Two Years Old

We celebrated our second anniversary yesterday, Jian and I.

Here are some pictures of what we got for one another:

A sketchbook combination of a Singlish dictionary for him
& the most beautiful bouquet of flowers and a dreamy ring for me

We spent the night at the Night Safari watching animals and walking in the misty, cool air of our rainforest.

Kind of a bizarre feeling how time doesn't match reality.
So much has changed within these couple of years that made it seem like we've been together for much longer.

I was aiming to write something sweet, something romantic, something poetic even, but words fail me.

My mind hurtles back to the events that almost broke us. The revelation of lies, the secrets, the mistakes; the address of the darkness, and the denial. Yet for some strange reason, only by the grace of God, we forgive. We accept. We persevere. We hope. We believe. We strive. We love. We overcome.

It could be said, that we are like two pieces of diamonds in the rough - used as a tool to sharpen the other in the process of girdling.
I see myself the clearest when I'm with him. I see the things I'm lacking in. I see the changes that need to occur in me.
He is, like no-one else, my soul mate.

Two years in itself, is nothing. Yet, these two years have also been everything.

::

Happy anniversary, papi.
Here's to us growing like trees.

 xx

Grace and Gratitude

I have received so much in the past few days, it's almost unbelievable how things pan out.
If there's anything I've learnt in the recent weeks gone by, it's patience, amid more.

There's a thing about simply trusting. There's a thing about simple obedience. And, there's another thing about perfect timing.

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Some previous lunches

A simple lunch prepared by my sister and I

VS

This one, lovingly prepared by Yi Yi

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Anyways, I've finally managed to find myself this!



A secondhand serger at a pretty enough decent price, which belonged to a good friend of my grandparents. Though it hasn't been used in 15 years, it works like a dream. I can finally finish my edges off professionally! :D

A visit to the grandparents' often leads up to my grandma showing me her old photos.
I really do love looking at her old photos, even though she shows me them every time I'm over now.

These photos really lend a sense of time and air to them. I can't get over how amazing their wedding photos look!

 

 I love this one so much that Nai Nai gave me a copy!

 

Everything about this photo just screams gorgeousness, don't you think? 

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Earlier today, my mom, sister and I, headed down to the orchid exhibition and Gardens by the Bay. I didn't particularly have any interest in this, but my sister, being a landscape architecture student, enjoyed herself plenty.

I don't think I'd come back again, at least not twice in a row (unlike a certain somebody). Please, don't get me wrong. I like my plants, and I like my nature. But, to see all these plants arranged in such an artificial and rigid system, it gets me all uncomfortable and edgy.

There needs to be a sense of peace and tranquility when you look at plants, I kept trying to tell Jia Ying. There shouldn't be this feeling of irritation, nor this raw, burning sensation constantly piercing through me as I walk around the dome/exhibit.

But, then again, maybe it's just me and my inability to enjoy this form of spectatorship. Everyone around me seemed to be up in arms over the place's "beauty", making loud squeals of admiration and delight.

Of course, there are most certainly a few things I enjoyed:

 Like this floral arrangement

 

 And the daisies

 

And this other flower which look like daisies

But that's about it. 

All I wanted to do was go home, whereas my sister was the complete opposite. 

 

All she was thinking about, was how to make this home.

The Sketchbook Project 2012, Sandwich

So! I've received my sketchbook a couple of weeks ago in the mail. Been procrastinating with what I should do with it, till I had a sudden inspiration!
Instead of drawing sketches of sandwiches in its pages, why not make the entire sketchbook a sandwich??

Front

 

Lettuce

 

Tomatoes

 

Chips

 

Ham

 

Portobello Mushroom

 

Onions

 

Cheese

 

Capsicum

 

Sunny Side Up

 

Bacon

 

Grilled Brinjal

 

Back

 

This is also the first time I'm experimenting with markers! If my sister hadn't introduced them to me, I would probably still be a marker virgin.
Yet, there's lots more work I need to put into this medium, but I guess the trick to it is to plan and blennnnddddd.

Either way, this project was fun stuff.
Thanks, Art House Co-op!

No More Ghostings

Having my sister back from NZ a couple of days ago, means having Yi Yi, her aspiring chef of a boyfriend over a lot more now.

He taught us how to make pasta from scratch, and even made us a real fancy dinner.

 

 Squid Ink Ravioli stuffed with Seafood Mascarpone for lunch


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For dinner, he whipped up


Tomato and Pepper Soup with Crab Cocktail for entrees






Open Squid Ink Ravioli with Asparagus and Smoked Haddock for mains






 




Strawberry & Sparkling Rose Jelly for desserts









 He even made us some tagliatelle to dry out and keep






Definitely, the most gorgeous affair ever laid on our dining table to date.

