Hello! Is 2018 flying by or is it just me? I suppose that’s a good sign that I’m happy and doing well, which I’m thankful for. At this rate, it’s going to be Christmas before we know it, haha!

Outside of work, I’ve had a pretty packed July and that started an idea I’ve been having about sharing a new type of blog posts on here! I get asked quite a bit about the weekend plans I’ve been up to, books I’m reading/will recommend etc, because for one, I have great friends who ask about my weekends and also probably because when I’m not at work, you’ll find me out and about and usually up to something!

July was particularly fun filled and I’m going to try to start a monthly diary, both to share new discoveries and to keep the memories for me to look back on. Here we go, here is my July 2018 diary: consisting of a cat festival, a great exhibition on early Singapore advertising, new food places I’ve tried, visiting River Safari for the first time and of course, a book recommendation!

Singapore Cat Festival 2018

In July, the first Singapore Cat Festival was held! I chanced upon it randomly via Facebook and because I’m a total cat person (I grew up with 2!), I had to check it out. The festival was held inside a mall, and had lots of booths selling a range of cat related products, there were also some planned talks and quite a few people brought their cats along too! It was very crowded but pretty fun! (Read more about it here).

Half of the booths featured brands and businesses selling cat products like food, cat litter, toys, cat hotels etc. while the other half featured cat themed stationery, accessories, home items and my favourite discovery: a brand of cat inspired teas called Kittea! How cute is that name! I left the festival with a tin of their bestselling ‘The Li Hua Mao’ tea.

Eats

My family and I love to try new eateries found via the Eatigo app! So here are some yummy places I ate at in July. :)

• • Food for Thought (at National Museum of Singapore)

• • Makan@Jen (at Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway Singapore)

• • G Bar & Grill

• • Philosophy Modern Fusion

Exhibition – Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore

I checked out this new exhibition by the National Library Board (NLB) and it’s one of my favourite exhibitions I’ve seen. The ads from 1830s – 1960s Singapore reflect a lifestyle from Singapore’s past and there was so much information shared and so many interactive elements, I loved it! I found myself wandering around this exhibition for almost two hours, because I had to take it all in. Highly recommended!

If you’re interested, the exhibition is running from 20 July 2018 – 24 February 2019 at the National Library Building, Level 10. Admission is free. (More info here!)

River Safari

I’ve been meaning to check out the River Safari (and the Jurong Bird Park too) for ages and because there was a promotion in July, I decided to take a day off work and spent a fun day at the wildlife park! The River Safari is a river-themed zoo and aquarium and it’s also where the two pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia live! I’m so happy to have seen them both, they’re my favourite. :)

ArtScience on Screen – Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

I think I forgot that ArtScience Museum does free film screenings. I love that they do this and they have quite a wide variety of films selected too. I attended one in July when they were screening the documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, about 1940s Hollywood star and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Her story was one of inspiration, glamour, sadness, bravery and I really enjoyed the documentary.

This screening is over but you can check out their ongoing screenings here.

Book – Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China

In July, I was reading this book (actually still reading it haha): Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China by Alec Ash and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a non-fiction book that presents the lives of six Chinese youths and it traces their stories from childhood to early adulthood. It’s about life from the 80s to present day China – about growing up, being young, about their struggles and their individual experiences. It’s real and it’s eye opening.

—

So that’s a wrap on July! I had a good month with a lot of new discoveries. Going to try my best to make this a monthly diary series. Thanks for reading and I hope this gave you some new stuff to check out in Singapore! :)