[Workshop] Atlr.72 Mooncake Workshop for Kids and Pop-up Store at One Holland Village

 Japan's Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has launched a new food brand, Atlr.72™ (Atelier Seven Two), in Singapore to promote eco-friendly eating habits by using plant-based, cell-based, and microbial-based ingredients. Atlr.72™ draws inspiration from the 72 microseasons of the traditional Japanese calendar, reflecting nature's subtle changes. Targeting eco-conscious consumers, two products have been launched in line with the upcoming mid-autumn festival. The two products are the Atlr.72™ Flowering Mooncake and the Atlr.72™ Ice Cream Sandwich, both featuring Solein. The brand aim to connect consumers with nature through sustainable ingredients.  

My girl had the opportunity and enjoyed a fun-filled mooncake workshop hosted by Atlr.72™, held at One Holland Village. Both girls had a great time learning about the Mid-Autumn Festival and designing their own beautiful flowering mooncakes. 

The mooncakes were pre-made, leaving the girls to get creative by adding on the decorative parts on top and using edible chocolate to draw or write on. However, things took a playful turn when they found out that the paint is edible chocolate and they ended up sneaking a taste of the it straight from the tube!  

Showcasing the final result of their own unique mooncakes, designed by themselves, my girl couldn't wait to indulge in her own creation! To top it off, we also got to try the ice cream sandwich, which combines Solein-based vanilla ice cream with mochi, and features beautifully crafted Peranakan designs. 

There are four different flavours in this gift box: Japanese Yuzu, which is refreshing and has a pleasant tartness from the yuzu peels, Raspberry, which is sweet and pairs well with the bitter chocolate, Black Currant, which is enhanced by the white bean paste, and Kyoto Uji Matcha, which brings out the full flavour of the white chocolate with its delicate bitterness. The mooncakes are designed with Peranakan-inspired patterns in mind and made with health conscious ingredients. To best enjoy the Atlr.72™ Flowering Mooncake, thaw it in the refrigerator for over 3 hours before eating, and consume it within 4 days after thawing. Store in the freezer at -18°C or below.

This is not only the most beautiful mooncake I've seen this year, but it also breaks tradition by using healthy and natural ingredients. Each bite brings a different textures, from the top layer of chocolate to the layer of cookies with Solein, and the filling surrounded by guimauve. I think this makes a great gift at any time of the year, not just limited to mid-autumn festival. Lastly, thanks Pink for sharing this event with us! 

XOXO

[Workshop] Gallery Wellness Festival 2023 - Scents-ing Aroma Workshop at National Gallery Singapore

Photo from National Gallery Singapore FB Page

The Gallery Wellness Festival 2023 presented by the National Gallery Singapore is back for the second year. It has a line-up of over 20 unique wellness experiences happening from 17 June to 9 July 2023. This year theme is all about "Art Connects" highlighting the importance of connecting with our emotions and the people around us. 

There are tons of different activities that let participants engage their five senses. I had the chance to check out a scent workshop that focused on my sense of smell. Scents-ing: Aroma Workshop for Two is organized by Scentopia Singapore.

We started off by meeting up at the Supreme Court Foyer before heading over to the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery. Once there, we were given the task of picking an artwork that spoke to us and imagining what kind of scent it would have. The artwork there were mainly landscape paintings. This workshop aimed to help us engage in a mindful and intentional appreciation for art through scents. 

Next, we were taken upstairs to the workshop room where we sat in pairs. Before we got started, there was a short presentation where we learned more about the different personalities and the scents. We even took a personality test to help us create our own unique scent. My result was "Fresh" while Jessie got "Floral". We then got to blend different oils to make our own customized scents. It was a hands-on experience, where we could smell all the oils in the box and record down which are our favourites on the result sheet before we blend them together in our own bottle according to the number of drops in the personality test. We were also asked to add in some drops that connects with our chosen artwork earlier. Oh ya, for this workshop, even guys can participate too as there's another separate box of scents for men.

At the end of the day, we got to take home our own creation as a memento from the Gallery Wellness Festive. The bottle that contains our unique scents also has different attractions of Singapore such as Gardens by the Bay, merlion, esplanade at the bottle cap. It was such a great way to practice self-care on a Friday night and the process was super enjoyable and therapeutic. 

After that, we headed to Funan for dinner at Eventasty. It's been so long since we last ate here. I ordered the tomato soup noodle and it tasted just as yummy as I remembered. Best of all, we got to enjoy 50% off (excluding drinks) because of the timing and our Eatigo app reservation. 

Many thanks to GY for sending something interesting for my birthday every year without fail. Many thanks to Jessie for joining me in this workshop too! I am grateful for our friendship.

