Its my party and I cry if I want to...

Wow.. I just realised that my last update was wayyyyyyyyy back in August, when we had that photoshoot!  So what has happened since then?  Well, I turned a year older recently so here are the things that I can tuck under my belt as in 'been there.. done that'..

1. We got published in the October edition of Prestige.. it was aptly titled "The Dar-Lings of Kuching".. isn't that so cute?  There was a gorgeous picture of the four of us in white, that we requested from the publisher to give it to us so we can print it and frame it.  What I loved about the article was reading what your siblings say about each other.. like things I never knew they thought about.. it was really sweet and touching.

 

1. Being published in October also meant that it was my birthday month and what better way to celebrate a birthday than by being on a magazine? It was an awesome feeling and it was even more awesome celebrating our birthday together with OktoberFest!  That's right, we combined our birthday and threw an OktoberFest celebration! 
   
   We organized for 1 liter bottles of Paulaner beers (which came with a 1 liter cup) to be served at our party.. in total we had about 40 liters of beer and 40 mugs.. enough for the 50 or more guests that we were expecting.  And we served up PORK!  Yes.. Germans are famous for their pork.. so why not incorporate that into our party?  There was suckling pig, pork salami, pork ribs.. we were going to do pork sausages as well, but thought there might be a pork overload, so decided against it.
   
   In the end.. 2 liters of beer was what did it for me.  Totally KO-ed on the floor.. before being unceremoniously kicked awake by PrincessBling and tossed through the front door of the house and having the door slammed behind you.  Ahh.. but what a great night.  Everyone had fun, and the main thing was that most people lost memory .. a sign of a great party!
   
2. I attended an awesome seminar in Singapore where it thought me the difference between being a manager and a leader, and I find out that I'm neither at the moment.  That's why I'm now taking steps to become a better manager, and hopefully a leader one day.  I've now decided that I don't want to go to Harvard University.. instead, I want to go back to Christchurch University of Canterbury to take their 2 year MBA course there.
   
   I would love to go back to Christchurch, to hang out with my friends again and revisit the old haunts.  I looked up the MBA course and it's exactly the courses that I want to take.  Changing others and Leading Change.. I feel that with this MBA course, it will give me the knowledge and strength to run the company the way I feel that it should be run, and not to be a pushover and have people take advantage of me.
   
3. Had the time of my life in Singapore during the seminar.  I stayed at Shangri-La Hotel at Orange Grove and the hotel.. let me say.. was excellent in service.  I upgraded my room and got free reign of their happy hour deal.. free cocktails and food from 5pm - 7pm daily and free breakfast as well!  It was awesome.. and food was delicious!  In fact, the lunch for the seminar was in the hotel's buffet restaurant.. and omg.. I've never seen such a succulent buffet before in my life.  Food was simply delicious!  It was money well spent!  I must say I made full use of the extra money spent..

I can't say very much has happened.. which is why I haven't blogged in awhile.  Life remains the same for now.. which sometimes is disappointing as I want more.. sometimes I just want to feel the adrenaline again .. the rush of being in a big city.. but at the same time.. I have my friends and family here.. what more could I ask for?  Independence?

On the plus side, the land purchase is finally done.. I'm the proud owner of a landed property.  I've got big ideas for it.. which firstly includes demolishing that monstrosity of a house!  But I'm in no rush to get a house.. so I'll let PrincessBling and husband do theirs first, before coming up with a design that will compliment their house (our lands are by each other).  But if I want my independence, there's nothing stopping me from building a one storey loft for myself at the moment :)

Well, I hope that I'll have more interesting news to post on my blog in the near future.. there's plenty of things coming up: Standard Chartered 10km run, Langkawi New Years Eve, Christmas Day.. I can't wait for it all...

In the meantime though.. Happy Halloween!!!!!

 

Glamour Photo Shoot!

