THE ONE WITH MY FIRST FEW DAYS IN SINGAPORE

Date: Tuesday 31^st July 2012

Location: Poolside, Sentosa  Island, Singapore

Temperature:  32 degrees and what feels like 100% humidity

Feeling: Slightly sunburnt

Music:: Rihanna ‘S&M’ blaring out of the poolside bar

I love travelling and always knew that I would travel to places near and far at any chance I could get. Today, I write to you from Singapore.

We’re here as Ryan has some work to do however, following his two day conference; we will be holidaying for another 5 days. After a very long and very cold few months in Melbourne, this trip could not have come at a better time.

Our first day in Singapore was Sunday and luckily Ryan had the day to relax before his work commitments. Ryan had organised with a friend here in Singapore to give us a tour of Singapore.  Gerald was the perfect tour guide who chauffeured us around in his Lexus, air conditioning pumping, and a very comfy back seat for me who was struggling with a head cold I’d picked up on the flight to Singapore. Not sure why I fall sick on every trip I take. Grrr.

So, off we set with Gerald and Ryan’s boss Nick. First stop, ‘The Thian Hock Keng Temple’ full of praying worshippers and incense smoke. It was fascinating to learn the practice behind seeking answers from bamboo sticks.

Next stop, a hawker centre, which is basically a food court except there is no McDonalds, Subway or Hungry Jacks. These food courts have stalls full of authentic cuisine. Some of these stalls have been owned and operated by the same person for twenty years, making and serving the same few dishes and perfecting the recipes over time. Lots of the hawker’s stalls proudly display awards they’ve won for their food. Now…I’m possibly the most unadventurous person when it comes to foods but I didn’t want to be disrespectful to Gerald who had taken us to a specific stall and ordered a sample selection of four different soups to try. It didn’t go so well. The first soup I tried was so thick and oozy, like a caramel sauce that tastes of nuts and sugar, topped with some bread croutons. I gagged as soon as it hit my tongue. The next soup was pure black and reminded me of squid ink. Surprisingly, this soup was even sweeter than the one before. I gave the other soups a miss.

After the soup taste test, Gerald promised us he would take us somewhere nice for lunch. Off we set again and Gerald gave us a bit of commentary along the way on different buildings and the beautiful trees and plants that line the streets and freeways. To my horror, we arrived at the ‘nice’ place that Gerard promised. Casuarina Curry. Indian cuisine, my least favourite of them all. Again, Gerald ordered for us and out came an array of different foods. Noodles. Lamb curry. Chicken curry. Prata.

My favourite part of the tour was what came next.  Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A tropical rainforest with a walking trail that took us through the jungle and gave us the opportunity to come face to face with some hyperactive macaques (tiny monkeys). They were so confident, they marched right up to us, almost as if they were about to leap onto our heads. As it turns out, so many people feed the macaques fruit on their walks that they’re now so used to humans walking through their rainforest, they simply approach you without a worry in the world. The walk was about 45 minutes and by the end, I was sweating in places I didn’t think possible.

Sunday afternoon saw us back at our resort on Sentosa Island for some relaxation by the pool before Ryan was off for an evening mixer with work. I don’t mind entertaining myself when Ryan is at these conferences as it gives me a chance to have little adventures on my own. However, Sentosa Island is ever so strange. It’s literally an island full of resorts, a few touristy things like a zip line, Universal studios and man-made beaches, a mini monorail and that’s about it. So, my dinner options were really limited. All of the resorts offer these amazing buffet dinners however they come at a cost of $65 per person…not really ideal when dining on my own. So, I hit Chilis. I know, I know…I’m a terrible tourist for eating at an American chain but honestly, there is so little choice on this island. Which meant I also ate at Chilis Monday night too. 

With not much for me to do on the island, I spent Monday and Tuesday trying to kill time. I managed to get in some gym sessions before spending hours on end by the pool where I have been lounging with a girly novel. 

Tonight, Ryan and I are off to Marina Bay for dinner and drinks overlooking the Singapore skyline. A chance to dress up and celebrate being on holiday together before we are off the island tomorrow and we stay in the heart of Singapore until we head home Saturday night.  

On the agenda for the rest of the week:

The Botanical Gardens which I’m imagining to be very ornamental and perfectly groomed.

The Zoo & Night Safari, bring on the lions!

Chinatown & Little India, for Ryan to experience some more tasty delights while I gnaw on a plain piece of roti bread.

Orchard Road, for shopping, shopping, shopping. Bring it on!

And of course, a Singapore Sling at Raffles. How can you not?

And now, it’s time for me to take another dip in the pool.

