Koko Black Blogger Meetup by Nuffnang

Giving chocolate to others is an intimate form of communication, a sharing of deep, dark secrets. - Milton Zelman, publisher of "Chocolate News"

Thanks to NuffnangAU and of course our two lovely host - Violet and Penny, on 24 of July, we have 2 tables of Melbourne blogger at Koko Black on Collins Street diagnosed with chocolate overdose. I think almost all with RSVP attended. Well, nobody would turn down a chocolate "deal".

Photo by Sylvia (me!!)

This is my first time attending a blogger meet-up. Its a great pleasure to finally meet Violet in person, especially after months of chit chatty over our blog and tweets. She is truly adorable, in the internet world and in person. And because of this event, I get to know a bunch of food blogger - Michelle, Emma, Simone, I Hua and Ceri! Ladies who love food are far more attractive, healthy and happy!

Prior that, I was thinking whether to bring my big camera for the occasion. However, Violet promised me it would be the last thing to worry as blogger meet-up usually means lots of pictures from blogger! Anyway, I brought my Sony digital and managed to capture a few candid, but sitting far at the corner, I couldn't get a good squeeze on our chocolates and other blogger, louis vuitton handbags so I asked permission from other blogger to use theirs And they are all too lovely to say YES!

#1 Sort of a group picture. It isn't complete because not all are in it.

Credit to Penny

#2 The table I sat. With a bunch of lovely lollies.

Photo by Sylvia (me!!)

#3 2nd table was full too! I know it looks empty in this picture, it is because I took it before they arrive =D

Photo by Sylvia (me!!)

#4 Sarah Stokely ordered chocolates for us.

Credit to Simone

#5 I ordered Ice Chocolate. Its too sweet to finish the whole thing by myself! And nails are done by me too =)

Photo by Simone

#6 Michelle is a psychology student in Melbourne Uni, and she is from KL! As soon as I know she's a food blogger, I asked if she ever tried Papa Chang's restaurant. Guess what? She loves Grand Imperial and had written a review on Bangsar's branch of G.I.

Credit to Michelle

#7 Chocolate Affagato. This is going to be my order for the next visit. A must! They absolutely makes my mouth waters with greed :P

Credit to I Hua

#8 Simone from A Look In My Book, I Hua from The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua and the cutest host,  Violet Le Beaux

Photo by Sylvia (me!!)

Once again, thanks NuffnangAU, thanks Violet, Penny and everyone who came! We should do this again =)

xoxo

few days in a post

sweet day folks (= this post is going to be long. with words and pictures. compressing few days into one, including my ski trip to falls creek ! bear with more of my portrait.

#1 last weekend, arrived at falls creek in late afternoon. foggy. and snowing. but its a whole lot lesser compared to last year's.

#2 i like white trees. i mean, i like trees covered by snows! so christmas.

#3 at village bowl later that evening for 1st of july firework show. that's my new jacket. thank you mama chang for that, i love you!!! (i swiped her card)!

#4 got to admit you won't know if i am smiling or crying under that "cover". you won't even sure if that's me. but she is me!

#5 my keeper! i love him more when he's active in sports. *blushed*


wednesday. the boyfriend and me decided to finally visit the melbourne museum as they have the titanic exhibition showing till october. but its out-booked for two weeks by schools for their holiday excursion. so many primaries and secondaries with their teachers. hence, we left. planned to come back after school-breaks. perhaps when alvin chin is here, we can come together!

#6 outside melbourne museum. and this building, honestly i have no idea what's that. but taste of melbourne held there! anyone going this year? i know i am (= how can i miss out those fine food?

#7 with the "poster". i won't be able to take pictures in it anyway. this might be the only one you'll see unless you come with me.

#8 the sky is freakishly blue! cloudless. such a good day to go to the beach, you might say, but its windy and freezing!

friday. congratulation to the boyfriend who passed his exams. we were worried a couple of failures but it turned out with a happy marks. to sort of celebrate it, i begged for a retail therapy at chadstone. i like to shop there. shopping mood just switched on whenever its at chadstone. after few hours, we hunt down some pretty clothing. very much satisfied. now, my turn to get nervous for my result releasing on monday. god bless me!

