Brunch @ Orange Thimble

It's the first Sunday of the year, so we headed for brunch at a new place!
Planned by Daniel as a surprise for me, thank God for such a man! ;)
And more importantly, it's for us to spend some quality time before he sets sail for a week... :(

Anyway, we had brunch at Orange Thimble, a "secret hideout" in the midst of Tiong Bahru:

Find it at Blk 56 Eng Hoon Street #01-68 S160056.


I'd thought the exterior was so... beckoning!

We like the homely and serene feel of the place.



My cup of green tea and his cup of cappucino.


While waiting for the above to buzz...

I couldn't help but notice that Orange Thimble is environmentally-friendly too...

What brilliant usage of the egg trays to enhance the vintage feel of the place! ;)


We had "The English (Breakfast)" and "The English Roll".
Hmmm, they're really filling for brunch! :D
(Pardon our lack of adjectives about the food, we aren't food bloggers but we love eating and love finding new eateries... :P )

I love tiramisu(s), so we obvously tried that!



10ish am and we were both getting high on tiramisu because the sponge is super soaked in liquor!!
What a way to start our Sunday...

Why 'orange'?


Why 'thimble'?



Great ambience for my marking! ;)


One room away and good for chilling :D

Go outdoors for a different feel...


Old school stuff...






The grills and plywood decor gave the place a vintage/warehouse feel...


Done walking around and exiting the whole vintage realm within the cafe...



The shop owner took this photo for us, shows much about their friendliness! ;)

I love the atmosphere, I'm definitely going to return to do my marking in the midst of that peace and quiet! ;)

beachy start to 2012! ;)

Having the first long weekend of 2012, we brought Tibbit out to Sentosa to jumpstart the year on a beachy note! ;)

Here's the silly dog looking worriedly at the waves as they 'crashed' onto the sand:


We took turns to swim with the silly dog:


See how skinny he is when wet!


That's Tibbit at the right, watching a group of frisbee players and their frisbee - he'd try to run or jump for it whenever it came near. =.=


Since our silly dog was getting a bit restless...

We left shortly after so Tibbit could have his dinner and rest at home.

We then met the Navy boys for dinner at Ma Maison at The Central:


It was my first time having escargot because I've always thought it to be disgusting, but well, I should try something new since it's a brand new year right?
And hey, Ma Maison did it pretty well! ;)

My 2011 in a post

It's the last day of the year and I'd thought it'll be interesting to sum my year up in a post.
Afterall, my 2011 did "flash" by my mind a few times this December; it's as if my mind's telling me to share about my year... :)


I started the year with a group of friends from the Navy and some of their WAGs.
Who'd have known then that my fiancé is amongst them and I'll become one of the WAGs too... ;)

Looked through photos and just realised what a bore I was from January to March - random chill-outs and wasting my life away. :|
April came and my life plunged to an all time low.
Having been going to church fervently every week since the start of the year, the ex broke up citing reasons about our differences, especially in belief.

My heart was so broken I felt like I could never love again.


I felt like I would not experience happiness again, especially because I'd tried so so hard...

Oh, my silly dog knew my mood though, and he'd be good if I was emo and "talking" to him...

Yea, that was how crazy/pathetic (?) I could be, resorting to talking to my dog! :P

God proved me wrong...
When Easter came, my life took a turn, for the better. :)


The sailor took me shopping and encouraged me with God's promises.


My colleagues showed their love as well...


The sailor bought gifts to cheer me up at work...


I read books and I prayed to get back from that low...



This Easter, I truly felt God's love for me.
Yes, just some three weeks and I could see God moving in my life.


My CG mates continued reaching out to me and re-affirming me about God's promises.


I also got to know more and more about the sailor God planted in my life.
I wondered if he could be the one, but I was worried it'd be a rebound and I did not want to do that to this God-loving and God-fearing man.
We continued going for service together, and he kept me well-grounded in God - as I drew closer to God and got to know God more, I got to know the sailor better too...

One night after cell group in May, the sailor asked me to be his girlfriend.

Even though it was just 5 weeks after the break-up, it felt 'right'; I took that leap of faith and said, "Yes."

We went for our first holiday in June:


We also had our first staycation in June, after a friend's wedding:


I was definitely not expecting to catch the bouquet:


I seriously did not think I would..


But me catching it just a month into our relationship was a sign:


We were in a "tripartite" relationship heading for marriage:


Born 4 days apart, we celebrated our birthdays together:


The sailor surprised me by having my BFFs turn up at dinner:


The sailor won my family over in 6 weeks!


My colleagues surprised me too :)


The sailor surprised me again with my college girlfriends:


Our CG celebrated our birthdays as well :D


I performed for the school's Aesthetics Night in July and my (first) form class was there for me:


August saw me going to London for the first time in my life on a NCC trip:




It also saw the sailor and I through our water baptism:


September and October were busy months - it was the time of the year to prepare for the End-of-Year Examinations whilst the sailor was activated on sailing trips to serve the country.

Perhaps a highlight of September was that we applied for a HDB as my parents ranted about the location of our unit:

And it also struck me, the amount of money required to have a roof over my head in sunny Singapore..

November saw me taking the second step of faith and saying 'yes' to the sailor the second time:


December would soon be over.
Besides preparing for school - notes, slides, worksheets and all - I spent time reading:


I spent time with my fiancé:

We read together.

We baked together for the first time ;)


I spent time with God and His people:




I spent time with friends:






In a nutshell, though 2011 did not start off too well and instead put me through an all-time-low, by God's grace and love, I was picked up and I am where I am now with lots of love from my family and friends!
PTL! :D

Main point for my students who read me, life as a student is SHORT, so use your time well to excel in your studies and CCA.
Of course, don't invest so much time in your CCAs that you neglect your studies!
Remember, you're a student before you're a member of your CCA ;)

This post especially goes out to those of you who're in BGRs.
You're still young, grow your knowledge and character, you'll eventually meet the right one ;)