Long Overdue OFTDs

It's a shame. I know.

Bah.

F21 Lace Dress in Nude (L)

Form is very fitting and you definitely can't wear this if you intend to have a full meal. Lace is pretty firm and I like the sweetheart neck line very much!

Her Velvet Vase Bejou Sequinned Top in Grey (M) & New Look Bandage Skirt in Black (12)

For the top, I was deciding between all the three colours when I finally chose Grey. Christian Grey. Hahaha just kidding. Felt like Grey was one of the classic colours to own and more younger-looking. Black felt too getai-ish and I was worried that nude would fade over time into a disgusting yellow.

The bandage skirt is just.. well, a cotton bandage skirt. So long it doesn't give me 'muffin tops', I'm fine. It was quite a steal from New Look at $12.50 though. :)

F21 Mesh Long-sleeved Dress in Black (M) & Zara belt

I LOVE THIS DRESS! Okay, I love anything mesh. Yes, it is possible to wear this on a hot Singapore sunny day because the mesh is cotton-like and not really polyester-like. Mesh is stretchy and so is the entire dress! With full lining, no less. The mesh part exists only on the sleeves and the bodice is just black material all over. If you're like me who is into mesh dresses, get it!

Love, Bonito Matilde Midi in Black (L)

Wore this dress for our anniversary date! I have this dress in three colours, Black, White and Lavender. Yet to 'open ceremony' the White one yet! Love the classic design but can't help feeling that the pleats makes my figure look fuller than it already is. Oh well.

Peach Top & Zara Shorts in Black (M)

If I remembered correctly, I got this top from Robinsons' at a discount! Love anything mesh and lace!

Her Velvet Vase Mesh Ruched Dress in Black

In case you can't see clearly, the area above the sweetheart neckline is a layer of nude sheer mesh. I love mesh detailing and at a steal of $22 from HVV's website, I would say this piece is jiaktor-ready! The main black ruched body is a little plasticky, reminded me of LB's Oasis Pleated Skirts' material. Definitely not jersey-cotton. Good buy for its price!

Intoxiquette Mesh Pearl Dress in White

This is a very pretty piece! Wore it to the Meet-The-Parents dinner! Fits just nice for me and the mesh area above the sweetheart neckline (yes, again) gives a very dreamy feel. Love the pearl details around the waist band too! The whole dress is very light to wear and another jiaktor-ready piece!

H&M Print Dress (38)

Recently quite in love with dresses that has black panels on the sides as they would make anyone look slimmer! I also like to pick sleeveless dresses where the cuts for the armholes, hold all the way up directly to my shoulder, ie, not cut inwards. Designs like that make my fat arms look smaller and hold my armpit fats in place. I do know that I don't look good in racer tops that are cut inwards as I have a very meaty chest and chubby shoulders hahaha. Pretty good value for $24.95 I would say!

Love, Bonito Victoire Blouse in Bronze-Gold (M) & Uniqlo Capri Pants

This top is a statement piece and I'm thankful that the shoulder pads are not too exaggerating! I had my doubts about getting this top as my shoulders are quite full already but this top adds 'structure' to your entire outfits and smarts you up!

White Blouse from Bangkok & Uniqlo Skirt in Turquoise

Can you believe that this blouse costs only $8? May not be obvious from the photo but the material is mesh and has lace patterns down the center of the front part of the blouse! Mad love this piece! Paired with a Uniqlo skirt that Tex bought for me when he was in exchange in Japan wayyyy before Uniqlo opened in Singapore! I only wore it out that day for the first time, goodness me.

Love, Bonito Thierra Throwover in Malachite (M) & The Velvet Dolls Basis Petticoat in Black

I would say this throwover was an impulse buy because other than pairing it with both TVD's Black and White petticoats, I have no idea how else to wear it out (without going to the beach). Details of the crochet are really pretty though, but I'd rate it pretty low on practicality.

