My New Best Friend~ ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡

New category up today~ And given my tendency to ramble I have decided to, very aptly, call it Baby Babble =D *cue awkward applause*

Baby Summer is now 6 weeks old and progressing quite nicely. She's been settling in to a fairly regular routine of feeds, bath time, playtime and naps every 2 or 3 hours in the day and seems to be progressively sleeping better and longer at night~ In the earlier weeks we had to stay up really late and squeeze in an hour or so of sleep between wee hour feedings so that was really tiring. Now, I only occasionally sit at my bed till 3 or 4a.m, expecting her to wake up hungry but she calls my bluff and snoozes all the way till 7a.m.... (-_-;;)

That said, she really is getting more and more adorable as the weeks pass. Now that she's becoming much more responsive, it's a daily highlight for the family whenever she gives us her Mona Lisa half smile and that fabulous open-mouthed smiley face~ I wasn't much of a baby person before, because I never really knew what to do with them, but now I turn to goo every time she laughs and smiles~ (^__^)

One of my favourite moments is when I pat her to sleep and she curls up on my chest, wiggling her way around until she gets herself all scrunched up in her favourite position. It's like crouching real low on all fours on my chest with her head tucked into my neck~ You can't see her legs in the photo but they're all hiked up like a sitting frog =P

And from this point it's hours of uninterrupted sleep.....sometimes for both of us! My Dad has sneaked shots of the both of us concussed in this position before and I love those shots despite the unglam-ness of it all XP (and no I shan't publicise them here.)

Oh! And it was also quite the highlight when she saw her fairy lights above her bed for the first time! She opened her eyes so big and her mouth totally fell open like "OOOoooooo what're these~~~~"

Lapsing into quiet rapture ^^

I love those lights, got them for a steal during the babymoon to Helsinki. They're actually warm lights instead of the cool white in the photos and they're set into felt animal and flower cut-outs. Running on a couple of AA batteries, they were super easy to put up and also super cheap so getting them was a no-brainer.

And then it was off to dreamland after another bout of patting and walking her up and down the living room~

See? I'm turning into goo just looking at the photos and recalling the moment I switched on those fairy lights! ^^

Ok, it's time to squeeze in forty winks again so bye for now! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

My PPP - Post Pregnancy Post =P (Wordy post, sorry!)

So! The pregnancy is over~~~ Hello postpartum woes!

We've embarked on a whole new section of the parenting journey and it largely involves my parents & I slowly but surely turning into a trio of pandas. This is one of those milestones in life when your appreciation for your parents reaches a whole new level and especially towards your mom. Sleeping for 2 hours at a stretch is such a luxury now you would not believe! But this new little button of a housemate is worth it. At the moment anyway. I'm not sure I'll feel the same when going through those turbulent teenage years lol

Messed up sleeping aside, there's the leftover baby weight and kinda saggy paunch to deal with.

The Weight

I gained 14kg over the course of my pregnancy and lost about 5kg through the delivery of little Summer. Without much appetite for the week plus after my delivery, I was eating all 3 meals (confinement cuisine by mom no less) but in smaller portions than I used to. The fact that I was in some pain & discomfort from the episiotomy (the cut made to aid delivery) helped curb any wayward cravings I might have fantasised about.

So through just a lighter diet, I lost another 2 - 3kg. Still have about 6kg to lose but since this is just the 2nd week after my delivery, I'm still fairly optimistic =)

The Paunch

I got quite a shock when I realised there was a big potato sack-looking tummy left after the delivery. I'd expected the reduction in size to be more considerable but I guess one totally underestimates the mass of skin that's left after your baby bump has been deflated. Pfffttttttt.

Engaged a masseuse for the traditional Indonesian postpartum wraps & massage for 10 days and it really helped! The massages hurt (because the lady was on a war against cellulite) and the tight wrap wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but the majority of the paunch shrunk and only some loose skin on the lower abdomen is bothering me now~ Some toning and tightening is definitely in order.

The Epidural 

I also wanted to share my experience with the epidural though. I think there are quite many people who're rather apprehensive and expect it to be painful so I thought describing the experience might be helpful somehow.

