The Weekender: Fitzs in Asia!

Hey all! This past weekend we had so much fun hosting our great friends Sean and Elizabeth in Singapore. S & E are currently on a little mid-week beach vacay while we work (way less fun) and we will all meet up again on Friday in Bangkok for a long weekend #Woo! 

Below is a photo recap of our super sweaty, yummy and fun weekend in Singapore.

Saturday morning we were all up early and excited to explore the city and beat the dreaded 12hr jetlag. S & E didn't get in until the middle of the night on Friday so we made a late and leisurely brunch plan for the next morning. I weirdly don't have any pics, but we did a super luxe 3 hour (free flow) brunch at The Clifford at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. Starting the weekend with a bang! 

After brunch we wandered the Marina area checking out the sites and this apparent kite festival going on. After we all successfully sweated through our shirts we decided to venture to the top of the Sands hotel for some cold drinks and the best view in the city. 

That face: swoon :)

From the front of sands you get an amazing view of the city. Just on the other side you can see all the ships waiting for their time in port.

Saturday I had big plans (up in my head) to take advantage of our dear friends being in town, and visiting some of the sites, to capture a cute photo of us to later be used as our Christmas  card. It was a pretty big fail, but, I mean, pouty face Michael would look pretty good on your fridge. 

Wrapped up Saturday with a fun sushi dinner and night out on Club Street. 

Sunday morning we had big plans to rent a 4-person bike carriage and check out the east coast. Our bike plan didn't pan out for lack of cash and an ATM and the onset of a tropical rain storm, but we had a wonderful time nonetheless.

Oh we're the 4 best friends that anyone could have...

Daww... 

Fav photo :)

Quick stop for a strawberry ice cream croissant sandwich (dessert item exactly how it sounds). 

What's yours is now mine ;) (note Michael's not-so-pleased sharing face)

Monday the Fitzs met us for lunch at our favorite hot lunch spot - Din Tai Fung. (all future visitors take note, we will take you here, and you will love it, full stop).   

Good night, Singapore! Until next week... 

Great weekend with even greater friends. See you in Bangkok! 

XO,

CD

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Recap Lately: We're Married!

Hey guys! I am back to the blog with a new attitude and a new last name! 

So much has happened in the last few weeks since I last posted, it is nearly impossible to detail it all at once. I will just share some of the 'behind the scenes' highlights, as you better believe there will be more wedding related posts to come. We are all eagerly awaiting viewing our professional photos and video :)

So I find I am officially one of those annoying newlyweds who gets overly excited about all our 'firsts' together. Aww, Michael, our first Saturday breakfast together as a married couple. Aww, our first married coffee together, LOOK HEARTS, OMG! Aww, our first Wednesday. 

The weekend before we departed for the states some of the girls from my office took me out for a little Asian Hen-do (bachelorette) celebration. We hung out at the infamous infinity pool at the top of the Mariana Bay Sands hotel. 

It was such a fun day - I have been dying to get up to the pool and it was such a treat to spend the day and night celebrating with such awesome gals. (multiple Singapore Slings not pictured :))

Strike a pose...

After a short work week and a few more super nice and thoughtful send offs from our work families, we were off. Packing for 2 weeks back home, much less a WEDDING, was no easy feat. We however did a pretty good job of packing and getting around 4 different airports (Singapore, Taipei, JFK, Kansas City) without loosing anything or killing each other. (and yes that is us traveling around the world with 2 guitars, 1 amp, and a wedding dress stuffed into a roller bag).  

Next stop: New York City! (said in Old El Paso salsa commercial voice) Michael stayed through the weekend for his Stag-d0 (bachelor) weekend --- hmm, no pics of that? Weird. It was a short trip for me, but we managed to meet up for a great lunch at one of our all time neighborhood favorites - Old Town Bar.  It is located only a few blocks from our old apartment (tear) and is one of the best and oldest bars in NYC. The food is great, the beer is cold and it's always the perfect amount of crowded. Not to mention the ambiance is second to none! Okay, I am digressing... 

Happy

That evening I had dinner with my long lost NY gals (#Rubies). It was the perfect night of sipping wine and catching up over a good meal with even greater people. Miss you spunky ladies.

Up early for a 6:00am flight to KC for another bachelorette celebration and catching up with friends. My SIL and MIL were so kind to host an evening of great fun out in KC. 

Love you ladies so much. 

A quick drive to Omaha, a fathers day BBQ, 4 runs around the lake, a trip to the nail salon, multiple craft projects, errands, a bridal luncheon and a practice run at the church later, wedding weekend was officially upon us!  

A few of my dearest high school friends. GO CATS. (Rehearsal dinner at Omaha Country Club)  

Saturday morning beauty session. (Robes are a Singapore special) 

The Stamp (and Strotman) Family :)

My sister, my rock, my pro bono co-wedding planner. 

Mr. & Mrs. Duvall + Mr. & Mrs. Duvall :)

What a magical, beautiful, loving, sweaty, happy, whirlwind of a day. 

