Showing posts with label celebrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebrations. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Chinese New Year 2021 | Family Walk in Chinatown Pt 1

Last Friday I took leave to go for a walk in Chinatown with my sisters and parents. It was my elder sister's birthday and it has been such a long time since it was just the 5 of us, sans any grandchildren or sons-in-law hehe. 

Of course conversations drifted back to the kids pretty often {as they frequently do}, but it was nice to have all of us together again despite all our busy schedules...

There was a report recently of Chinatown being crazy crowded over the weekend like pre-covid times. 

Fortunately for us that Friday morning, it was still pretty quiet and peaceful. So easy to stroll around Chinatown's alleys and take our time to enjoy the sights and interesting Chinese New Year {CNY} wares.

So I guess if you do want to soak in the festivities of coming CNY celebrations, do try to make it on weekday mornings..

Must see when you're there - The Golden Ox. 

This post is titled "Part 1" because I know I definitely want to go back to Chinatown again during CNY with Lil Pumpkin since our darling daughter was born in the Chinese zodiac year of the Ox!! So she must get a photo with this since this is the first time since birth she's celebrating the year of the Ox! #asianparenting

This little fella made the news too...

Is it a rat? Is it a cow? Is it a rat dressing up as a cow?? haha... Nah, actually for some reason Chinatown Point wanted to make otters the star of their CNY decorations to wish visitors an Otter-ly Good Chinese New Year!!! o(*^▽^*)o

This was the "crowd" we faced that day!

If only Chinatown was always as tranquil as this... but then it would make for very poor business for the stallholders. And honestly, I guess given the dismal past year and since most of their businesses come during CNY, it is somewhat understandable that they would get defensive when the reporters questioned them for not chasing customers away to keep to safe distancing measures and wanting to support a crowded Chinatown.

Of course nobody wants new Covid-19 clusters to form and yes we are still in the middle of a pandemic, but it has been a hard year for everyone so a little understanding for their predicament instead of shaming them on social media or the news would come a long way I feel..  


If only it was really as simple as using these windmills to turn our fortunes around and chase away the bad luck of Covd-19!

Anyway, the Asian in me was really happy to see so much red and auspicious decorations in Chinatown hehe...

It really is THE place to go to pick and choose from a wide variety!!

Was contemplating getting a little CNY cow toy for Lil Pumpkin but she doesn't really play with soft toys anymore... will show her when she comes to Chinatown and see if she wants one. 

They're not expensive {start from S$6 if I'm not wrong} but I don't need any more redundant clutter in our home..

My sis was very tickled by this angry ox... 

牛气冲天 means may your business be very prosperous, bright and fiery! Basically it's a good luck greeting for the new year. 

Usually the nuts and seeds stalls would have free tastings to draw customers in, but this year all were already prepacked #becausecovid

The preserved sausages and meat were all still mostly left in the open though...

The highlight of the walk was going to Tai Chong Kok, a famous local bakery that has been making mooncakes and Cantonese pastries the same way since 1935. 

Every year, my elder sis would go with my parents to go buy 年糕 from here. I don't like to eat 年糕 by itself, but I like eating it pan-fried with egg and sweet potato or yam. 

Tai Chong Kok's 年糕 comes in 3 sizes and the smallest costs S$18. 

You can find these lovely sweet candied fruits...

And the usual CNY goodies here. 

I love their melt-in-your-mouth kueh bangkit, pineapple tart balls and pumpkin seed brittles here!

And mooncakes!! You hardly ever see them in shops after Mid-Autumn Festival..

However, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised to see them now since Tai Chong Kok is famous for their mooncakes. Perhaps they sell them all year round??

Really had such a lovely time that Friday morning with my fambam and can't wait to go back again with Lil Pumpkin and the boy!! (/ ‘з’)/

P.S. Check out the CNY goodies we got this year from Ding Bakery and Wang Lai Bakery!

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Friday, March 13, 2020

Chinese New Year 2020 | Family Walk in Chinatown

I was really excited about Chinese New Year 2020 because after a long wait, it's finally the year of my zodiac animal - the Rat!!

Every Chinese New Year, we have a family tradition to take a little stroll in Chinatown to soak in the festivities and take photos with the decorations.

