What a weekend!

Even though Singapore maybe a little more like home to me than Jakarta, I have never visited the Singapore Zoo, in spite of the fact that the infamous, notoriously cute Ah-Meng is a mega tourist reel-er..

So, it wasn't till last weekend, many years after Ah-Meng has deceased (RIP), that we got a chance to visit the zoo..It was a busy day for us, with 3 separate events lined up back to back. So, our very nice friends picked us up bright and early, and we had breakfast at Han's on the way to the zoo. Looking up at the weather, we are all filled with sense of wary...Is it going to rain today? Is it coming? Prepared to face what comes our way, we continued our way merrily to the zoo...There was such a crowd at the zoo regardless of the weather, and we headed straight to watch the shows. There are 3 shows, the Safari, Elephant show as well as the Splash show. There is something pleasantly surprised about the animals here...THey are so SMART and entertaining! I was just laughing and clapping away happily with every antics those animals showed..Could it be that they come from some super GENIOUS Lineage or is it the DHA fortified animal food that they are fed with? or maybe it's the trainers that are just very diligent in training the animals? WoW!!! I was just very entertained!! Bravos to all the elephants, and the sea lion that was so spectacular! After the elephant show, Abby remarked " Mommy, I want to bring home the elephants!" Imagining the sight of Abby and her 4 humongous elephants in her tiny crib...i could only shake the thoughts off...:)

After the enjoyable Zoo trip, we went home to shower and rest for a while before getting ready for the next event line up "Birthday party at Grace Kids Gym! This event was no more entertaining than the Smart elephants and Sealion!...The instructor got the kids moving and jumping to the different beats and rhythm with tamborines and drums. And the highlight of the party, that Abby enjoyed most was when the lights are dimmed and disco lights and smokes filled the room, and they get to dance with the neon lightsticks to the beat of I gotta Feeling..oh wow! the kids had so much fun bouncing and dancing away with the colourful sticks in their hands..
Abby was such a dancer that one dad, stretched out his arms ready to catch her any moment, she loses her balance! :)

Right after the dancing, we had to quickly moved on to our very last event of the day, Wijaya's Hwa Chong JC Reunion. We went to Marche at Somerset 313, and we were greeted with a long table of 20 other people already chattering and laughing away in the room. Luckily, I had recognized several of Wijaya's friends, so, it wasn't that awkward for me. Since it has been a while that Wijaya met his ex classmates, this was a fun reunion for him. Abby, just like a star, bonded right away with several of the kids in the room, and they are running around with balloons, and smacking the head of the other diners with balloons as well. Oopps!! Sorry...

After the events, we all headed home and crashed in our beds..We have exhausted every part of our energy..But it was a truly enjoyable and fun filled day with great companions! However, maybe we could only afford 2 events and not 3 in a day...

Handbag Gift

My next challenge came on a very short notice, just 3 days before the pick up date!
It was one lazy afternoon when I was browsing the internet, and my phone rang with a request for a handbag cake for a girlfriend's birthday. When I was asked if this is possible, I checked my calendar and jumped to my feet and readily said YES! I could almost feel the sudden adrenaline flowing through my body as I hanged up the phone.
I am very excited about this handbag challenge! I have never done a handbag cake and this will be my first!

I laid out my game plan to attack this assignment and got into work almost instantaneously! Talk about efficiency! Waste not the time, idle not..

Having done several carved cakes, I am beginning to enjoy the process of it, and the sense of gratification from working on a plane other than a circular cake or a square cake. It feels like you can grab the cake and sling on your shoulder! :)
To further personalized the cake for our career minded recipient, i have added a blackberry phone, an over sized sunglasses as well as bag tag with her initials on it.

Overall, it is one delicious edible HANDBAG!..Happy Birthday to you!

Abby's BAck to school

When we first reached Singapore, our first and foremost priority was to look for housing, and secondly, was for Abby's school. Seeing so many schools around Singapore, and also the ones listed under preschool on the internet, one would think its not a big deal, and surely getting into those big schools is an easy thing. But to my dismay, I had almost exhausted my list of schools before I finally got a call informing me that there is an availability for Abby in May! Yay!! And this is for the school right next to our Condo. Sweet deal! And its for morning session, just like we wanted..Without wasting a second and a breath, I said "YES, we will take it!!" and sighed loudly! :)

Abby was a real trooper in braving the new school situation, in spite of the fact that we are in a new school with new friends. She went in to her school with such readiness and smiles that I concluded, she deserved a celebration cake! And the inspiration came from a comment that came out of her mouth one day, while I was doing the mickey Mouse cake, she said, mommy, i want to have a school bus too!

