Moments

Officially graduated! :)

It's such a surreal feeling, honestly. Donning the graduation gown & mortar board, limbing the stairs up to the stage (taking care not to trip and fall), shaking hands with the dean and receiving my scroll (or rather a blank folder haha) ... it's really the end of student life! A bittersweet feeling, thinking back at how much I've grown in these last four years. I'm really gonna miss school though! Although I'm really not a sentimental person when it comes to institutions (as in the school itself), but already, I miss the life, and the friends. The thought of not being able to see them as often as we get swept up into the world of working life, sigh :'(

Really thankful that I made such incredible friendships throughout my university life though! :') Some of the BEST friendships of my life, and I'm so sure that we can keep this up for the rest of our lives, which is such a wonderful thing to know :')

So much love! <3<3<3 Missing thad from the picture, but I'm so excited to receive our photoshoot pictures!! :) So so so many memories with this bunch. I'm so glad that we stuck together even though none of us made it through ballare haha. Never thought I would have ever made such close friends in a CCA, since it never was the case for me in the past. But we somehow just clicked, and I'm so thankful for a friend in every single one of these people. Almost every major (or minor) moment in university involves this bunch, and these were the happiest memories of my university life ^^ It's incredible how much we went through together! Studying together, pouring our hearts out to each other, chatting about anything&everything under the sun, catching the world cup together, travelling together (we must do that more!!), and now, graduating together :) So many things I treasure about the friendships with these people <3

Missing Dom & Shan! But hehh, these friends have seen me through the most shitty and unglamorous moments of university - OCSP and Nepal (the thought of it just kills me hahaha) - and still love me for it :) So happy that we've all finally found jobs just before officially graduating! <3 Having gone through some of the most challenging times together, I'm sure we'll go a long, long way :)

BFF :))))))) It was so unexpected that we ended up in the same university and same course together, and bidded for ALL our modules together #notkidding. Hehe so thankful for this girl <3 How we are so similar in personality and can understand each other so well because of that! (: Every time I chat with her reminds me why we're best friends, even if we haven't talked for a long time. Photo with our families together because we're almost like family to each other (: Love!!

To my biggest love, I'm so glad we're graduating together! :') You've been the BEST BEST BEST thing that has happened to me in the whole of my university life :) I'm so blessed to have you, and thank you for your being my greatest pillar of support in the past 2 years. Looking forward to creating even more memories with you as we move on to our next phase of life <3 I love you!!!!!!

Couldn't have done this without the most important people in my life :'))) Despite all the ups and downs, they've been the constant in my life, keeping me sane & happy hehe ^^ Wouldn't trade them for the world <3 Missing yi :( Come back soon!!!

It's a wrap! Thanks for the beautiful flowers, mummy & Sam's mummy :):) 

District 10 Bar & Restaurant

i've been visiting star vista quite a number of times since it opened (okay, like three times? but it's not that near my house so i guess it could be counted as quite a lot haha). and there seems to be quite a few other places we would like to check out there! 

visited district 10 this time, since i'd been hearing the name around quite a number of times. and i was quite pleasantly surprised at how good it was! it had a very refreshing menu, with lots of interesting dishes that we wanted to order ^^ i would say that the prices of their tapas were pretty steep though, knowing how small the portions usually are. thankfully the quality of food made up for it (: 

the sauteed garlic prawns with olive oil ($12) were deliciously fragrant. a hit amongst us garlic-lovers ;) we devoured it in minutes!! the prawns were juicy, and the sauce was so good that we mopped it up with anything and everything available :P

i loved the jumbo crab cakes ($14) for their fluffy texture. they were such a delight to eat! (btw don't be mistaken about the size of the tapas ok...i might have zoomed in quite a bit so it actually isn't as large as it appears to be)

the mini black angus cheddar cheese burger ($7) was tiny, but so adorable!!! the combination of the beef and cheddar cheese was divine (: 

and the naturally cut fries with truffle dip ($12) were so good!!!!! i think this way of doing such fries is much better than those pseudo truffle fries that have barely any truffle flavour at all -.- for this, the fries were fried beautifully - super crispy, while fluffy inside and tasty on their own! perhaps they were a little too oily though. the truffle mayo dip was delicious with sufficient truffle essence ;) 

although i've got a feeling that tapas are meant to be the star at this restaurant, i was actually more excited about the mains!! bigger portions that would definitely satisfy. right? ;) hehe. we actually ordered from the specials menu that day so i'm not too sure whether the same dishes would be available. but they were so good, i really hope they include it in the normal menu as well!! the soft shell chili crab pizza ($25) was a super interesting combination - loved how there was a fusion element in this dish ;) kind of like an asian-style pizza!