#9 wearing cotton-on beanie, roxy white furry jacket, cotton-on printed tee and stussy black jeans; at yummy bubblepia, holmesglen for brunch! korean food please.

#10 they have the cheapest and deliciousness food i have ever had ! especially my favourite, kim-chi hot pot! side dishes are good too. what's in my hot pot? mushroom, tofu, kimchi, sweet potatoes noodle, pork belly!

today, saturday! the boyfriend planned our outing. which always make me feel happy. after brunch at ying thai 2, lygon street, we walked all the way to brunswick. apparently, at rose street, they have a saturday market. its a local-made market. i was so happy till i forget to take any picture. bought few handmade card and the boyfriend bought me a handmade bracelet. love it!

#11 while roaming along brunswick street, i spotted the provincial. i love their tiramisu! so we walked-in for dessert. i used to be seated at the other side of the cafe. but today, we discovery the other part is really nice and cosy. its like a indoor backyard. beautiful.

#12 unknown reason to the secret of getting fair skin. honestly, i always forget to put on sunscreen (or i should say, almost never), yet my skin gets fairer! hooray! but i should be putting on sunscreen more often, to avoid the wrinkles and stuff like that. you know, i am aging too~

#13  snapped the interior of the provincial.

#14 a blonde and brunette kindly took this for us as a returned favor to do the same for them. haha. but i like brunswick. its so old school. and you can see stuff like this "chair" popping out along the street. we look like we shared a pair of wing, don't we?

#15 when asked why i blog, i always answer " for myself and people who cares". although tutorial blogs especially make-ups, fashions, crafts are the popular kids in our blogosphere, i stubbornly stick with my reason to blog. honestly, i don't care if i make money via blogging. its really a place for me to write and share with people who cares. that, is why i blog, to share myself.

with love and compassion,
sylvia

singapore with the other changs

another week passed by. happy holiday to all students!

many friends flying home the day before i touched down at melbourne airport. i was home earlier. while many are still under exam stress, i was back home spending quality time with my family. thanks to my good exam schedule. i did all my papers on the first two week of the exam period. holiday is till 18th of july but i am back to kangaroo-land way earlier as the boyfriend and i had a date with kammy. a ski trip up to falls creek. our annual thing. *will talk about that in the next post*

anyway, i was back in my home country for ten days. a busy, happening and memorable one. papa chang brought us to the newly opened marina bay sands at singapore. sands hotel is better than sentosa's. we even got free passes to visit the sky park. its spectacular.

#1 marina bay sands hotel

#2 with parents at our must go japanese restaurant
the boyfriend says i am very much a kid when i'm with my parents =] its like i never grown up. even though my i.d shows i am a 22 big girl. but its alright. we all like it this way.

#3 first family portrait after 2 years !!

#4 its me and singapore night view at sky park. the top floor of marina bay sands. a must go.

#5 our last picture together was at the peak, hong kong. night view of the city too.

#6 sky park has 2 restaurants, a 150metres swimming area along the way, spa areas and walking paths for passer by to just enjoy the city lights.

#7 second day at singapore. all of us are in this picture. spotted dad at the background getting a mvp for us.

#8 at ion mall food court with my brother, simon

#9 then, we went universal studio ! had heaps of fun there. xx is in her happiest moments :) loves sibling outings!

#10 xx was super excited to see penguin (from madagascar). she actually yelled "hey, its me! i want a photo!" but we're all happy kids.

#11 if you ever visit universal studio, singapore... shrek 4D is a must do. MUST!!

#12 poser! somewhat like this picture of me and sis.

