HAPPY HOUSEWARMING...

Another long weekend here (as Friday was a bank holiday) so we decided that it was the perfect opportunity to have a housewarming and invite all our friends around to see our new place. We rented one of the BBQ pits on the river and the party ran from 6pm til 1am here. I then decided (in a drunken state) to head out and meet the guys who work with Tom on Clarke Quay. I got in at 5am Saturday morning. What was I thinking!


I was really pleased that all the guys from work came along. Mum's been asking who everyone is so these pics show quite a few of the team.
From left to right:
Vicky in the red, is Claudio's girlfriend who only arrived in Singapore on Thursday. John with the swoop neck t-shirt is a Designer in the studio, originally from Manilla and very sweet! Lisa in the middle is an Account Executive. Claudio at the front, a freelance designer, from Newport who has been with us for 3 months but left us on Thursday. He and Vicky are off to Cambodia tomorrow to explore before heading back to the UK in a fortnight. Behind Lisa is Celeste and Account Manager and there's Rachel, who I'm sure everyone knows! In front of Rach is Chris, another Designer in the creative team. Chris and I love to talk about shopping and shoes! Originally from Jakarta, I'll be sad to see him leave in a few weeks time. In the red, Richard, who is my Creative Director. The guy above my head...well that's Dan, who actually doesn't work with me at all, he just wanted to be in the pic! At the bottom, on my left is Valerie, another Account Manager who I work really closely with on lots of my projects and Celeste again, on my right. Hopefully mum that will give you an idea of who's who when I talk about work now!

Just a quick entry as I need to get ready to head out. This weekend the Singapore Rugby 7s are being held at the Cricket Club. We're going to head there for the day. I'm slightly disappointed that Wales lost yesterday. Watching it here just isn't the same! For starters a 2.30pm kick off there is a 10.30pm kick off here, so as you can imagine, after a very late night before I could barely keep my eyes open towards the end. I've also been very cultural this weekend visiting a light festival on Marina Bay, which I will post at some point this week.

HOUSEWARMING BAR-B-Q...

The girls and I have decided to hire out the BBQ pit on the riverfront for our housewarming next Friday and follow on to Clarke Quay for more drinks! Looking forward to it and even better that we have a short week coming up.

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN...

Another week has been and gone! Work is still really busy but we had very positive feedback from the pitch, so fingers crossed we will hear soon whether or not we won it! My first week in the new apartment has gone really well but it still feels very much like I am living in a hotel. I can't quite get my head around the fact that I have all these facilities on my door step.

As Rachel works just a few streets away now, we often meet up for lunch and this week we tried out a new cafe that has opened just around the corner. I'd heard lots of great things about PS Cafe so have been wanting to try it out. Most probably the most expensive lunch I have had since I have been here. A nice atmosphere that reminded a lot of Brown's in Windsor. Rachel and I both felt that we could easily have been transported back there for the hour.

A "quiet Friday night" drink turned into a much heavier night than I originally thought it would. Rachel and I had started out with a lovely bottle of wine at our local wine bar. A few more drinks with the Design Bridge team and we found ourselves back in my neck of the woods at a La Terraza rooftop bar which is part of the Screening Room. A five-storey building with great views of downtown Singapore. This became my first experience of buying a bottle of vodka at a bar, rather than single drinks.

Mum...I know you're going to be horrified by this concept, but, it actually works out cheaper, and promise I didn't drink it all myself. Between four of us, the bottle went a long way and pretty much lasted all night. It was nice to head out with Tom's work mates for the evening and get to know them a bit better. It feels like I have met a vast amount of people now, and can not believe that I was even slightly worried about being lonely.

Getting in at 3am Saturday morning pretty much wrote my day off until the afternoon when Tom and Rachel popped around to check out the new place. Obviously, it's Halloween, and it seems to be celebrated by more adults than children by the looks of things and everyone is over enthusiastic about it. Not me though! I haven't really got into the spirit of Halloween this year and despite the girls heading out last night in fancydress, we decided to have a more relaxed evening. Dinner at the local Italian followed by the cinema to watch Social Network.

