In my 2014 year-in-review post, I claimed it was nothing but awesome! After reviewing my past year, I can say 2015 was equally awesome too (despite my colitis scare in March and the two occasions I was badly shaken emotionally). I am the type of person who chooses to share the brighter side of my life hence in this blog, you only get to have a glimpse of my "highs" and very little hints of my "lows".
On that note, here are the highlights of my 2015:
JANUARY
Looking back at my blog entries in January last year, I realized I didn't blog much about my family's happenings except for an update how sweet my not-so-baby G is. As seen in the collage I made above, the highlight of our January have to be G's first day in nursery school and furniture shopping to replace our worn out pieces of furniture at home. Grateful for the bonus the hubby and I received as we finally had a budget for a bit of home improvement.
FEBRUARY
The month of love got the hubby and I feeling so mushy. He surprised me with a roses bouquet 2 days before the actual St Valentine's Day, we went for a date on the eve of V-day and celebrated the actual day with the kids exploring the Singapore's National Monuments via a media invite. When the kids went to bed at night, we had wine and cheese in the heart and comfort of our home. The DIY Vday romantic set up was a surprise I did for the hubby and he was nothing but pleased and delighted.
MARCH
We treated the kids to a short trip to Kuala Lumpur during the March school holidays and the highlights of our stay are the awesome food at Impiana KLCC Hotel's club lounge, our room with an awesome view and of course, a visit to the Petrona's Twin Towers, Suria KLCC, and Berjaya Times Square. You can read my blog about our day 1 here, day 2 here and things to see and do in KL here.
APRIL
K and I went for a quick foodie-date at her all-time favourite French restaurant, Poulet and watched A Night of Magic at Raffles by Joe Labero after. I always treasure my dates with K as it gives me the opportunity to catch up and bond with her without a toddler disturbing our precious moments. I am a firm believer in the "magic"of one-on-one dates with the kids.
MAY
I will never forget how I was pampered and loved on Mother's Day last year. The hubby indulged me with white roses, a heavenly Hokkaido cheesecake and a Mother's Day Staycation at Conrad Centennial Hotel. On top of everything, the kids showered me with lots of hugs and kisses and handmade cards. It was the sweetest and happiest Mother's Day celebration I had so in 12 years as a mom, I was floating on cloud 9 the entire time!
As if those blessings aren't enough, the celebrity international blogger Daphne Osena Paez agreed to be featured here at Sweet Memoirs (what an honour!). I sent her my interview questionnaire via email and she answered them swiftly without a single hint of "mighty high" attitude. She is one of the humblest and most inspiring celebrity bloggers I truly admire and look up to.
JUNE
I was over the moon when I learned that I was chosen as one of the Top 10 Finalist for Best Lifestyle Blog at the Singapore Blog Awards (SBA) 2015. It's definitely the highlight of my blogging career! Other highlights of our June include the Slime Cup, SEA Games Carnival, a date with K at Nana's Green Tea, G's field trip to Singapore Zoo and a dinner date with the hubby are Zen Japanese Restaurant.
I almost forgot, we also went on a quick weekend getaway at Turi Beach in Nongsapura, Batam to celebrate Father's Day. We fell so much in love with the breathtaking place and the food that up to this day, the kids, the hubby and I are still taking about going back for another visit. You can read about our day 1 here and day 2 here. I am now feeling so blessed all over again looking back at how our June turned out.
JULY
Our precious G turned 4 years old. I ordered a fondant cake and cupcakes from Petite Joy Bakes and G loved it! We had 3 candle blowing sessions on that day. We had one in the morning upon receiving the cake, another one in the afternoon at his school celebration and lastly, in the evening when K arrived from school and before we left for the SBA 2015 awards night.
Being nominated as a finalist at Singapore Blog Awards was the very first official recognition I had as a blogger so I dolled-up to attend the awards night with my girl. I didn't bagged the Best Lifestyle Blog award but I was contented enough to be included in the finalist.
On the same month, our Family had the honour to be invited at the launch of Singapore's Cable Car New Sentosa Line, we had cooking fun with Bosch kitchen appliances, had dinner date with the Hubby at Siam Kitchen, and we went to check out the Singapore Stories flower display at Gardens by the bay.
AUGUST
We celebrated Singapore's 50th Birthday with a momentous SG50 staycation at Fullerton Hotel. We also acquired SG50 NDP show tickets via online balloting. Standing at The Padang with a sea of red made us feel so blessed to have called Singapore our home for the past 10 years and many more years to come.
Another reason why we indulged in a staycation at the posh and iconic Fullerton Hotel is the celebration of K and M's birthday (yes, they share the same birth date) which is just a few days apart from Singapore's birthday. K turned officially 13 and M turned 41.
Other highlights of August were the Sophisca Blogger's Party, a trip to the zoo and River Safari, another couple date at Zen Japanese Restaurant and making a homemade strawberry jam with G.
SEPTEMBER
We were once again hit by a bad haze in September and the only two occasions we managed to go outdoors for a breather are to witness the Mid-Autumn Festival at Gardens by the Bay and
a spur of the moment trip to Changi Village and a quick stopover to have these 3D coffee at Chockfull of Beans. On one hazy day, I attended Dr Benjamin Yim's 15th Anniversary celebration at Hard Rock Cafe.
OCTOBER
The haze lingered but we managed to go for an anniversary beach getaway cum birthday retreat at Nirwana Beach Resort. I was truly grateful that hubby and I get to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary and my 37th birthday in a really nice and peaceful place with the kids. It gave us the opportunity to breathe in the goodness of life and pause to count our blessings amidst our crazy work life.
I documented my favourite moments from my birthday retreat here. To make my birthday even more memorable, we did a family outdoor photoshoot at the resort which turned out great despite not having coordinated clothes and fancy props. We loved the resort so much, I wrote an unpaid review here.
Other highlight of my birthday month include a little me-time attending a food styling x mobile photography workshop at Bosch Experience Centre and our simple yet fun-filled Children's Day celebration.
NOVEMBER
The highlight of our November has to be the Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay. Other noteworthy things that happened were our collaboration with Sticker Kid, Stamford Education and witnessing the launch of Breadtalk's 1st Global concept Store at Vivo City.
DECEMBER
The highlight of not just the month of December but our whole 2015 was a grand reunion with my family back home. The photo above were taken with my mom and all my siblings with their respective partners in life minus my mom's 18 grandchildren. We went for a 3-day road trip in Ilocos and we had a grand time making memories worth treasuring for a lifetime!
In the same month, my sister-in-law got married. I couldn't be any happier for her as she found a man she very well deserved.
I may have said this already last year, but I will say it again. Our deeply flawed family can't thank God enough for all the wonderful blessings he threw our way. To God be the glory always and forever!
