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Hei hei xoxo Aurora's my secret middle name, friends call me TungTung, sometimes Cher - but here I am, Cherlyn for ya. Unceasing Foodfullness is my food blog, but Hei Days // Cherlyn Aurora is a treasure trove filled w personal recounts on everything under the sky - or even above. What's "hei"? It's Hebrew for grace. I know I'm living in His grace, that's more than sufficient for me. Currently studying Bachelor of Journalism at QUT! In the land of +61 <3 Find me on instagram: @cherlynaurora // Twitter: @CherlynAurora // YouTube: Cherlyn Aurora // All my love. Cherlyn Aurora

Friday 8 August 2014

Planning 101: How to Prevent a Birthday Party Disaster

I don't know about you, but I've been a victim of planning 2 kinda disastrous parties HAHA. All because I tend to be overambitious at times, especially since both parties were super significant - The Sweet Sixteen. The first was my own party in 2009, and then, my sister's party a few months ago in March. How do you avoid making the same planning booboos as me? Read my advice down below. *Especially if you're about to plan your coming-of-age 21st bday*



1) Don't over-invite! 

I understand that we all have different groups of friends and relatives that you think you have to invite for your Sweet Sixteen, but let me tell you, at your most important parties, all you want are those friends/relatives whom you are really close with, as it's an occasion which you definitely wish to celebrate this joyous day with. Keep in mind, the numbers will also determine the amount you'll be spending on food. Now now, even if budgeting is a factor you don't need to worry about, then chew on this bit of honest info from me.

One mistake I made in my party was that I invited 60+ guests in total. You see, when you're in a girls' school (this was held when I was Sec 4), you will tend to invite your entire class to the party, as it would be rude and unkind of you to leave someone out - for the record, I got along fine with everyone, but maybe I should have invited the closest pals only, coz they added up as the largest group amongst my relatives and church mates. When you invite a group of friends that's twice as large as the other groups of guests attending, you will tend to socialise more with the bigger group, for some apparent reason. Go with a comfortable number of people instead.

In my opinion, I find it rude for a host (referring to myself) to leave the guest alone during most of the party, and should make an effort to spend time with everyone, since I already made the decision to invite the person. I would want to make the person feel right at home, despite the crowd, coz that's how I'd like to feel too! I regret not having spent time talking to every individual, and that's not something I want to repeat for my upcoming 21st. :)

A majorly late (5 years long) shoutout to my ex-RADICAL caregroup mates, if you're reading this, I do apologise for that time, I know you guys wanted to spend more time with me, and I should've :) Thanks for even staying till after 11pm, after I showered, after the rest of the guests all went home - you guys still stayed back just to personally hand me my gift and pray for me, and I found that so utterly precious. During the BBQ, the guys in the group even stepped up to help me start the fire! Thank you lovelies, you know who you are. xoxo

2) Don't attempt a BBQ. SERIOUS.



Firstly, you really wouldn't wanna reek of bbq. In that nice dress and makeup, I realised it was a recipe for perspiration to the maximum. So, given my intelligent mindset (ahem), why did I choose BBQ for food then? BECAUSE. BECAUSE. My theme was a pool party. You see, I really love water and all things flowingly aqueous, there's such a peace in seeing all that blue. And I still do! Just that, I really should've just used the function room, and had the theme. My friends were all jumping into the pool, which was directly beside the pit - so did I, but honestly, the bbq pit served no purpose but to waste time and leaving me panicking due to the lack of food on the table.

And really, if you don't know how to start a fire - ditch it.

3) Make sure you don't underestimate food & drinks.



Worst case scenario is when you suddenly realise you need a whole lot more drinks and food. That happened at my party. Halfway through, my mum told me to go to the nearby NTUC with her to get more drinks. Expectedly, for any birthday girl, you'd be furious and a bit - okay wait - superrrrr pissed at the fact that it's so anti-climatic to leave your party to get stuff. I was like. WHAT. Ugh. Yeah, so please estimate it well. If not, ensure that you have a nearby supermarket, and someone who is willing to go get them on your behalf. Birthday girls are meant to have a blast, without having to lift a finger, and to be at the center of the dance floor. Metaphorically.

4) Both parents have to be around! Unless you have your entourage of pals. 



