Bits and bobs of our final preparation

January 31, 2013 1:11 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

In these weeks (and then days) leading up to the big day, I alternate between getting extremely excited watching everything fall into place and hating the planning process, like now, when the pressure is mounting, when we have to make a mad sprint to briefcompilepackcomplete everything. Heck, I’m even having an inflammed throat already. There really isn’t a worse time to fall sick.

I’ve gone for the final fitting for both my wedding and evening gowns and no alteration was required except for the hem of the wedding gown, where she had to trim according to my shoe height. Michelle (the designer) was quite pleased and muttered to no one in particular, “If only all my brides were like you”. Well, if only she knew how hard I tried to gain weight. I just did not succeed ;)

Then there was the hen and stag night which our respective bridesmaids and groomsmen planned for us. It coincidentally fell on the same day (last Friday) and L, who was adamant about not touching alcohol, told me he would be home early that night, right after his sumptuous seafood dinner with the boys. Knowing how crazy my girls can get, he was prepared to “go to bed alone”. Oh, the night could not have been any more different.

Mine turned out to be a homely gathering at Gi’s place. They ordered food and candy, we took turns to get a massage on Gi’s OSIM uDivine, turned on the telly and chatted. There wasn’t a drop of alcohol and the closest we got to male strippers were Josh and Tony (Adel and Gi’s husbands) whom I would pay to have them keep their socks on. It wasn’t anything remotely wild, you can say it’s boring even, but it was nice just hanging out.

L, on the other hand, had an exciting, booze-filled night. After dinner, they adjourned to SS’ place for drinks. There were hard liquor and random card games, then he got so inebriated he crashed on the couch for the night. SS was nice enough to send me a photo of a drunken L, smiling away idiotically, and informing me he wouldn’t be coming home. It was hilarious (I would share it here but I think he would kill me). What was that about going to bed alone again?! Famous last words, I say.

So I took the whole week off work to rest and run errands. Monday was my day of preening – I scheduled back-to-back appointments so I spent the entire day in town, scurrying from one beauty salon to another.

Tuesday was a girls’ day out with my mum and sisters (it was like a hen’s day with family). I took them for a dim sum lunch at Imperial Treasure, brought my mum for a manicure, shopped from ION to Somerset 313, and stopped for random coffee breaks at Ya Kun and Pique Nique.

I’ve grown to appreciate my mum tremendously in recent years, especially after seeing my friends have kids and understand how difficult motherhood can be. And also because I’m starting my own family. I have much to learn from my mum and can only hope to be half the selfless and loving wife/mother that she is. Anyway, I’m really glad we had a full day of quality mother-daughter time before the wedding.

And yesterday, we went to the Registry of Marriages to pick up our certificate for signing this Saturday. My folks came along too. It was a largely unromantic and administrative process much like the e-filing (we were in and out in 15 minutes), but we still took some photos for posterity.

We’re just two days away! Sore throat, begone!

Posted in: Bitches, Family, Wedding

Giving thanks for 2012

January 1, 2013 8:05 pm / 2 Comments / Mag

Once again, I have been blessed with a great year and I’m beyond thankful for that. Like the year before, last year has been nothing short of fabulous.

If I had to describe 2012 in two words, it would be “wedding planning” (haha) because we did spend the entire year planning our wedding banquet. L proposed in November the year before so in the first quarter of the year, we did the necessary research and started shopping for wedding vendors. In the second quarter, we did our pre-wedding photoshoot and took a short break. The third quarter saw us exchanging our vows in a beautiful and intimate nuptial mass in a small chapel with only immediate family members. At the same time, we started working on the details of the wedding banquet. And in the last quarter, we stepped up our wedding planning in preparation for the big celebration that is to happen in February this year. That is in sum, our year.

There’s always, always, always something to be thankful for.

— Unknown

I’m thankful that our wedding planning journey has been such a breeze so far. I’m thankful for my folks and the future in-laws who have made this really smooth and happy for us. Really, I think it could have turned out to be like the horror stories I hear about if not for the conscious effort on everyone’s part.

