A new chapter

The boy and girl got baptised today...
grateful to be surrounded by family and friends.

Then, they had a lovely supper - an antipasti plate at Jones the Grocer before they bid each other farewell.

back from europe! i think i'm suffering from pvd - post vacation depression. a day of rest and i have to dive back to work tmr. in fact i'm working on some lesson plans now :(

brief reflection:

London - the boy told me i'd love London (he was there previously and he loved it, more than new york & tokyo) i can see why. it's beautiful. i can see myself living in London. i find every moment of the 5 days there inspiring.

Paris - i've heard from people that Paris is overated and the streets are dirty. well... it isn't. It took my breath away. the people were really friendly too. it was everything i imagined it to be and more. we made a side trip to montmarte and that was real lovely. the boy,"London is beautiful and liveable but Paris is simply breathtaking."

Lucerne - a night walk around Lake Lucerne. hot swiss chocolate. gorgeous views of mountains, cows on green green hills and pretty little houses.

Venice/Florence/Rome - it was lovely revisiting these places again. it's amazing how the boy can still remember the directions to our favourite restaurant in Florence.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable & meaningful trip spending time with the boy and his family. exploring London on our own and following the trafalgar tour from Paris to Rome. we made many American and Aussie friends. Also, the boy and i bought many paintings and collected knick knacks along the trip.

detailed updates to follow soon :)

i can't believe this but i actually forgot all about the wedding prep until the boy reminded me on our cab ride home that we gotta do the save-the-dates!

London dreaming...

"Beautiful Aurelia, I’ve come here with a view of asking you to marriage me. I know I seems an insane person – because I hardly knows you – but sometimes things are so transparency, they don’t need evidential proof. And I will inhabit here, or you can inhabit with me in England."

- Jamie in Love Actually

almost.

i signed up for a facebook account 10 minutes ago. after accepting requests from friends, and getting through the various steps and realising how tired i got from all that, i've deactivated the account. so there you go, i was a facebook member for a whole of 5 minutes.

thank you

for making me laugh. for wiping my tears. for driving me home. for all the pretty flowers. for loving the things i love. for making me happy. for being happy for me. for holding my hands. for watching my back. for walking with me. for asking me to be your wife. for the eight lovely years and for the rest of our lives.

the insanity has consumed life for the past month. so as i take a teeny weeny breather now before it resumes tmr... here are some snippets of what was, what is and what will be.....

i fainted. recovered. found out i'm anaemic. ate lots of steak at the advice of the doc. am happily settled in the new home. loving the view of bishan park. growing a pot of hydrangeas. waiting patiently for the flowers to bloom and discover the colour. heart to heart with the twin. cuddling up to Love Happens. the little munchkin turned one. caught up with sandra and clydie at cedele. received pretty journals from sandra! can't wait to start journaling in europe. shopped at the baby fair with the cly who is three weeks away from giving birth. amazed at the type of products offered to mummies to be. i can't wait to see baby asher!!!! delighted at the fellowship of the young wives club - loving organised by mummy-to-be. looking forward to more fellowships.

on a wedding prep note,

i've tried a few more gowns and am in a dilemma. a good dilemma. met mili and she has kindly accepted my request to be my coordinator and it's hilarious how we went around shopping for wifey stuff (household items and groceries). we have engaged and confirmed our wedding photographer! we love this quirky husband T and wife G duo and can't wait for the photoshoot in sept. received my first etsy package delivered right to the doorstop... a surprise gift for the gals :)

i think the most meaningful thing we've done was attending our church's marriage preparation retreat. a two day retreat with other couples and our pastors, deacons and their lovely wives. We went into the retreat with several issues yet to resolve and hoping to spend time with God. and God being God...so amazing and incredible...spoke to us and planted loving people around us to share, guide and mentor. we've learned new things about each other and also developed a close friendship with another couple and had such real and heartfelt fellowship. a wonderful time indeed. the boy and i have put what we learned of each other and of God into practice - learning to approach every decision and every possible challenge with "Let's prayerfully consider this."

and... i'm so excited to be flying off to europe again in June. for a holiday with the boy's family. i'm looking forward to London & Paris, having missed these 2 cities out the last time. the best thing is returning to Italy... i cannot wait. :)

amused

remember how i was so hooked on Jack Bauer some time ago... completing the entire 6 seasons (144 episodes) in less than a year.

I have finally convinced the boy to watch the forth season (first 3 seasons still the best i reckon) cause my brother has the complete season 4, 5, 6 dvd set.

right at this moment, with 2 episodes left to season 4, he is officially a fan. He just called me to tell me that he is really tired after watching 2 hours of Jack in action and wants to sleep but had to drag himself back to the couch because his parents are hooked and they insist on finishing the season.

I am smiling to myself right now. this entire situation is too amoooosing.

Life: a portrait

being the amateur yet obssesive shutterbug that i am, i'm therefore excited at seeing fiona's professional hands at capturing me. i love the natural colours that shine through and do miss her very much. And... i really wish i can turn back the time and reclaim the {life} that i had over that weekend.

Today

has given me another reason why i shouldn't be where i am.

this is probably my exhausted heart talking

but perhaps...it's about time i listen to my heart.