You see, unlike my current status of having 10 pals to help plan my party and help with deco and such, at that point of time, that group wasn't established yet. I only had ONE friend to help me, which was Ruz. Pre F10 era. HAHA. I bet the lot of you are wondering who the heck is F10. I WILL TELL YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT POST. I PROMISE. Coming back to my point... well, my dad was overseas for work attachment during that period, so it left only my mum and my grandaunt to help me. *My grandaunt was around because during that time, I held it at her condo*

All I can say is that, if you are to plan your own party, do make sure your dad is around, as he will be of great help - in terms of helping you start the fire, sort out the food, be the cook for the night, getting items if needed etc. To give my mum credit, she really did try her best, but yeah. Friends are extremely important, as you'll need a handful of them to be at your beck and call on the day itself. Okay kidding at the beck and call part - later they read this and knife me ah hahaha - but they are honestly the bestEST help you can get, coz they know you well, and what to expect.

Oh yes, if you were wondering where my sister was in all of this chaos, I actually frankly can't remember. Most likely she was just sitting around and eating food. Yeah. Way to go sis, woohoooooooo. But okay, she was only 11 - like what could she even do HAHA. *I can totally foresee my sister coming to me after reading this portion*

5) Hire a caterer. If not, get your F10 to help bring a dish each. DO NOT D.I.Y. Forewarned.



Please, please, 제발 jebal - korean for please. This is one major factor that can make or break your party. There are plenty of caterers in SG, so do take your pick & choose wisely. Yes, I understand that caterers' pricing can blow a hole in your pocket as well, so here's my other wallet-friendly suggestion. Either completely order food delivery services from a variety of outlets, or rope in your closest pals to help you cook a dish of your choice to bring on that day itself.

You should handle drinks (buy them beforehand obviously), and you can go economical by getting a drink dispenser (I now own one, thanks to my dad who bought one), whereby you can buy several bottles of drinks, bags of ice, and just let your guests top up their drinks from there. Entirely fuss-free, and it's real easy to top up. Always having chilled drinks is the way to go! :)

Also, if you'd like to prep some food as well, ensure that it can be made the day/night before, because on the day of your party, it should be ALL ABOUT YOU. You shouldn't have to run around the kitchen making sure your food is gonna be ready on time. Coz, you gotta get into that glitzy dress of yours, and take your time to style your hair plus putting on special occasion makeup. This is how I plan to do my beach themed party in October. My most treasured pals - get ready, I've already decided on the deco I want heehee.

6) Don't buy commercial deco. Get your friends to help! 
Especially the arty-farty one.

Ready made decorations can be very expensive, and it's not wise to spend too much on it, as it only lasts for the day/night. However, when doing up your own creations, make sure you do it WAY BEFOREHAND. Do not, I repeat, never ever start your deco 1 night before the party. You will rush like mad, get no sleep, and look rather zombified at your sister's party the next day. Yup, this was what happened for my sis' party in March - I asked my ever so kind girlfriends to help me do the deco, and half of us were cooking & baking everything from scratch - I realised the stupidity of it all at that very moment at the end, when we were still up at 6am trying to finish up on the food. Unwise decisions, but it's a lesson learnt.

What my friends and I opted to do for all my friends' 21st bday parties (yes, me and my closest knit of 10 pals all turn 21 this year) is to think of a theme, and then think of the most appropriate unique deco for each party. Actually, most of the thinking and planning is given to me, coz I love to plan these things. Sherry nearly went insane after planning the logistics of Ruz' recent party HAHAHA. Actually coz it was a surprise lahs. I'm good w the logistics and the deco parts for planning-wise heh. Although yeah, me & my bestie Nicole Lai were going a lil' mad while cutting up all the 3D hot air balloons and clouds for Ruz' backdrop XDDD

Nicole's 21st in End-Jan
 
Priscilla's 21st in End-March
Yen Mei's 21st in Mid-April
Wanyu's 21st in Early July
Ruzana's 21st in End July
Tips for deco planning (okay this one I confirm won't botch up, so trust me on this):

  • Think of the party theme. What does the birthday girl/dude want? What does she/he like? Think of everything. Crack your brain if you have to. This is one party you've gotta nail. Okay lah, ask Jesus for help hahahaha. I suggest not choosing those overused themes of just having colours, think of a concept that the birthday friend of yours would love. It's time to think outta the box. For the record, for Wanyu's party, we did a TFIOS theme. ;)
  • What is your budget? Will you need balloons? Colours? Don't bother with the mini helium tanks from Spotlight. Tried and tested, blasted my $59.90 for nothing. The nozzle was so darn hard to even open, and it only fills up thirty 9 inch balloons. Blah. Remember that DIY deco will always be much cheaper than those conventional ones they sell in stores. Don't fall victim to fancy schmancy items, there's always a way around it!
  • What kind of backdrop do you like? Cloth/crepe paper rolls/wrapping paper/vanguard sheets/the list goes on... Do you want a photobooth styled area? Think of the props that are required.
  • Most importantly, the signage, e.g. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ________". What is the material/kind of paper/deco paper you'd like to have? I suggest buying deco papers from Artfriend/Made With Love/Paper Market, choose the patterns you like, then trace out the letters/numbers on them, and do a die-cut style. Now, think if you wanna string them up like a banner, or paste them on the wall. It all depends on the backing you have chosen. :)
  • If you'd like to have some balloons, don't go overboard. You can get specific colours at kind prices in party stores. Clarke Quay & Spotlight sells them individually, whereas those wholesalers tend to only sell them in bundle packs. For those signature helium balloons, yeah go crazy, but remember to take into consideration who's bringing it on the day itself, and the feasibility of it all. Take note to buy a weight to hang onto your precious balloon! If you want a lot of helium balloons all strung up, floating against the ceiling - do make a quick check of how high your ceiling is - coz at the end of your party, you do need to get them down. 
Nicole's helium Hello Kitty surprise!