Love, Bonito Helix Peplum Dress in White (L) & Zara Belt

Love the cutting but I felt cheated when the colour actually looked like cream. I thought it was bio-white. Hate it when the photos always look super over-exposed! Zip is extremely smooth and I wish they made more dresses with zips like that! I hate those zips used on Avis Skater Dresses. Torn one already because they refused to zip past the centre sewing. Hahahaha.

Love, Bonito Camelia Corset in White (L) & Eiffel Pants in Green (L)

Pants! Didn't managed to score one during the launch as I forgot about it but found a nice seller for a pretty good deal! Love the prints on it although I think I will get sian of it pretty soon! Cutting is great and material is supppppperrrrrr comfortable. Colleagues think they look like pyjamas pants though.. Hmmm. Basket.

F21 Colour Block Dress in (L)

Dress hangs off loosely because I lost weight! May have put it all back since I came back from Perth, haha. Simple dress for don't-know-what-to-wear-days!

Thanks for reading! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! Bahhhhhh!

Our Little Hole

I'm very happy to announce that we have just entered yet another phase in our lives - getting a flat!

Our dating/family building sequence is slightly different from the couples in Singapore where they ballot for a flat first before considering marriage. I revise - that was a slightly sweeping statement. They briefly consider marriage before balloting for a flat.

I see balloting or applying for a flat a very serious issue - no room or money for mistakes. Tex is with me on this, hence we did it our way, with him initiating to propose, got registered before we decided to get a flat.

I see it like our little act of defiance against the strict regulations of Singapore government where citizens are so drawn into the movement of getting a house hence the registration of marriage. I don't think our little act can make a difference but it sure makes a difference to our insights and lives and that is enough. As Tex aptly puts it, "Yesterday I was clever so, I thought I could change the world. Today I am wise so, I will change myself."

So yeah, today our proxy has selected a small little hole for us and we are very happy to have finally closed in on one flat for our future! It's a 3-room premium flat, yes I know the popular choice nowadays is the 4-room flat and like much people who have suggested that we should have gotten a 4-room, Tex and I had our little discussions NUMEROUS times and still, we decided on a 3-room flat.

We thank all who have given their two-cents worth and I assure everyone we have seriously considered all your suggestions (hence the internal struggles 3-room or 4-room? TIMES 100 times). We weighed in on all possibilities and options, trust me, we even used up statistics options to help us reach a decision and I believe, this decision will serve us really well in future, in consideration of our lifestyle choices.

To infinity and beyond.

Travelogue - Vienna, Austria September 2012 (1)

Aaah, finally squeezed some time out to blog about another of our favourite city that we've visited - Vienna! Ever since we returned from Europe, Tex and I have been daydreaming about living in this city for a short while. The schnitzels that we had were to die for! Of course, it wasn't all about food. The people were friendly and the city was just refreshing to be strolling around in. A good mix of ancient architecture and modern buildings. Already in love!

We overstayed in Vienna simply because the hostel that we stayed in was too awesome to leave. Decided to give Bratislava in Slovakia a miss as we didn't want to just score countries - we were quite worn out by the travelling and really needed a rest. The Believe-It-Or-Not Hostel was such a home to us! Lily really did a good job!

Arriving at Wien Westbahnhof from Salzburg, we took another train to yet another station (which I completely forgot the name, the German!) before taking a bus to the district called Neubau. It is known to be a 'young and liberal' district but naturally you can expect slightly more dodgier characters around this area. Having said that, the area still felt generally safe at night. Perhaps I was with Tex all the time.

I know this looks like quite a deserted creepy corridor.

Reaching at the door step! Ringing the bell.

Called the owner, Lily, when we arrived at the door step and she let us in 'electronically'. I have no idea how she did that. She doesn't even stay at the hostel.

Coming through that door on the left!

I have a good feeling about this place already!



Behind those two doors - a closet and a toilet.

The hall area - where everyone mingled. I finally noticed on the last day that the yellow thing in the background was a hammock!

Travelling information for the travelers.

