Randomness

- We were flicking through channels over the weekend and I landed on the Miss USA pageant. 

Hubs: "You can leave the room now."

Me: *Ignoring* "I bet this would be more awesome to watch with the sound off, huh?"

Hubs: "You got it."

(I didn't realise till yesterday that Miss Connecticut won. Yay?)

- I can't stop making courthouse steps. I've got a problem, you guys. First the cream quilt, now this one out of DS prints, and I'm contemplating a new bed quilt for us... Help? No, don't help, they're awesome and fun to make.

- People need to stop using the word 'literally' wrongly. It figuratively makes my head explode.

- There's a disgusting haze cloaking my homeland Singapore right now. I told my dad to stay indoors or wear a mask (I told if him if he did, please take pictures heehee!) if he had to go outside. It's really horrid... all my friends back home are complaining about the haze and I feel like a jerk complaining about all the rain we've been getting.

- Also, when we visited Singapore, I brought my dad some chocolate almonds because I thought he might like them. He texted me to ask how many bottles of it I'd brought because he was convinced my sister stole one! Hahaha! Had I known he'd love it that much, I'd have brought an entire case!

- I can't stop watching the train wreck that is Tattoo Nightmares. The clients are SO dumb. Seriously, they should be sterilised.

- Oh please please please let there be a Neverwhere movie with Benedict Cumberbatch in it. Oh PLEASE!!!

Homeward Bound!

Ahhhhhhhh I'm going home!!! I'm going to Singapore to see my family and I'm so freaking excited I could spit! I keep smiling to myself like the biggest idiot. Thankfully the hubs could take the time off work so he's coming along too! Whee!

Honestly, when I was growing up, I'd never feel too excited about visiting Singapore because all I wanted was to get away from where I spent my childhood. I was so negative about everything -- well, everything except the food -- and it took seeing Singapore through the hub's eyes and moving thousands of miles away to fully appreciate where I came from. People would ask me if I was going to apply for US citizenship and it hit me... No, I'm Singaporean. I was born a Singaporean, and I will die one. I'm proud of my heritage, where I come from, and I get so excited when people ask me about Singapore. It's an amazing place, and it's a pity it took so much for me to realise this.

Anyway, we're not just going to Singapore this time... we're going to Australia too! There's family there I haven't seen in FOREVER and four new members of the family I have yet to meet. Three babies and a cousin-in-law. So excited!!!

First, we're going to Perth... my home for almost 13 years. I love this place. I miss it so dearly and I can't wait to be back there. I'll celebrate my birthday there, and I'm beyond thrilled that I get to celebrate with my whole family! My mum's having a little get-together with family... though I'm sure it's not very little anymore hehe! Which is fine because that means I get to see faces I've missed... I just don't fancy being the centre of attention and I tend to want to hide.

And as an extra treat, we're going to Melbourne... my almost home. As much as I loved Perth, I found it too quiet so I was going to move to Melbourne. I went to Melbourne quite a bit, and totally fell in love with the city. I knew I had to move there because it just felt right, so I had my apartment all set up smack in the middle of the city... and then I met the hubs and moved to a sleepy, tiny town in the Middle of Nowhere, USA. Oh, I'm fully aware of the irony...

So. As if this blog isn't quiet enough lately, it's going to get quieter. I'll try to blog while I'm away but I promise nothing. I might be too deliriously happy being surrounded by family and my two sisters to remember that I have a blog heehee! There will be a giveaway while I'm gone though... look out for that! And hopefully I'll be able to take pictures of a couple of quilts I've finished lately before I leave so I can share.


Pictures from here, here and here.

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Singapore turns 47 today! Seems like a very small number for a country, especially knowing all what Singapore's become and accomplished in those short years! 

I miss the hustle and bustle of the city, I miss the food, I miss the shopping... but most of all, I miss my friends and family. There'll always be a love / hate relationship (I really just hate the weather hehe) but my heart will always belong to Singapore. 

Happy birthday, Singapore... Majulah Singapura :)

Picture from here. 

A Hop, Skip And A Jump

My last morning in Singapore before I hopped an 18-hour flight.

We had brekkie at a coffeeshop at the airport and it was the best brekkie of my visit. Better late than never, no?

Kaya toast. DELICIOUS.

I wasn't too thrilled about sitting right by the wing. I'm still traumatised by that episode of Twilight Zone, 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet'. I shut the hell out of that shade the second we took off.

My lunch was almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

I wanted to steal the salt and pepper shaker on the way to Singapore. I still wanted to steal it on the way back.

Howdy.

I'd honestly forgotten about snow till I looked out the window, wondered what all that white crap was and then got really annoyed by stupid snow.

And hello New Jersey. There were flurries billowing about when I was waiting for my ride, but it thankfully stopped by the time I walked outside. And when I got to New Haven, there was the hubs and his smiling face :)

Singapore, I'll Miss You

I'm home sweet home now. I already miss my family like crazy, but I was so happy to see my husband :) I've been up since 6am (stupid jetlag) and have already done two loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen and eating area. My head's starting to swirl so I see a nap or two coming up shortly.

