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Motherkao loves... Reviews

Full facelift, without surgery – Results out from Halley Medical Aesthetics

September 2, 2019

So a while ago, I blogged about how this quick fix is a godsend for a time-starved me.

Yep, I am talking about having gone for Ultherapy at Halley Medical Aesthetics, which, in my opinion, is one of the most beneficial and rewarding aesthetic treatments ever invented.

I mean, what’s there not to love? No need for needles nor scalpels nor knives. Just ultrasound energy with pin-point accuracy directed at three specific skin depths on your face and neck area to stimulate collagen.

Not to mention completely non-invasive.

Plus Halley Medical Aesthetics deliver the promise of 800 lines.

Three months after my Ultherapy experience, I headed back to Halley Medical Aesthetics to meet with Dr Terence Tan to await my results. I could already feel significantly different the same day I did Ultherapy, and as the months went by, it only got better.

Skin felt tighter on Day One, face got smaller by Week 2, and best of all, zero outbreaks during PMS every.single. time.of. the. month.

Awesomeness, I will tell you.

And it’s even more incredible to see the results pictorially, because though you do not see magical transformation like in the case of a plastic surgery, these little improvements actually mean so much to me.

Ok, don’t laugh at this mugshot, was not supposed to smile but pls see how dry my skin used to be at the cheek area

See how my face is smaller, tighter and my eye bags are less pronounced

See how the jawline is quite defined now. Sumpah here no photo-editing AT ALL!

Eyebags were horrible and now, because of the collagen, my undereye has some LIFT!

These, to me, are HUGE improvements, considering Ultherapy is completely non-invasive. You don’t need to break a bank to see such good results, and it really is a worthwhile yearly investment.

Think no outbreaks, natural collagen stimulated (they tell me the peak is at 6 months and this is only the 3rd month!) and best of all, if you have no time for masks, facials and squeezing your zits, Ultherapy takes care of this because you absolutely don’t need to do those things anymore for ‘maintenance’!

Kinda no wonder I was smiling ear to ear at Dr Terence Tan’s office when he showed me the before & after pictures

I can’t recommend this enough – if you are time-starved, need a quick fix, go get your 800 lines of Ultherapy done at Halley Medical Aesthetics. Dr Terence Tan is extremely experienced in delivering the micro ultrasound shots and it’s one hour at his Halley clinic for one year of not having to worry about maintaining your face.

Cos’ the stimulated collagen takes care of it all.

Thank you, Dr Terence Tan, and team! I am really satisfied with the results!

If you are interested to try out Ultherapy at Halley Medical Aesthetics, here’s where you can look for Dr Terence Tan directly for a consultation:

Address:  277 Orchard Road, #03-15 Orchard Gateway, Singapore 238858

Contact Number: (+65) 6737 8233

Email: info@halley.com.sg

Here are some quick links for you to check out the details for yourself:

Halley Medical Aesthetics Price List | Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Disclosure: All opinions here in this post are my own, including how awesome I look with a smaller, tighter face.

I blogged about my Ultherapy experience a while ago, here.

Motherkao loves... Reviews

A Whole New World in Musical Theatre – Review of Aladdin the Musical

August 9, 2019

It was really one of the best laughs I had in a long while. Being busy at work as an entrepreneur and constantly catching my breath day to day with the kids, it was a special treat indeed to be able to head out for date night with the husband to catch the Broadway sensation, Aladdin, at the Sands Theatre Marina Bay.

And man, I was thoroughly entertained by this spectacular performance boasting the most lavish sets and spectacular costumes ever to be seen.

Based on the Academy Award®- winning animated film, this spectacular production boasts a cast of 34 and a staggering 337 glittering costumes, which feature 1,225 different fabrics, 712 different styles of beads and almost 500,000 Swarovski crystals. 40 tonnes of exotic flying scenery and 60 tonnes of automation and staging will be transferred to Singapore in more than 30, 40’ sea containers to recreate the fantasy city of Agrabah including the colourful marketplace, the lush palace of the Sultan and his princess daughter Jasmine and the legendary Cave of Wonders.

Dazzled by these by numbers already?