Voila!! that was a perfect cake for the event! going back to school cake with a school bus cake and a school on the little hill!

Her eyes opened wide when she saw the school bus, and beaming a wide smile, she proudly said "that's MY bus!"..

Yes Abby..that's your very own personalized school bus..I guess I owed it to her that she gets her desire of her heart..She is definitely not shy about letting her wants be known. :) that;s my little Abby..

Minnie Mouse

March 2010

Shortly after our relocation to Singapore, I received an email inquiry from a friend in Singapore who has seen some of my previous cake creations. She was interested to order a birthday cake for her daughter's 2nd birthday cake. The timing could not have been more perfect as her birthday is 2 weeks upon the arrival of our container! That leaves me with 2 weeks to get my entire house in order, before I could work on the cake. Thanks to my parents who are here to help out with the unpacking, it went pretty smoothly, and before soon, our house is filled with familiar furniture and Abby's toys again.

The theme of my first Singapore client, was to cater to her liking of Minnie Mouse or Hello Kitty. Having done neither characters, I decided to go with Minnie Mouse, since I am more well versed with it (Abby is a Mickey Clubhouse Fan too). And I have decided to do a 3D convertible car for Minnie to sit in, depicting her ride to the Land of 2! :)

The cake turns out as imagined, and after much molding and remolding, Minnie's face finally takes its proper shape. :) phew! never did realize that there is so much to that little cute character's face.

I am real glad that my very first client in Singapore was happy with the cake and do does her friends in school!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Christmas marks the favorite season of the year for me. There are sounds of jingle bells on the streets, in the malls. Everyone is celebrating friendships and families with the act of giving, and everyone is reminded once again that we are just blessed because Christ is born!

Merry Christmas everyone..Ho-Ho-Ho!!!!...Have a white, Wintery xmas!

Transformers!

December 2009

Since the day I experimented with fondant, and discover the world you could do with it, and how much delight those treats bring to people. I couldn't resist to put this baking interest of mine at work, at each possible time. Just looking at the sheer delight on those recipients eyes, makes every bit of time spent on the treats just very worthwhile.

While I was carpooling with a family to a famous Japanese bakery, I overheard the mom told her older son that he is free to pick out any desert he would like from the store. Turns out that the boy is not really into cakes, however, he responded as such "mom, do you think they have a transformer cake??" i couldn't miss the hopeful sound in his voice, very much longing to have a cake after his favorite super hero...

on the following week, I got cranking on my little sequel of transformers cupcake for this boy. my little way of saying, Yes, you can have your transformers cake..everything is possible, if you put your mind to it. :)

cheers!

Princess Aurora

November 20, 2009

This cupcake series on "Princess Aurora and her Forest friends" is dedicated to a very special little girl that loves Princess Aurora and Sugar Treats!

Being older and not keeping up with the Princess lineup, I remembered going into the Disney store to check out who is Princess Aurora. I looked and looked and couldn't find the name on the shelves. Surely this is not a Made up Princess name, she has to be a real character under Disney. So, I pulled a store lady to the side, and quietly asked, is there a princess aurora? without having others hear me ask this stupid question. She chucked and said, yes,...She is otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty! Aha!
That is a familiar name...Did she just adapt a new name recently to Princess aurora...too confusing to me!

So, that same night, I went about creating this cupcake sequel. There is something charming about creating a cupcake series, where each one is different from the others but yet, together they weave a beautiful storyline.

That day when I arrived with the cake, the little birthday girl, eyed me shyly from the corner of the room. She recognized the sugar treats from a mile away, but, rather shy to be devouring it at my sight. She is after all, a little fine lady. :)

So, the highlight of the event was, when I saw her, sitting down in her chair, with the squirrel in her hand, and she literally stuck the animal into her mouth, and chowed on the sugars slowly, letting the ears and eyes melt in her mouth..My oh my....that was quite a sight... :)there is such joy and satisfaction witnessing how my treats really made her day..

