our living space...

We spend most of our Sundays, lounging in our living room area. And it looks like this most of the time, cushions scattered here and there, and everything looking like someone just had a tumble around. It's considered quite clean already- usually we have balls and toys strewn around as well! =)

It is my favourite space in our place for a couple of reasons:

#1.  It's a great place to lounge, hang out and watch tv. On days when I need to, I just sprawl out on the floor. When we have visitors, people just plonk themselves down on the floor if the daybed is taken. Just an easy place to relax!

#2. I am in love with this Indian day bed we bought off craigslist. It's in great condition and the couple who sold it to us were seriously sad to see it go. Someone gave it to them but they just didn't have the space for it. I got it for a STEAL!

Only problem is I need to get the cushion upholstered, but haven't gotten round to it. So bed-sheets from ikea will have to do now.  *grinz*

#3.  The built in display area! What's not to love about having some space to put some of your favourite knick-knacs? All of the frames were gifts and really shows off my kookiness...

Yup, pics from my childhood. I've had these 2 pics by my bed-stand as a girl for years, and it was only natural to find a home for them in my new place. I'm sentimental like that. Hubby doesn't have many pics of himself as a child, so mine hog our space for now!

#4. Finally, there's our priceless artwork on display. This series of paintings called 'Footprints for daddy', was a  birthday gift we put together for my hubby. Yup, it's the boys footprints.

 It's really a combination of not being able to afford the sort of art we'd really like to own as well as not having enough time shop for a birthday present. Anyhow, Mr Eveel loved the gift and the boys and I had so much fun with paints!

If you're going to point out that the canvas on the right is a little crooked- i knoooow....and it's oh-kaaay...really!

Hope you've enjoyed our living room...next up will be our dining area....stay tuned! =)

Well Groomed Twins

One thing I never have to worry about is haircuts. My dad takes care of the twins haircut. He brings them to his favourite barber at Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. Plonk them down in the chair and let the guy cut away.

Of course it's not as simple or straight forward as that. It requires a strong-grip, cajoling, an ipad playing barney and a lot of ,'LOOK! Where's the car? Where's Barney?'. And of course a super steady barber who  isn't fussed about the screaming and yelling that takes place.

I have the luxury of not participating in all this. Just collect the boys from the grandparents, hair all nicely cut and trimmed! This is the shortest they've gone and I love the look.

=)

Almost 15 months...oh my...where is all that time flying to?

Introducing the Eveel Lair

I think I'm finally ready to share the Eveel Lair with you folks...

We've moved into this home for close to half a year now, and I've finally gotten most of my decorating done.

With work and the twins, it's been close to impossible to get things in place any faster. It has been a fair bit of work because the look that we were gunning for was something that didn't look like an interior decorator put everything together. I wanted it to have a distinct sense of US!

This meant keeping the renovation simple. A simple canvas that we could leave our indelible marks on.

And boy of boy, trying to express individuality in a small 4 room HDB flat is no easy feat! To ensure that our living units are as small as possible without it being an unconducive living space, HDB planners have pretty much mapped out the way homes are built these days so that you have so little space and freedom to be really different.

So working around the constraints, mostly space, Mr Eveel and I have been engaged in a trial and error process of getting to where we are now. Some of our furniture have moved more than once over the last few months. And we've even had to switch the function of some spaces because reality trumped planning on paper.

Our inspiration


Our design inspiration is this set of lamps we bought when we were in Turkey 2 years ago. It was a trip that took place post-unsuccesful first pregnancy. It was a special trip because it was a healing trip. I think we both grieved the loss of our first pregnancy in separate and different ways and it was during the trip that it finally felt that our individual journeys of coming to terms with that loss had finally come to an end. And finally, we were together, in step, beginning a new journey, one filled with hope, together.

The lamps serve as an everyday reminder of the special place and that precious moment in our lives.

It was perfectly us. Because there's nothing more (other than our twins) that we love more than COLOUR. It so made sense that our colour palette would be inspired by the beautiful gem like colours of the lamp. Bright Yellow, Shades of Blue, Red and Orange.

And what better colour to feature in our kitchen than the bright, sunny, happy colour YELLLOW.

Welcome to my kitchen!

I hope I've peaked your interest! I don't expect everyone to love it, but I love it! And i'm so excited to share my excitement with you!

Stay tuned!

Wild Fig & Vanilla Conserve

I was in a rush to get to work today. But i remembered the lovely gifts of Jam the girlfriend from Perth brought along during her last visit with me. Managed to butter up some toast and slather on some of this Wild Fig & Vanilla Conserve on my piece of whole-wheat. Took a bite and when straight to Jam heaven!

I LOVE JAM!

And i LOVE FIG jam even better. And this is the BEST fig jam I've ever tasted. The vanilla works so smoothly with the fig. It doesn't over power it, but leaves a lingering...not even taste...a sensation, maybe from the smell of the vanilla...that made me go....WHOAH......

A Western Australian family-owned company, Ogilvie & Co, with the best tagline "Life is too short for anything but the best". I'm truly won over, the next time someone's headed to Perth, PUH-LEASE bring me back more of this jam!

Married 3 years already!

So, we've turned 3!