The book exchange corner! You take one, you leave one behind.

Moving on into the rooms! This is the 8-bed dormitory, the larger room.

This is a smaller room, only four beds. Tex and I slept on the beds up at the loft.

Spot my Dora The Little Explorer towel. Hahaha!

Very hungry after the train ride and all the transiting hence we headed our for some dinner/supper! Came across this Japanese restaurant which was still open at 10PM hence we went straight in!




I can't decide if this is Chinese or Japanese. It's Roast Duck Ramen.

Yummmmmmm!

Yaki Soba? Can't remember.

Went in search of our next quest - the Viennese Schnitzel! It is one of the best known Viennese cuisine and where best to eat it but in Vienna itself! It's sorta like our chicken cutlet but pounded by a hammer and mainly made from beef or pork.

Had one here. Not impressive, in my opinion.

Viennese sausages.

One thing Tex and I noticed was that the sausages served at kiosks were really tasty and they were normally cheaper than what you have in restaurants! So if you're visiting Europe on a really tight budget, kiosk food can give you a run for your money! One hotdog is prolly about only €2!

When I woke up early the next morning and was having a cuppa with Lily, our hostel owner, she recommended me to visit Cafe Central, since I told her we love hunting around for cafes and would love to experience the coffee culture there. Quoting her, "It's really hard to get a table, you would normally need to make reservations. If you do not manage to get a table, it's even worth it to just enter and take some photos of the place!"

With such recommendations, we walked around for about half an hour, battling the cold winds and rain because I underestimated the weather! Tex had to buy me a dual-cardigan from a very nice old lady and it's his best €29 spent!!

Reached and it was located at a very odd corner of a fork. And we managed to get a table without even waiting for long!!

All these tortes! Ahhhhhh!

Hello sir.

So we ended our day with roaming the streets of the city centre in Vienna, tried to buy my Ferragamo shoes and my Longchamp bag but didn't in the end because the colours and sizes were not to my liking. Oh well! "Money saved!"

Hahahaha, favourite phrase whenever I miss something from a particular launch. Blogshop shoppers would understand!!

Pardon my really slow posting - the weather in Perth has been crazy. 38 degrees Celsius is not doing my body good and I've just been really lazy, drinking a lot of water and well, lazing around. Not to forget that I've been enjoying getting my hands on the fresh ingredients here and cooking all sorts of dishes for Tex to try! I do update regularly on Instagram though, so you can check my photos out there!

Alright, till the next! :)

Exhaustion

The past few weeks have been so crazy that I have neglected myself. I can't wait for 13 Feb 2013 to come where I will be joining Tex in Perth for a good two and a half weeks holiday/meet-up/rest trip/feasibility-study-trip-for-permanent-residence, whatever you call it. I'm just happy to be staying away from Singapore (and fussy people) for a while. My little sabbatical of its sorts. I'm sure I'll miss my parents though, they've been nothing but accomodating to my temperaments and busy schedules. So Mum, abalone it is, I'm buying it for you because I know you love it and I love you.

I find myself drawing back to this space whenever I feel overwhelmed and looks like typing away on this lovable keyboard is my kinda thing-of-the-moment. Tex is leaving Singapore for good (by that, I mean Perth) tomorrow and I am actually feeling okay about it. Not much sadness involved but I'm pretty sure it's because I'll be joining him in a week's time. When I come back from Perth on 3 March 2013, please don't meet me up on 4 March because my swollen eyes have no space literally for meeting friends. And I will probably need to say hello to the Indian uncles at Little India to get my supply of calling cards (again).

I've not been posting OFTDs on my Facebook though I normally tether my Instagram photos to both Twitter and Facebook. I realised it's just quite strange that your relatives know what you wear everyday and.. it's just weird.

