AMR Invasion!

Woah, I just realized I HAVEN'T BLOGGED ABOUT MY MOST RECENT VISITORS!!!! Considering I've been wanting these guys to visit the minute I moved here, you would've thunk I'd remember to document this momentous occasion the minute they left! 

But anyway yes... so a few days after arriving from Thailand, I cleaned up, stocked up the fridge and turned my loft into a big bedroom in preparation for AMR's arrival.

A&M only stayed for a few days; so in those few days we packed in the itinerary. They wandered about on their own during the weekdays and we would meet up in the evening. I brought them to many of the restaurants places I've been wanting to share with them since I first experienced them, as well as explored some new places together for the first time. 

The pace slowed down a little with only R around. She extended for a bit wherein she bummed and explored on her own as well as with friends. She got to do a lot of soul searching and well.. it seems to have serendipitously opened up some doors for her in the process. 

It was ridiculously awesome having them come and step into my every day reality. Sooner or later (sooner for some!) though, we'll all get to live in the same reality again and it will be brilliant! 

Can't wait! 

Credit to M for many of the photos in this post! 

Mozza Pizzeria never fails me

Jurong Bird Park for the first time! It was.. full of birds

Last pic before M & A flew back to Manila

With my family... ran into other visiting family! 

Silly silly

Dindin with family

Making our way to the Night Safari!

Another favorite

You can't leave SG without having some of this

Dindin with my friends

Class A sandwiches with M around! 

Got to bring them to my favorite Indian resto!

Bugis walking

Joanna + Joanno 

Indo with old JKT friends

Margaritas & Mexican with R

A Lofty Farewell

Bidding an unexpected farewell to my lovely loft. Will definitely miss the bright natural sunlight that streams in during the daytime, the cozy and quiet weekends, the beautiful parquet flooring, the airy high ceilings, the 4 solid walls of the bathroom, my very lived-in living room and all the little touches I've added here and there to make it  home. 

But as they say, with endings comes new beginnings. So looking forward to making a home with my new roomie (who celebrates her 22nd bday today!); to the sharing of comfortable silences and what will surely be many crazy moments, to learning together and from each other.

Forward ho! 

Measure Your Life..

... in rolls of toilet paper.

I have just bought my 3rd Kleenex megapack. I megapack holds 20 rolls of toilet paper.

So that means, since I've moved in (and I'm celebrating a year in my home!), 40 rolls of toilet paper have passed through my studio.

Bow.

Checking In

My vacay in Thailand felt like eons ago when in reality it was only about 2 weeks ago. 

Weekend after I arrived, my family came to visit so hosting duties doubled by franctic work me knocked the wind out of me. 

One last push this week with work looking to peak (ie: one man team at work!!! but new team mate joining the week after) and R flying back home. After that, I'm looking forward to a month of no major schedule commitments; my wallet and sanity are crying out for calm routine! For those that know me, you know I go a little crazy if I don't get regular time alone time to chill and re-energize!

With many commitments planned late last year, I knew this quarter and a half were going to be mad. Weddings, trips, family and friends visiting - I was excited for the longest time for all of them to happen and couldn't wait for them to happen! With all that anticipation, it's strange to think that it's all over.

Years ago, I could only daydream about what would be coming up next. I don't know if it's the age or the independence, but it's nice to be able map out my life. And when I say map, I mean planning it knowing that it can actually happen, as opposed to day dreaming and hoping it will come true. 

R is out for the afternoon which means I not only have my computer back, but have about half a day to do my favorite thing in the world - roll around and putter at home by myself. Reading, sorting photos, catching up with answering email, blogging, cleaning - can't wait!!!

Due to frequent use, these babies have been living downstairs and out of hiding
over the last few months. Happy to have finally put them away last week,
at least until the next trip in July!

Travel Munimuni

I was supposed to be on my way to Beijing yesterday evening. But Jetstar closed the flight so instead of flying out earlier, I opted to fly out tonight. Was livid at the time they moved my flight, but now, very glad it happened.

It's been really lovely to have a day to myself. It would've been awesome to wake up to stormy weather, but got my wish a few hours later anyway when it started to rain. In my effort to set routines and get enough sleep, I slept at midnight and got up at 8 am. Without the conscious effort, I would've been asleep by 3 am and up at noon! But yup, puttered around in the morning- cleaned, packed, did some work for the office, had breakfast, read, even napped! When I was done with my puttering, I was happy to realize that there was still so much of the day left! *squee*

I generally like flying out at end of a workday (ie: go straight from work to the airport), and used to do the same coming back in (ie: go straight from the airport to work). Traveling has always been such a sought after luxury for me that I like to maximise my time out. Explains why I generally like a full itinerary when I travel - especially on trips where you're visiting somewhere for the first time and you only have a few days to explore.

