beloved bel

Like an answered prayer, the snow finally arrived in London last night. I was so excited and kept peering out of the window.. finally this morning at 6.30am, I woke up and saw that it has started :) And M woke up at the same time exclaiming out loud "It's snowing!!" On my way to work, the snow was more sleet-ish (semi-snow form.. so half ice half snow) and very heavy. With the winds blowing towards me, my whole jacket almost turned all white and I felt like I was walking in a snow globe. A very well shaken snow globe. Not complaining since I was wishing so much for the snow to come! Our backyard at evening time And guess what, now it's 11pm and it hasn't stopped snowing ever since! I just spent a good half hour just sitting in the dark bedroom looking out of the window, mesmerised by the falling snow. Big pieces, small flurry pieces falling falling... floating floating... oh how beautiful. From my second storey bedroom, I can see how much snow is accumulat...

I met up with dear Sabrina last Thursday for dinner for a catch up and it was really good to see her again, and we talked so much that time just flew by. In fact I think that was like the longest conversation we've ever had. And because we still had so much to talk about, she invited me over for a German breakfast this past Sunday morning. Didn't quite know what to get them so I got them a bunch of pretty flowers :) Nah, it has been her intention to host a German breakfast for her flatmates and she kindly invited me to join in as well. And oh what a bunch of lovely people to send a freezing Sunday morning with. brrr ... See the partially frozen water in the canal? Makes me think fondly of my previous flat.. I am pretty sure the dock is frozen too, and like these birds, they are all walking on the ice wondering what happened overnight. What a spread... breakfast for 4 but portions was meant for... like 8! Very yummy. Must say our conversation varied from the c...

It is winter once again. I called home yesterday and my grandma asked me "is it very cold there?" To which I said yes, and she said in a very exasperated and unbelievable tone "Does it only get hot for a few days in a year?! Cold again?!" To which I laughed and felt like saying yes too. Personally I do prefer cold to hot. I know it sounds weird but that is me especially after spending most of my life in hot and humid Singapore. I love having four seasons. It makes the year go past faster for some reason. I can moan about how cold it is during winter, but deep deep down, I kinda enjoy it. And when the snow comes, I will go "ahhh.. it is all worth it." So it has been freezing cold for the past few days and I feel like I am walking in a big freezer these days. But sigh, the sad part is that almost everywhere in the UK has been snowing like crazy except London! :( *boohoo* Every morning I peek outside the window hoping to see a white blanket but.. noth...

Recently I met this new friend, a fellow Singaporean. Not only that, a fellow heartlander from Bishan!! We realise that we live blocks away from each other and even attended the same primary school! Can you imagine my excitement?! So kind as she was, J invited me to her place in the posh neighbourhood of Warwick Avenue, also known as Little Venice, all the way over in the west side of London. An area which is almost out of bounds to me because it's just too far away. I am an East London girl now. Her place is all things flowery and pretty, like her couch which looks so inviting. That warm quilt in winter is just perfect! She also invited a fellow Singaporean girl, also name starting with J (oh no I realise this might get confusing now), and cooked a lovely French dinner for us, starting with onion soup and Coq Au Vin (chicken in red wine sauce). I contributed too!- by buying a lemon cheesecake from M&S hehe. We chatted while she cooked away happily, and her cooking soon st...

Following on the hen party we had last month, in the twinkling of an eye, our dear Gabby got married last Saturday. It was especially exciting for me because I had the honour to share this special day with her and Ben by being one of her bridesmaids! She had 7 in total, with 3 from her home of Ecuador, and 3 English, and hehe I was the odd one out being the only Asian girl amongst her entourage. I had my first hand experience of an English-Spanish wedding and it was so so nice. A really happy day indeed. Initially I didn't know what to expect and was quite nervous, but everything went on well, I didn't trip and fall when I walked down the aisle ;) whew. (and some kind soul told me "don't worry, you are not the centre of attraction you know..." Thanks man, I feel so good hahaha) So, let the pictures roll! We reached the hotel to get ready with her in the morning. We should have expected her entourage from Ecuador to be there too, but oh well, the more ...

Back in Dubvronik, we made our way to Orebic, a town by the Adriatic sea, facing Korcula (Kor-tchu-la) island, one of the many islands on the western coast. We had to take the bus and it was pouring heavily. Sigh when we reached there, we could barely get to the hotel and as we were the last passengers, the bus driver kindly drove us to our hotel, with us paying him extra of course. We couldn't even see Korcula island in the distance, which was very worrying. After the rain I was really worried and kept praying for the rain to stop because we could only take the ferry from Korcula to Split the next day, and that was the last ferry for the summer! What if we missed the ferry... actually, no we cannot miss it. Because there was no option 2. And it was really an answered prayer coz the rain really stopped the next day (reminded me of Jesus calming the storm hehe), and we could take the ferry over and finally made our way up the huge Jadralina ferry for our 5h ride to Split. The...