I’ve heard so much about Broers Cafe from my colleagues, but I have not had the chance to visit. So after dinner we popped by the cafe which is along Somme Road, a stone’s throw away from City Square.

A Bro-Junior, Broers’ version of Piccolo Latte

A cute little glass that the owner jokingly told us not to ‘bring it home’

For $4 of a small glass of Bro-Junior, some may find it pricey but I thought the coffee was robust yet smooth, fragrant and not overly bitter – something I would go for again for sure. Probably not as aromatic as Loysel’s Toy/CSHH but definitely worthy enough for a caffeine indulgence.

The cafe is relatively no-frills. No fancy fittings or designer chairs. Just a simple vinyl record player playing the soothing tunes of Diana Krall while the the barrister does his craft behind the counters.

Fortunately The Man doesn’t take coffee everyday; he doesn’t have to worry about where to get decent coffee in Shanghai. That would be my biggest concern on the list, after clean toilets.

 Our last coffee date @ Broers Cafe

xoxo
Gie

The blue and white facade and interior resemble much like the sunny shores of Santorini. The warm friendly service made us feel pretty much at home. We lingered on some time past the restaurant’s break time but never once were asked or hinted to hurry up.

The highlight of the meal has to be the grilled Talagani Saganak. For those who are scratching their heads, it is cheese made from sheep’s milk that comes from Messinia, in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece. Main point: TASTY!

At first, we ordered grilled feta cheese. But we changed our order after hearing the recommendations from the knowledge waiter. Definitely worth salivating over!

Grilled Talagani Saganak

Top: Grilled pita bread with sea salt and paprika ($3)
Bottom: Taramosalata/Cod roe dip ($13.80)

Kreatika Anamikta (Meat Platter for 2 pax – $83.80)

For us trio, the meat platter for two pax was wayyy more than what our stomachs could hold. The platter comprises four meat balls, two kalamaki (beef cubes on skewer), 2 bifteki (minced meat patties) and four lamb chops. Though the meats were not heavily marinated, they were fresh and succulent, doused with abundant virgin olive oil goodness and just a light sprinkle of sea salt. That’s how we like our meats.

Baklava ($14.80)

We were determined to not leave without trying an authentic Greek favourite dessert. A set of Baklava is just nice for noobs like us. Baklava is a phyllo pastry filled with chopped walnuts and topped with syrup. If you are not a big fan or nuts, go easy when ordering this dessert. One set comes with three rolls of baklava; we had one each and it was enough for us to exclaim, “Okay, enough!”

Blu Kouzina
893 Bukit Timah Road
T: 6875 0872
blukouzina@singnet.com.sg

Outfit of the day
Black and Gold Studded top from Lauquar; Uniqlo jeans; Patterned Cut-out heels fromCharles & Keith; ASOS Petite handbag

The Man is leaving next week and the meal was our farewell lunch for him. The weekend just whizzed past too quickly; I wished we could have spent more time together. Oh gosh, I missed him already.

Any anecdotes for a LDR?

xoxo
Gie

“You know, I will like this? Then do this? And this?” I started gesturing like I’m in this cosmic world of my own.

William probably had never met a bride as narcissistic as me. But that dear fellow was so obliging and gamely told his assistant to direct the fan at me. Then my two minutes of Vogue moment started. 

Please indulge me for a moment. I haven’t done a makeover during my teenage years when it is a trendy thing in my generation. I’ll probably never score a magazine front cover this lifetime so the wedding photo shoot is the closest thing I’ll ever experience to glamour.

We received the CD with the full suite of images taken (yes, inclusive of NG shots!) and I can’t wait to share some of the breathtaking shots William has captured. Stick around!

xoxo
Gie

Dusk by one of our favourite spots

Autumn in the park

I clapped my hands so hard when the photoshoot finally wrapped up. I enjoyed the photoshoot very much but really, the weight of the ball gown was zapping my energy away and six hours of dragging that monster around was my limit.

That said, I thank God (yes, Him) for the fine weather. It has been raining every afternoon these couple of weeks. But on the day of the photoshoot, the sun was shining brightly against a moderately cloudy blue sky. Though the temperature was warm, it was not scotching hot.

