Happy Chinese New Year!

Never too late to add my greetings to all those celebrating the Lunar New Year, right? Yes, it may be the 10th day of CNY, but since we have 15 days in total I still made it!

Warning: Pic-heavy post!

It has been a full couple of weeks, considering my CNY celebrations usually start up to a week before, starting with the “family reunion holiday” – it’s still easier to book accommodation before CNY (and cheaper too!), so we usually end up somewhere in Genting for a couple of days just to catch up with everyone and have a bit of fun.

Guess who’s back? :D Twas a blast catching up with Tine again after almost 9 months – sure there’s Whatsapp and Skype, but it ain’t the same! We also celebrated my gran’s 93rd birthday…she can still strike a pose yo!

The day before I left for KL, I managed to book a slot with Clarahnails who was back from Melbourne on holidays. Make no mistake, this woman is a nail genius – from my cherry blossom nails this time, to the paisley print she did for me when I was in Melbourne last year (all done freehand with a tiny brush!), it’s always majorly impressive. LOVE!

Gorgeous skies in Genting! Sadly, the temperature seems to have risen over the last 10 years…

Oh my pretties – I was trying to travel light since I was carrying back quite a few items for family as well as knew I was going to be bringing stuff back to Singapore with me, so I decided to break out a couple of the new items I picked up over the past month. There’s the Chanel Poudre Signee de Chanel Illuminating Powder, as well as the Guerlain LiU palette – both pretty awesome in their own right!

I also ended up making my first purchase from Net-a-Porter…the YSL Arty ring! :D No they’re not all mine, we decided to make a bulk order to save on shipping. I just had to add in this pic of the L’Occitane Fleur Cherie eyeshadow duo because it reminded me so much of Stila – right down to the paper casing!

CNY is never complete without these arrowroot crisps (or ngaku), and mum was a bit adventurous this year and decided to try making homemade crabstick crisps – they look a bit weird, but taste-wise it’s awesome!

One of the best waffles I’ve had in a while – came from Out of the Pan (and a steal with 1 for 1 deals!), while the one dish I always look forward to at CNY is…yee sang! Sadly I only had it a few times this year, but there’s still a few more days to go right?

Every year, my aunt’s place in Seremban has this awesome view of a temple nearby that sets off loads of fireworks at the stroke of midnight on CNY – next year, I think I’m going to camp out there with a proper tripod. These were taken on my PnS camera balanced off a fence!

Tine was caught hamming it up for the camera (she’ll probably explain why later on her own!), and I loved the décor that was put up – not a fan of the snake year, but there were still plenty of pretty lanterns and designs put up everywhere. One place I saw decided to recycle their Christmas tree and hang little red lanterns on it instead – quite creative!

I also got a cute thumbdrive in the shape of an Oreo cookie – so adorable! Just hoping I won’t mistake it for actual food and try dipping it into milk…and Bailey says “Happy CNY” too! He was busy keeping me company while I packed the angpows to go to my parents and grandmothers. :)

This year was also the first time I celebrated CNY with Kevin’s extended family, which was held in Malacca. I hadn’t been back there in over a decade (driving through to avoid highway jams doesn’t count), so we took the opportunity to try some of the famous favourites there like the Jonker 88 cendol and ‘one bite’ durian puffs…omg so good!

It happened that we were in Malacca the same night they had their Jonker Street night market, and despite being the first day of CNY it was still packed!

I had a real trip down memory lane thanks to that night market – there were cute stubby Coke and Sprite bottles, 60s themed drinks and even these Pop Pops I used to play with as a child. Who says you have to behave like an adult all the time? *wink*

There was a cute discovery during CNY as well – Tine and I found out we were iPhone cover twinsies thanks to similar Marc by Marc Jacobs…and when I posted the pic on my Instagram, it turns out Renee (Beautyfool) also had a similar case – yay for triplets!

One of the biggest banes during CNY would have to be the traffic jams of everyone trying to make it back to their hometowns for celebrations, and this year was no different. Thanks to the jams on the highway, we decided to take a number of back roads and trunk roads to avoid getting stuck, and one of the roads we drove along reminded me so much of the scenery heading to Yarra Valley in Melbourne…ahh that brought back memories :)

Yes, those are actual purple roses – gorgeous, aren’t they? :) Since Valentine’s Day fell during the CNY period, Kevin decided to surprise me with these just before I headed back to Singapore (and yes, I carried them all the way back with me!) I also ended up getting a cute snake plushie and angpows from the bosses (I know I said I didn’t like snakes, but this one you have to admit is pretty cute!) Last but not least, I ended up with a cute little purple bin to help with decluttering – I’ve been on a cleaning and sorting spree ever since I came back from my CNY holidays…I’m hoping this holds up, it’s coming in very useful as I’m discovering items I’d forgotten I had!

