So we headed to Element Fresh at Sanlitun Village, which was teeming with people. Luckily they got there earlier and had already secured a table by the window by the time we arrived (I choose to believe they seat good lookers near the table to attract even more people in, wahahahaha!). Anyway, they were very sweet and had a present for Rosabelle – a Tigger plush toy in a bag, and our girl, though a little shy at first, still managed her thank yous, and we settled in quickly enough to order lunch.
Whilst waiting, there was a little boy at the next table, 11 months old, and still crawling all over the place. Rosabelle went forward and Wayne actually warned her to not step on him. In the next second, she raised her leg up and wanted to step on him – aiyo! Maybe she wanted to ride him like a horse, but she came to me after and said, ‘玥玥step弟弟了'. She kept hugging and kissing him after, and that generally occupied her till food came.
As she gets to feed herself more independently (and less messy as well), it’s great for us since we can have a proper lunch, and conversation, with Jonathan and Gloria. I found out Jonathan was doing an exchange at NTU back in 2008, so there were sharings about the 196 bus service, and the hilly slopes on campus, as well as Singapore food, of course, heh! The couple went to Harbin over Christmas, at minus 30 degrees! Gloria said her eyelashes had icicles – I can so imagine, brrrrr!
Anyway, lunch ended fairly quickly, and by this time, the line for a table was even longer, so we were really glad we had an early lunch. We split ways, and we then headed to Wayne’s favourite 泰和草本 for his 24味凉茶, as Rosabelle explored the restaurant and took photos in front of their wall of herbs.
She also showed how much she loved her new Tigger friend…
It was a windy day, and I wasn’t very keen on heading outdoors, but there was an exhibition by Jimmy the famous Taiwanese illustrator – The Starry Starry Night, featuring a lot of cute figurines that we knew Rosabelle would like. And it was a hit with her – see how colourful she blends into the colourful ‘cake’ in the background…
She was wanting to touch and reach out to every Ge Ge and Jie Jie figurine around…
And loved this one with the ‘Ge Ge orh!’…
From far, she saw the figurines of the Ge Ge and Jie Jie standing on a truck, and quickly ran towards it…
After that, the main photographer (me!) was suffering from a case of mild frostbite in my hands already, so we headed to Uniqlo next door to thaw, and I ended up buying some tops – the same thing in 3 different colours (not on sale at that), hahaha… *guilty*.Wayne also had some retail therapy as he went to Jack & Jones to get a shirt – I went in after I had settled the bill at Uniqlo, and amazingly, when I walked in, the sales lady said, ‘这是你的妈妈，我一眼就认出来了!'. After that, she told me that Rosabelle looks a lot like me – woohoo! I’ve never had anybody say that – everybody just used to say that she looks so like Papa, so like Wayne, that I was blaming my weak genes. God is fair!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheap thrill aside, we then headed home after that, as I had to quickly rush out for my hair appointment. After I’d nursed her, I asked Wayne to lie down with her and she did cry awhile seeing me leave, but I was already running late and got there 15 minutes past my 4pm appointment. My hairstylist, Zhao Ming, had arranged for another colourist, after the disappointing colouring the last time, and so I spent the next 3 hours in the seat, getting my hair trimmed, getting a base colour, and some highlights. The colourist recommended that I do a pre- and post-colour Kerastase treatment, which costs RMB660 in all (just the treatment) – pricey, yes, but I thought, it’s not everyday I do this, and I’m already spending so much on a do, so I might as well protect my hair at the same time.
Well, this is how it turned out (Wayne helped me take this picture at home that night, in case you are wondering why I wore drab pyjamas T-shirts to get my hair done…):
It’s not so obvious from the picture, but it’s basically what I wanted – more obvious highlights, with slabs of red hidden at the base at the back. Heh. Total damage – about RMB2,400!!!! No help that Zhao Ming’s fees have gone up AGAIN! When I first started with him back in 2005, he cost RMB150 per cut, last time I visited, it was RMB280. Since then, he has climbed up yet another level and now costs RMB360! Sheesh! After I use up my remaining value on the card, I really have to scout elsewhere for more affordable, but still good, hairdo…Anyway, after I was done, I walked to Village (about 10 minutes’ walk, though it felt longer in the cold, brrrr) as Wayne and Nainai got our girl ready to come out and meet me for dinner. She had woken up only past 7pm(!) and even called me 'Popo’ when I was on the phone with her – Nainai said I did sound a little like my mum, haha!
We ended up at The Asian Kitchen, which was surprisingly very fast with their service, so I quickly ate as I waited for them, and had Rosabelle’s plate of food all prepared already when they finally arrived. After a fast dinner, Wayne headed to Esprit as I told him I spotted some casual bags on sale (he’s been looking for one for work), and I brought Nainai to Uniqlo as we wanted to get a thick down jacket for her.
Our girl was most busy, walking around and suggesting to Nainai to try this and that, and I was observing her when I saw her walk to the stack of supermarket baskets, and the security guard then passed one to her as she said thank you – how polite! In the end, Nainai didn’t see anything she liked, and our girl indicated to the entrance of Uniqlo, saying ‘玥玥要戴帽去看哥哥、姐姐standing on truck呢!'. Goodness – she remembered that we came into Uniqlo after seeing the display, and could identify the entrance as the one leading her to the same place. Clap, clap – I am so glad she is obviously not inheriting my navigational disability!
We then headed out to look for Wayne at Esprit – it was around 9:40pm and the sales staff actually told us they were closing. Hello…. Your sign says 10pm, so don’t come and get all lazy on me and chase away customers. I bluntly told them we’re here to look for my husband, which we were, and turns out Wayne found a nice bag and a shirt to buy, and minutes into the store closing, Nainai also found a down jacket in the men’s section that she liked. Yaay… what a fruitful trip.
By the time we headed for home, it was already quite late, and obviously close to around 1am when she slept. The next day, I did up some hairstyling of my own with our girl, who agreed to having her hair tied up when she saw a picture of a girl with the same style. Heh, cute no?
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