Pluck & Emerald Hill

Yesterday was Hui Ling's actual birthday "day" so she'd taken the day off and we went a-gallivanting! She heard me gushing abt the brownie & ice-cream at Pluck so I had to bring her there of cos and she loved the place the minute she stepped in! Must be something to do with the myriad of colours and prints and beautiful things that makes you want to cosy with everything you pick up. It was still early so there were just 2 of us in the parlour enjoying our rum & raisin and baileys ice-cream (potent stuff) with a nice cuppa cappuccino. Tammie the young lady manning the shop revealed that the brownies were handmade by her dad while she helps run the shop which her sister opened. Isn't it heartwarming when a family comes to do something together? My family runs our own business too (minus moi now) and though it can get difficult at times (for us) , I liked that we were able to see each other quite a bit. Think I miss my family more now that I've moved out of the coop. Sniff.

I was hoping to check out Xin and Enqi's new store, Makisquarepatch: Hello Eco!, located snug inside the tranquil quaint Emerald Hill as I knew they'd just opened their shop on Monday. We'd never been to this part of town before and we were so pleased we did cos the whole atmosphere was just so surreal. It's almost as if you're transported back in time with all the conserved 1920s -30s two-storey straits chinese shophouses... their low saloon doors and little stone steps and frangipani trees and white flowers strewn everywhere..... sigh.... it was really romantic, esp. when it started to drizzle lightly. We felt like we were in a scene fr one of Qiong Yao's novels!!

Unfortunately I made the boo boo of forgetting to jot down their unit number and they had turned off their phones cos of a TV shoot. In the end we popped by The Oppt Shop for some vintage therapy where we (christine the sassy shop staff and I) did a little vintage makeover for H. She was still in shock at what we convinced her to get but trust me girl, you sure look fab in them! Xin called soon after so we trotted back up the hill for more exercise.

Check out the photos of their lovely studio shop! H was so fascinated with the 3 Ho-Ho-Ho reindeers cos her family name's Ho and she has 3 sisters so she felt a strong affinity with the 3 plushies. I loved the colours and spaciousness of the place! There was a little painted house in a small corner at the end of the wall which said "1-eyed jack". Xin shared that 1-eyed jack was a stray cat who passed away at that spot when they were setting up the shop. He had only one eye and was very sick and skinny. He was supposed to rest in their shop for one night but he never woke up so she painted this house for him, hoping that he's now in a much better home than the one she painted. For some reason I was very touched when I heard this story, maybe it's cos I'm in my missing-home stage and though I've moved out for 2 years now I still wish I was a little girl tunneling between my parents on their bed watching TV and dozing off and being carried off to bed by my dad... at least before I became a little chubby kid!

Sadly I learnt during separate moments yesterday that the 26 yr old guy who passed away fr dengue recently was more connected to me than I would have expected. We were from the same school, he was well-related to a church friend and teacher, he was also a good friend of another. As Nat puts it, "how poetic it is that the death of one person can draw so many connections in the lives of others". If there was to be consolation or comfort or hope, it would be that my friend and teacher who knew him and was much affected by his demise said this of him, "he was someone who had lived life to the fullest without any regrets..." I hope that when my time comes, this will be true for me too.