A few months ago, we were asked by Prestige Magazine if they could do a feature on us four sisters.. why.. hell yeah.. of course we would do it!  The deal just got better when they said that we would be draped in Bulgaria jewellery!  But what on earth are they going to feature us about?  No idea.. but anyhow, we booked our tickets to KL and arrived one day early just to we can get prepared, do some shopping..and get a good night's sleep to avoid those eye bags! hahaha

Anyway, we got there on Wednesday.. firstly, they cancelled our 7.45am flight and pushed us onto the 7.15am flight.. super tired when we arrived in KL.. hopped on the cab which took us to J.W Marriott where we would spend our night.  Since our room was not ready (and who'd expect it to be at 10am?) we went to Pavillion and had breakfast at The Loaf.. square eggs on toast anyone?  Then we walked about Pavillion.. went to have a hair wash and manicure (I straightened my hair and got french tips done) .. buying beige panties because I forgot that we would be dressed in white.. when we stopped at Shanghai Tang.. and realized that the store was closing down.. SALES GALORE!  I got a cashmere jacket for a mere RM600!  Then it came time for dinner.. we went to a Japanese restaurant, which was kinda of a let down.. it looked so fancy and the food was just mediocre.. after dinner, we walked around some more.. and headed back to the hotel room at 10pm when all the shops were closing for the day.  Was so tired I crashed after taking a shower.

Next day, we had buffet breakfast.. careful not to eat so much as to not show a stomach bulge in the photos..and went to The Ritz Carlton Residences PENTHOUSE where the photo shoot was being held.  We met up with Brian who's the editor.. and found out that we're his first cover piece since he only joined Prestige a month ago!  How exciting is that?  Things got started straight away..

Step 1 - The Interview

PrincessBling and I were interviewed together while my other sisters were whisked off to hair and makeup.  That was a fun interview.. it was interesting because while I could just blab on for ages, I had to be careful of what I say because this is going into the magazine.. where thousands of people were going to read it!  I can't simply say anything .. worried that I might offend people, might spill a secret.. etc.. I think I was interviewed for half an hour before it was PrincessBling's turn.

Step 2 - Hair and Makeup

Was whisked off to hair and makeup myself after my interview.. The makeup lady was called Joey and she's really good.. she asked me what I usually wore, and I said I always wear dark.. so we went smokey with super long lashes.. kinda mimicking cat's eyes.  We went brown/gray tones and I absolutely LOVE it.. we went dramatic on the eyes and natural on the lips.  

Hair was being straightened and crimped at the roots to give volume.. I just never realized how much I missed having straight hair!  I think I shall keep it straight from now on.. when I'm at the salon washing my hair!  It still has some of the perm in it.. so when I wash it myself, it tends to go wavy and frizzy.

Step 3 - Clothes

I was given a Bottega Venetta dress to adorn.. it was brown in color and looked really funky.. unfortunately, I likened myself to looking like a tree trunk in it.  It's so heavy that it didn't do much for my figure.  PrincessBling was given a black lambskin DVF dress to wear that looked so good on her.  It was like the perfect fit for her.. damn her and her good body.

Step 4 - Duo photo taking

PrincessBling and I were to take a photo together to showcase on the magazine article.  We took a few shots before deciding that PrincessBling would step infront of me and I would be at the back, giving depth to the picture.  It was fun taking all the different shots, but really soul crushing when they can't find a good enough picture that you keep having to take more and more shots! hahaha

Step 5 - Individual shots

PrincessBling took her individual shot first, a shot showing her back and her face through a mirror.  It was really nice.. I waited in anticipation to see what my shot was.. and guess what?  It's at the corridor balcony.. overlooking the living room where there was this HUGE chandelier hanging there.  Here's a sneak peak of what the shot looks like :)

That's a shot of .. looking away from the camera.  My photo shoot didn't take too long because most of it came out looking really good! :)  Pretty pleased with my picture actually.. and I was draped in a gorgeous looking Bulgaria dangling earrings.  That's why my hair was swept to one side.. to showcase the earrings .. hahaha

Step 6 - Group Shots

We all changed into white outfits for our final group shot.. it's going to be in the middle of the magazine book, so we're seated on the couch smiling at the camera.  Pretty neat.. and the last photo is an 'undercover' shot.. which is basically a behind-the-scenes shot.. so they took a picture of us taking selfies!!

