A Wedding Gift

M and G gave us tickets to see the Ansel Adams exhibit at the MFA in Boston as a wedding gift earlier this year. They know that hubs is into photography so this was really thoughtful and sweet of them. Though being the ungrateful people that we are, we procrastinated till today when we finally decided it was time to go before the exhibit closed at the end of the year.

When we got to the musuem, it was packed and the tickets were sold out??? Erhhh I didn't know that tickets ever sold out at a museum :p. Thankfully as we were about to turn around and head back, one of the very nice ushers gave us two tickets for FREE! Apparently 2 people had cancelled. Yipee! Good wedding mojo?

Hubs and I both preferred his portrait shots though he's really known for his work with landscape and scenery. BLASHPEMY eh. Not as blasphemous as a comment we saw in the guestbook "good photos but would be better if colorized" ... I hope the person was kidding haha.

There are these random men around the musuem:

Which celebrity do you look like?

Read about MyHeritage.com today on digg. It's supposedly able to do face recognition on a photo you submit and tell you what celebrity you look like. Oooh what fun right? Of course it has more meaningful purposes too :) for example you can use it to find long lost relatives or trace family lines.

Perfect timing. We have a release going out at work tonight so what better time to try this new toy while waiting haha. Apparently I look like Hilary Duff in one and Renee Zwelleger in another. Hrmpf. Guess they haven't uploaded any photos of asian celebrities :p

Alrighty people make sure to try it out and let me know who you look like!

Is my face that chubby???


Oooh I likey she's like 20 and I'm not ...

Oooh I likey she's like 20 and I'm not :)

Snow Day

It snowed like a $*#$ on Friday and we're covered in a good half foot of snow. I hate it when it snows since I have to wear 'sensible shoes'. I twisted my ankle last year navigating the snow in my 3 inch heels so no more being gung ho. I am getting old ...boohoo :(

Moxie on the other hand loves snow. Maybe it's because she has a nice warm fur coat on all the time. She isn't even fazed by the fact that the snow is sometimes taller than she is. She just hops through it like a bunny. It's really quite funny. I took a video today when we took her for her daily walk.

What a silly looking mox! Her legs are too short.


Here's me with the mox

Purses R'us

Help I'm drowning in the deluge of christmas sales. My will power is weak with an empty wallet to match. I did however successfully avoid buying a new bag at the botkier.com sale. Yes ladies there's a huge sale with $600 bags marked down to $175. Bring on the credit cards! For those of you on a shopping ban, please cover your ears! *nyah nyah nyah*

I've recently discovered these bag blogs too :) to help me keep up to date on my obsession ...

The Bag Blog
The Bag Lady
In My Bag
Manolo's Prada Blog
Bag Crazy
Purseuing

Oh yes, and this weekend there's a 30% off coupon for the Gap and Banana Republic. 20% off at Lord and Taylor and Macys, Bloomie's coupons, and a Gucci Sale. There's also a 20% off smartbargains.com coupon floating around. Let me know if you want the codes or coupons. I'm afraid of the damage I'm gonna do ... help me please :(

An American Girl

We checked out the American Girl store in NYC over the weekend and boy was it a mad house! There was actually a line to get in. You'd think it were a new trendy club or something. Apparently American Girl dolls are the latest 'IN' toy for girls aged 7 and up. There are 2 kinds of dolls 1) Historical Character Dolls that come with their own story 2) Just Like You dolls that look like you. Freaky eh? You can even dress like your doll. Of course these dolls don't come cheap at almost $100 a pop!

Hubs and K were rolling their eyes at the insanity of it all while kicking themselves for not coming up with such a money making idea. There are American Girl magazine, movies, books, furniture, clothes for dolls, clothes for girls, pets, the list goes on. The most ingenious (or incredulous) part I must say is the doll hair salon! You can actually bring your doll to have her hair done. $10 for a sassy ponytail, $20 for elaborate braids. They put the dolls in little chairs with aprons ... I was quite fascinated. It's all a little cute, a little nuts.