Not to say I don't like traveling less.. manically. I love it in fact - you feel well rested and you don't come back needing a vacation from your vacation. Alas, still so many places to see, and not enough time (ie: leaves!) in the year to do so!  In the meantime, will maybe try to bookend my trips with a little quiet time before jumping back into the daily grind.

Travel Gadget

I wanted one ever since I saw CCE's.

The only one I found in SG was a manual (thanks to Mom & Tima's scouring in Mustafa).  While a great help, a little more difficult to check if you're living by yourself.

On a flight back to SG from MNL, finally found an electronic one being sold onflight. I couldn't help it- I bought one.

More and more I prefer not to check anything in (1. my trips are quick so I don't need to bring too much, 2. it's the fastest way to get in and out of an airport, 3. i'm too cheap to pay the extra cost for check in baggage), so keeping things below 7 to 10 kg has always been a bit of a challenge (especially when you get 100 and 1 bilins to bring things home).  I guesstimated it in the past (yes - a weighing scale is one of many more things I don't deem as necessary to have at home), but with these little gadgets, I'll know right away.

Love little things like that this make your life simpler!

Beautiful Bohol

This trip to Bohol was originally booked for July last year. But with my move and engagements that came up for my sisters, we had to forgo our tickets.

It would've been real easy to forever forgo the trip. Everyone gets busy, other financial commitments take priority.. list of excuses would have naturally popped up. Thankfully, this wasn't the case for my sisters and I, and we rebooked the trip for sooner rather than later. 

It was the first time we three traveled without our parents - though come to think of it, I don't even remember the last time us 5 traveled together! Anywho - while I thought my sisters and I would end up strangling each other in between moments of great fun, I was surprised to find that traveling together felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. 

I was quite excited to see Bohol as I've heard nothing but lovely things about this Philippine must see destination. Thankfully it wasn't as crazy or as commercial as the likes of Boracay, and hopefully it stays that way. The place certainly has it's own quaint charm and does a great job of balancing accessiblity for foreigners without completely loosing it's realness.

Would love to make a yearly tradition of traveling with my sisters (and no girls, visiting me in SG does not count as a travel trip together!). Definitely looking forward to the next one!

Pics below come from myself as well as my sisters

Nesting

My living space is a bit tricky - its long and narrow with high white walls. I can't do much to the physical structure unless I want to pay lots of money to bring it back to its original form the day I move out. 

When I first moved into my studio I did one trip to Ikea to buy what I deemed as essentials. Yes, disclaimer lang because I know many are still amusingly shocked that I "survived" months without a mug (bowls did just fine until someone at work took pity on me and gave me a mug, lol), a trashcan (pwede na plastic underneath my sink noh) and a few other things. If I can stuff a pillow case with laundry and use it as a pillow, then you bet I can get used to living simply ;)

Anywho - after half year of living with "bare essentials" - I made a trip back to Ikea to buy a few more things to make my studio more homey. I've always loved my little space, but I love it more now. Perfect for a homebody like me!

I've hosted a few people in my Singapore home (6x to date!) over the last 8 months I've lived here. One of the deciding factors for me in blowing my initial budget and getting my own little space (as opposed to sharing a larger flat with others) was the possibility of having family and friends visit and stay over. Tomorrow, 2 new guests will be arriving - my mom and my tita! First time family will be visiting actually and first time I'll have 2 people over at the same time. 

Palazzito P (yes - hostel chain of Palazzo Plazo, lol) will be full house! It'll be a little tight - I managed to fit a queen-size air mattress in a space as big as the air mattress -  but it'll (hopefully) still be comfortable. I've lived in tighter "happy houses" and it's always been a lot of fun. Trial and error for when Palazzito P reaches maximum capacity in May when my A, M & R come and visit!

I'm trying to keep my "stuff" at a minimum though - less clutter is good for my life and my sunday cleaning days! I'm just waiting for a few more things for my wall and then I think I'll be done - for now :) 

Sorry naman, I've filed away the original photo - so screenshot from PDF will have to do!
Snapped this picture when I was first deciding on whether or not to get it.

Few more pieces to home-ify the place

A little nature to green up the place

Living area transformed into a 2nd sleeping space