white out!

it's new year's eve and it's completely white out! the river by our apt has frozen up and we took a lil walk outside to watch snow fall and of cos, find frosty.

yes, there must be at least one super cheesy shot, LOL! it's snow...makes u do stupid lovey dovey things i guess. :o)

i've concluded that i like it when it's actually snowing, cos it's not cold outside at all! you can actually play with the snow and even make a snow angel. when it snows, it comes down like powdered sugar (the boy says even snow has become something to do with baking), it's so fun to play with and walk in. but the day it stops snowing, the snow hardens and becomes slush, more like slurpee consistency and that's when it's freezing and slippery and obviously, difficult to walk on. that's when snow is not fun. that's gonna be tomorrow, on a brand new day of the year, but for today, it was super fun to be out!

let the hunt begin

we have to move out of our apt by mid march. thanks to the 900 bucks increment! !#$^&^&**^@$

we saw a loft online tt was spacious and affordable, so we decided to view it today just for fun, u know, just in case we felt like moving when our lease is up. coincidentally, we came home to a letter at our door telling us that our rent next year will be ridiculous.

the boy and i wanna move to chinatown. screw it. i dun care about living amongst the china and hong kong pple. chinatown has cheap and yummy food, i wanna live where the food is. plus i feel safer there. chinese pple have choppers. LOL.

the hunt begins for a new home and i hope it will be in chinatown!

X'mas eve dinner at OTTO

the last time we came we discovered Otto - amazing italian place with pastas and pizzas at 9 bucks that tastes like gourmet meals. so naturally, we had to return for another satisfying meal. this time round, the boy splurged on a 100 dollar wine. he's a real wine drinker and to him, this particular wine is cheap for 100 bucks cos it would easily be 200 plus in singapore. and for the first time, i enjoyed the red wine as well (and those who know me know i cant drink wine to save my life).

that's how much we ate!!!!! we left nothing there...ok fine, i couldnt finish my gelato cos i was dying from all the food inside me. i must say i am often more excited about food when it comes to x'mas than gifts. hur hur hur!

X'mas in NYC!

i wish i could skate. i just learnt how to roller blade and i dun think i should be in the rink here at bryant park. pple are all pro over there. even the lil ones. :o(

and here is the huge ass tree at rockerfella center. there are plenty of huge trees around NYC but this is apparently the tallest. according to tradition, the one at rockerfella is always the biggest.

x'mas is pretty there...plenty of lights, snow and pple. so much fun!!!!

merry x'mas to all!!!!

my phone is down, actually not really, just tt we have yet to top up money to make overseas connection, hence i am unable to text back nor send x'mas wishes to family and frens back home. i miss all of you and x'mas is not the same without home. but we had a fabulous x'mas in nyc!

instead of getting drunk on x'mas eve we got drunk on x'mas eve's eve. and spent x'mas eve hung over and hungry throughout the day (alcohol does tt to you, makes u hungry and even after u stuff ur face u still feel hungry).

but we had a lovely dinner and spent the night walking down the snow-covered streets of new york. and today being x'mas we are back home and we have ripped apart all our gifts! i have a brand new pair of boots, a brand new bag and 2 martha stewart cookware. ha! mixture of the young chick and domestic helper. and i gave the boy ear muffs, notebook, winter coat and a jacket. we love x'mas!!!!!

merry x'mas everyone! especially to my 2 lovely sisters, my mummy and my cute lil yakky nephew! BIG KISS!

the season of giving!

since it's just the both of us this year, we agreed to several lil simple gifts for each other so the tree wont look so bare and pathetic...and look! and the boy is now exciting abt x'mas and seems to love it as much as i do! i'm happy he's happy. :o)

holiday baking!

ok fine, not everything that i have baked in the last 2 weeks are typical holiday sweets but still, it's the holiday season and i am baking! calories dun count during x'mas so i am eating every cake i can sink my teeth in, WHEEEEEE!!!!

Chocolate fudge bites

Blueberry Muffins

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Nut Upside-Down Cake

Happy Holidays!

yummy new recipes!

i tried 2 new recipes this week and they were amazing!!!! they were rather complicated and after i was done, the kitchen looked like a tornado hit it. but the results - amazingly yummy dinners!

beef curry stew with seasoned rice

crispy pork cutlet with mushroom sauce

no matter how cold...

