me to tell me how much she loved it! Definitely made my week. Wishing you and your husband LOTS of LOVE in your marriage!!!!!

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13) Blogged about the controversial Frolick incident. (August 2012)

You can read it here. What can I say? I did it out of part self-righteousness, part boredom and part spite. Well whatever it was, it worked because cake business and blog hits boomed.

It's not a post I'm proud of or will speak of much in the future, but considering my post got retweeted over 100 times on Twitter and received quite a bit of attention from Singaporeans, I thought it should be on this list somewhere. My opinions in that post may differ from the ones that I have today.

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14) My first ever pet, a Pudding hamster called Pudding passed away :(... (September 2011)

I don't wanna talk much about it in case I get upset again and everything I have to say, I've already said it here. I'll miss you buddy! ♥

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15) Took a long trip to Australia again. I've never been to Sydney!! (September 2011)

I tried an O2bar. wtf.

Went up the gorgeous Blue Mountains. Waterfalls and rain forests await.

Hai kangaroo.

Frolicked around Bondi Beach.

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16) Hello, we meet again, Gold Coast! (September, 2011)

View from our apartment

Dream World

Movie World

Virgin snorkel trip in the turquoise waters of Queensland, Australia! :D

Sand boarding down giant sand dunes head first. Not as fun as it sounds.

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17) Went up to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards with a huge number of other bloggers. (December 2011)

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18) Obviously, I crapped out a shit ton of cakes and cupcakes for a lot of different people. (Throughout 2011)

You can click on the "baking" label on my blog to see all the work I've done! Hundredsss of cupcakes and cakes. Actually, wait, I believe they are in the high THOUSANDS. Sometimes in one day alone over 150 cupcakes were made.

Here's a few events where Shiberty's Sweets was featured...

Doing charity for Japan with Nuffnang

Budget Barbie with Clicknetwork thanks to Qiu Qiu!!

Cupcakes from Shiberty's Sweets sitting pretty a Cozycot event :)

Extremely gratifying seeing peoples reactions to my cupcakes in real life and hearing them rave! Makes all the effort more than worth it.

My babies!

Did some interviews and shoots for / with my cakes.

I hope that means I'm doing something right.

My cupcakes in a magazine!

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19) And the final activity I'm going to talk about is something I haven't blogged about before.

I went whale watching in the Gold Coast on my birthday (September 20th) and it was

SO AWESOME WTFFFFF *dies*

*.....revives and dies again*

Whales were breaching (jumping out of the water with massive force) everywhere around us and we even managed to attract the attention of a couple of Humpback Whales and they CAME RIGHT OVER TO OUR BOAT AND PLAYED WITH US!!! By playing I mean consciously responding to our actions and making an effort to interact with us.

Trivia: Humpback whales grow to be about 52 feet (16m) long, weighing 30-50 tons (27-45 tonnes).

LOOK at how they wave their arms (I mean flap their fins lol) as if to say hello!!!!! I couldn't believe that was happening to us. On my birthday. How perfect. :')))) Probably the happiest day of my 2011.

These gentle giants were extremely intelligent. I have more pictures but I'll save them for another blog post!!!!!! Because this one is already long enough. I don't know what took me so long to blog about these guys wtf it's one of my best memories EVERRRR in my life, along with this.

I obviously love dolphins & whales, if you don't understand my enthusiasm.

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Okay end of blog post!!!!!

Feeling all excited now talking about the amazing encounter I had with those humpback whales. Going to lie on the bed now and re-live those moments :D :DDDD Stuff like that DEFINITELY doesn't happen every day. Counting my blessings.

HAPPY IZ ME. Starting off the New Year with a positive mindset that this year it will be even better.

xoxo,
Jess

Movie World, Gold Coast, Australia

2012-01-04T15:11:00.007+08:00

I wasn't feeling too well that day (remember what I said about being sick for most of this Australian trip FML), so unfortunately we only managed to cover half of Movie World, before I gave in and collapsed in the car.

We packed our itinerary for the trip so tight that we fell sick from holiday-ing too much. Theme park after theme park after beach after activity coupled with the crazy Australian weather = sick tourists. True story. Well at least I got to try the new Superman coaster which was uber fun!!! I've been on the other rides before, the last time I was here with my mum.

Here's Movie World for you guys, in pictures!

Upon sight of this shop: O____O"!!! asldkalsfo85924rajlasad1111111111111

What 10 year old Jessica lusted over.

I was THIS close to getting one and playing with it everyday.

Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow.. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!

They were SOOO expensive, otherwise I would've bought one! Think the Elder Wand was $100 AUD. And AUD was strong when we went, stronger than USD.

DAFUQ MAN WHY YOU TRYING TO RIP OFF KIDS LIKE ME?! :(

It's just a piece of plastic!!!! Almost heartbroken that I had to leave the store empty handed, because the merchandise were of pretty subpar quality, matched with exorbitant prices.
When I finally get to visit Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter, however... now THAT is a different story. Sure to go nuts. I hope I never lose this child-like amazement whenever I think about Harry Potter. Or when I think about theme parks. I hope I can stay this wonder struck forever. It keeps me youthful and happy inside.

Hahahahaha oh Hermione. What did they do to you?

I remember going on this coaster when I was much younger, with my mum.. she came out cursing and white-faced. It was hilarious.

Possibly my favorite ride in Movie World!

xoxo,
Jess

Hi, 2012. Be nice to me please.

2012-01-01T21:12:00.016+08:00

Today is the first of January. First day of the new year, 2012.

.......Not that you didn't know that already.

I just have to repeat it to myself a few more times, so that it settles in, y'know? For some reason my brain is not registering that a new year has already begun. I still feel so relaxed, in the December mood. But now it is January which means... a lot of things. A new year means having new experiences, making new decisions, meeting new friends, and so much more.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Man, time really needs to pass slower.

I'm not used to this whole growing up thing. I swear, not that long ago I was still 13, rebellious, thin, and my biggest concern was skipping classes. I believed I'd stay young and ignorant forever. Sadly that's not the case and I find myself thrust into this unforgiving dimension called Time. Time waits for nobody and nothing. You snooze, you lose. You blink an eye and WHAM you're 5 years older. You blink another time BOOM suddenly another 10 years has passed. Next thing you know, you're dead and buried in the ground.

If you're wondering why I'm totally freaking out here... In September 2012, I will be turning the big Two Zero. FREAKIN' TWENTY!!!! I am SO SO so soooo NOT ready to be a woman in her 20's. I'm still going through puberty!!! *in denial*

People have been asking me if I'm gonna make any New Year Resolutions or if I'm gonna do a 2011 year re-cap on my blog and I'm all like... what are you talking about? It's still 2011 hurhur e_e;

Oh and I am not embarrassed to admit I was kinda sorta very relieved when the clock struck twelve am and it turned to 2012 and we all didn't drop dead like the Mayans said we would. Not that I believe in the whole conspiracy, but I thought it'd be very sad if I did die before turning 20 even though I don't wanna be 20. A friend on Twitter told me it's meant to be in December 2012 though, so at least we all still have 12 months left to live. I spent the last few moments of 2011 clinking wine glasses filled with Moscato with Sam, my brother, his gf and some friends who came over to play board games. Turned on the TV and watched fireworks go boom boom boom even brighter than the moon moon moon for 5 minutes before we all got bored and decided to do something else. We played Cluedo, Taboo and Who Am I till past 4am. I don't know anyone who plays more board and card games than me, lol. I think I must play at least 5 hours per week. 5 hours is probably an understatement.

Sooooooo I'm not intending to rant the whole day, I actually have pictures for you don't worry!!! The night before New Year's Eve, I decided to host my very first proper house party ever, in celebration of a belated X'mas and the New Year. Invited my favorite bunch of old blogging people, the SPI peeps + a few other close friends and we had heaps of fun!

So glad to have them ringing in the new year with me ♥ They filled my humble home with tons of laughter and warmth.

Cooked up a storm for the party. Realized the hard way that cooking for more than 10 people is as difficult and time-consuming as it sounds.

Part ritual of becoming an adult - inviting your friends over and cooking a nice meal for them instead of ordering McDelivery. Dude in the red shirt is dear Nichy who was really sweet to come over in the afternoon and helped me with the monstrous amount of cooking. Thank you sweetheart!!!! :')

Me wrapping Vietnamese spring rolls for the first time! Kinda fun actually. I wanna try making dumplings next.

First challenge of becoming a Vietnamese wife accepted. Sam's home made spring rolls are soooo addictive - he uses his family's traditional recipe and there's prawns, minced pork, mushrooms, glass noodles, carrots & more in it. They were snapped up so quickly during the party!

I wanted to take pictures of how I cooked these dishes and do a step-by-step tutorial for you guys, but I overslept and didn't have time... :(

So I hastily took iPhone snaps of some dishes once they were cooked instead. These are called Deviled Eggs and it's my first time making them! It tastes like egg mayo but better, with an onion + dijonnaise + herby twist. People wanted the recipe after their first bite!!!

Aglio olio pasta with sun dried tomatoes, shredded chicken & shrimps plus a butt load of herbs!

Veggie medley. I love the natural vibrant colors of these healthy and yummeh vegetables! Buttered with onions, garlic, sprinkled with basil and salt + pepper. Actually probably not so healthy after what I've done to them lol.

All the food painstakingly prepared and waiting to be devoured by my guests!!! After 7, one by one, they all started rolling in...

Doorbells rang again & again, and people poured in!

Some of the peeps from the SPI gang!

So good to see these familiar faces all gathered on my living room's couch :)

Looks like I'm invading an otherwise happy family photo haha but the kid isn't actually theirs. I had my DSLR set up on a tripod in the living room and in between stuffing our faces with food and catching up with old friends, we were happily snapping away the whole night!!!

Picture spam incoming!!!

Gwen is back in Singapore!! Been almost a year since I'd last seen her. Got photobombed by 2 gundoos behind lol

WHAT'S UP?

1... 2... 3!

Everybody say "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

Happy faces all around! Look at the baby boy he's like so chill and the rest of us are all like :DDD

Little Zac taking an (accidental?) self-shot. What a cutie.

Always ready to give hugs. He kept toying with my DSLR the whole night, showing keen enthusiasm you wouldn't expect from someone his age. I think he's going to grow up to be an amazing photographer!

Zac and momma on the left!! & Wen from Nuffnang

Hey gorgeous girls!

Remote controlled group shots are so fun :D

Nicholas. This guy has been a significant part of my life in the later part of 2011.

Sometimes I super duper love him, at other times I honestly just can't stand him, I could stick my fist through his skull LOL. But most of the time I feel like life will not be the same without him :)

My awesome neighbors who live just next door, little Sarah and momma Lynn who came over to hang out with us!

Normally I wouldn't dream of having kids around in my house (can't stand most of them) but Zac and Sarah are inexplicably cute, I adore them to BITS!

Let's take a food break and stare at this glorious piece of amazingly delicious Strawberry Jelly Heart Cheesecake that Sam got up early in the morning to prepare, while I was still sleeping. Everyone demanded the recipe for this one too.

I want some NAO!!

Some of the pile of snacks and presents people brought over to share! How nice :)

Nadia & her fiance David!

Jayrus, who is a cool papa to 2 beautiful kids.

I love how I have friends that are parents, some almost twice my age.. no discrimination here. Just pure friendship and mutual positive feelings. Age, lifestyle differences, sexual preferences, religion & race are not important. ♥

Gwennie the Aussie who lives in Perth. I went on a road trip and took a holiday with this girl in Western Australia during 2010, you can search my blog for my travel entries on it! We also spent some time together in 2008 in Perth :)

Sammy boy!

He got me fresh red roses for the new year. They're sitting next to me right now. Gorgeous.

Valerie! When I first introduced Gwen to my friends, I said, "Gwen, this is Valerie. *includes casually to test Gwen's reaction* ...Oh, she is also the reigning Miss Singapore Universe by the way."

And Gwen was like, "Miss Singapore?! o_O ...On your couch? Really." in her thick Aussie accent hahaha I knew Gwen would have a funny response.

Her teeth CANNOT get any whiter.

I had to PS mine to get them half as white as hers, lol. Speaking of which, I wanna get veneers!!! I have pretty straight teeth, so I don't have to go through braces or teeth alignment.. but I need to get whitening done coz I haven't been taking very good care of my teeth. :(

MONKEY FACES!!

I remember meeting Kexin for the first time, thinking she was my age. (back then I was like 16?) Turns out she was 20+ and has a little boy. Talk about looking youthful O_O

Note to self: Clean the back of the chairs

I dunno who looks funnier, us or Gwen in the background!! I WUV EW xxx

I found it amusing how everyone's hand is up in the air doing something in the photo :P

From Valerie's Instagram!

Monopoly Deal bitchesssss.

You can't tell but.... I had a Deal Breaker in my hand. Teeheehee

I eventually won the round... NOT by the Deal Breaker, but by normal strategies. Woopie!

Come midnight, people said their goodbyes, and started making their way back home...

But we didn't stop there.

Presents opening time!!!

At first I'd posted a note on our Facebook event wall, telling the people attending this party that it'd be a good idea to have a "Secret Santa" activity where everyone brings a random present to contribute to a communal pile, and at the end of the day everyone who brought a present gets to take a different one home.

However, nobody replied to my note on Facebook (wtf so sad) so I posted a comment a few days later, saying "Nevermind, everyone's probably too busy anyway...." but then on the day itself some people actually DID show up with presents, only to be told that the activity has been canceled due to the lack of response double wtf. So I got to keep all the presents at the end of the day!!!! LOL. Chocolates, underwear, lipsticks & more!!! MINE YAY.

Was this my plan all along? .....You could say so :D :D Lol I joke. I told the gang to take some of the presents home but they were like nononono you cooked so much etc etc so I gladly kept them all. Call me buay paiseh but I like presents lol.

A travel mug with a hand made note included!!

These are from Valerie! Of course a beauty blogger would give beauty products. They're Lip Plumpers, but I haven't tried them yet. Can't wait to try the Elizabeth Arden one :*

Sam with Calvin Klein boxer shorts from ?... that are a taddd too tight for him! It's funny seeing him in those though.

Our night still didn't end there.

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JELLO SHOTS. Wayyy too many of them. Nich got drunk at my place like a week ago then made these at 3am in my kitchen. Who mixes even more alcohol when they're dead drunk??

They're a lot more potent than they look!

Absolutely gone. Hahaha

Ridiculously hilarious moment when Nicholas tried to force Gwen to down another shot but in his drunken state, accidentally dropped the cold jello onto Gwen's chest instead.

We were like... :o!!!!

Then we were like HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Look at Gwen's face rofllll. "It's so cold!!!" she says, then continues to wobble it on her chest and stare at it for another whole minute before finally cleaning it off. Funny girl.

Random moment of self-worshiping my hair :')

We played some games, ate some food, chatted a bit then I passed out after that. I don't really remember what happened exactly but I'm sure it must've been funny.

Pretty awesome way to end 2011 with a memorable night.

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Big thanks to everyone who came and made ourselves a great party!!! ♥

Wishing you lot a blessed New Year with extra love, success and good health.

So this is the part where you expect me to do a year re-cap or to finally list down my New Year Resolutions but I still haven't compiled a solid list. I know I'm a bit late but better late then never? I'll let you know once I have it. :)

........*STILL* IN SHOCK IT IS 2012.

But HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!

xoxo,
Jess

Collage Art: A personalized handmade gift for my mum on Christmas!

2011-12-26T23:31:00.006+08:00

Hello you munchkins!

I trust that you've had a fantastic Christmas, yes? I certainly hope so :) There's always New Year's Eve to go ball crazy if you didn't have that good a time on X'mas.

Mine was simple, and quiet, dinners with family, gifts exchanging and board games at Marina Bay Sands. Then getting drunk at night with friends. Yeeeppp. Still a little bit hungover on Boxing Day as I'm typing this.

So a big part of Christmas for me is the presents.. Not necessarily receiving them, but more about giving them! I always make sure I try to get the person the best possible present that is either thoughtful or practical within a reasonable budget. If I REALLY really like the person, I will hand make them a gift if I have the time... and I absolutely love my momma, so I thought I'd do something nicer for her this Christmas. Hand written cards are too boring and I want her to have something totally unique, so in the end I came up with this!!!

Do you like it?

If it's not obvious enough, it is a photo frame filled with collages of heartwarming smiley pictures of my mother and the people she holds dear to her heart, in the shape of a giant "I ♥ U"!!! I want her to wake up every morning and be reminded that someone out there in this big big world, loves her very much.

Every bit of this was handmade (except the frame which I bought from a store) and I think it screams sincerity and originality, so I want to share with you guys a short tutorial on how to create this for your own loved ones too! I know X'mas is over now, intended to blog about it before then but I didn't want my mum finding out beforehand and ruining her surprise. But you can still do this for your partner on your anniversary, Valentine's Day (which is coming up soon).. or heck, just do it anytime you can for anyone you like in general for no special occasion, except that you totally ♥ them!!! :)

It will take some time and effort, but the look on their face when they receive this is so going to be worth it. So let's get started!

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Materials you'll need:

A plain rectangular photo frame with a thick frame, preferably black. Size is up to you, but mine was about 25" long. I bought mine from IKEA for about $13 and it is called RIBBA (I think)

Compile 15-20 shots of happy memories of your loved one captured on camera, edit them to be black and white, then print them out. Have a mix of close up shots and mid-shots. Full length shots will be redundant.

Editing them to be black and white is important because it creates a timeless effect, and the photos will look less cluttered and generally a lot prettier when you put them all together. Skip this step and your result will differ a lot. If you don't have a good image editing program to use, try Photoscape. I think it is one of the best free-to-use image editing software out there - simple interface and amazing quick results! ^.^ Highly recommend this.

The size of your printed photo would depend on the frame size you choose, but if yours is around 25" long like mine, then 4R is a good size. You be the judge of the photo size. If most of your photos are close ups, then get a smaller size, and vice versa.

