Interstellar, ION Sky, library@orchard and the Christmas lights!

Let's begin this post with a bokeh-y photo!

Before I start off proper, let me clarify, watching Interstellar was a last-minute decision. The initial plan was to go to East Coast Park to see the "autumn-y" leaves with Juliana, however, as there was a IMAX showing of Interstellar at 11.30pm, we both decided to head to Orchard first. And that began my rushing out of the house. Thankfully, I made it to the cinema in time. #missionaccomplished.

I have heard many positive things of Interstellar. And they are right. I don't think I have really watched many science-fiction movies before, but this one totally blew my mind away.

After the movie, Juliana and I decided to go to ION Sky, an observation deck located on the 56th floor of ION Orchard. It offers an amazing panoramic view of Singapore. To know more about ION Sky and to see more photos taken from ION Sky, click here to read my blog post abou it!

We then decided to head to the newly opened library@orchard, while making detours to the basement of ION to grab a really late lunch (at 4pm...yeah. It was a huge piece of Taiwanese Chicken Cutlet) and also to Takashimaya.

library@orchard was lauched on the 23 October this year, and it is located on the 3rd and 4th level of Orchard Gateway. The library has a really chic and simplistic design (a great place for the shutterbugs!), and features many new collections (a great place for the bookworms too!), with unique seats for various purposes such as reading and studying.

Cliché, but obligatory photo!

After wandering around a bit more, Juliana headed home while I met up with my mom. By then, it had gotten darker and the Christmas lights all came on! It was a bokeh feast for the eyes. /inserts heart-eye emoji/

Sneaking a shot of my mom hehehe.

An out-of-focus shot but I still quite like it hehehe.

Another photo of my mom!

So. Much. Bokeh!

A photo of me, taken by my mom.

And yeah that's all for this post! :)

Elsa

The City in the Rain

If you know me, I love cityscape. Don't be mistaken; I love the nature wholeheartedly. (and I dream of living in a fairytale-esque cottage, with the front yard full of wildflowers and the backyard that leads right into the woods) But there is something so beautiful about those skyscrapers, especially the enchanting city lights at night (bokeh!!!) and the city in the rain. The rain, coupled with the mist/fog, just adds a mysterious feeling.

And yesterday, I had this incredible experience of viewing (almost) the whole Singapore from the heart of Orchard Road, on the 56th floor, at a height of 218 metres, with the endless stretch of buildings and the misty weather, right at my feet. This amazing panoramic view can be found at ION Sky, which is located at ION Orchard. To see this amazing view, you will first need to go to Level 4 of ION Orchard, then take another express lift up to the 55th floor.

Initially I was quite disappointed with the rain, as my view was partly obstructed by the clouds. And I couldn't see the buildings that were further away (I have to go back on a sunny day AND during the night time!) However, the mysteriousness and tranquillity brought about by the rain is just too beautiful, and it adds so much mood to the photos. There are also poems about clouds, information about Singapore's weather and signs telling you where you're looking at, pasted on the glass walls. There are also a few of those special telescopes, where you can see the the surroundings in real time, during a normal sunny day and during the night. You can also learn more about the landmarks located nearby.

Overall, it was a really amazing experience. (I think I used the word amazing too many times but the view up there is indeed amazing.) All right, enough with the words. I will let the photos do the talking now!

The photos below are taken with my dearest iPhone 5 with a battery that lasts as long as the sunny days during the current wet monsoon seasoon, and my DSLR, edited in VSCO Cam and Lightroom respectively.

The iconic Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Note: I am slightly obsessed with black & white at the moment (or rather, I am always obsessed with it.)

Photo of me, taken by Juliana.

The observation deck.

The sky was so epic!

According to the sign, if you look in this direction, you will be able to see the Botanic Gardens!

Not sure if the glass was dirty or it was really THAT misty...

Juliana!

Marina Bay Sands!

If I'm not wrong, the yellow and green building is where Chinatown is at. :)

Marina Bay Sands again! And the CBD?

Can you spot the National Stadium and the Sports Hub?

Juliana again!

And that's it for this post. I will be posting again very soon!

Elsa :)

Cooking Day!

Guess who's done with school for the year! /excitedly points at myself/ :D

With the completion of the filing of my Project Work, I have officially concluded my school year and started my year-end holidays. The past few days of the week had been pretty awesome. Class lunch at Fish n Co (where I had some delicious Fish and Chips), karaoke session, pasta, spontaneous museum hopping (and got scared at Singapore Art Museum), another spontaneous visit to Juliana's house in The Land of Woods where I watched them play Five Nights at Freddy's and then myself totally failing at a game of Monopoly. Yeah, just a brief summary of all the fun things that happened. I will not go into details because 1. I don't want to bore you guys and 2. I am slightly lazy to type so much.

Oh yeah where was I.

Right.

So since now my weekends are pretty free, I've decided to be more adventurous and try out new dishes! And this week, I've decided to make a Potato Salad and a Bacon-asparagus Brunch with Eggs! I can proudly say that the Potato Salad tastes rather legit, and the Brunch was delicious too :)

For the Potato Salad, here are the ingredients I used (for 4 servings):

• 500g of mini potatoes (not too sure what  their proper names are...)
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 3/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup of coleslaw dressing
• some salt and pepper

The reason why I used coleslaw dressing is because I was afraid that the taste of mayonnaise might be too strong and heavy so yeah...not sure if it's the correct thing to add but it tasted okay so... :D

Here's how I made this dish. It's really simple!

1. Washed the mini potatoes. Placed them into a pan of salted, boiling water and cook for around 15 mins. (the potatoes are ready when you can piece through them easily with a fork!)
2. Place the potatoes into cold water for them to cool down. Once cooled, peel the skin off and diced them.
3. Time to cook the eggs! Place cold water into the pan, along with the eggs, and cook for around 5 minutes or so.
4. Next, remove the shell on the eggs and dice them too.
5. As for the dressing, mix the mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing together in a bowl.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the diced potatoes and eggs, then mix in the salad dressing.
7. Leave the salad in the fridge overnight for the flavour to really go into the potatoes and voila!

Below are some photos of the ingredients and stuff!

Potatoes, washed but uncooked!

Mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing

Potatoes and hard-boiled eggs diced!

After leaving in the fridge overnight!

Yummmm.

Another dish I tried making is the Bacon-asparagus Brunch with Eggs! This one is equally yummy and a great start to a day.

For this, I used:

• a few pieces of bacon
• some asparagus
• eggs
• a lemon
• salt and pepper

There is no definite amount to use for each ingredient because you can add as many bacon strips as you like :D

Here's how I made my yummy brunch:

1. Fry the bacon in a pan with some olive oil. Drain off the excess oil with kitchen towel.
2. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt, pepper and lemon zest over the asparagus (remember to break off the hard ends!)
3. Place them into a pan to fry them. Squeeze some lemon juice over the asparagus to add some flavour! (It would better to use a grill pan instead, but I don't have one and hence I had to fry the asparagus with a frying pan)
4. Poached the eggs and serve them with the bacon and asparagus.
5. And Bon Appetit!

 I forgot to take photos with my DSLR so iPhone shots shall suffice/inserts sheepish grin/

That's it for this post. I can't wait to try on more new dishes!

Elsa :)