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH PINTEREST

P.S. You can follow me on Pinterest. 


Seriously, it's a girls best friend.


http://pinterest.com/girlaboutlove/

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH FANCY EVENTS + LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

The best thing about my job is that I get to celebrate the end of financial year with a black tie event. This year we celebrated at Eureka 89.

I was still struggling almost 48 hours later with what was possibly one of my worst hangovers of all time, bar karaoke (and inappropriate microphone cord grinding) back in 2007. Is it because I’m too old for a night of champagne guzzling? Or the fact that I didn’t eat a meal the day of in the lead up as I was run off my feet getting glammed up for six hours straight. Seriously. Six hours. It sure is hard being a girl. 

We danced as if we were in the dancers quarters in Dirty Dancing, we sang along with the band until we were hoarse in the throat (cringe at the flashback to Mustang Sally), we sweated until our makeup was running off our faces. And it was the best night ever (but I say that every year).

I've made some truly amazing friends through work, most of which have come and gone (yet I’m still here) and I chat to them all every few days. Here are some photos of my gorgeous friends I have made in the past six years.

After all of the years and all of the friendships, I've been so lucky to celebrate big birthdays, weddings (wedding dress fittings) and babies with the girls. And this weekend, one of my all time favourites, Anna, is coming to Melbourne for a much needed catch up. Cannot wait!

Anna and her husband Ben are the most suited couple on earth and nothing makes me happier than when Ben and Ryan watch on as Anna and I talk endlessly, laughing until we cry and Ben will always say "they are the same person". Bless. 

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH THE GREEK, THE IRISHMAN AND THE AUSTRALIAN

I thought that Ryan was Greek. It was his dark features. It was his confident walk. It was the fact that I didn’t know him from a bar of soap. Mr Mysterious. When I eventually met Ryan all those years ago and we got to chatting, I was surprised to hear his Irish accent come out of his Greek body. And to be honest, I was so happy because who doesn’t love an Irish accent? No matter what is said, it’s just always fun. And I’m not sure I could deal with a Greek mother in law – how on earth could I compete with their cooking for a start.

The Irishman = tall, dark and handsome. A true joker, full of craic. Sports fanatic, I’d say borderline obsessed. Considerate and thoughtful. Ever so romantic.

The Australian = spoiled and showered with lovely gifts. Very lucky indeed.

I celebrated my thirty first birthday yesterday and wasn’t looking forward to it one little bit. I mean, thirty one. That’s like proper grown up age yet I still feel as though I’m about twenty five. So I woke up slightly grumpy “Urgh, it’s my birthday”, all tired and not wanting to get out of bed. You know, pretty pathetic. Lucky for me though, my Irishman was excited and he promptly handed me my lovely birthday card and gifts. It cheered me up immediately. Not because of the presents, but simply because Ryan had gone to so much trouble to write me a lovely card and he was so excited to celebrate the day with me. That made me over the moon happy.

And celebrate we did. Another Irishman trait...drinking. I adopted that one last night. Mojitos baby! Radio Mexico in St Kilda was our dinner of choice and honestly, my taste buds have never been happier. Char grilled corn on the cob with cheese and lime. Pulled pork tacos. Chicken and green rice. Hangar steak tacos. Then, just when I thought that I couldn’t eat another morsel, we had birthday cake waiting for us at home. Strawberry sponge, delicious.

However, the Irishman was not so happy this morning when I announced that it’s still my birthday week and that the party is not over yet.

The Australian = cheeky. 

Love to you all, 

THE ONE WITH MY ENTOURAGE

Let me start by prefacing this blog entry by telling you that I’m not a diva. Really.

I had a great day today…no work…just a few hours spent with one of the most creative and fabulous ladies ever. Zowie Evans, my hairdresser of eight years. I adore her. And not only because she can work wonders with my damaged blonde locks, but because three hours with Zowie feels like two minutes. We talk and laugh, talk and laugh for hours and yet I’ve come home today kicking myself at the things I’ve forgotten to discuss with her.

So today we were chatting away about weddings. Zowie was married last year so was giving me lots of advice, pretty much all along the lines of “why do the typical things if they aren’t things you actually like”. A girl after my own heart. Anyway, while chatting away I put it out there that should Zowie coincidentally be in New York on May 15^th 2013, I’d happily hire her to do my hair. It breaks my heart that it will never happen.  

Zowie: “You need to just fly your entire entourage over Natalie”
Natalie: “Seriously. Who do I think I am, Mariah Carey?!”

Hahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahahahaha.