I was up early this morning for a swim and was amazed that I was the only person in the pool at 10am!I lay on a sunlounger for a few hours reading my book. It hasn't been too hot today, and the sun kept hiding behind the clouds which made it bearable to lie in for longer than 20 minutes. At lunch I made an amazing discovery! Rose beer. Which means that I will now be able to keep up with the lads when we all go out! Yey! The label looks like it could do with a redesign though ;)

I've got another busy week ahead. A few deadlines in work and lots of social activities. Tomorrow night Steve (my MD) and his wife Erica will mostly be entertaining us at 80s Ukulele night. I'm not quite sure what to expect from that but it should be fun. Another sports social Wednesday night so will be nice to see all the guys I met at the ball again. And...we have a short week as its bank holiday weekend here. Again. Friday is Deepavali Festival, so we won't be in work which left us with a perfect opportunity to have a housewarming! Watch this space for plenty of housewarming celebration pictures. I have a feeling it's going to be a good one!

Love to Lauren and Ken this week who celebrated their engagement last night. I hope you both had an amazing time and enjoyed yourselves. We can re-celebrate when I come home in January. I can't wait!

BRUSSELSSPROUTS...

So, I'm slightly hungover today. Last night Amy came back via Singapore from Bali before flying home so we decided to have dinner on the Quayside and a few (when I say few, I mean quite a few!) drinks in one of the bars. I strolled home along the river at 3am this morning. Oops! After a super lie in until 12 midday I got myself into gear and the girls and I strolled over the river to a place called Brusselssprouts.


I think dad would like it here. It's a cosy and casual chic Belgian bar and bistro which was set up by Belgian celebrity chef Emmanuel Stroobant. There are 120 types of tasty beer on the menu! I wonder if I can work my way through and sample them all over the next 2 years! Hum...I'd be up for that if I actually enjoyed drinking beer. Maybe that's more of a challenge for Tom and Rach.


Today's hangover cure. Steak frites. Oh my god, I so needed this! Along with about 6 glasses of water to try and banish my headache. The girls tucked in to the famous mussels. Had I not had seafood for my dinner last night I would have opted for these too. A good excuse to visit again though!

NEW HOME...

I've finally moved into my new apartment! And am very excited to be finally settling down in my new home. The condo is called Riverplace and it's located on the south bank of Singapore River on Robertson Quay literally a stones throw away from Clarke Quay. Built in 2000 and has an amazing set of facilities. Two connected swimming pools, BBQ pits, gym, fitness station, tennis courts, a jogging track, putting green, jacuzzi, sauna, clubhouse, snooker table and kareoke room. As you can imagine, it's pretty much like permanently living in a hotel. This all still feels a little bit surreal. The complete opposite of my two bedroom Victorian flat in the centre of Windsor, but I feel so lucky to be here and I'm sure that the 4 week wait to get the apartment will be worth it. My two new housemates Jill and Victoria are both from the UK. Vic works for a bank here in the city and has come over from Shepards Bush. Jill's been living in Manilla for the last three years and works in property. Pretty lucky in that sense as I was absolutely useless when it came to sorting out the lease on the apartment! Too many words for my liking, I'm much better with pictures!

This weekend has been a bit more eventful than the last couple. Even though I worked super late on Friday night and pretty much missed most of it, I attended a sports social event. A masked ball at Novotel Hotel on Clarke Quay. Unfortunately, I missed the three course dinner and free champagne that I had paid $150 for! But, still managed to enjoy myself for an hour and a half. Was starving by the time I left though. However, I managed to have the best taxi driver yet, who took me to McDonalds on the way home so I could get some chicken nuggets! What a legend!


I've been feeling a bit homesick this week as I'm missing everyone immensely. I've been here for 7 weeks now and although time is flying by it's hard not to think about what everyone is up to at home. Thank you to all those who perk me up though via email, text and skype! As I write this I'm chatting to mum who's telling me about the lush roast beef dinner that she is cooking up! I miss tasting the gravy! But, we've spoken about celebrating Christmas all over again in February when I'm back, so I can look forward to an extra special roast then. I don't think my idea of keeping the Christmas tree up until then went down very well though. Shame. I'm going to miss mine and Amanda's annual "Sprucey Brucey" weekend this year. Happy Birthday to Terresa for today...hope you have a great day and Chris spoils you rotten once he is home off his stag weekend. Lots of love to everyone.