To create your collage shape, you will need a piece of thick white paper / cardboard that is the exact size of your photo frame.

Buy a big piece from Popular book store, then trim it according to your frame's specifications. I used a piece from one of my white cake boxes lying around the house. LOL :P

When you finally have your collage base custom fit to the size of your frame, use a pencil and sketch out the shape of the collage you want. I suggest using I ♥ U for the shape because it gets the message across and it's short enough. A long message more than 4 letters is not suggested. If your loved one has a short name like mine, then something like S A M would also work!

After you're done with that, cut your desired shape out with a pen knife. You want bold, thick, fat letters. Be careful when you're doing this because if you screw up the shape, it's going to be quite obvious. It doesn't matter if the back is ugly due to your rough sketching - you can't tell that from the front, so sketch away.

Test out how your stencil / collage base looks in the frame! So far so good.

This part is optional, and you can get creative.

I traced the outline of my "I ♥ U" and did a lacey type of pattern with a black permanent marker. It's not fully completed on the letter "U", if you wanna compare a before and after. You can add any design you want on the white part, but I wanted to keep most of it clean and white, so this was a good design. It also gives the whole collage some needed depth.

I invited my friend Nicholas over to do some arts & crafts with me! Here he is, enthusiastically coloring his whole base black with a marker. LOL. He did this because he didn't cut his "I ♥ U" shape out very well and you could see the parts where he messed up. Coloring it black does make the flaws less obvious but I don't really recommend it.

Get a pair of scissors and some tape ready.

This is the fun part. Now it's time to arrange your photos into a pretty looking collage! You will have to cut the pieces into smaller shapes that fit inside the letter, so hold your picture behind photo frame like I am doing in doing in the picture above to view how it'd look like from the front, then when you've found a nice arrangement, cut the photo into an appropriate size & shape then tape it down securely on the back.

Work your way from there, doing 1 picture at a time.

This is what it will look like from the back. Squint hard and you'll see a lot of tape at the back. Once again, it doesn't matter how it looks like on the back, only the front!

If you find my explanation confusing, just look at my pictures and use your brain. Lolol.

Give your photos a slanted edge so that it looks extra artsy and random!

Use bigger pictures for fatter characters like the "♥" shape, then save your smaller pictures for thin letters such as "I".

When you're FINALLYYY done with all this tedious work, you'll end up with something as pretty as....

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THIS!!!!!!! TA-DAH!!

(No, I'm not actually a Volleyball player so ignore my short lol. When I was in Primary School I did play Netball though!)

Philip (my adorableeeeee penguin) approves! ^.^

It's not that difficult, anyone can do this with enough patience! It is actually more labor intensive than it looks, took me and Nicholas about 3 hours to finish everything.

Now that is a thoughtful & personalized gift if I ever saw one. *beams*

It would sit all pretty-like in a room and add instant warmth!!! I am so pleased with myself ahahah. Turned out better than I thought it would. I hope you've found this tutorial meaningful and useful! And that whoever you make this for would absolutely love it ;) Feel free to leave me a question or a comment if any of my steps above weren't clear enough.

That's all for today, happy holidays and Happpppppy New Yearrrr everyone!!! ♥

xoxo,
Jess

Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011

2011-12-24T01:14:00.008+08:00

I'm sorry for the lack of updates!!!!!!!

It's just that, well you know it's the X'mas season and even though I haven't been doing a lot of cakes, I've been focusing on well, life itself. Doing X'mas shopping, spending time with friends and my boyfriend, etc. It's currently X'mas Eve but I'm gonna force myself to stay up to blog despite being mad tired because if I don't do it now, I dunno when I'll ever have time to!!!

So here goes: my blog entry on the Nuffang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011.

I hadn't taken as many pictures as I would've liked, but that's the problem with my DSLR.. takes great photos but it's so troublesome, I end up not taking any at all. My mum is getting me a new compact camera that is semi-pro and HD for Christmas. *HAPPY FACE SPASM*

So.

This is me at 9am on the coach bus with all the other bloggers, looking like a 14 year old student. Lol. We're on our way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I actually managed to wake up early enough to do some last minute packing and made 2 boxes of cupcakes for the bloggers to nomz on our way there ANDDD I didn't end up late or forget to bring anything which was a freaking miracle if you ask me.

While going over the bridge that connects Malaysia and Singapore together, I couldn't believe how near yet totally different our countries are. Every time I come back from M'sia I appreciate Singapore that much more. For it's safety, cleanliness, state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure, organized roads and more.

After a painful 7 hour bus journey (it sure as hell felt that long, our seats couldn't even recline backwards T_T) we arrive at the Marriott Putrajaya hotel! A pretty nice hotel that is located in the middle of nowhere. I appreciated how comfortable, quiet, clean, big and spacious it was though.

Our coach had arrived later than expected, and after waiting quite awhile to check into our respective hotel rooms, it didn't leave us with a lot of time to get ready for the awards dinner! I'm like the slowest person to my make up and hair so I was kinda worried. Thank goodness most bloggers are perpetually late (guilty as charged) even if it's for an awards show to honor their presence, because that bought me more time.

And I managed to get ready in time!!! :)

I bought this red evening dress specially for this event because I have like zero formal clothes in my wardrobe. I got it altered to fit me better and I'm lovin' it. I think I chose the right color because most people were in hues or black and blue that night.

Now if only I had more formal events to attend so I could wear it more than just once...

You can check out the bareback details of the dress in the reflection image!

Ready to hit the awards!!

WHO IS THIS HAMSUM BOY?!?!? ♥

Mucho love to my boyfriend for accompanying me even though I know how badly he wanted to stay home and rest instead of traveling and getting more tired. December is such a ridiculously hectic month wtf.

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LOTSA VAIN PICTURES INCOMING!!!

Looking suave, boys!

Sam and Mike hit it off really well during this trip! He also gets along surprisingly well with Sophie's boyfriend, Alaric....

Sam said he wants to start a club called the "Singapore Female Bloggers' Boyfriends Association" for guys like them. LOL

Sam and Huiwen who looked gorgeous in her long blue dress!!! One of the first few Nuffies I've ever met, and she's always been really nice.

My current desktop wallpaper ♥

Check out Wendy's madddd sparkly blue dress in the background!!

Everyone looked super good that day wtf. All so pretty and handsome!

And no I am not saying myself ok haha I mean other people. No expense spared, everyone went all out and their efforts really paid off because most people looked the best I've ever seen them.

Before I left my hotel room, I did a quick check with my reflection in the mirror and thought to myself, "Hmm... not bad. Ok, let's go!!!"

But when I saw how dressed up and pretty all the other female bloggers were.... self esteem went out the window, hopped onto a plane to go skydiving. LOLL. Seriously though, it was really cool seeing so many bloggers from different countries and walks of life all gathered in one grand ballroom.

Blogging takes people places!!

Brad aka LadyIronChef, who won Best Food Blog that night!!! Congratsss!! :D

I know I'm not the only one who visit his blog when I can't decide where to go for dinner. I lazy to list down all the winners of the nights / nominees, I dunno who most of them are anyway so I'm only going to tell you who won what if I took a picture with them that night.

Sophie and I!!! This girl is ridiculous. Whenever I see her, she is either 1) eating or 2) hungry. Chocolates, donuts, supper, she nomz them all without hesitation... When we go on double date with our boyfriends, our itinerary is like this:

Meet for a meal. Eat a lot. Do random shit like watch a movie or play darts. 2 hours later, go for another meal, and eat a lot again.

But only Sam and I will get fatter from the indulgence, while Sophie and Alaric stay damn thin. And I don't think either of them exercise. Why like this? ;___;

Trying to take a photo of Brad but my camera focused on her instead. Forever camera ready. Look at that smug expression I almost want to smack her LOL why you think you so pretty is it???....

Ok la very pretty la.

No need to guess who is the Region's Best Blogger & Most Influential Blogger!!

Wendy aka Xiaxue.blogspot.com!!!!!! A most deserving winner :')

I have been reading Wendy's blog even before I started blogging on my own, and she was definitely a large contributing factor to why I picked up blogging in the first place. I admired her straightforward nature and boldness to speak whatever she felt!!! Still do.

Totally teared up when she started making her speech after being completely shocked that she won Region's Best Blog twice in a row. I feel very happy for her success and count myself lucky to be her friend. She's actually really nice in person you know. I always emphasize on this point when people ask me about her because people tend to judge too quickly from her online personality. Ok I admit she's quite a bitch online, but who isn't? LOL.

I'm not sure if I can express my like for her properly without coming across as an over-adoring fan / a suck up so I hope I'm doing this right. All the angry Australians were so sore about her winning, if only they knew how much she influences thousands of bloggers / readers all over Asia just like you and me!!!

I finally got to meet Cheesie of Cheeserland.com! Woopie!!!!! ^.^

CHEESIE WON the Best Fashion Blog Category!!

I love her traveling / fashion posts and used to read her all the time :) Now that I've started this cake business I almost never have the time to read blogs anymore.. or the time to update my own. #sadface

A blurry pic that would've been otherwise good. #camhopains

A group picture with Qiuqiu, Sophie, Cheesie, Wendy, Velda, & Beatrice!

Prettiness overload or what. O_____O These girls ah.

With Nadia!! ^.^ From Nadnut.com

This and following picture credited to Qiuqiu

HAHAHA she made me chin very sharp and eye big big!

Picture credited to Brad

And omg in this picture you can see I was actually wearing.... FLATS.

Or slippers if you wanna call them that. Who the fuck wears blinged out slippers to a black tie event - I know right!!! But I couldn't find a nice and comfy pair of heels, and Comfort owns Fashion for me, thus the inappropriate footwear. Lol lucky nobody really took full body shots that day. Every other girl was in like 10 inch heels.

I felt unusually short.

The Awards & dinner is about to start!!!!! From here on I don't have alotta pics already because I was too focused on the food (starving) and the entertainment for the night.

Seated at a table with 2 Singaporeans and a bunch of older Aussie bloggers I didn't know. Nobody was that friendly or particularly interesting so we made a switch of tables to join Nadnut as her table as she was just behind us. A clever move because I switched inbetween courses, and I got to have double servings of bread. LOL I think the bread was probably the nicest course / item of the night..

Official photos from Nuffnang:

The show started off with risque dancing... Which raised a lot of eyebrows. I'm sure some men totally appreciated the performance but I was too busy eating.

A stand up comedian which I thought was the best entertainment of the night! I loved his jokes about comparing Malaysia to Singapore because I can totally relate.

Wendy receiving her award..... Awwwwww!!! Look at that shiny pink ball of fluff grinning away.

All the nominees and winners!!!!!!!!! If you realllyyy wanna find out who they all are you can check out Nuffnang's website...

#endoftheshow

Went over to congratulate the people we knew that won and wasted no time in heading back to our hotel room. UBER beat!!! We took a short rest, and then...

Played Monopoly Deal with Wendy, Mike, Sophie, Qiuqiu & Sam and ordered yummeh supper and talked about everything and nothing into the night!!! :D

Our conversation that night was so freaking hilarious and random. We talked about 2 fishes being in a guy's asshole and more that I can't even remember now because it was THAT random. But I do remember laughing a lot. Lol.

After that we concussed till we had to wake up for breakfast the next day.

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The next day was a relatively quiet one for Sam & I. Had our breakfast, then decided to forgo the day tour that the other bloggers were going on and join them for drinks at night instead, because we were just sooooo freakin' exhausted we would've passed out on the street so we slept in instead.

The 5 hour nap was AMAZING.

In the early evening, we caught the Nuffnang tour bus (1 hour+ journey!) to have dinner at Pavilion in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Actually Sam, Mike and I were at the lobby early, waiting for the tour bus to come. But it didn't come for quite some time, so we decided to sit down outside a restaurant (still in the lobby) and have coffee instead so we could rest our legs. We ended up chatting and chatting and being so distracted that we didn't even notice the tour bus leaving without us. LOL the fuck..... -____- Nobody came to get us either?

So we had the board China's tour bus, instead of the Singaporean one. *face palm x100*

Random camho: I ♥ Floral dresses and hairbands!

WE HAD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL INDIAN FOOD FOR DINNER!!!! Put a smile on my face for the rest of the night. You dunno how much I loved it.

Yes, beautiful.

I remember dining here with family about 3 years ago and I was so happy to find the same restaurant! :D It's called Spice of India, top floor of Pavilion in KL. My favorite Indian restaurant called Mumtaz Mahal officially closed down all it's outlets in Singapore (WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY)

And I haven't been able to find an Indian fix that could match up to Mumtaz Mahal yet, but Spice of India blew me away.

Super recommend it I want to take 7 hour bus back to KL just to eat this.

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And now I leave you with an abrupt ending because it is 3am and I am beyond tired and I have to wake up in a few hours and spend X'mas Eve with my family and I am so hungry just talking about the Indian food that I have to go to sleep now in order to stop myself from ordering McDonalds breakfast.

Not much happened after Indian dinner, we joined the Nuffnang people for drinks at this cool rooftop bar and chit chatted until midnight then went back to the hotel. Next day wake up, take 7 hours bus ride go home.

.......The end.

Thank you Nuffnang for organizing the trip for all us bloggers!!!!!

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Before I go...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

And a Happy New Year to you too! ♥ ♥ ♥

I am spending Christmas in Marina Bay Sands with my fam, and I bought everyone neat presents, I'm so excited to see their faces when they open it!!! I want to stay and blog more and recap my year and talk about my ideal X'mas wishlist and stuff but I really have to go.

Wishing you lots of joy and love this festive season. I hope everyone gets to spend quality time with the people they care about because no one deserves to spend X'mas all alone, even if you're not religious or into commercialized holidays. It's about the lurveeee.

....2011 has passed all too quickly.

xoxo,
Jess

The Rest of Sydney in Pictures - Part 1

2011-12-14T12:49:00.005+08:00

Spending a quiet afternoon roaming the streets of Bondi by myself

Trying Nando's for the first time.. I don't understand the hype. Mediocre tasting chicken with hot sauce

I walked into this cutie's clothing store at Bondi and ended up chatting with her for almost an hour since she didn't have any other customers. It was a quiet off-peak time at Bondi. It's really nice and refreshing to meet new people & friends in foreign countries :)

These shop owners see me shopping all alone so they make an obvious effort to entertain me as much as possible. It was sweet ♥ I am always moved by a stranger's kindness and how genuine some of them are, even though I don't know them at all.

This dude works at 7-Eleven, but owns a beach front house in a prime location that's worth millions. I found that really interesting.

We caught an Italian Symphony at the Sydney Opera House.

I don't know why I did it since I knew I was going to stare blankly into nothingness for 2 hours, sitting in sheer boredom (which is exactly what I did) and the only other people there were elderly folks who were nodding and humming away to the tunes.. but what the heck.

I figured everyone should try everything at least once.

I love the twinkling lights.

#Epic moment in the train when we were so glad to have bought tissue boxes because our apartment ran out of toilet paper 2 days ago. LOL.

I miss Australia.

xoxo,
Jess

Wanna watch Vanness Wu perform live?

2011-12-11T23:55:00.011+08:00

If you're a Vanness Wu fan, you're going to love what I'm about to tell you!!! :D

If you don't already know who he is..

Vanness used to be part of a really popular Taiwanese boy band named F4 (I remember their glory days, my friends in school were all googoo gaga!) and he is now a successful solo artist who has also worked with awesome people like Kanye West (not so awesome after what he did to Taylor) & Beyonce.

His newest single "Is This All" features Ryan Tedder from One Republic!!! Pretty catchy even though I don't normally listen to Chinese songs (like at all)

How is all of this relevant to you guys? Welllllll.........*drum roll*

Vanness is going to perform in Singapore on 14th December evening, and

I HAVE ONE TICKET TO GIVE AWAY to a lucky reader and fan of Vanness!!!

"Come 14 Dec, the Waterfront Studios will be opening at Resorts World Sentosa. Fully treated for the best acoustic performance with state-of-the-art technology, the purpose-built TV studio is also equipped with the latest in audio, lighting and full HD camera systems, the studio space is optimal for production recordings with a live audience.

There’s more! In collaboration with MTV Asia, we will be opening the studio with the first installment of MTV Sessions, featuring Universal Music recording artist - Vanness Wu, who will be performing tracks from his latest album C’est La “V” as well as covers and remixes of songs never before performed for a television audience" - source

You guys know what this means right?? The opening of Waterfront studio at RWS may mean plenty more opportunities for us to see our favorite artistes perform live in Singapore!!! Yay! :) Small-scale performances are always so much better than large concerts, in terms of quality experience and how close you get to be to the singer.

Tickets to this showcase are not available for sale, and are extremely exclusive. As far as I know, there are only two ways to win yourself a pair of passes in Singapore -

1) RWS has their own contest, located HERE (Clickity for more info!)

2) A scratch & win contest (probably well over by now...)

...Plus they're only giving away 3 pairs of tickets away, so I guess your chances are pretty slim, competing against hundreds of other fans. D:

Butttttttttt!! When I got invited to this event on media passes, I unabashedly asked for an extra ticket so that I could host this giveaway on my blog (so thick skin I know), thinking my contact would say no.... but whaddya know...

I was granted an extra ticket! n____n" Seriously so nice of them, and I'm glad I can extend this invite to a potential lucky fan.

SO!!!!!

If you want to win an exclusive invite to Vanness Wu's showcase, all you have to do is LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST (click on comment button below), telling me:

Name:

Age:

Email:

Why YOU really deserve to go to Vanness Wu's showcase, or why you love Vanness:

Jessica is awesome because: (LOL, just kidding this is not necessary. Although, .....optional, if you know what I mean. *cough*)

...I will email the winner as soon as I've picked one! Which will be soon, so fastest fingers first. Since the showcase date is nearing (14 dec is like 2 days away), I know this doesn't leave you guys with a lot of time, but whatever plans you have... A real Vanness fan would cancel them all. :P

It's really that simple. Obviously the more enthusiastic and groupie-ish you sound, the better. There is no catch to this - no need to "Like" any Facebook page or vote for me in any contest, etc etc. No bribing, no strings attached. I just wanted to be nice. I hope I have some hardcore Vanness fans as readers!!! I will not be publishing the comments for this entry btw.

