I am a Gleek

I caught the season finale of Glee over the weekend and was blown away by the Regionals. Now i can't get Bohemian Rhapsody and Faithfully out of my head. (Would it be too cheesy to play Faithfully at our wedding?)

Although the storyline's been predictable, i love the music (which always gives me goosebumps) and how they've revamped the songs, especially the oldies. Can't wait for the next season in September!



Btw is it just me or does Finn look a wee bit like Edison Chen?

My sister gave us a scare when she almost passed out on Monday night. She was very dehydrated from a bad bout of food poisoning, after she came back from Jakarta. My parents immediately took her to the hospital where the doctors put her on the drip and under observation. So glad she was discharged yesterday and resting at home.

Get well soon, lil sis!

Vamos España!

I was overjoyed to see Germany win England 4-1 last night.

The fiance thinks "this England team plays like a bunch of spoilt brats" and I couldn't agree more.

I know most people support England because the Premier League players are close to their heart. But as an Arsenal fan, i can't relate to them, not a single bit. No offence, but watching Man U, Chelsea and other BPL players, all at the same time, just ain't my cup of tea. And considering how dear Theo got omitted from this World Cup's squad, remind me again why i should support the Three Lions?

Where my captain plays, my allegiance lies.

Call me biased, but I'm rooting for Spain this World Cup (with other motivating factors like David Villa, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso). It's going to be a tough match against Portugal but i'm keeping the faith.

My best photo of Fabregas - Emirates Stadium, April 2009

By the way, Señor Vicente del Bosque, will you stop putting Cesc on the bench, por favor? Muchos gracias.

Down Under Day 3: Hot Springs and March of the Penguins

I wish our stay at Yarra Valley could have been longer, but we had to leave for Mornington Peninsula. Deanne prepared an amazing breakfast for us - bacon, sauted mushrooms, eggs and baked tomatoes, while Toby, sprinkled bird seeds at the lawn outside the dining room to attract wild birds such as cockatoos, parrots, for us to enjoy Strathvea's signature 'breakfast with the birds'.

One of the best brekkies i've ever had

The resident peacock, which according to Toby was already there when they bought over the guesthouse 2 years ago

The view from our room and our trusty Getz in the background.

What a beautiful morning. I wish i had a home like the B&B

Remnants of Fall

The intention was to go to the Peninsula Hot Springs at Mornington Peninsula to soak in the hot springs. We almost didn't have the chance to as the fiance had forgotten to bring his swimming stuff. Thanks to the receptionist's suggestion, we drove to a nearby K-mart where he managed to grab trunks and shorts.

The only photo we took at Peninsula Hot Springs

Soaking in the 37-39 degrees pool during the cold, winter weather was pure bliss.

We then drove for 2 hours to Phillip Island to catch the Penguin Parade, where hundreds and sometimes up to a thousand (depending on the season) little Penguins emerge from the sea daily at dusk, to wobble back to their sand dune burrow homes. The little penguins were really adorable - everyone cooed over them when they made their grand arrival. Even though we had to wait for an hour in the open, with strong, cold winds, it was all worth it.

Photography wasn't allowed, so as not to disturb or frighten the little penguins.

Some of the penguins' homes are located as far as near the carpark, so visitors are warned to keep a lookout for them.

We ended our day with dinner at Hotel, a restaurant/bar at Cowes which is the town centre at Phillip Island. Food was good and the staff were a fun bunch, as you will see in the last two photos :)

One waiter offered to help us take a photo and his colleague who was serving a table spontaneously jumped into the frame
We didn't take this shot, the waiters snapped it with our camera after they took the shot for us :D

World Cup Fever

Spotted in the neighbourhood :)

It's a small world after all

Just a few days ago, i found out that one of my oldest friends is attached to my husband-to-be's cousin.

Which makes us, almost family? Haha.

But on a serious note, I'm really happy for her. Can't wait to see her at future family gatherings!

Honeymoon, where?

I know people don't usually plan their honeymoons half a year in advance.

But we've been talking about where we can go, simply because we're itching to travel again and it gives us something to tide through the post-holiday blues and look forward to.

Some of the choices we've been scratching our heads over include:

Germany (Munich), Austria and maybe Prague if there's time and moolah - We want to visit Michael and Vanessa, whom we befriended during our Vietnam trip earlier this year. Vienna and Salzburg would be beautiful in winter and we have always wanted to see snow. But i'm not sure if we can withstand the freezing temperatures! The couple is also expecting their first child in November so i doubt they'll have the time to entertain us with their new addition to their family :/

Maldives - It's always been our dream to visit this slice of paradise. But the nice resorts are seriously overpriced. USD$1000 a night for a water villa?! I can't bear the thought of spending so much on a short trip there, when we could probably use the same amount to go to somewhere further. However, if money grew on trees, we would fly there in a heartbeat.

New Zealand - Another popular honeymoon spot and highly recommended by friends. It'd be nice to spend two weeks self-driving. I really want to go on the Milford Track, which is known as "The Finest Walk In The World" too but i'm not sure if we should be so gung-ho on our honeymoon. Plus we don't really feel the urge to visit the Southern Hemisphere again so soon after our foray to Aussieland.

Lombok - Sometime in late 2008, i had purchased a 5-night stay voucher at Imaj Villas for a really good price. The voucher's valid for redemption within 5 years and the fiance suggested we could go to Lombok after Maldives (if we do go) for part II of beach bumming. I have to admit, the idea's tempting.

What a tough decision to make. Any advice?