IF: Stripes

Crochet My Heart

With all this research in shibori methods and technique, I have officially reignited my interest in Japanese culture since my high school days.

I'm considering re-taking Japanese lessons again. Being able to read katakana, hiragana and chinese (not in proper kanji), has been useful with all the Japanese books I just bought, but I lack understanding (I've a very small pool of Japanese vocabulary) in what I read, especially words in hiragana.

So yeah, maybe back to Bunka it is for me? Ponder, ponder, ponderous. But, priority first goes to a serger. My granny (who used to sew the most beautiful qi paos) says I can have hers (and she would actually teach me! Oh!), which has been sitting there in a corner of a room for a long time now. This is most excellent news, except for the fact that she says it might be a little faulty as it's so old now. I haven't gotten a chance to play with it yet, but I'm crossing my fingers that it isn't as bad as things could be, and that maybe a little servicing will help fix its' bugs.

::

Well, here's some sewing I've been busy with in the past 2 weeks:

If you remember my fox dress, I kinda ended up, hm, not liking it.

So I decided to bring the length up and converted it into a top. This way, it makes it a lot more versatile, and I can pair it up with jeans/shorts/skirts.

The fox print also put me off lino printing for a bit, as it was such a labour intensive print.
I moved on to hand-painting instead.

The design was finished and dried in less than an hour, which was highly refreshing!

With it, I created an over-sized mid-sleeve dress.

Yet, the project I had most fun with, was the definitely the one where I experimented with itajime shibori!

With no scraps of wood around (actually I do, but I don't have a hacksaw) and buying wrenches, thinking they could work just as well as C-clamps (bad mistake), I ended up using lino and rubber bands..

All the while, I was thinking, this would definitely be another failed project. I mean, just look at that. You can't get anymore experimental that this.

 But, surprise above surprises, the method actually worked!

I'm extremely well-pleased with how the dress came out! 

I'm so excited with it that all I can think about is how I want to do more and make it better!

Afternoon delights

Discovered this band, while sifting through videos on Youtube. 

Didn't realise, they were actually the voice behind Empire Ants.

Really like their groove. 

Besides listening to their albums all day today, I did some research on some itajime shibori techniques.

Can't wait to get experimental!

In His Time

The weekend was hectic, yet thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely, one of the best weekends I've had :)

Saturday - Jeff and Phillane's wedding! 

They had gone through so much in the 11 months of planning, and to see it finally happening, it's all too wonderful and I'm so glad for them. 

The new Siaws on the block!

I've been looking forward to this day since November of last year!
So excited I bought my outfit and thought of the gifts to make them months and months before (haha)!

Sewn and painted these pillowcases a while back, and finally, now that the wedding is past, I can post them here!

 Jian painted a couple of cups for them as well

Hope they'll like them!

But, I won't deny it. The best part about attending the wedding was the chance where Jian and I could dress up! Might be a bit embarrassing to say, but we don't really get the opportunity to dress this fancy.

(Silly papi, looking all smug with half his lids closed)

It was a beautiful God-centered wedding, and I'm so honoured to be a part of it.

We wish you both bliss and happiness. May God continue to bless your marriage and may you place your trust in Him always. He will carry you through :)

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Sunday, it was church, choir practice then a short nap before heading out to dinner with my Sunday School class. A nice time spent sharing and giving thanks, before Jian and I had to leave haphazardly to catch the last of The Lion King!

I'm so glad I've finally managed to persuade Jian to go catch it with me. It was so much more than I expected! The set, the props, the colours, the dancers! Everything was so alive! I have no words to describe the experience, except for fantastical!

It being the last show, the entire crew got up on stage after to say their thanks and goodbyes. You could feel a tinge of sadness for them having to leave after being here in Singapore for 8 months.

Jian: "Woah! Next time, for any musicals, we'll catch the last show! Then we'll always get an extra special bit to it!"

A terrific night, besides the fact that I had to deal with a pounding headache which pounced on me out of nowhere + kept walking into a rough estimate of some probably mid-30 year old caucasian wearing the same dress as I at the musical + walking about all over town after the show in the attempt of finding a cab but failing to + missing the last bus that went home from the esplanade, then catching another that went to Thomson instead, to make a what seemed like awful situation better, buying home some "tofu sweets", what one of Jian's Aussie mates call it (A.K.A tau huey), home.