A Charming Present!

I have every reason to be happy as my birthday came 2 weeks early this year.

I spent the last few hours of our stay in London browsing through Selfridges when an unexpected phone call came through.

Two of my best mates had suprised me with an early birthday present!

Now, can you guess which two ?

The night before, one of them had amazed me with her collection of Thomas Sabo Charms which she had collected from 2006.

So after much contemplating, I used the Gift Voucher to treat myself to a bracelet and 2 charms to represent both of them.

I absolutely love it!

Thanks a million, guys!

(Indeed one was really happy as the birthday girl herself hadn’t remembered her big day was approaching!)

Every Flower is a Soul Blossoming in Nature.

A photo of our back garden.

We seriously need to do something about it if we plan to have a summer barbeque one day.

But despite it looking very unkempt, I was thrilled to find wildflowers blooming in our garden.

I love them especially in the peak mid-afternoon sun.

Dandelion Clock

Flowering Dandelion

English Daisy

I haven’t a clue what this flower is called.

The cat, the dandelion and a couple of daisies.

She wanted a piece of the limelight too, and couldn’t stop following the camera.

And if you look really, really closely by the garden shed (the shaded area by the fence), there is actually a little pond.

I’ll put up a photo of the Koi one day once we sort out the very murky pond, promise!

The Walk

I feel compelled to put up a few more photos of London. I know, how boring! But bear with me please.

Having traveled to so many places before, I do regret not making a travelogue of my journey there. My biggest regret was not making a journal of my trip to Eastern Europe with my parents back in 2000. Such a rare opportunity and I can never thank my parents for that once in a lifetime experience.

I am not the best in terms of memory and I feel this is the only way I can look back and remember every single moment of it.

I took London in a different perspective this time round. No course to stress about, no hurried theatre trips, no hectic sightseeing etc.

I was certainly delighted that this trip was just to relax and unwind except the fact that my partner-in-crime was pretty much tightup in his own schedule. Poor him and I knew he was dying to join in the sunshine!

With a camera in tow, I had 6 whole days to just capture the best of London and I think I did pretty well.

Here’s a snippet of my photojourney on Day 5 :

I met-up with a good friend (I know I can always count on her for that last minute ’spur of the moment’ plan) of mine and we headed to Malaysia Hall for lunch.

It has always been a ritual for us to make a trip here everytime we come to London as we love the variety it serves on the menu – from Laksa to Keropok Lekor, from Nasi Lemak to Rojak Buah. Just name it and you’ll get it.

After a satisfying lunch of ‘Nasi Campur’, the both of us were ready to burn a calorie or two.

We initially had planned to spend the day going to the ‘Tutan Khamun Exhibition’ but it being held in Greenwich, we decided to scrap the idea.

We took a stroll in Kensington Gardens instead which was just a minute’s walk from Malaysia Hall.

The sun brought most people out of their homes.

But despite the bright blue sky, it was rather chilly and breezy at times!

We braved the cold wind and made our way to Kensington Palace next.

We went a little crazy with photo taking here

We got lost along the way but we were glad we found ourselves at The Longwater, a 40 acre man-made lake.

The highlight of the walk was the definitely the Memorial Fountain, which was built in memory of Princess Diana.

And finally, I don’t know how we did it but we found ourselves at Royal Albert Hall.

I didn’t have an ounce of regret not going to see Tutan Khamun as this was memorable in it’s own way.

I am just glad we did what we did.

Thanks for being such a sport, babe!

PS: The journey didn’t end just there, we also went for a quick spree in Oxford Street and ended the night with a lovely dinner of grilled lamb. Yummy! Thanks to you too for having me over!

Bring Out The Child In You

I am mad about Cabbage Patch Kids. Period.

Mom bought me my first CPK when I was 5 and she queued 3 hours in the cold to get me one.

It didn’t come cheap too at 50 dollars a doll and nearly a week’s worth of her babysitting money.

I was rather proud of it though and brought it for ‘Show And Tell’,

only to find out that every other girl in class brought a CPK too!

I still treasure it till today and I can’t believe it’s already 20++ years old.

Oh, and I bought another one a couple of years ago.

Mom was surprised to find one in my wardrobe during her last stay.

She doesn’t know this but it reminds me so much of her,

and the little sacrifices she made to make sure I only get the best.

Candy- licious!

‘Who can take a sunrise,
Sprinkle it with dew,
Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two,
The candyman, the candyman can,
The candyman can ’cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good’

I went a little bit crazy looking at all the mouth-watering candy in Harrods,

that I couldn’t resist taking photos of ‘em.

Hubby was annoyed I didnt get any for him. Haha! Sorry!

Call me old, but I really love this song by Sammy Davis Jr.

Au Revoir!

We are both at Heathrow now, waiting to board our plane.

Our flight has just been delayed by 1.5 hours. Sheesh!

It has been a brilliant 6 days with many surprises.

I took lots of photos but I’ll save those for another entry.

It’s back to reality now and time to hit the books. Sigh.

Bye bye London and see you again soon! 

Bon Appetit !

I met up with ‘Miss Yummy Mummy’ and ‘Miss Wannabe Blogger’ over tea yesterday evening.

We went to this French patisserie situated at the corner of The Cumberland.

And wow! All the cakes, flans, tartlets looked very sumptuous that we all had a problem deciding what to have.

Miss Yummy Mummy had ‘Egg Benedict on Toasted Brioche with Smoked Salmon’.

Miss Wannabe Blogger had something similar but with scramble eggs,

while I had the Black Forest gateau.

I was never a fan of smoked salmon but after yesterday, I probably changed my mind.

So much so, I returned for the second time today.

I love the ambience of the cafe too, very parisien and chic!

Catchin’ Up

This photo of our hotel was taken last night after dinner.

We had a great time catching up with some old school friends.

Poor baby Z had to deal with the crazy aunts who can never get enough of her.

Do get well soon baby and hello mommy Z!

Good Ol’ London

It’s great to be in good ol’ London once again.

Our hotel is right smack in the heart of London which makes it very convenient.

There’s a great view of Marble Arch too the minute you step out of the hotel.

We probably won’t be able to spend as much time together as he will be busy attending a course, but with Oxford Street just a minute away, I really shouldn’t be complaining.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of days.

Singin’ In The Rain

Let the stormy clouds chase,
Everyone from from the place,
Come on with the rain,
I have a smile on my face
I’ll walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin’, singin’ in the rain

For ages I’ve been searching for the perfect pair of wellies.

It’s either been :

1) Too costly (It’s only rubber)

2) A really awful colour

3) The wrong size

But one rainy day a few weeks back, he found this.

And mind you, it didn’t cost a bomb (outlet maa!)

I know it will come in very handy one day.

Bring in the rain! I’m ready to splash those puddles!

Oh, and finally…I really love Gene Kelly in this video.

I can watch it over and over and over again…

and not get bored of it!

Sigh. He makes it look soooo easy.

(and apparently he had a fever too while shooting this)