By the time CNY rolled round in end Jan 2020, the covid-19 outbreak {or as is it was previously known as Wuhan virus, nCov etc.} alert was already pretty high and people were already staying indoors more and practising social distancing.

I thought perhaps we weren't able to make it to Chinatown this year and was a tad disappointed since this year was extra special to me, but the boy said we can still pop by a while to take some pics as long as we stay away from the crowds.

Well, why not? I mean, not that there would be much of a crowd anyway...?

So off we went to snap some shots and eat kueh tutu and muah chee from our fave shop there. We didn't walk the outdoor bazaar streets at all. 

Lil Pumpkin and her daddy in their signature pose!!

Yes, Lil Pumpkin ain't that little anymore haha... she is about 3/4 the height of the boy now!!! I'm amazed that he can still carry her on his shoulders this year haha.

One day Lil Pumpkin will outgrow his shoulders, but she will never outgrow his heart (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ #daddysgirl

One selfie with my boo...

I could not resist getting new cheongsams for CNY and bought 2 new ones from a local boutique, The Missing Piece, for the season. I loved them so much that promptly after, I bought another 5 pieces ahahaaaah....

I'm wearing a gorgeous ultramarine blue cape cheongsam from their signature collection here. I love the cut and feel of this modern CS so much I bought the same one in red hehe... It’s fitting but not stifling, and the stretchy cotton material makes it oh-so-comfortable. I’ve been doing more hip thrusts in the gym for a stronger posterior chain so my butt is bigger than before and I was kinda worried that the tailored skirt won’t fit honestly.

HOWEVER this cheongsam covered my curves perfectly like a glove!(‘∀’●)♡ The soft capes also drape beautiful over my arms {good for hiding fat haha} and the little waist cut-outs that give an illusion to an even smaller waist are very flattering. I haven’t raved abt an outfit for a very long time but yes, I’m so in love with this!

When I'm up for it I'll do reviews on the other pieces too *fingers crossed*

Covid-19 may be here to stay for a long while but let's not let it put too much of a damper on how we live our daily lives with our loved ones.

Stay safe and healthy, everyone! 2020 can still be a bright and beautiful year! (>^_^)><(^o^<)

More Chinese New Year posts:


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Monday, March 2, 2020

Happy 17th Anniversary! (｡♥‿♥｡)


Today the boy and I celebrate 17 years of being together (｡’▽’｡)♡

If you've been here long enough, you'd know that the boy and I are university sweethearts. I met him when I was 19, so I was thinking recently how strange / uncanny it is that in a few more years, we will be together even longer than we have been without one another....

At 17 years, we do feel like 老夫老妻 and life goes by in a kind of peaceful way with our fixed schedules but I wouldn't call it boring. We may not be lovey-dovey young lovebirds anymore, but we have grown as a couple and show love in a different, more matured way.

Less extravagance, more understanding and more tolerance. That's the secret to growing old together I guess? haha..

Happy anniversary to us, dear Poogeo ♥ Thank you for loving me the past 17 years.


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Thursday, January 30, 2020

Chinese New Year 2020 | 新年快乐！万事如意！♥


Happy Chinese New Year from our family to yours!! Today is 大年初六 so I'm not too late in my greetings haha #phew

We all had a nice long break for CNY! The boy and I went back to work yesterday but Lil Pumpkin's school only opened today so this is her first day back. I think they should have just given the kids the whole week off.. especially with the Wuhan virus going around.

That sure is a damper on the holidays, isn't it?

Last year Lil Pumpkin and I caught some horrible viral infection that caused us to be knocked out for about 2 weeks but thankfully, we've been relatively healthy this Chinese New Year break.

Here's wishing you all much health, wealth and happiness in this new year! 恭喜发财！


While I'm at it, here's my New Year greeting card for 2020! THIS I know I'm late in posting to the blog hahaha...

あけましておめでとうございます！今年もよろピコ！╰(*´︶`*)╯♡


More Chinese New Year posts:
Family Chinatown Walk in 2018

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Thursday, March 14, 2019

Asian Squat Squat Club - Happy 16th Anniversary to Us ♥

The boy and I celebrated our 16th anniversary together on Sat 2 Mar 2019.