#13 last but not least, thank you the boyfriend for his companion. ily.

i'm so going to plan our family trip to united state of america for christmas. can't wait for the next get together! i love you all!

p.s i read a sentence and would like to share with you :) 父母永遠只得一對，愛遲了，會抱憾. so true. please appreciate and love your parents, and of course your family. they are the only that you're truly related to.

with love and compassion,
sylvia

sofia's 22 birthday dinner

good day folks (=

tomorrow will be the beginning of rmit's 3-weeks exam period. my first paper - international monetary economic, is scheduled on wednesday morning. meaning i have less than 30 hours after excluding showers time, meals and bed hours. honestly, i am prepared, but not well-prepared. still have to pump up a little before taking it. but i'll be fine, pray hard.

last friday, 4th june, i went out with my girlfriends. its sofia shukri's 22 birthday dinner. we took few hours off from studies for the event. chose kitchen workshop at crown. nothing big. just few of us, food, jokes and pictures. aud 20 for buffet and complimentary 1/2kg of prawns. worth it? maybe.

even without alcohol, we had great time. finally met jolynn my high-school's gorgeous. its been years, and we never bump into each other! how big can melbourne cbd be? especially we're living on the same street, just few blocks away.

i finally attend her birthday. missed last year's. and we all make it for this one. i think mainly because its me and christine's last year. perhaps its our last celebration together in melbourne. furthermore, its a perfect excuse for all to take a break from our madhouse revisions.

there is a policy in the restaurant. the "no helping in photo taking" policy that disappoint us. hence, the 10s function of our digital camera is the hero of the night for our group picture. after few shots, smiles frozen. but we'll never forget laughter we shared.

with love and compassion,
sylvia

reminiscing the good old time

" happy 520. "

few people greet me with that sentence. and many mentioned it across the social networks. i am clueless about the actuality of 520-festive. the numbers somehow represents i love you. i don't even know how people come up with that. tried to read it with different language - english, mandarin, cantonese, hokkien - but it just don't seem to be relevant. guess one just made it up for a mini celebration. just like the many different valentine's day for each 14th.

#1 found a picture of me and my brother. reminiscing childhood memories. couldn't help to scan it and uploaded them on facebook to share with friends.

#2 long time ago at kuching (city of cat), sarawak. its our primary's graduation trip with my best classmates - huey shin, jane, karmun, joyce. of course, we've turned into an elegant and smart lady.

#3 cousins wise, we were the closest. there was a 10 years later version of this picture. but i still prefer this one. pure beautiful smiles on each pretty face.

#4 our only group pictures back in help. although hazel is not with us, because she is holding the camera! i remember how we got so close on orientation day and stick together ever since.

#5 when i was a baby, i know nothing but happy. i desire happy. and never want to stop being happy. perhaps that's part of me.

#6 living our dreams. i was surprised by the strength of our friendship. distance hasn't break us apart, yet it helps to grow stronger. although, i miss sharing notes and ideas at starbuck's, like we used to.


you know, i do believe, photos remind us of who we were, and who we've chose to become :)

with love and compassion,
s.c

papa mama in town

finally able to squeeze my schedule to be seated and blog about the last few days. pretty unproductive. academic wise. before seeing dad and mom, i was too excited. were day dreaming in class. no revision done. not even my reports. then, 36hours to spend with my parents are amazing.

#1 dad and me were playing with the "magic mirror" outside the pancake parlour. mom think its ugly and very uncomfortable about it. but dad loves it! look how he smiled. that's one hell happy face.

first evening, brought them to a vietnamese restaurant for some light dinner. then we head back to my apartment. to show them its clean and very comfortable. later that night, we went to crown casino. must be my 4th or 5th time here since 2007. ha. not a big fan of expensive restaurants and the gambling part.

#2 its been two years since their last visit. i do cherished our moments here. people says i have both papa and mama in me.

we'd spend the whole thursday together. having a wonderful breakfast at couple cinos, kensington. mama loves it. she has been talking about how soft and yummy was the bread and latte for the rest of the day then met up with uncle bill and stacy chanel handbags for some catch ups on what am i going to do with my apartment when i leave the country and perhaps the getting a p.r  before that.

later, the boyfriend drove us all to chadstone. parents haven't been there. happily shop for ourselves. mama bought a pink yoga mat, papa bought a yoga shorts and one for uncle sam, our yoga instructor back home, a very hunky jacket papa bought for the boyfriend and i got myself a classy coat. super love it.

#3 i look pretty cute and... funny.

its been great spending time with papa and mama. can't wait to see them again in december, for my graduation baby! and it would be great if sister is here too!


with love and compassion,
s.c