DIY: Christmas Wreath With Daiso Supplies!

BY STEFITH

‘Tis the season to be jolly!

Christmas is my favourite time of the year, and my family has already put up our tree and all our decorations. I’m especially excited about it because we didn’t decorate last year – we were renovating the house, so we were squeezing with my grandma, and there was barely room to swing a cat, nevermind put up a tree.

This year, I decided to add my own touch to the household Christmas decor. There are lots of tutorials out there on making your own wreaths from dollar store items, so I wanted to give it a try.

We don’t really have dollar stores in Singapore, but we do have a two-dollar store – Daiso. So I popped in and helped myself to their impressive Christmas selection – they’ve got everything from ornaments to wrapping paper to toddler Santa outfits, so I picked out five items.

Everything except the green wreath was from the Christmas section – I found the green wreath in the gardening zone, and plucked out the little white flowers to make it look less spring-like. Then, armed with a sharp pair of scissors, I deconstructed everything else into its components:

There’s no real rhyme or reason to what I did next – I moved pieces around and tried to figure out what worked with what. I wound up not using the gift tags at all, which is just well – I’ll use them for presents this year 😀

Using superglue (UHU is my friend), I then glued all the different pieces together in the arrangement I thought was best.

The green wreath I stuck on some snowy leaves, a fake pinecone, a sprig of plastic mistletoe, and a red flower to make it more Christmas-sy. It’d work as a nice centerpiece on the coffee table, or you could hang it up on the door as a wreath.

It would probably be the perfect size as holder for a scented candle, like one of those from Bath & Body Works or Yankee Candle. I don’t have any candles at home, so here’s a glass to illustrate:

Edit: my mom found an old, battered candle lying around, so here’s an example of how it could look:

For the white wreath, which is significantly more wintry, I added a sprig of faux mistletoe and a pine cone, and tied the metal Christmas tree ornament to it so that it dangles from the centre. You could also hang it up on your wall or on a door, but I decided to just hook it to a drawer.

I also did an additional random DIY – using some of the leftover scraps, I made a little festive banner/wand for our little polar bear. I know, he’s not a traditional Christmas character, but he’s here. 

I had a lot of fun working on this project, and I think my crafts actually turned out pretty nice! Let me know what you guys think, and feel free to share your own Christmas craft projects – sharing is caring!

It’s, after all, the most wonderful time of the year 😀

What to expect: Night Fest 2016!

BY SARACH

People say Singapore is a city that never sleeps. Couldn’t agree more especially with the Singapore Night Festival this weekend and next.

The Night Fest is an annual event where they feature exhibits, performances and really interesting installations that always leave me awestruck. What I love about it more is the whole “festival” feel and seeing the city all lit up and vibrant at night!

I headed down yesterday for the first day of the Night Fest to catch the excitement. The whole Bras Basah – Bugis area was bustling with people, if not for after work dinners and the festival. It was a really pretty sight. This year’s festival theme, in it’s ninth edition, is about Inventions.

Some disco lights near the Festival Village

Initially, I wanted to go to the House of Curiosities, one of the main features of this year’s festival. It features a performance in what I thought would be an enclosed exhibit as it was a ticketed event ($15 per ticket/$12 for concession excluding Sistic fee). It’s on the field opposite The Cathay and I was slightly disappointed that it was pretty open. From opposite, I was able to kinda watch the performance and it didn’t seem as exciting as I hoped it was. If you’ve gone there, do prove me wrong!

Otherwise, most of the events are free of charge (yay!). There are  different zones you can wander about. I would recommend going to the main Festival Village at SMU first to orientate yourself by grabbing a festival booklet. From there, you may choose where you want to go! You can also stay there for performances, by the NOISE mantees for this week, and food ranging from churros to fish and chips.

The museums are opened, or at least available for some sort of light show outside. There are street performances at the Peranakan Museum, a really interesting light show at SAM about “Journey”, stick man lights at the National Museum. These offer a different feel about museums, almost like a Night at the Museum come alive!