Don't we look gorgeous all of us? :)  It was funny how some people had trouble differentiating PrincessBling and I in that picture.

So that was basically our day at the photo shoot!  10.30am to 4.30pm.. what a long.. but exciting day.  It was definitely a great adventure and I can't wait to see my name in print.  One question posed to me was "What was your ambition when you were young?" and mine was "to be famous".. haha.. cheesy.. but hey.. my name is appearing in a magazine!!!  

I could get used to this....

AMSTERDAM 2013

After London, we took a flight to Amsterdam for 2 nights.  It was fairly easy navigating through the airport.. given that we were taking British Airways (I think) it was part of the One World group so I was given access to their lounge.. we spent a total of 5 minutes in the lounge before leaving because the lounge TOTALLY SUCKED!!!  No free alcohol or food.. just drinks.. we were better off shopping around in the airport.. til we realized how far the walk to the airplane was.. we were rushing!

Amsterdam is a nice place.. we've been there before with besties and had the best kebab there.  Or maybe we had the munchies cos we were high :P

 

  
That's me and my sister walking away from the sign.. but it seems to be the tagline in Amsterdam these days.. I AMsterdam.. we caught a cab to the hotel (I was staying at Marriott for the first night and moving in with my sister at another hotel for the second night).. 

Once we've settled into the hotel, we walked to meet up with the rest of the gang and ended up in a sports bar where they're serving 'all you can eat ribs!!'  OMG.. hell yeah! hahaha.. we ate til we could eat no more.. I'm not sure what you can do in Amsterdam.. but shopping was definitely not one of it.  Although we did find a Karl Lagerfield shop in the midst of all the ancient shopping.. 

Red light district was a sure disappointment.. firstly.. they don't open til late, secondly.. the ladies were all fat and old!  (We did see one guy going in and getting lucky :P ).. th enext day, we decided to take a tour of Amsterdam on a coach bus.. the one thing I remembered going to on our first trip, and now again.. was this..

Looks familiar? Yes!  It's a windmill and it looked exactly the same as it had in 2009.  I was stoked to remember looking at it.. hahaha.. I even suddenly remembered that that was where the bus broke down in 2009!

That night, we rented out the hotel's boat and went for a canal cruise.  It was awesome weather and it came with alcohol!

What trip wouldn't be completed without a shot with the captain's hat.. hahaha and at the stern of the boat?  Anyway, we took a 2 hour trip down the canal where we saw beautiful buildings (even the Prime Minister's residence!)

Isn't that just such a beautiful sight.. the canal with the olden day buildings.. enjoying the sights with a nice cup of white wine.. absolutely breath-taking.

We had dinner at a 2 STAR Michelin restaurant that was just a stone's throw from our hotel.. and boy was it a gastronomic affair... it was a course of 7 dishes, all prepared by the chef (ie there's no menu to choose from) and each one was more delicious than the previous one.

That was a seafood platter with cream of asparagus soup in the shot glass.. Princessbling LOVES the raw salmon paired with meringue.. she didn't know such a combination would go so well together.  I didn't eat raw food so I got a replacement dish instead.. 

Ham and Salami cold cuts started our meal.. it was beautiful.. not to salty and great textures!

Main course was a delicious tenderloin that was cooked beautifully.. each mouth melted in your mouth, just the way good quality beef should.. I'm just drooling thinking about it again!

Dessert was finished by a strawberry mousse with lemongrass ice cream.. it was a perfect way to end the meal.. we left feeling full and very satisfied.. there was a cheese platter as well, but since I don't eat cheese, it was wasted on me.

Thus was our two nights trip to Amsterdam.. we then boarded the Euro train for a 3 hour ride to Paris.. since we bought first class tickets, we were treated to food on board as well as alcohol!  Let's just say.. this trip was all about indulgence.. good food, good drinks and good company.

