Not particularly sure what to post for today’s blogpost today since it’s my birthday. I should be slacking around because it is my birth right to do so, but it’s the fasting month and I don’t have much things to do anyway
Quick thoughts about being in my thirties. I feel much more confident about myself, more mature, more beautiful and open minded compared to when I was in my twenties. The only bad thing is that I now actually feel physically older. What a horrible price to pay.
Nevertheless, I intended to do a proper bday post on Friday when all the well wishes are over. In the meanwhile, I’m gonna put up a few nice recent pics of me, cos I’m narcissistic and it’s my personal blog anyway.
Me with my hair just done at the salon yesterday. I absolutely love my hair! Wish it could be this silky and bouncy 24/7!
Me with winged liner I learnt from this awesome tutorial! I just need to learn how to poof my hair and my Amy Winehouse tribute will be complete.
Oh, speaking of mekap tutorials, I’ve recently been passed a whole cornucopia of mekap. Thanks Jess! Felt a little overwhelmed just thinking of attempting to bring them all to the pan within the expiration limit.
But on the other hand, this makes for a great weekly blog topic. Trying out each item for a week and giving my honest review of it. What do you think? I’m not really a beauty blogger, but I love playing with mekap
Anyway! The only present I really want is this one. I want to be in a music video like this!
Even it might not be possible this year, I hope that it’ll come true for the next one! Hehehe! Pass the word around for anyone who’d be willing to help with my dream!
Hullo everyone! Cart and I have been going all around Rome all for the sake of finding a pair of shoes for my brat sister. And since it’s now the last few days of the summer sale, we thought that we’d take advantage of the situation before prices goes back to full price.
But as it’s the fasting month and coincidentally a heatwave going on, it was really challenging, and I had to control myself not to bite anyone.
Anyway, the shoe in question is a Superga. And this is how you pronounce it :
[audio:superga.mp3]
Superga was born in 1911 in a town in Torino. It started off as being a cheap pair of shoes that were meant for average, ordinary people. Which is the reason for it’s tagline – People’s shoe of Italy. But then it became popular, and evolved to become a famous brand internationally.
In all honesty, I don’t get the hype (by my sister) I mean, they look like ordinary pair of canvas shoes. So what’s so special about them? She actually first noticed Cart wearing them on his trips to Singapore.
And he’s been wearing them for years and he swears by it, insisting that it’s a high quality pair of shoes that would last for a long time.
And so, on our quest to find my sister’s shoes, we headed to the nearest Superga shop which was about 10 minutes drive from where we live where Cart took the chance to buy for himself and me a pair of superga.
It’s like an eyecandy there! The classic model comes in a wide variety of colours, it was hard to choose one!
Cart tells me that the design has been unchanged since 1911. So wearing it, is like wearing a part of history. Only the quality wise has vastly improved after the WW2. And trying them on, they are very comfortable, just slightly heavier than regular canvas shoes as the rubber soles are made of pirelli rubber (the same brand that is used to make tyres) The canvas feels much tougher too. So I suppose these are very durable. But I am very rough with shoes, so lets see!
In the end, we chose for ourselves the colours Navy (for Cart) and Sherwood Green (for me). Not my favourite shade, but it was the few that was available in my size and it was on offer for 69 euro for two pairs
The problem is, the colour that Diana wants is Ottanio which is a sort of turquoise shade. For her size, the shop ran out of it. We then headed to another shop. Same response. And another … and another … Nothing! This colour seems to be very popular!
By the 5th shop, I was so tired that I was ready to throw in the towel and just buy a pair of shoe and get it over with. “Any colour will do!” I wailed, arms flailing. But no! My dear pignolo perfectionist Cartcart insisted. “We must persevere!”
Despite us being half dead, Cartcart always take requests as a personal challenge. It’s a commendable quality I suppose. But it can be very frustrating at times. Ah well! Married life!
Finally we decided to go to the city center and we finally found it!
I also took the chance to get this super cute purple ballerina shoes which was on sale for 27.50 euro
Ok, so it’s not the same colour as what she requested for, but it’s close! The price is more expensive because it’s in a touristy place … but ah well. I’d pay a bit more just to get it over and done with!
And there you go, my dear sister!
Colour in Blue Caribbean. Much more expensive than mine! Grrr!
Happy birthday, baby! I hope you’re happy with it! And I hope you are satisfied and grateful for the lengths that we had to do to get it for you! So tiring! No more presents for you for a while
There are two great sales in Italy – One in January and the other in July. Clothes, shoes and bags are on sale from 30 – 70% off. But watch out though, it could be a very scary experience when you have to wrestle with a whole conglomeration of people all around you!
Anyhow, this time I head to Castel Romano, where by chance I found a bag that I completely love. It’s a Kathy Van Zeeland and it has giraffe print and I’ve been searching for it for ages and it’s beautiful and it was 50% off!
Come and take a peek at my video gushing bimbottically about it! 🙂
Long ago, before I even knew Cart and living in Singapore, I was brought to La Forketta by a friend. As we sat down, I saw a small bowl and curiously peered at it. “What’s this for?” I asked. My friend Juli poured some olive oil and some balsamic vinegar in it. “Dip some bread in it and eat it. It’s nice!”
It looked like such an odd combination, the golden and dark viscous liquids, not mixing together. Like a science experiment. But doing so seemed like a good way to appreciate the taste of the breads. And since then, it has been the norm to go to any Italian restaurant (outside of Italy) to expect a basket of bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
And now that I’ve been living in Rome, it’s interesting to note that you’ll never find this in Rome or anywhere else in Italy.
Meals in Italy are served as courses. And bread is usually served during the first course onwards (not as appetiser) and are usually used to wipe away any remaining sauces from pasta or oil and vinegar from salad dishes.
Cart would always be amused with this when we head to Italian restaurants in Singapore.
Makes me wonder what other culture changed as soon as it went out of the country. One thing that I could think of at the top of my head is mixing wasabi and soy sauce together to be eaten with sushi. I’m not sure if the Japanese actually do it, but almost everyone I know does! And we do it so often, that it feels very natural to do so.
I wonder how many Japanese people baulk at the idea.
I was on the phone with my mum this morning, advising her on what to do when she arrives in Rome. She’s never been overseas so far away on her own before. Her trip to Mecca didn’t count, she said, as it was in a tour group!
Anyhow my dad, my mum and my brother will be in Rome in the first two weeks of September. And I just realised that the dates that they will be here coincides within the 30 days of Hari Raya. A Roman Raya!
Anyhow, our topic of discussion tends to always go back to this :
Mum : So! Anything from Singapore that you want us to bring with you?
Me : Well … since you’ve mentioned it. I would like some stuff!
And since my mum reads my blog too, I thought that I’d share with everyone here some of the things that I’d like 🙂
Food stuff :
1. Keropok
Cart hates the smell of them. But I love eating them! Usually, it’s fish paste. But it could be prawn paste or veggie paste or lobster paste, mixed with flour and spices. They are typically fried but you could use the microwave oven to cook them.
These are wonderful to eat when you are feeling peckish, but not hungry enough for a full meal. Personally, I think that they are better than potato crisps. I could buy the keropok sold in the Chinese shops here in Rome, but taste-wise, I prefer Malaysian and Indonesian ones.
2. Lingham Chili Sauce
I love chili sauce. To me, Lingham’s would be the king of chili sauce. Bar none! They are so awesome. They taste just hot enough and yet delicately sweet and makes great dipping sauces for practically everything.
I love it so much that I even made a fake ad for it. You can keep your sriracha. (It’s not even hot) I prefer my Lingham’s.
Kaya is a type of egg and coconut jam that you spread on bread. I’m kind of neutral about this but I grew up eating Roti Kahwin and Cart absolutely loves them. He would always ask for them whenever we were in Singapore, be it the green pandan or the yellow nonya style kind.
Asking for this might seem silly. But I grew up on this, especially the curry flavour and I really like eating it (with an egg added!) and it’s great for those lazy days when you’re not in the mood to cook and want a quick meal.
5. Fresh Pandan leaves, Curry leaves and Lemongrass
I love drinking tea. And one of the loveliest tea that I’ve had has to definitely be the Durian Brand Tea. It’s a humble brand which might not be as popular as perhaps Lipton, but for those who’ve ever had it, will attest to it’s robust, flavourful taste and it’s recognizable scent.
Sundries :
1. Biore Aqua Jelly Makeup remover
My Biore cleansing oil is running out and while I like it enough to repurchase, I didn’t see it for sale the last time I was in Singapore. This Aqua Jelly looks interesting. Hopefully it’ll be a good replacement.
2. Axe oil
This is something that people should carry more in their purse. It’s an all in one quick fix! This can help with headaches, nausea and insect bites. It is really invaluable to me when I have blocked nose and flu.
But as it is made mostly out of camphor oil, the smell might be too strong for some.
3. Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa
Impressive I could find this pic in an old blog post! Whatever happened to that Chia plushie I used to own? I used to be so crazy about Neopets.
Anyway Nin Jiom Pei is a thick herbal syrup that helps with sore throats and eases coughs. Some might find it a tad sickly sweet. But I find that it really helped a lot during my bad bouts of cough. So far, I haven’t found anything in Italy that helped me as well as this could.
By the way, this is my favourite advertisement for Nim Jiom. I remember singing this all the time!
Random stuff :
1. My Singa Lion and Mr Moo plushie
I love these plushies. The Singa plushie Cart bought for me while we were in Sentosa and Mr Moo aided me a lot during stressful times. I can’t seem to find them when I visited Singapore. I hope they are still around.
2. Seeds
I know I am not the best at gardening. We’ve been trying to grow lime, curry leaves and ginger and while it hasn’t been successful, we’d still like to continue trying and hopefully have fresh usable spices for the future.
3. Bolster pillow
Don’t judge me! I’ve always been hugging the bolster since I was young when going to bed. And since Cart and I have different sleeping times, with this I don’t need to hug him any-more.
I think that’s about it for now. I’ll update when I can think of more.
On the other hand, is there anything that you would like from Italy? This sounds like an interesting future blog topic. Yes? 🙂
Thanks to a number of people, namely Claire and Hart and Kris whom have inspired me to start running. I enjoy it as it’s a pretty affordable way of keeping fit. Just put on your shoes (as well as running bras for us ladies) and run.
Speaking of running bras, I found one in Decathlon for 10€ and it’s awesome!
I really enjoyed the event the first time I went there, the second time seemed less enjoyable but still acceptable and finally this year, it was the last straw for me.
First the registration process was super annoying. We were supposed to be in Palazzo dei congressi for registration. Cart and I were not interested in looking at any other booths there. Our idea was to head to the registration area and get out. However after we’ve registered, and made our way towards where we entered, we were blocked by the minders who insisted that we follow and carry on with the path.
We were completely flummoxed. “The exit is right over there!” We pointed. We just wanted to get out of there. It didn’t make sense that we had to walk ALL around the maze when we could just get out at the beginning.
I was getting upset. We were forced to walk through ALL the booths (and they were not that cheap either). The fact that all the paths were cordoned so that NO ONE could have a short cut made it even more off putting.
And during the event itself, it wasn’t very satisfying for us as it was extremely crowded. Which might be festive for some, but it was much too claustrophobic for me. It seems like every year the event managed to get more and more participants. And yet strangely, there were very little street performers this year. Not to mention that the refreshments at the end were really laughable. Which makes me wonder, where do all the money go?
I understand that this is an event for charity, but we were volunteering our money and our time and we deserve a little more respect than that. With absolutely no malice intended, but I really feel unsatisfied and I don’t think that I’d participate again next year.
On the other hand, I had a ton of fun at the Roma Ostia run earlier this year. Like Maratona di Roma, we had to register in a big palazzo in Eur.
But as far as I noticed, while there were loads of booths, there were no barricades and we never felt like we were pressured to see all the sponsors.
The air felt a lot more calmer.
During the event, while we had a bit of a challenge getting to the location in the beginning, but we soon managed to get ourself on the right path and joined the runners just in the nick of time.
The fact that there weren’t crazy mass of people, made the run much more calm, cozy and relaxing. It made me appreciate my ‘hood, more up close and personal.
While there weren’t any street performers, there were a noticeable number of marshals at random corners who were shouting words of encouragements to the runners. Something that I really appreciated.
And these were our refreshments that we got at the end of our run.
I didn’t really expect much, as registration fee was 5€. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the freebies that we got, was much more worth it. All these AND a branded tshirt for about half of what it costs to register at the maratona di Roma. I just felt much more appreciated here.
And on top of that, we had medals too.
This one, I’d be more than happy to participate again next year.
I had some chicken in the fridge. Initially, I wanted to make some Ayam Penyet or Ayam Masak Merah. But in the end, I decided to make Chicken Noodle Soup instead after watching it on foodwishes.
The broth looks very jelly like after being in the fridge overnight
I have to admit that it was really troublesome to make. About 10 mins pre, 45 minutes roasting, 3 hours simmering … JUST for the broth. And then about another 20 minutes or so to make the chicken noodle soup proper. I was almost regretting it. I mean, if I were really sick, I’d collapse from waiting to eat this.
But after all that hassle and giving it a taste …
It was really really satisfyingly good. The best that I could describe it is that it tasted like the most flavourful chicken soup that you could make from a buillion but much more intense. And the fact that it’s made from scratch means that it has all the nutritional goodness without the chemical additives.
Very very nice … MmmMMmmMMmMmmm!!!
And I still have about 3 portions of broth waiting for me in the fridge! Hehehe!
Watch how to make the broth :
And then how to make the Chicken Noodle Soup :
Sidenote : In the first part where Chef John throws away the solid parts from the broth … I know it seems kind of wasteful, but throw it away! The meat is completely bleargh after all the flavours has been absorbed in the water. Laws of osmosis I suppose.
It has been about a month since I had Ash (can this be considered a mooniversary?)
For the first couple of weeks, I’ve been practising driving on the road with Cart next to me to give me advice. It feels kind of odd, and new and quite scary. Which I think was reflected a lot when Cart starts to shout ERRP ERRP ERRP! when he feels that I’m starting to go dangerously.
I’ve even been going on my own for short distances in the neighbourhood. I feel really proud of myself. Yes, yes. It’s probably not a big deal as it seems that every Tom Dick and Harry (Maybe Tomasso, Ricardo and Aroldo in this context) are able to drive. But to be honest, prior to living in Italy, I never imagined that I’d be driving, much less own my own car. There just wasn’t a need to.
Anyway, recently a realisation dawned upon me when I suggested to Claire that we head to hydromania. (we didn’t go in the end, as I found out that I had to go for work training, rendering my coupons that I’ve valiantly collected, useless)
Anyone wants to go with me before the 20th July?!
To get there, it was a shorter path to use the highway rather than to use the residential road. I thought that I could make it, but Cart was worried and didn’t want me to go on the highway by myself for the first time.
And so, last weekend Cart and I went to the G.R.A highway. And I realised Cart’s concern. Oh gosh. It was really scary. Everyone were going really really fast. Like more than 100km/hr on average. As a new driver, I’m legally only allowed to go at 90km/hr at maximum. And since Ash isn’t new, the engine capacity isn’t powerful and acceleration is slow.
Oh! And another thing I noticed about Ash is that, it goes bumpy-bump and you could really feel the road when you go at higher speeds. But I think that’s an issue that city-cars seem to share.
So I felt quite nervous and sort of attacked when other cars start to go near me.
I think I’d prefer to avoid the highway as much as possible for now. Moreover it confuses me. Every sign looks practically the same to me. I’m completely confounded at where to exit! I think I just need to study the roads more. (Because, using GPS = Guna pun sesat)
To end, I’ll embed this really funny animation about driving in Italy
Sidenote : I still go out with Sam the Scooter. It’s just so much easier to find parking. Moreoever he’s cheaper in fuel consumption. Any way to save money