Florals is pretty much the theme for my CNY outfits this year. Without Tex around, I'm not sure how I can handle his family's sides of celebrations but I think I'll do fine. Things have gotten a little awry for now, but nothing time can't solve. It takes kindness to offset some hostility and I am in the midst of my own evaluation to assess whether I can do that. :)

All I can say, I am grappling with multiple issues at hand but I have faith in natural processes. Some things can't be rushed. :)

Meet-The-Parents Dinner!

I would love to blog about our solemnisation but I thought this dinner was very meaningful to me and I would like to keep this event in virtual memory. :)

This was the first time both our parents came together for dinner and Tex and I were kinda nervous and apprehensive about it. Yes, no doubt, my parents visited Tex's Mom (now my mother-in-law) in Perth (and we even went on road trips together) and travelled together with Tex's Dad (obviously now my father-in-law) to Malacca, to meet all of them in one sitting can be quite nerve-wrecking.

Thankfully it turned out well. With my mother-in-law around, she is the topic-shooter who never, ever, runs out of things to say. I'm sure it was because of her, my parents felt more at ease and we, the younger generation, also felt less apprehensive and enjoyed the dinner tremendously.

Venue for dinner was Tex's pick - Beng Thin Hoon Kee (nope, not cigarette) Hokkien Restaurant as I really wanted to try authentic Hokkien fare, even though I am a true blue Teochew. I must say, all our picks the dishes turned out to be awesome!





Steamed Fish

Fish Maw Soup - Those who know me well who know I have a constant struggle with Sharks' Fin broth so this is the best compromise :)

Roast Chicken

Orh Luak!

Spinach with Wolfberries

Kong Ba Pau

Duck Salad

We were so full from all the food even though the set was for 6 pax and there were 7 of us! What goes on during a meet-the-parents session is subjective. Some may see it as a chance to meet up each others' parents before the wedding day and familiarise with each other since they are going to become relatives. For my family, my parents are slightly more traditional where they would like Tex's parents to give them a '交待' as to asking for my hand in marriage even though Tex has already asked them. =X

For that, I thank Tex's parents as they were very understanding and accomodating. And Tex's mum even went super old-school and asked "我的德順可以娶你的Melvina嗎?"

I think the moment she asked that, everyone was super embarrassed. Hahahaha!

Look like who leh? (No idea why the photos look so blur)

Tex & YT
 

The two Mums.

His family!

That's us!

The men.

 

 

The women!

 

 

Happy to be doing this with you. :)

♥♥♥

Although they were all slightly awkward during the first few dishes, it was still nice to see them chatting away at the end of the dinner.

Thankful for the opportunity that both sets of parents managed to mingle before the solemnisation! The ambience for the solemnisation definitely wasn't strange and everybody were already friends! :)

We're Official!

Yes, we are! :)

Got Prince William and Kate Middleton feel or not? LOLLLLLL. I'm just kidding okay, please don't think that I am buay hiao bai.

Will blog more about our humble solemnisation!

Marriage Preparation Session Two

This session discussed more about the in-laws relationships between your spouse and your family. The facilitator said, "No matter how long your spouse has been married to you, he or she remains a guest to your family system."

I think it's true. You took twenty-over years to grow up in a family and sometimes, even yourself could get annoyed or exasperated at some family situation, what more he or she? A very stark reminder to myself that it is not him who fails me (if he does), it is my expectation that did.

We also did a role play that displayed how each spouse's familial relationships can harm the tension between a couple. Imagine that you and your spouse are tied together with a rope. Not body-to-body kind of tight, but with some space in between facing each other. Now imagine each of you with different ropes tied to your body. These ropes are namely your father, mother and sibling. The other ends of these ropes are held or pulled by them respectively. Same goes for your spouse.

If your family start to pull the ropes, not only do you find yourself pulling away from your spouse, you also notice that the rope tying the two of you together becomes very tight with tension. Imagine your spouse's ropes that are held by his family pulls him at the same time. You find yourself tearing away from your spouse and him tearing away from you. What can you do to ease the tension between the two of you?

Stand closer.

That way, the rope that binds that two of you becomes looser.