If you enter this giveaway, keep in mind you will be granted ONE ticket, not a pair. So you'll have to come alone, and please be responsible to be punctual and actually show up. Meeting point for when I pass you the ticket (I'll be there too! You get to see me AND Vanness, wa.... lucky you. LOL) and more details will be given when I contact the winner, via email. So keep checking your mailboxes. If the first winner does not reply quickly enough, a second person will be contacted instead.

If you do not get to go, don't fret.. they will be airing the recording on MTV and other channels in the future. ;)

That is all! Good luck!!!

xoxo,

Jess

Advertorial: Essential - Healthy hair even to the last 15cm!

2011-12-09T17:44:00.005+08:00

It happens to the best of us.

Us girls constantly struggle with keeping our hair ends free of split-ends and dryness, because there's no point having nicely colored or styled hair if it just looks like a frizzy mess. But that's more than a lot of us can hope for.

The last 15cm of our hair is the most damaged, therefore requiring the most care. It's at least 1 year older than the rest of your hair closer to the roots, so it would have gone through more rounds of harmful dye coloring, blow-dying, tonging...

I for one would know very well what happens when you don't take care of your hair. :(

Check out these pics of my utterly HORRENDOUS hair, taken JUST last year in 2010!!! You DON'T wanna end up like I did.

I'd bleached and colored my hair, permed it, tonged it often, had hair extensions and did soooo much damage to it, felt like my hair was damaged beyond repair.

I had totally neglected my hair's health and let it become the biggest frizz ball I've ever seen in my life. I could barely believe it was HAIR (on my own head!), felt and looked more like grass....

I tried to get out all the tangles in a salon, but my hair was so brittle and dry, it was impossible to get the tangles out (and it was so painful T_T)

Eventually I gave up, and painfully chopped it all off. Possibly every girl's worst fear. *sigh*

NOOOOO!!!!!!!

This brings back nightmares. Without pretty long hair, I honestly felt like a boy. Feminine level dropped 200%. I now realize how important hair is, and why chicks create such a fuss over their long manes. I get it now.

It can make or break your look.

Thankfully, I never have to go through that nightmare again....

Because Essential makes taking care of my damaged hair so easy!!!

Depending on your hair style, you can choose between the Nuance Airy or Rich Premier range!

Rich Premier - Suitable for damaged hair that seems impossible to tame.

Nuance Airy - Suitable for flat and limp damaged hair. (It calls my name!)

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They have a whole range of products to rescue your damaged hair!

Basic care - Shampoo & Conditioner (needs no elaboration)

Basic treatment - Comes in a tube. To be used once or twice a week as it nourishes your damaged hair ends and gives it the revitalizing boost it needs. You can skip using conditioner if you're going to use the treatment!

♥ Intensive repair for severely damaged hair :

Intensive treatment - Hair mask, with 3x more High Purity Honey and Milk Protein than Tube Treatment to care for your severely damaged hair.

Leave on treatment - Hair essence. This essence can be used daily on damp hair after shampooing to give your hair continuous care, and it can also be re-applied onto dry hair.

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Let me demonstrate how simple it is to achieve healthy gorgeous hair with Essential products that will make all your girl friends jealous!!! :D

Yes, the following pictures were taken in my actual bathroom. And yes, I am in a fluffy pink bathrobe. ;)

Some girls only wash their hair once every few days because they're lazy / it's easier to style dirty hair.. that's a no-no for me.

Do salons ever say, "Hey, we're going to leave your hair dirty so it's easier for us to style now."

No!!! They always wash your hair first! Because clean, healthy hair looks and FEELS good. I can't stand my hair and scalp feeling oily / dirty or looking greasy. And you can totally smell a girl's hair when she hasn't washed it for more than 2 days..

I realize that softer, smoother hair = more cuddling from my boyfriend. He runs his fingers through my hair and pulls me closer more often. Score!

It's a plus point that Essential's products all smell soooo good! The shampoo was a nice milky texture that wasn't too thick, so it's easy to lather up.

Here I am happily lathering my hair up in awesome goodness n_n

If you're wondering why Essential products are so good for your hair.. it's because they contain awesome ingredients like shea butter & high purity honey extract, a deep moisture booster formula to care for your damaged hair!

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Using conditioner after shampooing is Essential.... For tangle-free hair everyday. Skip this step and you might find yourself dealing with a tangly mess that is impossible to style or comb properly.

However, if you're intending on using their treatment products, you can skip using the conditioner. I went ahead and used their intensive Hair Mask.

Making sure I'm getting my Essential hair mask onto everyyy single strand!

This hair mask was my favorite step of the routine!!! The difference before and after applying it was extremely noticeable. There is "after-conditioner" soft, THEN there is "after-Essential-hair-mask-soft".....

Which is so incredibly silky soft, you're gonna be touching your own hair like you've got some hair fetish the whole day. :P

Once you're done with basic care and treatment, it's time to wash it all off, dry your hair and prep yourself for one last step - the Hair Essence. You can use the Hair Essence on damp or dry hair, focusing on mid hair length to hair ends. Ideally, you should use it before blow-drying your hair to protect it from the heat and once more when your hair is dry, to give it a smooth and shiny finish!

This is a good reason why we need to pamper our hair with all these products.

Day to day styling is enough to wear your hair out over time.

Simple harmless looking devices like a blow dryer can suck the life and shine out of your hair if you do it often enough..

With my hair now completely dried, time for the final step!

You can use this product throughout the day. Having a bad hair day and need a quick fix before you leave the house? This will be your lifesaver.

If you're about to go on a date and you want your man to take notice of your hair, apply this magic formula immediately. He'll love how shiny and soft your hair looks. ;)

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And now we're ALL DONE!!!!!! ^.^

Here I am, with hair I've never known could be so soft and smooth. :')

If you have really flat, thin and fine hair like me.. chances are, you have problems with fly away hair. Essential's Hair Essence minimized that worry for me by keeping my fine hair strands in place, for a natural and effortless sleek look.

You know your hair looks good when your boyfriend notices it's different and improved without you having to tell him! Men never notice these things.

Living proof that damaged hair can and will get better with enough care and determination. The pictures don't lie.

Thanks Essential, you worked magic on me!!!!

♥ Check out Essential's official website at www.sassykawaii.com

♥ For more information on their products, visit this link

Cheers to healthy and pretty hair!

xoxo,
Jess

What's Bakin'? #9

2011-12-07T12:43:00.002+08:00

All creations lovingly done by Shiberty's Sweets! ♥

Please remember to credit and link back if you're going to share my cake pictures online. :)

Breakfast served at Tiffany's was cake.

I am aware the Barney looks slightly possessed.. :P I'll try to make sure he's more docile-looking next time.

This birthday girl requested sparkly colorful cupcakes with cute owls and random cute stuff!

Voila!

These ones are for the boys... :)

Yeah, that's a mini cooper with a UK flag on the roof.

Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains.

With real blood painstakingly cut from my hand. -nods- I have THAT much commitment.

It's a brains buffet!!! Om nom nomz.

I like brains for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For the ones who want a really simple and sweet cake on their anniversaries!

I was told the theme of this cake is "Countryside, simplistic, with cute little sheep and the main colors being green white and blue."

I think we pretty much hit the nail on the spot. :D *buay paiseh*

Lalalala~ Lalalala~ Elmo's world!

Sam said my Elmos look like downies, but I like them. I think they're adorable.

Adorably retarded looking.

This was a request for a simple floral-themed with super bright happy colors!

This was a pretty special cake. Her birthday fell on 11.11.11, which everyone kept going on about about how it was a special date for making wishes, etc..

She said she wanted the cake to look "mystical, enchanting, with stars" - I suppose the stars signify wishing stars? :)

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That's all the cake pictures I have for today!

Good luck with X'mas shopping everyone, I know I'm still scrambling around tryna find a good gift for everyone. I went out yesterday intending to buy X'mas prezzies for others but ended up spending a shit heap on myself only. Omg fail.

But I bought the most gorgeous Marilyn Monroe inspired red dress from Warehouse and fur boots + cardigan from F21 and a furry hoodie from River Island and a blazer + shorts from New Look and new cosmetics from Sephora!!!!!! I know you don't care, but I just wanted to share. Lol. You'll want to know when you see pictures of the cute items on my blog in the future!!!!

xoxo,
Jess

Moreton Island

2011-12-01T14:15:00.007+08:00

Rise and Shine!

We got up in the early morning, hopped onto a tour bus, and made our way over to the Port of Brisbane, which was an hour's drive away..

Today we're heading off to a secluded island called Moreton Island....

To SNORKEL and go sandboarding!!!!!! :D

No food provided on the tour bus, but my trophy boyfriend made me chicken caesar salad the night before, so I didn't have to starve during the journey... Woopie!!!

I can't stop snacking when I'm on road trips. This is SERIOUSLY addictive stuff.. peppery and salty and chewy. Wishin' I had some now.

And we arrive at the Port of Brisbane! It's such a beautiful day, thank god for gorgeous weather that shined down on us.

Getting boarded into the boat that would take us to Moreton Island... it definitely wasn't the tour boat I expected. O_O

You'll see what I mean in a bit.

This is Fidelis going.. "WTF so cold, how to snorkel later on?!"

This little food corner in the boat was a lifesaver. It was another an hour ish before we reached Moreton Island.

Steak pie. NOMZ.

Hey you! Haha he looks so scruffy in the mornings.

Kept my make up minimal that day because it was going to be a day of full of physical activities, sun, sea and the sand... surprisingly my falsies did NOT drop off nor did my eyeliner get smudged at all.

Am I good or what? n_n

A pretty blue pic of Brisbane's port :) We were soooo lucky with the weather, it didn't rain once during our 3 week trip!

As we're approaching the island, we got called to the bottom floor of the boat... where....

We saw a LOT of big cars and trucks. O______o

This boat actually transfers people AND their cars to and fro islands. Of course, only 4WDs were allowed considering the rough terrain of the island..

Why would people need their cars on a secluded island?

Well you're allowed to drive all around the island, so I guess you can get a lot more sightseeing done this way? You cover more ground, and get shielded from the sun. Some people drive deep into the island and camp in the bushes!!!

It was extremely amusing seeing everyone buckled into their cars, ON A BOAT. I was like...

"Ok, I'm in a car. On a boat. On the sea. This isn't strange at all."

The tour we booked, if you're interested.

However, I do not highly recommend this... There are possibly better tours out there. Moreton Island is beautiful, but this particular tour was kinda overpriced and shit at some points, though it did have its unique highlights.

Excited munchkins!!! Time to soak up the sun! The weather warmed up a little bit, but was still less than 20 degrees..

We drove off the boat, onto Moreton island.... where I took a first proper look of it.

And I was just like...

Wowwww.

WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! I'm not sure if I've ever seen bluer skies and waters?!?? Promise you it looked like this or even bluer in real life!!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

It was just amazing how serene it was.

Those old, rusty looking boats are shipwrecks by the way.

Purposely sunk there more than 30 years ago!!! Because of the shipwrecks, it's a protected and safe place to snorkel (no sharks or predators or jellyfish or rip currents) just tons & tons of harmless fishies!

Very reassuring for a noob first-time-snorkler such as myself. :D

I do have a mild fear of the sea.. it is SO incredibly beautiful, what with its vastness and sparkling waters and the beautiful animals that live in it, but honestly, if you don't know what you're dealing with you could die in it within a couple of minutes.

So much could happen. Drowning, jellyfish stings, stepping on sharp coral and sea urchins, getting sucked out into the open sea by rip tides, eaten by sharks.... and more. Okok enough with the morbid talk.

This place was a haven. :')

Gotta get geared up and into the water quick, we had finish snorkeling before the tide changes!

Sammy the Sea Lion in a wetsuit...

HAHAHAHAHAHAH it was our first time trying on wet suits. Superrrrrr difficult to put on pls I could barely get it past my fat thighs and ass LOL.

Fidelis & Me!!!! Lmao @ how everyone's eyes are closed in pics cuz the sun was so harsh!

PLEASE try your best to resist your urge to burst out laughing at the sight of me squeezed into a wet suit. I know I look like a hei ba zhang ok... lol.

There you go.

If you ever wanna black mail me, you know which picture to use!!

Gearing up was harder than I thought... Sam had to put on my wet suit and flippers on for me. :3 I am so helpless when it comes to outdoorsy activities.

You have to put on your flippers at the water's edge (you're not meant to wear them on land) but when I tried lying down and put my flippers on, I kept floating around like a ball?! LOL.

Couldn't stay still enough.

THE WATER WAS SOOOOOOOO COLD.

I dipped my little toe in and immediately let out a shriek. The scorching sun is so deceiving, it does nothing to heat the water up. Since the air was less than 20 degrees I have a feeling the water must be barely 10+ degrees at most.

Thank god for wet suits, I might've hyperventilated and froze to death otherwise. I think the adrenaline and excitement helps keep your body warm too.

I was too busy making stupid happy faces at my camera to notice anything else. LOL.

Funny and friendly Indian guys in our tour group.

They frequently stopped and asked me if was OK, cuz I was always lagging behind... It's so heartwarming when strangers are that kind to you! ^___^

Fact: snorkeling isn't a glamorous activity.

Your nose and mouth gets squished, and most of the time you're spitting water out of your mouth. LOL it was still incredibly fun though!

You see this pink boogie board? The tour guide gave it to me because I told her I wasn't a good swimmer.. (LOL NOOB RIGHT) considering we were gonna snorkel for an hour straight, I figured it was good measure to keep it with me.

Turns out I didn't need it at all because the wet suit keeps you so buoyant, you can float "standing" in the water like this! :

In fact, the boogie board was more of hindrance than help. :3

Funny pictures of Sam hahaha it was his first time snorkeling too!

The thick orange gloves was to keep our hands warm and protect ourselves from sharp coral, potential bites from fishes, etc.

Say cheeeeeseee!!! :D

At first I was trying too hard to adjust to breathing underwater and keeping up with the rest so much that I couldn't really enjoy the view beneath.... so I took meh pictures of shipwrecks, of the sea bed and of people in the water.

I think a sting ray was hiding underneath the sand!!!

The pictures do get better later on (sort of, still just fishes though), unfortunately most of the coral / fishes weren't colorful and the colorful ones were too fast and squirmish for me to take pictures of! I didn't see turtles or exotic animals like I'd expected to. :( I heard another tour group saw baby reef sharks and dolphins!! LUCKY!!! I would've died of happiness.

But, something really REALLY amazing happened later on in this trip which made up for it (save it for another blog post omfg so excited thinking about it) that totally changed my mind about having bad luck with wild animals. The experience was incredibly special. But that's for another time!!!

Sam says hi!

What the deuce is this intestine-lookalike-thingy lying on the sea bed? Dolphin poop? Sea snake sheddings? Sea worms?!!?

Striped fishies!!!

I think the shipwrecks were pretty hard to navigate through, some passages were so narrow and sharp, it's inevitable you scrape yourself on coral or rusting metal while trying to swim through.

Lucky our wetsuit was real nice and thick, I reckon it would've resulted in extremely painful cuts otherwise.

A lone starfish

Snorkeling with false eyelashes on. #winner

Don't mind my picture spam, I was having such a good time, couldn't stop snapping :)

HAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

Sam said he found the elusive Loch Ness Monster. HE IS SO MEAN LOL

Eventually we got surrounded by more fish....

And more fish...

And MORE FISHHHHH.

So much fish, that I was almost scared I'd get lost in a maze of fish and they'd all eat me alive. o_O

In my past life I was a mermaid. #thingsyoudidn'tknowaboutme

ME ♥ YOU!! :DDDDDDDD

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/End of snorkeling pics.

Even though we didn't see as many sea animals as I would've liked to, I still concur it was an awesome first-time experience, being able to take a peek at what life is like underwater. It was safe, guided, and so much fun..

I can't wait to go snorkeling again!!!!!!!!! ♥

We got out of the water and our wetsuits, basked in the sun for a bit while we waited for lunch to be served!

An assortment of cold food, like ham, cheese, crackers, tomatoes, veggies...

So this was my lunch. Potato chips, dijonnaise and sweet chilli sauce, tomatoes, ham, cheese, salami... wrapped together and eaten like that!

It sounds disgusting but really, it wasn't that bad. Kinda nice actually, the chips made it crispy, sauces made it tasty, and the ham + cheese gave it substance. I'm a simple person. Lol.

(not really, I just eat anything when I'm hungry)

Sam looking tired from snorkeling~ It's pretty tiresome to swim for an hour straight, even if the wetsuit helps keep you afloat. I did better at it than I predicted I would!

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Our next activity got the best of us.

We got roasted (as roasted as a turkey on Christmas) in a hellish glasshouse non-air-conditioned bus for 30 minutes while we drove towards the sand dunes, preparing to go sand boarding down the slopes.

It was just TOOOOOO DANG HOT to be out in the sun unsheltered, let alone be walking through this godforsaken desert in the middle of us!!!

This picture is deceiving. Made it seem fun when it wasn't.

It really didn't help that we were all dehydrated from swallowing sea water from snorkeling before. Worst part of the tour?! No supply of water or sunblock... -______-

I remember telling Sam, "I would rape someone for a drink right now. Kill a baby bunny for a 7-UP."

Everyone soldiering on.. but I know they were all dying inside.

I've lived in Singapore for 19 years (and this place is hot, hot, hot) and I've been to boiling places like Indonesia and Phuket and all the tropical places near the equator, but I've never been in a hotter place than THIS.

The desert was so dry, so hot, that BEES flew into my ear. Why the hell would bees fly into my ear?! Good question.

Sam said because my ear hole was cool, and that it had the most moisture out of anywhere else in the desert, the bees got attracted to it and wanted to fly / stay in there.. but of course my trashing around and shrieking disallowed it to do so.

