Day 118/365

 B.R.U.N.C.H

 with Chloe! 

 

Basically, to start of the day (at 10AM), we had a nice heavy brunch consisting of Scrambled Eggs, waffles and french toast at High Frequency.  The food was alright, I didn't try the scrambled eggs but it looks pretty decent from what I see. Waffles were a MAJOR disappointment. Too doughy, and no syrup/honey at all, so it was most definitely dry. Ugh, never ordering that again. French toast was good. Decent. Not enough maple syrup tho. 

Anyway, after brunch, we headed to the cinema to catch The Other Woman (starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Lannister) and it was HILARIOUS! I have not actually watched a good chick flick in forever so I most definitely enjoyed The Other Woman.

We then proceeded to waste time and drove here and there, back to my house and etc and then we got ready for dinner!

 

It was SO GOOD! 

The Golden Couple joined us too! We ate and we laughed and we laughed some more and then at some point, there was cake! and a surprise! 

I was really touched haha. Super not expecting a cake. 

Here's what was written on it:

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

 Chloe slept over and early this morning *read: 7AM* we woke up and did a nice morning swim. 

I am actually so tired. I need to find a way that's easier to transfer all my pictures off my phone to my lappy without having to connect this and that and zzz. SO SIEN. 

Anyway, thankful for the weekend. It's been good to me :) And a lovely (belated) birthday celebration with people who make me laugh. They're the best, I am so blessed and glad to have friends like them. 

Lots of love,

Amelia xo

Day 112/365 - I turned 23!

 

I haven't spent my birthday in Brunei for a good 4 years. So I am so glad to be able to do it here this time round. Year after year I've always hosted parties with different themes so this year was definitely a huge difference for me since I didn't have a party so there were no preparations done beforehand. Hehe 

Had birthday dinner with the fambam and that was nice. Just to have everyone around :) it's been a good while since we've been able to do that actually. 

Then Chloe (with whom I have not spent my birthdays with either) came round to mine after dins with a cake and my birthday present! Thanks love, really appreciated the visit! So blessed to have you as a friend :) 

Here's a picture of me: a fresh 23 year old. Here's to an exciting-dont-know-what-to-expect year!  Right now, I'm at the point in life where I'm just not sure bout lots of things. So fingers crossed for life. Hehe 

A big thank you to everyone who took their time to wish me- through text, and all other forms of social media. I really appreciate it. 

Lots of love,

Amelia xo

What I have done in 2013.

Time for the annual list I make for the end of the year!

Things I have done in 2013:

1. Graduated from the University of Aberdeen! 
2. Turned 22 and celebrated it with the grill and all my lovely friends!
3. Went to Warsaw and Krakow in Poland in March.
4. Went to Hong Kong in August and met up with the love of my life there :) 
5. Went to Berlin, Germany for the third time in February with B. 
6. Went to Hamburg, Germany with Diana and my Parents for my graduation trip. 
7. Went on a road trip in the Scottish Countryside with my parents, B and Diana. 
8. Introduced my dad to my boyfriend!!!
9. Started a long distance relationship since July. 
10. Celebrated our 2nd Year Anniversary. *heart* 
11. Moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
12. Got my first proper job with ChurpChurp. Passed my 3 month probation and made it as full-time staff in December 2013! 
13. Got Pepper the Shih Tzu in August. 
14. Went to a proper Chinese wedding for the first time in my life and then attended another one. 
15. Managed to keep my weight stabilised and even lost a couple of kilos. (maybe put them back on again this month. lol)
16. Paid for my parents dinner with my own earned money!
17. Changed my hair up twice. First time - middle parting. Second time - cut bangs and shoulder length hair. 
18. Went car shopping! haha, and it isn't as easy or fun as it seems like. 
19. Survived living in a room without air conditioning the the Malaysian humidity for 3 months. Then I decided to just be a little less cheap and sacrifice my hard earned money on air condition bills from now onwards. (I hate the heat with everything that I've got.) 
20. Became a lot more confident -- I think. Able to pick up conversations with people and is more comfortable with voicing out. 
21.  Eaten raw clams and prawns. (thanks to Allisan!!) 
22. Gotten extremely extremely drunk and would never like to try that stage of drunkness again. 

Well, to be fair, I don't think I've done many "small" things this year but I'm definitely done bigger things in life this year, for example: Graduating from Uni, moving to Malaysia and getting my first ever proper paying job (well, proper paying is a great understatement, but you get the gist.), and, getting into a long distance relationship with the love of my life. It's all big firsts so I think it's okay that my list is a little short this year :P Means I studied mostly, to graduate. Right?

If you asked me, has 2013 been good to me? I have mixed feelings. In a way, yes, it has been good, it has been a blessed year for me but there were some hard times too and I feel that in 2014, it's going to be just as same. Not the best year or the worst year (maybe, hopefully). In my 22 years of living, 2011 is still the best year I've had. Still waiting on the year that will beat 2011 for me!

