the little happy things {1-15}

1. when the strangers you smile at smile back

2. screaming and cheering during games

3. looking into people's eyes and seeing something you never saw before

4. picking up the school vibe

5. listening to disney music

6. rainy afternoons curled up in your bed

7. colorful stationary and accessories that make you happy

8. smelling coffee brewing in the kitchen on a rainy day

9. having blurry conversations before dropping off to sleep

10. eating the best cookies two days in a row

11. daydreaming about nothing much, really
12. yelling singing out favorite music in random situations
13. scraping off the whipped cream from the cake and eating it
14. when your brother tells you you're pretty
15. listening over and over again the chords of a beautifully sad song

//

{inspired by jenn}

today is prissy's birthday. happy birthday darling. you're an awesome leetle sister and i just wanted you to know that ♥

this is ash + a happy birthday

me-left. ash-right.

this is ash.

{well, perhaps i should say 'this is natasha' but i call her ash, so it doesn't really matter does it?}

i knew her ever since i was about eight or nine. she was a quiet girl, always standing there with her younger brother, hair neatly braided. she never really participated in the games i came up with [such as who-can-roll-the-fastest-on-the-floor-to-the-end-of-the-room game], and was usually regarding me and the other boisterous kids playing with me with a very suspicious eye.

but no matter. i didn't really care too much. too busy mussing up my clothes and hair maybe. anyways, she popped over to our new church when both of us were about eleven, and because i had been praying for a girl my age, she seemed to answer my prayers. it was pretty awesome until i discovered we had so many differences.

she hates cheese, i love it.

she despises dressing up. i adore it.

she'd rather not hug. i love hugs.

she doesn't like heights / roller coasters. boy, do i love them.

she's typically a leader. i'm not.
she talks only when she has something legit to say. i tend to ramble.

i had to learn how to overcome them, how to give in sometimes, how to control my temper, how to state opinions in ways that didn't hurt people. she taught me a lot. and in the past 5 years, our friendship has grown and matured. it wasn't just a short sprint; no, it was a marathon that i had to run. and although we've had tons of disagreements and fights, we've stuck through till today. she knows exactly when i just want to talk and rant, and want her to reply, and when i just need a shoulder to cry on. never mind that she's sometimes too bossy :), i mean we all have our weaknesses. never mind that she's the same age as me, her wisdom far surpasses her years. she's calm, cool and she listens.

even though we are very different [we both DO love chocolate and sweets, though], we enjoy hanging out. earlier this year, we met at j.co just to talk and tease ha. and we had a smashing time. [we were supposed to meet for lunch, but we decided doughnuts were a better choice. we're awesome like that.]

so this is ash--slender, different, bossy, lovely.

{and today's her birthday. we're going out to ice skate at the j.cube ice ring on friday. i'm sure it's going to be rockin' fun (photos hopefully coming soon!).

happy sweet sixteen darling ♥  just wanna say thank you for putting up with me. i'm not the best at time, but you've been simply ah-mazinga. when i heard this, it made me think of you. Ü}

//

 ♥♥

in which i do a profile of one the closest kindred spirits by me.

once upon another moon

via

once upon another time, when we were so close. when we shared our hearts, lives, and dreams. when we truth-or-dared one another with dire consequences. when we dreamed about the future. when we silently cursed growing up because it brought us further apart. (when i dreaded it even more and cried for quite a while.)

it's a full moon tonight. not just any moon. but the deep, wax-yellow moon with the halo of light around it, just as how it was always had been. as i stared up at it, the beautiful wax-yellow light it shed, i remembered. i remembered how our families used to eat together so often, and the stupid random funny conversations we had. my inside ached for the times. a breeze caught my hair and played with it for a while. i breathed deeply. breathed in that familiar smell of balmy nights laughing and teasing. breathed in the memories and let them sink. sink right down into the bottom of my heart, where i hoped they would be kept forever and always.

bittersweet. isn't that the word they use to describe chocolate? maybe that would fit us. we were bittersweet. sometimes nice, other times not so. and because we were, the memories became that too. they were bittersweet, capable of evoking a sense of warmth but all too capable of bringing hurt. but bittersweet all the same.

//

i thought of many people while writing this.

many people, but mainly t.c.b. and q.w.

ps: thanks for all the lovely comments. you all are darlings, and if you haven't any time to do the blog challenge thingamajig, then no worries :) love you all ♥♥

my sisters

blog challenge (month 1, iii.)

