The Weekender: Lately

Hey All! Hope you are surviving the depths of winter back home. Here in Singapore we are enjoying the never-changing 90 degree weather and daily thunder storms as we wrap up rainy season here on the equator. Nothing too exciting to report, but I have collected a random smattering of iPhone photos of the things we have been up to over the last couple of weeks. Only 4 (or less!) more weeks until baby...Eek! 

Some major Din Tai Fung cravings have been had and dumplings have been consumed (note the crazy eyes). 

A few weeks ago my girlfriends here in Singapore were so incredibly sweet to throw me a surprise baby shower. We had planned on gathering for a 'welcome back to Singapore BBQ' following everyones travels over the holidays, but to my total shock I walked into the sweetest spread for Baby D. (Epic fail on not getting a group pic, btw). 

Plain Vanilla - one of the best and only places in Singapore to get good cupcakes. How cute are these little guys?! 

Many grilling evenings have taken place - Michael's happy zone. Check out his new KC apron he got for Christmas :)

Non-alcoholic beer - a pregnant woman's best friend for not feeling left out during happy hour.  

In addition to my long list of things to do and things to purchase before baby arrives, I've been trying to take some time for myself and indulge my creative side. I've been extra keen to learn some fun new skills before flexible free time becomes a laughable thing of the past (or so I'm told).

A couple weeks ago I took a water color class through Bloesem Shop - an ultra cool, multi-functional creative space that hosts a variety of courses, as well as a small retail space of chic things. I loved every second of it - not a bad turnout for a first timer. 

Bump update... 

Monthly Champagne Brunch (a Singapore staple), this time to celebrate my friend Kristin's birthday. 

Cheers!  

Michael and I have also been taking antenatal classes every Saturday in preparation for baby. We made a routine of going to our favorite neighborhood establishment - Boomerang - following class. Michael certainly earned himself a beer or two after all the videos we had to watch ;) 

One of my biggest undertakings has been to get our guest room in order. Since we have just 2 bedrooms and won't be here too terribly long with the baby, it is a guest room / nursery space. I vow to make a proper pinterest-worthy nursery once we are in a more long-term location. But for documentation purposes here is the before...  

And after! I hope to do a full post on her room in the coming weeks. It's nothing special but it makes my heart happy :)

Hey, hi, hello! 

In keeping with my creative education, I took a bouquet arranging class at Floral Magic on Saturday (the same place I made my holiday wreath if you recall). 

TA-daaaaaah! 

Smile, Michael :)

Date night selfie following church.  

And finally we ended this weekend with Michael tending to some ribs for 4+ hours on the grill, a beautiful sunset, and a BBQ dinner with our pal Nate.  

Have a wonderful week y'all! Next weekend we will be enjoying a long 4-day weekend here, as Singapore (and a majority of Asia) celebrates Chinese New Year. We are unfortunately grounded and cannot travel, but in the spirit of things here is a look back at the awesome trips we have taken during CNY the past couple of years (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hoi An, CNY in Singapore). 

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 

XO,

CD

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Christmas Recap 2015

Better late than never, amiright?

I'm about three weeks behind, but I wanted to get up a holiday recap before time totally gets away from me.

It goes without saying that Michael and I had the BEST time back home for the holidays. We hadn't been back to the States for a full year, so we were extra excited to spend time with our family and friends over the span of two weeks. Our trip included trips between Omaha and KC, lots of good food, snow(!), time with family, late nights with friends, holiday cheer and plenty of love and showering of baby D. 

A photo recap below: 

Snow!!! (Buddy the Elf voice). We had a surprise, very white Christmas Eve up in Omaha. Toto, we're not in Singapore any more. 

My family has made it a tradition to go to the Durham (where Michael and I got married, aww) over the holidays and check out the massive Christmas tree. The downstairs is also a train museum which my nephews love. 

Luke loves him some Uncle Michael - it's the sweetest. 

Selfie stick time over at my sisters casa.  

During my first weekend back, my godmother Lisa and friends Amy and Neely were so very sweet to host a baby shower for our girl. It was wonderful being able to see so many family members and friends from home over cinnamon rolls, mimosas and tiny little baby clothes (side note, wow babies need a lot of stuff). Thank you all for coming - it was perfect!  

My Millard West gals - 2 full babies + 3 halves :)

One cannot spend time in NE and without having at least one Runza. (Also Valentino's pizza - not pictured)

...to Grandmothers house we go... 

Sending Christmas Eve with my family, we made the pilgrimage out to Yutan, NE for dinner and church at my grandparents. With all of the extended family together for the first time and in a long time, we took the opportunity for a large family photo. How cute are we? :)

The whole Stamp crew of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses and great grand babes. 

Michael and I have also made it somewhat of a tradition to hit up Shirley's Diner for some good ole, down home Midwestern diner food. So. Good. 

Now, headed south on I-29 to Kansas City...

My first night in KC kicked off with a massive holiday party/30th birthday celebration/baby shower at the Duvall's. It was so fun seeing so many of our friends in one place and starting the holidays off with a bang. KKG love ---> 

A big shout out to all of our sweet friends and family friends who were so kind to give to our group gift. Baby D will be rolling around Singapore in style in her fancy new stroller ;)

Random dog photo. I love my Jack-in-law. 

