.::. Sunsets .::.

I love sunsets, perhaps because I'm not a morning person. Ever since we did up the bay window, I spent quite some time sitting on it to enjoy the sunsets or simply laze on it with music on after a long day. It's usually breezy, and sometimes the dog stays on my lap and look out together.

Home. It's really a place I feel safe and love.

.::. My Lovely Boys .::.

We walked to NUS U-Town last weekend, intending to let Chikey frolic in the huge grass patch and expecting that there wouldn't be much people on a Sunday evening. It would have made great pictures and good bonding times.

Who knows, there were some activities going on and Chikey couldn't roll in the grass. Managed to take some pictures of the dear boy(s) though.























Here he is, doing his split and resting after an enjoyable walk.



And here's my two lovely boys. I've been blessed.

.::. Chikey's Portraits .::.

Got a new lens for portraits and used it on Chikey some weeks ago. The photos turned out pretty nice, and they are the rare pictures of Chikey smiling. Chikey hates having his picture taken, so it's quite an accomplishment. Chikey has grown so quickly!

He's such a loving darling. I miss him all the time and can't wait to come home everyday. The home will not be the same without him.

.::. Sky .::.

Many years ago, I read a comment in a NDP book. It said how Singaporeans forget to appreciate the things we have, and how most of us do not even lift our heads up to look at the beautiful sky.

It made so much sense to my young mind, and made me think deeper into life and they type of lifestyle I would like in the future.

Since then, I always looked at the skies. I especially love the sunrise and sunset, and Tuas seem to somehow have the fluffiest clouds. I love it when the sky is purple and pink after my evening swim and how the clouds are so beautiful when I look out of my office windows.





Do you look at the skies and appreciate the things around you?

.::. Pre-wedding - Behind the scenes .::.

Initially, I didn't want to take any pre-wedding photos.  It just didn't seem meaningful to me to take pictures in a studio or typical places.  My dream place is that beach near where I stayed in Sweden, where I thought of him constantly and took videos and sang him birthday songs.  There are so many places in Sweden which would have made beautiful pictures - why hasn't anyone taken pictures there?!





It's self-evident why Sweden is my top choice really, plus it's cooling even in summer. Obviously we couldn't afford that, and there's no place where it's truly meaningful for us in Singapore.  We've been to so many places, share so many memories everywhere!

It was till the husband suggested taking pictures in the home that really got me into planning a pre-wedding photoshoot.  Taking pictures in the home where we planned and designed from scratch, where we will start a new journey together felt right. Then, we decided to go ahead and take some photos for our pre-wedding.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures taken by our entourage:





I love these pictures, they were taken at our estate - Casa Clementi's garden and from a neighbor's place upstairs!































I personally dislike those typical pose-y wedding photo shoots, especially those in studios or Taiwanese style. I'm a fan of Lightedpixels but we really couldn't afford that 8 grand to get them. I think we had fun, and I was satisfied with the pictures, although not that impressed.

I'm so glad that the husband suggested our home for the photoshoot. That honestly didn't cross my mind!

Shall leave the actual pre-wedding shots from our photographer into another post. =)

.::. The Little Things .::.

I’m scrambling around after recovering from the long bout of horrible flu that put me down for 5 full days!  That was really a wasted long weekend, but perhaps I needed the rest to be recharged.

Since last week, it has been a mad rush to get things in order for the pre-wed photoshoot and to kickstart wedding preparations.  My girls can’t stop reminding me again and again how little time I have left while the husband kept asking me to take things slow.  It’s just like him, he always under-estimates time needed for things.  But anyway, he’s sitting back while I’m supposed to prepare most of the things.

I was feeling emo and complaining about how the pre-wed shoot is in a week’s time and I do not have a veil, do not have a make-up artist, do not have shoes nor accessories nor planned what to wear for the casual shoot, have not got the photowall up nor chose pictures, have not finished unpacking nor decorating the home, have not arranged details with the photographer nor briefed him on my expectations, have not done my hair nor nails and brows, have not prepared prop.  And this is in addition to all the household chores, washing, ironing and work.

Then that day, he stayed up later to accompany me while I finalized photos for our photowall.  He even suggested that I go shopping the girls on Friday while he went home to look after Chikey.

It’s the first time he ever asked me to go shopping.

And just yesterday, Chikey munched on his spectacles and scratched the lens yet again.  He had to make instant spectacles and got me down to NEX to choose frames for him.  He liked an Armani frame but we ended up choosing this YSL frame and saved him some money.  The husband has this huge presentation with all the big shots today, and I think he’s going to look good in them.

So yes, I’m enjoying all these little moments and getting settled into our love nest.  =)

I think everything will work out just fine.

.::. Sky .::.

I love the sky.  I always remember to look up and admire its beauty.

Yesterday, just before i fell asleep, I had some random thoughts.

Life's too short, I must be happy everyday.
Life's too short, I will not shortchange myself.
Life's too short, I would like to...do something else with my life.

.::. River Angbao .::.

The husband suggested to drop by River Angbao on the floating platform on CNY eve, after the reunion dinner.  It's been eons since he suggested something like that!  And I'm excited, because it's something which we used to do.  I remembered that he was angry with me the last River Angbao because I kept nagging him to bring me while he was reluctant.  It was me who was lazy this year, and thought that I could simply go home to sleep!



Dragon Rickshaw.

The entrance.  It was crowded, as usual.

The performance stage with MBS as a backdrop.

There seemed to be a lot more food stalls this year.  There's also a fun fair with children games and cotton candy.

I'm an Oxen!

The lanterns were pretty!  I wonder if they'll reuse them for lantern festival in Chinese Garden?

Hello Dragon.

I remembered that there was a God of Fortune spitting out small pieces of papers with numbers for you to buy 4D the last time.  But this seem to be the 'God of Fortune' this year.

And we tried rather unsuccessfully to take a picture with them in the background.

The husband took this picture and insisted that it was perfect since there's the 'God of Fortune', a piggy and the MBS as a backdrop.

Us.

It was still pretty early and we went to sit down to wait for the fireworks at 1230am.

But to our dismay, it started drizzling at 11pm.  By 1130pm it was a full-blown downpour.  We shared a tiny umbrella and went for shelter like everyone else.  We were contemplating to miss the fireworks and go home instead.  It was so windy and raining so heavily!

Who knows, we started hearing loud noises and realized that they started the fireworks early!  And so everyone jostled out of the shelter to catch the fireworks.

I was really surprised, because it was raining so heavily!  I always thought that you can't have fireworks if it's raining?

The atmosphere was great because everyone was rushing out to catch a glimpse of the fireworks despite the heavy rain.  There are families with kids, couples and old people, all excited about the fireworks and exclaiming in awe.  I was savoring the moment, looking at the fireworks and snuggling closer to the husband under the tiny umbrella.  All the while feeling amazed and blessed.

The wind was pretty strong and blew the formations away quickly, very fast paced fireworks!

Look at the very wet floor and people with their umbrellas.

And when it all ended, people cheered.  What a great start to the dragon year, he sure has made it known that he's a water dragon.

A lot of tourists were all soaked.  It was really a heavy downpour and we were both pretty much drenched and cold.

And probably because of the rain and late nights, plus the prawn rolls and BBQ food I had on CNY Day 1, I was totally down on CNY Day 2 and spent the day sleeping till dinner-time.  My throat hurt, and my whole body was aching so bad, it was impossible to get out of bed.  By day 3, I was still aching and had to visit the doctor.  Till date, I'm still not fully well.  Horrible virus.

That about sums up my boring Chinese New Year.