I’m thankful that I managed to catch two of my favourite musicals, Wicked and Annie in the same year. These are musicals that makes my heart skip a beat when I read about them on the Internet or the papers. When they finally came to Singapore, it was fastest fingers first to the keyboard and mouse to get a ticket.

I’m thankful for having been able to travel quite a fair bit despite entering the year thinking that we might have to forgo a few trips to save for the wedding. Shanghai in April, where I had my closest encounter to a Michelin-starred chef at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana. Paris in May, the highlight of the year, where I fell head over heels in love with the city. Malacca in June, where I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family. Sydney in August, to get away from the heat here. Macau in September, the most impromptu trip L and I have been on. And Perth, also in September, when I was given the opportunity to grant my mum’s wish to visit her sister and I got to spend time with my cousins and cheeky niece.

I’m thankful for being given the opportunity to try my hand at a new role in July and closing a chapter in the best possible way anyone can leave a job with – invaluable experience, two promotions and a bunch of colleagues-turned-friends.

I’m thankful for everyone who make up the pieces of my life. My family, my unshakable pillar, my unmoveable rock. L, the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, who loves God, loves me and makes me laugh everyday. My friends and the awesome meals and parties we had. Most importantly, I’m extremely thankful that all of my closest and dearest have enjoyed good health throughout the year.

I’m thankful for all the things that made me smile, big or little.

So yes, it has been a fantabulous year.

I ushered in the new year with L and friends, lots of champagne and a toast to the year ahead. What 2013 is going to bring, I won’t know but I have a good feeling about it.

Happy New Year, dear readers! May you have a lot to be thankful for in the new year!

Posted in: Bitches, Family, Friends, Love, Personal, Work

Christmas buffet with the Bitches

December 31, 2012 7:02 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

Christmas in my family is the same every year – gathering at my aunt’s place, copious amounts of food, shrieking children, Christmas carols, the works.

Christmas with the Bitches, on the other hand, have been different the last three years as our options expanded. The year before, we gathered at a restaurant at NEX and annoyed every other patron with our high-pitched laughter. Last year, we decided to do a bit of public service and gathered at Adel’s place for a turkey-slicing and games.

This year, L and I hosted a small gift-exchange at our place, and also invited a few of his groomsmen to join us. We decided to take the easy way out of the food solution by ordering a festive buffet spread with Oh’s Farm Catering – it didn’t turn out to be the best decision but I’ll leave the snarky review for another post. Thank goodness when the Bitches get together, it’s almost always for the company. We could be served twigs and still have a good time.

Our party coincided with the Suzuki Cup Finals so the first half was invaded by 22 sweaty guys sprinting left and right on the telly. Good thing the game ended on a good note or we would have at least four Grinches at our gift-exchange. As usual, there was a lot of excited chatter and laughter as we tore open our gifts. We ended the night with a round of tight hugs and Christmas wishes.

Hope your Christmas was filled with as much love and more!

Posted in: Bitches, Love

Lantern Festival, Survivor-style

November 3, 2012 9:51 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

Okay, okay, I know Mid-Autumn Festival is so two centuries ago but I still think this post is worth the time. Not just because I’ve already thrown together these collages and don’t want them to go to waste but also because this year’s lantern competition was EPIC and I have some funny photos to share.

This competition of ours is into it’s third year running and the rules are getting trickier. Unlike the first and second years’, another criteria was added and we upped the stakes with cash prizes. Our competing lanterns had to be:

a. made of plastic;
b. emits music; and
c. not exceed $8.

I had just landed from Perth that morning and didn’t have the time to source for a lantern so mine was a cop-out Mr. Bean plastic lantern I stole from Josline who turned up with three (!) but it was a fierce competition between the rest.

Maddie’s awesome mom prepared us an impressive spread of food and drinks. I caught L pinching food a few times before the party started. When everyone arrived, we settled down with our food and made a lot of noise over dinner. While the girls were yakking away, the boys gravitated silently towards a corner to watch live football on an iPad.