WHAT the FUCK. T___T

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention we also had to carry our sand boards and walk a few hundred meters in the sun and thennnn climb up a STEEP, giant sand hill.

Climbing up sand slopes must be worse than climbing up snow. The sand just keeps giving way under your feet, and you keep losing your footing, it's impossible to climb up..........

All I could remember thinking was, "Why did I pay money to do this? Why???"

This was how steep it was. It doesn't look that steep in pictures but considering I was going to take a nose dive down this hill.... yeah, seemed a lot steeper in person.

Everyone getting prepped to go downhill

Sam waxing his board up. The waxier your board is, the faster you go!

The landscape was sort of beautiful. If you disregard the fact it felt like a hell hole.

.........And I'm off!!!!!!!!!!

"Elbows out to the side like chicken wings!" - LOL.

I was rather apprehensive about doing it... (I like going downhill and getting air-time, but only on roller coasters, not having my body fully exposed on a flimsy board fml) but I thought to myself, "Don't be a pussy. What's the worse that could happen right? It wouldn't create a painful impact, even if I fell it would be a cushioned fall thanks to the sand."

But I was so wrong.

It was the SAND that eventually did me in. As I was going downhill, I had my whole face and mouth filled with sooo much sand, I CHOKED and teared like mad.. almost had to rip out my contacts. I kept trying to spit out the copious amount of sand I accidentally swallowed on my way down, to no avail.

That shit gave me the worst sore throat I've ever had in my life.

The sand from sandboarding + dehydration + sea water from snorkeling fucked my throat up real real real good, spat and coughed up blood the day after that, lost my voice and got a raging fever a few days later, and throughout all this I had an amazing amount of thick, dark green / yellow phlegm for the next TWO WEEKS after that. I coughed like shit every day, and had to have an empty cup ready by my bed side because I would cough and spit in it every few minutes. Actually, half spitting half vomiting lol.

I coughed so hard, it was hard to breathe normally, and I puked in my own mouth a few times. I didn't BREATHE, I just WHEEZED. And I think I also spread the virus to Sam and Fidelis.

Couldn't sleep well or enjoy myself properly. :'( It took more than a month for my cough to finally go away. Sounds dramatic but it's a true mother fucking story. #pissedoff

I was so glad when the sand boarding part was over, and we could go back to the boat.

Fresh air!!! Ahhhh...

Sat on the top deck enjoying the views and the sea breeze. Oh and we bought ourselves a soft drink. The best tasting drink I've ever had in my life.

Amazing how the weather and landscape changes to a desert just 20km inland.

I was chatting with other people onboard the boat, and a guy told me how he caught a lot of fishes and saw sea turtles and dolphins while he was on a fishing boat. He wasn't even snorkeling! ;____;

Check out the beautiful holiday apartments!!! Super duper jelly. I saw other people going on ATV tours, which was something I'd muchhhh rather have done than sandboarding.

Moreton Island ♥

Doesn't this picture look like postcard material?

Farewell now Moreton!!!!! Despite my crap experience with sand boarding, I still had a great time, and tons of beautiful & funny pictures to show it!

The boat ride back to Brisbane was really nice and relaxing. It was about an hour long and I had ample time to sit back, relax, and look out to sea, thinking about everything and nothing.

The sun had gone behind the clouds but it was still bright and windy.

I told Sam,

"Hey, let's try to spot dolphins, I REALLY want to see some!!! You take the left side, I'll take the right side, if you see some dolphins, YELL OUT."

And so we did. We kept our eyes peeled for signs of animals in the sea, and concentrated intently on making out dorsal fins shapes in the sea.. Whaddya know? After 30 minutes, Sam goes,

"OI GET OVER HERE JESS!!!"

And would you believe it - we spotted 3 dolphins jumping in and out of the water!!! FWAH.

That was my first time ever seeing a wild dolphin!!!!!!!!!! You have NO IDEA how long and how much I'd waited and wanted this moment. They disappeared behind the waves within a few moments, but I was happy just to catch a glimpse.

It felt like they made a special appearance just to make me happy, even for just a bit. I know it sounds silly, but that's how I felt anyway. :')

It made a very special moment for Sam and I to be alone at the back of the boat, looking out to sea while the sun was setting in the background, spotting dolphins together ♥

I think it's these quiet, personal, I-love-you-so-much-I-feel-like-flying-let's-sail-into-the-sunset-in-each-others-arms moments like these that really count in our relationship.

And that was one heck of a day at Moreton Island.

xoxo,
Jess

My recent life in pictures

2011-11-24T14:20:00.008+08:00

Some of the things I've been busy with...

Mum was in town recently, and (persistently) urged me to get my hair done with her.

I quote her, "Girl ah, your hair is sooooo awful!!! Faster go get it done la!" - LOL. Thanks a lot mum.

It wasn't that bad... I think?

Sure my dye job was about 8 months overdue and my hair had absolutely no structure whatever (which is why I always had sunglasses on my head, to distract people from my bad hair days, which was pretty much everyday)

So, I tagged along on one of my mum's salon trips at my aunt's salon at Ang Mo Kio and fixed up my hair. It's called Hair Zone if you wanna visit them.

Reasonable rates, very friendly staff and they do hair color impressively evenly and well!

Tadah! All done ^.^

Very smooth and straight now, it almost looks like my hair was rebonded. I like how it fans out perfectly when I lie down on my bed. And also how it has a lot of dramatic "swing" when I turn my head sharply. Kinda like a walking shampoo advertisement lolol.

I'm not an adventurous person when it comes to hair, so I got my fringe cut upon persuasion from my mother and I dyed the color a chocolatey brown. After a few washes the color faded a abit, so it's at least 3 shades lighter now.

I've been wanting to do something drastic with my hair, but from painful past experiences, I've resigned to the fact that I look awful in short hair. I mean, sure, it's a fresh look for the first week or two.. then I start looking like a boy wtf.

I saw this advertisement for breast enhancement surgery on a magazine page I was browsing in the salon and wanted to share it.

That's like the most beautiful and logical thing I've ever read about cosmetic surgery :')

Momma ditched her white Volkswagen Beetle for this silverish BMW 5 Series. I dunno how she's going to drive it, that thing is freakin' massive!!!

I liked that cute little Beetle, but HURRAY to no longer having to climb into a tiny 2-door car. It was so stupid having to squeeze mercilessly in it every day. I could barely sit up straight or comfortably. It'd be especially torturing being in it after going out for dinner together coz everyone would be extra fat.

The new BMW is so futuristic and cool. You can barely hear any engine or road noise or feel bumps / movement when you're in it.. I can fall asleep so easily in it (Y)

Lunch that I made the other day. Roasted red skin potatoes with sun dried tomatoes & herbs + home made meat balls with bolognese and dijonnaise sauce (my secret recipe n_n)

I really enjoy cooking. I wish I had the time to cook more.

Speaking of food, my kind neighbour randomly brought over some fresh corn the other day (yeah, she's cool like that) so I marinated then baked some and it was the best corn I've had in my life wtf. I had like 2 whole cobs to myself for dinner, that's how much I liked it.

She brought them back from Cameron Highlands and they were so juicy and sweet and now I will never look at corn the same way again. #truestory

I love my mummy. Our conversations always crack me up.

Check it out!!!!!!! :D

Cupcakes from Shiberty's Sweets were featured in a local publication!!!!!!!!!!

My babies, in a magazine. *tears* Not just ANY type of food feature. I've got hawwwttt white models posing with my cuppycakes in a fashion shoot to sweeten the deal even further.

Nice.

Camped out at MBS for 2 nights.

It's nice to get away from it all while not having to go too far. I love MBS like my second home. They have the softest bed sheets and the best view of all in Singapore.

Woke up to this and a bath tub filled with bubbles on our second day :') ♥

I've been burning these oils in my room and my room constantly smells amazing. :'D Forget air fresheners and room sprays, pure essential oils are the way to go!!!

Mixed lavender and lemongrass scent, and instant magical formula for my room to smell like a heavenly spa. Smelling good makes me happy. Aroma therapy works wonders.

Amazing (new?) cereal I found at Cold Storage!!! I have cereal for dinner instead of breakfast, because I can't eat anything within 1 hour of waking up or I'd get diarrhea. I betcha didn't know that o_O Am slightly lactose intolerant especially in the mornings.

So I can never have cereal for breakfast like a normal human being T_T

Dining at Antoinette, Mandarin Gallery.

If you've ever walked past this restaurant you would've seen their boastful array of tantalizing desserts.. Sucked me in right away.

Oh and Sam's expression was because I told him to give me a "high class face" coz we were in a "high class restaurant". LOL.

Nichy came over to visit me when he booked out of camp!!! Brought me some cake too. Silly boy, I make cakes, why do you bring me cakes?!

HAHAHAHA his botak head is sooo funny. I love you Nic Nic, but bald is not a good look for you. I keep telling him he looks like a shaolin monk, lol. We had several rounds of Monopoly and UNO Stacko showdown... I don't think there's anything else I'd rather do in this world than sit down with my loved ones and spend quality time playing board games with them!!! ♥

Wendy got a new bunny recently and it....

is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MONSTROUSLY ADORABLE!!! *^_____^*

It's fur is super duper soft and she is so friendly :D At first she didn't really like me picking her up, but after an hour or two, the bunny hopped onto my chest and SLEPT there angelically while we watched Forrest Gump.

I can't believe I've never seen Forrest Gump before this... Yes, I've been living under a rock.

It's such a good movie, and made even better by little fluffy bunny sleeping on me!!! Unfortunately cute little bun bunz peed on me halfway through the movie (I HAD AN INKLING IT WOULD HAPPEN.) and I had to change into Mike's clothes because Wendy's wouldn't fit me lolol. It was a new dress too..

I think it's still lying around somewhere in her house covered in bunny pee. o_o

Sam and I walked pass a bridal shop the other day and I stopped in my tracks when I saw this dress.
I LOVE IT. It's simple but gorgeous!!! Most wedding dresses look like Christmas presents because they're too poofy, but this one is perfect. Too bad I'm not getting married.

Me on my way to see my favorite people - the (S)ocial (P)layground (I)sland people!!!! I even curled my hair for them so they must be really special coz I haven't done that for aaaaages.

Jayrus, little Zac, Valerie (Miss Singapore!), Wayne

We met yearsss ago at at Nuffnang event, and have been good friends ever since. We don't see each other all that often, but each time we do, we have the best fun!

I brought Sam along and I was so happy he could meet them. They're a bunch of incredible nice people.

I made them oreo and chocolate cupcakes. They were VERY happy about that, lol. Couldn't get enough!!!

Mucho love for the SPI gang! ♥ ♥ ♥

I hear they're planning a Jet Ski outing next and I'm so excited imma wet my pants I luvvvvv jetskiing yo

Iris enlarging contact lenses are the best things that have happened to me since false eyelashes. Surprisingly, I actually feel relatively comfortable without make up these days. (I still have my eyebrows drawn because I have no eyebrows naturally)

But when I can help it I usually do my whole face anyway... :P

This is me on my way to attend a customer's birthday party. I was so pleased - I've served people hundreds of birthday cakes, but only ONE has ever invited me to their party. ;_;

*feels unloved*

I was kinda skeptical at first, I'm not really a party person and I wouldn't know anyone else there, but Sam and I ended up having a great time because everyone present was so welcoming and nice.

Complete strangers came up to chat with us and took their time to give us invaluable advice about our business and offered to lend a helping hand to someone they'd only met an hour ago. I was moved by how there are still kind strangers without any ulterior motives out there. I'd post pics from the party, but it was in someone else's home so I don't think that's very appropriate.

I do have one pic though!!!

Thank you Aisyah for inviting Sam and I! We had a blast. :)

Went walking around a mall after the party and bought myself the new love of my life.

Everyone, meet Philip. ♥ He is the cuddliest freakin' thing to ever exist. (after Wendy's bunny)

That is all for today.

It's the weekend!! Which means Yipee for you, and Boohoo for me because weekends are when I have to work the hardest - swamped with cake orders. I can feel my back and hands aching already.

xoxo,
Jess

Dream World

2011-11-23T21:00:00.004+08:00

I miss waking up to views like this.

Listening to the surf gently rolling in is undoubtedly the best sound to hear in the morning. I reckon it guarantees a perfect day ahead of me.

Fidelis and I took a flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast and we met up with Sam there. We stayed in the heart of Surfer's Paradise (aptly named so.) It is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. Not because it had an astonishing amount of raw astounding beauty... but more of the fact that it was the longest coastline I have ever seen right next to civilization.

I thought Bondi was beautiful until I came to the Gold Coast. It's about ten times better, if that's even possible. (one day I will go to Maldives and say it is 100 times better lol)

The coast line stretches on further than the eye can see!!! When you're on a Gold Coast beach, you look to your left and see towering skyscrapers. And then you look to your right and see an endless horizon along the ocean. And then miles and miles and miles around you, it's the same thing.

Towering apartments in the Gold Coast.

Not something you'd normally see in a coastal area, but I guess the higher you are, the more magnificent the view because the ocean looks infinitely bigger!

I think people who live in the Gold Coast are incredibly lucky. What I'd give to live in a place like this. ♥ They get up in the morning, wake up to views like this and go about their day as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Every day I was in the Gold Coast, I wake up, walk towards the balcony going "OMG, sigh, I'm so lucky... I wish I could have this for longer."

Fruit Loops and Cookie Dough mix to start off our day. I'm in love with cookie dough

The grotesque amount of brochures I took back to our apartment.

I have an obsession with reading brochures and memorizing all the different activities we could do. I want a meticulously planned perfect itinerary. I do this whenever I go traveling. I end up knowing the foreign country even better than my own country.

I kid you not... I could tell you more places to go and things to do in the Gold Coast than in my own country I was born in, lol. Everyday I scratch my head, going, "I'm bored. What the hell is there to do? Ah, I know... I'll blog about better days I've had somewhere else."

And so here I am.

Fidel took the Sofa bed while Sam and I took the bedroom, I think she got the better view because she was directly in front of the giant balcony!!!

Sometimes I wish I wasn't asian just so I wouldn't look so cock eyed every time I'm staring intently at something. LOL

On the first day, we rented a car and here are are driving to Dream World! (a theme park, what else?)

Weeeee!!!! I'm a huge theme park junkie, and ever since Orlando I've seriously been DYING to visit another theme park again.

Driving in Australia is fun.

There's lots to see, little traffic and people generally give way all the time.

Parking is also easy to find.

And we have arrived!!!!! Side note: can Fidel's hair get any redder?!

From far away, we spotted this MONSTER of a ride!!! Man, imagine the G forces on that thing!

We didn't get a chance to because it opened like 2 days after we left the Gold Coast. Pfffttt lame. Just like how we were Universal Studios in Orlando, and the Harry Potter Wizarding World opened like 6 months later.

PFFTTT x INFINITY (honestly, had I known then, I would've waited)

Fidel and I kept going "WOHOOO ROLLER COASTERS WOOHOO!!!" even when we were in Sydney.

Ok at this point I'd like to make a disclaimer, to NOT judge my shorts (and shirt) because I actually wore PAJAMAS out. LOL.

They don't really look like PJs (I think?!) at least that was my impression when I first put them on in Australia... now that I look back in the pics, man, I can so tell they're home clothes. I cut out most of the pics where you can see me in the shorts but before anyone asks, "What kind of shorts are you wearing?!" I'd like to first answer, "Pajamas."

....What? I underpacked!!! Everything else was too warm for the Gold Coast weather, Sydney was much much colder.

Yay for having the foresight to get our tickets online beforehand. We get to avoid the long queues and they're usually slightly cheaper.

That's us!!!

:))))))))

♥ Dream World, we're ready for you!!! ♥

My first impression of it was...

"This kinda reminds me of Universal Studios Singapore." Very hot weather, which is an instant mood dampener.. but nicely decorated and still fun nevertheless.

I ♥ Churros - the ultimate theme park food! That, and Disney's turkey leg... OMG.

I never really liked hot dogs. They remind me too much of penises. #justsaying

Let's forget I just said that.

LOL. I guess normally people would just take a photo of the clown but I asked if we could climb into his little car with him.. whaddya know?

He said "Hop on in!"

And then drove away.

Doesn't look half bad a job actually.

Especially if you're like, 30... and still jobless.

We were there really early (kia su, lol. I ONLY wake up early promptly and consecutively on holiday. even when I'm going for an exam, I'm still late) so none of the rides were really open yet... hence the abundance in pictures of nothing in particular.

Besides, it's not like we can bring our cameras onto the rides itself (Australia has strict rules, I could do it in the US) so yeah.

I'm honestly shit scared of sharks. :(

I'm ALWAYS on a paranoid look out for sharks and jellyfishes when I'm in the ocean.

Think ya could take on a shark, big boy?

Hahahaha I like how pictures taken with a shark can say so much.

Mine says: "OH SHIT DUDE IT'S A FUCKEN SHARK!"

Sam's says: "I'm having Shark's Fin Soup for dinner."

Fidel's says: "Meep."

I found it hilarious how there was a lens flare EXACTLY where Sam's face was!

Dream World has a sister water theme park called Whitewater Park.. and it's soooo good!!!

It was the best out of all the theme parks we went to. But that's for another blog post.

I think in this pic you can clearly tell I'm wearing a sleeping t-shirt hahahaha

Waiting for Sam and Fidelis to go on a crazy headache-inducing, barf-worthy ride that I refused to get myself involved with! I love roller coasters, but I hate any ride that spins.

Tea cup rides, ones that spin you 360 degrees constantly and flips you around......

No.

Definitely not my kinda thing. I get heavy motion sickness from just everyday taxi rides already.

The face of an accomplished person!

The happy boyfriend ♥

We dove indoors to bump around in bumper cars because it just got too hot. Seriously, Australia, I love you and all... but fix that giant hole in your ozone layer because your Sun is killing me (and all of you in OZ too!!!)

(I'm just being literal. I know it actually can't be fixed)

Then Sam suggested we ride this completely ridiculous horse racing where you needed to hump the thing vigorously.

