My 20th Birthday Staycation
Part 2: Just Fai & I
It's the 22nd of January 2014 and I JUST turned 20. Officially not a teenager anymore :( Of course nothing significant has changed yet but the thought of growing up so quickly hit me really hard yesterday night. I was sitting in the car waiting for Fai to get back from buying groceries and suddenly, I had random flashbacks of the entire past 20 years of my life. And I started to break down and cry alone. It was so strange.
Turning 20 has made me realized that I should really appreciate what I have now and I should try to do whatever I've always wanted to do before it's too late. I still vaguely remember the days when I was still in secondary school and how I was so desperate to grow up then. I wanted to go clubbing, I wanted my freedom and now, I just wanna be young all over again. I'm not saying that I'm not young and I know some of you may be irritated at the fact that I keep complaining about growing old, but to me, turning 20 means a lot. It's about me starting a whole new chapter of my life, growing up into a young adult and taking on even heavier responsibilities.
I told myself that I'm not going to live the way I've lived over the past few years. I've worked too much and too hard that I've forgotten how to be happy. I am happy but not truly happy. I do get all these amazing opportunities and deals for my career but this year, I want it to be a little more meaningful. A little more personal.
The clock is ticking and we never know what tomorrow may bring. So this year, instead of concentrating too much on how to be successful, I'm gonna take a step back and enjoy life with my loved ones. I want to mend broken friendships and create stronger bonds with people that matter. Life is really TOO SHORT for hatred, grudges and regrets. Turning 20 woke me up. I was reminded yesterday night while I was alone in the car that there's really no point in being so successful but missing out on the REAL things that truly matter to me.
I plan to spend my 2014, my first year being a young adult, really well. I want to hang out with my family more cause I've realized that as I grow up, my parents are growing old. I want to make more time for my relationship with Fai to grow. We plan to go away a lot this year so that we'll have more amazing memories together. I want to get to know my friends even better this year. I hardly have time for them no matter how much they've supported me and stuck with me even though I only see them like once or twice a week, or some times, even once a month. I want to pick up new skills and accomplish old dreams that I have by this year too. And I want issues of my past to settle down once and for all. I do not wish to move on into this new chapter of my life living in denial and regret.
It's a fresh start and I want to be able to look back at 2014 with a huge smile on my face knowing that it was a REALLY good year. It's not gonna be about me this year. It's about gonna be about the people that matters.
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Anyway, putting all of those thoughts aside, here's my journal entry about what happened on the second day of my birthday staycation! If you've missed out on the first day, you can read it here-----------------------> http://euniceannabel.blogspot.sg/2014/01/cleo-sunsilk-cover-x-my-20th-birthday.html
So Fai and I woke up the next day, about 11am and did a little bit of work. You see, even though we're on a staycation which requires us to put everything aside and just unwind, we can't!!! I had to take a few advertorial pictures while he had to reply some emails.
We started the day right by heading to the gym. And trust me, I am NOT crazy about going to the gym so often. Fai is on a diet and he's been super diligent with losing weight and gaining muscles. So as a supportive girlfriend, I'd accompanied him. I did a couple of reps for my abdominals and that was it.
I do not really fancy carrying weights or using any of the gym equipments or machines except for the treadmill (I apologize for the mistake I'd made earlier on. But thank you for correcting me! I understand that I'd always make tons of grammatical or spelling errors. But thanks for still reading^^) or anything related to building abdominal muscles. Usually when I head to Amore Fitness, I'm always attending classes which requires no equipments whatsoever. I do wish to look a little more lean like Victoria's Secret models but because of blogshop modeling, it's not really advisable since a stick-thin model always look better anyway. Which is such a sad thing isn't it? So I'd usually just tone my arms and thighs, and work on my butt and abs.
P.S. I think my butt grew perkier every since I started visiting Amore. hehehe. Which is awesome for me personally, but pretty bad for blogshop modeling because blogshop clothes are SO TINY that it's hard to me to fit my butt in!! hahaha
Yeah yeah yeah... I was just camwhoring while Fai worked out. I only started working out after seeing how motivated he was. Which motivated me. hahaha. I did a few Fitball exercises cause working with one is always a little more enjoyable and challenging at the same time. It really trains my stamina, endurance, strength and balance all at once. And usually, doing a Fitball exercise works out more then just one core muscle. I am so glad to have found such a enjoyable exercise all thanks to Amore Fitness. And no, this is not an ad. I truly feel a lot more toner every since I'd attended Fitball classes and people have been telling me that too. hehehe
After about an hour in the gym, Fai and I washed up a little and it was POOL TIME!!!! I've always loved the sun, love the water and the sand. And lying down on the beach or beside a pool in a bikini is one of my most favorite things to do. BUT, because of blogshop modeling (again), I try not to get out so much in the sun anymore.
