Goodbye 2013, hello 2014!

Hello on the last day of 2013! :)

I hope 2013 has been a good year for you so far, if not don't worry, we all have our ups and downs.

May 2014 be an even better year for you then :D

Let's do a recap of my entire year in 2013.

1. Became an aunt to baby Eliza and watching baby Chloe grow up to be a monster  cutie pie.

Here's Eliza when she was first born.

Chloe being tortured carried by me at Charmaine's 21st at the beginning of the year 

Chloe at her yiyi Matilda's graduation this July.

The 2 rascals last month at my grandmother's house. Gosh, time really flies!

2. Found my way to God and got baptised this Easter.

With my family and my dearest cousin/godmother at my baptism

I never really blogged much about my religion because I felt it was a really sensitive topic for many. However, I am grateful and thankful to become a child of God and to follow Jesus in His footsteps this year. In May 2012, I took a leap of faith and joined RCIA at the parish my grandmother attends. Along the way, there were temptations of straying from the path He asked me to follow but I am glad that I overcome all the obstacles and finally was baptised on Easter vigil this March. Really overwhelmed by the presence of my family and extended family that night to witness this moment. I hope to strengthen my faith further in the coming year, taking baby steps to grow on this might pillar called God.

3. Attended only 1 Kpop concert this year in Singapore.

So shocking please :/

I only attended Super Show 5 back in July just a month before I left for Europe. And then there were no more Kpop concerts for me to go because they all happened when I was in Europe T.T

Me and the bff at the concert

I also went to catch 2NE1 and Girls Generation in action at the Asia Style Collection but this one not counted as full concert ok! LOL

Scored free tickets courtesy of Wanjun to attend Asia Style Collection to see 2NE1 and Girls Generation wohooooo!

4. Attended 1 K-pop concert overseas.

Deciding to go on this trip to Paris to see Infinite was a YOLO moment for me - definitely topping my YOLO list thus far.

I went all the way alone to a foreign country which doesn't speak English as a primary language, stayed with a friend of a friend who became my good friend too, attended the concert all by myself with no one to talk/spazz with throughout the concert.

/pats self on back/ Way to go Paula!

5. Learnt 1 Kpop dance this year - SNSD's I Got A Boy

Next year, I will try to go for more classes because I really enjoy them and of cos, the exercise that comes with it. 

6. Had a staycation this year which didn't turn out the best in my opinion. You can read about my experience here.

7. Travelled to Korea for the third time! Wohooooooooo~

8. And of course, changing my job this year and uprooting myself from Singapore to live all alone in Germany and Switzerland for 3.5 months.

 

Sept: Köln and London

 

          Oct: Amsterdam                                     November/December: Switzerland

 

November/December: Munich and Paris

The experience of being able to live, work and travel in Europe for me this year was really like a dream come true.

When I started 2013, I was still stuck in a shitty job with low wage.

Taking that leap of faith to just throw everything behind and do a whole new job switch was something I had never planned for this year but I'm glad I did so.

No amount of money can ever replace all the wonderful memories and relationships I had forged on my trip to Europe from Sept to Dec 2013.

I'm really really really really very thankful to have been given this opportunity by my company to be the first to undergo such long period of training at our parent companies and just thinking back, I really feel like it's a dream for me.

Sometimes when I sit in my office at work, I wonder to myself how did time fly so quickly and my training was really over in just a few months.

 

Some FaceTime moments and on Google Hangout

With my awesome colleagues in Switzerland

My lovely host Eva whom I stayed with only for 4 weeks - thank you for being so much like a mum to me while I was living with you! I cannot thank my lucky stars enough to have met you this year.

I struggled both emotionally and physically to be away from home for so long simply because I am really a person who loves to be at home and with my family.

This whole memory of living in Europe has taught me several things that I would have never learnt had I not embarked on this journey.