LOL I mean seriously you have to trash yourself back and forth, up and down as fast and hard as you can.

I think I was winning for the first 10 seconds until I got tired and gave up. :3

LOL the stupid shit we get up to!!!

I think we took videos of the whole thing, but it's probably not a good idea to post it up.

Sam's favorite part of the theme park!

He loves Tigers. And animals in general.

I don't mean "He loves animals so he keeps pets and is a sworn vegetarian"... I mean he really likes learning about them and observing them. We watch animal documentaries together all the time, and he always educates me on the way they live and the unique factor about each animal. I think he's a major reason why I fell in love with killer whales. It's heaps of fun learning about science and animals with your partner!

Oh and Sam would also like me to post a disclaimer on his behalf, saying that his ass is not huge, but he had a big wallet full of money tucked into his back pockets hence the bulging looking buttocks.

-nods-

Tigers basking in the sun about 6 meters away from us!

There was a little cafe right in front of the Tiger enclosure so we sat there and had some brunch while waiting for the Tiger show to start.

This is what happens when you get your noob boyfriend to take nice pictures of you.

And the show begins!!!!

It is SOOOO weird to see a killer 2m tall tiger act like a giant pussy cat.

It is a wonder the tiger doesn't pounce on the chubby trainer lol. Look at that belly, I bet it'd make a good dinner.

Lookie! Kitty does tricks!

I knew tigers were good swimmers, but I didn't know they could climb like that as well... damn.

Or that they could jump like that. (very intimidating in real life wtf)

MEOW!

Souvenir pennies!

We have a fortune of these from Disney.

Awwww.

Sam + Soft Toys is a great mix.

Recently I bought a stuffed Penguin and we made up this hilarious character called Philip and Sam does these amazing uncanny penguin voices and makes the penguin do silly dancing moves and we laugh hysterically for 10 minutes like 5 times a day over it. I know this probably sounds crazy to you guys lol.

I adore how he's not afraid to appear childish and he's just being who he really is, whether it makes him appear "unmanly" or not. Too many guys out there put their pride above everything else.

Having fun and not giving a damn is one of the secrets to leading a happy life.

I almost bought this sleepy lil white tiger (I have an army of plushies at home) but we already bought matching tiger plushies from Orlando in 2009, so...

Soooo many plooshies! *squishes*

I have no idea what relation my retarded pose has with these tigers. Please resist your urge to put your fist through your computer screen.

I have no such thing as a normal pose. I am either desperately acting cute, or failing a supermodel-hand-on-hip-suck-in-cheeks-pouting-mouth pose.

Or posing with a peace sign like the azn retard I am.

(P.S - These self jabs don't mean anything. I don't actually hate myself these days, I just don't take myself too seriously)

Ugly hugeass birds that are littered all over the park. That beak looks like it might poke my eye out.

Getting some lunch! I hate getting hungry in theme parks, because that means paying for overpriced food and eating bleah meals.

Slushies are highly underrated. I cannot walk past a 7-Eleven without buying a slurpee. It's like one of the best inventions after carbonated soft drinks.

Fresh from the sea....?

Right.

It's comforting to know that no matter where you go in the world, french fries are always the same.

Even if they're thick, thin, soggy, over fried... they're still french fries. Maybe that's why McDonalds is so popular. It's comfort food that's cheap and filling. I know people who go traveling and still eat in that particular country's McDonalds (wtf?)

Cute little cheeky kiddo spotted!

Peekaboo... I see you!!!

Hurhur

To be real honest, Dream World wasn't exactly a dream.

It was ok.. kinda boring at times, but it has a few good rides. Dear OZ, you need better theme parks!!! You have SO much land, do something with it!

The day wasn't as action-packed as I thought, but it got much better the next day when we visited Whitewater World (a water theme park!)

We got off the train at the Wildlife stop. Lol @ the googly eyed koalas

Random pic. I promise you I didn't actually see the no touching sign until I actually touched it o_O

Badass sign at the Croc enclosure. I like it.

Random fact: I still can't really differentiate alligators from crocodiles... they all look icky and reptiley and scary to me.

I know I've already posted Australian animals pictures in my previous Blue Mountains post, but I thought I'd post a few again anyway...

Baby koaaaalaaa!!!! ^.^ Looks cuddly!!!

This bird made a great photography subject. It just stood there, ever so still, while I snapped away.

Caption of the day: "Please don't shit on me."

I've been to Dream World many years back with my mum and her partner. We were in THIS very aviary, and the 2 of them were ahead of me, walked past a bunch of birds that were perched on top, just like the one in the picture above, without a problem.

The moment I innocently strolled past, like 2 seconds later, a bird shat a watery one directly on my brand new jacket.

God, y u no love me?

To make matters worse, we took a picture with a koala after that (I was carrying it), it dug it's nails into my jacket and tore a hole in it.

I never wore my new jacket again.

This girl walked up to a breastfeeding mamma kangaroo and they just stared at each other like this.

I'd like to think this picture has some sort of artistic value.

We're in The Wiggles' kiddy land!

Apparently they're really popular in Australia and have sold-out concerts that kids attend. They must be like the Barney of Australia. I remember when Barney used to be the shit.

Honey I think you found your long lost cousin!

AHAHAHAHAHA @ Sam's "Sipping English Tea" pose.

What did I say about my boyfriend enjoying being a kid?

That looks like a cozy house!

Random stuff. I don't even know

We saw a lot of these little buggers on a boardwalk, so I urged Sam to slowly inch towards it for a picture.

"Closer!!! Not close enough. GO A LITTLE BIT CLOSER, he's not going to bite you!!!"

Until Sam got a little too close for the comfort, and the reptile came SPRINTING in our direction (it was only 3 meters away from us)

Fidelis and I let out ear-piercing shrieks and ran away like little girls.

This is the best part about Dream World!!!

It's called the Tower of Terror, and the moment you see it in real life, you see how appropriate the name is.

It shoots up THIS freakin' high, BACKWARDS!!! And then hurls you back to ground level in a matter of seconds.

At one point you're at a 90 degrees level, hovering hundreds of meters above the ground for 2 whole seconds, looking down feeling as though you're going to fall flat on your face like a pancake!!! It has all this sci-fi shit going on in the beginning too.

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO COMPREHEND IT'S FULL AWESOMENESS!!!!

Maddddd stuff ey?! We lucked out and got FRONT row seats too, so we experienced exactly what you saw in the vid above!

Lots of screaming involved... Fidelis and I are loud, loud screamers. Particularly me, because I used to be in the choir, so I have a pretty strong voice. LOL

#epicshit

This river rapids ride was the last one for us that day. We're all flustered from the Tower of Terror and tired from the whole day's activities...

My hair always looks like shit after I come out of a ride!!! And here you can properly see my PJs shorts. *hides face*

Spotted the clown from the afternoon (think it's the same one) and I was just wondering.... how is it his make up doesn't smudge in the hot weather?! What make up primer / base is he using???

I just wanted to say.... I wuv you!!!!!!!!!!!! ♥

We have so much fun together. And it means a lot to me that we get a long so well.

Thanks for taking me on holidays and being so good to me. (most of the time. i am an idealist)

Awesome sunset as the backdrop of a parking lot. Now that's something you don't see everyday!

See ya later Dream World!!!! (and yes, that's the tower of terror behind.)

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In the evening, we took a short drive and walk from our apartment to a nearby Night Market by the beach!!!

I really liked their night market... had all sorts of stuff from handcrafted items to nice-smelling soaps to yummy food items to fortune tellers!

I've never liked beef jerky before this, but Silverson's Beef Jerky is da bomb! We finished 3 packets of that stuff in a week. A really friendly guy too. (they mostly are)

For the first time ever, I got my palms read!!!!!!

I'm always excited about being examined fortune-tellers. I don't necessarily believe everything they say, but it's really interesting listening to what they have to say about you. Sometimes it's kinda freaky how you're complete strangers but everything you do is spot on.

My mum knows this chinese shi fu who is really accurate in everything he says... how does he do it?! Wild guesses and crosses his fingers that he's right, or says generalized stuff about everyone?

Like "she's really stubborn" coz everyone's stubborn in their own way

Or like "she's going to be very successful" coz everyone wants to hear that shit?

This man didn't seem to have any business at all going for him that night, so I decided to be nice and sat down at his table for him to do a reading on me.

Can't remember exactly what he said, but he asked me what my profession was and I said, "I create customized cakes with fancy designs and sell them."

He asked for my age and I told him I was turning 19 years old.

And the rest of the reading, he couldn't stop complimenting me LOL. About how I am really business-savvy and creative and determined and successful etc etc.... I knew he only gathered all of this from what I told him about me and not from my palm lines though. But that's ok, I was happy just to listen to him rave about me. :P

He did say I was going to lead a long and healthy happy life and he looked Sam in the eye and told him he was very lucky to have a girl like me. HAH!

My night = made.

We walked past this restaurant and then I retraced my steps to have a second look. Anyone see what I see???

Why the hell would you name your restaurant that? What if people named their restaurant "Jesus"?! I'm not a religious prick, but I still don't think that's right... for a RESTAURANT?

Seriously?

I'm not going to "Buddah" for dinner, that's for sure.

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Our final adventure of the day was checking out this trippy Special Effects attraction called "Infinity."

From their website: "INFINITY is a mind-blowing journey into spectacular, futuristic maze like worlds of wonder - an extraordinary series of around 20 multi-sensual environments filled with unique special effects, atmospheric sound fields, ultra groovy music and illusions that appear to go all the way to infinity!"

We had to wear gloves on our hands, and even giant socks that covered our shoes before we could go in. I guess they wanna keep the place spanking clean.

It's really hard to describe Infinity.

It's like this spacey, sci-fi maze house with lots of flashing lights (that might cause epilepsy I swear my eyes rolled backwards a few times) and you have to navigate yourself through a giant labyrinth. It was much more fun than I thought actually because they have unexpected elements like a wobbly ground.

When you walk on the ground it feels like there's water underneath and you can BARELY walk straight because any slight movement from another person will throw you off balance. All of this while in almost complete darkness of course. And there are balls that people throw at you when you're not looking wtf. (random, I know. kinda hurts too)

Hahahah ok now I realize it sounds quite awful but it's actually really cool once you get past your initial skepticism and fear. There are many different kind of mazes, some colorful, some dark, some bright and flashing....

My favorite part was when a whole bunch of strangers formed a circle and started jumping up and down like CRAZY. The ground shook like it was an earthquake and people were flying in all sorts of directions. I fell and landed on my ass like twice lol.

Looking down was scary. Even though I knew I was on solid ground, it looked as if I might fall through a bottomless pit. :(

(and yes, I know that's not a good look for me lol)

In certain mazes, I'd be so lost and confused and all I'd see was something like this.

It's still good fun though, would definitely go back there if I visited the Gold Coast again! It's nothing like anything I've been to before.

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That was the end of a fun-packed first day in the Gold Coast!!!!!!!!!!

So many fond memories created in just one day.. ♥ And we're only at day one. ;)

xoxo,
Jess

Santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!

2011-11-17T13:48:00.003+08:00

I've just posted news of this giveaway on my Twitter, but in case you're not following me (are you serious???) I thought I'd post this up on my blog too!

Christmas has arrived early this year! Shiberty's Sweets is giving away an advanced prezzie especially for you guys, cuz you've been so good ;) We're giving away THIS set of jolly X'mas cupcakes we just decorated to one lucky tweet peep!!!

I know it's only November but X'mas decorations are already all over town, and I'm in such a good mood these days. I love the end of the year. It's never too early for Christmas, is it?

Ho ho ho!

If you'd like to stand a chance to bring home these yummy cuppies (TODAY)..

Tweet this: I want cupcakes from shibertys.blogspot.com for X'mas because ___ (fill in the blanks) & include @shiberty in your tweet to qualify!

It's that simple. We'll be choosing a winner by TONIGHT (17 nov), collection is ASAP at Simei. Winner will be contacted via twitter!

Good luck!!! ♥

xoxo,
Jess

My Nuffnang Story

2011-11-12T00:05:00.004+08:00

HELLO!

I trust you guys have already heard about the Nuffnang Blog Awards!!!

If you haven't, listen up because right now, you still have a chance to enter a competition to a win a ticket granting you entry to this event :D

Come 16 December 2011, 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region will flock to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011 in Putrajaya Marriott.

The Awards aims to not only honour the region's best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific. The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.

It'll be a camwhore par-tay for sure. Flashes going off non-stop the whole night, tons of laughter, food and drinks, meeting new peope, narcissism and vanity floating around in the air..

Thanks to Nuffnang, I got my first pic ever taken with Xiaxue, in March 2008. WOOT!!! *shakes pom poms* Lol and somehow Dawn Yang also included in the picture wtf. I only recall wanting to take a pic with Wendy. Anyway...

Expect to see famous bloggers like Xiaxue, Kenny Sia, Cheesie at the Nuffnang Blog Awards (yes even the overseas bloggers!!!) IN THE FLESH, all glammed up.. Ready to take pictures with their ever-adoring fans!!! Excited or not?

And you can also take pictures with me....... I guess. If you want. Lol.

I am definitely going if I can. I've attended a lot of Nuffnang events in the past, and they've all been pretty awesome. (some more awesome than others, but this time they're not holding back on this one. they are going all out!!!)

I owe a lot of my blogging opportunities to Nuffnang. ♥

Meeting new people, participating in fun blogging community events, getting the chance to write paid articles (aka blog posts. *ahem*) for big brand names like Disney and Sony (and many more!!!), who otherwise might not have noticed my blog at all... I'm glad they believed in me. Especially since I started blogging actively at the age of 15, it's a wonder they didn't turn me away. ILU!

Me and Nuffnang go wayyy back.

Like 4 years back!!! That's a relationship longer than any I've had with my boyfriends. That must count for something, right?

So here goes... My Nuffnang Story!

(well, bits and fragments of it, the friends I've made, some pictures I took and events I attended)

In 2008, I put on my PJs and went on a sponsored trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to attend their kick-ass Pajamas Party!!!

Where I was introduced to the blogging community for the first time. I've made some really awesome friends during this trip, and we stayed in touch a long time after the event was over even though some of them don't blog any more. :')

Few months later in 2008, they dressed me in this ridiculous cosplay costume for a charity event. I was meant to be a SUPERHERO, but they ran out of costumes for me.. WTF.

Ok well at least I didn't get Cherie's skin tight wet suit-ala-Fantastic Four custome LOL.

At the Singapore River Festival in 2009!

With blogger extraordinaire Xiaxue, and Ming aka the Boss of Nuffnang SG!!

Later on we went to a club, where I attempted to dance (read: attempted) with Fidelis, and... Boss Ming?

LOL check out Valerie aka Dweam aka Miss Singapore Universe 2011 SHAKING HER THANG behind us!!!! Get it gurlll!

That day, I met Kenny Sia. (A popular Malaysian blogger).. At one point he actually turned around and asked me, "You're Underage-Girl, right?"

LOL I was so very pleased that my existence was even recognized. I mean he IS from overseas.. right?

If you're wondering why I seem to be wearing lingerie, well that's because I was. They used the PJs theme again!

We sang live KARAOKE with Fidelis in a make-shift fake Shower stall in the middle of freakin' Vivo City. Oh yeah, in (borrowed) plush bath robes to boot.

This was for a Dove body soap advertorial.... LOL.

(You can find all these posts and pics I've listed here in my archive btw)

Laurier Shooting Star Event in 2010

Spent that afternoon running around Orchard Road in the scorching sun to complete a scavenger hunt kinda list for an ad we were doing.. At the end of the day we also walked away with a free polaroid camera (yay!)

Just this year, I brought cupcakes from Shiberty's Sweets to sell at a Charity Flea organized by Nuffnang to aid those affected by Japan's natural disaster and we sold all our cupcakes in like an hour!!!

I looked really weird during this period of time, wtf. I think my hair too short lol fml.

Before people snatched em up

Sam the sweetheart came along to help out ♥

All sold out! Thank you for your support and generosity. :)

That day was a happy day for us because we got to do a good deed and help others in need, and we also received a lot of compliments from happy customers!!! There's really nothing like seeing your cupcake put a huge grin on people's faces.

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AND PROBABLY THE MOST EPIC EVENT OF THEM ALL.

This was the most recent event I attended in 2011 -

I GOT TO SEE THE AMAZING LADY GAGA

PERFORM LIVE IN AN EXCLUSIVE SHOWCASE

Here in little ol' Singapore!!!

A few meters in front of me, in a small private function room thingy located at Marina Bay Sands. Tickets couldn't be bought (otherwise they'd be sold out in minutes!), you could only win them from contests or get them from erm.. sources.

I got my tickets complimentary thanks to Nuffnang. Insaneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I even got to see her butt in da flesh. Naise.

Amazing performance and my mind = blown. Srsly.

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Joining Nuffnang was the best decision I made when I was younger. Thank you for pushing and promoting me, and allowing me to make money and friends through my blog.

If you want to join Nuffnang and be part of their ever-growing community, visit their website here.

And if you would like to attend the Nuffnang Blog Awards held in Kuala Lumpur (which you should!), find out how by clicking this.

See you guys in Kuala Lumpur in December!!

xoxo,
Jess

What's Bakin'? #8

2011-11-10T11:04:00.004+08:00

All creations you are about to see were lovingly done by Shiberty's Sweets! ♥

Check out more of our past cake designs here, or place your own customized cake order here!

Remember to credit back to our website link at http://shibertys.blogspot.com if you'd like to share our designs or images online! :D

Bright flowers and swirls done for dear Nich's birthday a few days ago!

Sadly, he just enlisted into NS yesterday :(((( I'm going to miss you so much Nichyyyyy. Our karaoke and supper and monopoly and hanging out sessions every few days!!! 2 more weeks till you're out of confinement. *waits patiently*

Moooooooooo.

For a girl who loves cows, I suppose. A strange design for a 21st birthday, but very unique and cute I'd say! :)

Angry birdie.