I'd been told I was 1.5 - 2cm dilated at the point of my admission to KKH but they figured I'd take a few hours more before anything exciting was going to happen so The Husband popped out to get some supper. Minutes later, I decided that pacing around my room to distract myself from the contraction pains (about 7 min apart, lasting about 30 sec each by this point) was not working anymore so I trotted myself out and asked if there was some painkiller I could take. As it turned out, I was 3cm dilated and could take the epidural already if I wanted. As a first-timer, I happily thought I could go back to my nice suite and relax with The Husband while waiting to deliver but no. My painkiller request was a one way trip to the delivery room and I'd left my phone up in the suite! Luckily The Husband came back and was directed to the delivery room before anything interesting started.

Sidenote: Take the epidural earlier during labour. You need to be able to stay really still for the anaesthetist in order to get the shot in right. There was another lady delivering some rooms away and she was screaming so loud I had to ask the nurse if that was a delivery with or without epidural. Long story short, she decided she wanted an epidural too late so she couldn't have it.

So how does the epidural feel like? Prior digging around the internet showed that experiences varied so I just went into it with a "what the hell, let's just get this over with" kinda mindset.

I have to say though, that I don't have a huge problem with needles and shots. E.g: A girlfriend had told me that the drip insertion hurt but I was fine with it. Anyway, the anaesthetist artfully kept the needles he was working with out of our sight...to prevent unnecessary freaking out I suppose. After asking The Husband to leave the room, I, seated on the bed, was told to bend over to expose my spine as much as possible.

Mr Anaesthetist (a man of few words) went "ok... I'm just going to clean your back first... Alright now injection on 3, 1.....2.....3..injection."

All I felt was a small pressure in my lower back. Then a second stranger, still small, very slightly prickly pressure as the thin tubing was inserted...imagine poking your spine with a fishing line. Moments later the drugs came in and I felt like warm water was being flooded into my stomach. It's like reverse peeing XP A strange feeling but not uncomfortable....just weird. And after that, it was SO GOOD. After almost 48hours of not being able to sleep due to the contractions, I was so happy to finally get some rest.

Just a little extra - As Summer was lying more on the right side of my tummy, the nurse had me lie on my left to encourage her to shift towards the centre. But by doing so, the epidural effects flooded to my left, leaving my lower left body COMPLETELY numb (totally surreal and quite funny) but still mobile. Problem was my right side could feel the contractions again! So I had to keep alternating between lying on my left and my back for a few hours until I was ready to start pushing.

During the delivery, I could move my legs and push very nicely without experiencing any pain from the contractions or the doctor doing the episiotomy so all in all, definitely no regrets on the epidural. Jury's still out on side effects and all, so Time will be the judge of that I guess.

Alright that'll be all for now, duty calls! And after that, hopefully I can squeeze in some sleep (^--^)v

Tengoku Pet Crematorium - Sendoff to the Rainbow Bridge

I know this is primarily a beauty blog but I feel there are people who would benefit from such a review though it may be rather depressing.

As some of you may know, my family has not had the best Xmas. One of our family dogs passed away on Xmas evening from what we now realise was most probably a heart attack. As you can imagine, it was very sudden and unexpected. Some Xmas.

After a few calls to 24hr crematorium services, my dad was quite upset as some of the people who answered our calls did not sound empathetic in the least. Then we called Tengoku, a 24hr standby same-day single pet cremation service located at Pasir Ris Farmway 2, just next to Mutts & Mittens.

Perry, the guy who answered our call and drove by promptly to pick up our old girl, was very professional and respectful of our grieving, explaining gently and slowly the procedures involved and what time we should come by for the cremation the next day (i.e today). He and my dad transferred Miko to a very sturdy and well-designed black (styrofoam I think) Tengoku collection box and brought her back to their facility.

The next day, we arrived at Tengoku at 8.45a.m, 15 minutes earlier than our appointed time and were pleasantly surprised that they were ready and waiting for us. Perry ushered us to a small open air space and wheeled Miko out to us for us to say our last goodbyes. They left us to ourselves for awhile, only asking that we let them know when we were ready.  Some fresh white carnations had been placed between her paws, which was really a beautiful touch and made her look asleep and at peace.

When we were ready they wheeled her round to the furnace and ushered us to the viewing area where Perry stood silently by the side while it commenced. Later we went to the office to fill out some paperwork and select Miko's urn before returning a couple of hours later to pick her up.