If you're wondering, no we didn't smoke weed or eat magic shrooms .. I was eager but no one wanted to have the responsibility of taking care of me when I'm high.. oh well.. maybe next time eh? :)

London 2013

We spent a total of 4 days in London, indulging in great food and shopping, taking in the sights of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye (although we didn't sit in it because the queue for it was sooooooo long).. and we were treated to the usual London weather, where it started raining and we were all soggy in no time.. only to have the sun come out 15 minutes later to dry us all again.

Now in London, shopping was awesome.. we were at Selfridges and Harrods shopping, and what's even better.. is that it's sales in London!  It was definitely a treat shopping there because of the sales.  I ended up 2 dresses from Karen Millen and 1 dress from French Connection at Selfridges.  From there, we had a lunch of oysters and champagne (I indulged in asparagus in hollandaise sauce) and when we regained our strength, we went for a walk along Oxford street, coming across big brands like Chanel and Prada.  I couldn't find anything I wanted in that Chanel shop, but sis found a gorgeous plum caviar skin bag and it took a long time for them to ring it up so we stayed for at least an hour in the store.

Prada was having a sale on shoes, and I was looking for a pair of cork wedges and what did I find?  A pair of cork wedges!  I had to choose between green or yellow.. finally settling for the yellow because it was easier to match and it just looked happier.

See, doesn't it just look so chirpy?  It was on sale too, with an additional 50% off!  BARGAIN!!!  So hence, that was the first pair of branded shoes I bought while on this trip.

Harrods just went on sale and the crowd there was crazy!  BUT, I managed to buy a pair of Jimmy Choo patent leather wedge pumps IN MY SIZE!!  It was 30% off and it too was a bargain!  It did look like my Nine West patent leather wedge pumps but hey.. it's Jimmy Choo okay?  Yes.. I've been called a brand whore before :P  I also managed to find a pair of gladiator sandals which I've still no idea what I'm going to wear it with, but it's something fun to have.  They only had two pairs left, one in size 37 and one in size 40.  Size 37 was my size, and I took it as a sign that I was meant to get it :)  Zara also went on sale and I got some great deals on daily wear, which was awesome!

Sis's friend took us to a Japanese restaurant called Zuma for lunch just before our Phantom of the Opera show.  We ended up overstaying for lunch and missing half the show.. but lunch was awesome.  The food just kept coming out and each and every one was as delicious as the one before.  We had sashimi (no I didn't touch it), tempura prawns that was so crispy and non-oily, baked cod fish but the best thing that came out was dessert!  It was a tower of sorbets, ice creams, cakes and tropical fruits.  Didn't think I would actually find langsat in London!  It was simply delectable!  Phantom of the Opera was great.. we came in at the right time and the singers were awesome.. it was in a small auditorium.. which was interesting because I thought it would be in a bigger hall.. but it was great.. I enjoyed it.

I got to say though, I made a booking at a steak restaurant that came highly recommended online, only to be sorely disappointed.. firstly.. it was FAR and secondly.. my steak came out looking rather pathetic and burnt.. and the onion rings were tasteless.. never trust the internet again!

We went out for lunch again at a place called Oblisk, which was located in the tallest building in London.. I had scallops as entree and it was beautiful!  Cooked perfectly, it was surrounded with sweet corn and rockets (my favourite!) and a lovely sauce.  Main course was LOBSTER!!!  Since having it and falling in love with lobster in Goodman's London.. I ordered the crustacean every chance I get!  And I wasn't disappointed.  It was so light and crunchy.. heaven on a plate.  Dessert was chocolate brownie sundae which was the perfect end to an awesome meal.

We did have Chinese food for one day (Saturday).. we went to the Royal China Club for dim sum (and more lobsters!) which was super yummy.. totally miss dim sum... and at night, we went to Kai, the only Chinese restaurant with a Michelin star awarded to it.  Dinner was just absolutely stunning.. we started out with slow poach egg with black truffle and caviar (light and airy) followed by scallops and the usual fare like sweet and sour pork, chinese vegetables.. all tied together with chili infused rice.  I can't really remember what dessert was.. but it was a great meal.. nice and satisfying.