Hello Kitty cuppies!!!

I think I did a much better job here than my first few hello kitties ever drawn (see the pic here mad fugly LOL)

While we're on the topic of Hello Kitty... here's our hello kitty cake version 4.

You'll see the previous 3 designs in our gallery!

Alice in Wonderland themed

A three tiered Sakura-flower design Sam came up with for his little sister's wedding!

In spirit of the soccer hype a couple of weeks back

If you're looking for a really simple and sweet present-like design for a girl, this is pretty much it. Or if you want something a little more loud, there is also...

This. ;)

Riiiilakkuma chocolate cake!!!

I know he isn't very "accurate" in terms of facial features' size and shape, but I thought he looks much cuter and dopier this way.

Rilakkuma version 2, he's sitting on top of a 2 tiered cake! This one's much more accurate, but he looks kinda... solemn. Don't cha think?

This is like the previous Hello Kitty, but a My Melody version! We can vary the design and do pretty much any cartoon. -nods-

For a mickey mouse lover! She left the design up to us and this is what we came up with. Her set came with matching cupcakes that I forgot to take a picture of lol but it sorta looks like this.

Top view

Oink.

...Oink oink.

OINK OINK OINK OINK OINK OIIIINNNKKKKK!!!! O_________O;

If you can't buy a girl a Chanel bag for her birthday... get her a Chanel cake.

xoxo,
Jess

Beautiful Bondi Beach

2011-11-05T19:25:00.015+08:00

This is the reason why we picked out our holiday apartment in Bondi, out of all the places to be in Sydney.

Check out those homes!!! Imagine if that was your front yard...

It's the place to see, and to be seen in.

Bondi Beach is aaaamazing. Striking blue water that sparkles in the sun light and powdery soft sand, all of this only 20 minutes from Sydney CBD. And like a 5 minutes stroll from our little apartment. How on earth do they manage to keep it looking so pristine and beautiful despite being a major tourist hot spot? I have no idea. I would've imagined it to be heavily polluted by now.

I used to watch "Bondi Rescue" on Youtube for entertainment and never thought I'd actually get to frolic around in it someday. It's just somewhere I didn't picture myself in but I loved every minute spent on Bondi Beach. The weather was too harsh for swimwear so we were decked out in boots and leggings, nevertheless it was a quiet and gorgeous afternoon.

I think I would've preferred this than to be here in summer, as it gets crazy packed around in Bondi during peak season, I don't believe it wouldn't been quite as serene. My Sydney friend Andrew tells me it gets so busy, you'd have to wait sometimes more than an hour just to find a spot to sit down. On top of that, add the Australian sun / heat during summer... No, thanks.

We spent a whole afternoon here just chatting everything under the sun (literally), taking naps lying down on the soft white sand. Fidelis reads on her kindle, while I listen to songs and watch videos on Youtube.... Oh and of course, occasionally plugging out my earphones to listen to the waves crash onto shore while staring into the turqoise sky, thinking about how much I love life. That was my favorite part.

And that about sums up our afternoon in Bondi.

I can't control my urge to chase sea gulls whenever I see them. It's like I have to do it to stay sane. Like a doggy with it's tail.

She looks an anime character in this photo!

I MAKE GOOD BOLLYWOOD DANCER???

A place this beautiful just makes you wanna jump up and dance...

But I can't dance, so I made Fidel's scarf dance for me.

A lucky capture!

It's moments like this when I have absolutely no care in the world, that the randomest life questions pop into my head. Lately they've been all about maternity affairs... oh dear lord have mercy on my soul.

"Will I marry Sam?"

"What should I name my future daughter?"

"How many kids do I want to have?"

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts.

Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back."

xoxo,
Jess

The gorgeous Blue Mountains - Part 2

2011-11-03T15:15:00.005+08:00

Before I continue with my post on the Blue Mountains, I'd just like to highlight that I have recently categorized my posts into different labels!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, I know.. about high time I did. :P Sorry it took so long. *points to the right side of my blog*

If you need "new" content to entertain yourself with, you can go and read some of my old posts if you haven't already.

If you're looking for a certain genre of post, you can now easily find what you're looking for. (I also have a search bar function on my blog in case you didn't know.... *coughs*) Not all of them are labeled, I left the non-prominent blog posts unarchived - and other posts, I just don't know which label to put them under. (I don't want one for family, one for friends, one for photography etc.... I only want a main few)

Maybe I should create a "?" question mark label and shove them all there.

Currently, the labels I have are:

Boyfriend (mostly of my current relationship but you'll find a few of my ex in there)

Fav Posts (the most worthy reads in my opinion. where you will discover some defining moments in my life. there's a few epic posts in there like me owning thy dowager and me standing up to my dad, etc.)

Me Myself And I (because this blog is all about me, right? lol. narcissistic posts and my daily ramblings)

Baking (you can see really old posts of my first few FAILED attempts at baking cookies and cakes lolol. it is with a lot of practice that i am where i am today! just goes to show - anyone can bake.)

Travel (quite a lot of traveling posts!!! today's post is obviously going under this label. I realize the countries I visit most often is Australia and USA.)

Any suggestions on what type of label I should work on including next?

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Let's get back on topic :)

This is a continuation from my post, Blue Mountains - Part 1!!!.. Click here to read it.

We stopped by this Eagle Hawk look-out point for one last majestic view of the Blue Mountains before we head off to our next destination, lower along the mountains.

I wouldn't mind living on a mountain, really. Lol I'd just bake cupcakes and paint / draw / play zombie computer games / watch movies at home / look at this view all day.

Bye bye gorgeous views.

Our tour guide was pretty awesome - most tours would just take you to the top of the mountains to look at the views and to have lunch at one of their cafes there, but she went the extra mile and brought us to secluded locations not commonly known to most people!

This is my whole tour group. ♥ Aren't they adorable?!!!! :P

I insisted on taking a group picture and made them all wave.

Gonna check out another waterfall!!! This one won't be as big as the one we saw from the top of the mountains, but I'm sure it'll be pretty anyhow.

Mini-waterfall! ^.^

Fidel & I posing in front of the pretty waterfall... I ♥ this pic - I wanna be out there amongst nature again ahhhhh I feel so cooped up in my room!!!!!

We were given an hour to roam around by ourselves to explore this BEAUTIFUL and quaint little town situated in the Blue Mountains itself, called Leura!

Can I just say.... I wanna live here I wanna live here I wanna live herreeeee!!!

It is so full of character.

Alena was telling us lovely stories about how despite the fact they're such a small town, they keep things lively by always having different festivals and community events. For example, during Spring, some spontaneous people will open up their gardens that are filled with gorgeous Spring blossoms for general public viewing!

I wanna frolic around in them - it was only the beginning of Spring so the flowers weren't all out yet but I can only imagine how pretty the whole town would look when it's all covered in fresh bright flowers. :)

People in Australia take HUGE pride in their gardens, especially the older people / suburb people / mountain people.

It's picture-perfect.

They had a street market open that day but I didn't buy anything although I was hoping to..

I'd say it was more of a garage-sale type thing rather than a souvenir kinda stall.

Fresh fruits and veggies home-grown for only $3 per pot!!

Awww this totally reminded me of Toy Story.

The Garage Sale scene and poor unloved toys lying around, waiting to be sold for only a dollar.... I didn't buy any because I thought about how the toys would feel about leaving their owner, and felt guilty.

Wtf.

This is what you could get with just a dollar!

Hahahah someone getting rid of their Barbie doll collection... I used to have one. Or two. Or like six. (I had one Ken and he made out with all of them. Tsk)

This woman sold bears with intricately designed flamboyant dresses that she'd hand-made herself!!!

I'm not sure if she made the bears herself too, or whether they were from the unwated $1 toy pile as seen before. LOL.

When you live life in a slow-paced small little town... You can afford the time to make dresses for teddy bears.

Most of us in Singapore barely have enough time to juggle between our personal life and a proper job.

Leura, why are you so pretty?

When you travel with me... this is what you'd see at least half of time. Lol Fidelis took this shot of me shooting away in Leura!

My face is forever buried in my camera. And yes, I use the live view to shoot pictures. I can't stand squinting and looking through the viewfinder with one eye :3

Before Fidel came along to take these shots of me, I was there shooting by myself... and beside me was a couple making out like crazy on the bench, like 1 meter away. -_-

I felt like a huge lamp post but I wanted that picture and I was running outta time!!!

Talk about awkward. They were 2 teenagers furiously kissing away and making weird noises while I squat beside them taking pictures of flowers on the ground. LOL.

Dunno what these are but they are sooo colorful and they remind me of Sakura blossoms! ♥

I'd love to have a whimsical cupcake shop in the middle of these boutique shops. :')

An all-year-round Christmas themed shop!!! I heart this!

Everything's so colorful. And quaint. Eeee.

Fidelis is obsessed with candies!!! So I assume this was her favourite shop. That girl is ALWAYS carrying a packet of sweets or gummies around... (I make it a point to steal some every now and then. Om nom nomz)

Now whenever I see a packet of Starburst gummies (her favourite), I think of her. :)

I'm always acutely aware of my surroundings when I am traveling. And I have this obsession with taking pictures of seemingly insignificant details. I just wanna take pictures of as many things I don't see in my everyday life as possible. Normally in Singapore I swear I walk around with my eyes half-closed, but when I travel every detail is so prominent to me.

From how the sky is a different kind of blue, to how their railings look different and even the way people talk to and smile at each other.

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Our next stop was lunch at one of Leura's Sports Club.

Our tour guide picked this place to serve us lunch because according to her, it's a place typical of Australian culture. People who live in the quiet suburbs will just come to this type of club in the weekends to play the slots, do some sports, or just to hang out with other bored people in your town. Lol.

I was taking a picture of them but they thought I was taking a pic of the (empty hallway?) and so they dodged out of the way. Hahahaha

Thankful that we're getting this lunch break...

The pretzel and scone we had in the morning was nowhere near enough for an action packed day like this!!! I was starrrving.

Another really nice older couple that we were talking to during lunch! Unlucky capture of her eyes being closed, but it's ok, she still looks pretty and kind. :P

The whole time I was trying to figure out their ethnicity because they look sorta asian but not really.... I guessed something ridiculous like "Mongolian" - LOL?

But it turns out they're actually Thai people!!! Amazing. I've never seen Thai people look like that before.

Engaged in conversation while Fidelis takes this strange shot of me. My side profile is so weird :3

Lunch is served!!!!!

This is called a chicken schnitzel, apparently very popular in Australia... but it just tastes like fried chicken to me. (maybe that's the whole point lol but I'd never order this in a restaurant besides this - I heard the name and thought it'd be something spiffier)

Fidelis' fish and chips! Very very Australian.

Australian food is essentially your very basic western food.... but I love the other types of cuisine found in Australia (italian, korean, japanese etc) because their portions are huge and prices are so reasonable for the quality you get!

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Once our stomachs were filled, we had doughnuts and cupcakes bought by one of tour friends for dessert (I had to boast about Shiberty's Sweets when I saw the cupcakes, so I whipped out of my phone and showed them pictures lol) and then we headed off to Featherdale Wildlife Park where Fidelis was excited to pat some kangaroos!

I was actually not that excited about this segment (as I was about other things, because I've seen Australian wildlife a lot of times before) but I guess looking at animals still makes good fun no matter how many times you've seen them.

With our Featherdale passes!

AWWW look at this bird!!!! It was so docile and would let anyone pet it and scruff up its feathers. So cute.

The look on my face is a mixture of "aww cute bird" and "shit is this mofo going to nip my fingers?"

On the other hand, this bird (parrot?) right next to it was TOTALLY psycho. Lmao it even looks psycho. Alena said not to touch it because it'd pretend to be all friendly with you for awhile, and then it'd nip your finger really painfully in a hysterical fit!!!

Wallabies hopping around the park freely!

Haaaaaaaaaai! ^.^ They're so soft and furry!

Definitely the star attraction of Australian Wildlife Parks because they are so friendly and tame.. what other animal could roam around so freely without being a potential threat or too much hassle?

The Tasmanian Devil! All it did was run around it's enclosure again and again so it was hard to snap an in-focus picture.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the FAT ASS wombat Fidelis was so excited to see for the first time in real life. LOLOLOLOLOL.

It is totally NOT cuddly and NOT cute and NOT squishable like the fake toys we see in the shops!!!! The toys are a dramatized overly-cute version of BABY wombats.

Baby-any-mammals are always so cute so it doesn't really count - how could they deceive us like that?!

"Fidelis, let me show you how a REAL wombat looks like!"

She took one look at it and went "WTF. NOT CUTE. I feel so cheated. Why like that???"

More than 2 years ago, I blogged about the same sentiments.... how many of you remember that? If you do I totally love you because it means you've been reading my blog for ages! ♥

Ehhhh... I've no clue what this is. Perhaps another type of wombat.

HAHAHA #random

I spotted this really intriguing big black bird with brightly colored red and blue markings on it's head and thought it was pretty cool. It's size and posture resembled an Ostrich but apparently this bird is much more dangerous!

I wanted to go nearer to it but it's enclosure was marked with the words "DANGER: DO NOT ENTER." in bright red so.... I didn't.

Man, even the alligator enclosure didn't have a huge warning sign - how dangerous can this bird be??? Maybe because it looks so noob, some people wander into it's enclosure without realizing its lethality and they get owned... lol. I imagine the bird pecking someone's guts out. o_O

Smart way to upkeep this conservation park. You get money, your kangaroos get fed regularly...

Om nom nomz.. ^.^

...*BURRRRRRRP*

:ooooo

Not in front of the kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A family walked past with their little daughter, and covered her eyes with their hands. LOL. Animal having sex = comedy to me.

I stood there and observed them for awhile (yes I give them no privacy) the kangaroo on the left actually FOUGHT off the dude humping the kangaroo chick and took her for his own! Fierce! If you want something, go get it.

This scheming fella KNOCKED the food-cone out of my hand so that he could get easy access to it on the floor!

Omgosh, this was one of my favourite parts of the day!!!!!! See this cute owl-like birdie here?

It's called a Tawny Frogmouth and it is officially my new favorite bird!!!!

His name, is Mr Schmiggles.

And he really, REALLY likes being pet and cuddled and fawned over!!! Just LOOK at him soaking up all the attention. When you reach out to scratch under his chin, he automatically stretches his head upwards because he loves it that much!!!!!

Whenever you pet or cuddle him he just gives the most ADORABLE expressions and reactions. He's like *^.^* whenever you touch him. SO amazingly cute I wanted to steal him home.

The woman beside me was just as fascinated as I was, she said "I don't even like birds, but that is the cutest thing I have EVER seen!!!" because you just don't expect that sort of reaction from a bird. Maybe a cute little yellow chick, but not this misleadingly grey bird!

We all got to pet him. His fur is so soft :)

See how happy Alena is just from playing with him!

She says she can't tell him apart from the other Tawny Frogmouths in the wildlife park, so what she does every week when she comes to visit is to go up to each and every Tawny Frogmouth bird she sees, and calls out "Mister Schmiggglesssss!" until one responds in the adorable manner that Mr Schmiggles so popularly known for.

Seriously TOO cute. Where can I buy me a bird like that???

Cute little fairy penguins!!!! ♥ Penguins are also another of my favorite birds!

They're like mini torpedoes in the water :* And I like the way they waddle when they walk.

Excuse me for shoving a peacock's ass in your face.

LOL.

But Fidelis and I came out of the loo and the first thing we saw this peacock's ass exposed in full glory and we thought it was so funny so I had to post it up!!!

Much prettier from the front, buddy.

This funny duck was jealous of all the attention the peacock was getting and started to peck at Fidelis' shoes. The more we laughed at the lil duck, the more it pecked at her boots, LOL.

We refused to give it any attention and it looked so frustrated!!! Sorry duckie, talk me again when you have feathers pretty enough to be worn as earrings.

I don't really like koalas. They stink.... a lot.

But it was a free photo op, and we might as well take it!

Yeah you can tell I get very uncomfortable around certain animals. Especially when I can't keep my eyes on them. I get this feeling they're gonna attack me lol so I have to keep my eyes on any animal that is near me.

Gorgeous colors!!!

The gold hair on top if its head (or feathers..) is so slicked back and perfect, Malfoy would be jealous.

To my absolute horror, after I took this picture, some horrid little brat of a kid ran up to the bird and scared the bird into running away from him. When the bird started to run, he GRABBED the bird's long tail feathers and yanked it hard and wouldn't let go!!!!! The bird looked like it was in so much pain and kept trying to break free from his grasp. I was mortified. D:

I said as loud as I could, "OH MY GOD, whose kid is that?!" in hopes that his parents would be nearby and would take notice of what he was doing and reprimand him. Instead, his parents calmly called for him to walk back to them, and didn't even look embarrassed to have such a kid at all. No scolding the boy whatsoever.

If I was his mother, I'd smack his hands real good and teach him how to respect wild life. I wonder if the park rangers had seen what the boy did, would they throw the family out of the park?

LOL. I have no words.

After the Wildlife Park, we got back into the van and by this time we were absolutely beat. Our day ended off with our tour guide taking us for some last exploring via the van (driving us to see certain sights like where the 2000 Olympics was held) and our final attraction for the day was a boat ride from the outer regions of Sydney into the heart of the CBD!

It was a relaxing end to the day, a 30 mins boat ride cruising into Circular Quay.

I loveeee boat rides.

I wuz all lyk

I'M ON A BOAT!!!! :D

Andrew looking cute. Oh no... I shouldn't say that about engaged people lol

Me and the Sydney Opera House!!! Still on the boat btw. And all of this is included in the tour price. (food, boat ride, wildlife park entry) maddddd!

♥ Sydney Skyline!!!!!!! Spot the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind me.

If I look tired with my eyebags and all... that's because I was, lol.

We took a bus back to Bondi to our apartment for some rest before going out for dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby, then back to our apartment where we dropped like rocks onto the bed.