Tengoku has a pretty good range of urns though the ones that come free with the cremation are of a very oriental design. So we took a look at the more modern designs and topped up $38 for a round minimalistic white medium urn. Plus the $380 (the price for small breed cats & dogs) for her cremation, it was one of the most affordable rates around and the service (we met another guy at pickup and he was very nice too) was top notch. I regret that we forgot to take his name but he was just as gentle and empathetic as he explained that they don't grind the bones at Tengoku and that they had placed her skull bones at the top of the pile in the urn.

For all of us who have pets, sending them off is an unfortunate part of the package. We've had dogs in the family since the day I was born so I'm no stranger to goodbyes and it doesn't get easier. All we can do is make the best of it and it means a lot when the final steps are as dignified and nicely done as with Tengoku.

So a heartfelt thank you to Perry, Nice Guy No. 2 and Tengoku for their empathy and professionalism, your good work really helped my family with closure.

Tengoku - 24 hr hotline 6749 5039 
www.tengoku.com.sg
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2 (By appointment only)

MIA Apologies!! And some stuff about Salicylic Acid.

Hi again! Didja miss me? (^^;;;;) Sorry I've been gone for....a little over a month now ahahaha~ Some little developments have me all in a tizzy in more ways than one really. And with all most situations, I have a very good excuse.

And here it is.

Get it? Get it?!?

Yep, 100% natural in the traditional way. LOL

I have to say it wasn't expected but I guess it's about that time in life before I get much ahem older. The Husband's a lot more excited than I am. I guess it's hard to get excited when you feel pretty bleh and slightly motion sick so often throughout the day m(=____=)m yep, that's my life now...constantly clutching a bottle (sometimes 2) of medicated oil. I tell people the kid might have a hearing problem at the rate The Husband keeps yelling into my belly button like it's the Grand Canyon lol Just joking of course, about the hearing problem, not the yelling. That part's true unfortunately XP

Looking forward to including some new topics into the blog with this development and thought I'd start with a small piece that I was checking up this week.

This is especially important if you intend to breastfeed.

In a nutshell, topical use is considered safe as long as it's within 2% (if it's near the bottom of your product's ingredients list you should be fine.). The general opinion is that toners are ok because you do a quick swipe instead of 'soaking' your skin in the stuff but it's safer if you know the concentration of your product. Peels are totally out of the question. ALWAYS check with your gynae if this is a big concern of course.

Oral forms of salicylic acid are a big no-no because the chemical in oral form gives rise to higher risks for miscarriage, heart defects, heart & lung problems for the baby as well as bleeding issues for both mother and baby. These are the same reasons for not taking aspirins during pregnancy.

Sidenote about painkillers: My gynae tells me Panadol (the regular type, not Max or Cold/Flu etc) is fine if not taken often and just 1 tab.

My DHC Salicylic Acid Acne Toner has Salicylic Acid listed fairly high up on the ingredients list, 3rd to be exact, but a check on the website (DHCCare) states 2% Salicylic Acid so I'm slightly relieved. I have just a few drops left in my current bottle so I'll probably down the usage to once a day till it finishes and hunt for a more natural toner option for my combination skin.

All in all, anything that's too concentrated is potentially harmful to your new little best friend. So if your hormones aren't doing kamikaze somersaults and creating absolute havoc on your skin, it's best to go as natural and minimalistic as possible with the skincare routine during pregnancy just to be absolutely safe. OR you can bombard your gynae with a list of products and ask their opinion~ Fortunately my skin isn't breaking out or anything so far...hopefully it'll stay nice and calm for the next 7 months!

Now to stock up on my Konjac sponges again~

Charles & Keith 2014 New Arrivals - Sunday Shoe-Crush!

It's been awhile since I had a shoe crush. Wandering around my neighbourhood malls last week I popped by Charles & Keith for quick look see and this pair tugged at my heart strings a little =)

Pointed Slingback Mules in PU leather S$56.90

Of course the marble print is all the rage now. But faddishness (is that even a word?) aside, I think it's a print that's likely to stand the test of time?

All images from Charles & Keith

I like that the height is quite perfect. After tramping in heels through the gravel, sand & rock on the fortress island of Suomenliina last winter, my feet have never been quite the same and I haven't been able to deal with heels of the steep incline or towering variety ever since. This heel (8.5cm) is enough to give a girl a boost and comfortable enough to be standing around in. Also, these heels are light! Now...if only they'd go on sale for Xmas....... XP

Random Realisations

Just an irrelevant post.

