Noee’s Nook

I finally gave in and let hubby buy me a Nespresso machine.

I am for sure not a coffee connoisseur.  I don’t know what makes a good coffee and I only judge by how my taste buds take it.  I notice some coffee tastes a little more acidic than others but that’s about it.  Don’t ask me about woodsy, nutty, etc.  I have no idea…

But I know for sure too that my taste buds don’t like those instant three-in-one coffee.   So at home, hubby and our helper usually have their own brand of three-in-one, while I have a separate jar of plain black decent instant coffee for myself.  But even that is at most, decent.

I usually prefer plain good brewed black coffee or if I have to have it with milk, I like it as a cappuccino, lots of froth and no sugar.

And for those reasons, hubby has always wanted to get me a coffee machine, while I’ve always resisted his offer because I didn’t think it was worth it.  But yesterday, while at the mall, we chanced by the Nespresso year-end promotion – S$50 off any nespresso machine.

My friend, Grace, has one and swears by it.  We have tried the samples during one of her visits to SG to stock up on her capsules.  I must say, my taste buds liked it.

So yesterday, we got ourselves our own Nespresso Essenza machine.

It came with 16 capsules, one of each coffee type.

I almost had a bad experience with it because when we got home to make our first coffee,  it wasn’t working out of the box.   I had to call Nespresso support because there was no water coming out of the machine but they explained that it was a common occurrence for brand new machines because there was air inside somewhere that had to be pumped out so I just had to keep pressing for coffee until water comes out.  Fortunately, it’s working now and all that bad stuff is almost forgotten because the coffee is just really good.

We also got the Aeroccino so we can have frothy milk.  I can do my cappuccino at home now!

Each capsule is about a dollar, so it’s not exactly cheap (as I was complaining to the Nespresso support.  I mean you spend money on something, you at least expect it to work out of the box!  – good thing they were sport about it).  But the overall experience is worth it because the coffee is good and Nespresso service and support is so far good too.

So today, I went back to the boutique to buy the welcome pack which is 160 capsules for about S$158 sgd with a free container/dispenser.

Nespresso Welcome Pack

So far I like the Dulsao do Brasil.  I tried the Finezzo to see if I can taste the Bergamot – haha no comment.

But so far so good! I’m looking forward to having great coffee everyday and letting my mom try all the flavors.

Next week I’ll probably come back to the boutique to try the Christmas edition – flavored coffees in vanilla, cherry, or dark chocolate.

I’m excited about one of my early Black Friday steals from Amazon.com

Just last week I spotted these shoes at the local Rockport Store at Suntec City (Singapore) selling for roughly S$200 SGD.

So when I got back I searched for it online hoping to find a better deal and found it on Amazon.com for $97USD which, as it is, was good enough. But knowing that Black Friday deals will start popping up soon, I decided to wait and my patience was rewarded by an additional discount which let me get those nice pair of shoes for just $68 USD. Even with my shipping cost on top, it still turns out as a good deal.

It looks very similar to this pair of Jimmy Choo pumps selling for £387.02 at net-a-porter.

I don’t own any Jimmy Choo pumps so as much as they look fantastic, I have no idea how comfy they are. But I do own a lot of Rockport pairs with Adeprene and I can swear by them. They have the feel of wearing your comfy old sneakers but with the look of a great pair of shoes.

So I’m here in my hotel room on a boring Sunday afternoon on what is supposed to be summer and yet it’s 14C outside and drizzling.

Earlier, I walked around the area hoping to get some calories burning. But even after 8km, I haven’t broken a sweat so decided to come back to the hotel. Took some pictures, posted them in facebook, now here I am. Again nothing to do.

The pace here is sloooow though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If my family was here with me, then the pace here is just right. They sure know what work-life balance means around here unlike in Singapore.

It’s funny though that I had a hard time getting a sim card with a data plan. I asked a few people from the office where to get one and nobody seemed to know where to get one. When I even asked one colleague where I can find a sim card that could connect me to the internet, she gave me a polite but disgusted look and basically said she wouldn’t know. Turns out, over beer, she hates the iphone or probably any sort of gadget that lets you be “connected” all the time . She even hit her head on the table when I said the iphone is a very useful phone when you live in Singapore. She says she doesn’t get why people had to have to their maps on the phone when it takes a shorter time to just point to the map. The problem with us Asians is we always feel like we don’t have time and we’re always in a hurry and all that …

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Anyone who’s read my blog since I had Luke would say that my blog is no longer Noee’s Nook but has become Luke’s Nook. 

I can’t help it! 

So here’s another Luke post.  I entered him at the Gap Singapore Casting call.  (Yes, I have stage mother tendencies).  I didn’t know until the second casting call that there was one for Singapore.  Just a few posts ago, I was saying how one of the GAP kids reminded me of Luke.

Please vote for Luke through facebook.  All you have to do is:

1.  Search GAP Singapore on Facebook
2.  Like the site.
3.  Click on the Casting call tab.
4.  Allow the application.
5.  Click on Singapore.
6.  Click on “G” and look for Luke under Guzman then vote!

Easy peasy!  Thanks!

Here’s another one of our online finds: the Okkatots bag.  The feature that got it sold for me was the outside pocket for the DVD which is something most mom’s would think is a good idea. 

DVD players are a parent’s best friend if they want to keep their kids occupied – especially during a long drive, or on a plane ride. 

I was so excited to get the package so I can find out for myself if it’s actually as good as I expected it to be.  But when I got home last Monday, the first thing Ate Lala told us was that the bag was great!  Turns out someone was more excited than I was so she already opened the package as soon as it arrived.

Ate-Lala-approved is a good start because she prepares all of Luke’s stuff and she was excited about all the pockets that are available for all of Luke’s things plus some more space for her stuff too. 

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Last week, Luke went for emo with his black leggings, skull shirt and Vans shoes.  This week he went for K-pop – cardigan with no undershirt. Haha.

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I really find it amusing that Luke is rocking his leggings.  It goes well with his Vans shoes and Umbrella skulls shirt.

So here are more pics of him wearing his black one. 

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Today, as I was taking a shower, I realized I’m not getting any younger. So even though the New Year is still a few months away, I am making a resolve to make the most out of my 8 hours of work. The rest of my day should be spent making the most out of life.

I’ve also resolved to start my day earlier to support my first resolution. Wish me luck!