Although I must say I really liked this one particular installation at the Armenian Church. I was so amazed! The lights on the trees are not only synced to the music, it’s playing, but there’s this console there for people to touch and the lights will adjust to the way the person is controlling it. What’s even more interesting is that the console / iPad thing, it is under water! Though I am not quite sure if there’s an added meaning to it, it was a really nice interactive installation that lights up the dark area.

I am obviously no expert in the different exhibits and what the night entails at this festival, but do check it out! I’ve been going for this festival for a few years now and it never fails to amaze me at what the various artists have worked hard for. And the night is still young for a city that never sleeps!

P.S. Loads of Pokemon to catch too, if you’re a Pokemon Goon (like me) or a Pokemon fanatic.

CNY decor up before the year ends?!

BY SARACH

Just as I entered NTUC this morning – lo and behold! They’re already preparing Chinese New Year (CNY) decorations, CNY goodies, with the atrocious monkeys and quite yummy cans of abalone.

BUT CHRISTMAS HASN’T ENDED AND SO HAS THE YEAR

It’s pretty insane. Over breakfast, my sister told me her friend already saw yu sheng, the raw fish salad we all love (especially crackers and the raw fish right), on sale and while scrolling Twitter, a tweet that said Singapore is so efficient that CNY street decorations were up already. I chose to take it all with a pinch of salt… Until the encounter with the NTUC monkey decorations.

I’ll like to have my take on this. Yes, Singapore is indeed efficient, but did the Christmas spirit really go that fast?! Sure, we did start “celebrating” in October, but that is too early. Aren’t we all supposed to anticipate the celebration (for non-Christians) and the birth of Christ, then go full-on party mode on the day and after?

I mean, Christmas has 12 days, according to the song, and day one is Christmas Day.

So why is it that on the fifth day of Christmas (where are my five golden rings?) that CNY decorations are up already?!

I’m sure this has indeed been going on for years, but it just came to my realisation how early the Christmas season stops, just as how early it starts. This year seems extraordinary so, and I’m quite startled by it. The whole spirit of Christmas seems lost, as the decorations are down, when it should rightly be going on until the Epiphany of Christ. I am also aware that religion is getting into play with my opinions, but shouldn’t we all celebrate Christmas after Christmas Day and not only before?

It’s like CNY, you have the different days!

It’s sad to see all these things change. My dad just told me in America, people say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” because of the various celebrations around this same time. However, Christmas holds something special, not just to Christians alone, but to everyone. Though we may all celebrate it differently, part of us still remember stories of reindeers, Santa and merry making.

Christmas is the season of giving – to your friends, family, to the poor and needy. And this season shouldn’t end so fast. Come Janurary, “Merry Christmas” might not be said anymore, but the joy, love, peace and hope of Christmas, the spirit of Christmas, should last throughout the year.

Have A Rockin’ Good Christmas

BY STEFITH

Hello, it’s me, the worse half of Sarach & Stefith. I am back to plague your screen.

I’m kidding. If I really were a plague upon your existence you wouldn’t be reading this.

Anyway, Christmas is coming! And we all know what that means – fun, festivities, presents, booze, turkey and general merriment, which is always great. I originally planned on doing some Christmas DIYs, but I don’t have access to many of my supplies now so instead, I will share with you my Christmas playlist.

You must be thinking – what Christmas playlist? It’s the same slew of carols over and over again, just sung by different people.

Technically not untrue, but my Christmas playlist is one that comes with a twist.

I have a rock Christmas playlist.

It’s not 100% rock, but it features a whole slew of music from several rock, or at least, pop punk, bands, along with some other musicians. Technically, it’s not a rock Christmas playlist – it’s a chapalang Christmas playlist, and I absolutely love it. I jam to it all the time now, this festive season, and it’s not uncommon to see me bobbing my head in the office to these tunes.

I love the high-energy and fast pace of the music. Some of these tunes are just utterly hilarious, and paint a rather wry picture of Christmas.