Once we were done filling our stomachs, we decided to get the competition going and our friendly conversation turned into competitive lantern-bashing. We were each given two voting slips decide on the winning lantern (if you can’t already tell, we’re very serious about this), and in true Survivor-style, each of us had to cast our vote in private, with only the camera as our witness. There was a small gym right next to where we were so we picked that as our voting spot.

Since the gym had sliding glass doors looking out to where we were, we could try to influence each voter’s decision by shoving our competitors out of the way and pressing our lanterns onto the glass screaming, “VOTE FOR MEEE! THIS ONE! YOOHOO! LOOKIE HERE! MINE’S THE NICEST!”

As the votes were being counted, there were more lantern-bashing even though it didn’t matter by then, “What nonsense lantern is this? It can’t even stand on it’s own. Check out my Spongebob!” Then we pooled our money into an uninspiring plastic bowl and waited.

The winner turned out to be Mr. Spongebob, even though it had an obnoxious owner (Diane). Well, she had every right to diss everyone else’s lantern given that hers was the only one who fell within the criteria and could blow bubbles. We all had to grudgingly admit that it was impressive as compared to the rest so most of us gave it a vote.

After that bout of stomach-clutching laughter, the boys went back to football and some of us jumped into the pool for a dip. I didn’t bring my swimsuit along but it was really nice just chilling out on the deck chairs and watching the few of them being silly in the water.

I think that’s how friendships should be like – easy, comfortable, honest, fun, with large doses of love and laughter :)

Thanks to Sammi (who was the organiser and main sponsor) and Maddie (who was the host) for such an enjoyable and fun-filled night!

Next up, Christmas, and it is my event. Hoping to get the inspiration I need to come up with something smashing for the girls…

Posted in: Bitches

Of blogging, bridesmaids and bonding

October 18, 2012 12:24 am / Leave a Comment / Mag

I’m feeling quite sorry – both for myself and to those who were waiting for a post – for the radio silence here. I’ve been so swamped at work and occupied with everything else offline (like lazing in bed watching House M.D. with L) that I’ve kind of lost the momentum to write. I do miss writing though. I’ve been doing this for so many years and this is probably the only time I’m feeling so… disconnected. I know what sparked the change but it’s something I cannot do anything about at the moment (I’ll leave that reflection for another day). Right now, I’m just glad I managed to find this pocket of time for an update. It feels good.

L and I are cranking up our engines again for the wedding preparations these couple of weeks. We have completed the photo-selection for our album last weekend, and also called our JP yesterday. (It’s a little too early to be booking a JP but she accepted anyway, although she did exclaim after asking about the date, “Aiyo, still so early! Why you so kiasu? These days couples very scary!” good-naturedly.)

And just last month, I arranged a dinner at Platters on a Friday evening to gather the select girlfriends so that I could pass them their bridesmaids’ invite. It was worth all the extra effort seeing them dig eagerly into the boxes of goodies I prepared and giggling as they read my messages.

The gathering was also to formally introduce Cindy to the Bitches – that’s essentially who my bridesmaids are made up of. To break the ice (not that they needed any ice-breaking), I brought along a bunch of photos and letters from ten (!) years ago, when we were in school together.

Being in a girls’ school, we wrote lots of letters to one another even though we could be seated right next to each other in class. The contents of our letters ranged from confiding about boyfriends/crushes to proclaiming our love for each other. It was hilarious and we laughed till our stomachs ached and tears rolled down our cheeks while re-reading what we wrote.

We also took a lot of photos when we went clubbing, skipped classes (ahem) and got bored during study sessions. Seeing them brought back so much memories. There are stories that we’ve heard a million times that still sounded funny when we re-told them. Everyone was musing about how silly the teenage us were.

But it’s true what they say, “if you don’t do stupid things while you’re young, you’ll have nothing to smile about when you’re old” :)

Posted in: Bitches, Friends, Wedding

Recent updates (in pictures)

June 26, 2012 12:55 pm / 4 Comments / Mag

I know I’ve not been very diligent in blogging recently. Took my time with the Shanghai posts and copping out with just photos on this one. Am not about to spend my between-job break (more on that soon) parked in front of a laptop so will update again when I have the time!

