End of Christmas.

Christmas has officially ended for me. :(

My Christmas Floral Arrangement!

My sister picked the flowers. (:

This was quite a challenge. The flowers were tall and it would be a pity to cut it short but I had to use the shorter vase because my sister's taller vase was broken by the workers that renovated her house.

It was a delicate balancing act to make it stand since there was no pebbles to hold it up. I decided to use the stems and leaves and I cheated by using the ribbon to tie and hold it together.

It worked. (:

Christmas Baking!

:D IT'S CHRISTMAS SOON! :D

I adore Christmas season. They make people happy and it is such a joyous period. (:

When it is Christmas, I am free to bake and I love baking Pavlova the most because the meringue is just so pretty!

Pretty meringue! So Shiny. (:

Dusted with dark cocoa! Beautiful, isn't it?

Fat Pavy in the making!

Fattest Pavlova I ever made!

Before the collapse...

After the collapse!

Pavlova with the topping. Pity that the picture isn't that sharp. :(

Close up!

Even more close up :D

iNGREDIENTS

• 
• 

FOR THE CHOCOLATE MERINGUE BASE:

• 6 egg whites
• 300g caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved
• 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 50g dark chocolate, finely chopped

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 500ml double cream
• 500g raspberries
• 2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated dark chocolate

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 23cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150°C/gas mark 2 and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.
3. When you're ready to serve, invert on to a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious colour and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate's rim.

Serves: 8-10.

Recipe posted by Nigell

Taken from Nigella's Website.

Video tutorial! ^^

Streets of Hokkaido.

Sorry for the lack of entries!! I was in Hokkaido and then school started. :D

Here are some shots I took there!

More pretty shots next post! (:

Teddy oh Teddy.

Isn't he just so darn incredible???

His every move is so raw with emotions and with so much control that watching him just takes your breath away. That invisible strength he has that made every move look effortless is just spectacular. I don't think people understand just how much control he needs to have over his every movement just so he won't look like a mess.

Not to mention, this is such an insanely well-choreographed dance! It is tightly woven, with no loopholes to pick at. Upsetting is such an apt word to use to describe how I felt watching him for the dance is fill with so much sadness. His style is just so unique and different with a flavour of his own.

As a dancer, a contemporary dancer, being able to move seamlessly, project so fully the emotions of a dance and execute the dance flawlessly is an immense achievement. Teddy did this (at least to me ^^). If he keeps this up, he will definitely be the one to look out for in the Contemporary world of dancing.

AND he is only 18.

This guy should not exist. :D

Speeding Motorcycle.

taken by me.

Pantry Magic!

43 Jalan Merah Saga, Chip Bee Gardens #01-80, Holland Village

Perfect place to get your baking needs. (:

Speeding lights versus light showers

Which do you love more?

taken by me on Christmas.

taken by me on a speeding car.

Verdict?

Bits of trains, trees, sky and cloud.

taken by me.

Exams are over! YAY! :D

More and better posts to come. Sorry about the drop in standards!

Of leaves and sky.

Taken by me

I adore this picture. There is just something so lovely about the sky colour. So unnatural yet pretty.

Morgan M. Morgansen Date with Destiny.

Ridiculously lovely collaborations of several talented people coming together to produce these impressive pieces of work.

Part 1.

Part 2 - Eleventeeth Date - The Zeppelin Zoo

Videos taken from hitRECord.org.

HitRECord is the brainchild of the well-known talented Joseph-Gordon Levitt. It's a fascinating and wonderful platform for people to express their creativity and allow their work to be shared and modified by people who wishes to contribute or improve on it.

Surely, everyone agrees that Joe is extremely good-looking and (very) talented in acting. (Another of my favourites besides Ellen Page.)

What I am most impressed with about him is his ability to come with such a simple innovation that work so well and use his position in society to bring it a little further advocating for what he believe in not just in a form of a website but in action as well. The idea is new and refreshing. Plus, the notion of being able to share your creation is a wonderful way inspire others. It allows your work to be selflessly part of something bigger.

I adore people who daringly create innovations like these to advocate what they believe in with everything they can offer. It's utterly inspiring. (:

The Pig of Happiness.

(: The brilliant Edward Monkton.

A small act can change the whole world!!

Fascinating.

Random but I cannot help it.

I write like
Neil Gaiman

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Biggest praise I've ever gotten when it comes to my stories. :D

Candlelight.

taken by me.

Flowers from the past.

I found better pictures of my flowers!! :D

Taken by me

Dusk.

Taken by me.

Took this by the window, had to hold my breath so the image would look sharp. :D

Taken by me.

It rained quite a bit today so it was pretty foggy outside. Reminded me of Britain.

Oh I wish I am in Britain.

Orange French Toast!

YUMS.

Once again Nigella didn't disappoint me. :D Really yummy.

I thought it would be really easy and would definitely not make a mess. Unfortunately, I overestimate my cooking ability. :D Apparently, butter can get really hot.

Thankfully, it turned out well. My mom liked it. (:

RECIPE!
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 orange
60ml full-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large, thick slices white bread or 4 smaller slices
juice of 1 orange
75g fine-cut marmalade, such as Tiptree “crystal”
50g caster sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon butter

1. Whisk the eggs, orange zest, milk and ground cinnamon in a wide shallow dish.
2. Soak the bread slices in this mixture for 2 minutes a side.
3. While the eggy bread is soaking, bring the orange juice, marmalade and sugar to the boil in a saucepan, then turn down the heat to a fast simmer for 3–4 minutes. If you need to, let this syrup stand while you cook the bread.
4. Heat the butter in a heavy-based frying pan and cook the eggy bread for about 2 minutes a side over a medium heat until golden.
5. Serve the French toast with some of the amber syrup poured over each slice, and a jug of extra syrup on the side.

Fairtrade.

I was shopping in the grocery store when I stumbled upon this:

Look! A Fairtrade product!

What Fairtrade mean:

"Fairtrade offers producers a better deal and improved terms of trade. This allows them the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future. Fairtrade offers consumers a powerful way to reduce poverty through their every day shopping."

(taken from FLO)

Isn't that just brilliant? It is so wonderful to know that whatever you are eating is not a product that contributes to poverty due to big corporate company bullying.

Butter biscuit with a dark chocolate layer. (:

Besides, it is pretty yummy and very addictive. Although the dark chocolate is only about 40%, it is not overly sweet. The smooth dark chocolate went so well with the layer of grainy, wheat butter biscuit. I do wish that the biscuit is a bit less thick, though.

Anyway, eradicating poverty does not have to be a big step. We can all contribute and start off with something small like getting products that only has the Fairtrade mark. (:

Robots.

Sorry for the really late update. Been awfully busy. :\

It is all over now though and I will like to introduce you to...

THE DAILY ROBOT.

Images from The Daily Robot.

I know it is geeky but I can't help it. They are too gorgeous to ignore.

What I really find interesting is how some of the drawings have sort of a dystopia and apocalyptic or even a post-apocalptic feel to it. It is more than just a doodle or a simple drawing drawn by Miles Donovan, owner of the blog.

By the way, they have a tumblr website too. (: