Activity: Make Your Own Terrarium

So, what is a terrarium?

I've always wanted to create a terrarium of my own and my mini dream came true when UNISIM offered a 'Make Your Own Terrarium' workshop held by Little Green Pot.

Early Saturday morning

The workshop was only a short 1 hour so you can definitely tell that making a terrarium of your own isn't hard work. But i can tell you that the workshop definitely opened my eyes to the world of miniature plants.

My chosen plant

The workshop instructor was also really good. He provided useful details and information (so that our terrarium wouldn't die by the next week :p). Theory-wise, it was a short jog of memory to my Plant Biotechnology days in Singapore Poly.

We were given a jar filled with the items needed and a plant each

The 'ingredients' - Small gravel, charcoal, soil, decorative pebbles and decoration

I'm so lucky that I got a snowman deco! I call him Olaf hehe

Before the hands-on, we had a mini theory session. A terrarium may live as short as 3 days to 3 years depending on how well it is maintained. (Which is really little as it is self-sustainable). These are the 5 useful tips I've learnt from the workshop:

1. Keep the environment closed: A terrarium is self-sustainable meaning the entire water cycle and photosynthesis process will happen within the jar without any external help.
2. No direct sunlight: Natural light is enough. Office desks work as well.
3. Minimal water required: Only water once every 6 months.
4. Condensation is normal. If big droplets appear, air the container for around 15 mins
5. Once the plant is too big for the container, you can either:

           - Trim the plant

           - Open the top and grow as an open condition

           - Leave as it is, the plant will find a way to grow within the container

The tools

Our hands on sessions was facilitated and we followed the steps together.
The workshop instructor was there to make sure that we're doing it right and good enough.

My favourite part was when we had to dig a hole as big as possible for our plant to be placed in. Soil was then scooped in from the sides to make sure that the roots are fully covered.

The challenging part was to flatten the soil around the plant. This will make sure that the plant stay rooted and stably upright. I had uprooted my plant once during this process HAHA but luckily i managed to get it nicely covered again without destroying my plant. 

I love this tool, it's like a stirrer but with a flat scoop used to flatten the soil.

The next step is simple - DECORATE! We were given colourful decorative pebbles and a mini deco item each. And then it's done! It's so simple right?

My happy Olaf in a tropical climate

Here are the summarise steps with pictures:

I really loved the workshop and I would recommend it to everyone. You don't even have to have green fingers and the maintenance required is almost none! These mini gardens are definitely pleasing to the eye and will make a wonderful decoration for home or office.

I am planning to decorate my future house with them! heh :D

My terrarium alongside one of the other student's

If you want to find out more about terrariums, you can visit Little Green Pot or their Facebook page to take a look. They usually hold 2 workshops per month and you can find out more information by e-mailing them.

Hope you've enjoyed this post! 

Please let me know what you think in the comments below and share the post if you like it :)

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Shopping: New2U Thrift Shop

Thrift shopping at a good cost.

Hi everyone!

Thrift shopping is a more cost-saving way to get you the items you need PLUS it's like a treasure hunt - You'll never know what you might find!

Over in Waterloo Street, New2U Thrift Shop has been established since 2000. The shop is managed entirely by volunteers.

96 Waterloo Street

We had breakfast over at Harbourfront Bagus before heading over to the thrift shop. It opens on Weekdays from 10.30am to 2.30pm, so we had some time to kill after ending our night shift.

I had Yong Tau Foo for breakfast :p

The place was easy to find and accessible. We dropped off at Bras Basah MRT and it was about an 8 minutes of walk over.

The feeling of accomplishment when we found the Thrift Shop!

The building is what you would call 'rustic'

New2U 'sells' pre-loved items such as clothes, shoes, accessories, household items, decorative items, books, CDs, etc. Basically it's the place where you can find almost everything you have at home and more.

The special thing about thrift-shopping here is that, all the items are donated by people like all of us and the proceeds will go towards beneficiaries such as the Star Shelter and various SCWO Initiatives.

The shoes here are mostly for ladies.

Neatly arranged and organised racks of clothing.

The clothes section is the most extensive. You'll find everything sorted according to tops, dresses, jackets, pants and jeans.

Also, the items are sorted for Men or Women, so you can find everything easily. Here, you'll be able to find brands such as River Island, Banana Republic, Mango, Zara and other branded clothing for prices going as low as $1.

This guy keeps going on about Germany - He was so pleased when he found this travel guide book. :P

If shopping for clothing is not your type, you'll find preloved books, toys, and even jewellery here as well. We spent most of our time over at the Books and CDs section.

Who else remembers Feeding Frenzy? Such a good game! :D

Overall, it was an interesting place to visit and buy some stuffs. At the same time, it will help others in need, so why not? :) If thrift shopping or treasure hunting is your thing, or you would simply like to get some items as props for a dress up party (do people still do that?), this is definitely the place to go!

I think this is so cute!

Time moves in another dimension here and before long, we realised that it is already noon. I didn't manage to take much photos of the household items and toys as the room is quite filled up with people.

The SG50 Sale was on when we visited.

PLUS!! For every last 2 working days of the month, everything will go for HALF its price! If you're a student, you can also enjoy 1/2 price off items on every Tuesday. (This excludes books, toys and jewellery)

Pardon our sleepy eyes. Thanks to them for introducing me and the rest of us to this place!

If you're interested to volunteer or wish donate any of your items, find out more over HERE.

New2U Thrift Shop

96 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187967

Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays 10.30am - 2.30pm

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Activity: Singapore Night Festival 2015

The Anooki Celebrate Singapore

By now everyone would probably have known about the currently ongoing yearly night festival. This is the 8th time this event of arts is held in Singapore.The Night Fest will be held for 2 consecutive weekends - 21st & 22nd Aug and the week after, 28th and 29th August.

The guides and pamphlets provide detailed information on the art installments plus lets you know what's going on for the night!

Grab your handy dandy guide books/pamphlets because they're super useful! You can also view or print the online version via their website HERE.

We tried out Momolato's Australian Mango sorbet popsicle. Refreshing!

I brought my sisters for the first week's exhibitions. We did arrive quite late into the night (9++pm) at Bras Basah MRT Station and by then, a throng of crowd had already gathered to watch some performance in front of the Singapore Art Museum. We gave it a pass since there were too many people.

Mirror bombs - So bling bling

The first arts showcase we went to was at the Chapel in SAM. The place was so mesmerising. Lots of people were taking selfies under these lights and from my pic, you could see that most of them were mesmerised by them. LOL

Project Dreamcatchers 2015 illustrates what it's like to live with chronic illness.

The entrance to Project Dreamcatchers was lovely and different as we were guided by a trail of blue paper planes.

Wall of paper planes with was popular for selfies.

Secret Message

We Are Family.

My favourite installment from The Learning Gallery - Once Upon This Island was The Hidden Dimension II. It's a video/animation of a family going about their daily habits until they were interrupted by something which made them all stop at the same time in different parts of the house. You gotta catch the dad taking potato chips out of his mouth as the video loops backwards. XD

Some of my favourite scenes from 'Cabinet'

Titled 'Cabinet', this is one of my favourites. There were these rows of what seem like lockers with holes and light in them. Upon a peek into these holes, there were very detailed scenes. Everyone of them shows an entirely different world. 

'No More Tears Mr Lee' was made with 8000 plastic bottle shampoo caps, a nice play of Johnson's baby products.

Love the handcut design [HDB Corridor - Faster apply for your pie in the sky]

We surrrender! Kidding.

One of the most instagram-ed photo/video are of The Anooki! - these hyper Inuits running across our National Museum. I managed to get my instagram-worthy video as well :p

Our exploration was limited to SAM as we wanted to catch the last train home :) It was something new for my sisters 

Don't worry if you missed it last week. You can drop by again this Friday or Saturday for Week 2's performances. Click here to check out Week 2 highlights!