♥

9 May 2012
Mother’s Day dinner at Boon Tong Kee

27 May 2012
L’s cousin turning 21

2 Jun 2012
Bitches at Josline & Jaeline’s birthday party (check out that cake!)

3 Jun 2012
EPIC brunch of 16 adults and 5 kids at The White Rabbit with L’s law friends

9 Jun 2012
Brunch with Cindy and Tricia at The House of Robert Timms before Cindy pops

23 Jun 2012
Brunch with the Burgess family at Spruce

♥

Posted in: Bitches, Family, Friends, Love

Hosting an awesome BBQ

April 15, 2012 12:32 am / Leave a Comment / Mag

We hosted a BBQ at L’s place the Saturday before and it was a smashing success. The food and alcohol we carefully selected were very well-received and everyone had good time. At one point, Maddie very earnestly proclaimed mid-chew, “Wow, best BBQ ever, Mag.”, to which Sammi readily agreed, “Yah, I think this is the BBQ of the year!”. They were happy but I was even happier to know that they went home well-fed and satisfied.

I can’t take credit for the success of our party because I couldn’t have done it on my own. L and his mom put in a lot of time and effort helping me with the marketing, marinating, setting up and washing. It is really an awful lot of preparation work for an event that does not even involve cooking (just wrapping the sambal fish fillet in aluminium foil took me half an hour). Thankfully, all the work was well worth it because our friends were duly impressed and satisfied.

To replicate this awesome event, you will need:

1. Experience with organising BBQs (we have done this a couple of times so we know exactly which aisle to head straight for at the supermarket, where to order our raw food from, which types of food will be more popular with the guests, etc. Saves a lot of time)

2. At least two very patient helpers (I had L, his mom and his maid)

3. Good, sunny weather

4. Lots of food (meats, especially)

5. Some alcohol

At least three days before the BBQ, procure your raw food from City Satay online. Order satays of your choice, black pepper chicken chop, honeyed chicken wings and lots of otah. Spend just above S$120 to enjoy the free delivery.

On the day of the BBQ, make a trip to the supermarket to get everything else you need for the big cookout. Charcoal, fire starters, snacks and refreshments. Also buy ready-to-cook ketupat rice and attempt to boil it on your own because it’s a cheaper alternative. Be very efficient while shopping and pat yourselves on the back for being “good at this BBQ thing”.

When you arrive back home, rest for a bit because you know you have lots of preparation work to do. Remember to chill the alcohol. Prepare white wine and prosecco; they are light and refreshing and pair well with oily BBQ food. Oh, and don’t forget to take a photo of the night’s poison to send to your friends as a teaser. You’ve got to work up the excitement. Then start toiling. Boil the ketupat rice (you’ll need an hour for this), marinate, wrap, set up cutlery, tables, etc.

Do a cursory check of the set up and feel very proud of yourselves. Then start working on the next most important thing – the pit. Spend some time getting a good fire going. 40 minutes, to be exact. Use up to two boxes of fire starters, too much tissue, and have two persons fanning the coals with a cardboard cutout like a silly retard. No matter the silliness. What you need is a good fire. This fire will ensure that one hour on, the coals will be red, hot burning and aid you in cooking your food like a wizard.

Once there’s a good distribution of heat, start cooking and resist the urge to place every piece of cooked food into your own mouth. You have other mouths to feed, remember? Destroy a small quantity of food but tell yourself all it takes is some practice. Make sure every husband/fiancé/boyfriend present does his job by cooking. Let them run the show.

As for the girls, all they should be doing is eating. Eating, laughing and having a lot of fun while the guys sweat it out at the pit. Know that the boys are actually enjoying themselves while they grill and, errr, ration the morsels of food allocated to them amongst themselves. The girls can request for more food as soon as the communal plate is wiped out. Oh, and chomp down the delicious, slightly burnt food in the most unglamorous of ways to maximise your satisfaction. There may not be enough drinks to go around so ration your wine, especially if it’s a bottle of delicious lychee wine because it will be THE favourite.