7) Always hold the party in the late afternoon.

Mine was held in the late afternoon, and that was good. But for my sister, we couldn't get the afternoon slot for the function room, and were left with the morning slot (9am-3pm) - and honestly, who goes to a party in the morning? Especially on a saturday, most people would wanna sleep in. We settled for 12nn, but because of the mistake of being overambitious in terms of the DIY food, me & my friends were struggling to finish everything by 12nn - tempers were flaring coz we were a bunch of tired zonked out planners - I remember raising my voice with Pris coz we couldn't get the roux sauce to combine successfully, somehow the flour was clumping haha. Half of my pals were busy with the deco downstairs.

Alas, we finally did, and popped it into the oven with all the sliced potatoes, cauliflowers, carrots and shredded mozza. However, at that point of time it was already 12nn, and we hadn't even got the chocolate fondue marshmallows ready, yknow, having to wait for them to solidify together with the rainbow sprinkles, since we had planned for them to be strung up on individual satay sticks and placed beautifully on a styrofoam structure. OKAY. To anyone planning to do that marshmallow bonanza wowza to astound your guests - please. It was an epic failure, some didn't even hold up, it was so messy - and then you know what? WE FORGOT TO BRING IT DOWN TO THE PARTY. HAHAHAHAHAHA.


Nobody was in their right mind to realise it, we were just happy to have finished slogging our butts off, so when we were done with the party & we held the after-party in my house, I facepalmed myself when I saw the marshies just sitting there on the kitchen counter. *cries*

Btw, when me & my pals finally went down to the function room, it was already 1+PM, and my mum was getting frustrated coz there wasn't any food on the table for the guests, and they were obviously hungry, seeing that they came for lunch. The whole party went past in a flurry. We had to rush to eat, take a ton of photos, and cut the customised birthday cake (of coz, take a whole lotta photos of the expensive fondant creation) - we really had no time to thoroughly enjoy the party, like my sis couldn't have enough hanging out time with her friends, and for that - I felt soooooo bad. I was really extremely angry at my incompetence, coz the sole purpose of why I planned it for her was coz from my past experience, one cannot plan your own party, so I decided to do it instead with the help of my friends - but coz of the lack of right timing, prep and overambitious-ness, it resulted in a flop AGAIN. You have no idea how mad I was at my planning oversight. Sigh.

But above all that, I know my sis appreciated the effort we put into it, and at the very end of the day, what matters most is that you celebrated it with a bunch of people that you care about, and despite whether it was a bumpy ride or not, it'll be memorable nonetheless. <3

Also guys, always book your function room slot early. At my place, 12 midnight is what they refer to as Fastest Fingers First LOL.

8) Allocate someone to do your hair & makeup.


If you've got plenty of cash to spare, that's wonderful! If you're looking for someone to do house call, you can look for Emily at 96777725, she does hair & makeup really nicely, as I've hired her for my school prom back in 2010, and my mum had her for her Dinner & Dance company bash previously. She's an extremely lovely girl, only a few years older than me, but very talented. :) FYI, I'm not sponsored or whatever lol, it's just that I will give a shoutout to those who deserve it. Customer service always pays off when done right. Her charges are $100 for hair & makeup, including falsies.

For those who find it quite dear, don't fret! This is where your friends come in. I'm sure one of them knows their way around hairstyles - those braids, curls and whatnot. As for makeup, one of them will be able to do it too, when you've been friends for so long, you'd definitely know who can rise to the occasion. If you've got a makeup stash, that is absolutely fab, and if you're not going for an entirely different look from what you've been sporting, then there's no need to buy any more products or eyeshadow palettes.