and the braised wagyu beef cheek rendang ($29) was sooo fragrant. we could smell the rendang aroma from one end of the table to the other :D and the beef cheek was done wonderfully. though not melt-in-your-mouth standard, it was tender without a doubt, and a delight to eat! the pita bread came in useful to soak up all the sauce (not one bit was left to waste!) and the mashed potatoes were sinfully, but deliciously, buttery ^^

very happy family with our happy hour bottle of carbenet sauvingon for $34 ;) 

District 10 Bar & Restaurant

The Star Vista #01-42

Tel.: +65 6694 2884

Sun-Thu 11.30am-11pm

Fri & Sat 11.30am-12mn

An unexpected staycation ^^

hi!! i can't believe i didn't post this earlier. it has been sitting in my drafts for weeks!

time has been flying by and it's the middle of the semester already! or rather, time has been passing quickly, but it has been feeling really draggy of late. maybe it's the "final year syndrome" where i'm simply just drifting away from studying, or because i'm taking THREE (i don't know why i torture myself this way) pretty tough accounting mods this semester. anyway, it was by a really lucky chance that i had a break from all of this. our family escaped to sentosa over a weekend due to a twist of fate ;) am i glad that my week ends on thursday! i was never more happy to celebrate that when i heard we were booked into a hotel from thursday night onwards! (:

we stayed at The Sentosa Resort, which is a gorgeous resort hotel set amidst lush greenery.

we were completely awed the moment we stepped into our hotel room. this probably isn't a great pictorial representation of how luxurious it was, but it was a really plush, cozy room, and the bathroom was beyond imagination!

huge, with a bathtub on one side and the shower and toilet on the other. it looked so comfortable, i could totally imagine myself staying in there for hours to pamper myself if i had the luxury of time. it was very well equipped with thick towels and quality toiletries.

i didn't really try out their shampoo & conditioner because it's my pet peeve to use hotel toiletries that dry out my hair, but according to mummy, it was really good! all the amenities in the room were replenished on a frequent basis and i really liked their housekeeping services.

the breakfast buffet spread was pretty good, and it was definitely my strongest motivation for dragging myself up early every morning to exercise, even while on a "holiday". i went ga-ga over the pastries every morning, which was rotated on alternate days so that you do get some variety in your breakfast. one of my favourites was the design-your-own omelette section! you get a fresh omelette fried for you, and you can choose to include toppings such as tomatoes, mushrooms, ham, cheese, etc. the spread is slightly more extensive on sunday mornings as well (along with larger crowds). you can choose to sit indoors to be closer to the buffet spread, or lounge on the terrace with a view of the gorgeous pool.

happy tummies ^^^

now look at this gorgeous landscape. i had the privilege of having this as my view as i sat at the veranda studying for midterms. the facilities in this hotel are top-end, as you can see from this humongous swimming pool. it was an absolute luxury to swim in it - such a great exercise! and it's a heated pool, which is definitely welcome if you want to have an early morning swim. the gym is situated rather far away, but the reception will promptly get a buggy to ferry you over once you inform them. i didn't get a picture of the gym, but i was pretty well-equipped, and you get to enjoy a relaxing view of lush forestry as you run on the treadmill.

#cheapthrill :D 

i love how the hotel is so convenient despite the fact that it's situated in sentosa :)) there are shuttle buses that could bring us out to vivocity every half an hour, and even buses that went all the way to town (paragon)! super service that really makes staying there much more convenient. after all, we still had lives going on outside of sentosa no matter how much we wanted to pretend that we didnt :P

i'll definitely recommend this as a worthy hotel to stay in at sentosa, for all its amenities and the perfect balance between serenity and accessibility.

Of teapots and pretty cakes - York Part I

if not for yi, i probably wouldn't have heard of the existence of York, much less set foot in the place. and what a pity that would be! this city, albeit small and relatively unknown, is one of the best kept secrets in UK (: it is that wonderful. and i loved every single bit of it :') apparently it's on the fb page "Places to visit before you die"!!! i'm so happy that i had a chance to visit ;) for all the afternoon tea-loving ladies out there, this is the place to live in :))) such a small, quaint town, but so many places to delight in. i really really miss the space and quietness of europe. *sigh* :') 

this is not a very good pictorial representation...it is too dark!!! but you've got to be THERE to experience York (: the shopping streets at The Shambles are just so picturesque! i was googling it, and i found the perfect description ever ;) "it's like walking down Diagon alley in Harry Potter!" so true ^^ it's just one small street after another, with the prettiest shops and tea houses, selling the most quirky and lovely merchandise that you'd feel like popping into every other shop just to oogle at the products. i particularly loved this store that sold soaps that looked like mini-cupcakes!! *squeals!!* i was just having to drag myself out to prevent myself from buying something i would never bear to use because it was just too pretty :p