The amount of support that my family and friends have given to me was really overwhelming and to be honest if any of you are reading this, thank you for being there for me!

I love you guys so much :')

And of course to the people I met along the way - new and old friends - it's just been a whole new experience for me and I will live to tell my children in future that I had gone and done something YOLO-worthy while I was young.

Anyway, thanks for reading my blog this year everyone!

I will try and blog as often not for your sakes but also for mine because this platform will always be one for me to write down all my memories.

Top of my list of resolutions would be to become more diligent in sharing my passion for makeup and all things beauty related on this blog.

Hopefully it'll happen alot more given the huge amount of makeup I have in my stash HAHAHAH :P

So wishing you all a Happy New Year and an awesome 2014 year ahead! Adios~

Europe Travelogue - Paris Day 1

Itinerary for Day 1

• Zürich to Paris CDG Airport
• Eiffel Tower
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Lourve Museum

Hey all, before 2013 ends, I better churn out all my travelogue entries before I forget them lol!

Here's the entry for Day 1 of my trip to Paris at the end of November this year :D

Actually my main aim for going to Paris was for Infinite's concert 'One Great Step' on 1 December at Olympia Hall.

I was really feeling damn upset that I couldn't attend any One Great Step concerts because they came to Singapore in October when I was in Germany.

So I tried to search for their Europe stops - I mean I'm in freaking Europe so.... just go even though I'll be going alone.

And Paris was the only stop on a weekend (I mean... wow, Wednesday night in London for a concert is just so shit. I have to take so many days leave just to go for it please! Chao Woollim! *waves fist*).

So yeah I took Friday off and left on an early flight from Zürich to Paris CDG airport.

Selca in the morning hehe

My lovely host Eva sent me to the nearest train station at 6am so that I didn't have to walk in the dark and cold. She even made me breakfast, mad love her.

Airline of the day was Swiss Air! It was quite cheap for my ticket to and fro Paris - 88CHF to Paris and 85CHF back to Zürich.

Quite cheap in my opinion, didn't expect it to be so cheap given that it included 20kg of baggage already and taxes.

Breakfast served on the flight

Flight was pleasant and comfortable! :)

We reached Paris in about 45 minutes so it was an extremely short flight - kinda like from Singapore to KL by plane.

It's my 2nd time in Paris so far, the last being 13 years ago when I was 11 years old.

That time we took a bus from Switzerland to Paris so I hadn't been to any of their airports before.

CDG's Terminal 1 is very simple, not as fantastic as Changi Airport but I can't really complain.

As long as my baggage comes out on time and intact can already haha.

NARS Larger Than Life Lipgloss in Paris Follies

Hi all!

I'm actually back in Singapore already for about close to 2 weeks already!

Went to the Shiseido Sale last week and left with stuff obviously duh.

I couldn't possibly leave empty handed lol!

So... here's one of the things I picked up at the sale and I've been loving it these few days hence this random blog post.

Now I don't own that many NARS products to begin with but I do have a few of these Larger Than Life Lipglosses which clearly needs to be given more love from me.

This lipgloss - Paris Follies - was completely new to me.

The ones I own came from the Andy Warhol Collection from last year and while I'm usually quite up to date with new launches because that's my hobby to be honest, to be updated with the new and latest makeup products, I hadn't heard of this product before to be honest.

But on a whim I decided to pick this lipgloss up because I liked how wearable it looked in the tube and when I swatched it at the sale. Wasn't intending to pick up any lip products because God knows how many new ones I have lying at home!

And.. home it came with me and I absolutely LOVE IT!

The shade is a wearable colour for any occasion of the day - I would describe it as a wearable coral colour because I wore it everyday sans lipstick, just my lip balm below it and my lips looked so natural looking.

I didn't like how drying it felt after awhile on my lips but that cannot be helped because I'm just cursed with dry and chapped lips always T.T

However, it didn't dry out my lips as fast as other lip products do so.... extra points perhaps? LOL

I like the tiny applicator that comes with these NARS lipglosses simply because it allows me to be more precise in my application.