What if you don't? Then this is what you do. Take a look around Sephora, have a sample of what you'd like to have - don't worry about those Sephora staff hovering around you, take it as a chance to ask them what is suitable for your skin, but don't let them push you into buying anything. After taking a suitable selection of makeup you'd like to try on your face, ask for a demo from the polite and helpful beauty advisors, and they will proceed to doll you up. If they tell you they're only going to do one side of your face, due to the fact that they charge $50 for a full face makeup - DO NOT RELENT. I can be absolutely firm with my words and stance when I desire to, and I'd have you know that a very clever salesgirl will go with it, and do up your entire face - coz they understand that you'd wanna know how it changes up your look. :) *smirks*

If you're ever in Sephora ION/Ngee Ann City, and you see this tarte beauty advisor called Amanda, ASK HER FOR HELP. She is my favourite beauty advisor at Sephora, she will never push you to buy anything, and she will always recommend what's best for you, despite the fact that she's the tarte brand beauty advisor hahaha. She's extremely friendly, so if she happens to be in town, and you're there - good for you!

After deliberating over what to buy, and taking into consideration the budget which you have set aside, make your purchase, and don't forget about brushes! Very impt for application. Let your makeup artist pal take a look at what you have (best idea is to have her come with you to help), then she can come up with a few different looks, and ask you to choose. There, a more economical method!

OH YES. If you're a dude, I think all you need is some moisturiser, concealer, loose powder and a powder brush to make your face radiate flawlessness. ;D Guyliner is cool too, but uhm. Go easy on it if you do.


9) The birthday cake. 

For special parties, ordering a customised cake is a complete MUST DO. C'mon, how many times in your life is an occasion so special to the point we need an entirely customised cake? But, it is very important that you choose a bakery that is reputable, understands your requests, and does not charge insane prices. Also, it is crucial to place your order at least 1 or 2 months ahead, depending on how busy/popular the bakery is, to avoid disappointment. :)

My sister went with a garden party themed cake, with fondant flowers & butterflies, along with a 20 chocolate/mango cupcakes which spelt out in fondant letters, "HAPPY BDAY ALEXIS TUNG <3". She ordered it from Fresh Bakes.
For mine, I had a ginormous 16 numbered chocolate-mint buttercream & sponge cake, which was absolutely 5kg lovely. Even my friends liked it! Got that at Bake Inc.

*I will do up a Fresh Bakes customised cake review right after this on Unceasing Foodfullness*


Photo credit: Gilly :D Couldn't find my picture in my gallery lol


Some tips I will have to give you:

  • Fondant/Fresh Cream/Buttercream covered?
  • How many inches wide? Any tiers? Take note they charge a lot for tiers.
  • Theme & Colours
  • Flavours of the cake
  • Do you want cakes/cupcakes/both? Or would you prefer a cupcake-styled cake?
  • Is the price right? Do shop around and ask for quotes from various stores.
  • Make sure you go through with them thoroughly on EVERY detail.
  • Ensure you check on delivery whether they got everything right. 
  • Ask them for a receipt with all the details in it, sent to your email, before you pay them via bank transfer.
  • Conversing with them via email is better than phone calls, but always give them picture attachments to refer to the kind of design you fancy.

10) HAVE FUN! Take a ton of photos & birthday song video.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to chillax and have a great time hanging out with all your guests. And to make sure you remember all the fun moments in the years to come, prepare a fully-charged camera, and if you are blessed to have a polaroid, remember to stock up a least a few boxes of film to make sure you can take as many as you wish! Also, if your pal has a DSLR, you know what to do. If you happen to have a friend who can photograph well, kindly ask him/her to take on that role, coz it's really cool to see candid shots from everyone's point of view, and not only your own.

Most of all, taking videos during your birthday song, or short videos of wishes from all the guests, it'll be worth the memory and data it takes up. Coz this is one birthday you plan to remember.



Let's pop that champagne!
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

P.S. If you want to ask me for some more tips for your birthday party, just email me at cherry_tomato052@hotmail.com
P.P.S. Craving for your regular teh or kopi instead of champagne? Pop over to www.unceasingfoodfullness.blogspot.sg for delightful recommendations!
None of the gifs are mine, just using them to portray the situations. :)

Wednesday 6 August 2014

I'm Not On A Diet

Hey guys!

If you've seen all the homemade meals I've been whipping up at my residence lately, you'd have definitely noticed the trend. A salad here, blueberries there, cherry tomatoes everywhere. Gosh, that rhymes, doesn't it? *does the smirk* Okay anyway. I bet some of you have been wondering... with all that healthy eating, am I on some salad greens diet or something? The answer is... NO.