Dual Baby Showers

November, 2009..

Aside from Bridal shower, Baby shower is another event worth celebrating for!
Now this month, I have 2 girl friends that are celebrating their baby showers, just 1 week apart from each other. How coincidental right? I always loved the idea of getting pregnant peers..:) Like I did with Abby! I had 2 close girlfriends being pregnant just 1 month apart from each other..We shopped together, we kept track of each other baby's progress, and we had baby showers together..However, this time, since these 2 girls have different group of friends, they each had their own. And I provided treats for both Ladies!

One is expecting a boy, and another one is expecting a girl! Congratulations my dears!
Here is a boyish blue cake and a pinky girl cupcake series just for you two!
you are about to be a very proud mommies to very healthy and smart kiddos! blessings!

Abby's turning 2!!

October 1, 2009..It's party time...It is amazing how, once you have a child, your priorities tend to shift from yourself or your spouse and start gravitating to this little creature.

Not that they are selfish beings, but as parents, you couldn't help but have the desire to provide the best for your kid. And we are no exceptions.
With every year of growth, it marks a special milestone in Abby's life. Last year, when she turned 1, she started to walk independently, walking around to play with guests, on her own. This year, being 2, she is becoming almost like a little person. Able to talk very well to express all her likes and dislikes, showing an interest in interactive play instead of parallel play. And she chatters non stop...and loves! the playground..the swing and the slide..

So, this year's theme, shall be sliding into the Fun-Tastic year of 2!!.. I decided to take on a 2 tier cake this year for Abby..depicting her in her Playground Land, with Elephant and Giraffes being her fav animals.. This cake is so much fun to create, from the animals to picking the colors of the tiers. I really loved it! and I learned that animals are definitely easier to make versus human figurine! ;) The cake is chocolate cake with raspberry and chocolate ganache, and yellow cake with chocolate buttercream.

Someone remarked a funny comment that I couldn't help but burst into laughing! He came into the room, and looked at the cake, and said "ohh..look at dora!" i guess, it must be my handiwork that is not realistic enough, or maybe he is not well versed with Dora. Either way, I was just having a fun time that day...Since it was chilly outside, it calls to be an indoor event at our house, and the kids managed to play bubbles in the our deck.

Happy 2nd birthday, Abby!! Mommy and Daddy loves you HEAPS! Don't grow up too fast ok! you will always be our baby!

Golfing on a Tiramisu pasture

My next feat was for my dearest husband's 34th birthday...August 2009.
Acknowledging his love for golf, and tiramisu, I decided to bring in my very own, tiramisu golf course, with a very handsome golfer with argyle shirt!
Since this is my second fondant creation, proficiency seems to be improved! this time round, the argyle pattern is taking a bit of extra time. Maybe i should consider making a shirtless and skirt/pant less figurine next time? less time involved,however, may be ruled out as being too R-rated. now, this is a tough call...*grin*

anyways, the cake is more of a baked tiramisu versus the regular bake-less version, since i need the cake to be denser to hold up to the fondant figurines sitting on it.

So, wijaya is overall thrilled to have his very own golf course...until we have the resources to purchase a golf course, honey, please make do with a tiramisu one for now. :) love you....

Blooms of flower

If you haven't already noticed, what I have done here are back-posting, for a lack of a better word. :) To make this journey of baking meaningful, I decided to post all my endeavors with these sugary stuff. Maybe, one day, Abigail, will get to follow me on my blogs and discover what Mommy has been up to while Abby is sleeping or watching her favorite shows.

It is our very privilege that we get to walk with our dear friend, Zori, through her life journey to the marriage altar ... its the moment, when all women will go crazy with all the details in wedding planning, and fine tuning things to the Tee. Despite all the craziness, it is indeed a time of bliss to see when 2 people becomes 1. To accept each other in riches or poorer, in sickness or health. oh, those deep words, are not to be taken lightly.

Having said that, Sylvia and I are excited to be hosting her bridal shower at work. Its supposed to be a hush-hush event, but i guess, there is no doubt this little curious George over in the corner, did not already guess that there is something cooking up for her.