December

four weddings. furniture shopping with the family. that pretty coco inspired dress. the mug i've been eyeing from cly. hanging intricate ornaments on the christmas tree. two amazing movies. hot chocolate at borders bistro. playing tennis with the boy. learning to drive around braddell. outing with the kids at kallang river. the funny jordan and joey cookies baked by the crazy kids. sharing the joy and heartaches of the young ones when the results were released. the most yummilicious chocolate almond daim cake from lane. delicious food with the dg. the christmas ritual of watching Lord of the Rings. the boy and the ikea dog we've decided to call 'funny bunny'. the toffeenut frap at novena starbucks. the cozy dinner at the rustic la villa. the quick walks in the rain. the not so nice quarrels that in the spirit of christmas are quicky resolved. the birthday at fourseasons. the giant ham. playing uno as we count down to christmas. the family buffet. the gifts. japanese lunch with the herdies. catching the year end flu. resting at home. wishing i'm samantha brown. going on the american road trips with jamie oliver, being amused silly by the lads in top gear and last but definitely not the least, forever dreaming of europe.

eat. drink. be married.

i am...

in love with the little cousin. i think it is pretty evident by now how i can't stop gushing over her. indulge me please. she is coming to 8 months and has just started learning swimming...or rather floating... in a tub. she is starting to look more like a boy. an uber cute one, therefore, the need to dress her up in girly hats and pastels. i'm not sure about the blue frock in the last pic but still...she is too cute. her eyes are HUUUUUUUUUMONGOUS. needless to say, i simply couldn't resist putting up one more. oh yes, if you're wondering about the hair.... let's just say i had little hair when i was a baby too. so i'm not too worried. :)

daydreaming about the lovely day. after browsing through my favourite sites for endless inspiration, I am more or less set with the colour palette and ideas for invites

listening to Bruce Springsteen and adding this to the list of songs

awed at this gorgeous glass chapel (Thorncrown Chapel) via mandy lynne. what a stunning place to wed.

feeling crafty. arranging flowers after chancing upon the brilliant blue chrysanthemums.

also writing a report... that is causing some damage to the brain. seriously. i've sat on this... stared at the screen for eons... and the words are taking an awfully long time to materialise.

smitten with Little Part 1 cafe... flowers. glass jars. fairylights. chalkboard.

looking forward to

- five weddings over the 2 months! 27th, 28th Nov. 12th, 13th, 25th Dec.

- moving to the new place at the end of dec after staying at aunt's place for some time now.

- December. the season of peace, love, joy. of fuzziness. hot chocolate. endless fairylights and friends.

lifted up by this which gives me hope,

"Last week, a very hateful group announced that would be protesting outside my college's center for Jewish life. They planned to carry hateful signs and to jeer at Jewish students. When they arrived, they were met by 1,000 students and professors standing in the rain, and left quickly because they could not be heard over the songs of love."

tickled by buddy and the boy

thankful.

moments

visiting Hoppy and baby aashna. she has pretty long eye lashes and falls asleep in the most adorable way in her daddy's arms. here is Michelle carrying the baby. looking forward to her wedding in 2 weeks!

celebrating the birthday of the boy and Aunty Kim, our bible study group's resident chef. she whips up the most delicious food every dg - honey mustard chicken... homemade otah... popiah... thai curry... penang goodies....the list goes on. we are very pampered indeed. we had dinner at BTC guild house. the boy discovered the place while teaching there. the food is absoooolutely amaaaaaazing. former les amis chef. set dinner (5 courses for about 40dollars is a steal) presentation is lovely. the food - yummilicous.

Mr Chng's birthday! and the long awaited class photo.

I will miss you all.

it's time for the baby cousin :) she's growing beautifully. uber big eyes and cute cheeks. she likes to stare out of the window for eons looking at birds flying. i'm trying my best not to fall into the whole goo goo gaga peekaboo thingie and talking to her like an adult... so the walk along the corridor with her in my arms goes like this, " wow...look at that... what is that? that's a tree... and this over here is a rose... a pink rose... here's a plant and this is the leaf!" i hope she doesn't find it annoying. love her loads.

step back in time ...

in shades of blue.

shower of love

June 7th

after the surprise, the boy and i went for a lovely morning eggs benedict at choupinette. after that, we headed down to Far East Flora and picked out the flowers needed for the shower. Went back home and started the arrangements, using ikea glass bottles. We had lots of fun and were so excited to see the eventual effect. pretty blue and white hydrangeas. LOVE LOVE LOVE HYDRANGEAS (:

Fosters rose cafe is beautiful for such an occasion.

wood. flowers. vines. tea. scones. a bunch of girlfriends. polaroids.

a radiant bride.

SIMPLY PERFECT.

i do and farewells...

HG is one of the boy's best buds. He met na in the second year of university and their relationship has blossomed into a beautiful love story. i was really glad when na became a familiar face in our group gatherings, that i'm no longer the only gal around. So, when the call came in march from Hg when the boy and i were at Night safari that they were getting married in May, we could not contain our excitement. HG had to leave for the states to do his PHD in August so the fact that they could pull off the wedding in two months was simply amazing. The wedding was a beautiful affair to remember. The solemnisation took place at the gorgeous Raffles Lawn.

My favourite shot of the couple.

making the grand entrance as husband & wife

toast to the couple and a chat till 2am

Before they left, we had a fabulous staycation at The beautiful Beaufort.

The sun. the sand. the sea. the fun. the joy. the laughter. the food. the friendship. the love.

farewell dinner days later at Little India

a farewell gift

the buddies

Adieu.