I, Cherlyn Tung, do not diet. First of all, it takes some insane willpower to stay on a stupid diet where you can't just grab and munch anything you desire, and even though it helps to exercise self-control, it just drives me mad at times. I still remember I tried to take on a mini diet in Jan-Feb 2013, I was trying to stay away from everything unhealthy, and even made a vow not to touch BUBBLE TEA. If you guys haven't got a clue, yours truly here can't really live without doses of bbt. (okay of course now I can, coz I don't really fancy pearls already) I even wrote it down in a notebook, saying what I restricted myself from eating/drinking. I actually managed to honestly abstain from those stuff, like omg I didn't even allow myself to eat popcorn/chips during the freaking long Les Miserables movie back in Jan 2013 - you see, I have this habit of munching/drinking during a movie, coz to me, it completes the whole cinema experience. Eh I mean come on, you hear crunching of that lovely sweet caramel popcorn - imagine that.


VS


It really didn't help that my dear cousin Elizabeth justtttt had to buy Cheetos to munch on during the movie - that nearly killed me, because my fellow friends, Cheetos is a crispy cheesy corn snack sent from up above to delight the tastebuds of every man and woman, and just happens to be one of my absolute faves. *cries* I chose to buy a packet of mixed nuts, yknow the kind with figs, dried fruit and baked assortments, (Disclaimer: I love nomming on nuts, but just keep to the point for now) and it took me a great deal not to simply reach to the side and delve inside that orange bag of cheesy goodness. She even handed the bag to me, asking me if I wanted some!!!! X_X

Ah yes, now I remember. I was on that mini diet for 1 month, the sole purpose was to slim down a bit before the CNY season. You know how cruel some relatives can be (mostly the distant ones), commenting on the difference between last year and the current year's look/physique/studies. Sometimes, I wish they would have some form of sensitivity and have the wisdom of when and where to ZIP IT. *inserts zip effect*

I think the o great laugh I have on the inside every year, is when they all come to me and say, "Wahhh, so tall already ah, grown up already!" On the outside, I'm all like, "Oh yes, hehehe. Thank you." Inside is, "Umm, I've been 160cm for pretty much more than half a decade..." Okay fine, to give them some credit, each year I up my game in the area of makeup - I always ensure to portray 3 different makeup looks for all 3 CNY days, hairstyling too - so maybe I tend to look different coz I never repeat them? Oh well. I treat CNY like a fashion show HAHAHA. Yknow being a girl, or might I say, a woman - who doesn't wanna look on the top of their game?

*gestures Queen Elizabeth's signature royal wave*

HAHA I JUST REMEMBERED. During the CNY season this year, I actually lugged all my makeup palettes around, and gave makeup tutorials & tips, using my cousin, Audrey as the model. Teehee.

My lovely cousin, Audrey xoxo
Purple shimmer gradient eyeshadow look

Aiyah at least next year, CNY I'll be in Aussie, so I rest my case. I'll be happily frolicking around uni, having the time of my life.

Back to the diet story.

So did the mini diet work? DID IT? I DON'T KNOW. I didn't look much different. :( Thus, I was like - screw this, BUBBLE TEA COME TO MAMA! Oh, the joy of not giving a damn.


My favourite bubble tea chain is Share Tea ;) Heh. Their pearls are simply outta this world in terms of chew factor. I once interviewed a Share Tea manager, and they said that they prep their famous pudding topping fresh daily. How about that for great slurps on a hot summery day? I'll feature my top faves for bubble tea choices on Unceasing Foodfullness some time later ^_^ Got quite a number to recommend you guys!

Anyways, I don't bother restraining from certain types of food these days, I have entrusted my weight and eating habits into Jesus' hands, for I know that He will guide me into eating what's best for me - coz I cannot, but He can. :) That's how we should treat life's situations too, don't depend on your self-effort to attain something, but just cast every care unto Him, knowing that He will complete and do an amazing work in your blessed life. :) Rest in His love for you, o favoured child of the most high God. 

Ever since I shifted to Punggol 7 months back, the land of no civilisation as of yet, and for the record - staying in a condo with no facilities downstairs unlike my previous house in Yishun, it prevents me from easy access to outside food. In fact, last time coz I'll always pass by Northpoint on the way home, I frequently felt tempted to buy Share Tea, Starbucks, Ya Kun, Shilin chix, Mos Burger or some other snack. I guess that has also helped deter random cravings for unhealthy food. Hahaha. I remember last time when walking to the bus interchange, my mind will suddenly ask me: "Should I get something to eat/drink?" My eyes would dart left and right, I would think of every possibility, and then without warning, my body heads to the store before I knew it. I used to tell my sister that my body has a mind of its own. LOL.