Photo credits: Base Entertainment Asia

 

But what really shone that night and stood out for me was this.

This Genie that was in Gareth Jacobs. Absolutely loved the Genie.

Totally hilarious, totally mesmerising, totally jaw-dropping. So much hearty laughter every time he appeared.

And making me want to eat chilli crab after the show. Go watch it, you’ll know what I mean.

Totally awesome show.

I hear that this English-language production will play its first and ONLY Asian stop here in Singapore, with 50 shows till 1 September 2019. Unless you are headed out of Singapore to the UK or Australia, this is kinda your only chance to catch this musical, featuring well-loved songs from the award-winning film, in addition to the theatrical magic that is best experienced live.

You will love it.

Tickets here from Sistic.

Disclosure: We were invited to attend the Opening Night of Aladdin. All opinions here, including how much I was tickled and entertained, are my own.

 

Food, glorious food! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

Sweet treats are made of these – ft. family-friendly casual dining at Brunetti

October 27, 2018

If you’re looking for a family-friendly and waist-line friendly place to eat in town this festive season (and don’t wanna think about ERP charges at the same time), you need to head down to Brunetti.

Because here’s a PSA for all of us who are conscious about the desserts we are ingesting so as to NOT HAVE to make new year resolutions for next year we probably can’t keep: Brunetti’s just launched their range of vegan, eggless, gluten-free cakes.

My family and I were there for dinner a while ago and I have to say, we went to dessert heaven and back!

Clockwise: Tre Gusti (gluten-free): flourless sponge layered with 3 layers of dark, milk and white choc mousse; Vegan Strawberry Cake: strawberry cake layered with strawberry cream & fresh strawberries; Vegan Chocolate Brownie: 75% dark choc brownie covered with roasted hazelnut; and Vegan Peanut Butter Cake: PB cake with PB sauce & crushed peanuts

The cake on the left: Eggless Banana Pecan Nut and it’s layered with caramelised banana on the inside. I am so gonna be trying that the next time.

These cakes make for perfect indulgence for a birthday or any occasion that calls for cake. I couldn’t stop eating the Tre Gusti, for one. We had the whole cake and while 2 slices were cut and shared on the spot, the rest of the cake was finished in 3 days.

Yes, I finished the entire cake all by myself and didn’t share it with the kids.

The flourless cake was great to ease any sense of guilt and it brought pigging out to a whole new level.

I kid you not: I finished the whole of this triple-layered choc flourless cake in 3 days all by myself. It is soooo good.

My kids pigged out on gelato, macarons, profiteroles and popsicles that evening.

A word on the pistachio gelato – you absolutely need to try it.

They opted for popsicles first! The one in the middle is not the 4th Kao kid but our friend’s 3-year-old!

Love that this is the promise of their desserts!

Gelato scoop – one for each kid !

Of macarons, profiteroles and chocolate cakes

The pistachio gelato was so good, I finished it all

And just in case you thought I fed my family desserts for dinner at Brunetti, we had a hearty meal of pastas, risotto and pizzas but I would tell you at Brunetti, dessert was our main course.

The carbs were mainly our “appetisers” which we cleverly shared. Thank God we did, if not no space to eat desserts!

Clockwise: Proscuitto & rocket pizza, mac&cheese, carbonara, pan-seared seabass, seafood aglio olio and squid ink risotto

Brunetti brings together all the good stuff in Italian cooking – a Gelateria, Cioccolateria, Pasticceria and more. If you’re looking for a place to bring the family or go on a dessert date with friends, it’s got ample seating and lots of choices for food and all kinds of desserts.

Writing this is making me want to take the family back for cakes and gelato already, and I am guessing I might want to spoil them bad this coming holiday season.

But hey, with the vegan, eggless, flourless cake options and the sugar-free gelato options, it may look like we can minimise the sugar and carb overload this festive season!

The kids took home gingerbread cookie in their fave animals! They were yummy and not cloyingly sweet, by the way.

More details:

Brunetti is located at #01-35 Tanglin Mall. Browse their menu for food and cakes in the links. Contact them here to order or make reservations. They’ve also just open the doors to ONE MORE new outlet at 13 North Canal, #01-01!

