Pique Nique

What are you looking at:
1. Whoopie pies, not macarons. 2. A cuppa Earl Grey tea. 3. Lemon Meringue Bar, yummy with a lemon tang and it's not too sweet! 4. Some... Maple Walnut thingy that Kev ordered, if I'm not wrong.

Checked out Pique Nique with Kev one afternoon after service. The American-styled bakery/ bistro is opened by Chef Pang, the same fella who brought us Antoinette. Love the decor of the place, the cakes were decent but it's nothing as compared to what we've tasted at Antoinette. Nevertheless, it's still quite a good spot to chill in the city.

Takashimaya #B1-01/02
Ngee Ann City Tower A
391A Orchard Road
Singapore 238873
Tel: +65 6238 6705

Reality's a lovely place but I wouldn't wanna live there.

2 years ago, I had no clue who or what Owl City was. It was only when I was tasked with the responsibility of researching and preparing interview questions for a story on him in CLEO magazine that I found out who he was.

His music's uplifting (it's almost impossible to feel depressed listening to him), his lyrics are whimsical and maybe even childlike, and I see references to God in his songs. And when I read his blog, my God, he writes beautifully. This man, has a gift.

Fast forward and 2 years later, I've become a fan of his and I was there last night at Tivoli for his concert, seeing him in the flesh. It's hard to believe that he's a shy person or an introvert from the way he carried himself on the stage! His concert covered a mix of his old and new songs so I enjoyed every minute of it.

You are glorious!

Heading down to Hillsong has been a routine in Brissy for me on Sundays. This time the only difference is that I'm heading there in a different direction and because of that, I was slightly anxious as bus services here ain't that frequent like in Singapore. But thank God, I managed to get there before service started. :) As I was walking there, I noticed that there were policemen holding up signs to Hillsong and it was a pretty peculiar sight actually haha. It's so good to know that the church is growing :)

It's always good to be home, being greeted with hugs and all. :) It was so funny how Nathan couldn't recognise me at first till I told him who I was and he reconfirmed it by saying my last name to make sure it's really me before doing a whole "man, you look so different" expression/action! I love being able to sit in the first few rows, and how this month's theme is all about Jesus (can't imagine just how many people will be impacted by the message!). And today we learn a new song as well. I don't know the title of it but boy, for some reason it just made me cry non-stop! Dropped by the resource lounge after service to have a look-see and decided to make a quick trip to the toilet before leaving when I was greeted with this scribble, "Go ahead and flourish babe" by the Sisterhood :) It just touches me on a personal level... so yeah.

And while I was gone, Kev managed to help me get tickets to the Hillsong concert at the end of the month so I'm pretty psyched. August is a month full of awesomeness!

And I know I'm home :)

First day back in Brissy and it feels like I've never left. So thankful that Yining can put me up at her place, and I feel right at home here :)

Not much trouble at the customs because I brought Honey Stars in for Yining, so praise God for that.

Met up with bestie for lunch at The Forest Cafe in West End which serves vegan food, bought some stuff at the farmers' market in the city and maybe bought alot more stuff in Lush. :)

Did I tell you Yining's dog Miko is the absolute cutest thing? I was feeling rather jetlagged this morning so after waking up and going downstairs for a while, I decided to go back up and 'plank' on the bed till I feel awake enough to get up. The next time I know, I hear Miko coming up the stairs and she just came onto the bed and started walking all over me and licking me before running downstairs! Then I hid myself under the cover and when she came up again, she just walked all over me and was sniffing me out. When she walked away and it was all silent, I thought she was gone so I peeked out and there she was, sitting at the doorway looking at me! :) And now, this little girl is asleep in my lap while I'm typing this entry. I can't wait till I get my own place and have my own puppy!

And this is so awesome, Wicked is coming to Singapore! I was pretty bummed that I was going to miss it when it's playing in Brissy so thank God for that!

Don't settle for less.

This is something I picked up from Leslie Ludy’s devotional.

As today’s generation of young women, we have not been given much hope for the future. When it comes to singleness, marriage, femininity, or even a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are often told, “This is all you can expect, so get used to it.” In addition to what we hear, we are also affected by what we see. Our parents’ generation is riddled with divorce, depression, and intense family conflict. Our own generation is filled with anxiety, abuse, eating disorders, and young men who are defeated by addictions, violence, and anger. And the statistics—on issues from divorce to violence to depression to eating disorders—are usually no different in Christian circles than they are in the rest of the world. It is no wonder that the majority of us have quite a dismal outlook on both our present and future life.