With the absence of habit from eating at the various coffeshops available downstairs, my family has begun to cook dinner at home more often, and buy a lot of groceries whenever visiting a supermarket. As my mum works very near NTUC finest too, I usually get her to buy whatever's on my fancy list. On my own accord, I really love nomming fruits, salad greens, and on a whole, partaking in wholesome foodstuffs. It's prolly just never kicked start a habit in me to do it regularly till now. Yknow, laziness does get to some of us haha.

Of course, the fact that I own a food blog would mean that I myself love conjuring up creative dishes, with a colourful palette. Making meals at home gave me more opportunities to try different things, opt for healthier palates, giving me a satisfaction I hadn't felt for a long time. :) 




Remember how I said that I gave this weight problem to Jesus? Well, He must have given me a change in palates and motivation to make more homemade meals - coz I absolutely crave for healthy stuff now. Every week, a box of salad greens would be replenished, along with a variety of other fruits & vegetables. I have a cereal dispenser at home too, and compared to last time, the cereal now goes wayyyyy faster, coz it's fun to dispense, and mighty fuss-free. Got mine at Robinsons. 

Amidst all this healthy eating that I love, I do want y'all to know that I eat plenty other delicious things that I sometimes don't feature on instagram. :) Chocolate waffles, ice cream, mos burger, bubble tea etc. - which brings me back to the whole point of this post. I eat what I want, exercise from time to time, and I have started to see results already *yay* You can watch your diet, exercise daily, do everything to make sure you drop those kilos, but when you've got Jesus who died for all your body fats on the cross, I don't see why you have to strive on our own effort to lose weight. Jesus knows the exact best method for you to lose weight, and if you'll just let Him lead you, look to Him, your weight problems vanish. :) 

I may be kinda distant from my ideal weight as of now (I used to be a slender 50kg several years back - another story for another day), and slowly but surely, Jesus will make it happen. For all my future weight loss, I give all the glory to Jesus alone. *lifts hands in praise*

Loving them fruits & veggies,
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

P.S. For more about food, go to www.unceasingfoodfullness.blogspot.sg! :)

Friday 1 August 2014

Aurora: The Secret Is OUT

Cherlyn Aurora Tung Tzu Ching. Ho-hum.



I can betcha most of my friends don't even know I have a middle name. Not even my best friend... now come to think about it HAHA. Okay - so I think nobody knows actually? Of course my family. But, I'd just have you know that my parents weren't the one who named me Aurora.


If you google the name Aurora, you will find that they describe it as aurora borealis, dawn or basically my favourite Disney princess - Aurora aka Briar Rose. I just googled it for fun, and I just realised it's a town as well? Alrighty. Mooooving right on.

Anyway, I hardly ever mentioned it in Singapore, yknow since middle names used to be uncommon back in the days. Okay lemme explain something. Many Singaporeans nowadays own an English name, surname, and then their Chinese name, but for our fellow Caucasian friends, they all adopt first, middle and surnames only. So in a sense, we ALL have 2 names, but of course, in this day and age, we see more SGreans with middle names. Eh not bad right, now we have THREE names hahaha!

My sister has a middle name too, and it also wasn't a name from my parents. Hahaha. Now you be thinking - who on earth named us then? It's a long story. In fact, I don't think anyone (not even my family) knows the truth about how my middle name really came about. Time to let the secret out!

Press rewind.

Way back in Aussie, when all I ever thought about was how to have more fun (and sometimes being a mischeivious kiddo with an innocent facade), I used to hang out with a few of my dad's colleague's children, at Christian Home Fellowship every friday or whenever. We hung out a lot, since they were all Singaporeans and stuff. Of course, I had my own circle of Aussie pals, whom I absolutely love, cherish & adore, but they were fascinated with my Chinese name and always asking me what it meant, and what their name would be in Chinese... to which I do remember playing a fool and giving them names like "Mei Li" = Beautiful & "Hua Mei" = Flower pretty. HAHAHA. Ridiculously genius.


So, in return, I also was fascinated with all their middle names, some even with a story behind it, or named after their relative. That got me thinking. Lil' me wanted a middle name too. I remember one day, I was talking about it with my friend, Grace Tang, not sure if Odelia was there, but we were giving each other ideas on what middle names we should adopt. I totally can't remember what Grace chose, neither who mentioned the name "Aurora" first, but I know that I did love the idea of "Aurora", because I liked being named after my fave princess, and it made me sound royal & demure haha :D

After that, I think my brain accepted the middle name for real... I know it lingered in my thoughts everyday, and thus decided to make it secretly official. I told my sister about my middle name, and like allllll younger sisters, they end up sulking if they don't get one too. (Pay attention to the fact she was only 4 years old) Honestly, last time, my sis could really be a complete blabbermouth, hence she was telling my parents I had one, why doesn't she have one too - that sorta thang. Haha all sisters do go through that blabbing period when they're young.