I'M ON THE MOVE...

Finally, after a few weeks of waiting, tomorrow I will be moving into my new home. Getting a lease on an apartment here turned out to be a lot trickier than we thought, but after lots of negotiation with the landlady we have signed the lease and will be moving in this weekend. I am so relieved! I've spent the last week with Tom and Rachel out on the East Coast which has been a lot better than where I was staying previously. So a massive thank you to them (and Dale) for letting me stay.


What else have I been up to? Well, works been hard this week, with a pitch coming up. So a few late nights and early starts. But the works looking great and it flys out to India this weekend. Fingers crossed for that. Would be great to win the first pitch that I've worked on here.


Last weekend was spent chilling. By the pool. Reading. Relaxing. Watching TV. Up until last Sunday I hadn't watched any TV for six weeks! But I suppose it just goes to show that I' don't really miss it.

Tonight I'm going to a "masked ball" which I'm excited about. A sports social for Jill (my new housemates) netball team. I was hoping to make my mask. Unfortunately I've let myself down a bit as I haven't physically had the time. And somehow, making masks without Lauren just wouldn't be the same. 

It's 9 weeks today until Christmas Eve, and since I last wrote Tom, Rachel and I have made plans to spend Christmas in Thailand. On Phi Phi for five days! I can not wait! 

FOR MUM AND DAD...

As you all know, my mum and dad mean the world to me and I made the decision before I left the UK to get another tattoo. One that would constantly remind me of them (even though they're on my mind 24/7). Unfortunately I didn't get chance before I left. Last weekend I finally got around to it. So here it is.

JUST CHECKING IN...

I realised today that I haven't posted an entry for a while. So I thought I'd check in and keep you all up to date with what has been going over the last week or so. Apartment wise, we're still on the hunt and nothing has been signed yet! Due to an extremely annoying landlady! I was hoping to have moved this coming Saturday but that isn't looking likely at the moment. 


Once again, last week flew by, and we spent Friday night having a yummy Italian down on Robertson Quay (where we should eventually be living). I had the most amazing seafood linguine! I've never had seafood pasta with so much seafood in it. It would usually be the case you had to hunt for the prawns. But this was covered. Prawns, mussells, squid, cockles and crab on top. Yummy.

I've started making a list of places to take mum and dad when they visit in April...this restaurant will be one of them! Saturday I had a lazy day and caught up on my sleep! Followed by a trip to Ikea to pick up my bedding (in anticipation of moving this week!) It had to be done and although I cursed it at the time because it was sunny outside, I'm glad I got it out of the way.

Rachel and Tom have moved out to the East Coast now, so I spent the evening with Rachel whilst Tom was off playing football (in this heat I think he's mad!) Dale's condo, that the guys are living in, has a massive pool and a jacuzzi spa, so I was in my element as I got to relax! It's a hard life here!

I downloaded a new app for my i Phone called Hipstamatic. So I've been experimenting with it over the weekend. Pretty cool hey!?

So that's pretty much it really. No really exciting adventures to report this week. Just a very hard week in work with lots of exciting projects on the go including a few beer briefs! A whole new world for me, but learning lots! Lots of love to you all!

SING FOR YA DINNER...

Tom's set up a food blog called "Sing For Ya Dinner". I know Amanda will love this, so if any of you are interested check it out:
http://singforyadinner.blogspot.com/

ASIA'S FAVOURITE PLAYGROUND...

This weekend was extremely chilled. After a heavy night Friday celebrating Dale's departure from Design Bridge I think we were all feeling a little rough. The weekend involved a lot of sleeping, sun bathing, relaxing, swimming and sky riding! We headed over to Sentosa on Sunday afternoon to check out the island that has become "Asia's Favourite Playground." Located 15 minutes from the city, we caught the MRT down to Harbourfront and jumped on a cable car which took us up to the top of the hill to a bar called The Jewel Box. A bar that rests amongst the  trees at the top of Mount Faber. It's Singapore's most iconic hilltop destination. It would have been rude not to have a cocktail when we arrived. So we sat 106 metres above sea level admiring the views out to Sentosa sipping on Pink Ladies, Singapore Slings and Screaming Orgasms (Tom's choice of drink!). 