did you know that harry potter was filmed in york?!?! i mean, just one scene in it. but stillllll. haha! and i wouldn't have known till yi told me, but once she did, i could immediately imagine the exact scene in the movie! in the first movie when hagrid passed harry the tickets to take his first train from platform 9 3/4. it was filmed at the York Train Station :O :O :O !!!! :D haha. i was there!!!!! *HELLO!!* haha okay i'm nuts, but it's so exciting!! can't believe that they actually came all the way here to film the movie! i didn't even go to see the platform 9 3/4 at kings cross station in london because i heard it's damn lame (there is even a queue to take a photo with the trolley -.-). THIS, is much cooler ;) hehe. totally being a typical tourist in york ;)

the York City Wall was probably to keep out all the baddies from the city. i'm not too sure about this, but i think York used to be the capital of england at some point in history? that's why they have these city walls and a castle (below) as well! 

Clifford's Tower - i really enjoyed walking around this area on my own on a quiet afternoon. there was a lovely light breeze that ruffled my hair, and it was just perfect (: i spent the afternoon strolling in the area, watching the geese play (so many of them in york!!!), watching a little kid run and tumble in the grass. it was such a wonderful day out ^^

the York Minster is this huge church in York that you can visit. it costs £15 for a combined minster+tower ticket. i don't think there is much to see in the church itself, but the tower was an interesting experience. first time climbing up a super narrow flight of steps. not an experience i'd want to repeat, but i did so again for st paul's cathedral in london lol. 

halfway up the steps....thought we had reached already but no....more steps to climb haha.

view from the top!! (: 

and one of my favourite places in York was the Museum Gardens (: this picture was taken from my seat on the grass hehe ^^ it's a wonderful place to sit and chill! 

if you can, venture beyond the city of york to the outskirts and you'll find more wonderful things there! (: we took a bus out to Balloon Tree Farm and it was such a lovely experience! they have both an animal farm and vegetable garden section. we actually wanted to go for the pick-your-own trail experience but unfortunately due to this year's bad weather, the harvest was late :"( sobs. nevertheless, we really had a lot of fun here! look at all those vegetables!! fresh from the farm ^^ 

they also had a number of cute animals there ^^ look at the adorable pony behind me!! there were goats, chicken and a pig as well heh ;)

we had our lunch at their in-house cafe, and i just love how everything was fresh from their farm! the quiche lorraine (£7.25) had apparently shrank in size since the last time yi visited, but it was deliciously tasty nonetheless! i just love the crust of such pastries ^^ 

they also have a daily specials menu, where there are more interesting dishes! (: we ordered the salad of smoked scottish salmon with balloon tree asparagus and parma ham (£7.95). so delicious!! i just loved how healthy everything seemed there (: 

surprising how such a small city can have so much to see! ^^ 

22nd (:

another year older, another year wiser. haha i do think that i have grown quite a bit in the last year! learning about myself, learning about relationships, seeing the world on exchange and realising there are so many more beautiful places to visit! my bucket list just grew even longer hehe. and can't believe i'm going to graduate in a year :O insane!!! i don't want to :( feel totally unprepared for working life. really going to enjoy my last year of school and hopefully, in the process, find out what i really want to do (: YOLO!! 

so anyway, spent my birthday weekend with the most impt people :') so thankful to have them in my life <3 my family & my sweet darling :*) 

i received the most gorgeous bouquet of roses in the morning that kept me smiling whenever i saw them ^^ took tonnes of photos of them later in the night when i reached home as well hehe. 

so beautiful right!! :') love how this photo turned out. it captured the colours so well! this must totally be a bouquet characteristic of the two of us - so colourful!! :D and i realised how much i love baby's breath! it's just an accompaniment, but it's so soft to the touch and it was just quite fun to keep rubbing it between my fingers (haha i'm damn lame).

we went cafe-hopping (kinda) that day! in the east, because we were going to sing K too ^^ hehe had so much fun singing together! :) our first time ;) not bad for a first haha! this was the boy's breakfast at penny university! I LOVED IT. haha could have koped the entire thing :P lol! esp since my food took so long to come...