One of my duties, is to provide the gifts for all our coworkers who attended the event. To go along with the flower theme, I decided to go wild on the sugary blooms!
Now, friends, these blooms are definitely very memorable..I just couldn't forget the drama behind the scenes to produce such blooms..:)

With a toddler at hand, concocting sugary treats are always a late night production for me, after Abby hits the cot! It was around 11 pm, when Iam baking the cookie batches by myself in the kitchen..when suddenly, I jumped up at the shrilling sound of the alarm!! Clouds of smokes are slowing filling up my kitchen from the oven, and this alarm is just very persistent! Deciding quickly what to do first, before waking up Abby, and the entire sleeping neighbourhood, I quickly opened the balcony doors, and opened the oven slightly. Bad move..It got even louder.Yikes! and on top of the alarm sound, I hear Abby Wailing! Where is my husband, why isn't he coming to my rescue?? I suddenly remembered, he once told me to use a damp cloth to fan the smokes off the source. Quickly, I ran to get the cloth and stood on the stairs, and start fanning away the smokes frantically...come on, stop it already...I really don't need to get this much attention at night.

Finally, the sound was off, and I quickly assessed Abby upstairs. When everything has calmed down, I opened the oven to find the culprit! the wax paper is causing the smokes! go figure..why didn't that occur to me before? lesson learned: there is a difference between parchment and wax paper..

Decorating the cookies, was definitely more fun than the baking part.

It was a pleasure to see the sugary blooms in the middle of the night.

The very first time...

Like many people said, there is always a start to everything.

Having recounted my love for sugary stuff..anything beautiful..anything incredible..for me, it starts with FONDANT...
This may not be a new invention under the planet earth, but, to me, it feels like i had just discovered a bottomless toy box, where fondant allows me to explore and experience the unthinkable with cakes..it just spells..E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G!!

This happened sometime in summer 2009, where i finally decided to conquer this "species" of sugar element, and baked a homemade cake for my coworker's bday, instead of heading to the store and having to limit myself to choose from one of the selections displayed behind the glass shelf.

Michelle, is a very proud Alumni of Michigan State..Her desk, may feel like a school souvenir shop in Michigan State University strip. "Green" objects, and the letter M are just common items amidst the sketch paper and sharpie pens. So, to further reinforce the school spirit, and to celebrate her being an avid sports fan, I decided to create a cake with her being the School Cheerleader in the Green jersey!

This feat turns out to be harder than i could have imagined and prepped myself to do. The pleated skirt was an ordeal of its own, to pleat it well without having cracks was nerve wrecking. It feels so fragile, and creating the Michelle figurine turns out to be very time consuming. However, with every single hour spent, there is a surge of satisfaction in my heart each time i sit back and look at my cheerleader.. she is quite cute after all. :)

So, a crowd gathered at her desk, and as I approached the desk with the cake, i noticed all eyes were fixated on something else other than me. Hmmm... who else could be more charming than the maker of the cake? Its the cheerleader!

I was really thrilled to see how happy and excited Michelle was receiving this cake..It made all my efforts paid off! yay!! and i was proud to say, the cheerleader is 100% edible! Non toxic..Just very sugary...

Ta-DAH!

syncronising with the drum roll:::: TA-DAH!

Strutting slowly but surely into the blogspot lane is none other than..."sugargirl"...
Who?? What??? Why????
Understanding the unspoken Questions on your head, I guess an introduction will be needed here..

I am classified as a wife/mommy by status. I am a wife to my husband of almost 6 years, Wijaya, and mommy to a beautiful, cheeky yet sassy 2.5 yrs old girl named Abigail Christa. By age, I should probably be described as calm, reserved, motherly young woman, however, by many who knows me, Iam none other than a very energetic, responsible lady with a little girl spirit in me..loves to laugh, indulges daily on everything that is simple, beautiful, cute, funny and colorful under the sun.. :)

Since Abby was born, I develop a strong liking for cake creations. Any sweet delish with a captivating color combination, and a story to connect to the cake recipient. There is way too much to tell in a cake, and never underestimate the mounting sensations derived from a cake. :)
So, this blog is dedicated to celebrate this new love of mine : sugarycakes.

hopefully, this blog will bring out the many folds of emotions that could be evoked with a cake.

Cheers!