Here's a few pictures from my last few days in Singapore :)

Celebrated two friends' birthdays with cake and macarons. Deliciousness.

Best Boggle board EVER. I scored 40 points. Woot!

Spent more time with my cousin and her little girl, Lea. I swear she's asking to be squished.

Lea telling Auntie Averil a story hehe!

Ladies who lunch. Me with some of my favourite people in the world.

We dropped my sister Averil at work and this DeLorean was parked out front. I had my Mum pull over so I could take pictures. People were staring at me like I was insane heehee!

Call me juvenile, but this never ever fails to make me crack up.

More yu sheng.

A plate of utter deliciousness. Roast pork, roast duck, suckling pig and jelly fish... these are a few of my favourite things...

It's like Chinese New Year threw up here.

Tired Of Food... And A Quilt!

I've been eating way too much since I've been in Singapore. Kind of tired of chewing, but the fact that I know I won't get to eat most of it for the foreseeable future makes me continue to stuff my face. I'm going to have to strap myself to the treadmill when I get home!

My Mum and sister went to a nearby Japanese place for lunch today.

My favourite sushi, chuka hotate... scallops. And in the background, tuna inari, another fave.

Delicious clams and mushrooms.

I do love me some sushi!

Here fishy fishy! They kind of look like they're sleeping under a blanket of snow. Which according to my hub's emails, most of you are doing just that!

A local bakery with pretty buns and pastries.

And here's the quilt I made my sister Averil! Finally! She laid it on her bed the other way, but I forced her to turn it around for the picture because that's the way I'd made it. Pretty sure it won't stay that way for long :P

I do love the colours of this quilt... It was a little hard to say goodbye to this one but knowing she loves it so much makes me very happy.

And for shits and giggles, a picture of her vanity mirror. Can you tell she likes blue?

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner

We had a little reunion dinner since tonight's the eve of Chinese New Year. Just the five of us, which is strange because it'd usually be with my grandma and the rest of the family.

We played Boggle like we always did when we were younger :)

My middle sister finally threw the quilt I'd made her in the wash... I had to take a picture of it for some unknown reason.

Achar. A kind of pickled veggie. It's blindingly spicy but so worth the pain.

We made some chicken stock for the steamboat dinner. Mum had me carry that pot filled with stuff across the kitchen and I almost dropped the lot. She'd have had my head if I did hehe!

More prep work going on.

The kitchen stool. And my little sister's silly hand.

Our living room and dining room just before dinner. You can see the quilt hanging in the far left.

Yu sheng. A Chinese New Year dish pretty much only found in Singapore. It's all veggies, fresh and preserved, nuts, crispy things and sauces. There's usually sliced raw fish much like sashimi, but Mum decided on sliced abalone instead.

The table all set for feasting. There's no pictures during because my hands were strangely very busy... and the aftermath is just embarrassing :)

I heart Root Beer. And that's Coca-Cola in Chinese!

Hope you liked the peek into my culture and my world :) And to all those celebrating Chinese New Year, gong xi fa cai, wan shi ru yi, nian nian you yu!

Memories, New And Old

We spent Sunday at our grandma's home, clearing out her cupboards and drawers... that woman had A LOT of things! Now I know where my pack rat nature comes from :)

We found an old journal of hers where she'd write her thoughts and letters to people in. It felt a little odd reading someone's journal, but it was really nice to be reminded of her kind ways. I still can't really believe she's gone... going through her things, I kept thinking we shouldn't because she'd need them. Silly me.

Our grandparents, together again :) My grandma's in that white urn... it's surreal to me that she's in there.

I actually spent most of the day keeping my little niece Lea company because she kept wanting to see what we were up to. She's so intelligent and kept asking me all sorts of questions, keeping me on my toes. Like why was I there, why did I draw on my arm (my tattoo), why were we in our grandma's room removing her things.

And yesterday we went to visit her and her parents, and had lunch with them. All she wanted to do was play... for five hours. Yikes. I could feel my womb cowering in fear lol

And as we were leaving, she kept trying to find more toys to keep us from going hehe Such a cutie :)

Scenes From Singapore

Finally uploaded pictures from my camera. Took long enough... hehe :)

It's been raining lots while I've been back. My family thinks it's my fault.

Domo Kun!!!

A new-to-me shopping mall... it's so empty because my dear mother insists on going to lunch at 11am.

We went shopping for what we needed for Chinese New Year.

I found these very expensive fruits from Japan. (Edited to add: S$49 = US$39)

Very VERY expensive! (Edited to add: S$99 = US$77)

There's been soooo much eating. So so so much eating.

I've pretty much drunk my weight in coffee since I've been here... Love it!

Hi Mum! Isn't she cute? :)

Hello there :)

My sister Aurelia says hi too :)