My parents were like - what? How come you have a middle name? Who named you? I was like... OH NANA NOELINE! HAHAHA. Nana Noeline is a sweet friend of my parents, especially dear to my mum's heart - just a heads up, she went to be with Jesus quite a number of years back - yeah, but during our 2 years in Aussie, she was always meeting up with us, and I even got to go to her house and all that. I still remember we were about to leave her house, when she said she'd read Christian scriptures before going out. She hung them in many areas of her house. What a woman of God. :)

Nana is an Aussie slang for grandma, and so, she was already quite advanced in her age when I was there 12 years ago. I ever asked her why we call her Nana Noeline, instead of like grandma or sth to that point, to which she said it made her sound old & preferred Nana as a title haha so cute right. Over there, their culture isn't to call any older woman; auntie, like we all do over here in SG. They only refer aunts as their real blood-related aunts. Instead, if I were to call the mother/father of my friend, I wouldn't be all "Hello auntie/uncle!" - no way - I'm supposed to address them using Mrs/Mr Surname, like "Hello Mr/Mrs Bensley!"Yeah, it's more like respecting them as elders by calling them by name. They're all incredibly friendly though, I can still hear their Aussie accent's style of saying "hello". :D

Okay back to the story.

Last time, I had this tendency to be a bit mischievious, so when I replied my parents' question, I just told them Nana Noeline gave it to me. *She's prolly smiling at me in Heaven now hehe* Coz, I guess I didn't want them to think I was just making some rash decision to name myself. When they met up with Nana Noeline, they asked her about it, saying that maybe she can give one to Alexis too, which she was like "Oh I gave Cherlyn the middle name, Aurora?" I was there, wide-eyed, innocent, nodded my head and went "Yes you did." Thus, that solidified my middle name wahaha. My sister's middle name became "Joya", which signified a life of joy and cheerfulness - pretty nice I must say. So her name is Alexis Joya Tung Tzu Rui ;D When my sis reads this truth, she'll be like OMG YOU NEVER TOLD ME :OOO *raises sneaky eyebrows*

I wonder if I'll ever make it official in terms of name records (NRIC, passport etc.), I heard you've gotta cough up a sum of money in order to change your name - even partially. The deal breaker is obviously not the money, but whether I will want to put in an extra name I self-declared for myself when I was juvenile. I do love Aurora as my middle name though, goes quite nicely with my name, thank you very much. It's more of the reason that I love my name as it is, and whether I would wanna suddenly add in another name.



On the funny side, if you realise, those initials spell CAT. XD Ironically, I'm allergic to cats. Yep. Strange allergy O_O Found out 11 years ago when my family visited a friend's house in Aussie, and they had this ginger-haired cat which was superbly beyond fluffy and quite cute - and then I left the house with sore, swollen and itchy eyes, sneezing like mad, and felt sooooo ugh. 10 years later, I visited my poly mate's house for project work, it was a test of whether my allergy had vanished or not - coz she owns 2 cats. Lo and behold... before I left the house the allergy started T_T Boohoo. But it's alright, I don't have much adoration for cats anyway haha! Do I have any allergies towards dogs then? NOPE. THANK GOD. *cries with happiness* I absolutely love dogs, and plan on getting one in the near future - after I get back from Aussie. ;)

Talking about cats, there was this kerfuffle with kpop girl group f(x)'s Red Light lyrics, which involved the term "caterpillar", and KBS decided to be such a smartypants by telling them to switch out the lyrics, coz it was associated to the brand, Caterpillar (CAT) - I'm sure you've seen them around. It's a brand that dishes out construction equipment - yeah, that yellow crane/bulldozer. In the end they changed it to "infinite orbit" in Korean for KBS Music Bank, sounded great :3 I lovedddd their Red Light album, was such a wonderful listen of bass, beats and vocal melodies. <3 Go check them out!

Okie dokes, here's to the end of today's story about where "Aurora" truly originated from ^_^

Stay tuned,
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

Thursday 31 July 2014

An Accidental Cherry Tomato

Remember the time when we discovered something called hotmail? Everyone was creating all sorts of email names, be it their names or some other identity. So, being a thirteen year old at that point of time (or okay - twelve and whatever numbered month), I did not just create one, two or three accounts - I created TWELVE. Yep. I remember creating several accounts at every whim and fancy, an ice princess 078, sweet revenge, and I don't remember anything else. However, obviously when you've got so many accounts, and having the "great" wisdom in creating individual passwords for them, forgetting all but one was bound to happen.

