{Travel Special} East Coast Park @ Singapore

We had a short family visit to Singapore during the weekends, we did not make plan for sight seeing since we intend to have some quality time with the family. 

However, as East Coast Park is just on the way from our hotel to the relative's house, we decided to take the duo for some play time at the park in the morning. 

East Coast Park is located next to the beach and has a wide open space that span across 185 hector of land and 18km of coastal line. Most part of the beach have shady trees so the park packed with joggers and cyclists during our weekend visit.

On the first day of visit, we had our breakfast sets at the Starbucks cafe. It was a breezy morning, so we picked the outdoor long bench facing the sea. We were sipping our drinks, enjoying the soft music playing in the background and doodling at the same time. Just a box of color pencils and some papers, and we had really cozy start for the day.

The next day, we returned again with the duo and this time we came preparedwith  extra clothes for changing. The duo dashed to the beach and started playing with sands right away.

They had so much fun walking along the beach and kicking the wave that they almost refused to leave. 

If you have more luxury of time, you can rent a bike, a scooter or a skateboard at the nearby cycling shop. They have something to offer for every age.

We stopped by St Marc Bakery & Bar for a late brunch. The restaurant setup was warmth and welcoming.

They offered a pretty good selection of sweet savory. They served weekend brunch between 9:30am to 3:00pm and with reasonable price range - around SGD$9.80 (French toast) to SGD$21.90 (Wagyu burger). However the cafe latte was rather mild and personally I find Starbucks breakfast set a much worthy deal - only SGD$6.90 inclusive of a breakfast meal (quite some choices) and a mug of brew of the day. 

E and I shared the buttermilk pancakes. The pancakes were fluffy but overall too dry to my liking, perhaps it will be more awesome if they provide some maple syrup or honey, instead of the fresh cream.

Big Guy and C shared the American breakfast set. Again, I thought it would be nicer to serve with some sauce and we would preferred some thick fat fries...

According to the directory, there is supposed to be a children playground somewhere in the park but we did not managed to find it, even the waiter has no idea where it is located. So we had to give it a missed.

Our little girl was curious about anything and everything.. She spotted someone holding a yoyo in there.

However overall the park is a really friendly place for the whole family. We met a lot of the locals and expats that brought their family here for cycling, jogging, barbecuing (need advanced booking for the barbecue pit), camping (need permit), cricket / frisbee game, or just sun bathing on the very clean beach (just so you know, never ever litter in Singapore unless you are looking for trouble...).

Besides, from the official website I found that they offered watersports / water activities and there is also a holiday chalet available for rent. This is probably the urban gateway for the local Singaporeans or Johorean.

So, what do I like about this place?

I liked that they have easy access for stroller / wheelchair, spacious washrooms right next to the beach (equipped with shower facility) and shady beach that allows a comfort walk. There is also abundance of cafes and restaurants to choose from and most of them are facing the beach. 

So if you have some spare time when you visit Singapore, so drop by to East Coast Park with your kiddos and have a fun-filled day!

Important note... 

Make sure you come early to avoid the burning sun and bring along your sunblock, hats and loads of water. 

Here is the piece of memory that i took home with me.

Where I drew my inspiration..

More Information..

Entrance: free

Operating hour: 24 hours, lighting from 7:00pm to 7:00am

Direction: public transport and onsite parking a single. You may refer to the google Map.

For more information, refer to the official website here

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Baby C's 4th Birthday Party

My bunny girl is 4, finally. She had grown so much in just a year, taller (6cm!), prettier (lossing her puffiness), so talkative  (so much so that I hope I can mute her sometimes) and also have developed a strong personality of her own. She knows very well what she likes or dislikes and is able to express her feeling clearly, so a typical day of me with the duo together is full of chats and laughter.

Anyway. She told me she likes pink. No mistake about it. So her birthday party theme this year is no other but, PINK.

Her Lovely Pink Teddy cake, fully decorated by me. You can read about the making here. 

She held pride in cutting her custom made birthday cake, wearing her pink princess dress made by mommy while the koko watched on *smile* 

You can read more about the making of this dress here (not tutorial, but the steps involved in making this dress) 

The felt bunting I made for her and she really really loved it, this bunting will be hung in her room once the party is over.

The feast of good food on the party day. We organized a simple potluck party inviting all the closed friends and their kiddos.

The apricot jelly that was really well received, the natural color is rather pleasing too (I would avoid using heavy coloring if possible since this is for kids)

I made the Devil's chicken wings on my BFF's request and they turned out to be a big hit. You can get the recipe on my food blog later (promise I will post them...)

The gifts we prepared for her little friends. Just some yummy treats in each bottle and enough to make the kids really happy. E helped to label all the names and C happily distributed to all her friends.

What is a party without some balloons? We had some polkadots balloons to spice up the party. The kids had a good balloon fight and all of them brought home a ballon each. These are just the leftovers. 

The girls sat down to enjoy their dessert after the lunch. All looking pretty in pink.

Then it's playtime.. 

Outdoor playtime... Tossing balls into the basket and winner took home a small prize. The kids were super excited with such a simple game. They would have played longer if not because of the drizzles.

Me & my designer cake *blush*. Taken the minutes before we cut it apart.

I dare say C was the happiest girl on Earth that day.... Surrounded by the people she loved and who loved her. Her smile lasted whole day.

The very thoughtful gifts and cards she received. One of which was from her grand aunt Kerry who has been sending her a card from Australia every year without fail. 

After the party, we surprised her with her new pink tricycle (yes, PINK again!), and took her for a ride at the park. Now the koko and her have a bike each, she has finally upgraded from her scooter. *smile*

Happy birthday, my pretty C. Thanks for bringing us so much joy & love, life is just so wonderful with you and koko around. Mommy love you, always and forever.

Xoxo,

PH

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{Made by PH} The Birthday Princess Dress

It's the time of the year to design a birthday dress for my little girl again, her 4th year old birthday is only few days away. We will be hosting a small party with best buddies and their kiddos. Nothing fancy: no bouncy castle, no carousels, no professional entertainers.. just a day for the little friends to hang out and have some fun. I like K.I.S.S. - keep it simple and sweet. :)

Little C is all about pink now. She has her favorite pink teddy bear, favorite pink dancing shoes, favorite pink hair band... So I could not think of other color for her party dress except, PINK.

Loads of pink.

In pink polkadots, filled with little daisies and rig-rags. 

I used the same pattern as the Snow White dress I made for her last month, except with some changes in fabric matching. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turns out.

Two little butterflies hiding on the back. I like adding little details in my handmade, they are like little surprises waiting to be discovered. 

The Making...

I had not prepared a tutorial for this dress (it is not quite an easy piece, so I am sort of lazy to write a long tutorial). Please please pardon me. 

However the picture collage below would summarise the making. It took me a span of 2 days of approximately 2.5 hours each.

This is how the steps go (from top left to bottom right):

Cutting the pieces from my self-made pattern...

Sewing the bodice..

Making the stretchable shoulder straps...

Attaching the shoulder straps to the bodice..

Making the skirt and attaching it to the bodice..

Finally, hem all edges... add the accessories like little flowers or buttons... and it's done!

I cannot make up my mind if I should add on some bling bling embellishment onto the dress, to add some sparkly magical feel. While my girl will surely like it, washing it later may be a bit of a challenge - it would has to be handed washed. 

Just let me mull over that thought for awhile... In the meanwhile, do feel free to share your suggestion! *smile*

Xoxo,

pH

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.