Family photo on Christmas night. [Excels at self-timer photography]  

It's not a trip to KC without a visit to Ponak's. It's the best. Although it's admittedly not as great without the addition of their famous margaritas, it was still just as amazing as I often dream of. Mmmm I'm thinking about it right now... 

While in KC I had one more shower with my best college gals - feeling loved. 

Love you sistas! 

D-awwwww.... 

Annual holiday dinner with these wonderful people. 

Party crasher. 

And on our second to last night in the States we headed to Lawrence to watch the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. One cannot visit Lawrence without a compulsory stop at The Wheel. Being 7.5 months pregnant at a bar is a tad embarrassing, but the Wheel is still awesome. (I think I horrified a few college students by accidentally bumping into them with my bump. Ew sorry). 

Hawks win! 

...and finally after two crazy, action-packed, amazing weeks in KC and Omaha, Michael, myself, baby, my compression tights and a huge bag of Cheez-its were ready for the long haul back to Singapore. 

We had such a wonderful time during our trip home. We were reminded just how lucky we are to have such amazing families and friends who love us dearly. We miss you all like crazy. 

We are planning on moving back to the States in the fall, so we look forward to the holidays being a little less hectic (and jet lagged) next year. Thank you everyone for all the love, hospitality and effort in making our trip home so insanely fun and memorable. 

Much, much love! 

XO,

CD

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The Weekender: Birthday 3-0

Greetings all! 

Just a quick weekend summary of our activities this past weekend. The highlight of the weekend was most certainly my birthday celebration - the big 3-0! EEK! The day was absolutely perfect, but definitely on the more low key side of things. If you can imagine, being 6 and a half months pregnant doesn't really scream 30th birthday rager ;)

 

We kicked off the weekend celebrations early with a lovely dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, BoCHINche, on Friday evening. It has become one of our favorite spots with its location just down the block, open fire kitchen and a to die for provaleta chesse dish that will change your life.

 

Saturday morning I was up early to attend a much anticipated Christmas wreath making class with the lovely and talented We Make Floral Magic. Going to a flower arranging course has been on my wish list for quite some time now, so I thought why not treat myself to some crafty fun on my bday.  

Two and a half hours flew by in a blink - I seriously could have stayed there all day it made me so happy. While I was thrilled with the outcome of my wreath and learned some great tips, I still plan on taking a more proper floral course. I feel like it's a good life skill to have, ya know? Classes are not that easy to come by here in Singapore.

Ta-da!

  

In true birthday fashion, I got to choose the cuisine and location for all of our weekend meals - including a Mexican place down the street that I love and Michael hates. What a good sport ;)

 

Thanks for the beautiful flowers mom and dad! <3

 

Come Sunday after candles, cake and presents it was time I pass the torch and attention over to Michael. 

For the third year in a row he ran in the Standard Chartered Half Marathon! You may recall that we did the race together the last two years (here and here), but in my current state I am semi-retired from the sport of running so Michael was on his own.

I cheered him on from the sidelines like a very proud wife. Michael did an awesome job considering the heat (90 degrees plus) and the fact he has been insanely busy at work and unable to properly train.  

Go, Michael, go!

The rest of the day was spent napping (for some reason I thought I earned a 2+ hr sleep as well), making dinner and recovering from a busy, joyous weekend.

Thanks to my wonderful, sweet husband and everyone for sending me so many birthday cards, texts, calls and notes on my special day. So much love. 

We leave for the States in 6 days and I'm no where ready! Tis' the season. 

XO,

CD 3.0

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Thanksgiving in Singapore

Greetings y'all! 

We had the most wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving here in Singapore last week. We certainly missed our families on what is arguably one of the best holidays of the year, but had a lovely time celebrating with friends in the Little Red Dot. 

Kicking things off on the actual Thanksgiving holiday, we hosted Michael's colleagues at our place for a casual American BBQ (we thrive at grilling, not full-blown Thanksgiving cuisine). 

We haven't made much use of our upstairs 'fratio', but with the semi-cooler weather that comes with the rainy season, it was the perfect evening to break it in.  

Grill-master Duvall :)

I unfortunately didn't get any photos from the gathering after the sun set, but we had a lovely evening eating good food, chatting and enjoying each others company. Humble brag: I like to boast that I am able to successfully host a dinner party without such modern necessities as a car, Costco membership and a dishwasher :-P

The rest of the weekend we were crazy busy bouncing between various activities, lunches and dinners. The highlight however was a proper Thanksgiving meal(!) on Saturday. This is sadly our third Thanksgiving away from home, so we were thrilled at the thought of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. 

A huge thanks to our lovely friends and hosts. Do you have any idea how hard it is to put on a classic Thanksgiving spread, complete with a turkey, here in Singapore?! It takes weeks of planning and sourcing and she, and everyone else who brought dishes, absolutely nailed it.  

Somehow Michael scored the honor of carving the turkey :)

Lovely group of ladies.

Cheese. 

We finished off the weekend by grilling (some more) and relaxing at home. We are definitely needing some extra rest before we head home for the holidays. And let me tell you, I'm really looking forward to some cooler temps. I spent this afternoon sweating in 91 degree heat while shopping for Christmas gifts. Oye. 

See y'all soon.

XO,

CD

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