Disclosure: We were invited to dine at Brunetti. All opinions here are my own. I’ve sampled my fill of desserts that night and didn’t see the waistline expand so you can go for the diet-friendly options with confidence. You’re welcome.

Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

It’s Seoul Good (II): Doing Seoul with 3 Kids – Jjimjilbang at Siloam

September 19, 2018

If there’s anywhere I needed to visit in Seoul with my kids, it had to be a JJIMJILBANG.

Because?

Because this:

Photo credit: https://Aminoapps.com

I needed a reason to put on a sauna “uniform” and wrap my head up in a ‘Princess Leia’ towel bun.

And because watching so many kdramas and k-variety over the years have reinforced this message: you ain’t been to Korea if you’ve not stepped into a jjimjilbang. A jjimjilbang is a korean sauna and an integral part of korean culture. In this huge expanse of space, you would find public baths, pools that rid your body of toxins, grooming and face-care services, entertainment zones, gym, ‘fomentation’ rooms of varying temperatures, and places to sleep and even spend the night.

And so to one we went. The 3 kids, fatherkao and I spent an entire day at Siloam Sauna.

Of course, before we headed there, I did some research on this particular sauna which was a stone’s throw from where we stayed (literally we see the building from Seoul Station), so as to brief the family as to what to expect. That Backpacker has an entire guide to this place (plus an awesome video), and I made tons of notes from just that one blogpost, so you absolutely need to check her post out. (Thank you, Audrey!)

We went in the day, after a light breakfast of Paris Baguette buns, and opted for both access to the bathhouse AND the other floors. We were given a locker key, a set of clothes to change into, minimal instructions in korean about how males and females need to be separated, and in a hurry, we parted ways and forgot to state exactly what time we should meet on the 2nd floor. I just said, “See you later”, and not knowing what to do (the boys were lost!), we kinda only regrouped after some time and searching for one another on the various floors. So much for making notes!

So the sauna is HUGE. It’s an entire building. There are 6 floors in all including a basement. You pay and enter into the changing area on the 1st floor, get completely undressed in a gender-specific area, walk down the stairs to enter the public bath (take everything off; the only thing allowed is a towel). You need to take a bath first before entering the different pools of varying temperatures with various health benefits. There’s also a steam room and a jacuzzi. Becks and I tried every pool except the one with the freezing water. I enjoyed soaking in the warm mugwort one (can’t remember, think it was maybe 60 deg C?) and it smelled medicinally beneficial. Only beware of standing up suddenly because like being in the onsen, sudden movements can result in fainting spells. True story.

We had a good mummy and daughter time together

While waiting for the boys, we found these hot stones to put our feet in!

When we finally regrouped, we checked out Level 4 as a family. Called the fomentation rooms, there are rooms in varying temperatures from sub zero to almost boiling point laden with good stuff like jade and crystal and salt and mud. There are cave-like pods to sleep in for privacy and mats for resting and I couldn’t last more than 5 minutes in any room because the kids were zipping in and out and I had to mind them for fear of disturbing the people who needed their fomentation therapies.

Nat and I lying in the charcoal room

The kids and fatherkao in the ice room

My husband decided to challenge this room that’s 86 deg C! He worked out a good sweat!

Lunch was on Level 2 and I had the best soondubu jiggae (spicy tofu soup) that Seoul trip. The bibimbap (rice with mixed vegetables) was lovely and so were the mandoos (dumplings). My kids ran in and out of the eatery to play at the adjoining kids playroom and watch korean cartoons.

After a short rest, fatherkao headed for a body massage while the kids and I checked out Level 3. There was an arcade and a table tennis room. No surprises there what the kids did.

Ben teaching Nat how to hold a bat

We met 2 teen boys from Singapore a while later and the kids became quick friends sparring in good fun while I just lay on the straw mat right outside the games room and caught some sleep.

Becks wasn’t too interested in being with the boys so she checked out the karaoke room and hung out with me.

Checking out the noraebang, although we can’t sing any song !

She hung out with free wifi while I rested

Fatherkao joined in the table tennis fun

Baduk, anyone?

There is an arcade room too! Guess who was happiest.