Erh yes I am a hair stylist ... for dolls. What is the world coming to??? :P


Does this look like me? LOL

Gobble Gobble

My stomach isn't feeling very well at all. It's been kinda queasy the past couple days. I know, I shouldn't have abused my poor tummy over thanksgiving. It's all L's fault! Why did she make such a delicious sweet potato casserole, and turkey and and ... The worst part though is that it all culminated in several bathroom runs while out shopping on Saturday (will spare all the details). Ended up taking some Imodium to feel better. And the saddest part was that we were going to Sushi Nouveau in Montclair NJ that evening for Omakase. Sigh... needless to say I didn't have much of an appetite. However, I did manage 8 pieces of sushi. The scallops and giant glams were amazingly delicious with a slight hint of a citrusy sauce (I think that's the chef's specialty). I can't believe I missed out on a good meal :( So unfair HRMP

Some photos from thanksgiving. Step aside Legal Seafoods, this oyster stew by L gives legal's clam chowder a run for its money.


Not complete without the turkey ...


The pie we bought from Finale in Boston. If you can't bake it buy it teehee


Didn't get any good photos from our sushi dinner. Hubs forgot his camera and we had to make do with my camera. He also refused to use flash :p so they all turned out dark.

The Sushi. Tastes better than it looks:


The green tea tiramisu with almond pocky ... very good. I ate even though my stomach hurt :(

I am ... Mini Moaner

My friends say that I'm a pessimistic sort of person. Hubs calls me Mini Moaner coined after Debbie Downer on Saturday Night Live (she's funny!). I'm sceptical, I'm apathetic, and I love complaining. But I can't help it, I am Singaporean! :)

Was thinking about its this morning. I read a report about Newton being named he safest city in the US. That's a good thing right? But all I could think was, great just what we need. Prices will go up and we'll never be able to afford a house here, and the criminals now know where to shop! It's true you know ...

Hey look, it's Debbie Downer. BTW doesn't Rachel Dretch remind you of Harry Potter????

Natto Obsession

I should be working on my resume. But blogging is more fun. :p Hubs and I have been stuffing ourselves with natto ever since we discovered the joys and convenience of frozen natto. Natto is this weird sticky stinky fermented soybean that the Japanese eat and we love it!

This is what the carton looks like:


Our attempt at making natto maki. I know I know, not very gourmet looking :p

Of Eyebrows and Chocolate

Yay I finally made up with my eyebrow threading lady this weekend. I stopped going to her earlier this summer because she'd stood me up several times! :( Unfortunately, this boycott hasn't turned out to be too successful since it's not like I'm spoiled for choices. I went to Leeba salon near BU for a while but I stopped going after the lady ruined my eyebrows!!! :( They turned out crooked. Mad does not even describe it. And I'm not usually that particular about my eyebrows.

OK so I finally sucked up my pride, tail between legs, and went back to Nila auntie at her new salon. She used to work out of her home and A and I would sneak out at lunch to get our eyebrows done. Anyway her new salon (Dreams Salon) in Harvard Square and my eyebrows are beautiful again!

Another perk of the new Harvard Square location is that it's right behind L.A. Burdick, a New England based Chocolatier! We stopped by the cafe after to get some hot chocolate. The place was super packed so we'd to get it to go. The hot chocolate is unique, more bitter than sweet and very rich. I'd recommend the small cup coz I felt sick after downing most of the medium (and I love sugar!). Oooh I also bought some chocolate mice. Very cute!


A photo from inside LA Burdick. Doesn't it feel like you're in a different country? I want to move to Harvard Square!!!


Eyebrow Theading, 114 Mt. Auburn:

Got Some Spare Change?

Found our mailbox stuffed with all kinds of junk catalogs today (in time for x'mas I suspect?), victoria's secret, patagonia, bloomies, and the ultimate neiman marcus catalog!! I've always enjoyed perusing whilst gasping at the ostentatiousness of it all! :p

My top picks for this year ...

#1. Skycar Prototype
Who can resist a skycar? Only 3 million moolahs ... it's touted as the "world's first personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, designed to elevate individual drivers above the headaches of commuting and the dangers of highway travel". WAH!!!


#2. The Henry Dunay Brooches and Necklaces
From their site: the black jade brooch (217.52 carats) is embellished with diamonds (2.28 carats) and rubies (39.36 carats). Erhmmm like I didn't even know jade was measured in carats?!?!


#3.Swarovski Crystal-covered Ipod Case
Erhmm this one is considered cheap at the lowly price of $840.


#4. Louis Vuitton Jewelry Case
I saw this in the paper catalog for *coughs* $44,200. I can't even find it online. Don't tell me it's sold out already? This one I don't mind having ... so exquisite looking! :(


OK can't continue now. I just told hubs about the skycar and he rudely snatched the catalog away from me for his toilet reading :p ... ahh maybe he will get me something in there for x'mas *dreamsss*

Sephora Haul

It's been a busy start to the week. Attended an info session Monday night and a project management seminar this evening. Was unmotivated to go and a colleague bailed at the last minute, but I'd already told my manager I'd attend. Needless to say it was *#@# boring zzz.