Spend some time after you’re done pigging out winding down with the prosecco (if there’s even any left). Play a DVD while everyone slumps on the couch spotting bulging bellies. If there aren’t any good movies to play, end the night with a round of tight hugs and promises to host again. As they say, the ornaments of a house are the friends who frequent it.

Feel contented and happy as you pack up the house, then take a nice long shower before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Well done on hosting an awesome BBQ, now roll yourself between your soft sheets and sleep in till noon the day after, you deserve it ;)

Posted in: Bitches, Love, Wine & Dine

Sketches of a dream

March 2, 2012 2:38 pm / 2 Comments / Mag

So after our last appointment, the designer came up with a few proposals for the wedding gown based on what I liked and suited my frame. L went with me to pick up the sketches yesterday evening. I was beside myself with anticipation but tried to stay calm like a lady.

All the designs were elegant and stunning. There was no way I was going to be able to make a decision on the spot so after talking through the details of each design with us, our consultant passed all four sketches to me to take home and ponder upon.

I sought the opinions of my bitches through our group chat on Whatsapp and can I just say? They are the AWESOMEST. No kidding.

My fashionistas! I need help!

Lai

Come on babe bring it on

Ok let’s do this

They gave lots of ideas and advice and we almost unanimously agreed on one design. L liked that design from the beginning and I would probably go with the same if left to decide on my own. Fashionistas, yo!!!

So that decision has more or less been made. Now I just need to think about whether I should top-up to go with the design I like most, taking into account our budget and L’s take on topping up. Decisions…

Posted in: Bitches, Wedding

Ushering the Dragon

February 25, 2012 3:34 pm / 2 Comments / Mag

I know. Chinese New Year was so last month. I haven’t had the time to sort out the photos, but finally did. As they say, better late than never.

Chinese New Year in my family is always a big affair, like most other Chinese families. It has actually mellowed quite a bit over the years. I remember a lot more snacking and visiting, but it’s also because most of the elderly relatives we used to visit (i.e. my grandparents’ siblings) have since passed on so it’s more or less just my folks’ siblings. Most people would agree it’s still a very big family gathering and possibly one of the rowdiest, heh. This year, we had our reunion dinner with my mom’s siblings at Seafood Paradise. That was where I had my first lo hei of the year. Over the next 15 days of the new year celebrations, I would do the lo hei a total of eight times – that has to be some record!

We spent the first two days visiting relatives and took advantage of the rest of the public holiday to just chill. There was a fair amount of gambling and snacking, as usual. L and I also attended quite a few gatherings at our friends’ places – Kevin and Jenn’s, Kenneth and Trina’s, Sunil and Sharon’s, Tony and Gi’s, and Linus and April’s. Ahh, it was a fun few days! I suffered from major withdrawal and blues when I went back to work, and it was made worse by the fact that the next public holiday would be months away.

Anyway, here’s a series of pictures we took during the celebrations.

CNY 2012 - Ushering the Dragon

CNY 2012 - Ushering at Dragon

CNY 2012 - Ushering the Dragon

Posted in: Bitches, Family, Friends, Love

The wonderful year that is 2011

January 1, 2012 10:43 pm / 3 Comments / Mag

2011 has been amazing in many ways. As I sit here, typing in L’s bedroom in my tattered tee and shorts, I feel extremely contented and more blessed than (I feel) I deserve.

This year, I learnt to appreciate my family a lot more and as a result, we became a lot closer. What can I say that hasn’t already been said about them? They are my pillars, my rocks, especially my mum who loves and gives so unconditionally and guilelessly. My dad, who works so hard for the family; whose happy-go-lucky attitude and magnanimity are lessons on their own (even though he likes to be right and repeat his ‘heroic’ stories a thousand times over which gets on my nerves). My sisters, who don’t realise that sometimes after a long, discouraging day at work, the childish and silly things they do or say can make me laugh and feel better.

Outside of the family, I am also immensely grateful for my friends whom I know I can count on. I’m grateful to have been able to share their joys this year. Some got married, others welcomed new additions to their families, a few others got new jobs and started new relationships. It was a fruitful year for many.

For all these events, I try to journal them in this space I call my blog. In August, I registered this domain and bought this theme (which I so love). I also got acquainted with a few wonderful bloggers. We are friends now and I feel glad to have known them, and to learn from them.