No complains though on my side. Just wish Jun was slightly nearer to where I am. Then life would be just a little more stable for me.

So, have a happy new year guys and may 2014 bring all the love and happiness into your life!

xoxo
Amelia

Yearning is a kind of sickness.

I am hoping that this time next year, I will be in a happier state of mind. I am hoping and I am praying and I am wishing.

This time last year, I was getting geared up to head down to London town with Jun, Diana and Cheryl for Big Bang, Duck&waffle, Tonkotsu and Meat liquor.

Just some throwbacks..

And then there's me this year.

*inserts picture of me with haggard looking eyebags and nothing to look forward to*

Hahahahahahahaha.

I am the sort of person that needs to have something to look forward to in life so that I can keep going.

At the moment, everything is kinda blah and the only thing I can look forward to is heading back to Brunei mid-January and then CNY break with my parents.

Yeah.

But even that's still a month and a half away.

For the month of December...... practically nothing.

This sucks.

Going to head over for a Facial sesh this afternoon with Hazel and hoping to squeeze in Frozen at the cinema too. I am just so tired and I've been sleeping so dangerously close to the side of the bed that I always wake up in the morning because I feel like I'm falling over (because I was falling over-- that's how close I have been sleeping to the side of the bed).

dafuq right.

Need to move to my own room ASAP. Although, I am a little worried cause there is no air-con and no fan in the room. NO AIR-CON and NO FAN. FML. I have a little standing fan that I am pretty will NOT keep the sweating at bay.

tis' the ghetto part of life.

Haih.

So much to do and so little time to do. But positive side, time moves pretty pretty swiftly when there's lots of crap to get down. So thank goodness for that.

Hope everyone has a better December than I will!

xoxo
Amelia. 

In 2012,

My annual end of year summary of what I have done in 2012!

• Cities I have travelled to: Berlin (for New year 2012), Buxton, Copenhagen, Lund, Malmo, Kristianstad, Stockholm, Frankfurt, BSB, Kota Kinabalu, Amsterdam, Burges, Luxembourg, London (several times), Glasgow and Edinburgh. (Both of which several times as well)
• Turned 21 and had a smashing celebration for it.
• Celebrated Jun and my first anniversary. 
• Got a hamster for the flat in October: Cleo.
• Started going to the gym seriously and broke some personal records for the treadmill and started weight lifting which resulted in muscles in the arm and was really really excited. 
• Stayed within a weight range the entire year/ did not put on excessive amount of weight. Usually fluctuated between 53 and 55kg.
• Started my first job as a Catering Assistant for the University and earned my first paycheck in October! Learned a lot of new things that I didn't know I was capable of. :) 
• My cooking got better and I tried making new dishes. 
• Exercised my chinese language more and been progressing with my Cantonese, mandarin and hokkien. 
• Started a mandarin course in Uni and have been coping quite decently. 
• Sinda came to visit Brunei in June and I am proud to say that I was able to fulfil 3 weeks of bringing her around Brunei and being proud of the country that I grew up in. Also, spent an amazing weekend in KK with her and my family.
• Bought too much make-up and have come to the realization that I cannot buy anymore. One can only have one too many eye palettes and eyeliners. Lol and lipstick. :P That said, I have gotten better at make-up and I find joy in putting it on, on a daily basis. 
• Permed my hair and let it grow out- best decision ever. I LOVE MY HAIR. lol 
• Managed to fit into a size 6 Miss Selfridges dress although on average I am a UK size 10 and occasionally able to fit into UK size 8. My goal in life is to fit into a UK size 8 comfortably and even better a UK size 6 (but this will require me to be sub 45kg and I think I still have a long long way to get there. lol)

To be fair, 2012 hasn't been the worst for me but hasn't been the greatest either simply because for some reason this year, I fell into a lot of dark holes and it was difficult for me to cope which resulted me in minor depression from time to time. However, I will and am hoping to change that for 2013. I have bought a journal to write in it and to remind myself of all the things I can be grateful for in life and hopefully it will lift my spirits in time and keep my emotions in check. Also, I promise to write and update this blog more often. :)

Let's all make 2013 our year!!!

Happy New Year 

to all my readers, old and new.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

xoxo,
Amelia :) 

Christmas Eve Dinner 2012

Hello Everyone!!! 

Last night Cheryl and I went to the Granite Park for our Christmas Eve dinner! It was a three course meal with tea and coffee for £34 per person! I think the meal was marvelous and so very delicious! It was SO filling, oh my days, after eating everything I didn't think I could move anymore but Cheryl says that is the whole point of Christmas dinners! hehe 

Here are some pictures from our dinner out! We ate for a total of 3.5 hours. Amazing or whut! hehehe

My dinner date for the evening!

The Amuse bouche that was presented to us, smoked salmon creme in a tart with we don't know what on the top. It was delicious nonetheless. We were also served a warm homemade basil roll with flavoured butter.

My Starter:

Confit of duck and white bean terrine, Celeriac remoulade, thyme crostini, truffle vinaigrette.