XOXO

[EVENT] The 1872 Clipper Tea Co X My Floral Loft : Hand Tied Floral Bouquet Workshop

Spent a lovely Saturday at Yellow Cup Coffee to learn how to create our own hand-tied floral bouquet from Rachel of My Floral Loft. The whole cafe were filled with pretty flowers, the latest Orchid Collection teas and tea puffs from 1872 Clipper Tea Co and we all went home with our bouquet and a goodie bag. Thank you for the invitation! 

The workshop was held at the Yellow Cup Coffee branch at Central Square. This is my first time there.

Giant Pikachu costume greeted us. The pokemon frenzy is still going on. We predicted it will die down soon unless there's new updates to the game. It's kind of bored for me already since my home and workplace where I spent the most of my time at has got not much pokemons to catch most of the time. 

Beautiful flowers consisting of Hydrangeas, Cappuccino Roses, Cotton, Lavender, Wheat, Blackberry.

Rachel from My Floral Loft patiently teaching us how to create our own hand bouquet. We are doing a spiral arrangement and to take note to always have a binding point and to criss-cross the flowers in one direction. The Blackberry have a lot branches so have to clear the leaves first.

  I chose the blue hydrangea as my base. One stalk of the blue hydrangea is big enough so the rest is just to add on. This is my finished bouquet waiting to be tied and wrapped up. I did not add in the leaves as I want it to be simple. I really should consider floral arrangement my next sideline job. Just few months back, I was telling my friends that I wanted to learn more about bridal bouquet too. Bridal bouquet, bridal car deco, bridal corsages, etc. Quite a well-paid job and working for a happy occasion and flowers makes one happier too. 

We had some very nice refreshments and tea provided by The 1872 Clipper Tea Co too.

The 1872 Clipper Tea Co recently launch their Singapore Orchid Collection, a collection of three signature Ceylon tea blends adorned with the exquisite orchid petals for a flora finish.

A gift set like this is suitable for all occasions. Orchid Bloom (a twist of cranberry and orchid) - Ceylon black tea, cream, cranberry flavouring, with orchid petals. Halia Blossom (Teh Halia) - Ceylon black tea, ginger pieces, cream flavouring, with orchid petals. Dragon Eye Bouquet (with longan and rambutan) - Ceylon black tea, ceylon green tea, apple dices, longan and rambutan flavouring, with orchid petals. This collective set of 3 is retailing at $38 at their ION store #B4-07.

Eclairs and tea infused choux puff.

The 1872 Clipper Tea Co launches this brand new collection of tea puffs or tea-infused choux puffs which are baked in collaboration with Japanese-Western patisserie, Dulcet & Studio. Available in five different flavours including Vanilla, Earl Grey, Milk Tea, Matcha, and Eternal Garden (Rose), tea time will never be the same again at their flagshop ION Orchard outlet. This is in addition to the eclairs, matcha rolls and scoop cakes that 1872 Clipper Tea Co. already serves. A box of four tea-infused puffs are sold at $12 and each puff at $3.20.

Ending this post with a lovely group photo. Photo Credit from The 1872 Clipper Tea Co Facebook Page. Thank you once again! 

XOXO

ELLE Beauty Class with Philosophy

Jessie extended her ELLE invitation for a beauty class with Philosophy to me. It was held at Fullhouse Cafe, Rendezvous Grand Hotel, from 7 to 9 pm.

Philosophy as we know are words of wisdom but the philosophy I'm going to blog about is a series of skincare products founded in 1996 by Cristina Carlino. This is a U.S brand that just make its way into all Sephora stores in Singapore this April. I simply love its whimsical product packaging. Inspirational thoughts and wordings are printed on the bottles that can immediately brighten up one's day. Their aim is to make us feel good on the outside as well as inside.

Philosophy:

Science gives us better skin,

inspiration gives us better days

Lovely photo with Jessie, host of the event is Yasmine and the speaker is Penny Lee. We were introduced and got to try their skincare and fragrance products but they also sell bath and body as well as gifting items too. Their packaging for gifts are one of a kind and pretty sweet and nice. 

The Microdelivery peel

This is a two step weekly peel that is oh so gentle and requires no scrub. This not only exfoliate skin but also replenishes skin with vitamin C and skin-firming peptides. 

Jessie's hand. Photo credit to her blog.

Purity made simple

A  gel-lotion 3-in-1 cleanser that makes cleansing so simple and easy. It gently cleanses, tones and also removes all face and eye makeup in just one step. Very suitable for lazy people like me. It's formulated with 12 essential oils and the scent is fresh and unique. I'm really amazed with this product because usually a product that can remove make-ups is rather harsh to the skin but this product can at the same time cleanses and tones! 

Hope in a jar

Hope in a jar is Oprah Winfrey's ultimate favourite item. It's a daily facial moisturiser for all skin types. This moisturiser can hydrate, exfoliate and protect our skin to give us a more radient and glowing skin. 