But on a brighter note. To treat myself, I stopped by Sephora before the seminar to figure what I'd order with the Friends and Family code. 20% off gals! Skincare and make up hardly go on sale so I'm taking full advantage. The code is FF2005 and free shipping on orders >$75. Thanks to P, I'm going to try out the Bare Esentuals starter kit which includes sample foundations and brushes. I'm a loyal Shiseido fan but hey she convinced me! It's also one of the top selling items on sephora.com.

Am also gonna get Philosphy's Gingerbread Man Body Souffle (I love the warm scent!), some Nars blush in orgasm, Fresh sugar face polish, and Clinque Water Therapy Body Cream . Hey a girl deserves to be pampered every once in a while ... especially when there's a sale :) Oh and my shopping cart was coming out to way too much money so I had to axe the train case yet again. *sob*

5 Years Too Late? Ikea in Boston

I remember emailing Ikea when I first moved here demanding for a store in the area. Yes, I'm pathetic but so's Boston. Singapore has had Ikea for as long as I can remember. I used to love the stinky ballroom as a kid. :)

So on Saturday, we made the trek down to Stoughton to check out the new store. Just as we got on route 24, the traffic started backing up and there was a ton of cops lurking in the area. Ikea traffic? Was doubtful at first, I mean not like they're giving away free stuff right?!? Then we saw signs that exit 19B was closed. Hey wasn't that the exit we needed to take? Ok so that didn't phase us, we decided to try the detour. But holy schmoly as we got off the ramp, we saw that traffic all backed up as far as we could see. WTF?

Anyway, we never made it to Ikea. Decided to go to Wrentham instead :p ... not a bad trade. I got some cool peenk mixing bowls for $10 from Williams and Sonoma and a wine glass rack. Oh and a cheap pair of $30 slingbacks from Ralph Lauren. YAY one can never have enough shoes.

Ikea Traffic (we're not even close):


My cool pink mixing bowls (pardon the poor lighting):

Kids and Grown Ups Love it So ...

The happy land of Haribo! Me lovess Haribo gummy bears. I was introduced to it in college by a friend whose bf was German. Enjoying some now since it's Halloween and what better reason to snack on all kinds of sugar-coma inducing candy? Today I've had candy corn, M&Ms, Jr. Caramels, Smarties, and Haribo of course. Feeling kinda ill now. No thanks to those darned over zealous people at work who bring in candy to 'celebrate'. BLEH OK fine they didn't force me to eat it ... but still ... :(

Snow not Flurries

I can't believe this! It's only October and already snowing. We just skipped right past fall here! I'm not ready to scrape snow from my car yet. And my other peeve is it's hard to look vaguely chic and stay warm once the temperature falls past 30 degrees F. This sucks #*@#*@#!!! :(

The flurries started just as we got back from the park with Moxie. She's posing with the pumpkins outside our apt:


Mintues later: The view from our kitchen window


Just took another peek, not only is it falling fast, it's accumulating!!! WTF!!!

Friends like These

Do you have friends who are too polite? Who insist on bringing gifts every time they bunk over? Who insist on paying all the time? Damnit they make all the other free loaders (like us) look bad. I usually feel just a little uncomfortable accepting the gifts. After all, what have we done to deserve this? Thankfully my excitement about the gift usually banishes that feeling pretty quickly.

Anyway A and N came up to visit us last weekend and of course brought with them more gifts for us. So paiseh, but it's rude to decline isn't it? In addition to some wine, we got some neat Japanese pastries (wagashi) from Minamoto Kitchoan in New York. They are so delicious, I'm addicted. Every afternoon, I look forward to green tea and a nicely wrapped (you know the japanese) azuki cake or persimon jelly. MmmMMMmmm

As you can see, most of them are gone.

A Very Sony Weekend

Hub's friend from college,T, was in town on a business trip and stayed with us over the weekend. Well you see, he's a vet and was here to treat a very sick dog at the Museum of Science.

Hubs with the sick dog. Aibs is cool!


