A one carat surprise...

ESTAMOS ENAMORADOS!!!

The love of my life just made me the world's happiest and luckiest woman - he popped the question! never in my wildest dream would I ever have thought that in my solo journey round the world to search for a calling in life... would I have found it when I met a man like Emmanuel towards the end of my trip. He is what I would say "Saving the best for Last"...

He went through thorough research and meticulous planning for this surprise and I almost ruined it for him. You see, my horoscope predicted that I would get engaged or married in May. And I believe in this shit ;p THEN...he asked me for my ring size and pretended to massage my ring finger(keke..yes, he did) Just a few signs of what is to come. THEN...he threw me off track with a birthday present from Tiffany's...a RING! Hmmm....it worked cos' I really thought I had misread it all this time. THEN...on Wed he surprised me by taking 2days off to bring me to a surprise location...and I thought we were going camping or hiking. In the end, we stopped at Hawk's Nest beach and the surprise location is a rustic summer house right at the beach. I was still oblivious to all that and only at night when he popped the question and dazzled me with the ring did I then fully realise what is happening. *swoon* Tiffany's was a decoy and this is the real thing...and he touched my heart by going through so much to show his love. How could a girl say no to this? ;p

My big teddy bear is the sweetest on earth! After all this, now he is more knowledgeable than me about the quality, clarity, cut and brilliance of a diamond!!! Haha... This teddy is one in a million, I say. And I am glad we had found each other.

Moped around Block Island!

We spent a lovely weekend in mid-May at Block Island, one of the most preserved nature reserves in new England and also boasting heritage English inspired houses complete with flowered wallpapered walls and rocking chairs on front porch. The rent for the bicycles were a rip-off for rich New Yorkers or Connecticutians so we decided to pay more for a moped instead.

Highlight: We spotted a white-tail deer in Fresh Pond area! My first Bambi!


To see more gorgeous pics and read more about our wonderful escapade to Block Island(located off Rhode Island), visit my travelogue

To end off the wonderful weekend, we kidnapped a 3pounds lobster from the harbour and held it ransom to the pot of boiling water...and devoured it. With butter and salt. YUMZ!!!!

I Love HAIRSPRAY!!!

I won the LOTTERY!!!

Nope, it is not the US$50million draw of the year but I won the lottery to buy tickets to watch HAIRSPRAY on BROADWAY! US$25 for front row tix and as a bonus, I even got a chance to look up the singers' twirling skirts as well...erm...some are not very pleasant to look at, I must admit. A winner of 8 Tony Awards, the entire theatre stood up in awe and ovation towards the end of the show and even I felt like twirling too. Half the cast are black and Darlene Love was so powerful on stage she actually made me cry during one of her solo numbers...it is the 1st time that I ever caught a glimpse of how difficult the blacks had it back in 1962 when there was still a very clear line drawn between the black - white segregation. Born into the Generation Y era, I have only heard of such discrimination as an urban legend or seen on TV, never really witnessed it first hand.

Unlike WICKED, there was almost NOBODY queuing up for the lottery tix. I think only 3 of us tried. It was a sure-win. =)

BTW, Diana DeGarmo was playing the lead actress's sidekick in the movie. Just like in American Idol(2nd season, I believe), she displayed her bottomless lung power in the musical and this girl is one helluva flexi actress! She belongs to Broadway. Her debut in Broadway will lead her on a long trip into the future of song and dance.

WICKED is cruel...

Yesterday was miserable.

The winds were merciless, whipping my hair into a mad frenzy and had the audacity to blow up my dress (ala Marilyn Monroe style) and on top of that, the "artificial" sun couldn't decide if it wants to warm me up or not as I walked down Broadway. I made the unforgiveable mistake of ordering an iced tea at Starbucks instead of a warm latte - hell yes, I paid for it dearly as I chattered non-stop in the cold. Who the hell orders iced tea in Starbucks to begin with??? Bah...the wind must have gotten into my head.

Still, I endured the erratic weather and marched towards the Gershwin Theatre. WICKED the sizzling hot new musical that hit Broadway is all sold out for months in advance so the only way I can ever get into that theatre is to win the front row tickets by lottery. Everyday at 2.5hrs before the show starts, a bunch of musical fanatics will queue outside the theatre, submit our names and then pray for 30mins until they announce the lottery results. When the results are announced, the entire posse consists of almost 70-80 people, all desperately clasping their hands in fervour, hoping for a chance to buy the tickets. You don't even win the tix, you win the chance to BUY the tix! Unbelieveable, isn't it? This would be unheard of back home! But at US$25 for front row tix(U.P. US$110), you really shouldn't complain.

Of course, the miserable day continued. I didn't win the chance to buy the tix. &*%$#@-#?$!

Pitter, Patter, Sputter....

Where is the SPRING I had come to know???

Weekend plans to visit Block Island and some wineries on Rhode Island are ruined by the RAIN. Wet and miserable, we stayed at home nursing a cold and sore throat(too much cookies) and watched 4 movies in 1 day. Over a bottle of chardonnay and saucisson with crackers(heaven!), we got through the final movie and ended up drunk with a throbbing headache on our couch(ouch).

Sunday: Chilled out at SMOKE Jazz bar, featuring latin jazz by Chris Washburne and the S.Y.O.T.O.S. band - excellent way to unwind on a Sunday night! They started serving food like 2weeks back and I must say for an old joint serving food for the first time, they have surprised me! The truffle infused onion soup with a thick drapery of melted cheese was the cause of the table orgasm that night.

Saw this painting at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Loved it. What more can I say?

God bless the sun!

SPRING IS HERE!!! Chirp! Chirp!

Central Park is now chirping and vibrating with the undertones of life...earthworms, orange breasted American robins, squirrels, joggers, pram rammers(god! step out of their fanatic paths!) and dogs of every size and religion. Can't resist a 6.30pm shot of this beautiful scenery from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir at Central Park.

The San Remo backlit by the setting sun. One of the most prestigious residential apartment in NYC that rejected Madonna as one of its residents...(that is how snobbish they are).

God bless the sun!

Flowers in thy attic

Just before the tulips unfolded its petals, I took some naked shots of its insides.


Looking up its skirts...

And back to its very core...

Gingersnaps and lilac blooms

Kim's gingersnap cookie recipe is brilliant! First batch was a tad burnt on the bottom and in it went to the bin and out i went through the door to get proper baking trays for my beloved cookies. In came back the Cookie Monster and dropped dollops of cookie dough onto the tray...and dismayed to find my spanking new tray longer than my oven! Undeterredl, I tilted it and stuffed it in all the same. Cookies came out unscathed and fabulous looking. Tastes like heaven. Mmm....

The lilac tree outside my apartment is blooming in tune to spring and walking under its blooms everyday reminds me of how wonderful life is. Eager to capture that essence of a beautiful life, I asked Emmanuel to snap a branch of that lilac and we nurtured it to its demise on our dining table. At least it died for a worthy cause...it made our apartment smell nice.

Found a neighbour who actually keeps a steel turtle chained to its air-conditioning unit. Bizarre. At least he has a peace of mind - the turtle can't escape.