The museums are also open till late (up till 1am for most) so it will be something different than your usual late night hangouts :) There are also activities, light installations, shows and concerts! For me, I'll definitely be coming again this weekend as I still havent finish exploring and seeing everything. Heh :D

See you all there!

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Exploration: Attap Valley Bunker [VIDEO]

It's a long weekend for us Singaporeans :)

Time to charge up and spend time with our loved ones and family.

We have just uploaded a video of our Attap Valley Bunker tour which was organised by the National Heritage Board of Singapore. Do check it out on Youtube using the link below:

Video snippet from our Attap Valley Bunker Tour.

You can read up on our PREVIOUS POST to find out more.

Happy weekends everyone!

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Exploration: Attap Valley Bunker

A dark and muddy adventure

We've been really busy for the past so many weeks due to work commitments and personal stuffs. So we're here once again, updating on our exciting trip which happened on 21st March 2015. We know, it has been quite awhile but hey, we'll never fail to share awesome cheap dates in Singapore. And yes, for this post, this date you and your partner can enjoy for free.

Anyone can enjoy this excursion trip by signing up at the National Heritage Board's website. There are lots of trips available and most of them are free. For this instance, we chose the Attap Valley Bunker which is situated at Attap Valley Road. It's near the Woodlands Fishery Port as seen in the map below. 

Situated at Attap Valley Road, near the Woodlands Fishery Port

There was a few time slots available for the trip. Gathering point was at Admiralty MRT station and we were greeted by this little sign board. Of course, there are other enthusiast explorers like us but somehow, we are the 'semangat' couple whom are well equip with cameras and all. 

The bus entered a rural location of which the area was locked by a very big gate. Once the gate opened, there were volunteers who greeted us with rubber boots. Yes, the route that we will walk will not only be muddy but also creepy too. 

Place in enclosed and blocked by a big old gate. Today we're allowed to 'trespass' :D

It was a lovely sunny Saturday - perfect weather for exploring!

Our tour guides for the day were awaiting us with a row of big black boots.

SUIT UP!

And that's why we need to wear boots.

Rest assured about safety. Ambulance are there to assist if there are emergencies. We were glad this excursion trip was well planned by the NHB. 

Some random shots we took along the way

The tour was guided by a volunteer whom not only know the history of this bunker but very knowledgeable about Singapore. Stories from the late British Colony to the World War 2 was shared by the guide to how the bunker was built and what was its purpose.

History and safety briefing by our tour guide.

It was about 500metres walk to the site and we were greeted by this metal door. It was half opened and we were advised not to touch or hold the door as it was hanging by the hinge. Nonetheless, the bunker entrance has somehow kept its shape and integrity without any vandalism. 

As we enter the Gate, we were greeted by a snail-like tunnel. The pathway was muddy and architecture is unique. The reason it was build this way was to eliminate shocks from bombs from damaging the bunker. 

The walkway. We're lucky boots were provided.

It was really dark and we only had our torchlights and camera flashes to rely on.

Once we entered the pathway, this was the end of our journey. A really big, huge storage facility. It was said that during the war, soldiers kept their ammunition and took cover over bombs happening outside. 

Size wise? The volunteer said hmm.. Equivalent to the size of 25 5-room HDB houses. We guess this place is even bigger than that.

I bet in this kind of environment, it will be very hot. The bunker is actually a hole drilled into a hill (it's not underground). There is a ventilation system in the bunker to keep the soldiers cool, plus it draws in fresh air from outside. Simple but yet very innovative during the 1930s. 

The ventilation system looks like something out of a silent hill game.

If you can zoom on the ceiling support, that's actually a crane. Heavy machineries and ammunition are carried by this devices. 

The ceiling

 Its time to leave and we had to walk through the muddy pathway again.

Last but not least, a selfie with the tour guide who has taught us the history of the bunker and kept us safe in the dark bunker. 

Thank you so much to the tour guides and National Heritage Board for having us.

Here's a video summary!

Until next time, more adventure awaits us.

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