I’ve also had the chance to travel a fair bit this year, both for work and personal vacations. I visited Genting, Taipei, Hong Kong, Penang, Melbourne, Bali, Sydney, Perth and Malacca. I spent my birthday at a country restaurant in Perth with L and the M Tans, wolfing down steak and fries and boogying to cowboy music.

On the work front, I got promoted and with the guidance of my boss, grew markedly in my role. Sure, there were days when I felt so highly strung and unappreciated (and even once where my presentation was completely shredded into pieces), but on the whole, I’m grateful for being given the opportunity to prove myself and will continue to do my best.

The cherry on top of 2011? Getting engaged to this funny, sweet, magnanimous, fart-machine of a guy who makes me laugh every single day. Through the years we have learnt to understand each other and to love unconditionally. We’re still learning about each other everyday. Really, I cannot be happier that it’s him I’ll be spending the rest of my days with.

What a year, huh :)

Happy New Year, everyone! I wish you nothing but the best in 2012!

Posted in: Bitches, Family, Friends, Love, Personal, Work

Christmas Part 1: Cookin’ and rippin’ with the Bitches

December 29, 2011 3:35 pm / 1 Comment / Mag

Every year for as long as I can remember, the girls gather for a meal at a nice restaurant and exchange gifts amidst chatter and laughter. This year, since Adel has just moved into her new place, she very generously offered to host.

A week before the gathering, we communicated furiously on Whatsapp on who’s to bring/collect/buy what and our food options – to do a potluck or to cook? We eventually decided that since none of us were very good cooks (okay, at least I wasn’t), we would order one of those Christmas sets from Cold Storage and take it from there.

Thankfully, we had Diana (the mother of the bunch) and Diane (who has quite a bit of kitchen experience on her own) because what we got was a whole turkey wrapped in foil and plastic. Errr, hi turkey? I had absolutely no idea how to start. Diane, without hesitation, requested for a knife and worked her way through the turkey like a pro, with Diana as the able helper.

And what did I do? I tried to make myself useful by doing a bit of washing and passing of utensils to the house chefs. Maddie and myself also transferred packed lasagne and Shepard’s pie onto a microwavable tray and popped it into the microwave. There, easy.

I think seeing the pros cutting up the turkey gave L a bit of confidence because he decided he wanted to help with the slicing of the ham. I was very hesitant and Diana stepped in to save the day again.

There was enough food to allow us a few rounds of stuffing before we retired to the couch to join Josline (who was singing and dancing to church songs).

Then it was time for our gift exchange. This year’s was a tad more special because there were enough husbands/boyfriends around to do their very own gift exchange (L got a wine globlet and Royce chocolates from Josh) and all of us got gifts for everyone else despite the fact that we were supposed to be Secret Santa to only one person. We tore open wrappers, ate chocolates, giggled a lot, and were brimming with armfuls of gifts by the end of the session, pleased as kids on Christmas morning.

Christmas with the Bitches - Gift Exchange + Games

And how can I forget Josh’s surprise for Adel and his touching speech which made a few of us bawl like babies. I was crying big, fat tears and desperately trying to dig out tissue lest my mascara ran, but it ran anyway. They’ve come a long way – with two adorable kids now – and I couldn’t be happier or feel more blessed that one of my bestest friend is married to such a sweet and humorous man :’)

Our hosts even took the effort to organise some childhood games. L and I managed to play a few rounds of the very stressful Police & Thief before taking off for Kevin and Jenn’s party.

What a great way to kickstart the Christmas weekend!

Posted in: Bitches, Love

Lantern Festival with the Bitches

October 3, 2011 10:38 pm / 1 Comment / Mag

Since it was so well-received last year, Sammi organised another lantern competition for this year’s mid-autumn festival :)

The same rules apply. Our competing lanterns must,

a. be a paper lantern (i.e. no battery operated or cellophane lanterns); and
b. not exceed $4.

And again, dinner was potluck-style so there was plenty of food to go around – KFC, prata, fruit punch, mashed potatoes, nuggets, curry chicken, etc.

