DIY iPhone 5 Jelly Cases - Exclusively Mine!

Do you often come across those bling iPhone casing selling from shops, online stores or even Taobao? I'm sure you did. I'm also sure that you knew those bling/crystals are mostly, if not, entirely encased with hard iPhone casing. Well, I could have simply bought those casings for my iPhone 5 but there's a problem...I HATE Hard Casings!

I always love jelly casings ever since I wore one on my old iPhone 3GS. The glossy surface and rubberised material somehow make me feel that my phone is secured even at the edges, not to mention the odds of getting my phone scratched by the casing itself will be minimised to the smallest. So...I came up with the idea of DIY-ing my own bling casing for my iPhone 5, with jelly case of course!

That set my determination and purchases of the materials from Taobao. Afterall, where else can I buy materials at the lowest cost other than Taobao? In fact, I got rather greedy and bought far too many casings with tons of rhinestones (blings) to work on them! Gosh, will I even need so many casings in the first place!?

My first attempt was a white iPhone case with Melody.

I really love this Melody whom looked so studious! It was my first attempt hence, I didn't dare to put too many pearls and rhinestones for fret of overkill. However, after a day of consideration, I still decided to add on more...

Tada! More 'bling-ing', right?' Maybe to you, it still isn't bling enough but trust me, going for a first attempt on this made me feel skeptical to add more. And with that, my first DIY iPhone bling casing was completed!

Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy my first bling casing due to an ultimate joke...The casing was NOT iPhone 5 casing! I was trying to fit this casing into my iPhone 5 when I discovered I wasn't able to fit the casing in! Stunned for at least 3 seconds, I came to my senses and knew it was the wrong casing (iPhone 4S). How sotong can I be????? DIY finished already then found out I used wrong casing...truly a WTF circumstance. In the end, I realised my seller packed this casing wrongly in my order (packed a iPhone 4S casing in a iPhone 5 casing box). I only tried 2 out of 3 to ensure they fit but lady luck just wanted to play a trick on me and purposely had the wrong one be the one I never tried on. Sad, ironic and comical as it can be, I didn't want to let this casing go to waste and gifted it to my BFF instead since she's still using iPhone 4S. Am so glad she loves it though!

With that to be gifted to my BFF, I was back to square one with no bling casing of my own again. Determined to DIY a true bling casing for myself, I started on my 2nd attempt...this time, on my existing neon pink jelly case with another design.

This was how my casing looked like when I just started on it.

Big and beautiful piece of ornament it is ya? It wasn't easy getting it to dry if I continued with other areas and so, I gave it a rest for a day to let the glue beneath the ornament dry. I continued on the very next day and was hell bent on finishing it.

Such determination did yield results. I completed my DIY within 2.5 hours!

Not bad ya? I know such design might have already been available at stores so it is not uncommon. However, having such design on a jelly case is definitely a first! And Exclusively MINE!

Also brought proud DIY bling casing out for Christmas gathering and took a beautiful shot of it at a boutique while waiting for my BFF.

I am getting the hang of DIY-ing the casings, especially since I can have the best of both worlds in terms of blings on jelly cases. Am gonna DIY more on the rest of the casings so I can rotate using them from time to time!

Oh wait, before I forgot, I also re-ordered the studious Melody since I really like it but am gonna stick it to a baby pink jelly case this round!

 

Nail Foils - Nail Art Stickers

I'll be VERY honest...I had been neglecting my nails for the longest time ever since I got hold of my iPad and engrossed in my dramas, online shopping and whatsoever. However, although I am not so avid in DIY-ing nailart anymore (I swear, I still do it but the frequency isn't gonna be as high as before now), I now adopt a faster method to still have nailart on my nails - Nail Foils!

Hehe, this set of nail foils were bought in Ximending, Taipei when I last went there for business trip. I like it for the tribal design it has and fact that there is NO WAY I could have done that myself on my nails! What's more, this set of nail foils glow in the dark!

How pretty they look on my nails! The more I look at them, the more they seem to be a real paint job! I'll face the truth. Though I can do nailart, such in-depth and elaborated design is one I definitely cannot do it, not with my current skillset, haha!

Shot taken further from the camera. Doesn't really look like nail foils, ya?

Also took my nails under broad daylight. I'm loving it and gonna get more of the foils soon!

