My first time to see snow

Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder that no matter how old I have become, there is always something new to experience.  Cliché as it may sound but I was transported momentarily to being my 5-year-old self where everything is a sense of wonder and discovery and excitement on learning and experiencing new things.

This little fellow had his first real snow experience when he is over 3.  I had mine at over 30...not much of a difference, just a zero at the end ;)

I am now ever more excited of forever when I'll have all the time in the world to experience the  beauty and wonder of our Creator’s creation.

Bag Crush Diaries: Lunch and Crushing on MK's Sutton Saffiano bag

I seldom go out for lunch on a weekday.  I brown bag my lunch #frugalme because aside from saving moolah, I don't like the chilly wind despite the sun being so bright and sunny.

But since friday was relax at work yesterday and the sun was out shining (yes it's still chilly) I braved the chill and had japanese lunch with my colleague  near our work at Bien Izakaya.  Ordered some sushi, which just tasted normal (nothing fantastic) but the teriyaki tofu don (fried tofu with teriyaki sauce on rice) was yum.  Too yummy that I forgot to take a photo of it and realized only after my bowl was empty.

Lunch at Bien Izakaya Newmarket

But really the highlight of  my lunch out yesterday is meeting my latest bag crush.  There is this new store in Newmarket that I passby on my way to work from the train station.  I have been wanting to in and have a look; but it was only yesterday that I found the time.  And when I stepped in, I was greeted by my latest crushie.  It wasn't crush at first sight because there where a lot of other items on display that distracted me.  But I guess this little beauty stood out.  The picture below does not do any justice...

But maybe this would help you understand why 

And since it comes with a sling, you can carry it as a sling bag or cross-body for a more causal laid-back look...

The tote comes in small/medium and large.  I am liking the medium one.  And my matrona status would probably carrry the bag like this ;)

You can check out more of the store's display at Newmarket (The Brand Warehouse).  

What have you been crushing lately?

The Joy of Picking Strawberries

Its mid of spring and that means....Yes, summer is just around the corner!!! 

And nothing feels more like an NZ summer than picking your own fresh strawberries...Or for this little fellow, more like squashing them :)

Strawberry picking at Massey Orchards and Garden summer of 2014

He definitely have fun crawling in the strawberry field

Can't wait for summer and tick off our summer bucket list!

What's your summer bucket list?

Hopping on the DIY bandwagon

I may be a career woman, a working mom that is, but I am a homemaker at heart.  And so cute knick knacks that makes a home homier really draws me.  But home-decorating can be expensive as what we have learned when we moved to our rental unit in the suburbs. And since we live under the down under, whatever is not made or grown here are imported and thus quite a bit pricey.  Well I think logical reason dictates that importing goods into the bottom of the world has to have a hefty price tag attached to it.  Anyways, I digress.  Now back to the cute knick knacks for the home.  *insert big smile*

Have you heard about Pinterest? Well, if not do check it out.  I think it’s an awesome site with an extensive curation of all things DIY and more.  A lot of businesses advertise there and it has also become a platform for people to showcase their crafty talents.  With Pinterest, Etsy, Instragram and felt.co.nz (the web is not short of crafty DIY inspiration), I too was inspired to be able to transform one thing into something beautiful and useful.

And when the sweet hubby gifted me this as a wedding anniversary present,

 

I squealed with joy! Yes that’s an exaggeration, but really while some ladies would prefer diamonds and pearls (but I don’t mind receiving these either *hint* *hint*), I was really happy with this gift because I can now find out whether I do have the makings of a domestic diva. :)

And so these two sealed the deal.  I am now hopping on the DIY bandwagon. 

So far these have been the projects made.

Throw pillows for the couch, to lean on or rest your head while watching the telly (that’s TV for us!).  And it’s amazing how these simply pulls together a lively spring aura for the living room. 

Cute matching curtains for our tiny toilet window. This pretty curtains can make doing your “business” here more relaxing.

With these small projects, the homemaker in me is equally pleased.  Casa de Martinez just got a little bit livelier and homier.  Just in time for the spring season!

I really do hope I can come up with some more.

How about you, any DIY projects lately?

Spring has sprung in this side of the world



pssssttttt bawal yan ;) for your eyes only

The birds are chirping, the maple trees are budding and the daffodils are blooming.  Yes, indeed, spring has finally sprung. 

But for the locals and those having lived in this country for a number of years, most of them have commented that this time round the start of spring has been a disappointment.  Well for a newbie like me, it’s quite a welcome change from the cold gloomy winter I have had experienced a couple of weeks back.

Yep, we have made that BIG move from one country to another and that very well explains my very long hibernation. J Hopefully with the start of spring my blogging mojo would be back so I can tell you all about our experiences here in the land of the long white cloud – Aotearoa.

Do join me and my family in our adventures in New Zealand.  Kia Ora and till the next post.

 

Staycation @ Marina Bay Sands Hotel

September is anniversary month for hubby and I.  We wanted to have a quick getaway, but to save us the hassle of flying or “floating” with a little one in tow, we opted for a staycation.  We’ll after all; we celebrated our first anniversary with a staycation in Hard Rock hotel which I have talked about here.  So probably, we can make this a yearly tradition of staycations during our anniversary month.  Now that’s something we can look forward too. J 

As we have been eyeing Marina Bay Sands for quite sometime now, so this year, we chose to finally give in for an MBS experience.

hubby enjoying the infinity pool

Check in time for MBS is 3 pm, so we made use of the half day to kick off our staycation weekend by bringing the little one to his weekly baby spa at Yishun North Point.  

swimming @ the babyspa

The little one got tired after his swim.  He did not get to have his massage after because he was so sleepy already.

tired after my swim

We had a lunch at SWENSENS, before we head off to Marina Bay Sands. 

Fish and Chips

Chicken breast...they look the same :)

  

Gold Rush, my favorite :)

We arrived at MBS around 3:00 pm and the place was packed with people especially tourists who were probably just us curious as us to check out the MBS hotel.

waiting for our turn at the check-in counter

The room was like any other standard hotel room.  

little one getting comfy on the bed

But we get a good view of the Garden's by the Bay.  And the so many boats/ships lining Singapore sea (or do you call it coastline? :) grammar patrol help! ).

view from the top :)

What I love most was the bathroom.  I always love hotel bathrooms.  I often wish that someday I would have a bathroom similar to one of those hotels I have stayed in, but with the more cozy and homely decor.

bathtub love!

Yay! to double sinks.  His and her...

And or course the highlight of any MBS hotel stay would be the infinity pool.  The water was quite cold, but when you begin to wade and swim, the water's coldness would no longer bother you anymore.

he's just getting warmed up....

For hotel guest, they give you free access to the sky park. For the general public, you can visit the sky park for a fee for 20 SGD. (That's was two years ago, is it still the same fee?)

So we took advantage of this additional perk, and was rewarded by celebrity sighting.  We saw WWF Bokker T.  I don't know him but hubby did and he had their picture taken with him.

celebrity sightings!!!

But the real celebrity I think was this little fellow.  He was a hit to a few western mothers (I think they are either mothers/grandmothers because they find a little baby adorable:).  They even have his picture taken.

the real celebrity!
look mom, tiny matchboxes...can we take them home??? pretty pretty please!

We did went to the sky park again at night and the view was amazing.  I did not post some pictures here, as our camera phone did not do any justice to the view.

We did some window shopping and picture taking in the Shoppes by the Bay and in the hotel lobby.

hotel lobby interior

We had our dinner at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Bistro.  No photo of what we ate as our camera phone's battery died on us.

After a few more hours window shopping, we called it a day.  The next morning we then took the opportunity to have our last MBS infinity pool experience before we  had breakfast at ToastBox and headed home.

However, there are some downside of the hotel's amenities though worth mentioning.  I do not like the idea of automatic private bar charges.  Ok, its hi-tech, but if they do that, at least they provide another fridge storage.  Think breastfeeding moms and little ones who need to make use of fridge storage.

at least provide some place  I can store my baby's food...

