Happy Anniversary!

Here's introducing some of the best selling macaron flavours! 

These are the macs which customers have ordered,

and it racked up to 7 orders this weekend ;)

I doubt I can take any more than 7 - 9 orders a week. 

Rose macaron

Salted Caramel buttercream

Hazelnut macaron. 

New trial which turned out super yums!

Pistachio macaron

Matcha Green Tea macaron

Chocolate macaron

All packed and ready to be delivered to make someone's dayy! :D

Hope they like them!

I'm working on an exciting mission right now,

and hopefully it will materialize really soon!

There are so many online bakeries which are venturing into a brick-and-mortar cafe.

And I really look forward to having my own cafe one day too

But I hold a full-time job, which I hold dear to my heart as well.

Hence, I'm only baking only after work hours, and on weekends. ;)

Nevertheless, I'm now scouting for a suitable NEA licensed kitchen to rent,

so I can bake for bigger orders at a go! 

I'm also looking at potential farmers' market to hold a stall, 

so people can just pop by to say hi and try the macarons.

Currently, upcoming plans for Sprinkled with love - E, there are 2 major orders for weddings,

and I'm still trying to fix the details for a giveaway.

I guess I'd most probably find a day for everyone to meet me at a common point,

say City hall? 

It's not really possible to send a courier down for each giveaway giftbox :x

Looking forward to getting all your support to pop by to collect the giftboxes :D

Looks like I've many milestones that I can't wait to achieve with Sprinkled with Love -E..

If only I have more time to bake.

------

On another note.. I've set aside my apron to go out too.

All the work and baking are driving me crazy. lol!

Here's Shane and myself celebrating our anniversary! 

Here's me being vain as usual!

Loving the pairing of the Forever New top and Love Bonito embossed skirt ;)

Been feeling a little wistful of late.. 

and thinking of how a year is passing by so quickly.

That's just me, getting into this sorta mood everytime the year comes closer to the end.

Can you believe that it's going to be October already tomorrow?

Where did three-quarters of the year go?

Nowadays, my calender is filled up with orders, work meetings, gatherings, baby showers, weddings..

There isn't a single slot in my calendar that is free on a weekend.

I live on a daily basis, poring and fussing over many details.

I wish I have time to slow down, but there is just so much I can't wait to accomplish while I'm still young.

Twenties is passing by really quickly..

And I hope at the end of my twenties,

I'd be able to look back and tell myself that I have no regrets :)

That goes for you too. 

If you have any dream, no matter big or small,

don't sit on it, don't be fearful, don't wait for things to happen,

make it happen. 

For afterall, you only live once. #yolo

It's never too early or too late to embark on anything.

Just start with baby steps ;)

That's what I'm doing right now too! 

I don't know how long will I be able to bake, 

but I know that I want to bake now. ;)

Alright, shall stop here before I go round and round with my big theories. hehe.

Till the next, have a good rest everybody.

I'm off to crash my bed.

The Coastal Settlement

Last Sunday saw at The Coastal Settlement for brunch.

Had wanted to head there ever since passing it by on our last trip to La Cantina in Venezia.

It's a gorgeous, tucked away gem in our urban jungle.

Imagine sprawling green lawns, butterflies fluttering amid the flowers,

slight chatter of the little sparrows, smell of the morning dew,

rattling of the coffee machine, and scent of earthly scrambled eggs tossed in truffle oil.

Indeed, this place invoked all senses in every way possible.  

This was the entrance which greeted us upon entering its car park entrance.

Thankfully, we headed there early at about 10.30am, so the carpark wasn't full yet.

We estimated that the carpark has a capacity of slightly over 20 lots? 

So head there early if you intend to drive :)

The winding pathway which leads from the carpark to the main entrance of The Coastal Settlement,

There were potted plants, little carved stones which lined the sides of the pathway.

There was also a swing, but I didn't manage to get near it as it was occupied.

The Coastal Settlement only starts operation at 11am, hence we had loads of time to cam whore. :P

Even at 10.30am, there were at least 6 groups of people waiting. gosh. 

Exploring the new camera and environment as we waited for time to pass.

It was lovely to be able to sit at the outdoor porch while waiting.

It struck me as to how little time we spent just relaxing and letting the light breezes caress our faces...

while doing absolutely nothing.

Such a moment will leave most of us guilt stricken on any working day.

Why have we grown so strung up over accomplishing something every single moment?

I was growing so contemplative that I might sink into depression any moment. haha.

Thank goodness, the staff's welcoming voice snapped me out of my reverie. 

The interior of The Coastal Settlement is just as awesome as the exterior.

The premise was huge, with old school grey cement flooring,

fitted luxuriously with all the vintage looking furniture and vehicles.

Yes, vehicles! There were scooters which were lined up as part of the furniture,

and they looked so shiny and cool! 