Wedding Eye Candy: A photoshoot in the woods and wilderness

I love casual photoshoots and the following one caught my eye.

Photos from Ruffled

If only it weren't so hot and humid in Singapore, a photoshoot at MacRitchie or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, could actually be quite cute!

Tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree

To get in shape for our wedding and at the same time contribute to a meaningful cause, I have signed the fiance and I up for the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run in September.

I'm quite excited because this is the first time we're running together in a race. He thinks running is boring so i'm glad i managed to coerce persuade him into joining.

Time to hit the tarmac!

Down Under Day 2: Puffing Billy and Yarra Valley

Our day started early with brekkie at Galleon Cafe, opposite our hotel. Loved the retro setting and the cheap & good food.

A hot chocolate and cup of latte to start the day

Scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast. Oh Portobello mushroom, let me count the ways i love thee.

We collected our rental car from Europcar after breakfast. Armed with maps and GPS on the iPhone (a handy companion for this road trip!), we made our way to Belgrave, to catch Puffing Billy, scheduled to depart at 10.30am for Lakeside. Steeped in 100 years of heritage, Puffing Billy is a steam train which runs through the scenic Dandenong ranges. On "Total Fire Ban" days in the summer however, diesel-operated trains are used instead to prevent bush fires.

Toll roads to avoid are highlighted in pink

A gloomy morning.

At Belgrave train station

Best part about Puffing Billy is you get to sit at the windows...

...and hang loose!

It was an enchanting (and very cold) journey through the forest

Attempting to keep warm, by standing near the engine

Lakeside station

After taking the return train to Belgrave, we drove for slightly more than an hour to Yarra Valley, dropped our luggage at our B&B (more about it later) and rushed off for the scheduled free winery tour at this very hip, boutique winery called Innocent Bystander. As it was winter, all the grapes had been fully harvested so we could only take a tour of the wine making facilities.

Dinner and wine at the Innocent Bystander Cafe.

Chardonnay for him, Moscato for me

We then returned to our gem of a B&B, Strathvea Guest House, and properly explored the grounds. Could tell that the owners have put in a lot of effort to preserve/decorate the dining hall, living room (loved reading by the fireplace), reading room and guest rooms in antique furnishing. We felt like we were transported back into time, especially with the swing jazz music that was playing in the background. Although i have to admit that as the only guests around, it did feel a little creepy at times :S (the owners, Toby and Deanne resided in a separate house).

Our cosy room for the night

I must, i must, i must not spend!

Because I don't want to go to Sentosa for our honeymoon and certainly don't want to sleep on the floor when we move into our new place, i have decided to impose a shopping ban (does not apply to all things wedding related!) on myself for the next 7 months, starting from 30 June.

I'll be writing about my struggles progress.

Watch this space!

Father's Day with the family

Dinner at Asia Grand, Oden Towers

The food was not bad, my favourite dishes were the Peking Duck and Suckling Pig :)

This made me cry

Nevermind that this video seems like propaganda. Cast aside your skepticism and watch this touching story, told in 3 minutes.

Stefani Germanotta, before she went Ga Ga

The biggest news on my Facebook's News Feed - a friend who just realised that Lady Gaga was her classmate in Freshman year at NYU.

She shared a video of the Stefani (her real name) she knew, performing at NYU's talent show.

Certainly a far cry from the Lady Gaga we know today.

Down Under Day 1: Melbourne

All we saw were grey, overcast skies when we touched down in the morning. We were convinced that was the kind of weather we were going to get for our next 10 days. But we soon came to realise that Melbourne's not known for having 4 seasons in a day for nothing.

We caught an airport shuttle bus to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, this boutique hotel which we had booked in St Kilda. [If you are like us and don't mind staying in the outskirts of the city, i would highly recommend this hotel. Clean, modern and affordable rooms and just a minute's walk to the nearest tram stop, where you can hop on a tram to get to the city].

After a short nap to recharge ourselves, we made our way to the city and were greeted by gorgeous, sunny, blue skies. Amazing how different the weather could be in just 2 hours.

Hello, sunshine!

At the tram stop, figuring out the tram system

The modern tram, which looked more like a small train

We had lunch at Fifteen, where we enjoyed the $35 2-course express lunch which was accompanied by a glass of wine. We both chose the pumpkin soup and the lamb bolognese pasta which was really al dente. Unfortunately i don't have any good photos of the food because the lighting was dim :(

Fifteen - Good food for a great cause

After lunch, we walked around a bit and took the free City Circle Tram, which was a 45 min ride to get a feel of the city. Got mesmerized by the trees dressed in autumn colours at Carlton Gardens and got off to snap some pictures, before hoping back on the tram to complete our tour.

Collins Street

On board the City Circle tram

The Carlton Gardens which i just realised, is a World Heritage Site

As we didn't know if we were going to get the same clear weather on another day, we made our way to the Eureka Skydeck 88, which was located at the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower, to enjoy the sunset over Melbourne's city landscape.

The Eureka Tower

Spotted a couple who had just gotten married taking some wedding photos at the Skydeck. The bride was dressed in a tank top and a tutu ballerina skirt with sneakers, while the groom was dressed in a vintage grey suit. Really cool!

Sunset at the Eureka Skydeck 88, the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere

St Paul's Cathedral from one of the viewfinders

Dinner was back at Nando's, St Kilda. First time trying it and we liked it. We picked the least spicy flavour though. I wonder if the one at Singapore is as good.

Must.eat.chicken. NOW!

One of the many meals which contributed to my 2kg weight gain from this trip

The secret to Nando's Chicken