I just want to read the bottle's label first before I decide if I want to drink it or not...
And you are charging me for that???

And I also wonder why they have to hide their tea/coffee set.  At least they should have displayed it nicely to enhance the homely feel of the hotel room.  We had to open all drawers to look for the electric kettle for us to boil water.

But all in all, it was a good one time experience.  A bit pricey I should say, but after all we have to pay for good experiences right?

This Momma wants to be pretty, so sue me!

Any mother would attest to this fact.  Having kids changes your life.  It’s not so much about you anymore.

After nine months of carrying all that weight (well I only get to carry mine for about 7 months, but still, it is some weight you got to carry there!), it seem like your body will never be the same again.  Not feeling great about our post-baby figures will lead us to wearing unflattering clothes, just so to hide the bulge.

Much as you want to spend an hour getting ready in the morning and look “put-together” when you leave the home, with a baby, it’s really a mighty feat.

But don’t get me wrong.  Being a mother is amaaaazing, but it isn't always glamorous.  Long gone are days where you aimlessly wander through the malls looking for that perfect dress.  And that weekend mani and pedi and the occassional hair-color....Ha!  Those are things of the past.

Getting ready is now more of efficiency, get things done in the shortest possible time, rather than leisure and luxury.  But this momma refuse to be frumpy!  Why?  Because whenever I am dressed, with a little touch of make up and hair nicely done, it changes my mood.  I feel happier and more energized. 

And I believe that a happy mommy is equal to a happy daddy and a happy baby!  So I am taking a stand.  I am fighting the frump. 

Here are some of the ways I am doing it.

Taking extra effort to at least come up with a stylish assembly of clothes.  I am never blessed with a knack for fashion, but I can safely say I can manage to pull an almost put-together look with extra effort.  That is one of the reason why I try my bestest to prepare my clothes for the week.  Most stylish women often give that advice and I am doing my mighty best to follow.  And thus the inspiration to visit polyvore more often as you can see from this post and another from this post.

Putting on a little make-up.  With only about 3 to 5 hours of sleep that I have at night,  waking up looking fresh and bright is only wishful thinking.  But with the help of cosmetics, I can pass on looking normal.

Now that I am a momma, I scout the drugstore and make use of these wondeful finds.  I find them equally effective but not equally expensive.

Olay foaming cleanser, Olay Total Effects day cream, BB creams from the ETUDE house,
the small bottle is tea tree essential oil from bodyshop
and of course the ever trusty Oral-B dental floss

I use Johnson's baby milk lotion not because  J&J is paying me to endorse (I wish!!!)
But I really find it very light but moisturize effectively

 

I know a lot of ladies swear to the MAC Studio fix, and I do too.  I have been a satisfied user for 2 years, but just this year, I tried to find "cheaper" alternatives.  So I have in addition to the BB cream from the ETUDE House, I bought this girly compact powder plus the water color blusher in No. 1 Pink.  Well so far these products haven't disappoint.

 

 

 

 

Looking good goes together with smelling good.  So I keep myself sweet smelling by spritzing a little of Davidoff Cool Water for women that the hubby and I bought last year. Since it's small that's the reason why I often use this, I can carry it with me anywhere for retouch.

 

And of course, the basics of eating healthy and exercising should be incorporated.  I know easier said than done especially on the exercising part.  I am working on that. :)  Plus never forget to hydrate, hydrate and hydrate.  Drink lots of water, its good for you.  And lessen the caffeine. Another easier said than done for me ;).

These are the little things I do that makes big difference in my feeling and looking less frazzled and frumpy. 

How about you momma, care to share some tips on avoiding the frumpy mommy look?





 

What happens to couple time

Lately, most of our activities revolve around this little one.  Feeding, cleaning the poop, dressing him up, trying to get him to sleep and the list goes on and on…

source of our stress, but source of our greatest joy as well

 So what happens to “couple time”?  I am a firm advocate of that.  I honestly believe how essential alone time together is.  Amidst our busy lives, we become disconnected, stressed and even lonely when we do not make this a priority.

