2018.

This year is pretty crucial for me since next year I'll be 25 ; and I need to invest on anti aging products from there on. It's finally the time of the year again where I make an annual post to conclude my year. 

1. There is no need to cross the ocean for someone whom is not willing to cross a puddle for you.

2. Just because you put in extra effort to connect with someone or treat someone sincerely , it doesn't mean that they will appreciate it. Do everything willingly. If not, there is no need to force yourself.

3. I am still struggling with finance - and still have a hard time to keep up accordingly. 

4. I sold almost half of my wardrobe on Carousell.
Carousell Name : limcarmenxo

5. I tried to decrease my caffeine intake. Instead of doing so, it increased. Another good news is, I rarely drink now - less alcohol.

6. Do not use straightforwardness as an excuse to hurt someone else's feelings. There is a line between straightforward and rude. What you say shows what kind of person you are.

7. This year, I spend quite of a lot of time sulky and being jealous of someone else's life and almost forget that I need to count blessings too. 

8. I finally understand that love is not about fancy dinners and roses all the time. It is about still wanting to kiss the shit outta your partner even though you are so mad at them.

9. He tells me that I'm pretty even though I look like crap. 

10. My choices of clothes changed. My fashion sense changed. I no longer go for short skirts - I prefer midi skirts/dresses now.

11. I do not catch up with the latest hit songs on radio now ; I prefer to stick to the oldies. I do not think that my taste of music is great, but the songs nowadays are pretty shitty.

12. I let my self too loose this year. I do not feel pretty and I make no effort to do so - because I am getting very comfortable. And on 2019, I am determined to change this bad habit of mine.

13. I prefer staying in now - even if I think I am wasting my off day.

14. I am starting to invest on anti-aging cream and expensive moisturizers now.

And lastly ,

15. My 2018 sums up with - I gained hell a lot of weight, and currently is at my heaviest since I started losing weight at 18.


This is pretty lame.
But in 2019, all this bad habit needs to go off.

cheers to the new year!

x

Sea Circus Bali

I just came back from Bali a month ago. It's my third visit and this island still amaze me. The last time I visited Bali was almost 7 years ago ; and they really change a lot. Now, they have bloomed into a place I want. I do appreciate their culture and classic interior , but now I have found another reason to love Bali - which is the cafes and brunch places. To be honest, it reminds me of Melbourne. 

I went to countless of cafes ; spending 2 days on cafe hopping. 

This particular cafe is my favorite throughout the whole trip ; and it doesn't involve any caffeine at all!

Sea Circus Bali , it is.

This brunch place is on my list , but definitely not under the 'must-go' category. It was last day , and this place is just right at the corner of where I stay. Since we didn't have any concrete plan that day or any particular place to visit , we decided to give Sea Circus a try.

I could say that this place is one of the hidden gems of Bali as you might easily miss this place since it is located on the sidewalk. 

The colorful bright decoration which gives out a funky summer vibe attracted many people to take their ootds over there. 

The place is not huge hence, there might be a queue during peak hours. 

Since it's just the both of us , it is easier for us to get a seat. 

The menu matches with their concept really well. It all about summer , tropical inspired. 

Look at how bright and funky the colours are!

To match the theme , we decided to go on with their smoothies and have coffee later. 

On the table ;

Chicken Quesadillas ; Lobster Tacos ; Summer Poke Bowl ; Smoothies - Mary Poppin's & Strawberry

Summer Poke Bowl was so good! Instead of meat, I chose their marinated tofu and their texture taste like meat. This bowl change my mind about poke bowls. I never like them but Sea Circus caught my heart. 

Lobster Tacos was just alright - with the price we are paying, I barely see any lobster meat. It was just a lot of salsa.

Chicken Quesadillas is pretty good - so please order this .

Eventhough it is very busy , the service was great and the food was serve very quickly. 

This place deserves a post on its own - because it is 11/10 .

Sea Circus

Jl. Kayu Aya No.22, Seminyak, 

Bali 80361, Indonesia

Forty Hands.

I think this place deserves a post because they legit have the best avocado toast in town. Forty hands is from Singapore , and now they have a branch in Bangsar. 

Open kitchen concept. 

Their interior is different from the minimalist and contemporary design that the usual cafe has. 

Somehow, their interior makes me feel very comfortable. Maybe it's because of the natural sun lighting from the outside. 

This avocado toast is the bomb!

Unlike other cafes, the toast doesn't come with eggs . I added poached eggs on top to make it complete. I need eggs on my avocado toast. They give 3 pieces of toast bread , with generous amount of smashed avocado toast on top. Instead of smooth smashed avocado, they leave bit size of avocado. I never knew that this could go well with mint sauce. 

The whole combination is just amazing .

Hearty portion of big breakfast ;

 two eggs of your choice , mushrooms , grill tomatoes, bacon , sausage and two pieces of bread and handful of salad. 

Ordered fries because we are greedy like that. 

As an avocado toast enthusiast ,

I approve!

x

Love is not unsustainable.

I have a love-hate relationship with facebook memories. I love it when they remind me of my bad times , making me love my current life ; and I hate it when they show me better days back then. 

This month , my facebook memories have been showing me the 'good life' back then which makes me question myself - if my life is really bad right now. 

I don't think my life is bad. I just lose the freedom and time I had. I took the days where I was alone without commitments for granted. 

What hits me right there is where - I lose to reality. 