All Time Low’s ‘Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass’ is a great song to direct at anyone who is ruining your Christmas vibe (it’s about a failed romance but who cares), and Relient K’s version of the ’12 Days Of Christmas’ is jarringly logical (“what’s a partridge? and what’s a pear tree? I don’t know so please don’t ask me. But I can bet those are terrible gifts to get.”)

But that aside, I’ve also got other more traditional renditions of popular Christmas songs, like Celtic Woman’s ‘Carol Of The Bells’ and some stuff by Michael Buble. His voice is amazing.

You can check out my playlist on Spotify, but here’s what’s on it:

(Warning: This playlist may not be safe for young children. )

Christmas Music Chapalang

1. Relient K – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. Relient K – Deck The Halls
3. Relient K – Angels We Have Heard On High
4. Relient K – 12 Days Of Christmas
5. New Found Glory – Snow
6. All Time Low – Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass
7. Linkin Park – My December
8. Michael Buble – It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
9. Michael Buble – All I Want For Christmas Is You
10. Michael Buble – Jingle Bells
11. Relient K – We Wish You A Merry Christmas
12. Celtic Woman – Carol Of The Bells
13. Uncle Tom’s Christmas Band – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Cheers everyone! I hope you enjoy my playlist and my (admittedly) weird taste in music.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Good tidings to you and your kin (:

Christmas is coming..

BY SARACH

In less than a week, it’ll be Christmas. *cue in some Christmas carols*

I have yet to prepare anything – no presents, no baking plans, no outfit plans, no spiritual renewal because Advent etc. NOTHING.

It does kind of suck as I still have a ton of assignments to complete, even during the Christmas break. All I was dreaming was a White Christmas, and it turned out blank filled with school related work.

This is also why I haven’t been posting a lot lately, and our posts have been rather, well, either dated or coming out at the oddest timings.

Even then, Christmas is something I could look forward to despite the many many unwanted disruptions. It’s a time to meet up with relatives and friends when the rest of the year seemed a little more busy to meet.

Christmas is a season for giving, and sharing. To share the joy of the birth of baby Jesus, and to spread the news that the Saviour of the world has been born! Yes, it is a joyous occasion, especially for Christians across the globe.

But what does Christmas mean to me?

Besides the meeting of family and friends, good food, and gift exchanges, Christmas holds so many fond memories – and Christmas will continue to make memories. Though we may not be able to go back to when we were 8 and helping my cousin open presents where he received three of the same toy that year, we keep memories and moments. Then we share these memories the next year and the many years to come.

Christmas is also a time to get back to where it all started: Away in the manger where baby Jesus was born. It’s a great time, Advent remember, to go back to Jesus and have some spiritual renewal of sorts. Reconciliation not just for ourselves, but with our family and friends too. Admist all the cheer and jolly-making, I guess it creates a time for me to reflect on the whole year and see what (silly) things I’ve done, and what to be grateful for. And to get my prayer life back into shape.

So here is your not-so-typical Christmas post and just some thoughts again but fret not – it is the break and I will squeeze some time to bake. Really want to do mini log cakes like this one, what do you think?

#SG50: National Day LEGO Party

BY STEFITH

As you obviously would know (and even if you’re a reclusive hermit hiding under a rock, you would know) this year is Singapore’s 50^th birthday! The SG50 symbol (or some variant thereof) can be found plastered everywhere on our island, on almost everything, giving rise to the hashtag #simisaialsoSG50.

Still, I’m delighted Singapore has turned 50 (yay!) and as part of the celebration all students in Singapore (up until pre-university level) would have received a limited edition SG50 LEGO set.

It’s awesome. I love it. You can build three icons of Singapore with the LEGO set (Changi Airport, Gardens By The Bay, and Cavenagh Bridge), as well as a plethora of other fun things that result whenever you put LEGO in the hands of bored children/teenagers etc, such as this Dr. Octopus-esque character my brother B. came up with:

As such, this long National Day weekend (yessss four-day weekend), I took it upon myself to construct the three icons I could with my LEGO set. There are three levels of difficulty for each of the three icons, so you can build either the simplest version (at Level 1) or the most complex (Level 3). They say Level 3 is for those above 17, but let’s face it, Singapore children are precocious and highly intelligent they can construct it no problem.