But given our situation where we live in a fast-paced city with no help, alone time together is a luxury we could not afford (as of now only I hope).  But that doesn’t stop us to plan and thankfully execute date nights.  Even dinner out or a stroll in the park, we count that as date night.  We are shallow like that ;)

After months, hubby and I have finally resumed our date night Fridays J Yay!!! But what makes it more fun, is that we have a little guy that tags along.

Two Friday’s ago at Pizza Hut Bukit Panjang Plaza, enjoying a cheesy trio pizza while the little guy looks on

Pizza Hut's yummy cheesy trio...try it!!!

                                              What was left of our date night dinner last Friday

                           Too busy to take the before picture while it was still whole and intact.

 

                      We had the chili crab at this Halal Restaurant at the Park near our place. 

Rasa Istimewa C2K Restaurant - The Makan Place @ CCK Park

And of course the tag-along who is the star of the show.  Fist clenched, as if saying to dad and mom, I want a taste of that crabby too!

he completes our threesome Fridays! :)

Couple time may have to take a backseat for now because we need to tweak the date night a teeny weeny bit.  I guess that’s what urban parenting is all about. Hahaha!  But then again I don’t mind having the tag-along, tag along with us.  Happy hubby + happy mommy = happy baby. 

How about you mommies, how do you get to spend couple time?

 

Hard Rock Hotel @ Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore

The plan was to go on a three day holiday here

and just simply laze the days away as we savor the moment that we have finally reached 1 year of togetherness....But due to unforeseen but very welcome circumstances, we opted to cancel the travel plan.  But an important milestone cannot  be just  celebrated at home, so Hubby and I decided to have a staycation.  We are staycations fanatics, as you can see from here and here.  And this time round, we booked a one night stay at Hard Rock Hotel Resorts World Sentosa.

Hard Rock Hotel Singapore received the Gold Award for: Best 5 in Asia in the Category of HAPA Signature Deluxe Hotel. The hotel's tag line is "Rock and roll attitude meets five-star service"  True to its word it's rock and roll attitude all right with pictures of rock and roll stars and other pop stars decorating the place.

I was kind of weirded out though by the pictures hanged above the bed, I felt like someone was watching us while we were sleeping.  Ha ha ha, just making it obvious that I am not a rock and roll fan.  However, i love the sitting nook by the window.  It was cozy and comfy and the view from our window was the pool.  Love it!



our headboard have pictures of the beatles and others I don't actually recognize..hehehe



pool view from our room

Consistent with the rock and roll theme, even the bathroom toiletries are charmingly placed inside a small box designed to resemble a guitar. I find it cool despite me being void of rock and roll vibes in my body :)

The overall stay was A-OK.  Probably I was not very impress kasi nga, I'm not a rock and roll fan.  But the pool was another story.  I am inlove with it.  It is huge, with a pool bar!  One side of it was made to make it appear like a beach, they filled it with white sand with few coconut trees dotting the sides of the pool.  It was like you are transported to some island get-away. 

getting ready for an early morning swim

 

 

 

hubby contemplating by the pool ;) 

 

Yes, despite cancelling the Phuket trip, we celebrated our anniversary in style.  Hard Rock Hotel baby!  But the best part of it was that we did not spend a single dime for our stay (sans our dinner and breakfast of course (since the price was not inclusive of a buffet breakfast, that is my best part pa naman of staying in a hotel ...sadness). 

 

As an advocate of the good life for less, I scoured the hotel deals at Agoda.com, and fortunately was able to get a discounted rate of 50% off.  Cool!  And then, I offsetted the remaining balance from my company benefit of a healthy lifestyle.  Total price = $0 sgd.  How cool is that?  Healthy lifestyle indeed!

 

The best things in life do come by for free... and what makes it priceless?  That I was spending it with the love of my life.  Ahhhh bliss.   And now thats what I call a good life.

 

How about you,  what are some tips  you can share to live a good life for less?  This frugal wifey and momma to be would love to know.