As you all know, I am naturally tanner then usual chinese girls and fairer skin for photo shoots always look better. So I try my best to stay fair. I actually do get paranoid whenever someone goes "Eunice, did you grow tanner? You look darker today." I don't know when I'll ever stop modeling for blogshops, but when I do, trust me, I'm gonna look different for sure.
I wore the same old bikini from Gilly Hicks cause it fits me exceptionally well. You see, I have a smaller then usual bust size so it's tough finding nice and well fitting swim wears. Hence, I'm just waiting for summer to come so that I can go on a crazy shopping spree online at Gilly Hicks or A&F.
Shades from http://visualmass.co/
Fai headed straight for the water! Look at how much fairer he is compared to me :(
I finally got into the water after a while and taught Fai a few swimming tricks. hehehe. He's always afraid to race with me when it comes to swimming cause I'll always win! My favorite swimming style is the breaststroke. I'm proud to say that I am really good in it. Well, I'm only really good when I'm in a pool that looks like this. I absolutely cannot stay sane when the pool is decorated with statues or paintings etc.
I have a super weird phobia of things like that cause they remind me of the merlion or the dragon fountain at Sentosa. To simply put it, I'm afraid of mystical creature-like statues associated with water. I cannot and will not go into a pool or even a toilet with things like that around. It freaks me out. Everything has to be modern and minimal. And Fai knows it so I guess checking out the pool before booking this hotel was a no brainer.
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After all that exertion of energy, it was time to fill up our rumbling tummies! We had a few places in mind to visit but we settled for Five & Dime. Its located at 297 River Valley Rd, Singapore 238338. This is definitely one of the many tiny brunch cafes that I think everyone needs to try out. I have nothing bad to say about it at all because it was close to perfection. The food were delicious, there was a wide variety, service was excellent and I couldn't ask for more.
The interior played a huge part too! It has a very warm and homely appeal that was great to dine in. You know how some brunch places can make you feel a little intimidated by look of it? Well, I didn't feel like that at all. Their customers were all about our age so we didn't feel one bit out of place.
It was tough deciding what I wanted because everything sounded so good. And what I liked about their menu was that their dishes didn't have weird, exquisite names that were hard to pronounce. They all pretty much were straight to the point which helped us made up our minds a little quicker.
Also, I love where we were sitting- beside the window, where natural light could come in.
We order the Calamari rings as a starter. They were served with home-made tar tar sauce and they tasted SOOOO GOOD. Fai and I have eaten tons of Calamari rings before and we both agreed that this one was one of our favorites.
I ordered the Cajun Chicken which is grilled and spiced. It is served with fries and corn and it initially comes with mash potato but I had it changed and I'm glad I did because the fries were amazing. They were crispy and salted just the way I like it. Kinda tasted a little bit like truffle fries though it wasn't. Of course, the plating isn't like that! hahaha. I forgot to take a picture before I started eating so this one here was taken after I'd already touched the food. Oh yes, the chicken tasted great! It was so tender and juicy. Definitely something you have to try!
Fai ordered the Metaiko pasta which is spaghetti served with creamy sauce and cod fish roe. If you like that strong Japanese-ish pasta taste, you'll love this.
And like I'd always say, no matter how full I am, there's always room for dessert!! As recommended by my friend, Jas, we tried the Spiced Strawberries Eton Mess. It was a huge difference from what I would usually order cause I'd usually get myself something chocolate based.
But I didn't regret this choice at all cause it was DELICIOUS. It had all the different elements of what a good dessert should have. It was crispy, soft and smooth, sweet yet tangy at the same time. If you're a fan of meringue, you'll adore this.
But of course, being a chocolate lover, I was jealous of what Fai had. He ordered a BOMB. This isn't on the menu but was highly recommended by the super nice waiter. If I'm not wrong, its called Golden Custard.. something.. something...
It is a soft chocolate shell filled with creamy and thick chocolate sauce and golden custard sauce that comes oozing out when you stick it with your spoon. I will definitely head back to Five & Dime just to eat it again. It is THAT good. In fact, it's so popular that we were having the last one and it was only 6pm.
Dinner ended well, we took a stroll around Clarke Quey and headed back to our hotel. We ended the night watching Carrie which I thought wasted our time cause it was such a st*pid show with a cheesy and lame plot. But the acting was really good.
Thank you my dear Fai for planning and putting everything together. I can't wait for more holidays and adventures with you <3 <3 <3
And that's it for now everyone! Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who've wished me for my birthday. I may not be able to reply every one of your messages but do know that I am truly grateful for all of your kind words and I appreciate you :)
xoxo
Eunice Annabel
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