The boys played table tennis for a long time and by the time we were done, it was time for dinner. We agreed to spend some time in the bathhouse floor and to soak in the pools for one last time before meeting on the first floor.

When we regrouped again for dinner, our kids’ conversations were all about what they saw in the bathhouse basement. The details were hilarious and I loved it that this experience was something they wouldn’t forget for a long time. Siloam Sauna’s a great place to add to your itinerary if you have even half a day to spare. I love it that we hung out and the kids could explore the place freely. It would have been best if they were interested in taking naps but I got some shuteye and fatherkao got a massage and that was a good bargain already!

Got my towel bun fix!

Made the hubs join me :p

The kids enjoyed the sauna experience on our 2nd day!

~~~

IT’S SEOUL GOOD: Read more on our Seoul Adventures here as the SG Running Man team!

Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

It’s Seoul Good (I): Doing Seoul with 3 kids – Running Man Thematic Experience Center

September 14, 2018

Many people expressed how they never imagined there would be so much to explore and experience in Seoul for 16 days with 3 kids. So I thought I’d start this ‘It’s Seoul Good’ series because Seoul has been so good to us. We pretty much covered our planned itinerary (and more) when we were there in June.

And YES!!!!! there is much to do because Seoul has a place for kids too.

For my mission-loving, Running Man-crazed family, that is.

If your family is like ours and loves Running Man – the long standing variety show (we were fans since Episode 1) – and are old enough to try Running Man-style missions, you absolutely need to form a team and head to Insadong.

A pity we didn’t wear our Running Man t-shirts complete with our name tags like crazy fans.

At Running Man Thematic Experience Center at Jongno-gu, Insadong 5-gil, 종로 1.2.3.4 가동 (it’s at B1/F of SM Duty Free Shop/ Hana Building), you have up to ONE hour to complete all the missions in the place, earn as many R-coins as you can to score a badge. There are 6 experience zones where you can attempt it individually…

As a pair…

Or cheat a little like us if it gets difficult – and tap on team work!

Kwangsoo would be proud.

If you have it planned in your itinerary, get a headstart with discounts from Klook or Trazy or kkday. If not, it’s straightforward to purchase tickets from the folks at the counter. Ask if they speak English and there would be someone who would be able to explain how it works to you.

What was our experience like? To be honest, I knew about it but didn’t think this was something worth our time and money – because ‘is it BO LIAO or not to do this on our holiday???‘ (loosely translated, bo liao is ‘doing something silly’ in Singlish). I had going to this experience center parked at the back of my mind as a back up if we’ve done all that we wanted to do – our cultural tours, our street eats, our NANTA show, our day trip to Nami, our zoos and whatnots, etc etc etc – and it would be one of the last things we might do/ can do if we really ran out of things to do.

So I didn’t tell the fam about it for our day out at Insadong.

Turns out, we serendipitiously chanced upon it while looking for a toilet on the way back from checking out Poo Cafe and Ssamzegil and well, I think we can all guess what happened.

Like what do you mean you didn’t wanna tell us till we run out of things to do?

What were you thinking to not come here on our very first family trip to Seoul?

Hey, we love Running Man, shouldn’t we do this?

C’mon, mama, let’s go, we want to do this now!

Please, it’s gotta be Running Man. Even if it’s bo-liao.

My husband was the one that found me most ridiculous to stash it for like, Day 16.

DUH, no brainer, we are here. Let’s go.

And so, on our 3rd day in Seoul, we had one of the best times of our lives.

Makes us all wanna watch re-runs of Running Man again and again!

This experience just makes me realise that it was a good thing I did not plan for Lotte World or Everland. My kids would not go on rides and coasters but give them Running Man, they will do it again and again.

~~~

IT’S SEOUL GOOD: Read more on our Seoul Adventures here at the jimjilbang!

Family life as we know it Food, glorious food! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Cold spell spelled W-A-R-M-T-H for the family (ft. IKEA serveware)

January 26, 2018

[Sponsored – this post is IKEA-inspired]

The five-day cold spell where temperatures dipped to 20-22 ºC as a result of the monsoon surge earlier this month not just inspired us to take out our winter wear and thicker blankies, but also prompted us to go shopping at IKEA.