Goodbye, my friend...

Went to a funeral wake earlier today to pay my respect to my dear colleague whom had been working with me for more than 2 years.

It was not easy standing in front of him, covered up in the box and said my goodbyes to him that night. I controlled my tears to refrain them from dropping but they finally gave way after I had a talk with his mother.

That day, that place, many familiar faces were present although it wasn't an ideal venue for us to be reunited, at least not under this circumstance. However, it is a comfort for his family to know that he has so many friends who care for him out there.

I missed him..it was just few months back when we went to Korea together for work..and now he's gone. He's really gone, and this time, he won't be back. No matter how much I, or we, miss him, we need to believe that he is now in good hands. He had move on, journeying ahead of us.

Rest in peace my dear friend. We shall meet again, when our time is up, at the place you are watching over us.

New Hair Color!

I had been so sick and tired of my messy hair, I finally decided to do something about it before I fly off to Korea (Yes, I'm going to Korea once again).

While I was at the salon, the urge to change my hair colour just kept building on me. After much consideration and given the fact that I'd once again gotten my hair shorter, I made up my mind to turn into a redhead woman...

Honestly, it must be like eons ago since I last gotten my hair red but with my goldilock hair of many years, I guessed it's time for a change.

There, a self-portrait of me right after the cut and colour. Many colleagues and friends commented this hair colour suits me better than the brown-ish gold colour, not to mention my daring attempt of cutting my hair really short from behind (bob-style). This colour and hairstlye are mostly like gonna be with me for a considerable amount of time. :D

[Taipei] SOPHiCA - A Sweet Place for Sweethearts

For someone who had been to Taipei for a few times, it was a shock to me when one of my colleagues brought us some goodies from Taipei. Due to their captivating packagings, I made a promise to myself that I would patronise the shop should I step into Taipei again. And so I did! The reason I was so bent on patronising was because...they look like this:

Yes, in the form of syringes! But not to worry, they are not medicine syrups. The liquid in the syringe is in fact candy syrup jelly which is totally edible! Not only that, they have a fair varieties of products which are totally weird, odd and ridiculous, yet intriguing!

Did you find some items on the shelves look very out of place? Frankly, they are! To think condom boxes, TCM pills, syringes, sanitary pads, first-aid plasters are placed all over the shelves. However, they are rightfully shelved and not to mention, the most hot-selling products of the shop! Please do not freak out, they are not exactly real stuff. When I said they aren't real, I meant they only look real from the packaging. What's inside the packagings in all of them are mostly chocolates.

Now, a close-up to see just how convincing the packagings are.

Interesting concept, isn't it? My colleagues and I spent really a long in there, lost in the huge varieties they have in store for the consumers. If you are not the type to buy exotic-looking products for your friends, this shop does sell chocolate in the right packaging...I mean, in normal way of packaging, hehe. Honestly speaking, the chocolates taste really yummy, so don't assume they may taste just average due to their out-of-ordinary packaging.

Feels like giving this shop a try? Like I mentioned in my blog title, SOPHiCA is its shop name.

Looking at those products, I'd never expect to see its shop looking like that. Standing at its store front, I swore the first thought that came into my mind was, 'Is this an accessory shop?'

If you are interested to go to this SOPHiCA, it is located in Ximending. This district is a famous shopping district, not to mention wide-spread with many small alleys, thus, watch out for this street name within Ximending:

Writing post like this really aggravates my urge to gobble some chocolate down my throat...

 

Coach Wristlet from Aussie

Well, quite embarrassing to say, I have never owned a wristlet among my many bag hauls. I also didn't know what crazy thought I had gotten myself into that drove me into borrowing my colleague's hands to buy me a Coach wristlet from Aussie. Hah, a damn truthful confession from a shopaholic alright...

Not that Coach is a favourite brand of mine, but when my colleague told me he was going to a Coach outlet in Aussie, my shopaholic six sense decided to act ahead of everything! Next thing I knew, I was looking for various designs of wristlets I wanted him to look out for me -_-

Though I did not manage to get the wristlet I wished for, I did manage to get my colleague to help me buy this little sweetie, my first wristlet at the price of USD75.