I cannot complain. I prayed damn hard to God for a smooth photoshoot and He gave us more than just a fine weather.

William, our photographer, was such a pro. And I am not just referring to his technical skills. He was chatty thus putting us at ease, obliging to my fleeting delusions of fantasy (I had my major VOGUE moment!) and so easy-going with The Mother’s presence. He scored major brownie points when he pointed to us an ice box full of chilled drinks that he had prepared for our outdoor shoot. We didn’t expect such thoughtful gesture and boy were we glad for the abundant supply of chilled drinks, chauffeured maxi cab and his assistant for the extra help.

I thought I needed help in changing my gowns and some nitty-gritties. But I reserved asking my friends to take a day off just to help me out. Fortunately The Mother insisted in coming along. I had my reservations at first. Imagine PDA-ing in front of your mother?! Haha!

My concern was unfounded. The Mother would quietly disappear once the shooting starts and we were left alone to do our thang. When we are ready to move to the next location, The Mother would reappear with tissues, snap random pictures of us and conduct regular checks on my makeup and hair. Oh boy, I owe her BIG time.

Despite me preparing a full emergency/makeup kit, we never had to use it. Thankfully my makeup did not melt and I didn’t have the time to fuddle around with my tools anyway.

 Messing around with our Polaroid while the photographer rested his pro equipment

Good thing we had a clear plan of the spots we want to visit and so we didn’t waste much time dilly-dallying around.

I have to mention about the bouquet of flowers I used during the photoshoot. Joyce from The Flower Connoisseur did such a fabulous job putting together my ultimate dream bouquet. The half-sphere bouquet got so many compliments that I thought it was stealing my limelight!

I never once felt nervous or anxious about the photoshoot. Unlike The Man who made some pretty late arrangements to tailor his suits and purchase his shirt studs (he’d like to think this is debatable), I planned systematically and so all grounds are covered.

There are so many tips I could give you but I think these are a few really important ones:

• Do a countdown plan. Visualise how you want the day to turn out (include crisis management planning) and work backwards (i.e. how many days in advance to colour your hair, do a facial, do a gown fitting and etc)
• Draft a checklist of the things you need during the photoshoot and PACK!
• Put on a hydrating facial mask in the morning of the photoshoot.
• Don’t know how to pose? Look back at your photos and identify those that you look good in. Work those angles. Practise in front of a mirror. Hey, you’ve already paid for the shoot so there’s nothing wrong with being a little more narcissistic.
• If you are going into the fields or onto grass, ditch the stilettos and put on wedges instead. Seriously.
• Pack mosquito repellent if you are shooting outdoors. And REMEMBER to put it on.
• If you are wearing a backless gown, skip the bra in the morning to prevent impression lines.
• Never forget your socks (MEN!)

You can breathe easy once you are prepared. And even then if Murphy’s law decide to act upon you, you should take it in your stride and play by ear.

I can’t wait to see the photos. William’s works have never failed to impress us and I’m looking forward to present myself the headache of selecting only 30 images to compile into a coffee table album. Hurry up already!

xoxo
Gie

Three more days to our pre-wedding photoshoot! I am excited but not a bundle of nerves yet. Mainly because I’ve been a check list and once I’m done with the final gown fitting session tomorrow, we’re all set.

Well, I’m set, not sure about The Man. His tailored suit and tux will only be ready for collection tomorrow. He’s keeping his cool as usual, cruising by, thinking the sun will shine brighter with his optimism. Sure. Until he realised his tuxedo studs, ordered online only last week have not arrived as scheduled. That silly procrastinator is kind of panicking now. As a supportive partner, I tried to hold my tongue and not blurted out a ‘I told you so’. The Man said he’ll use thumbtacks instead if his studs don’t arrive. See, that’s the kind of happy-go-lucky man I’m marrying.

I don’t fancy going props crazy for our photoshoot because I’m not a DIY person. At most I can fake a DIY. Plus I prefer to a clean backdrop for the pictures, making use of the natural/urban surroundings. But I can’t help adding a whimsical element or two.