Because steamboating* time draws nigh!

Inspired by the never ending stream of Insta-stories and steamboat feasts on my newsfeed, I decided to gather the extended family to ride the cold spell together at a place where having steamboat is never exactly comfortable (read: no airconditioning) but will now be because the weather would, for sure, bring the chills.

My parents’ place would finally be perfect for that steamboat feast which we would otherwise be eating while perspiring endlessly.

And the opportunity shall be seized.

So off to the Gramps’ we go, but not before going to IKEA for some inspiration. This dinner was also in part all about welcoming the new year, and spending it with people we love, and I thought it’d be brilliant to dress up the dining area a little more to accommodate our party of 9. The extended family consists of Grandpa, Grandma, Yiyi, Jiujiu and all of us from the Kaos.

Most of the time it was usually hard to fit in everyone with all the food laid out for steamboat occupying most of the table, and so we usually take turns to eat if it was a steamboat affair.

This year, I was determined to seat everyone at the table to 打邊爐 in the cosiest fashion and so the first thing I purchased for the occasion was this beauty:

For a steal at $39.90, this beauty quickly transformed into a handy cart for our fresh food. Couldn’t been more pleased with having thought of using this like how the restaurants do it.

Next, I took the liberty to get the FULLKOMLIG table cloth (at a steal for $9.90!) and really also because the description says “The table cloth is made from a material that is always smooth directly after washing, so that you don’t need to iron it.”.  I figured a table cloth will always set the mood for a cosy time together, as well as invite the diners to stay longer at the table. I know my mom would probably scream at the impracticality of a white cloth on a round table while having steamboat, but at that price, it was worth taking the risk.

She didn’t scream at me by the way.

Because I had gone over and set it up like this:

While shopping at IKEA, I had also grabbed some new dinnerware like the VARDAGEN sauce bowls for our sambal chilli, the VARDAGEN bowls in 2 different sizes for soup and rice as well as a few sets of TREBENT chopsticks to symbolise happiness for the year. As a gift “筷子 (kuàizi)” represent “快乐 (kuàilè)” which means happiness in Chinese culture.

Always glad to bring more kuàizi to the house!

And so with the table set, the reunion of the family began; first with taking our first 2018 family picture, followed by filling our tummies with food for the soul.

This is a first on two counts: you see me in a cardi seated at my parents’ and we fit in 9 people round the table

Time to tuck in to get some warmth on so many levels.

