I'm so sick of my weight going up while I'm still exercising!  I do know that it's a hormonal issue and while my gynae tries to find out exactly what is wrong with me (I had to do a minor surgery on Mon), I'm going on a new diet regime that involves unprocessed foods and I'm cutting down on soy products because they contain phyto-estrogens which may cause my hormones to be further unbalanced.

Essentially, I am cutting out:
1.  Processed cheeses such as Chesdale etc
2.  Hams
3.  Canned foods
4.  Instant noodles/ meals
5.  Soy products
6.  Roasted nuts
7.  Chips and other snacks
8.  Noodles
9.  Margarine

I'll be loading up on:
1.  Fresh fruits
2.  Fresh vegetables
3.  Whole nuts
4.  Whole grains
5.  Steamed/ Grilled meats and/or fish
6.  Potatoes/ sweet potatoes
7.  Brown Rice or Quinoa
8.  Rice/ Hazelnut milk
9.  Butter/ Olive oil

I find it easy to follow this diet programme when I'm at home but during work, it's really tough because everything is all processed, full of salt and low in nutrients.  Ah well...let's see how this guideline works in a month's time!!

Adding to my 15 minutes of fame!!  Tada...my very first video clip! Not that I was doing the filming but it's the first time that I'm in a clip.  It still feels weird to see me in a video and I do know that I look stiff.  I was swaying forward and backwards a lot so my colleague asked to just stop moving.  Another friend told me that the transition could've been done better and I agree with her...but nevertheless, we're not a professional film crew and I'm just glad that the educational suite of videos are out!

Enjoy!

How do we celebrate Chinese New Year with y'all? With discounts of course!  Head on to our Facebook page and click on the 'vouchers' app to the left panel and claim your discount voucher.

This is our way of thanking everyone for your support and to bling you ladies up for the upcoming Chinese New Year. (:

Happy Shopping ladies!

Me: Uncle, I'm going to xxx.
Driver: Do you want to go by Route A or B?
Me: yup, route A is easier.
Driver: So do you want me to go by route A or B? You have to tell me.
Me: -_-;

It's the new year and as I woke up only at 1pm on New Year's Day, the parents and I decided to have lunch at Anchorpoint. There was a new sushi bar, Sushi Odayama (if I remember the name correctly), that we were hoping would open on the New Year and lo and behold...they decided to do their soft opening on 01.01.2012!!

Above is their California Roll, which is very reasonably priced at $6.80 for 8 pieces.  The layer of rice is very thin and it's chock-full of avocado and salmon!  The owner also recommended the Tamago yaki (currently named as 'egg plate' on their temp menu...my feedback to the owner was to change it to Tamago yaki) which is topped with their secret powder.  I'm guessing that their powder is a slightly variation from the traditional pink floss-like sugar.

We also tried their Double Ebi roll (top, priced at $13.80) and their Grilled Salmon Cheese roll (bottom, priced at $12.80).  The Double ebi roll was quite a delight as the prawn inside is actually tempura prawn while the top is simply boiled prawn.  The texture of the crispy tempura crust goes nicely with the unadulterated boiled prawn on the top.

As for the Grilled Salmon Cheese roll, everything was good except for the wasabi mayo that was drizzled on the top.  As you know, I detest wasabi.  Yes, I can taste it although it was very much diluted in the mayo.  Still makes me gag. Sorry...you wasabi lovers can go to your own corner. :P

Anyway, back to the food.  The owners are a young couple from China but recently got their PR status here in Singapore.  The chefs are also from China but have many years of experience working in Japanese restaurants back in their native Shanghai.  All in all, the food's quite good but as today was only their first day, there is a lot of tweaking to be done!  We were quite forgiving as such and do support them as I do want this stall to stay in Anchorpoint!  Hee hee...

For dessert, I opted for a bubble tea from yet another new store in Anchorpoint.  It's Share Tea and it is also from Taiwan, joining the ranks of Gong Cha and Koi.  Taste test - yum!  Above is my grapefruit green tea with pearls and aloe vera at $3.60 (extra charge for the aloe vera).  I was expecting grapefruit essence/ extract but was pleasantly surprised with fresh grapefruit juice and grapefruit pulp! Really refreshing and made me feel like I was really eating healthily, especially after my sushi lunch (I know, I can lie to myself).  I've tried their QQ Family Tea before (milk tea with lychee nata de coco, jelly and pearls) and it was like a tea party in the mouth.  Ok...am soo going back for more.

The parents went for the more traditional desserts of Ou-ni (yam paste with gingko nuts) and peanut paste.

All these food stalls can be found at the basement of Anchorpoint, 370 Alexandra Road, just opposite IKEA and next to Queensway Shopping Centre.

How did you bring in the new year? For me, I went to my bestie's place where she also invited a few other friends over and we went to a nearby zi char place for dinner. Most of the stuff were the usual fare but we had to take a photo of this:

Have you ever seen a heart-shaped yam ring?  Well, I can't call it a ring now, can I?  Taste test - so so. I suspect they over blended the yam in a food processor.  That's a big no-no because that releases too much of the starch granules and the whole paste will be too gooey.

Back to the countdown.  Bestie's place is in Woodlands and there was an actual countdown party going on at the field next to Causeway Point.  I think you had to pay to be in the tent with goodness knows what sort of entertainment they had for the evening.  We went downstairs at 11.45pm to await the fireworks.  This is the calm before the display...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

It has been months of planning with The Bouquet People and a week of (almost) non-stop jewellery making (my right hand still feels a little cramped...hahaha) but it's almost done!  We did our photo shoot yesterday and here's a sneak as to what's in store for 2012!

Above, our photographer Conrad setting up and checking on the lighting while we get our stuff arranged.

Boo Boo the cat getting into our photo shoot and she's very fascinated with our photographer.

Conrad's moving around our hand sewn fur clutch! More details on this soon. :)

Friend Sophia is helping to arrange the jewellery and background materials to ensure that the photo turns out perfect!

Tada...just a quick snap shot of what's in store for Vday! Guys...we're coming up with packages that will make things easy peasy for you while ensuring that your ladies are happy.  Ladies, do get yourself listed on our mailing list by sending an email to us at info@oopsiwannasay.com with the subject title "Mailing List" OR Like us on Facebook so that you can tag your guys on the stuff that you like! ;)


Some background on Oct 1983 x The Bouquet People:
We've known each other since Junior College (High School for those living in the US) and had joined hands in setting up jewellery and handicraft stalls during our University days.  Although our career paths diverged after graduation, we remain creative and have now joined hands to showcase our love for creating fun but classic designs for all. 'Tis the season for loving!