Usually those that come with the doe foot applicator tends to be too big for my lips (I have small surface area la D:).

It's pretty unique in my opinion such small applicators - usually companies tend to just put in the doe foot ones - but I've read reviews on how others hated it because it was too small and they needed to stick it into the tube a few more times to cover the entire lip area.

It applies opaque when swatched on my hand but on the lips, it looks more like a clear gloss which was what I liked about it.

The lipgloss didn't settle into the lines of my lips and was free of that sticky feeling that most lipglosses have so that was why this product has been in my bag for the past week (yes, every single day! that's how much I liked it).

Pardon me for the crappy lip swatch, I wasn't able to capture the true colour on the lips but you can see it here from Temptalia.

She's like my shifu and go to website for all things make-up and I absolutely love her website! LOL.

Maybe it's time for me to go dig out my Donghae (the DSLR) and explore options with it further, shan't rely on my iPhone 5 too often hahaha.

Anyhow, gonna end this entry randomly! 

Hope to catch up with my Europe posts asap but I've been very busy meeting up with tons of people because I'll be heading off to China soon after the new year and it's also Christmas season so tons of shopping to do.

Till then, annyeong~

Rapperswil Day Trip

Welcome to Switzerland lol!

Yes, I am writing about my life now in Switzerland despite not even finishing the Germany ones.

But Switzerland is so pretty and I have wifi access at home now so... we should live for the present yeah? :)

So... on the first Saturday in Switzerland, my colleague and I went to Rapperswil for a day trip since it was nearer to us (I was still living in Wolfhausen then. Now, I'm in Bubikon area.) than Zürich.

The Swiss colleagues weren't able to accompany us that weekend so we made do with... getting out of Wolfhausen to Rapperswil.

Hopped onto the bus and made our way to Bubikon where the nearest train station is.

Bloody expensive I tell you. Paid close to 14CHF for the trip and back and it's like... travelling from AMK to Orchard Road only leh.

Sigh.

And it's bloody complicated the Swiss transport system. Hopefully I'll be able to understand it before I leave lol and write an entry on how to buy tickets/survive here in Switzerland.

 

It was quite a nice Saturday and lucky us too because subsequently the weather turned shittier and all I've been seeing everyday now is fog and more fog. I feel like I'm living on Silent Hill or something.

Anyways, the trains really surprised me! So much more cleaner and newer than the ones in Germany.

Plus they had a screen that showed you which station was next as well as the entire route of the train.

Pretty awesome because the driver would speak in German when I was in Germany and I couldn't understand anything T.T so the Swiss trains were a nice welcome for me.

Rapperswil is really a small town within the canton of Zürich.

It was my first time there and I quite liked it, small and quaint with an awesome view of the mountains with Lake Zürich.

All my pictures were taken on my iPhone 5 and edited to brighten up the pictures.

I really love how the sky (when you can see it) is a bright blue and the clouds are fluffy white like marshmallow lol..

Makes me wanna migrate here if not for the high standard of living and the language barrier.

 

So we kinda made our way to the post office first to get our prepaid sim cards before walking to the... town square I suppose to find food and naturally... we went to McDonald's lol.

My cheeseburger royal with rosti fries and yoghurt sauce. Yum, love the sauce.

Yes, everything is expensive in Switzerland. I think the only thing that is free is really the scenery and fresh air.

Oh, and Evian is quite cheap here too lol.

The lake you see here is Lake Zürich and I was really in awe of how clear the water was.

And.... SWANSSSSSSSS HOMGGGG!

I think this is the most amount of times I've ever seen swans/ducks/fowl/birds on my Europe adventure.

First London, then seeing them in canals in Amsterdam and now.... even in the lake!