It took me months to convince myself that it will be alright ; things will get better. But the truth, the things will not because it will keep coming and there won't be an end to this. This is reality. 

Back then, it was all rainbows and candies and I did not mentally prepare of all of this. I thought I am strong enough , determine enough , realistic enough. The truth is, I am not. I was living in a bubble where my family put around me. They do let me go out there and try , but it was still within their reach to help me. Even now, they still help me and provide me for all I can.

But there are some things , they couldn't. 

In the end, it is all up to me. 

You see, 

you can put in all your effort and do whatever you can , even if it takes to go against your own belief and put your dignity down to please somebody and they will still not look in your light. They will pick faults in your effort ; snapping your hopes away. 

It is so difficult for me - it was not a smooth journey.

Sometimes, I ask myself - why do I deserve this. 

but most of the time, I tell myself -

 I need to show them that love is not unsustainable ; and a part of me refuse to give in to that kind of reality.

Tosca

I always suggest Italian food whenever it comes to dinner ; or, it would be French. 

This is almost a year back , where he brought me out for new year's eve dinner - and also to celebrate our first month. Time really flies ; now it is already our 10th. 

We went to Tosca located in Double Tree Hilton , which is a restaurant overlooking the pool. Their restaurant is actually open aired and I am pretty lucky since I am wearing off shoulder so it was bearable. The ambiance was really great , and it's almost a full house due to their new year's eve set menu. 

They offer 6 course in the new year's eve menu , serving Italian- Malaysian fusion which is pretty interesting .

Foie Gras Terrine 

It's served in room temperature just like how I like it , which stripes of pears . The texture is very smooth , where I spread it on the bread instead of eating it alone. 

The second course was corn soup which I got a little excited that I forgot to snap a picture. 

Fresh Yabbies Angel Hair

I like how they used bisque instead of olive oil to go with the angel hair ; it made the whole dish flavourful. The roasted yabbies are pretty well seasoned but it was pretty little. 

Roasted Salmon Trout

The salmon is not fully cooked , and this showed that the chef is very confident that it's fresh. It comes with baby asparagus , salad with herbs and caviar beurre blanc. I preferred to have the salmon alone instead of going with sauce. The sauce is pretty bland , mostly taste like olive oil and mayo instead of caviar which was mentioned. 

Sous Vide Beef Pave 

This is both of our favourite dish tonight. He always love steak so it's not surprising. I don't usually choose steak but this is pretty good. Maybe cos' the steak is marinated with red wine juice. 

\

It's perfect.

They actually serve Belgian Chocolate Sphere for dessert but I don't take chocolate so I changed it to tiramisu. 

Their tiramisu was amazing , since it's drenched with alcohol. They are pretty generous with the portion. 

Everything was great , and we get to watch fireworks in Element hotel right after. 

It scares me that 2018 is ending in two months time. 

and here's my selfie ; 

x.

Langkawi Getaway.

#1

This post is a summary of my short trip to Langkawi for Aaron's birthday on May. I got the tickets less than two weeks before. There is no island hopping and too many touristy spots. We just relaxed the way through. 

Waking up for breakfast , get back to sleep , head out for lunch , chill around , overlooking sunset , drink a little at night. 

#2

View from our balcony . 

We stayed at Resort World Langkawi. 

This resort is secluded at the end of the strand of resorts , almost into the woods close to the fishing village. It is really peaceful and quiet. The view is fantastic. The downside is , it does not have any access to the beach. 

Overall, it was good - not to mention, the price is alright too. 

#3

the view from the infinity pool is fantastic too.

#4

#5

For Sunset , please head to Yellow Cafe by the beach.

I like how we sit on beanbags ,  our toes in the sand overlooking sunset with cheap cold beers in our hand. 

#6

#7

#8

#9

Aaron.

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

this series of photos shall be : you gave me the tumblr love .

#16

For me, sunsets is way more romantic than sunrise. 

Yes, sunrise is meaningful resembling that we wake up to each other. I'd prefer to end my good days and bad days with you, over sunsets. 

#17

We purposely drove to Smiling Buffalo for coffee, however we arrived too late. It's closed at 4pm. The owner suggest us to head to their sister cafe by the beach ; and off we go -

#18

Huggin' Hippo, is located on the same row of Yellow Cafe . 

#19

#20

I love their interior .

#21

We decided to sit outside for sunset - the owners were singing Jason Marz with classical instrument. 

#22

#23

This is my first time, sippin on coffee overlooking sunset by the beach. The combination of two of my favourite things seems pretty alright. I also tried fried cerodok the first time. 

We strolled by the beach for a while before heading to my favourite restaurant in Langkawi , for his birthday dinner. This restaurant is a must visit for me in Langkawi - where I used to mention here.

#24

For dinner - Red Tomato .

#25

They serve italian / french fusion with hearty portion. The price is reasonable too. I prefer to visit during dinner. I like how they change the ambiance completely at night. 

#26

The presentation might not meet up to expectation but it taste really good. 

#27

This trip was really relaxing. 

I always prefer the city because the island life never made sense to me. The sunset seems to look different with him.  Now, the romantic quotes mentioning about beaches and sunset make sense to me. 

Yellow Beach Cafe -  Jalan Pantai Tengah, Pantai Cenang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah

Huggin Hippo - 27A, Jalan Pantai Chenang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah
Red Tomato Langkawi - No. 5 Casa Fina, Jalan Pantai Cenang, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah