Sweet & Savoury Treats

Nothing beats a nice meal or snack whenever there is a chance to have one. Over the past fortnight, I have tasted several sweet & savoury treats on several occasions and I am delighted to share them with you.

Squarish pizza @ Dome for lunch with a friend.

Traditional beer-battered fish & chips @ Blue Reef for dinner with hubby.

Peppermint mocha frappucino @ Starbucks for after-work coffee break with hubby.

...And finally, 2 adorable J.CO donuts for my much-awaited teatime later! It's been more than 2 years since I got my hands on these sweet treats, believe not! :)

Haircut & Having A Break

It's yet another public holiday for me, the last one being a mere 2 days ago. I love public holidays as we get a breather from work to do something we like for a change, like, a shopping trip, or staying in bed late and refusing to get up in the early hours of a workday morning. ;)

I had a chance to treat my hair for a much-needed haircut and a scalp treatment today, it took me 2 hours of sitting patiently in the salon, staring at myself in the long mirror and witnessing the progressive changes of my hair. The senior stylist attending to me was a friendly girl and we chatted amicably, though I am not a talkative person. Managed to get out of the salon with a shorter, lighter hair and a much cleaner scalp.

Lunch was a takeaway from Starbucks where I grabbed a Chicken Toastie & a Tall Chocolate Cream Chip Frappucino. I got a pleasant surprise after being informed by the barista that I have won a complimentary Tall beverage for my next visit: the only catch was to go online and fill up a customer survey, get the complimentary beverage ID at the end of the survey, then show it to the barista on my next visit. And that's it. Lucky me!

I am now having a break at home, in the comfort of my air-conditioned room, gonna curl up in bed with my unfinished chic-lit soon. A few more hours to enjoy before the holiday draws to an end and back to work again tomorrow.

Finally!

The testing is finally over! After 4 weeks of hard work, finally I can exhale and breathe more easily. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to catch up with...application transitions, automating tests and other administrative tasks which are mundane but inevitable. I have to cover as much as possible before I am off for my 2-month long leave.

Let's hope that the production deployment will be smooth and stable for the next 2 - 3 weeks then!

Gambate!

It's been 3 weeks since I am into my busy work schedule. Many issues have been uncovered, and dealt with. I've gained much experience from this. Hopefully, we can sort out everything by the end of next week.

Meanwhile, I am starting with my new baby preparation. There are so many things to consider, it's kind of overwhelming for me but, with the help from family & friends, I think I am able to cope with them. Hopefully, I can get everything prepared by early January next year.

So gambate to myself! :)

I'm Reading...

OK, by now you'd probably wonder why I introduced myself as a book lover but have YET to see any post related to books. Well, you got one now. ;)

I have a soft spot for chic lits (or chick lits). It literally means fiction novels written specially for women in their 20's or 30's, tackling various issues and facts faced by modern women today: relationships with families / friends / partners (or better halves), studies, careers, marriages, children, playing multiple roles of being a mother / wife / daughter / sister / cousin / friend / aunty (:P)...you name them!

To some of you, reading such books may seem vain, as the language used may be too easy to read and sometimes it involves cursing which is not suitable for children. To me, I find such novels straightforward and very much related to some parts of my life. Not to mention quite humourous and entertaining. Sometimes I end up giggling after reading certain pages. I respect authors who have a sense of humour yet do not lose their artistic touch in writing stories that convey their true message to their readers.

The book I am currently engrossing in now is 'Lucy Sullivan is getting Married' by one of my all-time favourite authors: Marian Keyes.

It consists of more than 620 pages depicting the story of a girl named Lucy who is predicted to be getting married soon by a fortune teller, but wondering how that could possibly be as she has no current boyfriend and is still very much enjoying her life as a singleton who hangs out with her friends, drinks alcohol, and being lazy around household chores.

I hope I can finish this book in 2-weeks' time, as I am not a very fast reader. I should start to train myself to finish a book of more than 400 pages in 1 week' time. There are about 10 new books vying for my attention right now and I can't buy more because my books have no home to go to (all the bookshelves are fully-stuffed). Time to get a new bookshelf.

Garden Wedding

One of my dear friends from high school returned to Penang last week for her wedding. It was held in Lone Pine Hotel, and all I could say is: it's splendid. It's a garden wedding and it's my first time attending one. The extent of preparation from her family and friends was evident from the overall decoration, to the teeny-weeny details. All aspects were taken care of to ensure that the wedding reception was a smooth one.

It was a western-style wedding, complete with speeches from the bride's father, brother, to the first dance performed by the bride and groom. The food served was a Chinese 8-course dinner though. I believe this is due to the fact that most of the guests were Chinese. The dinner was nice. Throughout the 8-course, no mosquitoes bit me so far although I was sitting at one of the tables in the garden! :)

OK, I think pictures speak louder than words. So enough of blabbing from me and time to show you some shots taken during the wedding.

Emcees taking over the stage to welcome the wedding march for the bride & groom & their immediate family members

Flower decorations for the guests' tables

Expensive Chinese 8-course meal to feed the guests

The bride, resplendent in her pink evening gown, was seen cutting the wedding cake with her groom

After which, the couple poured champagne into the glass fountain

Scenes of the garden at night

First dance, followed by dancing by the family and friends

And finally, we went home with a doorgift for everyone - a nice set of keychains made of pewter!

In Love With Mango Cardigans

I truly love cardigans, especially the ones from Mango (a.k.a. MNG). They are affordable and extremely versatile - a must-have for every girl's wardrobe. Not to mention that the quality is pretty good too.

Look at these colourful cardigans...I have the urge to get ALL of the colours but refrain myself from doing such an impulse buying. :)

MANGO V-Neckline Essential Cardigan

MANGO Cotton Essential Cardigan