So when I chanced upon Merry Love Wedding selling lovely tissue poms in XL sizes, I squealed with joy.  ^^

Instead of the white ribbon that comes with each pom, I used sequinned ribbon and wire tie, both in gold, to complement the blush pink poms. I threw in a few smaller poms from Daiso (cheap!) for a nice mix of sizes. 

The Daiso poms come with fewer layers of tissue (less fluff) and straight edges. I can’t complain since they come in a pack of 14 for just $2. I did some ground work by trading the white wire ties with gold ones, added a few more tissue layers for fluff and trimmed the edges to round ones for a more whimsical flower look.

There. That’s my DIY. Kudos to The Mother for gamely helping me fluff the poms to the max. She’s a darling when she’s not frowning.

I can’t wait to hang ‘em all up at the reception and ceremony area on our wedding day. Lovely lovely.

What’s your DIY for your wedding?

xoxo
Gie

I always prefer to engage in hands-on workshops and classes with The Man because we connect at a different level and tend to discover new side of each other. That’s something we don’t often experience during our usual movie and dinner sessions.

We’ve done acrylic painting, attended Teochew and coffee appreciation classes and amongst others. And this time, we are going to get our hands ‘soiled’.

I did a random search and chanced upon a few reviews on Little Green Pot.  KC, the instructor, operates from a room at a tuition centre located in Kovan. So far, every reviewer has nothing but good stuff to say about the workshop.

The class started promptly and we were given a brief lecture on how closed terrariums work and the care required. Or rather, to quote KC: “The best way to care for your terrarium is to neglect it.” Words spoken like a true master. I like plants that require minimum care because Lord knows I love plants but have no green fingers.

Every participant chooses his/her preferred bottle that is furnished with pretty ribbons and comes with the full suite of potting materials and tools including gravel, shaved charcoal and potting soil.

KC explained the use of each material and the order of the layering:

1. Gravel – to allow excess water to drain away
2. Shaved charcoal – since this is a closed terrarium that works on recycled moisture, the charcoal will prevent odour.
3. Potting soil – we dug a wide hole in the middle to contain the plants, covered the roots completely with the soil and levelled the soil with a spoon.
4. Decorative gravel – to weigh the soil down

Tah-dah! 

We were allowed to choose an accessory each. Despite the limited variety of cute animal figurines, we managed to select an adorable Bambi beer and hermit crab. The Man wanted a giraffe but there was none. I say, it’s apt for him to choose a hermit crab figurine because throughout the class, he kept asking if live hermit crabs can be kept in the terrarium! Silly man.

The class lasted a little more than an hour and cost a mere $24 per pax. Not too lengthy or expensive for a weekend activity.

Warning: this activity is quite addictive. The Man and I are already thinking of making a few more bottles to make up a mini garden. Hah! We always talked about growing potted herbs like basil, thyme and mint in our new home. The Man loves to cook so having our own mini garden will be useful and very therapeutic.

Now my terrarium sits on my office desk. Whenever I feel bored or frustrated, I look over to my mini garden haven for some respite.

xoxo
Gie

I’ve been embarking on a low carb, low sugar and low dairy diet for some time, hoping to get rid of my blemish problem (I’m not worried about my weight). In addition, through my research I found out that blood A types (that’s me!) requires more seafood than red meat on their diet. Very quickly I told The Man we should try out that sushi restaurant his colleague was raving about. I was faster than Flash.

Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru, at the basement of Liang Court, is highly recommended by The Man’s Japanese colleague. Unlike most local sushi conveyor belt restaurants, Ryoshi serves an amazing variety of fish and many of them we’ve never heard of. Yes, Japanese sashimi is more than tuna, salmon and yellowtail.

Plates stacking up high!

The folks at Ryoshi are so considerate for the noobs. Instead of random plates of food floating around, the sushi are grouped together on the belt with a name tag right in front of the line. Every tag includes the Japanese name of the sushi and a picture of the fish so that you’ll know what exactly you are consuming. We’ve never seen such expansive selection of fish so much so that we were busy googling every new species of fish we see.

