1649 days. That’s 2,374,560 minutes – and in this time, I cannot begin to count the number of times you’ve made me cry, but of this I’m sure: every single day you make me laugh. And for that, I Love You and I hope I’ll want to love you till my heart stops (or till you put a restraining order on me, whichever comes first!)

Happy Everyday-Is-Valentines-Day, my love x

A chronicle of us, at 1649 days, I hope we look back fondly one day, and smile:

We almost never wake up early enough to have breakfast, and more often than not, we miss the cut-off time for lunch last order, but that’s okay, because we’re quite happy with lazy lunches at Ghim Moh or Maxwell Market.

We see each other most every day, and it’s been three years since we’ve traveled anywhere without each other. I don’t think I could ever go back to doing long distance with you.

You text me every morning when you wake up, or if you’ve overslept and are in a rush, then while you’re driving to school. We text more than we speak on the phone, but sometimes, you surprise me with a face-time call.

And of surprises – you’re not the world’s most vocal or romantic, but you surprise me all the same, all the time, with the little things you do. Leaving for home, then driving right back to me. Suppers. Parties. Dinners. 3-worded love letters on scraps of recycled lecture notes. And I love them all.

We get annoyed with each other once in a while, impatient. But we hardly ever fight, and we almost never raise our voices. If there’s conflict, it usually occurs over the slightest, silliest things, like me repeatedly asking “are you okay?”, and subconsciously, we seem to have made it a habit not to be upset with each other for longer than an hour.

We split our time together between your family, my family and our friends – and we barely have time for us alone, but for the most part, we’re happy snuggled under the sheets watching “television” on our 13-15″ computer screens or singing along to The National as we drive along in your car.

Some days I sleep at yours, most days you sleep at mine. We’re okay sleeping apart, but someday we’d like to never have to leave after goodnight x

Salad / Burnt Butter Wild Mushrooms with Roquefort Cheese, Caramelized Walnuts & Truffle Oil

Some weeks ago, we made a little trip to Kuala Lumpur with the pals. On our last night, we stumbled upon Ben’s. The menu was refreshing & exciting, the decor subtly elegant and the food turned out pretty tasty- the spaghetti was done perfectly al dente, and the desserts were happily not-too-sweet. The salad was warm and inviting and comforting, crisp leaves and warm melty mushrooms.

This coming from someone who’s neither a sweet tooth nor a salad fan. And we simple couldn’t believe the prices: main-courses we chose were priced around SGD10plus. We each had a main course and a drink, and we all shared a starter, a salad and 3 desserts. The final bill came up to an average of SGD15 per person, tax and service charge included.

The restaurant also thoughtfully provided free wi-fi and little “table topic” cards with questions like “What’s the most embarrassing trend you’ve ever followed” or “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be”. We lingered for the longest time, basking in the good food and happy company. It’s the kind of place we would “haunt”, if only it were in Singapore. Inexpensive, delicious, adventurous but most importantly, unpretentious x

Spaghetti / Soft Shell Crab, Curry Leaves & Chilli Padi

Toffee Date Pudding / Butterscotch Sauce & Vanilla Ice Cream

Apple Crumble / Vanilla Ice Cream

(Pictures taken at Sentosa Flower Show 2012)

This existence we call life propels at such an astonishing speed that sometimes, the world seems to pass me by in such a flurry – days have passed into weeks, and weeks into months. How is it already February?

I know, there are a million people to see, places to go, things to do- and for the most part, I’m as happy as can be, but I think I’d like a moment to stop and breathe for awhile. To find that direction I seem to have lost, to rediscover the inspiration I so desperately need. To catch my breath & find myself again, amidst this happy hustle and bustle.

Save me, and I will save you x

(Blue Lace Dress, Bloodbuzz / Pearl & Leather Cuff, Juicy Couture / Mustache Ring, Harajuku Tokyo / Pearl & Gold Ring, Christian Dior /  Bag, Louis Vuitton / Blue Suede Pumps, Harajuku Tokyo)

Velvet Lounge: Bellinis, bottles of whiskey & glasses that miraculously fill themselves, 2 snack baskets & countless cups of $1 cheese dips. Just the few of us, but the music was dope and we had fun x

(Red Chiffon Midi Dress, Topshop / Blue Cardigan, H&M / Wishbone Necklace, Marc Jacobs / Fedora, Portobello Market London /  Sunnies, Burberry / Bag, Louis Vuitton Monogram Noè / Ballerina Flats, Massimo Dutti  )

While I’d like to say that fashion cafes are usually just a very clever PR gimmick, I have to admit that the cakes at agnès b. LE PAIN GRILLÉ are genuinely lovely –  light & just the right amount of sweet!

On another note, we’re flying to KL tomorrow for a short getaway with the pals! Have a good weekend, everyone xx

Hong Kong – the maiden voyage of the new year & the fifth time we’re there in less than 12 months. We spent the first week of 2012 in the Asian shopping mecca filling up on old school trolley-cart dim-sum & street side delicacies. Fell miserably ill- but even that was fun, holed up in our delightful hotel suite watching pay-per-view on surround sound, digesting documentaries on snow leopards, fighting to keep our eyes open and then falling asleep with you. It would be quite nice to improve on my half-arsed Cantonese.

It’s good to be home, and I’m spending my next few days curled up in a ball under the sheets, with a myriad of teas and some crisp new books. It’s just what the doctor ordered x

I’m not usually big on colour, but the red/blue/cream of the sweater, at SGD20, was too adorable to resist. Worn over multiple layers of heat-tech tees, paired with my tatty denim shorts and patent leather oxfords. It’s 13 degrees out- the cold weather and too much deep fried goodness means we’re all falling ill. I miss those strawberry strepsils – why only London?

Flying to the (arguably) busiest Asian city under the pretext of rest & relax- the irony is not lost on me.

Let’s play a game – leave a comment guessing the city I’m in, and I’ll bring home a little surprise gift for a random reader who gets it right! You don’t even have to be in Singapore- there’s nothing quite as exciting as snail mail. Lots of love xx