My wish this year is for more cold spells and more monsoon surges so we can always take refuge in the warmth of family whenever it’s cold.

~~~

Disclosure: This is the third of three in a series of collaborative work with IKEA. IKEA sponsored all the dinnerware and serveware we’ve used in this post. All ideas here are our own. #IKEASG#ad#sponsored#incollaborationwith #IKEA

See the previous IKEA posts here and here.

(Self) Examination Motherkao loves...

This year, I will… support local, go sustainable and back social

January 4, 2018

Today I opened my eyes and the year is now 20-18. Amazing how time flies, and how quickly we lived through yet another 365 days.

As reflections are made of the outgoing year and resolutions for the incoming, most of us want to start the year right. I do a few things as a way of envisioning and setting the tone for how I want to live the next 365 days.

This year I want a lifestyle change with what I spend my money on and how I spend my money. This year, I want to shop with a conscience.

And it’s gotta be these three things for the consciousness in shopping: local, sustainable and social.

Increasingly, I am in the position of meeting and working with local businesses, social enterprises and people with businesses that promote sustainable living. So many of these people I’ve met in the course of entrepreneurship have inspired me to go slow, find out who makes my stuff, and where my money goes when I spend it, and for a while in 2017, I started looking out for local, social and sustainable businesses to support whenever I needed something new be it a a new bag, a new pair of shoes, or new clothes.

I want to continue doing that this year.

Last year, I had the privilege of being a part of a panel organised by DBS where I met a whole lot of social enterprises, all ready to take their businesses to the next level. What I realised then was that even though there were so many, and I mean MANY, social businesses out there that’s innovated something new, offering something different and even serving a very worthy cause fulfilling a real need out there, these businesses were not out there. Many people still don’t know who they are, and what they do.

A while ago, last year, sharing with social enterprises how to engage their consumers in the digital world with fellow panelists, Cheryl from Rock the Naked Truth and Beatrice from Klarra. I put on many hats that day – as a business owner of Trehaus and as mom blogger and target audience for many products ranging from kids and education to lifestyle and travel.

For social entrepreneurship, the ones who do have the visibility and also gotten the word out are really the ones who’s tapped on social media well, I must say. Many of them engage KOLs and audience-specific influencers, and then go on to fill their socials with beautiful visuals, captivating videos and purposeful content. They know their target audience well and understand how to position their cause to their advantage.

And most of all, they are authentic and believe wholly in what they do. I love that for all these businesses that are local, social and ethical, they are also truly passionate about their causes.

Here are some local, social and sustainable businesses which I love:

  1. Matter, a local brand I have grown to love for its cause and its championing of slow fashion in its own steady, quiet way.
  2. Coopita, a social enterprise and e-shop that preserves craftsmanship and showcases artisans from around the region. I recently bought a new tote bag weaved entirely out of upcycled plastic as part of the Coopita PLASTIC SWAP movement, and am loving the bag totally.
  3. The Missing Piece, where every piece is elegantly handmade and nothing is mass produced by a local mom of three.
  4. Twin Within, based locally but supporting single mothers through a peace organisation in the Philippines.
  5. Another Sole – love their shoes and the #buyonefeedone cause where part proceeds feed the hungry

There are so many other brands to love and support, and you can check them out here, and here. Hopefully, more of the social enterprises that participated in the panel discussion I participated can harness the powers of social media and get their stuff out there as more awareness is generated about the social cause.

In really comfortable #matterpants and my favourite plastic bag – this hugea** tote I am carrying is made of upcycled plastic and handwoven by artisans from Aarohana EcoSocial Developments who was recently represented by Coopita, one of my fave social enterprises in Singapore

~~~

This year, I will go slow, find out who makes my stuff, and continue to champion conscious and ethical living.

Share with me your favourite local and ethical brands, or social enterprises that you love!

Putting my best feet forward! With Another Sole 🙂

Disclosure: I was invited to share my thoughts about social enterpreneurship and social enterprises I love by DBS. All opinions here are my own.

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

The earth laughs in flowers, so did my team that day – ft. A Better Florist

July 25, 2017

Who wouldn’t like flowers when they come wrapped up nicely in a bunch and delivered to your doorstep? I don’t think there would be anyone who would protest.

Just look at these faces.

Meet my lovely team (one missing from the picture though) – the ones that I work with daily and the ones whom Trehaus depends on for everything to run smoothly.

The lovely gerbera bouquets were couriered by hand to these lovely ladies from A Better Florist.

These folks make it so easy to send love; all that was needed was an email, an address to send to, and a message on each card that read:

“May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are and the difference you make.”

And in a jiffy, the flowers arrived at the timing I wanted, for the people they were for. And I am so glad these blooms made their day!

If you’d like these blooms to make someone’s day too, use the discount code “MOTHERKAO20” when checking out on their website to get a 20% discount.

Disclosure: A Better Florist sent these flowers in exchange for this post; no monetary compensation was received. These folks believe that sending and receiving flowers should be easy, affordable and beautiful, and that every reason is the perfect reason to send out flowers. Well said!

Happy days Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Dunfermline, Scotland – and 5 things to savour with kids when you’re there

July 14, 2017

Cold and rainy Dunfermline, Kingdom of Fife, Scotland

Cold and rainy Dunfermline, Kingdom of Fife, Scotland

One huge reason why we decided to head to the UK with the entire family in tow this summer was because we had family in Scotland, and we wanted the kids to reunite with their granduncle and grandaunt again. They come to visit often, but we’ve never visited them in the UK, and so Fatherkao and I thought it would be an adventure to take the kids all the way to the Kingdom of Fife.

Sounds really like heading back to medieval times.