And it turned out that Karen visited the restaurant soon after us. If the food connoisseur says it’s good, it is good!

We should have stayed for sake but we had already planned to chill the night away with whiskey instead. The Man brought me to The Quaich Bar where he hung out during his uni days. Since it was my first visit to a whiskey bar, I was clueless and left it to The Man, who is a whiskey aficionado, to order for me.

 Japanese Nikka Taketsuru 12 years

The Man chose a Japanese whiskey that is light and smooth on the palate. Perfect for an infrequent alcohol drinker!

I can easily imagine spending quiet evenings with The Man when our new home is ready. We’ve even planned for a ledge, by the living room’s bay window, that will allow us to enjoy the breeze while sipping whiskey or sake. Or maybe coffee on weekend mornings. Yah, dreams are made of these.

As we draw nearer to the wedding, there are much to be done like our pre-wedding photoshoot that is just two weeks away. As much as I’d like to think I’m a non-fussy bride, I’m becoming a tad paranoid on whether the tan line on my back will go away in time (since our beach holiday last December), whether the fake eyelashes the artist use will be too fake (legit concern), whether the tissue pompoms will stay in place during the outdoor shoot, whether the sky will take a longer piss than usual and whether The Man needs to wear a mask to hide his unphotogenic face (his words, not mine!).

 My first time having full makeup on!

Thankfully, the trial makeup at the bridal studio went pretty well, putting my twisted fears to rest. Now I’m confident that the makeup artist isn’t going to turn me into a getai performer or Princess Fiona.

I couldn’t sleep well for the past few nights, worrying about the fresh flowers I need for the photoshoot. I just need a simple posy of 7 to 8 stalks of large roses and some fillers. A simple request, right? But the florist, who has those exact roses I want and a sample image of the posy, couldn’t reply me on the price even after five days, four email follow-ups and a phone call. I suppose if I wasn’t fussy with the type of roses I want, I could have gone with the wet market florist. I was nearly tearing my hair out, then she replied. Within a minute, I confirmed my order, gave my delivery address and asked how I should pay. And the florist has gone MIA AGAIN. Urgh.

I teared myself away from the nitty-gritties and kept myself busy with a terrarium workshop with The Man. Albeit a short duration, we had fun getting our hands dirty with potting soil and putting together our very own closed ecosystem. I will share more about our experience in another post.

Tah-dah! His hermit crab and her Bambi deer.

Working our Polaroid skills. He doesn’t need the mask, does he? ^^

Geez, just thinking about the photoshoot makes my stomach turned a bit. How will we look? Will we look awkward with poses? Will my makeup melt under the hot sun, provided it doesn’t pour? Will my fake eyelashes fall off if I blink too much? Will my veil get tangled with falling leaves if we stand under the tree in Botanic Gardens for too long? Will I get a huge pimple on my nose the night before?

So many questions… and we’ll find out soon.

xoxo
Gie

I am in awe of those who are capable of slipping in and out of tight (very tight!) jeggings without non-purposefully performing an acrobatic stunt like a contortionist.

That said, I almost tripped upon myself during my first ever try on jeggings at H&M. I nearly stumbled and rolled out of the changing room in full view of the hippy chic skinny lady shoppers but thankfully, the four sturdy walls caught me. Those young bright things thronging Orchard Road and Bugis Street – how the F do they wear these blood vessel-constricting pants day in, day out? Please give it up for them. *cue applause*

Anyhow, Hyde Angie swiped the card and got a pair of floral jeggings and Jykell Angie is expected to do it justice. So far, my brain is still getting the oxygen.

If you spot a lady with ultra tight but very pretty jeggings as shown on the picture above, unconscious and sprawled in front of Mandarin Gallery later today, please snap an artistic picture on Instagram, then call the ambulance.

xoxo
Gie

#ifyouhappyandyouknowit take a day off and spend it with your mother.

— Gie_Chloe_E (@acupofgie) March 21, 2013

But if I had known that @MrBrown is putting it in a song, I would have made less of a tongue twister.

Youtube link: http://t.co/glUCe1P64r

Not sure why I wrote that. Simply the first thing that came to my mind.

