My weekend: Vernetta Lopez

Gold 90.5 DJ Vernetta Lopez, 41, hosts the radio station's weekday morning show and is also a director of a wedding planning firm.

She lives with her British husband, Wayne Gladwin, 43, in a condominium in River Valley.

Mr Gladwin, a permanent resident here, owns Roundhouse: Pizza, Bar & Grill, a family-style restaurant in Turf Club Road, where Lopez helps out as a marketing manager. The couple have no children.

"On Friday evenings, my husband and I sometimes have our date night at Italian restaurant Ristorande Da Valentino, also in Turf Club Road or French diner Bistro du Vin in Zion road. We also often dine at Roundhouse, because we like the food and ambience, and I get to play darts. It's my favourite form of exercise. I can feel my right butt getting bigger already, because I've been leaning to the right when I play.

Alternatively, we might invite friends over to our house. My husband, who is a good cook, will whip up dishes such as roast meat, steak or pasta.

If we are home, I will go jogging at Alexandra Canal in the evening for some greenery and fresh air. The park is very beautiful, especially when the sun sets. We usually end our day around midnight because I get to sleep in on Saturday. It means that I wake up at about 8am instead of 5am during weekdays.

I sometimes spend Saturdays working, either filming for my two shows on Okto or event hosting, but if not, I start my day with instant noodles for breakfast.

It's one of the quirky things that I do. My favourite flavours are Asam Laksa by Maggie Mee and Chicken Abalone by Myojo. I would catch up on American television series such as medical drama Grey's Anatomy, political thriller Scandal or my favourite comedy show Friends while I eat.

I like to try different types of cuisines during lunch. Some restaurants we frequent are Marutama Ramen at Liang Court, which serves fantastic Japanese noodle soup - I especially like the one with the spicy broth; and Yantra at Tanglin Mall, a chic Indian restaurant which has a daily lunch buffet.

On Saturday afternoons, I try to catch up on my hobby, which is craft making. I make things such as bracelets, earrings and bookmarks, and I'm now working to sell my collection online.

Dinner is usually delivery from McDonald's or at the Roundhouse. Sometimes, I cook too, mostly local dishes such as pickled cabbage soup and pork ribs with belacan (spicy fermented shrimp paste).

For drinks, we used to hang out at an Irish pub called Muddy Murphy's at Orchard Hotel. It recently moved to TripleOne Somerset but we haven't had the chance to visit. We would also try to catch veteran local rock band Tania perform at Harry's @ Orchard Towers.

Next on my list of places to check out is the Blu Jaz cafe at Bali Lane or Sing Jazz Club at Jalan Sultan. Both, I heard, have awesome jazz music. Our n`ight will probably end at about 1am.

On Sunday, I will go for brunch with my friends at Margarita's in Dempsey Hill, which serves Mexican cuisine. We really enjoy the atmosphere there. The champagne brunches at Regent hotel's Basilico and Ritz-Carlton's Greenhouse are also really good.

In the afternoon, I sometimes play mahjong with my mother and older sister at either of their homes in Ang Mo Kio and Sin Ming.

Other times, my friend who owns a sport boat, will invite my husband and me to take a ride.

We will pack some sandwiches, take off at Raffles Marina, sail northwest with no particular destination in mind, relax and get a nice tan.

I will then spend the rest of Sunday at home preparing for work - reading the news and identifying issues that we might want to talk about on the show the next day.

A good weekend to me is when you have a good time even if there isn't anything planned."

This article was first published on June 20, 2014.
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