Needless to say, we had some pretty gastronomic meals in London.. sis's friend made sure that we never went without food and champagne :)

Thus was our trip in London.. next stop.. Amsterdam!

Europe Trip 2013

I thought it's time to write about my AWESOME Europe trip, having been back for 5 days already.  I'll talk about the trip from start til finish (if I can remember!) and post some pictures on the way.. mind you, it was a total GASTRONOMIC trip that all the pictures I've taken is of food.. 

So let's start with checking in at the airport... it all went by uneventfully.. checked in a the Business Class counter because I was flying Biz class to KL, then changing to cattle class to London... whereas my traveling buddies were all on Biz class all the way.. Jealous?  No.. I was flying Biz class myself back from Paris :)

It feels like just yesterday when we're waiting in the Golden Lounge waiting to board the plane.. I was giddy with excitement when we finally boarded.. here comes EUROPE BABY!!!  We arrived in Kuala Lumpur about 9.45pm (our flight to London was at midnight) and John took us to the Platinum Lounge straight away (that's right.. Not gold.. but Platinum!) where we were served champagne and sampled the food in the lounge.. not bad at all.. 

We parted ways at the departure gates.. they had no queue going into Biz class whereas us cattle class minions had a huge queue to go through (mind you, we were sitting the A380!).  I got a window seat (thank goodness) and surprisingly, there was no one seated in between me and the guy on the aisle!  (And it was a full flight!)  I always find it surprising how it can be a full flight and there's always an empty seat next to me!!!  The guy was pretty nice, he helped me with my luggage.  Flight was pretty uneventful.. not at all turbulent-y and I managed to get a good few hours of sleep!  Naturally, I woke up for every meal :D The guy next to me was even nice enough to take a snack box for me when I was sleeping!  And he was nice enough not to bother me with chit chat too.. just the obligatory "where are you from" etc.. 

Now here's where it got interesting.. I was on the way to the toilet when I got stopped by a Steward, and he asked me where I'm from, and I said Kuching.. and he said I looked familiar (pick up line?) but I said I never met him before.. so I walked to the toilet.. and on my way back, he stopped me again, asking if I was "pure Chinese".. weird right?  He thought I had mixed blood in me.. and then he asked for my number and my Facebook Account.  He said he'll probably make a visit to Kuching too.. EKK Freaky!  But you know me.. I never know how to say no, so I gave him my name card and Facebook Email address.. but he's a nice guy.. friendly fellow.. 

In what felt like no time at all.. we landed in LONDON!!!!!!!!  Woo hooo.. and here comes the start of  a great holiday!  I was a little worried about immigration (I always am) but we got through with no issues (my sister even took a fast pass ticket for me!) and next thing I know.. we're on a taxi on the way to Julie's house.  Now Julie is my sister's friend whom she met while Julie was staying in Kuching.  Since then.. Julie has moved to London and Paris (yes, she stays in both cities now) and she's hosting us in her house for the entire trip in London AND in Paris!  Well, in Paris, we stayed at another apartment, but nearby to her place!

It was a LONG ride to her house, but we got there at about 7.30am.. and walked out to find food.. only to find that most places were either still closed.. or closed for that day.. so we ended up in a corner deli.. where I had ham and cheese croissant.. which was heavenly.

When time came... we met up with PrincessBling and hubby (who were staying at Cumberland Hotel) at Selfridges and here comes the on slot of SHOPPING!!!!!!! I got a couple of dresses from Karen Millen and FCUK.. then we walked to Chanel where sis proceeded to buy a gorgeous red caviar patterned bag.. I couldn't find anything I wanted.. so decided not to buy anything.. after all, there was more shopping in Chanel in Paris!  Lunch was held in an Oyster and Champagne bar in Selfridges, where we indulged in champagne, oysters, asparagus (me) and other tid-bits.  Then it was on to more walking!