A quick cable car ride back down and we were on Sentosa. Home to a wide variety of themed attractions, award winning spa retreats, rainforests, golden sandy beaches, resort accommodations, golf courses and a marina, all spread over 500 hectares. It's pretty impressive. To get from the entrance down to the beach you hop on a sky ride. With you're feet dangling above the trees below you can't help but feel exhilarated. Don't worry mum, I won't put you through that! 

We were heading towards the beach. One of three on the island. Dale and his friends had invited us along to join them at Tanjong Beach Club which is right on the front of the beautiful stretch of beach, just 15 metres from the water. As the sun set the twinkling lights of the nearby ships made it almost magical. The "Club" itself is a mix of restaurant, bar and playground, with an infinity pool in the middle and beds on the beach and a DJ playing chill out music. I'd say both sexy and sophisticated! There was a lot of flesh on show! The weekend finished off with some yummy food at a nearby restaurant, again, sat out on the beach. Even at 10pm it is still extremely warm and you don't even feel time passing by. Although it is hot here constantly which reminds me that I'm far away from home, this weekend, whilst we sat admiring the view, I had the realisation that I now live on a tropical island. I've swapped Sunday afternoons at the Duke sat in front of the fire getting warm for afternoons lying on the beach relaxing in the intense sunshine topping up my tan. Crazy.


Another weekend has come and gone. I've been here a month already! After hearing about Ken and Lauren's engagement I decided to book a holiday home at the end of January 2011 for a fortnight. Although that's 16 weeks away, with so many exciting things planned between now and then (hopefully Christmas in Thailand) I already know that time flies and it will be here before I know it. I look forward to seeing you all in January!

CONGRATULATIONS...

Huge congratulations to Lauren and Ken on their engagement! I was super excited to hear their news last night! And even more excited when Lauren asked me to be her chief bridesmaid. I'm really disappointed obviously that I can't be there to congratulate you guys in person. But Tom, Rachel and I had a toast when we heard the news last night and will toast again this week whilst we're out!

Miss you two heaps...especially our X Factor nights with roast dinners! Lots of love to you both, can not wait to start planning the hen weekend! 

THIS WEEKS "MOST BIZARRE" AWARD GOES TO...

...the dried up lizard being sold in the shop around the corner from work...

Who in their right mind would eat this?! Claudio and I found it whilst we were on our way out to lunch yesterday. Just there. On the street, along with some weird looking animals legs with feet attached. The local guys in the office take us out to lunch most days and yesterday convinced us to try some of the local desserts.

These do not compare to apple crumble and custard at all! But were interesting to say the least. The top one, Tub Tim Krob, or locally known as Red Ruby is a dessert that originates from Thailand. The red balls are jelly with water chestnuts inside in coconut milk and syrup topped over crushed ice. Looks and sounds bizarre but was quite enjoyable. A weird taste sensation, biting into jelly and finding something so hard! The bottom one, Ais Kacang is also known as ABC for short. It's a sweet tasting ice served with sweet flavoured syrup and jelly. This variation had brown sugar over it so you can only imagine how sweet it was. The sauce you can see on top is condensed milk and yes, that's sweetcorn. One word...wrong! But, I decided that I would try everything at least once, but on this occasion I certainly didn't enjoy.


Lasts night dinner however was an amazing experience. Tom, Rachel and I went to Chinatown after a few drinks. We decided on "Steam Boat". A Chinese-style hotpot, eaten communally served in a massive bowl in the centre of the table. You get side dishes of raw meats, chicken, pork, beef, fish, squid, vegetables etc. You name it you can have it! Then they are the cooked by dipping them into the hotpot which is kept simmering at a boiling temperature. The soup after is at its tastiest after all the meats and vegetables have been cooked in it. We had a feast! Here's Tommy just as they served the hotpot!

SINGAPORE SLINGS...

