It's empty in the valley where you walk

tomorrow i'll be leaving for germany!! really excited because i've never been and wanted to go there for ages. really interested and excited to learn more about germany's history - it's much more different actually being there (e.g. in the concentration camps) rather than just learning about it in my textbooks. hope it's not going to be too chilly though - i'm fine with the cold actually, it's just the wind i hate.
tomorrow morning i'll be going down to town to find some winter gear, i've been really last minute about packing and everything... only have gotten 30% of my packing done... oops.

i'm going to be bringing my film camera along so i can take some photographs while i'm there. feeling a bit meh on bringing the big camera for this trip... trudging around in thick winter coats and scarves all bundled up seems daunting enough!

on a sidenote, using a random name picker, congratulations to silvana for winning the postcard giveaway! and thank you to all sixteen of you for participating in my first giveaway, and also for all the support, it means a lot to me.

till next time x
(p.s: check out the snow and the christmas playlist on the left <<, gear up for christmas!)

Bring Me Back to London

 nottinghill

dec 2012

Summer is Over and So Are We // Bali Film Roll 2013

heyooo! it's been ages since my last blog post (which wasn't even half decent, just a random one with my thoughts and confusion) - i'm so sorry, i've been so busy and even now i am, just that i've chosen to write this post instead of doing my holiday homework as a satisfying form of procrastination.

anyway, i thought i would share my promised bali photos as i got them developed a while ago! i'm rather "meh" about the results though, because they were all a little dark. i think it's time i invest in a  more decent film camera or at least a flash, it's quite a pain compromising good photos just because those moments happened to be indoors!

☼ enjoy  ☼

we did lots of really fun stuff (the usual annual things) but what was different this time was my chance to go scuba diving! i was really excited for this - i've never been before, but oh goodness, i got really sea sick and almost vomitted on the way back to shore. one thing that really struck me this trip was the fact that the ocean is just such a large gargantuan mass of water, and it's pretty scary. to be stuck in the waves, or lost in the middle of the sea... that just terrifies me. the waves are so powerful and they really really show just how mighty nature can be. (i really do hope i'm not establishing a kind of ocean phobia for myself right now)

well, hope you enjoyed having a little glimpse of my trip about two months back (boy, time does pass too fast).
also, a great big fat thank you to S. of the blog "as far as the eye can see" for nominating my blog for the liebster award - i am really so honoured! such a lovely surprise to see when i finally logged onto my account after a month of stagnancy. i did a post on this previously, so if you'd like to take a look at that, it's here.

have a great weekend!

(now back to homework)

Film roll: Batam in May

In May, I got to take a boat to Batam in Indonesia for a retreat. It was absolutely beautiful and the ultimate tropical paradise - with good food, company and of course, scenery. 

I finally got round to developing my film (r.i.p. wallet babies) and here they are! 

I was elated when I saw them because this is the first time I've developed my film (after buying my first ever lomographic camera) and it's really surreal to just hold it in your hands.

So, here they are! Hope you enjoy them:

Coconut chopping station

Banana boating on our last day!

I'm currently on my summer holidays right now, and besides stressing out about what I'm doing in my life and how blurry my future looks... I should be blogging a bit more! 

Hope you're all having a wonderful week! It hailed today, which is really rare in my tropical country, so that was pretty exciting! 

Waves: Bali Day Two

Caramelised waffles and bananas

Breakfast buffet

Lunch at Naughty Nuri's - their ribs are one of the best!

 

Summertime Sadness: Bali Day One

High tide today didn't let me go and play out in the beach and the pool for long! :-(

Strawberry mocktails and mess

 

My brother camouflaging in the sea of blue

Interesting fruit sushi combination

Today was really exciting, though tiring because I slept at four in the morning last night due to excitement and good movie plots (was in the midst of finishing up The King's Speech). My entire plane ride entertainment was non-existant seeing that I slept through it, and the tide was too high to let us swim. But the place is really nice, and it's really good to finally be able to take time and spend it with my family!

Here's to a good day tomorrow as well, hope everyone's having a great holiday as well!

x

Festivities

It's been an extremely busy weekend for me, and it's actually 2.50 a.m. right now as I'm typing this and surprising I don't feel very sleepy, even though Radiohead is playing on shuffle. 

« DAY 0 »

Had a satisfying steamboat dinner cooked lovingly by my grandparents. Oh, in my opinion, I think they are the best chefs ever! Painted my nails with this metallic green nail polish from M.A.C.,

Today I also realised how my dog Truffle is so territorial and does not get along well with her dog cousin when he attempts to sniff her water bowl... 

« DAY 1 »

I visited more than nine houses in total and I was so so drained after that, when I got home at about 9 plus, I immediately fell asleep as soon as I sat on my bed. It was really fun though, to be able to catch up with my family members of my extended family. 

Yup, repainted my fingernails to this pretty and more demure rosy shade to match my new dress! It's a tradition to wear new clothes during Chinese New Year, fun fact for you all.

I think puppy paws are absolutely adorable, am I the only one?

« DAY 2 »

Today was definitely a more relaxing day for me. Visited only two houses and both had very very good food. One of the best parts of Chinese New Year would definitely be the food - though fattening, they are heavenly and so addictive! Some of my favourites would be pineapple tarts, love letters, and peanut cookies! 

My auntie's traditional dish called Lam Mee, which we all got to taste when we visited her. She's an absolutely amazing and talented chef, even making her own dark chocolates in the shape of seashells. They tasted even better than the ones you can buy in the stores, if I could say so myself! If only I had such skill in culinary arts... 

Anyway, I got to go home early in the afternoon, so I decided to spend my day the lazy way, and made a makeshift bed on the floor beside my window overlooking the bamboo overgrowth. Continued reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera, while listening to some music. I think just spending my day doing the things I love is certainly one of the most satisfying and stress-relieving things in the world!

Oh, I'd love to point out just how much I love the cover illustration and design of my book! Apart from being an amazing book, the cover is so beautiful as well - how much more perfect and wholesome can one book get? 

Talking about illustrations, it reminds me of how I should start on another art piece soon. You know that feeling you get when you really want to do something but just haven't gotten down to it no matter how many times your head tells you to do so? 

Here's a photo of my cousin Sophie playing with my old Polly Pocket doll - she's so sweet, cute and pretty! 

My sister and I were cleaning up after the family dinner party tonight and decided to be goofballs and have a competition to see who can last longer with our hand submerged in the ice. Oh gosh it was so cold, after taking it out both our hands were burning, ironically! The things we do, haha...

My angbao stack! For those of you who aren't accustomed to the Chinese New Year traditions, every year we go around visiting relatives and are given angbaos, which are also known as 紅包s/red envelope. The colour red is especially auspicious to the Chinese, as it symbolizes prosperity and wards off the evil spirits. This year is the year of the snake! Anyway, these red envelopes are usually given to children, youth, and those unmarried - and they contain money! $$$$$ 

Hope you all got a glimpse of my Chinese New Year this year! Tomorrow I'm going for a potluck, which I'm really excited about because I can finally meet my friends and play pool, and eat good food. Ahh, Chinese New Year, the season of good food and guilt!

Have a wonderful week! 

x