As a treat, the boy got both of us matchy matchy t-shirts from Asian Squat Social Club, which is a parody{??} of another streetwear brand, Anti Social Social Club {ASSC} hehe.

I love silly puns and parodies like this!! I'll be sure to wear this when I PR my squats hahaha.. Thank you, Poogeo!! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Kinda cool that we got featured on the uber-popular Asians Never Die IG feed...

 As well as the shop Asian Squat Social Club IG feed too. 


I never really noticed that this is a "special skill" for Asians, but since joining the gym, I do realise that not many are able to deep squat or go "ass-to-grass".

According to some text, it's because of stiff ankles but personally, I do believe that it's due to lack of practice and training. I mean since young, most of us who grew up in Asian countries would have needed to use the squat toilets while those in the Western countries probably needed to squat less since they used toilet bowls most, if not all the time?

Deep squatting just comes so easily for us and sometimes, it's my default resting position too haha.  

Yes, he got his little princess a mini version in black too for a family matchy-matchy outfit but hers was in the wash that day.

Looking at this pic, it's amazing that Lil Pumpkin is already past her daddy's shoulders! The boy took her height recently and noted that she grew about 1-1.5" in the past month omg... I think she should be about 1.45cm tall now??

Happy family pic ♡o｡.(✿ฺ｡ ✿ฺ)

We didn't really do much that day.. just went to the World Snack Fair at Expo, walked around at Changi City Point then dinner out eating my fave 麻辣香锅 {spicy stir-fry pot}.

When you are 老夫老妻, simple and relaxing days together are the best. No need for any fancy celebrations and extravagant shows of love.  

Sorry I'm late once again to note down this special occasion but nowadays when it comes to blogging, it's better late than never hahahaha...

Happy 16th Anniversary to Us, Poogeo ♥ Thank you for loving me.  

Other anniversary posts:
Happy 16th Anniversary - 2019


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Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Chinese New Year 2019 | 新年快乐！万事如意！♥


For the first time ever, the boy wasn't around for the first few days of Chinese New Year as he went back to Japan for a short trip.

Lil Pumpkin and I caught some horrible viral infection so we both took turns to be sick for the longest time I could remember {2 weeks for me!! I only just recovered!} so we didn't do much visiting this year, and apologies that our CNY greetings are a little late {again} #oops.

Hope everyone have been enjoying the past few days of rest, feasting and time spent with your loved ones! ♥

Wishing you a Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year 2018
from my family to yours! (V●ᴥ●V)

More Chinese New Year posts:
Family Chinatown Walk in 2018


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Monday, June 18, 2018

Happy Father's Day 2018!! #dadsforlife

We celebrated Father's Day in Singapore yesterday (*＾▽＾)／

It was a simple affair. The boy was working, and I was out most of the day taking my Singapore National Climbing Standards Level 1 Cert {more on that later} so we only went out for a family dinner to celebrate at night. 

No need for fancy restaurants or expensive food for a wholesome family meal. The boy was happy to go to our neighbourhood's Mookata {Thai BBQ & steamboat} stall to have a scrumptious, high-protein dinner at a really affordable price heh...

Our whole dinner for 3 pax came up to only S$45+!! And that is after we ordered at least 2-3 each of beef, chicken, pork, salmon, oyster, Chinese sausage, quail eggs, spinach, shisamo, crabsticks etc.

It was a really hot day, and the poor ventilation plus steam from the Mookata grill pan made us perspire more and feel even stickier.. but that didn't stop us from having a good time ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ

Even Lil Pumpkin had fun cooking her own food with chopsticks.. I must say, she's getting pretty proficient in it nowadays. When she was younger, we did it all for her, but now, we're happy to let her experiment, learn the different cooking times required for different types of food, observe the colour changes when the food is cooked, and dish it out for herself.

The protective part of me is scared that she'd burn or scald herself, of course.. but then, she's old enough to know how to handle herself and learn from her mistakes if she does anyway. We can't protect and pamper her forever, right??

Just a simple video at the start of our dinner with our first round of dishes... after that we ordered some more because it wasn't enough haha!

Lil Pumpkin painted a wonderful Father's Day card for the boy again this year but I forgot to take a pic. Will update this post with it later.