Duvee Brothers concert was in full swing! 

So much love to our family and closest friends who were able to celebrate with us on the big day and so many who sent their love from afar.

Much love to the SME'sters... (we see you Sean)

...Wildcat Power...

...My loyalist Kappa sisters...

...And finally lots of love to the Yale Football crew (I think we need to go home now). 

Sunday it was up early for a farewell brunch, a baby shower for Baby Argo (as seen  in the photos above), and a little relaxing back at my parents house.

Oh and this. #AMERICA

Isn't married life the best? You have a set partner in all things in life... 

Monday morning, still buzzing from the weekend, it was bags packed and time for take off. Most of the time this photo (new wedding bands + passports) is taken to mark the exciting adventure of departing on ones honeymoon, but here we are simply headed home. I find this to be all parts ridiculous, thrilling and a little sad, I am not going to lie. The weekend was such a blessed reminder of how much our family and friends love and care for us. (Seriously, if you are in need of a major self-esteem boost, get married). It is really hard to not want to be closer to that. 

BUT we are back and settled and looking forward to an exciting time ahead as we continue this crazy adventure as newlyweds. By way of update, we have lots to look forward to come the rest of 2014. We have 3(!) sets of couple friends set to visit us in July, Aug. and Sept. - Michael will be back in the US for a few weeks in Oct. celebrating the marriages of 2 of his closest friends (2 separate weddings, his good friends aren't marrying each other, not that there would be anything wrong with that if they did...) - my dear girlfriend is getting married in Mexico in Nov. - and just like that we will be home for Christmas! See, living in Singapore isn't that hard ;)

LOTS of major love to ya'll. Thanks for making our wedding weekend perfect.

Xo,

C

For more Stamp / Duvall wedding coverage, check out friend Katie's super-blog  (The Rose Record) for details of the day and my sister Niki's hilarious and adorable mom blog depicting the countdown to the most important walk down the aisle - my twin nephews as ring bearers. She posted way more great pics than did - I blame the jet lag. #Duvows 

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The Weekender: Our friend Kirk

Happy New Year everyone! We are happy to report we are over our jet lag and getting back into the swing of things in Singapore. In our first week we were excited to get the apartment settled and organized as we had a friend coming to stay with us for the weekend. Woo! Our good friend Kirk is on a Southeast Asia tour as part of business school. We were more than thrilled to see a familiar face. Besides each other - we spend a lot of time with our good friends the Kilcher family and the cast of Downton Abbey. Michael and I were in need of some socialization with a familiar face and a good time.

As Kirk didn't get to Singapore until Saturday, Friday evening began with an after work trip to Lau Pasat - an outdoor hawker center. The real shining star here is the chicken satay, but the prawn satay is way more fun to take pics of. 

Saturday was a crazy day of running errands and catching up on the things we needed to get done in the last month when we were too busy either Christmas shopping or traveling. We finished just in time to welcome our friend for cocktails and dinner. We went to this super cute Japanese place called Flying Squirrel and after had a few night caps in Clark Quay. 

Hi! 

Sunday we hit the ground running - we had a full day of good food, good sites and great company. 

First stop - this super cute brunch spot P.S. Cafe. The food (western) is pretty darn good and the restaurant is set in what feels like the middle of the jungle. A+ for atmosphere for sure.  I can't wait to go back.

Next we took a walk around the Marina for the best view of downtown and to see some of the major sites. It was a fun excuse to get out and do some touristy things.  Luckily the weather was shockingly mild and misty. Michael and I were joking like, it'a so hot here! I swear! This is a total fluke! Kirk was probably like, suuure guys. :)

We ran into some type of set up area for what I assume will be some type of Chinese New Year celebration. I mean, how could we not stop and take pics?

From the marina we took a short walk over to the Flyer. Fun fact: the Singapore Flyer is the the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel standing at an impressive 165m! I am not sure why I don't have a good picture of it from the ground. Anyway, we had never been and it was a really fun place to take guests to get the best view of the island. I assume we will definitely be back next time we have guests in town. Luckily for Micheal, there is a special champagne lounge/ bar cart option to spice things up if needed ;) 

One full rotation is only about 30min. From a distance is never actually appears to be moving - is that a dumb observation? Long story short, this thing is pretty massive and impressive.

 The tall blue building on the far left is my office! 

Boats for days... 

Gardens by the Bay - definitely next on our to do list.  Enough said.

Finally, a tour de Sing would not be complete without an infamous Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel and a trip to a proper hawker center.  

 Chicken rice anyone?

Thank you for coming to see us and keeping us entertained! It was so fun to see a familiar smiling face and get to show off our new home. Seeing your city through the eyes of someone else often gives you the boost you need to really appreciate your surroundings. Like sometimes I miss my bus stop by more than a mile and have to walk home in a actual monsoon, but honestly, where else can you get $2 papaya milk and all natural purple drink at a moments notice?!

Peace out everyone, have a great week. 

C

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