+ photoshoot from a long while back

these are two of my leetle sisters.

they are little darlings, amazing in their own unique way, and pretty much the best ever.

blog award! and cool stuff like that

yay!

the following cyber cookie + whipped cream latte is for amelia who nominated me for the versatile blogger award, along with fifteen other fun bloggers!

thanks, dear :)

so these are peeps i nominate. very versatile and lovely people they are (in no special order):

1. Storia by anna (life, dreams, photography)
2. The Cupcake Dictionary by jocee (life, fangirling, cupcakes -yay-)
3. Rachel Nicole by rachel (life, family, photography/videography)
4. A Lavender Sea by tessa (life, travels, family)
5. The Lone Sparrow by lizabeth (reflections, photography)
6. Hannah Elise by hannah (photography, life)
7. Carlotta Cisternas by carlotta (life, photography, thoughts)
8. Unoriginal Originality by jenn (life, photography, fun stuff)
9. Bonfire Hearts by johanna (thoughts, life, photography, love)
10. Standard T by toyoshi (fashion, lifestyle, life, photography)
11. In Reckless Abandon by marcia (photography, life, love)
12. Brave by amy (thoughts, life, photography)
13. Yours Truly... by jess (photography, life, thoughts, coffee)
14. Grace's Garden Walk by grace (photography, life, thoughts, love)
15. Finding Beauty by mikailah (photography, life)

if you’re one of the lovely bloggers that I nominated, here’s what you have to do:

1. display the Award Certificate on your blog.
2. announce your win with a post (like this one!). make sure you post a link back to whoever nominated you as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.
3. present the award to your own fifteen deserving bloggers.
4. leave each of the nominees a comment to let them know you’ve nominated them after you have linked them to your post.
5. post seven interesting things about yourself.

all good? cool stuff. so now, seven interesting things about myself:

1. a bag of jellies/chocolates won't last a day with me.
2. i like colors. immensely.
3. i love heights.
4. i try to make random strangers laugh, and i love laughing myself.
5. my favorite thing to do ever is to sleep in on rainy mornings. and then wake up to hot, english breakfast + good book.
6. i'm a foodie. i take this very seriously.
7. i think i'm a pretty optimistic person (that means positive person, right?).
8. whipped cream and latte forever.

lest you think i'm a rebel kid and can't follow simple instructions such as ONLY seven things about myself, the last one's not something about me. it's just like a footnote, that tells you where i stand in the important issue of starbucks and coffee.

♥

food

blog challenge (month 1, ii.)

we're a family of foodies. so, naturally, food is a big thing to me. when i were younger, the kids i played with ate so little. and my sister and i were like some sort of circus freak the other parents gawked at, eating adults sizes from the young age of seven/eight. eat to live? nah, maybe live to eat would be more appropriate. i mean, my dad is an avid supporter of late-night food outings, buffets, and other stuff that foodies support. we must have inherited it from him. [mom is a supporter of meatless salad. none of us inherited it to that extent, so it seems.]

food is an art that requires cultivation. appreciation of food didn't come until i was like, in my teens or something. and that was also after i saw how blessed i was that i didn't have to worry about when my next meal like many in the third-world countries.

i see food as something that bonds people. say that i'm biased and say what you want, but that's truly the way i feel. there are so many families and good friends we have sat down with over a really good meal and they stuck with us up till today. "families that eat together, stay together." maybe there's some truth in that.


ps: i think japanese cuisine is my favorite. how about yours?
pps: blog challenge here.

i'm on blog lovin'!

via

hi dears,

so i finally went to create a blog lovin' for myself and notice the pretty new button at the side there? i really like this colors. turquoise greenish.

yayy so go follow me on blog lovin' if you have an account! and if you don't have an account, go create one! because they send you free cyber chocolate everyday! [well, maybe they don't and that's just a stupid lame lie]. fine, they don't send you free chocolate, but its so convenient to read your blogs that you won't crave for chocolate anymore!

i'm not making sense. nothing would ever make me stop craving chocolate.

but you get the point. right? :)))

xoxo.


[don't judge me. i have just done three chem practice quizes. my eyes are hurting.]
♥♥

dear 'ol momsie

[or should i say dear young momsie? women usually don't like to be called 'ol, but it doesn't seem to work the other way errk]

dear momsie, it's your birthday!

 -insert le happy music-

i won't tell your age, or any sensitive information about aging. but i just want to say that you're an awesome mom, and i'm so very grateful that God blessed me with such a wonderful mother.

when people tell me i look so much like you or my mannerism is so like you, i take it as a compliment, and it totally is. i know i'm not the best, but thank you for having so much love that you stick through it with me. and having five kids in urban singapore is certainly not easy. and i want to thank you for having the courage to do so--now i'm blessed with so many siblings!

i love you so very much, mom. and here's a (cyber) birthday bowl of salad [because i know you love healthy stuff and stay away from the sweets when possible.]

with bear hugs,

your leetle spitfire

-elise-

shock

blog challenge (month 1, i.)

shock : noun \ˈshäk\

-merriam webster-

1. something that causes disturbance

2. to strike with surprise, horror, terror, or disgust

shock is global news.

shock is reading about the syrian gassing.

shock is reading about the little chinese boy who had his eyes gouged out, by a desperate organ seller.

shock is realizing that i am so blessed in this thriving country, but never seriously considering it.

//

inspired by the many emotions that ran through me as i read this (+ last) week's news.
so much sadness, pain. but the expectancy that He is coming back again.