Wooden teak chairs were hung up on the ceiling, 

and old telephones, tea cups and saucers added little touches of magic to this already lovely place.

To the main orders proper,

we both ordered dishes from the Eggs section.

I had the Truffle eggs and mushrooms ($20),

while Shane had the Steak and eggs ($32).

So glad that Shane didn't turn up his nose at the menu.

He is definitely not an eggs-bacon-mushroom kind of brunch person.

He would prefer dishes that are slightly more filling that that. 

Luckily for the addition of a steak item in the menu :)

For once, he looked excited about having brunch. 

Notice the awesome range of vintage scooters behind me :)

For mine (Truffle Eggs with Mushrooms),

I liked how fluffy and buttery the scrambled eggs were, 

and how the earthly tones of mushrooms were accentuated with the addition of truffle oil,

but I didn't like that bacon laced with maple syrup.

It seems to be a trademark of The Coastal Settlement, 

as I couldn't find a single bacon dish without the maple syrup.

But the combination of the saccharine sweet maple syrup and salty bacon just doesn't go well.

I'm sorry to say this, but I didn't touch the bacon after the first bite :(

The toast that came with slightly salted butter and apricot jam was warm and fluffy too.

So for most part of the dish, I enjoyed eating it.

However, both Shane & I loved the Steak and Eggs dish to bits!

Shane is a steak-fanatic, and knows how to enjoy a good steak any time.

According to him, the steak was really good, and value for money.

The scrambled eggs and truffle fries were good complements too.

In the end, I finished all his truffle fries. hehe.

I'm such a sucker for truffle fries!

We'll definitely be back again to Coastal Settlement.

It's hard not to fall in love with a gorgeous place with awesome food!

Do visit this place if you have the time. 

It's definitely in my good books for the list of Must-Visit cafes in Singapore ;)

Till the next, have a lovely Sunday peeps!

Guess Demin x Cleo (Part II)

Here's the followup post for the Guess x Cleo photoshoot ;)

Love how the make-up artist did such a fabulous job ;)

But when it came to posing, my heart was thumping, and shoulders were stiff.

But as crew tried to make me laugh, my shoulder visibly relaxed.

Hadn't noticed the part about tensing up when I take photos.

There was once  when my makeup artist came to touch up on my hair,

and caught me by surprise by shaking me front and back and jokingly said "relax.. relax"

lol! I'll bear that in mind ;) 

The shoot location was at a lovely furniture store called "Journey East"

It's indeed a modern gem found in an otherwise run-down building.

So many retro, hippy looking furniture within its premises! 

Here're some behind the scenes

Hoping everything will turn out aokay.

It will come out in the November series of Cleo,

and can't wait to see the final series of 6 different looks!

Finally got to see a few of the other girls today, and they are all sooo pretty.

With the bubbly make up artist :)

Managed to steal a few shots before changing back into my own clothes.

I feel like purchasing the tie-dye jeans. 

Had felt so reluctant to return them to the crew.

In the rest of the photos below, you'd get to see the awesome furniture found there.

Cleo had some questions to ask me, so I camwhored while waiting for them. heh.

Most of the photos are of me parading in my newest buys:

Top - River Island

Skirt - Asos

Heels - Love Bonito

And oh, the cat is Ginger.

It's the owner's pet, and he kept strolling around and purring really loudly! 

The last photo is Shane's new shoes. haha!

After everything wrapped up at 3pm,

we headed to Strangers' Reunion which was located really nearby.

Can't resist a photo with the rustic looking shop house front. 

We had decided on this place due to its proximity to the shoot's locations,

and also partly due all the great reviews by bloggers.

It's packed for a weekday 3pm timeslot,

where most of the crowd consists of people in the age range of 18 - 30.

We had walked past an entire row of cafes before reaching Strangers' Reunion,

and they were all empty (as we had expected).

Thus, we were rather taken aback to see how this cafe was.

The cafe gave off a very laid-back vibe, 

and everyone seems deeply engaged in their conversations.

We ordered the Egg + Bacon Ciabatta, and the truffle fries.

And two hot cappucinos to go along with them.

The truffle fries were good, not overfried,

and gave a delicate taste of truffle oil.

The parmesan cheese on top was a perfect complement ;)

Plus the dip sauce was good too.

Would definitely recommend this dish.

For the egg + bacon ciabatta,

the bread was too tough!

I know the nature of ciabatta is to be tough and dense. 

But I think this one really disappoints.

Bacon and egg were normal, I guess?

Overall, I'd say it's a lovely place to chill,

but with the crowd, and seats being so near to each other,

it can be a little uncomfortable to have private conversations.

I could hear every single word spoken by couple seated 10cm away from us. lol.

Oh well, can't really fault the owner since they are so popular.

I'm sure I'd fill up the place to its maximum if I was in the owner's shoes ;)