Amazing pasta and a huge portion of steak! Gosh I miss Australian food so much. Can't wait to have dinner after I finish this blog post.

To-die-for caramel tart with fresh cream and berry compote. Which I had the full pleasure of finishing all by myself because Fidel was too full after the pasta and steak. MMM mmm!!!! *rubs tummy*

A fulfilling end of a perfect day out at the Blue Mountains and further exploration of Sydney. :)

xoxo,
Jess

The gorgeous Blue Mountains - Part 1

2011-10-29T15:09:00.008+08:00

I've never heard of the Blue Mountains prior to this, but while doing some research on Sydney, Fidelis read all the fantastic reviews about this tour on TripAdvisor and included this in our itinerary!

It was a lovely experience and the tour was superb value for money. It's a small private tour owned by a couple, and they drive us around in a Mercedes-Benz!!! ......van. Hahahah but it's a Merc nonetheless right?

The tour is called Blue Mountains Tour and I have embedded the link for your reference. :) I highly recommend it if you happen to be in the Sydney area!

Our tour guide Alena picked us up from a street near our Bondi Beach Apartment and after making a few rounds around the city (I liked seeing the city in the morning) to pick up our other tour friends, it was about an hour's drive up to the Blue Mountains.

Sydney's traffic isn't all that great.

On our way there, we stopped to have freshly baked giant pretzels, scones and English tea in a little family-run bakery!

Lusciously soft scone - much unlike the rock-hard ones I've had the displeasure of trying in SG.

I like how most restaurants and eateries are family-owned in Australia... The food is always fresh and good quality and it's a different experience each time. :)

Too many franchised food outlets in Singapore. Boo to mass-produced fast food!

If I'm lucky enough, I may have something like this of my own one day. But instead of bread it will be filled with whimsical, pretty-to-death yummilicious cuppycakes!

I adore the smell of bakeries. The aroma of warm, freshly baked cake and pastries is enough to to put a smile on my face.

Our tour friends, Jenna and Andrew! They were on here on their honeymoon. Aren't they adorable?!

Andrew is a real funny guy... his humor coupled with his thick English accent made me giggle to myself a lot of times throughout the day. Jenna on the other hand is major cute!

Fidel and me! The photo is dark beyond saving but I posted it anyway because no need for PS. Yay!!!

A brighter one, taken with her camera instead :) My DSLR doesn't do too well in low-light and harsh background lighting conditions.

I'm wearing the same yellow sweater (again) because Sydney was SOOOOOOO COLD!!! Especially up in the darn Mountains! The winds were unforgiving. It was the thickest and warmest outerwear I packed. (I had grossly misjudged the climate) I was even wearing a long-sleeved underneath. The rest of my clothes were thin jumpers that wouldn't be any good in 10 degrees weather.

We were still having breakfast when our tour guide swooped down over to our table and asked what we would like to have at lunch later on so she could pre-order it for us to minimize waiting time at the restaurant later on.

Talk about efficiency!

Back on the road again

When we finally arrived at the Blue Mountains, I hopped out of the van and my first thoughts were

"Wow, this is REALLY cold."

and

"THE AIR IS SO FRESH HERE! :D"

Lol.

HAHAHAHA please don't judge my outfit.

I was going for maximum practicality and comfort. It was a longgg long day with a lot of different activities ok.

A day of adventure awaits us!!!

We got to explore the Blue Mountains 5 different ways - the Scenic Skyway, Scenic Cableway, (like a cablecar but slightly different. one only goes straight while the other goes uphill), by car, by foot and by an old Railway track!!!

I was sooo excited about the panoramic views that I was about to indulge in that I totally forgot:

I'm dead scared of heights.

I'm ok with roller-coaster or hotel room type of heights but definitely NOT okay with mountains-height, lol. On a whole new level. Despite wobbly knees I forced myself to go on the cableway and it was ahhhhh-mazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clutching onto Fidelis for dear life lol. I didn't let it show but I was actually secretly shitting my pants.

Enjoying the views of the Blue Mountains!!! GORGEOUS.

Check out the lodging place right on the mountain's edge. Madness!!!

I was told houses here start from 1 million and can go up to several millions of dollars.

Vast openness. Just look at that. :)

If I was a bird, I would like to live and fly around here. Soak up the beauty every single day!

"The Blue Mountains are so named because, from Sydney, they look blue. They are clad in vast forests of eucalypts (commonly called gum trees), which in the hot sun discharge a fine mist of eucalyptus oil from their leaves. The mist refracts light, which makes the haze look blue at a distance. That same oil makes the Australian bush as volatile as a pine forest in a bush (forest) fire. The vapour explodes, causing the fire to race through the canopy."

And I thought that was pretty until I looked over to my RIGHT side (I was pre-occupied with the left side of cable tram)

A massive cascading waterfall!!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

It had less water falling through than I'd like (I was hoping for a lottt of water for a more dramatic effect lol) but it was still beautiful to see.

An alternative view! I heart waterfalls. Something about water falling all pretty and the misty air and the smell of fresh water makes me want to frolic around in the bottom of the falls.

Me taking photos of the views.

It was quite challenging for me to NOT hold onto the hand rails while taking pictures (I needed both hands) I looked rightttt down and felt queasy for a second and my face went white...

Our tour people were all like "Are you ok??? :o" coz I looked like I was gonna die but I just reminded myself NOT to look down and everything was ok.

Say cheese!

You can so tell when I'm faking a smile LOL. *sweaty palms*

Last picture I took before we reached the other end of the cable way.

It barely lasted 5 minutes - hardly enough time for me to just sit and admire the views!! Hmph. Nevermind.. I'll get more opportunities later on.

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After the Scenic Skyway, the Railway was next!!

The world's STEEPEST railway track going down a 415m descent! It was pretty damn steep actually, like as steep as when a big roller coaster would go down a slope.

So... this is a picture of what the first ever built railway in the Blue Mountains looked like, but since then they have implemented extra safety features

Getting into the very oddly shaped railway tram. :3

Anddd we're off!!!

It was really cool breezing past an ancient rain forest. It was like a roller coaster but Jurassic Park version LOL.

When you look up all you could see was a canopy of trees!

Speaking of roller coasters, the old owner of the Blue Mountains actually built a ROLLER COASTER TRACK (a real coaster, not some railway track) for his grand kids so that they could whisk around the mountains having fun....

But upon completion of the coaster tracks, they tested it out with sand bags and guess what? The sand bags never made it back lol. So they dropped the whole idea but till today the coaster tracks are still there!

HOW MIND BLOWING would a roller coaster around a gorgeous mountain like this be?!!!! I'd kill to go on it!

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Getting off the railway track, we embarked on our journey into the rain forest.

Alena was narrating and telling us some pretty morbid stories...

She was elaborating on the history of Mining in the Blue Mountains and mentioned that wayyy back then when technology wasn't so advanced, to avoid having their ventilation system run out of oxygen before realizing it was too late, they'd keep a certain species of blue-colored bird (forgot the name) trapped where the miners worked for the purpose of when the bird suffocated to death, it was a sign to let them know that oxygen levels were getting dangerously low for human level. o_O

LOL and that wasn't all.

She also told us a story of how poor donkeys or ponies or whatever had to slave away ALL their lives in these wretched mines, and when the donkeys became paralyzed or too old to be useful anymore, the miners would just leave them to rot IN the mines, never actually bringing them back out. As you know there's not a lot of food or oxygen in the mines...

..........Me and Andrew (the English guy) were listening to the stories then looked at each other like this o.o;;

History is always so horrifying to learn about wtf.

Freaky lookin' mine artifacts

Where an exit / entrance used to be, but it caved in on itself.

Which I assumed killed a lot of miners. *shudders*

Oh hello, you ugly devillish black bird.

WHY IS MY POST SUDDENLY SO DARK EH????? On to happier stuff!!!!

Our tour guide left us to explore the rainforest by ourselves for about 30 minutes and we decided to go trekking.

Peekaboo, I see you!

I take good pictures don't I?!

*retarded sideways pose with a peace sign*

Towering trees that have been around for hundreds of years.

It was a beautiful day. :)

Tryna take an artsy shot.

Rainforests are so cluttered, it's hard to take a nice picture of anything!

Cute old-ish couple from Chicago. They were so nice to us. Everyone was incredibly friendly in our tour group!!!

I love it when golden rays peek through the canopy leaves and you get a little burst of it here and there.

At the start of the 30 mins rainforest trekking, I was all lyk

WEEEE this so fun :D

:D Gorgeous rainforest and views and fresh air and beautiful weather hnngggg woooweeee..

But after 20 mins of walking non-stop and bloody uphill slopes I'm all lyk

KILL ME NAO.

I actually started perspiring a bit despite the weather LOL. I hateeee rain forests for the fact that I enter it all happy and looking for adventure but when I leave I'm tired as shit and grumpy from all the uphill trekking.

Hate how everyone else makes it look so effortless!!!

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Going further up the mountain (for more views) via the other cable car.

Hell yeah no more trekking n_n

Australians are always so warm and welcoming!

Hahaha a candid shot of that kind couple.

Who offered to take a pretty shot for us!!! Yay for pro-active travelers.

Fascinated Fidelis.

#mytrustyDSLR

We're now at the highest point of the Blue Mountains!!!

Super duper windy. I actually lost my pink scarf to the rough winds up there.... The gust of wind came so hard and fast, I didn't even realize I'd lost it till hours later. *face palm*

I love, lovelovelovelove LOVE sightseeing. ♥

I don't get to see anything back in home country. My dream is to travel the world... and blogging about it.

Everyone trying to get that perfect picture!

The famous Three Sisters limestone formation of the Blue Mountains!

"Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m).

The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe (the Nepean tribe), but marriage was forbidden by tribal law.

The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back."

Ah... it's amusing, the stories / rumours / folk lore legends ancient tribal people come up with to explain what Science couldn't back then.

It sucks how much less impressive the Blue Mountains look in pictures as compared to real life. But I guess that's with everything that has true beauty. It can't truly be captured on camera.

Looooooool the psycho hyper side of me that doesn't quite shine through in my writing.

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Cute koala bear plooshies we saw in their souvenir shop!

But we soon forgot about those because we found something MUCH CUTER:

Awwwwwwwwww!

Little wee baby wombat! (of course, real wombats are not like that at all as I have learned from disappointing first-hand experience years ago)

Not one, not two...

BUT TEN THOUSAND MILLION BILLION TRILLION GAZILLION BAJILLION BABY WOMABTS!!!!!!!!! ^_________^

I died of cute overload.

Pudding had merely passed away a few days prior to this trip soooo I was still pretty emotional and cut up about it.

I got myself one and named him Pudding. After Pudding. The Pudding breed hamster. #ihavenoimagination

Fidelis got herself one too and named it Nutella... or was it Peanut? I can't really remmeber.. She named it after one of her guinea pigs who passed away too :(

So we were both clutching the baby wombat plooshies on our hand feeling sad over our deceased pets. Kinda funny thinking about it now.

Walked around the store a little more, and a lady offered "real honeycomb" for me to try.

For some reason I thought it'd be like the chocolate Maltesers' center honeycomb bit... LOL boy was I wrong. Real honeycomb is MADDDD sweet and has that disgusting waxy after taste. But it's supposedly good for you, like all other higher grades of honey. (my mother is obsessed with Manuka honey gross one point in time she made me take it almost everyday)

Am I the only person in this world who DOESN'T like honey? I hate honey lemon drinks, I hate honey in my tea or on my pan cakes etc.. I'd much rather maple syrup.

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Sorry for the abrupt end guys, but Part 2 of Blue Mountains to be continued soon!!! :)

If I combined all the content into ONE post, it'd be one epic longgg post with almost 200 pictures in it so I think it's best I stop here today.

In the next post, you can expect pretty pictures of a very quaint and beautiful little Australian town called Leura, and fluffy pictures of Australian animals because we visited a Wildlife Park!

Have a good Halloween weekend y'all.

xoxo,
Jess

Someone Like You

2011-10-28T23:44:00.012+08:00

Some late night pondering.

Recently, I have been obsessing over the song "Someone Like You"

- Someone Like You by Adele

As I was singing the lyrics "Never mind I'll find someone like you..." out loud, I actually stopped for a second and thought to myself, "No, I won't."

If I broke up with my boyfriend, I wouldn't find somebody just like him.

I'd actually find somebody totally different, because if it could work out with someone like my ex, I wouldn't have given it up, or messed it up. It's called an "ex" because it's an "example" of what kind of guy you shouldn't be dating. Maybe you'd want to find someone who can make you feel as special and wanted as he did, but girls, if he had you but decided to give you up... Trust me, you don't want to find somebody like him.

You should want somebody better.

Too many people dwell on the past so much, they forget to look to the future. Reminiscence is futile. Instead of trying to hold onto a person who's already gone, learn from your mistakes and walk away with your head held high. It's not always that simple, or that straightforward, I know... but not trying is letting yourself down.

Whenever I'm upset because I've quarreled with my boyfriend, a common piece of advice I'd always receive is, "Just think about your happier times in the past."

To which I would secretly scoff at under my breath. WHAT is the point of constantly revisiting the past just to convince yourself that the situation you're in now is worth it? You should stay in a relationship because you're excited about your FUTURE together, not because he "was nice to me last time."

Last time is last time. Last time doesn't matter anymore.

Now is right freakin' now. Now = r e a l i t y, so get yourself a reality check. Are you happy now? Do you think this guy is capable of making you happy in the near future? The future hasn't arrived, but if you find yourself trapped in the past or your "honeymoon period" then you can safely assume your future is bleak. What matters most about how a man treats you is during the tough times. The good times? I'm not saying forget them.

What I'm saying is that if a man can't handle you at your worst, then he sure as hell does not deserve you at your best.

Find someone who is willing to rough it out with you because when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. If he's not tough, your relationship will not be going anywhere eventually. It's not difficult to find a boy who is cute and charming at the start. Every guy WILL be nice to you at the start of the relationship.

Because he wants you, because the chase is still thrilling, because he's trying to impress you and because he hasn't begun to take you for granted yet. We are ALL flawed, and we all take things for granted some times. But some people look into their partner's eyes and realize what they have is special. While others, go through their whole life drifting from one facade to another.. You can't stay in love if you don't love being in love.

Don't judge a boyfriend's character from how he treats you the first 6 months, because those 6 months will not last you the rest of your life. I wasted so much time on my ex this way. I just kept wishing for better. Why make wishes when you're in charge of your own life? YOU can make your own life better.

One of these days you're going to run out of happy memories to tide you through the bad times. You're going to need new ones. Judge your relationship's strength by how he handles your quarrels AFTER the honeymoon period. Does he still try as hard? Take as much time as you need to decide how you feel about him for as long as you're together. It's totally okay to change your mind.

That's what I tell myself all the time. And I honestly believe it's true even though I may come across as being selfish. I can't be feeling guilt because my feelings have changed. I can't tell my heart what to feel and I can't tell a boy to love me if he doesn't anymore. You can't love someone else properly if you don't love yourself first.

I don't proclaim my love to be selfless like most other people, and I would gladly tell the world that my love is selfish. I love you, I do.. because you make me happy. But if somehow you don't make me happy anymore, one day, I'll stop loving you.

Give yourself that right to choose your path of happiness.

It is possible to fall in and out of love with the same person. Because that person is always changing. The only constant is change..

At times, change is what we really need in life. Definitely not replicas of our-ex boyfriends. Stop the self-pitying. The only way to truly get over somebody is to believe you can find someone BETTER than them, not someone just like them. If not, you'll live eternity in regret. So if you think you've got something really special going for you.... don't give it up.

This blog post is a public reminder to myself and everyone out there who needs it - that nobody is safe from heartbreak. Just love every partner you have like you've never loved no one else before, it's the only way to part without regrets.

As Adele sings,

"Sometimes it lasts in love.. but sometimes it hurts instead."

xoxo,
Jess

What's Bakin'? (this one's special!!!) #7

2011-10-14T22:09:00.006+08:00

Hi. (please excuse and ignore the chubs on the right side of my hips, it's too difficult to photoshop fml)

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much, you would've thought since I've been back from my trip for more than a few weeks now I would have more than 1 travel post up. You know, with me being super excited about the trip and going on about how much I have to share. (I do.) But besides being ridiculously busy (aren't we all?) I've also been desperately S-I-C-K.

Coughing so frequently and hard I threw up in my own mouth, reduced to shivering in my bed the whole day long due to hot and cold fevers. My nose just won't stop running and my whole body feels like shit. Omg it's the disease season isn't it?

The weather has been so unkind. It's hot and humid then it rains then it doesn't, then it does.... I've been sick for over a week now and in this past 30 days alone I have been sick probably more than 20.

So yeah, I really do want to get my posts done but every time you have a reason to blog, life gives you 10 more not to. I swear. Fingers crossed I get better realllll soon because I have a lot of work ahead of me!

With that aside...

I've noticed quite a few people re-posting my images online without any credit back to me.

So, as I'm just about to post up a bunch pictures of pretty & yummy cakes I've painstakingly handcrafted from scratch, here's a gentle reminder to my readers. I have no qualms with you posting my pictures anywhere, on your blog, facebook, tumblr etc.. as long as you DO credit back to this site, http://shiberty.com or http://shibertys.blogspot.com

Feel free to share my stuff, but have some conscience. If you like the art, credit the artist. :)

All cakes & cupcakes in the following post are lovingly made by Shiberty's Sweets!!! Visit our website for more pictures and information on ordering from us.

Just did this one earlier this afternoon. Red velvet cake coated with chocolate buttercream, done for a girl who's mummy loves purple pansies!

This is the last red velvet cake we will be doing. I've axed some flavours from our recipe list that weren't as good as the others, and added in a brand new one! The current new flavour is LYCHEE.

If you love lychee, you'll love our lychee cake because it is really fragrant! :)

The other flavour I axed was coconut. After more than half a year, NOBODY has ordered coconut, not even once. How sad lol. I was under the impression people like coconut-flavored stuff especially for the older folks? Meh anyway I'll be bringing in new flavours again soon, any suggestions on what you'd like to see? Orange? Lime?