The thing is, I’ve managed to find myself some truly awesome contacts here in Melbourne over the years and now I can’t imagine going to anyone else for hair, makeup, nails, spray tans and so on. My own little dream team is just that, a dream.

And to be honest, I think that I’ve been a real pleasure with the wedding planning so far. I even checked with Ryan and he agreed. It’s been a breeze. No stress. No drama. No tears. No tantrums.

But now I really want my dream team in New York with me on the wedding day. WHY DON’T I OWN A PRIVATE JET?!

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH A SURPRISE BABY

How is it that I didn’t know one of my friends was pregnant until she announced the birth of her baby girl on Facebook?! Admittedly, we don’t have a call each other up relationship, but in the past two years, we have managed to catch up for drinks and dinners every few months. So, not knowing she was pregnant with her second child comes as a real surprise.  I mean, we’ve spoken in the past nine months. Confused-balls.

It’s made me take a quick little look at how I manage my friendships and I have to say, I’m not the best at it. While I love all of my friends so dearly and enjoy hearing about their lives, relationships and what they have going on in life, I’m just shocking at returning texts/calls/emails. I get distracted and think I’ll reply later when I’m at home on the couch, but in all honesty, I just forget.

 Kelly, Sarah, Me, Shanelle & Leanne

And so as of this weekend, I’ve decided that I really need to make more of an effort at keeping in contact with the girls because what is life without your friends, hey?

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH SUPER WOMEN

I have a few really close friends. My besties. And it makes me really proud when I think about each and every one of them and how they’re all such strong women.

My Mum comes from a large family with seven kids, five of which are girls. You’d think you’d get a pretty mixed bag with five girls, however being raised by my Nanna meant that they all have a bit of sass about them, they’re pretty loud, talkative and fun, and they have a whole lot of backbone. My Nanna was a force to be reckoned with and I adored her so much. She was sometimes ridiculous and was just non-stop with the chat. I see a lot of her in me. I love all of my aunties for so many different reasons but mostly because we have fun together. Sure, there can be some hairy moments (you know how it can be) however they always have your back, no matter what. I have always felt like I was the other sister, not the niece. Possibly because some of us are close in age and we kind of grew up together, possibly because I always referred to my Grampa as my substitute Dad, or possibly because we are a close knit group when it comes down to it. They all have their strengths but as a whole, look out! They could kill you in a game of trivial pursuit, out sing you in a sing star battle and drink you under the table.

So it really comes as no surprise that I have somehow managed to surround myself with a strong group of friends over the years. I always refer to one of my long time besties, Bianca, as the strongest person I know. She is a super woman. Seriously.

Bianca and I went to high school together way back when and while we attended the same school, it wasn’t really until Year 11 that we became friends. There was a brief one week long friendship during Year 8 camp when we shared a room with eight other girls  (and I admired Bianca’s sunflower shoe string strap summer dress and her sandshoes that went with it), but that friendship was short lived. Once we were back at school again following camp, we never really spoke. That was until we hit our second last year of high school. As soon as we became friends, we were as thick as thieves.

Following our graduation from high school, it wasn’t long before Bianca and I moved out of home and into a rental together. Good lord…there are so many stories that I could share with you but honestly, I can’t bring myself to type them out. They are mortifying.  We battled along together with little cash and lots of partying but then there were the times when we’d just put our PJs on, hire DVDs (actually, I think they were videos back then) and eat ice-cream together for whole weekends. Bianca and I could laugh for hours with tears running down our cheeks and we never took ourselves very seriously. All we did was laugh.

We’ve been through a lot together in the last 15 years and I’ve watched as she has grown into the most amazing woman and mother. I’ve seen her meet her fiancé and make the most gorgeous little babies. Miss Super Woman has always been strong. Whatever crap gets thrown her way; she takes it on and sorts it out. Her life in Darwin just amazes me completely. Not only is Bianca a fabulous mum to her gorgeous three children, she also works full time, studies and is engaged to a man who works in the armed forces so more often than not, he is away from home with very little contact for months on end. And yet, with all of this going on, Bianca is completely selfless. Honestly, she is 100% selfless. She could be having the worst day or the worst week but you’d never hear her complain about it. She is always there for all of her friends no matter what, she is so upbeat and happy all the time and she just radiates goodness. Pure gooey goodness.

There are often times when I’m tired and exhausted, and I’m juggling a few things at once (you know, going to and from work, being tired, trying to exercise…pathetic how busy I think I am) and my mind always wanders to Bianca and I ask myself how she does it. Seriously. Three kids. A job. Studying. A fiancé. A sister. A friend. Super woman!

I love that Bianca is my friend. She seriously is one of a kind. Bless.

Love to you all,