...I just realized from the thumbnails in my 'Popular..' listing on the right that I have many photos that slant to the right. XD At the same moment I noticed it, I realized I had my head tilted to the right as well!

Random pet photo from this year's Tokyo trip ^_^

Is it because I'm right handed? Do left handed people prefer photos to slant to the left and habitually tilt their heads to the left?

Hehe Just one of those random things you notice in a random moment. =P

The Tokyo Affair 2013 - Of Shrines & Spring

First, may I begin with some random shots I accidentally omitted from the previous post? ^_^

Gorgeous weather~ (this was after the Oiran Parade)

Of course I had to take a silly touristy pic =P

My face looked fat but I looked happy so whatever ^_^

 I think I'll never get sick of sakuras~ (✿ ♥‿♥)

BIG super-calm-polar-bear-like dog hanging around Sensoji *hearts*

And now we can move on to another temple we visited in the vicinity of Akihabara, Kanda Myojin (神田明神).

The tori gates, showing the shrines official name, Kanda Jinja 神田神社.

This was an important shrine to the warrior class as well as citizens, especially during the Edo period, as the Shogun himself paid his respects there. Today, 2 of the 3 kami (gods) enshrined at Kanda Myojin are part of the 7 Gods of Fortune thus making the shrine popular with businessmen and entrepreneurs who pray for wealth and prosperity.

I really like this shot of the shrine maiden (miko/巫女) holding her hair in the wind ^_^ I'd been eyeing her for sometime (like a perv >_<) and was glad to get a nice natural shot!

Being so near Akihabara, it was impossible to avoid the anime influence~ Almost all the boards were illustrated!!

Aren't they just the cutest!!（*´▽｀*）

Leaving Kanda, we headed back towards JR Ochanomizu station and popped into the (rather deserted) Yushima Seido Shrine that was on the way.

Unfortunately, the main hall wasn't open that day so we could only take a look around the courtyard.. Most of what could be seen was very simple.

The Yushima Seido shrine (湯島聖堂), originally built as one dedicated to Confucius, was once used as a school for sons of the powerful during the Tokugawa regime and known as the birthplace of school education in Japan. Now the shrine is popular with students all over Japan who come to pray for scholastic success.



Reflection in the super calm water..

It took quite awhile for my friends and I to decide what was the roof decoration.... 'Cos it kind of looked like a rooster but had some dragon details thrown in the mix... I still think it's a dragon but I can't figure out how that rooster-comb-like part fits in. >_< Anyone?

And now I shall wrap up the post with some random foodporn! Ramen in Shibuya, just beside Forever21!

I had the 激辛らめん which was the spiciest they had on the menu...the staff even made sure to mention as he set it down: "very spicy desu". =D But....it wasn't that spicy. It was a nice warm tingly kind of spicy, quite right for the cool weather that time of year. I guess the smooth broth tamed the spiciness a little? But I enjoyed it ^_^ And it was on the 2nd level with a big window looking out over the street so you could people-watch if you got the windowside tables!

Hope you enjoyed reading this short travel post! I still have 2 more to go! ヾ(＾-＾)ノ

The Liebster Award

I was recently pleasantly surprised to be nominated by Samthebear from A-Curiosity for the Liebster Award~ Thanks Sam! ^_^v

The Liebster Award works off a chain mail-like system with bloggers nominating other bloggers with less than 200 readers and so on and so forth. The increase in awareness will hopefully get these blogs more shares and notice! Like mine! (>_<) Every 'Follow' and 'Like' is a small adrenaline rush that I would like more of! =P

6 simple rules -

So! I'll give you 11 random facts about me first and get that out of the way!