Fife, still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife, is a historical county of Scotland. Fife is divided into 3 districts: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and North-east Fife. We flew to London first, then took a Virgin East Coast train for about 5 hours to Dunfermline, where we would stay with family for a week. That became our base to explore Perth, Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Much little is known about Dunfermline, except that it’s the hometown of the great Mr Andrew Carnegie, one of the greatest philanthropists our world has ever known. There’s certainly more to the town and former Royal Burgh called Dunfermline, and here it is, 5 awesome things to do with kids (Motherkao’s version) in Dunfermline, as experienced by us.

If you ever head there; you’re welcome.

1.  Have steak bakes at Greggs

Arguably you could say that you can find this awesome bakery all throughout the UK and you don’t really need to go to Dunfermline for it. Tis’ true that you can get your sandwich and pasties and score a £2 steak bake and coffee lunch easily anywhere anyway. But I say, it’s tastier here in Dunfermline for the reason that it is waaaayyyy colder here with summer hitting 10-14°C and having your piping hot pasty, pizza, calzone, bacon roll or bake dripping with steaming bubbling goodness for breakfast or lunch is one of the best things we ever did in Dunfermline.

Awesome hot piping bakes

And for sure, it was also tastier because we savoured hot bakes on a cold rainy summer day with family.

2. Spend a day at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries

This spectacular £12.4million place was recently built in Dunfermline and houses a museum, exhibition galleries, local history Reading Room, new children’s library and a mezzanine café with stunning views over the landscaped garden to Dunfermline Abbey and the Heritage Quarter and features the world’s first Carnegie Library. You could easily spend a day or days here FOR FREE. We walked through the galleries again and again, learning the wonderfully rich history of the former Royal Burgh of Dunfermline, about Robert the Bruce and the history involving England and Scotland, their kings and their queens – stuff that my Literature and History classes were made of.

Museum fun: navigating our way around

The famous people of Dunfermline

Which I thoroughly loved.  I studied English Literature and History for most parts of my growing years wearing school uniform, and museums excite me.

 

Role playing was fun – costumes of kings and queens

 

View of the Dunfermline Abbey

Rainy day at the Galleries

Anyway.

The kids were made to read, listen, watch and just appreciate the immersion of being at the Library and Galleries. And since it was a rainy day that day and we didn’t fancy walking around in the rain and in the cold, we spent a good time just soaking up the quaint little town this way.

Enjoying comics from the comics shelves

Role play time

Hanging out with the Gruffalo

The Very Hungry Caterpillar read and reread

Enjoying the Children’s Section of plentiful books!

I must say the library is one of the most impressive I have seen – and that the civic mindedness everyone has towards the care of books, and the consideration of others around was truly worthy of respect.

3. No sweat at Pittencrieff Park

I have never known what it’s like to play with abandonment in midsummer day till I watched my three kids in their child-likeness embrace the swings and slides at Pittencrieff Park.

And what a joy it was capturing these smiling faces.

The sun’s shining down on us but we ain’t feeling it

So many times they asked for Dada to give them a push and they got bolder and bolder on the swings

Fun times!

Of swings and merry-go-rounds in 14°C weather – we could go on and on since the sun doesn’t set till 10.30pm in summer!

Back at home, I can’t even last beyond an hour in the park or the playground. The humidity, the mozzies and the relentless heat would usually end up killing most of the fun. And the kids would end up sweaty, grumpy and very quickly quarrelsome.

Not here in this park. Not in this weather. Not on this holiday.

We could even take time to roll on grass, lie on grass and smell the flowers.

Big thanks to Mr Andrew Carnegie who many decades ago made this park possible for the people of Dunfermline. Granduncle told us the story of Junior Carnegie not being allowed in parks as a little boy because places as fun as these were only for the rich, and that he swore he would make it big enough to make parks free for everybody.

So here we are.

4. Hello again, Dennis the Menace

I grew up a Xennial and lived a largely analogue childhood where I would watch Dennis the Menace on tv (no cable last time) and then read lots of Beano Annuals. There was also Heckle and Jeckle, and Looney Tunes and He-man and Flintstones on tv for most part of my preschool years and so you can imagine it was such a blast to the past for me stepping into Brewers Fayre at Crooked Glen at Fife Leisure Park that has a Beano-inspired indoor playground.