after K, we headed to rabbit carrot gun for lunch (for him) / tea (for me) haha. and i got a lemon drizzle cake (which was super yummyyyyy) which became my impromptu birthday cake with an iPhone candle! ;) hahahaha. so creative right ;) 

aaaand last pic to end the night! ^^ thanks baby, for everything :) i love you <3<3<3

on sunday, my actual birthday, had a food fest with the family! :D nom nom noms. happy tummy! it's been totally indulged this week haha. brunch at Open Door Policy (actually we ordered from their lunch menu) and i have to say that it has become a favourite on my foodie list!!!! i'm so glad that i finally tried this place! been wanting to come here since FOREVER. and i'm so glad i finally got to try it on my birthday (: 

and we went to W Singapore for dinner!!!!!!!! :D *squeals*!!!!!! i've been wanting to go there since it opened (wish i could have a staycation thereeee) and my birthday was the perfect excuse to drag the family there hehe :P only can make such requests on my special day LOL. o.m.g. this hotel is simply gorgeous and the service is amazing too - from the moment we stepped out of the car! love it. i'm gonna do a proper post on it! (: and also for the rest of the food places. stay tuned ;) 

started camwhoring around the hotel because the scenery was just too pretty! (: 

we had dinner at Skirt! (: heard a lot about this place since the hotel opened and i really wanted to try it! esp since they were supposed to have affordable steaks. sounds good!!! mm i wouldn't say that it's affordable...but at least not exorbitant haha. i think they already increased prices since last time because the prices i saw on the menu were different from what i read in reviews! anyway, we had a pretty good experience here (: 

and i got my lovely cake from Antoinette! :))) it's the Antoinette cake ;) it was sooooo yummy!!! after trying the mini version in the restaurant previously, this came to mind again when i was searching for my birthday cake. and i'm so proud of my choice! ;) it was absolutely delicious. soft earl grey mousse set atop a crunchy biscuit/pistachio base. and with little jam balls on top! hehe so cute. i loved this cake! we all did. it was so delicious!!! until we had to struggle to finish it amongst the five of us hahaha. but it was yummy anyway :) 

thanks papa & mummy for always bringing me to such nice places to eat (: it's always a joy spending time with the people i love on my birthday <3 i feel so blessed ^^ here's to another great year ahead! (: 

Paris is always a good idea

i heard so many mixed reviews about paris before going there, and i wasn't really sure whether i would like it, even though i've always been sooo fascinated about anything related to the eiffel tower or french in general ^^ i just think the french have this ability of being so effortlessly chic, which is simply amazing (: and everything french just exudes the luxe factor ;)

and i'm so glad to say that i really liked paris when i was there!!!! :') i guess it was kind of a blessing that i was there only for one day, which just gave me the feeling of longing when i left the place. going around in a tour bus was kind of a disappointment because we rushed through so many places, but it also meant that we skipped all the dirty sides of paris, which i'd rather not see (haha #livingindenialttm). 

****dream come true!!!!!**** :D 

i feel so lucky that the weather kinda cleared when i wanted to take a photo of the eiffel tower ^^ it was quite gloomy initially -.- it looks so amazing :') wish i could have seen it at night too! i heard that it sparkles *.* 

we took the lift up to the second level! to have a view of paris (: haha tbh it wasn't fantastic :p paris is in a really boring colour! all white! i think the feeling that i was on the eiffel tower was the most exciting part :p lol.

sleepy faces in the morning because we had to wake up at 4.30am to catch the eurostar from london xP faints....haha but on a side note, the eurostar trains are AWESOME-ly comfy.

we took a cruise on the River Seine! (: so many places i wish i could have visited on the way, such as the Notre Dame! but of course we didn't have the luxury of time.

super duper excited when i saw the louvre!!!!! :D or rather, when i saw this glass pyramid haha. i've seen so many wedding photos taken in front of this thing, which are soooo absolutely gorgeous :D :D but i really wondered how they ever manage to clear the crowds to take their photos?? there were so many people there! maybe have to cordon off the whole area or something haha. the mona lisa was super lame though :p we really went all the way in just to instagram a photo of it and say 'we were there' :P haha and there were so many people inside the louvre, we didn't bother to explore the rest of it.

because the exterior of the louvre was so much more enticing!!!! :') just looking at this garden and i wished i could have spent a whole afternoon just walking in there and enjoying the sun :)) i have no idea what garden this is, but i really want to visit Versailles and Montmarte the next time i come to paris!!!!! 

and probably my happiest time in paris was walking along the river seine to pont des arts ^^ we spotted the bridge while we were on the cruise in the morning and totally squealed!!! :P omgggg i'm so glad i finally saw this :') beautiful love locks bridge :))))) i was there!!!! i can't believe it!!!! i just relished in the feeling of walking along the river, wind in my hair, breathing in the parisian air :') i could do this over and over again :))

and this song totally came to my mind while i was walking along the river seine :)