...i will never be caught dead in a snuggie.

when we first moved here, the snuggie was the new thing. we first saw it on tv and died laughing. even though it's quite a useful invention - "wearing your blanket, literally", it is dumb as hell. i mean if you're cold at home, wear a sweater and wrap yourself with a blanket. but no, these pple find that having to flip your blanket here n there is so troublesome that they invented a blanket that moves with you. seriously, is it necessary? lazy bums.

but then again, these are the same pple who came up with the lazy boy bed/chair - a bed that turns into a couch so you never have to leave the bedroom when football comes on.

then this winter, they decide to have the bundler. which is basically a jumpsuit made out of a blanket material with a robe that ties at the waist but wait, the special part is, the jumpsuit covers your feet too! so you are covered everywhere. oh for god's sake, wear a sweater with pants and wear freaking socks.

imagine ripping apart your x'mas gift to find one of these.

the best wings ever!!!!

who doesnt love chicken wings? i can eat them everyday. actually no, i can eat them maybe twice a week but the boy can eat them everyday. and boy does he eat them clean! there's always nothing but clean bones left. sometimes it almost looks like a dog ate them. hahahaha!

anyway, i experimented with wings for a few weeks and i have the best recipe! u dun even need any chili sauce for these wings, they are spicy and tasty enough. get ready to drool!

all you have to do is marinade the wings with soy sauce for about an hour or so. then rub it with fresh chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. drizzle olive oil over them and bake them in the oven at 425 degrees F, 20 mins on each side and they are done! super duper yummy!

i'm becoming my mother!

today the boy and i headed to Wings for lunch. Wings is a super yummy asian place and it was a place that my sister visited alot when she was here. anyway, that's not the story. so we ordered a bowl of soup for each of us, a plate of noodles and a veggie dish. i know the portions are huge and i know i am gonna be having dinner alone tonight becos the boy has an office party. so i ta pao-ed the unfinished food and the best part - i brought my own recyclable bag to carry all the food home.

tsk tsk tsk. what's next? bring my own containers to ta pao food? or bring my own favourite soy sauce to dinner outside? habits of my mother are all rubbing off on me now.

our first x'mas tree

i've always had a x'mas tree back home since i can remember. every yr we would put up the tree without fail. however, we never really physically put up the tree nor picked out ornaments that we like to hang on the tree. i guess when you have a control-freak as a parent that's what happens.

so even though i never had the fun putting up the tree, i always enjoyed it. especially at night, with the colored lights on in the living room, it's nice to just sit there and watch. it's kinda whimsical. i'm a fool for x'mas. my fav festive season.

the boy on the other hand, never really celebrated x'mas. so his idea of x'mas is "just another day lor". you can imagine my horror when i first heard it last yr. but he was a sport last yr and dressed up for dinner with me, did the whole exchange of gifts thing as well. but this yr, i am determined that we celebrate it right. especially since we are literally going to have a "white cold x'mas".

so it starts with the x'mas tree! we lugged one home, we decided on the color scheme of the tree and bought the appropriate ornaments. we set it up and hung the ornaments. after which, we sat under the tree to watch the lights and he agreed that it's kinda magical! and he loves the tree in the house now (although i suspect he likes it as a decor item for the living room more than becos it is x'mas).

it's our 2nd x'mas together but it will be our first real x'mas and more importantly, it will be his first real x'mas. exciting!

Baked goods time!

I have been baking...I've just forgotten to upload the pics here instead. Check them out at shewhobakes.blogspot.com!

Black and White Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Black Magic Cupcakes

Dorset Apple Cake

Food time!

More yummy yummy food from the past 2 weeks....

Pork Chops

Grilled Salmon with Herb Rice

Spicy Chicken Cutlet Sandwich

These are Baked Chicken not fried!

My fav....Hungarian Beef Goulash

I forgot pictures about some other dishes we had over this Thanksgiving weekend...I was way too busy eating. *sheepish grin*