I think it makes a lot of sense. It is important that a couple stands as a united front to 'battle' any issues. Yes, you can agree to disagree, but in times of adversity, it is crucial to come to a high extent of consensus to protect your spousal relationship.

The session also talked about initimacy and discussed our love languages out of the five:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Acts of Service
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Quality Time
5. Physical Touch

I always thought mine was 'Acts of Service' and 'Receiving Gifts'. Turned out that I have evolved to 'Physical Touch'. A hug to me during a quarrel means more than a hug given during happy times. Guess I am a '雪中送炭' person than a '錦上添花' kind of person.

At end of the session, they gave a game box to each couple! Well, it's not exactly a game but a box filled with small cards and reminders of what you can do to make your spouse's day.

Stay in love. Relationships are effortful. Don't minimise what you can do for your relationship.

Marriage Preparation Session One

I've been so busy recently but all for a good cause - starting the marriage right.

Realising that we have reached a bottle neck in settling and resolving conflicts, Tex and I finally decided that we should attend a marriage preparation course - of which, I fully agree. We feel that we have got this thing going and it's too much to let go hence we wanted to be equipped with the knowledge of how to settle conflicts amicably and healthily.

Tex found many courses on the ROM's website so he asked around and finally decided on Care Corner Toa Payoh! Honestly, I didn't know there were so many centres supporting marriage preparation programmes like this! If you are interested, be sure to pick one that is supported by MCYS because they will give you a rebate of $70 per couple when you finish the course - the courses can cost quite a bit, we're talking about $250 per couple for two sessions of four hours each.

Our first session was last Saturday! Went in feeling a little apprehensive because I am not really exposed to counselling sessions or therapies, unlike Tex who is a counselor. There were two facilitators along side with three other couples. I think a group session like this worked better for me because I would have felt really uncomfortable. Besides, it would also have been more expensive if you were to go one-to-one hahaha. But I have to say, the most rewarding part of the session for me was - realising that there are also other couples out there who fight as much as us (you can tell when the facilitators asked what areas we would like to work on, almost every couple chose "conflict resolution"). It was heartening to see that they too, want their relationships to work better for them. Tex and I felt really assured that conflicts can be normal in a relationship too. It's about how you manage them. One facilitator said, "You can't be thinking about how to avoid conflicts. It's how to face them and work it to the best for the relationship." All these while, we've been thinking that we fight so much, we must a really incompatible couple and self-created many self-doubts. If we looked deep enough into the core cause of why we fight, we just want to have a better future for us which is of absolute good intention.

The course enlightened us how to detect, reflect and intervene in a fight in its really early stages to prevent it from becoming a full-fledged fight. Also, it helped us recognise which of the four coping stances that we are most predominantly use - Blaming, Placating, Super Reasonable, or Irrelevant. This can be really useful when you recognise your stance and react accordingly.

There are three variables involved - you, your partner and the context:

Blaming - focusing on yourself, neglecting partner's feelings and context
Placating - focusing on your partner, neglecting yourself and context
Super Reasonable - focusing on context, neglecting yourself and your partner
Irrelevant - Neglecting all aspects

As you can see, all four stances have their pros and cons. Of course, I'm just trying to recall what I've learned and make sure I put them into practice, the next time we have a conflict.

Can't wait for the next session! I think it's going to be really fulfilling!

Thanks for dropping by! :)

Six Years Together

This month, we celebrate our sixth year of getting together. (Level up!) In my opinion, the past year has been one of the toughest, strenuous but enriching and rewarding years to walk through with Tex. Even though there were what others consider to be worse times like being apart for three and a half years while we were together, the past year has been turbulent and unnerving but nonetheless memorable and heartwarming.

What others do not know is that, in 2007, he left for Perth and started our long-distance relationship shortly after we got together for one and a half months. When he came back in mid-2010, we had to go through about three and a half years later, what other couples already went through in their novice stage of courtship. We had to get to used to each others' facial expressions, vocal tones, body language, mannerisms, smells, household habits, lifestyle habits, love languages and intimacy on a face-to-face basis, which were all very new to us, albeit having been together for close to four years then.