Actually, I feel like I've been married sooooo much longer. It must be the effect of raising twins. It's like Mr Eveel and I have been to hell and back? What's that about? Our twins are amazing and they bring us so much joy. That's true. But when it's been difficult and challenging, it has been MOST difficult and TERRIFYINGLY challenging!

I'm happy to report that I am happy. We are happy. I've mentioned in an earlier post that I don't believe in blisfully happy. And i realise in large part its because of my personality that is never ever ever satisfied. I can recall countless incidences where I relive an experience and dissect every moment to always always conclude that I should or could have done things differently and maybe it could have turned out better.

For example, I still wished that I had started my wedding dinner on time instead of waiting for guests who were late. And it still nags me that the kebaya I wore for my nikah or solemnisation wasn't cut as well as I wanted it to be. Etc...see?

So all in all. The 3 years have been good. As good as I think I could ever, in my head, let it be.

My colleagues remind me everyday that I must be a nightmare to be married to.

Seriously. They actually say something along those lines in my face. Okay, maybe I do have a tendency to exaggerate some things. They don't use the word nightmare. Maybe its more along the lines of -they can't imagine being married to me. That isn't much better is it? lol!

But it's true lah. I am a nightmare to be married to.

Mostly cause I believe that at least with my spouse, above all people, that I'm able to voice out every frustration I feel, every anxiety. That I don't have to edit or censor myself. That i can be truly that person I cannot be with anyone else BUT him.

And despite that, he still wants to be married to me. Awwwww........

Anyhoo, we had a fabulous time in Koh Lanta, Krabi to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, and also to celebrate surviving 1 year of parenthood (it really hasn't been easy lor!) I'll post more about our trip soon.

Tips for Successful Dating

This post was inspired by my colleague who was genuinely startled when I told her that during my year off work (2004-2005), I travelled, did my Masters and just did a lot of dating. She was especially surprised about the fact that I 'did a lot of dating'.

She asked me, 'How did you meet the men you dated?'

It was my turn to be taken a back. What did she mean? So I replied, 'I dunno. Guys I met through work or  through non-work activities?'

I then went on to explain that I never waited for a guy to ask me out. If he was a new guy I'd met and I didn't think he was repulsive, I'd ask him out for coffee or something. So we talked about it, and I spoke to other friends about it, and I've come to a conclusion that my attitude towards dating was unique.

Yar, was. cos my dating days are over. lol.

One colleague actually suggested I write a book about dating. I don't have time to do that, so I thought I'd blog about it instead.

Ok MY tips for successful dating.

Tip #1: Heart-break is not a permanent condition.

I learnt this the way you're supposed to learn it. Someone I loved broke my heart. He did, he did. I was so heartbroken I lost the will to eat and lost tons of weight (which was fabulous!) I cried, I was miserable for a few months, and then slowly I realised that i was ok lor. And guess what? The realisation that there were so many more men out there I could now start dating just creeped out on me and took me by surprise. So yeah, hearts break but hearts are very good at mending themselves too! So since then, I've never looked back.

In fact, there was 1 guy I dated who I was convinced dumped me. It wasn't as if I asked him to marry me, I just said, 'Do you like me enough that we should commit to dating each other exclusively?' Must have freaked him out, cos I knew he was dating noone else, but he said something about his career being more important. And i recall saying, 'ok lah, we keep it exploratory and keep dating.' But we kinda didn't date much after that, and so I moved on. Fairly quickly I think.

Then 1 year later, when he found out I was dating someone else he confronted me, saying he was shocked that I had moved on so quickly. Apparently he had some strange notion that I'd hang around to wait for him to be ready to commit. I was like...what? Salah. This is not Suria channel Malay drama k?


Tip #2: It's just a date!


Never wait till you're totally invested in a guy that you think you could be in love or totally in like before asking him out on a date or accepting his invitation to go on a date.

The thing with asking a guy out when you've just met or accepting an invitation to go out with someone you've just met when you've barely formed an impression besides- oh i think he's cute- is that if the date sucks, then it sucks and you move on. It's not like he's gonna break your heart lah. And if there's no romantic connection, the you've just widened your social network right? That can't be bad.

You never know, so why cheat yourself of the opportunity to discover new things!


Tip #3: Nobody's wrong if it's not meant to be

The wonderful thing is that life has a plan for us. I absolutely believe that my heart got broken along the way for a reason. So that I'd learn what sort of guy is for me and what sort of guy is just not for me. And life just wouldn't be exciting without some drama right?


Tip #4: Don't believe dating guru tips, etc.

Yar, this is all hogwash. There's no such thing as successful dating really.

I personally think that if you're out there dating because you want to find a man to make your life complete, you're going to find it awfully hard.

First, it's not going to take a MAN  to make your life complete. You can have a complete and fulfilling life without a man. In fact, most of the time they're a pain in the a#$!

Second, why take the fun out of dating by putting so much pressure on yourself. Imagine, there's a whole world full of billions of people who can potentially enrich your life and your experiences. All it takes is ONE conversation. That's terribly exciting!

Especially when I travel, the thought always comes back to me. For all the men in this world, from London to Columbia to Bhutan to Shanghai, how is it that I end up with the Mat who lived across the road from my Tampines flat when I was in primary school?

I guess it was just meant to be...

Did i date successfully?...no lah... you just have fun getting to know different people and stumble through life, and when you're meant to..you'll meet that someone who you think- Yar- this one, I can marry!