Lychee was our most requested one previously, so ta-dah!!! It is here!

Marvel cupcakes for the comic fans!!! Did you know batman was originally blue?

The hulk. I don't like him but all of my geek guy friends think he's awesome. He's so ugly.... there IS such a thing as too much muscle!

Came up with this design for a sweet girl who said she loved unicorns, the color pink, stars and all things whimsical. ♥

It's so sweet and pink it's like a birthday cake fit for jigglypuff

Doesn't she remind you of My Little Pony? We named her Star... because of all the stars on the cake. *crickets*

Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face...

Roulette cake! I think we've done almost every kind of gambling cake.

Gambling chips, cards, dices, mahjong, roulette, even baccarat...

For a Make Up Forever Artist! :)

That lipstick was almost a replica of one of my M.A.C lippies!

(the real thing)

For all you geeks out there - what could be better than a Street Fighter console cake?!

Answer: A Street Fighter Console Cake that comes with a matching set of cupcakes of course.

AWWW they look like little babies lol @ akuma

Domo is very yummy.

Now you don't have to think what to get your bf / gf on your upcoming anniversary / monthsary. :D

Have a break, have a kit kat!.... cake. (and yes, kit kats do come in square packaging!)

Ever since we've posted our first 3d car cake on our website, we've gotten requests for all sorts of cars! Like this Audi...

And this Ferrari!

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The last set of cupcakes featured is a really special order!

You might remember this post where I did "20 fun facts about me."

Fact number 15 was: "My current favourite blog is http://storyofbing.com. She writes well, easy on the eyes, talks frankly about traveling, cooking, photography, life, love and random thoughts... everything I love to indulge in!"

AND GUESS WHAT..... I GOT TO MEET BING!!!!!!

IN DA FLESH!!!!!!1111 :DDDD

Awesome pictures credit to Bing

Check it out. Bing and I. *fans self rapidly*

Ok the story goes like this.

I was browsing through her blog as per usual... I love that she updates so often, I can go every 2 days and there's almost guaranteed an update! ....*guilty face*

Anyway I saw her post about a certain cupcake store she tried cupcakes from that she didn't QUITE appreciate because they weren't "homemade" and "authentic" tasting. Cupcakes you buy outside have a "metallic" aftertaste, as Bing says, and she hates that. She thought their cupcakes were still pretty and decent however, and gave them a pretty high rating.

So when I read their post I was all like

!!!!!!!! I CAN DO BETTER. YES, I CAN.

LOL. That was the first thought that popped into my head. I thought to myself, "If she thinks their plainly frosted cupcakes look good, I'm gonna blow her mind!"

So I decided to email her and offer her to try out our cupcakes... Lucky for me she was visiting Singapore soon (she currently lives in South Africa) and she kindly agreed, and I got to meet her soon-ish after to pass her some customized cupcakes!!!

She did a very very very very nice review for Shiberty's Sweets (GRINNED LIKE CRAZY WHEN I SAW IT) which you can read HERE.

I know Bing would not be the type to compliment something excessively if she didn't actually like it, so it made me feel all that much better knowing her praises were genuine!

When I asked her what design she wanted on her cupcakes, she mentioned she loves photography, her favourite animal is the giraffe and she is a hopeless romantic. Oh and also that she likes Milo.

Even though we don't have Milo in our usual recipe list, I created a new recipe for her! Hope it was ok, twas my first time attempting it :3

Photography + hopeless romantic? Check...

Personalization? Check!

Funky looking giraffes? Check!!!

This is her complete set! Obviously, I fail at giraffes, lol. But overall I think I did good. It meant a lot for me to receive her approval because I look up to her and her food on her blog always looks amazing wtf. I've tried her recipes before and they're good, in a way I wanted to give back.

Bing / Karen devouring an oreo cupcake with Butterscotch frosting!

Meeting Bing in real life for the first time was similar to meeting Wendy aka Xiaxue for the first time. I was all like... WOAH! This person is real, dude!!!!

I kinda want to pinch them in the flesh, but that'd be kinda rude hurhur. Seeing them up close, sometimes I just stare into space when they're talking to me. Even after seeing Wendy for a lot of times, sometimes a voice in my head goes, "Oi, xiaxue.blogspot.com talking to you leh. Sure not? This is weird. Eh stop fa dai-ing! (daydreaming)" LOL then I'd snap back to reality.

Happy day!

Luckily for me Wendy and Bing were both incredibly nice to me (so I don't have a phobia of meeting other bloggers irl omg that would be awful), it's a good feeling when you have inkling this person would turn out to be nice and that you two would get along and you DO! I had a good afternoon chatting with Bing and her friend over coffee! We talked about blogging, motherfood (don't ask me why I'm interested in that when I'm 19 lol), relationships, and everything under the sun.

So if you're too lazy to click on the link I provided earlier on, here's what Bing had to say about our cupcakes...

Storyofbing.com on Shiberty's Sweets:

"It’s screaming love.. and heart.. and soul.. seriously, Milo flavoured cupcakes with a camera on top.. giraffe faces (my fave animal).. and hearts and roses coz of the romantic I obviously am. I was so moved.

Jessica’s cupcakes are au naturel with no additives in them. How you tell is from the taste (no chemical after taste) and the tell tale sign of a natural uneven texture of the cake. Cakes that have emulsifiers like lecithin added have a uniform crumb texture.

The cupcakes were delicious and really one of the softest, moistest ones I’ve ever had. They were so light that I thought they were baked with cooking oil. But no, it’s all good wholesome butter. Yummmm…

I would have preferred a stiffer frosting because I like my frosting SWEET. The best part about Jessica’s cupcakes is that she bakes every single one by hand and can customise to suit all needs. So she’ll definitely make my next cupcake with a stiffer frosting.

Shiok! But don’t just take my word for it.. ask my gal and nieces.. =)"

*end*

Omg they are so cute with their lil thumbs up haha.

Can you believe that all happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so thankful for the opportunities blogging has given me. I may not be a professional or famous or big time blogger but you wouldn't believe how many places I got to visit, things I got to experience and amazing people I had the blessing to meet because of this blog.

It is humbling. :')

Without my blog I am convinced Shiberty's Sweets wouldn't be where it is today. Having talent alone is useless, you need a platform to express it and thankfully I've got that little advantage.

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Disclaimer:

The following vain camho pictures have no real reason to be part of this post. Lol just feel like posting coz I feel like my face has been MIA on this blog for a little too long.

Here I am... blemishes and all. :3

(Y) to this sweater top I got from Topshop. I'm sitting and waiting for Fidelis to arrive at this blogger event we attended that I'm not really interested in blogging about so I'd just post vain pix from it.

A meh cupcake, I haven't eaten cupcakes from another place that has won me over yet. Lol yes I very obnoxious.

You know at public places... and you're waiting alone, what's the first thing you do? If you're shameless, you will whip out your phone and pretend to be texting someone that doesn't exist.

If you're REALLY shameless, you will just sit there taking pictures of yourself instead of mingling with the PR people like you're meant to be. Sigh what to do #bornthisway

Andddd my gf arrives! :)

GOOD SUNLIGHT for pix or what?!

I miss you! WHY don't you meet me more often? -angry face-

In Fidelis' car. I really, really like friends that drive. A lot. You would be my BFF. :D

End of narcissism.

Enjoy your weekend.

xoxo,
Jess

Advertorial: DIYGalore

2011-10-10T21:33:00.005+08:00

Looking for cute and affordable accessories?

DIY Galore has cute necklaces, rings, scarves etc all going for only $3.50 per piece! You can find similar pieces at Far East Plaza going for 10+, 20+ dollars.

Here's a collage of my personal favourite pieces from their ongoing Accessories Spree:

They have a huge range of designs for sale on their website. Sassy, quirky, nerdy, trendy... they have pretty much everything. There's something for every type of girl in there. I ♥ the Peace sign ones, love the light-colored gold.. apparently they're Juicy Couture inspired!

This spree is closing on 14/10/2011 so if you spot anything you like, you have to be quick!!! :) You snooze, you lose. Items will arrive within 21 days.

Free Smartpac (like registered postage) when you spend $150 and above.

Why shop at DIY Galore? Hear it from them!

- DIY Galore strongly believes in efficiency. Once items arrive, we will mail out your item within the next working day.

- We do not drag and take our own sweet time to do refunds for Out of Stock items.

Like their Facebook page here as they do spontaneous giveaways every now and then! Who knows, you might get lucky ;)

xoxo,
Jess

Food Review: New Ubin Seafood!

2011-10-06T21:53:00.008+08:00

Before I left for my Australia trip, my good friend Nicholas invited me to a food tasting session at New Ubin Seafood - a chinese restaurant owned by his godmother!

I was pretty hesitant about it at first. Me? I'm not a food blogger and I'm not a big fan of chinese food most of the time. How will this pan out..? But upon his persuasion, I gave it the restaurant a go and came home with no regrets! (except for my bulging tummy)

The food quality definitely surprised both Sam and I because we weren't expecting much from a humble family restaurant. But I think this one is definitely worth mentioning. Do note that I am not paid to write this blog entry, this review features my honest opinions.

I wouldn't ask you to eat at a restaurant I wouldn't frequent myself. :)

I brought my family there to eat after I got back from Australia and they thought the food was good and decently priced!! It's so hard to get my family's approval in terms of dining choices, so thankfully this was one of them. My whole family are fussy eaters like me!

In total I have eaten there 3 times the past month and half. *burps*

New Ubin Seafood restaurant serves authentic local food at reasonable prices. The location is quite difficult to find but if you see this signboard, you'll know you're at the right place!

Here's Auntie Michelle and Uncle Pang.

They are the owners of this restaurant and you'll probably see them around if you happen to have dinner there! They're really friendly and nice people.

Here's all the YUMMEH food they generously stuffed me silly with the other day!!!

Smoked Pork Omelette was the first dish served! I realized Chinese food isn't very photogenic eh. It's not like Western food where it's laid out nicely on an expensive looking plate. Chinese food generally looks messy or rather plain in pictures.

They cure their own pork at the restaurant. This had a nice... eggy flavour to it? LOL I can't say much about an omelet except that it was decent and served really hot which I love. I can't stand restaurants that DON'T serve piping hot food. I want it straight out of the wok and onto my plate and BAM! onto my table and into my mouth. :P

Smoked Duck Breast - tender and flavorful, I love smoked-anything but duck is unfortunately not one of my preferred types of meat so this didn't score huge points with me but I'm sure anyone else would like it a lot since it IS nice.

I'm a pretty fussy eater.

Beansprouts with Smoked Fish - Mmmm this is my favorite thus far, the smoked fish goes well with the crunchy beansprouts! This is something different from your usual sambal kang kong / spinach / kai lan. It's light but tasty enough.

I found myself eating this by the spoonfuls.

Mussel de Blanc - like a chinese vongele, it's cooked in white wine sauce. I'm not a clams / shell eater but Sam said it was ok. (he eats everything and generally liked everything served that day)

Crispy Pork Knuckle German Style O____O

This was the dish that made me and Sam go "OoOooO that looks good!" and it tastes just as good as it looks. The meat is juicy and soft enough but the skin is SUPER crispy. It's sinful and not for diet-watchers because the layer of fat under the skin might scare some people away.

Not Sam and I though. We finished the whole plate omfg! It was that good. It comes with 2 dipping sauces, thai chilli sauce and pepper sauce.

Yummmmmm!!

BLACK PEPPER CRAB!!! A local favorite. (mine too hehe)

Their black pepper sauce tastes very similar to Jumbo Seafood's and that is a good thing because my fav crabs are from Jumbo but this shall be my new favorite coz their prices are cheaper than Jumbo but tastes similar or possibly even better :)

My claw looking beautifully delicious, mmmm... craving for some now.

The crab meat was fresh and succulent, not soft and soggy-tasting like old crabs would taste like. They're having a promotion now, buy 2 crabs and get your 3rd one FREE!!! So now you know where to get your next seafood fix!

US Angus Ribeye Steak.

Now, I know what you're thinking. What the hell? Steak at a chinese restaurant? No, thanks...

BUT WAIT! Don't turn your snobbish nose away from this dish just yet. I'm a fussy steak eater too, and find Singapore's general standard for steaks to be hugely disappointing. Most of them use cheap and thin slabs of meat that is overcooked and tasteless. This however is definitely one of their stellar dishes because they do it sooooo well!!!

The doneness is perfectly medium-rare - no bloody taste but you get super soft red / pinkish meat. They fry it in a mild peppery sauce and it is served with wedges and caramelized onions on the side.

The beef almost melts in your mouth... it is so soft I don't think I've ever had softer beef. If you like your doneness a little more cooked you can always request for medium instead of medium rare! They will do it to your liking.

My mum never ate beef up till very recently due to religious beliefs so she generally stays away from beef dishes. When I wanted to order this dish for my family, she went "Noooo la! Order steak from chinese restaurant for what? Where got nice? Order something else" but I insisted blatantly on it. When it came, EVERYONE loved it! My mum even asked me to order this the second time. And that's saying a lot. Young and old people love this dish!!!! Definitely must try..... Trust me on this one.

The second reason why I love the steak from before. This plate of fried rice comes TOGETHER with the beef! The reason why it's a combo is because the rice is fried in the oil leftover from the steak. No steak? No special fried rice. You can't have one without the either.

It looks like any other fried rice with soy sauce but this was hardly the case. I dunno how to describe it because the taste was pretty unique, a little salty and sweet, but this was a hit with my family too. :)

Major plus points!

Omg look at how much plates are on our table for 5!!! They brought out more than 15 different dishes for Sam and I that day. We felt so special ♥ (and fat)

I have NEVER had anyone offer me that much food hahahahaha this is gluttony as its epitome but I loved every second of it.

Taking a break from food pictures, here's Nicholas and the owner, Auntie Michelle!

This is............. ............. .......... Shovelnose shark cartilage.

For those of you that don't know, shovelnose sharks look like this. :333

I don't like eating unknown /unusual food, but I felt abit paiseh to turn them down so I quickly swallowed the portion they cut for me. It was a lot easier back then because I didn't know what it looked like. But I went to Sea World in Australia a week later I spotted the word "shovelnose shark" in the aquarium!!!!!! and I was like,

"OMG BABY, isn't that what we ate at New Ubin Seafood? Ewww I can't believe we ate that! It is SO UGLY!!!"

I think I talked a little too loud coz these white people overheard me and gave me the

"Tsk, you asians eat EVERYTHING don't you?" stare. LOL.

The cartilage is really soft. And.. cartilagey. Meaning there's not much taste to it. The sauce is nice, but the actual cartilage is tasteless. It has a jelly-like texture, to best put it. But then again, it's considered a Chinese delicacy and I never understood delicacies. Abalone still tastes like rubber - no matter how much older I get, I can't seem to appreciate. I guess people eat it for "health benefits". You know how shark's fin is meant to be good for you yada yada.. shovelnose shark cartilage should be the same thing?

They also cook the shovelnose shark's meat fyi, so this isn't promoting unnecessary animal cruelty the way sharks fin soup is. (because fishermen usually slice the fins off the usual shark then throw the shark back into the sea to die)

I actually forgot to take photos of the "meat" part of the shovelnose shark, eeks! Sorry guys!!! But it was a claypot dish and served with black bean sauce. Like the steak and rice combo, you can't get the shovelnose meat or cartilage without the other, so you get 2 dishes in 1. This is something to take note of if you wanna order the shovelnose shark at New Ubin Seafood.

My family tried it and thought it was interesting. It makes for good dinner conversation, order it and show your family pictures of the animal and watch them freak out, lol!

Sam even ate the BONES of the shovelnose shark!!! Supposedly for calcium purposes lmao pretty sure that's bs just a reason for him to put more weird things in his mouth. He claims the bones are soft and you can easily chew them.

Uncle Pang looking all happy-like!

Hokkien Mee Special - I'm not usually a hokkien / prawn mee eater, but this is GOOD.

Should order this instead of rice if you do visit. The best hokkien mee I've ever had. It has a lot more ingredients than your normal hawker fare and much tastier too! Another family favorite. The sauce is win.

Old Punngol style mee goreng - not bad, only ate a bit of it. I don't like mee goreng, but this was better than a lot I have tried before. Not too sweet or tomato sauce-y unlike other mee goreng.

“Boss” Bee Hoon - this is nice! It's soy sauce based with a little bit of chili in it. Out of the 3 types of noodles shown above, I bet you guys are bound to like at least 1! :)

Last food picture I have for the day!

I didn't get the official name for this, but it's a cold crab served specifically for the insane amount of ROE you get with it. The meat itself is kinda hard and not that nice so get this if you're a roe lover!!!! Sam devoured it like a caveman on steroids despite the fact we were already bursting with food.

That's the last dish of the day!!!!!!! Quite a feast for the both of us lol we were roly-polys after that.

SO full but so happy too!

Like what you see??? Hungry, and wanna go for a good authentic meal?

New Ubin Seafood is located at Blk 27 Sin Ming Road, behind Blk 26. It's in the middle of a cluster of HDBs and near auto mobile repair shops.

Be forewarned that the location is pretty damn obscure and we had trouble finding it the first time. If you are going by cab make sure your taxi driver knows his stuff. If going by car, make sure you have a GPS system. If going by foot / bus, don't even bother... It's not an uppity restaurant so don't go there expecting top notch service or high class decor. The set up of the place is "rustic", the owner says. It's very very casual but people like it for their authentic food. BYO is also available, meaning you can bring your own alcohol and chill out with friends and family all night long! Very few restaurants allow that in Singapore btw. They have indoor aircon and outdoor seating.

Reservations are recommended because they get impressively busy at dinner time, especially on the weekend. Wipe that drool of your face and call them at 6466 9558!

Mention to the owners that you are SHIBERTY's blog reader for a special discount! :)

I'll definitely be heading back there with my family again. Thanks for the awesome treat guys!!!!!!! Love!

xoxo,
Jess