Our day on the Hippo

So thanks to Nuffnang, I won tickets for a ride on the Hippo on the inaugural Family Day Out. With a total of 7 tickets in hand, I had a headache trying to gather people to join me and E for the ride. After a lot of hemming and hawing, finally E's sister accepted our invite. So for me, the first ever Family Day Out, turned out to be a day with my future family. E's sister & bro-in-law brought along 2 of their kids (she has 4 little angels) and E's cousin came along for the fun too.

This would be our first time on the Hippo and also to be at the Singapore Flyer. Naturally the little ones were the most excited about the ride and kept asking which bus would be the one that we'll be taking. And as it turns out, we got the white one, which our guide introduced as 'Snow White'. The kids were ultra tickled by its name and giggled non-stop. We were taken around the city district area, where we spotted a couple taking their wedding photos by the City Hall. We all cheered at them as our bus zoomed past and the bride seemed a tad embarassed by the attention. I bet they've been suffering this fate throughout their shoot as there was a constant line of Hippos looping around the area throughout the day.

We were taken to the spot where the brightly coloured DHL balloon is situated and the kids thought that we'ld be taking the balloon. They were unfortunately disappointed. Perhaps another time...

It was a pretty quick ride, we'ld have loved it to be a longer ride. But nevertheless, the kids loved it and it was definitely a good opportunity to spend a bit of time with E's family.

Interior design for the uninitiated

I wish this entry could be about tips for all those who have gotten their house and are starting to plan for the ID but no, I'm sorry coz I'm totally clueless myself. So what I'm going to do here is to talk about what we've been doing, grasping in the dark aimlessly. Opinions are strictly my own and it could be totally off-track, so follow at your own risk ;)

We've started reading local ID mags. I know most people default to Home & Decor, at least it seems to be the case for the people around us but I personally like Square Rooms better. And if you know people who have renovated their homes or are in the midst of doing so, talk to them and maybe share the mags around. By flipping through magazines, u start to get an idea of the colours and themes u like, and sometimes u spot an idea or two from those featured home which you could incorporate into your very own homes.

I thought we could get some inspirations by visiting Ikea, which we did over the weekend, but maybe it was the crowds, coz nothing really struck my fancy. But it could be a good starting place for some. Nothing beats seeing things in real life right?

Next step for us is to contact ID companies. I didn't know this at all coz the only time I've moved to a new home was 20 years ago, but apparently u can bring your layout to them and request for a quotation. So that's what we're going to do next. And perhaps from there, we can get a better idea of what we want.

I really think we need professional help by the way, coz I'm so sick and tired of seeing all those homes in different combinations of black, white, brown, beige and red. Everyone goes for either minimalistic, retro or resort. I'm so lost. I want something different, but I don't know what I want. (Pardon me if this is what you like though, no offence to u, it is nice, I just want something different from that :) )

My favourite family routine

As E and I inch towards the creation of our own little family, there's one thing I'm really going to miss with mine. On a day to day basis, we get so caught up with our own lives that it's not easy to spend quality time together, dad has his work, bro has his studies, while I have my 'happening' social life (NOT!), mum has always been the pillar of support at home, so I try to make it home for dinner on weekdays, so that she has company, even if the boys aren't home.

However, nothing beats having the whole family together right? That's why sundays have unofficially been recognised as family day. The one day where everyone would be at home. We'ld all laze around doing our own thing until dad gives us the signal that it's time to head out for breakfast/lunch/brunch, then we'ld all rush around like mad.

Once everyone is ready, we'ld all huddle into the car and as dad drives out of the house, the unavoidable question pops up. "Where to eat?" And the standard response would be, "Errr, where ah", "Anywhere", "What you want to eat?" And at random, we'ld mention places that have long disappeared, like Compass Rose, Coachman Inn and whatnots.

Sometimes we'ld head for our standard faves like the Beach Road Prawn Mee shop at Upper East Coast Road, Cafe Cartel or even Ikea. But once in a while, inspiration strikes and we'ld go on a little adventure, heading for places such as Clementi West or Holland Drive for fish/crab bee hoon.

On Mother's Day, inspired dad drove to Botanic Gardens, we were flabbergasted. Were we heading for the atas type places in the gardens? That didn't really sound like dad. Our routine leaned towards the more relaxed and casual. Then it conspired that we were going to the new Taman Serasi food garden. I had no idea that it had reopened, so this came as a big surprise to me.

We headed straight the murtabak stall where dad ordered like we've been starved for days. Two murtabaks (chicken/seafood), 1 curry fish head and the extremely sinful sup tulang. I could practically feel my arteries clogging up but hey, we only live once right?

Later, our tummies filled, we took a stroll around the gardens. Believe it anot, it's our first time there as a family. I've been there a couple of times with E but the parents and bro have not. So it was pretty fun, doing the touristy thing, walking around, pointing out squirrels and examining the flora around us. It was pretty much family bonding time, so much so that we started acting silly, playing around. Even the parents got into the act.

It's days like this that I'll really miss once I'm married. I know we'll still be living near them but things will still be different. But you know what? Instead of dwelling on what might be, I'll just bask in the present and enjoy family time with dad and mum now.