We also got a treat from T (courtesy of sony) at Oga's, my favorite Japanese restaurant! Yum :) In my very biased opinion, Oga's is the best in the Boston area. Even better than the ones in the city proper (Ginza, Fugakyu etc). And according to our also very biased Japanese friend N, the chefs are really japanese (not taiwanese or korean ok), so of course that is a measure of quality haha. It's only other rival is Oiishi which seats only 14 ppl so there is a guaranteed loooong wait. We don't bother to go there except for take out.

Our sushi below. Didn't get to take photos of the rest of the stuff we devoured (too busy eating).


Oh yes and scheduled for delivery this week is a new LCD tv, also from Sony, with a nice employee discount. I tried to convince hubs against this one so we could spend the $$ on purses instead. Sadly (for me) that didn't go down very well.

Time to Buy?

I've recently noticed a ton of for house sale signs everywhere I go. You know, when I'm walking the dog, driving to work, driving around town etc. Decided to put it to a test this morning by counting the number of 'for sale' signs I see on the 10 mile stretch from home to work (wouldn't recommend trying this, if I weren't such a good driver (hah) I'd have driven into the guard rail).

The total count *drumroll please* 17, not including most of the houses on the opposite side of rt9 that I missed! Damn I think that's a pretty big number. It's almost 2 house per mile along a major road. Could it be true? Is the housing market finally coming down? Will hubs and I finally be able to buy a home??? I'm seeing so many more condos in Newton listed for <400k in the past couple weeks. Some pretty nice too. Just last year you wouldn't even get a shack for 400k.

How cute is this one in Brighton? Only 409k?


Oooh or this 1bdrm for $349??


Or this one in back bay for under 500k!

Should we wait till the price falls some more? Nothing pisses me off more than a bad deal!

Moxie's Tooth

Poor Moxie has a fractured molar and we have no idea how she broke the tooth. It's actually not surprising since she is silly and goes through xtra tuff nylabones like doggie biscuits. The vet doesn't think it's the nylabones that caused the fracture but something really hard, like a rock. The sad part is I can totally see her trying to destroy a rock with her bare teeth. *sigh*

So we were faced with the dilemma of how to get the tooth fixed. There are 2 options 1) extraction and 2) a root canal. Yup root canals, I kid you not. Ironic since there are homeless starving people, people with no health insurance, and here is our dog getting a friggin root canal?!??! Anyway after more research and asking around it seems an extraction would be the best option (let me know if you think otherwise) since it is less complicated and heals faster and not to mention cheaper. Not that extractions are cheap, they run like $400! *weeps*

Here's her broken tooth:

A Room with View?

We moved offices several weeks ago and I finally scored one with a window, only to find that having a window isn't all that exciting. I'm not liking the variable lighting conditions brought on by the weather. I actually like it nice, dark, and gloomy in my office. Other reasons why I dislike the new space ...

1) Can't use my glareguard now since the light bounces off the screen. The reflection makes it impossible to read.
2) The door has windows it in??!?! So much for privacy hrmp.
3) It's a pain to walk to the main building especially in crappy weather (which is all the time in NE)
4) The gym is in the building (I don't have an excuse not to go anymore)
5) No more cafeteria or vending machines in the building (only a stupid 25 cent gumball machine type contraption that ate my quarter today. so much for my 3pm sugar fix *@*#!)
6) Shady bathrooms that don't seem to flush properly (but on the bright side they have those fancy motion activated paper towel dispensers)

Yes I'm very whiny. Ok ok check out the view. Nice scenery huh? Haha but I confess I faked it by pointing the camera up. We're only on the second floor so I can see the parking garage below when I'm sitting at my desk. How therapeutic.

Bills Bills Bills

When L told me the other day her first vet bill came up to over $200 I was appalled. Told her that ours was cheaper (yeah right I'd obviously forgotten how much it can come up to :p). Anyway I took Moxie to the vet today for her annual check up, you know the usual round of shots, nothing special. But guess what! The total came up to $227. I was feeling quite faint at that point. Excuse me, but my visit to the doctor's only has a $10 copay. Even without insurance, I don't think it'd be more than a $100 right?? WTF???? At this rate Moxie better be able to double up as a furry designer purse for me ;)

Oh yes and I finally got the bill for my wisdom tooth surgery. A whopping $3k. Luckily half will be covered by my insurance and the other half by hubs'company. But of course the inept idiots at the hospital billing dept still haven't gotten my insurance info right after at least 5 harrassive phone calls from me. So who knows when I'm going ot get my $$ back. Looks like I'll have to call them again tomorrow. :( *groan*