I'm afraid, now that I got the hang of carrying a wristlet around, this may just not be my one and only wristlet in days to come....:P

A New Me

Yesterday I wore a tube top of a freaking daring colour which I usually will NEVER wear, to work. However, apart from the daring colour, what really shocked me was the way I looked after I snapped this camwhore shot...

My whole body is more toned now with less fats on my waist and arms! Not only that, my face looks less chubby now. And..l really think I look pretty nice with this tube top. :D

Most of my friends knew that I have been applying low-calorie intake in my eating habits since April. Although I did not intend to have major weight loss, I wanted to slim down eventually with the new eating habit (not so new now!). Just so you know, low-calorie diet does not make you lose weight fast compared to low-carb diet, but gradually. During the 1st 3 months, I'd seen drops in my weight of up to 3kg and I felt so ecstatic! Most who saw me could see I'd shedd a fair share of weight. However, my aim was to lose 7kg in 8 months with this diet.

Now, 6 months later, my weight did not drop any further apart from the 3kg I lost. The funny thing is, everyone who sees me now think I've lost more than 3kg. I'm still watching my eating habit with low-calorie intake but the weight itself just won't go down. How funny to hear comments from others who commented I look like I've lost like 5kg! After some talks with my friend, she deduced I must have lost my fats instead of weight and gotten rid of water retention within my body (I had quite serious water retention issue). From the way it seems, I am toning my body rather than slimming down. Well, I guess it's true. :D

I do not reckon I'll ever stop this diet (I'm not even considering it as a diet) as it has already become part of my eating lifestyle. It may be a torture at times to calculate calories during meals but at least I do not need to compromise any type of food so long I ate them sparingly and wisely. I certainly hope to see further drop in terms of my weight but if not, at least I know I am keeping my body toned with body fats away from myself.

Speaking of which, this afternoon's lunch was such an overkill, I'm not so sure I won't get some weights back. However, it was our colleague's birthday so 1 day of indulgence should be alright yeah? Gotta make sure I do not over-indulge in future!

At this point of time, I'm pleased with progress of my 'weight loss' and I still hope I can reach my ideal weight sometime soon (No hurry!).

iPhone 5 - It's finally here, and Mine!

27th September 2012 - This day marked the end of my iPhone 3GS' 3 years companionship and the welcome of the new iPhone, 32GB iPhone 5! To my friends who kept nagging me to change my phone, yes, I finally upgraded my iPhone!

Well, the market's not lying around with lots of varieties for iPhone 5 cases, thus, I gotta settled for a plain red jelly case for now...

Noticed I'd bought the white iPhone 5? Not me at all yeah? It was upon much consideration that I finally decided to get white afterall. It was written in a performance test that for iPhone 5, black scratches and see scratches much easier than white this time, not like its predecessors. I would really hate seeing scratch marks on my phone so I had to forsake my favourite colour for white.

I also remembered what I blogged previously in 'iOS vs Android Phone' when I said Note 2 was my next choice of phone. Unfortunately, I thought it through and decided AppStore is still the pulling factor for me being under Apple's side. If only Play Store can get its number of apps comparative up to match with AppStore! I know it's soon, but sadly, it's truly time to change my phone now. :(

No matter how others are ranting how sucky iPhone 5 is, it is no doubt a much better upgrade for me since I wasn't in iPhone 4 era and didn't experience the new features in iPhone 4. I'm gonna hold on to it and hopefully, by the time I'm prepared to replace a new phone again, Android would have been on par (in terms of apps) with iOS.

[Taipei] 罗志详 Show Luo's (小猪) Boutique - STAGE

During my recent business trip to Taipei, I had the opportunity to shop a little before I began my work and thanks to my colleague, I finally had the chance to patronise 小猪's (罗志详) Boutique - Stage at Ximending! To think I've been to Taipei so many times but never been to his boutique!

Initially I was quite hesitant to enter his boutique because we were dressed damn casually. Alright, sloppy could be the word. In the end, we still stepped inside. How could we throw away such opportunity when it was right in front of us?

I was captivated by this wall decor and frankly, no photography was allowed within the boutique. This photo was shot when the sales crew went to get my item and I didn't knew we weren't allowed to snap shots then.