We ended the night having dinner at Goodman Steak House.. where we had a 5kg lobster.. thus starting my love for the crustacean (never really liked it before) and we had gorgeous steaks there too.. we finished a magnum bottle and a smaller bottle of red wine and never felt better!  After dinner, we met Julie at Princess Victoria (a bistro next to her apartment) for drinks.. and I tried to be polite, but I was crashing.. I literally hit a brick wall.. so I excused myself and went to bed.  PrincessBling and hubby who arrived the night before and therefore had a good night's rest.. stayed on and came back to Julie's place and continued drinking until 2am!  Kudos for lasting so long.. but me and sis were in snoozeland by 9pm.

Ahhh.. day 1.. and I'm loving London already!

SPRING LIVE ACTIVE RUN!!

Recently (ie 2 days ago) we had the 2nd Annual Spring Live Active Run, which features a half marathon, a 10km run, 5km fun run and kid's 1km dash.  Since I took part in the 5km fun run last year, I decided to go ahead with the 10km run this year and boy was I glad that I did.  Firstly, I did it for the medal!  Hahaha.. only 10km and upwards gets you a medal.. secondly, I was the 'watcher' for my bro who couldn't run this year.. so it was up to me to gather information on the race and how it can be improved for next year!

Naturally, I HAD to go shopping to prepare for my run... first thing I bought.. a pair of running shorts from Nike!  I prefer it to the long running tights that I had previously worn (only thing I didn't think about, and luckily it didn't affect me.. was chaffing! hahaha)  Second thing I bought was a handphone armband to put my Blackberry Q10, some cards, cash and my car keys in.. beats carrying a fanny pack any day!  Thirdly I bought this awesome wireless Sony Walkman MP3 player!!  In hot pink!  It's so awesome.. just the headphone and nothing else.. no wires getting in the way.

I didn't get to use it on the run unfortunately.. I couldn't put music in it as it doesn't work in Itunes, and you can't rip out of Itunes, which bugs the hell out of me because I paid for the music, therefore I should be able to do what I want with it right?!?!  So that's my purchases ready for the run.

It was really fun.. me and Riv had butterflies in our stomach before the race.. thinking 'oh no.. what have I gotten myself into?!?!'  It was still dark when our race began (6.15am) and we started out really strong!  about 400m down the line, klutzy me tripped over those small speed bumps.. and almost fell flat on my face.. hope nobody saw that.. but we jogged and overtook people.. and I for one wasn't feeling all that huffy and tired and 'lungs will explode if I don't stop now!'  I was feeling pretty damn good I must say.. until the stitch came around 1.5km later.. arghhhh.. I had to stop cos it was killing me!  So as dramatic as I could.. I told Riv to go on without me (think Titanic moment!) and I walked to the water station at 2km mark and guzzled water which made the stitch go away.. I started jogging again but couldn't find Riv anywhere.. so I started my walking and jogging combo.. and running through all the traffic lights, only because motorists were so impatient these days and policemen were getting frazzled by all the honking.. that.. and I didn't want to die crossing the roads.

I came in at an awesome time of 1 hour and 32 minutes! Yeah baby!  That's like a whole 10 minutes off my previous best at the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon!  It was truly an enjoyable race/run because it took the scenic route through Kuching city.. and it started early enough so that non of us were scorched by the sun.. 

Funny thing was that I came in at the same time as my B-I-L.. I caught up with him at the last 500m (he took part in the fun run) and I was all but happy to walk next to him.. when he decided 'no.. we have to run!' so he pushed me and started running.. so I had no choice but to run together with him.. and it was awesome.. I was so tired.. my legs were burning.. but B-I-L encouraged me and made me go on til we crossed the finished line together.. what an awesome feeling when you finished!

Yes.. I made it.. I got my medal!  (looks like I woke up and forgot to put on pants as well!)  but yes.. that achievement you feel when you receive a medal for it in the end.. it's just beyond your wildest dreams.  And look.. my bib has my lucky number 137 on it :)  I believe that brought me luck throughout my run.
 