We also tried on other great products like the microdelivery exfoliating facial wash, miracle worker, take shelter, etc.

The food that was served. Yummy!

A little goodie bag for us to bring home. Caring for our skin has to start early. Choose the right product that suits your skin and stick to it.  

Fundamental Cyber-shot Handling Course at Sony Digital Workshop

Attended this complimentary Fundamental Cyber-shot^® Handling Course at the Sony Digital Workshop (Isetan Orchard). It was given complimentary to me as I've registered my Sony camera for the online warranty. This course would have cost $40 per person if one wish to sign up for it but didn't buy their camera.  

Abit of the theoretical was taught in order for us to understand more of those terms that was usually used.  

Digital camera - Replace the usage of film with a sensor. The bigger the sensor the better as it means the pixal would not be too packed. Usually a 10-12 megapixel camera is good enough as when the megapixel goes higher, the more "noise" it would produce. 


Pixel = Resolution


Megapixel : Menu on shooting mode. 
The ratio on the megapixel will affect the output. Be it as u upload to TV or when you develop out.
HDTV : 16 : 9 ratio (If you choose a 4 : 3 ratio when u show it on the TV it will have two bars by the side.
4R photos : 3 : 2 ratio but out camera ratio is 4 : 3 thus when we take photo must give allowance to top and side as it would get cut off when develop.

MENU
Menu button : Shooting control.
Easy mode : Less option, font size increase. 
Home/Briefcase : Camera setting 
(Grid line : useful for taking scenery)
(Initialize : reset to default setting)
iPanorama: menu : 2 options : Standard (180 degree) Wide (360 degree)
(Change direction just press the button)


XUnder Exposed VS Over ExposedX
Under Exposed : too dark. photos still can be saved as details can be recovered.
Over Exposed : Useless photos. Details can't be seen.


Shuttle Speed
The higher the number the less motion blur. 
ISO can control shuttle speed.
ISO : Sensitivity of sensor towards light.  
If bright daylight, use low ISO (200/100) cause don't need to absorb too much light.
In low light environment, use higher ISO but "Noise" level increase (Unwanted dots, distorted photo)
High ISO allows faster shuttle speed but details blur due to noise.

Aperture
Controls width of opening of light. Create or control the depth of field.
* Background defocus (make background blur)
Measured in F stops (Mine: F3.3) Number small, bigger aperture










Scene Selection
1) Twilight: Low light scene without flash (Use tripod, can't see fast moving cars but only light trail) (1-2 seconds exposure)
2) Twilight potrait
3) Soft snap: Shoot subject with soft background. Have face detection. Detect blinks of eyes. Detects up to 8 faces.
4) High sensitivity : Shoot without flash in low light. 
5) Handheld twilight: Minimize handshake in low light environment. No need tripod. (Best for night festival this coming 27th Aug)
6) Anti-Motion Blur: Counter hand shaking when on boat. Even faster shuttle speed to counter movement. No need tripod
7) Landscape: Shoot landscape in distant focus. Nice blue sky.
8) Beach mode: Enhance the blur colour more
9) Snow: Shoot white scene brightly. In places with snow, when camera see so much white colour it will auto darken and the snow will become grey colour. So this mode disallow the camera to "act smart"
10) Advanced sports shooting: Shoot airplanes. Track people running. 
11) Fireworks: Shoot fireworks in slow shuttle. When hear the sound can start pressing. First two burst of fireworks is good, next few will see smokes. Shoot with background.
12) Smile Shuttle: in auto mode. Take photo when the camera smile. Good for kids and self take.

Program Mode
More control of the camera.
1) Focus (half press to focus)
- Multi AF: See where it focus
- Center AF: Focus on  center of object
Focus lock in half mode and move camera. The object that was focused will still be sharp.

2) Macro: only in intelligent auto mode. Go closer to object. Don't zoom.

3) Metering mode: Calculate how much light to be captured. (Multi, Center, Spot) (Moon)

4) Flash: Slow syncho flash

5) Red-eye: Better to use software to remove

6) Backlight correction HPR = DRO. Balance highlight and shadow areas in shooting backlight situation. (When sun is behind)

7) White Balance: allows camera to determine the colour white on camera. Set the white colour. Good for taking photos to sell online as the colour white would be constant.

8) Zoom: Reduce megapixel.

9) Timer: One person or two person countdown

10) EV : Minus EV: under exposed. *Rmb to set back to zero

11) Brust: No Flash. Take multiple shots

12) BRK: No flash. Few shots but different EV

13) SD Memory Card: Get a class 10 memory card. Class 4 is the lowest.

14) Get a lens pen to wipe off dust.

My dinner. Big bowl of handmade noodle. Review here.