Tralala, and so there it was, cherry_tomato052@hotmail.com :B Till today, I don't understand why I chose 052, it's definitely not some fave number of mine. Prolly some random epiphany at some point. Although, I do love that I'm associated with cherry tomatoes haha! Come come, lemme tell ya why. ;D

If you do follow me on instagram, you'd have known by now that I do love cherry tomatoes, adding it into every salad or brunch dish that I whip up in my humble abode. Be it those dreaded 2.4km runs, sweltering SG heat, or my tongue set ablaze by spices, my face tends to turn to a cherry-tomato-like flush easily, hence earning me the title of zé cherry tomato. :)



Pics are from my recent instagramming, keke just look at those juicy red cherry tomatoes *v* Gosh, looking at that avocado just makes me feel like having some now XD An avocado a day makes each strand of hair silky smooth. <Yeah it doesn't rhyme - I'm not your resident poet, mind you>

Cherry. Cheery. Cheerful. Cherlyn. Just about sums up how I'm feeling now.

Short post for now, but I think I'll be posting another one soon. Off to a food outing review on Unceasing Foodfullness, so check it out in a while! 

Stay cheerful guys!
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

Monday 28 July 2014

My Story

With so many bloggers popping up over the bloggerverse, sometimes when you start a new blog, you wonder if yours will ever appear on someone's google search. Well, whether there's just a handful, or a gazillion of followers, I'll always remind myself that I'm living life for the audience of one. And that is Jesus. Wherever He leads me, I shall follow.

So... WHO am I exactly? If you've bothered reading the "About Me" section up there, you prolly have something on me already. I started a food blog: Unceasing Foodfullness, back in 2012. Pretty much died down aft May 2013 last year haha - due to partial laziness & overload of project work. You can hop over and read whenever you like - I generally love instagramming about food, but never get onto blogging posts about the marvels of nomming - which I've decided to finally revive. Aspirations wise, I'll reveal it to y'all in the upcoming posts.

And... WHAT is this lifestyle blog for? It's another platform for me to bless others with tidbits of life for y'all to read. Food reviews will be mainly on Unceasing Foodfullness, but not totally exclusive. Sometimes the foodie in me just urges to post a recipe or two. I'll just have you know that I can be very, very random ;)

But... WHY did I start this blog? Wanted to share with the world my interests, be it makeup reviews/demos, my thoughts/feelings, updates on what's happening around me, book reviews, or uplifting words for you guys - it's a part of me that wants my yakking to turn into a form of entertainment for others. Just wait & see what comes up here kays? :)

Now... WHERE do I live? Hometown's the lil' red dot: Singapore. No captial, no city, no suburb - just a small island compared to others, but hei hei, we're a force to be reckoned with yawz. Fun to know though, I have a deep love for Aussie, coz I've lived out 2 years of my childhood there. Was too little a toddler to fully appreciate the 3 years in America, but Disneyworld, candy apples & huge choc chip cookies were the best! Even though sheepishly I do remember lugging around my lil' pillow with me everywhere I went. Highlight? My one and only sister was born right in the heart of Texas, Dallas. Howdy y'all. *tips hat* 'Twas a memorable few years prolly, since my mother always wishes to migrate there haha.

Well... WHEN am I moving to Aussie for studies? Next year in Feb 2015, I'll be living life in the good ol' laidback G'day Mate style. Okay homesickness alert for this emotional fella o'er here, but amidst it all, knowing that Jesus and His angels are always with me, protecting me, providing for me, just gives me so much comfort. When you have Jesus with you, nothing else matters, coz you really truly have everything you will ever need.

Lastly... HOW will I handle this new adventure of thine? Via blogs/vlogs, I'll do my best to keep it all updated, as I love writing (my passion *french accent anyone?*), talking (a lot. you have no idea), eating (lettuce nom the day away) - basically I'd like to be the cheery person that gives you strength at the end of the day. I'm someone who lives optimistically & tends to source out the good in every situation, so lemme pour infinite gallons of hope into your precious lives! ^_^

There you have it, the 5Ws1H about yours truly. Hei, if y'all everrrrr need a listening ear/heart, or just really want someone to tell your troubles/experiences/exhilarations to, I'm here for you.
Approach me via email at: <cherry_tomato052@hotmail.com> However busy I might be, I promise you that I'll try my best at answering all your emails. Y'know, encouragement is ma thang. :) And above all, remember to seek first the kingdom of Daddy God and His righteousness, and all His blessings/provision shall be added to you. <3 Matthew 6:33

Cheers to all the wonderful things to come,
Cherlyn Aurora xoxo

P.S. Wonder why my email is about cherry tomatoes and not my cherlyn aurora name? Hmm... let's save that tidbit for the next upcoming post! :D