it always comes back to this

HOLA~~!

:D We are officially back in business.

Today's the last day of the school term for now and I'm starting an extremely precious 2 week Christmas vacation that I'm determined to live, breath, CHERISH like nothing before. It's been an incredibly tiring 6 months of school. Can you believe we've had close to 30 weeks of school without a single break till now? I could cry.

But there are so many things to do now. :) First of, I thought of continuing where I left off from. Back in Seattle!

One fine morning, my lil' cuz Teagan, and I decided to go for a cycle. I don't even own a bicycle now so the only time I ever cycle would be the occasional trip to the park with my friends where we rent bicycles for 2 hours. I wish I had one though! It's so much fun though Singapore is definitely one of the most dangerous places to cycle in. Horrible weather, a severe dearth of bicycle lanes, the WORST bunch of angry drivers who don't even give way to other cars... Seattle is so much more fun. Neighbourhoods seem built for cycling around.

(That's my cousin and she's 7. I'm 21 and not much taller than her. HATE MY SHORTIE GENES!)

HERE'S MY VERY FIRST GIF! :DDD (It took me AGES to get this figured out but now I realize how it's actually really pretty simple. Silly noobie me.)

(and off we go!)

When I accompanied my cousins to their swim class and was freezing in the blustery weather (outdoor pools in cold weather = torture) while waiting for them, I decided to walk around and into the neighbouring park. Met the most adorable retriever there.

One of those days, my aunt, the cousins and I, went for a hike up the SNOW CAVES - so called because in the winter it's apparently covered in snow and there are little caves that can be explored. When we went it was late spring/early summer so there wasn't any snow but it was a pretty walk nonetheless. Though I do remember feeling ill then and after the hike I ended up getting a full blown flu that kept in the house for the next 3 days. In hindsight though, it's the good things that stay. :)

Who was the artist who left his mark here eh??

One night my aunt brought me for some Mexican food since that's one of the few cuisines I haven't tried very much before.

Nothing beats freshly baked tortilla chips...

and salsa!

This was some special Mexican drink which, for the life of me, I cannot recall. I think it was some rice drink? Or if anyone has drunk this before and would care to enlighten me on its name/origins, I would really appreciate it! :) It had a little bit of an eggnog taste to it...

THIS... WAS THE MOTHER OF ALL SALADS. I made the amateur/tourist mistake of ordering a "Mexican Salad" when I could've ordered something quintessentially Mexican like a BURRITO or something. So I ended up with the HUGEST salad I've seen in my entire life. It was literally three times the size of my face.

American food portions never cease to amaze me. ;p

Finally memory for tonight -- eating a pesto pasta and salad dinner out in the backyard with my aunt, uncle and cousins. :) It was one of the highlights of my trip really. I love spending time with them and the weather was PERFECT for an alfresco evening meal.

(Haiying with her annoying camel toy which she KNOWS I hate! Press it and it launches incessantly into a LOUD and annoying song in a weird language I can't even understand.)

They have a playground in their background. :) How perfect is that?

I keep posting photos of my travels (well, this blog is pretty much just all about stuff that's happening to me/things that I like) and I suppose to some people it may come across as self-indulgent or narcissistic? But blogging is, at its heart, an extension of the blogger's own self. Every word, picture, quote, song that's posted here has something to do with me that I'd like to share and connect with someone else who has an affinity to it too. I'll keep doing this, because at the end of the day, looking back and reflecting on things that mean something to me... sharing little frivolous things such as likes and dislikes in fashion/photography/food...these are all forms of expression that keep me happy. At the end of the day, perhaps that's all there is to it. :)

XX. More tomorrow! :) I daresay I'll be able to post twice a day now that it's the holidays. Can't wait to have the BEST NIGHT OF SLEEP i've had in a looong time tonight.

my heart's in so many places

Ta-dahhh! Finally a continuation of my posts on my travels this past summer. :p It's about 4 months overdue and there are still about say 500 photos I'd love to go through and eventually post so... at least that's something to look forward to till the end of this year.

So here's the next bit about my Seattle trip. I left off at the FIRST day of my time in Seattle. Now we're making the momentous leap into day 2 of the epic chronicles.

(coat: ebay, boots: shop in Hong Kong, scarf: Ruche.com)

Half opened eyes and face drenched in sleepiness? Puts the time of the photo taken to anywhere before 12 noon. That was pretty much my default outfit every day in Seattle because it was chiiilllly. I love though, the feeling of cold air so crisp and biting that it startles the senses every morning upon leaving the house.

First stop? Nordstrom Rack!! That was the first time I'd been into one so I had no idea what to expect. Racks and rows and shelves crammed to the brim with clothes, shoes, accessories... in so many different sizes and designer labels too!

Biggest score of the day? Swedish MIA clogs at a discounted price of about $60. I later found out the exact same ones were being sold in Urban Outfitters but for close to $100! Thank you, God of outlet shopping.

It probably wasn't on the same day but eventually I did manage to stumble in a drunken haze of happiness into the Urban Outfitters store at Alderwood Mall.

(BEST SIGN EVER. I just couldn't resist.)

(new basic striped shirt!)

Was really tempted to get this multicolored striped tee for my boyfriend since, who doesn't love a splash of color? But then I remembered most boys are timid and conservative when it comes to fashion. My future son, however...

(I love how they displayed all the shirts in that manner against the wall! :D Another reason to be in love with UO.)