These are my colleagues who took part in the run with me.. (except for the Hard Rock lady) and this year, we all did the 10km together.  It was awesome.. real funny when the two colleagues on my either side called me halfway during the run and asked me if I wanted McDonalds (the race goes past the store) and I claimed that I had passed it ages ago.. only then did they realise that I wasn't behind them.. I was in front of them!  Tsk tsk tsk.. guys and their male ego :P

So next year.. attempt the half marathon? :)

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By the way, to the guy who left the comment on my blog about how 10km is NOT a marathon .. dude.. who got your knickers tied in a knot?  Who died and made you the dictionary?  A marathon is 'any long distance race' and frankly.. it's MY opinion that 10km is LONG distance.. but that's just it.. MY opinion.  You can call it whatever you want, and I decide to call it my marathon.  OKAY?  If you don't like it.. don't read my blog!

So exciting!!!

It's been so exciting, counting down to Europe.. which by the way.. is 5 days and counting!  But many things have been exciting leading up to the big trip as well..

Firstly, I bought my first Anya Hindmarch Murano clutch in Silver Glitter for myself (I've bought Anya Hindmarch as gifts, but never for myself!).. I saw it on theoutnet.com and without a moment's hesitation.. purchased it.. it was a pretty good deal too I must say..

Sorry I couldn't find a better picture of this online.. but that's essentially what her Murano clutch looks like.  It's super bling as well, which PrincessBling absolutely adores.  I've used it once and it's the perfect match with any colour outfit you decide to wear (if you're wondering, I matched mine with purple!)

So what's this theoutnet.com?  Well, it's a branch of net-a-porter.com which sells branded goods (mostly clothes and bags) and theoutnet.com sells what net-a-porter.com cannot sell after a year of listing.  Isn't that awesome?  Well, I better trawl through for more bargains.. and look at what I found...

A freaking awesome pair of Tory Burch off-white ballet flats!  How absolutely cute is that?  Well, the insignia on my shoes are white as well as the inside of the shoes.. but that's how the outside looks like.  It's so adorable.. I'm wearing them now to break them in for Europe trip!  It's so adorable that PrincessBling bought the exact same pair as me.. and we were so excited about the purchase that we didn't even think to buy two pairs at once and save on shipping.. instead opting to have it shipped separately to each of our names.. sigh..  but it was such a huge bargain anyway.. 

And the best thing is that it arrived on our doorstep in 4 days (Working days).. how AWESOME is that?  I'm going to shop on this site more often!  But you have to be in quick though, because things sell out really really fast.. but I took it as a sign cos they had exactly TWO size 7 pairs left!

So that's been my shopping splurge for the last few weeks.. 

Coming up in 3 days time is the Spring Live Active Run 2013 (second year running) and I can't wait for it.. I'll be doing the 10km run this year and it's mighty daunting knowing that I haven't really practiced for it.. things always get in the way of training.. such as Happy Hour :P  but I'm confident in finishing it before 2 hours to get my finisher medal!  Let's hope it's as successful as last years.. in fact, the registration doubled from last year's registration, which is an awesome sign.

And in 5 days.. I board a plane to London, UK.. we arrived early in the morning, but luckily we're staying with a friend so we don't have to worry about checkin times.. Highlight of the trip?

• Phantom of the Opera on the 20th June 2013
• Hawksmoor steak dinner on 20th June 2013
• Outlet shopping on 21st June 2013
• Eiffel Tower!!!
• Cabaret show in Paris!!

That's only some of the things that we planned to do in Europe.  I'm so excited!!!!  I feel like jumping up and breaking into a little song and dance.. that's how excited I am.

I'll definitely bring along my camera to document each fantastic moment in Europe and I'll be sure to blog about it upon my return (no way am I bringing a laptop on the journey!)  Let's hope I don't do something dodgy like leave my camera in a cab again! (remember Greece?)

5 days and counting....

Gym has been going great by the way.. am lifting more weights now than before and not feeling half as winded as I used to!  Am definitely on track to get stronger and leaner..lets hope I don't blow it all on indulging in croissants and stuff in Paris!