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Monday, December 31, 2012

The Year That Was

This will be my last post for the year. I can't believe how fast time flies. Was 2012 a good year for you? I certainly have no complaints.

Allow me to reflect on the highlights of 2012:

#1 Decided to join the blogosphere
#2 Gave ang pows during Chinese New Year for the first time
#3 Travelled rather extensively. Made trips to Singapore, East Malaysia, London, Paris, Scotland, Beijing, Bali and Boracay
#4 Got promoted at work
#5 Got a new laptop at work (thank goodness!)
#6 Made the switch to iPhone 4S and lovin' it
#7 Witnessed live the crowning of our Miss Universe Malaysia 2013
#8 Spoke on radio although it was a white lie (thank you Pam, for making me do it)
#9 The end-of-the-world saga didn't happen
#10 Celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary

Alwin and I decided to head to Fatboys at Publika to have an early burger dinner before going home to accompany the TV and DVD player. Savages was on our minds, rather than crowded places. It was simple and nice - just the two of us. And then he gave me the one thing that every girl's crazy about - the lil' blue Tiffany box! In it nestled a pretty charm bracelet. He knows me only too well... So yes, it is the perfect ending to the year for me.

My Mahola burger of pork patty, cheese and pineapple with mash potato

Alwin and his Wimpy burger of beef patty, bacon and fries


An anniversary gift from Violet

Alwin's anniversary gift for me :)

And mine to him - it was just a card I got from London
To end this post on a high note, I have a lovely poem to share, written by Joanna Fuchs.

New Year's Reflections
 
Looking back on the months gone by,
As a new year starts and an old one ends,
We contemplate what brought us joy,
And we think of our loved ones and our friends.
 
Recalling all the happy times,
Remembering how they enriched our lives,
We reflect upon who really counts,
As the fresh and bright new year arrives.

And when I ponder those who do,
I immediately think of you.

Thanks for being one of the reasons I'll have a Happy New Year!

Here's wishing all of you a Happy New Year and may 2013 be another superb year for us all!

On me:
Toga Blouse, Forever 21 / Jeans, ZARA / Flats, Vincci+

On Alwin:
Shirt, Pepe Jeans

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Post Wedding / Honeymoon Shoot in Boracay

While in Boracay, we syiok sendiri so we decided to do a honeymoon / post-wedding photoshoot. Besides, we had a lot of time to spare. Our rationale is as such: Firstly, we don't want to go on a honeymoon in one of the world's top beaches without nice photos to remember it by. Next, we don't want to take a hundred shots only to have ten of us together. Lastly, it's quite troublesome to go about asking strangers to snap photos for us.

We stumbled across Cea and Jan, a pair of young photographer lovebirds based in Boracay. They're so nice and warm and friendly and have a great portfolio. They made us feel so at ease and I'm glad we picked them to document our honeymoon. Check out their blog/portfolio here.
































 
On me:
Floral Maxi Dress, Peacock Top and White Blouse, All from Bali / Denim Shorts, Padini / Flower Hair Clip, Kiosk in Mid Valley / Flip-flops, Ipanema / Sunglasses, Hugo Boss and MNG / Topshop's Pool Party (nails)
 
On Alwin:
Grey Embroidered Shirt, Desigual / Green Striped Tee, Abercrombie & Fitch / Orange and White Polo Tee, Abercrombie & Fitch / Sunglasses, Oakley and Hugo Boss / Flip-flops, Ripcurl

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas

A short post to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas! Totally forgot to post this greeting on Christmas Eve as I was still too busy daydreaming about Boracay.

Mum, aunt and Violet returned from Hong Kong early morning on Christmas Day and Dad and I went to pick them up, so had relatively very little sleep. It was still hard to get up for work this morning even though I had 5 days of rest since coming back from the vacation. Who works on the last week of the year anyway?

Anyway, here's what I got for Christmas this year:

#1 A Swarovski crystal fish shaped pendant with necklace
#2 A Mickey Mouse t-shirt from Hong Kong Disneyland
#3 A pair of flip-flops
#4 Estee Lauder-Michael Kors makeup
#5 Mini candy / jelly bean dispenser
#6 A pair of Nando's chicken look-alike decorative item

Just had to post this beautiful Christmas tree-shaped decor at Discovery Shores Boracay
Homemade Shepherd's pie and garlic bread for Christmas lunch
Happy Boxing Day!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Mabuhay!