My original plan was to build all nine variations of the three icons, but I am a lazy slob. Hence and therefore, I teamed up with my brother M to construct all three of the Level 3 icons. M built the Changi Airport one, and I did the other two.

So here are my SG50 LEGO icons of Singapore, as usual photographed badly, but you don’t read my blog posts for the photography do you (I hope not.)

Changi Airport

Singapore Changi Airport is world-class and, in my own opinion, kick-ass. Currently the World’s Best Airport, Changi is home to three terminals at the moment (with one more under construction) and handles about 6,500 flights land or depart from Changi weekly. In 2014, 54.1million passengers passed through the airport. It was first opened in 1955, and adopted a design similar to what is currently known as the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

 Cavenagh Bridge

Cavenagh Bridge is currently the oldest bridge in Singapore, built in 1868. It was originally named Edinburgh Bridge, but was renamed to honour Sir Lieutenant General William Cavenagh, who was the last Governor of the Straits Settlements. Cavenagh Bridge was also the last major construction using Indian convict labour. It cost $80,000 to build and is 79.3m in length. The police notice from 1910, which says that the bridge is “restricted to vehicles under 3 cwt, including cattle and horses”, can still be found on the bridge today.

Gardens By The Bay

Spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land, Gardens By The Bay is one of Singapore’s newest tourist attractions. Home to a plethora of conservatories and a really great place to run at (when I was still running regularly I always liked running at Gardens), one of it’s most prominent attractions are the Supertree Groves. The Supertrees mimic the ecological function of trees and are home to vertical gardens.

All information found through excessive use of Wikipedia.

Also, check out my awesome #SG50 National Day outfit. I apologise for the terrible photo quality, my phone camera is notorious for being an absolute piece of crap, but it’s okay.

Photo shot by my brother M

Photo shot by my brother M

I’m the f#&$ing Merlion, man.

Have an awesome National Day! Sing lots of happy songs, eat lots of good food, and spend some time to reflect about how far we’ve come. It’s amazing.

Cheers 😀

 

 

The F#&$ Jar Reveal

BY STEFITH

Here it is folks- somewhat delayed, and something like two weeks late, but it’s The F#&$ Jar Reveal! If you’ve been reading the blog, you probably would have read this post in March, where I shared how I was going to give up the f-word for Lent. As such, every time I said it, I had to put $1 in The F#&$ Jar, and at the end of Lent, all the money would go to charity.

For laughs and giggles and possibly to embarrass myself forever, I decided to make a video of the entire F#&$ Jar Reveal!

So, if you want to know just how terrible a person I was this Lent, and just how much money wound up in my jar- watch the video below!

Thank you everyone for all your support, and do let me know- should I try doing more videos, or should I just stick to writing? Cheers!

The F#&$ Jar

BY STEFITH

The people who get to see me when I cut loose (i.e. the folks with whom I don’t have to be entirely polite company with) know that I’ve got quite a foul mouth.

I can swear like a sailor, and when I get pushed to my limit, I swear to turn the air blue. Unfortunately, it also slips out sometimes when I’m with proper, polite company, when I do things like drop my phone onto the tarmac or knock over my entire can of beer.

Oops.

Sarach has probably had her ears scandalized by the stuff that comes out of my mouth when I’m having a bad day, and for Lent this year, I decided to give up my second-favourite four letter word- the f#&$ word (my absolute favourite four letter word is ‘sale’ but that’s another post for another day).

I don’t have anything against swearing, but I personally want to clean up my language somewhat.

So for Lent, I decided to do this:

Folks, this is the F#&$ Jar. It operates in a similar way to a traditional swear jar- every time the word f#&$ leaves my mouth, I have to put SGD1 in it. At the end of Lent, I’ll donate whatever amount is in it to charity.