Facebook reminded me of the Father's Day card Lil Pumpkin made when she was 3 years old in 2012 though. Aww my heart just melted when I saw it! Such innocent and frivolous drawings.. That big blob of colour is meant to be a cat as her daddy dearest loves cats.

Happy Father's Day, Poogeo!! Thanks for being such a wonderful and hands-on dad with Lil Pumpkin. Your girls love you very much!! ❤

And Happy Father's Day to my own daddy dearest too!! Even though we don't meet or talk as much nowadays, still appreciate you for all the sacrifices you made taking care of all of us growing up (⌒▽⌒)☆

Hope you'd be able to slow down at work soon and learn to relax and enjoy life now that you're older.. Love you, daddy!!


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Friday, May 4, 2018

Happy Start of May! ❤

This is my fave family photo at the moment - taken in Harajuku, Tokyo during our family trip there last year. It was just after we bought Lil Pumpkin her first vintage namesake jewelry piece {which she's holding} that she chose for herself. Her daddy said we should have just named her "Uniqlo"... so much cheaper haha.

As you probably know, May is my fave month of all since young. Mostly because it's my birthday month, but now also because ALL our birthdays are in May!! Yup, the boy, Lil Pumpkin and I are all May babies!!! o((*^▽^*))o

Every time May rolls around, I get the same sort of excitement and warm, fuzzy feeling I get when Christmas is coming. Everything seems lovely, everything seems merry, everything seems peaceful.. except that from this year onwards, we have that one little glitch called "Mid-year Exams" aka "Semester Assessment 1 {SA1}" to get around. Le sigh.

I don't deal with exam stress very well, although I must say that Lil Pumpkin is one chill little girl when it comes to exams haha.. good for her. She doesn't seem fazed or stressed at all. Every time I ask "Are you ready?" she'd answer positively. After the exams I'd ask, "How did it go?" and she'd say "Good" (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ

Can't wait until it is all over next week so that we can get the birthday celebrations rolling!!! I really hope that her exams never fall on her actual birthday on 12 May... that would really suck.

My lovelies have already prepared an early birthday present for me. Oooooh I can't wait to open it!!


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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Chinese New Year 2018 | 新年快乐！万事如意！♥

First day back at work and school for all of us!! We had a really relaxing and long holiday weekend. Yay!! A little late in our greetings this year, but luckily Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days haha so..

Wishing you a Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year 2018
from my family to yours! (V●ᴥ●V)

More Chinese New Year posts:
Family Chinatown Walk in 2018


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Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year 2018!! 新年明けましておめでとうございます! ♥


Thank you for your support, love and encouragement this past year. 
I hope you'll stick around with us and join us on our family adventures in 2018 too.
Many exciting dreams and plans made.. we shall see how it all turns out!

明けましておめでとうございます!
２０１８年もよろしくお願いします！(☆^O^☆)

Happy New Year from my family to yours! ♥
 

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Thursday, March 2, 2017

Happy 14th Anniversary to Us ♥

Today the boy and I celebrate our 14th anniversary together ♥ And even after 14 years, he never fails to surprise me when I least expect it *grins* 

He hadn't bought me flowers for the longest time {and even on Vday it was Lil Pumpkin who bought a flower for him to give to me!! haha.. more on that later..} but secretly bought a bouquet of my fave red roses for our anniversary, and even enlisted Lil Pumpkin's help to make me an anniversary card. Awww!

Seriously guys, you gotta learn this one. No expensive Hallmark card will ever beat the thoughtfully hand-written and hand-drawn card of your own children (⌒▽⌒)☆ It definitely made my heart swoon and eyes tear a little..

Inside was this sweet message,

"Happy Anniversary dear! We think that you are cute and awesome! We hope you like the card from us. The reason we make this card is that you are very special to me and daddy. I wish you a nice anniversary with daddy. I ♥ you."
Not sure whose idea it was too {but I'm betting on Lil Pumpkin!} but there was a Love Meter and they circled the highest section for "Love a Lot!" ~ヾ(＾∇＾) #toocute

Thanks hubby for making our anniversary feel special after all these years even though we're still going about our daily work and parenting duties today. I love and appreciate all that you've done for me and the family, even if I don't say it as often as I should.

Happy anniversary to us, dear Poogeo ♥

Other anniversary posts:




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