The spread… YUM

Our lanterns are lighted and ready!

This year’s competition was fierce – we do not kid when it comes to our lanterns – but there could only be one winner for each category.

Most Fanciful Lantern Open Category
Sammi, with her cute Little Twin Star lantern
(A Domokun pouch with goodies sponsored by Diana)

Most Fanciful Lantern Kid Category
Josline, with her DIY butterfly lantern made with recycled materials
(A pair of pink My Melody earphones sponsored by yours truly)

Technically, there was only one kid since Jaeline is still too young to compete but Josline (or rather, Adel) still put in a lot of effort in putting the lantern together with recycled materials. So cute.

“Raise your hand if you like Josline’s lantern!”

One for the album

Hijacking Adel’s kids. LOL.

Thanks darling, for being our photographer for the night! :*)

Posted in: Bitches, Love

Housewarming at the Leet’s

August 28, 2011 10:15 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

Josh and Adel held a housewarming for the bunch two Saturdays ago. It was a typical gathering of a bunch noisy, IJ girls who are still really 16-year olds at heart.

We sat around the very nicely-planned dining area, munching on takeaway pizzas and winglets while exchanging the lamest jokes and overdosing on laughter. Josline was very pleased to have company to show off her spanking new pink room to (so cute) and Jaeline was just contented to snooze in her mummy’s arms, ignoring all the commotion around her.

L and I contributed a luscious cake from Awfully Chocolate for the gathering as it was also Adel and Rachel’s birthday (they both share the same birthday).

Growing up and growing old together

We’re really growing up, aren’t we? A part of me wishes I can be a kid forever but another part appreciates that growing up means being able to make important decisions and buy big ticket items like a house. Can you imagine? :)

Speaking of, Gi has also moved into her new place and will be organising a housewarming soon! Yay to new hangouts!

Posted in: Bitches, Love

Tony & Gina get married

August 27, 2011 11:03 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

A few weeks ago, we added a new member to the bitchy fold ;)

(They used L’s car as the wedding car and we bought 4D that evening but we’re still nowhere close to making it big the lazy way. OH WELL.)

Gi’s the second in our group to get married and I daresay we’re getting good at this gatecrash thing, except that the groom’s party really copped out this time. All the bridesmaids (especially Sammi) took the pains to prepare a brutal concoction only to see them collectively bombed onto the floor! Ergh!

But it was a great wedding and everyone had fun. Rachel thought she could bawl there and then because “we practically saw Gi grow up and it felt like a mother giving a daughter away“. Erm. Emo, as usual.

Well, she had every reason to cry when Sammi forcefully snatched the bouquet off her. She’s now convinced she’ll never get married. (I bet the next wedding in the group will be hers.)

Posted in: Bitches

Satay and wine party

June 21, 2011 11:25 pm / Leave a Comment / Mag

Last Saturday, L and I hosted a satay and wine party at his place :)

There was not much prep work required so we managed to have a two-hour brunch with his friends at Spruce that morning. All we had to do was order the satay and otah a couple of days in advance, chill the wine before heading out for brunch, squeeze in a quick supermarket run to grab charcoal, drinks and other necessities right before, and by evening, we were all set and ready to do some cookin’!

The bitches came over at about 9-ish and we hung around the patio, chatting and chilling. At every gathering, an embarrassing story from our past is bound to surface and at this one, many of them did. There are a few stories which have been recounted so many times some of us are able to complete the story but I doubt we will ever get bored of listening :P

We spent the rest of the evening with stories from the past, laughing (not with each other but at each other), sipping wine and chomping down satay, roasted marshmallows, nachos (courtesy of Diane) and chicken wings.

Being crazy

Wouldn’t trade them for the world

Errrgh, Maddie! LOL!

We rounded up the evening with I Love You, Man on DVD.

Getting comfy for the movie

Would like to give credit to the boyfriend who did most of the preparation for the party, and during which, made sure me and the girls were well fed and entertained. Thank you for hosting and making it such an enjoyable evening for us :)

Every Saturday should be like this, don’t you think?