That means "live long" in Tagalog. Hola, everyone! I have missed you, my blog. Alwin and I just returned from the most amazing beach vacation-cum-honeymoon in Boracay Island in The Philippines. Words just can't express what an enjoyable time we had watching sunsets, sipping mojitos and lounging by the beach and pool. No worries or stress, just pure unadulterated bliss.

We stayed at Discovery Shores Boracay and spent a good 6 days there, which flew by rather quickly much to my dismay. From KL, getting to the island may prove to be cumbersome and involved a stayover in Clark, a connecting flight to Kalibo airport, a 90-minute car ride to the Caticlan jetty, a 7-minute private boat ride to the island and another 15-minute car ride to the resort itself. But once we were arrived, it was paradise on earth.

Now, Discovery Shores Boracay is not voted the 5th best hotel in the world for no reason. Here are several reasons why I think they deserve the accolade:

#1: Seamless transportation transfers. A private van picked us up and sent us to the Caticlan jetty where we were transferred into a catamaran called Discovery Shores II (privately owned by the resort) and were served bottle water and cookies! At the jetty, another spacious van awaited us and ferried us to the resort. No hassle, no drama.

#2: In-room check-in. Once we arrived, we were offered cold towels and welcome drinks, pretty standard I would think, for a 5-star boutique resort. Our personal check-in personnel led us straight to our suite where we checked-in there. No long queues at the front desk.

#3: Complimentary care packages and foot baths. Service at its best. We were offered a free foot bath and scrub each in our suite. A small table next to the daybed was jam-packed with a carafe of pandan water (yum!), a hamper which consisted of pretzels, chocolates, bottles of peach tea and a small tube of sunblock and a sweet platter of bite-sized welcome cakes.

#4: Friendly beach butlers who were always ready to serve. They brought us towels, cleaned our sunglasses and brought us ice water - all without us having to ask. We were delighted to return from the sea to find our clothes nicely folded. At brunch and tea time, they'd serve guests complimentary ice lollies, pizza, prawn fritters and other snacks. Once, they even sprayed evian water on our faces to cool us down and handed us cucumber slices for the eyes!

#5: The beach setup at sunset. It's no wonder so many people flocked to the beach during sunset. The beach butlers were always hard at work setting up plush cushions, cocktail tables and stools for guests to relax and admire the daily sunsets. They'd recommend cocktails - their Classic Mojito is the best I've ever tasted.

#6: An amazing turn-down service. Every night, we returned to our suite and were greeted by a different animal saying good night. These animals are made of towels and they sit on the daybed. Such a sweet and simple touch. Besides that, our bedroom slippers are placed neatly next to the bed and a Filipino sweet delicacy await us every night.

The private Discovery Shores II that ferried us to the jetty
Snacks for free! We didn't even need to check out the in-room bar!
Check out the personalised details. They even printed namecards for us

Welcome cakes - Maligayang Pasko means Merry Christmas


White Beach shoreline. Very fortunate to have access to this beach throughout our stay. Powdery white sand and crystal clear water!

Pandan-flavoured lollies. Gonna try and make this myself! Haha!
Sun loungers
Isn't this the most beautiful sunset?
Again - free snow cones by the pool! Seriously, one won't get hungry or thirsty here :)
Some random ring shot we took ourselves
Our favourite beach butler Jigs took this photo for us
Friday's is our neighbouring beach resort
Colourful surfboards. Couldn't resist taking a pic!

Went paraw sailing. It's a sampan with sails, and they weave together nylon strings so you can sit and lie on it
Mojitos by the beach!
Very proud of my iPhone 4S for taking this pic

Willy's Rock at sunset
Moo-moo cow saying good night
We pre-arranged a casual photography session with a pair of local photographers based in the island. We thought it would be a great idea to document our honeymoon with great pictures of our vacation. The result came out fantastic! Pictures of our fun shoot in the next post - wait for it!

As I'm writing this, I can't help but miss Boracay terribly. Sometimes, it really is the little things that matter and make the most impression. When it was time to leave, we left with a heavy heart and tanner skin, but not without a promise that we will return to Discovery Shores Boracay one day.

More information on Discovery Shores Boracay can be found here.