小猪's boutique theme is pretty punky, not to mention the products he's selling there. They're not exactly expensive, but I'll say mid-range pricing perhaps. Tees may cost from NT1200 onwards (that's about SGD50+?). A pair of shorts caught my eye but it costs SGD100+! I felt it's a tad too expensive but yet I couldn't help but to keep putting my eyes on it. Ultimately, I gave up buying the shorts cause it wouldn't fit me.

I had to buy something from there, I HAD TO. How could I leave the boutique, or leave Taipei without any haul from Stage? That would not me, the shopping queen (titled by my colleagues) anymore, yeah? Hence, I did buy something. :D

A red tee for my hubby. Simple yet showing Stage logo clearly. It was also by far the most suitable tee for him (the rest's too...young?).

I also got myself a pink stripes tee! It is not very uniquely-designed, but quality is a guarantee. I also bought 2 more tank tops but they're nothing special apart for the logo, so I decided to skip posting the image up here.

Some say Stage has nothing much to see nor buy. I'll say just go for the exposure. If you have not been there before, then I'll strongly recommend you to go, to finally get to visit and know where this boutique is. Unless you really like his designs, I'll say 1st visit shall suffice :)

The address to his boutique is right on the first photo of this blog. If you are heading there, do enjoy and hope you'll walk out with some loot from Stage, just like me!

 

Kiseki - A Japanese Buffet Restaurant

My birthday celebration this year was so closely tied to food. Just the birthday weekend alone, We went for American brunch, steamboat and lastly, BUFFET!

We went Kiseki 2 years back but during that time, the restaurant was located at Heeren. Food selection was so-so and we didn't really rate it high at that time. 2 years later, we came across Kiseki again, but this time located at Orchard Central instead. We decided to give it a try once again.

Frankly, I prefer Kiseki to be located at Orchard Central than at Heeren. Situated at 8th floor, the full-length windows of the mall allow full sunlight into the restaurant, giving it a bright and cozy ambience. The moment we were brought to our seats, I immediately explored the food selection.

I was pretty glad that they improved over the years as there are more choices of food than before. First few which I came across,were Deep Fried Food section, where all the tempuras were.

Next, I made a turn and there were the Cooked Food section. Here's where the hotpot, chawanmushi, udon, noodles and rice would be. This is also the section that could fill up your stomach really fast, thus, I only took some of them so I could still have room for others!

Next up was the Seafood section. I know many seafood lovers might roar at me but being one who isn't exactly a seafood lover, I kinda skipped this section...but they looks good!

Last but not the least, I finally stepped into my favourite section, Sashimi! Regardless what they have, salmon sashimi is one selection they can't possibly be missing from a Japanese Buffet! I believe I ate at least close to 30 (or more) slices of salmon sashimi, hehe!

Though I did not plan to eat a lot of desserts during the buffet since I'm accustomed to my low calorie diet (5 months and on-going!), some desserts look really delicious to refrain from eating. :P

These dessert mixers look really intriguing so I couldn't help myself but to take some of them back to my table. Naturally, I didn't eat all of them but shared with my family, especially my little girl!

Well, Kiseki is quite a pleasant place for dining overall. Food selection has greatly increased over the years compared to the time when it was still located at Heeren. The restaurant is also very spacious, giving customers a comfortable space to dine. Price is reasonable too for lunch which is priced at $24++. I wouldn't mind patronising Kiseki again, when my craving for salmon sashimi kicks in.

Kiseki's Address:
Orchard Central, #08-01/02/03
181 Orchard Road
Tel: (65) 6736 1216

Rating: 3.2/5

My Birthday Celebration ~ Lunch @ Egg & Berries

Like I mentioned on my last birthday blog post, my birthday celebration did not just end with the drinking. On the very next day (which is the exact day of my birthday) after the fun night, Dear brought me to the restaurant I've always wanted to patronise - Egg & Berries!

I've always love American-styled breakfast and Egg & Berries fit just right on my favourite dining restaurant because it serves the breakfast I love, ALL DAY! Now I can get to eat them at any time I want!

Egg & Berries' menu is pretty straight forward but for just a brief moment, I was lost simply because there's too many selections for me to decide.

Egg & Berries' Menu

In the end, I decided to order Sweet Brioche French Toast with Sausage & Scrambled Eggs while Dear ordered Chipolata Sausage with Smoked Chicken & Scrambled Eggs. It was so yummylicious that we patronised it again on the following weekend after that day, which we brought Amelia along. Of course, we must ordered other main courses so as to enjoy Egg & Berries' food!