They are really everywhere lol. Is it bad that everytime I see a duck I think about roasted duck rice? :O

There really isn't much you can do here in Rapperswil other than see the lake and climb onto the hill where there is a museum, church and deer garden.

Sorry for the bare face. I was very sleep deprived and ran out of my room to catch the bus without putting any makeup on D:

I will keep all my stale bread and try to feed them one day lol

Castle with a museum inside

Here's one of the deers from the deer garden

 

See how clear the skies are?

I was honestly quite bored by the time we made our way to the bridge to cross the lake because I was extremely exhausted from packing the night before leaving Germany plus all that walking killed my feet lol.

And it was cold too! :( Much too cold for my liking to be honest.

But the lake is really magnificent! The amount of pictures I took of it should be testament to how much I loved it there.

Here's the bridge that people walk over it and admire the scenery lol

It's a good 45 min walk from one end to the other

I headed back after walking about three quarters of the bridge because I was really exhausted by then and waited for the colleague by the lake.

He turned up a good 30 mins later while I froze all the way lol.

Thankfully bff was entertaining me on LINE.

Made our way back to the area where we found McDonald's and bought gelato from the store beside it.

Pretty yummy albeit the price for such a small cup (wtf 5CHF leh).

But cannot hiam already, quite reasonable for Switzerland's standards alr lol.

Went in search of a huge supermarket (my fav activity) because I wanted to stock up some food in my hotel room as everywhere was closed on Sundays.

Lugged a huge bag of groceries from the supermarket and was really hungry by then.

The cold weather really wrecks my eating timings.

I'm perpetually hungry all the time and at 4.30pm I am starving but have to wait till 6pm for dinner because that's when the restaurants open :/

Now that I'm living in a house and have a kitchen to cook in, my tummy is easily filled before 6pm lol!

Ok, enough digression.

Went in search for dinner then and settled for thai food because the colleague said he wanted to eat that (I was hesitant because I was afraid it'd be expensive but by then was really sick of pasta/risotto/schnitzel/whatever western food so I caved and said okay).

Thai Orchid

Engelplatz 4

Rapperswil 8640 

Switzerland

This can be easily found beside the huge shopping mall where you can find alot of shops like H&M, C&A and Migros (the supermarket where I died and spent so much money in).

But just... use Google maps really haha. It's not really seen clearly from the main road.

 

My 5CHF lychee juice from a can but they poured it into a wineglass and stuck an orchid in it to make it look atas. Ok, I gan yuan lol.

#ootd because the toilet in the restaurant very atas and well decorated lol

We were the first customers there and initially the lady told us it was fully reserved already.

(Seems like the Europeans really like to call and make reservations ahead. But I can't speak German so how to reserve? D:) 

But she said if we could leave by 8.20pm before the next customer came we could order.

Hello, we were out by like... 7.15pm and the place was really full by then.

Here's our free starter - fried baby corn. Pretty yummy!

Our dinner

Yes, atas food so must take picture. Actually atas = expensive.

\

My 35CHF thai green curry with chicken

The colleague's thai red curry in a pineapple lol. Think this was 38CHF?

The meal was nice because of thai rice wohoooooo! I'm such a fan4 tong1 please, nothing is nice to me except thai rice to be honest.

But I couldn't finish even half the pot of green curry so I asked to tabao it and they gave me another pack of rice which I kept for the next day.

Heated up the remaining curry in my rice cooker (thank you mum for forcing me to bring it to Europe despite it occupying so much space in my luggage) and had it for lunch and dinner the next day.

Of course I cooked more rice (yes, I very kiasu I made my dad bring me my own Royal Umbrella rice to Europe) and it was... awesome!

We headed back afterwards even though it was quite early in the night but by then everything was closed (7pm close already) except for restaurants so that's the end of my trip to Rapperswil.

LOL, yes gonna end this abruptly.

I'll head for my shower now because I'm freezing cold and I have to do some work later boo :(

Till the next entry :D annyeong~