I was quite weary about ordering this for my starter as I wasn't too keen on the thought of eating a terrine (in my mind, a terrine is a jellyfied meat) but I am glad I did. This didn't have any jelly feeling to it and it just felt like I was eating lots and lots of yummy duck meat packed into a rectangle shape with white beans! The remoulade was super super delicious and went with the terrine so well. It was definitely a very rich dish.

 Cheryl's Starter:

Ballontine of salmon, Pickled cucumber, horseradish cream, chive and avruga dressing.

Acc. to Cheryl, it was very balanced and the pickled cucumbers made the whole dish very refreshing. That Ballontine of Salmon is basically cooked salmon meat rolled up in a piece of smoked salmon which was very delicious! 

 

Our Mains:

Roast sirloin of Scotch beef, Creamed potatoes, French beans, port jus

I know it doesn't look like much but oh my days, after we were done with this we basically struggled with our dessert! The beef was fantastically done! I asked for mine to be medium well and it came out well done on the outside but in the center of the piece of beef it was still slightly pink. It was definitely a joy to eat it.  Cheryl had hers a little pink just the way she liked it and was very satisfied with it as well. We asked for extra port jus and also horseradish was given to us to eat with the beef fillet. The creamed potatoes were lovely and the vegetables were all done to perfection. DISH WELL DONE *stars*

 

Our Dessert:

White chocolate, banana and popcorn cheesecake, Dark chocolate and hazelnut liqueur drizzle.

First off, let me say, the picture does it no justice. The portion was HUGE. It was a really big piece of cake and since Cheryl and I both had a slice, we were pretty much done by the end of the meal. It was DELICIOUS. I am not the biggest fan of cheesecake myself but this was very well done! :) The cheesey part was very light and fluffy with the slightest hint of banana and popcorn so that was delightful and it was so nice to have bits of white chocolate and popcorn all around the dish. The slab of cream on the top was also very much appreciated.

 

The meal ended with a pot of tea for the both of us (green tea for Cheryl and peppermint tea for me) as well as homemade chocolate mints-- which was basically homemade mentos. IT WAS FREAKING LOVELY! I wish I could buy a box home. I am a crazy person for mint chocolate!!!!! lol We also had our meal with a lovely bottle of red that was so smooth and light and a dream to drink! 

That's our Xmas eve dinner! Tonight for Christmas we are roasting chicken legs with assorted roasted vegetables, gravy and potato rosti. For dessert we are having apple crumble! I am typing this as the chicken legs are roasting so I am definitely excited for the meal! :D 

Also, attended a Christmas mass in a beautiful church this morning with Cheryl and it was definitely a lovely experience. I've been to churches here before but never on christmas and it was really nice to sing along to all the christmas carols in such a beautiful church! 

Anyway, I hope all of you had and are having a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

FROM THE LAU AND LIN HOUSEHOLD!!!

 

And our beautiful Cleo *heart*

xoxo,

Amelia

21st BIRTHDAY PARTY

I had an excellent time turning 21 this year! I knew I adored birthdays for a reason.

(^_^)

Allisan did a magnificent job sprucing up our flat and she did it all without me knowing! (i.e over the night) so I woke up and discovered myself in a whole new world. The theme I had chosen (and when I say theme I meant the choice of food items that I was going to make) was mexican, cause who doesn't like mexican food, right? (^_^) 

We made guacamole, salsa, mexican spirals (filled with shredded roast chicken and cream cheese), spiced potato wedges, fajitas (with the options of either vegetables or pulled pork) as well as some special "cocktails" that whipped up hehehe. I love cooking, I really do. The pulled pork took about 6 hours to make but it was all worth it really, it is so heartwarming to see people enjoying the food you make. (^_^)

Unfortunately I didn't take that many pictures of the food :( But yes, if I must say so myself, it was quite a spread. hehe

The girl that made so much happen! Thank you Allisan, without whom lots of things probably wouldn't happened the way it did :)

I am such a lucky girl.I received two cakes this year both from Allisan! One a huge ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins in the shape of a key filled with one of my fav flavours and another a victorian sponge cake in the shape of my dream bag a.k.a Miu Miu vitello lux. :D I was very surprised and so happy lah. Omg.

GROUP PHOTO! (^_^)

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On the day of my birthday, I just had a lovely day spent with approx 4 important people :)

Allisan, Jun, Diana and Cheryl. 

We also went to watch BattleShip which was a really good movie IMO. Hehe and it has the added bonus of Alexander Skarsgard so yes. :) ehe

At night, we had home cooked dinner which consisted of duck confit, potatoes and a roast chicken pasta bake. Satisfying and good! hehe 

I had such an amazing weekend, thank you to everyone who made it possible. 

Hehe. I LOVE BIRTHDAYS! So annoying that it's only once annually huh :P 

Also, thank you to everyone who bothered to text, whatsapp, call, facebook, twitter. Very much appreciated really! 

Lots of love,

Amelia