And there you have it – a choice selection of moments over the past two weeks of my CNY celebration. Needless to say I had a total blast…hope yours was just as awesome, and sending all of you felicitous wishes for a prosperous year filled with health, wealth and luck!

2012 - What. a. year!

It’s a bit late, but I figure it’s not too late to do a recap of 2012 since we’re still in January right? Right? I initially thought I hadn’t done all that much, but after looking through photos and matching events, hey, it’s still quite a list! (beauty or otherwise).

*takes a deep breath* and here we go!

January got off to a fabulous start spa-ing and doing a massive gift exchange with the evurl ladies – I think this was the only group shot we actually got all year! LOL…we’re terrible at taking photos like that :P Watched Ballet Revolucion.

Saw Freeze in Genting pre-CNY with the family. Had CNY dinner with the evurl ladies…for beauty bloggers, we sure focus a lot on food! :D Watched Swan Lake. Met the lovely ladies behind Bellabox, and have been a huge (okay, even bigger!) fan of theirs ever since.

Loved the i-Light 2012 show at MBS. Munched my way through classy food at Savour 2012, and still trying to recreate this 'ice cream crafted to look like a potato'. Re-discovered my love for blushes…especially the “it’s so pretty I can’t bear to use it!” ones.

Had even more classy food at World Gourmet Summit 2012 and been trying to recreate some of them at home with *some* success (will not subject poor souls to it until they've been perfected though). Bought my first ever Deborah Lippmann polish.

Descended on Tine and LeGeeque in Melbourne. Shopped till my wallet threatened to melt. Got my nails done by the awesomely talented Clara Hwang. Met Tinnipoo for the first time, and got a good workout from laughing too hard. Fell head over heels for my god-furkid, Coco (whose human mum will definitely protest she’s since become a total monster).

Tried rainbow eyeliner for the first time, inspired by Connie. Hit up Lady Gaga (paws up little monsters!) with Rinnah and Dom. Discovered how crazy Dom can be about food (or just in general).

Visited the Redken Rock the Runway show. Had a most fun and useful hair workshop with Jorge Joao in the lead up to the Redken show.

Took part in my first Standard Charted run ever (and survived!). Watched La Cage Aux Folles and laughed myself silly. Watched Comedy Masala and laughed even harder. Caught up with old friend and local comedian Kuah Jenhan and marvelled at how times have changed.

Headed to Cameron Highlands on my first fully-sponsored trip thanks to Strawberry Park Resort. Tried my first gelish manicure thanks to psawyerbeauty. Got engaged to a guy who makes me laugh till my sides hurt, and then some.

Hopped over to Batam for a day trip and ayam penyet. Moved apartments in Singapore, and fell in love with its rooftop pool. Did the whole fan thing and descended on the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Artscience Museum. Regressed even further back to my childhood visiting Universal Studios Singapore and loved every minute of it.

Made my first order of Stickygram magnets (won’t be my last!). Dicovered Mary Kay and some new loves. Watched Avenue Q for the third time (second in Singapore), and sang along. Got my feet tapping to Burn the Floor.

Bought my first Longchamp (at duty-free, no less!). Received my first Marc by Marc Jacobs item – an iPhone cover!! (larp you long time, you know who you are). Developed a love for Yankee Candles. Visited Batam once again (this time the posh side at Montigo Resorts!) on a company trip, and now want to go back there before the rates go up. Went to Bangkok on a belated birthday trip with the fiancé.

Had my first French degustation experience at Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok (yes, the irony of having French food in Bangkok…it was awesomely impressive though!). Gave the Thai economy a huge boost thanks to all my shopping there. Loved Fresh Sugar lipbalms so much, I ended up with a Fresh Sugar Christmas tree when Sephora launched their seasonal sets. Started doing up my apartment back in KL…I love my quirky lamp and blow-up reindeer! :D

And there you have it – when I was going through it, I realised I actually watched quite a number of shows in 2012…averaging out to about one a month! I love that they’re so accessible here (and it doesn't help that I just booked another THREE for January and May in 2013). :P

Here’s hoping your 2012 was as good for you as mine was for me. 2013 is going to be a huge year for me as well - bring it on!! :D