You may ask- why not do a proper swear jar? Well the last time I tried a no-swear week (back in early 2014), I lasted about thirty-two hours before I lost it when confronted with an extremely crowded printing shop and an assignment deadline. It’s really one of the more effective ways for me to express my anger without breaking anything.

It was so not a pretty sight.

But you know what is a pretty sight? My jar.

I decided to decorate my jar, because 1. I had the urge to do something crafty and 2. If it’s going to be a constant reminder of my failure it may as well look pretty on my desk.

Oh yeah.

I’m writing this post to ask for help as well- if you catch me losing my cool and letting loose this particular swear word, remind me of what I promised for Lent. (But if you do in a self-righteous, stuck-up way, you may end up in a conversation with my fist).

So, baby steps! This year, my favourite four-letter swear word. Next year, maybe something more? I’m not even sure about how successful I’ll be this year (I already have $4 in the jar, oh no) but there’s no harm in trying!

What are you giving up for Lent this year? Whatever it is and no matter how successful you are- have a meaningful Lent ahead!

Lunar New Year Feels

BY SARACH AND STEFITH

Note: We realise we always end up posting about big occasions after the fact, or by cutting it very close (like our 2014 year in review). This is because we get so caught up in all the fun and excitement it’s only afterwards we realise we haven’t blogged and go ‘uh oh’.

We’re ridiculous.

The Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year has come upon us with a great shower of yu sheng, pineapple tarts, red packets, lion dances and festive cheer. We’ve both been feeling particularly happy about this Chinese New Year (CNY), largely because our exams are over and we are kissing goodbye to what everyone says is the worst year of our 3-year polytechnic career.

As such, we decided to share with everyone some of our feelings about CNY :3

Our Favourite Aspect of CNY

Sarach: I get to see the entire famz bamz!! Especially those that I hardly meet throughout the year. Friends too, meeting up and catching up. And of course the amazing food and my grandma’s ngoh hiong which I only get during CNY and she makes them by hand!

Stefith: The money. Nah, I’m kidding- I’m materialistic, but not that much. My favourite aspect of CNY is actually the visiting- there are many relatives that I only see once a year during CNY visitations and reunion dinners, so it’s great meeting them all. I’m always especially surprised at how fast the small children grow- like hello were you not like as tall as my knee last year?

Our Favourite CNY Goodies

Sarach: By goodies I think we mean all the tidbits right? I love those home baked things. I find that it’s during CNY where you see all the hidden baking talents. Not that I baked anything year, but I love my Mom’s cashew and macadamia cookies. And also, my Aunt’s butter cookies shaped in a flower and that awesome one small piece of chocolate chip in the middle. Yeah it’s cute ok. And my family friend’s pineapple tarts are so good – shaped uniquely in a rose too!

Stefith: My favourite goodies at CNY are kueh bangkit, kueh lapis, and cashew nuts. I know I can eat cashew nuts at any time of the year, but for some reason they just taste better at CNY. My least favourite goodie at CNY is bak kwa– it just does not taste nice at CNY okay- personally, I feel the quality drops because the companies are rushing to make it for the festive season.

Some Family CNY Traditions

Sarach:
Eve of CNY – Dad’s side reunion dinner, then to my cousin’s house for more food and talk.
Day 1 – People come to me yo. More food and talk and little kids at my place. Which is really nice because that’s where I get to see almost everyone from my Mom’s side and everyone’s just really happy eating and talking
Day 2 – Visiting more houses and more eating and hoping I won’t grow fat for the next few days.

Stefith: My maternal grandma will have us all back at her house the weekend before CNY, and we have steamboat! It’s amazingly delicious. We also have a giant reunion dinner with all my maternal relatives, which is cool too. On my paternal side, we have a special tradition for 初二, which is the second day of the new year. In the morning, we’ll go do some kind of physical activity (it was soccer this year), and then go eat Indian food. In the late afternoon, we’ll head over to my uncle’s house where we gamble, sing, talk nonsense and eat prata and mee goreng. It’s fantastic, and I usually end up drinking more beer than I should.

CNY 2015: How was it?