But we do not have to live according to the mediocre standards of the world around us. Singleness, marriage, and womanhood do not have to be a dull, depressing drudgery. Those areas can be a little taste of heaven on earth, if only we will pursue the very best God has for us and never settle for less. The same is true of intimacy with our Prince. An amazing romance with Him does not have limits. There is always more to learn about Him, always more to worship in Him, and always more to experience with Him. On a daily basis we can take His gentle, outstretched hand and follow Him further and further into the amazing, boundless depths of a never ending heavenly love story. When our Prince is the center of our existence, the possibilities are fathomless. Life becomes an exciting, endless adventure. Don’t ever settle for less.

We put the US in USS!

So we were at USS last Sunday. We were gonna surprise Siti there as this is part of her birthday celebrations devised by her boyfriend Ivan. It’s really hard to keep it under wraps when you’re so excited but you can’t express your excitement. But thankfully, all of us managed to keep mum successfully!

I was afraid that some of us might be late in meeting at USS, so I suggested breakfast earlier to prevent any possible situation from wrecking the surprise. The rest came later than the stipulated timing, but thankfully there were some delays over at the birthday girl’s side so all’s cool.

We took the monorail over, and on our way there I was gushing like a tourist! =D Then we got there, we were supposed to hide in Garrett’s Popcorn but got distracted by the yummy looking candy decorations at candylicious. So like tourists, we walked over (while applying sunblock!) to snap pictures!

Ju Leen, Syaza and I.

Ju Leen, YY and I

We waited in the shade…

And took a picture together in the sun

Then we took shelter in Hersheys’ while waiting. Shortly after, we received a missed call from Ivan to signal their arrival and we just surprised an unsuspecting Siti as she walked in! =D The look on her face = priceless.

Us girls!

Them guys

Birthday present from us!

After we went in, we took a jump shot!

Love this picture!

It’s really good to have guys who double up as the day’s photographers so us girls can have fun and they can snap us having fun.

Beware of ogres!

Love this group picture <3

This heat is unforgiving! I wish we have Aussie’s climate. And yeah, it’s good having friends who will snap pictures of you. LOL

Betty Boop!

Big Yellow Taxi!

Guys will be guys hahah!

We wanna take the Battlestar Galactica!

We deposited our bags and off we went!

Syaza feeling a little ill after riding the Cylon and Human rides… BUT OH MAN, BOTH RIDES BLEW MY MIND! LOVED IT!

Ju Leen, Syaza & I

Ivan and YY, trying to cool off with the mini-fans

Picture with one of the macho mascots! He’s really cool and his body’s chiselled, I likee.

As the day progressed, the waiting time was getting longer and longer. One particular ride’s waiting time was as long as 80 minutes! Pure madness! We were debating if we should get the express tickets and we were deterred by the cost ($48). And then Siti and Ivan decided to treat us! =D Thanks guys!

Entering the kingdom of Far Far Away…

Cute outfit the service staff has to wear!

Shrek 4D show, it’s similar to what we’ve seen at Movieworld.

Just so magical

Then we went for a water ride…

I think from this picture you can conclude that I don’t like water rides. That’s true. I like water theme parks, I enjoyed Wet n’ Wild. I just don’t like getting wet when I’m supposed to be dry. So I was really scared and was shrieking away. I was praying really hard that I wouldn’t get wet and Jesus heard me! He’s whatever I need him to be… and He was my raincoat in this situation, hahaha!

You know Syaza and YY were sitting beside me and they were totally drenched!

But I remained dry, save for the wet spots on my butt. =D Thank You Jesus!

Aww so cute, the two of them

For some reason, I’m the express-tickets holder =.=

It started drizzling and we girls shared umbrellas whereas the guys hid under Ju Leen’s very pink raincoat =D We managed to go on another round of Battlestar Galatica rides in the drizzle! The skies were really dark and again I prayed for it to be a passing rain… And I guess it helps as well when someone prays for me too!

Somewhere in between, we had a late lunch at Mel’s Diner or something, and then went to watch the Lights, Camera, Action show and the Water World show. The Lights, Camera, Action show was really good. oh man, I was kinda freaked out, backing away and shrieking. I think my friends were amused. I don’t do very well in situations where pools of liquid are involved. =.= The Water World show was really cool. The actors/stuntsmen were all so good! I think they have one of the most fun jobs in the world.

As we exited USS, we gotta take a picture outside.

You can take us outta our cheer squad, but you can’t take the cheerleader outta us!

Waiting for them to purchase their bags of popcorn

Then we popped into Hard Rock Hotel, where Ivan had booked a suite =D I love love the lift!

Us in the suite!

Girls being girls, we take pictures everywhere

We love taking pictures, even in the bath tub.

Group picture! <3

Because we spent alot of time in the suite and by the time we wanted to go for dinner, it was rather late already. Initially we wanted to go to Harbourfront for Korean food, but we scrapped the idea. In the end, we went down to Coffee Bean. After dinner, we walked around a little… Wanted to check out Victoria’s Secret but they were closing. T.T nevermind, there’s always next time.

Here’s one last picture to end the night!