Sweet Brioche French Toast with Sausage & Scrambled Eggs ($13.50)

This main course was served with syrup for the pancakes as well. However, what surprised me was that there are 3 different syrups for me to use on my pancakes.

The Syrups - Maple, Chocolate and Berries

Bacon, Onion & Mushroom ($12.70)

Chipolata Sausage with Smoked Chicken & Scrambled Eggs ($12.50)

Chipolata & Eggs ($9.50)

Fresh Mushroom Cream Soup ($5.50)

Child's Menu ($8.50)

The Child's Menu is really a great deal! For a meal meant for kids, the portion served was not stingy at all! Amelia enjoyed it very much too!

Egg & Berries serves all its main courses with eggs, regardless its poached, scrambled, fried or whatsoever. There are many more courses from its menu I've yet to taste and on my next visit, I really need to try their Egg Benedict.

I'll definitely be a regular to this restaurant until I find a better one!

Egg & Berries is located on the 1st floor of Changi City Point, just next to Tunglok Seafood.

Rating: 4/5


 

My Birthday Celebration ~ Night Out!

17 August 2012. Yet another year to declare I'm another year older.

This year, I did not expect any extraordinary birthday celebration but just a quiet and heartwarming time with my family. I didn't even expect to go out at all till Dear told me my god-brother wants me to go down to their usual pub to celebrate my birthday. Ever since I gave birth to Amelia, my trips to pubs had greatly reduced. So, I agreed!

I also took the initiative to gathered my BFFs for a dinner after work, before I joined my god-brother at the pub. Knowing I would be going out, I had to doll up myself, ya? In all honesty, I did not put on too much war-paint but just emphasised on my eyes.

It wasn't really a pre-birthday dinner per se but I appreciated Cindy and Javier for turning up as they originally wanted to stayed at home due to their son's tuition. We had an enjoyable dinner at Joyee's favourite steamboat restaurant though she suffered a mild car accident just that evening. The men simply couldn't stand our topics as we mainly discussed about LUXURY BAGS! After the dinner, we headed to the pub without my BFFs as they needed to work on the next day.

It was really great to be able to meet up with my pub friends gang from time to time, especially when they remembered my birthday every single year! My god-brother, Fabian even managed to summon my next good friend, Larry to come along even though he always have a hectic travelling schedule! Come to think of it, from Network at Chinatown, to Mongkok at Tanjong Pagar, and now S Club, we have known one another for almost 6-7 years. Frankly, to be able to still keep in close contact for so many years whom we known from a pub, it is considerably amazing.

Alright, back to my birthday celebration night out. It is a standard practice in the gang that whenever someone's birthday is here, birthday song will be sung and most importantly, a yard of beer will be delivered right to your face. Naturally, I'd gotten a yard of beer on my hands cos it's a night out for ME!

Me with a yard of beer. I was also wearing my new top from Taobao that night. Oh yes, and that's Larry behind me in the photo, photobombing. :D

When most of them helped me clear the yard till it was left till the bottom (the round base...and the most lethal), I had to drink it up all by myself. The owner of S Club, whom we knew very well too (he's the one in the top-left photo with me in the photo below) saw me drinking up only the base, he 不甘愿 and asked me to drink more. I told him jokingly that I'd drink any alcohol he brought to me and I regret it the moment he came back. Why? Cos when I thought he would have brought a glass of liquor on the rock, he brought along another yard of beer to me, demanding me to drink it all by MYSELF! Blamed me on my silly mouth and promise, I had no choice but to finish 1 whole yard myself. Come to think of it, I think I'm the only one he brought 2 yards on someone's birthday...多有面子啊!

开心不忘娱乐. While we were happily enjoying ourselves at S Club, I also took photos with most of my gang ( some just hate the camera!), making more sentimental footprints down my memory lane.

I heart them so much, the friendship's most definitely gonna be a lifetime thingy. Who says friends whom we made from nightlife won't be longlasting?

Last but not the least, I gotta thank my Dear for spending my birthday night out with me and our pub gang!

My birthday most certainly didn't end with this. More birthday celebration posts coming up next! ^^