Sarach: It’s alright. I guess. Nothing out of the ordinary except embracing my inner Aunty with all the nieces and nephews. Oops.

Also, I get to chill and relax unlike last year where I remember rushing to assignments. Gosh terrible time it was. And this CNY being The start of Lent as well, it’s kinda hard to not eat meat last Friday so I guess I’ll have to abstain another day.

Stefith: It was especially awesome, because my last exam fell on the day before the Eve, and let me tell you, freedom tastes so sweet. Also this year, I got to meet a lot of my tiny distantly-related nieces and nephews (my second cousins’ children) who are at the mobile stage, so they can run around the house and talk to you and they’re generally quite cute.

And then they start screaming and shrieking, and Auntie Stefith siams far away.

On my dad’s side this new year was a quieter one, because a lot of my relatives were overseas for work/studies, and also since my grandma passed on, we generally have less people visiting my grandparents’ house now. But we still had lots of fun, and while I don’t gamble (I always lose, so I’ve given up), it was lovely seeing my family enjoy themselves. They even came up with a new chant for Chinese blackjack/ban luck– “picture, picture, lai lai lai, banker, banker, die die die”, in the hope the banker would go bust and have to pay everyone at the table. Such fun.

I had a good CNY, and well, just being with family is always a great thing. (Sarach: same here. :D)

 

That’s our feelings about the Lunar New Year in general (: We hope you had a great new year as well. From the two of us, stay 羊 (young) and fabulous. Have a happy Year of the Goat!

A Grumpy Cat Christmas

BY STEFITH

“Deck the halls? Deck me in the face.”

I have just wasted one and a half hours of my life watching a crazy, fourth-wall smashing, utterly inane, and utterly strange movie featuring the misadventures of a rather unhappy cat.

Folks, I’m talking about Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.

For those who know me, you all probably know that Grumpy Cat is my spirit animal. I connect on an emotional level with the cat. I adore the Grumpy Cat memes, I love looking at photos and watching videos of the cat, and I even have a stuffed Grumpy Cat toy clipped to my sling bag. At the moment, the display pictures on my Twitter, Whatsapp and Telegram are of Grumpy Cat in a Santa hat, in the spirit of Christmas.

This is the picture I’m using for my Christmas display themes.

So naturally, when I heard that there was going to be a Grumpy Cat Christmas movie, I had to watch it. And I was very good- I waited till it came to cable in my area, instead of illegally downloading it because it came out nearly a month earlier in the US.

So I’ve watched it: and like I said, I’ve wasted one and a half hours of my life.

The movie tells the story of Chrystal, a lonely young girl who struggles to make friends and wishes for a friend upon who she can depend.

She gets Grumpy Cat.

Voiced by Aubrey Plaza (famous for playing the deadpan April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation), the movie details how Chrystal and Grumpy work together in order to foil a plot to steal an expensive dog.

It’s mindless entertainment, really. The movie smashes the fourth wall to pieces, and has all sorts of nonsense, like Grumpy narrating the story, providing alternate timelines, and gaining “superpowers” (only to lose them when someone comments on the implausibility of the scenario).

The show is feel good and laugh hard, and as much as I adore Grumpy Cat, I’m quite glad I didn’t pay money to watch it. It’s not worth the cash.

It’s a fun show, great for wasting time and staring in disbelief and having a good snicker. It’s especially more enjoyable if you appreciate the kind of sarcastic, deadpan humour that Grumpy channels- which I do, so I was pretty entertained.

The one great thing about the show is, quite honestly, Aubrey Plaza. She channels the depreciating humour and dry wit that we have come to associate with Grumpy Cat (thank you, Internet memes) and she does a pretty good job of bringing Grumpy Cat to life.

Would I watch this movie again? Probably not. Would I recommend that you watch it? Well, I leave that choice to you.

All in all, Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever isn’t the best thing to hit your screens… but I’d hardly say it’s the worst.

And hey, if you like Grumpy Cat, just watch it. It’s not fantastic, but it isn’t totally awful either.