So Alderwood Mall is pretty much one of my favorite malls in the entire world. Granted, I haven't really been to that many malls in the world but this one basically has all the stores I love under one roof. I remember the first time I was brought there by my aunt a couple of years back. I'd painstakingly written down a whole list of the stores I wanted to go into ("American Apparel... GAP... F21... Urban Outfitters...Payless") and didn't know how lucky I'd get with this mall. By the end of the day, with every turn of a corner inside, I was greeted with multiple surprises as I managed to locate store after store on my list, eventually striking almost everything off. (I think Anthropologie and H&M would be the only two missing ;p. That's still a dang high score rate!)

It seems that every time I go to Alderwood Mall I end up getting a Charley's grilled beef sub. ;p I remember being incredibly famished the first time I tried it out and it was SO good I've not really tried anything else every time I go back.

(Colors colors colors. I just brighten at the sight of them. This one was in the AA store.)

So this was just a random shot taken in a supermarket. Isn't it amazing, the sheer number of choices available for something as simple as burritos? I was just bowled over.

This Ted Talk I viewed recently discusses the paradox of choice and how too many choices actually overwhelms us, makes us indecisive, and paralyzes us in a state of inaction. :P Thoughts about it? I still say there's no question about it - the more choices the merrier.

Bye for now. I wish I could spend more time blogging but then reality always wins. School stresses and sleep beckon.

sleepsleepsleeping in seattle~

HELLLLOOOOOOOOO WORLD~! X)

I know it's been awhile but GOSH it's been a really incredibly hectic past week. A TON of things happened some of which include these:

- i attended my cousin's soccer match within2 hours of arriving in Seattle! :P Boy was it cooooold but such fun finally being away from the insane humidity and heat of Singapore. And all those little kids had so much energy running around the field...they made me feel tired just looking at them hurhur.

- i fell ill!! :( my aunt and younger cousin had already been down with some sort of flu and i arrived right smack in the middle of their evil virus phase... so i spent a good 2-3 days with a gross drippy nose, fuzzy head and general desire to lie down and vegggg out (not really very different from usual in that last aspect...just a more pronounced version I suppose)... those days were really NOT the most fun but on the bright side, it just allowed me to sit around and do nothing without feeling TOO guilty since it is the holidays after all.

- both my uncle and aunt's cars DIED. Well my uncle's car died and my aunt's car got into a little scrape with another crazy ass driver's car when she went to pick my uncle up pretty late at night. Nobody was hurt thank goodness, but we were left carless for the past few days. ;p Luckily my aunt is incredible and has friends who LOVE her and were able to carpool the cousins/us around. Now we have a cool new flashy red rental car to use for the time being.

Ok and mannny other things happened but I'm getting way ahead of myself here! :P Let me just show you the first batch of like a thousand photos I've been taking. I know there are a ton of photos of my little cuzzins but I'm SO not a paedophile alright? I just love taking photos of subjects who LOVE the camera and keep relatively still. And those cuzzins of mine are NATURAL cam-hoooars. :))

First day in Seattle:







This is my dearest little cousin, Teagan. :D She's 6 and is by far the more subdued cousin. Let's see what else... she's very sweet and loves cold weather, cuddly objects, cuddling up to people and rubbing her cheeks on people's sweaters... oh and a really gross purple and blue spongy toy tarantula that she's been leaving behind on the odd place in my room such as my laptop.








Lunch at Chinook's! :)

This is Hai-ying, the older one of my 2 cousins. She's 9 and well, can be a EXTREMELY SWEET at times and at other times... a COMPLETE TERROR. :((((((( She's a tough cookie. Very intelligent and curious and is ALWAYS questioning the actions of her parents. I'd be very frazzled if I were her mum. In fact, she already frazzles me quite a bit. But she's definitely improved from when I last saw her a few years back... So hopefully she'll become an angel when she's my age. ;p






Totally scrummy scones! :D They were soft on the inside, crispy on the outside and most importantly -- WARM. I totally piled on the strawberry jam onto these babies and lapped them up like a dawg.





Salmon and potatoes for the main course which I shared with Haiying (because the portions here are so ginormous ;p but i'm already starting to eat sooo much more so i have no doubt that in no time, i'll be polishing off U.S. portions with ease. *shudder*)




Oatmeal! As part of the kids' breakfast/brunch set. Believe it or not, this was actually my first taste of oatmeal! :P It's not really a common thing to eat in SG imo, so this was kinda nice, having my first taste of it. Except it was pretty bland and gooey and filling. No wonder it's diet food.



My dearest aunt and Teagan. :D My aunt's really the coolest, most enthusiastic, warmest aunt ever. She's really the one who makes Seattle fun since my uncle's always busy with work so she's the one who takes me around and takes care of the kids.








The view at the harbour was really pretty. :)




Ooo and this is the incredible view from my aunt and uncle's bedroom window. I'd kill to have a house facing the sea! I wish I could've captured the colors of the sunset a lot better but this was the best shot I got with the rays of the sun half blinding me while looking through the viewfinder.




Fruit smoothie whipped up within 1 min by my aunt. The trick? Frozen fruit from a packet. I'd never heard of that before but it works and gives the flavors too!

Stay tuned for more photos and updates... I've been a lazy lazy blogger and person haha in general for the past week. There's so much energy required to keep up with the kids that my optimum time to sleep at night is 10p.m. so that I can have enough sleep when I'm woken up by the sounds of YELLING/SCREAMING/CRYING by the kiddos at absurd hours of the morning. 6.30 a.m. is just wayyy too early, young ladies. But do they care? HELL NOZ. sobbbbbbb.


xxxxoooo