ISAYHELLO: TTR reunion steamboat

Finally done with the mad CNY rush at the office.

Really thankful for all the support during this festive period!

I must say that my girls really did well for the past 2 weeks with the increase in mailing and self collection.

There were some inevitable slip ups but on the whole I'm really proud of how smooth things went!

Getting ready for CNY part I,
having TTR reunion steamboat!

The first of many reunion meals to come.

My family at work

Each year,
I always feel thankful for having such a wonderful (and growing) team of girls who helps me so much at work,
who always puts in their best without having me to ensure so.

Getting ready for CNY part II,
pretty outfits!

I'm pretty lucky that I don't have to spend time shopping around for CNY outfits.
All my CNY outfits will definitely be from TTR.
Proud to be wearing my very own label!
;)

We Heart Bustier Romper in Black from TTR

Wrap Party Skorts in White from TTR

L'amore Crochet Top in White from TTR

Wrap Party Skorts in Tartan Red from TTR

If you've managed to snag a piece of these from our launches,
yay for you!
:)
I hope you like them because we've definitely put in lots of hard work in churning these pieces and collections out in time for CNY.

Getting ready for CNY part III,
new hair colour and lash extensions by COVO salon!

Got myself a (much) brighter hair colour for CNY,
and retouched my lash extensions so that I can have pretty eyes for this festive period!

If you have not gotten your hair/lash extensions done,
it's time to start panicking.
LOL.

Call COVO to book your appointments now!
If you're lucky,
they might just still have slots left for your last minute CNY dash.
Heh.

COVO hair salon
43 Keong Saik Rd
Singapore 089147
Tel: 6221 4585

Here's a special promotion just for you, just quote my name <JOYCE> to enjoy the discount!
*Eyelash extension unlimited usual price $150
SPECIAL PRICE $90

*Valid till end Feb 2014
*Only for first time customers

Here're some tips if you're heading down to get your lashes done:

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!
I'm really over the moon that we're done with work and I can now start to enjoy CNY.

It's my favourite holiday out of the entire year because of all the good food,
awesome goodies and the very fact that I get to spend lots of time with my loved ones.

Just had reunion dinner with my family!
I sure hope that you had a good one with your families as well..
It's my happiest meal every year because everyone gets to sit down together and dine together.

As you might have seen on my twitter feed,

I've been tweeting photos of some pineapple tarts which I've made!

;)

It's part of the tradition in my family to make pineapple tarts for CNY...

I grew up eating the pineapple tarts which my aunts make,

which in my opinion, are unrivaled by any other store-bought/homemade pineapple tarts.

Of course, it all boils down to personal preference as to how every individual likes their tarts.

For me, I like the crust of the pineapple tart to be buttery and melt in the mouth.

The pineapple jam has to complement but not overpower by being too sweet.

Which is something which store bought pineapple jams cannot achieve,

because they taste like mouthfuls of sugar..

So when I make my own tarts, I put in extra time to cook the jam as well.

It is quite a tedious process cooking the jam, in case you don't know!

The pineapples have to be grated,

followed by filtering the juice from the pulp,

and cooking the pulp together with sugar for 4-5 hours until it forms into jam.

The time taken to cook is for 10 pineapples.

So as you can seen, we usually make quite a large amount of pineapple tarts!

Good thing that the jam can be stored for a few days,

because I could only spare a few hours per night to make the tarts.

It's my third year making them (after learning the recipe from my aunts),

and I'm pretty sure they taste better with each year.

HAHA.

And the best part about making tarts?

Getting to sit around with my sisters and chat about the most random and irrelevant things.
It's also the only CNY-related activity which makes my dad happy.
Haha.
He's super enthusiastic about us making pineapple tarts,
all the ingredients are bought by him!

Getting ready to go into the oven!

Don't they look like cheery sunflowers??
:D

One batch of these makes around 80-100 tarts,
and we made 4 batches this year!

Packed into containers waiting to be gifted to our family and friends!
:)))

I'm definitely not boasting when I say that they're one of the nicest pineapple tarts around.
Also affirmed by most people who are lucky enough to have tried it before!
Lucky because...
We don't usually bake enough to give away that many bottles, hahah. :p

Another of my favourite CNY goodie!
Chocolate almond shortbread squares!

Jolene ordered it from her ex-colleague,
and it's so yummy that I've been munching on them every now and then.

Gonna learn how to make these next year!!!
LOL.

Organised a TTR reunion steamboat lunch just yesterday,
which didn't turn out very well because 1) Kat forgot that she had a conflicting hair appointment,
2) Erica had to rush a major project last minute,
3) Dings forgot that she was supposed to be at her grandma's place for reunion too.

LOL.
Fail in terms of attendance but we had a good time still!