It was hard and challenging but I am so glad now we never gave up. Our new life is here, baby. :) I know you are reading this.

We chose this month to solemnise our marriage because January means something to us. We do not have an actual or specific anniversary date because Tex never asked me to be be his girlfriend; we just got together. No questions were needed. Since then, we have agreed to celebrate our anniversary within the first week of January on different days, haha.

And nope, we (still) do not have a flat under our names. Two young earthlings chasing a big dream. :)

Our first.

First in 2008: The very young us took a glass-bottom cable car ride and celebrated at the Jewel Box. I remember it to be rather expensive and warm, haha!

Our second.

Second in 2009: Craving for ribs so we had dinner at Tony Roma's and we went to Acid Bar for drinks later.

Our third.

Third in 2010: This was at a Mediterranean restaurant at Club Street which closed down. I remember the food to be rather decent but quite expensive too! Went Marina Barrage after dinner for a stroll.

Our fourth.

Fourth in 2011: We were quite poor then so went to the old Burger Bench & Bar at Cineleisure! Very happy and fulfilling meal as I recalled. :)

Our fifth.

Fifth in 2012: Had a very delicious meal at Vineyard @ Hort Park, I strongly recommend the lemon lava cake! Please go try try try! The pizza was sooo good! Changed seats to the alfresco seating over looking the pond and chatted about our future.

Our sixth.

Sixth in 2013: Craving for a crazy hearty meal so we opted for a buffet meal at our favourite buffet place - Buffet Town! Love the massive variety at a more pocket-friendly price as compared to hotel buffets. Chatted our dinner away. :)


As you can see, we like to chat a lot. Perhaps we were very used to talking on the phone when we were apart. Sometimes, we feel we are dating the phone and not a person. Sometimes, I would forget how he looked like. Bittersweet times like this, we would send each other photos to remind each other of our faces. I would snail mail him letters and he would mail me presents back. Ever since he came back, we stopped doing such stuffs because there is simply no reason to do it now. Miss the snail mails! He would call me everyday and I would tell him all about my day and chat till late into the night. Sometimes I would wait for his call till I fell asleep and he would only call me at 3am when he was done with his studying. We laughed, fought, cried and kissed through the phone. It was definitely our best friend throughout our relationship.

Now that we are going to 'restart' our LDR cycle again, I will definitely find the mojo and rigour back!

Thank you for the times.

Tex, thank you for everything. I am so looking forward to writing our next chapter together. You will continue to be my pillar of support, my best friend, my soulmate and I hope to offer you nothing less than what you have provided for me.

一切，盡在不言中.

2012

I think I owe it to myself to conclude 2012 properly.

1. Went on apple-diet and managed to lose 6kg.
2. Family trip to Bangkok after a long time and spent time with Tex in Boracay.
3. Got proposed to.
4. Had our hugest fight since the proposal, haha.
5. Best work-month with high satisfaction and stress. It's a wonder I didn't get a lot of migraines during that month.
6. Had my own thanksgiving. Exterminated grumpyfucks - one of my best decisions in life.
7. Started my OFTDs posts. Self-doubts went up. Fought with Tex.
8. Birthday month. Binged. Got fat again. Fought with Tex.
9. Europe with Tex - only thing I got was a Longchamp bg and coin pouch. Fought with Tex.
10. More OFTDs, booked our solemnisation date and family members' birthdays aka didn't-get-to-save-money month. Fought with Tex.
11. Had my first flea ever! Felt good to clear old stuffs! Fought with Tex.
12. Made terrible mistakes. Fought with Tex.

I know, we keep fighting, haha. Why do we fight so much and what do we fight for? Ultimately, we just want a better future. Two young individuals coming together against many odds to fight hard to stay together.

Hello 2013! I'm so glad to see you. Determined to love myself more.