Hi from Washington DC

It has been a while since the last post. I am in Washington DC now, came from New York City, Atlantic City and Philadelphia. The first few days were spent exploring the bustling New York City, checking out monuments, museums and cupcakes stores! Now that I am in DC, can't leave without eating the famous Georgetown Cupcake which was on the top of my to-do/eat list! Tomorrow I am going to drive for some 7+ hours to the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls.

I shall let my Instagram pictures do the talking. Will be back soon with more pictures.

Have a good weekend!

To Europe and back

Left for a trip to Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland and Italy) on this day last month with the colleagues for a brand experience trip in UK plus an extension for a few days to the other places. Though it may seem that we have been to quite a few countries but we were there for a day or two in some of these places. It was cold and rainy in UK but perfect weather in the rest. I have overpacked on winter wear and lacked summer wear when the temperature went up..haha that was when I started rolling up the sleeves and kept the coats in the hotel.

Streets of Birmingham

Dinner in Birmingham

The old man series continues...

The hotel we stayed in. Amazing view and fantastic service!

View from the hotel room

The beautiful Swiss Alps

Enjoying afternoon coffee after we checked in

Milan

The best meal I had on the trip. A random restaurant we went into after some shopping in Milan. The pastas were done just right and the tiramisu was awesome.

A little indulgence...

...and a new pair of flats I got at the outlet.

Have a good weekend! :)

Hong Kong

The order of the postings/photos is a little wrong, I went to HK first before the company retreat but here are some of the photos anyway. The hub and I didn't exactly plan for the trip, just decided where we want to go maybe a few days before our hols. We wanted it to be a relaxing hols with shopping and food and yes we did! We enjoyed it because it was a no-rush hols and for me, not much planning required!

Po Luo Bao

Curry Fish Balls

What's a trip to HK without Dim Sum?

Roasted Goose at Yung Kee Restaurant 鏞記

http://www.yungkee.com.hk

Beautiful Ceiling at Wynn Macau

Gelato at MGM Macau

Angry Birds Pens

Yes still another post with no cake or crafts :( Am guilty of that lazy bone to get some flour and sugar together. While spring cleaning the fridge, I threw away some blocks of butter because they have expired (imagine me doing that, it seldom happens) and I haven't gone spring cleaning the cupboards, won't be surprised if there are some expired stuff to throw. With all the recent travels and working late and catching up with friends, some of whom I have not seen in a while, I really didn't have time for these things, some days I just want to watch a show, read my iPad on the bed or simply doing nothing. Haha the last time I worked my KitchenAid and oven was probably more than 6 months ago! :( Will have to break that record soon.

Have a good week ahead!

Company Retreat

Last month was a quick and kinda short month. I was away twice, once to Hong Kong for a personal trip with the hub and another to Sepang in Malaysia for a 3D2N company retreat. More on the Hong Kong photos later but it's some from my company retreat. We stayed at Golden Palm Tree which was a beautiful place for chillaxation. We paid RM599 per person per night for an all-inclusive package (room, 5 meals a day, open bar all day, activities, etc.). We were supposed to stay at Travelers Palm Villa but the resort upgraded all of us to Canary Palm Villa which has 2 separate rooms and ensuite bathrooms and a lounge area with a flat-screen TV.

Swimming Pool

Our Bedroom

Balcony for chillaxation

Complimentary Slippers

Activities which you can participate like biking

5 meals a day, all-inclusive

Lastly, shall end off this entry with my new baby - Nespresso CitiZ&milk which I got from the lucky draw during the retreat. Love it that I can make cappuccino and latte at home now. :)

Hollywood I went

It's been almost 1 month since my last update. What have I been up to? This month flew by sooo fasttt. With all the events that have happened this month from a customer road trip to company D&D to flying to LA for a conference to a new product launch. Oh my...I was actually looking forward to this day, sitting down blogging that it has ended and I can finally breathe and I am sooo looking forward to my 2-week in town break from 18 Dec. :)

Here are some photos taken in LA.

Hollywood Boulevard


Kodak Theatre


Paramount Studios


Hollywood Sign


That's me with my new boots. :)


Transited in Tokyo...bought this interesting Japanese snack


Kit Kat

S dropped off Kueh Lapis for me from Aunty Felicia. Super good!

This weekend, we went to one of the annual IT fairs - Sitex and KS bought a new PC (the last one was bought 5 years ago). He has been wanting to get one since the day he found out he can't play Civilization V on his 5-year-old PC. It was so crowded that we had to push through crowds of people before reaching the HP booth.

In one of the last few posts, I mentioned that I bought a new camera - LX5. I have been wanting to replace the complimentary camera case which is a little bulky for me since I want to carry it in my handbag everyday with something lighter and more compact. I found this in ebay and got it! It fits the lens perfectly. :)

I have been looking for a camera bag for a longgg time. Every time I travel, I have to carry a camera bag and a handbag but look what I found. A carry-it-all bag from Kelly Moore. It has many compartments in front for credit cards and CF cards. Love it. Am checking with a local camera shop to find out the price...

Pictures credit to The Kelly Moore Bag

I am not working tomorrow, am going to run a few errands and enjoy a little break. Have a good week ahead!

My apologies!

Sorry for the hiatus. I was hoping to make time to write a post about my UK trip and what I have been up to these couple of weeks but I couldn't find time to. Most often than not, I wish there are 48 hours in a day! Since I came back 2 weeks ago, besides trying to adapt to the difference in time and recovering from the jet lag (KS woke up at 5am twice to cook instant noodles!), there have been many changes at work that require adaptation as well. That's how the saying comes about how Change is the only constant.

I shall not go into the boring details but something that puts me a smile on my face today. I have been telling a few good friends that I wish I can win the local lottery so that I can open a cake shop that sells my cakes, baking supplies and equipment as well as conducts classes. In fact recently I have been discussing with T about taking up classes at Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) which is the de place that alot of people go to (there may be others that I am not aware of). To take a more in-depth/full-time class at LCB, I need to take a couple of months off work and commit myself to doing it. It's not a decision I can decide to take now, there are way too many considerations. At the moment, well this remains a dream. Anyway, the thing that makes me smile today is a friend told me that he wants to invest in my cake shop as a sleeping partner. It felt really good to have someone who believes in me and what I do. Thanks C, I am not sure if you get your return on investment so fast...

Last week was also a week of wrapping pressies, 3 to be exact, here is a picture of 2.


And a card for S who left us for Arizona to join her husband and will be back in 2 years. S, we can't wait to try your cooking! :)


Here are some photos from the recent UK hols.



I love this signage with a sewing machine hanging on it. How cool is that! This shop sells sewing machines.

I love the beautiful English houses. Generally, I like old English architecture, they usually have this charm around them.


This is my favourite photo. It's really serene, the white-haired old man with his dog, reading papers facing the peaceful lake. I think that's where I want to be when I am old. :)

I really missed this place when I came back! It's sooo peaceful and relaxing!



3 things that made me smile:

1. C, who wants to invest in my cake business
2. The people who believes in me and what I can deliver
   
3. Skyping with the bestie and baby K who has grew sooo much! Such a sweetie now! Can't wait to carry you in my arms next CNY!