There, my 10 seconds of fame.

xoxo
Gie

P.S. Thought I just clarify that my name is Angie. Very close friends call me Gie. I suppose it’s an endearing term they like to use on me or they are pure lazy even for a two-syllable name. And that’s how I got my blog name and twitter handle.

It’s only Monday and the pile of work flooded in like the dyke of the dam broke. Big time. Everyone wants their stuff delivered, urgently. Everyone. I always wonder where these people been all their lives? Why the tendency of labeling every last minute brief as ‘urgent’? If I could perform magic, I would give it to them with the snap of my fingers, but not before I turn them into croaking frogs.

Macarons FTW

And clearly, The Man sensed my impatience over the phone. I was on the verge of snapping and biting his finger, over the phone. The sweet fella surprised me with a box of macarons from Antoinette, a stone’s throw away from my office. Grand crus never fail to put a smile back on my face.

If only the coordination of our wedding photoshoot is as easily solved with a box of macarons. After the date was set (or so we thought), we made arrangements with the bridal studio, makeup artist, independent photographer, owner of a Peranakan house that is one of our listed locations and applied our leave. But alas, it turns out The Man’s boss was not in favour of the dates! Apparently it was too near The Man’s expected departure date so his boss ‘highly recommends’ we prepone the photoshoot.

I nearly flipped my table. Yes, what seems like a minor issue can trigger the nastiest hormone in a bride. That’s when I went ape shit.

“Now I look like a fool!” If The Man could hear my virtual voice on Skype, he would have gone deaf.

So reality sat in. I could be a bridezilla; I have the potential. It was just waiting to happen. But I held on. So I went round the same cycle: calling the bridal studio, the jeweller customising our rings, and re-arranging my facial appointments.

Then I was told the makeup artist could be booked for another job. I wanted to choke someone to let it all out. Plus I was in the middle of an email with someone telling me this and that is urgent. I really wanted to strangle someone. My boyfriend in particular. We’ll never figure the real reason but it’s always convenient to blame the man for everything. Even a nail chip.

In other news, happier and brighter, the customised bridal hanger I purchased a couple months ago from MerryLove is here. The acrylic text cutout turned out prettier than I expected. The original text was something else and I made a eleventh hour decision to change it all after a mock-up image was sent to me. The decision is right after all. I was admiring it all night, thinking how pretty and whimsical the pictures will turn out when the photographer snaps my wedding dress hanging from this pretty hanger.

And of course, after I purchased the hanger, I totally forgot that my wedding dress has a boat neck neckline so actually the acrylic text will be partially obstructed by the lace bodice. Niceeee.  

Doncha wished this is you on a Monday?

Soon, I turn to starring wide-eyed at pictures of furry kids. Entering a state of trance is a better option than murdering anyone. Our album of sleeping cats got a new contributor, SQ’s colleague who sent us a picture of her cat (I presume). The image of the cute sleeping fur ball got me all melted in there.

Speaking of cute, The Man went all googoo gaga over his friend’s one year old kid.

 A kid messing around with a baby.

Baby Bev returned to Singapore with her parents and spent her first year birthday just last weekend. As usual, I steered clear from her. Angie + babies = disaster. At best, I watch them from afar and occasionally throw an obligatory smile and grin for social brownie points.

The Man however, seems to like kids. Or play with them rather. So there he was, rocking Baby Bev in his laps and teasing her with the helium balloons. Picture perfect.

Now I know whom to leave my kids with when I’m out shopping.

 A reminisce of a breezy easy Friday.

Oh how I missed shopping! It sure feels like pyramid years ago when I last swagger down the roads of Orchard, arms full of glossy paper bags.

Saving up for the wedding is no easy feat. Sure I could settle for less (just a solemnisation ceremony at ROM) but I wanted slightly more (with a dinner and some pictures for memories’ sake). And those darling, don’t come cheap either. Why not a manicure for the photoshoot? How about some balloons? Surely, we need those whimsical tissue poms hanging down from the tree branches? And oh, I need miracle collagen drinks!

There you go.

How was your weekend?

xoxo
Gie