1. I talk to animals (it's a one-way conversation, I am not Dr Dolittle) and do voiceovers for little scenes that I think are going on.
2. LOVE horror movies, comics and novels but would probably DIE if you pushed me into a carnival haunted house.
3. I have a fluctuating self-esteem.
4. I like to squish grapes between my brother's teeth and cheek, and he does the same back. It's a childhood thing.
5. I pout when I'm concentrating.
6. I have the attention span of a goldfish.
7. I gauge the direction a snail is headed and pop it onto the grass in the general direction so it doesn't get squished on the pavement. I like to think it's like helping a little old lady cross the road.
8. I'm a sniffer. I sniff my food, my clothes, my bedsheets, pillows, dogs, husband..etc.
9. A self-professed IT idiot, very not tech savvy.
10. I love to cook but am bad at portion control. i.e cook for 6 when there's only 4.
11. I'm a sucker for all things cute and Japanese. =P

And here are Sam's questions for me!

 Please hold while I get some dinner! =D~~~~~

----------30 min later-----------

 

Ok I'm back!!

Now here's MY list of 11 questions~

1. Favourite blogging topic?
2. Name 1 item (beauty/makeup/fashion/whatever) that you constantly repurchase even if you're not running out.
3. Favourite beauty treatment?
4. If you could change 1 aspect of your blog, what would it be?
5. What keeps you motivated to blog?
6. What's your theme song? (ala Ally McBeal *gasp* oldskool!!)
7. What's the first thing to mind when people think about you?
8. Any blogger pet peeves?
9. What's on the top of your wishlist now? (beauty/makeup/fashion/whatever)
10. Looking forward to anything at the moment?
11. Fill in the blanks: Why would anyone want to ____________________?

Badabing badaboom I'm done! And I'm tagging~~~~~

Jermaine - Jermaineee

Miwitch - Miwitch.com

Michelle - Ice Frost Beauty Diary

Coco Sakura - Japanese Makeup & Beauty Blog
Fenny - Fenny's Blog

Winddyy - Winddyy's Beauty Blog

Patricia Tee - Sweetest Sins

Pu Niao - Pu Niao's Beauty Junkie Reviews

K - Cosmeddicted.com

Gretz - Love, gretzxoxo

Hikari Hajimari - Hikari Hajimari

Do check them out!

In other news...I really ought to get those Japan trip posts out soon.... /(>_<)\

The 1st but still late Tokyo 2013 Fix Post! (Image Intensive!)

In case you're wondering about the title (Tokyo Fix 2013)...it's because I find it quite necessary to revisit Japan (mainly Tokyo) every year to recharge.

In my previous company, I had the pleasure of popping by Japan a couple of times every month so when I left, I had major withdrawal until my dad suggested that I make yearly trips~ Good ol dad! =D So for the last couple years I've made annual trips and therefore annual contributions to Japan's economy~

Popped by all the usual places: Harajuku, Ueno, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Asakusa..etc But one of the highlights I'll be sharing today is the Oiran parade in Asakusa! Thanks to a chance spotting of the poster in Asakusa...lucky!

But first, I want to introduce my short-time 'pet' I 'adopted' near the Meiji Shrine (Harajuku):

Which I then proceeded to take photos of my pet acorn here, there and everywhere the next couple of days ^_^;;

I always love the walk leading to the Meiji Shrine...even if it's sunny everywhere else, there's gorgeous foliage, SO MUCH greenery surrounding the area that it's a completely different atmosphere. Much cooler, super refreshing and absolutely serene.

 

The drums of sake are always pretty to look at with all that colour & calligraphy~

And then the obligatory touristy shot from my friend's phone (it was her first time there)~

In the grounds, a sneaky shot from my friend's camera ^_^

 

 

Prayer Plaques. This particular one says "To meet and marry a wonderful person. To build a blissful
family together." 

 

The next night we went to Asakusa to take in the Sensoji temple with it's night lightup~ Since last year, I've decided it's nicer to come late because Nakamise (the shopping street leading to Sensoji) is closing/closed so that's a whole bunch of other tourists & tour groups out of the way =P Plus the lights make for pretty photos!

See what I mean? Nice and empty~

 

 

 

 

And with that we ended our night. Just as we were crossing the road to the train station, we noticed a poster with an Oiran (花魁) in a procession (like how she would en route to meeting a patron) and lo and behold it was happening that coming Saturday!

 

Sneak shot while waiting for the parade to start~



Turns out it was the annual Ichiyo Sakura Festival Edo Yoshiwara Oiran Parade (一葉さくら祭り江戸吉原おいらん道中), that's held on the 2nd Saturday every April! So that Saturday we trooped back to Asakusa for our first live look at a real Oiran! Parade photos after the cut!