Having lots of fun at Brewers Fayre at Crooked Glen, Fife Leisure Park

The kids were, of course, just happy to have indoor playground time. And the husband and I were just happy to be revisiting childhood once more having dessert and sipping coffee/wine.

5. Getting on the train and enjoying the view

The view of the countryside and of coastal England from London to Edinburgh and then to Dunfermline was a breathtaking one. Gives a whole new meaning to counting sheep because plenty of sheep was what we saw. Including oxen and horses, quaint cottages and pavements lined with flowers blooming in full glory.

Train rides are made of these

…Lots of snacking

… Lots of drawing and doodling

…Chattering and reading and bonding

Beautiful views are soul food.

The beautiful sights to take in

The town of Dunfermline was beautiful and rustic and I loved it every time we got on to the car or train because the view outside the window never looked so good. So good that it recharges and refreshes the soul.

Town views

Love these houses

Dunfermline at 10.30pm

Soul food is good “food” for kids, especially city kids who are inaundated with screen time, worksheets, and schedules of tuition, swimming, enrichment and all the et ceteras. They need to learn to look out of the window, count sheep and do nothing, all while imagining and inventing a world in their imagination on road trips and train rides.

~~~

We’re missing summertime Scotland like crazy now, back in humid and hot Singapore, and wishing big time for some more wanderlust dust to be sprinkled upon us once more.

Goodbye, Dunfermline

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

Eyewear coolness. Because vain. – Review of Ottica.com

June 24, 2017

Just like you never say no to one more bag or a pair of shoes, you never say no to one more pair of sunglasses.

Because?

Because vain.

I recently had the opportunity to find my perfect pair on Ottica.com, and by golly, the perfect pair I did find. All in the comfort of my home, in front of a screen, without having to take off, put on that trial pair of sunglasses – and repeat a hundred times – to find what fits my face.

It was online shopping at its best! So stoked that technology has made that all happened.

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All I needed to do was to go to Ottica.com, and start browsing each tab.

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I went to Sunglasses, then to Gender, selected Female, and then a whole new world of choices opened up from colours, to shape to frame size.

You can choose to see what's most relevant for you from size and shape to colour and brands

You can choose to see what’s most relevant for you from size and shape to colour and brands

I keyed in my frame size, following the current pair of sunglasses I have with the best fit, and then the search was filtered further. When I clicked on any choice of sunglasses, a section on the right allowed me to upload my own photo to see how I looked.

You can key in your frame size by looking in the insides of your current frame that fits best

You can key in your frame size by looking in the insides of your current frame that fits best

Uploading a profile picture

Uploading a profile picture

And then, SHOPPING BEGAN!

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I tried my Raybans, I put on Tory Burch and Michael Kors and fitted Carolino Lemke and Versace cat glasses just for the fun of it. I got snapshots of myself in aviators, with round rims and oval ones and got the kids to do a poll for me.

I could even get an overview of what I tried, just to do more comparisons.

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All very good fun.

When I finally narrowed my selection to getting sunglasses from Coach, I could further choose between brown and black lens, rotate the sunglasses frame to see what I get on the sides and how it looked.

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And then, it was down to these three in black lens – with frames different – which was then put to a vote by the kids.

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You can imagine how long this process took. But at least I got to “try” every possible choice possible. Without needing to put on/take off like a gazillion times, which I imagine would be laborious and might likely result in me making decisions in a haste, if I were in a physical shop!

When it was time to check out, all I needed to do was to choose the type of lens type and thickness I’d like to have, and then check out through the payment link after keying in my shipping address.

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Fuss-free, easy, convenient at my finger tips.

I loved that I had FULL control of what I am getting, and I probably will never buy sunglasses any other way again; or glasses for that matter of fact, since Ottica also provides for prescription.

I got the sunglasses in a matter of days – I think it was less than a week – and wala, it’s been lovely having it for company while I was on holiday.

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Chic, cool and chosen by my kids.

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All in the name of vanity.

~~~

Disclosure: I was gifted credits to experiment and review this website by Ottica.com. All opinions here are my own. I’ve been looking for a website like this for the longest time and this is a timely collaboration opportunity for a time-starved mother like me!