I swore blind that I wouldn't drink another Singapore Sling after being violently sick at my leaving party but as I'm now in the city where the iconic drink originates I thought it would be rude not to. And as the boys asked me along I obviously said "yes" and found myself in the Long Bar of Raffles Hotel sipping away at my (very tasty) Singapore Sling, eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the floor. Yes, Jennie, this is another one of those moments when I really wish you were here with me. We finished off the night with a yummy Thai on Clarke Quay on the river and a few drinks in a MicroBrewery called The Pump Room. Although drinking on a Monday. Not the most intelligent thing I've done since I've been here. 

HOME SWEET HOME...WELL NEARLY!

So, I've finally managed to find somewhere to live. We had so many viewings on Saturday lasting from 9.30am until 5pm. I was shattered! And by the time we viewed the last place, I couldn't really remember what the first looked like. But, today we had our LOI accepted by the landlord so once the contracts are signed tomorrow I have a new home and will be moving in on the 16th October. Only two weeks to wait.


I'll give you a sneak peek of the pool...actually, no I won't! I know some of you have already seen some pics but I'll wait until I'm moved in properly to take some nice photos. River Place is a river-side condominium on the bank of the Singapore River near Clarke Quay. That might not mean anything to a lot of people, but, basically it's in a very "cool" location. You can stroll along the tree-lined river side promenade, cross over the footbridge and walk to the nearby shops. Not wanting to make you all jealous, the facilities include a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, tennis courts, fitness stations, gym, putting green (how cool!) entertainment room, BBQ pits, foot reflexology path, fitness track and this is the absolute highlight...a kareoke room!!! I can not wait for those parties!


I'm so pleased that I have found somewhere live, and once I've moved in and I'm settled I'll feel like I've made a new home for myself. I really miss my flat and homely it was. Although this is completely on the other end of the scale to a two bed Victorian house in Windsor I hope that it will soon become "home" and I hope to be very happy there.

2010 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX...

So the Grand Prix finally arrived. The build up here was intense. Everywhere I went for the first couple of weeks SingTel were promoting and as I've never been to a Grand Prix before I wasn't really sure what to expect, well, apart from the noise obviously.

Friday night blew me away. The shear volume was incredible. And although you could buy a "survival pack" which included earplugs I thought it kind of defeated the object. I wanted to experience the sound and hear everything that was going on around me. As we arrived at the track, we were casually walking towards the bar. I heard a car and moved to my right to avoid being run over. I glanced to my left, and there she was, Missy Elliot, sat casually in the back of a car trying to get through the crowd. As you can imagine...I'm super excited at this point! A few beers in, we made our way over to the Pandang where the main concerts were taking place just in time to see Missy pop out of a box on stage. 

She's mad! Not only is she wearing a PVC/shellsuit number, it's black...she must be boiling. The temperature doesn't drop here at night. So whilst she's giving it her all on stage she must be sweating her b**bs off! She brought back so many memories from A Level/College years! I've never experienced a concert where the artist jumps off the stage and the into crowd, who literally parted instantly for her to perform "Work It" amongst her fans. Walking back to the track, I hear another horn, this time I turn to see two golf buggys. The first piled high with instrument cases. The second...Escala, the electric string quartet. Amazing.

Saturday proved equally as exciting as I got to catch up with Phil and Tom who'd arrived in Singapore the week before but had been off an adventure to Kuala Lumpar. I'd been out house hunting all day, so when I finally arrived I was in much need of a drink! The boys had seats in the Grandstand on the straight overlooking the bay stage so I went and joined them ready for the Qualifying rounds. To be honest I didn't really have a clue what was going on! I'm a total girl when it comes to F1 it seems. Ask me about cricket...I'm much more knowledgeable! Nevertheless, the evening was quality. It was so nice to see the lads and I was overwhelmed once again that I was sat, watching the Grand Prix in Singapore. I wouldn't swap this experience with anything else right now! Thank you to Tom and Phil for making me laugh until I cried...you've been great fun. My first visitors to my new home.

So, after all the hype, it's been and gone. But now I know what to expect for next year which I'm sure will be equally as enjoyable. I also managed to find somewhere to live this weekend, have a manicure and pedicure, and do some shopping on Orchard Road (again!) So, as you can imagine by Sunday I was shattered.