This year's Lunar New Year was quite rush for me, with eve of CNY landing on a Sunday. Essentially, we only have 2 days off, Monday and Tuesday and I will be back to work on Wednesday. It is not possible for me to apply leave as the boss is away for in camp training till the end of the month, and my colleague went back to Malaysia for the whole week to celebrate CNY with her family as well. Thus, I knew I will have a very hectic week ahead when I return to work on Wednesday. Nonetheless, though the holiday was short, the time spent was memorable and I cherish every single moment spent with my loved ones. So here are some long awaited pictures!
So, on the eve of Lunar New Year Eve, Breadman and I decided to head to Chinatown and squeeze with the crowds! Every time of this year, I will try to go there as it has the new year "feel". I feel happier when I am there, even though it meant coming right up close and personal with others. Well, that's the norm and I have nothing to complain about although my tolerance level for sweaty bodies can be kind of low. Beware of pickpockets and cheeky fellas who might otherwise take the chance to "touch and go." My intention was to get some last min bargains from there, as new year goodies' prices will drop when it is nearing the end. Eventually, I bought 5 packets of flavoured groundnuts at 5 packets for $10! To me, that's a bargain! I especially love the garlic flavoured ones. I still cant figure out how did the nuts get flavoured in the first place. Scratches head*
Here are some beautiful pictures of the lighted displays. I am auntie and I am actually an oldie trapped in this youthful body, so such things definitely appeal to me.
As it is the eve of Lunar New Year Eve, there was a life rehearsal of the performance for the countdown session scheduled to take place the next day.
Didn't manage to capture the rest of the displays as there were too many people blocking my view.
So fast forward to Lunar New Year Eve! I had my first reunion dinner at Breadman's uncle's house. To be exact, it was a reunion lunch. Did not eat much as I had to have another reunion meal at my parents' place at night, so gonna save some stomach space.
So this is my outfit of the day for Lunar New Year Eve! Red top with silly looking bows $23.50 (I bought it last min on that day itself as the outfit I prepared for that day had a strange stain that could not be washed). Flare skorts from Dafuni $59.90. My bunny candy clutch from Taobao! This cutesy bag costs less than $10. Breadman's aunt thought it was a cushion and tried to cuddle it. Wahaha. That's Breadman looking really awkward with the clutch. Haha.
This is a pic of us at his uncle's house. His house is really really clean! I love the white and blue theme of the house. I look so fair in this photo! Well, uncle's camera does wonders!
Day 1 Outfit of the Day! I am wearing my old cardigan, new dress from Fresh from Bugis Street $20, Itti and Otto shoes given by sister, hmm I think she just wore it once, Watermelon Clutch from Taobao. I am carrying yet another qwerky looking bag! Yes, this bag is meant to catch others' attention and is a good conversation starter. It looks really cute, but cant put much stuff lah. That's the downside of clutches. I have a love hate relationship with them. I have many clutches, but not all are useful to me.
Everyone in this pic! His cousins are easy to get along with and warm up to strangers easily. I find myself playing card games and mahjong with them at ease. No jitters. I like Jean especially, because she is real, friendly and humorous. You know there are some girls who are really pretentious when you first meet them? Yep, Jean is directly opposite from them.
With his family. I like my face in this picture! FYI, I used bronzer and the "3" shading technique to sharpen my face. Haha. Of course, I applied my Bio Essence face lifting cream as the moisturizer prior to applying any make up. It is really good at giving me the V-look! I swear by it these days and have been a loyal user since my Uni days, which is like years ago! Wow. Bio Essence, I can be your spokesperson!
Before that, I went visiting at cousin's house. She reminded me about the special effects i got on my Sony phone! Haha, I really forgot about it. The thing I look most forward to during Lunar New Year is when I get to take pics with the cousin! Yes, sadly speaking, it is not about meeting other relatives, because our relationship with them has not been that close. There is always the awkward silence when meeting other cousins and the mandatory questions: "What are you working as? When you settling down?" The list goes on. I should count my blessings that my relationship with my cousin has been amicable so far, with us hitting milestones in our lives. It is good that she is always one step ahead of me, so she can let me know her experiences when my turn comes.
I love this one as well! Silly and cute, as always!
I totally suck at facial expressions, that's why I cant act. Haha. It is always the open eye open mouth look for me while for cousin, she can really get into the act well. Look at those piercing eyes... Hahah. X-MEN!
So this marks the end of Day 1.
For Day 2, I went house-hopping, firstly to eldest sis's house at the west, then to second sis's house at the north, and the lastly to third sis's house at East. Here's a pic of my siblings and I. We all do look alike. Scary! I am wearing my green bowler hat for the first time around! Sister chided me and said I 带绿帽! For my non-chinese readers, the act of wearing a green hat (for males) means that this guy has been made a cuckhold of, by his partner. Haha, well at least I am not a guy, so it is ok for me to don this hat.
Day 2 Outfit of the Day! Bowler hat from H&M that I bought last year $19.90. Green top from Hue $35. Green pants from G2000 $26 (This is really a seriously huge bargain! Usually it costs like $50 and above?) It is so cheap, thus I got 2 more colours, purple and blue. I am someone who loves to wear pants of striking colours. Also, I am carrying another old watermelon bag of mine! This is definitely more functional than the previous watermelon box clutch. I could stuff more things in it and need not worry about breaking any clasp, just like from the box clutch. If you notice, I am fully donned in my favourite color from head to toe! Green! I love green, I love mint, I hope I can be lean and thin. Ok, that's a dumb poem. Haha. Well, at least it rhymes? Breadman is wearing red, thus compatible with my green outfit. Watermelonish colours!
Cousin then came to my second sister's house and here's one of my favourite pics we took! There is something serene about black and white photos. It's strange...
Hahaha, my mom and her purple mustache. Courtesy of the special effects once again!
Happy faces! I love taking photographs because it captures the most beautiful moments of my life. Most of the time, we are smiling in photographs and I hope everyone can continue to smile, amidst the tough times. Probably it's masking of emotions, but well, at least you feel good when you look back at these pictures next time.
I just had Lohei with the family as it is the 7th day of Lunar New Year. Ren Ri, which signifies everyone's birthday! Happy birthday to everyone! This year, due to the sashimi scare, we replaced that with shredded chicken! It tasted good as well.
I shall end of the post by wishing everyone a Happy Year of the Monkey! Have a good year ahead. I did not bothered to edit most pictures (only less than 5 pics are edited here, you can see I did not even crop some pics) because sometimes I think to myself, why bother editing to make yourself look like someone you are not, just to get approval from others? It's strange, but editing apps are changing the way everyone view themselves. Hmm.. Thus, for this post, I have not used my fav pic editor picmonkey yet. Back to work tomorrow (FYI I also worked today, on Valentines' Day), hope all's fine tomorrow!
It is indeed therapeutic to write. Feels good to write such a long post after so long. Next entry shall be on my advanced Valentines' Day celebration. Cheers!
